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Love And Understanding – Covid 19
As I begin to write the news comes of two clothes’ chains (Peacocks and Jaegar) going into administration, with the fear of over 4,000 job losses, and Eon laying off over 700 workers. Poor people. All of us who have know unemployment in our families know the worry, the strains of looking for new work…
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IICSA Report – Church Sex Abuse (2)
The report on the Church’s failure in child and adult sex abuse is a shock, as are the attempts to hide that abuse – particularly in our noted Catholic schools, Downside and Ampleforth, which are criticised for the abuse, the hiding of it, and failure to co-operate with safeguarding measures laid down for the Church.…
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“Good News for the Poor”
Jesus lived in occupied Holy Land all his life. He does not refer to an occupation. The beauty of his ministry was in revealing God’s love, encouraging people to live good lives, questioning unjust religious authority and bringing comfort to God’s little ones, “the Anawim”. He was not famous. St Paul, only eight years younger…
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God’s Love
This week we celebrate All Saints and Holy Souls, look forward to the American election, look back to Pope Francis’ statement on same-sex unions. Faith, politics, morals. Are you clear where you stand or kneel, where the Church does, on each of these issues – as on the many others facing our beautiful sad and…
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Theology: Questions And Challenges
It was fascinating. Two good priests, both teachers at the Lateran University in Rome, showed us different approaches to the same questions. The one helped us judge as clearly as we could what is right or wrong in any given situation; the other helped us to see that if we started with the person or…
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Social Encyclical – “Fratelli tutti”
Pope Francis’ beautiful encyclical was promulgated last week. He addresses it to his sisters and brothers throughout the world, reminding us we are the human family of this generation, have received a wonderful world from God, inherited a history of blessings and horrors from the past, and should be aware of everyone’s needs, passing on…
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Loneliness
I have never been lonely. We were a happy large family when I was growing up, I had good Rosminian brethren when I became a member of the Institute of Charity and inspiring priests as my friends through 53 years of priesthood. I was very happy in 13 years of teaching (am still in contact…
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Our Extra-terrestrial Beings
Did you ever give thought to extra-terrestrial beings (ET’s) and the possibility that other parts of our wonderful mysterious Creation are known and loved by God? Given how little we know of the evolution of our creation did you ever consider that maybe we are descendants from ET’s who made their way and home here?…
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My Rosary
Each of the beads on my rosary is prayed for someone or something. Sometimes I just let the people come into my mind from my memory (amazing jumps and associations my mind and memory make!); other times I imagine myself walking the streets of the parish and praying for the people who live there; and…
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Living Home-Church Communities
The lovely basilica of St Mary Major in Rome is the setting for a beautiful custom. In the Blessed Sacrament Chapel every thirty minutes there is a Holy Communion service. People gather quietly and prayerfully. One of the priests comes. A simple service (“Lord have Mercy/Our Father/This is the Lamb of God”) and those who…
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Our Church – God Will Guide Us
You can imagine my joy at being able to celebrate mass with you again. God has blessed me to come home. In the darkness of my sleepless nights at the hospital I had to face the question of whether my life was complete. “I have had 85 wonderful years,” I said to the Lord, “and…
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