Feast of St Oliver Plunkett
Today is the feast day of St Oliver Plunkett. This is a photo of the best known image of the saint in this diocese, on the outside wall of St
Continue readingThe First Martyrs of Rome
Today the Church keeps the feast day of the first martyrs of the Church to lose their lives after St Peter and St Paul. A picture can be found at https://www.bing.com/images/search….
Continue readingAmos, the first prophet
In our Old Testament readings at weekday Mass we have been hearing about the decline of the kingdoms of Judah and Israel, together with the prophetic ministry of Elijah: this
Continue readingFeast of Saints Peter and Paul
Today, transferred from tomorrow (in this country) we keep the feast of Saints Peter and Paul. They are venerated on the same day because they are thought to have been
Continue readingMary, Mother of God
Today is the feast of St Cyril of Alexandria. When we say the ‘Hail Mary’ we conclude with the words ‘Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now
Continue readingFriday’s Reflection
This picture (and I don’t know its origin) is labelled ‘The fear of Zedekiah’. Presumably the king, not long installed as a puppet by the Babylonian potentate Nebuchadnezzar, is frightened
Continue reading“The Kings and their Gods”
Today’s first reading at Mass (2 Kings 24:8-17) describes briefly one of the key climactic points of the history of the Jewish people – the destruction of the city of
Continue readingThe Nativity of St John the Baptist
The feast of the Nativity of St John the Baptist is historically and culturally very important in this country because it’s a ‘Quarter day’, one of the signposts in the
Continue readingSt Etheldreda
St Etheldreda, or Aethelthryth (the name is also the original of the name Audrey) was one of the great female saints of Anglo Saxon England. If you’ve ever watched (as
Continue readingSaints John Fisher and Thomas More
Today is a very special feast day in this country – Saints John Fisher and Thomas More – they weren’t martyred on the same day in 1535 – Fisher was
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