The Catholic Bishops of England and Wales have issued a reflection on post-pandemic recovery and the challenges faced by the Church in encouraging people back to the Church and her Sacraments. In a reflection titled The Day of the Lord, the Bishops also praise families, parish communities and those who have worked
Continue readingThe Bishops Conference has been having its spring meeting this week – if you go to https://www.cbcew.org.uk you can see the statements which have been issued. God bless and take care Fr Ashley
Continue readingNext week is the World Day of Prayer for Vocations to the Priesthood and Religious Life. As members of the Church, we are encouraged to pray earnestly for an increase in priestly and religious vocations. This weekend there will be a second collection in support of the Priest Training Fund,
Continue readingToday is the feast of St Anselm, the 11th and 12th century theologian and Archbishop of Canterbury. Originally from Northern Italy he worked for many years in the Abbey of Bec in Normandy before coming to England, a great example of the internationalism of European Catholicism. This is a picture
Continue readingOne of my favourite TV shows, is Undercover Boss which is based in the US. For those who have not seen the show, it deals with the CEO of a major corporation, the size of McDonalds or KFC for example, going undercover so that the employees do not know who
Continue readingThe gospel reading this evening and tomorrow is the final appearance of the risen Christ to his disciples in Luke’s gospel (chapter 24) immediately after the lovely account of his meeting the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. Here, as in John’s Gospel, the Lord greets his disciples with
Continue readingToday’s gospel is John’s account (from chapter 6) of the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand by Jesus. We often hear one of the accounts of this (in all four gospels) at Mass; John’s account is apt for the Easter season (when most of our gospel readings are
Continue readingNow that Holy Week and Easter week are over we can start celebrating saints’ days again. In the season of Eastertide the feast days of martyrs are particularly important (and liturgical texts are different for these days from the rest of the year) as these men and women are seen
Continue readingOur two diaconate students, Sandy Misquitta and Ray Williamson, are studying on our MA in Catholic Social Teaching as part of their formation, and Deacon Duncan recently completed the degree (making history as one of the first group, since this is the only degree in Catholic Social Teaching in the
Continue readingOne of the great things about Eastertide is that we have the chance to get to know very well the gospel of John on weekdays and most Sundays. As the gospel was formed through preaching and reflection over many decades down to the end of the first century AD, it
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