Canada and the Catholic Church

THIS WEEKEND is the 150th anniversary of the setting up of the Confederation of Canada in 1867 by the British North America Act of Parliament. The picture here shows a statue of the best known of the martyrs of Canada (1649), St Jean de Brébeuf, whose feast day we keep

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The Preferential Option for the Poor

THIS SUNDAY’S GOSPEL READING opens with the words of Jesus: ‘Do not be afraid. For everything now hidden will be made clear. What I say to you in the dark, tell in the daylight; what you hear in whispers, proclaim from the housetops.’ This might be a good reading for whoever

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Welcome to the Altar of Sacrifice of our Salvation

The word altar comes from the Hebrew word, ‘izbeah’ meaning ‘to slaughter’; and Greek ‘Thusaiasterion’ meaning ‘a place of sacrifice’. The altar in the church is a place where the highest sacrifice is made to the Lord. It is a sacred place of divine encounter and interaction. The altar represents

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The Trinity and Creation

TRINITY SUNDAY gives us an opportunity to reflect about the nature of the God whom we worship Sunday by Sunday. For Christianity is bold enough to claim that God has revealed to humanity very deep and intimate aspects of himself: what he is like. This in itself is a big

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The Holy Spirit and Blessed Oscar Romero

‘If there was ever a time when the feast of the Holy Spirit takes on urgency, I think it is now when we see so much confusion, so many false values of redemption, so much militarism and selfishness, so much hatred and violence. This is a precious moment when we

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The Prince of this World is Condemned

TODAY THE CHURCH celebrates Ascension day (transferred from last Thursday) marking not only Jesus’ return in his physical post-resurrection body to heaven, but also his triumph, a point of culmination in the season of Easter and its celebration of Jesus’ victory over death, sin and evil. The idea of triumph

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Praying the Rosary for Peace

MAY IS THE MONTH OF MARY, we sing in one of the traditional hymns for this time of year. Last week we had a May Procession in Bishop Challoner school and next Friday we have one in St Mary’s; traditionally here at St Edmund’s we say the Salve Regina at

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The Abiding Message of Europe Day

LAST TUESDAY was Europe Day. This observance marks the anniversary of what is known as the ‘Schuman declaration’ in 1950 which led to the setting up of the European Coal and Steel Community, the prelude to the Common Market and the present European Union. It is an important observance for

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Eldest Daughter of the Church

Sometimes you still hear France referred to as ‘the eldest daughter of the Church.’ I am not sure how old the phrase is but it is thought to refer to the fact that Clovis, King of the Franks, accepted Christianity with his followers as early as the 6th century; as the precursor

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Life in the Spirit

In my three previous parishes in Orpington, Ashford and Walderslade I have been aware of a great desire and even dare I say hunger from many parishioners to know more about the Faith and to find ways of building up and nurturing their own faith. One of the resources that

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