There has been quite a lot of mention about prayer and fasting this past week. How was your experience on Pope Francis’ day of prayer, fasting and good works? Recently I have been dipping into a wonderful book by John Trenchard C.Ss.R entitled Personal Prayer: Living in Love with God
Continue reading‘It is the spirit of evil which wars against the spirit of God and which would banish from the earth the kingdom of Christ and deify material force, in order to drive out of the lives of peoples and still more to abolish from international relations, every essential distinction between
Continue readingColonel Tom We all need to hear of events and stories which raise our spirits and encourage us especially during this rather bleak period. At the top of the list must surely be Captain Tom Moore who was promoted to honorary colonel last week, after raising £29 million for NHS
Continue readingMost Catholics here are now only able to participate in Mass remotely through livestreaming or other filming (and perhaps occasionally by means of radio) – and the numbers of people doing this during the week seem to be much higher than those of ordinary weekday Mass-goers. If this applies to
Continue readingI’m writing the front page of the parish newsletter on the anniversary of the bombing of our cathedral, St Georges, in 1941. If our churches weren’t now closed and Mass could have been celebrated as usual, we would have been taking a second collection this Sunday for the maintenance of
Continue readingFor many of us time at the moment seems to be moving slowly. The special act of worship and blessing led by the Holy Father on 27 March, only a fortnight ago, seems ages ago to me now. It was a very powerful moment, watching him walking with some difficulty
Continue readingIt has been two weeks since we announced that the church was to close. In a sense this is an incorrect statement. What happened in fact was the closure of the church building. We as the people of faith in Jesus Christ are the Church and we are not closed
Continue readingSOME OF YOU may be old enough to remember a satirical book about English history published originally in 1930 (but reprinted for many years) – 1066 And All That, by W. C. Sellar and R. J. Yeatman. This is what the book has to say about Richard II, King of
Continue readingFrom Friday evening public liturgies in the Catholic Church ceased. This decision was made by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales in consultation with the Ordinaries of the Dioceses. The reason for this decision is to protect as many people as possible from COVID-19 pandemic and to limit
Continue readingARCHBISHOP PETER SMITH was Archbishop of Southwark until his retirement last June, having passed the statutory age of 75. As you know it was announced last weekend that he died peacefully. Archbishop Michael Bowen died in the autumn, and had ceased to be our pastor many years ago; but this
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