The Catholic Church throughout the world has many things: buildings of great value and of little; universities and hospitals; money and objects of art. She is the envy of many governments and countries when it comes to her organization, discipline and diplomacy. Despite a justifiably damaged reputation in some matters,...
I’ve had a very good week this week. I managed to get around the twenty or so sick parishioners who regularly receive Holy Communion from those of you who are extraordinary ministers of the sacrament. I was quite moved and inspired by them. While I brought them the sacraments, the...
There’s meeting someone and there’s meeting someone. In the course of the day, never mind in our entire life, we meet numerous people: in the street, in the shops, in public transport, etc.. That’s one sense of meeting someone. But there is another sense in which we say, “I’ve met...
Although he had his foibles, my father was a good man. Apart from the talkativeness that came with a drink, he did not say much about himself, or about anything (a trait which I have definitely not inherited!). He was very quiet, even in the way he’d open and close...
I’ve been watching the Spanish drama on the BBC called “I know who you are.” It’s about a top lawyer who suffers from amnesia after a car crash and the disappearance of his niece. As the plot thickens, I find myself switching from one theory to the next about what...
It is right and just to celebrate significant anniversaries in your life. When a married couple reaches 25, 50, 60 or more years together, it’s definitely time to get the champagne glasses out. It’s time to get the family and friends together and have a bash. It’s time to look...
It would be sad if a parent had to be told, “you have an obligation to love your child.” To love your own child goes without saying. It is natural. You could not not love your child. The obligation is there, of course, but it’s absorbed into the natural desire and need...
It would be sad if a parent had to be told, “you have an obligation to love your child.” To love your own child goes without saying. It is natural. You could not not love your child. The obligation is there, of course, but it’s absorbed into the natural desire and need...
I wonder if you knew that a saint and martyr was once the MP for Great Yarmouth and the Speaker of the House of Commons? It was St. Thomas More. He later went on to become a Privy Counsellor, the personal secretary to Henry VIII and Chancellor of the Realm....
In this month of the Rosary, I want to talk to you about this great prayer. In many quarters, it has sadly gone out of fashion and is even regarded by some with contempt. But such people do not know what they are missing. The Rosary is a Mother taking...
