The first two days of November turn our thoughts to heaven (All Saints) and to purgatory (All Souls). Traditionally, long before Remembrance Sunday was ever instituted, the Church has called on us to pray for the faithful departed but also to consider our own eternal destiny. To do so is...
The first generation of Christians thought that Jesus would return from heaven during their life-time. They all expected to be alive when he came back. But as time passed, the first of them began to die. So, the rest began to worry: did that mean the dead person would not...
Call to Prayer: Sunday 8th November 2020 Prayer @ 7pm The season of Remembrance invites us, at one and the same time, to look back and to look forward. As we look back, we recall those who have gone before us and, on a broader scale, the human tragedies that...
TO PREPARE FOR DEATH IS TO PREPARE FOR LIFE The unavoidable reality of death is one of the great questions which every person must face, sooner or later. Even for those who live in denial, it is the proverbial great elephant in the room. Because everything in us recoils at...
From St. Ambrose’s book on the death of his brother, Satyrus: We see that death is gain, life is loss. Paul says: For me life is Christ, and death a gain. What does “Christ” mean but to die in the body, and receive the breath of life? Let us...
From a Sermon of St. Bernard of Clairvaux: Why should our praise and glorification, or even the celebration of this feast day mean anything to the saints? What do they care about earthly honours when their heavenly Father honours them by fulfilling the faithful promise of the Son? What does...
The Solemnity of All Saints draws our minds and hearts to that dogma of the Catholic faith which is called the “communion of saints.” The word dogma has become a bad word today. People use it pejoratively when, for example, displeased they call someone “too dogmatic.” What they mean is...
CALL TO PRAYER: SUNDAY 1st November 2020 Prayer @ 7pm As we enter into the season of Remembrance, we are especially conscious of those whose lives have shaped our lives, but who are no longer with us. In one sense, their absence serves to highlight the significance of all that...
DEVOTION TO THE SAINTS The saints are often an untapped source of love, friendship, help and affection as we make our way through life. The Letter to the Hebrews depicts them as a great cloud of witnesses to Jesus who are all surrounding us and cheering us on, as the...
I DESIRE TO DESIRE TO BE A SAINT Sainthood can seem an unattainable dream when we think of ourselves as candidates. The daily experience of our moral fragility and weakness can appear to put to rest any notion of such an exalted aim. But to accept that is to buy...
