De Omnibus Dubitandum Est.

 A wonderful Advent message & a perfect reflection for Advent here from Fr James Mawdsley - enjoy!

My attention was drawn this morning to a Pastoral Letter for the First Sunday of Advent, written by the (relatively) new bishop of Lancaster , the Right Reverend Paul Swarbrick. It's not horrendously long, you can read a pdf of the whole letter here , but it does remind us of some simple, yet eternally powerful and fundamental Christian teaching. Teaching that seems to be seldom (if ever) heard these days. Teaching which is being constantly undermined by church-men who seek to modify the Gospel. To temper the life-changing power of the Cross with what they tend to term "radical inclusion" but which in actuality amounts to nothing more than confusion and an abandonment of the Gospel message. Bishop Swarbrick's letter begins with this: Beginning our journey towards the crib at Bethlehem, the Church reminds us of God’s call for each one here to safeguard a sense of the sacred. Each one is called to know the Holy One. Each one is called to be holy. But this is no...

Almost since the outset of this papacy Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle has been the man seen by many as Francis' dauphin. I'm not sure if the email I have been sent is actually from him, or an incredibly ignorant minion, but it is truly shocking in its' lack of catholicity: From: Caritas Internationalis [ mailto:donations@caritas.va ]  Sent: 30 November 2017 15:28 To:  Subject: Christmas Message from Cardinal Tagle Dear Friends, The bells ring during Advent not just in celebration, but also to wake us up from our slumber.  As we await the birth of Jesus, we are called to open our eyes and hearts to the possibility of hope. We are reminded that God is with us on our life's journey and that we too are called to accompany others on theirs. Jesus was born in a stable outside Bethlehem, on the "wrong side of the tracks", as they say nowadays. The Holy Family was a family of migrants. There was no welcome for his pregnant mother and tired father. Th...

Listen to Bishop of Brentwood, The Rt Rvd Alan Williams SM reflect on true discipleship in the Year of Mercy. Below are a couple of pictures of the Holy Door at Brentwood Cathedral. Above the door you can see a sign written in Bishop Alan's own hand and recreated in neon. Pope Francis explains the meaning of the Holy Door thus:  "There is only one way that opens wide the entrance into the life of the communion with God: this is Jesus, the one and absolute way to salvation. To him alone can the words of the Psalmist be applied in full truth: "This is the door of the Lord where the just may enter" (Psalm 118:20)"  In a Jubilee Year we are all invited to pass through the Holy Door as a symbolic gesture of leaving the past behind and crossing the threshold from sin to grace, from slavery to freedom, and from darkness to light. The neon art outside the Holy Door has been created by Chris Mitchell of Neon Sign Store. The words are the motto for the...

Welcome to my reflection on this week's Sunday readings at Mass, where I look at the Scripture we will hear at Mass on Sunday in its historical, social and theological context to see what wisdom can be gleaned. Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. I sincerely hope that this reflection will inspire you, answer some questions you may have, help you to see how fantastic Sacred Scripture is and perhaps begin to share some of my love and passion for the Bible as you begin to comprehend how layered and multi-faceted, and what a carefully considered part of the Mass the readings are. If you want to know how these posts came about, please read my first post in this series  here . My particular hope is that these blogs will help you develop a love of the Old Testament, and help to foster a better understanding of its value in understanding how Jesus fulfils what is prefigured therein. I would like to think this regular blog would be a great help to anyone who reads at M...

Welcome to my reflection on this week's Sunday readings at Mass, where I look at the Scripture we will hear at Mass on Sunday in its historical, social and theological context to see what wisdom can be gleaned. Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. I sincerely hope that this reflection will inspire you, answer some questions you may have, help you to see how fantastic Sacred Scripture is and perhaps begin to share some of my love and passion for the Bible as you begin to comprehend how layered and multi-faceted, and what a carefully considered part of the Mass the readings are. If you want to know how these posts came about, please read my first post in this series  here . My particular hope is that these blogs will help you develop a love of the Old Testament, and help to foster a better understanding of its value in understanding how Jesus fulfils what is prefigured therein. I would like to think this regular blog would be a great help to anyone who reads at Ma...

I have just found out that EWTN (the global Catholic TV network) are running a series of reflections for Advent from Buckfast Abbey and the School of the Annunciation The Schedule is as follows:- 1st Week of Advent: Repentance Is the Essence of Conversion Abbot David Charlesworth, OSB, of Buckfast Abbey, speaks about the importance of personal conversion as the means for getting ready for the coming of Christ. Sunday, Nov 30 at 7:30, 15:30; Tuesday 2, 19:00; Thursday 4, 21:30 (30 mins) 2nd Week of Advent: Preparing to Welcome Christ Dom Thomas Regan, OSB, of Buckfast Abbey, talks about the need to prepare well in order to properly celebrate Advent and Christmas, by putting Christ at the heart of Christmas. Sunday 7, 7:30, 15:30; Tuesday 9, 19:00; Thursday 11, 21:30. (30 mins) 3rd Week of Advent: Rejoicing with Mary in the Coming of the Lord Fr Guy Nicholls, of the Birmingham Oratory, invites us to prepare our hearts like Mary, to rejoice in the coming of the Lord. Sunday ...

This time of year is intense for lots of different reasons. Since Ruth died, it has been a period where Lou and I have experienced a heightened sense of loss. There are hundreds of people in similar situations and even in the weeks leading up to Christmas this year, each story of tragedy on the news, the shooting in Connecticut, the war in Syria, the conflict in Afghanistan, the pensioner attacked and killed on his way to midnight Mass on Christmas eve, even the terrible car crash on the M6 on Christmas day itself all bring with them a terrible heightened sense of anxiety and empathy for the effect and terrible grief such life-changing events will wreak on the families.  For many of us, Christmas is like this. A reminder of who is not there, a reminder of grief and pain and heart ache. On Christmas eve, Lou laid out the children's presents in sacks each bearing their own monicker. She used Ruth's sack for Mary, even placing it in the right order (W, M, R, J) and we bot...