De Omnibus Dubitandum Est.

Purgatory, have we forgotten about it? Is it something the Church made up to garner indulgences? Or is it, in fact, an expression of God's boundless love and desire to be united with the souls he has created? I've noticed quite a bit of internet chat over the last week or so around the idea that, post Vatican II, Purgatory and praying for the dead is no longer a part of Catholic prayer. I find this disconcerting I have to say, because I believe it is important that we pray for the dead and I certainly hope someone will pray for me when I am dead!! November is one of those times we get to reflect especially on those who have left us. Death is an unavoidable part of life, although modern society seems intent on ignoring and hiding it. Purgatory has always made sense to me in my bones, but its one of those teachings that are quite difficult to explain to non-Catholics. Interestingly, I think those who have not been taught a contradictory Protestant narrative find it easy t...

Following on from my post yesterday on praying for the dead, Fr. Kevin's homily at Mass today shone more light on the subject: If you go think back over the history of the film industry over the last fifty years, in every decade there has been an ever increasing number of films made about the end of the world, and they often contain the word Apocalypse . The genre has included everything from the world being overtaken by aliens, to global diseases obliterating mankind, to natural disasters of every kind. For the people in the Philippines – our brothers and sister in the Faith – the events of last weekend will have been nothing less than apocalyptic for them. For the Church at this time, the end of the year brings with it thoughts of the end of the world: apocalypse . It’s a Greek word that means uncovering; rather in the same way that the Latin equivalent – revelation – means also an unveiling, a taking away of the veil. Something of great significance is being disc...

Last Thursday night at Our Lady of Lourdes, we had a truly beautiful Mass for the bereaved. The whole community came together to offer prayers for those who have gone before us marked with the sign of faith (1 Thess. 4:13, 14). Of course "Mass is the highest form of prayer we can say", to quote Pope Pius X. It is the whole of salvation history acted out for us, and in which we partake, audibly in prayer and joining in with the hymns, spiritually through our attention during the liturgy of the Word and the private prayers of our heart we make at the liturgy of the Eucharist, and silently through our actions, our demeanour and the little acts of love we make during Mass to show God how much we care: genuflections, anointing ourselves with the sign of the Cross, etc. For some Mass goers today, the Bible is something unfamiliar and sadly, not an every day part of their faith. I wonder then, whether many would recognise the extent to which the Mass is soaked in Sacred Scr...

CNS reports Pope Francis at his weekly public audience in St. Peter's Square yesterday, elaborated on his previous week's talk on the subject of the "church as mother." The Pope said the Church should approach its members with the face of a patient, merciful and understanding mother, who always forgives her erring children and never ceases to pray that they resume the path of Christian living. "I like this image very much," he said, "because I think it tells us not only how the Church is, but also what sort of face the Church, this Church of ours, should have, more so every day." A mother teaches her children the right way of life "with tenderness, with affection, with love," he said, because she "didn't learn it from books, but learned it from her own heart." "The university of mammas is the heart itself," the pope said, in one of several uses of the informal Italian term "mamma." Pope F...

Well, here we are at the final episode of Fr. Robert Barron's wonderful Catholicism series. It has been a fantastic journey that has really opened up the beauty and majesty of the faith for us. I know from speaking with many of you how much you have gained from the series and how much you have enjoyed it. If you are interested in continuing your study, please do let Fr. Kevin or myself know and we will be very happy to put on something else in the near future. Tonight, rather appropriately, we are considering the Last Things: Death, Judgement, Hell, and Heaven, something we may not have heard much of lately, but things which are vital for all of our understanding of the faith. I have some more on my blog about this if you are interested, just click here . Here is an overview of the topic: World Without End~Eschatology: The Last Things "God is the 'last thing of the creature. Gained, he is paradise; lost, he is hell; examining, he is judgement  purifying, ...