Weekly News

Dearest friends, I write to you from the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham in North Norfolk. It’s a thin place that seems to wash away the detritus of the everyday and leave you feeling rather exposed in front of Jesus. Our Lady has a way of looking into your soul and telling you exactly what you need to take to the altar, what you need to put down, what you need to pick up. We’ve been very lucky to…

Dearest friends, Each year on or near 3 February, the Church remembers St Blaise, bishop and martyr, and celebrates the Blessing of Throats. This simple but striking rite connects our everyday human vulnerability with God’s healing grace. St Blaise was a bishop in Sebaste (in modern-day Turkey) in the early fourth century. Very little is known about his life, but what has been handed down tells of a pastor devoted to prayer and to the care of those who were…

Dearest friends, This Sunday is set apart as the ‘Sunday of the Word of God’. We are encouraged to consider how scripture has impacted our lives and faith. How has the Word of God altered our day-to-day life?  Each Sunday, as we get to the Gospel Reading we set it apart as important. We sing, we process the Gospel Book from the Altar into the throng of the congregation, we surround it with incense. Our senses are assaulted by sound,…

Dearest friends, Jesus calls Himself the Bread of Life, the one who nourishes our hearts, minds, and souls with His very self. In these busy and often challenging days, it can be easy to come to Mass out of habit. But what if our faith could be renewed, refreshed, and rooted more deeply in the loving mystery we celebrate each week? I’d like to invite you to consider signing up for the Bread of Life course, a rich and prayerful…

Dearest friends, As we enter the Christmas Octave, we turn to the baby in the manger and delight in all that we see around us. We reflect the shared love of the Holy Family in all that we do. I don’t know about you, but this year has felt very special indeed. I’ve lost count of the number of carol services and nativity services I’ve attended and prayed at. Each time I’ve been invited into a school or a group,…

Dearest friends, The third Sunday in Advent is called Gaudete Sunday. Gaudete simply means ‘rejoice’. It’s taken from the latin introit for the day’s Mass: ‘Gaudete in Domino semper’ Or in English: ‘Rejoice in the Lord always’ And so today we look at what  we have to rejoice about. Over the last two weeks we have been encouraged to ‘wake up’, then to ‘stay awake’, this week we take joy in our faith and one another.  We have woken in…

Dearest friends, In the second week of Advent we light our second candle… the Bethlehem Candle. In lighting it we pray that we may join Mary and Joseph on their journey to Bethlehem.  Our journey this week is about preparation.  Mary and Joseph were preparing for the birth of their son. I imagine they were like any parents… planning and dreaming about their future as a family. Worrying if they’ve got everything ready.  I can picture them sat with family…

Dearest friends, This Sunday we will light the first candle of five on our Advent Wreath, but why do we do this? Whilst lighting candles to represent the light of God in the world is a very old Christian tradition, the idea of an Advent Candle Wreath is a relatively modern one.  In fact it only goes back to the early 1800s and – no big surprise here – comes from Germany (as indeed most of our modern Christmas traditions).…

Dearest friends, I write this from the clergy conference in Walsingham with the Bishop of Oswestry and my brother deacons and Priests. It has been a week of ‘hope’. It’s been encouraging to see so many parishes that are flourishing and growing, and speak to so many Priests who see so much to be thankful about. I am thankful for you. I am thankful for the energy and enthusiasm, for the love you show me and my family, and for…

Dearest friends, When we think of Jesus as King I often wonder if we are missing a great deal of His teaching.  Jesus told us time and time again that He wasn’t the King that the Jewish people were expecting – coming with horses and chariots to free them from the rule of the Romans. He entered Jerusalem in triumph on Palm Sunday not with horses and chariots – but on the back of a donkey.  So why then do…

Dearest friends, War is just about the worst thing that we humans practice on each other. The moment we declare war on each other the rules of decent human love go out the window.  We dress this up by saying there are rules of war, that you can do this – but you can’t do that. You can arrest a soldier but you mustn’t mistreat him. It’s of little comfort when the aim appears to be to kill as many…

Dearest friends, Why do we pray for the dead? Some will tell you that praying for the dead is simply an exercise in futility. The person you are praying for is already dead, they’ve lived their life and presumably made their own decisions about that life, their actions and most importantly – their faith in Jesus Christ. What more can we do now they are gone? The simple truth is that we know God is merciful. In multiple parts of…