Posts from February 2025

Dearest friends, We start lent by being shriven of our sins. It is a moment of weakness and as St. Paul tells us, ‘..when I am weak, then I am strong’. (2 Cor’ 12:10) In the Sacrament of Reconciliation, our fragility gives us strength. Our willingness to expose our ugly sins to Christ, renews us. Reconciliation is the sacrament of love and of mercy, it is a moment to die to sin and to our own desires that we may…

Dearest friends, At the end of mass you will hear either myself or Deacon David say ‘Go now, and announce the gospel of the Lord’. I know that many of you will not have heard this before and even Deacon David has to work to remember it!  But when we get to the end of Mass it’s always struck me as rather odd that our dismissal lacks a certain energy and hwyl.  The word ‘Mass’ comes from the final blessing…

Dearest friends, Last week we celebrated the feast of Saints Cyril and Methodius. They were brothers who both entered the service of Christ together. Methodius was a monk and Cyril became a Bishop. Between them they are credited with many wonderful things (not least the invention of an entire alphabet) but at the heart of this celebration is the message of a joint purpose and calling. The brothers were missionaries in the slavic countries and nothing could stop them bringing…

Dearest friends, Last week was the memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes. In 1858 the immaculate Virgin Mary appeared to Bernadette Soubirous in Lourdes, France.  Mary appeared to this poor, 14 year-old girl to call us to change our lives for the better. To pray the rosary and to offer ourselves in service of the poor and the sick. A couple of years ago I had the chance to go to Lourdes on pilgrimage. I must admit I wasn’t expecting…