Is it right to fear God? What is the difference between a destructive fear and a “holy trepidation”? An Advent homily by Fr Stephen Wang: Look around you at the chapel walls. Look at the […]
Spirituality
I arise today
Happy St Patrick’s Day! Here is the beautiful prayer attributed to St Patrick. I arise today Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity, Through belief in the Threeness, Through confession of the Oneness […]
God’s thirst for us
Yes, we thirst for God. As St Augustine wrote, Our hearts are restless until they rest in Him. But part of the mystery revealed in Jesus Christ is that God thirsts for us as well. […]
How do you know that what you’re doing is working?
It was a moment of doubt. I was sitting in the pub, waiting for a couple of our RCIA candidates to turn up, flicking through posts in the Forming Intentional Disciples Forum on my phone. Wondering […]
Lenten reflections by email from Fr Robert Barron
There are many ways to journey through Lent. One practical way is to sign up to these Lenten reflections from Fr Robert Barron at Word on Fire. See the sign-up button on this page here. […]
The Gift: a Life in the Spirit course available from CaFE
An inspiring and practical series aimed at people of all ages to help them encounter the Holy Spirit and empower them to share their faith. Presented by well-known international speakers; David Payne, Michelle Moran, Charles […]
A Lenten weekend for lecturers and teachers in higher education, 27th February to 1st March, Boarbank Hall, Cumbria
TIME TO REFLECT A Lenten weekend for lecturers and teachers in higher education. 27th February to 1st March. Boarbank Hall, Cumbria. The dreaming spires have long disappeared. Today’s university lecturers are fighting exhaustion and overwork, […]
Epiphany chalk: the fascination of Catholic devotions
I’m re-posting this post from Bridges and Tangents (written three years ago when I was working at the seminary) in case anyone wants to do the chalk-thing for the Epiphany this weekend: Catholic devotions are fantastic! Last night, […]
How to find true joy
What is joy? Is it a feeling or an emotion? Is it an attitude or an outlook that you can choose to experience through an active decision? Is it a gift that’s beyond your own […]
Inspiration for the end of the year, Part 1: Saying Yes to God
Looking back on the year, now most of the students have gone home, two inspirational talks stand out for me. I heard the first one in person, at the HTB Leadership Conference in May. Kay […]
Made for Glory: YouTube meditations for each day of Advent
If you need some Advent inspiration, the Made for Glory team have made 25 short videos reflecting on the Advent gospel readings – each one helping young people go deeper in their personal relationship with […]
Year for Consecrated Life begins
This Sunday, the First Sunday of Advent, sees the start of the Year for Consecrated Life. In announcing this year, Pope Francis said ‘Religious should be men and women able to wake up the world.’ […]
Jesus came to bring peace. Or did he?
I was asked to give a talk about ‘inner peace’ to a group this week. In the end I simply did a word study on the different ways that the word ‘peace’ is used in […]
Is your Christian faith really a subtle form of atheism?
Very often, without acknowledging it, Christians speak and act in a way that betrays an atheistic world-view. A sermon by Fr Stephen Wang.
The foundations of the spiritual life
The French philosopher, Rene Descartes, famously tried to find the bedrock of thinking. He wanted the certainty he found in mathematics in all his thinking. He wanted therefore to find something he could not doubt, […]
St John Paul II
It is really exciting to be able to write about a man I greatly admired; and someone I had the privilege to see. Karol Josef Wojtyla, known to the world as John Paul II […]
What happens when you don’t put yourself in the centre?
St Paul tells us to be humble and self-effacing. But is this healthy? Does it mean we deny our own personalities and become faceless Christians? What really happens if we stop putting ourselves in the […]
Confidence and the love of self
[Guest post by Stephen Rooney] How do you react when you meet someone who seems to be full of self-confidence? Authentic confidence is characterised by humility and is simultaneously munificent, benevolent and magnanimous. Always seeking […]
St John Chrysostom
Deception and intrigue worthy of any James Bond movie seem to surround the life of this great preacher. Given the title ‘Chrysostom’ which translates from the Greek as “golden mouthed” because of his great oratory […]
Happy Feast of St Dominic – and how to discover more about his life
I wish everyone a happy Feast of St Dominic today. I had the joy of visiting Blackfriars, Cambridge, at the weekend, which is the Novitiate House of the English Dominicans. They seem to be thriving, […]
Do I ever just praise God for who he is or am I always asking him for things?
The fourth chapter of Sacrosanctum Concilium, the Second Vatican Council’s constitution on the liturgy, speaking about the Divine Office, says that when “this wonderful song of praise is correctly celebrated…then it is truly the voice […]
