Relationships

When everything goes wrong and we are tempted to give up hope

Filed in Relationships by on April 26, 2016 1 Comment
When everything goes wrong and we are tempted to give up hope

When everything seems to go wrong and you get to the point where you are about to give up and rage and despair and collapse. That’s often the very moment when God wants to step […]

Continue Reading »

Holy Saturday: feeling His absence; yearning for His presence

Filed in Relationships by on March 26, 2016 0 Comments
Holy Saturday: feeling His absence; yearning for His presence

Anyone visiting a church or chapel this Holy Saturday will meet the shock of an open and empty tabernacle, and an extinguished sanctuary lamp. We all know it’s coming, but each year it’s upsetting to […]

Continue Reading »

Catholic Church in England and Wales releases prayer to assist those seeking St Valentine’s Day soulmate

Filed in Relationships by on February 13, 2016 0 Comments
Catholic Church in England and Wales releases prayer to assist those seeking St Valentine’s Day soulmate

The Catholic Church in England and Wales has published a new prayer to assist those who want to meet their soulmate. Timed to coincide with the celebration of St Valentine’s Day – a day annually […]

Continue Reading »

Thinking Faith: A holiday and study week for Catholic students and young professionals

Filed in Relationships by on February 7, 2016 0 Comments
Thinking Faith: A holiday and study week for Catholic students and young professionals

Thinking Faith – Faith and Creation A holiday and study week for Catholic students and young professionals Boarbank Hall, Cumbria  16th-23rd July 2016 Would you like: *An alternative to World Youth Day? *Daily prayer and liturgy […]

Continue Reading »

Prophecy: you have to open your mouth and speak

Filed in Relationships by on February 6, 2016 0 Comments
Prophecy: you have to open your mouth and speak

We have all been anointed at our baptism, to be prophets in the world, and especially to give testimony to the faith that we have received. A homily by Fr Stephen Wang.

Continue Reading »

Prophecy, truth, love

Filed in Relationships by on February 4, 2016 0 Comments
Prophecy, truth, love

Last Sunday, the readings the Church gives us help us to reflect on a fundamental experience of God in our lives: the claim that truth makes on us [Jeremiah 1:4-5, 17-19; 1 Corinthians 12:31–13:13; Luke […]

Continue Reading »

What’s the point of walking through a Holy Door?!

Filed in Relationships by on January 31, 2016 3 Comments
What’s the point of walking through a Holy Door?!

What’s the point of walking through a Holy Door in this Year of Mercy? Don’t you have plenty of good doors of your own at home to walk through? A homily by Fr Stephen Wang […]

Continue Reading »

RCIA: Don’t stop with just a programme

Filed in Relationships by on January 28, 2016 3 Comments
RCIA: Don’t stop with just a programme

As you all know, I’ve written tons and tons and tons on RCIA. When you are doing a year-round process with enquiry and Catechumenate running simultaneously, I find that fully responding to the Holy Spirit means that […]

Continue Reading »

Is your generosity spontaneous or strategic?

Filed in Relationships by on December 17, 2015 0 Comments
Is your generosity spontaneous or strategic?

Is your generosity spontaneous or strategic? A homily by Fr Stephen Wang [You can listen to the audio here or read the text below] So the Year of Mercy has been inaugurated this week by […]

Continue Reading »

Marriage & Confirmation: new translations for the Catholic liturgy

Filed in Relationships by on December 6, 2015 0 Comments
Marriage & Confirmation: new translations for the Catholic liturgy

The Sacraments of Confirmation and Marriage mark a new stage of life for those who receive them. The celebration of these sacraments are joyful occasions when families and friends come together to pray and give […]

Continue Reading »

Visiting the “new jungle” in Calais

Filed in Relationships by on December 6, 2015 4 Comments
Visiting the “new jungle” in Calais

A DAY TRIP TO CALAIS A main street. The only one. Around a jungle of tents and rubbish. Mud, restaurants, shops. I am in the afghan area together with four others for a day trip […]

Continue Reading »

Letting God’s love touch your life

Filed in Relationships by on October 6, 2015 0 Comments
Letting God’s love touch your life

Adam is walking in the Garden of Eden at the very dawn of creation. He is like the first year undergraduate at Freshers’ Fair, winding through the stalls. It is a world of infinite possibility; […]

Continue Reading »

Summary of new norms governing nullity procedures & press conference

Filed in Relationships by on September 9, 2015 0 Comments
Summary of new norms governing nullity procedures & press conference

The Vatican has released the following English-language summaries of the two documents promulgated today by Pope Francis reforming canonical processes for the declaration of nullity of marriage, in the Code of Canon Law (CIC) and the Code […]

Continue Reading »

Overcoming the fear of commitment

Filed in Relationships by on August 3, 2015 2 Comments
Overcoming the fear of commitment

It feels as if we are part of an epic biblical scene: Two great tribes have gathered together from the four corners of the continent, at the place where the plain meets the mountains, to […]

Continue Reading »

Character: how to overcome fear and let your soul shine like the sun, Fr Stephen Wang

Filed in Relationships by on May 12, 2015 2 Comments
Character: how to overcome fear and let your soul shine like the sun, Fr Stephen Wang

What is more important: the things you have achieved or the person you have become? A reflection on character and the fears that hold us back, by Fr Stephen Wang.

Continue Reading »

Grief to Grace, Healing the Wounds of Abuse: London retreat this June

Filed in Relationships by on April 30, 2015 0 Comments
Grief to Grace, Healing the Wounds of Abuse: London retreat this June

The next UK Grief to Grace retreat takes place from 8 to 13 June at The Kairos Centre, Roehampton, London, SW15 4JA. See their website here for full details. General information about the programme follows here: Grief to Grace is a specialised […]

Continue Reading »

Is God calling fewer people?

Filed in Relationships by on April 19, 2015 3 Comments
Is God calling fewer people?

In a Pastoral Letter to be read in all the churches of the Diocese on the weekend of 25/26 April, the Rt Rev Mark O’Toole, Bishop of Plymouth, challenges all in the Diocese to promote […]

Continue Reading »

Falling in love is not enough: the true meaning of marriage

Filed in Relationships by on April 12, 2015 0 Comments
Falling in love is not enough: the true meaning of marriage

I want you to imagine that you are on the top of Mount Nebo. This is where Moses is standing in the First Reading of the Mass today, surveying the Land that has been promised […]

Continue Reading »

When love is poured out through one person onto a whole community

Filed in Relationships by on February 26, 2015 2 Comments
When love is poured out through one person onto a whole community

For some people, a vocation arrives unexpectedly, even in the context of apparent tragedy. For Peter, it arrived when he was taken ill at the age of three. Suddenly, a normal, healthy, little boy was […]

Continue Reading »

Do Catholics need to have a “personal relationship with Jesus Christ”?

Filed in Relationships by on February 13, 2015 0 Comments
Do Catholics need to have a “personal relationship with Jesus Christ”?

What does the language of ‘personal relationship’ and ‘encounter’ mean when we think about our friendship with the Lord? Is this kind of language helpful for Catholics who might have other ways of expressing their […]

Continue Reading »