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 […]
Faith
New formation programme for catechists
Catechist Foundations for the New Evangelisation: A formation Programme for catechists of today rooted in prayer in the Benedictine Tradition. Click here for further information. This is a distance-learning course of 18 months duration, with 5 study days, […]
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 […]
Transformed in Christ – a new Confirmation programme – available now
A new confirmation programme has just been launched, and both the Candidate’s Workbook and Catechist’s Guide are available to purchase from Gracewing now. See the Transformed in Christ website here. And the publisher’s ordering information […]
“The Church is alive!” How the faith of young people is renewing Catholic life in the UK
I’m just back from the Youth 2000 Summer Festival in Walsingham. One of the many highlights was the final evening of Thanksgiving and Testimony, where a good twenty or so young people had the courage […]
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, […]
St John Paul II – Access All Areas
JPII – Access All Areas was published recently by One by One Press, a project of the Irish Dominicans. The book comprises 23 short chapters which reveal in manageable chunks the thought of Saint John Paul […]
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 […]
The dense mystery of the Breviary: the experience of a young seminarian
My breviary was a farewell gift from my mother and my sister. They presented it to me the night before I left for seminary. I had been told that this was the essential kit that […]
Five Reasons to Discern Your Charisms
It’s been a couple of weeks since the Called and Gifted Workshop we held in the Diocese. It was truly a blessed time – many, many people have spoken about how blessed they were by the event. […]
Is Jesus Christ the unique saviour?
Is Jesus Christ the unique saviour? A homily by Fr Stephen Wang given at Newman House, 6 July 2014.
The sound of silence
In loco isto dabo pacem. In this place I give peace. This is the motto of Pluscarden Abbey, a Benedictine monastery in the Highlands of Scotland. At Pluscarden, the peace that God offers a distracted, […]
Preparing for Confirmation: thoughts, experiences, tips, advice, and much more
What a week! Thank you everyone for all your good wishes and encouragement. There have been so many enquiries about the programme. With this in mind, I wanted to share a bit more of the background story… […]
The Sacrament of Holy Orders: a new DVD resource for parishes, schools, vocation groups and catechesis
Catholic Faith Exploration (CaFE) have published an inspiring DVD about the Sacrament of Holy Orders. Do watch the trailer above. You can order it here. And read the blurb here: The Sacrament of Holy Orders – […]
How to set the world on fire, despite your weaknesses, through the power of the Holy Spirit
The call to be a missionary disciple, to cast fire on the earth, is a call to heroism. The problem is that most of us are not heroes. So does that mean we have to […]
Some exciting news about the Confirmation Programme
Well, people, there’s been a long build-up to this and it has been somewhat hectic since I’ve been squeezing it in among everything else… But – finally! – I can let you know that the Confirmation programme I have […]
Seven habits of highly effective Catholics
I am sure there are many people of a certain age who remember the title of a very popular book, Seven Habits Of Highly Effective People, by Stephen Covey. Well I would like to put […]
The heartbreaking absence of God
So many people feel the absence of God in their lives, because of their struggles with faith, their inner darkness, or the sense of helplessness and abandonment that can come through experiences of great suffering. […]
When life is full of loose ends, incomplete projects and half-fulfilled plans
Someone gave me this beautiful prayer sometimes attributed to Archbishop Oscar Romero about how incomplete and fragile our work for the Kingdom always is. I hope you find it encouraging. In memory of Oscar Romero (1917–1980) […]
