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
Catholic Basics: ‘A’ is for Angels
The created universe is much more interesting than we normally think. God’s intelligence and creativity have no limits. We can only see the physical world around us, but this does not mean that ‘materialism’ is […]
Waiting
Jesus tells us to be like servants waiting for their master to return (see the passage from St Luke’s Gospel below). Waiting is a great way into the spiritual life. It is relational: we are […]
The New Evangelisation: What it is and how to do it
I’ve just had a new booklet published by the Catholic Truth Society called The New Evangelisation: What it is and how to do it. They tapped into the World Youth Day Rio fervour by putting a […]
Taking photos and living a counterfeit spiritual life
I came across a couple of interesting paragraphs in a recent review of an exhibition. The reviewer, Christopher Allen, describes the experience of the first room, in which are exhibited three emblematic pictures of the […]
Sacramental service station?
A little shout-out to all the parishes out there… Come on now, be honest Is your parish a sacramental service station? What do I mean by this? A service station is somewhere we pass through, on the […]
A day exploring religious life for young adults
Free to Follow Christ A Day exploring Religious Life for Young Adults Saturday 28th September The Poor Clares Convent, Crossbush, Arundel “By the profession of the evangelical counsels the characteristic features of Jesus — the […]
Does God have a plan for you?
I gave a talk recently about providence. Is it true that God has a plan for us? Is it true that he guides all that happens within creation, and all that happens within our own […]
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking
I am trying to work out if my friend is an extrovert or an introvert. According to Susan Cain’s book, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking: “We live with a […]
Praying with St Maximilian Kolbe, 27 September
Praying with St Maximilian Kolbe Friday 27th September, 7pm-10pm Notre Dame de France, Leicester Square WC2H 7BX As part of the programme in the Year of Faith and preparing for the theatre production of ‘Kolbe’s […]
Using the YouCat
I gave a talk about the YouCat recently. It was not so much about the history or content of the book, but more about Pope Benedict’s short letter to young Catholics that’s printed at the […]
Exploring Monastic Theology: Retreat for Young Adults this summer
Transfigured in Christ Exploring Monastic Theology – Retreat for Young Adults @ Worth Abbey Benedictine Monastery 28th August – 1st September Four days of study, prayer and community alongside the monks of Worth Abbey and members of The Wellspring Community. With […]
“Full Sweep” Youth Catechesis
It was refreshing to read Archbishop Vincent Nichols’ words about catechesis for young people. He said we need to transmit to them the “full sweep” of the Catholic Faith. Thank you Archbishop – I couldn’t agree more. When […]
“Those who desire comforts have dialled the wrong number”
This may be one of my favourite EVER quotations from Pope Benedict XVI. It just makes me smile. He’s bang on! Anyone who tells us that Christianity is easy, that we can go on […]
Peer Ministry
One thing I have learnt through my involvement with Youth 2000 is that nothing works better than young people evangelising young people. This was how my own conversion happened. My parents could have told me […]
40 Days for Life London: Is it a good thing to pray outside an abortion clinic?
I was at the 40 Days for Life vigil in central London during Lent. People gather outside the BPAS abortion clinic in Bedford Square, between Tottenham Court Road station and the British Museum. They pray. They witness […]
Why keep the Sabbath?
Why should we keep the Sabbath? I know, because it’s there in the Bible; and it’s not just a throwaway line, it’s one of the Ten Commandments. But what is the reason given there for […]
Top Ten RCIA Traps
Recently a number of conversations with different people have highlighted for me that in many parish RCIA processes there are still some fairly dismal practices going on. RCIA, in my view, is one of the […]
