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 […]
Lifestyle
Choose Life, Choose Love: a weekend conference on Beauty, Freedom and the Family
Do you want to learn about the way in which married couples can be positive agents for evangelisation within our world today? Whether you are completely new to the teaching of Humanae Vitae or have […]
The common philosophy of Mark Zuckerberg and Pope Francis
I gave a talk about Pope Francis on Monday evening, and in I spent a lot of time commenting on the magnificent paragraph 49 of Evangelii Gaudium: Let us go forth, then, let us go forth […]
Catholic Parliamentary and Public Policy Internships
Now in its eleventh year, the Catholic Parliamentary and Public Policy Internship scheme provides eight recently graduated Catholics with an intensive experience of political and social action in a spiritual context. Four interns will be […]
The spiritual art of planning
Nowadays, a lot of my life involves scheduling, planning, organising, juggling. Doodle polls are becoming a very dear friend in the uphill struggle of conquering multiple jam-packed diaries to schedule a meeting. Maybe (although I’m […]
The Conversion of St Paul: a message for all of us today
An ardent persecutor of Christians in the early Church, Saul was a devout Jew. A man who was passionate about his faith, he had real zeal for the letter of the law. We first come […]
Vocation as exodus and transformation: message of Pope Francis for World Day of Prayer for Vocations
Some beautiful passages from Pope Francis about the radical call at the heart of every Christian vocation. You can read the full text of his recent message here. It is Christ, therefore, who continually summons […]
“My wife and I are atheists, but our daughter wants to be baptised Catholic”
More and more marriages these days are between people of different faiths. One of the big discussion points with such couples is how they will raise their children regarding questions of belief. Many say that […]
Loneliness, Part 2: reflection
Why do most of us have such a problem with the idea of being alone? Is solitude always a bad thing? Following on from yesterday’s statistical look at loneliness in the lives of the elderly, […]
Loneliness, Part 1: statistics
Two posts about loneliness. The first, the results of a ‘Loneliness Research’ project from the Campaign to End Loneliness. There is a growing evidence base around the complex challenge of loneliness, and the Campaign to […]
When you don’t live in the same world
Two cities overlap. One house, for example, belongs to one city; the neighboring house belongs to another city. But the citizens of one city are not allowed to notice what is going on in the other […]
Family stability more important for your children than finding the ‘best’ school?
How much energy parents spend – quite understandably – on finding the ‘right’ or ‘best’ school for their children. But perhaps there are more important things, even for the sake of their education and schooling. […]
When you don’t know how to help your child or where to turn
For any mothers who know they need God’s help in their family life but are not sure how to turn to him: Take a look at this information from the Mothers Prayers website. Mothers Prayers […]
Family traditions surrounding St Lucy’s Day
There are many legends surrounding St. Lucy. She is a young woman who courageously gave her life for the faith. Legend has it that St.Lucy and her mother prayed at the tomb of St. Agatha, […]
Celebrating Advent within the family: stories, festivities and food!
Christmas is on its way! For children, this is the most wonderful time of the year. A time of great celebration. However, we cannot go straight into the feast of Christmas without some preparation. Advent […]
Marriage enrichment weekends coming up
Take a look at the SmartLoving website for details of some marriage enrichment weekends that are taking place over the next few months. Couples who stay successfully and happily married have made marriage their mission. […]
What is the single most important predictor of a group’s effectiveness?
If a group is going to work well together – any group at all – what is the single most important factor that will influence its effectiveness? You might be surprised. I was intrigued by […]
Marriage isn’t for you – it’s for the other person
Thought-provoking thoughts about marriage and love from Seth Adam Smith: Having been married only a year and a half, I’ve recently come to the conclusion that marriage isn’t for me. Now before you start making […]
Pastoral challenges to the family in the context of evangelization: Preparatory Document published
The Lineamenta – or preparatory document – for the 2014 extraordinary general session of the Synod of Bishops on the family has been published. This gives more information on the Vatican meeting that will examine the “Pastoral Challenges […]
Communion for the remarried: clarification and speculation from Archbishop Gerhard Müller at the CDF
An important statement by the head of the Vatican’s doctrinal congregation, the CDF, has reaffirmed existing church teaching on not admitting to the Eucharist Catholics who have remarried without first annulling their marriage. But in […]
The search for genuine friendship and love in today’s youth culture: Pure in Heart
Pure in Heart is a group of 18-35 year olds who seek to live out the Catholic Church’s teaching on chastity by means of prayer, friendship, study and mission. Pure in Heart started in Ireland following […]
