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 […]
RECENT ARTICLES
Physician-assisted Suicide: Some Reasons for Rejecting Lord Falconer’s Bill
I have just written a report about the Assisted Dying Bill which is available to read and download here at the Care Not Killing website. The title of the report is Physician-assisted Suicide: Some Reasons for […]
Cardinal’s Iraq Appeal: “Help and protect persecuted communities facing a threat to their very existence”
The President of the Bishops’ Conference, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, has released a statement on Iraq calling for urgent “help and protection” for the persecuted communities in the north of the country. Cardinal Nichols calls on […]
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 […]
Iraq Prayer Appeal
An appeal from Bishop Declan Lang: As the Chairman of International Affairs at the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, I invite you to join with many people from across Iraq in praying for […]
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 difference it makes to sing the psalms
The Hebrew word for a “psalm” is mizmor which translates as “something sung”. The psalmist instructs, “Sing to the Lord with the harp/with the sound of music.” (Psalm 97) He’s issuing an imperative. When the […]
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 journey
I love this teaser video for the Youth 2000 festival in Walsingham this summer – THE festival of the summer if you’re 16-30. There is more info here. This year there are LOADS of coaches travelling […]
Vocation to Love, part 7: Job, Career or Vocation?
My great-nephew Aidan is five. He knows what he wants to do when he grows up. ‘I’m going to be a floor-layer,’ he says. I made a suggestion about a hobby he might enjoy. ‘No,’ […]
The real dangers of Lord Falconer’s Assisted Dying Bill
Here are some of the responses to Lord Falconer’s Assisted Dying Bill, highlighting the weaknesses and dangers of the Bill. This is a briefing from the Catholic Church in England and Wales: What the Bill […]
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 […]
Tinder: the dangers and delights of mobile app dating
[A guest post by Stephen Rooney]. With the tag line “A fun way to break the ice” and launched initially as an iPhone application in September 2012, Tinder has taken the millennial dating market by […]
