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
The Wellspring Community is seeking new members for its Formation and Mission house from this coming summer
Seeking a gap year experience? Interested in living with other young Catholics in community? Wanting to grow in your faith? Keen to discover and deepen prayer? Seeking opportunities for service and mission? The Wellspring Community […]
Can you love someone with words alone? From Walt Disney to God’s touch in the sacraments
I have just seen two great films in twenty four hours: Her, a dystopian sci-fi vision of a very near future, and Disney’s Frozen, which goes into my top three films of the year. Very […]
Brentwood Cathedral Lenten Lectures 2014
Continuing the highly successful series of Lenten Lectures instituted in 2011, the theme this year will be The Cost of Discipleship – Four reflections on the nature, joys and challenges of Christian discipleship Wednesday 12 March Paying a Price […]
Desert Island Priests at Brentwood Cathedral
In this series of interviews Fr Martin Boland will be speaking to six priests of the Brentwood Diocese about books which have influenced them in their spiritual journey. Thursday 6 March Fr Kevin Hale (Leigh-on-Sea) .. Journal […]
In biggest reform yet, Pope Francis names Cardinal Pell to new ‘Economy Secretariat’
Pope Francis has announced the biggest shake-up in Vatican administration for years by creating a new Secretariat for the Economy which will have oversight of all economic and administrative activities within the Holy See and the […]
Archbishop Vincent Nichols becomes a cardinal
In his first ordinary public Consistory, Pope Francis elevated 19 of the Church’s prelates to the rank of Cardinal – including Cardinal Vincent Nichols, President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales. At […]
The vocation to love, part 2: the baptismal call to be priests, prophets and kings
From time to time you hear a Christian of another denomination say, ‘He’s going into the Church’. That means, ‘He is training to become a priest.’ It wouldn’t fit very well as a Catholic turn […]
‘A Tale of Two Sausages’ – a talk by Simone Lia
‘A Tale of Two Sausages’ – 7pm Thursday 20th February A talk by Catholic comic book artist and illustrator Simone Lia – author of “Please God, Find Me a Husband!” Be inspired, feel motivated and have […]
‘Please God, find me a husband!’ A graphic novel about life, love and faith (and searching for a husband!) by Simone Lia
I can’t say I have read many graphic novels, but this is an extraordinary book. It tells the tale, as you would expect from the title, of Simone Lia’s search for a husband, and her […]
What if the person you love doesn’t have a body?
Her, the new film by Spike Jonze, is a beautiful meditation on love, friendship, artificial intelligence, regret, virtual reality, surrogacy, time, gaming, grief, embodiment, self-creation, community, and the only half-acknowledged weirdness of falling in love […]
The vocation to love, part 1: an invitation
What is the best-kept secret of the Second Vatican Council? Many of the Council’s radical ideas are now so integrated into our lives that we forget how new they were. But some of its riches […]
The role of the media in constructing distorted views of ‘ideal’ beauty
Following on from yesterday’s post about beauty, a reader recommended this ‘Killing Us Softly’ video featuring Jean Kilbourne, about the way the media manipulates images of women and presents a distorted and actually destructive picture […]
Are you beautiful? How do you know? Who makes the rules? Who tells the truth?
I heard a talk on Saturday about the biblical idea of beauty, and how distorted our own ideas of beauty have become within the prevailing culture. As an introduction, the speaker showed this ‘Onslaught’ video […]
How to discover your vocation
Practical thoughts about how to discover your vocation, how to be open to God’s call in your life, and what you can do in your prayer life to help you on the journey. A homily […]
St Valentine: true love always requires sacrifice
History has it that Valentine was a priest in Rome around the time of the third Century. Along with his friend St Marius and his family he assisted the martyrs who were being persecuted under […]
The difficulty of communicating the inner experience of faith
Is it possible to communicate the inner experience of faith? Take a look at this article by David Brook’s of the New York Times. There is a strong vein of hostility against orthodox religious believers […]
How To Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk
[Guest post by Rosemary Boyle] I have read various ‘parenting’ books, most of which didn’t really help. Now that the youngest of my 4 children is 17 and my oldest 26, I have discovered the […]
The Alliance of Pro-Life Students gathers momentum
The Alliance of Pro-Life Students (APS) hit the pro-life scene only a year and a half ago. On Saturday 8th February, this dynamic student body held its first AGM, following previous APS events such as a high-profile party […]
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 […]
Pope Francis’s motorbike
Writer Audrey Gillan has written a topical short drama, which was speedily produced by BBC Radio 4, about the auction of Pope Francis’s Harley Davidson motorcycle earlier this week. It’s a charming story about family […]
