Why do we believe in the Assumption?
The definition of the Assumption in 1950 caused some dismay. As I recall, Protestants were angry because it wasn’t in Scripture. The Archbishop of York, standing beneath his cathedral’s 600 year old...
View ArticleMedjugorje is generating what the Devil loves most: disobedience
Today is the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. I have been to Lourdes on several occasions, largely drawn by the personality of St Bernadette herself. Being chosen by Our Lady as her messenger did not make...
View ArticleMarian apparitions approved – but no, not at Medjugorje
Having now read 379 posts in response to my blog about Medjugorje (written on the approved Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes), I stand by what I wrote: the phenomenon is about obedience to the authority of...
View ArticleOur Lady, at the supreme moment of human history, chose to say ‘yes’ to life
Well: today is Our Lady’s birthday, ie the birthday of the woman who at the supreme moment of human history said “yes” to life – so why not another blog on this subject in the aftermath of the failure...
View ArticleThe battle on abortion should not be about incremental gains in Parliament
I am very much hoping that the parish priest of the parish “not a million miles from where I live” did not read my last blog about hymn singing and the merits or demerits of Kevin Mayhew’s hymnal...
View ArticleDon’t put your faith in tattoos
Amid all the gloom of the past few weeks, a small, overlooked story came out on the Catholic News Service website about a potentially ‘Catholic’ tattoo parlour in Australia. I say ‘potentially’...
View ArticleCanon John Redford was a great theologian who passionately defended Catholic...
I have been reading some of the tributes to the late Canon John Redford who died last week. I only knew of him slightly through his excellent series on the Faith in the Universe newspaper some years...
View ArticleThe redemptive power of Our Lady of Sorrows is perfectly encapsulated by...
Today, in case you have forgotten, is the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, which falls the day after the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. Our Lady of Sorrows is a very popular devotion in Italy,...
View ArticleOur Lady provides common ground for Catholics and Muslims
I often feel hopeless when I read about the persecution of Christians. The global situation is grim. A recent report by Aid to the Church in Need explains that the most pernicious persecution of...
View ArticleFull text: Pope Francis at the Marian Shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary in Madhu
Dear Brothers and Sisters, We are in our Mother’s house. Here she welcomes us into her home. At this shrine of Our Lady of Madhu, every pilgrim can feel at home, for here Mary brings us into the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Reconciliation requires repentance, Pope tells Sri Lankans
Pope Francis has told Sri Lankans seeking reconciliation after two-and-a-half decades of civil war that, before they can forgive each other, they must repent of their own sins. “Only when we come to...
View ArticleWhy Our Lady loves the number 13
According to the diocese of Leiria-Fátima, Pope Francis plans to visit Fatima in 2017, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Our Lady’s apparitions to three shepherd children. 98 years ago today, Our...
View ArticleGood manners are no joke, says Pope Francis at general audience
The closer two people are to each other, the more care is required in respecting the other’s freedom and feelings, Pope Francis has said. The Pope was speaking at his weekly general audience in St...
View ArticleLiverpool to see biggest Marian procession in decades
The biggest Marian procession for decades will take place in Liverpool on Saturday. Archbishop Malcolm McMahon of Liverpool and Sisters from the Missionaries of Charity, the congregation founded by...
View ArticleLiverpool stages biggest Marian procession in decades
Last Saturday’s Marian procession in Liverpool was the biggest for decades, according to organiser Jim Ross. Over 500 people took part, more than twice as many as last year. Archbishop Malcolm McMahon...
View ArticleA wondrous new space for worship in London
Recently I had the good fortune to visit the church of Corpus Christi in Maiden Lane, in the heart of London. The church is between the Strand and the Covent Garden piazza, and I suppose a lot of...
View ArticleThe rosary continues to let ‘the dew of Divine grace’ fall from Heaven
Pelting him with stones and calling him filthy names, the Albigensians strongly protested the arrival of St Dominic in the south of France. Poor St Dominic, having left his native Spain, discovered...
View ArticleThe Dominicans remain unashamedly loyal to the Rosary, 800 years after their...
I was mistaken: I thought that I understood the power of the Rosary. For 11 years I had been saying a daily Rosary, holding onto the promise that those who stay true to the Rosary will not be conquered...
View Article‘She is my mama': Francis is sharing his love of Our Lady with the whole world
National Geographic has published a landmark article on Our Lady, entitled “How the Virgin Mary Became the World’s Most Powerful Woman”. There is an excellent and beautifully written account of Our...
View ArticleOur Lady’s soul was entirely filled with grace
“You are weirdly obsessed with the Blessed Virgin Mary! She was a nice person, but she was just like the rest of us! When you stress her importance, you take from Jesus’s importance.” Which of us...
View Article