There was a footballer in the late 1940s/early 1950s who shall remain nameless but who acquired the nickname of The Gunner. He picked it up for being a tough, no- nonsense and fearsome opponent who took no prisoners on what sometimes could be a battle-field rather than a playing field. He believed, as they say,…
Author: Fr. Michael Campion
Major J J McPhillips KCSS (Jimmy)
By Tony McPhillips As it is VE day I would like to contribute a heart-warming true story that involved my father, Major JJ McPhillips KCSS (Jimmy). He was an officer in the Royal Inniskilin Fusiliers (the Skins), reputedly one of the toughest infantry regiments in the British Army during the Second World War. He was…
Church closure: Why we must mourn
by Sara Parvis in THE TABLET, 30 April 2020 Devotion to the Blessed Sacrament is part of the lifeblood of the Catholic faith. A theologian writes of the depth of her grief at being unable to receive the Eucharist – and why we must not allow self-pity to distract us from our responsibility to protect…
Life in lockdown: kids, isolation and employment law
By Amy Sergison, employment lawyer at Muckle Llp As we approach the end of the 95th (that’s right isn’t it?) week of lockdown and social distancing, I have been reflecting on how our lives have changed over recent months, as we all do what we can to stop the spread of coronavirus. I have huge admiration…
Homily, Fourth Sunday of Easter (A) 2020
One of the effects of the lockdown for some of us here in the UK is that we have been deprived this spring of walking in the countryside. A highlight for many walkers and ramblers these past few weeks would have been the sight of little lambs gambolling and grazing close to their mother ewes.…
Church Doors Should Stay Shut
From The Editor, THE TABLET, 25 April 2020 Worship Under Lockdown Pressure on the British government to end the coronavirus lockdown is steadily growing, not least because every day it continues it inflicts a serious toll on the economy. The disruptions to everyday life it has caused also include the almost complete cessation of organised…
To: Covid-19 from octogenarian, female, single
To: Covid-19 From: octogenarian, female, single Date: April 2020 Though you threaten to "take my breath away" deprive me of human touch, simple hugs, hand clasping and gentle pats Though because of you I no longer pop out to the shops meet friends for coffee enter my church, sing in my choir, read the lesson…
Life in lockdown is changing our sense of time
By Jenni Rusell in THE TIMES, 23 April 2020 In the giant psychological experiment that is the national lockdown we’re acutely aware that the penalties aren’t equally shared. Everyone is confined, everyone is cut off, everyone is fearful about whether the economy is silently collapsing beneath us, everyone lives with a simmering unease about whether…
Homily, Third Sunday of Easter (A)
We have just heard a story, only found in St Luke’s Gospel, that was written for people in the late first century for people who had never met Jesus in the flesh. People just like us. It describes how the Risen Jesus appeared to two people shortly after his crucifixion. These two people have lost…
God does not send plagues to teach us things, though we can learn from them
By Richard Leonard S. J. in THE TABLET, 22 April 2020 Some Christians seem to have a very limited image of the Holy Trinity: nasty God the Father in heaven; sweet, lovely Jesus … and the bird! While the creeds teach that there is one God in three persons, they act as one in creating,…
