by Peter Stanford in THE TABLET, 7 December 2019 The writer – and daughter of a high-profile father – says that the tragedy of her mother’s suicide has been the making of her as an Anglican priest Marie-Elsa Bragg “If I wasn’t a priest,” reflects Marie-Elsa Bragg, “I wouldn’t be publishing this book.” On the…
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Second Sunday of Advent: Change from the ground up
From Mary M. McGlone in the National Catholic Reporter (USA), 7 December 2019 What's not to love about John the Baptist? Frankly, just about everything if you happen to be the object of his acidic critiques. But John was a big hit among certain folks. Matthew tells us, "Jerusalem, all Judea, and the whole region…
The familiar voters’ refrain that ‘they are all the same’ will not resonate this time
by Peter Hennessy in THE TABLET, 4 December 2019 Are we living through the most heavily freighted general election of modern times? Brexit alone would make it so. But merely to list some of the other questions in play tells a significant story. In the United Kingdom we are deeply familiar with Left/Right politics. It…
Europe’s free market outshines America
By Gerard Baker in THE TIMES, 5 December 2019 Love it or hate it, most Americans would probably agree that their economy is a model of capitalism. Competition, choice, free markets; for good or ill, these seem to define the way America works. By contrast, fans and critics alike look across the Atlantic and see…
Courage is taking on a terrorist, not scoring a penalty
By Matthew Syed in THE TIMES, 4 December 2019 As of yesterday morning, we knew him only as Lukasz. We knew, too, that as Usman Khan — a deranged fanatic — was seeking to wreak carnage upon the very people seeking to help him, Lukasz was in the basement of Fishmongers’ Hall washing up. That…
Homily, First Advent (A) 2019
Although it’s just the beginning of December, nearly everywhere you go shopping now you’ll hear Christmas music. It cheers up the otherwise dark and gloomy time of year as the sun gets lower and the days get shorter. The Christmas music started in the shops straight after Halloween and since then retailers have been using…
Homily, Christ the King C 2019
With the latest revelations and speculation about Prince Andrew, Royalty once more in the UK is the stuff of headlines in newspapers, radio and TV talk shows. How members of the Royal family behave, what they wear, how their children dress and how and with whom they socialise fills social media all over the world,…
Christmas Cookie Recipe
Christmas Cookies Recipe (According to the Revised Translation of the Roman Missal) Serves: you and many. Cream these ingredients, that by their comingling you may begin to make the dough: 1 chalice butter, 2/3 chalice sugar. In a similar way, when the butter is consubstantial with the sugar, beat in: 1 egg. Gather these dry ingredients to…
Homily 33rd Sunday C 2019
A journalist heard about an old Rabbi who visited the Western Wall in Jerusalem to pray there twice a day, every day for over five decades. In an effort to check out the story and report on it, she went to the holy site and, sure enough, there he was. She watched the old man…
Review: Why did so many Catholics leave after Vatican II?
By Timothy P. O'Malley in 'America: the Jesuit Review', 14 November 2019 Speculation on why Catholics leave the church runs rampant in the news media. Some commentators blame impoverished catechesis and liturgy, or ecclesial reforms run amok after the Second Vatican Council. Others focus on the abuse of power among clerics, the exclusion of women…
