In Mass last Sunday we heard the first words spoken by Jesus according to the Gospel of Mark. He announced the formation of a new community - called the Kingdom of God – and then enlisted his first disciples to work with him in establishing it. Following on from this, St Mark today presents Jesus…
Blog
Flights of Fancy
By Rory Sutherand in The Spectator 16 January 2020 Soon after the pandemic hit, the world’s airlines turned off their pricing algorithms and resumed pricing flights manually. Everything the software had learned from people’s past behaviour was suddenly rendered irrelevant. The software had been created for a world of discretionary travel where demand was elastic.…
Mother in law: A letter to my eight-year-old
Diary of a busy practitioner, juggling work and family somewhere in England To Deceptively Angelic Looking Child Number 1, I’m sorry. I’m sorry that you’ve had 10 weeks of schooling in 10 months. I’m sorry that when I do have time I spend most of it with your sister, who simply can’t do her schoolwork…
Homily, Third Sunday of the Year (B) 2021
Brothers and sisters: our time is growing short. Those who have wives should live as though they had none, and those who mourn should live as though they had nothing to mourn for; those who are enjoying life should live as though there were nothing to laugh about; those whose life is buying things should…
Wellbeing for Life: Avoiding Scams
From Chris Clarke This note summarises a few points made at the “Wellbeing” meeting held online from Jesmond Library on 6 January 2021. The meeting was organised by the Elders Council of Newcastle and the Friends of Jesmond Library. The principal speakers were Andrew Hyde, from Northumbria Police Community Engagement Team, Kenneth Hines from Newcastle…
The Hill We Climb
Here is the Amanda Gorman poem she delivered at the Inauguration of President Biden When day comes, we ask ourselves where can we find light in this never-ending shade?The loss we carry, a sea we must wade.We’ve braved the belly of the beast.We’ve learned that quiet isn’t always peace, and the norms and notions of…
The Invocation at the Inauguration of President Joe Biden
by Fr Leo O'Donovan S.J. Gracious and merciful God, at this sacred time we come before you in need—indeed on our knees. But we come still more with hope, and with our eyes raised anew to the vision of a “more perfect union” in our land, a union of all our citizens to “promote the…
Homily, 2nd Sunday of the Year (B) 2021
We’ve just heard the very first words spoken by Jesus in St John’s Gospel. When two followers of John the Baptist approach Jesus to ask ‘where are you staying’, Jesus asks them “What are you looking for?” St John says nothing about Jesus’ birth or infancy, as Matthew and Luke do. So why, of all…
It’s time we thought more about procreation
By Ed Conway in THE TIMES, 15 January 2021 We’ve spent so much time talking about deaths recently that we’ve forgotten to talk about births. But something striking has been happening to fertility in this country: it is falling faster than anyone had expected. In 2012, the fertility rate in England and Wales — the…
How Catholics got conned by Donald Trump – A psychological analysis of the President and his supporters
by Fran Ferder and John Heagle in The National Catholic Reporter (USA), 14 January 2021 It was never about "pro-life." Many Americans, including Catholics, voted for Donald Trump because they believed he was "pro-life." Those who did were conned by the con artist himself. Others knew but did not care that his recently claimed "pro-life" stance and his revolving…
Sunday Mass: Saturday 4pm, Sunday 10am 