The opening of today’s Second Reading from St Paul (2 Timothy 4:6-8, 17-18) reminds me of an incident that occurred recently involving one of the two people contesting the leadership of the Conservative Party and who is the favourite to be the next British Prime Minister. It was widely reported that police were called to…
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Facts aren’t sacred in this age of uncertainty
From Ed Conway in THE TIMES, 28 June 2019 When the facts change I change my mind.” So, famously, said John Maynard Keynes. Except he didn’t. As any fact checker worth their salt will tell you, there is no record of the great economist using that phrase. Yet it lives on, alongside a host of…
Mitigate global warming, spare further injustice to poor, pope says
From THE TABLET, 14 June 2019 Faced with a climate emergency, the world must act immediately to mitigate global warming and avoid committing "a brutal act of injustice" on the poor and future generations, Pope Francis told a group of energy and oil executives and global investors. "Time is running out! Deliberations must go beyond…
Homily, Trinity Sunday (C) 2019
With the season of Easter now over, this Sunday and next Sunday are two special days in the Church that celebrate central mysteries of our faith. Next Sunday - Corpus Christi - we will celebrate Christ offering his divine life to us in the Eucharist. Today – Trinity Sunday – we celebrate what we believe…
If you love someone, let them go
From Melanie Reid in THE TIMES, 8 June 2019 When I die,” I say to my husband, “will you please give it a couple of weeks before you find someone else?” It started as a private joke, one of those quips that carries a heft of truth, and now sometimes I say it publicly. It’s…
Homily, Pentecost Sunday 2019
Many of you, I suspect, will have an item or two in a kitchen cupboard at home that you have never used or very seldom do. You may have received it as a gift; or you may have bought it yourself, thinking at the time you’d have a good use for it. But it’s lain…
Christ died for ‘many’ or for ‘all’?
From the editor, 'Pray Tell': Avvenire, the daily newspaper of the Italian bishops’ conference, reports that the revised translation of the missal for Italy has been approved by Pope Francis. At the bishops’ most recent general assembly, conference president Cardinal Gualtiero Bassetti announced that Francis authorized the publication of the revised translation of the third edition of the Messale…
Don’t throw baby Jesus out with bath water
By Oliver Callan in The Irish Times, 8 June 2019 Last August when I was asked to join a panel covering the Pope’s visit, I feared I was expected to be the token church-bashing gay. I explained that while there was much the Catholic Church had done wrong, I believe we need to acknowledge the…
‘Lead us not into temptation’ falls out of Lord’s Prayer
From Christopher Lamb in THE TABLET, 6 June 2019 Pope Francis has approved a revised translation of The Lord’s prayer which will no longer say “lead us not into temptation” but instead reads “do not let us fall/be abandoned to temptation”. It is part of a revised translation of the Roman Missal for Italy. The…
Homily, Seventh Sunday of Easter (C) 2019
The Gospel of St John 17:20-26 On this last Sunday before Pentecost, the Gospel text for Mass is always from the 17th chapter of St John's Gospel. This chapter comes at the conclusion of what is known as Our Lord’s ‘Farewell Discourse’ – a lengthy ‘speech’ he delivers to his disciples at the Last Supper.…
Sunday Mass: Saturday 4pm, Sunday 10am 