‘His face shone like the sun.’ (Matt 17:1-9) In the Gospel today, we are invited into a personal moment that Peter, James and John are experiencing. Just ahead of preparing this reflection I had been reading the book of Daniel and his vision of the Son of Man (Dan 10). It struck me that there
Last Saturday, six candidates and catechumens from our parish joined others across the diocese making the same spiritual journey for the Rite of Election at Westminster Cathedral. Fr Antonio, the RCIA catechists and sponsors went with them. Cardinal Vincent presided, and was joined by Bishops Nicholas Hudson and Paul McAleenan, and Fr Gerard Quinn, Episcopal
On 25 February, those seeking full communion with the Catholic Church attended the Rite of Election at Westminster Cathedral. From being catechumens (those not yet baptised) or candidates (those already baptised but seeking to be received into the Church), they became the elect and will remain so until the Easter Vigil when they will receive
‘Man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ (Matt 4:4) God is good, in faith we know he gives us everything we need. With this sure hope we begin this Lent pondering what we might learn from this Sunday’s Gospel (Matt 4:1-11). There are two
Abstinence and fasting are two words that are very much associated with Lent for Christians, especially Catholics. On Ash Wednesday and every Friday during Lent, Catholics in England and Wales are required to abstain from eating meat. The Friday abstinence also applies to the rest of the year except when that Friday is also a
Your Father, who sees all that is done in secret, will reward you.’ Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18 Ash Wednesday marks the start of Lent, a season of personal and communal renewal. The Church undertakes Lent in order to accompany Jesus on his journey to Jerusalem to his Death and Resurrection. In Him, we die to sin;
There will be two Masses on Ash Wednesday, both of which will be at St Joseph and the English Martyrs Church. The first will be at 9:30 am, with the second taking place at 7:30 pm. There will be a distribution of ashes at both Masses. In addition, the children of St Joseph’s Catholic School
On Wednesday, Lent begins. I write today to give you every possible encouragement to use these weeks of Lent to refresh and deepen your faith. As we have just heard from the Book of Leviticus: ‘Be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy.’ (Leviticus 19:2). This is a heartfelt plea. While there
In his Message for Lent 2023, Pope Francis highlights the relationship between the Lenten journey and the synodal journey, which are both rooted in tradition and open to newness. Personal and ecclesial ‘transfiguration’ is the goal of the ascetical journey of Lent, and similarly of the synodal process. Pope Francis takes his inspiration from the
On 12 March, our parish is celebrating the 90th year of its affiliation with the Guild of St Stephen. The Guild is an international organisation of altar servers, given papal approbation in 1905. It exists to encourage altar servers to attain a high standard in their ministry; provide them greater understanding of what they are
