Jun 14, 2021 | The Spiritual Life
“Only God knows the good that can come about by reading one good Catholic book”(Saint John Bosco) I don’t really recall a time when I didn’t have a great interest in spiritual reading, a practice I recommend very much indeed. My mid to late teens were a period when...
Jun 13, 2021 | Rosary, The Spiritual Life
The Rosary has, I think, really always been present in my life. I was first given Rosary beads on the day of my First Holy Communion, a little blue set as I recall. Much later on, these were replaced by a set of black glass beads – I still have these in a...
Jun 12, 2021 | The Spiritual Life, World
In March last year I had written about ‘Grace In Time Of Trial’ – changes were beginning to take place in response to the gathering pace of the pandemic. I had begun by writing – “As Catholics, one of the most worrying aspects of the present Coronavirus...
Jun 3, 2021 | The Spiritual Life
I sew and make clothes. To do so, I need to read from a pattern – making clothes is intricate, fiddly and requires something to work to. The pattern gives an idea of what the garment ought to look like and what is required in order to achieve the proper end...
Jun 2, 2021 | Liturgy, Prayer, The Spiritual Life
“Christian prayer is primarily the prayer of the entire community of mankind joined to Christ Himself.” – Pope St Paul VI I have written previously about my attempts at praying the Liturgy of the Hours, also known as the Divine Office. Those...
May 23, 2021 | The Spiritual Life
Celebrating the great feast of Pentecost today, I am mindful that in the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Mary and the Apostles, the Church – the Mystical Body of Christ – was born. This set me thinking about the place of the Church in my life and in my...
May 21, 2021 | The Spiritual Life
“And if I only could, I’d make a deal with God and I’d get Him to swap our places” – ‘Running Up That Hill’ (Kate Bush) In her song ‘Running Up That Hill’, Kate Bush was describing that sense we sometimes have...
May 19, 2021 | General, The Spiritual Life
Moments of ‘spiritual recharge’ are greatly needed. They can take place anywhere and they are those little moments when grace is poured into us for one reason or another – often, I think, simply to give us what we need to keep going. For me...
May 14, 2021 | Scripture, The Spiritual Life
Taking part in an online prayer meeting last weekend, the priest mentioned the Letter of St Paul to the Ephesians, recommending a reading of that Letter. His words have stayed with me all week and I had fully intended to do just as he had suggested. And then daily...
