Diocesan Financial Matters
Financial concerns and FundraisingThere has been a lack of information and, indeed, some misinformation about various financial mattersin the Diocese and it seems appropriate to write to you to clarify our current financial situation. Thisinformation may be useful for some parishioners who may have heard confusing and inaccurate reports.About five years ago, the trustees were […]
Sacrament of Confession
Lent is a time when we think about our lives and our relationship with God. Through the traditional means of prayer, fasting and almsgiving we seek to overcome our sins and seek the mercy and forgiveness of God for our failures. Going to Confession is probably not one of our most favourite things to do, […]
Dust and Ashes
The symbolism of Ash Wednesday is strong and stark. In the Catholic Church, it marks the beginning of Lent, when churches traditionally change their appearance. Vestments and altar cloths change from white or green to a sober purple. In the latter part of Lent statues are also covered in purple and there are no flowers. […]
Lourdes – A Reflection
Yesterday, had it not been a Sunday Holy Mother Church would have celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. I could not let the Feast Day go unmarked. Here the parish we had a candlelight procession. the blessing of the sick and a time of Eucharistic Adoration. We even finished with a Lourdes multilingual […]
Beneath the Mitre – Planting Hope
In the third of a series exploring episcopal life, the Bishop of Salford John Arnold offers environmental lessons to children, and solace to the dispirited. At the age of six, I had my heart set on following my father into the law. I made myself a little office at home, with a toy plastic phone. […]
The O Anitphons
The O Antiphons refer to the seven antiphons that are recited (or chanted) preceding the Magnificat during Vespers of the Liturgy of the Hours. They also form part of the Gospel Acclamation at Mass. They cover the special period of Advent preparation known as the Octave before Christmas, Dec 17-23, with Dec 24 being Christmas […]
Gaudete!
Eeeee. ‘ave ur seen what he’s wearing now? The question is sometimes asked why do priests wear rose coloured vestments on the Third Sunday in Advent? I know, everyone says “because it is Gaudete Sunday.” But what does that mean? On one Sunday each, in Advent and Lent, Roman Catholic priests have the option of wearing a […]
How to Go to Confession
1 Examine your conscience 2 Be sincerely sorry for your sins 3 Confess your sins 4 Resolve to amend your life 5 After your confession do the penance the priest assigns ‘It was God who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the work of handing on this reconciliation. […]
Are You Ready?
The Advent Season is once again upon us when we turn our minds to preparing for Christmas. However, I pose the question: Is Advent only about preparing for Christmas or is there more to it? After all the Birth of Our Lord happened some two thousand years ago, surely we are not preparing for it […]
Advent
What is Advent? Pope Benedict XVI, in a homily given on the First Sunday of Advent in 2008, noted that the Latin word adventus is one that “could be translated by ‘arrival’, ‘coming’ or ‘presence’” (Pastoral Visit to the Basilica of Saint Lawrence Outside the Walls, homily of his holiness Benedict XVI, First Sunday of Advent, 30th […]