“When Jesus saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” I wonder if that’s how the Lord looks on the parish and my ministry here – “they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd”. Hopefully not. But today we are joined by Br Christopher Okonkwo. He has spent some time with the Carmelites in Oxford, and will be shadowing me at weekends, seeing one example of what the life of a diocesan pri

In the Vatican Museums there is a painting by Raphael, entitled the Disputation of the Holy Sacrament. Centre-stage is an altar, on which is a monstrance, the special display stand, if you like, for the consecrated Host. To the left and right of the altar are various Popes, bishops and famous people of the time, adoring the Lord, and then above that section of the painting are the saints in heaven and the Most Holy Trinity. The painting contrasts the glory of God in heaven, w

If mankind had never sinned, so if even down to today we were completely living in accord with the will of God, would Christ have come among us? In the past, some theologians said no. At the Easter Vigil, in the Exsultet, we hear the words: “O truly necessary sin of Adam, destroyed completely by the Death of Christ! O happy fault that earned so great, so glorious a Redeemer!” So yes, if sin had never entered our word, there would have been no need for Christ to come and redee

Imagine what it must have been like to have been at that first Pentecost. Since the Lord ascended into heaven, you’ve been gathering in prayer each day, together with Our Lady and the other Apostles and disciples, and now, suddenly, comes the sound of a mighty, rushing wind. Then, flames of fire appear. What is this, you might wonder. The flames split and descend on each of you, and then you start speaking in different languages, filled with enthusiasm to go out and preach th

Today’s Gospel is from the first part of John chapter seventeen, what is sometimes referred to as the Priestly Prayer of Jesus. It is uttered by Christ at the time of the Last Supper, after the Washing of the Feet on Maundy Thursday. People have identified three parts to it, and our Gospel reading today includes the first two parts. In the first part, Christ asks the Father for the glorification of His holy human nature and for the Father to accept His Sacrifice on the Cross.

Today’s second reading is perhaps a typical example of St Paul’s writings, with his rather long sentences. But at the end it refers to Christ being “all in all”. What does that mean? It means Christ being everything, and in everything. I remember going to an evening meeting some years ago for clergy who were going to become, or who already were, school governors. The priest leading the session quoted Cardinal Basil Hume, who said that Catholic education is not just National C

Speaking the truth, with love, is not easy. We can so easily go to one extreme or the other. We can be blunt, “telling it the way it is” and upsetting or antagonising people, or, to be nice and polite, we deny the truth and just want to say “nice things” instead. Take the example of a teenage lad who has come back from playing a football match and is watching TV. His brother enters, stage left. He has a reputation for being as blunt as a spade. He tells him straight: “It abso

We begin today’s homily with a short message from the Archbishop: “Dear friends, this weekend we celebrate Good Shepherd Sunday, when the Church prays especially for vocations to the priesthood. I want to ask you to join me in praying today that all those whom Our Lord is calling will respond with courage and generosity to his invitation to serve their brothers and sisters as priests in our Archdiocese. If you feel that the Good Shepherd might indeed be calling you – and if y

This week, our Parish Treasurer, Jim Crisp, provided a feedback update on the Planned Giving Appeal, if you would like to find out more information, please click here . You will remember we introduced our Planned Giving Appeal just after the Christmas/ New Year period. Well, that Appeal continues, but we owe you an update and feedback on what’s happened since then. You will remember the problems we face. Inflation has reduced the buying power of Offertories and Donations by a

Many of us are aware of the need to go to Mass each Sunday and Holyday of Obligation, unless we have a good reason for missing Mass, such as a sudden heart attack or being on holiday in a country where there isn’t a local Catholic church in the area. But what about confession? Church law covers many different things, most of which is more relevant to priests running parishes, but some of the rules concern the general lay Catholic. With regard to confession, Canon 989 says the

(using material taken from The Turin Shroud and Paschal Events by Fr Maurice Hogan in Far East, March/April 2026, pgs 12-13) Back when I was starting secondary school in the early nineties, we looked in our science lessons at the subject of radioactivity and carbon dating. In the course of this, the subject textbook mentioned the Turin Shroud, claiming that carbon dating had shown it to be a mediaeval forgery. Well, that was back then, and since then, new tests have been done

Who is Jesus? He is the Son of God, the Way, the Truth and the Life. And in St John’s Gospel, which we heard today, He shows up all inauthenticity around Him. He is the Light, that causes those who cower in the darkness to flee. As it says in John 3:19-21: “And this is the judgement: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come t