Stephen Sunday 15 February 2026 I prefer not to think of AI, and how much I don’t like it. Or the internet, and how much time I spend on it. Because I depend on both more than I care to admit. I’ve wrestled with my take and my opinion. And I can’t get further than this: … Read more
Sunday 8 February 2026 “You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.” (Matthew 5:13, 14) I woke up late, and got to church later than usual. I … Read more
Sunday 1 February 2026 Delving into the beatitudes after Mass, I turned to Bishop Barron’s homily for the week. The section he picked up on struck me as particularly relevant. “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you.” As Bishop Barron put it, if you’re not facing resistance from some quarter, you’re not … Read more
Sunday 25 January 2026 Something in the gospel today caught my attention. It wasn’t James and John abandoning their nets to follow Jesus, as remarkable as that was. It was who they left behind. Not a net full of fish. But Zebedee. Their father. Zebedee is a great name, and when watching the magic roundabout … Read more
Sunday 18 January 2026 I struggled in mass to pay attention. I do drift when John the Baptist is mentioned. He is easy to dwell upon. It’s not just his clothing, the makeshift clobber of someone completely uninterested in possessions, appearance, or the opinion of others (a powerful contradiction to our times). Neither is it … Read more
Tuesday 13 January 2026 There’s a homeless man in our congregation. He appears in and around the church from time to time. Mostly minding his own business. And sometimes prompting other people to mind theirs. He’s scruffy, maybe 60, with a full beard and a long, complicated past. He doesn’t attend mass in a way … Read more
Sunday 11 January 2026 A trip north to see family for the weekend and another chance to attend Mass in Neston, and another wonderful homily from the young priest there. Again, he spoke without notes, mesmerizing us with stories of baptism, of water (it was raining outside), having started it all with a comparison using … Read more
Tuesday 6 January 2026 I’m still quite new to Holy Day’s of Obligation. I expected the church to be full tonight, but it wasn’t. Is it because people are at work or commuting home? I suppose some might think to skip it and ask for God’s forgiveness in confession. Anyway, Canon P informed us that … Read more
Sunday 4 January 2026 I’d never been into the sacristy before, or any sacristy come to think of it. But S had asked me to take the collection bags there before communion, so I was glad to have an excuse to take a peek. Inside was an Aladdin’s cave of Catholic paraphernalia. Priest stuff. There … Read more
I was handed a hymn book by S. “More hymns?” “Not very catholic”, she joked. But I was quite happy to be singing again. Today was about the Holy Family. In between Harking the Herald and a beautiful rendition of Bread of Life it seemed appropriate, what with the inlaws still here. A reflectiion on Mary and … Read more