Do Not Be Afraid! – Sunday’s Homily
My homily this week reflects on our parish pilgrimage to Poland and witnesses to the heroism of Pope St John Paul the Great and St Faustina. Go here to listen to A Pope and Providence: Do Not Be Afraid!
Maximillian Kolbe and the Redemption of Auschwitz
My article at Aleteia this week is a reflection on our pilgrimage visit to Kolbe's friary and subsequent visit to Auschwitz. We were graced this month to travel to Poland on a parish pilgrimage. It was my first extended visit to the country, so it was therefore a great joy to visit Niepokalanow — the friary [...]
The Agony of Auschwitz
I didn't get to blog very much during our parish pilgrimage to Poland because we were on the go the whole time and when I wasn't on the move I was spending time with the pilgrims, hearing confessions, saying Mass, leading prayers or just hanging out. We're all trying to sift through our memories to see [...]
On the Reality and Relevance of Relics
Receiving a relic of Pope St John Paul II from Cardinal Archbishop of Cracow We are heading home after a fantastic parish pilgrimage to Poland where we were uplifted, astounded and inspired by Catholic Poland. Receiving a relic of St Faustina from Sister Ignacia--custodian of the relics. Part of the reason for [...]
Eucharistic Miracles and Protestants?
I'm blogging from Poland, and meant to do a fair bit of writing from this wonderful country, but the schedule of our pilgrimage has been full of faith and fellowship, so the blogging and writing has gotten pushed back. On our departure a week ago we heard about the new Eucharistic miracle at Legnica in Poland. [...]
Does Amoris Laetitia Encourage Communion of Divorced and Re-Married?
Embed from Getty Images This article from Aleteia re-affirms two things about Pope Francis' exhortation. First of all Cardinal Schonborn affirms what Cardinal Burke said in his interview at National Catholic Register that the exhortation needs to be read in continuity with the whole of the magisterium. The magisterium of the church's teaching is, as it were, [...]
Amoris Laetitia – Chapter 8 and That Footnote…
Readers have asked for my opinion about the Holy Father's Apostolic Exhortation, and apart from a couple of posts over the weekend about the issue of marriage in general I haven't commented that much. That's because I haven't had the time to read the exhortation. Now, having read it, my reactions are much the same as [...]
Praying the Hail Mary for Spiritual Warfare
One of my favorite Catholic images is that of the Blessed Virgin Mary holding the child Jesus, standing on the globe crowned with twelve stars, trampling a serpent under her feet and offering the rosary to the world. This image from the twelfth chapter of the Book of Revelation captures the majesty and power of [...]
Worried? Upset? Confused? Here’s a Great Problem Solver
The other day a woman came to see me with a problem. During her prayer time she saw an angel. It was a beautiful angel who smiled at her. She told me all about her vision in great detail and waited for my reply. I said, "Wonderful. What are you going to do about that?" She [...]
Cardinal Burke Knocks the Armchair Critics of Amoris Laetitia
In this article for the National Catholic Register Cardinal Burke sets out exactly what the pope's exhortation is, what it attempts to do and how it should be received. He says clearly that those who set themselves up as critics of the Holy Father and the exhortation are wrong and are causing scandal. The behavior of [...]