letter of St Paul to the romans – Catholic Louth and Mablethorpe

Fear of the Lord (Sunday II of Advent)

“If God can raise children of Abraham – our father in the faith – out of the stones in the desert, it doesn’t matter at all that we may be Jews, or indeed that we are of any race, that our families have been Christian and Catholic for x number of centuries, or decades or years…”

Keeping vigil (Sunday I of Advent)

We could say to ourselves: last weekend was the last Sunday of the liturgical year, and so this Sunday must be the first Sunday of the new liturgical year. And we would be right. And we could suggest that, since the readings of the last two Sundays had apocalyptic, end-of-the-world-type themes, this Sunday should haveContinue reading “Keeping vigil (Sunday I of Advent)”

The Love of the Heart of God (Pentecost Sunday)

Let’s talk about the Sacred Heart devotion really quickly. I realise that it is the great feast of Pentecost, but it is impossible to separate the love of the heart of Christ for His Church from the gift of the Holy Spirit that proceeds from that love. So, here, at some length, is what OurContinue reading “The Love of the Heart of God (Pentecost Sunday)”

Love is three, and Love is one (Trinity Sunday)

I shouldn’t try to explain in ten minutes the greatest mystery that is present to us in our religious tradition. Ever since the Holy One revealed Himself to us as somehow three while being one, those who hate the Church have ridiculed our embrace of this mystery of the Trinity. Of old, great masters ofContinue reading “Love is three, and Love is one (Trinity Sunday)”

The evil inclination

This is an interesting inheritance that Christians have from Jewish theology: the יֵצֶר הַרַע‎. The evil inclination. It is given by S. Paul in our reading at Mass this morning, from his letter to the Romans: “My own actions bewilder me; what I do is not what I wish to do, but something which IContinue reading “The evil inclination”

Ss. Chad and Cedd, early English bishops

This morning, we had the ordinary weekday readings, with a strong message from S. Paul on the observance of ritual purity, which is to remain within the Christian Church as it did within the Temple Judaism of Paul’s day. “I am speaking in the language of common life, because nature is still strong in you.Continue reading “Ss. Chad and Cedd, early English bishops”