Spirituality

Faith and charity - a vital partnership

Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

How do we celebrate the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in this time of severe crisis which is expressed through the faces and different situations in so many places in the world?... From the anguished Heart of Mary, who saw and felt the pain of those who lived humiliated or had nothing to eat, came the "Magnificat" which, being born from a Heart full of God, is a song of hope.

On Waking

It is only when we silence the blaring sounds of our daily existence that we can finally hear the whispers of truth that life reveals to us, as it stands knocking on the doorsteps of our hearts.

Stillness

God Is No Longer Invisible, Says Pope

Affirms That Face of the Father Is Love. The Pontiff explained that "only by believing in Christ, by remaining united to him, the disciples, among whom we also are, can continue their permanent action in history."

The Passion of Jesus According to John

Each year on Good Friday the Passion of Jesus Christ according to John is read aloud in our churches. John's Gospel, as we know, was written later than the other Gospels, perhaps some seventy years after Jesus died, and those years gave John plenty of time to reflect upon Jesus' death and highlight a number of aspects that are not as evident in the other Gospels. What are those special aspects?

Now that there is silence

 It will remain for me to walk through the blood.
 which pours from your coherence.
 My feet will not mind the dust
 if I am walking in your tracks.

Be saints for the twenty-first century

Diana Klein continues her series of meditations for Lent based on Benedict
XVI’s speeches. Here she reflects on his words to young people.

Pope: Fasting Requires Nourishment on Word of God

Benedict XVI began Lent today with the reflection: "He does not really fast who does not know how to nourish himself on the Word of God." The Pope made this affirmation at the general audience, during which he reflected on baptism and the readings from each Sunday of Lent.

The Archbishop of Westminster told Catholics to try self-sacrifice and abstinence during Lent.

The leader of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales has called for a return to the tradition of self-sacrifice and abstinence during Lent. Archbishop of Westminster Vincent Nichols said Catholics should give up meat on Fridays and match self-denial with increased giving to the poor.

Census: How religious is the UK?

A publicity drive has started for the census, now just five weeks away, but the survey is being criticised for its question on religion. So is it even possible to accurately measure how religious the UK is? According to the last Census 10 years ago, more than two-thirds of people in Britain regarded themselves as Christian - 72% in England and Wales, and 65% in Scotland. More than 1.5 million in England and Wales, more than 3% of the population, said they were Muslim and nearly eight million ticked "no religion".

Building an Ark

What is the meaning of the story of Noah and the Ark? The story might be recast this way: Every so often there comes a time in history when there is so little vision, faith, idealism, decency, and charity left on this planet that there is a real danger that the world itself will sink, will drown, and revert to a chaos that will kill everything that's precious.