Reflections & Homilies

"The Church is the pilgrim people of God on earth who, drawing precisely on the final promise, reads and interprets the dynamics of history through the Gospel, denouncing evil in all its forms and proclaiming, in word and deed, the salvation that Christ wishes to bring about for all humanity and His Kingdom..." Pope Leo XIV stressed this at his weekly General Audience on Wednesday morning in the V... Read More

During the Regina Caeli prayer on Sunday, with pilgrims in St Peter's Square, Pope Leo said that Jesus' words to us take on new meaning in the light of the Resurrection, much as they did for the early Church. "What once eluded or troubled the disciples now returns to their memory, warms their hearts, and gives them hope", the Pope said. Reflecting on the Gospel of the Last Supper in light of the R... Read More

Usama Nicola writes in Bethlehem Updates: Today marked the final session of the icon-writing course that began in January. While the city was busy with the noise and tension of local council elections, I stepped away into a different kind of space, one of silence, prayer, and attention. I spent five hours completing my icon, and we ended with prayers and blessings, for the icon and for each of us ... Read More

Fifth Sunday after Easter We all need reassurance sometimes, I don't think I have ever come across anybody who doesn't. Of course this is almost an art in itself, the human demonstration of care and support from one to another, may reveal itself in a variety of ways according to the situation, but it is most often in a gentle word or simple touch, which goes a long away to alleviating our worrie... Read More

Today, millions of people continue to suffer from hunger. This threatens the dignity of the most vulnerable and questions the way we live and share our resources. In his prayer intention for this month, Pope Leo invites us to pray that no one might lack the food they need and that we might learn to live more responsibly, recognizing that the earth's resources are a gift for everyone. He also encou... Read More

Pope Leo XIV ordained ten priests during Mass in St Peter's Basilica on Sunday morning as the Church celebrated the World Day of Prayer for Vocations. Basing his homily on the Gospel of John, in which Jesus said: "I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly," Pope Leo pointed to the generosity of the newly-ordained priests as a sign that this promise is still being lived today. The Po... Read More

Dublin Archbishop Dermot Farrell delivered this homily during Mass this afternoon in the Basilica of Our Lady at the International Eucharistic and Marian Shrine in Knock, Co Mayo, during the the annual Dublin Diocesan Pilgrimage. Mary Byrne O'Connell, Patrick Byrne, Patrick Hill, John Curry, and Bridget Trench are not names we know. These people were five of the 15 visionaries here at Knock in 18... Read More

Fourth Sunday after Easter Many of us are radically detached from the countryside and the real rhythms of time and season, a lot of this is our own fault, urbanisation and what follows from it creates a life where we are run by electric light that allows day to be extended in to the darkness of night, and where clocks regulate our comings and goings, risings and settings! That is part of the uneas... Read More

On Good Shepherd Sunday, Archbishop Richard Moth calls on the faithful of the Diocese of Westminster to pray urgently for vocations to the priesthood, giving thanks for those already serving and supporting those in formation. In his first Pastoral Letter as Archbishop of Westminster, he emphasises the priesthood as a life of joyful service rooted in the Eucharist, from which all priestly ministry... Read More

Third Sunday after Easter Let's begin our reflection with a few verses from Psalm 16 which forms our responsorial psalm this Sunday because the words ground us in the dynamic of our paschal faith and witness, it permeates our first reading from Acts but also is a prayer of great trust and hope : 'I bless the LORD who counsels me; even at night my heart exhorts me. I keep the LORD always before me;... Read More

When the Covid epidemic ended, it was reckoned in many London parishes that about a third of those who used to come to Mass never returned. They simply stopped. Some of these people had never missed a Sunday in their lives. It raises an uncomfortable question: what were they doing all those years? Were they getting nothing out of it? Were they simply going through the motions? We cannot judge indi... Read More

Second Sunday of Easter Divine Mercy Sunday Our first reading from the Book of Acts is a passage we need to really study and hold up before communities, our churches and ourselves. Here is a snapshot of the way of life as experienced by that first community of Christians. This passage from Acts 2:42-47, puts before us a wonderful synopsis of the early community with the qualities and virtues they ... Read More

Fr Toby Lees OP gave this homily during the Easter Vigil Mass at St Dominic's Priory - The Rosary Shrine, London NW5. In late 1944, a Japanese soldier named Hiroo Onoda was sent to a small island in the Philippines. His mission was to destroy the Lubang airfield and a harbour pier. He failed, and as enemy forces took control, he and his fellow troops retreated into the jungle. The war was soon ove... Read More

Archbishop Mark opened his Easter message by drawing on Ted Hughes' poem The Horses - set in that deep, cold hour before dawn, when darkness is at its deepest and the frost at its most intense. He acknowledged the weight many people are carrying right now: war in the Middle East and Ukraine, famine in Sudan, rising fuel costs, pressure on families. "It may feel very dark," he said. But then came t... Read More