We live in portentous times. On the Solemnity of the Annunciation, Pope Francis consecrated Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Our Lady. Not only did this pick up on the world’s horror at Russia’s violent invasion of Ukraine, [...]
Andy Hawes Recognising God’s Moment Every aspect of the spiritual life has one purpose: to be attuned and responsive to the call of Christ in each moment. Those whose self-discipline and conformity to the commandments of God are [...]
Robin Gill’s ethical perspectives on warfare, Christian Ethics: The Basics (Routledge, 2020) The US Catholic Bishops’ 1983 pastoral letter The Challenge of Peace concludes emphatically that ‘the nuclear age is an era of moral as well as physical danger’: [...]
GREGORY, HEMINGSTONE, SUFFOLK You don’t have to go far north of Ipswich to be deep into the countryside. On its low mound, Hemingstone church is well out of its village, adding to the feeling. From the south side (1) [...]
Good Friday by Christina Rosetti Am I a stone and not a sheep, That I can stand, O Christ, beneath Thy cross, To number drop by drop Thy blood’s slow loss And yet not weep? Not so [...]
They had unsinkable faith, finds Adam Edwards, on the Titanic’s anniversary This year, on Maundy Thursday, as the watch before the Altar of Repose ends and we move to the pain and desolation of Good Friday, spare a prayer [...]
A Great Place to Grow Old: Re-imagining Ministry among Older People Tina English DLT London 2021 ISBN 0232534586 This is a useful manual for any church considering developing its ministry to older people. The distinction is made between ‘third [...]
Festus It is almost too easy to pull the BBC up for its slips and mistakes but taxpayers might be interested in the brief interview it ran on BBC for the Queen’s accession anniversary in February. The Most Rev [...]
Christopher Smith Many readers will remember a book about punctuation that came out some time ago (in 2003, to be precise) by Lynn Truss called Eats, Shoots and Leaves. The title was from a description of the panda bear [...]
Thurifer A popular public house and restaurant in my leafy suburb of Wokeburyfield Green now seeks to entice passers-by by boards advertising ‘a curated wine list’. Readers will be well aware of the noun curate. They used to abound [...]