Category Archives: Magnificat

With the world flourishing, the human race increasing, the body enduring long in this life, riches abounding, who would believe that there was another life when he heard of it, who would prefer invisible to visible things? But with the … Continue reading →

The great, fundamental question put to us, in which all else is contained, is precisely “do you believe in the Son of Man’? Ultimately it will mean a leap in the dark, for faith always demands that, otherwise it would … Continue reading →

Today, 22nd Sunday, Ecclesiasticus counsels: “Be gentle in carrying out your business…. The greater you are, the more you should behave humbly, and then you will find favour with the Lord” Christ promises us that “the man who humbles himself … Continue reading →

Bishop Robert Barren  The Book of Qoheleth, called Ecclesiastes in most editions of the Bible, is one of the strangest and most intriguing books in the Scriptures. Qoheleth, sometimes identified as King Solomon himself, is an old man at the … Continue reading →

What mysterious power is it that a mother has over a son that, when he confesses his guilt, she strives to minimise it, even when it shocks her heart…. The impure are rarely tolerant of the pure, but only the … Continue reading →

The Lord is slow to anger and rich in graciousness, forgiving faults and transgression. (Nb 14:18) There is nothing like the mercy of God, which forgives every sin, big and small. We ourselves find it hard to emulate this, often reaching … Continue reading →

Heather King  Francois Mauriac (1885-1970), French author and journalist, won the Nobel Prize in Literature “for the deep spiritual insight and the artistic intensity with which he has in his novels penetrated the drama of human life”. A lifelong Catholic, … Continue reading →