News and messages archive for 2009
Our Father who art in heaven’ (CCC2779-2793)
Posted on December 22nd 2009 in The catechism explained
The ability to exclaim ‘Father’ requires a purification of all images drawn from the world, and our own personal and cultural history. This helps answer the unjust criticism that to use the title ‘Father’ is an exercise in patriarchy.…
‘Give us this day our daily bread (CCC2828-2831)
Posted on December 20th 2009 in The catechism explained
This petition emphasises the goodness of God which is beyond human understanding since He ‘causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good’. It also expresses the covenant between God and ourselves as believers, but includes a…
The Our Father: ‘Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven (CCC2822-2827)
Posted on December 20th 2009 in The catechism explained
God the Father desires all people to be saved, and He expresses His forbearance throughout our earthly life so that we might take up the commandment to ‘love one another, even as I have loved you’ (Jn 13:34). The…
Receiving Christ into our hearts begins the process of building a truly free human life
Posted on December 20th 2009 in Weekly messages
Every child dreads the day that they start sounding like their mother and father, or indeed start to look like them. The motives may be obscure, whether it is embarrassment at that age of life, or is perhaps the…
Advent’s prosaic preparations for Christmas recognise God’s ability to share his joy
Posted on December 13th 2009 in Weekly messages
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‘Hallowed by thy name’ and ‘Thy Kingdom come’ (CCC2813-2821)
Posted on December 13th 2009 in The catechism explained
There is a certain paradox in seeking to hallow God’s name since by definition God is holy. This ‘hallowing’ of God’s name rebounds on ourselves, so that we may preserve over time the grace given to us in Baptism.…
The Lord’s Prayer: ‘Our Father’ (CCC2759-2778)
Posted on November 30th 2009 in The catechism explained
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‘Our Father who art in heaven’ (CCC2794-2812)
Posted on November 29th 2009 in The catechism explained
The expression ‘who art in heaven’ describes the way of God’s being, not His location. He is not elsewhere, but transcends every place and time, and His complete otherness allows Him to come close, especially to the pure of…
The season of Advent is the time to look at Christ with renewed intensity
Posted on November 29th 2009 in Weekly messages
The beginning of the Church’s year is the appropriate time to ask the question of ourselves, ‘Is Christ still necessary and does it matter’? This is the moment to engage with the reasons of the heart, and discover the…
The priority of listening over talking is necessary for faith
Posted on November 22nd 2009 in Weekly messages
Recently I was asked by a friend to view a flat he was thinking of purchasing through auction, in order to give my opinion of its suitability. It struck me when visiting the property that most of the other…
Our Father who art in heaven (CCC2779-2793)
Posted on November 15th 2009 in The catechism explained
Jesus gave the ‘Our Father’ in answer to His disciples’ question on how to pray. The Our Father remains the key pattern for all Christian prayer. The earliest liturgical traditions found in the late first century include the well-known…
Trust in God turns the flow of life from nomadic wandering to a purposeful pilgrimage
Posted on November 15th 2009 in Weekly messages
Newsletter of 15 November 2009