Happy Christmas Holidays
Posted: Tue, 28 Dec 2021 08:49
The Holy Father gave his usual interview to journalists on his Aegean Airlines flight home to Rome, after another successful pastoral visit to Cyprus and Greece. As always, the questions ranged far and wide, but one centred on a recent directive from the European Union. Before faithful readers of the 'Daily Express' have mass apoplexy, no, it has nothing to do with the shape of bananas! Rather our... Read More »
Merry Christmas
Posted: Sat, 25 Dec 2021 02:51
To the Salesian Family of the British Province.
Wishing you all a very happy and holy Christmas.
May the Christ-child be close to you all.
We pray that our Christmas will be a fitting ending to this year,
and a great beginning to the new one.
Happy Christmas!!
Christmas: Midnight Mass
Posted: Sat, 25 Dec 2021 00:37
Tonight, we gather to begin our Christmas season, as we remember the actual birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. The danger is, if we are not careful, that Christmas began in November as we have been told again and again that we must make this Christmas the one 'to savour' according to the supermarket, Sainsbury's. We have come here tonight to honour Jesus Christ as our real saviour. Tesco tells us that, after... Read More »
Spread the Light
Posted: Thu, 23 Dec 2021 03:59
As we approach the great feast of Christmas, it is good to remember traditions from other cultures, especially in these difficult times. We are blessed to live in a nation of so many nationalities and they remind us that our faith is not a case of 'one size fits all'; there is variety and an openness that we need to share.
In the Philippines and in Filipino communities across the world, people will... Read More »
Be the rainbow in the lives of others
Posted: Wed, 22 Dec 2021 01:43
I have a dear friend who I always see as a 'rainbow of hope'; she is able to bring light, colour and energy with her whirlwind life, as you try to keep up. She can carry you forward and bring needed hope, especially in these dark and sad times. The rainbow comes after the storms and will bring light once more in the most colourful of ways, lighting the sky with beauty.
In the popular film, 'The Wizard... Read More »
Fourth Sunday of Advent - Sunday Reflection
Posted: Sat, 18 Dec 2021 18:12
We are presented today with the aftermath of the Annunciation in Luke's gospel. Like John the Baptist, Mary chooses not to bask in the limelight of being God's chosen. She does not spend time with Joseph picking out crib designs or knitting blue boots for the impending arrival. On hearing that Elizabeth is in need of support, 'Mary got ready and hurried off to a town in the hill country of Judea' (Lk... Read More »
Fr Gerry Briody re-appointed as Provincial of Great Britain
Posted: Fri, 17 Dec 2021 13:12
(ANS - Rome) - With the consent of the General Council, the Rector Major, Fr Ángel Fernández Artime, has decided to confirm Fr James Briody as Provincial Superior of the "St Thomas of Canterbury" Province of Great Britain (GBR) for the 2022-2028 term.
Fr James Briody was born in Motherwell, in the county of Lanarkshire, on 7 May 1964. He entered the Salesian novitiate in Dublin on 7 September... Read More »
Family & Friends at Christmas
Posted: Thu, 16 Dec 2021 12:20
The family - that dear octopus from whose tentacles we never quite escape, nor, in our inmost hearts, ever quite wish to.
(Dodie Smith)
It is said that Dodie Smith was moved to write her popular children's novel 'One Hundred and One Dalmatians' when a friend commented, on seeing Dodie's own pet Dalmatians that "they would make fantastic fur coats!" You may have seen the 1961 Disney cartoon based on... Read More »
Check in
Posted: Tue, 7 Dec 2021 12:03
One thing that has really amazed me during this pandemic were the lengths that so many people have made to reach out to me. I've received emails, WhatsApp's, FaceTimes, Zoom calls, phone calls and even the good old fashioned slow mail of the GPO. While I've obviously missed the contact that Social Distancing have forced on all of us, we have had to find new and exciting ways of keeping in touch. Perhaps,... Read More »
Second Sunday of Advent - Sunday Reflection
Posted: Sat, 4 Dec 2021 14:30
A favourite title to honour Jesus is as the 'Prince of Peace', and today we light our second Advent candle praying for the gift of peace. While we do not live in a war-torn land here in Britain, we have been all too aware of the threat of terrorism—we have seen lives destroyed and lost due to ideology and bombs, very often masked by some religious cause. However, we have shared in a global pandemic... Read More »