De Omnibus Dubitandum Est.

Last Wednesday marked the culmination of many weeks work for me as Bishop Alan Williams sm ( read more about him here ),  visited my Parish for the first time and Confirmed 34 in a beautiful liturgy. We have prepared the Confirmandi with a series of monthly sessions based around the Ascension Press programme Chosen , which mixes vibrant short video presentations with discussion and challenging questions. We tried to ground the teaching we did in solid Catholic principles which expose how living a Catholic life has practical and real implications for each of us every day. We built up the underpinning principles and then showed how these truths effect the decisions we face every day. We also included liturgy in every session, exposing the blessed Sacrament and praying together each week. We asked the candidates to write a short essay on what they had learned and why they wanted to be Confirmed and prepared them for the Sacrament on the final session with the Sacrament of Reconcil...

Being a Confirmation catechist in my parish, I am constantly thinking of ways in which I can be more effective in reaching out to the young people on our confirmation course. Whilst I recognise that the 'big presentations' are important, I also know that some of the most important occasions of real conversion for our youth often take place in the context of one-on-one mentoring conversations.  Usually implicit in the conversations I have with them, is the question “so you really believe this stuff, what difference has the faith made to you personally?” This challenges me to always be ‘walking the talk’ – I can't simply hide behind the 'big presentations', I need to be an authentic witness and mentor in everything I do. This Holy Year of Mercy is of course a time of grace, peace, conversion and joy. It is meant for everyone: people of every age, from far and near. Whilst the youth on our Confirmation course can be apathetic to the faith, I can't help bu...

On Tuesday evening, I joined Fr. Jeff Woolnough and the parishioners of St. Peter's, Eastwood, on the occassion of the episcopal visitation and Confirmations. This was my first opportunity to meet Bishop Alan Williams myself. Confirmation is a great Sacrament, it constitutes the completion of the Sacraments of Initiation, and provides tenable link with our bishops, the successors of the Apostles. Just as Jesus Baptised with water and the Spirit, so we Baptise our Children, claiming them for Christ soon after birth, and then with the Holy Spirit at Confirmation, which recalls the laying on of hands and invocation of the Spirit wrought by the Apostles in Scripture. The biblical record tells us that converts to the faith were first baptised, and then the Apostles “laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit” (Acts 8:17). We define Confirmation as the sacrament of spiritual strengthening, in Latin, roboratio spiritualis . Our English word “robust” comes from the Latin robur...

...Such is the way my old Parish Priest, Fr. Robert Mortimer-Anderson, would always describe his own Confirmation. On Sunday 22nd October at my Parish of Our Lady of Lourdes & St. Joseph, Leigh-on-Sea, we were fortunate enough to be joined by our Bishop, the Right Reverend Thomas McMahon, to celebrate another day of silver and gold, for fifty of our parishioners. It has been my great honour to serve the community as a Catechist over the last few months of preparation to receive this great Sacrament, which provides the completion of the Sacraments of Initiation, and provides tenable link with our bishops, the successors of the Apostles. Just as Jesus Baptised with water and the Spirit, so we Baptise our Children, claiming them for Christ soon after birth, and then with the Holy Spirit at Confirmation, which recalls the laying on of hands and invocation of the Spirit wrought by the Apostles in Scripture. On the 16th November 2012, I wrote a blog about what I considered would l...

This afternoon's Confirmation Class will be on Prayer & The Sacraments. We are following the course "I Have Chosen You" by Joseph Moore, which has an extensive section on prayer which focuses on the Creed. I think this is an important part of any confirmation course. We live in a world where truth is usually considered provisional and changeable. “Dogmatism” is almost a dirty word. “Acceptance” is the order of the day, where everyone is considered free to hold any opinion he or she chooses, in a pluralist society. Dogma for Catholics is the foundation of faith. The dogmas of the faith are enshrined in Creeds, about which St. Ambrose wrote “This Creed is the spiritual seal, our hearts meditation and ever-present guardian; it is, unquestionably, the treasure of our soul” ( See CCC 197) Of course we say a Creed every Sunday at Mass, but how often do we really think about what it means or where it came from? The Nicene Creed was agree on by a Council of the Church ...