De Omnibus Dubitandum Est.

"Bring your desire for holiness and everything else will take care of itself"... Well worth watching this video about confession from Fr Casey. It is a gentle, useful reminder on how to approach the sacrament. This needs discussion more often as well because you have to remember that our experience of confession as a lay person is extremely subjective. We have no idea how anyone else does it, what they confess or how they confess. Therefore an objective, experienced guide like this is very useful in my opinion. I also recognised myself in all the examples Father gives!  Enjoy!

Welcome to this, the thirty-third of my reflections on the theology of the Sunday readings at Mass. Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. I sincerely hope that this reflection will inspire you. You might find that it answers a few questions you may have, but most of all I hope that it will show you how fantastic Sacred Scripture is and perhaps enable you to share some of my love and passion for the Bible as you begin to comprehend how layered and multi-faceted it is, and what a carefully considered part of the Mass the readings are. If you want to know how these posts came about, please read my first post in this series  here . I would like to think this regular blog would be a great help to anyone who reads at Mass, to enable them to foster a deeper understanding of the message they are trying to impart to the congregation. There are several different ways to read this post. I would suggest the first thing to do is to look at the relevant...

This is a lovely little prayer my mum shared with me, and I am sharing with you. If you have read my post on reconciliation , you may find this prayer pertinent. Healing Prayer at Bedtime Jesus, through the power of the Holy Spirit, go back into my memory as I sleep. Every hurt that has ever been done to me...heal that hurt. Every hurt that I have ever caused to another person...heal that hurt. All the relationships that have been damaged in my whole life that I am not aware of...heal those relationships. But Lord, if there is anything that I need to do...If I need to go to a person because he or she is still suffering from my hand, bring to my awareness that person. I choose to forgive, and I ask to be forgiven. Remove whatever bitterness may be in my heart, Lord, and fill the empty spaces with your Love. Thank you Jesus. Amen.

James Tissot-  Prodigal Son, The Return (1882).  If you want to get the most out of this journey with me, you'll need your Bible. Go on, go and get it now. You'll be glad you did, because if you don't you'll just feel frustrated...No, no-- don't worry, I won't start until you come back. OK, ready? Got your Bible? Then I'll begin. As human beings, we exist in a web of relationships - links to nature, people and to God. These links can be traced out. Some links are strong and easy to follow. Some links are twisted or broken. As Aristotle pointed out 'Man is a social animal' and as such, cannot be happy without human love and friendship. However, it's not all a bed of roses. There are givers and takers in this life. People who, solely concerned with the happiness of those around them, give effortlessly and with great love, who radiate joy and enthusiasm and whose happiness is infectious. And people who consider that the world revol...