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Gospel of 10 June 2024 Matthew 5:1-12 Seeing the crowds, Jesus went up the hill. There he sat down and was joined by his disciples. Then he began to speak. This is what he taught them: 'How happy are the poor in spirit; theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Happy the gentle: they shall have the earth for their heritage. Happy those who mourn: they shall be comforted. Happy those who hunger and thirst f... Read More

Hundreds of thousands of protesters once again walked peacefully through central London to the British Parliament on Saturday, calling for an end to the genocide in Gaza, and the ethnic cleansing West Bank and for the British government to halt arms exports to Israel. Christians of all denominations - among them Catholic, Anglican, Quaker and Methodists - gathered in Bloomsbury Square Gardens for ... Read More

During the Angelus with pilgrims in St Peter's Square today, Pope Francis once again appealed to the international community to act urgently to help the people of Gaza with desperately needed humanitarian aid. At the end of a weekend in which millions of campaigners around the world held marches and vigils for peace, this evening aid agencies reported that at least 274 people in Gaza were kil... Read More

Merton Priory, in south London, near Colliers Wood, was a major Augustinian house from 1117 - 1538 AD. One of its students was Saint Thomas Becket. The only English Pope, Adrian IV, also studied here. The Priory founded Holyrood Abbey, refined Magna Carta into the Eleven Statutes of Merton and established Merton College, Oxford. Two royal coronations took place at Merton: Eleanor of Provence in 12... Read More

The Sisters of St Andrew will be hosting a quiet day based on the experience of a pilgrimage to Skellig Michael, with Kathleen O'Sullivan. The day is from 10.30am to 4pm. Please bring a packed lunch. Suggested donation: £20-£30. For more information and booking, contact The Sisters of St Andrew, 99 Belmont Hill, London SE13 5DY. Described as a "surprisingly quiet oasis of peace and stillness in ... Read More

Household names including Whoopi Goldberg, Ardal O'Hanlon, (who played Fr Dougal in the Father Ted series), stand up comic Tommy Tiernan (Gerry in Derry Girls), Ian Hislop ( Satirist and editor of Private Eye), Jimmy Fallon, Stephen Colbert, Conan O'Brian and Chris Rock, will be among the international comedians and comic artists Pope Francis will meet this Friday, 14 June at the Vatican. The au... Read More

Our annual birdwatching retreat, Two Wings and Some Prayers, took place at Boarbank Hall in Cumbria from 13th-18th May, led by Sr Margaret Atkins and Dr Margaret Phillips. Participants joined the resident Community for Mass and sung Daily Office, and enjoyed birdwatching trips to the nearby Leighton Moss, especially for waterbirds, and Hay Bridge for woodland birds and ospreys, and to Hodbarrow on... Read More

Sister Gillian Price FC writes: When the date of the general election was announced Cardinal Vincent Nichols, President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales issued a message on YouTube, in which he said: "On 4th July the country will vote in the general election. I want to encourage all Catholics, especially young adults, to be active and engage with their candidates to ascerta... Read More

Gospel of 9 June 2024 Mark 3:20-35 Jesus went home with his disciples, and such a crowd collected that they could not even have a meal. When his relatives heard of this, they set out to take charge of him, convinced he was out of his mind. The scribes who had come down from Jerusalem were saying, 'Beelzebul is in him' and, 'It is through the prince of devils that he casts devils out.' So he called... Read More

On Saturday, Pope Francis welcomed ambassadors to the Holy See from Ethiopia, Zambia, Tanzania, Burundi, Qatar, and Mauritania. Beginning with the idea of nations as members of "one human family," the Holy Father said that the "noble work of diplomacy" is directed to the promotion and values that are first "lived out and handed on" in families. While encouraging diplomats, and the governments the... Read More

Tenth Sunday of Ordinary Time Reading 1 Gn 3:9-15 Psalm Ps 130:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8 Reading 2 2 Cor 4:13-5:1 Gospel Mk 3:20-35 1. The Scriptures reveal the story of salvation The wonder of our Scripture, both of the Hebrew Bible and our New Testament, lies in the story it gives us of the complex and dynamic relationship, each of us as individual and member of a community, our living world and the fi... Read More

Gospel of 8 June 2024 Luke 2:41-51 Every year the parents of Jesus used to go to Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover. When he was twelve years old, they went up for the feast as usual. When they were on their way home after the feast, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem without his parents knowing it. They assumed he was with the caravan, and it was only after a day's journey that they we... Read More

Commemorating the 10th anniversary of the 'Invocation for Peace' in the Vatican Gardens with the then-leaders of Israel and Palestine, Pope Francis said he prays every day for an end to war in the Holy Land and firmly believes it is a deception to think that war can resolve problems. On 8 June 2014 the then-President of the State of Israel, Shimon Peres, the President of the State of Palestine, Ma... Read More

Hundreds of priests from the Province of Ocaña and many more faithful, attended the funeral of Father Ramón Arturo Montejo Peinado, parish priest of San José in Buenavista, who was brutally murdered in a robbery on Thursday 6 Jun in his hometown of Teorama. The attack on Fr Montejo took place on 4 June, in a parking lot in the Jesús Cautivo neighbourhood of Ocaña, Norte de Santander, wher... Read More