Our month named “seventh” of the year, September, is now our ninth month ever since an ancient Roman reform of the calendar that added January and February. September ushers in the beginning of meteorological autumn in the northern hemisphere, spring in the southern. During September we Roman Catholics honour beautiful saints, ancient and modern: for

Until it ceased to be a communal event with the advent of mechanised agriculture in the 20th century, harvest was central to the month of September. Harvesters demanded “largesse”, a customary payment that could be exacted from the farmer or anyone else who stepped onto land being harvested. Colourful customs attended the harvesting of the

Jesus made it quite clear to his disciples that the cross he bore could never remain with him alone.

St Francis and the Franciscans are constantly portrayed as hippie-esque children of nature. The Holy Man of Assisi and his disciples are known in the popular mind as garden statues accompanied by birds – one step above gnomes. But the reality is quite different. Francis himself had a gallant and chivalric nature which initially impelled

Catholic theologians since at least St Augustine have understood the complexity of Sacred Scripture, and reiterated that to insist on a literal reading of the text is both unhistorical and bad theology. But in part because of the reaction against Modernism in the early 20th century, even Catholics began to tend towards a too literal

“My dad’s side of the family were all Mormons but my parents married in an Anglican church and we children were baptised Anglican. In terms of religion we didn’t do much and it wasn’t talked about. We never really practised anything. “When I was about nine or 10 there was a Protestant church service on

Let’s look at the Collect for the 21st Sunday of Ordinary Time: Deus, qui fidelium mentes unius efficis voluntatis, da populis tuis id amare quod praecipis, id desiderare quod promittis, ut, inter mundanas varietates, ibi nostra fixa sint corda, ubi vera sunt gaudia. In the 1962 Missale Romanum we use it on the 4th Sunday

Twenty-First Sunday of the Year Isaiah 22: 19-23; Romans 11: 33-36; Matthew 16: 13-20 “How rich are the depths of God, how deep his wisdom and knowledge, and how impossible to penetrate his motives or understand his methods. Who could ever know the mind of the Lord?” At first sight, these verses of St Paul

Some readers may remember a couple of Herald pieces in recent years highlighting the grip Catholic football managers seemed to have assumed over the Premier League, with one winning team after another being coached by a man reared in the faith and often devoutly practising it as well. This run has just been interrupted with

Having children has taught me that actions speak louder than words. Parents, save your breath: you can tell your children what you want, but they will ultimately follow your example. This lockdown suggested the rule also applies to the Church. Once doors were closed it mattered not whether that decision came from Government or prelates,

What is love? One challenge to finding an answer is that “love” covers a diversity of dispositions. The phrases “I love chocolate” and “I love you” use the same verb, but loving a person is, one hopes, something more durable and substantive than a love of chocolate. Such examples underline that loving persons is the

The Collect for the 20th Ordinary Sunday, found also in the 8th century Gelasian Sacramentary, is in the 1962 Missale Romanum for the 15th Sunday after Pentecost. Deus, qui diligentibus te bona invisibilia praeparasti, infunde cordibus nostris tui amoris affectum, ut, te in omnibus et super omnia diligentes, promissiones tuas, quae omne desiderium superant, consequamur.