Advent to Easter

CAFOD Family Fast Day is on Friday 23 February. Over the past sixty years this has become part of Lent for many. The idea is to give up the day’s main meal, by just having maybe soup, and send the cost to CAFOD. CAFOD is the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development working alongside Christian Aid. […]

The first of the six Sundays of Lent is this weekend. Church is a little plain from this Sunday. There are no flowers or Gloria. Vestments are purple. You might hear the haunting Lent Prose which is derived from the Mozarabic breviary. This comes between the readings with the theme of water and baptism,  which […]

  This morning the people of Ivrea, near Turin, are recovering from spending the last few days throwing oranges at each other. Ivrea carnival is unusual. The split and squashed fruit is now lying mushy in the streets which  have a smell reminiscent of marmalade. But the main square is already hosed down and chefs, […]

Shrove Tuesday remains deep within the English culture so there are lots of pancake races today. In London you will find one at the Houses of Parliament, Borough Market and Guildhall. The oldest race is at Olney in Buckinghamshire at 11.55am. It takes just five minutes to dash from the Market Place to the church. In the […]

This year you will not find St Valentine in the Church calendar. Wednesday 14 February is Ash Wednesday which takes precedence. It’s 73 years since these two days clashed. As the Second World War drew to  a close there was little mention of St Valentine’s Day. Should we decline to give chocolates and refuse flowers? […]

Here is an early reminder that Lent starts next week. It’s Fat Thursday in Poland today when doughnuts are eaten all over the country. There are always debates over which shop is selling the best. The doughnut top is either dusted in sugar or covered in icing. The traditional filling is rose jam. Look out […]

Candlemas at Yorkshire’s Ripon Cathedral is always dramatic. On Friday night there were around 4000 candles. Lighting them started at about 5.45pm in order to have every one lit by the start of the Choral Eucharist at 7.30pm. Ripon has a tradition of decorating every ledge with a light and even creating patterns and pictures […]

Candlemas today is the final day we enjoy Christmas in real time as we note Mary and Joseph leaving Bethlehem with Baby Jesus to go up to the Temple in Jerusalem. The name Candlemas is appropriate for we say that Jesus is the Light of the World. Today’s candle procession in church, representing Christ being […]

As we approach Candlemas on Friday 2 February we should remember that it is still Christmas. The Holy Family has not yet left Bethlehem. They leave on Friday  by way of Jerusalem. The Crib is still in church. In some homes and even public places there are signs of an authentic slow Christmas. La Couronne […]

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity which ends tomorrow 25 January has seen many services and gatherings where Christians have prayed for and talked about unity. New film Last Friday a film about Chevetogne was launched at Farm Street Church in London’s Mayfair. May They all be One  is a 52 minute documentary made […]