Anton Nichols, Jerome Nichols, Father Richard, Matthew Goodman

Our Chaplain is Father Richard Saksons, O.Praem., and has been with us since January 2007.  Father Richard lives a semi-eremitical form the the religious life in the grounds of the Priory.  He writes for Catholic websites and gives online spiritual direction to housebound Catholics in the USA where he spent seven years (1995-2002) as a parish priest in the Pacific Northwest.  He assists the local parochial clergy as needed and looks after our website.

Father Richard with Sister Mary Benedicta

Year for Priests: USCCB
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“O, how great is the priest... If he realised what he is, he would die… God obeys him: he utters a few words and the Lord descends from heaven at his voice, to be contained within a small host…”
(Saint John Vianney)

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Tuesday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time
The more we give into sinful habits and attitudes, the more they define us.  It’s then we understand the truth of Saint Paul’s words: “I do not do the good I want, but I do the evil I do not want.” (Romans 7:19).  If we are not careful, these sins can destroy us.

Monday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time
Our Lord always chose the way of humility.  He knew that he didn’t have to promote himself.  He knew that his mission was to do his Father’s will and to make him known.  In this way, as in so many other ways, he showed himself to be the “perfect Son.”

THE SIXTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

Our Lord isn’t saying to us that to be with him we have to make ourselves poor and miserable in this life.  We don’t need to deprive ourselves of a roof over our heads, or to own a TV or a car, or a wardrobe full of clothes, or indeed the occasional treat.  Archbishop Helder Camara once said, “Saints may be found in slums, but we cannot retain slums in order to make them the breeding ground of saints.”  Our Lord is saying that when we follow him we must, to some degree, suffer as he suffered.

Blessed Jordan of Saxony O.P.

Blessed Jordan succeeded Our Holy Father Dominic as Master of the Order when Saint Dominic died in 1222.  He was such a powerful preacher that Saint Albert the Great was moved to join the Dominicans after hearing one of his sermons.  Blessed Jordan was an effective promoter of Dominican vocations and is the patron of Dominican vocation work.  He died in 1237 when his ship sank en route to the Holy Land.

Blessed Reginald of Orleans O.P.
Friar, teacher, friend of Our Holy Father Dominic.
Promoter of Dominican vocations.

Our Lady of Lourdes
Day of Prayer for the Sick

Today we observe a Day of Special Prayer for the Sick and this is a perfect opportunity for us to turn to Our Lady of Lourdes and pray to her on behalf of all those in need and ask her to intercede with her Son and to once more bless the people with supernatural interventions.  God’s miraculous intervention of grace, mercy and love will once more affirm the words of Our Lady who said, ‘Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed.’

Saint Scholastica

Tuesday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time
How easy it is to fall into the same trap as the Pharisees.  How easy it is to criticize those who don’t live up to our standards or our definition of holiness.

COMMEMORATION OF OUR DECEASED PARENTS

It has been said that the greatest benefactors of any religious community are the parents of its members.  Today we remember in our thoughts and our prayers all our deceased parents and we offer this Mass for the happy repose of their immortal souls.

THE FIFTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

Faith means that no longer will we be in control of what is happening to us.  Recognising our own weakness we can only rely on the grace of God.  Peter, as a fisherman, was at the mercy of the power of nature.  Perhaps that’s why he could accept being at the mercy of the power of God.  Perhaps that’s why he was chosen to lead the Church.

Saint Paul Miki and Companions

350 years before the Americans dropped an atom bomb on Nagasaki, Saint Paul Miki and 26 companions were crucified for being Catholics.  Let us pray that as a result of their example and their witness we may come to appreciate the faith for which they readily laid down their lives.

Saint Agatha

The only facts we have about Saint Agatha is that she born in Sicily and died there a martyr.  The rest is legend.  And legend tells us that Agatha suffered dreadfully for her faith and kept firm to the end.  She is the heavenly patron of women who suffer sexual assault and indignity, and we ask her protection for all women in danger.

Saint Catherine de Ricci O.P.

Saint Catherine de Ricci O.P.  Cloistered Dominican nun.  The reputation of her sanctity was well known throughout Italy and she corresponded with several bishops who would later become popes.  She knew St. Philip Neri and St. Charles Borromeo.  Catherine died on 2 February 1590 and was canonised by Pope Benedict XIV in 1746.  St. Catherine is the heavenly patron of those who suffer illness.

Saint Blase

Today we celebrate the feast of Saint Blase who was Bishop of Sebaste in Armenia and suffered martyrdom under the Roman Emperor Licinius in 324.  Before being martyred, he is said to have healed a boy who was choking.  Since the 8th century St. Blase has been venerated as the patron of those who suffer from diseases of the throat.  The Blessing of St. Blase is a sign of our faith in God’s protection and his love for us and for all those who are sick.

THE PRESENTATION OF OUR LORD
Candlemas

Monday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time
It has been said that people have learned more from their enemies than from their friends.  Friends often overlook our faults and failings, while people who are angry with us have often shown up our shortcomings.  Experiences like these, unpleasant though they are, can encourage us into new territories of renewal.

THE FOURTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

Let us pray today for our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI, our own bishop Crispian Hollis and for all the successors of the apostles that the Holy Spirit will be with them and that they may lead us with courage and conviction and that we, in turn, may have the humility to follow them and to trust in them and so merit eternal life.

Saturday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time
As surely as Our Lord brought peace to the troubled waters, so will the Father, through his Son, bring peace to the troubled heart of the sinner who repents.

Friday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time
In God’s kingdom the power of love replaces the love of power.

SAINT THOMAS AQUINAS

Saint Albert the Great said of his brightest student: We call him the Dumb Ox, but he will bellow in learning as will be heard all over the world.  Thomas Aquinas became one of the greatest theologians the Church has ever seen and his writings continue to be studied in seminaries and universities throughout the world.  Saint Thomas said that he learned more at the foot of the cross than he did from books.

Wednesday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time
In his exhortation On Evangelization in the Modern World, Pope Paul VI said: “We wish to confirm once more that the task of evangelizing all people constitutes the essential mission of the Church.  It is a task and mission which the vast and profound changes of present-day society make all the more urgent. Evangelizing is in fact the grace and vocation proper to the Church, her deepest identity” (Evangelii Nuntiandi, 14).

Saints Timothy and Titus

Like us, Saints Timothy and Titus each had their own strengths and weaknesses.  But over time, as they cooperated with the Holy Spirit, they witnessed God work wonders in them and through them.

THE CONVERSION OF SAINT PAUL

Saint Paul made a great effort to follow Christ faithfully.  But above and beyond all of Paul’s effort was the grace and mercy of Almighty God who calls each one of us to be a generous receiver of that grace as Saint Paul himself was.

THE THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

We need to become a people more devoted to personal prayer and a sacramental life, a people who willingly and generously involve themselves in the life of the Church and the community.  Only then can we receive the innumerable graces and blessings which the Lord our God wishes to bestow upon us as members of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, the family of God himself.

Saturday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time
Our Lord knew the sorrow of being misunderstood by those he loved, especially those who were for him family.

Friday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time
It is God who calls men to be kings just as it is God who calls simple fishermen to be apostles.

Saint Agnes

Today we celebrate the feast of Saint Agnes, a teenage martyr of the Church who died in the year 305.  Having consecrated her virginity to God, Agnes resisted the advances of many prominent suitors.   When one rejected suitor exposed her as a Christian, she became a victim of the great persecution started by the Emperor Diocletian.  Agnes was beheaded and her body was buried outside the walls of Rome in a cemetery that today is named in her honour.

Wednesday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time
One of the most important attitudes we should cultivate is humility.  Humility recognises that everything we are and have comes from God; and this humility in turn leads to a greater confidence and trust in God.  With humility we can face the difficulties of life with the same confidence David had when he faced Goliath.

Tuesday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time
God sent his prophet Samuel to an insignificant little town called Bethlehem to seek out the most unlikely successor, the youngest son of a sheep farmer.   David would become the greatest king in the history of the Israelites.

Saint Margaret of Hungary

Today we honour the memory of Saint Margaret of Hungary who joined the Dominicans in 1245 and was passionate about her consecration to Christ.  Margaret had an unusual approach to the religious life which wouldn’t go down too well today, and yet Margaret was considered a saint in her own lifetime and many miracles have been attributed to her intercession.  Her life, extraordinary as it was, gives us an example of the victory we can have over the world and its many attractions.  Margaret died on this day in 1270 and was canonized in 1943.

WEEK OF PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY

God of compassion, you have loved and forgiven us in Christ, and sought to reconcile the entire human race in that redeeming love.  Look with favour upon us, who work and pray for the unity of divided Christian communities.  Grant us the experience of being brothers and sisters in your love.  May we be one, one in your hand.  We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever, Amen.

THE SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

The Lord who turned water into wine also turns wine into his precious blood.  The Lord who was done to death is risen again, for us and for our salvation.  United in this risen Lord we, his followers, put all our gifts and talents to work in this world.

Saturday of the First Week in Ordinary Time
Nothing in the human heart can be hidden from God’s eyes and he is fully aware of the shame and guilt, poverty and need we prefer to hide from public view.  Yet God doesn’t shun us just because we have a dark side; rather his arms open to embrace us as prodigal sons and daughters.

The Dominican Martyrs of China
Saint Francis Fernandez and Companions

On 1st October 2000, Pope John Paul II canonised 120 Catholics martyred in China between 1648 and 1930.  Among them were six Dominicans whom we honour today: Saint Francis Fernandez and his companions.  May these saints inspire us to put our Faith into practice in a practical way to benefit the Church, the world and our own salvation.

Thursday of the First Week in Ordinary Time
The small gestures of concern and friendship we offer to others are God’s own assurance that his people are as close to him as the person sitting next to us.

Wednesday of the First Week in Ordinary Time
We need that silent time to listen as Samuel did, and as Our Lord did.  For what does it profit us if we get all the activities in and miss the point of it all?

Tuesday of the First Week in Ordinary Time
Because we belong to God we can rise above our sin and failure and we can become agents of change and transformation for those around us.

Monday of the First Week in Ordinary Time
Our Lord asks Peter, Andrew, James and John to leave everything behind and invites them to the fullness of following him.

BAPTISM OF THE LORD

Through our baptism, we are invited to know closer intimacy with God.  On the day of our baptism our true identity was confirmed and we became the adopted sons and daughters of a loving God.

Saturday after the Epiphany
Let us take as our example and our model John the Baptist who was happy to let go of the things he had achieved so that God’s glory could be further revealed.

Friday after the Epiphany
Our Lord has ushered in a whole new way of life for us.  The very way we think, the decisions we make, the way we express our love—all these and more can now be reshaped by divine logic.

Saint Raymond of Penyafort OP

The Dominican Saint Raymond of Penyafort had a profound influence on the life of the Church in that he helped to codify what we know today as the Code of Canon Law.  He was the third Master of the Order and refused a bishopric in order to dedicate himself to parish work and help ordinary people with their spiritual lives.  Saint Raymond died in 1275 and was canonised in 1601 by Pope Clement VIII.  He is the heavenly patron of civil and canon lawyers.

Wednesday after the Epiphany
Our Lord asked us to get into the boat that is the Church and we did, first through Baptism, then Confirmation, and later (some of us) by Religious Profession and Ordination and as often as we recommit ourselves to follow him.

Tuesday after the Epiphany
Saint John tells us how to demonstrate our love in action.  Whenever we get out of ourselves and focus on others, we are taking the first steps toward loving as Our Lord loved.  And he gave us much more than his word; he gave his very self.  And he continues to do so in the gift of the Eucharist.

Saint Zedislava of Lemberk OP

THE EPIPHANY OF THE LORD

Homage, honour, devotion, worship, respect and dedication: these are all things that seem to be rapidly disappearing from our civilised world and our modern culture. All the more precious, then, is our gift and our example to those around us who badly need to recover their own sense of giving homage and worship to the One who alone can save the world in which we live.

Saint Basil the Great and Saint Gregory of Nazianzen

“The bread which you do not use is the bread of the hungry; the garment hanging in your wardrobe unused is the garment of him who is naked; the shoes that you do not wear are the shoes of one who is barefoot; money that you keep locked away is the money of the poor; the acts of charity that you do not perform are so many injustices that you commit.”  Saint Basil the Great

SOLEMNITY OF MARY, MOTHER OF GOD

In the year 431, at the Council of Ephesus, the Church defined the dogma that Mary is the Mother of God.  Theotokos.  It was in Mary’s flesh that the expression of God, the Word of God, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, took on human flesh and became man.  This dogma is more of a statement about Mary’s Son than it is about her maternity.  And the Word became flesh and lived among us.

SEVENTH DAY OF THE OCTAVE
John the Baptist carried the message that the light had come into our world.  We carry that same light today through the witness of our lives.

SIXTH DAY OF THE OCTAVE
When Mary and Joseph presented their child at the Temple, Anna recognised Jesus as the One who would bring about “the redemption of Jerusalem.”

SAINT THOMAS BECKET

Today we keep the feast of Saint Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury and Chancellor of England, martyred in his own cathedral in 1170, for protecting the rights of the Church in England in defiance of King Henry II.

THE HOLY INNOCENTS

God always hears the cry of innocent blood

THE HOLY FAMILY

It is perfectly in order for the Church to present the Holy Family as the model for all families.  The roles of each member of the Holy Family can be imitated by our fathers, mothers and children.   May all our families be holy families, little churches where God’s love is found.

SAINT STEPHEN

Saint Stephen's decision to forgive his killers was the fruit of the birth of a baby in a stable in Bethlehem years earlier.  Our Lord’s incarnation was the pebble dropped in the pond which is still sending out ripples today, affecting the entire world.

A HAPPY FEASTDAY TO ALL MEMBERS OF THE ARCHCONFRATERNITY OF SAINT STEPHEN

CHRISTMAS DAY MASS

CHRISTMAS EVE MASS

To worship God is one of the noblest things a human being can do.  To pay honour to the Lord above, our creator God, is not just our basic duty, it is our highest privilege.

24th December : Morning Mass
The Messiah came to bring us this freedom by defeating the foes within us: namely sin and death.  Far from giving us simply an external peace characterized by a lack of conflict, he came to give us the deeper and more substantial peace that comes as our internal struggles are calmed and the effects of sin are healed.  These are the real tyrants, for they are the enemies that give rise to every external conflict we face, both in our lives and in the world at large.

23^rd December

God is calling us, like John the Baptist, to commit our lives to his will.  Let us devote all of our energy to seeking out his call and let us ask the Holy Spirit for the power to carry it out.

22^nd December

Amid the hustle and bustle of preparing for Christmas let’s spend a few moments focussing upon the words of the Magnificat.  Each evening at vespers we should try and make the words our own as we call to mind the particular ways God has “looked with favour” on us and done wonderful things for us.  As St. Ambrose wrote:  “Let Mary’s soul be in each of you to proclaim the greatness of the Lord.  Let her spirit be in each of you to rejoice in the Lord.”

Today is the 793^rd birthday of the Order of Preachers. On 22^nd December 1216, Pope Honorius III gave official approval to the creation of the Order of Preachers to Our Holy Father Dominic.
As we look forward to the birth of Our Saviour, we also celebrate the birth of our Order.  The anniversary is still observed in the Order, but impeded liturgically because of the primacy of these days before Christmas.

21^st December

By allowing the Holy Spirit to do his work in us, Christ is born to the world around us in fulfilment of his promises and his plans, both great and small.

+ THE FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT +

Our waiting for Christmas is almost over now and we reflect today upon how Our Lady prepared for God’s will to be done by being faithful to his promises.  As we prepare for God’s will to be done in our own lives we recognise that we have been unfaithful at times.  Let us ask for his forgiveness and help, that our faith may be deepened.

19th December

After Zechariah was struck dumb, he had time to think things over prayerfully.  And this is the purpose of Advent: a time to examine whether we are settling for less than God wants to give.  Can we find the humility to stretch our faith and give him room to act?

18th December

In Joseph we see a model of humility and openness to God.  Like Abraham when asked to sacrifice Isaac, Joseph was willing to follow a new path, even if it didn’t completely make sense.  When faced with a radical change in his plans for his life, he took his confusion and distress to God, and he wasn’t disappointed.

17th December

In the hustle and bustle of preparing for Christmas we should spend a little time today thinking about our heritage.  Who handed the faith on to us?  Who awakened our desire to know God and to become a more deliberate part of his family?  We should thank God for our spiritual ancestors.

THE GREAT 'O' ANTIPHONS

Wednesday of the Third Week of Advent
Just as Jesus showed John, we can show our neighbours that they don’t have to wait for someone else.  Jesus really is the Messiah.  He really can heal and forgive and save.

Tuesday of the Third Week of Advent
The Christian life is not just about what we have to do to become more Christ-like.  As we pass the halfway point of Advent, let us ask God to give us another infusion of expectation.

Saint John of the Cross

Today we honour the memory of Saint John of the Cross who assisted St. Teresa of Avila in reform of the Carmelite Order.  St. John was a popular preacher and a prolific writer and several of his spiritual works continue to be read today and have never gone out of print.  He had a special concern for those who suffered dryness or depression in their spiritual life and offered encouragement that God loved them and was leading them deeper into faith.  St. John himself suffered from what he called The Dark Night of the Soul and said the best way to rediscover the light is to pray and worship even when we feel alone and spiritually dry.

+ THE THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT +
Just as the glittering commercialism of this season can blind us to the mystery of Christmas, so the accelerated pace of life can make it difficult for us to patiently await the coming of the Lord in our lives.   At this time our attention is centred not only on the fact that Jesus is the Messiah but on what kind of Messiah he is.   Who are you expecting this Christmas and for what do you hope?   As we come together for Mass this morning we are conscious of the truth that the Lord is coming into our world and that this must be the principal cause of our happiness, and not the anticipation of expensive gifts wrapped up in fancy paper.   It’s so easy to lose ourselves in the frenzy of gift buying and wrapping and to forget the reason why we are celebrating the season.   We forget just how close the Lord is to us.

+ THE SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT +
In the Mass today we hear John the Baptist proclaiming that our Saviour is coming.  The principal way we are to prepare ourselves for his coming is by repentance, by turning away from sin and turning towards him.  As we prepare for the coming of Christ in this Mass let us recall those occasions when we have rejected the Lord by our attachment to sin.  May our repentance be wholehearted and sincere so that the Lord’s work in us may be complete.

Saturday of the First Week of Advent
As the world around us goes mad today with the frenzy of Christmas shopping, we should take at least a little time to reflect on how the gift of faith has been nurtured in our hearts by other people.

Friday of the First Week of Advent
God is present for us to see everywhere and especially in the people around us.  Every human person has something of the goodness of God within them.  What a shame it is to close our eyes to God’s presence, to live in darkness and gloom, when all we have to do is open our eyes in faith to see him.

Saint Francis Xavier
Patron the the Foreign Missions
Today we honour the memory of Saint Francis Xavier who, along with Saint Ignatius of Loyola founded the Society of Jesus.  He was canonized in 1622 and proclaimed patron of all foreign missions by Pope Saint Pius X

Wednesday of the First Week of Advent
It took God six days to create the world, and then he rested on the seventh.  It was a day of satisfaction and plenty.  It was a time to enjoy his creation, a creation so good and complete that it couldn’t be improved upon.

Tuesday of the First Week of Advent
As we enter this Advent season we should lift up our hearts and take courage, because Jesus, the promised Messiah, is our peace and our salvation.

+ Saint Andrew +
Saint Andrew’s hunger for more can be a powerful example for us.  In whatever way Our Lord invites us, we must, like St. Andrew, respond eagerly, knowing that grace, joy, and intimacy with God are ours if we do.

+ THE FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT +

The angel of the Lord declared unto Mary, and she conceived by the Holy Spirit.
Hail Mary, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus.

Saturday of the Thirty Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
The great prophecy of the triumph of good over evil was fulfilled in the death and resurrection of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Friday of the Thirty Fourth Week in Ordinary Time
Through Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit has been poured out to prepare us for his return.  And so we should confidently participate in this era of grace in our prayer, in our commitment to service and evangelism, and through the sacraments, those special signs that tell us that God’s kingdom is here.

Thursday of the Thirty Fourth Week in Ordinary Time
We have Our Lord’s word for it that he will return in glory.  He will bring judgment upon the sins of the world.  But he will also bring salvation to all who are looking for him.  So we must stay alert, and welcome him into our hearts today and every day.

Saint Catherine of Alexandria
Secondary Patron of the Order of Preachers
Our Lord warns us that we may be persecuted for being his followers but that it will lead to our giving testimony.  We shouldn’t fear or need to rehearse what we might say to those who oppose us and our values.  Our Lord promises: “I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute”.

The Dominican Martyrs of Vietnam
Today the Church honours the memory of the 117 Martyrs of Vietnam who suffered for their faith in Christ during the 18th and 19th centuries.  These martyrs were recognised and beatified in four groups during the early 20th century and the second group beatified by Pope Leo XIII in 1906 were all Dominicans whom we hold in special honour today.  This group includes 6 bishops, 20 priests, and 24 catechists and parishioners.  The whole group of 117 were canonised in 1988 by Pope John Paul II.

Monday of the Thirty Fourth Week in Ordinary Time
Our faith may not be tested as dramatically as Daniel’s was, but when we place getting to know Jesus at the top of our priorities, we will receive all the grace we need in order to persevere with our vocation.

+ OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST - UNIVERSAL KING +
Christ’s kingdom is in the making, and we are part of it.  We will probably not see its universal and final fulfilment in our lifetime, at least not in our lifetime in this world.  But there is another lifetime that will last forever, and in that lifetime, if we have made Christ the king of our hearts, if we have served others as he did, then we will know that we had our own personal part in it.

Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
On this Feast of the Presentation of Our Lady in the Temple we reflect upon the fact that Our Lady was dedicated to God and dedicated to a lofty ideal.  Her entire life was a total presentation to God and her heart always beat to the tune of divine inspiration.  May we always follow Our Lady’s example and do the same.

Friday of the Thirty Third Week in Ordinary Time
In his Gospel St. Luke guides us to understand how Our Lord is opposed to the desecration of the sacred that is taking place in the hearts of the people involved.

Thursday of the Thirty Third Week in Ordinary Time
As Our Lord weeps over the city of Jerusalem, he anguishes over its failure to be open to the message of salvation, his message of freedom.  The message of salvation, revealed in both the Old and New Testaments, encompasses God’s incredible love for each of us.  Knowing this love gives us confidence and joy because through it we come to know God.

Wednesday of the Thirty Third Week in Ordinary Time
God never promised that we won’t undergo trials and difficulties, but no matter how difficult things might get for us, we know that God will care for us.  We know that he will never leave us or forsake us, not even at the end of time.

Tuesday of the Thirty Third Week in Ordinary Time
The story of Zacchaeus teaches us that no sin can cut us off from God as long as we are willing to turn to him for forgiveness.

SAINT EDMUND OF ABINGDON
Joint Principal Patron of the Diocese of Portsmouth

Today the Diocese of Portsmouth observes the Solemnity of Saint Edmund of Abingdon who, in 1222 became a canon and treasurer of Salisbury Cathedral and later Archbishop of Canterbury.  Saint Edmund is honoured as a zealous and reforming pastor of the Church.  He died exiled in France on this day in 1240, and Pope Innocent IV canonised him just seven years later in 1247.

+ THE THIRTY THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME +
The great truth of the Gospel is that God’s love has triumphed over the power of evil.  As the prophet Daniel reminds us, we can look forward to a new world in which we will 'shine as brightly as the vault of heaven, as bright as stars for all eternity'. As followers of Christ who celebrate his victory in our daily lives, we know exactly what Daniel means.

Saturday of the Thirty Second Week in Ordinary Time
The kind of faith Our Lord is looking for is the faith of this persistent widow—a faith that is full of confidence, contentment, and courage.

COMMEMORATION OUR OUR DECEASED
DOMINICAN BROTHERS AND SISTERS
We offer the Mass today for the repose of the souls of our deceased Dominican brothers and sisters: men and women who have, through the witness of their living and their dying formed, at least to some extent, those of us who are still alive.  We remember them today with compassion.  Some of them were saints.  Some of them were not quite so saintly.  And yet their lives are the foundation stones upon which we now struggle to build our lives as a community as we seek to be of one mind and heart on our journey towards God.

Saint Josaphat
Saint Josaphat, an Eastern Rite bishop, honoured as a martyr to church unity because he died trying to bring part of the Orthodox Church into union with Rome.  He was canonised in 1867 and became the first member of the Eastern Church to be formally canonised as a saint of the Latin Church.

Saint Martin of Tours
St. Martin of Tours was a Hungarian by birth.  He was imprisoned as a young man for being a conscientious objector and refusing to join the Roman army.  It's interesting that his feast falls on the anniversary of Armistice Day.  Martin became a monk in 360 and later established many monasteries.  In 372 Martin was acclaimed bishop of Tours and he is honoured by the Church for his pastoral zeal.  Bishop Martin died in 397 and today is the anniversary of his burial.

Pope Saint Leo the Great
During the fifth century Pope Saint Leo the Great played a pivotal role in the history of the Church: he persuaded the Emperor Valentinian to recognize the primacy of the Bishop of Rome.  He was also instrumental in formulating the doctrine of Our Lord’s Incarnation.  He even persuaded Attila the Hun to turn away his invasion force from the gates of Rome.  Pope Leo died in 461 leaving many letters and writings of great historical value.

DEDICATION OF THE LATERAN BASILICA
Today we commemorate more than the dedication of a building made of bricks and mortar.  Rather we commemorate the continuing dedication of a living structure, a living temple of God: the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.

+ THE THIRTY SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME +
Remembrance Day
we pray for those who gave their lives that we may live better lives.
May their sacrifice not be in vain.

ALL SAINTS OF THE ORDER OF PREACHERS
Today we commemorate those members of the Dominican Order who have survived the period of trial.  And that doesn’t mean just surviving the novitiate!  These Dominicans were faithful, despite their shortcomings and failings, to their vocation.  They have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb.  They are the ones now who are like Him.  They have entered into God’s glory.  These souls are looking at God face-to-face, bowing down before the throne and giving God glory and honour.

Blessed Alphonsus Navarette and Companions
The Dominican Martyrs of Japan
Today we honour the memory of the Dominican friar Blessed Alphonsus Navarette and 15 other Dominican priests and laypeople associated with the Order who were martyred in Japan.  These 16 form part of a much larger group who suffered for their faith during a five year persecution of Catholics that took place in Japan during the mid 17th century.  The group were canonised by
Pope John Paul II in 1987.

Thursday of the Thirty First Week in Ordinary Time
The shepherd found his lost sheep.  The woman recovered her coin.  And the angels rejoice.  But God himself also rejoices.  The Lord of all creation exults.  The Holy Spirit delights over each and every sinner who repents.

Saint Charles Borromeo
When Charles Borromeo was created a cardinal at the age of 21 as a result of nepotism who would have thought that he would become one of the foremost reformers in the history of the Church?  This is an example of how the Holy Spirit can work even in unusual circumstances.  Charles Borromeo was a prime mover during the Council of Trent and after his election as Archbishop of Milan he was one of the first bishops to open a seminary for the training of priests.  His dedication to Church reform brought about much opposition and attempts were made on his life.  St. Charles has had a tremendous influence and impact on Catholic life for the past 400 years.  He was canonised in 1610.

Saint Martin de Porres OP
Today we celebrate the feast of the Dominican Saint Martin de Porres who joined the Order aged 15 and devoted his life to the care of the sick and the poor, always with great humility and kindness.  He was a friend of Saint Rose of Lima.  Saint Martin died in 1639 and was canonised by Pope John XXIII in 1962.

COMMEMORATION OF THE FAITHFUL DEPARTED
The Church, after celebrating the Solemnity of All Saints yesterday, today prays for all those souls who, in the purifying suffering of Purgatory, wait for the day when they too will join the company of the saints in heaven.   During the month of November we offer the fruits of the Mass for all who have died and especially those known to us, members of our own family, our community, friends and benefactors.

+ ALL SAINTS +
None of us are perfect and we all have faults, but as we try to better ourselves in the spirit of the Beatitudes we can ‘rejoice and be glad’, for our reward will be great in heaven.

REQUIEM MASS
for the repose of the soul of
ALASTAIR JOHN STUART SHAW
10 April 1946 - 1 September 2009

Blessed Terence O'Brien OP and Blessed Peter Higgins OP
The canonisation of Saint Oliver Plunkett in 1975 brought an awareness of the other men and women who died for the Catholic Faith in Ireland during the 16th and 17th centuries.  On 22nd September 1992 Pope John Paul II proclaimed a representative number of 17 Irish men and women as martyrs and beatified them.  Among them two Dominicans whose feast we celebrate today – Bishop Terence O’Brien who was hanged, drawn and quartered in Limerick on this day in 1651 and also Father Peter Higgins who was hanged in Dublin in 1642.

Thursday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time
History proves that those who work for the Kingdom face misunderstanding, estrangement, ridicule, suspicion and suffering.

SAINT SIMON AND SAINT JUDE
We should be humbled by our heritage as children of God, because at the
end of the day it is God’s love and grace that holds the Church together.

Tuesday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time
When the mustard seed is planted in the ground, it has no notion of what it is to become.  When yeast is set to work, greedily feeding upon the dough, it doesn’t consciously labour to produce bread.  But the person who sows the seed and kneads the dough knows what will happen.  Our task is to let ourselves be used as God sees fit and to trust in his purpose.

Monday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time
Life is full of situations in which we are tempted to feel neglected or undermined.  But dwelling on these offences is likely to stunt our growth in faith.  What’s more, if we spend our energy justifying these feelings we, like the synagogue official, risk missing the miracles God is working in our very midst.

+ THE THIRTIETH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME +
To see the real world doesn’t require sight, it requires insight, it requires faith.  This is the world that counts.  This is the world in which we believe.  This is the world which lasts forever.  This is the world in which we can be at one with God.  This is the world in which we place all our hope.

Saturday of the Twenty Ninth Week in Ordinary Time
Repentance has the power to purify our hearts and our minds.  It frees us up so that we can move out into the world healed and hopeful, ready to serve God and his people.  Whenever we need to wipe our slate clean, the Sacrament of Penance enables us to confess our sins and let Jesus, the good gardener, cultivate us so that we can bear fruit wherever we go.

Friday of the Twenty Ninth Week in Ordinary Time
Ordinary people like us become saints not by our own efforts but by being open to God’s grace.  It is God who will make all the difference in our lives if only we are willing to allow him to enter in and do his work within us.

Thursday of the Twenty Ninth Week in Ordinary Time
God wants to heal us, but we must be willing to expose our wounds.  He wants to strengthen us, but we must admit our weakness and ask for his help. He wants to fill us with his power, but we must first empty ourselves of our pride.  Imagine how much God can do with a heart completely surrendered to him.

Wednesday of the Twenty Ninth Week in Ordinary Time
Since Our Lord’s return will astonish everyone, we might suppose there’s no way to really prepare for it.  But Our Lord’s words tell us that our entire Christian life hinges on getting ready.  We are to take up our cross daily and follow him.  In order to find our life, we have to lose it.

Tuesday of the Twenty Ninth Week in Ordinary Time
Adam’s first sin had consequences that are still with us today, but Our Lord’s complete obedience to God also has eternal—and even more powerful—consequences for us.  Adam’s sin led to our condemnation, but Our Lord’s obedience can lead all who believe to eternal life with God.

Monday of the Twenty Ninth Week in Ordinary Time
As we come to the altar to give thanks to God for all that we have been given, we pray that we may use our possessions as Our Lord taught, using the things of this world with respect and reverence and sharing whatever riches we have with those in greater need.

+ THE TWENTY NINTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME +
WORLD MISSION SUNDAY
Like Our Lord, the Church is a sign of contradiction.  Someone said the Church is never popular but always attractive.  And like Our Lord the Church’s preaching demands conversion, a change of life and submission to the Truth.  This is a requirement which the Catholic Church has faithfully preached throughout the ages.

Saint Ignatius of Antioch
“The only thing I ask of you is to allow me to offer the libation of my blood to God.  I am the wheat of the Lord, may I be ground by the teeth of the beasts to become the immaculate bread of Christ.”

Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque
Today we honour of the memory of Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, who with Saint John Eudes and Blessed Claude la Colombiere are called the ‘Saints of the Sacred Heart’.  Devotion to the Sacred Heart was officially recognised by the Church in 1765 and approved by Pope Clement XIII.  Sister Margaret Mary died at the age of 43 while being anointed.  Her last words were “I need nothing but God, and to lose myself in the heart of Jesus.”  Saint Margaret Mary was canonised in 1920.

Saint Teresa of Avila
Today the Church honours the memory of Saint Teresa of Ávila, the prominent Spanish mystic, Carmelite nun and promoter of the Counter Reformation.  With Saint John of the Cross she reformed the Carmelite Order and in 1970 became the first woman to be named a Doctor of the Church.  Saint Teresa is an outstanding example for us to follow as we persevere in our Christian vocation.

Wednesday of the Twenty Eighth Week in Ordinary Time
It is no easier or more popular today to speak the truth.   Sometimes, while we speak to others, we need the words to fall back on our own ears just in case we find ourselves doing the very things we condemn.

Tuesday of the Twenty Eighth Week in Ordinary Time
We are all saints in the making. As St. Catherine of Siena wrote, “If you are what you should be, you will set the whole world on fire.”

Monday of the Twenty Eighth Week in Ordinary Time
The age of miracles is far from past.  Most people today are just blind to the fact that miracles happen every single day.  Our Lord’s body appears upon the altar at every Mass and is placed right into our hands.  His body thrives in the Church as his faithful followers open their hearts and hands to one another, ministering his presence more powerfully than the voice of any single individual.

+ THE TWENTY EIGHTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME +
I asked God for strength, that I might achieve,
I was made weak, that I might learn humbly to obey.
I asked for health, that I might do greater things,
I was given infirmity, that I might do better things.
I asked for riches, that I might be happy,
I was given poverty, that I might be wise.
I asked for power, that I might have the praise of men,
I was given weakness, that I might feel the need for God.
I asked for all things, that I might enjoy life,
I was given life, that I might enjoy all things.
I got nothing that I asked for, but everything I had hoped for.
Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered.
I am among all men most richly blessed.

Saturday of the Twenty Seventh Week in Ordinary Time
Blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it

Saint Louis Beltran O.P.
Today we honour the memory of the Spanish Dominican Saint Louis Beltràn who worked in South America where he preached the Gospel in Colombia and Panama.  When his health failed he returned to Spain where he died whilst preaching in the cathedral at Valencia on 9 October 1581.  Saint Louis was canonized by Pope Clement X in 1671 and he is the patron saint of Colombia and the patron of Dominican formation personnel and novitiates.

Thursday of the Twenty Seventh Week in Ordinary Time
God doesn’t always jump when we shout ‘jump’

OUR LADY OF THE ROSARY
The rosary is a chain of living reflection and action, designed to influence the words and works of our daily living. The rosary makes real and practical the life, death, and resurrection of Christ which our lives must reflect. The rosary should be a living sign in our hands to pray and to plead for a greater fullness of Christ in our lives through the prayerful help of his Blessed Mother.
Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us

Saint Bruno
Today we honour the memory of Saint Bruno, the founder of the Carthusian Order.  It is said of the Carthusians that the Order never had to be reformed because it was never deformed.  St. Bruno’s distinction as a founder was that he introduced into the Church a mixed form of the eremitical and cenobitical traditions. Saint Bruno died on this day in 1101 and was never formally canonized, because even to this day the Carthusians are averse to all occasions of publicity. Pope Clement X extended St. Bruno’s feast to the whole Church in 1674.

Monday of the Twenty Seventh Week in Ordinary Time
We can cultivate an ear for God through expectant listening and trusting obedience to what we hear.  God is always calling out to us, and he will continue to speak, waiting patiently for us to hear his call over the busyness of our daily lives.

+ THE TWENTY SEVENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME +
The Catholic Church is not in the business of issuing condemnations or heavy judgements; our task is to show a better way.  Our task is to show the way that Christ teaches, and although this way is difficult it has very great rewards and it enhances our human dignity and our self-worth.  It is a way of sacrifice, for some it is the Way of the Cross, but it is also a way to true happiness and self-fulfilment.  It is the way of holiness.

Pope Benedict XVI's Encyclical Letter Deus Caritas Est

Saturday of the Twenty Sixth Week in Ordinary Time
As we open our lives to Christ and allow his words to soak into our hearts and minds, we will find ourselves moved more deeply by his love and his wisdom and less by a sense of duty.  We who are weak can become strong in him.  We who are poor can become rich.  We who are deaf can hear.  And we who are blind can see.

Saint Cosmas and Saint Damian
Today we honour the memory of Ss. Cosmas and Damian, two brothers martyred for the Faith around the year 283.  They were both doctors by profession who never charged money for their services and because of their Christian charity marked them out as objects of persecution by the Roman authorities.  They suffered martyrdom during the persecution of Diocletian.  Ss. Cosmas and Damian are the patron saints of pharmacists.

Friday of the Twenty Fifth Week in Ordinary Time
Let us allow God to tear down the old structures of pride, self-sufficiency, and independence in us, and rebuild us on the solid rock of Christ.

Our Lady of Walsingham
When we go on pilgrimage to Walsingham, we each go with our own particular needs and intentions.  We know and believe that when God draws near to us in our need, He makes all things new, He makes things fresh again.  In Jesus Christ, the Word of God became flesh, and as the fruit of Mary’s womb he constantly brings us new life.

Saint Pius of Pietrelcina (Padre Pio)
Some wise person once said that ‘every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future’.  Each one of us is capable of saying with our Blessed Mother: ‘the Almighty has done great things for me, Holy is His name’.  (Luke 1:49)

Tuesday of the Twenty Fifth Week in Ordinary Time
God wants to guide all of us into life-giving relationships so that we are truly free to follow him and build up his kingdom.

FEAST OF SAINT MATTHEW
If we hear Our Lord’s words, “Follow me”, we should rise up immediately, as Matthew did, and follow Christ to a life of service to God and the Church.

Jerome Nichols was enrolled as a member of the Archconfraternity of Saint Stephen for Altar Servers.  Please click here for pictures.

+ THE TWENTY FIFTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME +
These words from the Book of Wisdom are also a powerful warning to us today, because we can all be tempted to envy others.  No one is immune; and unfortunately many people seem to give in to this very common temptation without much of a struggle.

Saturday of the Twenty Fourth Week in Ordinary Time
Just think of how God is able to use our times of prayer.  We make the minuscule effort of setting aside a brief amount of time to be with him, and in return, he pours out blessings far greater than we ever dreamed possible.

Saint John Macias O.P.
Today we honour the memory of the Dominican Saint John Macias, born in Spain in 1585.  He emigrated to Peru and after some time working on a cattle ranch he became a Dominican Lay Brother and was the porter in the Friary in Lima for over 20 years.  He is noted for his care for the poor and for his praying the Rosary offering all his prayers for the release of souls in Purgatory.  Brother John never preached or wrote a word but his example of a holy life touched so many.  He died in 1645 and was canonised in 1975 by Pope Paul VI.

Thursday of the Twenty Fourth Week in Ordinary Time
In today's gospel we see how Our Lord rewards a humble heart.  He forgave the woman before she even said a word to him.  We can experience this same intimacy at every Mass if we simply come to him as she did.  If we understand the great price he paid for us, we will receive him with love and adoration, and he will pour his healing and mercy into our hearts.

Saint Cornelius and Saint Cyprian
Pope Cornelius died in exile in September 253.  Because he suffered so much as pope, he is considered a martyr.  Bishop Cyprian died five years later during the persecution of the Emperor Valerian.  He was beheaded at Carthage on 14th September 258.  Together they share a feast day to remind us of the unity that the Church should always enjoy. Today let us ask Pope St. Cornelius and Bishop St. Cyprian to help us grow in our love for the Church.

Our Lady of Sorrows

THE EXALTATION OF THE HOLY CROSS
We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you,
because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world

If we want eternal life, if we want divine life within our souls then there is only one way and that is to be united with our Bridegroom and to be crucified with Him on the Cross.

+ THE TWENTY FOURTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME +
Our Lord demands a great deal of us, but in everything he asks he gives the strength to those who truly seek him with a sincere heart, he loves those who loves his brothers and sisters, he rejoices in the one who returns to him, even after they have failed.  And if you do give him your all, he will give you in return, everything.  For he says: if you give up your life for my sake you will save it.

Saturday of the Twenty Third Week in Ordinary Time
God is genuinely happy to forgive us.  It is precisely the rejoicing in God’s forgiving love that will be our glory for all eternity.  Our eternal happiness will not be the result of contentment with ourselves.  Rather, we will glory in the cross of Christ that has given us salvation.

Friday of the Twenty Third Week in Ordinary Time
It is God who first found us; it is God who has poured out on us the overflowing measure of grace that surrounds us.

Thursday of the Twenty Third Week in Ordinary Time
The feast we spread before us each day on the altar is all the guarantee we need that we have already been given more than we can afford to buy: love and forgiveness in good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over.

Wednesday of the Twenty Third Week in Ordinary Time
God has given us the gift of Confession, as well as the spiritual nourishment of the Eucharist.  We need all the mercy we can get.  And we sorely need the strength, comfort, and grace that come from receiving Our Lord in Holy Communion.

THE BIRTHDAY OF OUR LADY

As he did with Mary, God invites us to accept his call and to follow him.  Just as God wanted Mary to respond to him and carry out the unique mission he was giving her, so he wants us to accept our unique mission and to carry it out with all our strength.

Monday of the Twenty Third Week in Ordinary Time
We are all called to be witnesses to the truth and to be examples of what is right and good.  In this way we continue Our Lord’s work, and we too, at least at times, should expect to suffer for what is true and right.

+ THE TWENTY THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME +

What Jesus wants of us is not to be awed by spectacular religion, but rather to be open to God’s word for us.  It’s all about having eyes to see and ears to hear what God wants us to be doing.

MASS FOR THE DECEASED RELATIVES, FRIENDS AND BENEFACTORS OF THE ORDER OF PREACHERS

Today we pray that all our deceased friends and benefactors enjoy the vision of God in heaven.  We are blessed and grateful that they were and continue to be a part of our lives.  They continue to support us and care for us through their prayers and we are united with them in spirit, prayer and charity.

Friday of the Twenty Second Week in Ordinary Time
Taste and see that the Lord is good

Pope Saint Gregory the Great
Apostle of the English

We must always remember that God’s ways are not our ways. St. Paul was adamant about that, insisting what seems to be nonsense is in actual fact God’s wisdom and what seems to be weakness is really God’s strength.
Who are we to tell God how to run the universe?

Wednesday of the Twenty Second Week in Ordinary Time
Sometimes very genuine demands represent a distraction from what God really wants us to do.  Discerning the difference requires prayerful solitude and silent listening.

Tuesday of the Twenty Second Week in Ordinary Time
The Word of God is the power that will admit us into heaven when the Lord will say, “Come, you blessed, into the kingdom prepared for you.”  It is the power that will enable us to know God Himself and to share in God’s glory when the Lord says to us, “See me now as I am.”

Monday of the Twenty Second Week in Ordinary Time
Time and time again God tells us that he loves us.  He gave up his Son to demonstrate the depths of his love.  He even sent his Spirit to live in us and fill us with his divine, transforming power.

+ THE TWENTY SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME +
If our prayer and our devotions are true then they will help us to avoid that dreadful reproach of Almighty God: “This people honours me only with lip-service, while their hearts are far from me.”

Martyrdom of John the Baptist

OUR HOLY FATHER AUGUSTINE

The Sacrament of Reconciliation was God’s instrument which transformed Saint Augustine from a fornicator and idolater into a holy man in whom many have and still do meet Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Saint Monica
Mother of OHF Augustine

The internet provides us with information available instantaneously 24 hours a day, along with shopping that can be delivered the next day and a host of other important and indispensible services.  A recent survey has shown that people and especially young people today are losing patience for things that take time.  Saint Monica is a model of patience.  Her long years of prayer, coupled with a strong, well-disciplined character, finally led to the conversion of her hot-tempered husband, her cantankerous mother-in-law and her brilliant but wayward son, Augustine who was also to become a saint and whose feast we will celebrate tomorrow. Let us imitate Saint Monica in praying for the things that really matter.

Blessed Dominic Barberi

Thank goodness God knows us to the very core of our being.
With God we don't have to pretend or put on a show.

Tuesday of the Twenty First Week in Ordinary Time
God wants to heal us and restore us, not just forgive us.  He wants to make us into a people set apart for him.  And for that to happen, we need to look at the “inside” as well as the “outside” of our lives.

SAINT BARTHOLOMEW

Legend tells us Saint Bartholomew was martyred by the Romans by being skinned alive, and in Michelangelo’s great fresco of the Last Judgement in the Sistine Chapel, Saint Bartholomew is portrayed standing in the ranks of apostles and patriarchs, his flayed skin hanging over his arm like an overcoat.

+ THE TWENTY FIRST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME +

What God is giving us in the Blessed Sacrament is more awesome than all of our other choices we could ever possibly make.  What God is offering us in Holy Communion is not only His love, but also His very life.  Let us all join in St. Peter’s response to Our Lord’s challenge. “Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life.  We believe and we know that you are the Holy One of God.”

The Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Mary is our Queen, and we entrust our prayers to her powerful intercession; we look to her as the example of the perfect disciple, and we find consolation in her mother’s heart.

Pope Saint Pius X

Saint Pius X was a great pope and a great example for us to follow: an example of faith, holiness, courage and conviction.  Pope St. Pius defended the purity of the Catholic Faith against several modern heresies and he instilled further dignity in the celebration of the sacred liturgy.  He worked hard to avoid war in 1914 but died shortly after its outbreak.  From his teaching we learn again that ‘the folly of the Cross’, simplicity of life, and humility of heart are still the indispensable conditions for living a perfect Christian life, since, as St. Paul tells us, they are the very source of all apostolic activity.  Pope Pius was canonised in 1954.

Saint Bernard of Clairvaux

Today we honour the memory of Saint Bernard, the most influential religious character of the 12th century, eclipsing.  Bernard’s life and influence in the Church was more active than we can imagine possible today.  His efforts at reconciliation between popes and princes produced far-reaching results.  But he knew that they would have achieved little without the many hours of prayer and contemplation that brought him strength and direction.  His life was characterized by a deep devotion to the Blessed Mother.  His sermons and books about Our Lady are still the standard of Marian theology.  Saint Bernard died at Clairvaux in 1153 and was canonised in 1174.

Wednesday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time

Blessed Mannes de Guzman OP
Blessed Mannes, an older brother of Saint Dominic, born c. 1170.   He joined the Order and established the Convent of St. James in Paris in 1217.  A contemporary described him as “a contemplative and holy man, meek and humble, joyful and kind and a zealous preacher”.  He died in 1235 and was beatified in 1833 by Pope Gregory XVI.

Saint Hyacinthe of Poland OP
Saint Hyacinth joined the Order of Preachers after he witnessed a miracle performed by Saint Dominic.  He established the Order in his native Poland and preached the Gospel throughout many parts of Europe, including Scotland.  Saint Hyacinth expressed great devotion for the Blessed Sacrament and is said to have rescued the ciborium and a statue of Our Lady from a burning church.  Hyacinth died in 1257 and was canonised in 1594 by Pope Clement VIII.  In 1686 Pope Innocent XI named him Patron of Lithuania.  Saint Hyacinth is the patron of those in danger of drowning, and of course, is the heavenly patron of our own Sister Hyacinth for whom this Mass is offered.

SOLEMNITY OF THE ASSUMPTION
OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Our Lady’s Assumption is a reminder to us that God has a plan for each of us, a purpose for every one of our lives.  If we allow him to accomplish his plan in us, we also will be taken to that special place prepared for us, the place of inexpressible joy that we call heaven.

Saturday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time
As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord

Saint Maximilian Kolbe
Martyr of Auschwitz

Father Maximilian Kolbe lived the Mass he celebrated each day of his life.
The sacrifice which he was privileged to offer at the altar as a priest, he offered with his life in the hell of Auschwitz for the life of the world.  It was his personal sacrifice of love.

Thursday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Can we let God’s mercy shower our hearts and transform us into vessels of mercy?  At the end of the day this is all it will take for us to change the world.

Wednesday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time
A religion that doesn’t want to be bothered by the input of others is not a religion at all.  A faith that does not bring people together is not faith but simply fantasy.  A Christianity that does not want to gather in a common building to worship is not worthy of the name.

Saint Clare of Assisi
1194 - 1253

Saint Clare’s life exemplifies the basic premise of the Christian life, which is to be a counter-cultural witness.  God knows that we need tangible examples in our lives of how to be witnesses for Jesus Christ, and so He chooses to raise up in each generation counter-cultural witnesses to His Gospel.

SAINT LAWRENCE
Deacon and Martyr

Our Holy Father Augustine said: “Love has hands to help others.  It has feet to hasten to the poor and needy.  It has eyes to see misery and want.  It has ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of other people.”  Following the example of Saint Lawrence, let us ask the Lord to make us more attentive to these needs, and to become cheerful givers, just as he is.

+ THE NINETEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME +
The presence of the Blessed Sacrament in our chapels and churches is a reminder of how the Holy Eucharist has always been the centre of the Church.

+ SOLEMNITY OF OUR HOLY FATHER DOMINIC +
Founder of the Order of Preachers

‘Dominic thought he would only really be a member of Christ’s Body when he could spend himself utterly with all his strength in the winning of souls, just as the Lord Jesus, the Saviour of us all, gave himself up entirely for our salvation’.  (Blessed Jordan of Saxony, Libellus)

Friday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Can we ever think that the price of discipleship is too high, or that it’s too much for us to accept the cross we carry on our own shoulders?  We shouldn’t think so if we really appreciate what Christ has done for us.

TRANSFIGURATION OF THE LORD
The same Jesus who was rejected and executed by men is declared by God as beloved, pleasing, and worthy of all honour and glory.

Wednesday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Today’s gospel tells us that Jesus welcomes anyone who comes to him with an open, humble, willing heart.  If unbelievers like the Canaanite woman and the Roman centurion found mercy when they came to Jesus, surely we can.  Our Lord doesn’t discriminate.  His arms are open wide, eager to embrace all of us.  Lord, grant us an increase of faith.

Saint John Vianney
Patron of Priests

John Vianney was convinced God was calling him to be a priest. 
Against all the odds he was ordained and he became a truly great priest, thanks to the grace of God.  He is a model for all priests to follow and the Church honours him today as the patron of priests.
Saint John Vianney, patron of priests, pray for us

Monday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Man of little faith, why did you doubt?

+ THE EIGHTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME +

Saint Augustine said, ‘Our hearts are made for you, O God, and they cannot rest until they rest in you.’  The world is full of people who spend their lives aimlessly seeking joy and happiness in the wrong ways.  May we, by our faith and by the simplicity of our lives, be a guide and a beacon for those caught up in the ways of the world.  After all, we cannot take our wealth with us when we die.

Saint Alphonsus de Liguori
1696-1787
Bishop, Doctor of the Church, Founder of the Redemptorists

Today we honour the memory of Saint Alphonsus Liguori: Bishop, Doctor of the Church and Founder of the Redemptorists.  His writings on moral, theological, and ascetic matters had a great impact upon the Church and have survived through the years and his works on moral theology are still studied in seminaries and Catholic universities today.  After a troubled life Saint Alphonsus died peacefully on this day in 1787 and was canonised in 1839.  Today his spiritual sons and daughters carry on his work of preaching the Word of God, especially to the poor.  Here in England the Redemptorists are known for their publishing enterprise and for preaching missions.

Saint Ignatius of Loyola
Ignatius often prayed, “Give me only your love and your grace.  With this I am rich enough, and I have no more to ask.”  St. Ignatius died in Rome, on 31st July 1556.  Pope Gregory XV proclaimed him a saint in 1622.

Thursday of the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time
Every day Our Lord gives himself to us in the Eucharist so that we may give ourselves to him.

Saint Martha
Saint Martha is a moving example of the transforming power of God.
Her life is proof that if we yield to Our Lord just a bit, we will find our lives changed dramatically.

Tuesday of the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time
We should ask ourselves today: how do I experience God?
How does he speak to me?

Blessed Robert Nutter O.P.
Blessed Robert was hanged on this day in 1600 for being a Catholic Priest and ministering to persecuted Catholics in England

+ THE SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME +

Like the crowds that followed Our Lord, we come to Mass today tired and in need of nourishment and refreshment; and the Lord sets before us a banquet that is beyond our imagining.

Saint James the Apostle
Saint James didn’t shrink from sharing Our Lord’s cup, although it meant spending himself in service and suffering.

Friday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time
The Ten Commandments represent a minimum code of conduct, but they are given in the context of God’s love, justice and mercy.

Saint Bridget of Sweden
Patron of Europe

Saint Mary Magdalene
Secondary Patron of the Order of Preachers
Mary Magdalene serves not only as an example of personal conversion for each of us, but also and more importantly as a model of what it means to bring the Good News to those we meet.

Tuesday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time
There are my mother and my brothers and my sisters

Monday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time
In our prayer, meditation and reflection each day, we take the time to be still and listen and we discover the ways in which Our Lord is drawing us forward.

+ THE SIXTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME +
God is a God of surprises just as He is a God who gives us unplanned opportunities to show what we’re made of and respond to Him in patience, humility, and with love.  We all have plans, but at the same time we must remember that God has His plans too.

Saturday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
What begins as ordinary bread and wine becomes the very Body and Blood of Christ, food for our journey, bread of heaven, the stuff that sustains us as people of faith.

Friday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
The Body and Blood of Christ are food for the journey.  We eat like those in flight, but it is a flight into, not out of, the world.

Thursday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Come to me all you who labour and are overburdened and I will give you rest

Saint Bonaventure

St. Bonaventure joined the Franciscans and studied in Paris where he became the friend of St. Thomas Aquinas.  He was nominated Archbishop of York by Pope Clement IV, but he refused the appointment.  Later Pope Gregory X obliged him to become a Cardinal and Bishop of Albano.  He died on 15th July 1274.  St. Bonaventure was one of the leading philosophers and theologians of his time and the Church honours him as a Doctor of the Church.

Tuesday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
The wonder of Confession is that we can know God’s blessings, not just his mercy.  We go to Confession to be reconciled to God for the very purpose of deepening our intimacy with him, not just to clear our conscience.

Monday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Our Lord will ultimately make all things turn out for the best for those who seek him first and strive to follow him better each day.

+ THE FIFTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME +
In our journey through this life it is better to ‘travel light’, for we must always be ready to do the will of God and respond to his call.

FEAST OF SAINT BENEDICT

MY SON, IF YOU TAKE MY WORDS TO HEART, YOU WILL UNDERSTAND WHAT THE FEAR OF THE LORD IS AND DISCOVER THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD

Friday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time
In faith we must believe that God is forming and shaping our lives according to his wisdom just as surely as he did for the Israelites

Saint John of Cologne OP
The Martyrs of Gorkum

Today we honour the memory of the Dominican Saint John of Cologne who along with 18 other priests and religious, including two Praemonstratensians, are known as the Martyrs of Gorkum.  In 1572 the Dutch town of Gorkum was taken over by Protestants who rounded up all the known Catholic clergy and religious in the area.  St. John, who was the parish priest near Gorkum, was lured out of his house in the middle of the night on the pretence of administering the sacraments to a dying man.  St. John, together with Franciscans, Praemonstratensians and Augustinians were held in the prison at Gorkum where they were abused and tortured and urged to abandon their belief in the Blessed Sacrament and in the supremacy of the Pope.  Disregarding the orders of the Prince of Orange, William the Silent, not to harm them, the magistrate at Gorkum had these 19 priests and religious hanged on this day in 1572.  The Martyrs of Gorkum were canonised by Blessed Pope Pius IX in 1867.

Blessed Adrian Fortescue

Blessed Adrian Fortescue was born in 1476 and was a cousin of Anne Boleyn.  He became a Dominican tertiary when he was a student in Oxford.  He attended Anne Boleyn at her coronation, even though he opposed Henry VIII’s divorce and remarriage.  His orderly, peaceful life ended when, by a whim of King Henry VIII, Sir Adrian was arrested with no reason being given for the arrest.  He was released but arrested again after he refused to take the Oath of Supremacy, which declared the King of England the “Supreme Head of the Church of England.”  He was sent to the Tower of London and condemned – without trial – for treason, but what the treason was never was stated.  The decree against him went on to call for the death of Cardinal Pole and several others because they “adhered themselves to the Bishop of Rome” and we can assume that Sir Adrian died for the same reason – for being a faithful Catholic.  He was beheaded on 9th July 1539 along with Venerable Thomas Dingley at Tower Hill, London.  He was beatified in 1895 by Pope Leo XIII and his cause for canonisation is still ongoing.

Tuesday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Faithfulness to God means letting go of whatever pulls us away from him

Monday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time
God invites us to participate in his great works through our faith

+ FOURTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME +

The Catholic Church knows what it stands for and proclaims its message loud and clear

Saturday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Jesus didn't come to make us better people, he came to make us holy

SAINT THOMAS THE APOSTLE

My Lord and my God

Thursday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Abraham is our father and our model in faith.  Like him we are called to turn our lives completely over to God.

Wednesday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time
God’s plan for all of us is worked out in the littleness of daily life

Tuesday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time
When it comes to intercession and evangelization, it’s always too soon to quit

Monday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time
The Lord is compassion and love, slow to anger and rich in mercy...  He does not treat us according to our sins nor repay us according to our faults.

SOLEMNITY OF THE APOSTLES
PETER AND PAUL

The apostles Peter and Paul were united in their deep faith.  It was this faith that brought them together to work so effectively for the Church and which was to result in their martyrdom.

Saturday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time
Lord, I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and I shall be healed

Friday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time
Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean

Thursday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time
Let us pray that nothing may ever separate us from Christ and his Church.
Our union with him in our Catholic faith, like the union of a husband and wife, must be complete, exclusive and forever

Wednesday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time
Thin sowing means this reaping; the more you sow, the more you reap

Tuesday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time
Our Lord doesn’t command impossibilities; rather he makes the impossible possible

Monday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time
We must never abandon God in order to follow the false apostles and prophets of our time whose only purpose is to deceive us

+   C O R P U S   C H R I S T I   +

Today we renew our faith in the doctrine of the Real Presence of Our Lord in the Eucharist.  We remind ourselves that the Mass is not a private devotion where we can do what we please; rather the Mass is the great act of our common worship as the Catholic community in this place.  It is when we come to Mass that we should be most conscious of our unity because it is here that the Body of Christ becomes visible for the entire world to see.  If we are not united as a community then we are unworthy and unfit to be part of the Mass.  We should first of all be reconciled to one another.  God calls us to be living examples to those who follow us.

Saint Anthony of Padua

Saint Anthony of Padua: a Canon Regular who became a Franciscan Friar after being inspired by the stories of Franciscan martyrdoms in North Africa.  He did work in Morocco for a short time but had to return home due to ill health.  Anthony spent the remainder of his short life in Italy where he established a reputation as a great preacher and theologian.  Saint Anthony gave his heart and soul to the God who invites us to serve him in simplicity and surrender.
He died in Padua in 1231 at the age of 36.

Friday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time
Paul’s faith was so strong that he really believed that God the Father loves us as much as he loves his own Son, and that as the Father raised his Son from death to life so will he do the same for us

Saint Barnabas

Barnabas learned that God is so much bigger than his ideas—and it made him into a valuable servant of the Lord.  Let’s follow his lead and ask the Holy Spirit to help us see his work all around us.  It may not be exactly what we expect or are comfortable with.  But when we see the hand of God and rejoice in it and encourage others to do the same, we are taking great steps of healing and unity with all who are called by Christ’s name

Wednesday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time
If we want to move mountains, we have to start by carrying away the small stones

Tuesday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time
Our Lord tells us that our light must shine before the people with whom we share our lives so that they may see goodness in our deeds and give praise to our heavenly Father.  It’s the old and well-tested truth that actions speak much louder than words

Monday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time
Our Lord established a whole new set of values.  He insisted that happiness comes, not from relying on material wealth, but from relying on God

+ THE MOST HOLY AND UNDIVIDED TRINITY +
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit

Jesus came forward and addressed them in these words: Full authority has been given to me both in heaven and on earth; go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations.  Baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Saint Norbert
Founder of the Canons Regular of Prémontré
875th Anniversary of his Death

In imitation of Saint Norbert let us renew our devotion and love
for Our Lord in the Holy Eucharist

Saint Boniface
Apostle of the Germans

The Church honours Saint Boniface as a determined missionary whose work shaped the future of Europe.  Martyred in the Netherlands in 754.  Saint Boniface wrote: “In her voyage across the ocean of this world, the Church is like a ship pounded by the waves of life’s different stresses.  Our duty is not to abandon ship, but to keep her on course”.  May we always remain true to these words

Saint Peter of Verona
The First Dominican Martyr

Saint Peter was canonized in 1253, less than a year after his death.  His life of prayer, penance, and study, which enabled him to give such a tremendous witness to God, is a lesson for us all

Saint Charles Lwanga and Companions
Martyrs of Uganda

The 22 Martyrs of Uganda who suffered for their faith during a 12 month reign of terror against Catholics.  Led by St. Charles Lwanga a lay catechist who was burned to death on 3 June 1886.  Pope Paul VI canonized St. Charles and his companions in 1964

Tuesday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time

Saint Justin

In an age when the Church sought to keep itself to itself, St. Justin stands out as a man brave enough to speak the truth to pagans and unbelievers, boldly and uncompromisingly.  St. Justin wrote several important works which give us first hand information on the life and worship of the early Church.  Before he was condemned to death Justin was asked, If you are killed do you suppose you will go to heaven?  Justin said, I do not suppose it, but I know and am fully persuaded of it.  St. Justin was beheaded in the year 165 and went gladly to be with the Truth he had longed for all his life.

+   P E N T E C O S T   +

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful, and enkindle in them the fire of your love.  Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created.  And you shall renew the face of the earth.   Almighty God, who has taught the hearts of the faithful by the light of the Holy Spirit, grant that by the gift of the same Spirit we may be always truly wise and ever rejoice in his consolation.  Through Christ our Lord.  Amen

Saturday of the Seventh Week of Easter
Whatever our vocation, Almighty God wants to use each and every one of us to bring about his plan of salvation

Thursday of the Seventh Week of Easter
The resurrection is our greatest hope and joy, yet the Sadducees, with their limited view of God and his word, risked missing this wonderful promise

+ Saint Augustine of Canterbury +
The Apostle of England

Saint Augustine of Canterbury comes across as a very human saint, one who could suffer like many of us from a failure of nerve.  For example, his first venture to England in 586 ended in a big U-turn back to Rome.  He made mistakes and met failure in his peacemaking attempts with the Britons.  He often wrote to Rome for decisions on matters he could have decided on his own had he been a bit more confident.  And yet Augustine’s perseverance, despite obstacles and only partial success, teaches us to struggle on despite frustrations and to be satisfied with gradual advances.  The limited success Augustine achieved in England before his death in 605, a short eight years after he arrived in England, would eventually bear fruit long after in the conversion of England.  Without doubt St. Augustine of Canterbury can rightly be called the “Apostle of England.”

Saint Philip Neri

Today we honour the memory of St. Philip Neri, who as a youngster was taught educated by the Dominicans.  As a layman he established a confraternity to care for the poor and the sick of Rome.  He considered the life of a hermit but he was ordained a priest in 1551 and became popular as a confessor and spiritual director.  Pope Gregory XIV tried to make Philip a cardinal but he declined.  In 1575 he established the Congregation of the Oratory – group of priests dedicated to preaching and teaching.  Philip died, after a long illness, in 1597 and was canonised in 1622 by Pope Gregory XV.  He is the patron saint of Rome and in the United States of the Armed Forces.

Father Richard with Sam and Matt Goodman
Solemnity of Saint Dominic 2007

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