Godzdogz

Today marks the beginning of the Year of Consecrated Life! This is an opportunity for us all in the Church – no matter what our vocation in life – to think about and pray for those who live a consecrated life, whether in a religious order, as a lay consecrated person, or in any of the myriad ways that Christians commit themselves to a life of service in the footsteps of Christ. Read more

Readings: Isaiah 63:14-64:8, 1 Corinthians 1:3-9, Mark 13:33-37.  Read more

Here is the text of the sermon I preached on Christ the King (Sunday 23rd November) at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. Read more

The arrival of Dominican friars in the city of Lille in the North of France dates from 1224 and the presence of a Dominican community there has lasted until today, except for two periods: the French Revolution in 1789 caused the extinction of all religious life in France and the Dominicans didn't come back to Lille until 1869, a few years after Henri-Dominique Lacordaire restored the Order of Preachers in France in 1843. Then a second expulsion of the religious orders in France took place in 1905, due to the law of separation between Church and State. This law was later softened, allowing the Dominicans to return to Lille in 1927 and they settled in the centre of the city. Read more

Today is the Feast of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, which falls on the last Sunday before Advent, i.e., at the end of the liturgical year. At the 6.15pm Mass & Vespers tonight at Blackfriars, Oxford, the Schola Magna will sing Tomás Luis de Victoria's setting of O Quam Gloriosum, whose text is below. Read more

To round off our commentary on the Our Father, we come to the ways it has been set to music. Prayer rightly inspires and nourishes theological reflection, but it's always important to come back to prayer. Singing is an excellent way to pray, because it can give voice to the deepest desires of our hearts, and these will lead us to a greater love of God. As St Augustine says, 'Singing is a lover's thing'! Read more

The Dominicans arrived in Zwolle in 1465 as part of the newly established 'Congregatio Hollandiae' (1464-1517). The 'Congregatio Hollandiae' was a reform movement, started in 1515 at the priory of Rotterdam, aiming at a more strict observance. One can imagine how the arrival of the brethren must have struck a chord with the already large presence of communities of another reform movement in Zwolle: the Devotio Moderna. The first priory church was built between 1466 and 1480. Read more

As I write, Lord Falconer’s “Assisted Dying” Bill is currently scheduled to be debated in the House of Lords this coming Friday, 18^thJuly 2014. In this first of a series of posts I wish to examine some of the many problematic aspects of the proposed legislation. This first post will focus on the democratic and legislative issues with the Bill.

Doxology” comes from the Greek words “Doxa” and “Logos” which mean “Glory” and “Word”. Doxology is thus a word of glory. Such words are common in the Scriptures and in the liturgy. The words, “for the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and for ever”, are an example. Through these words, we celebrate the glory of our God, the chief end of all our prayers. Read more

Fr Cornelius Ernst’s early death in 1977, aged just fifty-three, cut short a theological career of great promise and significant accomplishment. As the English Dominican Province’s obituarist observes, “[Ernst] was a theologian of rare capacity who never managed to write the books that were in him”.  Read more