SAINTS & FEASTS

On the 8th DECEMBER the Church celebrate the Solemnity of THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY. It might seem strange that whilst in Advent, and preparing for the birth of Jesus, we pause to remember the conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God. Catholics believe that, in order that she might be worthy to be a tabernacle of the Son of God, Mary was kept free from Original Sin so that she might give a completely free ‘yes’, when asked to bear th

We have now begun a new Church year which began on the FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT. In the season of Advent, we begin to prepare ourselves to receive Jesus in the celebration of Christmas. We make space in our lives and in our hearts, to receive anew God who became human, so that we might know him, be loved by him and share that love with others. There are various practices that help us prepare for Christmas throughout ADVENT. The Advent Wreath is one of these traditions. You will

On NOVEMBER 30th the Church remembers SAINT ANDREW THE APOSTLE. Andrew was born in Bethsaida, on the shore of lake Galilee, and worked as a fisherman there until he was called by Jesus. He may have first been a disciple of St John the Baptist and became one of the first to follow Jesus before introducing his brother, Simon (Peter), to Christ. There can often be a lot of competition between brothers, yet in St Andrew we see someone who after introducing his brother Peter to

On 22nd NOVEMBER the Church remembers SAINT CECILIA who is the patron saint of Musicians and Poets! Her existence and martyrdom are considered historical, however there is some legend regarding her life. Cecelia lived in the 2nd Century and came from a wealthy Christian family. She wanted to totally dedicate her life to God, but was forced to marry a wealthy nobleman called Valerian. At the wedding she sat apart from the groom and sang hymns throughout the service (hence her

On NOVEMBER 21st the Church celebrates the PRESENTATION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY. The Presentation of a child was something that all Jewish parents would do - similar to infant baptism for Catholics. On one hand, this reminds us of the ordinariness of the Blessed Virgin Mary and her childhood. However, we also remember that she was chosen before birth to be conceived without sin (the Immaculate Conception) so that she could carry God within her which also relied on her ow

On the 11th NOVEMBER we remember all those who all armed forces members who served to defend our freedom. At 11 o’clock on the 11th day of the 11th month, we observe a 2-minute silence as the Armistice agreement, which ended the fighting of WW1, began at 11 o’clock on the 11th November 1918. In WW1 alone, 21.5 million people died (roughly the population of Sri Lanka). 8.5 million were soldiers, but the rest were civilians. In WW2 over 54 million people lost their lives (equi

On 4th NOVEMBER we remember Saint Charles Borromeo, he was born in Arona Italy in 1538. By the age of 12, Charles was dedicated to the church and helping people so any money he did not use for his education, he gave to the poor. At the age of 23 he became a cardinal governing the papal states, supervising the guards of Malta, the Franciscans and the Carmelites. When Pope Pius III died (his uncle), Borromeo moved to Milan to clean up the corruption in the church in doing so he

On NOVEMBER 2nd the Church celebrates the memorial of ALL SOULS . Here we remember and pray for all the ‘faithful departed’ that aren’t formally recognised as Saints by the Church. Often this includes those people close to us - our family and friends who have died. The liturgical colour of this feast is violet. Violet is the colour of preparation, and we see it used in Advent and Lent whilst we prepare for Christmas and Easter. On All Souls Day, we pray for the souls who are

There isn’t actually a feast of “Halloween”. Despite there being lots of confusion to its origins, it is part of an authentically Catholic tradition. Despite the modern fascination with scary stuff, it’s actually a way of celebrating life, but by remembering and praying for the dead. The name Halloween is a blending of the phrase ‘All-Hallows-Eve’. All Hallows Day is the olde English way of saying 'All Saints Day', the solemnity celebrated on November 1st. On this feast, we

OCTOBER 22nd is the feast of SAINT JOHN PAUL II. John Paul II was Pope from 1979 to 2005. He was born in Poland in 1920 and saw Nazism...

OCTOBER 18th is the feast of ST LUKE the EVANGELIST. This Gospel writer was a man of science which - a doctor. This reminds us that even...

OCTOBER 15th is the feast of St TERESA of AVILA. Teresa lived in Spain in the 15th century and her writings continue to help people in...

On 13th OCTOBER the Church celebrates the memorial of ST EDWARD THE CONFESSOR. St Edward is a rare saint as he was also an English king -...

OCTOBER 9th is the memorial of SAINT JOHN HENRY NEWMAN who lived from 1801 to 1890. Newman was first an Anglican priest but later...

The 7th of OCTOBER is the Feast of OUR LADY OF THE ROSARY which has led to the whole month of October being especially dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Rosary. The Rosary is a powerful prayer with a history of miracles and the Church encourages us to pray the Rosary throughout the months of October and May. The feast was originally called 'Our Lady of Victory' because of a military victory in 1571. The unified Catholic nations of Europe we outnumbered by the in

On 4th OCTOBER the Church celebrates the life of St FRANCIS of ASSISI. He was from a wealthy family but gave up everything to live with...

On 1st OCTOBER the church remembers St THERESE of LISIEUX. Mother Teresa is probably one of the world's best-known Catholics... ever! She...

30th SEPTEMBER is the feast of St JEROME. Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus (Jerome) was born at Stridon, a village near Emona which is now...

SEPTEMBER 29th is the feast of the ARCHANGELS. The Archangels are the named angels in the Bible, along with Lucifer, who isn’t honoured...

27th SEPTEMBER is the feast of St VINCENT DE PAUL. Vincent, was a priest who abandoned the lavish lifestyle and wealth of serving as a...