Peter Blog a few random thoughts

The Feast of Corpus Christi There was a programme on a number of years ago called Sorry I think it was with Ronnie Courbet. IF you remember he was an older man still living with his Mother and Father? The famous line from that programme is that every time was “language Timothy” anytime he got something wrong. We have to be careful with the language we use because sometimes like the sitcom we can confuse people. This is especially true with the Blessed Sacrament. Today’s feast celebrates the greatest gift Jesus gift of himself in his body and blood and so it demands the greatest respect and devotion As the CCC says “Because God is truly present in the consecrated species of bread and wine, we must preserve the sacred gifts with the greatest reverence and worship our Lord and Redeemer in the Most Blessed Sacrament” The History of this feast day comes from the time when the Church was under attack in the Reformation it was to remind people of the importance and what the Church believ...

I have also put this on my Blog this week from Larche Bognor Regis on the Beatitudes and it is very moving so Enjoy and watch

Pentecost Solemnity               On the day of Pentecost when the seven weeks of Easter had come to an end, Christ's Passover is fulfilled in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, manifested, given, and communicated as a divine person: of his fullness, Christ, the Lord, pours out the Spirit in abundance. (Ac 2:36)         On that day, the Holy Trinity is fully revealed. Since that day, the Kingdom announced by Christ has been open to those who believe in him: in the humility of the flesh and in faith, they already share in the communion of the Holy Trinity. By his coming, which never ceases, the Holy Spirit causes the world to enter into the "last days," the time of the Church, the Kingdom already inherited though not yet consummated. We have seen the true Light, we have received the heavenly Spirit, we have found the true faith: we adore the indivisible Trinity, who has saved us. (Byzantine lit...

A Number of years ago I read two outstanding books. One was called Black Robe by Brian Moore and the other was called The Mission by Robert Bolt. Both these books and now films and they both speak of the missionary activity of the Church at that time with various degrees of success. One of the things that they focused on quite a lot was baptism and conversion for those who they came across. Their focus seems to have been to get as many baptised as possible without any really good catechesis. Jesus tells us today to go out and make disciples of all nations and to baptise them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. This is a mandate that we need to take very seriously it is all our responsibility to proclaim the Gospel. In the new translation of the Mass one of the dismals is “ Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord .” So how do we respond and do this in today’s World. I think first of all we should learn from the past. Yes I think that it is important to ...

Ascension of Jesus Christ  Solemnity         No one has ever ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven "Today our Lord Jesus Christ ascended into heaven; let our hearts ascend with him.         Listen to the words of the Apostle: If you have risen with Christ, set your hearts on the things that are above where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God; seek the things that are above, not the things that are on earth. For just as he remained with us even after his ascension, so we too are already in heaven with him, even though what is promised us has not yet been fulfilled in our bodies.  Christ is now exalted above the heavens, but he still suffers on earth all the pain that we, the members of his body, have to bear. He showed this when he cried out from above: Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? and when he said: I was hungry and you gave me food. Why do we on earth not strive ...

BLESSED JOHN XXIII (Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli) Pope (from October 28 1958 to June 3 1963) (1881-1963)         Blessed Pope John XXIII was born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli at Sotto il Monte, Italy, in the Diocese of Bergamo on November 25 1881. He was the fourth in a family of 14. The family worked as sharecroppers. It was a patriarchal family in the sense that the families of two brothers lived together, headed by his great-uncle Zaverio, who had never married and whose wisdom guided the work and other business of the family. Zaverio was Angelo's godfather, and to him he always attributed his first and most fundamental religious education. The religious atmosphere of his family and the fervent life of the parish, under the guidance of Fr Francesco Rebuzzini, provided him with training in the Christian life.         He entered the Bergamo seminary in 1892. Here he began the practice of making spiritual notes, which he con...