I am currently making my way through a biography of Edith Stein, otherwise known as, St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross. To quote the author, Maria Ruiz Scaperlanda, it describes Edith’s journey from the depths of atheism to the heights of sainthood. The story of Edith...

Have you ever considered just how central the continent of Africa is in the very roots of the Bible and indeed the Christian faith? The story of Joseph and his brothers is set in Africa as is, of course, the life of the prophet Moses. In our post-Christmas Gospel...

I recently climbed into the clocktower of Church. We had discovered a leak and I went up with John Williams to have look. Thankfully, the leak has now been sorted out, but more about that some other time! Whilst I was snooping around, I made a great find. Underneath...

This month’s prayer is taken from the writings of St Catherine of Sienna. Her words are greatly encouraging and point us all towards the importance of deepening our faith and our relationship with God. She uses the word “companion” (compagno in her native Italian) to...

It may surprise some of our avid readers to know that one of the Vicar’s favourite authors is Shusaku Endo. He died in 1996 and is widely acclaimed as one of Japans greatest writers. In my opinion his novel, “Silence”, is a work of genius. Martin Scorsese, the...

Joy and gratitude surround the birth of Jesus. The angels sang songs of joy to the shepherds as they kept watch over their flocks. The Blessed Virgin sang in praise of God at the Annunciation. Her cousin Elizabeth embraced her with gladness when she visited her and...

Over the past nine months or so I have had to try and make sense of some pretty bizarre statements via the realm of 24 hour “news” and social media platforms, from whose respective clutches, I have thankfully been able to liberate myself! I have also, in my humble...

Many of you will know that over the years and from my privileged position in the pulpit I have made numerous references to the Church of San Clemente in Rome and the wonderful blue Cross that is the centrepiece in the apse. Ah, what a happy time it was gazing...

“A witness to Christ in a world seemingly on its way to faithlessness.” These words were written about the man who is the focus for our prayer for August. This former conscript to the revolutionary army of France was from peasant stock, did not take well to Latin and...

I was thinking the other day, in one of my more amusing moments, that I might rename the Vicarage Garden. A number of possibilities passed through my mind, which, on reflection and in the circumstances, seemed perhaps a little flippant. Be that as it may, it has to be...

I don’t suppose that many of you will have read the works of St Irenaeus of Lyon who figures in our prayer for the month of June. For those of you who may unfamiliar with him, he was one of the early Bishops of the Church who are referred to as the Apostolic Fathers....

The 31st of May is the Feast Day of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary to St Elizabeth, the mother of St John the Baptist. The account that is found in the Gospel according to St Luke continues the story of the Incarnation that the Church marks in March with...