Over thirty years ago, by accident rather than by design, I became aware of the terrible sexual scandals that were, in fact, to hit the
These Things Are Unspeakable When the political philosopher Edmund Burke wrote: “These things are unspeakable, but I cannot remain silent,” he could well have been
Brother Taurus was a man with the best of intentions but with a terrible temper that made him impossible to live with. After he fell
I don’t think Mr. Hogg would have been employed in the first place had his predecessor not suddenly dropped dead on his way to school.
I was told that my First Holy Communion day would be the happiest day of my life. I found it difficult to believe that it
We were all shocked and shattered when my brother announced that he wanted to become a priest. It was not just that he wanted to
A Primeval Prayer When we say that God created us in his image and likeness, we mean that it is God’s love that is deepest
In my last article, I introduced you to Franz Stampfl, my athletics coach when I was a boy. When transposed from the sporting life to
I was so sorry to hear that my boyhood hero died recently. His name was Roger Bannister, or Sir Roger Bannister as he became later.
Many years ago, I attended a retreat given by Fr Michael Hollings, who was in great demand as a fearless and outspoken preacher. The retreat
Just over five hundred years ago, in 1509, Henry VIII became King of England and it was because of him that Protestantism was introduced into
Some events and some experiences are so awesome that we find it difficult to capture them in words. The first Christians, for instance, found the
Pious Fantasies I couldn’t fault my doctor when I went for a private consultation, but in his own home, he seemed to have left his
It was at Easter in the 1970’s that I first met my wife. I received a phone call from the local convent asking me to
The local Charismatic group were celebrating forty years since their foundation and were preparing a special Mass for that purpose. The readings, the psalms, and
The Holiest Man I Have Ever Met During a series of talks that I gave to Cistercian monks in Cameroon, I was able to spend
Book Launch I said in the first part of the lecture to launch my book, that the famous moral philosopher Professor Joad insisted that the
On the 15th February, I had the honour of sharing the launch of my book, Wisdom from the Christian Mystics with Kevin Grant, former editor-in-chief of
Many years ago Bishop Casey of Brentwood, England, asked me to set up a Residential Retreat and Conference Centre in Chingford, London. He wanted to use
My school report was so bad that my eldest brother was commissioned with the task of teaching me to read. But when he could not
I saw my grandfather forty years after he died. I loved I him with all my heart, not because he gave me toys, bought me
A friend took me to a Christmas dinner at a local pub noted for its good food. It was also noted for something else too
