Father Marcin's Blog

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Catch up on the latest blog posts from Fr. Marcin

St Swithun’s Homeless Mission Angel in the Local News

Thank you so much to our beautiful parishioner Diana Clark who was videoed by a passer by as she fed the homeless as she does every week as part of our St Swithun’s church Homeless Mission Team. To date her wonderful work has reach in excess of 250K views on facebook …
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Blog Topic: Did Fulton Sheen Prophesy About These Times?

09/02/2019

Blog Topic: The story of the Servant of God, Carlo Acutis

27/01/2019

Blog Topic: The Extraordinary Story of a Young Victim Soul Who Saw Heaven & Spoke to the Blessed Mother

12/01/2019

Blog Topic: The Jewish Community at the Time of Early Christianity

My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ – Dear Friends – Today is the first Sunday of the month and, therefore, it is time to go back briefly to the history of the Church. Just to remind You, we are looking at the environment of early Christianity and therefore we look first at the Jewish community … Read more

Blog Topic: Receiving Holy Communion in the Catholic Church

My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ – Dear Friends – Today is the time for something interesting. After so many questions after our last Christian Unity prayer time last week I need to clarify something, which I think we misunderstand – why Christians from the other denominations can’t receive the Holy Communion in the Catholic Church, … Read more

Blog Topic: Deeper reflection on the wisdom of God

My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ – Dear Friends – After reflection on the omniscience of God and His infinite goodness it’s time for deeper reflection on the wisdom of God. There is a fundamental difference between knowledge and wisdom. Wisdom is the ability to apply knowledge in practice.
There are people who have vast … Read more

Blog Topic: History of our Church Early Beginnings;

My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ – Dear Friends – as I’ve promised, I would like to dedicate one of the Sundays of the month to the history of the Church. In this way we will be better able to get to know ourselves as the members of Holy Church, because if we know the … Read more

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DAILY MEDITATION:Climbing with Christ 23 February 2019Memorial of Saint Polycarp, Bishop and MartyrMark 9: 2-13Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. Then Peter said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, "This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!" Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them anymore, but only Jesus. As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead. So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what this rising from the dead could mean. Then they asked him, &quo t;Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?" He said to them, "Elijah is indeed coming first to restore all things. How then is it written about the Son of Man, that he is to go through many sufferings and be treated with contempt? But I tell you that Elijah has come, and they did to him whatever they pleased, as it is written about him."Introductory Prayer: Lord Jesus, I climb the mountain (meaning I am going to the place of encounter) to learn what real prayer is. Like the disciples who are humbled by how you pray, but are desirous to learn, I turn to you with trust. I want to set all things aside and seek only to please you during this time of prayer.Petition: Lord, teach me to pray.1. Learning How to Be with Christ: Imagine the time the three were to have alone with Christ, a time of sweeping consolation and light. First, it was a time to climb, to ascend with prayer, to make the arduous trip. Being changed by Christ does not come by just “hanging around” him, passively watching him work in the lives of others. We must fight to open doors for him to enter. Is our prayer a climb to reach God, or does it forever circle the base of the mountain, fearful of the effort and stuck in mediocre thoughts? Are we making deep acts of faith, hope, and love to reach for the heights of union with him? Are we moving away from self-centeredness and earthly attachments towards a pure heart ready to receive the glory of God?2. Getting That “Vision Thing”: What does a heart given to God receive from God? It receives a mysterious revelation of God’s glory, of the temporal, caught up in the eternal, of God’s awesome view of things. At the Transfiguration, Peter, James, and John are given the complete picture. Christ reveals for a moment the glory of the things to come in the key of the things that have gone before. The three disciples, too, are given the vision also of their mission as it is taken up into his. What a consolation this is: to see so clearly what God sees, to take away all doubt before so much human weakness! If we could experience what God holds in his heart, we would know the glory and honor for which we struggle and fight. We would read the next chapter of salvation history that we, in our faithful service, are writing together with Christ. Without prayer, without the effort to delve into God’s thoughts, we will never see t his.3. Christian Prayer Is about Fulfillment: Tabor teaches the disciple how to cultivate a living experience of Christ in prayer and to know what the fruits of proper prayer are. The first effect of fruitful prayer is the revelation of God’s glory, his true beauty. This speaks of the power from above that acts as a grace within. “Let us build three booths….” Those booths speak of the true longing for God which must be protected by habits of virtue and reflective prayer. The second effect is a revelation of God’s plan for us. God’s plan for humanity is so beautiful; our vocation in life is also eminently beautiful. God’s plan may have its unexpected twists as we live it, but in as much as it is his plan and not our own, it is always beautiful. Third, fruitful prayer delivers a revelation of our destiny. Christ’s mission is only completely fulfilled in heaven. Our true home is in heaven, and under heaven ’s power our heart’s desire is changed. This change transforms the present into a different type of faith experience. To have the wherewithal to win in this life, our ultimate victory must be set for heaven alone.Conversation with Christ: Lord, without your influence acting in the depths of my interior life, my life will be forever empty. I make these words of the Veni Sancte Spiritus my own: Light most blessed, shine with grace in our heart’s most secret place, fill your faithful through and through! Left without your presence here, life itself would disappear, nothing thrives apart from you!Resolution: I will fight especially any resistance to prayer, and I will strive to put into practice the resolutions that come from prayer.#dailymeditations www.stswithuns.org.uk/event/dr-23022019 ... See MoreSee Less

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I have always thought on this event as being one where the apostles were saying’ let’s stay here, it is nice and comfy, let’s build these three tents and settle down ‘ - but God speaks and it all disappears.T The apostles want to keep Jesus to themselves and isolate themselves from the worldly things they have just come from. But Gods message is given to them and they see Jesus on his own and go back down together, Sometimes we have to place prayer into all these worldly events in our lives - and very often you end up having to just separate them from prayer - maybe like you have two lives.!!

DAILY MEDITATION:The Most Important Question 22 February 2019Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter, apostle Matthew 16:13-19When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" They replied, "Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter said in reply, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus said to him in reply, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."Introductory Prayer: Lord, you know how much I need you and depend on you for everything. You know my weakness and my faults. I put all my confidence in your love and mercy in my daily actions. I trust in your power, your promise and your grace.Petition: Lord, let me acknowledge you with my words and actions.1. Opinion Polls and Private Certitudes: People give all sorts of answers to the question of who Jesus is. No figure in history has provoked more comment or more debate than Jesus Christ. And it is fair to say that in every case, how we answer the question of who Christ is determines how we live our lives: the values and moral convictions we will have, the hope we have for the life to come, the charity and service we live now in our daily lives. All of this is inspired by the stance we take on the person of Jesus. “Who do you say that I am?” is a question that necessarily involves a commitment on our part. The answer to this question requires a change in our attitudes and behavior.2. The Life-changing Moment: For Peter, this was a moment of true openness to the grace of the Holy Spirit. He grasped in a moment that Christ was no mere prophet or enlightened teacher of moral truths, but something much more. He was the Christ, that is, the Savior. And not only Messiah, he was the Son of the Living God—Jesus was equal to God in all things. This profession of faith would change Peter’s life from that moment on. In the Creed, we profess the same faith as Peter did. Every time we receive the Eucharist, we join our response to that of Peter: We believe you are the Son of God, and there is no salvation by any other name. What changes does this faith require of me? Can I continue to be the same as before?3. A New Name and a New Mission: Peter’s profession of faith was no simple intellectual response to a question. It was the taking of a position, a definitive stance before God and before the world. Peter embraced the truth about Christ, and in return, Christ entrusted him with the care of the Church. He would be “Rock,” the foundation of his Church, and Christ offered him the guarantee that the Church would persevere forever. When we profess our faith, Christ gives us a task also. We are made “apostles” and sent out as “ambassadors of Christ” to the world. Our stance before this truth has consequences: We must be consistent with our faith each day.Conversation with Christ: Lord, teach me not only to acknowledge you with my mind, but to embrace the truth that you are the Son of the Living God with all my life, words, and actions. Let the conviction I have become a way of life so that I can give witness to you before all men.Resolution: I will examine my life and evaluate what sort of witness I give to my faith that Christ is the Son of the Living God.#dailymeditations www.stswithuns.org.uk/event/dr-22022019 ... See MoreSee Less

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6 Things Kids Learn When You Skip Mass On Sundays

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2 days ago

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DAILY MEDITATION:Can Christ Count on Me? 21 February 2019Thursday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary TimeMark 8:27-33 Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that I am?" And they answered him, "John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets." He asked them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered him, "You are the Messiah." And he sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him. Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things."Introductory Prayer: Lord, reveal to me the awesome mystery of your person. In you is hidden my beginning; in you is hidden the mission for my life; in you is hidden my future happiness. Let me not measure the future by what I think I can do for you, but rather by what your power can do with my generosity. May this prayer convince me of the necessity of welcoming you daily through prayer, contemplation, and a sacramental life of grace and conversion.Petition: Lord, grant me an experience of you strong enough to overcome all spiritual laziness and tepidity.1. Who Has Christ Been for You? - Our prayer must lead us to respond to Christ’s question, “Who do you say that I am?” This is the only test, the only examination question we need to pass in life. We must reflect and respond to the question from this perspective: “Who has Christ been for you?” This question does not so much define Christ, but the one who answers it. What experiences have we had of him? What have we been learning about Christ personally, through experiences that we cannot have known by solemn definitions, by routine external piety or by what others say? Christ’s history and our personal history must intertwine to become a single chapter which we both share.2. Who Have You Been for Christ? - If I have little to say as far as my firsthand knowledge of Jesus, if my interior experiences have been eclipsed by a mundane and materialistic spirit, I must take Christ’s question to the next level: “Who have I been for Christ?” Who I have been for Christ will be determined largely by who I have been for him in prayer. The “inner Christ” is known only by those to whom it is revealed. It will not happen by a merely flesh-and-blood approach, nor by just going with the flow of human events. Peter’s interior life was fertile ground for the Father. His testimony was not luck but was a divine intervention in his soul from which his faith drew its strength. “For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven” (Matthew 16:17). May I seek specially the grace of greater sensitivity to let my interior life of prayer define me and shape my character.3. Can Christ Count on Me? - Poor Peter! In one moment he is revealing the thoughts of the Father, in the next, Satan’s. Peter’s living experience of Christ is the target of Satan’s attempts to break his faith. Christ’s suffering will be the pledge that the faith of the apostle will not fail: “I have prayed for you…” (Luke 22:32). Ultimately Christ’s prayer would prevail: Peter is reborn on Pentecost, fearlessly accepting and launching the mission of the Church. A strong interior foundation in Christ ultimately leads to one last reality check of the spiritual life: Can Christ build on me because I am built on him? Christ’s fidelity will uphold me if I stay in the battle, if I hold firm and don’t let the reality of my falls keep me from advancing. Satan cannot break my faith if I keep fighting, and for this, I always have to have new goals, to begin fresher, better and m ore generously than before.Conversation with Christ: Lord, according to the riches of your glory, grant that I may be strengthened in my inner being with power through your Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in my heart through faith. Being rooted and grounded in love, I pray that I may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that I may be filled with all the fullness of you. (Cf. Ephesians 3:16-20)Resolution: I will spend some time before our Lord in the Eucharist today, asking that he deepen my experience of him.#dailymeditations www.stswithuns.org.uk/event/dr-21022019 ... See MoreSee Less

2 days ago

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