Solemnity of St Peter and St Paul . . .

The Apostles Peter and Paul are rightly considered as the first pillars of the Universal Church. Peter's first meeting with Jesus was through his brother Andrew and 'Jesus looked straight at him'.

From the beginning, 'the position of Peter in the Church is that of a rock on which its edifice is built' (Pope Paul VI 1965) When we consider Peter and the Church, it is easy to apply the words of Christ himself, 'rain fell and floods came, and wind blew and beat upon that house, but it did not fall' The rains, floods and wind continue in different guises but the Church is built on a Rock - the Rock of Peter.

St Paul at the moment of his conversion, asked, 'What must I do, Lord?' Jesus replied, 'Rise and go to Damascus, and there you will be told all that is appointed to you to do.' Paul, once the persecutor, as soon as he is transformed by grace received instruction and Baptism from Ananias. Very soon Paul realises that Christ is all that matters and soon gives himself immediately to making the Good News known far and wide.

Today let us pray for the successor of St Peter, Pope Benedict and let us ask Our Blessed Lady, Regina Apostolorum, to help each of us in our daily apostolate.

Mass for all at St Ann's . . .

My brief visit home is coming to an end. I offered Mass today with my family for all at St Ann's.

The photos are of my parish church of St Asicus, Frenchpark.

I hope you've been enjoying lovely weather as I have here and that it continues for all the tennis fans in our parish now that Wimbledon is just beginning. ( I don't think I ought to mention that other national sport at the moment!)

The Conclusion of the Year for Priests . . .

Here at St Ann's to mark the end of the Annus Sacerdotalis we had a simple devotion of the Holy Rosary offered for all our priests concluding with Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.

In Rome, naturally they did it with a little more 'style'. Here is a clip showing some of the Closing Vespers to mark the end of the Year for Priests.

Cor Jesu in Te Confido . . .

Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus existed in the Middle Ages and it appeared as a feast after the apparition of Our Lord to Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque.

Our Lord asked her to make reparation for her personal sins and for the whole world, and to respond to Christ's love. Our Lord asked her to extend the practice of frequent Holy Communion especially on the first Friday of each month in a spirit of reparation.

As we celebrate this feast we consider especially the infinite love of the human heart of Jesus for each one of us.

Today we thank God for loving us to the end and we make reparation to Him because He is often poorly responded to or scarcely repaid even by those who have good reason to thank and love Him.

Very close to the Sacred Heart of Jesus we will always meet His Mother; today, we ask her in a special way to lead us to the Heart of her Son.

"Sweet Heart of Jesus, we implore,

O make us love Thee, more and more."

Corpus Christi and 'Going Forth' Mass . . .

Today saw great celebrations at St Ann's! We not only celebrated the Solemnity of Corpus Christi with a Procession of the Blessed Sacrament, we also celebrated the Going Forth of our new First Communicants.

Lord, our God,
in this great sacrament
we come into the presence of Jesus Christ,
your Son, born of the Virgin Mary
and crucified for our salvation.
May we who declare our faith in this
fountain of love and mercy
drink from it the water of everlasting life.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Amen