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Merry Christmas, everyone!
I'd like to wish all my readers and friends a very happy Christmas. Aside from Christmas day, the only time that I genuinely appreciate ‘the Christmas spirit’ is when I offer the Rosary. I imagine...
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2014: my year in review
I will always remember 2014 as, 'the year of book deals'.Tom Leopold, Yours Truly, Gussie Leopold, Barbara LeopoldThe idea for a book grew from the positive response to my interview with Tom Leopold....
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If the Catholic blogosphere is to survive then our bloggers must become more...
Nearly five years ago, I started a Catholic blog that has been modestly successful. The high-point was when I was invited to the Vatican Blogmeet in May 2011. During those exhilarating days of...
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Our Lady of Fatima saved Padre Pio from imminent death 55 years ago this month
In 1959, Padre Pio’s health went downhill and in April of that year, he became gravely ill. He could not get out of bed, and in the following months, he fell into even worse health. Padre Pio had a...
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"After walking 1,411 miles, I'm still a sinner"
A big reason that Harry Bucknall walked the pilgrimage to Rome down the ancient Via Francigena was because of the age-old promise that you make up for your past sins by doing it. ‘I’ve led a wild...
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Don’t denounce the people who go to see Fifty Shades of Grey – just tell them...
The film is a deceitful fantasy. A book about a girl's murder tells the real storyMany years ago, a Traddie friend of mine was round at my place when they let out a squeak of shock, “Mary, what is this...
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The rewards of a little self-denial in Lent are extraordinary
A Stanford academic, Walter Mischel devised the ground-breaking 'marshmallow test’. It was a very simple test. They put a young child alone in a room with a marshmallow. The child was given a choice;...
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Should we pray for ISIS? Taking Jesus at His word, only prayer and fasting...
It really is the stuff of Hellish nightmares. While 19 of the Assyrian Christians kidnapped by ISIS in north-eastern Syria have been released, around 200 are still being held hostage. Over at The...
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If the Catholic blogosphere is to survive then our bloggers must become more...
Nearly five years ago, I started a Catholic blog that has been modestly successful. The high-point was when I was invited to the Vatican Blogmeet in May 2011. During those exhilarating days of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Our Lady of Fatima saved Padre Pio from imminent death 55 years ago this month
In 1959, Padre Pio’s health went downhill and in April of that year, he became gravely ill. He could not get out of bed, and in the following months, he fell into even worse health. Padre Pio had a...
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Why I'm renewing my devotion to St Joseph
St Joseph and the Christ Child by Guido ReniOver at The Catholic Herald, I have a piece on why St Joseph is so powerful a saint. St Teresa of Avila had a neat explanation; it is that Our Lord Jesus...
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Pope Francis should pay a visit to Ireland
If Pope Francis were to visit to Ireland, it would not be his first time there. In 1980, when the Pope was in his 40s, he spent two months in Ireland learning English.According to comments made by the...
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John Paul had a prophetic message on the role of post-abortion women in the...
I was in primary school when Evangelium Vitae was promulgated twenty years ago today. Over the years, it has become my all-time favourite papal encyclical. As a pro-life manifesto, it informs, edifies...
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Dog of the week
The Wolfdog has been bred to be a domesticated wolf As I wrote before, West London is a dog-lover's paradise. This week, when strolling down Gloucester Road, I met a Czechoslovakian wolfdog puppy. I'd...
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St Teresa of Avila was a charming, droll and tough-minded reformer
500 years ago today St Teresa of Avila was born. Over at The Catholic Herald, I have written a post commemorating that half a millennium has passed since her birth. This marks the sixth online...
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Pope Francis declaring Mary Aikenhead 'Venerable' is fantastic news for Ireland
You might like to pop over to The Catholic Herald, where I wrote a post on Mary Aikenenhead. A fellow Cork woman who was born just off St Patrick's Street in the heart of the city (there is, of...
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Dog of the Week
This week, when walking through the mini-shopping centre off Cromwell Road, I met this five year old lady Greyhound. She was extremely sociable, and when I said hello to her, she loped towards me in...
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Good Friday is a day to set all our gadgets aside...
Over at The Catholic Herald, I have a post concerning Good Friday, how to observe the holiest day by disengaging with the most mentally distracting parts of our on-line life. For my own part, I have...
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Dog of the Week
Happy Easter, everyone! Now that we are in the throes of the fifty-day long feast, I have been skipping out for the odd party and celebration. While popping up to Notting Hill Gate, I bumped into...
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A call for the new Princess to be called after a saint
Over at The Catholic Herald, I have a piece on why it would be good if the new royal baby were called after a saint... While meaning no disrespect to the baby's grandmother, I also argue that it would...
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