Viewing all items in Resource Category: Editorial

This month of February opens with the celebration of Candlemas. On the 2nd we recall that special moment of enlightenment when Mary and Joseph bring Jesus to the temple. They meet Simeon, who represents the waiting people of Israel – a nation looking for a better world now that the holy city was in the...

Polycarp (c. 69 – c. 155) was one of the most important Christians in Roman Asia in the mid-2nd century, because of his link between the time of the Apostles and the earliest Christian Fathers.  This disciple of John the Apostle became bishop of Smyrna and defended orthodox Christian belief against the heresies of Marcion...

Have you recently moved, or are planning to move, to our village?  Villages can be beautiful, with pretty cottages and roses at their doors. But villages can also be lonely places.  So – here are some tips for how to survive – and enjoy village life! Make the most of your children. Children provide parents...

We’ve all seen them: mothers engrossed on their mobile phones and ignoring their children nearby.  But now research has found that children whose parents are addicted to their phones are significantly more likely to have behaviour problems. The problem is called ‘technoference’. It is when the everyday relationship between parent and child is constantly disrupted...

Have you ever been in the position where someone is desperately needed – and you fit the bill perfectly?   It is almost as if all your miscellaneous qualifications that never made much sense before now make PERFECT sense.  And you sense that you have been chosen by God for the task…. If so, then Matthias...

In dark rooms, 12 per cent of bacteria can reproduce; in rooms exposed to sunlight, only 6.8 per cent can reproduce.  Remember that when you consider your household dust and the effect that simply opening your curtains can make. Researchers at the University of Oregon point out that we spend most of our time indoors,...

It is getting harder to own a pet.  In 2012 two-thirds of homes had pets.  Now it is down to just over half.  In fact, families are now ten times more likely to own a virtual assistant like Amazon’s Alexa than even a hamster. It is not our fault.  We still love animals, but can...

If you have been hurt in your search for romantic love, Gabriel Possenti (1838-62) may be a good saint for you.  Because Possenti, born to the governor of Assisi, began by having it all.   He grew up doing the mid-19th century equivalent of eBay, nightclubs, cinema and online dating, only in those days it was...

Have you done something which haunts you?  Which makes you feel restless and defensive, every time you think of it?  Why not deal with it this month, and put it behind you?   Whatever your mistake has been, consider what the Bible has to say to you: ‘I have not come to call the virtuous but...

What you eat affects how you think. So says a recent international study, which has found evidence that a Mediterranean diet can cut the risk of depression – by reducing inflammation in the body. The study, conducted at University College London, found that people who ate plenty of fruit, vegetables, nuts, fish and plant-based foods,...

Don’t let your access to the internet mess up your head.  That is the warning of a number of experts who are calling for urgent action to address the growing problem of a range of mental health disorders. Now an international team of more than 100 researchers say that the ‘all pervasive’ nature of the...

Some miscellaneous observations on modern life… A cabbie is a fare-minded person. A closed mouth gathers no foot. A dentist and a manicurist fought tooth and nail. A fine is a tax for doing wrong. A tax is a fine for doing well. A job at the nursery can lead to a budding career. A...