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Teachers at a Catholic school have gone on strike over the cancellation of a talk by a children's author whose books feature gay characters. Governors of the John Fisher School in Purley, Croydon, in south London, voted not to cancel Simon James Green's visit, contrary to the Archdiocese of Southwark's recommendation. Two governors subsequently resigned and the archdiocese sacked the rest, according to an Ofsted report. Staff shortages have closed the school. Southwark archdiocese revealed on Thursday it had written to Ofsted asking it to review the report which it says had "inaccuracies" and contained "evidence appearing to be drawn...

As the world began watching Royal Canadian Mounted Police descend upon truckers protesting the Canadian government’s COVID-19 vaccine requirement on its southern border, protesters were stationed inside a nearby building voting on whether or not to give in to police pressure trying to break up their convoy demanding vaccine freedom. After a voice vote in favor of staying put — continuing to block the entryway between the U.S and Canada — the group can be seen bowing their heads praying the “Our Father.” Over the past week, a “Freedom Convoy” of more than 50,000 truckers formed in Canada, protesting the...

In a teaching as clear and fresh as the blue Sea of Galilee, Jesus said this is how you should pray:“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one” (Matthew 6:9–13). This prayer is a clear, straightforward pattern for developing a God-filled life. Jesus did not say, “Pray this.” He said, “This is how you should pray.”...

Lines from the Lord's Prayer, in various languages. From the Eucharist Door at the Glory Facade of the Sagrada Família in Barcelona, Spain. It's Lent in Rome. That means it's time for one of the great Roman traditions: station churches. Each morning, English-speaking pilgrims walk to a different church for Mass. This morning, on the way to St. Anastasia's, I was once again struck by a line in the Our Father: “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” That's a hard thing to pray, It doesn't leave a lot of wiggle room. Even the Catechism...

In the Gospel for today’s Mass the Lord gives us the most familiar prayer of all, the “Lord’s Prayer.” It is a prayer shared by and prized by all Christians. Few if any have not committed to memory. Yet hidden within the Lord’s prayer is a mysterious word that both Greek and Biblical scholars have little agreement over or even a clear understanding of in terms of its precise meaning. I call it “hidden” only because most Christians do not read Greek and are unaware of the difficulties and debate surrounding the word. They simply accept that the most common English translation...

In the breviary we are currently reading St Cyprian’s commentary on the Lord’s prayer. It is a prayer shared by and prized by all Christians. Few if any have not committed to memory.Yet within the Lord’s prayer is a mysterious word that both Greek and Biblical scholars have little agreement over or even a clear understanding of in terms of its precise meaning. Most Christians who do not read Greek are unaware of the difficulties and debate surrounding the word. They simply accept that the most common English translation of the Our Father is undisputed. To them the problem is...

Abwoon D'Bashmaya - The Lords Prayer in Aramaic - YouTube Shlom Lech Maryam-Ave Maria in syriac/aramaic ماجدة الرومي - YouTube Sometimes we need to remind ourselves that Jesus, His Blessed Mother and the Apostles were born and lived in the Holy Land. The common parlance of their days was Syriac-Aramaic. Hebrew was the liturgical language of the Temple. I recently attended a Hafli - a Lebanese feast, much like a wedding but without the bride and groom. The organizing committee brought in a band that played Middle Eastern (contemporary) songs and the highlight of the evening was a belly...