The Good News
"Jesus Christ loves you; He gave His life to save you; and now He is living at your side every day to enlighten, strengthen and free you."
In these words, Pope Francis summed up the Good News which the Catholic Church received at her foundation 2000 years ago, and continues to proclaim today.
The Catholic Church stands for high standards and second chances. We are followers of Jesus Christ, who taught His disciples to live a life of outstanding care and concern for one another, to uphold the highest standards of sexual morality, and to offer forgiveness and compassion to those who acknowledge their inability to live out these ideals consistently. As a worldwide institution, we have not always held ourselves to the standards to which we aspire; as individual members and as an institution, we must constantly heed Christ's call to "repent" - to examine our own failings and choose to change our lives for the better.
We believe that Jesus was more than a great moral teacher – that He was God walking among us as a human being. The night before He died He shared a ritual meal of bread and wine with His followers and said “This is My Body – This is My Blood – Do this in memory of Me.” Ever since, Catholics have celebrated the Mass, the re-presentation of the Last Supper of Jesus. We believe that when we receive Holy Communion, although what we eat and drink looks, feels, and tastes like bread and wine, it is in God’s sight the true Body and Blood of Jesus.
We believe that within God, there are three distinct identities which we call Persons – the Father, Son and Holy Spirit – yet these are united so closely with one another that we can still proclaim that we believe in One God. We believe that many people who have lived good lives on earth are now saints with God in heaven, and pre-eminent among them is Mary the Mother of Jesus. We believe that we can invite these saints, and also the angels created by God, to pray for us in God’s presence.
We are ordinary people who strive daily to live up to the teachings of Jesus and to worship Him each week. The best of us are reputed as great saints; the worst of us are notorious sinners. What we have in common is that we believe that God is real, that the Catholic Church on earth enables us to worship and receive God’s teaching in the way most pleasing to God, and that, despite our weakness, we continue the struggle to live as followers of Jesus in the face of the difficulties and temptations which surround us!
If you are not yet a Catholic, you are warmly invited to become one.
If you are already a Catholic but are not regularly attending Mass, you are invited to approach a priest to be reconciled with the Church. If it is difficult for you to do so, please get in touch and we will help you make that connection.
Learn more about Catholicism at the national Catholic Faith site for the Catholic Church in England and Wales!
In these words, Pope Francis summed up the Good News which the Catholic Church received at her foundation 2000 years ago, and continues to proclaim today.
The Catholic Church stands for high standards and second chances. We are followers of Jesus Christ, who taught His disciples to live a life of outstanding care and concern for one another, to uphold the highest standards of sexual morality, and to offer forgiveness and compassion to those who acknowledge their inability to live out these ideals consistently. As a worldwide institution, we have not always held ourselves to the standards to which we aspire; as individual members and as an institution, we must constantly heed Christ's call to "repent" - to examine our own failings and choose to change our lives for the better.
We believe that Jesus was more than a great moral teacher – that He was God walking among us as a human being. The night before He died He shared a ritual meal of bread and wine with His followers and said “This is My Body – This is My Blood – Do this in memory of Me.” Ever since, Catholics have celebrated the Mass, the re-presentation of the Last Supper of Jesus. We believe that when we receive Holy Communion, although what we eat and drink looks, feels, and tastes like bread and wine, it is in God’s sight the true Body and Blood of Jesus.
We believe that within God, there are three distinct identities which we call Persons – the Father, Son and Holy Spirit – yet these are united so closely with one another that we can still proclaim that we believe in One God. We believe that many people who have lived good lives on earth are now saints with God in heaven, and pre-eminent among them is Mary the Mother of Jesus. We believe that we can invite these saints, and also the angels created by God, to pray for us in God’s presence.
We are ordinary people who strive daily to live up to the teachings of Jesus and to worship Him each week. The best of us are reputed as great saints; the worst of us are notorious sinners. What we have in common is that we believe that God is real, that the Catholic Church on earth enables us to worship and receive God’s teaching in the way most pleasing to God, and that, despite our weakness, we continue the struggle to live as followers of Jesus in the face of the difficulties and temptations which surround us!
If you are not yet a Catholic, you are warmly invited to become one.
If you are already a Catholic but are not regularly attending Mass, you are invited to approach a priest to be reconciled with the Church. If it is difficult for you to do so, please get in touch and we will help you make that connection.
Learn more about Catholicism at the national Catholic Faith site for the Catholic Church in England and Wales!