Welcome
Welcome to St Bede Catholic Church
The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ
And the love of God
And the communion of The Holy Spirit
Be with you all
God’s Unlikely Heroes!
Today the Church celebrates two great saints, God’s unlikely heroes, Saints Peter and Paul. Each in their own different ways carried on the mission and ministry of Jesus as they proclaimed the gospel through their life as missionary disciples in the early Church.
From the scriptures we learn that St. Peter knew Jesus. He was one of Jesus’ disciples and a close friend. He heard Jesus speak and teach. He saw Jesus work miracles. Peter was at the last supper with Jesus and the other disciples. He was witness to all that happened to Jesus. Peter three times denied that he knew Jesus when Jesus was arrested, before crucifixion and death. Peter lost faith in Jesus, but Jesus did not loose his faith in Peter.
After resurrection, when Jesus appeared to his disciples, he asked Peter three times whether he loved him. When Peter answered that he loved him, Jesus said to Peter, “Look after my sheep feed my sheep…” Peter is given the responsibility to lead the Church, the people of God.
On the other Paul never met Jesus. He did experience Jesus in a most profound way. Paul a Jew of high standing, was entrusted with the responsibility to hunt down the Christians, who were seen as a threat to the Jewish faith and Law. On the road to Damascus, he experienced what changed his life. He heard Jesus’ words, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” By persecuting the Christians, Saul was persecuting Jesus. Saul becomes Paul, the greatest missionary of the early Church.
Despite their weaknesses God chose both Peter and Paul to proclaim the gospel to all nations. These are models of what it means to be a follower of Jesus today. Jesus called Peter who denied him and Paul who persecuted him to be his witnesses. God does not look at outer appearance, but at the heart of a person. Like Peter and Paul, Jesus is calling us to be his witnesses here and now in our own environment and situation.
God bless you all. Fr. Henry
IN THE NEWS...
Pope Leo XIV at Ordination Mass: May priests be shaped by God's love
On the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Pope Leo XIV ordains 32 new priests and invites them to always stay close to the Lord and let themselves be constantly shaped by His Love.
Our hope is grounded in the knowledge that the Lord never abandons us: He is always at our side."
Pope Leo XIV expressed this at the Mass for the ordination of new priests that took place in St. Peter's Basilica on the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, 27 June, which also marks the Day of Prayer for the Sanctification of Priests.
Cardinal Czerny asks Church to remember seafarers on Sea Sunday
In his message for Sea Sunday, the second Sunday of July, Cardinal Michael Czerny recognizes seafarers as ‘pilgrims of hope’ and calls on Catholics to shine a light on the global economy and its effects on those who work on ships and in ports.
Basing his reflection on the insight of Vatican II that whatever is genuinely human resonates in the hearts of Christians, the Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, Cardinal Michael Czerny, assures “all those who work at sea… that they are in the heart of the Church; they are not alone in their demands for justice, dignity, and joy.”
Orthodox delegation visits Rome for the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul
Orthodox delegation visits Rome for the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul
Following a long-standing tradition, a delegation of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople is in Rome this week to help build unity between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches.
An official delegation of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople is visiting Rome from 27-29 June 2025, the Holy See Press Office announced in a statement on Friday.
The visit comes as part of the traditional exchange of delegations for the respective feasts of the Patron Saints: 29 June in Rome for the celebration of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul and 30 November in Istanbul for the celebration of St. Andrew the Apostle.
ABOUT SAINT BEDE...
St Bede 673-735AD
Bede was born in 673 AD in the northeast of England. From the age of seven, he received a Benedictine education at the Northumbrian monastery of Saint Peter at Wearmouth, today part of Sunderland. Bede spent his whole life within the twin monasteries of St Peter at Wearmouth and St Paul in Jarrow, where he became a Benedictine monk and continued his studies using the fine libraries established by the monastery's founder, St Benedict Biscop, Bede's first teacher, and under the guidance of Abbot Ceolfrith (Ceolwulf).
Bede wrote on many topics. His most famous work, Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum (the Ecclesiastical History of the English People), earned Bede the title "The Father of English History". His works revealed not only Bede's qualities as a scholar and historian but also the qualities of modesty and humility which make his works so memorable. However, Bede's work shows that he had at his command all the learning of his time. Bede's writings included papers and articles on scientific, historical, theological, and mathematical matters, as well as poetry and literature. St Bede is widely regarded as the greatest of all the Anglo-Saxon scholars. His sainthood was generally recognized around fifty years after his death on 25th May 735 AD. His bones were later elevated from St Paul's in Jarrow to Durham, where they lie in the Galilee Chapel at Durham Cathedral. Bede's scholarship and importance to Catholicism were recognized on 13th November 1899 when Pope Leo XIII decreed the title of Doctor Ecclesiae to St Bede the Venerable, making him the only English Doctor of the Church.
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