Let's stay prayerful, faithful and Catholic – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
From the main road, there is nothing to suggest what lies there.
Parishioners and others walk by on their way to Mass or meetings, perhaps pausing to greet a friend or enter the hall itself for one of the many activities held there, many people not realising that just a few steps away is a place set apart, waiting in stillness... the wild garden of Our Lady Of Lourdes Catholic Church, New Milton — a space unlike any other in the parish.
He heals the brokenhearted,
and binds up their wounds." —
Psalm 147:3
(RSV-CE)
(Plus FREE GIFT)
Step into ten days of reflection, prayer, and poetry inspired by the Psalms — designed to refresh your soul, strengthen your spirit, and bring you closer to God.
Plus a free gift in with final edition
Each day offers a short scripture, a heartfelt reflection, a guided prayer, and an original poem to help you:
• Find peace in the storms of life.
• Trust God’s timing and care.
• Heal from sorrow and brokenness.
• Delight in the Lord and lift your heart in praise.
Take ten days to pause, pray, and experience the Psalms in a fresh, life-giving way. Your heart and soul deserve this quiet, restorative journey with God.
This series is completely free, and your email is only used to send you these reflections — no marketing, no selling, no hidden agendas. Once the series ends, all email addresses are permanently deleted from the list used for this series
I named this blog The 24/7 Catholic because it expresses a desire that I had tugging at my heart. I want to live my Catholic faith every day, every hour, every minute. All the time. Not just on Sundays, not just at Mass, not just when I’m feeling inspired - but 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. That’s what it means to follow Christ, right?
At least, that’s what I aspire to do...
... and yet, more often than not, I fall short...
This blog is for people like me - those of us who want to be saints, but who find ourselves slipping, stumbling, and sometimes just plain giving up. 
It’s for people who want to live the faith 24/7 but don’t always know how. People who go to Confession and mean it - but then snap at someone ten minutes later. People who say their Rosary while mentally ticking off their to-do list. People who love Jesus with all their hearts - but still struggle with doubt, distraction, despair, and daily demands.
This is The 24/7 Catholic - not because I’ve mastered it, but because I need to be reminded of it every single day...
Often overlooked is His quick wit, sharp irony, and well-timed humour.
Jesus wasn’t a gloomy figure. He enjoyed wedding feasts, told stories full of exaggeration and satire, and gently teased His disciples when they needed it.
After all, joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit - and Christ was filled with it.
Laughter is part of love, and Jesus, who is love incarnate, used humour to reveal truth, disarm pride, and draw people closer.
Let’s
explore 10 moments from the Gospels that shine with Jesus’ holy
sense of humour.
Daily Offering to the Immaculate Heart
“O Immaculate Heart of Mary, I consecrate myself to you. Take my heart and make it more like yours: pure, trusting, faithful, and surrendered to God. Intercede for me, and lead me always to your Son. Amen.”
This month, place your daily joys and trials into the heart that pondered all things, trusted God in all things, and stood faithful beneath the Cross.
While his words are divinely inspired and timeless, one can only imagine how his correspondence might have looked in a world of inboxes, CCs, and dreaded spam filters.
So,
let’s have a little fun and picture an alternate reality where the
Apostle to the Gentiles had access to a first-century email accounts.
Mass begins. The choir sings the entrance hymn. The priest processes reverently to the altar.
The Sign of the Cross opens our sacred encounter with heaven... and… we're not there yet.
Maybe we’re rushing up the path, breathless and distracted. Maybe we’re just leaving home, thinking, “I’ll miss the beginning, but at least I’ll make it for Communion.” Maybe it’s become a habit. A harmless little habit - so we think.
But what joy is there in being regularly late for Mass?
No Ordinary Gathering
Let’s remind ourselves what we’re walking into when we attend Mass.
It’s not a club meeting or a lecture. It is the Holy Sacrifice. Christ offers Himself, through the hands of the priest, for the forgiveness of sins and the life of the world. Heaven breaks through. Angels surround the altar. The veil between this life and eternity is lifted.
And we are invited - not merely to observe, but to participate.
To be late is to step in halfway through a miracle!
The sun, though temperamental in Britain, is (at least occasionally) shining. And yet, in a corner of TK Maxx - among the discounted homeware and fashion bargains - sits an eerie and unwelcome sight: Halloween products. Pumpkins, skulls, witches’ hats, and cobwebbed ornaments fill the shelves like a swarm of locusts invading a peaceful land.
Isn’t
it sad? Not just strange, not just out of place - but genuinely sad.
While many people see beauty and wonder in these things, some are tempted to attribute their origin and power to vague cosmic energies or impersonal universes.
For Catholics, these marvels are not sources of power in and of themselves. They are signposts - indicators of something far greater: the intelligent design of Almighty God.
Let’s set aside the incense burners and astrology charts for a moment. Instead, let’s look at the very same elements that enthral New Age followers - crystals, planets, patterns in nature - and marvel not at the creation, but at the Creator.
As St Paul wrote, “Ever since the creation of the world his invisible nature, namely, his eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made” (Romans 1:20, RSV-CE).
Maybe it's been months. Maybe years. Maybe decades.
Or maybe… you never really left - you just sort of drifted.
You still believe in God (you think). You still consider yourself Catholic (more or less). You still light a candle now and again, perhaps whisper a prayer in the car. But something has held you back from stepping back through those doors - the ones of the church building, yes, but also of your faith life.
So this blog post is for you. Whether you feel lost, lapsed, unsure, afraid, or simply out of the habit… this is your gentle reminder:
The door is still open.
The Church is still here.
Christ is still waiting for you - with love, not judgement.
The
Church Isn't a Club for the Perfect - It's a Home for the Wounded
"Be Still And know That I Am God"
(Psalm 46:10)
A 10-Day Journey Through the Psalms
to Lift Your Heart
(Plus FREE GIFT)