Holy Trinity Winchester Podcast

After the AscensionThis Sunday falls directly after the celebration of the Ascension of Christ last Thursday. We find ourselves liturgically in the in-between time after Christ’s going away and before his sending of the Holy Spirit upon the Church. The fact that Christ ascended into heaven and left the disciples without his physical and singular presence raises the question: How will God be manife...

Guest preacher Fr George Westhaver, Principal of Pusey House Oxford, speaks about the way that Jesus communicates the life of God to his people. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit holytrinitywinchester.substack.com

Could this be heaven for everyone? When you were at school you may have read George Orwell’s novel Animal Farm. The story is about a hostile takeover of a farm led by two pigs called Snowball and Napoleon. The animals have come to believe that their human owner is an oppressor and that they can create a much freer and equal society by throwing off his yoke and running the farm themselves. But, of...

The Raising of Dorcas to LifeThe readings that take place in the Octave of Easter are all about people coming back to life. Today’s reading from the book of Acts is an example. The story is simple enough: a disciple of the way called Tabitha dies for no apparent reason. Some other disciples hear that the Apostle Peter is nearby. Peter comes, puts out the mourners, kneels down and prays. Then he sa...

The Greatest Paradigm ShiftJust over three-hundred years ago, people saw the world through Isaac Newton’s eyes. Newton described a world that was regular, clockwork, where things were entirely predictable. Gravity pulls things to the ground, objects move in straight lines, time is the same for everyone, everywhere. It was a clockwork universe. But in the beginning of the twentieth century, this vi...

“Behold, my servant shall act wisely;he shall be high and lifted up,and shall be exalted.”The Exaltation of the Suffering ServantAbout seven-hundred years before the time of Jesus, the prophet Isaiah spoke of a servant of God who would be exalted, before whom kings would shut their mouths. But when we read the text of Isaiah 52 and 53, we see no ordinary exaltation. What do we see? His appearance...

Maundy Thursday 2025Exodus 12:1-14, 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, John 13:1-17,31(b)-35The Washing of FeetAnd so, after the long preparation of the Lenten season, we find ourselves here in the Upper Room with Jesus and his disciples, witnessing what has come to be called the Last Supper. The reading that we have just heard from the Gospel of John recounts one of the two stunning actions that Jesus carri...

Fr Jamie Franklin encourages us to follow Jesus all the way to the cross this Holy Week, accepting suffering and sacrifice as a part of our discipleship. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit holytrinitywinchester.substack.com

Dear Friends. This is the final part of a series based on Randy Alcorn’s book The Treasure Principle: Unlocking the Secret of Joyful Giving . We are reading this book at Holy Trinity Winchester during the Lenten season but it is by no means essential to read it in order to benefit. The purpose of the series is to listen carefully to the teachings of Jesus on money and possessions and to learn how...

In this sermon, Fr Jamie Franklin challenges us to imitate the example of Mary, the sister of Lazarus, and the Apostle Paul, both of whom demonstrated their love for Christ by sacrificing much to worship and follow him. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit holytrinitywinchester.substack.com

Dear Friends. This is the fifth of a six-part series based on Randy Alcorn’s book The Treasure Principle: Unlocking the Secret of Joyful Giving . We are reading this book at Holy Trinity Winchester during the Lenten season but it is by no means essential to read it in order to benefit from this series. The purpose of the series is to listen carefully to the teachings of Jesus on money and possessi...

Fr Jamie Franklin address the Parable of the Prodigal Son, arguing that it is really a story more about the compassion and who we are in relation to him. The story presents us with a choice as to whether we are going humble ourselves in repentance or wallow in self-righteous pride. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, v...

Dear Friends. This is the fourth of a six-part series based on Randy Alcorn’s book The Treasure Principle: Unlocking the Secret of Joyful Giving . We are reading this book at Holy Trinity Winchester during the Lenten season but it is by no means essential to read it in order to benefit from this series. The purpose of the series is to listen carefully to the teachings of Jesus on money and possess...

Fr Jamie Franklin gives a Christian perspective on the suffering of the innocent and the injustice that exists in the world. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit holytrinitywinchester.substack.com

Dear Friends. This is the third of a six-part series based on Randy Alcorn’s book The Treasure Principle: Unlocking the Secret of Joyful Giving . We are reading this book at Holy Trinity Winchester during the Lenten season but it is by no means essential to read it in order to benefit from this series. The purpose of the series is to listen carefully to the teachings of Jesus on money and possessi...

Fr Jamie Franklin asks how God can judge us and love us at the same time. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit holytrinitywinchester.substack.com

Dear Friends. This is the second of a six-part series based on Randy Alcorn’s book The Treasure Principle: Unlocking the Secret of Joyful Giving . We are reading this book at Holy Trinity Winchester during the Lenten season but it is by no means essential to read it in order to benefit from this series. The purpose of the series is to listen carefully to the teachings of Jesus on money and possess...

Fr Jamie Franklin encourages us to imitate the example of Christ in resisting temptation by rejecting the lies of Satan and demonstrating godly virtue. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit holytrinitywinchester.substack.com

Dear Friends. This is the first of a six-part series based on Randy Alcorn’s book The Treasure Principle: Unlocking the Secret of Joyful Giving . We are reading this book at Holy Trinity Winchester during the Lenten season but it is by no means essential to read it in order to benefit from this series. The purpose of the series is to listen carefully to the teachings of Jesus on money and possessi...

With all of your strength…On this past Sunday, I said – to cut a long story short – that loving God with all of our strength requires an effort of the will, a conscious decision to do things that, much of the time, we might not feel like doing. And I also said that Lent gives us a wonderful opportunity to do that. But I also said in that sermon that we have to understand why we should do these thi...

SleepinessI’ve noticed that I used to have more energy when I was younger. As I have approached the end of my thirties, I’ve needed to be much more intentional about keeping my energy levels up. This has, of course, something also to do with the fact that I have four small children who, at various points, have caused sleep to be a challenge in my householdThrough the wisdom of others, I have learn...

God’s Calling in ExistenceOur Gospel text today, it seems to me, is highly appropriate for a day on which we celebrate the sacrament of Holy Baptism. For it speaks to us of God’s faithfulness in his calling and constant presence in our lives. The drama of the story, of course, is the storm that threatens to envelop the disciples’ boat and their panicked cry as they wake their Master to inform him...

Introduction: The BeatitudesThere are all sorts of things that could be said about the Beatitudes by way of introduction, but I would like to note only two of them:Firstly, the Beatitudes speak to us of the countercultural nature of the Kingdom of God and therefore the life of discipleship. The first group of people – the poor, the hungry, those who weep and are persecuted – are the ones who would...

Introduction – The Challenge of JesusOur Gospel story today presents a radical challenge. And I want us to be able to hear it. Peter, who represents us, is confronted by a man with a completely different set of values to him, a man who appears to have found a better way to live. That man is Jesus, and he promises us that, if we follow him, we may have life to the full (John 10:10). As Jesus says e...

The Problems of LifeI’d like to begin with a quotation from one of the greatest fictional characters of recent years. I won’t say who it is except that she is a much older woman giving advice to a much younger female family member. The quotation is this:“My dear, all life is a series of problems which we must try and solve. First one, then the next, and the next, until at last, we die.”As it turns...