...at St Patrick's, Soho Square, and you will find it every Sunday at 11 am. The renovated church gleams with marble and gold, and a superb robed choir fills it with the traditional liturgical music of the Church which soars up to the great high roof...a good-sized congregation, mostly young, an inspiring sermon. And a bunch of young children were there, being prepared for First Communion - very sweet.
I was spending the day in London and we had originally planned to go to Mass at Westminster Cathedral, but opted for St Patrick's instead on a whim and were so very glad that we did. Although I have often been at St Patrick's for a weekday Mass, I had no idea that the full sung Mass on a Sunday was so magnificent, and will certainly be going again...
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Friday, January 27, 2012
Come to...
....Coloma School, Croydon, on Feb 7th for a wonderful day. Your opportunity to learn Gregorian Chant, and to sing it at a Mass in the school chapel. A delicious lunch, and an inspiring talk, and all in good company. Send me a Comment to this Blog, marked NOT FOR PUBLICATION and including an email address to which I can reply to you (I cannot simply send a reply to your comment - you need to include an email address in the text of the comment).
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
"We live in...
... a culture where our marketers and entertainment media compulsively mislead us about the sustainability of youth; the indignity of old age; the avoidance of suffering; the denial of death; the nature of real beauty; the impermanence of every human love; the oppressiveness of children and family; the silliness of virtue; and the cynicism of religious faith. It’s a culture of fantasy, selfishness, sexual confusion and illness that we’ve brought upon ourselves. And we’ve done it by misusing the freedom that other -- and greater -- generations than our own worked for, bled for and bequeathed to our safe-keeping.
What have we done with that freedom? In whose service do we use it now?"
Read more on this here.
What have we done with that freedom? In whose service do we use it now?"
Read more on this here.
Ohio, South Carolina, Washington...
...a travelogue is not neccesarily interesting, and people who use their blogs to publicise their general activities are not perhaps the best bloggers. So Auntie will spare you her "yesterday I flew on to Newtown..." chatter. There are big issues being debated in America: I will long remember this January 2012 visit.
South Carolina is fortunate in having a fine priest, Fr Dwight Longenecker, among the local clergy and you can read his blog here. A couple of buses packed with young people went from Greenville, S. Carolina, to Washington for the March for Life and it was great to be able to travel with them. On the March (vast crowds, lots of rain, squelchy underfoot as we listened to speeches on the Washington Mall and the thousands of feet inevitably churned the lawns into mud) I saw a banner saying "Thank you, Pope Benedict XXVI for Angelcanorum Ceotibus" and it amused me. How many of Washington's politicians, I wondered, would know what the banner was saying? Are they fluent in Latin? And would the message, in any case, encourage them to help overturn Roe v. Wade? But I squelched over to investigate, and the banner was also carrying a pro-life message and was being held high by a cheery group of new members of the Ordinariate glowing with goodwill and joy. It was great to march alongside and swap news and share enthusiasm.
America is in the middle of a great heart-searching about aborting its unborn children, a heart-searching that has yet to take place in Europe.The modern-day United States of America, with all its very obvious faults, is a country where millions believe in God and pray to him daily.It is a country with a future.
After our section of the March had reached its destination at the Capitol building, I watched as the thousands and thousand and thousands behind us more marched too. Then I squelched mud into the carpet of the hotel, enjoyed a chat with some of the EWTN team covering the March, drank some hot chocolate, slept for a while and then headed for home, treading mud into the aeroplane and later, much later, into the London streets, and so home.
South Carolina is fortunate in having a fine priest, Fr Dwight Longenecker, among the local clergy and you can read his blog here. A couple of buses packed with young people went from Greenville, S. Carolina, to Washington for the March for Life and it was great to be able to travel with them. On the March (vast crowds, lots of rain, squelchy underfoot as we listened to speeches on the Washington Mall and the thousands of feet inevitably churned the lawns into mud) I saw a banner saying "Thank you, Pope Benedict XXVI for Angelcanorum Ceotibus" and it amused me. How many of Washington's politicians, I wondered, would know what the banner was saying? Are they fluent in Latin? And would the message, in any case, encourage them to help overturn Roe v. Wade? But I squelched over to investigate, and the banner was also carrying a pro-life message and was being held high by a cheery group of new members of the Ordinariate glowing with goodwill and joy. It was great to march alongside and swap news and share enthusiasm.
America is in the middle of a great heart-searching about aborting its unborn children, a heart-searching that has yet to take place in Europe.The modern-day United States of America, with all its very obvious faults, is a country where millions believe in God and pray to him daily.It is a country with a future.
After our section of the March had reached its destination at the Capitol building, I watched as the thousands and thousand and thousands behind us more marched too. Then I squelched mud into the carpet of the hotel, enjoyed a chat with some of the EWTN team covering the March, drank some hot chocolate, slept for a while and then headed for home, treading mud into the aeroplane and later, much later, into the London streets, and so home.
Sunday, January 15, 2012
In Birmingham...
...no, not our Birmingham, but the other one, the one in America. I'm here to do some work for EWTN, which is based in a small town on the city's outskirts. But by today the various projects had been completed, so I was able - with a number of EWTN staff - to join the big March for Life through the city, one of several across America over the next days to mark the anniversary of the notorious Roe. v.Wade court case which established the right to destroy American babies in the womb.
A good-sized crowd gathered in a local park, and after a welcome we had prayers led by a local Presbyterian pastor, and the solemn ringing of a bell to mark the millions of children killed by abortion in the years since 1972. Then a silent march through the wide city streets. People carried placards begging for better help for women, for respect for all human life, for an end to abortion. It was impressive, touching, and big.
America will see an end to abortion before we do in Britain: there is a sense of unity and purpose here as people gather for a greast march such as this, a seriousness matched by a sense of community and solidarity, goodwill between Christians of different denominations, and a feeling of youth and vigour as so many young families walk with measured pace.
In a few days I'll be taking part in the bug national March for Life in Washington. God bless America.
A good-sized crowd gathered in a local park, and after a welcome we had prayers led by a local Presbyterian pastor, and the solemn ringing of a bell to mark the millions of children killed by abortion in the years since 1972. Then a silent march through the wide city streets. People carried placards begging for better help for women, for respect for all human life, for an end to abortion. It was impressive, touching, and big.
America will see an end to abortion before we do in Britain: there is a sense of unity and purpose here as people gather for a greast march such as this, a seriousness matched by a sense of community and solidarity, goodwill between Christians of different denominations, and a feeling of youth and vigour as so many young families walk with measured pace.
In a few days I'll be taking part in the bug national March for Life in Washington. God bless America.
Friday, January 13, 2012
And here's another date....
...for your diary. Want to learn how to sing Gregorian Chant? Here's your opportunity. Find out more here.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Sunday, January 08, 2012
IMPORTANT:
another date for your diary.
SATURDAY FEBRUARY 11th at 6.30pm
at St MICHAEL's CHURCH, WEST CROYDON
a showing of the film "John Paul II". Coffee and snacks, suggested donation £5, which will go to the Friends of the Ordinariate.
This is a very special evening. The Rev Donald Minchew and a large group from his congregation are joining the ORDINARIATE OF OUR LADY OF WALSINGHAM. This means that they will have to leave their beautiful church and worship somewhere new. This special film evening is an opportunity to show your support and welcome for this group as they take this major step in Christian Unity and faith.
St Michel's is a magnificent church, easy to find as it dominates this corner of West Croydon. It is right next to the bus station and a few minutes' walk from East Croydon and West Croydon railway stations.
NOTE: there is a showing of this film on Feb 3rd at the Hinsley Room adjoining Westminster Cathedral. The Hinsley Room is not huge and we will accomodate people on a first-come first-served basis. If you live in the southern suburbs of London you may find that this Croydon evening is betrter for you.
SATURDAY FEBRUARY 11th at 6.30pm
at St MICHAEL's CHURCH, WEST CROYDON
a showing of the film "John Paul II". Coffee and snacks, suggested donation £5, which will go to the Friends of the Ordinariate.
This is a very special evening. The Rev Donald Minchew and a large group from his congregation are joining the ORDINARIATE OF OUR LADY OF WALSINGHAM. This means that they will have to leave their beautiful church and worship somewhere new. This special film evening is an opportunity to show your support and welcome for this group as they take this major step in Christian Unity and faith.
St Michel's is a magnificent church, easy to find as it dominates this corner of West Croydon. It is right next to the bus station and a few minutes' walk from East Croydon and West Croydon railway stations.
NOTE: there is a showing of this film on Feb 3rd at the Hinsley Room adjoining Westminster Cathedral. The Hinsley Room is not huge and we will accomodate people on a first-come first-served basis. If you live in the southern suburbs of London you may find that this Croydon evening is betrter for you.
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