Where have I been? Well...

...in Durham, where I spoke to the Cathsoc at the University. Most enjoyable...a packed evening Mass in St Cuthbert's Church - which doubles as the University chaplaincy - and a convivial meeting over wine with a great group of students...my topic was "Celebrating traditional Feasts and Seasons", with talk of old customs and folklore, including pub signs (eg "The Crossed Keys", "The Salutation" - both of those have Catholic origins)...the Cathsoc is a v. friendly and lively group, with a good programme... recent speakers have included Sister Roseanne Reddy of the Sisters of the Gospel of Life...

I stayed at the hospitable home of Prof and Mrs Sheridan Gilley...books, talk, warm hospitality, more books, more talk...shelves of Robert Hugh Benson and Ronald Knox, books by and about John Henry Newman, books on thology, more books...a feast of reading and talking...

...and then on to Manchester where I was with the North West branch of the Catholic Writers Guild which meets at the Manchester University Catholic chaplaincy. The meeting was chaired by Eric Hester - whose book reviews in the Catholic Times, FAITH magazine, and elsewhere, are always a joy to read - and I went on to enjoy great hospitality at the Hesters' home, sitting late and agreeably, talking with Eric and Katherine...again a house with a feast of books...

...and finally, on to London and thence to Croydon, to Coloma School, ...a parents' meeting tackling issues concerning young people and the media...a friendly and positive evening...useful points were discussed and raised, such as how families should set guidelines about use of TV and the Internet...we looked a things like Tamezin magazine...books from Gracewing and from the CTS were on sale...This is a very popular school, and it was a huge pleasure to be there.

The Christian Imagination and English Literature

...was the title of a talk at THE KEYS, London branch of the Catholic Writers Guild of England and Wales, this week. Speaker was Prof Michael Alexander, who was appointed Professor of English at St Andrews University in 1985. An excellent evening, which got us discussing all sorts of things from Caedmon to Chaucer and on to Walter Scott via George Herbert, Milton, and Dryden and more...he also circulated some things on which to ponder and we looked at "I sing of a maiden..." and "Love bade me welcome..." and "God doth not need/Either man's work or his own gifts..."

It was our AGM, and, following email contact from the catholicwritersguild.org - an American-based group which had contacted me via this Blog - I passed on greetings from them to our Guild and then it was formally resolved, and carried by acclamation, that we pass our greetings back to them...we hope to have a regular exchange of news, helpful ideas and information etc. Sean O'Connor formally retired as Master of THE KEYS and was presented with a bottle of champagne, amid very heartfelt applause as he really has been excellent, especially in seeing the Guild safely into our new home at St Mary Moorfields after many very happy years at St Etheldreda's, Ely Place (where a plaque in the crypt now marks our link there).

All this, and a good dinner with rare roast beef followed by a proper hot pudding with apples and spicy dried fruit and generous ice cream...oh, an excellent evening.

Papa Benedict has been speaking, with wisdom and largeness of mind, about the media, to mark the feast of St Francis de Sales...

St John Fisher...

...a great hero of the Faith, is still inspiring new generations.

The chapel at the John Fisher School, Purley (where my brother went to school) with was consecrated on Thursday in a glorious ceremony - Archbishop McDonald of Southwark spreading sacred oil from a silver ewer on to the altar, priests anointing the walls with crosses, a great choir of boys singing magnificently....

A church is usually consecrated as soon as all its debts have been paid, but although the school chapel was paid for long ago, and has been in full use for many years, it had never been consecrated - so the school took the opportunity of the chapel's 50th anniversary to do it. A long line of priests, many of them former pupils of the school, filed in to the packed chapel, and the congregation was led by the Mayor and Mayoress of Croydon. Bishop Howard Tripp, a former John Fisher pupil, blessed a portrait of St John Fisher which hangs at the back of the chapel - it dates back to the mid-19th century and has just been restored, there's a whole story attached to it - and we sang the School Hymn which was written by the founding headmaster and has splendid lines about the saint "Loyal to England and Christ's earthly Vicar, death found thee fearless..."

Afterwards, a buffet lunch in the school hall, and lots and lots of old friends meeting and talking...I met Gwen, with whom I was in the Girl Guides, oh a lifetime ago (we both got our Queen's Guide badges within months of each other) and Mother was hugely enjoying meeting people and reminiscing...

Like many another school chapel across Britain, this one is packed with important memories for so many people.

I've got a cold...

...and am snuffly and keep stopping at coffee-shops to give myself consoling mugs of hot chocolate.

Hurried off to give a talk at a Methodist Church fellowship on the outskirts of Croydon - an agreeable ride in the tram, which swoops most satisfyingly through Wandle Park and glides round Reeves Corner - and then, via an exccellent hot choc at Wimbledon, up to London to a committee meeting of the The Keys, the Catholic Writers' Guild at St Mary Moorfields. Our splendid chaplain, Fr Peter, gave us all dinner. It was a most enjoyable evening. Melanie McDonagh is to be the new Master of the Guild, succeeding Sean O'Connor, who has done an excellent job. Sample of Melanie's writing here.

Jeremy de Satge, a committee member of The Keys, and a composer of some merit, has the premiere of his Penitential Mass for Eight Voices, at the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Farm Street on Sunday Feb 17th, at the 11 am sung Latin Mass. All are welcome. I plan to be there. As its name suggests, this is a Mass suitable for Lent and Advent, and you can read more about it here.

I found some useful news videos...

...about the Pope and La Sapienza etc here.

And there was a terrific turn-out today in St Peter's Square, crowds of young people cheering Papa B. to the echo, banners from students at La Sapienza saying "We love the Pope" and so on. Sample of all this here.

Oh, and you can read his full speech here.

The Jesuits...

...have been in the news because they've been electing a new Superior, so this morning I decided to go to Mass at the Jesuit Church in Wimbledon. Sung (Latin, ordinary form) Mass, glorious music, good-sized congregation, although probably not as large as that for the earlier "Family Mass" which was still spilling out as I arrived. (Actually, if I had children I would take them to the one I attended: much more impressive stuff to see and hear and smell - even the introductory rites, including the Confiteor, were chanted, strong participation, church filled with song, lots of incense, and Credo III, and the familiar Pater Noster, and a "Domine, salvam fac" for the Queen at the end - all much more exciting than just children's hymns).

We sat up late yesterday evening watching Casino Royale on DVD (James Bond) - interesting to see how they've developed the new plots as there is no Soviet Union to be the Enemy any more, so it has to be general International Terrorism and Evil Crooks. This will work for a while, but is a bit wobbly - as Western society increasingly ceases to believe in itself, the notion of having a Secret Service dedicated to its preservation will seem less and less defensible, so the old M15/headquarters in London/Bond reporting back/loyalty to Britain/etc idea won't work so well.

I was given...

...from New Zealand, at Christmas, a dear little patchwork bag to carry sewing, and a tapestry to do, and a needle-case. It is most satisfying using something pretty instead of a plastic bag, and gives a pleasing feeling when carrying it about...

If you didn't get the Daily Mail's Brideshead series on DVD - available with the newspaper all this past fornight - do, quickly, send off for a set. It is, of course, superb, as all who first saw it back in thre 1980s will recall - and there is an extra DVD at the end, in which various people discuss the book, the TV adaption, Evelyn Waugh's work, and more. The whole thing would be excellent for VI-formers to watch. The lavish Oxford scenes, the sense of 1920s decadence, then the unfolding drama, set in the the glorious sweep of heavely countryside and architecture (the Venice scenes! The hunt at Brideshead!)...then the hesitant but steady, paced move towards the central moment in Lord Marchmain's room...

This is most enjoyable reading...

...from a typical mainstream oh-isn't-the-Catholic-church-awful commentator in a Canadian paper, admitting : "what initially appeared as an unconditional Papal retreat has suddenly been transformed into a resounding Vatican victory". Do read it.

Enjoy this Blog?

...want to read more? Then you might enjoy this link. It's an on-line magazine for which I write., with comments on topical events etc....

at Mother's...

...this evening, we were just settling down with a DVD and some sewing, when the doorbell rang...it was the splendid Mr Dan Cooper of the FAITH Movement, with young Fr James Clark, who had just given a talk to the FAITH Group at the John Fisher School. It is so enjoyable and encouraging to talk to a young and enthusiastic priest - and a great joy for Mother, who ran the mailing-and-admin. of FAITH magazine for years and remembers so many of these excellent FAITH priests as schoolboys, helping with the mail-out....We had mugs of tea and chocolate biscuits and much talk...

Westminster Cathedral...

...is such a reassurring presence, and like lots of Londoners I drop in there when passing...which often means several times a week. Mass, especially the sung Mass at 5.30pm on weekdays, confession, a quiet place to pray - and, at present, until Feb 2nd, a lovely Crib to visit...

So it's with real concern that I see the headline in this week's Catholic Herald "Race to save Westminster Cathedral" - big problems with water leaking into the great domes on the roof, and with the antiuquated electricity and heating systems...which date back to the Cathedral's foundation in the 1900s.

They need a LOT of money for repair work. With several thousand people pouring in and out each week, packing it for Mass on Sundays, and attending the special Masses held there for all great occasions, it should be possible to get the cash...and this is a cause well worth supporting

NOTE....

The email address I gave for the Pope was inaccurate, but I have now corrected it. Do send him an email of support!!

Latest issue...

...of FAITH magazine arrives. It has a kind review of my Yearbook of Seasons and Celebrations, saying it is a "defiantly informative book" which is a most satisfying phrase. There's also a brilliant column by Dr William Oddie about the arrival of Polish Catholics in Britain, and an editorial "The Primacy of Christ and honouring the Islamic Invitation", which I'm currently reading...it's the first thing I've come across which has responded in any depth to the "open letter" sent by Moslem leaders to the Church.

You can find out more about the Faith Movement here.

Of course he had to...

...cancel his visit to the University. It was the only possible thing for Pope Benedict to do.

When students at La Sapienza University threatened to blare out loud rock music to drown the Pope's voice, and staff - albeit only a minority, but clearly an influential one - had signed a letter demanding that he not attend, and the whole thing looked as though it might turn into as shrieking mess, the only sane thing to do was withdraw. So it wasn't a "ban" that ensured that the Pope didn't speak at the University - it was the threat of mob behaviour. I am annoyed now that I referred to a "ban" in my letter, because the ban was created by the threat of mob violence rather than simply than by a letter of dis-invitation. But there we are.

Have you written to the University? The more letters they get, the easier it will be when they arrange for the Pope to come with proper dignity on a subsequent occasion, and the more strength it will give to the authorities to do and say the right things in the discussions which will continue over the next weeks. It is important - very important - that the University authorities know how offensive this has all been. And have you sent a message of support to the Pope? His email is benedictxvi@vatican.va

It's been great to see the surge of support for the Holy Father, especially from La Spaienza students with thjeir banners at the Wednesday Audience.

This news item...

...has more about the Pope and the university. Read here.

This is the letter...

....I have sent to staff at La Sapienza University.

Please write too. You can email (see link given below) or send a letter by post: The Chancellor, La Sapienza University, Piazza Aldo Moro 5, 00185, Roma, Italy.


I write to express my concern and indignation at the banning of the visit of Pope Benedict to your University. This is an insult to the Holy Father, and makes La Sapienza University look extremely foolish as well as rather frightening.

A University should be a place where scholarship is honoured and respected, and where mob-rule is not seen as acceptable...

Action:

Following the crass ignorance of the people at La Sapienza University in Rome in preventing the Holy Father from coming to speak, I'm writing to the creeps there and suggest that other bloggers do the same. You could email them too. Info here.

Another thought too: how about Catholic students and pro-life groups at universities writing to invite the Holy Father to come to address them?

Outside Parliament...

...we gathered yesterday with placards saying "Protect the family "Children need fathers" and "No animal/human hybrids". The House of Lords was debating the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill with its nasty schemes for unethical activities . We called out "Ditch the Bill now!" I do wish they would do just that.

Have you written to your Member of Parliament about it yet?

One of the best things...

...that has come my way over the past week is a new booklet A Way of Life for Young Catholics, by Father Stephen Wang. At just £1.95p from the CTS, it's really excellent. It has prayers, information, sections on "How to live your Catholic Faith", "Five great saints of the 20th century" "Five saints for young people" "Five ways to find a good Catholic husband or wife", lists of useful books and DVDs and websites...and lots more! It's brand-new - I picked it up in the CTS bookshop in Westminster Cathedral Piazza (one day I really am going to try to go into that shop and come out without buying something!) and I'll be passing it on. When I look back on some of the poor stuff that was available to young Catholics in the 1970s I realise what good things are around today.

A new Blog...

...John Smeaton of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, is blogging!

It's a good read, and will be of enormous help over the next weeks as crucial legislation goes through Parliament, and new threats to families and children are exposed. Read his blog here.

This is a favourite...

...picture of the Holy Father and I put it in just because it is cheering.

St Elphege

...was an Archbishop of Canterbury martyred by the Vikings, and I was baptised, confirmed and married in a church dedicated to him. I was at Mass there, too, this morning, as I was staying overnight with Mother in what is still her home parish. It's a frankly ugly church, though improved in recent years by the creation of a central aisle. And it has happy associations for me, and it's a large and busy parish, and it was good to reconnect with various friends. A speaker - Matthew Gorman, whom I know from the FAITH movement as well as pro-life campaigns - told us about the Govt's horrific plans for human-animal hybrid embryos and other gruesome schemes, in the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill. Have you written yet to your Member of Parliament about this? Information here.

Increasingly, I get the calm and steady assumption, when talking to sane friends and colleagues, that the possibility exists of one of us ending up in prison simply for affirming the central importance, in our common life here in Britain, of traditional Christian teaching on marriage, love, and the transmission of human life. Already, I sense within myself a certain cautious concern as I write and debate on these issues - a concern that is probably useful in that it ensures clarity of thought and moderation in speech and manner. But, as with the Govt's increasingly open attacks on Church schools, one senses a biting nastiness that indicates no desire for any effective role for authentic Christianity in the public and community life of our country, and seeks to eliminate from public life any voice which seeks one.

The Catholic Women of the Year...

....are celebrated at a great Luncheon with a guest speaker, etc, and 2008 sees the 40th anniversary of this venture. Who are the Catholic Women of the Year? Unsung heroines, mostly. They are women who are nominated by anyone and everyone across Britain: ordinary women, serving their local communities and families, women who care for the frail and elderly, who foster children with special needs, who clean and take care of community property, who help run First Communion groups, assist in pilgrimages to Lourdes, visit prisons, do dull but neccessary paperwork to help organisations run smoothly, speak out in defence of human and moral values, are good neighbours and colleagues and friends...you can nominate any Catholic woman who who feel deserves this honour (and, yes, most of those so honoured are very embarrassed). The idea was launched in 1968 - a difficult year for the Church and one in which a group of Catholic women felt it would be useful to bring together people in a spirit of loyalty and service. It's all still thriving. The women nominated get no cash prize or medal, just an invitation to lunch, and there's a guest speaker, and money is raised for charity.

We had the organising committee meeting yesterday - various Catholic groups are represented on the committee - and we have great plans for this 40th year.

How to nominate some one? Simply write a letter to the Chairman: 22 Milton Rd, Ware, Herts, giving the name of your nominee and stating the reasons for nomination....

Prison...

...is not an attractive thought.

Please pray for K, a man in prison, almost certainly unjustly, whose case was brought to our attention through Jamie's involvement with a legal group...and before you just dismiss him from your mind,just consider the possibility: how would it be be if you, or some one very close to you, was imprisoned for a crime he did not commit?

A crowded hall...

...of parents of First Communion children, on a rain-splashed night in Banstead, Surrey. I had travelled from London, and how wonderful it was to arrive and discover St Anne's church glowing with light, a most glorious crib scene in the sanctuary, the Blessed Sacrament in a monstrance on the altar, and people praying. Outside the wind howled as we knelt there, and the church felt a real place of refuge. We said the Divine Praises. Then after Benediction, into the hall where there was a bustle of people coming and tea and coffee being poured, and then I was introduced and giving a talk to this large and lively group, parents of some 40 First Communicants. It was all very friendly and alive and enjoyable, and the joy stayed with me through the journey home on the bus with the rain still lashing down...and into the warm house with mugs of tea and Jamie there with the latest DVD from the Daily Mail with an instalment of the excellent BBC Brideshead.

Weekday Mass...

...in our local parish gets a good-sized congregation I dropped in this morning, in something of a rush, because my bike had a puncture. Kneeling at the back, watching a long line of communicants on this Monday January morning - all ages, both sexes, a great mix of people - I had a sudden wish to haul in some of the gleeful doomsayers who love telling us that Everything In the Church These Days is Awful and telling them to be quiet, kneel down, and join in...

Bike shops always seem to be friendly places. A small boy was being fitted out with a new bike as a Birthday present - a proud Daddy and a very happy boy. The assistant broke off to take charge of my machine, assurred me he could get it done by lunchtime. Talk became general. Apparently the bike trade generally didn't do so well this Christmas :"Lots of kids prefer to have computer games and that." Golly. How ghastly. It makes one droop.

Spent the afternoon bashing out features for various newspapers and magazines at the computer. Want samples of my efforts? Read the Catholic Times, or the USA's National Catholic Register, or This Rock magazine. Better still, do think about getting my latest book, or even ordering it at your local library...

It was in Austria...

...that we first learned of the tradition of having a house blessed for the year at Epiphany, and chalking up the initials of the Three Kings, thus

20 + C + M+ B + 08

...I have a lovely memory of being in the Oetztal, in a small snowy village, and suddenly being aware of the scent of incense - and there head of me, ploughing through the snow, was a small group of Star Singers, three Wise men in wonderful costumes, one bearing Gold, and Frankincense (hence the incense-smell, for he was carrying the thurible from church!), another a great box for Myrrh...and with them a leader bearing a Star on a stick. As it happens, they were headed for the very house where we were staying, and when I reached it, there they were...they visit each house in turn, rather like carol-singers. But there is more to it than that, because prayers are said, and a carol sung, as well as money collected for charity, and then the father of the house chalks up the new date above the door...

There is lots more that can be done, such as a blessing of the chalk, and indeed a blessing of fresh holy water for the ceremony. All very delightful, and so we now have the tradition at Bogle Towers. Jamie read the prayers yesterday - he adores all old ceremonial - and then we sped off to some friends. They were already celebrating Twelfth Night, with small girls dressed as St Lucias, and a Boy Bishops, and much merriment planned, so our house-blessing just fitted in delightfully, and we had a wonderful evening. I wish I could convey the brightness and wonder of the little girls' eyes when the boy dressed as St Nicholas arrived ( a magnificent mitre on his head, and an umbrella covered in silver paper as a splendid crozier)...and they answered up very well as he asked them questions, proving that they did indeed know the simple facts of their Faith. A happy evening...

Epiphany...

...is a glorious feast:"the wealth of nations will come to you; camels in throngs will cover you, and dromedaries of Midian and Ephah, everyone in Sheba will come"...and we had golden vestments and the Kings in the crib-scene in church moved in, edging out the shepherds adoring the Christ-child. An email from a friend in Ukraine reminded me that today is Christmas Day in the Julian calendar - he sent seasonal greetings from a sparkling snowbound land several degrees below zero...

Jamie and I dressed up in our best yesterday evening and went off to my cousin's for a party...only to find, on arrival, that the party had been on Friday! Ooops...however, we were warmly welcomed, and Angela poured drinks, lit candles on the dinner-table and we were given a delicious supper ("we've got stacks of food left over - come and help us eat it!") with a variety of wonderful puddings, and we talked and laughed and all enjoyed ourselves hugely!

On Friday I was actually at a party at Mothers - all the residents of the flats where she lives gather together each year for a congenial celebration, at which I traditionall provide a Quiz, and the son-in-law of another resident sings, and there is a lovely buffet...it all went extremely well, with the Quiz getting everyone talking, especially the bits about English history, kings and queens, who married who, Alfred burning the cakes and Queen Victoria's daughter marrying the Crown Prince of Prussia, and Bonnie Prince Charlie, and all those Hanoverian Georges, and so on.

A correspondent to this Blog asked about hymns for St Stephen's Day (Boxing Day, Dec 26th). I just happened to notice something useful in the hymn-book at Mass today: (Laudate hymnal, published by Decani music, 1999) - there is a hymn beginning "By all your saints still striving/for all your saints at rest..." which has a whole set of extra verses for various different saints, with the feast-days listed, and there is one for St Stephen: "All praise, O Lord, for Stephen/who, martyred, saw you stand/to help in time of torment/to plead at God's right hand..." The author is given as "Jerry D.Godwin, based on H. Nelson (1823-1913)". I don't know the tune, but the words to fit to a number of standard tunes including, for example "The Church's one foundation"...

And now this evening I shall take down the cards and decorations, and the wreath from the door, and start dealing with dull things.

URGENT...

...The House of Lords is soon to vote on a gross piece of legislation which treats children as possessions - among other things, it will allow a lesbian to have a child who will have no father. The law also allows for anumal/human hybrid embryos, and the creation of human babies for "spare parts" surgery.

Yes, really.

Have you written yet to a member of the House of Lords on this? Hurry, and do so now. The first vote looks set to be on January 15th. You can get more by contacting this website or this one.

Every Thursday...

...at St Joseph's, New Malden, there is adoration of the Blessed Sacrament until into the night, finishing with Benediction. It's sort of satisfying walking through the dark streets to the glowing church - which looks especially welcoming in this Christmas season with the greenery and the red candles in the window niches, and a side-chapel all transformed into Bethlehem for the crib. And then the silence, and Tantum Ergo, and the gentle drama of Benediction, and home to mugs of tea.

Watch out for renewed attacks on the Church's teachings on marriage and family, following the Pope's excellent New Year message. It's encouraging, though, to see that the Spanish rally seems to have been effective and inspiring. You can get all sorts of insights by trawling through the Internet. The Ratzinger Forum has lots of gosh-isn't-he-lovely fan-mail stuff about the Pope, but some interesting reports and comments, too, drawn from a number of sources.

Back into the routine of work today though there are still agreeable trails of Christmas all around - yesterday evening a most delightful drinks party with friends in London, a talkative gathering with journalists and vaguely political people, neighbours and friends-from-church, and delicious food, and children giggling about, and a most glorious Christmas Tree. Hostesses were the daughters of the Utley family - their father T.E. Utley was one of the wisest people I've ever met and if you haven't sampled his writing then you should be introduced to it: start here.

Rally for the Family...

...Did you know that something over a million people gathered in Madrid the other day at a rally in defence of marriage and family life? No, I thought perhaps you didn't. Read about it here.

I bet that if there had been a million-strong rally in defence of, say, animal rights, in a major European city there would have been a number of reports about it in the British media.

Of course, it could be claimed that a million Catholics defending the Christian teaching on marriage and family ought not to be news. It ought to be routine. But, these days, it isn't. It's important, significant, and encouraging. Tell people about it.

Real things...

...have occupied my time, and that of others, for the past days. Family, children, Midnight Mass, games, Grannies, traditions, jokes, a glittering Christmas tree, a Nativity scene, candlelight shining on familiar faces around the table. Christmas brings one to reality. It's been marvellous.