Latest issue of...

...FAITH magazine arrives in the post. And next week brings the annual Faith Summer Session, which I hope to be able to visit briefly...over 30 years ago, this annual summer gathering for young Catholics was a big part of Auntie's life, and along with many other people I owe this excellent Movement a great deal. It has grown and grown, and it is good to see a whole new generation benefiting from the insights and teachings given. And there are now so many priests linked to FAITH, and they are doing so much good work.

But, golly, the realisation that I can remember the Summer Sessions of the 1970s is pause for thought...I remember speakers like Christopher Derrick - an unforgettable defence of Humanae Vitae which was a big influence on my understanding of that whole topic - and of course the splendid Father Edward Holloway...and I remember sitting by the lake at the college in Roehampton where the Sessions were then held (is the lake still there? I bet they've filled it in and covered the lawn with buildings), and evenings in a local pub, and Masses in the college chapel, and excellent concerts-got-up-from-scratch which always culminated in a magnificent rendition of a famous piece of music with genuine musicians supplemented by the efforts of people using whatever could be found in cupboards and suitcases so combs and vacuum-cleaner tubes and milk bottles came into play...and I remember (and cherish) good friendships which have lasted to this day, and good discussions, and good opportunities for asking big questions and getting honest answers...and the Salve Regina at the end of night prayers on a warm summer evening, when summers seem to last for ever...