Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Pondering 2014...

...as we launch into 2015...

Highlight of 2014  for Auntie was the canonisation of Sts John XXIII and John Paul II, on that golden spring day in Rome. To be among the 2 million or more pilgrims surging in the city on that day was a glorious experience.  I cherish memories of meeting the great John Paul - and in an honoured place on the shelf in the small crowded room where I do most of my writing is the Bible that he signed for Jamie and me. He handed J. a rosary, which J. entrusted to my care and which I love using. He was "our" Pope, as he was for so many people of our generation. His picture is on the Papal Blessing that we received at our wedding - and we cherish equally the beautiful Blessing for our Silver Wedding that came from beloved Benedict XVI. How beautiful that Benedict was there at the canonisation...and how thrilling to be there in Rome when it happened,..


Walking on Exmoor...

...we came across St Agnes' Well. Sparkling water bubbling up along a little lane not far from the village of Allerton. Enchanted by this, I sent an email to a priest-friend who has a special devotion to Agnes -his former parish was dedicated to this saint.  It's known as a "holy well". Hmmm.  Research reveales that the well was actually named for the daughter of the local landowner in the 19th century...but the spring is evidently older than that, so maybe there is a link to the Saint anyway...

Country walks, family time, a visit to a family grave in a country graveyard, local cloudy cider and excellent cheese, glorious views across Exmoor to the sea...and tomorrow we head back to London.

New projects - this afternoon was spent sorting out the diary for speaking engagements and history walks,.. and  on arrival home, it's time for work on editing the latest EWTN programme, filmed in Poland earlier this year, ready for broadcasting early in 2015...


Monday, December 29, 2014

HISTORY WALKS....

...start again soon. The first HISTORY WALK of 2015 will be on

WEDNESDAY JANUARY 28th, starts 6.30pm (after the 5.30pm Mass) - meet on the steps of WESTMINSTER CATHEDRAL.

All welcome - no need to book, just turn up! Dress warmly! We'll be following a Royal theme, looking at St James Park, Whitehall, and Westminster...

Sunday, December 28, 2014

...and as a New Year beckons...

...here's something for your diary. Tuesday evenings with the FAITH Movement in London. Here are the dates: alternate Tuesdays throughout Jan, Feb, and March. No need to book - just turn up. Admission free - a glass of wine, pizza, and social chat after the main talk...

The venue: Basement hall,  24 Golden Square, LONDON WI...nearest tube PICADILLY CIRCUS.

Tuesday 13th January 2015
Is there life after death?
Fr Stephen Dingley

Tuesday 27th January 2015
Scandals in the Church: a way forward.
Mgr Keith Barltrop

Tuesday 10th February 2015
Are all religions equally valid?
Anna-Marie Treloar

Tuesday 24th February 2015
Can I love Christ but not the Church?
Sr Andrea Fraille

Tuesday 10th March 2015
The cosmic meaning of the Eucharist
Fr Roger Nesbitt

Tuesday 24th March 2015
Should the Church impose lifestyle choices?
Edward Hadas


7:30pm @ basement of 24 Golden Square, LONDON W1

Friday, December 26, 2014

Christmas...

...with family...Mass in a country church, meeting old friends, swapping news and greetings...a splendid dinner with platefuls of delicious roast turkey and chestnuts and cranberry sauce...the Queen's annual message - it is so lovely that every year she quietly and touchingly speaks about Jesus Christ and affirms his message...a walk to the river, the trees with bleak exquisite starkness against the winter sky, house-lights glowing,people greeting each other with "Merry Christmas" in passing... and an evening of jigsaws and music and chocolates and wine and  talk and laughter with the Christmas Tree glittering...

Christmas blessings to readers of this Blog....


Friday, December 19, 2014

Dennis O'Keeffe RIP...

...writer, academic, and a great voice for freedom...Dennis O'Keefe was one of a small group of British academics who worked in Poland in the years of martial law, lecturing in the "flying university" through which people, meeting in private homes and facing the possibility of arrest, could hear and take part in talks on philosophy, economics, and politics. In this, and through his books and journalism, Dennis was one of the courageous people supporting the emergence of a free Poland.

He died this week after some years spent in full-time  hospice care following a serious accident. His courage and faith during these difficult years were deeply moving, as was the wonderful love of his family which surrounded him.

Dennis'writing was witty, well-researched, and challening. He had no time for cliches and trite observations. Nor was he simply a commentator: his was always the voice of a teacher rather than a journalist, and he worked for positive solutions to social problems, rather than simply analysing or proclaiming. And his sinccere Catholic faith gave a depth and warmth to his thinking at every point.

I will always cherish the memory of the conversations in the hospice years - he was not the sort of person who wanted to talk about himself, but the story of his work in Poland did emerge, and - always unselfish and open to new hope and fresh possibilities - he was keen to put me in contact with people there who were helpful in my own researches for a book on St John Paul.

May this good man rest in peace.

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Illiteracy...

..is it worth trying to talk to the manager? Does it really matter?

 I don't think that the team in the local Tescos meant to be ironic when they put up the big new notice which says: "It's the imaginary ingredients in our bread that make the difference."






Prison...

...and the route from the railway station to the prison where I do some visiting is a particularly ugly and smelly walk beside a main road, which in a particularly sad way retains some hints of its former setting as a rural- pathway-alongside-a-meadow...

This particular prison is, however, itself clean and with good provision for education, for family visits, for access to  fair advice and help, and more..

I am increasingly impressed by the work of  our Catholic prison chaplains, priests who give themselves in service to people that others might want to forget or dismiss as being unworthy of good spiritual care. And there is serious work being done: instruction, baptisms, confessions, talks and use of videos (Fr Robert Barron's Catholicism series, the excellent Evangelium material, and more)...and good numbers for Mass.

Pray for prisoners. Pray for the chap being confirmed next week. Pray for the one who is distraught about the break-up with his girlfriend. Pray for the men I met today.

...and...

...further to the ghastly news of the ruling today by a judge in the Supreme Court concerning conscientious objections to abortion - see this excellent commentary by a senior lawyer...

Back in the 1970s...

...there were huge - HUGE - crowds at marches in London and elsewhere to oppose the 1967 Abortion Act and the widespread killing of unborn babies...I remember speaking at a rally in London where even the BBC admitted some 80,000 people were present, and the real figure was probably much nearer 100, 000.

I remember that in those days, people who supported abortion tended to say "Well, no one is forcing you to have anything to do with it, are they?" An odd remark, because if you are obliged to fund abortion through your taxes, and if you know you should have some care for your neighbours and for human life and for the common good, then you can and must speak out and try to do something  when abortion is becoming a part of everyday life...

However,there was and is a "conscience clause" in the Abortion Act that is meant to protect medical staff who knew that involvement in aborting babies is wrong...

Now, today, a Supreme Court judge has announced that midwives do not have the right to refuse, as a matter of conscience,  to supervise the provision of abortions on their ward. The judge seems to think that anyone who opposes abortion has a sort of duty to ensure that others provide it - which is most certainly not what the lawmakers had in mind, and seems opposed to any ordinary reading of the Act.

Pray for a revival of spiritual and moral values, and common sense and human decency, in our country.

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

I'm enjoying these...

MADE FOR GLORY messages for Advent. View here...

An invitation...

...to a book launch can mean a slightly bleak evening, with some wine and potato crisps and not many people, and a publisher anxiously hoping that somehow all this will result in some sales...

But the book launch I attended this evening was utterly different. An absolutrely packed Westminster Cathedral Hall, lots of young families,  a stirring call to evangelise, and at one point we were all invited to sing (yes, you read that correctly) the Hail Mary, and everyone stood up and did so, in rousing style, to a tune I had never heard before.

This was all to launch a book, The Kerygma, by Kiko Arguello, founder of the Neo-Catechuemenate. I heard the word Kerygma  ( you say it: Kare-ig-ma) a lot when studying evangelisation at Maryvale: it means the first proclamation of the Gospel, the invitation to encounter Christ.

The Neo-Cats are impressive: enthusiastic, prayerful, practical.There was a warm welcome, interesting speeches, a  good atmosphere, and a delicious buffet with sandwiches and snacks and cakes, and plenty of wine. Cardinal Vincent Nichols was there and spoke well, quoting Pope Francis and encouraging us to ake the Gospel out to the lonely and the confused and the needy.  A Christmas Tree glittered on the stage, alongside a massive icon depicting the Nativity. A Neo-Cat priest encouraged us to think about three angels - messengers. First, Lucifer, the fallen angel, who tempted Eve and succeeded in getting her to put her own wishes first and disobey God. Then the second angelic messenger - Gabriel, to Mary, who opened her heart to God and said "Yes". And then us - each of us should be a messenger...

I'm enjoying the book and will report on it in due course.

A celebration...

...of the Jewish festival of Chanukah was held in London today - a young friend attended and loved it, and there is a useful description and explanation of it all here, from the Council of Christians and Jews.

The Council of Christians and Jews does good work, and I am glad to be able to commend it.

A picture of St John Paul the Great...

...blessed by Mgr Keith Newton at the TOWARDS ADVENT Festival, will now be given to a Catholic residential home for the elderly.  Once a year, it will leave there, and be carried on the John Paul Walking Pilgrimage to Walsingham, which in 2015 marks its 10th anniversary. The Pilgrimage is organised by the Dominican Sisters of St Joseph.

I am about to take the picture, which is an embroidered one with the embroiderer's signature on the back, to the Home...

Those who attended the TOWARDS ADVENT Festival may remember the two very charming children who brought it forward to be blessed, and the solemn and reverent way that they stood holding it as the beautiful prayer was said...a very special moment.

This is good news...

...for all who love Walsingham...

Christmas cards...

...tucked along every bookcase and in the useful Christmas-card holders than I bought years ago from Aid to the Church in Need and are among the best purchases I've ever made. Candles on the Advent wreath. Gifts in cheery wrapping paper and bright ribbons. I love it all.

Soon I'll erect the crib, with its special angel. Special?  Yes...some years ago I punctured my bike on my way to a friend's house. Fortunately I was just outside a bicycle shop, so hurried in and the tyre was swiftly mended while I chatted and admired the shop's little Christmas tree topped with an angel. I set off again..and  five minutes later, the bike ran over some broken glass in the next street, and the other tyre was punctured. I was cross, and fed up. No mobile phones in those days...I'd be horribly delayed, people would be upset. I dragged the bike back to the shop in a bad temper. The man was kind and briskly got to work and as I left he told me "Take the angel. You look as if you need one!"  I was embarrassed, but he insisted. And the angel has been part of our family Christmas ever since, hanging over the Christ-child in the manger, in white and gold with swooping wings...

I received some panicky emails and messages ...

...one from a from good and faithful soul, some from self-appointed know-it-alls who announce that they are the-Faithful-remnant-of-Traditional-Catholicism. All were gulping and worrying, because they believed stories that the Pope had announced that animals go to Heaven when they die.

I didn't reply because I am a busy woman and assumed that the Pope had made no such announcement.

I was right. Read here.

Pray for America's splendid Little Sisters of the Poor...

...and admire their courage.

Watch here

Monday, December 15, 2014

...and a wonderful welcome in Torquay...

...where the choir at the Ordinariate Mass sang a joyful "Gaudete! Gaudete!" and I enjoyed a delicious lunch and got the whole story on the Torquay Ordinariate project.The local Methodists in Chelston have had to leave their church, and have asked the Ordinariate to "keep the flame of faith burning" there,  Fr David and his team are committed to doing just that, and more - and they will need your help and mine to do so.

Send them a Christmas donation, large or small. This is your opportunity to do something positive in response to that moan that has become so popular "Oh, we are no longer a Christian country..."

The Torbay team are busy with outreach - their charity shop not only offers a magnificent local service but is also a place of welcome, good cheer, advice, counsel and simple neighourly friendship for the lonely...the church will be a place of glorious worship, sound teaching, youth activities, and mission. This is a story of hope as a New Year beckons...join in and be part of it!

Saturday, December 13, 2014

Frosty fields...

...in the early morning as the bus trundles through Somerset. I am visiting an elderly relative, and the walk up the hill with glorious views of Exmoor is pure delight. But the chill of the day doesn't work so well for a lady in a wheelchair, and the warmth of an Indian restaurant and a dish of seafoord korma suits her better. As we meet frequently, there isn't much family news to tell, so we enjoy reminiscing...

An evening of writing Christmas cards. Tomorrow I am getting up early to go to Mass at Torquay, because there's a church thyere I specialoly want to visit...

Friday, December 12, 2014

Evensong...

...followed by the Advent Course at Precious Blood Church, London Bridge. We pondered the message of various images of the Annunciation -  an early one from the East, a glorious one by Fra Angelico, a more modern pre-Raphaelite one. Lots to think about...in Fra Angelico's picture, the  sacred space between the Angel and the Virgin, the latter's hands clasped in prayer...in the pre-Raphaelite one, the flames of fire around the Angel's feet...

At Evensong, one of the Scripture readings was the story of Ruth amid the corn...later, we got talking about it...the significance of Christ's genealogy, that reference to Bethlehem...we decided to ask for a specific session on that at some stage.

People say "Christmas is for children", but in my experience it all gets much, much, more important and thrilling and exciting as you get older. The mystery of the Incarnation is so enormous.

 As a child, I simply found Advent to be a time of gosh-we-are-one-day-nearer-Christmas, with my mind fixed on gifts under the Tree, and delicious smells in the kitchen. I loved making paper chains and singing carols and putting up the Crib, and of course had one of those Blue Peter Advent Wreaths made of old coat-hangers...(remember? Oh...Mondays and Thursdays, and that familiar signature tune...)  But with adulthood came the dawning realisation of the fullness of what we were all celebrating, and every year the wonder of it grows.

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

The New Movements...

...in the Catholic Church had a big gathering recently in Rome. And here in Britain they have an occasional get-teogether, with a representative or two  from each group...and today I went along for the first time, representing the FAITH Movement. It was a useful and friendly day, with quite an upbeat feel,  and I learned a lot. There were a good many people I already knew, and we were given a warm welcome at the Focolare Centre in Welwyn Garden City (never been there before...it really is a garden city, at least the part where you approach it from the railway station...all wide lawns and green spaces with shops alongside).

The people from the Neo-Catechumenate were interesting - I met them once on Ealing Common where they were doing a sort of mission/evangelisation thing.  They've just published a book by their founder, which will be launched at Westminster Cathedral Hall next week.


Sunday, December 07, 2014

A weekend...

...in the country with friends. They were hosting a fund-raising event for a local church, so a busy evening and lots of cheery talk and hurrying around with plates of delicious sandwiches and snacks, finishing with carols and mince pies.  Next morning an early Mass followed by a good breakfast and a morning enjoying the outdoors, and writing Christmas cards by a log fire...then a great family lunch with lots of guests, and finally a reluctant departure for home...

IN GOOD VOICE...

...a grand carol singing team gathered at London Bridge station on Friday, and it was tremendous fun.  We sang all the traditional carols:"Hark the Herald Angels" "Away in a Manger" "Once in Royal David's City" "Good King Wenceslas" "We Three Kings" "O come all ye faithful"...the works. And there was a wonderful response. People gave money. They came and joined in. They brought their children along to enjoy us. And one lady was to enthusiastic that she presented us with a magnificent bouquet of flowers!

It was all wonderful, and when had given the crowds and crowds of commuters a good couple of hours of singing, we hurried back through the damp cold streets to the Rectory at Precious Blood Church, and enjoyed lots of mulled wine provided by younger members of the team and served in proper style with sliced oranges and sugar and spices. A grand evening.

Friday, December 05, 2014

...and...

...read Auntie on Advent here...

Regular readers of this blog...

...may find this item of interest...

Encountering Christ...


...was the topic of a lecture by Fr Michael Holman, former headmaster of Wimbledon College, organised by the Catholic Union, and held at the London campus of Notre Dame University (which is just off Trafalgar Square). It was thoughtful and challenging - asking how we can help young people to discover Christ as a true friend, to have a real relationship with him...recognising the sad reality that so many young people cease attending church after about the age of 14 (with Confirmation being widely named as the "sacrament of departure"), and asking important questions about how families and Catholic schools can open up the way to change that...

Families are central of course - part of the essence of God's plan for humanity.Celebrating the message of Christ at home, in the feasts and seasons, the traditions and ceremonies that mark the Church's year and our lives...in a discussion, when we were invited to think about the people who had most influenced our faith and its practice, parents and family were the first people mentioned.

A Catholic school has a particular role - you cannot love what you do not know, and young people have a right to know about Christ.

Among much else, Fr Michael quoted from - an unlikely source - the spiritual autobiography of a former Lord Chancellor, Lord Hailsham The Door Wherein I went.  Hailsham writes of  discovering the lovableness of Christ, the joy and vibrancy he communicated...a Person you could love, and want to know for always.

"When I am asked about the utility of Christianity I must point to the consolations of living your life in the companionship of this person who commands your love and adoration precisely because having been through it all and sympathizing with it all he cheers you up and will not have you sad. Your shame at your own misdoings and shortcomings, your sense of awe and fear of the divine majesty, your broken heart in the presence of sickness and bereavement melts in the prsence of this person into the sheer wonder and delight which the happiness of his presence excites."

A JOYFUL...

...gathering in Parliament where Baroness Cox presented the prizes gained by pupils from schools across Britain in the 2014 Schools Bible Project. This was our 25th annual Project  and it was, as always, a real delight to meet the young people and their families and teachers. It was a very happy day.

In the Project - open to pupils at all secondary schools in Britain - pupils are invited to imagine themselves present at one of the great events in the life of Christ. They are given six events from which to choose - the Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes, the Raising of Jairus' Daughter, the Crucifixion, the encounter with Mary Magdalene on Easter morning...every essay is read and prizes are awarded. Top prizewinners come to London to receive their awards from Baroness Cox, who is one of our Trustees. They are given a tour of Parliament, and Tea...

This is an ecumenical venture, organised by Christian Projects, a fine example of Christians working together.

Wednesday, December 03, 2014

Come and hear us...

...and join in if you like. The LOGS are singing at London Bridge railway station on Friday, in the busiest part of London's rush-hour, starting  at 6pm.  We'll be in good voice, and all support will be welcomed...

For American readers (of which I seem to have a lot): London Bridge is one of the busiest railway stations in the country with something like a million commuters surging through it daily. The railway lines come in from South East London and Kent, and people pour out to cross the river into the City in the mornings...and then in the evenings, all come surging back again to get to their homes in the suburbs or out into Kent...

I really LIKE...

these Advent messages.Try this one...

Tuesday, December 02, 2014

A local history society...

...in Surbiton, invited me to talk to them about "Traditional feasts and seasons". An interested audience, a sense of a shared heritage...and a particular pleasure to be there as I spent some happy years on the excellent Surrey Comet newspaper when it was based in the centre of Kingston, right opposite the parish church (where my father's regimental colours are laid up)...

Talking about Christmas customs, Advent wreaths, and Santa Claus makes sense to an audience that has a familiarity with the basics: Luke's Gospel account, the significance of March 25th and hence its links with the feast of Midsummer (St John the Baptist) and with Christmas at midwinter...what will it be like when a group such as this lacks this bedrock knowledge? A friend recently described a visit to an art gallery where an erudite art historian talked a group through some of the great religious art.  A young student  asked  "Can you recommend a good book that would tell more about the stories shown in these pictures?"

Yes, indeed there is a Good Book, and it is heartbreaking that today's young are not familiar with it. The world's rich heritage of art and music - and literature, and archirecture, and songs, and jokes, and nursery rhymes, and pub signs, and so much more - is closed to those who do not know who Moses was, who Christ was, what the Ten Commandments are, what happened on Calvary...who do not immediately respond to words like "Good Samaritan" "Loaves and Fishes" "Last Supper"....

Oh, the pity of it...

And it is no use just moaning. Find out about solutions, and worthwhile projects. The Schools Bible Project has its prizegiving this week - more info on this later.

Through dark suburban streets...

...at 6 am to catch the train via London to Bishops Stortford to be at this school   for Morning Assembly.to  present awards  to pupils in the 2014 Towards Advent essay project. I was uncertain of the route to the school from the railway station, but needn't have worried - a cheerful and courteous group of pupils were on the train and I walked with them.  All looked v. smart in their school uniforms...the girls wear beautiful ankle-length kilts, giving them a look of poise. They all exuded confidence and seemed happy to be hurrying to school...later, as I faced a group gathered for Morning Assembly, I felt welcomed and I really enjoyed handing out the prizes and explaining about the project (you can read about it on the Towards Advent blog here).

Back on the train to London through misty countryside and grey suburbs with bright windows - tube to Bank and then a walk across London Bridge, which on a grey winter morning is rather magnificent, with Tower Bridge just a bit further down-river, and  lights gleaming everywhere...lunchtime Mass at Precious Blood Church and then lunch w. a friend who is active with the School of the Annunciation  and the New Evangelisation...

...which in the Britain of the 21st century will be badly needed. Latest figures just published: most popular name for newborn boys in Britain is now Mohammed.

Monday, December 01, 2014

The Portal...

...is the on-line magazine of the Ordinariate, and you can read it here...

KEEP THE FLAME OF FAITH ALIVE...

...read this moving story about a church in Devon...

...and let's be generous in helping.