Thursday, March 29, 2018

Good Friday...

...and no blogging, so I am writing this before midnight, having returned from a beautiful and moving Maundy Mass at the Church of the Most Precious Blood at London Bridge.

On this holy night, the Last Supper of the Lord and the prayer of agony in Gethsemane...

A quick glance at my emails before the silence of tomorrow.  And at the start of this Triduum, mischief-makers can find nothing better to do than to spread an unfounded claim about the Pope's belief in Hell:  no evidence produced, just the assertions of a journalist who admits to having taken no notes when interviewing the Pontiff.  I am uncomfortably aware that there are too many people even within the Church who will gloatingly repeat anything that seems to undermine either the Pope or the basic beliefs of the Church. Are they aware that it is wrong to do that?

Tomorrow the Pope and every other Catholic will follow the Lord in prayer to Calvary.


Tuesday, March 27, 2018

The CHRISM MASS...

...at Westminster Cathedral is crowded every year - and I don't know how or why,  because it is not widely advertised, no promotion in parishes across the diocese or whatever. And it is on a weekday, and invariably is cold weather...

But it invariably absolutely packed, with people sitting on the floor and in every side-chapel. I usually find a perch on the marble step by the tomb of Bishop Richard Challoner, near that of Cardinal Basil Hume...but this year some one whispered that there was a space in the St Joseph chapel, so I made my way there slowly edging down the side of the cathedral...the available seat was again marble, part of the weakest-go-to-the-wall bit and with a better view of the nave than my usual perch.  The Mass is glorious, and one can hear every word as the oils are brought up to be blessed in the time-honoured prayers. Fabulous music. And of course, before Mass begins, the rather impressive sights of the long long double column of priests coming up Ambrosden Avenue and up the  steps and through the great doors...

...which we watch accompanied by our placards saying "Thank you to our priests", in what is now an established tradition begun by Catholic women. We always give out thank-you cards, which are well received: this year's features a quote from blessed (soon to be canonised) Paul VI on the priesthood. For background on this tradition, read here...


Monday, March 26, 2018

Palm Sunday...

...and we gathered at Flat Iron Square, where noisy preparations for a flea market/festival were beginning, stalls erected, a merry-go-round starting to blare out music...but they turned down the noise, and Fr Christopher began the prayers and  everything was rather magnificent, the palm branches were held aloft and blessed with holy water...and then on we went,  down along the railway arches, with the children's choir leading us in Hosannas, and crowded into the church...





Friday, March 23, 2018

A book, two Popes, a controversy...

...this is a book I badly want to read. When will it be available in English?

Evening Mass and Stations of the Cross...

...at Westminster Cathedral on a Lenten Friday evening...good numbers, and it is intensely moving to be part of a large crowd cascading to its knees "We adore you Christ and we praise you/Because by your holy Cross you have redeemed the world...".

...and...

...on a pleasant, sunny afternoon, another History Walk, this one starting at St Patrick's, Soho.  As we gathered outside, and I began my talk about the history of the church and the district (for centuries a v. poor area, on the outskirts of the City of London , in Medieval times a place where people suffering from leprosy lived...local church dedicated to St Giles, patron of lepers. Similar to other cities, eg Oxford...), Fr Alexander came out with his dog, Ambrose. He reminded me that a new book about the history of the parish has just been published. I now have a copy and it is an excellent read. Contact the church to get a copy - beautifully produced and illustrated, and any profits will go towards the work for the homeless, "Open House", people suffering from drug addiction, etc...

The night train...the Caledonian sleeper...

...to Edinburgh from London is rather enjoyable...clean cabin with crisp fresh sheets, and towel, a little pack with soap etc, all provided...and in the morning one is woken with a tray of tea and biscuits.  At Edinburgh Waverley one can have a shower if one wants...and there are lots of places for breakfast.

Meeting re FAITH magazine, v. useful and productive...then a quick potter around Edinburgh, and some purchases for Easter gifts (Jamie is fond of haggis)...

Tuesday, March 20, 2018

Monday, March 19, 2018

A rather horrible achievement...

...this past few days, has been the ability, using modern technology, to create accurately a  speech by President John F.Kennedy, using his actual voice, by piecing together minute fragments of sound from all his recorded speeches.  It was the speech he was due to give in Dallas the day he was killed.  But, as Libby Purves pointed out in The Times  this means that it will be possible to create an absolutely accurate representation of the speech of anyone in public life of whom there are various recordings, and present them as saying anything...a magnificent gift for evil-doers who can claim: "We've recorded him saying it...just listen to his voice..."



St Patrick...

...and I was off to the remarkable church in Soho, that is the subject of a newly-released history. As expected, the Mass was very crowded - young people sitting on the floor at the back etc. It's always gently amusing to see and hear this international congregation singing "on Erin's green valleys..." on the feast of Ireland's saint: there are not many Irish in this mixed congregation today. I had chiefly come for the NIGHT FEVER that followed Mass - as always, we fanned out across Soho Square and neighbouring streets with lanterns. In addition to inviting people to come in and light a candle, we gave out small bunches of shamrock. A good many people came in - lots of people were celebrating St Patrick's Day, and also the church was warm and glowing with candlelight on this bitterly cold night of sleet and snow.

When things finished with Benediction, there was supper and a ceilidh in the big crypt hall, with hot food and cheery music.  Then home through the snow...

Wednesday, March 14, 2018

THANK YOU TO CARDINAL VINCENT NICHOLS...

... for charity, common sense and wisdom in the face of pressure to  conform to bullying from fashionable lobbyists on "transgenderism".

He's going to come under a lot of pressure, and the position of Church schools is going to be difficult with parents insisting that their child should be encouraged to think about being mutilated.  No Christian should allow children to be abused in this way and even if we are told that the Church is "denying a child's human rights" by defending the truth about humanity, we must continue to stand firm. As the Cardinal notes:

“At a time of great confusion about the rules of sexual behaviour, about exploitation and abuse in every part of society, some firm points of reference, that are already built into our humanity at its best, are of vital importance,”

“In an age of fluidity, even in gender identity, and at a time when the response to ‘difference’ is to become closed in a self-selecting world of the like-minded and reject that which is different, such foundations are so important.

“They affirm that there are ‘givens’ which come with birth and with solid identities and which project across generations,” 

“They help up keep hold of the reality that we are not single, self-determining individuals but members of a great family, with all its trials, diversities and struggles, and within that family, not alone, will we find our greatest joy.”



Tuesday, March 13, 2018

Meghan Markle...and her baptism...

...Miss Markle was recently baptised by the Archbishop of Canterbury, with water from the river Jordan...an analysis here...

Monday, March 12, 2018

Sunday, March 11, 2018

Mothering Sunday...Laetare...

...and a family visit to my dear mama-in-law...a cheery lunch, and a happy day in glorious countryside, baby lambs in the fields, and at Mass we were given little bunches of daffodils to give to mothers...

Next Friday will see NIGHT FEVER at St Patrick's, Soho. Come along and sample it! A candlelit church,  filled with prayer, before the Blessed Sacrament, Franciscan Friars leading some singing...young people going out into the streets inviting anyone and everyone to come in to light a candle and pray...the altar rails ans surrounding area slowly filling with hundreds of glowing candles...

On SUNDAY, March 18th, join me for a Catholic History Walk, starting at 3pm at the Church of Our Most Holy Redeemer and St Thomas More, Chelsea. Nearest tube: Sloane Square.

I have heard that there is a new book, telling how St John Paul helped and supported  Paul VI with Humanae Vitae, something I have long felt to be the case.  It doesn't seem to be available yet in English. Info, anyone?






Friday, March 09, 2018

Tuesday, March 06, 2018

A networking day...

...with people working in the New Evangelisation, held at St Patrick's, Soho, and led by Fr  Thomas Joseph White OP, .  The idea of the day was to offer an introduction to new Dominican initiatives that are being launched in London.  Fr Thomas Joseph spoke - superbly and with insight - about the mood and spirit at today's universities in the USA...absolutely fascinating.  The message that there is no truth, that one can never make any moral judgements, creates a bitter hunger for something real that opens up a new and wider vista of thought about what it means to be human and why we are here at all.

More info from the Dominicans at their Rosary Shrine at St Dominic's Priory 

Monday, March 05, 2018

A Traditional Retreat...

...traditional in every sense, human and Godly, because it was in a snowbound manor house, and it was conducted along formal lines, with silence,  early-morning Mass, set gatherings for meditations in the Chapel with a talk from a priest, reading-aloud from an improving book at mealtimes, opportunities for confession, Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, Stations of the Cross, the Rosary...oh, and porridge and bacon-and-eggs for breakfast, a wonderful library, and a roaring log fire, and I had brought my embroidery...

It was at Wickenden Manor, run by Opus Dei.  A time to pray, to ponder quietly, to read, to be with God.  The snow invited exploration of the grounds - there were the tracks of deer and of different varieties of birds, glorious silence and a sparkling freshness everywhere. The library offered a feast of good reading. The retreatants included a number of long-valued friends...but by common agreement we didn't chatter, and just somehow felt a prayerful solidarity, catching up on news and shall-we-have-lunch etc only when the Retreat ended on Sunday afternoon.

I will long value the memory of this retreat: the silence of the early morning broken by the voices answering up at Mass -  the first words uttered each morning were "And with your spirit" in response to priest's greeting. The chance to think quietly, free from email and internet distractions - perhaps providentially, I had inadvertently left my laptop in a friend's car earlier in the week and the snow meant that the parcel bringing it back to me was delayed until after the weekend. The sense of being among friends, and of being within the family of the Church - during the retreat the priest announced that Pope Francis had instituted a new universal feast, that of Mary Mother of the Church to be observed on the first Monday after Pentecost.

Home through rainy streets on Sunday evening. A new week beginning, mid-Lent  and a sense of fresh renewal.