If you are in London and planning to be at the 5.30pm sung Mass, why not come on the CATHOLIC HISTORY WALK which follows? We meet on the steps of the Cathedral at 6.30pm (or when Mass finishes). Wear warm clothes, comfortable shoes, and be prepared for a good walk. It will have a Lenten flavour - we'll be taking in some sites associated with martyrdom - and will begin and end with prayers.
Yesterday evening, we had a meeting of the History Walk Team to plan ahead for the spring and summer. A bitterly cold night, but we warmed up over a good meal and mapped out plans which will include a river trip, a visit to a seminary on the site of Thomas More's garden,a look at various City churches, and more...
The success of the Walks so far has been a great boost - large numbers, much enthusiasm. The Walks always include prayers for our country - badly needed at this time. A collapsing culture, daily abortion of infants in hospitals across the nation,drunken youth fighting and shrieking in the streets on Saturday nights as a matter of routine, plans for legalising "assisted suicide", schemes to block Catholic schools from teaching the fullness of Catholic doctrine and morals, a nationwide system of sex education centred on a contraceptive-culture...come and join us in prayer as Lent 2010 begins...
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Monday, February 08, 2010
And further...
...to my post below, this contribution from Bishop Peter Elliott in Australia is useful....
I have just had...
...the most extraordinary experience!
I went along to a local church hall where I was due to give a talk. The group that had invited me to speak as a local author was unconnected with the church and simply hired the hall for meetings. I arrived too early and while waiting was delighted to discover a rather good church library - several shelves of books. One was Charpentier's "How to Read the New Testament" which is on our reading-list for Maryvale. I settled down to read it, and in due course was interrupted by the arrival of a group of people including the vicar. I scrambled to my feet and introduced myself...and it turned out that he had seen a review of English Catholic Heroines in New Directions magazine, and was a member of Forward in Faith (I had noticed that this was a FiF parish...) We ended up having a fascinating conversation including chat about the Pope's new invitation to Anglicans...
And he's let me borrow the Charpentier book, which I've promised to return safely, and just today I got my latest copy of New Directions, which has lots about Anglicanorum Coelibus in it...
I went along to a local church hall where I was due to give a talk. The group that had invited me to speak as a local author was unconnected with the church and simply hired the hall for meetings. I arrived too early and while waiting was delighted to discover a rather good church library - several shelves of books. One was Charpentier's "How to Read the New Testament" which is on our reading-list for Maryvale. I settled down to read it, and in due course was interrupted by the arrival of a group of people including the vicar. I scrambled to my feet and introduced myself...and it turned out that he had seen a review of English Catholic Heroines in New Directions magazine, and was a member of Forward in Faith (I had noticed that this was a FiF parish...) We ended up having a fascinating conversation including chat about the Pope's new invitation to Anglicans...
And he's let me borrow the Charpentier book, which I've promised to return safely, and just today I got my latest copy of New Directions, which has lots about Anglicanorum Coelibus in it...
The warmth...
...of welcome at Maryvale, hugs from the Bridgettine sisters, supper waiting, lots of cheery talk as students gather and news is swapped...I was so glad to be there that I found myself beaming at everyone and everything in what I am certain was an extremely tiresome way...
Excellent lectures from Fr Robert Letellier who was simply wonderful in opening up the New Testament in ways I had never thought about before and with an ease of style that made it all understandable and rather thrilling, and the Dominican Fr Richard Conrad . The latter is an old friend - famous in our family circle for his excellent cakes - but I had never heard him lecture before, and it was terrific. He has good throwaway lines ("East Anglia has lots of good things - Colman's Mustard, Julian of Norwich...")and a casual way of doing enjoyable things: the lecture was "De Deo Uno at Trino" and he began cheerily in Latin before smoothly switching to English...
On Saturday night I sat long and late in the library relishing the access to a wonderful range of books. No one else was there so I kicked off my shoes and nibbled chocolate while tackling much necessary reading for the next essays. Overslept on Sunday morning and was woken by the sound of the Sisters singing their office in the chapel. Our Mass followed and I was just in time. Hurrying up and down the main staircases at Maryvale is an odd sensation because they are slanted with venerability in a rather pleasing but mildly disconcerting way...
Memorabilia from Cardinal Newman in a display case in the hall, a hearty Sunday lunch, huge regrets at leaving when the weekend finished...as a group of us chattered in a taxi to the station we swept past a great Mosque, new and gleaming, occupying a massive presence alongside the busy main road. A reminder that this 21st century presents us with challenges and needs that Newman's era could not have imagined...
Excellent lectures from Fr Robert Letellier who was simply wonderful in opening up the New Testament in ways I had never thought about before and with an ease of style that made it all understandable and rather thrilling, and the Dominican Fr Richard Conrad . The latter is an old friend - famous in our family circle for his excellent cakes - but I had never heard him lecture before, and it was terrific. He has good throwaway lines ("East Anglia has lots of good things - Colman's Mustard, Julian of Norwich...")and a casual way of doing enjoyable things: the lecture was "De Deo Uno at Trino" and he began cheerily in Latin before smoothly switching to English...
On Saturday night I sat long and late in the library relishing the access to a wonderful range of books. No one else was there so I kicked off my shoes and nibbled chocolate while tackling much necessary reading for the next essays. Overslept on Sunday morning and was woken by the sound of the Sisters singing their office in the chapel. Our Mass followed and I was just in time. Hurrying up and down the main staircases at Maryvale is an odd sensation because they are slanted with venerability in a rather pleasing but mildly disconcerting way...
Memorabilia from Cardinal Newman in a display case in the hall, a hearty Sunday lunch, huge regrets at leaving when the weekend finished...as a group of us chattered in a taxi to the station we swept past a great Mosque, new and gleaming, occupying a massive presence alongside the busy main road. A reminder that this 21st century presents us with challenges and needs that Newman's era could not have imagined...
Friday, February 05, 2010
You simply MUST get...
...the new booklet Heroic Priests produced by Aid to the Church in Need. It tells the stories of heroic priests working in different parts of the world TODAY - real-life stories, with some incredibly powerful stuff that will make you wonder what you are doing with your own life...
Thursday, February 04, 2010
CATHOLIC TRADITION...
... and all the things we do for Lent and Easter. Just out from the CTS: Lent and Easter - Catholic Customs and Traditions. If you cherish CATHOLIC TRADITION (I've put that in caps because I do!) then you'll enjoy this. Might be useful for schools, and for First Communion and Confirmation groups too. Why is Shrove Tuesday so named? How are the ashes used on Ash Wednesday obtained? What is the Chrism Mass? What is the Easter Vigil? Answers to these and many other questions, plus lots of other information, all in a pocket-sized booklet
We are being softened up...
...persistently, nastily, to accept the notion that very ill people should be "helped to die".
A recent tragic case involved a young woman struck down with a disease for which there seemed to be no known cure.Her life was indeed a tragic one - she lay in bed day after day and there seemed to be no hope.She said that she would like to die.At one point she wrote a thoughtful and touching essay. It made me think that she should be encouraged and helped to write more. Lying ill in bed is restrictive of so much - but it need not preclude writing, especially with the use of a computer, and especially where there is a real talent and gift of expression, as in this case. But we will never know what she might have produced. Her mother took her words about wishing for death seriously, and gave her a mix of drugs so that she died.
There has been an enormous amount of media coverage, all of which expresses sympathy for the mother - and indeed it is clear that she acted because she was torn by her daughter's dreadful suffering, and had lovingly nursed her for years with great devotion. But, but...what about the possibility that a cure, even a partial one, might have been obtained over the next years? What about the possibility that the young woman's gifts - for example, in writing - might have been developed and given her joy and peace of mind even in a life so terribly blighted? History offers examples of gravely disabled and bedridden people who exerted influence, gave inspiration, wrote, fostered ideas, achieved things even from a sickbed. It is not impossible.
If Britain legalises "assisted suicide" we face dark times. In the name of a misguided compassion, we will be allowing something terrible.
A recent tragic case involved a young woman struck down with a disease for which there seemed to be no known cure.Her life was indeed a tragic one - she lay in bed day after day and there seemed to be no hope.She said that she would like to die.At one point she wrote a thoughtful and touching essay. It made me think that she should be encouraged and helped to write more. Lying ill in bed is restrictive of so much - but it need not preclude writing, especially with the use of a computer, and especially where there is a real talent and gift of expression, as in this case. But we will never know what she might have produced. Her mother took her words about wishing for death seriously, and gave her a mix of drugs so that she died.
There has been an enormous amount of media coverage, all of which expresses sympathy for the mother - and indeed it is clear that she acted because she was torn by her daughter's dreadful suffering, and had lovingly nursed her for years with great devotion. But, but...what about the possibility that a cure, even a partial one, might have been obtained over the next years? What about the possibility that the young woman's gifts - for example, in writing - might have been developed and given her joy and peace of mind even in a life so terribly blighted? History offers examples of gravely disabled and bedridden people who exerted influence, gave inspiration, wrote, fostered ideas, achieved things even from a sickbed. It is not impossible.
If Britain legalises "assisted suicide" we face dark times. In the name of a misguided compassion, we will be allowing something terrible.
I mentioned...
...about a new Children's Choir to be organised from Westminster Cathedral. Open to any child who enjoys singing! I've now got full details, and you can read about them here. Do get in touch and help make this venture a great success!
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
Candlemas...
...at Westminster Cathedral, with a long column of choristers filling that great aisle, carrying lighted tapers and singing gloriously, followed by a concourse of people in candlelit glow...
I needed this: a hectic day with a radio interview about the Pope, plus a lot of hurrying about to deal with domestic and other paperwork...
At the weekend I am off to Maryvale. Bliss.
Meanwhile: it suddenly occurred to me today that it is 5 years since I did my London-Brighton cycle ride, raising funds to help local young people to get to World Youth Day. The new Pope had then just been elected and there was much discussion about whether WYD would "work" and gain enough interest and support. Well it did, of course and was a huge success, to be followed by the even greater event in Sydney in 2008 which an even huger success. And the next is in Madrid in 2011. Young people from our local parish are already making plans to go...
Which makes Auntie think of fund-raising...for WYD but, before that, for projects associated with the Pope's visit to Britain this Sept...
I needed this: a hectic day with a radio interview about the Pope, plus a lot of hurrying about to deal with domestic and other paperwork...
At the weekend I am off to Maryvale. Bliss.
Meanwhile: it suddenly occurred to me today that it is 5 years since I did my London-Brighton cycle ride, raising funds to help local young people to get to World Youth Day. The new Pope had then just been elected and there was much discussion about whether WYD would "work" and gain enough interest and support. Well it did, of course and was a huge success, to be followed by the even greater event in Sydney in 2008 which an even huger success. And the next is in Madrid in 2011. Young people from our local parish are already making plans to go...
Which makes Auntie think of fund-raising...for WYD but, before that, for projects associated with the Pope's visit to Britain this Sept...
Monday, February 01, 2010
And be ready...
...for some nasty attacks as lobbyists start to mobilise against the Pope's visit. A lot of Catholics, including perhaps some who enjoy the Internet, don't really know what it's like out in the vicious bearpit where real engagement with those who loathe Christianity takes place. Until you've actually recieved death-threats (yes, since you ask) and anonymous letters full of filth (ditto) and promises to harm your family (yes, that too) you can't actually quite imagine how unpleasant it can be. Defending the Church isn't a matter of expressing delight at birettas...
Please join me, Catholic and non-Catholic alike, in prayers, starting today, that Christians will continue to have the right, in Britain, to affirm the moral teachings of thei Christian faith, to promote them in Church schools and in Church organisations, to publish them and to pass them on to their children.Info here.
Please join me, Catholic and non-Catholic alike, in prayers, starting today, that Christians will continue to have the right, in Britain, to affirm the moral teachings of thei Christian faith, to promote them in Church schools and in Church organisations, to publish them and to pass them on to their children.Info here.
The Pope speaks out about Britain
...just look at this report!
He calls for "long standing British traditions of freedom of expression and honest exchange of opinion" to be respected under the law.
HEAR HEAR!!!
Throughout the first half of my adult life I heard about the plight of Christians in Eastern Europe who suffered from unjust laws which denied them freedom to express and share their faith openly. Now we face the same situation emerging in Britain, the country whose very name represented the word "freedom" in dark days in the 20th century...
Pray for our country. Pray that the visit of St Peter's successor this year will put fresh courage and hope into the hearts of all members of the Church here. Pray that our right to teach the Faith may be honoured and cherished, and the great tradition of freedom in our country be upheld.
He calls for "long standing British traditions of freedom of expression and honest exchange of opinion" to be respected under the law.
HEAR HEAR!!!
Throughout the first half of my adult life I heard about the plight of Christians in Eastern Europe who suffered from unjust laws which denied them freedom to express and share their faith openly. Now we face the same situation emerging in Britain, the country whose very name represented the word "freedom" in dark days in the 20th century...
Pray for our country. Pray that the visit of St Peter's successor this year will put fresh courage and hope into the hearts of all members of the Church here. Pray that our right to teach the Faith may be honoured and cherished, and the great tradition of freedom in our country be upheld.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
And...
The Universe newspaper has an upbeat news feature about the excellent new educational resource for schools, Alive to the World. Why aren't our Catholic diocesan education structures making sure this excellent programme is getting into Catholic schools? It's just what is needed for today, giving a practical values-based scheme through which children can explore the topics that are central to Personal Social Health Education.
The latest...
...issue of FAITH magazine, always a very good read, arrived this weekend. It has an excellent editorial about the recent Intelligence Squared debate and about the Catholic Church.
London...
...on a cold, bright January day. Mass at Westminster Cathedral - I love hearing the roar of voices answering up to the responses, a great congregation filling that vast space, and of course the glorious music...
There is a new initiative for London children - a Westminster Diocesan Children's Choir. This was announced at Mass. A wonderful opportunity for children to share in the fabulous heritage of the Church's music - contact the Cathedral for more details: 020 7798 9055
And if you get the latest edition of OREMUS, the Cathedral magazine, (which is in any case a v. good read)you'll find a big feature about the Catholic History Walks...
There is a new initiative for London children - a Westminster Diocesan Children's Choir. This was announced at Mass. A wonderful opportunity for children to share in the fabulous heritage of the Church's music - contact the Cathedral for more details: 020 7798 9055
And if you get the latest edition of OREMUS, the Cathedral magazine, (which is in any case a v. good read)you'll find a big feature about the Catholic History Walks...
To Windsor...
...for Evensong in St George's Chapel. The Royal Stuart Society gathers there each January to mark the anniversary of the death of King Charles I and to lay a wreath on his grave. The Castle looked dramatic against the darkening evening sky as we hurried up to the Chapel. As the wreath was laid, a prayer was said commemorating King Charles and his forgiveness of his enemies as he stood upon the scaffold. Enchanting singing from traditionally-robed christers as we sat in the choir-stalls of the Garter Knights. That glorious intricately-carved ceiling with perfect symetry and accuracy in every detail. Poignant thoughts about England's Royal heritage.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
The Tower of London...
...on a bitterly cold January day, and a group of students from the St Patrick's Evangelisation School. We were on a Catholic History Walk, and took in Traitor's Gate and Tower Hill...the latter has a plaque marking the site where so many people were exceuted over the centuries - among them John Fisher and Thomas More, of course - and also the great Memorial Garden dedicated to the men of the Merchant Navy who lost their lives in both World Wars and have no grave but the sea. Panel after panel of names, hundreds and hundreds of them. There are scarlet poppies and small memorial crosses tucked into some of the panels, evidently placed there on November 11th and now damp and weathered by the winter's snow and rain.
I was impressed by the young team from St Patrick's, members of which came from China, Germany, and the USA as well as Britain. Their coursework is linked to Maryvale and a couple mentioned the possibility of going on to study at the Franciscan University of Steubenville. Signs of hope flourishing in the Church for today and tomorrow.
Earlier, I had paced out the route, and dropped into St Margaret Patten's church, where I happened to meet the vicar. He was extremely kind, and arranged to meet us as we arrived, talked to us about the church's history and allowed the girls to try on a pair of 200-year-old pattens. We finished by praying the Lord's Prayer together and he suggested that we each say it in our own language - a moving and memorable experience in this fine old church.
We finished on the steps of St Paul's. I felt suddenly very middle-aged as I recalled watching the Royal Wedding procession almost 30 years ago in a very different Britain.
I was impressed by the young team from St Patrick's, members of which came from China, Germany, and the USA as well as Britain. Their coursework is linked to Maryvale and a couple mentioned the possibility of going on to study at the Franciscan University of Steubenville. Signs of hope flourishing in the Church for today and tomorrow.
Earlier, I had paced out the route, and dropped into St Margaret Patten's church, where I happened to meet the vicar. He was extremely kind, and arranged to meet us as we arrived, talked to us about the church's history and allowed the girls to try on a pair of 200-year-old pattens. We finished by praying the Lord's Prayer together and he suggested that we each say it in our own language - a moving and memorable experience in this fine old church.
We finished on the steps of St Paul's. I felt suddenly very middle-aged as I recalled watching the Royal Wedding procession almost 30 years ago in a very different Britain.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Today while...
...doing the ironing, I watched the second half of the powerful and moving film "Karol:A man who became Pope". I've watched this film before, and only put it on the DVD today because, well, it was a cold dark January day and I had a great stack of ironing to do and needed some inspiration. (And yes, you CAN watch a film while doing the ironing - in my case it involves positioning the ironing-board across an open doorway in in the one place where I can both see the DVD screen and plug in the iron. Multi-tasking).
The film sent me hurrying to get more reading-material on John Paul II: the Weigel biography is of course excellent and I am renewing my aquaintance with it this evening. There is also Garry O'Connor's "Universal Father", and any number of short biographies to say nothing of the late H.Father's own works. But I had forgotten that there were various books attacking him published in his last few years, all announcing that he was old, cantankerous, useless, etc and looking forward to his replacement with some one who would, oh, announce that the Christian teaching on sexual morality was about to be altered to fit in with the agenda of Planned Parenthood and the Lesbian Parenting Network and so on...how stupid that all looks now.
You can get the "Karol" film from St Anthony Communications and I do hugely recommend it, especially now that Pope John Paul is on the way to beatification...it would be excellent to show to a Catholic youth group (mid-teens and upwards - there's some grim wartime stuff unsuitable for younger children). Get a good-sized TV screen, and some big comfortable chairs and/or sofa cushions, and settle in for the evening. Bring tissues. And be prepared to emerge inspired and with a conviction that we are not meant to waste one moment of our lives but to do something large with them.
The film sent me hurrying to get more reading-material on John Paul II: the Weigel biography is of course excellent and I am renewing my aquaintance with it this evening. There is also Garry O'Connor's "Universal Father", and any number of short biographies to say nothing of the late H.Father's own works. But I had forgotten that there were various books attacking him published in his last few years, all announcing that he was old, cantankerous, useless, etc and looking forward to his replacement with some one who would, oh, announce that the Christian teaching on sexual morality was about to be altered to fit in with the agenda of Planned Parenthood and the Lesbian Parenting Network and so on...how stupid that all looks now.
You can get the "Karol" film from St Anthony Communications and I do hugely recommend it, especially now that Pope John Paul is on the way to beatification...it would be excellent to show to a Catholic youth group (mid-teens and upwards - there's some grim wartime stuff unsuitable for younger children). Get a good-sized TV screen, and some big comfortable chairs and/or sofa cushions, and settle in for the evening. Bring tissues. And be prepared to emerge inspired and with a conviction that we are not meant to waste one moment of our lives but to do something large with them.
A survey shows..
...considerable support for the Conservative viewpoint as we approach the run-up to a General Election. You may be interested in Auntie's take on this...
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
The collapse of Communism...
...didn't happen in a vacuum. Last night, friends of George Miller-Kurakin gathered to honour his memory and to swap now-it-can-be-told stories of the Association for a Free Russia which he founded. George's funeral was held at a Russian Orthodox church - he was a devout Russian Orthodox Christian, with a deep and sincere faith which was the wellspring of his invariable courtesy, kindness, and good humour.
Among those gathering last night, in the solid comfort of the National Liberal Club - that glorious grand staircase, the fine portraits including that splendid one of Winston Churchill in hussar's uniform - were Members of Parliament, writers, campaigners. There were those who had been arrested in Moscow or elsewhere for human-rights efforts in the 1970s and early 80s - men now middle-aged, looking back on the efforts and adventures of their youth. Some one said "Well, I suppose each of us can say 'I helped to shorten the Cold War by fifteen seconds'..." We recalled afternoons addressing envelopes to Russian addresses to mail freedom literature, and then posting them from all sorts of places around Britain. There were tales of international youth gatherings with efforts made to neutralise pro-Soviet lobbying. Several people recalled trips to the old USSR or Eastern European with freedom literature strapped around their chests under their clothes with sellotape, and training sessions beforehand on how to loose the inevitage KGB follower by dropping quickly off a bus or tram and double-turning into side-streets...
It was good to reconnect with old friends, and to hear news of marriages and the arrival of children - now themselves approaching the ages that we were when we worked for the great causes of a different era. The days of the 1980s seemed a long, long time ago.
Jamie and I both contributed speeches and shared our own memories. As we left, the lamps in Whitehall glowed against the gloom. There are a lot of roadworks at present, partly because of new barriers being erected to protest Govt offices from terrorist activity. We walked back along the Embankment and past the Houses of Parliament - currently all covered in scaffolding for some cleaning/repairs. What new challenges will the second decade of this 21st century now present to all of us?
Among those gathering last night, in the solid comfort of the National Liberal Club - that glorious grand staircase, the fine portraits including that splendid one of Winston Churchill in hussar's uniform - were Members of Parliament, writers, campaigners. There were those who had been arrested in Moscow or elsewhere for human-rights efforts in the 1970s and early 80s - men now middle-aged, looking back on the efforts and adventures of their youth. Some one said "Well, I suppose each of us can say 'I helped to shorten the Cold War by fifteen seconds'..." We recalled afternoons addressing envelopes to Russian addresses to mail freedom literature, and then posting them from all sorts of places around Britain. There were tales of international youth gatherings with efforts made to neutralise pro-Soviet lobbying. Several people recalled trips to the old USSR or Eastern European with freedom literature strapped around their chests under their clothes with sellotape, and training sessions beforehand on how to loose the inevitage KGB follower by dropping quickly off a bus or tram and double-turning into side-streets...
It was good to reconnect with old friends, and to hear news of marriages and the arrival of children - now themselves approaching the ages that we were when we worked for the great causes of a different era. The days of the 1980s seemed a long, long time ago.
Jamie and I both contributed speeches and shared our own memories. As we left, the lamps in Whitehall glowed against the gloom. There are a lot of roadworks at present, partly because of new barriers being erected to protest Govt offices from terrorist activity. We walked back along the Embankment and past the Houses of Parliament - currently all covered in scaffolding for some cleaning/repairs. What new challenges will the second decade of this 21st century now present to all of us?
Monday, January 25, 2010
And if...
...you want to take part in a special Catholic History Walk, and are free on this coming Friday, Jan 29th, meet us at 3pm at Tower Hill Tube Station. This is an extra Walk, arranged with the St Patrick's Evangelisation School, but I am inviting others who are interested to come along too. Wear suitable clothing, and comfortable shoes. We will be walking whatever the weather.
To Manchester...
...to speak to a dinner organised by the Catenians. V. agreeable, friendly, rather grand. Dinner began with the official prayer for the Pope, and finished with Grace after Meals followed by the Loyal Toast to the Queen...I was responding to the toast of "Our ladies and our guests". It was all fun, and there was dancing afterwards, which I much enjoyed too. Apparently ballroom dancing has made a big comeback just recently, because of TV's Strictly Come Dancing. I enjoyed being twirled around the room and it took me back to the days of Army dances and balls in Berlin in the early 1980s when J. was a young subaltern and I was wearing my wedding dress trimmed up with a coloured sash...
The Catenians gave me a simply huge bouquet, which was v. kind, but posed something of a problem: how to take it all the way back to London? However, it gave me much pleasure as I took it back to my hotel room, and I enjoyed it the next day, when along with my luggage it accompanied me to Mass at the "Hidden Gem" church in Mulberry Street. I love this church, which I've previously only visited on busy weekdays, and it was a pleasure to be there for Sunday Mass, and we had "Soul of my Saviour" and "Hail, Redeemer, King Divine"...and afterwards I took the bouquet to the side-altar in that glorious sanctuary, and now it is there in all its glory, all properly with water and everything, and it should last for the whole week and quietly remind the Lord of all the things I prayed to him about...
The Catenians gave me a simply huge bouquet, which was v. kind, but posed something of a problem: how to take it all the way back to London? However, it gave me much pleasure as I took it back to my hotel room, and I enjoyed it the next day, when along with my luggage it accompanied me to Mass at the "Hidden Gem" church in Mulberry Street. I love this church, which I've previously only visited on busy weekdays, and it was a pleasure to be there for Sunday Mass, and we had "Soul of my Saviour" and "Hail, Redeemer, King Divine"...and afterwards I took the bouquet to the side-altar in that glorious sanctuary, and now it is there in all its glory, all properly with water and everything, and it should last for the whole week and quietly remind the Lord of all the things I prayed to him about...
Saturday, January 23, 2010
January...
...might not seem an ideal month for an evening walk around London, but substantial numbers turned up for the Catholic History Walk at Westminster Cathedral on Wednesday. Undeterred by the dark and cold, they gathered on the steps and cheerfully followed me as we set off on a train that took us to Manning House (named after the great Cardinal) and past The Passage, and on to Vaughan House (yes, another great Cardinal) and past the Cathedral Choir School and the Cardinal pub...these Walks are proving hugely popular, and I am constantly impressed by the large numbers and the enthusiasm shown for this and other initiatives among London's Catholics.
On to a committee meeting of the Catholic Writers' Guild, at St Mary Moorfields. Much lively talk over dinner, tackling lots of fascinating subjects, liturgy, feminism, marriage,blogging,and more...
On to a committee meeting of the Catholic Writers' Guild, at St Mary Moorfields. Much lively talk over dinner, tackling lots of fascinating subjects, liturgy, feminism, marriage,blogging,and more...
To Oxford...
...for the funeral of Mgr Graham Leonard at the Oxford Oratory. Impressive and moving. A beautiful Mass, and a long procession of clergy bearing candles as the coffin was carried out and a choir chanted "In paradisum deducant te angeli: tuo adventu suscipiant te martyres, et perducant te in civitate Jerusalem..."
A great gathering of people, including many of those who have been involved in the drama of events surrounding Anglicans and the Catholic Church over the past two decades...
A great gathering of people, including many of those who have been involved in the drama of events surrounding Anglicans and the Catholic Church over the past two decades...
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Here is something good...
...the Holy Father speaking - powerfully and movingly - at Rome's Synagogue. He was interrupted several time by applause.
Did you read about this in the mainstream media? I thought not. Help spread the word. Pass on the link to others. Tell people about what the Pope said. Quote him, and encourage others to do so. Priests: use his words in talks and sermons, setting the record straight and making clear that this is what the Vicar of Christ is saying.
And please, in particular, give this to those who who, claiming to be devout Catholics, continue to make anti-semitic remarks and/or to offer excuses for Holocaust-deniers.
Did you read about this in the mainstream media? I thought not. Help spread the word. Pass on the link to others. Tell people about what the Pope said. Quote him, and encourage others to do so. Priests: use his words in talks and sermons, setting the record straight and making clear that this is what the Vicar of Christ is saying.
And please, in particular, give this to those who who, claiming to be devout Catholics, continue to make anti-semitic remarks and/or to offer excuses for Holocaust-deniers.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
I found ...
...this an inspiring read for January, in a year when we face many difficulties and need reminders of hope...
Saturday, January 16, 2010
But to compound the gloom...
...a newsletter arrivs with figures about Islam in Europe. Read it here. Our Christian Europe is dying, and what comes next will be different. Islam has arrived and is growing fast, while once-Christian nations shun marriage and seem to resent having children. A baby is seen to be some one who will take away from his or her parents' freedom and prosperity. Having a child might be worthwhile, but it might not - at best, it is just an option, to be considered in the same way as a car or an expensive holiday, purely on the grounds of how much pride and pleasure and satisfaction it might provide.
This is, as the great Pope John Paul so aptly described it, a culture of death.
This is, as the great Pope John Paul so aptly described it, a culture of death.
A meeting...
...at St James church, Spanish Place, of the committee of the Association of Catholic Women. Our meetings are always friendly and warm and have a special sense of welcome - committee member Monica Flynn invariably produces delicious cakes or biscuits and at this meeting she excelled herself with an array of goodies she had been given as Christmas gifts and wanted to share. Despite this, and despite the pleasure of being together again after the Christmas break, the swapping of happy news(two members busy with daughters' weddings) and our plans for the coming months including the Day of Art and Music on March 25th , there was a solemn air. Every day seems to bring some new crunch for the freedom to live and work in a flourishing way as Christians in Britain: if the Government's attempts to crush the freedoms of Church schools were not enough, we now have the Liberal Democrat leader's statement that such schools must teach the acceptability of homosexual activity. When we discussed isues concerning care of the elderly - an area of work in which a number of our members are involved as volunteers - terrible information emerged about ill-treatment, starvation, denial of water and other basic care, in hospitals. There is issues of the gravest possible kind here: death by thirst is ghastly.We need changes to the Liverpool Care Pathway.
When the ACW was first founded, we were particularly concerned about extreme feminist lobbying within the Church, pressure for feminist language in prayers, calls from groups denouncing the Christian teaching on marriage and protection of the unborn and so on...but now the focus has shifted and we find much less of that kind of rubbish in the Church, and many newer problems. Meanwhile the Association has flourished, and is active in a number of useful projects (come to our Day of Recollection in Lent, for instance!). But the future looks full of new challenges...
When the ACW was first founded, we were particularly concerned about extreme feminist lobbying within the Church, pressure for feminist language in prayers, calls from groups denouncing the Christian teaching on marriage and protection of the unborn and so on...but now the focus has shifted and we find much less of that kind of rubbish in the Church, and many newer problems. Meanwhile the Association has flourished, and is active in a number of useful projects (come to our Day of Recollection in Lent, for instance!). But the future looks full of new challenges...
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Re the Pope and current controversies...
...I found this feature by a Vatican correspondent - a colleague with whom I had a lengthy and fascinating talk when I was last in Rome - of some interest.
To Parliament...
...for the presentation of awards to young winners of the Robin McNair prize, organised by the Society for the Protection of Unborn Childen. Robin McNair was a Battle of Britain pilot, a Squadron Leader,and a hero, and a longtime supporter of protection of the unborn. His family instituted the Award in his memory after he died in the 1990s. The young people write essays on topics that differ each year and tackle issues including abortion, embryo research, and euthanasia...the ceremony brought the young prizewinners to the House of Commons and a warm welcome from David Burrowes MP, and it was all very cheering and inspiring.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Despite the snow...
...which has made our scruffy road look delightful, and brought out all sorts of friendliness in streets and shops as people cope and struggle and help one another...and despite the fact that I have lots of good things ahead in 2010, and am blessed in my family and friends, it is difficult not to share the sense of quiet sadness that pervades things at present. The tragic collapse of social and community values over the past decade - following on inevitably from policies pursued by successive rulers and bureaucrats - now makes itself felt all the time in crime, family break-up, and the sordid drunken antics of the young in city and suburb every weekend.
As the Govt pushes forward its crunch on church schools - with, alas, the connivance of the Catholic education bureaucracy which instead of defending the schools is dotty about trying to make sure that they are not "elitist" - the plans for the horrible Equality Bill also roll relentlessly forward. There is a general recognition that, as at present formulated, it is designed to make things difficult for the Church by seeking to outlaw a male-only priesthood and the open teaching of Christian morals especially on homosexual activity. So now it's a question of whether or not the Church will be able to draw things out, talking to lawyers and so on, and find some way forward...with the Govt concentrating on ensuring speed so that the things becomes law before a May election.
At the weekend, J. spent some time sorting through papers. Among them, acquired a couple of summers ago on a trip to Runnymede, was a copy of Magna Carta, with its affirmation of the rights of the Church in our country.
And all the while, the bodies of our soldiers are brought back from Afghanistan, often accompanied by heart-breaking stories of courage and self-sacrifice...
As the Govt pushes forward its crunch on church schools - with, alas, the connivance of the Catholic education bureaucracy which instead of defending the schools is dotty about trying to make sure that they are not "elitist" - the plans for the horrible Equality Bill also roll relentlessly forward. There is a general recognition that, as at present formulated, it is designed to make things difficult for the Church by seeking to outlaw a male-only priesthood and the open teaching of Christian morals especially on homosexual activity. So now it's a question of whether or not the Church will be able to draw things out, talking to lawyers and so on, and find some way forward...with the Govt concentrating on ensuring speed so that the things becomes law before a May election.
At the weekend, J. spent some time sorting through papers. Among them, acquired a couple of summers ago on a trip to Runnymede, was a copy of Magna Carta, with its affirmation of the rights of the Church in our country.
And all the while, the bodies of our soldiers are brought back from Afghanistan, often accompanied by heart-breaking stories of courage and self-sacrifice...
Saturday, January 09, 2010
Pray for Pope Benedict...
...as he continues the tradition, established by John Paul II, of visiting a Rome synagogue. Thanks to the ghastly anti-Jewish rants of the Lefebvrist's Dr Williamson - still, alas, not denounced by that community - there are tensions between Rome's Jewish community and the Catholic Church. As Cardinal Ratzinger, Pope Benedict did more than anyone else in the Church to help forge new friendships between Jews and Catholics, and it has been tragic to see how the Lefebvrist issue has now got in the way.
For me, one of the most frightening things that happened in 2009 was the realisation that anti-semitism has a hold on a certain (thank God, extremely small) group of Catholics - I was truly shocked and disgusted at some of the emails I recieved after writing about this subject. I suspect that most belonged to schismatic groups or were of a schismatic mentality. But the fact that they felt that they could pronounce horrible anti-Jewish comments under the guise of calling themselves "traditional Catholics" appalled and sickened me. I do not see how anyone who is a traditional and loyal Catholic can be anti-Jewish.
I am currently working on some research concerning an English nun who hid Jewish children in Rome during the war and saved their lives. In the early post-war years, the name of Pius XII was revered by many is Israel who knew of lives saved in this way.
For me, one of the most frightening things that happened in 2009 was the realisation that anti-semitism has a hold on a certain (thank God, extremely small) group of Catholics - I was truly shocked and disgusted at some of the emails I recieved after writing about this subject. I suspect that most belonged to schismatic groups or were of a schismatic mentality. But the fact that they felt that they could pronounce horrible anti-Jewish comments under the guise of calling themselves "traditional Catholics" appalled and sickened me. I do not see how anyone who is a traditional and loyal Catholic can be anti-Jewish.
I am currently working on some research concerning an English nun who hid Jewish children in Rome during the war and saved their lives. In the early post-war years, the name of Pius XII was revered by many is Israel who knew of lives saved in this way.
Thursday, January 07, 2010
Mgr Graham Leonard RIP...
...a man of God, who served the good cause faithfully, and was an inspiration to many. The Daily Telegraph has a fine obituary.
Mgr Leonard came to speak at a dinner held by the Catholic Cultural Group and it was a great priviledge to have him: it was one of our most memorable evenings. He also spoke at the Catholic Women of the Year Luncheon, and was inspirational. He was a patron of the Continuity Movement, and we all owe him a great deal.
He was a man who loved God, and loved England. Our country needs Christian leaders of his calibre. We we pray for his soul, let's also pray that God will send us more men like him...
Mgr Leonard came to speak at a dinner held by the Catholic Cultural Group and it was a great priviledge to have him: it was one of our most memorable evenings. He also spoke at the Catholic Women of the Year Luncheon, and was inspirational. He was a patron of the Continuity Movement, and we all owe him a great deal.
He was a man who loved God, and loved England. Our country needs Christian leaders of his calibre. We we pray for his soul, let's also pray that God will send us more men like him...
One of the blogs...
...that Auntie regularly reads is Cranmer. He has some very relevant information about the Islamic extremists who recently appeared in court and were given special permission to arrive late so that they would not have to stand up for the judge. (They had announced their refusal to stand, on the grounds that the judge was not Allah).
Wednesday, January 06, 2010
FInd out more...
...about Auntie's latest book A Nun With A Difference, by looking at this website. This book is the first of its type that I have ever done - a biography of a remarkable woman, complete with her correspondence. I enjoyed doing a "Life and Letters", which is an old-fashioned form of biography enabling the reader to get deeply aquainted with the subject...who in this case happens to be a former headmistress of my old school. Do take a look at the website, especially if you are a Philomenian (if you aren't one, you won't know what one is!).
Why have the bishops...
...of England and Wales tried to steal part of our Christmas? They have nicked three days of it this year. MEAN. Horrid. They announced unilaterally a couple of years ago that the Epiphany would be "moved to the nearest Sunday", thus robbing us of a proper celebration of today's feast. We had an Epiphany Mass in our parish on Sunday, and as it is a splendid parish we had a glory of Epiphany liturgy, with suitable vestments, hymns and music, and all this week we've been having readings and sermons that have kept up the Epiphany message and mood. But why did the Bishops rob us of the actual feast - in the teeth of opposition from priests and people alike?
I know that, on a technicality, we can attend an Extraordinary Form Mass using an older calendar. But that misses the point. The Epiphany can and should be celebrated by everyone, across the nation, and it's all there in the universal Church calendar and we share it with the Church of England and everything. Please, please, dear Bishops, GIVE US BACK OUR HOLY DAYS!!!
I know that, on a technicality, we can attend an Extraordinary Form Mass using an older calendar. But that misses the point. The Epiphany can and should be celebrated by everyone, across the nation, and it's all there in the universal Church calendar and we share it with the Church of England and everything. Please, please, dear Bishops, GIVE US BACK OUR HOLY DAYS!!!
Monday, January 04, 2010
Let's start 2010 on...
...an inspiring note, with some things that will give encouragement. Get your diaries out...
On March 25th there's a Day of Art and Music, aimed at RE teachers in Catholic primary schools, but also open to catechists, leaders of children's groups in parishes etc. It's at the Monckton Room at the beautiful and historic Holy Redeemer Church, Chelsea and is FREE for teachers. Includes lunch. Opportunity to view glorious art, and to learn Gregorian chant. The day finishes with Mass at which we'l be singing the chant we have learned...
Need a good wintry walk? Lamplight? History? Join us on January 20th on the steps of Westminster Cathedral at 6.30pm, following the 5.30pm sung Mass. A London Catholic History Walk, looking at the Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, Parliament, the Thames...wear warm clothes, comfortable walking shoes, gloves, and bring a torch. No need to book, just turn up. And while you're about it, note Feb 17th, same venue, for another Walk, which will have a Royal theme and take in St James Park, Buckingham Palace, etc...and February 25th, this time meeting at St Mary Moorfields, 6.30pm, for a walk which will explore some of the City's history.
On March 25th there's a Day of Art and Music, aimed at RE teachers in Catholic primary schools, but also open to catechists, leaders of children's groups in parishes etc. It's at the Monckton Room at the beautiful and historic Holy Redeemer Church, Chelsea and is FREE for teachers. Includes lunch. Opportunity to view glorious art, and to learn Gregorian chant. The day finishes with Mass at which we'l be singing the chant we have learned...
Need a good wintry walk? Lamplight? History? Join us on January 20th on the steps of Westminster Cathedral at 6.30pm, following the 5.30pm sung Mass. A London Catholic History Walk, looking at the Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, Parliament, the Thames...wear warm clothes, comfortable walking shoes, gloves, and bring a torch. No need to book, just turn up. And while you're about it, note Feb 17th, same venue, for another Walk, which will have a Royal theme and take in St James Park, Buckingham Palace, etc...and February 25th, this time meeting at St Mary Moorfields, 6.30pm, for a walk which will explore some of the City's history.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
This Christmas...
... in Britain has an underlying seriousness not sensed in recent years. There's a sadness about. It's not just that cold weather has disrupted many poeople's travel plans, so that families are divided and people have been stranded at airports and in the Channel Tunnel. It's not just that there's a cyncism about, with one of the year's main news stories being about Members of Parliament grabbing so much money dishonestly through an inflated expenses scheme. It's not just the continuing rise in crime, and family break-up. It's more than all that. It's somehow connected with a nostalgia for the beautiful and the true. It's connected with all the current propaganda denying Christianity its rightful place in our history and traditions and culture and common life, and with a feeling that even joking about this makes one somehow vulnerable. There's a disconcerting am-I-allowed-to-say-this feel in the air when people mention the profound religious truth that is at the heart of Christmas...
Christmas carols...
...at Waterloo and Victoria stations, plus a group that went from house to house...
Carol singing is a major part of Auntie's Christmas, and if you were among commuters at Victoria or Waterloo this week and last, you might have glimpsed a figure in a bright red coat conducting the group of singers - led by a stalwart team from St Joseph's parish, Roehampton, led by Yvonne Windsor.
People love hearing the old carols, and with a willing group of people you can make the rafters ring. The accoustics at a railway station are superb! We had a violinist, and much goodwill, and soon some young people were adding descants, and we not only got huge sums of money, but lots of enthusiastic applause and comments. People didn't just hurry by and drop some money in - they stayed, and enjoyed themselves, and sometimes joined in. Two chaps joined in for fun, and stayed - "We were on our way to the pub., but this was so much fun we decided to stay!"
Carol singing is a major part of Auntie's Christmas, and if you were among commuters at Victoria or Waterloo this week and last, you might have glimpsed a figure in a bright red coat conducting the group of singers - led by a stalwart team from St Joseph's parish, Roehampton, led by Yvonne Windsor.
People love hearing the old carols, and with a willing group of people you can make the rafters ring. The accoustics at a railway station are superb! We had a violinist, and much goodwill, and soon some young people were adding descants, and we not only got huge sums of money, but lots of enthusiastic applause and comments. People didn't just hurry by and drop some money in - they stayed, and enjoyed themselves, and sometimes joined in. Two chaps joined in for fun, and stayed - "We were on our way to the pub., but this was so much fun we decided to stay!"
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Through snowy countryside...
...to Goring in Sussex, for a well-attended gathering in the comfortable barn hall attached to the church with the most magnificent of ceilings...
I was there to give a talk about English saints, and was warmly welcomed with hot soup and hugs and good cheer. It was a very happy evening. Organisers were the wonderful Bevan family, whose DVDs are proving a great success...the whole evening was fun, including a good discussion session at the end of the talk, and over tea and (home-made) cakes...
On the way there, through Surrey and Sussex, the countryside was grey with scudding snow, and bright windows glowed through the gathering dusk, an agreeable scene as the train whooshed along...everything felt Christmassy and rather enchanting. Yet there is a deep feeling of sadness over things at the moment: this Christmas sees us, as a nation, so very broken somehow. And the discussions, mentioned above, included a recurring theme "Do you not feel that there may be open oppression of Christians here at some stage? It all feels as though things are moving that way...that it will become unacceptable to voice the orthodox traditional Christian message, especially on things connected to marriage and family life..."
I was there to give a talk about English saints, and was warmly welcomed with hot soup and hugs and good cheer. It was a very happy evening. Organisers were the wonderful Bevan family, whose DVDs are proving a great success...the whole evening was fun, including a good discussion session at the end of the talk, and over tea and (home-made) cakes...
On the way there, through Surrey and Sussex, the countryside was grey with scudding snow, and bright windows glowed through the gathering dusk, an agreeable scene as the train whooshed along...everything felt Christmassy and rather enchanting. Yet there is a deep feeling of sadness over things at the moment: this Christmas sees us, as a nation, so very broken somehow. And the discussions, mentioned above, included a recurring theme "Do you not feel that there may be open oppression of Christians here at some stage? It all feels as though things are moving that way...that it will become unacceptable to voice the orthodox traditional Christian message, especially on things connected to marriage and family life..."
Auntie draws the attention...
...of her readers to this campaign to which she is sympathetic.
Auntie is sickened by the continued injustices towards decent people who are guilty only of being faithful Christians who seek to live and work according to moral principles which have for centuries been at the core of our common life in Britain.
Auntie is sickened by the continued injustices towards decent people who are guilty only of being faithful Christians who seek to live and work according to moral principles which have for centuries been at the core of our common life in Britain.
Monday, December 14, 2009
A baptism...
...at Brompton Oratory, followed by a lively gathering, lots of children, a table spread with sandwiches and snacks and cakes, plenty of good cheer. Officiating at the baptism was Fr Anthony Symondson SJ, who writes and speaks on architectural matters and is a friend of the family.
Whenever Catholic families get together, the subject of education comes up...parents are so keeen to get their children into the good Catholic schools, which as a result are beseiged by numbers. The Government has decided that the admissions procedures - which gave priority to practising Catholic families who could show that they sought a Church-based education for their children - were "elitist", and now, alas, our Catholic Education Service is effectively supporting this view. So now the priority will be given to families living near the schools - thus giving a huge advantage to rich families who can afford to buy housing near the good schools. There are some excellent Catholic boys' secondary schools in London, and parents start worrying about how to get their children into these schools while the children are still small...To get a child into a Catholic primary school, you have to show that the child was baptised within a few months of birth and that the family attends Mass regularly...and you will be competing against a good many others. If, for some reason, the child doesn't get into a Catholic primary school, it seems practically imposible to get into a Catholic secondary school.
Whenever Catholic families get together, the subject of education comes up...parents are so keeen to get their children into the good Catholic schools, which as a result are beseiged by numbers. The Government has decided that the admissions procedures - which gave priority to practising Catholic families who could show that they sought a Church-based education for their children - were "elitist", and now, alas, our Catholic Education Service is effectively supporting this view. So now the priority will be given to families living near the schools - thus giving a huge advantage to rich families who can afford to buy housing near the good schools. There are some excellent Catholic boys' secondary schools in London, and parents start worrying about how to get their children into these schools while the children are still small...To get a child into a Catholic primary school, you have to show that the child was baptised within a few months of birth and that the family attends Mass regularly...and you will be competing against a good many others. If, for some reason, the child doesn't get into a Catholic primary school, it seems practically imposible to get into a Catholic secondary school.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
To the House of Lords....
...for the annual presentation of prizes won by young people in the ecumenical Schools Bible Project. This is always a joy. The winners this year were exceptionally delightful young people, and it was all great fun - at least, I hope they found it so. We met in the Central Lobby and watched the Speaker's Procession, with the carrying of the Mace. Then a tour of Parliament, with a good look at the fine mosaics in the Central Lobby of our four patron saints, St George, St Andrew, St Patrick and St David, and the statues of our kings and queens, and then off to Westminster Great Hall with its associations with St Thomas More and King Charles I, and, in the lifetimes of many of us present , the lying-in-state of Sir Winston Churchill and HM Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother...then on (through pouring rain which lashed our umbrellas and made us a rather absurd and drenched procession!) to the room at 1, Abbey Gardens where we had cake and chat and the Presentation of the Prizes. These are cash awards to the schools, and Bibles and other book prizes to the young people. Baroness Cox always does us proud, and spoke most beautifully about the inspiration brought by the Christian Faith, and what it can mean. It was especially touching to hear her speak about young child soldiers in Africa, where she has recently been working on a relief project...
Sunday, December 06, 2009
On a dark...
...overcast day, an invitation to spend the afternoon with young relations. On arrival, a cheerful three-year old hurried me into the sitting-room, where a niece, niece-in-law, and assorted small children were snuggled on the sofa with a duvet watching The Wind in the Willows. It was the work of a moment to kick off my shoes and join them. The afternoon went on to include the creation of an Advent wreath, the hiding and finding of golden chocolate coins (St Nicholas Day), and a lively talkative delicious supper...
Children's memories retain all sorts of things, and I often wonder about those one helps to create. I had brought with me an old family set of crib figures. but felt that after some forty years of use they could perhaps do with a wash, so a bowl of warm soapy water was produced and the children swathed in pinafores to engage with the task. I fear they were baffled. They enjoyed watching a couple of aunties plunge St Joseph, and the manger, and various kings into the bath, they watched as the Infant Christ was gently subjected to flannel and soap. They loved putting them all back in the tin and then taking them out, and putting them back....but what strange ritual did they think this was, and what will they tell their own children some decades from now? ("Ah, in the good old days, there was a tradition of washing the manger. I remember it well...."
Children's memories retain all sorts of things, and I often wonder about those one helps to create. I had brought with me an old family set of crib figures. but felt that after some forty years of use they could perhaps do with a wash, so a bowl of warm soapy water was produced and the children swathed in pinafores to engage with the task. I fear they were baffled. They enjoyed watching a couple of aunties plunge St Joseph, and the manger, and various kings into the bath, they watched as the Infant Christ was gently subjected to flannel and soap. They loved putting them all back in the tin and then taking them out, and putting them back....but what strange ritual did they think this was, and what will they tell their own children some decades from now? ("Ah, in the good old days, there was a tradition of washing the manger. I remember it well...."
Wednesday, December 02, 2009
Where will you be...
...on the evening of |December 16th? If you are in Sussex, why not come to English Martyrs Church, Goring, and hear about "Sussex saints and martyrs"? (Scroll down on that link under "Events" to find out more).
We need something like this in Britain...
...and I'm talking about the Manhattan Declaration in which numbers of Christian leaders from different denominations have joined together to affirm principles on marriage and on the rights of Christians.
"Because we honour justice and the common good, we will not comply with any edict that purports to compel our institutions to participate in abortions, embryo-destructive research, assisted suicide and euthanasia, or any other anti-life act; nor will we bend to any rule purporting to force us to bless immoral sexual partnerships, treat them as marriages or the equivalent, or refrain from proclaiming the truth, as we know it, about morality and immorality and marriage and the family," it concludes.
There has, of course, been nothing about this in our British media.
More info here.
"Because we honour justice and the common good, we will not comply with any edict that purports to compel our institutions to participate in abortions, embryo-destructive research, assisted suicide and euthanasia, or any other anti-life act; nor will we bend to any rule purporting to force us to bless immoral sexual partnerships, treat them as marriages or the equivalent, or refrain from proclaiming the truth, as we know it, about morality and immorality and marriage and the family," it concludes.
There has, of course, been nothing about this in our British media.
More info here.
Tuesday, December 01, 2009
An extraordinary series of coincidences...
...resulted in my writing a book about a nun who was once headmistress of my old school. Interested? If you are a Philomenian, you will be. The book is "A Nun with a Difference", and tells the story a girl born into priviledge in Victorian England, who ended up founding a college in newly independent Pakistan. Contact Sun Hill Publishing, 11 Sun Hill, Cowes, Isle of Wight PO31 7HY. The book costs £10.99p (make cheque out to H. Lowe) - add £1.50p for postage and packing. Or you can buy it from the CTS bookshoop in Westminster Cathedral piazza...
Monday, November 30, 2009
To Tunbridge Wells...
...for an evening talk at St Augustine's Church, organised by Fr Marcus Holden. A packed hall on an evening of teeming rain and bitter winds. A showing of the new DVD "Arise once More" (Do get a copy...ideal for schools, Confirmation classes, youth groups...) and then a talk on "Celebrating Feasts and Seasons".
Earlier, I had spent the afternoon with relations, having tea by a roaring fire in a lovely family home in the Kent countryside. Talk was of family news, catching up on the latest on Duke of Edinburgh's Award, ballet lessons, school...
And after the meeting, on to stay with kind friends, meeting more delightful young people, enjoying a long talkative supper,swapping news and laughter round a candlelit table as rain lashed down outside...
Earlier, I had spent the afternoon with relations, having tea by a roaring fire in a lovely family home in the Kent countryside. Talk was of family news, catching up on the latest on Duke of Edinburgh's Award, ballet lessons, school...
And after the meeting, on to stay with kind friends, meeting more delightful young people, enjoying a long talkative supper,swapping news and laughter round a candlelit table as rain lashed down outside...
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Taking a break...
...from some work, I found some good reading on the Internet. Columnist Mark Steyn, for example...
The Equality Bill...
...is being rushed through Parliament and will create huge burdens for churches and small voluntary groups, already worried by innumerable layers of burueacracy. Christians running small firms could find that they are forced to fight costly legal battles if accused by a customer or former employee of "homophobia" or similar. Find out more here.
It is ghastly...
...reading the reports of investigation into child abuse within the Church. Sickening. The detailed report on appalling extreme phsyical cruelty and sexual assaults inflicted on children in institutions run by religious orders in Ireland the 1940s-70s has now been matched by a report on sexual predators among clergy in the Dublin diocese with teenagers from the 70s onwards.
One Catholic commentator has announced that the abuse is all since the Second Vatican Council and that it was perpetrated by "post Vatican II, open-windows, relevant...ecumaniacs, liturgical animators" but this is wishful thinking. The Second Vatican Council cannot be blamed for what went on in children's homes in Ireland in the 1950s, and, alas, the culture of cover-up that was used in the 1970s and 80s did not begin at Vatican II either. We do ourselves no favours by trying to write bracing denunciations of modernism instead of confronting the horrid reality of wrongdoing wherever it has occurred.
One Catholic commentator has announced that the abuse is all since the Second Vatican Council and that it was perpetrated by "post Vatican II, open-windows, relevant...ecumaniacs, liturgical animators" but this is wishful thinking. The Second Vatican Council cannot be blamed for what went on in children's homes in Ireland in the 1950s, and, alas, the culture of cover-up that was used in the 1970s and 80s did not begin at Vatican II either. We do ourselves no favours by trying to write bracing denunciations of modernism instead of confronting the horrid reality of wrongdoing wherever it has occurred.
Friday, November 27, 2009
At Westminster...
...the annual meeting of the Catholic Union. This organisation has been speaking up for Catholics in Britain for 125 years, and is now livelier than ever. This is just as well because its work is now more important than ever. Its President, Lord Brennan, spoke extremely well and the meeting touched on a number of crucial issues - the Govt's projected plans on "assisted suicide",questions on marriage and family issues, the renewed threats to church schools...the mood and tone of the meeting was challenging and upbeat. Recent recruitment events have resulted in an upsurge of young people joining the Union. Much talk and many plans.
Before the meeting, a sung Mass in the Cathedral, with a Bishop preaching and a special welcome for CU members who had come from across Britain. The first Reading was about Daniel in the lions' den. All too appropriate for Cath. Union members who know what it is to be in the lions' den of a TV studio or debating-hall...
Before the meeting, a sung Mass in the Cathedral, with a Bishop preaching and a special welcome for CU members who had come from across Britain. The first Reading was about Daniel in the lions' den. All too appropriate for Cath. Union members who know what it is to be in the lions' den of a TV studio or debating-hall...
The Catholic Writers' Guild...
...in Manchester meets at the University Chaplaincy, which is immediately opposite the Students' Union, so I was able to give a talk to the Guild after the Union gathering (see previous Blog entry). A convivial evening, and a chance to visit the beautiful chapel(recently renovated - exquiste altar with pre-Reformation carvings) and see something of the vibrant life of the chaplaincy, which has packed Masses, and a range of actitities that include a four-part choir,instruction in the Faith, lots of charitable work caring for the elderly and homeless etc, sports, pilgrimages, trips, talks, retreats, and more...
Student Mass each Sunday at Holy Name church at 7pm is evidently the place to be. Coming up in 2010 there is a walking pilgrimage to Compostella with a stay in Lourdes, and a public presentation of the Passion of Christ on Good Friday in the streets of Manchester...
Student Mass each Sunday at Holy Name church at 7pm is evidently the place to be. Coming up in 2010 there is a walking pilgrimage to Compostella with a stay in Lourdes, and a public presentation of the Passion of Christ on Good Friday in the streets of Manchester...
Manchester...
...and a discussion at the Students' Union under the theme "Challenging Orthodoxy". exploring why we might usefully challenge the current orthodoxy which states that male/female marriage need not be the basis of family life, that current sex education schemes are successful etc etc. Excellent contribution from Professor Brenda Almond pointing out the need to stick to biological truths. But, alas, students preferred to remain within the comfort-zone of current orthodoxies - so they all affirmed the value of lesbian parenting, "who says that heterosexuals make betters parents?" etc etc...afterwards some came up to me to say privately that they agreed with what Prof Amond had said. But they felt they couldn't say so publicly!
Monday, November 23, 2009
It seems that we now have...
...a chap of whom no one in Britain has ever heard imposed upon us as "President" of the European Union. And we haven't been allowed to vote on whether we want to be part of a European Union, or have a President, let alone allowed to vote on who that President should be. And we are all too sick and tired of the whole wretched subject even to feel as angry as we ought.
Years ago at school we sung a hymn which had some lines that have stayed with me: "Empires rise and sink like billows/ Vanish and are seen no more..." One day the EU will be added to those empires. I rather hope it happens in my lifetime.
Years ago at school we sung a hymn which had some lines that have stayed with me: "Empires rise and sink like billows/ Vanish and are seen no more..." One day the EU will be added to those empires. I rather hope it happens in my lifetime.
The Internet...
...is scarily good at turning non-events into news stories and whizzing them around the world, spreading false information. Read here to discover an example...
I'll be in....
...Manchester on Tuesday, speaking at the University, and also at the NW Catholic Writers' Guild...and next weekend I'm off to Kent this parish to enjoy an evening which will feature this film, which is worth seeing...
If you want...
...a thoughtful and interesting comment on the latest Catholic/Anglican thing, this is a good read...
Sunday, November 22, 2009
A young relative...
...came for the weekend, and it was a delight. We had a happy afternoon with Granny, tea and talk and reminiscences and family news and plans for Christmas and so on. Then after a rainy walk, and a cheery pub visit, there was a Chinese meal and a film... and then this morning we went to the sung Mass at Westminster Cathedral, followed by coffee and cake...at the Cathedral there was a spolendid Mass for the Feast of Christ the King, and at the end the choir sang Christus Vincit....
Saturday, November 21, 2009
If you were near Buckingham Palace...
...on Thursday night, you would have heard three rousing cheers for HM the Queen, followed by prayers for her and for our country. This was the culmination of the third of our Catholic History Walks. We began at Westminster Cathedral where a crowd gathered - rather a larger crowd than had been anticipated, and I was glad when the organisers arrived with a good microphone...we went down Victoria Street, and across St James' Park, with stops at various points for talks, and we learned about the Cathedral's history and Cardinal Vaughan, and the Queen's visit there on St Andrew's Day for its 100th birthday, and then St James and the tradition of pilgrimage, and then the Chapel Royal and Charles I and Charles II, and Catherine of Braganza and Henrietta Maria and more...and we took in all the Georges and the Regency and Maria Fitzherbert and thence to the early 19th century and Catholic Emancipation, and by now we were walking up the Mall, and on to Buckingham Palace and Queen Victoria...it was a mellow Autumn evening and a friendly crowd, and a great atmosphere, and a great sense of loyalty as we cheered our monarch, and a great sense of deep prayer as we committed our country - the new session of Parliament just opened with yet more idiotic legislative plans to wreck what's left of our education system etc - to God. Standing there by lamplight, the voices praying the "Our Father...", people open and quite unembarrassed, I suppose it was rather British and eccentric...
Want to join us on future walks? We are doing various routes. The next two Catholic History Walks are on January 20th and February 17th 2010. Each time, we meet on the steps of Westminster Cathedral at 6.30pm, after the 5.30pm Mass...
Want to join us on future walks? We are doing various routes. The next two Catholic History Walks are on January 20th and February 17th 2010. Each time, we meet on the steps of Westminster Cathedral at 6.30pm, after the 5.30pm Mass...
Come and learn about reviving the Catholic Faith...
...at a screening of a new DVD on just this theme. Aimed specially at the young, but everyone is welcome. "Arise once more" sets out the steps for an authentic revival of Catholicism in Britain.
Beginning with the early arrival of Christianity in Britain, this film takes you on a tour of Catholic history, through the Medieval period and the Reformation, the Second Spring, the Modern Crisis, and ends with hopes and plans for the revival....
Commentary is provided by various speakers and authors including Fr Marcus Holden, Fr Andrew Pinsent, Fr Thomas Crean, Fr
Nicholas Schofield, and more.
SCREENING AT:
- Our Lady of Lourdes, Uxbridge, Middlesex
Friday 27th November 2:00pm
- St Joseph's, New Malden, Surrey
Friday November 27th at 8pm
- Parish of St. Benedict, Ealing Abbey
Saturday 28th November 2:00pm
- Our Lady of the Rosary, Blackfen, Kent
Saturday 28th November 7:15pm
- St. Augustine’s, Tunbridge Wells, Kent
Sunday 29th November 7:00pm
For further details about the DVD or to order a copy visit www.saintant.com
(promotional video clip on website) Tel: 01834 812643
Beginning with the early arrival of Christianity in Britain, this film takes you on a tour of Catholic history, through the Medieval period and the Reformation, the Second Spring, the Modern Crisis, and ends with hopes and plans for the revival....
Commentary is provided by various speakers and authors including Fr Marcus Holden, Fr Andrew Pinsent, Fr Thomas Crean, Fr
Nicholas Schofield, and more.
SCREENING AT:
- Our Lady of Lourdes, Uxbridge, Middlesex
Friday 27th November 2:00pm
- St Joseph's, New Malden, Surrey
Friday November 27th at 8pm
- Parish of St. Benedict, Ealing Abbey
Saturday 28th November 2:00pm
- Our Lady of the Rosary, Blackfen, Kent
Saturday 28th November 7:15pm
- St. Augustine’s, Tunbridge Wells, Kent
Sunday 29th November 7:00pm
For further details about the DVD or to order a copy visit www.saintant.com
(promotional video clip on website) Tel: 01834 812643
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
A party!
...to celebrate the launch of English Catholic Heroines, published by Gracewing Books.
Drinks and speeches and tasty snacks and talk and hugs and congratulations, all at St Wilfrid's Hall at Brompton Oratory. This is a place which is a sort of home-from-home for the Bogles, because we held our Silver Wedding party there, and I have spoken there at all sorts of meetings and conferences and taken part in all sorts of social events. It was lovely to be celebrating with some of the various contributors to this book, and it was a happy evening. Tom Longford, my splendid publisher, presided with much good cheer, and John Jolliffe, who got the whole project off the ground and produced English Catholic Heroes last year was among the guests.
Readers of this Blog can join in the fun by buying the book! Ideal Christmas gift, packed with highly readable stories. Find out about England's great Catholic women, from St Etheldreda to Maria Fitzherbert, from heroic martyrs like Margaret Clithreoe and Anne Line to writers, nurses, teachers, and founders of religious orders...
Drinks and speeches and tasty snacks and talk and hugs and congratulations, all at St Wilfrid's Hall at Brompton Oratory. This is a place which is a sort of home-from-home for the Bogles, because we held our Silver Wedding party there, and I have spoken there at all sorts of meetings and conferences and taken part in all sorts of social events. It was lovely to be celebrating with some of the various contributors to this book, and it was a happy evening. Tom Longford, my splendid publisher, presided with much good cheer, and John Jolliffe, who got the whole project off the ground and produced English Catholic Heroes last year was among the guests.
Readers of this Blog can join in the fun by buying the book! Ideal Christmas gift, packed with highly readable stories. Find out about England's great Catholic women, from St Etheldreda to Maria Fitzherbert, from heroic martyrs like Margaret Clithreoe and Anne Line to writers, nurses, teachers, and founders of religious orders...
Are you coming....
...to the Catholic History Walk tomorrow, Thursday Nov 19th? Just turn up. We meet at 6.30pm on the steps of Westminster Cathedral, after the 5.30pm Mass. Our walk will take us across St James' Park, and we'll be looking at the links between the Church and the English monarchy.
Come in comfortable shoes, and be prepared to walk whatever the weather. The walk will take approx one aand a half hours. Afterwards, people tend to drift off to local pubs, of which thgere are several nice ones.
Come in comfortable shoes, and be prepared to walk whatever the weather. The walk will take approx one aand a half hours. Afterwards, people tend to drift off to local pubs, of which thgere are several nice ones.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Lots and lots of people...
... hurrying into Westminster Cathedral Hall through ferocious rain for the Towards Advent Festival....we had a magnificent array of Catholic groups and organisations, ranging from the Knights of St Columba to publishers like Fisher Press, Gracewing, and the CTS, we had the Catenians and we had Aid to the Church in Need, we had the Tyburn Nuns and we had pro-life groups and we had the Catholic National Library...and more...and more...
The Schola from the Cardinal Vaughan School sang gloriously - Byrd's Ave Verum was simply superb. Archbishop Vincent Nichols spoke about the beauty and significance of Advent and set just the right tone for the day. There were talks and a tour of the Cathedral, there were delicious refreshments, there was a terrific buzz of conversation and what I suppose one could grandly call "networking", there were stalls selling DVDs of beautiful music, and cards and statues and devotional items and monastic produce and books, lots and lots of books...
Talks during the day included one on Christianity in Iraq - fascinating, sobering - and one on the Crusades with Prof. Jonathan Riley-Smith, whose books on the subject are warmly recommended.
I met Benedictine monks (young, enthusiastic) and friends from EWTN and from the Catholic press. The hall got rather hot and crowded, and there was a sudden glorious rush of cold air as one hurried out to reach Vaughan House, where the talks were being held. There was a fine display of art produced by pupils at Catholic schools. There were people to meet, and ideas to exchange, and things finished with my leading a tour of the Cathedral as dusk fell and the Festival slowly drew to a close...
No praise too high for the Catenian Association which took on much of the workload in getting the day organised, and the Knights of St Columba who loyally distributed handbills in the Cathedral piazza directing people to the Festival, and the Association of Catholic Women which produced wonderful home-made sandwiches and cakes and more...
Every year I worry that the Festival won't be a success, and every year I am shown that I needn't have worried...
The Schola from the Cardinal Vaughan School sang gloriously - Byrd's Ave Verum was simply superb. Archbishop Vincent Nichols spoke about the beauty and significance of Advent and set just the right tone for the day. There were talks and a tour of the Cathedral, there were delicious refreshments, there was a terrific buzz of conversation and what I suppose one could grandly call "networking", there were stalls selling DVDs of beautiful music, and cards and statues and devotional items and monastic produce and books, lots and lots of books...
Talks during the day included one on Christianity in Iraq - fascinating, sobering - and one on the Crusades with Prof. Jonathan Riley-Smith, whose books on the subject are warmly recommended.
I met Benedictine monks (young, enthusiastic) and friends from EWTN and from the Catholic press. The hall got rather hot and crowded, and there was a sudden glorious rush of cold air as one hurried out to reach Vaughan House, where the talks were being held. There was a fine display of art produced by pupils at Catholic schools. There were people to meet, and ideas to exchange, and things finished with my leading a tour of the Cathedral as dusk fell and the Festival slowly drew to a close...
No praise too high for the Catenian Association which took on much of the workload in getting the day organised, and the Knights of St Columba who loyally distributed handbills in the Cathedral piazza directing people to the Festival, and the Association of Catholic Women which produced wonderful home-made sandwiches and cakes and more...
Every year I worry that the Festival won't be a success, and every year I am shown that I needn't have worried...
A happy evening...
...at Our Lady's Convent School in Loughborough, where I was invited to present the prizes on Speech Day. I was made most welcome, and it was good to be in a friendly atmosphere where one sensed shared values. It was a warm-hearted, traditional Speech Day - we began with "God Save the Queen", in which everyone joined enthusiastically, and there was a splendid array of trophies and shields to present along with prizes (book tokens) and certificates, and there were talks and songs from the pupils, and a speech from me...on the train going home, I settled cosily with hot chocolate and a copy of a book of reminiscences produced by a former pupil. All enjoyable...
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Wow...
...extraordinary evening as a crowd gathered in Kensington to hear about a miracle at first-hand!
At Brompton Oratory - where Cardinal John Henry Newman once preached - a man who was healed of a grave spinal illness stood in the sanctuary and told us that the healing had come as a result of prayer through the intercession of Newman, and that this has been accepted as a miracle by the Church.
A copy of the Millais portrait of Newman stood alongside, its vivid colours glowing in the soft light beneath that great dome. History seemed to merge into the present as Deacon Jack Sullivan told his story - how he had begged Newman's aid as he sat in pain, distraught at the thought that he would have to abandon his studies and would never be ordained, his inability to walk or move making service as a deacon impossible. The miracle - initially of relief of pain so that he could continue to attend college, and then of complete healing, with doctors baffled as Sullivan bounded up and downstairs and along corridors - was described to a rapt audience.
It was a very London occasion - Catholics gathered at this great church on an Autumn evening, lamplight highlighting the golden and russet Autumn leaves, traffic humming. "Saints are our older brothers and sisters" said Jack Sullivan "We say we believe in life after death, but do we really? A miracle like this teaches us in the reality of the Communion of Saints, in which we profess our belief when we say the Creed". Across the decades, beyond two world wars and a thousand massive social and political changes, a saint from Queen Victoria's London was being honoured and remembered...
Autumn is a time for history.The Queen at Westminster Abbey for a service at eleven o'clock and our house, like others, falling silent for two minutes, along with the workmen in the road outside and people in shops and schools and offices.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Yesterday, the day that...
...the Apostolic Constitution for Anglicans who wish to have their own "ordinariate" within the Church was published, I happened to be giving a talk in a Forward in Faith parish. Evidently quite a lively parish, though not large - one main service on Sunday mornings - with Brownies and a playgroup and youth activities etc. Big redbrick church, Stations of the Cross round the walls, Angelus said at noon. Do let's all pray...
Monday, November 09, 2009
Hurrying about...
...getting things ready for the Towards Advent Festival (this Sat, Nov 14th, Westminster Cathedral Hall - BE THERE!), interspersed with family activities. Much of last week was spent assisting an elderly relative to move - she is now happily settled...sorting through the various photographs, cleaning and re-arranging etc was in many ways an extraordinary experience, and one perhaps peculiarly suited to the days just before Remembrance Day. The photographs of my uncles in wartime uniform are a sudden window on to an utterly different era. Even the faces are not modern ones - thinner, somehow more sharply defined...
...And in the middle of all this, I was asked to join in a discussion on BBC radio, about a young man caught on YouTube using a War memorial as a lavatory. What did I think would be a suitable way for him to show remorse/be punished/learn how to behave better? He's 19. My suggestion: he should go to 19 war memorials across Britain, write down carefully and accurately the names on each (this information is needed, incidentally - many of the names, especially from WWI, are being eroded by time and weather), clean and tidy the whole memorial and its surroundings carefully, removing all litter etc, and leave a poppy wreath with a short note of apology for his earlier behaviour...
...And in the middle of all this, I was asked to join in a discussion on BBC radio, about a young man caught on YouTube using a War memorial as a lavatory. What did I think would be a suitable way for him to show remorse/be punished/learn how to behave better? He's 19. My suggestion: he should go to 19 war memorials across Britain, write down carefully and accurately the names on each (this information is needed, incidentally - many of the names, especially from WWI, are being eroded by time and weather), clean and tidy the whole memorial and its surroundings carefully, removing all litter etc, and leave a poppy wreath with a short note of apology for his earlier behaviour...
A chill wind...
...across Exmoor, with scudding clouds. A family welcome, much talk. The curious mix of shops in a modern village - delicatessen and coffee-shops for visitors, jostling with a mini-supermarket. Local cider-tasting and hot sausages on sale at a Saturday afternoon village gathering. Then Sunday morning and the scarlet wreaths of poppies as a small procession winds its way through the village to the War Memorial, preceded by processional cross, choir and surpliced clergy. It all has a timeless feel,but also a sense of vulneralbility - rural life has taken a terrible bashing in recent years and there is no longer that sense of "everything just going on from year to year" that was always part of the English countryside...
Friday, November 06, 2009
A man of courage and wisdom...
...speaks out. Read the speech by the Chief Rabbi, Lord Sacks in today's press His criticism of moral relativism is timely and trenchant. Wouldn't it be good if we had some Bishops who spoke out like this?
Defending the place of religion in public life, Lord Sacks said : "The place for religion is in civil society, where it achieves many things essential to liberal democratic freedom. It sanctifies marriage and the family and the obligations of parenthood, and it safeguards the non-relativist moral principles on which Western freedom is based.
“It may not be religion that is dying, it may be liberal democratic Europe that is in danger, demographically and in its ability to defend its own values.”
Lord Sacks asked: “Where today in European culture with its consumerism and instant gratification – 'because you’re worth it' – where will you find space for the concept of sacrifice for the sake of generations not yet born?"
Defending the place of religion in public life, Lord Sacks said : "The place for religion is in civil society, where it achieves many things essential to liberal democratic freedom. It sanctifies marriage and the family and the obligations of parenthood, and it safeguards the non-relativist moral principles on which Western freedom is based.
“It may not be religion that is dying, it may be liberal democratic Europe that is in danger, demographically and in its ability to defend its own values.”
Lord Sacks asked: “Where today in European culture with its consumerism and instant gratification – 'because you’re worth it' – where will you find space for the concept of sacrifice for the sake of generations not yet born?"
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
"The Making...
...of Modern Britain" is a new TV series. In a review of the first part, looking at the Victorian and Edwardian era, Telegraph journalist Charles Moore takes presenter Andrew Marr to task for sneering at what was achieved during those years. Of course there have been many improvements in life for many people since the early 20th century but "As well as gaining much, we have also lost. Honour, manufacturing, oratory, worship, friendly societies, organised temperance, provincial pride, fair play, low taxes, reading and writing, public order, good trains and public clocks which kept the time – just a few of the things which our own age could improve if it bothered to admire the past rather more and itself rather less."
Sunday, November 01, 2009
Latest ghastly slogan-word...
...is "polyamory". This means any group of people who share sexual partners among themselves. Once same-sex marriage is accepted, why stop at just two people? Why not three? Or more? Logic of this=polyamory.
Commentator Dr Albert Mohler in the Bulletin published by Family and Youth Concern, notes: "Perhaps the best way to understand this new movement is to understand it as a natural consequence of subverting marriage. We have largely normalised adultery, serialised marriage, separated marriage from reproduction and child-bearing, and accepted divorce as a mechnaism for liberation. Once this happens, boundary after boundary falls as sexual regulation virtually disappears among those defined as "consenting adults".
"The ultimate sign of our moral confusion becomes evident when virtually no one appears ready to condemn polyamory as immoral.The only arguments mustered against this new movement focus on matters of practicality. Polyamory is certainly not new, but this new movement is yet another reminder that virtually all the fences are now down when it comes to sex and sexual relationships."
Commentator Dr Albert Mohler in the Bulletin published by Family and Youth Concern, notes: "Perhaps the best way to understand this new movement is to understand it as a natural consequence of subverting marriage. We have largely normalised adultery, serialised marriage, separated marriage from reproduction and child-bearing, and accepted divorce as a mechnaism for liberation. Once this happens, boundary after boundary falls as sexual regulation virtually disappears among those defined as "consenting adults".
"The ultimate sign of our moral confusion becomes evident when virtually no one appears ready to condemn polyamory as immoral.The only arguments mustered against this new movement focus on matters of practicality. Polyamory is certainly not new, but this new movement is yet another reminder that virtually all the fences are now down when it comes to sex and sexual relationships."
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Arriving by Royal Mail...
...rather surprisingly, given the recent strikes, have been some useful books. A rather charming little booklet of prayers produced by CHOOSE LIFE. "This devotional work is designed for private and public use to encourage people to pray regularly in reparation for the sins of abortion and euthanasia - sins against God's gift of life." Send a donation to HUMAN LIFE at 18 Chelsea Square, London SW3 6LF and ask for a couple of copies.
Also Different and Complementary, another book in the excellent "Alive to the World" series for schools. Useful for the Personal Social and Health Education now officially part of the curriculum in Britain's schools - but unlike much material produced under that banner these books are packed with wholesome and useful material, celebrating virtue and lifting the heart. Absolutely free of gross, sexually explicit or vulgar stuff, they teach real lessons for life, following the adventures of a busy family grappling with real challenges. The books form part of a whole scheme aimed at primary schools - moderately priced and ideal for your local school...
Also Different and Complementary, another book in the excellent "Alive to the World" series for schools. Useful for the Personal Social and Health Education now officially part of the curriculum in Britain's schools - but unlike much material produced under that banner these books are packed with wholesome and useful material, celebrating virtue and lifting the heart. Absolutely free of gross, sexually explicit or vulgar stuff, they teach real lessons for life, following the adventures of a busy family grappling with real challenges. The books form part of a whole scheme aimed at primary schools - moderately priced and ideal for your local school...
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Domestic...
...life has kept me busy of late, and I have spent much time sorting through various family things preparatory to a house-move for a relative. Came across the note I wrote to my parents on the eve of my wedding...stacks and stacks of family photographs bringing back hosts of memories...sudden discoveries of oddly useful but unused Christmas presents (a nice set of matching towels) and unused and not-useful ones (embroidered traycloths)...
And books. Neville Shute, A Town Like Alice, Gerald Durrell, wartime escape classics The Wooden Horse, The Great Escape, lots of Catholic stuff, poetry by Alice Meynell, books on art featuring the pre-Raphaelites.
Several bagloads of things went to charity shops, from where I then obtained some videos for evening relaxation in the weeks ahead: a particular delight was finding a collection of some Joyce Grenfell programmes, a joy in prospect...
And books. Neville Shute, A Town Like Alice, Gerald Durrell, wartime escape classics The Wooden Horse, The Great Escape, lots of Catholic stuff, poetry by Alice Meynell, books on art featuring the pre-Raphaelites.
Several bagloads of things went to charity shops, from where I then obtained some videos for evening relaxation in the weeks ahead: a particular delight was finding a collection of some Joyce Grenfell programmes, a joy in prospect...
In essence...
...the issue the Lefebvrists have to face in Rome as they embark on discussions at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith is whether they accept the "Hermeneutic of Continuity" in which the Second Vatican Council is understood as being part of the faithful heritage of the Church and its documents are presented and accepted in that light, or the "Hermeneutic of Rupture" in which that Council is understood as being a break with the Church's heritage. For two decades now, the Lefebvrists have taught the Hermeneutic of Rupture with vigour but a sense of muddle overlaid with dark comments about Masonic plots. Their position upholding the Rupture theory has been enhanced by the support for the same theory that has come from the legions of "progressivists" who have been similarly telling us that "everything changed at Vatican II" and that there were lots of things that "no one need believe in any more."
Ditching the Rupture theory will free the Lefebvrists from the straitjacket. Some won't like that and will want to stay in it, at least for a while. Others will be glad to wriggle free. We'll probably continue to hear quite a lot about Masonic plots, but will just have to cope with that, as also with some rather Jansenistic stuff on sex, love, and human relationships (but they'll gradually open up to the teachings of John Paul II).
It's clear that Rome is keen to hurry things along, and also that a way is being found to remove any elder-brother resentments (ref. the story of the Prodigal Son, see below) by showing that the way forward must always be based on generosity. Hence the Anglican Rite offer presented first, to a group with a different history but a shared common need. The parable about the labourers in the vineyard and the wages they were paid also comes to mind...
The price paid by the Holy Father has been considerable in terms of personal suffering and humiliation. He has spent much of his life promoting goodwill and theological understanding between Christians and Jews (read some of his writings on the subject, info here) and has made many personal friendships along the way. Following the anti-Jewish ranting of the Lefebvrist Bishop much of this work has been put at risk, and the public view of the Holy Father's own personal integrity along with it - a cruelty inflicted by the Lefebvrists which caused him the evident anguish revealed in his letter to the world's bishops.
I remember once a wise and kindly priest urging me, during a previous pontificate: "Pray for the Pope in his Gethsemane".
Ditching the Rupture theory will free the Lefebvrists from the straitjacket. Some won't like that and will want to stay in it, at least for a while. Others will be glad to wriggle free. We'll probably continue to hear quite a lot about Masonic plots, but will just have to cope with that, as also with some rather Jansenistic stuff on sex, love, and human relationships (but they'll gradually open up to the teachings of John Paul II).
It's clear that Rome is keen to hurry things along, and also that a way is being found to remove any elder-brother resentments (ref. the story of the Prodigal Son, see below) by showing that the way forward must always be based on generosity. Hence the Anglican Rite offer presented first, to a group with a different history but a shared common need. The parable about the labourers in the vineyard and the wages they were paid also comes to mind...
The price paid by the Holy Father has been considerable in terms of personal suffering and humiliation. He has spent much of his life promoting goodwill and theological understanding between Christians and Jews (read some of his writings on the subject, info here) and has made many personal friendships along the way. Following the anti-Jewish ranting of the Lefebvrist Bishop much of this work has been put at risk, and the public view of the Holy Father's own personal integrity along with it - a cruelty inflicted by the Lefebvrists which caused him the evident anguish revealed in his letter to the world's bishops.
I remember once a wise and kindly priest urging me, during a previous pontificate: "Pray for the Pope in his Gethsemane".
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Books, books...
...and there is one on sale at the St Paul's bookshop next to Westminster Cathedral, which might be of interest to readers of this Blog. Produced specially for the Year of the Priest, it's a new simple life of St John Vianney...
Jamie and I are meanwhile enjoying a sudden new enthusiasm for Dorothy L. Sayers and are reading Busman's Honeymoon together each evening.And I've been re-reading Walter Hooper on C.S.Lewis with much pleasure and benefit...
Jamie and I are meanwhile enjoying a sudden new enthusiasm for Dorothy L. Sayers and are reading Busman's Honeymoon together each evening.And I've been re-reading Walter Hooper on C.S.Lewis with much pleasure and benefit...
Meanwhile in Rome...
...the Lefebvrists have been having their first official meeting with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and everyone is being very nice to them. The general view seems to be that if the Prodigal Sons want to return, it would be right to make fatted-calf noises even if they are some way from being repentant, in the hopes that repentance might eventually follow even if it's not verbally expressed for some while...probably at some stage it will dawn on at least some of the SSPX members that they could have avoided a lot of unpleasantness if their Society had stuck to the original agreement which was signed in 1988 and on which Archbp Lefebvre then changed his mind. When he decided to split from the Church and ordain his own Bishops he made a dreadful choice,led many people astray, and the results have been tragic. If he had remained obedient, a great many things might have been different...
And what about Williamson? It would be something - I am being perfectly serious here - if he could do the right and honourable thing and make a genuine statement of contrition for the horrible things he said, and make reparation, perhaps with a visit to an appropriate place to acknowledge the truth of what occurred there and to kneel in sympathy and sorrow. He need pay no price except that of his pride...
And what about Williamson? It would be something - I am being perfectly serious here - if he could do the right and honourable thing and make a genuine statement of contrition for the horrible things he said, and make reparation, perhaps with a visit to an appropriate place to acknowledge the truth of what occurred there and to kneel in sympathy and sorrow. He need pay no price except that of his pride...
Sunday, October 25, 2009
What will the future hold...
... for various Anglican groups? Dunno. I have had some contact in recent years with the Forward in Faith movement, and their magazine, New Directions. It is witty - has often made me laugh aloud - thoughtful, well-informed and often includes some really excellent writing. It has also often revealed much genuine sorrow and anguish over the religious state of Britain, the plight of the C. of E. etc...oh, I do hope large numbers of its writers and readers will take the oars of the boat heading across the Tiber, negotiate the rubbbish in the river, ignore the cross-currents, disregard the blathering and the cries of ohdon'tbotherthereisn'tanypoint, and come on home. There is so much that could be done for the Faith together, so much that needs to be done...
Brompton Oratory...
... on Saturday evening, and again early on Sunday morning... I was there to give out leaflets about the Towards Advent Festival after all the Masses. At the earliest Sunday Mass, I met a friend - who had just come off-shift after working all night at a media network and was hurrying to Mass before going home to sleep. She helped me hand out leaflets first. Now that's real five-star friendship.
At the Oratory, they pray for HM the Queen at all the Masses in the Bidding Prayers. We did this in the parish where I grew up, and I think it should be more regularly done everywhere...
Large crowds of course, for the 10 am Mass (lots of young families) and the 11 am Mass (all ages, and lots of visitors esp. from America and Australia) and the 7pm Mass (very large numbers of young people, many of them v. elegant in a just-the-right-of-denim-jeans sort of way, making me feel v. matronly and aunt-like with my skirt and coat).
I ran into lots of friends, and the whole day was fun. In the afternoon, I whizzed off to the suburbs to take Mother out to tea, then back again for the evening Mass...at the end of which I got chatting to a young couple, friends of one of my godsons. Conversation ranged over various topics and I mentioned that I sometimes felt gloomy about Britain, could not feel optimistic about the future. "Do you really think that?" the young man asked in genuine astonishment, despite the fact that he'd been saying the Govt is hopeless, Tories aren't going to be any better, pro-life movement doesn't seem to be going anywhere, etc etc. "But we've just been saying that London is a wonderful place, it's been a fantastic, sunny, beautiful Autumn day, day, and - well - everything feels marvellous!" He - and others - believe that the Church here has lots going for it, and there is no need to be gloomy at all. So Auntie should shake off her middle-aged despondency.
At the Oratory, they pray for HM the Queen at all the Masses in the Bidding Prayers. We did this in the parish where I grew up, and I think it should be more regularly done everywhere...
Large crowds of course, for the 10 am Mass (lots of young families) and the 11 am Mass (all ages, and lots of visitors esp. from America and Australia) and the 7pm Mass (very large numbers of young people, many of them v. elegant in a just-the-right-of-denim-jeans sort of way, making me feel v. matronly and aunt-like with my skirt and coat).
I ran into lots of friends, and the whole day was fun. In the afternoon, I whizzed off to the suburbs to take Mother out to tea, then back again for the evening Mass...at the end of which I got chatting to a young couple, friends of one of my godsons. Conversation ranged over various topics and I mentioned that I sometimes felt gloomy about Britain, could not feel optimistic about the future. "Do you really think that?" the young man asked in genuine astonishment, despite the fact that he'd been saying the Govt is hopeless, Tories aren't going to be any better, pro-life movement doesn't seem to be going anywhere, etc etc. "But we've just been saying that London is a wonderful place, it's been a fantastic, sunny, beautiful Autumn day, day, and - well - everything feels marvellous!" He - and others - believe that the Church here has lots going for it, and there is no need to be gloomy at all. So Auntie should shake off her middle-aged despondency.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Our poor country...
...is in a mess. Of course we need a new government - anyone with sense can see that. But this won't alter the misery of so many of our young who have been robbed of normal family life, the vulgarity and crudity that hallmarks our culture, the sneering at spiritual and moral values.
Signs of hope?
The news of the Catholic/Anglican plan from Rome is good, tho' there will be attempts to wreck it (why doesn't The Times get its act together and stop trying to play 19th century politics with religion? The headline about Vatican tanks on the Anglican lawn was comically bad, worthy of a Private Eye spoof).
The Tories seem to be connecting - at last - with the reality that violence, social unrest, and youth alienation is connected with the undermining of marriage and the removal of family structures. They might just get on and do something about this when in office.
People haven't entirely lost their sense of humour, and it's a healthy sign when people joke about things like the Royal Mail strike, the ghastly BNP, and the grisly business of MPs' expenses...
Signs of hope?
The news of the Catholic/Anglican plan from Rome is good, tho' there will be attempts to wreck it (why doesn't The Times get its act together and stop trying to play 19th century politics with religion? The headline about Vatican tanks on the Anglican lawn was comically bad, worthy of a Private Eye spoof).
The Tories seem to be connecting - at last - with the reality that violence, social unrest, and youth alienation is connected with the undermining of marriage and the removal of family structures. They might just get on and do something about this when in office.
People haven't entirely lost their sense of humour, and it's a healthy sign when people joke about things like the Royal Mail strike, the ghastly BNP, and the grisly business of MPs' expenses...
Thursday, October 22, 2009
For a very good analysis...
...of what the new Catholic/Anglican plan will mean, read this from an Anglican Rite parish in the USA. And another perspective with useful insights comes from Fr Dwight Lngenecker who as always offers wisdom and humour...
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
BIG NEWS....
...from Rome. Anglicans offered a safe home, with preservation of Anglican liturgical traditions and more...for a useful analysis and comment see here...
Over the past few days I've been reading the new Shawcross biography of the Queen Mother and it made me realise, with an aching heart, how important are certain aspects of a certain English spiritual heritage, and how these are slipping away...so today's news is hugely important, as the only safe home is the one built on a Rock.
And it is a home: there is warmth and a welcome, it's a bit messy and we bicker a lot, we've got some rather odd members of the family and some of the music is not always to everyone's taste, but...the foundations are sound and the food is always nourishing. Some parts of the old house are gloriously beautiful, but everyone is aware that some are shabby, and there are always parts that need cleaning.
And there are no strangers here, and in a sense no newcomers: those seeking a home find, once arriving in the hall and shedding their coats and wellies, that they feel as if they have been there all along...
Over the past few days I've been reading the new Shawcross biography of the Queen Mother and it made me realise, with an aching heart, how important are certain aspects of a certain English spiritual heritage, and how these are slipping away...so today's news is hugely important, as the only safe home is the one built on a Rock.
And it is a home: there is warmth and a welcome, it's a bit messy and we bicker a lot, we've got some rather odd members of the family and some of the music is not always to everyone's taste, but...the foundations are sound and the food is always nourishing. Some parts of the old house are gloriously beautiful, but everyone is aware that some are shabby, and there are always parts that need cleaning.
And there are no strangers here, and in a sense no newcomers: those seeking a home find, once arriving in the hall and shedding their coats and wellies, that they feel as if they have been there all along...
Saturday, October 17, 2009
A book launch...
...of a charming book The Priest and the Playwright by M. Brown...telling the story of a priest in an impoverished London parish, and a leading playwright in Edwardian England. With Christmas to think about, an enjoyable book is worth noting...
Another...
...Catholic History Walk, this time in Chelsea, with a wonderful welcome at Holy Redeemer Church where parishioner Josephine Robinson showed us round and with a joyful bonus in a visit to Allen Hall, the diocesan seminary built on what was once St Thomas More's land. There is a good-sized community of seminarians there now, as numbers of men training for the priesthood in the diocese has been rising in recent years - some of them joined us for the Walk - and it was grand to be welcomed and to hear all about the history of the place and the work that is done there. This second Catholic History Walk drew a large crowd, and our original intention of "just dropping in" gave way to a full-scale gathering in the refectory. We ended, as planned, by going into the grounds for lamplit prayers around the old mulberry tree, in the shade of which More used to sit with his family...
These Catholic History Walks are proving hugely popular. The next is on Thursday November 19th - meet on the steps of Westminster Cathedral at 6.30pm after the 5.30pm Mass.
These Catholic History Walks are proving hugely popular. The next is on Thursday November 19th - meet on the steps of Westminster Cathedral at 6.30pm after the 5.30pm Mass.
"A new springtime...
...in the Church" - a phrase that we've heard in recent years, and on an Autumn evening in London it was suddenly gloriously,joyfully evident...crowds in front of Westminster Cathedral, voices raised in a great hymn,a splendid procession as four days of prayer were brought to a climax, and a shower of rose-petals poured down from the balcony...
As the relics of St Therese were slowly carried out as the pilgrimage around Britain concluded, it was clear that something rather dramatic had happened. We have rediscovered, on a large scale, that popular Catholicism which has always been part of our heritage and too rarely makes its presence felt. It was good to be there. As the H. Father said at his inaugural Mass, looking back on the crowds that had packed Rome for the farewell to John Paul II and the events that followed:"The Church is alive and the Church is young"...
I was on my way to record some broadcasts for Premier Radio (now available nationwide - it started as a London-based Christian radio station), and thought I would cut across the Cathedral piazza. Not possible. Vast crowds and I was caught up in them, part of a memorable event in London's Catholic history...
BTW, you can hear the radio talks in the week beginning Nov 2nd, broadcast as "Thought of the day" at about 8am and again 10 am...
As the relics of St Therese were slowly carried out as the pilgrimage around Britain concluded, it was clear that something rather dramatic had happened. We have rediscovered, on a large scale, that popular Catholicism which has always been part of our heritage and too rarely makes its presence felt. It was good to be there. As the H. Father said at his inaugural Mass, looking back on the crowds that had packed Rome for the farewell to John Paul II and the events that followed:"The Church is alive and the Church is young"...
I was on my way to record some broadcasts for Premier Radio (now available nationwide - it started as a London-based Christian radio station), and thought I would cut across the Cathedral piazza. Not possible. Vast crowds and I was caught up in them, part of a memorable event in London's Catholic history...
BTW, you can hear the radio talks in the week beginning Nov 2nd, broadcast as "Thought of the day" at about 8am and again 10 am...
Thursday, October 15, 2009
"Alive to the World"...
...is a wonderful new series of books for schools, designed to engross children in stories which also give values and form a full programme suitable for Personal Social and Health Education. Visit this website and find out more...I am really attracted to this series, which would work well in any school, whether Church-based or not. The books would also work for parents who want to teach their children at home, and parish groups working with children would also find them useful. The stories are all linked, so week by week you follow the adventures of a couple of families - the illustrations are bright and good, the characters come alive, and you want to keep on reading!
Do give this website a try, and order a couple of the books. Even if you just read them and pass them on to a local school, it would be a real service to the community...
Do give this website a try, and order a couple of the books. Even if you just read them and pass them on to a local school, it would be a real service to the community...
The British Ambassador to the Holy See...
...gave a superb talk to the Catholic Union of Great Britain on Tuesday. You can read it here. He was exploring the thinking of Pope Benedict on whole question of religious liberty, with reference to the role that Christianity has in our traditions and culture, and the role it must play in the future. He is clearly a great fan of the H. Father and his analysis of the subject widened and deepened my understanding of it. Papa Benedict has devoted a great time of thought to this whole subject, and it is central to his Papacy and its message of the relationship between faith and reason. Read the Habermas/Ratzinger discussions to get more on this...it's all immensely enriching and points a good way forward...
This was the Craigmyle Memorial Lecture, an annual event sponsored by the Catholic Union, and was delivered in Portcullis House, next to the Houses of Parliament. It was well attended, with a good number of younger people. The Catholic Union is keen to attract younger members, and is holding a drinks reception in November with this in mind...see that website link for details.
After leaving Portcullis House I collected my bike from where I had left it at Queen Anne's Gate - I love these beautiful Georgian streets on lamplit Autumn evenings - and cycled up to Westminster Cathedral to see how things were going with the St Therese relics. Large crowds, a great air of genial goodwill, and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves as they queued up and moved slowly forward along the barriers to gain entrance to the Cathedral. Met lots of people I knew, including Frs Emmanuel and Jacob, Franciscan Friars of the Renewal.Fr Emmanuel was special guest speaker at the Catholic Women of the Year Luncheon, held last week...
This was the Craigmyle Memorial Lecture, an annual event sponsored by the Catholic Union, and was delivered in Portcullis House, next to the Houses of Parliament. It was well attended, with a good number of younger people. The Catholic Union is keen to attract younger members, and is holding a drinks reception in November with this in mind...see that website link for details.
After leaving Portcullis House I collected my bike from where I had left it at Queen Anne's Gate - I love these beautiful Georgian streets on lamplit Autumn evenings - and cycled up to Westminster Cathedral to see how things were going with the St Therese relics. Large crowds, a great air of genial goodwill, and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves as they queued up and moved slowly forward along the barriers to gain entrance to the Cathedral. Met lots of people I knew, including Frs Emmanuel and Jacob, Franciscan Friars of the Renewal.Fr Emmanuel was special guest speaker at the Catholic Women of the Year Luncheon, held last week...
Monday, October 12, 2009
Global warming?
I dunno. But there are beginning to be doubts about the standard orthodoxy on the subject. Read here.
You could hear...
...the music as you walked down Victoria Street. And the crowds were gathering...friendly, chatty, calm, expectant. People poured across the piazza in a steady flow to join them. On a giant screen, Mass was being broadcast from inside the Cathedral, complete with magnificent music and a mitred Bishop preaching.
The relics of St Therese were coming to Westminster Cathedral. I hadn't really planned to be there - just thought I would "look in while passing". I had a letter to drop in to Clergy House for Canon Tuckwell, the administrator, so I needed to go that way. As I approached the piazza I noticed a friend, stopped to greet her...and was hooked.
Visiting the relics of St Therese was a wonderful, prayerful experience. Everything about it was right. A delicious October evening with twilight merging into the London lamplight and the glow of the illuminated cathedral. Lots of lots and lots of friendly people. The joy of sharing all this with good friends, and making new acquaintances as the queue moved along. Dignity and beauty in the procession and the liturgy. People clutching roses. Occasional outbreaks of a Marian hymn. The quiet of the cathedral as we mounted the steps.
We had each been thinking of the prayer-intentions we were bringing along, and promising to pray for one another. As I approached the casket I suddenly remembered another, more urgent plea to put before the saint, and so in the end it was that one that actually took priority! Dear Saint Therese, please please take all my petitions and present them to God...
The relics of St Therese were coming to Westminster Cathedral. I hadn't really planned to be there - just thought I would "look in while passing". I had a letter to drop in to Clergy House for Canon Tuckwell, the administrator, so I needed to go that way. As I approached the piazza I noticed a friend, stopped to greet her...and was hooked.
Visiting the relics of St Therese was a wonderful, prayerful experience. Everything about it was right. A delicious October evening with twilight merging into the London lamplight and the glow of the illuminated cathedral. Lots of lots and lots of friendly people. The joy of sharing all this with good friends, and making new acquaintances as the queue moved along. Dignity and beauty in the procession and the liturgy. People clutching roses. Occasional outbreaks of a Marian hymn. The quiet of the cathedral as we mounted the steps.
We had each been thinking of the prayer-intentions we were bringing along, and promising to pray for one another. As I approached the casket I suddenly remembered another, more urgent plea to put before the saint, and so in the end it was that one that actually took priority! Dear Saint Therese, please please take all my petitions and present them to God...
A glorious Mass...
...in the magnificent OLEM church in Cambridge. I was last here some three years ago for the baptism of a young relative. This weekend it was a splendid setting for the Mass celebrated for the annual meeting of the Association for Latin Liturgy. A good choir, a glory of timeless worship. A grand meeting and the delight of meeting various friends. A warm, open, friendly atmosphere with an upbeat feel. The day ended with a beautiful sung Vespers and Benediction...
Saturday, October 10, 2009
On the anniversary...
...of the reception of John Henry Newman into the Catholic Church, a great gathering at the school he founded - The Oratory School, near Reading. Launch of a magnificent book celebrating 150 years of the school, a glorious Vespers and Benediction in the school chapel - a rousing "Faith of our Fathers"... the glow of candles, the boys' strong voices singing the Psalms and leading us in Newman's beautiful hymn "Lead kindly light"...
A delicious buffet supper in the magnificent surroundings of the Georgian manor house which forms the core of the school's group of buildings, and then an excellent lecture by Prof Sheridan Gilley on Newman as a writer of novels. It is years since I first read Callista, and Loss and Gain - Prof Gilley's lecture brought the books alive and has sent me hurrying to read them again...
A delicious buffet supper in the magnificent surroundings of the Georgian manor house which forms the core of the school's group of buildings, and then an excellent lecture by Prof Sheridan Gilley on Newman as a writer of novels. It is years since I first read Callista, and Loss and Gain - Prof Gilley's lecture brought the books alive and has sent me hurrying to read them again...
Thursday, October 08, 2009
Catholic History...
...is all around us in London. Come on the next Catholic History Walk! Thursday, October 15th. Meet at 6.30pm at the church of Our Most Holy Redeemer and St Thomas More, Cheyne Row, London SW3. We will be walking in the footsteps of St Thomas More, and the tour starts with a look round the church named in his honour, after which we will go down along the river, vsiting his statue on the Embankment, and Chelsea Old Church where he used to serve Mass. We'll finish at Allen Hall, the Westminster diocesan seminary, where we'll have prayers by lamplight around the mulberry tree in what was once More's garden.
No need to book - just turn up. Wear comfortable shoes. The Walk lasts about one and a half hours. We'll be walking whatever the weather!
No need to book - just turn up. Wear comfortable shoes. The Walk lasts about one and a half hours. We'll be walking whatever the weather!
The Tory party...
...has been chattering away at its conference. But will the Cameron team commit itself to the only policies that will really foster social cohesion and justice, reduce crime, and give people back a sense of belonging to a country that believes it has a bright future? To have hope in the future you need families. This means support for marriage as the union of a man and a woman, who establish a family together.
A happy day...
...beginning work on research about WWII heroine Mother Riccarda. Visiting Brighton, I had a very happy meeting with Fr Ray, of St Mary Magdalen's. Golden sunshine and the sea sparkled. Before leaving Brighton I skipped down to the beach and had a paddle. The Channel was calm and blue, and there were even some people swimming.
What kind of a country...
...has ours become?
You can now be in trouble as a Christian for expressing your views, in a private capacity, to the Comments section of a website. See this case.
You can now be in trouble as a Christian for expressing your views, in a private capacity, to the Comments section of a website. See this case.
Tuesday, October 06, 2009
A weekend..
...in the West Country with family. We began in Oxford, watching the play produced at the Oratory by a young team, honouring St Therese. It was grand to see so much goodwill and energy united in a great endeavour. It shows that there are some great young people around...and the author of the play is to be warmly congratulated for getting them together and inspiring them.
The next day, on to Somerset, and a weekend of walks on Exmoor - wide and glorious and breezy and rainy and with fabulous views and the sea and visits to beautiful country churches followed by deeply satisfying family meals and talk.
On Monday we drove home stopping at Salisbury. In gentle evening rain to the great Cathedral. Evensong. Few people there, a choir singing beautifully, the perfection of those soaring arches and that great nave, a walk in the magnificent cloister. A prayer for our country, that it may not betray its Christian heritage...
The next day, on to Somerset, and a weekend of walks on Exmoor - wide and glorious and breezy and rainy and with fabulous views and the sea and visits to beautiful country churches followed by deeply satisfying family meals and talk.
On Monday we drove home stopping at Salisbury. In gentle evening rain to the great Cathedral. Evensong. Few people there, a choir singing beautifully, the perfection of those soaring arches and that great nave, a walk in the magnificent cloister. A prayer for our country, that it may not betray its Christian heritage...
Autumnal Oxford...
...was glorious. We were there on Friday for the play about St Therese at the Oxford Oratory. Arriving early, I walked in Christ Church meadow, approaching it through the war memorial gardens in St Aldgates...it was silent except for the rustling of the trees and the calling of some birds gathering for the evening, and the quietness combined with the Autumnal mood to bring solemn wonderings about what sort of a country we have made, from the one that the young men defnded so heroically and at such a cost...
Friday, October 02, 2009
Catholic traditions? The Church's heritage of feasts and seasons?
...if that's your sort of thing you might be interested in this event on Saturday October 10th in Cambridge.
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