...founded by John Henry Newman, stands in glorious countryside in the Thames Valley and welcomed a great crowd of young Catholics from across Britain for the third EVANGELIUM Conference this weekend. Outsanding speakers included Roy Schoeman with a gripping Jewish testimony, and Fathers Andrew Pinsent and Marcus Holden with a superb presentation of the Catholic Church's achievements in the sciences, the arts, education, care of the poor and sick, human dignity, and common life and culture...there were glorious Masses in the large school chapel where Gregorian chant and hymns were sung with enthusiasm, and a surge of young voices joined in prayers, there was Morning Prayer in the beautiful old chapel in the school grounds with the psalms going back and forth to welcome the day, there were excellent meals with a roar of talk, there was a lovely evening gathering with music and wine in a gracious drawing-room opening on to the lawns beneath brightly glittering stars. There was a great presentation by Jack Valero on Catholic Voices, and an excellent talk on the Papacy, "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" by Father Nicholas Schofield. Auntie took part with a talk about women in the Church and English Catholic Heroines, and there was an evening discussion in which both Bogles, J and J, were part of a panel tackling questions on all sorts of topics - Jamie was v. good.
The Evangelium event - now clearly a part of the annual national Catholic calendar - is notable for bringing together people from a number of new groups within the Church, including the Neo-Catechumenate. It is sponsored by the Catholic Truth Society. There were people there linked to the FAITH Movement, to charismatic groups, to the Fraternity of St Peter, and to the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal. I was interested to meet some young women from the Community of Our Lady of Walsingham, and plan to take them up on an invitation to visit them shortly.
Throughout the weekend, there were references to Newman, and it was wonderful to be in the school he founded, and looking ahead to the Papal visit and the beatification...a sense of things coming together.
On Sunday afternoon, things finished with a final Benediction, and then lots of goodbyes and a relay of minibus trips to Reading station...where some of us gathered for a final drink and chat, and were still there more than an hour later, still enjoying ourselves as the evening drew on - talking agreeably over a great range of things (theology, John Paul II,the Church, the nation...) not in the beautiful setting of Woodcote where we had been all weekend, but at a cheery pub with an ugly view of office blocks. We were still talking as we boarded the train for LOndon, and finally reluctantly shook hands and made our ways home at Paddington...
Monday, August 09, 2010
Thursday, August 05, 2010
Joyfully...
...to the annual FAITH Movement Summer Session, held at Woldingham School in Surrey. Packed with young people, it was also an opportunity to reconnect with various friends who, like me, had come along for this Wednesday afternoon and evening - traditionally the Guest Night. An excellent talk by guest speaker James Macmillan, Catholic composer, whose latest work is a Mass which wil be sung when the Holy Father comes to Birmingham to beatify John Henry Newman. Drawing on inspiration from John Paul II's Letter to Artists,, Macmillan spoke about the beauty,structure and sense of order and meaning which music imparts, and how music has an intrisic link with faith, with religion...
Our family has a longstanding link with the FAITH Movement, and it was fun to be at this Summer Session with some young relatives...including a four-year-old who loved the beautiful gardens and grounds - a rabbit lolloped agreeably through the woods as we approached, there was a great fat fish in a pond, and the sun shone on wide lawns newly freshened with rain. A happy afternoon.
Evening prayer in the chapel, and memories of so many Summer Sessions down the years. We sang "The day thou gavest, Lord, is ended...", the voices rising up in the evening air.
An excellent and at times hilarious concert, a packed room applauding each performer with much clapping and stamping. Then a walk down the lane to the station, the stars very large and bright above us, and a train ride to Clapham Junction and so home on my bike, very late, and contented.
Our family has a longstanding link with the FAITH Movement, and it was fun to be at this Summer Session with some young relatives...including a four-year-old who loved the beautiful gardens and grounds - a rabbit lolloped agreeably through the woods as we approached, there was a great fat fish in a pond, and the sun shone on wide lawns newly freshened with rain. A happy afternoon.
Evening prayer in the chapel, and memories of so many Summer Sessions down the years. We sang "The day thou gavest, Lord, is ended...", the voices rising up in the evening air.
An excellent and at times hilarious concert, a packed room applauding each performer with much clapping and stamping. Then a walk down the lane to the station, the stars very large and bright above us, and a train ride to Clapham Junction and so home on my bike, very late, and contented.
Monday, August 02, 2010
In sticky summer heat...
...hurrying around London...then supper at Euston Station, reading exam revision notes, then train to Birmingham, still reading, then a taxi to a comfortable inn at Sutton Coldfield, near to Maryvale. The bliss of a shower and comfy bed - and a Gideons Bible in which to look up various Bible references. Thank the Lord for the Gideons: I hope some nasty campaigmner doesn't succeed in banning them from placing Bibles in hotel rooms. I always make a point of using one, and anyway it's always so reassuring to have it there, and handy for bed-time prayers...
Maryvale pleasant and inviting, as always. Much greeting of friends as people foregathered for exams. A number of young nuns among the crowd - and it was a large crowd, as people from various different year-groups were there for this big summer exam session. The usual lecture-room was doubled in size by the drawing back of a great set of folding panels, and we each sought our alloted desk with its examination number.
No use speculating on how I did...I tried my best and will just have to await the results.
Train back to London,on to a Saturday evening Mass at Westminster Cathedral and then straight on to young relatives where I was due to stay the night preparatory to a Day at the Seaside on Sunday. A cheery fish-and-chip supper, the family group including not only Auntie but a godmother and a German au pair - lots of lively and amusing talk among the young people, much laughter and fun.
The Seaside next day was a joy - small great-nephew leaping joyously into the waves, small great-niece tucking into ice-creams, new baby snoozing and beaming, young relatives unpacking a great picnic in the sunshine...we all very much enjoyed ourselves...
And then on Monday, to Sion-Manning School, where a lively Holiday Activity Week was in progress, and Auntie was leading a workshop on journalism. A happy busy morning, with some enthusiastic youngsters in a very pleasant atmosphere. Their week will include a visit to Kensington Palace and a good look at English history, with a bus tour of London and a boat trip along the Thames...and the plan is that they will now have some journalistic skills so as to produce a lively report on it all to take home for friends and family...
Maryvale pleasant and inviting, as always. Much greeting of friends as people foregathered for exams. A number of young nuns among the crowd - and it was a large crowd, as people from various different year-groups were there for this big summer exam session. The usual lecture-room was doubled in size by the drawing back of a great set of folding panels, and we each sought our alloted desk with its examination number.
No use speculating on how I did...I tried my best and will just have to await the results.
Train back to London,on to a Saturday evening Mass at Westminster Cathedral and then straight on to young relatives where I was due to stay the night preparatory to a Day at the Seaside on Sunday. A cheery fish-and-chip supper, the family group including not only Auntie but a godmother and a German au pair - lots of lively and amusing talk among the young people, much laughter and fun.
The Seaside next day was a joy - small great-nephew leaping joyously into the waves, small great-niece tucking into ice-creams, new baby snoozing and beaming, young relatives unpacking a great picnic in the sunshine...we all very much enjoyed ourselves...
And then on Monday, to Sion-Manning School, where a lively Holiday Activity Week was in progress, and Auntie was leading a workshop on journalism. A happy busy morning, with some enthusiastic youngsters in a very pleasant atmosphere. Their week will include a visit to Kensington Palace and a good look at English history, with a bus tour of London and a boat trip along the Thames...and the plan is that they will now have some journalistic skills so as to produce a lively report on it all to take home for friends and family...
Friday, July 30, 2010
Off to Birmingham...
...to Maryvale for another round of exams. It's a busy place, and full up at the moment as so many students are there for exams and lectures. Some of us will be staying instead at a nearby inn.
Not far from Maryvale there is a disused (? Methodist, from the look of it) church which is up for sale. Suitably reorgnaised inside, it could provide a number of useful rooms, and it's just off the edge of the Maryvale estate, near a row of shops and adjoining some other empty buildings. I keep thinking...
Not far from Maryvale there is a disused (? Methodist, from the look of it) church which is up for sale. Suitably reorgnaised inside, it could provide a number of useful rooms, and it's just off the edge of the Maryvale estate, near a row of shops and adjoining some other empty buildings. I keep thinking...
Thursday, July 29, 2010
I have been sent...
...a copy of Dr Alick Dowling's "Enjoy Eating Less" which is a commonsense guide to tackling Britain's obesity problem. But the book has become detached from its accompanying letter, so I don't have details of its price, availability, etc. Alick - can you contact me? I am anxious to review the book in a couple of journals and need more details...
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
The bash-the-Catholic-Church brigade will soon be launching...
...its August campaign, looking ahead to the Papal visit in Sept and hoping to wreck it. THere's a useful feature on the subject here...
In harsh sunshine...
...trawling a heavy suitcase on wheels across London. It was filled with Bibles. I was taking them to the house of a kind friend in Chelsea, where next week a small team will be gathering to embark on the substantial task of sending them out to young prizewinners of the 2010 Schools Bible Project. This Project is an ecumenical venture and is open to pupuls at all secondary schools in Britain: they are invited to imagine themselves present at one of the events in the life of Christ (we give them six from which to choose, with Bible references etc) and to write about it in their own words. The result is a huge number of entries, which pour in from schools across the country...and every year a team of judges meets to choose the winners, and to award Bible prizes to the runners-up. The winners come to London to recieve their prizes, which include cheques for their schools, from one of our Trustees in a ceremony at the House of Lords.
Many - indeed most - of the essays are of a very high standard, and a good number are truly moving and thoughtful. It is always a great delight to meet the prizewinners and their families. And mailing out the Bibles is always a satisfying task...
Many - indeed most - of the essays are of a very high standard, and a good number are truly moving and thoughtful. It is always a great delight to meet the prizewinners and their families. And mailing out the Bibles is always a satisfying task...
Expressing some astonishment...
...a Catholic newspaper this weekend highlighted on its front page the news "Journalist manages a day of total silence", and reported that I had remained silent in Westminster Cathedral from the 8am Mass to the 8pm Cathedral closure in order to pray for the success of the visit of the Holy Father...
I am very grateful to the correspondents to this Blog who have promised sponsorship funds. A very large THANK YOU to you all.
And let's all keep praying for the success of this visit...
On the same page of the paper, a rather peculiar speech by the Lefebvrist Dr Fellay is reported. He announces that the Pope is, at heart "a Catholic..." which strikes an odd note, and a somewhat grudging one. It seems to fit with the general attitude of the Lefebvrists: their first reaction, on the lifting of their excommunication, included an announcement that they had never accepted it anyway. It's not quite clear that they understand their position now. If, as seems possible, some do return and regularise their position, they're going to have something of a learning curve, as they slowly discover that the Holy Father, and his predecessor, have been Catholic all along, that it was the followers of poor Archbishop Lefebvre who lost the plot, not the successors of St Peter...and that the word that is needed is "Sorry" not "Let's negotiate".
I am very grateful to the correspondents to this Blog who have promised sponsorship funds. A very large THANK YOU to you all.
And let's all keep praying for the success of this visit...
On the same page of the paper, a rather peculiar speech by the Lefebvrist Dr Fellay is reported. He announces that the Pope is, at heart "a Catholic..." which strikes an odd note, and a somewhat grudging one. It seems to fit with the general attitude of the Lefebvrists: their first reaction, on the lifting of their excommunication, included an announcement that they had never accepted it anyway. It's not quite clear that they understand their position now. If, as seems possible, some do return and regularise their position, they're going to have something of a learning curve, as they slowly discover that the Holy Father, and his predecessor, have been Catholic all along, that it was the followers of poor Archbishop Lefebvre who lost the plot, not the successors of St Peter...and that the word that is needed is "Sorry" not "Let's negotiate".
The sea and the hills...
...and picking the first of this summer's blackberries. A glorious concert in a beautiful old church on a summer's evening. Family time, and chattering nieces. A wonderful afternoon on a gusty beach, splashing in and out of the sea. Moonlight over a meadow, and cheerful friendly families camping. A packed church for Sunday Mass, the usual congregation swollen by numbers of holidaymakers, lots and lots of children.
It's easy to believe, sometimes, that everything really is all right and that behind the ghastly headlines about church scandals, and the drunken scenes in town centres on Saturday nights, and the figures for family breakup, everything is solidly in place and a future for church and nation is assurred. I am not confident. But it was a beautiful weekend in a lovely part of England, a special family time which was important and will be cherished by us all.
It's easy to believe, sometimes, that everything really is all right and that behind the ghastly headlines about church scandals, and the drunken scenes in town centres on Saturday nights, and the figures for family breakup, everything is solidly in place and a future for church and nation is assurred. I am not confident. But it was a beautiful weekend in a lovely part of England, a special family time which was important and will be cherished by us all.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
From silence...
...Auntie made £400 in one day towards the cost of the Papal visit.
By remaining completely silent from 8 am to 8pm last Sunday, keeping vigil in St Joseph's Chapel in Westminster Cathedral, I raised this sum in donations - and more, still coming in from various sponsors. If you want to donate, you could do so here, just mentioning that you are sending a donation in connection with Auntie Joanna's 12-hour silence.
People thought I couldn't do it. But it was one of the most beautiful experiences of my life.
By remaining completely silent from 8 am to 8pm last Sunday, keeping vigil in St Joseph's Chapel in Westminster Cathedral, I raised this sum in donations - and more, still coming in from various sponsors. If you want to donate, you could do so here, just mentioning that you are sending a donation in connection with Auntie Joanna's 12-hour silence.
People thought I couldn't do it. But it was one of the most beautiful experiences of my life.
All of us...
...that is, the entire population of the world, could fit comfortably into the state of Texas, with everyone having a good-sized house and bit of land.
Please tell this to the ghastly and omnipresent fanatics who keep telling us there are too many people. Britain is dying. Young people are being endlessly told that they should not have children. There is a feeling of pointlessness and gloom and it's time we got real and started to tell the truth.
Get the facts here and pass then on. Quickly.I am sick and tired of living in what John Paul the Great rightly described as a "culture of death".
Please tell this to the ghastly and omnipresent fanatics who keep telling us there are too many people. Britain is dying. Young people are being endlessly told that they should not have children. There is a feeling of pointlessness and gloom and it's time we got real and started to tell the truth.
Get the facts here and pass then on. Quickly.I am sick and tired of living in what John Paul the Great rightly described as a "culture of death".
In sizzling heat...
...to Sussex, where cool sea breezes were a joy, and there was a wonderful welcome at the home of Bryan and Jayne Lock, who run the Continuity/Miles Jesu group organising events such as the Martyrs' Walk and the Catholic History Walks.
After lots of family time and talk, we settled down to a meeting to plan the Autumn events and the 2011 activities. Click on to the Continuity website link to get a full accvount of the recent Martyrs' Walk, and keep in touch there as the website will give details of all this Autumn's Walks as well as plans for 2011, which are now well in hand...
And here are some dates to start you off:
Thursday Sept 9th, CATHOLIC HISTORY WALK. Meet after the 5.30pm Mass on the steps of Westminster Cathedral. No need to book - just turn up! Wear suitable clothing for a walk through Westminster and Whitehall - comfortable shoes. We'll be walking whatever the weather!
Sept 17th-19th VISIT OF THE HOLY FATHER - BE THERE TO CHEER HIM IN THE STREETS!!!
Sunday October 10th - History Ramble at Arundel, Sussex. Meet after the 10.30am Mass at Westminster Cathedral, or at Arundel itself - watch for details on the Continuity website. Bring a packed lunch and be prepared for a good walk.
Thursday October 28th - Catholic History Walk. Meet on the steps of ST PAUL'S CATHEDRAL, 6pm
Thursday, November 28th - Catholic History Walk. Meet on the steps of Westminster Cathedral, after the 5.30pm Mass.
After lots of family time and talk, we settled down to a meeting to plan the Autumn events and the 2011 activities. Click on to the Continuity website link to get a full accvount of the recent Martyrs' Walk, and keep in touch there as the website will give details of all this Autumn's Walks as well as plans for 2011, which are now well in hand...
And here are some dates to start you off:
Thursday Sept 9th, CATHOLIC HISTORY WALK. Meet after the 5.30pm Mass on the steps of Westminster Cathedral. No need to book - just turn up! Wear suitable clothing for a walk through Westminster and Whitehall - comfortable shoes. We'll be walking whatever the weather!
Sept 17th-19th VISIT OF THE HOLY FATHER - BE THERE TO CHEER HIM IN THE STREETS!!!
Sunday October 10th - History Ramble at Arundel, Sussex. Meet after the 10.30am Mass at Westminster Cathedral, or at Arundel itself - watch for details on the Continuity website. Bring a packed lunch and be prepared for a good walk.
Thursday October 28th - Catholic History Walk. Meet on the steps of ST PAUL'S CATHEDRAL, 6pm
Thursday, November 28th - Catholic History Walk. Meet on the steps of Westminster Cathedral, after the 5.30pm Mass.
Monday, July 19, 2010
Now here's a chance...
...for you to do some good.
The Evangelium conference for Catholic young people takes place in three weeks' time. It's a great event,bringing together young people in an atmosphere of lively discussion, joy and faith, and it is playing an important part in the re-evangelising of our country.
If you want to attend, simply click on to that link.
If you are older, and want to do some good, please PLEASE consider helping with a donation which would enable a young person to attend. The fee is not high, but it is just a bit more than some young people can afford. Can you help? Send a Comment to this Blog WITH AN EMAIL ADDRESS TO WHICH I CAN REPLY and I will tell you how to make a donation. We are able to accept funds from the USA as well as from Britain.
If you love Britain, and want to help to renew and revive the Christian faith in this country, this is your chance to do something quietly useful and positive. Even a modest donation of £10 would make a difference...
The Evangelium conference for Catholic young people takes place in three weeks' time. It's a great event,bringing together young people in an atmosphere of lively discussion, joy and faith, and it is playing an important part in the re-evangelising of our country.
If you want to attend, simply click on to that link.
If you are older, and want to do some good, please PLEASE consider helping with a donation which would enable a young person to attend. The fee is not high, but it is just a bit more than some young people can afford. Can you help? Send a Comment to this Blog WITH AN EMAIL ADDRESS TO WHICH I CAN REPLY and I will tell you how to make a donation. We are able to accept funds from the USA as well as from Britain.
If you love Britain, and want to help to renew and revive the Christian faith in this country, this is your chance to do something quietly useful and positive. Even a modest donation of £10 would make a difference...
Sunday, July 18, 2010
An awesome day...
...in Westminster Cathedral, where I remained completely silent from the conclusion of the first Mass of the day at 8am to the closing of the Cathedral at 8pm. It was an unforgettable 12 hours.
There was a box for donations at the entrance to St Joseph's Chapel, and at every Mass the Sponsored Silence was announced: an act of witness in support of the visit of the Holy Father and in solidarity with him...and people were invited to join me in prayer, and/or to make donations. And they came, generously giving of their time and their funds, kneeling to pray, shaking my hand, whispering messages of encouragement...old friends, people who know me from EWTN, people of all ages and from a number of different countries, a fellow-student from Maryvale, a family with small children all eagerly dropping in their coins, a dear elderly priest who prayed for a long while...lots and lots and lots of people...
The beauty of the liturgy - Mass after Mass unrolling as I sat in the chapel, slipping out every now and then to join the congregation. Huge crowds pour into the Cathedral for every Mass. There was a lull at lunchtime, and then numbers began gathering again for a glorious sung First Vespers and Benediction. Then the round of evening Masses.
The Gospel for today was about Martha and Mary, v. appropriate, a reminder of the importance of just listening to Christ, and not always scurrying about. It was wonderful just to be, with my Maryvale books, and my Rosary, and Magnificat. A phrase echoed in my mind a lot during the day "The Mass of the ages"...being in the Cathedral all day, hearing the Mass said, chanted, sung, again and again, there was a timelessness about it that was magnificent.
The rumble of voices saying "I confess..." The singing of a Kyrie. The Sign of Peace - which can often seem artificial and forced but which went rustling swiftly like a breath through the vast congregation and was rather moving to see. The silence as the bell rings at the Elevation. The sound of a great congregation singing the Pater Noster.
As the day ended, I was almost sorry to see the kindly figure of Canon Tuckwell, the Cathedral Administrator, coming along in the dusk to announce the Cathedral's closure. I found my voice, to thank him and everyone who had helped - especially the kind lady from the Cathedral office who brought me tea and coffee and biscuits and organised things...
There was a box for donations at the entrance to St Joseph's Chapel, and at every Mass the Sponsored Silence was announced: an act of witness in support of the visit of the Holy Father and in solidarity with him...and people were invited to join me in prayer, and/or to make donations. And they came, generously giving of their time and their funds, kneeling to pray, shaking my hand, whispering messages of encouragement...old friends, people who know me from EWTN, people of all ages and from a number of different countries, a fellow-student from Maryvale, a family with small children all eagerly dropping in their coins, a dear elderly priest who prayed for a long while...lots and lots and lots of people...
The beauty of the liturgy - Mass after Mass unrolling as I sat in the chapel, slipping out every now and then to join the congregation. Huge crowds pour into the Cathedral for every Mass. There was a lull at lunchtime, and then numbers began gathering again for a glorious sung First Vespers and Benediction. Then the round of evening Masses.
The Gospel for today was about Martha and Mary, v. appropriate, a reminder of the importance of just listening to Christ, and not always scurrying about. It was wonderful just to be, with my Maryvale books, and my Rosary, and Magnificat. A phrase echoed in my mind a lot during the day "The Mass of the ages"...being in the Cathedral all day, hearing the Mass said, chanted, sung, again and again, there was a timelessness about it that was magnificent.
The rumble of voices saying "I confess..." The singing of a Kyrie. The Sign of Peace - which can often seem artificial and forced but which went rustling swiftly like a breath through the vast congregation and was rather moving to see. The silence as the bell rings at the Elevation. The sound of a great congregation singing the Pater Noster.
As the day ended, I was almost sorry to see the kindly figure of Canon Tuckwell, the Cathedral Administrator, coming along in the dusk to announce the Cathedral's closure. I found my voice, to thank him and everyone who had helped - especially the kind lady from the Cathedral office who brought me tea and coffee and biscuits and organised things...
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
And while...
...I was in Yorkshire, so was the Anglican Synod, meeting at York and voting to invent lady bishops. Before RCs get all smug about the disintegration of the Anglican Communion, we should stop to recognise that it will bring much confusion in its wake, and also that there is a considerable amount of heartache going on.
And there some large decisions to be made, and the heartbeat of history is quietly beating steadily here...
There is an Anglican heritage of beauty in worship and music, culture and traditions...and the new offer from the H. Father is waiting, and ready...
And there some large decisions to be made, and the heartbeat of history is quietly beating steadily here...
There is an Anglican heritage of beauty in worship and music, culture and traditions...and the new offer from the H. Father is waiting, and ready...
Tradition seems to reign supreme...
...in Yorkshire, where I had a wonderful weekend.You can read about it here,and I will add that the Union of Catholic Mothers of the Middlesborough diocese gave me a warm welcome at their annual conference, where everything was done in traditional style with a splendid meal (including chocolate cake, to which they carefully directed my attention) and much goodwill and enthusiasm. If you are interested in the subject of my talk, you can find much of it in the "Yearbook of Seasons and Celebrations" (Gracewing Books). If you want a signed copy send a Comment to this Blog, marking it 'Not for publication',and GIVING AN EMAIL ADDRESS AT WHICH I CAN REPLY TO YOU...
Scarborough, where I was based during my stay, has the most glorious beaches and views, and it was heaven to run down for an early-morning swim. The sea was cold (North Sea), the water deliciously clear and clean ("We've won an Award for it" the lady at the coffee-shop told me). Later in the day the beaches filled up with cheerful families - yes, real families, mothers and fathers and children and grandparents and everyone mixing in together. A kind family looked after my clothes and 'phone and bag when I went in for my second dip of the day. A small grandchild was busily digging a sandcastle, turning her face up from time to time to allow her grandmother to dispense strawberries, "Open wide, Grandam's going to give you another strawberry".
On the Sunday evening I gave a talk to the Hull Faith Forum - lots of young people, several of whom were engaged in football when we arrived but came running to greet Fr William Massie...there was a great sense of welcome and it was a very happy evening.
Scarborough, where I was based during my stay, has the most glorious beaches and views, and it was heaven to run down for an early-morning swim. The sea was cold (North Sea), the water deliciously clear and clean ("We've won an Award for it" the lady at the coffee-shop told me). Later in the day the beaches filled up with cheerful families - yes, real families, mothers and fathers and children and grandparents and everyone mixing in together. A kind family looked after my clothes and 'phone and bag when I went in for my second dip of the day. A small grandchild was busily digging a sandcastle, turning her face up from time to time to allow her grandmother to dispense strawberries, "Open wide, Grandam's going to give you another strawberry".
On the Sunday evening I gave a talk to the Hull Faith Forum - lots of young people, several of whom were engaged in football when we arrived but came running to greet Fr William Massie...there was a great sense of welcome and it was a very happy evening.
Monday, July 12, 2010
I have been...
...in Yorkshire (of which more later) and before that in Balham, where I went to a Sunday Mass at Holy Ghost parish . Glorious music - a particularly beautiful setting of "O Sacrament most Holy...".Lots of young families - young dads holding babies, mums and/or older siblings struggling with straying toddlers.
I've also been to a committee meeting of The Keys, the Catholic Writers' Guild. If you are a teenager and want to enter for the 2010 Catholic Young Writer Award, you have exactly six days left in which to do so. This year it is jointly sponsored with the Catholic Union... which incidentally had its Summer Party the other day, at Allen Hall, a great success, good discussions, much strong feeling expressed about defending our Catholic schools and their right to teach the fullness of Catholic faith and morals. Allen Hall stands on the site of St Thomas More's garden, and the significance of his message was not lost on anyone...
From a number of different sources, I've been hearing reports of the huge success of INVOCATION, the great event for Catholic young people at Oscott. I hope the Holy Father hears about it all on his visit...there are many signs of hope in the Church in Britain. We need them, as there are going to be renewed attacks on the Church as the Papal visit draws near...
For various reasons, I left my bike at a friend's house in Balham...collected it the other evening and after a delicious and talkative supper we ended up chatting and laughing outside, with another friend, in the warm summer night, and then I cycled home through the South London streets, following the straight road that was already old when the Normans arrived, and beneath which the Northern line tube follows along the same ancient route. Late at night, when the mosques and shops, bazaars and street vendors, pubs and clubs and schools and offices are not functioning, you notice older things - the sudden appearance of the River Wandle alongside the supermarket before it goes off agreeably into a local park, the hints of ancient Merton Priory (links with St Thomas Becket, who studied there as a boy), and with Lord Nelson (who of course was given Merton after his early victories and is now honoured in local pub signs and street-names, and the old Nelson Hospital)...
Here at home, the grass is crunchy-brown on our small lawn, the apple tree grown from a tiny cutting brought from Fernyhalgh is laden with fruit, phone calls go back and forth with plans for a dear nephew's wedding later this summer, and trips to the Isle of Wight and to Somerset...and in between all this I'm reading and reading for my next set of Maryvale exams, and so the summer goes on...
I've also been to a committee meeting of The Keys, the Catholic Writers' Guild. If you are a teenager and want to enter for the 2010 Catholic Young Writer Award, you have exactly six days left in which to do so. This year it is jointly sponsored with the Catholic Union... which incidentally had its Summer Party the other day, at Allen Hall, a great success, good discussions, much strong feeling expressed about defending our Catholic schools and their right to teach the fullness of Catholic faith and morals. Allen Hall stands on the site of St Thomas More's garden, and the significance of his message was not lost on anyone...
From a number of different sources, I've been hearing reports of the huge success of INVOCATION, the great event for Catholic young people at Oscott. I hope the Holy Father hears about it all on his visit...there are many signs of hope in the Church in Britain. We need them, as there are going to be renewed attacks on the Church as the Papal visit draws near...
For various reasons, I left my bike at a friend's house in Balham...collected it the other evening and after a delicious and talkative supper we ended up chatting and laughing outside, with another friend, in the warm summer night, and then I cycled home through the South London streets, following the straight road that was already old when the Normans arrived, and beneath which the Northern line tube follows along the same ancient route. Late at night, when the mosques and shops, bazaars and street vendors, pubs and clubs and schools and offices are not functioning, you notice older things - the sudden appearance of the River Wandle alongside the supermarket before it goes off agreeably into a local park, the hints of ancient Merton Priory (links with St Thomas Becket, who studied there as a boy), and with Lord Nelson (who of course was given Merton after his early victories and is now honoured in local pub signs and street-names, and the old Nelson Hospital)...
Here at home, the grass is crunchy-brown on our small lawn, the apple tree grown from a tiny cutting brought from Fernyhalgh is laden with fruit, phone calls go back and forth with plans for a dear nephew's wedding later this summer, and trips to the Isle of Wight and to Somerset...and in between all this I'm reading and reading for my next set of Maryvale exams, and so the summer goes on...
Wednesday, July 07, 2010
OK, OK....here's how to do it...
On Sunday July 18th, I am taking a vow of silence for the whole day.
I'll be in Westminster Cathedral, where I'm doing a SPONSORED SILENCE to help raise funds for the Pope's visit.
You can come and join me, but I won't talk to you. I'll be in the chapel of St Joseph and the Holy Family. There'll be a box for donations. Be generous. Get you friends to come. Bring your Rosary, and stay for a while and pray with me.
The Sponsored Silence will be announced at all the Masses at the Cathedral on that day. I will be attending the first Mass of the day, and the last words I'll say will be the response to the dismissal:"Thanks be to God". Then it's silence until the Cathedral closes at 7pm
We will be praying for the success of the Holy Father's visit.
Come and join in! Or join in with some prayers at home.
I suspect that my friends and family can't believe that the most talkative woman in London can actually remain silent for a whole day. Let's see...
I'll be in Westminster Cathedral, where I'm doing a SPONSORED SILENCE to help raise funds for the Pope's visit.
You can come and join me, but I won't talk to you. I'll be in the chapel of St Joseph and the Holy Family. There'll be a box for donations. Be generous. Get you friends to come. Bring your Rosary, and stay for a while and pray with me.
The Sponsored Silence will be announced at all the Masses at the Cathedral on that day. I will be attending the first Mass of the day, and the last words I'll say will be the response to the dismissal:"Thanks be to God". Then it's silence until the Cathedral closes at 7pm
We will be praying for the success of the Holy Father's visit.
Come and join in! Or join in with some prayers at home.
I suspect that my friends and family can't believe that the most talkative woman in London can actually remain silent for a whole day. Let's see...
Tuesday, July 06, 2010
HOW TO SILENCE AUNTIE JOANNA...
...it's quite easy!!
Read this blog and get the information as it first emerges here...
Read this blog and get the information as it first emerges here...
A busy week...
...with a lot happening. In Oxford on Wednesday (TODAY, as you read this) a lecture by Walter Hooper, secretary and biographer of C.S.Lewis...info here.
To Lancashire...
...where I had the great delight of staying with the Hester family - Eric Hester is a distinguished former headmaster, and a current Catholic writer, and we all sat agreeably over a delicious dinner talking and talking until late...
On Monday I went to St Charles Primary School at Rishton to present prizes won in the Schools RE Project run by the Association of Catholic Women.A happy morning. The children came quietly in neat lines to morning assembly, looking very cheerful in their red-and-white uniforms, and there was a friendly chorus of "Good Morning!" when I was introduced. They all knew about the Holy Father and his forthcoming visit - great eager forest of hands when I asked his name, and that of the first Pope - and considerable excitement as I announced that children from this school had won prizes and certificates in the special nationwide project to mark his arrival. Warm applause as the prizes were preesented...a happy, heartening morning.
The countryside was glorious in summer sunwhine as the train took me back to London. At Westminster Cathedral various groups were filming in preparation for the visit of the Holy Father, One team was from Channel Four and were distinctly chilly and not friendly when we went over to chat. Another was from Sky News and rather more human.
Why not pray for all involved with Channel Four News? They have souls too and will have to meet God one day...
St Paul's Publications have produced a delightful book to mark the conclusion of the Year of Priests. It's Our Priests, (£6.95p) written by children, and would be the perfect present for your parish priest, seminarian, or ordinand. There are some gems in it, some comic, some very sweet, some surprisngly thought-provoking.
"A Priest is a person who gives his life for Jesus. At Mass it's like Jesus climbs into a Priest's Bbody and does all the work."
"A priest is some one very important in the church, they can be hardworking. I think that a job of a priest is hard, they help the poor, they help at funerals and weddings. Priests worship God and help people get close to God.They tell people to try to confess the bad things they have done, however being at church can be happy because people sing and pray."
Not all the results of a priest's work are satisfactory:
"Thanks for praying for my baby lizards but only 3 out of 10 survive"
On Monday I went to St Charles Primary School at Rishton to present prizes won in the Schools RE Project run by the Association of Catholic Women.A happy morning. The children came quietly in neat lines to morning assembly, looking very cheerful in their red-and-white uniforms, and there was a friendly chorus of "Good Morning!" when I was introduced. They all knew about the Holy Father and his forthcoming visit - great eager forest of hands when I asked his name, and that of the first Pope - and considerable excitement as I announced that children from this school had won prizes and certificates in the special nationwide project to mark his arrival. Warm applause as the prizes were preesented...a happy, heartening morning.
The countryside was glorious in summer sunwhine as the train took me back to London. At Westminster Cathedral various groups were filming in preparation for the visit of the Holy Father, One team was from Channel Four and were distinctly chilly and not friendly when we went over to chat. Another was from Sky News and rather more human.
Why not pray for all involved with Channel Four News? They have souls too and will have to meet God one day...
St Paul's Publications have produced a delightful book to mark the conclusion of the Year of Priests. It's Our Priests, (£6.95p) written by children, and would be the perfect present for your parish priest, seminarian, or ordinand. There are some gems in it, some comic, some very sweet, some surprisngly thought-provoking.
"A Priest is a person who gives his life for Jesus. At Mass it's like Jesus climbs into a Priest's Bbody and does all the work."
"A priest is some one very important in the church, they can be hardworking. I think that a job of a priest is hard, they help the poor, they help at funerals and weddings. Priests worship God and help people get close to God.They tell people to try to confess the bad things they have done, however being at church can be happy because people sing and pray."
Not all the results of a priest's work are satisfactory:
"Thanks for praying for my baby lizards but only 3 out of 10 survive"
Sunday, July 04, 2010
It has long been family legend...
...that my father was among those who faced the last cavalry charge ever directed against the British Army. I remember him telling me about this when I was in my teens, and it all seemed slightly ridiculous - how could there have been men on horses, waving swords, charging across the landscape during the Second World War? To him, it was all just part of the wider wartime experiences (making fires out of camel dung, being cared for by silent nuns in an Italian hospital, making a tasty meal out of fried crushed Army biscuits and raisins - apparently v. tasty).
This week: confirmation. An obtituary in the Daily Telegraph was eye-catching as it showed a man in magnificent turbaned uniform - as a soldier in an Ethiopian cavalry unit he had taken part in the last cavalry charged directed at the British Army. They attacked a detachment of British troops, including Skinner's Horse and the Surrey and Sussex Yeomanry! So the legend was true, and my memory of Father sitting at home and telling me about it is accurate...as I read the newspaper, sitting in the train from Birmingham, I was transported to conversations of long ago...
This week: confirmation. An obtituary in the Daily Telegraph was eye-catching as it showed a man in magnificent turbaned uniform - as a soldier in an Ethiopian cavalry unit he had taken part in the last cavalry charged directed at the British Army. They attacked a detachment of British troops, including Skinner's Horse and the Surrey and Sussex Yeomanry! So the legend was true, and my memory of Father sitting at home and telling me about it is accurate...as I read the newspaper, sitting in the train from Birmingham, I was transported to conversations of long ago...
I rushed back...
...from Maryvale briefly midweek, to take some young people on a Catholic History walk in Chelsea. It was the end of a long hot day in London and they were tired, but they rallied and we had a happy time...they are a group from L'Aquila in Italy, where the parish is twinned with St Joseph's, New Malden, in a magnificent initiative which began following the L'Aquila earthquake. All praise to the organisers of all of this, and to the families hosting the young people on this summer's London trip. The young people were evidently enjoying themselves. I don't know how much they understood about St Thomas More and Henry VIII, but they seemed interested and it was rather lovely sitting in the evening sunlight by the church where he worshipped, and letting the story unfold around us...
Maryvale was absolutely delightful...a wonderful week. When I arrived back, very late at night after my London dash, there was a sense of coming home. Once our exams were over, there was a full week of lectures, and opportunities for study, talks with the course director, etc. The library is very good, and it was bliss to sit out on the cool lawns, reading. Excellent lectures from, among others, Fr Julian Green on the Trinity, Fr Robert Letellier on the Synoptic Gospels, and Prof Edward Hulme who gave us an introduction to in basic Arabic...
Maryvale was absolutely delightful...a wonderful week. When I arrived back, very late at night after my London dash, there was a sense of coming home. Once our exams were over, there was a full week of lectures, and opportunities for study, talks with the course director, etc. The library is very good, and it was bliss to sit out on the cool lawns, reading. Excellent lectures from, among others, Fr Julian Green on the Trinity, Fr Robert Letellier on the Synoptic Gospels, and Prof Edward Hulme who gave us an introduction to in basic Arabic...
Monday, June 28, 2010
Newman and Birmingham and the Pope and everything...
...is all getting very exciting. I'm writing this Blog at Maryvale, where I'm preparing for my exams which start tomorrow.
Yesterday began at 5.30am when I rose early to cycle across the suburbs to meet John Pontifex and Margaret Regan of Aid to the Church in Need to travel to the Birmingham Oratory. ACN holds regular days of talks and information, and this one would be tackling the Middle East, Pakstan, and the work of ACN in Ukraine, among other places. On arrival we busied ourselves getting the hall ready: it promised to be a day of sizzling heat so I enthusiastically seized the ropes to open the sash windows. The first two opened with a swoosh but the third crashed down again with immense force and a great shattering of glass across the floor. Golly. Much sweeping up and apologising and reorganising....however, after this the day went well, and there were some superb talks.
Special guest speaker was Father Khalil Samir, SJ who gave an overview of the position of Christians in the Middle East, and in particular the relationship with Islam. It really was an eye-opener - there were many aspects which I think most of us had never considered before. It is particularly interesting to grasp the idea that most Moslems believe that they already know about Christ and Christianity, because there is material about Christ in the Koran. There is of course also the assumption that the West is Christian and that the current lack of morality and cultural values in the West is proof that Christianity is not the true faith and that Islam is God's real and final message...all this and much more was discussed in some depth and it really was a most illuminating afternoon.
John Pontifex then brought us up to date on the situation among Catholics in Pakistan - where he makes regular trips as a link between the local churches and ACN - and we were also updated on Haiti and on Ukraine...this last was partly because the congregation at the Birmingham Oratory has been generous in raising funds to help build the now thriving new seminary there. Neville Kyrke-Smith, director of ACN, described how just a few years ago he stood on a grassy plain where a cross marked the place where the seminary was to be built, and how on his most recent visit he joined the thronging seminarians in chapel and for meals...he had brought back CDs of their glorious singing, which filled the hall as the day ended...
On to Mass - again some glorious singing - in the Oratory Church, and the good news, formally announced by Father Richard Duffield, of the Holy father's planned visit to Birmingham. Jack Valero was there, and we had a good chat - and it was a special joy also to run into Rt Hon Ann Widdecombe, who was there to take part in a TV programme about John Henry Newman. We had a good chat - our friendship goes back many years and this was the first time we'd had a chance to talk since she gave up her Parliamentary sea at the General Election and retired...although the retirement seems to be busy with books and a regular newspaper column and more...
The announcement about the Holy Father's visit coincided with a letter from Archbishop Bernard Longley, currently en route to Rome to recieve the Pallium. Afterwards, lingering in the sunny courtyard and chatting to Jack Valero about the Papal visit, with people coming and going, I suddenly thought about Newman, and how he had begun it all here, amid so much controversy and difficulty, in the vanished years of the mid-19th century. The newspapers reported about his mysterious building plans, hinting at underground cells and dungeons, and his gentle explanations about the Oratory, and its ordinary rooms and plumbing arrangements, make for amusing reading...there are parallels here perhaps with Pope Benedict and the way in which he is consistently misrepresented and misunderstood in the media...
On to Maryvale, where it was bliss to hear the kind Sister's voice at the entrance, and so see the gates swing wide, and open up the path to the old house, where there was a welcome, and the chance of a shower and glorious rest. This morning, special prayers at Mass for the Papal visit - perhaps Papa B. will drop in here at Maryvale while in Birmingham? - and as I write this, the big shady trees around the lawn invite me to take my books there for final study before tomorrow's exams...
Yesterday began at 5.30am when I rose early to cycle across the suburbs to meet John Pontifex and Margaret Regan of Aid to the Church in Need to travel to the Birmingham Oratory. ACN holds regular days of talks and information, and this one would be tackling the Middle East, Pakstan, and the work of ACN in Ukraine, among other places. On arrival we busied ourselves getting the hall ready: it promised to be a day of sizzling heat so I enthusiastically seized the ropes to open the sash windows. The first two opened with a swoosh but the third crashed down again with immense force and a great shattering of glass across the floor. Golly. Much sweeping up and apologising and reorganising....however, after this the day went well, and there were some superb talks.
Special guest speaker was Father Khalil Samir, SJ who gave an overview of the position of Christians in the Middle East, and in particular the relationship with Islam. It really was an eye-opener - there were many aspects which I think most of us had never considered before. It is particularly interesting to grasp the idea that most Moslems believe that they already know about Christ and Christianity, because there is material about Christ in the Koran. There is of course also the assumption that the West is Christian and that the current lack of morality and cultural values in the West is proof that Christianity is not the true faith and that Islam is God's real and final message...all this and much more was discussed in some depth and it really was a most illuminating afternoon.
John Pontifex then brought us up to date on the situation among Catholics in Pakistan - where he makes regular trips as a link between the local churches and ACN - and we were also updated on Haiti and on Ukraine...this last was partly because the congregation at the Birmingham Oratory has been generous in raising funds to help build the now thriving new seminary there. Neville Kyrke-Smith, director of ACN, described how just a few years ago he stood on a grassy plain where a cross marked the place where the seminary was to be built, and how on his most recent visit he joined the thronging seminarians in chapel and for meals...he had brought back CDs of their glorious singing, which filled the hall as the day ended...
On to Mass - again some glorious singing - in the Oratory Church, and the good news, formally announced by Father Richard Duffield, of the Holy father's planned visit to Birmingham. Jack Valero was there, and we had a good chat - and it was a special joy also to run into Rt Hon Ann Widdecombe, who was there to take part in a TV programme about John Henry Newman. We had a good chat - our friendship goes back many years and this was the first time we'd had a chance to talk since she gave up her Parliamentary sea at the General Election and retired...although the retirement seems to be busy with books and a regular newspaper column and more...
The announcement about the Holy Father's visit coincided with a letter from Archbishop Bernard Longley, currently en route to Rome to recieve the Pallium. Afterwards, lingering in the sunny courtyard and chatting to Jack Valero about the Papal visit, with people coming and going, I suddenly thought about Newman, and how he had begun it all here, amid so much controversy and difficulty, in the vanished years of the mid-19th century. The newspapers reported about his mysterious building plans, hinting at underground cells and dungeons, and his gentle explanations about the Oratory, and its ordinary rooms and plumbing arrangements, make for amusing reading...there are parallels here perhaps with Pope Benedict and the way in which he is consistently misrepresented and misunderstood in the media...
On to Maryvale, where it was bliss to hear the kind Sister's voice at the entrance, and so see the gates swing wide, and open up the path to the old house, where there was a welcome, and the chance of a shower and glorious rest. This morning, special prayers at Mass for the Papal visit - perhaps Papa B. will drop in here at Maryvale while in Birmingham? - and as I write this, the big shady trees around the lawn invite me to take my books there for final study before tomorrow's exams...
Saturday, June 26, 2010
A good crowd...
...for the annual meeting of the Family Education Trust...extra chairs had to be brought it, and there were lots of new, and young, faces. Sir Paul Coleridge, a senior judge in the Family Division of the High Court, spoke superbly and robustly about the crisis in marriage and the family, and called for the formation of some form of Trust which would work unequivocally to support, uphold and defend lifelong male/female marriage...there were lots of creative ideas in his speech and there is work to be done here...and Dr Arik Sigman, author of The Spoilt Generation spoke brilliantly about the importance of authority and its place in the rearing and protection of children. His book is well worth reading.
Young campaigners from various parts of Britain spoke during the morning, some describing local battles over ghastly forms of sex education in primary schools...although we heard some grim things, it was hugely encouraging to discover how people are prepared to fight for what is right, and not to give in to slogans and jargon when crucial issues are at stake...
The meeting had an upbeat and forward-looking feel to it, somehow different in style and mood from some I have attended organised by groups which spend too much time griping. There was a great buzz of talk over lunch, a bookstall crammed with good things, and a sense of people working together to achieve something worthwhile...
Young campaigners from various parts of Britain spoke during the morning, some describing local battles over ghastly forms of sex education in primary schools...although we heard some grim things, it was hugely encouraging to discover how people are prepared to fight for what is right, and not to give in to slogans and jargon when crucial issues are at stake...
The meeting had an upbeat and forward-looking feel to it, somehow different in style and mood from some I have attended organised by groups which spend too much time griping. There was a great buzz of talk over lunch, a bookstall crammed with good things, and a sense of people working together to achieve something worthwhile...
Friday, June 25, 2010
Young Catholics...
...are rather enthusiastic about the Holy Father's visit, and today I went to the launch of a new Internet radio station which will start broadcasting on September 14th and run throughout his days here...it was a venture which was planned to start as a Catholic radio station later in the year, but was brought forward when news of the Holy Father's visit was announced. It's the brainchild of the indefatigible Gerry Coates and you can find out more about it here.
The launch was held at the Amigo Hall, next to St George's Cathedral, Southwark. The latter has a fine stained-glass window commemorating John Paul's visit in 1982 when he anointed sick people, who were all brought to the Cathedral in great crowds, a most moving and touching scene...
I also visited the headquarters of the Catholic Truth Society, where they have been working exceptionally hard on projects connected with the Papal visit. All of us in the Association of Catholic Women are particularly grateful to the CTS which has so generously sponsored the Schools RE Project. In a couple of weeks I am off to a school in Lancashire to present some prizes...these have all been given by the CTS and include a cheque for the school, and beautiful books for the children, including the enchanting "Friendship with Jesus" which has the most beautiful pictures of Papa Benedict and the First Communion children of Rome...
The launch was held at the Amigo Hall, next to St George's Cathedral, Southwark. The latter has a fine stained-glass window commemorating John Paul's visit in 1982 when he anointed sick people, who were all brought to the Cathedral in great crowds, a most moving and touching scene...
I also visited the headquarters of the Catholic Truth Society, where they have been working exceptionally hard on projects connected with the Papal visit. All of us in the Association of Catholic Women are particularly grateful to the CTS which has so generously sponsored the Schools RE Project. In a couple of weeks I am off to a school in Lancashire to present some prizes...these have all been given by the CTS and include a cheque for the school, and beautiful books for the children, including the enchanting "Friendship with Jesus" which has the most beautiful pictures of Papa Benedict and the First Communion children of Rome...
Thursday, June 24, 2010
The Papal visit...what a mess!!!
Latest story is that the Newman beatification will be at a venue that allows for some 80,000 people. That is insufficient for the people who want to see the Pope. Where can we see him in London? Where can we hear him, and cheer him?
For an analysis of how things are going on the Papal visit, click here...
For an analysis of how things are going on the Papal visit, click here...
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Mark this date...
...September 14th. Author Brian Gail - I interviewed him recently for the Catholic Herald following the success of his gripping book Fatherless - is the guest speaker for the 2010 Theology of the Body lecture sponsored by the diocese of Westminster. Details on the link given. It will be an evening to remember - click on that link and find out more...
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
The Martyrs' Walk: a HUGE success!!!...
...a good crowd gathered at St Sepulchre-without-Newgate, near the Old Bailey, site of Newgate Prison where so many martyrs were imprisoned in the 16th and 17th centuries...and we walked together along the route to Tyburn. It was a warm sunny Sunday afternoon, but with enough of a light breeze to be cool and pleasant enough for walking.
We started with a short historical talk and then prayers led by Fr Nicoletti, of the Miles Jesu movement, which is organising the Walk and other linked events. We had prayers at the church of Sts Anselm and Cecilia in Holborn,where we were warmly welcomed by Father David Barnes. The sound of a large congregation singing "Ave, ave, ave Maria" was impressive and moving...
At the (Anglican) church of St Giles-in-the-Fields we were again most warmly welcomed and the verger there brought greetings from Mgr Stark of the Guild of Our Lady of Ransom, who brought the Tyburn Walk along this route for so many years...a good ecumenical friendship had evidently developed there, and we are glad and honoured to carry on the tradition.
The route to Tyburn is not that long - about three or four miles - but is complicated because Oxford Street is impassable now on Sundays as all the shops are open and it is jammed with people. We therefore had to detour after St Giles, and make our way via various side streets to a parallel road. The group - which as indicated was large - inevitably broke up into smaller bunches, one of which (led by me!) got muddled after Soho Square...we had gathered there after a detour made necessary by massive roadworks around the back of St Patrick's church, and then took a wrong turning - we were recued by a member of the party who had a map and a good knowledge of London...but even after that some marchers went confidently off in the wrong direction, and I had to stand at a crossroad and bellow out " Tyburn Walkers! ABOUT TURN!", across the noise of the traffic: what a relief when the column heard and obeyed instructions...I was suddenly reminded of the description - recently revived because of the 70th anniversary - of the General at the evactuation of Dunkirk who, as the last boat was leaving, went up and down the beaches with a loud hailer calling out "Is anybody there?" to ensure that every last straggler got home safely...
At Tyburn we had Benediction - again a great roar of voices singing, and repeating the Divine Praises with vigour: "Blessed be God. Blessed be his holy name...". We were too many for the chapel and even its gallery and all available standing-space so the sisters opened up the gates and we poured into their own choir-stalls too...later there was a magnificent Tea...the Mother Superior had said "You'll all be hungry. We'll provide a good High Tea, and it certainly was splendidly High, with sandwiches and rolls and cakes and buns and big teapots generously poured and poured again for thirsty walkers.
Huge thanks to Bryan and Jayne Lock, principal organisers of the event, to Brad Poore who came over specially from Rome, to Fr Nicoletti - a splendid New York priest currently working in Ukraine - who after the long walk skipped Tea to hear confessions in the chapel...
And to the wonderful American couple who spontaneously invited the organising team back to their home in Pimlico for what proved to be a wonderful, laughter-filled, relaxation after the long day, filled also with good plans for next year...
A good day. Honour to the Martyrs who went along the route to Tyrburn with such great suffering, and passed on to us the heritage of faith that we hold today, and which, please God, we will never lose...
We started with a short historical talk and then prayers led by Fr Nicoletti, of the Miles Jesu movement, which is organising the Walk and other linked events. We had prayers at the church of Sts Anselm and Cecilia in Holborn,where we were warmly welcomed by Father David Barnes. The sound of a large congregation singing "Ave, ave, ave Maria" was impressive and moving...
At the (Anglican) church of St Giles-in-the-Fields we were again most warmly welcomed and the verger there brought greetings from Mgr Stark of the Guild of Our Lady of Ransom, who brought the Tyburn Walk along this route for so many years...a good ecumenical friendship had evidently developed there, and we are glad and honoured to carry on the tradition.
The route to Tyburn is not that long - about three or four miles - but is complicated because Oxford Street is impassable now on Sundays as all the shops are open and it is jammed with people. We therefore had to detour after St Giles, and make our way via various side streets to a parallel road. The group - which as indicated was large - inevitably broke up into smaller bunches, one of which (led by me!) got muddled after Soho Square...we had gathered there after a detour made necessary by massive roadworks around the back of St Patrick's church, and then took a wrong turning - we were recued by a member of the party who had a map and a good knowledge of London...but even after that some marchers went confidently off in the wrong direction, and I had to stand at a crossroad and bellow out " Tyburn Walkers! ABOUT TURN!", across the noise of the traffic: what a relief when the column heard and obeyed instructions...I was suddenly reminded of the description - recently revived because of the 70th anniversary - of the General at the evactuation of Dunkirk who, as the last boat was leaving, went up and down the beaches with a loud hailer calling out "Is anybody there?" to ensure that every last straggler got home safely...
At Tyburn we had Benediction - again a great roar of voices singing, and repeating the Divine Praises with vigour: "Blessed be God. Blessed be his holy name...". We were too many for the chapel and even its gallery and all available standing-space so the sisters opened up the gates and we poured into their own choir-stalls too...later there was a magnificent Tea...the Mother Superior had said "You'll all be hungry. We'll provide a good High Tea, and it certainly was splendidly High, with sandwiches and rolls and cakes and buns and big teapots generously poured and poured again for thirsty walkers.
Huge thanks to Bryan and Jayne Lock, principal organisers of the event, to Brad Poore who came over specially from Rome, to Fr Nicoletti - a splendid New York priest currently working in Ukraine - who after the long walk skipped Tea to hear confessions in the chapel...
And to the wonderful American couple who spontaneously invited the organising team back to their home in Pimlico for what proved to be a wonderful, laughter-filled, relaxation after the long day, filled also with good plans for next year...
A good day. Honour to the Martyrs who went along the route to Tyrburn with such great suffering, and passed on to us the heritage of faith that we hold today, and which, please God, we will never lose...
Saturday, June 19, 2010
To Bath...
...to give a talk at Prior Park College, set in one of the most glorious sweeps of landscape in all England. A friendly welcome, pleasant pupils who engaged in the lesson with enthusiasm,a chance to revisit a wonderful city.
David Cameron...
...has been making some very silly remarks. This commentary on the subject is worth reading.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
The Oxford Oratory...
...in this celebration year for Cardinal John Henry Newman, is running a whole series of summer events. Americans visiting Britain this summer should note the special "In(ter)dependence week" with a Mass at the Oratory featuring American composers on Sunday July 4th, and all sorts of other events with a USA flavour, including History Tours, a lecture on "An American remembers C.S.Lewis" with Walter Hooper, a gala dinner, and more....info on all of this here. Funds raised go to the Oratory's "reaffirmation and renewal" fund for work on the Oratory church, including a Newman shrine...
The church of Notre Dame de France...
...just off London's Leicester Square, is something of a hidden gem. It has a most beautiful image of Our Lady, as a young bride in white dress and veil, in a springtime garden, in the sanctuary. The church was full on Tuesday evening for the Graduation Mass for the latest batch of students from the St Patrick's School of Evangelisation...the Mass had to be held here because St P's is currently a building-site, undergoing massive renovations beginning with excavations of the crypt and basement area.
It was good to be at the Mass - I was with the students at various points during the year, giving them talks and leading them on history walks around London. Bishop Alan Hopes celebrated Mass, and gave the students their diplomas, and then afterwards there was a buffet and much talk.
When Catholics get together in large numbers, topics that come up: a good deal of strong feeling about the Pope's visit: when and where do we get to see him, cheer him, hear him?; continued - and actually increasing - strong feeling about the abolition of our Holy Days, especially in this season when we've missed Ascension Thursday and Corpus Christi. NOTE TO OUR BISHOPS: WE WANT OUR HOLY DAYS BACK, PLEASE!!!! No one is convinced that there has been any merit in moving the Holy Days to the nearest Sunday: members of new groups such as the charismatic renewal feel especially strongly about this, as part of the whole message opf the New Evangelisation is that BEING A CATHOLIC ISN'T JUST FOR SUNDAYS!
It was good to be at the Mass - I was with the students at various points during the year, giving them talks and leading them on history walks around London. Bishop Alan Hopes celebrated Mass, and gave the students their diplomas, and then afterwards there was a buffet and much talk.
When Catholics get together in large numbers, topics that come up: a good deal of strong feeling about the Pope's visit: when and where do we get to see him, cheer him, hear him?; continued - and actually increasing - strong feeling about the abolition of our Holy Days, especially in this season when we've missed Ascension Thursday and Corpus Christi. NOTE TO OUR BISHOPS: WE WANT OUR HOLY DAYS BACK, PLEASE!!!! No one is convinced that there has been any merit in moving the Holy Days to the nearest Sunday: members of new groups such as the charismatic renewal feel especially strongly about this, as part of the whole message opf the New Evangelisation is that BEING A CATHOLIC ISN'T JUST FOR SUNDAYS!
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
To the West London Synagogue...
...for a memorial service for His Honour Alan King-Hamilton QC, a dear friend who died this year at the grand age of 105. It was a most beautiful service - to hear the prayers sung in Hebrew was wonderful and moving, and we all joined together to say the 23rd Psalm in English "The Lord is my shepherd...." The first Scripture reading was "The souls of the righteous are in the hands of God".
Fine tributes were paid to Alan, who was not only a distinguished judge and a brilliant public speaker but a man who lived by the highest standards, a patriot who truly loved his country, and one who always worked for the common good. There were some delightful memories from members of his family, and fine stories of his life on the Bench.
The synagogue is an impressive building with a great atmosphere of prayer. We went out to "Nimrod" and I have kept the Order of Service with its prayers: "Master of mercy, cover him in the shelter of Your wings forever, and bind his soul into the gathering of life. It is the Lord who is his heritage. May he be at peace in his place of rest."
Fine tributes were paid to Alan, who was not only a distinguished judge and a brilliant public speaker but a man who lived by the highest standards, a patriot who truly loved his country, and one who always worked for the common good. There were some delightful memories from members of his family, and fine stories of his life on the Bench.
The synagogue is an impressive building with a great atmosphere of prayer. We went out to "Nimrod" and I have kept the Order of Service with its prayers: "Master of mercy, cover him in the shelter of Your wings forever, and bind his soul into the gathering of life. It is the Lord who is his heritage. May he be at peace in his place of rest."
Friday, June 11, 2010
A glorious Mass and procession...
...at Westminster Cathedral and around the nearby streets, with a vast crowd following the Blessed Sacrament as it was carried under a canopy by the Archbishop...all bathed in the evening sunlight and resounding to splendid singing ...it was extraordinary, moving, and memorable. As we rounded into the piazza to return via the great doors of the Cathedral it was a truly magnificent sight, and it did feel as though there had been a great blessing on all of London...
This was all the mark the close of the Year for Priests, and in his sermon Archbishop Vincent Nichols spoke of the Pope who had just completed a similar Mass in Rome, and quoted him at some length, noting the solemn and important things he had said...
This was all the mark the close of the Year for Priests, and in his sermon Archbishop Vincent Nichols spoke of the Pope who had just completed a similar Mass in Rome, and quoted him at some length, noting the solemn and important things he had said...
Tuesday, June 08, 2010
And today...
...with a team of loyal and v. hard-working volunteers, I spent the day at the CTS packing and mailing out the certificates and Catechism prizes won by children at Catholic schools across Britain in the big Pope Benedict's Visit project run by the Association of Catholic Women. The children have written some wonderful - and some unintentionally very funny - prayers and essays about the Holy Father, and St Peter, and the significance of the whole visit. Later this month I and other members of the CTS/ACW team will be visiting schools to distribute the major prizes. A booklet of some of the prayers and essays is also planned...
The CTS office is busy but has a wonderful friendly atmosphere. At 12 noon we all gathered for the Angelus.
Among the prizes - a most beautiful new book featuring the Holy Father teaching First Communion children. It is enchantingly illustrated, a lovely book to use, and one to treasure. I do wish we had had this sort of thing years ago when I was a First Communicant...
The CTS office is busy but has a wonderful friendly atmosphere. At 12 noon we all gathered for the Angelus.
Among the prizes - a most beautiful new book featuring the Holy Father teaching First Communion children. It is enchantingly illustrated, a lovely book to use, and one to treasure. I do wish we had had this sort of thing years ago when I was a First Communicant...
Conversations...
...this week have tended to concentrate on the Papal Visit and its problems. It's all so heartbreaking - it could so easily be a huge success, given some courage, faith, and good organisational skills. Papa B. will do his part admirably - all that is required is an opportunituy for him to do it. The prayers of all readers of this blog are invited, urgently, for this...
At the weekend I had the huge delight of taking two Dominican Sisters from Nashville, Tennessee, on a short history walk around Chelsea. It was pure joy - lively conversation, good historical knowledge (Dominicans, v. brainy),much laughter, many useful things discussed. Chelsea Old Church was open and two kind ladies there were welcoming visitors - they were v. well-informed about the history, showed us some work by Holbein which I hadn't known was there, explained how the church had been rebuilt following the Blitz etc. We prayed in the More chapel, and left with grateful hearts.
We had a long agreeable talkative Tea, and then I 'phoned J. and found him to be just a short distance away - at the Oratory where he'd just been taking part in a Corpus Christi procession! An agreeable evening followed. and finally J. drove the Sisters to the Franciscans in Clapham where they were staying. They have invited me to drop in to see them in Tennessee. ("Its really no distance from Alabama, so next time you're at EWTN...")
At the weekend I had the huge delight of taking two Dominican Sisters from Nashville, Tennessee, on a short history walk around Chelsea. It was pure joy - lively conversation, good historical knowledge (Dominicans, v. brainy),much laughter, many useful things discussed. Chelsea Old Church was open and two kind ladies there were welcoming visitors - they were v. well-informed about the history, showed us some work by Holbein which I hadn't known was there, explained how the church had been rebuilt following the Blitz etc. We prayed in the More chapel, and left with grateful hearts.
We had a long agreeable talkative Tea, and then I 'phoned J. and found him to be just a short distance away - at the Oratory where he'd just been taking part in a Corpus Christi procession! An agreeable evening followed. and finally J. drove the Sisters to the Franciscans in Clapham where they were staying. They have invited me to drop in to see them in Tennessee. ("Its really no distance from Alabama, so next time you're at EWTN...")
Thursday, June 03, 2010
For weeks...
...we have been praying (and worrying) about the Pope's visit to Britain. Bad signs when the committe in charge of things at the episcopal level seemed to be telling us to stay at home and watch it on our computers.
Worse news when rumors began to spread about the possible downscaling of the Mass and beatification of John Henry Newman. Today's Daily Telegraph now reports the apparent lack of any great event in London - it seems that Hyde Park has not been booked for a young people's prayer vigil after all...
Dear Bishops: we know you were effectively jumped into this by the previous Prime Minister, who thought a Papal visit would enhance his own prestige and/or electoral chances. But that's history.Stop panicking, and rise to the moment! This is your opportunity to be part of something large and great for the whole community. Give us a chance to be with our Pope, and cheer him to the echo, and be at Mass with him, and pray and sing with him, and you will find that you can draw great good out of what has begun so poorly...stop messing about, stop trying to do the impossible and run a Papal visit on half-measures. Organise a great - I mean great - event and encourage people to turn up in huge numbers. Tell us where we can see the Holy Father when he is in London. Get Hyde Park (or, better, a rather larger venue) organised for a young people's gathering, and urge the young to come, bring candles, a bit of food to share, suitable clothes, and their friends.
I remember that there were those who, before and even during World Youth Day in Sydney, were wishing the event ill:"World Youth Day Lives up to its sordid reputation" ran one nasty such attempt...there are those who hate joy and optimism in the Church, who don't want to echo John Paul's call that we be not afraid, who don't want the world to see that, as Papa Benedict has said "The Church is alive, and the Church is young!"
There is much goodwill, courage and faith in the Church in Britain. This can be mobilised to make this Papal visit work. BUt we need energy and commitment from our Bishops, and we need it now...
Worse news when rumors began to spread about the possible downscaling of the Mass and beatification of John Henry Newman. Today's Daily Telegraph now reports the apparent lack of any great event in London - it seems that Hyde Park has not been booked for a young people's prayer vigil after all...
Dear Bishops: we know you were effectively jumped into this by the previous Prime Minister, who thought a Papal visit would enhance his own prestige and/or electoral chances. But that's history.Stop panicking, and rise to the moment! This is your opportunity to be part of something large and great for the whole community. Give us a chance to be with our Pope, and cheer him to the echo, and be at Mass with him, and pray and sing with him, and you will find that you can draw great good out of what has begun so poorly...stop messing about, stop trying to do the impossible and run a Papal visit on half-measures. Organise a great - I mean great - event and encourage people to turn up in huge numbers. Tell us where we can see the Holy Father when he is in London. Get Hyde Park (or, better, a rather larger venue) organised for a young people's gathering, and urge the young to come, bring candles, a bit of food to share, suitable clothes, and their friends.
I remember that there were those who, before and even during World Youth Day in Sydney, were wishing the event ill:"World Youth Day Lives up to its sordid reputation" ran one nasty such attempt...there are those who hate joy and optimism in the Church, who don't want to echo John Paul's call that we be not afraid, who don't want the world to see that, as Papa Benedict has said "The Church is alive, and the Church is young!"
There is much goodwill, courage and faith in the Church in Britain. This can be mobilised to make this Papal visit work. BUt we need energy and commitment from our Bishops, and we need it now...
Wednesday, June 02, 2010
The Guildhall...
...in London looked magnificent in brilliant sunshine, and lots of people in Royal Navy,Amy and RAF uniforms, plus more in civilian dress, were teeming about - we were all there for a reception attended by the Duke of Edinburgh to mark the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Cadet movement. Jamie currently commands a Cadet unit so we had duly been invited...I wore my Best Little Black Dress (bought some ten years ago, in the USA, when doing some work at EWTN, has a neat little pink jacket, and is the best investment I've ever made).
It was all rather nice ...delicious food, aldermen and City councillors in robes, chaps with medals...and then the National Anthem and everyone suddenly still, and speeches, and HRH working the room.
I met Clive Dytor, headmaster of The Oratory School and a family friend, and we had a good talk. The Cadets are a big part of Oratory school life.
There was some splendid marching and music, "The British Grenadiers" etc. Later, as we all dispersed, J. and I walked along towards St Paul's Cathedral - his brother works just near there so we phoned him up and all had coffee together.
This was one of those days which bring a sudden reminder of one's identity. London, and the Guildhall...we have a dear niece at the City of London School, and I take History Walks around the City, and the Catholic Writers' Guild meets at St Mary Moorfield and formerly at St Etheldreda's in Ely Place...and then the Army, and friends, and talks of the Yeomanry and regimental news...
It was all rather nice ...delicious food, aldermen and City councillors in robes, chaps with medals...and then the National Anthem and everyone suddenly still, and speeches, and HRH working the room.
I met Clive Dytor, headmaster of The Oratory School and a family friend, and we had a good talk. The Cadets are a big part of Oratory school life.
There was some splendid marching and music, "The British Grenadiers" etc. Later, as we all dispersed, J. and I walked along towards St Paul's Cathedral - his brother works just near there so we phoned him up and all had coffee together.
This was one of those days which bring a sudden reminder of one's identity. London, and the Guildhall...we have a dear niece at the City of London School, and I take History Walks around the City, and the Catholic Writers' Guild meets at St Mary Moorfield and formerly at St Etheldreda's in Ely Place...and then the Army, and friends, and talks of the Yeomanry and regimental news...
Tuesday, June 01, 2010
The news...
...that Fr Jerzy Popieluszko is to be beatified this week is very good news indeed.
When he died, nearly three decades ago, he was a hero and a symbol for young Poland. In those days, the only way to get books, newsletters, information that was critical of Communism,plus printing equipment etc, into the country for Solidarity,into Poland was to smuggle it in from the West, packed in ordinary luggage. It was safest to keep the addresses to which such material was delivered a bit secret, so these were written on a small bit of paper and wrapped in some plastic and hidden well within one's clothes. The suitcases were rather heavy to carry nonchalantly through Warsaw airport but it was well worth it, and the people we met in Solidarity were wonderful and fun and we had an unforgettable time.
One of the most important places to go was the church where Fr Jerzy had preached, and already it was a shrine to him. And not a tacky shrine - there was some really fine artwork, carvings, paintings, and so on there, all safeguarded because the place really was virtually untouchable by the authorites. "Here it is free Poland" said our young guide enthusiastically. One day, we all promised each other, all of Poland will be free. And now it is.
When he died, nearly three decades ago, he was a hero and a symbol for young Poland. In those days, the only way to get books, newsletters, information that was critical of Communism,plus printing equipment etc, into the country for Solidarity,into Poland was to smuggle it in from the West, packed in ordinary luggage. It was safest to keep the addresses to which such material was delivered a bit secret, so these were written on a small bit of paper and wrapped in some plastic and hidden well within one's clothes. The suitcases were rather heavy to carry nonchalantly through Warsaw airport but it was well worth it, and the people we met in Solidarity were wonderful and fun and we had an unforgettable time.
One of the most important places to go was the church where Fr Jerzy had preached, and already it was a shrine to him. And not a tacky shrine - there was some really fine artwork, carvings, paintings, and so on there, all safeguarded because the place really was virtually untouchable by the authorites. "Here it is free Poland" said our young guide enthusiastically. One day, we all promised each other, all of Poland will be free. And now it is.
Mother Riccarda Hambrough...
...was in my thoughts as I hurried back from a busy morning in London to tackle some work at home. M. Riccarda is the WWII heroine who helped to hide Jewish families in the St Birgitta Convent in Rome, risking her life to do so. My book on her is humming alone nicely (text to be w. publishers in Sept), but I needed a few more leads, and was pondering this a bit gloomily as I trudged along, as piecing the story together has proved something of a project in detective work...and then I got in, there was a message on the answering-machine, a chap from the Independent, who was writing a feature about M. Riccarda, and had been given my name as a contact! We had a good talk, and he was also able to give me a couple of possible leads, which I am, now following up. I regard all this as absolutely providential...
Sunday, May 30, 2010
And...
,,,today at Mass I picked upo a leaflet about City events to mark Corpus Christi. On Friday, 4th June, there is Mass at Corpus Christi Church, Maiden Lane at 7pm followed by a Eucharistic Procession to Notre Dame de France in Leicester Place, just off Leicester Square. I'm going to go to that.
It's all part of "Spirit in the City" which is run by West End Catholic churches. St Patrick's, Soho Square, is currently being refurbished, so the activities are spread out around the other churches.
It's all part of "Spirit in the City" which is run by West End Catholic churches. St Patrick's, Soho Square, is currently being refurbished, so the activities are spread out around the other churches.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Just as...
...I was reading a feature about the Carthusian Martyrs, in the latest edition of OREMUS, magazine of Westminster Cathedral, there was a knock at the front door. It was a neighbour, delivering a parcel that had arrived yesterday while I was out. A big packet of handbills fpr the Martyrs Walk on Sunday 20th June. We meet at St Sepulchre's churchyard, opposite the Old Bailey (nearest tube: St Paul's) at 1.30 for 2pm.From there we will be walking along the hallowed Tyburn Way, in the footsteps of the Martyrs, stopping at the church of St Anselm and St Cecilia for prayers, and finishing at Tyburn Convent for Benediction. There will be opportunities for confession at Tyburn, and a blessing and investitute of the Brown Scapular at at St Anselm and St Cecilia's.
No need to book, just turn up. Wear comfortable shoes and suitable clothjing - we'll be walking whatever the weather!
We need the inspiration and the intercession of our martyrs today - there are tough times ahead for Christians in Britain.
No need to book, just turn up. Wear comfortable shoes and suitable clothjing - we'll be walking whatever the weather!
We need the inspiration and the intercession of our martyrs today - there are tough times ahead for Christians in Britain.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Working today...
...on a script of a book initially begun over a decade ago. It made me realise just how much has changed. Social attitudes are so much more tense, everyday relationships less relaxed, words and gestures and statements are charged with new and often nastier meanings, there is a greater sense of sexual innuendo. Above all, children, especially adolescents, have changed: this is noticeable when you are among some of them in a large random group - for example on public transport - where extreme anger over trivial things, routine use of obscenities, and inability to articulate sensitive or mildly complex ideas, is often evident.
A new book...
... and a very interesting one: Christian Perspectives on the Financial Crash, edited by Prof Phillip Booth and published by St Paul's. It was launched on Wednesday night with a packed gathering at the Institute of Economic Affairs in Lord North Street. Among the contributors is Abbot Chrisopher Jamison of Worth Abbey, who spoke extremely well. This is a really interesting examination of the underlying ethical causes of the current financial problems, and ideas for the way forward basedon Christian social thinking. It tackles issues like usury, the provision of credit, honesty, bank bailouts and so on.
The launch brought together a lot of people with creative and interesting ideas. I chatted to Francis Davis of the Las Casas Institute, Daniel Johnson of Standpoint magazine, and of course to Philip Booth the author of the book...it was particularly relevant to be tackling these economic and social issues just as the new Parliament had begun its session - much discussion and a sense of urgency. A recognition that the underlying moral and human problems of our country, and Western society in general, are at the core of things and that to talk as if the issues at stake were just economic ones is to miss the point...
The launch brought together a lot of people with creative and interesting ideas. I chatted to Francis Davis of the Las Casas Institute, Daniel Johnson of Standpoint magazine, and of course to Philip Booth the author of the book...it was particularly relevant to be tackling these economic and social issues just as the new Parliament had begun its session - much discussion and a sense of urgency. A recognition that the underlying moral and human problems of our country, and Western society in general, are at the core of things and that to talk as if the issues at stake were just economic ones is to miss the point...
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
You might like to sign...
...the Westminster Declaration of Conscience.
The new Govt will not get anywhere unless it roots its policies in an acceptance of the centrality of marriage and family life as the foundation of our community and the common good. All efforts to cut crime, improve basic literacy, reduce public vandalism and drunkeness, foster social cohesion, and enable people to cope with economic difficulties, will founder without this.
While on the subject of Westminster: earlier this week, I passed the Houses of Parliament en route to a meeting in Victoria Street. There was a barrier across the road leading down towards Millbank, and with the current encampment in Parliament Square making the whole place looking like a rather unsuccessful pop festival, I thought the closure of the road might be connected with that, and asked what what was happening. "Nothing untoward Madam, just the State Opening", the policeman told me, and indeed today's papers show the usual stately scene - ermine robes, Queen in crown and cloak, mace, deferential chaps in knee-britches and wigs, the lot. I'm glad it's still going on, and the cameras seem to have avoided focussing on the extraordinary background scenes and concentrated on the stateliness within the Parliament building.
It's good that Britain can still manage to achieve a proper State Opening (amazing, actually, that this wasn't abolished along with so much else, in the last 13 years). But the current messy protesters and campers in Parliament Square do make us look ridiculous. We're all for freedom of speech, and indeed an end to the war as their banners proclaim...but they are not contributing to anything very creative or useful by turning one of the most important squares of Europe into a squalid dump. They aren't really convicning anyone of anything by putting up makeshift sleeping accomodation on the lawn and turning their backs on us all as they attend to the neccessarily messy domestic tasks that such a campsite requires.
The new Govt will not get anywhere unless it roots its policies in an acceptance of the centrality of marriage and family life as the foundation of our community and the common good. All efforts to cut crime, improve basic literacy, reduce public vandalism and drunkeness, foster social cohesion, and enable people to cope with economic difficulties, will founder without this.
While on the subject of Westminster: earlier this week, I passed the Houses of Parliament en route to a meeting in Victoria Street. There was a barrier across the road leading down towards Millbank, and with the current encampment in Parliament Square making the whole place looking like a rather unsuccessful pop festival, I thought the closure of the road might be connected with that, and asked what what was happening. "Nothing untoward Madam, just the State Opening", the policeman told me, and indeed today's papers show the usual stately scene - ermine robes, Queen in crown and cloak, mace, deferential chaps in knee-britches and wigs, the lot. I'm glad it's still going on, and the cameras seem to have avoided focussing on the extraordinary background scenes and concentrated on the stateliness within the Parliament building.
It's good that Britain can still manage to achieve a proper State Opening (amazing, actually, that this wasn't abolished along with so much else, in the last 13 years). But the current messy protesters and campers in Parliament Square do make us look ridiculous. We're all for freedom of speech, and indeed an end to the war as their banners proclaim...but they are not contributing to anything very creative or useful by turning one of the most important squares of Europe into a squalid dump. They aren't really convicning anyone of anything by putting up makeshift sleeping accomodation on the lawn and turning their backs on us all as they attend to the neccessarily messy domestic tasks that such a campsite requires.
The latest...
...issue of FAITH magazine is out. It has an article by auntie about Pope John Paul and Pope Benedict.
There's also a review of my book A Nun with a Difference, about which you can also read more here.
There's also a review of my book A Nun with a Difference, about which you can also read more here.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Monday, May 24, 2010
Why...
...does the official team appointed by our Bishops to organise the papal events this September think that anyone will benefit by making attendance at these very restricted and telling us we must all stay at home and watch on telly? Latest news is that all events are to be comparatively small in size and ticket-only, and that this is being done for "health and safety" reasons. How ridiculous!
Pope Benedict XVI is visiting Britain. We want to see him and cheer him - we want this to be a community event, to share it all together. It's all wrong - terribly wrong - to tell Catholics to stay privately at home and watch the Pope on TV! It's the exact antithesis of everything that Catholoics believe about community, and being part of a Church, and doing things together.
The Pope isn't a celebrity - he's our Holy Father, and he's coming to our coutry, and we want to be with him at Mass!
We want to be able to get together, and travel in good numbers to the great events, and show our fellow countrymen how much we love and value our Faith, and what its message means for us all...WE DON'T WANT TO SIT AT HOME AND WATCH AS IF THIS WAS A SOAP OPERA!!
As for healthnsafety - good heavens, does this mean that we can never again gather in crowds to cheer the Queen, to celebrate in the Mall on a Royal occasion, to watch fireworks in November, to see in the New Year in Trafalgar Square, or to do any of the great traditional things that we've been doing, in vast numbers, throughout all our lifetimes?
Dear Bishops, you've been had - tell the public authorities that there must be at least one event at which ordinary Catholics can gather to greet and cheer their Holy Father, that the nation employs policemen precisely to ensure that such events run smoothly, that it is not remotely difficult to plan and arrange, and that if the Portugese can arrange such things, the British can.
Pope Benedict XVI is visiting Britain. We want to see him and cheer him - we want this to be a community event, to share it all together. It's all wrong - terribly wrong - to tell Catholics to stay privately at home and watch the Pope on TV! It's the exact antithesis of everything that Catholoics believe about community, and being part of a Church, and doing things together.
The Pope isn't a celebrity - he's our Holy Father, and he's coming to our coutry, and we want to be with him at Mass!
We want to be able to get together, and travel in good numbers to the great events, and show our fellow countrymen how much we love and value our Faith, and what its message means for us all...WE DON'T WANT TO SIT AT HOME AND WATCH AS IF THIS WAS A SOAP OPERA!!
As for healthnsafety - good heavens, does this mean that we can never again gather in crowds to cheer the Queen, to celebrate in the Mall on a Royal occasion, to watch fireworks in November, to see in the New Year in Trafalgar Square, or to do any of the great traditional things that we've been doing, in vast numbers, throughout all our lifetimes?
Dear Bishops, you've been had - tell the public authorities that there must be at least one event at which ordinary Catholics can gather to greet and cheer their Holy Father, that the nation employs policemen precisely to ensure that such events run smoothly, that it is not remotely difficult to plan and arrange, and that if the Portugese can arrange such things, the British can.
In a hot and stikfling London...
...to the CTS office with a great stack of children's essays about the Pope, in the project run by the Assn of Catholic Women - we'll be mailing out prizes in a couple of weeks and I had to sort out arrangements, help design certificates, etc. The CTS is generously providing a range of beautiful prizes: it is a delight to browse their latest catalogue. I am especially pleased by the beautiful new book by Amy Wellborn, with the H. Father's talks to First Communion children...
On to the Westminster diocesan archives office where I met Marcus Grodi, currently in London doing some historical research. It was good to catch up and to swap news and views - his "Journey Home" programme on EWTN is great.
Summer weather brings new fashion note: current young female fad in London seems to be leggings topped with a short smock. This can look rather charming, or not, depending on how plump the wearer is. Defnitely preferable to very tight spaghetti-strap top with lots of bra-strap showing.
On to the Westminster diocesan archives office where I met Marcus Grodi, currently in London doing some historical research. It was good to catch up and to swap news and views - his "Journey Home" programme on EWTN is great.
Summer weather brings new fashion note: current young female fad in London seems to be leggings topped with a short smock. This can look rather charming, or not, depending on how plump the wearer is. Defnitely preferable to very tight spaghetti-strap top with lots of bra-strap showing.
I've been reading...
...a new book about mystic Marthe Robin by Martin Blake. V. interesting, and it explains her role in the development of the New Movements in the Church in recent years. In particular, she was responsible for the foundation of the Foyers of Charity, which are now thriving across FRance and elsewhere. We need one in Britain.
Have you heard about the olive tree?
...I came across this by chance when trawling the Internet for some information about Pope John Paul. Anyone got any more info?
Saturday, May 22, 2010
The English countryside...
...in Norfolk in May. The first really warm sunny weekend of the year, the leaves thick and lush and green on the trees, bluebells misty in the woods as pilgrims made their way to Walsingham, organised by Aid to the Church in Need. The coaches left London via that messy area where ££££££millions are being spent on the Olympics, and then headed out for East Anglia. We sang hymns and said the Joyful Mysteries and the Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary on the journey, and I gave a talk about Walsingham...and then we were winding down Norfolk lanes and arriving at the shrine of Our Lady...a delight to meet friends, to take part in a glorious Mass, to kneel at the shrine and entrust worries and petitions there...during silent moments Mass in the barn church, the occasional birdsong trilled from outside where the meadows were green and beautiful under the vast Norfolk sky...inside, everyone sang the Kyrie, Gloria, Sanctus and Pater Noster with strength and faith, and Fr Martin Edwards, our ACN chaplain, preached about Pentecost, the eve of which we mark today. In the Bidding Prayers we prayed especially for the Holy Father and his visit to our country,and as Mass ended we sang "Faith of Our Fathers"...
Then a Rosary Walk through meadows down to the village, praying and singing. We followed, as all today's pilgrims now do, the old railway track, crossing a small brook and making our way down to the Friday Market and into the (new - only built about 5 or so years ago) RC church in the village where we packed in for Benediction.
There was time to potter about the village for a while afterwards, and have a proper Tea, all most agreeable. Walsingham is enchanting and we met other pilgrims, notably a parish group from St Joseph's in Dorking. The summer's pilgrimages are just beginning - there is a special one for grandparents and grandchildren on July 24th, which seems a delightful idea. The village is a joy, though I was sad to see that there seemed fewer shops than on my last visit, and one of the pubs has closed. (Lots of pubs are vanishing across Britain, along with Post Offices and public libraries, and with them whole chunks of our community lives, and it's horrid).
Are you praying about the Papal visit? Have you joined in the Spiritual Bouquet? Urged friends to do so?
Then a Rosary Walk through meadows down to the village, praying and singing. We followed, as all today's pilgrims now do, the old railway track, crossing a small brook and making our way down to the Friday Market and into the (new - only built about 5 or so years ago) RC church in the village where we packed in for Benediction.
There was time to potter about the village for a while afterwards, and have a proper Tea, all most agreeable. Walsingham is enchanting and we met other pilgrims, notably a parish group from St Joseph's in Dorking. The summer's pilgrimages are just beginning - there is a special one for grandparents and grandchildren on July 24th, which seems a delightful idea. The village is a joy, though I was sad to see that there seemed fewer shops than on my last visit, and one of the pubs has closed. (Lots of pubs are vanishing across Britain, along with Post Offices and public libraries, and with them whole chunks of our community lives, and it's horrid).
Are you praying about the Papal visit? Have you joined in the Spiritual Bouquet? Urged friends to do so?
Friday, May 21, 2010
You might be interested...
...to read about the Mizen family and their courageous message. I had the privilege of meeting them recently. The Catholic Herald has just published my feature interview with them....
A party...
... yesterday to launch a book on philosophy by Australian author John Young. Find out more about the book by clicking here and scrolling down to look for "The Scope of Philosophy".
A warm evening, and drinks in a pleasant Chelsea house and garden , with lots of talk and people lingering late. John Young spoke very well and opened up the whole subject of philosophy - we found ourselves talking about things like natural law, the importance of truth, and the relationship between faith anmd reason, all rather Ratzinger- and Woytila-ish. It was the first summery event that I have attended, and it went well.
Today I had the pleasure of supper with John and we talked of many things - notably of the Harry Potter novels, of which he is an enthusiast - I warmly share his view that their message is entirely positive and that the books have done much good in nourishing a generation. I like the happy message about family life (the Weasleys), the call to sacrifice and courage in a good cause, the rallying together of allies against an evil foe...and I like the fact that the books are fat and are a good read, that they demand attention over a long period, and that they offer whole new words like Quidditch which then become part of the young readers' lives.
We also talked theology, Mulieris Dignitatem, women in the New Testament, the relationship between faith and culture, the significance of myths and fairy tales, the wrongfulness of Jansenstic trends in Catholic thinking, and more...
I am off early tomorrow morning (Sat) to Walsingham, joining a traditional pilgrimage organised by Aid to the Church in Need...
A warm evening, and drinks in a pleasant Chelsea house and garden , with lots of talk and people lingering late. John Young spoke very well and opened up the whole subject of philosophy - we found ourselves talking about things like natural law, the importance of truth, and the relationship between faith anmd reason, all rather Ratzinger- and Woytila-ish. It was the first summery event that I have attended, and it went well.
Today I had the pleasure of supper with John and we talked of many things - notably of the Harry Potter novels, of which he is an enthusiast - I warmly share his view that their message is entirely positive and that the books have done much good in nourishing a generation. I like the happy message about family life (the Weasleys), the call to sacrifice and courage in a good cause, the rallying together of allies against an evil foe...and I like the fact that the books are fat and are a good read, that they demand attention over a long period, and that they offer whole new words like Quidditch which then become part of the young readers' lives.
We also talked theology, Mulieris Dignitatem, women in the New Testament, the relationship between faith and culture, the significance of myths and fairy tales, the wrongfulness of Jansenstic trends in Catholic thinking, and more...
I am off early tomorrow morning (Sat) to Walsingham, joining a traditional pilgrimage organised by Aid to the Church in Need...
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Some years ago...
...I made my first visit to the shrine of Our Lady of the Taper in Wales, and loved it. Subsequently, we visited as a family during a seaside holiday in Wales. The devotion to Our Lady of the Taper is an old one, and goes right back into distant Welsh history...it carries resonances of Christ as the Light of the World, and Mary brings that light to us...
I've just seen on the website about the Papal visit to Britain that the statue of Our Lady of the Taper is to be brought to Westminster so that the Holy Father can honour Our Lady under this ancient title...an excellent idea. BTW, have you added your prayers yet to the Spiritual Bouquet being offered to the Holy Father? Hurry: do it here.
I've just seen on the website about the Papal visit to Britain that the statue of Our Lady of the Taper is to be brought to Westminster so that the Holy Father can honour Our Lady under this ancient title...an excellent idea. BTW, have you added your prayers yet to the Spiritual Bouquet being offered to the Holy Father? Hurry: do it here.
Hurrying off to...
...the Sion Manning girls school in London to give a series of journalism workshops to the pupils. All part of a project sponsored by Tamezin magazine. Exhausting, but fun, and well worth while.
While on the subject of magazines, the latest Catholic World Report has a feature by Auntie on the subject of the Westminster Cathedral choir school...if you love London, beautiful liturgy, and Catholic traditions, you'll enjoy it...
While on the subject of magazines, the latest Catholic World Report has a feature by Auntie on the subject of the Westminster Cathedral choir school...if you love London, beautiful liturgy, and Catholic traditions, you'll enjoy it...
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
A spiritual bouquet for the Pope...
...has been launched by the CTS. Go on-line here and add your commitment to prayers.
DATES...
...for your diary.
June 20th. Martyrs' Walk. Be there!!! Details here, at the Continuity Movement website. Come on your own, or with a group of friends. This is a glorious opportunity to celebrate our Faith, enjoy London in good company, learn some history, and pray for Britain in the run-up to the Papal visit...
And: I recently worked on a project for young people with a Brother from the excellent Community of St John - they now have a base in London - and he tells me about their wonderful summer programme which includes camping in the French Alps. It looks terrific. More info here.
I am hugely impressed with the Brothers of St John - this is thriving new Order which exudes joy and faith andlooks set to take the message of Christ to the generations of the 21st century. They communicate with simplicity and a sense of bringing something that is true and authentic - do follow up and find out more.
Also: August 6th-8th. Evangelium conference, for young Catholic adults, sp[onsored by the CTS. It's at the Oratory School, near Reading - the school founded by John Henry Newman. A magnificent setting in the Thames Valley, and it's an excellent conference which brings together a good crowd each year...
And looking way ahead, just note Saturday Nov 6th, which is the annual Towards Advent Festival, and not to be missed.
June 20th. Martyrs' Walk. Be there!!! Details here, at the Continuity Movement website. Come on your own, or with a group of friends. This is a glorious opportunity to celebrate our Faith, enjoy London in good company, learn some history, and pray for Britain in the run-up to the Papal visit...
And: I recently worked on a project for young people with a Brother from the excellent Community of St John - they now have a base in London - and he tells me about their wonderful summer programme which includes camping in the French Alps. It looks terrific. More info here.
I am hugely impressed with the Brothers of St John - this is thriving new Order which exudes joy and faith andlooks set to take the message of Christ to the generations of the 21st century. They communicate with simplicity and a sense of bringing something that is true and authentic - do follow up and find out more.
Also: August 6th-8th. Evangelium conference, for young Catholic adults, sp[onsored by the CTS. It's at the Oratory School, near Reading - the school founded by John Henry Newman. A magnificent setting in the Thames Valley, and it's an excellent conference which brings together a good crowd each year...
And looking way ahead, just note Saturday Nov 6th, which is the annual Towards Advent Festival, and not to be missed.
Cardinal Newman...
...made his home at Maryvale immediately on becoming a Catholic and leaving Oxfordshire. Today, Old Oscott House where he lived - and to which he gave the name Maryvale - is a Catholic study centre, offering graduate and post-graduate degree courses for students, and training for parish catechists and others.
People who study at Maryvale love it - you somehow encounter Newman there not only in his hand-written notes (still on display along with various other items in the hallway)but in the atmosphere of study and friendship, and unpretentious Catholic talk, and prayer in the chapel which is absolutely at the heart of the house literally and metaphorically...Maryvale friendships are centred on ideas and values and a sense of common purpose, and reverberate with good humour and shared experiences...
So when a local Maryvale graduate and I met and got talking, things hummed very enjoyably...and today we ran a coffee-morning at her house, inviting people for coffee and cake and a short talk about Maryvale...and we've raised a nice little sum, which, together with the results of a further event, planned for a London venue on Thursday evening, we'll be sending to Maryvale.
Want to join in? Why not do a course at Maryvale? Or help to finance some one else to do one? Or donate to help ensure that the house keeps in good shape? (It's old. Quite apart from helping Maryvale with its good educational work, your funds will help to cherish a fine old English house and all its history)...
People who study at Maryvale love it - you somehow encounter Newman there not only in his hand-written notes (still on display along with various other items in the hallway)but in the atmosphere of study and friendship, and unpretentious Catholic talk, and prayer in the chapel which is absolutely at the heart of the house literally and metaphorically...Maryvale friendships are centred on ideas and values and a sense of common purpose, and reverberate with good humour and shared experiences...
So when a local Maryvale graduate and I met and got talking, things hummed very enjoyably...and today we ran a coffee-morning at her house, inviting people for coffee and cake and a short talk about Maryvale...and we've raised a nice little sum, which, together with the results of a further event, planned for a London venue on Thursday evening, we'll be sending to Maryvale.
Want to join in? Why not do a course at Maryvale? Or help to finance some one else to do one? Or donate to help ensure that the house keeps in good shape? (It's old. Quite apart from helping Maryvale with its good educational work, your funds will help to cherish a fine old English house and all its history)...
This week...
...a fund-raising event for Maryvale. A book launch. A meeting of the Association of Catholic Women in connection with our nationwide Schools RE Project, in which thouands of children have written about the Pope...
And, looking ahead, an event I've been asked to mention: Sunday June 27th at the Birmingham Oratory. A special Day organised by the international charity Aid to the Church in Need on the theme "The Light of the World". Come and hear about the challenges facing Christians in different parts of the woerld - and how you can help. MOre info from: www.acnuk.org/birmingham or look here.
And, looking ahead, an event I've been asked to mention: Sunday June 27th at the Birmingham Oratory. A special Day organised by the international charity Aid to the Church in Need on the theme "The Light of the World". Come and hear about the challenges facing Christians in different parts of the woerld - and how you can help. MOre info from: www.acnuk.org/birmingham or look here.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Did you know...
....that over the past decade the number of Catholics in the world has grown by 11 per cent? Nor did I.Get info here. Chief growth, of course, has been in Africa and Asia. Numbers in Europe have remained stable. There are more than a billion Catholics worldwide, and numbers are still rising. About one sixth of the world's population is Catholic. The number of priests has risen significantly in the past decade, from from 405,178 in the year 2000, to 408,024 in 2007 (last year for which figures are available)and the trend is still upwards.
Here's an encouraging story...
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Mass at Westminster Cathedral...
...beautiful liturgy, Vide Aqua, huge congregation as always. They are having a special Holy Hour every Friday during May in reparation for child-abuse, along with many churches across the country.
Information beginning to emerge re details of the Papal visit. Read Auntie's take on the subject here. I certainly hope to go to some of the events. If you are one of Auntie's many overseas readers, and have any love or care for Britain, please join us in keeping this Papal visit in your prayers. It could do so much good, and is happening at such a strange time in our history when the Church has come under so much attack...
Information beginning to emerge re details of the Papal visit. Read Auntie's take on the subject here. I certainly hope to go to some of the events. If you are one of Auntie's many overseas readers, and have any love or care for Britain, please join us in keeping this Papal visit in your prayers. It could do so much good, and is happening at such a strange time in our history when the Church has come under so much attack...
Auntie has been...
...to a big South London school to be part of a day dedicated to presenting the Christian vision of love, sex, and relationships - hard work, but well worth while, I think. Many of the young people said this was the first time they had heard the facts and information we were giving.
Then on Saturday to Chelsea, to speak to a delightful group of parents of First Communion children at this thriving and beautiful church which is packed every Sunday and which has good-sized weekday congregations too. Then on to Surrey to join a family team assisting at a house-moving: everyone had rallied round to carry furniture, dismantling and re-assembling beds and bookcases to carry them to the new house, and ferrying books across in wheelbarrows, and so on. Then, with the new home taking shape, a lively session over a takeaway meal, remembering old films and singing their theme tunes, followed by more music until a late hour...
Much talk, of course, about the Election and its aftermath. Auntie's chief pleasure, thus far, in the new Govt is something that she notes that also registered well with others... As the car drew up in Downing Street, bringing the new Prime MInister and his wife from Buckingham Palace, David Cameron got out, and walked round to the other side of the car and opened the door for his wife to alight and then escorted her to the pavement, where he made his speech.
I know, I know. Just Etonian charm and good manners. But noted, and enjoyed - and wouldn't it be nice if it was imitated?
Then on Saturday to Chelsea, to speak to a delightful group of parents of First Communion children at this thriving and beautiful church which is packed every Sunday and which has good-sized weekday congregations too. Then on to Surrey to join a family team assisting at a house-moving: everyone had rallied round to carry furniture, dismantling and re-assembling beds and bookcases to carry them to the new house, and ferrying books across in wheelbarrows, and so on. Then, with the new home taking shape, a lively session over a takeaway meal, remembering old films and singing their theme tunes, followed by more music until a late hour...
Much talk, of course, about the Election and its aftermath. Auntie's chief pleasure, thus far, in the new Govt is something that she notes that also registered well with others... As the car drew up in Downing Street, bringing the new Prime MInister and his wife from Buckingham Palace, David Cameron got out, and walked round to the other side of the car and opened the door for his wife to alight and then escorted her to the pavement, where he made his speech.
I know, I know. Just Etonian charm and good manners. But noted, and enjoyed - and wouldn't it be nice if it was imitated?
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
The Pope at Fatima...
...and I looked on the Internet to see what he was saying and doing. His words at the prayer vigil this evening are beautiful. Read on...
"All of you, standing together with lighted candles in your hands, seem like a sea of light around this simple chapel, lovingly built to the honour of the Mother of God and our mother, whose path from earth to heaven appeared to the shepherd children like a way of light. However, neither Mary nor we have a light of our own: we receive it from Jesus. His presence within us renews the mystery and the call of the burning bush which once drew Moses on Mount Sinai and still fascinates those aware of the light within us which burns without consuming us (cf. Ex 3:2-5). We are merely a bush, but one upon which the glory of God has now come down. To him therefore be every glory, and to us the humble confession of our nothingness and the unworthy adoration of the divine plan which will be fulfilled when “God will be all in all” (cf. 1 Cor 15:28). The matchless servant of that plan was the Virgin full of grace: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord: let it be done to me according to your word” (Lk 1:38).
Dear pilgrims, let us imitate Mary, letting her words “Let it be done to me” resound in our lives. God ordered Moses: “Take off your shoes, for the place on which you stand is holy ground” (Ex 3:5). And that is what he did: he would put his shoes back on to free his people from slavery in Egypt and to guide them to the promised land. This was not about the possession of a parcel of land or about the national territory to which every people has a right; in the struggle for the freedom of Israel and in the exodus from Egypt, what appears central is above all the freedom to worship, the freedom of a religion of one’s own. Throughout the history of the chosen people, the promise of a homeland comes more and more to mean this: the land is granted in order to be a place of obedience, a window open to God.
In our time, in which the faith in many places seems like a light in danger of being snuffed out for ever, the highest priority is to make God visible in the world and to open to humanity a way to God. And not to any god, but to the God who had spoken on Sinai; the God whose face we recognize in the love borne to the very end (cf. Jn 13:1) in Jesus Christ, crucified and risen. Dear brothers and sisters, worship Christ the Lord in your hearts (cf. 1 Pet 3:15)! Do not be afraid to talk of God and to manifest without fear the signs of faith, letting the light of Christ shine in the presence of the people of today, just as the Church which gives birth to humanity as the family of God sings on the night of the Easter Vigil."
"All of you, standing together with lighted candles in your hands, seem like a sea of light around this simple chapel, lovingly built to the honour of the Mother of God and our mother, whose path from earth to heaven appeared to the shepherd children like a way of light. However, neither Mary nor we have a light of our own: we receive it from Jesus. His presence within us renews the mystery and the call of the burning bush which once drew Moses on Mount Sinai and still fascinates those aware of the light within us which burns without consuming us (cf. Ex 3:2-5). We are merely a bush, but one upon which the glory of God has now come down. To him therefore be every glory, and to us the humble confession of our nothingness and the unworthy adoration of the divine plan which will be fulfilled when “God will be all in all” (cf. 1 Cor 15:28). The matchless servant of that plan was the Virgin full of grace: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord: let it be done to me according to your word” (Lk 1:38).
Dear pilgrims, let us imitate Mary, letting her words “Let it be done to me” resound in our lives. God ordered Moses: “Take off your shoes, for the place on which you stand is holy ground” (Ex 3:5). And that is what he did: he would put his shoes back on to free his people from slavery in Egypt and to guide them to the promised land. This was not about the possession of a parcel of land or about the national territory to which every people has a right; in the struggle for the freedom of Israel and in the exodus from Egypt, what appears central is above all the freedom to worship, the freedom of a religion of one’s own. Throughout the history of the chosen people, the promise of a homeland comes more and more to mean this: the land is granted in order to be a place of obedience, a window open to God.
In our time, in which the faith in many places seems like a light in danger of being snuffed out for ever, the highest priority is to make God visible in the world and to open to humanity a way to God. And not to any god, but to the God who had spoken on Sinai; the God whose face we recognize in the love borne to the very end (cf. Jn 13:1) in Jesus Christ, crucified and risen. Dear brothers and sisters, worship Christ the Lord in your hearts (cf. 1 Pet 3:15)! Do not be afraid to talk of God and to manifest without fear the signs of faith, letting the light of Christ shine in the presence of the people of today, just as the Church which gives birth to humanity as the family of God sings on the night of the Easter Vigil."
To vote...
...for the 2010 Catholic Women of the Year. I sit on the committee that runs this event, and every year nominations are sought from anyone and everyone who wants to put forward a name. We are looking for unsung heroines - women who serve God and neighbour, in all sorts of fields, as teachers, mothers, prison visitors, volunteers in charities and community projects, initiators of useful schemes, faithful followers of old ones...women in professional life, women caring for the elderly or sick, women doing administrative work, women artists, women in medicine, women working indoors or out of doors, women who work cheerfully and encourage others, women in politics, in business, in lots of different sorts of work. Women are nominated by friends, colleagues, neighbours. The letters that come in are touching, fascinating, sometimes amusing, sometimes suddenly haunting.
The annoncement of the CWOY for 2010 will be made in due course, after the ladies themselves have been notified. Four women are chosen each year. Last year one was Margaret Mizen, whose courage and faith following the death of her son in a random attack touched the nation. I had the privilege of meeting her and her husband Barry again the other day, and you can read the resulting interview in a forthcoming edition of the Catholic Herald...
The annoncement of the CWOY for 2010 will be made in due course, after the ladies themselves have been notified. Four women are chosen each year. Last year one was Margaret Mizen, whose courage and faith following the death of her son in a random attack touched the nation. I had the privilege of meeting her and her husband Barry again the other day, and you can read the resulting interview in a forthcoming edition of the Catholic Herald...
Golly...
Yesterday as we drove home, it seemed from radio reports that Britain would be getting a Labour/Lib Dem government, and there was talk of the new coalition being the "Progressive majority",(vague shades of the sort of language used in eastern Europe in the 1960s)...gloom descended.
We were busy at home,domestic things, letters, phone calls, emails...finally in the dusk I cycled off to see Mother...and when I arrived, she was watching scenes of Buckingham Palace on the TV, and David Cameron wa due to see the Queen, and kiss hands on appointment as a Conservative Prime Minsuer, with a Lib Dem coalition.
Golly.
We were busy at home,domestic things, letters, phone calls, emails...finally in the dusk I cycled off to see Mother...and when I arrived, she was watching scenes of Buckingham Palace on the TV, and David Cameron wa due to see the Queen, and kiss hands on appointment as a Conservative Prime Minsuer, with a Lib Dem coalition.
Golly.
Monday, May 10, 2010
It was oddly reassurring...
...to see, in the breakfast newspapers,pictures of the three Party leaders, in this muddling time following the Election, all attending church on Sunday morning. There they were, each so very typical that it was almost a cliche: Gordon and Sara Brown off to the Church of Scotland (lowland Scottish kirk), the Camerons to St Mary Abbotts in Kensington ( liberal High Church) and the Cleggs to Mass (he's agnostic but she's Spanish and the family are Catholic).
Meanwhile the Bogles are deep in the countryside, visiting family...I'm writing this in a small village library, internet available for 20 minutes a time. This morning a glorious walk up through the village to the edges of the moor, past the house where I was brought as a bride. A little brook runs through the garden, and my father-in-law built a small bridge across it, and if you know where to look it's marked with the date and his initials. This Autumn it will be thirty years since that big dinner-party celebrating our wedding - there's a picture in the wedding-album of me sitting by the big fireplace in my wedding-dress, with a golden sash and holding a bouquet of golden and orange flowers...
Down through the village, where the church which has a famous stumpy spire stands serenely and solidly viewing the changes of the past 30 years as it has those of the past 300 and the past 1300, and more, with unchanging stony silence. Here one can feel a sense of stability and sameness: the past thousand years have seen a lot of horrors and panics and wars and goodness knows what, so a hung Parliament doesn't seem to amount to so much...
Meanwhile the Bogles are deep in the countryside, visiting family...I'm writing this in a small village library, internet available for 20 minutes a time. This morning a glorious walk up through the village to the edges of the moor, past the house where I was brought as a bride. A little brook runs through the garden, and my father-in-law built a small bridge across it, and if you know where to look it's marked with the date and his initials. This Autumn it will be thirty years since that big dinner-party celebrating our wedding - there's a picture in the wedding-album of me sitting by the big fireplace in my wedding-dress, with a golden sash and holding a bouquet of golden and orange flowers...
Down through the village, where the church which has a famous stumpy spire stands serenely and solidly viewing the changes of the past 30 years as it has those of the past 300 and the past 1300, and more, with unchanging stony silence. Here one can feel a sense of stability and sameness: the past thousand years have seen a lot of horrors and panics and wars and goodness knows what, so a hung Parliament doesn't seem to amount to so much...
Saturday, May 08, 2010
London...
...cold and rainy, which is weather I rather like. Hurrying to Kensington for the annual presentation of the Tamezin Young Journalists Awards. A lovely occasion, and a great atmosphere - delightful young people, proud parents, a great buzz of chat, an upbeat feel. Journalists Cassandra Jardine and Greg Watts spoke extremely well and presented the Awards to the young writers, who had worked on various interviews. Some were really excellent, sparkling and fun. All got a useful critique of their work, and awards, and the top winners got cash prizes and opportunities for work experience in different media outlets.
Friday, May 07, 2010
So...
...this morning, a good crowd for weekday Mass. In fact, it is always a good crowd on weekdays in this parish - but this morning was special because the parish priest had arranged an extra Holy Hour to pray, in accordance with the plan initiated by the Bishops, in reparation because of the abuse crisis. And a good number of people stayed on for the Hour to pray. It finished with Benediction. Impressive.
We are all meant to be praying and fasting on the four Fridays during May. Looking at the touching essays and projects sent in by children - yes, they are still pouring in in from across Britain - to mark the Pope's visit, makes me realise how much it means to so many Catholics and it is so crucial that it is a success.
If prayer and fasting are all part of that, well, let's pray and fast...
Election results. As I write this, I'm listening to the radio and hearing David Cameron, sounding Prime Ministerial, laying out possible plans for a Government that would require some Lib-Dem support. Gordon Brown has also spoken, but managed to sound both pompous and panicky at the same time - a mix of I'm-Prime-Minister-and-I-intend-to-stay and and er-I'll-find-a-way-of-doing-so-somehow.
It's been a strange election: at one level it looked ordinary and familiar - candidates with rosettes, volunteers putting leaflets through doors, more and mostly elderly volunteers sitting outside the Polling Booths taking voters' details as they went in, so these could be cross-referenced with the information obtained by doorstep questioning and any possible stray supportters rounded up and urged to vote. I voted, as I've done so often before, in the hall of the local Catholic primary school which also doubles as a Mass-centre on Sundays. Wooden booths, freshly-sharpened black stubby epenncils on string, and anxious local-authority people sitting at tables handing out ballot papers and checking things on lists. But somehow it all felt very different from usual - the homely and local chafed against the weirdness of the TV-domination, the moment-by-moment following of events on computers and laptops, the omnipresence of instantaneous information and opinions, the sense that major issues were being overlooked amid spin and photography and image-making.
In this, as in so much of modern Britain, there is a somehow fragile feeling - as if what is solid and reliable and functioning is at the mercy of what is transient and untested and possibly volatile. Cameron now needs to create a workable government that feels reasonably solid, and then seek a fresh mandate in a year or so that will give him the majority he really wants. Retaining Brown and getting a coalition framed around his party would be all wrong and an attempt to reverse the election result by backdoor means, a manifest injustice.
We are all meant to be praying and fasting on the four Fridays during May. Looking at the touching essays and projects sent in by children - yes, they are still pouring in in from across Britain - to mark the Pope's visit, makes me realise how much it means to so many Catholics and it is so crucial that it is a success.
If prayer and fasting are all part of that, well, let's pray and fast...
Election results. As I write this, I'm listening to the radio and hearing David Cameron, sounding Prime Ministerial, laying out possible plans for a Government that would require some Lib-Dem support. Gordon Brown has also spoken, but managed to sound both pompous and panicky at the same time - a mix of I'm-Prime-Minister-and-I-intend-to-stay and and er-I'll-find-a-way-of-doing-so-somehow.
It's been a strange election: at one level it looked ordinary and familiar - candidates with rosettes, volunteers putting leaflets through doors, more and mostly elderly volunteers sitting outside the Polling Booths taking voters' details as they went in, so these could be cross-referenced with the information obtained by doorstep questioning and any possible stray supportters rounded up and urged to vote. I voted, as I've done so often before, in the hall of the local Catholic primary school which also doubles as a Mass-centre on Sundays. Wooden booths, freshly-sharpened black stubby epenncils on string, and anxious local-authority people sitting at tables handing out ballot papers and checking things on lists. But somehow it all felt very different from usual - the homely and local chafed against the weirdness of the TV-domination, the moment-by-moment following of events on computers and laptops, the omnipresence of instantaneous information and opinions, the sense that major issues were being overlooked amid spin and photography and image-making.
In this, as in so much of modern Britain, there is a somehow fragile feeling - as if what is solid and reliable and functioning is at the mercy of what is transient and untested and possibly volatile. Cameron now needs to create a workable government that feels reasonably solid, and then seek a fresh mandate in a year or so that will give him the majority he really wants. Retaining Brown and getting a coalition framed around his party would be all wrong and an attempt to reverse the election result by backdoor means, a manifest injustice.
Thursday, May 06, 2010
On Wednesday evening...
... after Mass at Westminster Cathedral I noticed large crowds going into Archbishop's House where a major event was clearly taking place. It turned out to be a big gathering to launch some fund-raising for the Papal visit.
Increasingly, with the nasty campaigns launched by Richard Dawkins and co, the mood among Catholics is upbeat and united: we want the Pope to come, we want to cheer him and greet him, we are keen to see and hear him, we believe that he has a great message for Britain.
Increasingly, with the nasty campaigns launched by Richard Dawkins and co, the mood among Catholics is upbeat and united: we want the Pope to come, we want to cheer him and greet him, we are keen to see and hear him, we believe that he has a great message for Britain.
The Pope...
...sent a special message of greeting to the retired Chief Rabbi of Rome who was celebrating his 95th birthday.
I mention this because I bet it doesn't get picked up by the mainstream media, and it should.
I mention this because I bet it doesn't get picked up by the mainstream media, and it should.
Monday, May 03, 2010
Allen Hall...
...is the seminary for the diocese of Westminster, and stands on the site of St Thomas More's garden in Chelsea. I had taken took a small group of youngsters on a walk there on Friday, but the big day was on Sunday, with our main Catholic History Walk. We were a good crowd, some 60-70 of us, and walked along by the river, with talks on the history as we went (using a microphone, all v. efficient). The excellent sacristan at Holy Redeemer Church stepped in at the start when I was delayed, and showed everyone round the church, and then we set off to see More's statue along the Embankment in the gardens, and to explore Chelsea Old Church (v. nice team of volunteers there who showed us round and were most friendly and informative)...and then we reached the seminary,to a wonderful welcome from the Rector, a delicious tea, and a talk about Cardinal Allen and Douai and an awesome heritage...we met a good number of the current students for the priesthood, and I have to say they are an impressive bunch of men, who divided us into teams and took us round the seminary and told us its history and were a powerful boost to morale. In these days when we seem to hear so much that is gloomy about the Church, it was cheering to see the future: young, dedicated, and committed to a life of service to God. There was a moving and impressive hour of Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, culminating in Vespers and Benediction. The seminary invites parish groups to come to these times of Adoration to pray for more vocations to the priesthood and religious life...and it seems to be working!
Next event for your diary: June 20th, the Martyrs' Walk. Starts 1.30pm for 2pm at the Old Bailey - we are gathering in the churchyard of St Sepulchre's-without-Newgate. We'll be walking all the way to Tyburn, so wear comfortable shoes. Bring your rosary. We'll stop at St Anselm and St Cecilia's in Holborn and we'll reach Tyburn in time for Benediction and tea at about 5 o'clock.
Next event for your diary: June 20th, the Martyrs' Walk. Starts 1.30pm for 2pm at the Old Bailey - we are gathering in the churchyard of St Sepulchre's-without-Newgate. We'll be walking all the way to Tyburn, so wear comfortable shoes. Bring your rosary. We'll stop at St Anselm and St Cecilia's in Holborn and we'll reach Tyburn in time for Benediction and tea at about 5 o'clock.
Things are going to be difficult in Britain...
...for Christians who uphold the traditional teachings on sexual morality.
Today's news reports that a policeman overheard a Christian speaker telling some one in the street that homosexual activity was sinful. The preacher, a Mr Dale McAlpine, has been charged for causing "harrassment, alarm or distress" after the policeman, a "community support officer" heard him listing homosexuality as among sins listed in the Scriptures. The preacher has said he did not mention it when listing various sins in his sermon, but mentioned it in a discussion with a passing shopper, saying it was contrary to the word of God. The police say that he said it in a voice loud enough to be overheard. He is now awaiting trial.
Of course, we do not know what the preacher said. Perhaps he failed to make the distinction between an inclination towards homosexuality and participation in homosexual acts. But the scene is a worrying one.
Will we risk arrest when we pass on the teaching of the Church?
The Catechism of the Catholic Church states:
"2357. Homosexuality refers to relations between men or between women who experience an exclusive or predominant sexual attraction toward persons of the same sex. It has taken a great variety of forms through the centuries and in different cultures. Its psychological genesis remains largely unexplained. Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity, tradition has always declared that "homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered." They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved.
2358. The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible. This inclination, which is objectively disordered, constitutes for most of them a trial. They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. These persons are called to fulfill God's will in their lives and, if they are Christians, to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord's Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition.
2359. Homosexual persons are called to chastity. By the virtues of self-mastery that teach them inner freedom, at times by the support of disinterested friendship, by prayer and sacramental grace, they can and should gradually and resolutely approach Christian perfection."
Today's news reports that a policeman overheard a Christian speaker telling some one in the street that homosexual activity was sinful. The preacher, a Mr Dale McAlpine, has been charged for causing "harrassment, alarm or distress" after the policeman, a "community support officer" heard him listing homosexuality as among sins listed in the Scriptures. The preacher has said he did not mention it when listing various sins in his sermon, but mentioned it in a discussion with a passing shopper, saying it was contrary to the word of God. The police say that he said it in a voice loud enough to be overheard. He is now awaiting trial.
Of course, we do not know what the preacher said. Perhaps he failed to make the distinction between an inclination towards homosexuality and participation in homosexual acts. But the scene is a worrying one.
Will we risk arrest when we pass on the teaching of the Church?
The Catechism of the Catholic Church states:
"2357. Homosexuality refers to relations between men or between women who experience an exclusive or predominant sexual attraction toward persons of the same sex. It has taken a great variety of forms through the centuries and in different cultures. Its psychological genesis remains largely unexplained. Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity, tradition has always declared that "homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered." They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved.
2358. The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible. This inclination, which is objectively disordered, constitutes for most of them a trial. They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. These persons are called to fulfill God's will in their lives and, if they are Christians, to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord's Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition.
2359. Homosexual persons are called to chastity. By the virtues of self-mastery that teach them inner freedom, at times by the support of disinterested friendship, by prayer and sacramental grace, they can and should gradually and resolutely approach Christian perfection."
Saturday, May 01, 2010
On the day...
...that a judge decreed that Christians have no right to have their religious beliefs respected at work, an opportunity to ponder on the message of St Thomas More.
Yesterday evening I led a Catholic History Walk for young people. This was an extra Walk organised by the leaders of a Confirmation group at a major London parish. I had gladly agreed to do it after being approached following the publicity for the general History Walks organised by Continuity/Miles Jesu. Gathering round the statue of More along the Embankment at Chelsea and showing the young people how he would have travelled up-river to Westminster for sessions of Parliament, and later when taken to the Tower, there was a sudden great sense of the great reality of it.
What is happening to our country at the moment? It is now a place where a Christian can lose his job because he was employed as a marriage counsellor and wanted to do this and not to get involved with supporting homosexual relationships. Insisting that he change his beliefs or lose his job cannot by any measure be regarded as fair.
The young people began the Walk by having that oh-yeah-so-why-is-this-important-anyway? look which seems obligatory among adolescents: any sort of enthusiasm for a well-planned project is sooooo uncool. But they sparked up a bit as we progressed, and despite rain and a chill wind they held candles and joined in prayers as dusk fell and we gathered around More's plaque at Allen Hall, the Westminster diocesan seminary which stands on the site of his garden. The wind blew out our fragile flames, but they listened as I told them about heroic priests facing torture and death to keep the Faith alive in times past, and about this is the same Faith that has been passed on to us, from the time of Christ, right down to us in London today...and then the voices joined in the Our Father...
St Thomas More, pray for us.
Yesterday evening I led a Catholic History Walk for young people. This was an extra Walk organised by the leaders of a Confirmation group at a major London parish. I had gladly agreed to do it after being approached following the publicity for the general History Walks organised by Continuity/Miles Jesu. Gathering round the statue of More along the Embankment at Chelsea and showing the young people how he would have travelled up-river to Westminster for sessions of Parliament, and later when taken to the Tower, there was a sudden great sense of the great reality of it.
What is happening to our country at the moment? It is now a place where a Christian can lose his job because he was employed as a marriage counsellor and wanted to do this and not to get involved with supporting homosexual relationships. Insisting that he change his beliefs or lose his job cannot by any measure be regarded as fair.
The young people began the Walk by having that oh-yeah-so-why-is-this-important-anyway? look which seems obligatory among adolescents: any sort of enthusiasm for a well-planned project is sooooo uncool. But they sparked up a bit as we progressed, and despite rain and a chill wind they held candles and joined in prayers as dusk fell and we gathered around More's plaque at Allen Hall, the Westminster diocesan seminary which stands on the site of his garden. The wind blew out our fragile flames, but they listened as I told them about heroic priests facing torture and death to keep the Faith alive in times past, and about this is the same Faith that has been passed on to us, from the time of Christ, right down to us in London today...and then the voices joined in the Our Father...
St Thomas More, pray for us.
The Pope's Visit...
...is the theme of this year's Schools RE Project run by the Association of Catholic Women. And hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of entries are now pouring in from children at Catholic schools across Britain. We have teams of judges and the essays all have to be delivered to them. Yesterday I arrived home to find a crate and two huge boxes on my doorstep, and an anxious email informing me that a great many more essays would arrive tomorrow. Today, with some difficulty, I took a great case to the Chairman's house in London where there is more space than here at Bogle Towers...every single essay is being read, and the winners and runners-up will get prizes donated by the Catholic Truth Society, plus trophies. A number of Certificates of Merit will also be awarded. It is all a marathon task.
The children were asked to find out about the Papacy. Who was the first Pope? Who appointed him ? What is the name of the present Pope, and what is his task? Why is he called the "Servant of the Servants of God"? They were also invited to write a prayer for the Pope. These tend to reveal local loyalties. "Dear God, please look after Pope Bennidict when he comes to England. I hope he comes to Manchester". "Dear God, help the Pope in his work when he comes to Scotland to see us. He is meeting the Queen first."
Of course some children have just downloaded material from the Internet ("The 2005 conclave elected Joseph Ratzinger following the traditional procedures...") but others have written lengthy essays giving their own thoughts. "Pope Benedict is proberly very bisy getting redy to come to England". Some have written letters to the Pope, one adding a sad note saying she hadn't had a reply (and I think it is feeble of the Vatican not to have some volunteers to deal with such letters - couldn't something be organised?) One said that if the Holy Father had time, he'd be most welcome at her house and her Gran would give him a nice tea.
The children were asked to find out about the Papacy. Who was the first Pope? Who appointed him ? What is the name of the present Pope, and what is his task? Why is he called the "Servant of the Servants of God"? They were also invited to write a prayer for the Pope. These tend to reveal local loyalties. "Dear God, please look after Pope Bennidict when he comes to England. I hope he comes to Manchester". "Dear God, help the Pope in his work when he comes to Scotland to see us. He is meeting the Queen first."
Of course some children have just downloaded material from the Internet ("The 2005 conclave elected Joseph Ratzinger following the traditional procedures...") but others have written lengthy essays giving their own thoughts. "Pope Benedict is proberly very bisy getting redy to come to England". Some have written letters to the Pope, one adding a sad note saying she hadn't had a reply (and I think it is feeble of the Vatican not to have some volunteers to deal with such letters - couldn't something be organised?) One said that if the Holy Father had time, he'd be most welcome at her house and her Gran would give him a nice tea.
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