Monday, April 11, 2011
To Oxford....
...late at night, after catching dinner in London with friends. Spent part of the weekend with the team involved with the play The Quality of Mercy being presented by a young drama group in April as part of the celebrations for the Beatification of Pope John Paul II.
The first really warm weekend of 2011, lunch in a beautiful Oxford garden, then a walk across the Christchurch meadows to St Aldates, where the drama team was in full rehearsal. A change of mood from sunny chatting-over-lunch to the voices and action of a stage production, young people coming and going, directions being given. Perched on a chair taking notes, watching the thing take shape, I had the sudden thought: the young Woytila would have been absolutely at home here...
Get a flavour of the play and its message here...
The first really warm weekend of 2011, lunch in a beautiful Oxford garden, then a walk across the Christchurch meadows to St Aldates, where the drama team was in full rehearsal. A change of mood from sunny chatting-over-lunch to the voices and action of a stage production, young people coming and going, directions being given. Perched on a chair taking notes, watching the thing take shape, I had the sudden thought: the young Woytila would have been absolutely at home here...
Get a flavour of the play and its message here...
Friday, April 08, 2011
Auntie is touched, and honoured...
...to have been invited to be a Sponsor at the reception of a young friend into full Communion with the Catholic Church in the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham. This is happening on the Tuesday of Holy Week.
Holy Week 2011 in Britain will mark, in a quiet way, the start of a new chapter in the country's Christian history as the Ordinariate groups around the country take these next steps towards becoming formal parishes. It is all happening during a time when other great events have been happening in Church and nation too - last year, a Papal Visit, the first such State Visit in our country's history, and then this year immediately after Easter, a Royal Wedding in London, and a great Papal beatification in Rome, the first time in history that a Pope has formally declared his predecessor to be Blessed and set him on the road to sainthood.
Both Popes visited Britain, both met our Sovereign, both prayed publicly with the Archbishop of Canterbury and leaders of other Christian denominations: both looked back down the years of our country's history and spoke of figures such as St Augustine, St Thomas of Canterbury, St Thomas More, John Henry Newman, and also great Christian men and women not in communion with the Catholic Church,such as William Wilberforce...
In his later years, Pope John Paul II spoke more than once of a "new springtime" in the Church. In Britain we know well that Spring can be a difficult, unpredictable season, with its promise often delayed or offering false starts. It can often be a time of anxiety, and historically also even of hunger (food from previous harvest used up, new crops not yet flourishing). But throughout the Church's long history, it has always been ued as an image of joy and hope, of God's faithfulness and our own commitment to work and prayer...
Holy Week 2011 in Britain will mark, in a quiet way, the start of a new chapter in the country's Christian history as the Ordinariate groups around the country take these next steps towards becoming formal parishes. It is all happening during a time when other great events have been happening in Church and nation too - last year, a Papal Visit, the first such State Visit in our country's history, and then this year immediately after Easter, a Royal Wedding in London, and a great Papal beatification in Rome, the first time in history that a Pope has formally declared his predecessor to be Blessed and set him on the road to sainthood.
Both Popes visited Britain, both met our Sovereign, both prayed publicly with the Archbishop of Canterbury and leaders of other Christian denominations: both looked back down the years of our country's history and spoke of figures such as St Augustine, St Thomas of Canterbury, St Thomas More, John Henry Newman, and also great Christian men and women not in communion with the Catholic Church,such as William Wilberforce...
In his later years, Pope John Paul II spoke more than once of a "new springtime" in the Church. In Britain we know well that Spring can be a difficult, unpredictable season, with its promise often delayed or offering false starts. It can often be a time of anxiety, and historically also even of hunger (food from previous harvest used up, new crops not yet flourishing). But throughout the Church's long history, it has always been ued as an image of joy and hope, of God's faithfulness and our own commitment to work and prayer...
Meanwhile in Oxford...
...rehearsals are in full swing for the play about John Paul II being presented by a young drama group. This looks set to be well worth watching - you can get tickets via that link, or contact the Oxford Playhouse (01865 305305). The young players are all part of the Oratory parish and the play will be presented at the University chaplaincy...
Hot weather, and evening sunshine...
...pouring in through the stained glass at the large modern church of St Mary Magdalene at Willesden Green. The whole sanctuary, dominated by its great traditional crucifix, was bathed in a brilliant, glowing light.
I was in the parish to take part in a series of talks for young engaged couples. A happy evening: parish priest Fr Hugh Mackenzie spoke extremely well, introducing the whole idea of our identity as human persons bound up in our relationship with God - there was a real rapport with his listeners, they were interested, and he was convincing, open and made you want to learn more...
I was in the parish to take part in a series of talks for young engaged couples. A happy evening: parish priest Fr Hugh Mackenzie spoke extremely well, introducing the whole idea of our identity as human persons bound up in our relationship with God - there was a real rapport with his listeners, they were interested, and he was convincing, open and made you want to learn more...
Do come and watch...
...a great film about the great John Paul II. Sacred Heart Church parish lounge, Edge Hill, Wimbledon, London SW19 next Wed (April 13th). Coffee and cake, and a chance to share in the build-up to the beatification of one of the great men of our time.
Tuesday, April 05, 2011
A feast...
...of good reading in Second Spring, journal of Faith and Culture. Looks at friendship, architecture,books, poetry, education, art, and much, much more.
I plunged my copy into my bag just before setting off for the hospital this morning, and am so glad I did...knew there would inevitably be long waiting for x-rays etc, so needed something to inspire, uplift, enlarge the mind. There is a depth, generosity and joy to the writing in this magazine.
I plunged my copy into my bag just before setting off for the hospital this morning, and am so glad I did...knew there would inevitably be long waiting for x-rays etc, so needed something to inspire, uplift, enlarge the mind. There is a depth, generosity and joy to the writing in this magazine.
To Westminster Cathedral...
...lunchtime Masses, and people of all sorts and ages and sizes and races coming up for Holy Communion. Blessed Sacrament exposed for adoration in the Chapel all afternoon.
ELECTED Silence, sing to me
And beat upon my whorlèd ear,
Pipe me to pastures still and be
The music that I care to hear...
ELECTED Silence, sing to me
And beat upon my whorlèd ear,
Pipe me to pastures still and be
The music that I care to hear...
More on the JPII Beatification...
...here
It looks set to be an extraordinary few days in Rome...a number of friends are going: one couple have given themselves the trip as a Silver Wedding gift to one another.
Auntie will be watching it on TV in Walsingham...doing a talk there on the evening of Sat 30th April. BTW,separately, Aid to the Church in Need is organising a pilgrimage to Walsingham on that day...coaches depart from Westminster Cathedral, do come!
It looks set to be an extraordinary few days in Rome...a number of friends are going: one couple have given themselves the trip as a Silver Wedding gift to one another.
Auntie will be watching it on TV in Walsingham...doing a talk there on the evening of Sat 30th April. BTW,separately, Aid to the Church in Need is organising a pilgrimage to Walsingham on that day...coaches depart from Westminster Cathedral, do come!
Monday, April 04, 2011
He was a great man and a great Pope...
...but that's not why he's being beatified. John Paul II was great because he was holy, because he put God first, because he was a man of prayer and penance and self-sacrifice. Like many another Catholic, I had not really thought about his "inner life", except to assume that it was this union with God that inspired and drove his pontificate: now we are learning more, and realising that he was a lasting gift to the Church. Read here for more on this...and here for a rather touching message from the H. Father, looking forward to the Beatification...
Sunday, April 03, 2011
England and the Holy Father...
...and some scenes to gladden the heart! The Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham went to Rome - in the person of Mgr Keith Newton, accompanied by Bishop Alan Hopes. They took with them a statue of Our Lady of Walsingham, and a new book, just published, about the shrine, together with an album showing recent Ordinariate events in Britain. How very satisfying to see scenes of the Holy Father warmly greeting Mgr Newton and talking eagerly with him and with Bishop Alan, and how exciting to watch each new chapter of this new venture unfolding. The Ordinariate is going quietly from strength to strength. There will be many good things happening here in the next months and years: just watch. And pray.
Friday, April 01, 2011
Thursday, March 31, 2011
A meeting...
...to plan more fund-raising events for Maryvale. Research for current book (complicated). Ironing (satisfying, and a useful rhythm for thought. Came up with some useful ideas for various projects). Wrote feature article for May edition of Portal - web-based magazine of the Ordinariate of OL of Walsingham. Tackled some letters and made domestic arrangements. Then spent some time trawling the internet for som info, inevitably got side-tracked. Looked at various websites and blogs on Catholic topics, political topics. There is a traditional memo that grannies taught about speech, would be useful for us bloggists and internet commentators to remember - one should ask, before speaking/writing: is it true? Is it kind? Is it neccessary?
Back in January, marooned in a snowstorm....
...at the headquarters of EWTN in Alabama, I read and read...I had prepared what was needed for my new EWTN series, activity was restricted as I had a broken arm. I was able, with difficulty, to get to Mass most mornings, and help, if really needed, was only a phone call away...but essentially life turned into a gentle spiritual retreat. Snow is rare in Alabama - no one was prepared for it, and roads were impassable and icebound. For a few delicious, almost enchanted, days, I was in a silent snowy world, safe and warm in a comfortable house with food available, and books and books and books...
No shortage of reading material, as EWTN is sent dozens to review each week.A number of new ones had arived and one had the odd title The Pope's Maestro. Not specially well-written, it nevertheless told an intriguing tale, and formed a part of my silent reading in those January days. So I was fascinated to see its author interviewed just today here...
No shortage of reading material, as EWTN is sent dozens to review each week.A number of new ones had arived and one had the odd title The Pope's Maestro. Not specially well-written, it nevertheless told an intriguing tale, and formed a part of my silent reading in those January days. So I was fascinated to see its author interviewed just today here...
Teachers...
...from Staffordshire, Birmingham, and the Midlands came to Maryvale today (Wed) for a most successful Day of Art and Music organied by the Association of Catholic Women.
Jeremy de Satge of The Music Makers led an excellent training session on Gregorian Chant, beginning with a thoughtful introduction to the whole topic of music and liturgy, with reference to the H. Father's Sacramentum Caritatis. There was greast dedication and enthusiasm for the singing, as we tackled a Kyrie and a Sanctus and moved on to other chants...
Then a most beautiful Mass in the Maryvale Chapel, the Chairman of the ACW doing the readings, a young teacher and a nun alternating with singing the verses of the Psalm, everyone singing a rousing Pater Noster and, a most lovely Ave Verum at Communion...
It was a pleasure to meet these teachers: a lot of inspoiration there.
For us, on the ACW team, much lively talk of future plans: all sorts of ideas for further activities for schools, pilgrimages, and more...
Appropriately, when I got home, a great batch of entries had arrived for our ACW Schools RE Project, to be forwarded on to the various judges. ON a cursory glance, the standard looks good....
Jeremy de Satge of The Music Makers led an excellent training session on Gregorian Chant, beginning with a thoughtful introduction to the whole topic of music and liturgy, with reference to the H. Father's Sacramentum Caritatis. There was greast dedication and enthusiasm for the singing, as we tackled a Kyrie and a Sanctus and moved on to other chants...
Then a most beautiful Mass in the Maryvale Chapel, the Chairman of the ACW doing the readings, a young teacher and a nun alternating with singing the verses of the Psalm, everyone singing a rousing Pater Noster and, a most lovely Ave Verum at Communion...
It was a pleasure to meet these teachers: a lot of inspoiration there.
For us, on the ACW team, much lively talk of future plans: all sorts of ideas for further activities for schools, pilgrimages, and more...
Appropriately, when I got home, a great batch of entries had arrived for our ACW Schools RE Project, to be forwarded on to the various judges. ON a cursory glance, the standard looks good....
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
If you don't...
...know much about Walsingham (see my earlier post about the special Mass at Westminster) , and want to know more, you'll find a bit here...
Go for it....
...look up this link to see info on the new drama production from the Divine Comedy team in Oxford. Tickets available from the Oxford Playhouse - the info is in that link.
If you want to see some good drama, if you are a fan of JPII, if you love Oxford on a spring evening, if you simply want an enjoyable evening out, then this is for you...
If you want to see some good drama, if you are a fan of JPII, if you love Oxford on a spring evening, if you simply want an enjoyable evening out, then this is for you...
Monday, March 28, 2011
Are you a...
...young Catholic in Britain aged 11-18? Or a pupil at a Catholic secondary school in the UK? If so, you are eligible to enter the 2011 Catholic Young Writer Award. It is sponsored jointly by the Catholic Union and The Keys, the Catholic Writers' Guild. Check out the info on the Catholic Union website here.
The theme is about love and is connected to the Royal Wedding...
Last year's winner, on a theme of John Henry Newman and his message, was Corinna Keefe, a pupil at St Leonard/Mayfield school, with a really excellent entry: read more about it here.
NB: Sorry, but this Award is for UK residents only...
The theme is about love and is connected to the Royal Wedding...
Last year's winner, on a theme of John Henry Newman and his message, was Corinna Keefe, a pupil at St Leonard/Mayfield school, with a really excellent entry: read more about it here.
NB: Sorry, but this Award is for UK residents only...
To Wonersh...
...to St John's seminary, accompanying Dr Pia Matthews, who teaches there. The Surrey countryside entrancing in the spring: daffodils, trees with a profusion of pink and white blossom like bridesmaids' dresses.
Impressed by the young men at the seminary: cheerful, welcoming, friendly. An easy, relaxed atmosphere at lunch, strong male voices saying Grace, the room filled with lively talk during the meal, staff, students and visitors all together. The seminary has a quietly busy, purposeful air. The grounds are attractive, and students all have specific jobs both outdoors and indoors to keep the whole place running smoothly. Judging by the notice-boards, they have plenty of other things to keep them busy too - sports, guest speakers,all sorts of activities, involvement with Catholic groups and organisations.
In the main entrance hall, there is a statue of Our Lady where they gather to pray. Peeked into the chapel, but there was a group practising for Mass.
An outsider coming in to see what a Catholic seminary is like would have to note the normality, openess, and warmth of welcome, the sense of doing something positive, the genuine atmosphere of a community getting along together - a rare and delightful thing - and the general cheerfulness. I am sure that lots of seminarians have bleak days. But the general impression of Wonersh was one of good cheer.
We need more men prepared to say "Yes" if they sense that "the Lord is here and he is calling for you..."
Impressed by the young men at the seminary: cheerful, welcoming, friendly. An easy, relaxed atmosphere at lunch, strong male voices saying Grace, the room filled with lively talk during the meal, staff, students and visitors all together. The seminary has a quietly busy, purposeful air. The grounds are attractive, and students all have specific jobs both outdoors and indoors to keep the whole place running smoothly. Judging by the notice-boards, they have plenty of other things to keep them busy too - sports, guest speakers,all sorts of activities, involvement with Catholic groups and organisations.
In the main entrance hall, there is a statue of Our Lady where they gather to pray. Peeked into the chapel, but there was a group practising for Mass.
An outsider coming in to see what a Catholic seminary is like would have to note the normality, openess, and warmth of welcome, the sense of doing something positive, the genuine atmosphere of a community getting along together - a rare and delightful thing - and the general cheerfulness. I am sure that lots of seminarians have bleak days. But the general impression of Wonersh was one of good cheer.
We need more men prepared to say "Yes" if they sense that "the Lord is here and he is calling for you..."
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Look at...
...these pix of the glorious Mass at Westminster Cathedral to mark the 950th nniversary of Walsingham....
At Mass...
...today, we had a guest preacher: Fr Peter Walters of Let the Children LIve, a charity dedicated to Our Lady of Walsingham. The parish is supporting this as a Lenten Project. I sat and put my brain into a sort of oh-well-I'm-sure-it's-a-worthy-charity-do-I-really-need-to-listen? mode, but from the moment that Fr started speaking I was gripped. He described how, some thirty years ago, he was on holiday in South America and had a problem with his return ticket, so had to stay on while it was sorted out. He had no money by this time so went hungry - and was befriended by some street children who at first had tried to beg from him but then found it hilarious when he told them he had no cash and was hungry like them. By the time he was able to fly home he had decided that he must find some way to help these children - and this resulted in his working with the local Bishop on a number of projects which flourish to this day. He launched the charity as a young Anglican priest working at the Shrine in Walsingham, and it has grown and grown. He is now a Catholic priest, based permanently in Colombia, and the charity is still linked to Walsingham: the shrine of her "holy house" makes a bond with the homeless children, and the centre in Colombia is called "Casa Walsingham" and has a statue which is carried in procession and much loved...
Colombia's economy and social fabric has been wrecked by the drugs trade, and the street children are the resulting victims. But their future could be bright and full of hope if help is given - the projects currently include educational ventures, a choir, a residential home, support for families...
Every time some people buy cocaine here in the West, they are helping to kill children in Bogota: the illegally-produced rugs fund gun crimes and killers who shoot children simply because they are regardedas beggars and a nuisance.
Colombia's economy and social fabric has been wrecked by the drugs trade, and the street children are the resulting victims. But their future could be bright and full of hope if help is given - the projects currently include educational ventures, a choir, a residential home, support for families...
Every time some people buy cocaine here in the West, they are helping to kill children in Bogota: the illegally-produced rugs fund gun crimes and killers who shoot children simply because they are regardedas beggars and a nuisance.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Came across...
...this blog and felt it was worth sharing with others.
And also this Blog, from St Paul's Bookshop, next to Westminster Cathedral. The St Pauls publishing group produced, for the Year of Priests, a book on St John Vianney by JB. I was of course familiar with this saint, but discovering the details of his life, and its message, was a project that was deeply interesting. A man of humility and prayer, a model for all priests. JPII was inspired by him, shared his grasp of poverty and penance, adopted his general style.
And also this Blog, from St Paul's Bookshop, next to Westminster Cathedral. The St Pauls publishing group produced, for the Year of Priests, a book on St John Vianney by JB. I was of course familiar with this saint, but discovering the details of his life, and its message, was a project that was deeply interesting. A man of humility and prayer, a model for all priests. JPII was inspired by him, shared his grasp of poverty and penance, adopted his general style.
At a London Tube station...
...police were handing out leaflets - "It's about today's march". Uh? It seemed a bit odd - after all, London has been seeing protest marches and demonstrations all my life and for many years before that. One more anti-Government march didn't seem so odd.
But when I crossed Piccadilly later in the day I saw why there was a worry. Faces hidden by balaclava helmets with gaps cut for eyes and noses, shrieking and angry, they came down the street waving red and black flags - it was frankly horrible. Others wore black scarves across their faces. A girl stood shouting "Let them hear your anger! Shout your anger!"
I had come from St James Church in George Street, where we had had a most inspiring Day of Recollection led by a priest from Brentwood Cathedral. Thoughtful, challenging, it was focused on the importance of holiness - and of seeing God's work as central, not our own efforts to achieve things. The day was organised by the Association of Catholic Women, and in the quiet room and in the beautiful church for Mass, there was a chance to be close to God...
It is a pleasant walk from there to Westminster, and a route I know well. But in Piccadilly the marchers were menacing and suddenly everything seemed nasty. Later, TV coverage showed windows being bashed, the youths with the sinister black and red flags running and shouting....why did they wear the terrorist-chic unfiform of balaclavas and scarf-covered faces, why did they not want people to know who they were?
In Green Park the bright daffodils sent a springtime message but it was impossible to shake off the horrid feeling. At Westminster Cathedral, however, a vast crowd was packing the place out, celebrating Our Lady of Walsingham. Today is the Feast of the Annunciation, and 2011 marks the 950th anniversary of Walsingham, "England's Nazareth". Young women from the Community of Our Lady of Walsingham carried her statue, there was a great concourse of clergy led by the Archbishop, the Nuncio,and several other Bishops, and there were Knights of Malta and Knights of this and that, and Guardians of the Anglican Shrine, and a representative of the Archbishop of Canterbury and clergy of other denominations...
The huge crowds had had long since overflowed from the seats and kneelers, and were in the side-aisles and kneeling on the floor at the back, and finding places in the chapels of St Patrick and St Paul and Our Lady ...there were substantial groups from the Ordinariate, noticeable because they came up for a blessing at Holy Communion, as they are in the process of reception into the Church and thus in a "Eucharistic fast": it was impressive and touching to see them: a new chapter opening.
A time to pray for our country. There was a new hymn, sung with organ, brass and choir accompaniment:
Lady of Walsingham, Lady of England
Look with love on this our land...
But when I crossed Piccadilly later in the day I saw why there was a worry. Faces hidden by balaclava helmets with gaps cut for eyes and noses, shrieking and angry, they came down the street waving red and black flags - it was frankly horrible. Others wore black scarves across their faces. A girl stood shouting "Let them hear your anger! Shout your anger!"
I had come from St James Church in George Street, where we had had a most inspiring Day of Recollection led by a priest from Brentwood Cathedral. Thoughtful, challenging, it was focused on the importance of holiness - and of seeing God's work as central, not our own efforts to achieve things. The day was organised by the Association of Catholic Women, and in the quiet room and in the beautiful church for Mass, there was a chance to be close to God...
It is a pleasant walk from there to Westminster, and a route I know well. But in Piccadilly the marchers were menacing and suddenly everything seemed nasty. Later, TV coverage showed windows being bashed, the youths with the sinister black and red flags running and shouting....why did they wear the terrorist-chic unfiform of balaclavas and scarf-covered faces, why did they not want people to know who they were?
In Green Park the bright daffodils sent a springtime message but it was impossible to shake off the horrid feeling. At Westminster Cathedral, however, a vast crowd was packing the place out, celebrating Our Lady of Walsingham. Today is the Feast of the Annunciation, and 2011 marks the 950th anniversary of Walsingham, "England's Nazareth". Young women from the Community of Our Lady of Walsingham carried her statue, there was a great concourse of clergy led by the Archbishop, the Nuncio,and several other Bishops, and there were Knights of Malta and Knights of this and that, and Guardians of the Anglican Shrine, and a representative of the Archbishop of Canterbury and clergy of other denominations...
The huge crowds had had long since overflowed from the seats and kneelers, and were in the side-aisles and kneeling on the floor at the back, and finding places in the chapels of St Patrick and St Paul and Our Lady ...there were substantial groups from the Ordinariate, noticeable because they came up for a blessing at Holy Communion, as they are in the process of reception into the Church and thus in a "Eucharistic fast": it was impressive and touching to see them: a new chapter opening.
A time to pray for our country. There was a new hymn, sung with organ, brass and choir accompaniment:
Lady of Walsingham, Lady of England
Look with love on this our land...
Friday, March 25, 2011
Traditional Catholic Walks and Talks...
... we've been working on the programme of these for the rest of 2011. Regular readers of this Blog will know the drill: note the date and time, and just turn up, wearing suitable shoes and clothing as we walk whatever the weather.
April 14th: meet at 6.30pm (after the 5.30pm sung Mass) on the steps of Westminster Cathedral. This History Walk will have a Royal theme, to link with the forthcoming Royal Wedding. You'll learn about history and traditions, folklore and faith...and we finish with prayers for our country and for a great revival of the Church in this land.
Two History Walks in MAY: May 12th, meet at 6.30pm on the steps of St Paul's Cathedral for a walk around the City, tracing links with saints and martyrs, and seeing some of the old City churches. May 25th, meet 6.30pm on the steps of Westminster Cathedral for a Westminster Walk which will also include a "passport to Pimlico" and conclude at Holy Apostles Church. Again, both these Walks will end with prayers...
In June we are invited to Allen Hall, on the site of St Thomas More's garden in Chelsea. It is the seminary where priests are trained for the diocese of Westminster. We'll be shown around by some seminarians, have tea, and then join them for a Holy Hour and Benediction. We'll be praying for all the students and also for more vocations to the priesthood. Before we leave, we'll visit the gardens, and the mulberry tree where the More family used to gather together to talk and relax: we'll pray there and invoke the intercession of St Thomas More...
AND NOTE THIS DATE: Sunday JUNE 19th. THE MARTYRS' WALK. This traditional Walk through London follows the route taken by Catholic Martyrs dragged to Tyburn where they suffered for the Faith. Meet at 1.30pm for 2pm at the churchyard of St Sepulchre-without-Newgate (near the Old Bailey). Bring your Rosary. We visit various churches on the way, and finish at Tyburn Convent with Benediction at approx 5pm...
More info on all of this, plus background info HERE...
April 14th: meet at 6.30pm (after the 5.30pm sung Mass) on the steps of Westminster Cathedral. This History Walk will have a Royal theme, to link with the forthcoming Royal Wedding. You'll learn about history and traditions, folklore and faith...and we finish with prayers for our country and for a great revival of the Church in this land.
Two History Walks in MAY: May 12th, meet at 6.30pm on the steps of St Paul's Cathedral for a walk around the City, tracing links with saints and martyrs, and seeing some of the old City churches. May 25th, meet 6.30pm on the steps of Westminster Cathedral for a Westminster Walk which will also include a "passport to Pimlico" and conclude at Holy Apostles Church. Again, both these Walks will end with prayers...
In June we are invited to Allen Hall, on the site of St Thomas More's garden in Chelsea. It is the seminary where priests are trained for the diocese of Westminster. We'll be shown around by some seminarians, have tea, and then join them for a Holy Hour and Benediction. We'll be praying for all the students and also for more vocations to the priesthood. Before we leave, we'll visit the gardens, and the mulberry tree where the More family used to gather together to talk and relax: we'll pray there and invoke the intercession of St Thomas More...
AND NOTE THIS DATE: Sunday JUNE 19th. THE MARTYRS' WALK. This traditional Walk through London follows the route taken by Catholic Martyrs dragged to Tyburn where they suffered for the Faith. Meet at 1.30pm for 2pm at the churchyard of St Sepulchre-without-Newgate (near the Old Bailey). Bring your Rosary. We visit various churches on the way, and finish at Tyburn Convent with Benediction at approx 5pm...
More info on all of this, plus background info HERE...
LIke lots of others...
...I am finding out more and more about John Paul the Great in these days leading up to the beatification. You gotta see this DVD...
A most lovely message...
...from a dear friend who is a nun on the Isle of Wight. The community at St Cecilia's is thriving and more people ought to know about it. The life is a challenging one, but all the sisters look so happy!
Take a look at theiur new website and pass the word along. Somewhere out there are some young women who are searching for something, and for whom this is the Lord's plan.
Take a look at theiur new website and pass the word along. Somewhere out there are some young women who are searching for something, and for whom this is the Lord's plan.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
WANT TO LEARN GREGORIAN CHANT? .
There is just time, but only just, to book yourself into the Day of Art and Music, for Catholic teachers and parish catechists, organised by the Association of Catholic Women. March 30th at the Maryvale Institute tel 0121 360 8118. The day includes an illustrated talk on Christian art, showing how to use the world's glorious art to teach the Faith; and a training session in Gregorian chant. Things finish with Mass in the beautiful Maryvale chapel - and we will sing the chant we have been learning that afternoon.
More info here.
More info here.
Come along to...
...a talk on John Henry Newman. Auntie has been involved with organising a string of these in London. Info on the latest here. Funds raised go to the Maryvale Institute.
Do you share...
...the concern of many of us about the downgrading of Religious Education in Britain's schools?
I'm not talking here about RE in Catholic schools - it goes without saying that good RE there should be a priority, and taught with the fullness of Catholic Faith. That is central to the mission of a Catholic school.
No - here I am talking about ordinary schools, not Church schools, but all the other schools in the country.
A genuine and rounded education must include religious education. And, within that, pupils have a right to know, specifically, about the Christian faith - about Jesus Christ and who he was and what he did. They have a right to be taught the central precepts of the Christian faith: without some knowledge of Christianity they cannot undertand Britain's language, culture, history, art, legal and Parliamentary traditions,and much more.
I am involved with an ecumenical Christian group which seeks to help and support teachers. We run an annual Schools Bible Project which has been hugely successful for over twenty years. See info here.
I'm not talking here about RE in Catholic schools - it goes without saying that good RE there should be a priority, and taught with the fullness of Catholic Faith. That is central to the mission of a Catholic school.
No - here I am talking about ordinary schools, not Church schools, but all the other schools in the country.
A genuine and rounded education must include religious education. And, within that, pupils have a right to know, specifically, about the Christian faith - about Jesus Christ and who he was and what he did. They have a right to be taught the central precepts of the Christian faith: without some knowledge of Christianity they cannot undertand Britain's language, culture, history, art, legal and Parliamentary traditions,and much more.
I am involved with an ecumenical Christian group which seeks to help and support teachers. We run an annual Schools Bible Project which has been hugely successful for over twenty years. See info here.
Damp grass...
...needing to be cut, for the first time after the long winter. Inevitably, bits of litter and rubbish from the road get tangled into it. Lawnmower out and I struggled with it in the increasingly warm sunshine. Sudden realisation that spring is truly here.
"Whan that Aprille with his shoures soote..." Aid to the Church in Need is organising a pilgrimage to Walsingham on April 30th, with coaches departing from London. Info here. It was absolutely wonderful last year and I'm looking forward to going again.
"Whan that Aprille with his shoures soote..." Aid to the Church in Need is organising a pilgrimage to Walsingham on April 30th, with coaches departing from London. Info here. It was absolutely wonderful last year and I'm looking forward to going again.
Every Thursday...
...after the morning Mass, our parish priest places - better, enthrones - the Blessed Sacrament on the altar for adoration. People come throughout the day to pray. It is peaceful and beautiful: candles glittering, some devotional booklets on a table near the door, plus a book you can sign if you like.
There are massive roadworks going on alongside the church, making access difficult but this has made no difference: there were large numbers at Mass this morning.
Mid-afternoon saw me hurrying with some old DVDs and other clutter to take to a charity shop. I did a shall-I-shan't-I at the major road junction, wondering whether or not to make a visit to the church. I am so glad I did. Thursday is the day you say the Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary.
There are massive roadworks going on alongside the church, making access difficult but this has made no difference: there were large numbers at Mass this morning.
Mid-afternoon saw me hurrying with some old DVDs and other clutter to take to a charity shop. I did a shall-I-shan't-I at the major road junction, wondering whether or not to make a visit to the church. I am so glad I did. Thursday is the day you say the Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
To OXFORD....
...and the Oxford Oratory, where great plans are afoot to create a shrine to Blessed John Henry Newman, and a cloister garden plus much-needed extra accomodation for the rapidly-expanding Oratorian community. Mass, a good number of people in the congregation, and several pews filled with children in bright yellow school uniform teeshirts, looking rather sweet. They were all going one by one to confession, the confessional door opening and shutting with its quiet click.
Then coffee with Elizabeth Mills, who is part of the fund-raising team for the Building for the Future campaign. We are having a gathering in London in May to reach potential donors, and have been emailing and phoning to arrange this: it was good to be together and working on lists and plans in a sunny springtime day in Oxford.
On to the Caldecott family and the team presenting the forthcoming play celebrating John Paul II. A contagious sense of joy and enthusiasm - and a lot of hard work ahead as they rehearse. This looks like a play well worth watching: click on that link to get details.
Appropriately, I'm reading Why he is a saint: The Life and Faith of Pope John Paul II. The information on JPII's prayer life is intensely powerful. It really challenged me: this is the bit of life that really matters...
Dusk falling as the train takes book and Bogle back to London...
Then coffee with Elizabeth Mills, who is part of the fund-raising team for the Building for the Future campaign. We are having a gathering in London in May to reach potential donors, and have been emailing and phoning to arrange this: it was good to be together and working on lists and plans in a sunny springtime day in Oxford.
On to the Caldecott family and the team presenting the forthcoming play celebrating John Paul II. A contagious sense of joy and enthusiasm - and a lot of hard work ahead as they rehearse. This looks like a play well worth watching: click on that link to get details.
Appropriately, I'm reading Why he is a saint: The Life and Faith of Pope John Paul II. The information on JPII's prayer life is intensely powerful. It really challenged me: this is the bit of life that really matters...
Dusk falling as the train takes book and Bogle back to London...
Monday, March 21, 2011
A fresh, spring day...
...with bright daffodils suddenly in all sorts of places, and great clouds of white and pink blossom on trees lining suburban roads. But all the time, walking and talking, hurrying to a meeting or chatting gently to Mother, a nagging sense of worry and dread. War surging in a distant land, ghastly media headlines and images of destruction,and a sickening anxiety as to what will be the outcome.
Aerial bombardment creates a sense of superiority: a feeling of invincibility as things explode and destruction is achieved far below. But what really matters is who wins on the ground: who takes control when the noise and explosions are over, who is the long-term gainer.
Aerial bombardment creates a sense of superiority: a feeling of invincibility as things explode and destruction is achieved far below. But what really matters is who wins on the ground: who takes control when the noise and explosions are over, who is the long-term gainer.
We must pray...
...that the action taken by the British and other forces in Libya will result in a good government emerging there. I have the gravest doubts that this is a likely outcome. It seems much more possible that a ferociously Islamicist alliance of various factions will emerge and, after a period of chaos, take over.
Pray. Pray hard.
Pray. Pray hard.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
On Friday evening...
...I was invited to speak to our parish Confirmation candidates. There are a large number of them - it was rather daunting to enter the hall and hear the great chatter and noise. But I need not have worried - they listened, they were interested. The topic was "saints" - they each have to choose a Confirmation name, and the idea was to explain about this, about the Communion of Saints, about saints praying for us in Heaven just as we do for one another here on earth, about saints' days and the calendar. The evening ended with the parish priest leading the group in a sung Litany of the Saints. They turned to face the great crucifix, and sang the responses and the hall was filled with the prayer of it all.
I walked home through the chilly suburban streets feeling quite uplifted.
I walked home through the chilly suburban streets feeling quite uplifted.
This Sunday, at Mass...
...the beauty and clarity of the liturgy. The new translation, used for the first time in our parish, and it is excellent.
We are a very big parish, with a great many young families - a busy suburban area - and the church is filled several times each Sunday, with people in all the side pews and also standing at the back. Mass is said reverently and the 11.30am Mass has a good choir, which leads us in Latin chant as well as singing beautifully at Communion...and into all this the new translation, which is accurate, sensitive, dignified and worthy found its place with naturalness and peace.
We are a very big parish, with a great many young families - a busy suburban area - and the church is filled several times each Sunday, with people in all the side pews and also standing at the back. Mass is said reverently and the 11.30am Mass has a good choir, which leads us in Latin chant as well as singing beautifully at Communion...and into all this the new translation, which is accurate, sensitive, dignified and worthy found its place with naturalness and peace.
This looks delightful...
... A John Paul II Walking Pilgrimage for young adults, for the conversion of England. Find out about it here.
Friday, March 18, 2011
Thursday, March 17, 2011
The Old Friary...
...near Westminster Cathedral - actually originally built as a school/orphanage for the children of soldiers of the Crimean War - is now owned by a director of the Catholic Herald newspaper, and a press conference was held there to mark the launch of Persecuted and Forgotten?, an important new report produced by Aid to the Church in Need. The report highlights the problems faced by Christians in various parts of the world. At the press conference, Archbishop Nichols spoke extremely well, quoting the Holy Father on the subject of religious freedom as a fundamental right. Archbishop Bashar Warda of Iraq was the special guest speaker and spoke movingly about the plight of Christians in his country.
Mass in Westminster Cathedral - large numbers because it was St Patrick's Day. Glorious music. On the way in, we met Fr Keith Newton, of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham. He didn't mention it, but he and the other two former Anglican bishops have just been made Monsignors.
While trawling the news, I came across the significant message delivered by the Holy Father to mark the celebration of 150 years of modern Italy. The clear message that it gives about the role of the Church gives clear definition to the approach of the Church following the Second Vatican Council and is a forward-looking and good way ahead.
Another topic of major interest: the new Missal. The Catholic Truth Society has been working on this project for months and the news is very good indeed: the new translation of the Mass is, of course, in good English with clarity and beauty, and it's clear we can expect the various Missals to be beautiful too, both those for use on the altar and those for the faitful are to be of fine quality, and worthy of their purpose.
.
Mass in Westminster Cathedral - large numbers because it was St Patrick's Day. Glorious music. On the way in, we met Fr Keith Newton, of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham. He didn't mention it, but he and the other two former Anglican bishops have just been made Monsignors.
While trawling the news, I came across the significant message delivered by the Holy Father to mark the celebration of 150 years of modern Italy. The clear message that it gives about the role of the Church gives clear definition to the approach of the Church following the Second Vatican Council and is a forward-looking and good way ahead.
Another topic of major interest: the new Missal. The Catholic Truth Society has been working on this project for months and the news is very good indeed: the new translation of the Mass is, of course, in good English with clarity and beauty, and it's clear we can expect the various Missals to be beautiful too, both those for use on the altar and those for the faitful are to be of fine quality, and worthy of their purpose.
.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Working...
...on an essay about St Paul and Christian moral teaching.
Busy with arrangements for the Day of Art and Music at the Maryvale Institute, Birmingham on March 30th, sponsored by the Association of Catholic Women. All teachers are invited. Contact Maryvale for details...
Next Catholic History Walk is on Thursday April 14th, meet at 6.30pm on the steps of Westminster Cathedral. All welcome. No need to book, just turn up.
I'm reading a lot at the moment about John Paul II: what a great man, and a great Pope who gave the Papacy a fresh zest and sense of authority for this new millenium. And yet always very simple in his liturgical style, and in his personal tastes. Somehow this spoke to people - they could see that he wanted to teach about God, to focus on God, to open up people's hearts, including his own, to God.
Busy with arrangements for the Day of Art and Music at the Maryvale Institute, Birmingham on March 30th, sponsored by the Association of Catholic Women. All teachers are invited. Contact Maryvale for details...
Next Catholic History Walk is on Thursday April 14th, meet at 6.30pm on the steps of Westminster Cathedral. All welcome. No need to book, just turn up.
I'm reading a lot at the moment about John Paul II: what a great man, and a great Pope who gave the Papacy a fresh zest and sense of authority for this new millenium. And yet always very simple in his liturgical style, and in his personal tastes. Somehow this spoke to people - they could see that he wanted to teach about God, to focus on God, to open up people's hearts, including his own, to God.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Tradition...
...beauty, glorious music, and a sense of history, at Westminster Cathedral as the new Papal Nuncio was welcomed at a magnificent Mass. I happened to be meeting a friend for a drink this evening, and had arranged to do so on the Cathedral steps, hadn't known there was anything special happening. But then some one told me there was to be the Mass for the Nuncio at 5pm, so I arrived early and went in. The choir sang a beautiful Introit and Gradual (Protector noster aspice Deus....), and Offertory Motet, and Byrd's Ave Verum at Communion... A rather grand letter was read out formally announcing the Nuncio's appointment, and then later Archbishop Nichols introduced him and then he addressed us....it was all rather splendid, with the Nuncio speaking of his presenting his letters of credence to the Queen,and Her Majesty having recalled with recent visit of His Holiness with great pleasure etc etc...in a sometimes bleak and ugly modern Britain it was delightful to have this reminder of traditional diplomatic formalities and to enjoy it all...
Afterwards a long delightful talk with a friend, a real joy.
While on the subject of church music, The Music Makers has a new CD, dedicated to Our Lady of Walsingham...
Afterwards a long delightful talk with a friend, a real joy.
While on the subject of church music, The Music Makers has a new CD, dedicated to Our Lady of Walsingham...
Sunday, March 13, 2011
A traditional Catholic Sunday...
...with Mass (pastoral letter from the Archp, 1st Sunday of Lent). In the parish bookshop, the Pope's new book, Jesus of Nazareth, vol 11 was on sale. I couldn't resist and bought a copy. Afternoon with Mother, too cold and wet for her to enjoy a walk.The days can seem long and quiet when you are 90, but there is always family news to discuss, and we talked about Easter and the great-grandchildren, and in due course we'll be going out to buy chocolate eggs...on to collect my bike and then home to make a snack supper, and on to the parish hall where we had an informal get-together to watch a film about Pope John Paul. V. powerful and moving - we'd all been chatting comfortably over tea and cakes beforehand but as the film began silence descended and soon we were all utterly gripped. What an extraordinary gift to the Church was this man, and what an era we all lived through together.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Not sure if...
...it's very good, but you can hear Auntie talking about her planned new book here on Vatican Radio...
A Traditional Catholic History Walk...
...a strong tradition now having been formed and a real sense of it emerged as we gathered in London, at Tower Hill. The brochures had stated that we would meet at the site of St Thomas More's execution, which is in the Memorial Garden near the Tower but we hadn't know that the Garden gates are locked as evening falls...so the first talk, and our opening prayers, took place just outside the gate. This turned out to be the best place of all, as the impressive entrance carries the names of the thousands and thousands of men of the Merchant Navy who lost their lives at sea, bringing food and supplies to our beleagured island during two World Wars...I had in any case intended to incorporate this into the opening talk, but standing by the entrance gate gave the whole evening a most moving and unforgettable start. The names continue all round the walls of the monument within the gates...
We went to the Tower, visited Traitors' Gate, plunged further back to the Roman and Saxon times, heard the history,learned how the Thames has shaped our city and our country's story down century after century...
Our Walk finished outside St Margaret Patten's church, where we prayed for our country and its future.
More info on all these Catholic Histyory Walks here. Next one is on April 14th, starts 6.30pm on the steps of Westminster Cathedral and has a Royal theme to connect with the R. Wedding...
We went to the Tower, visited Traitors' Gate, plunged further back to the Roman and Saxon times, heard the history,learned how the Thames has shaped our city and our country's story down century after century...
Our Walk finished outside St Margaret Patten's church, where we prayed for our country and its future.
More info on all these Catholic Histyory Walks here. Next one is on April 14th, starts 6.30pm on the steps of Westminster Cathedral and has a Royal theme to connect with the R. Wedding...
Wednesday, March 09, 2011
This interview...
...with the leader of an Ordinariate group is worth watching. He explains things very well. And this one is good too.
Up early...
...to hurry to London for a talk on Premier Radio about Ash Wednesday, Lent, and the meaning of it all. The young team presenting the programme - all informal chat and rock-Gospel music - were terrific, we got on really well, and there was great interest in the whole subject. Evangelical and Pentecostal Christians are becoming increasingly interested in the Christian seasons, and no longer neccessarily discuss such topics as if coming from across a great divide. I saw the whole topic through new eyes, and while I was the one providing information ("Why 40 days, where do the ashes come from, what is the significance of it all, why are ashes linked to penitence?" and more...) it was they who somehow helped to bring its true meaning out...
Walked back towards Westminster Cathedral and dropped in - there was the most glorious singing coming from a side-chapel, and there, behold, were the children of the Westminster Cathedral Choir School, with teachers and parents, at a most beautiful traditional Ash Wednesday Mass. The boys looked very smart in their crimson uniforms, and there was an atmosphere of reverence. They sang beautifully for the distriubution of ashes, and for Communion, and all the parts of the Mass - the Pater Noster was especially fine - and there was dignity and a prayerful sense throughout, the voices joining in the responses and a quiet rustle of formal greetings at the Sign of Peace. I came away rather uplifted.
The new translation of the Mass is due to arrive in parishes soon. It's good, and will make a great difference to the depth of our faith: the trite phrasing we have known for too long gives way to a richer and more dignified tone throughout, to say nothing of greater accuracy. Because of the poor language that we have had to endure in recent decades, I was worried that the whole project of a vernacular liturgy might one day be banned again as it was for so many years. But as with so much that came from that Vatican Council from the 60s, we're getting the real fruits at last.
Walked back towards Westminster Cathedral and dropped in - there was the most glorious singing coming from a side-chapel, and there, behold, were the children of the Westminster Cathedral Choir School, with teachers and parents, at a most beautiful traditional Ash Wednesday Mass. The boys looked very smart in their crimson uniforms, and there was an atmosphere of reverence. They sang beautifully for the distriubution of ashes, and for Communion, and all the parts of the Mass - the Pater Noster was especially fine - and there was dignity and a prayerful sense throughout, the voices joining in the responses and a quiet rustle of formal greetings at the Sign of Peace. I came away rather uplifted.
The new translation of the Mass is due to arrive in parishes soon. It's good, and will make a great difference to the depth of our faith: the trite phrasing we have known for too long gives way to a richer and more dignified tone throughout, to say nothing of greater accuracy. Because of the poor language that we have had to endure in recent decades, I was worried that the whole project of a vernacular liturgy might one day be banned again as it was for so many years. But as with so much that came from that Vatican Council from the 60s, we're getting the real fruits at last.
An excellent day...
...at the Kairos Centre in Roehampton, where Aid to the Church in Need was holding a conference for all its local diocesan representatives. Mass in the beautiful chapel: there is a magnificent stained glass above the altar, showing Mary Magdalene at the foot of the Cross. Talks and discussions on aspects of ACN's work - a new edition of its report Persecuted and Forgotten is due out soon. And a highlight: guest speaker Rev Keith Newton of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham. Informative, upbeat, vigourous, and he answered questioon after question without flagging and with interest and enthusiasm.
A cheerful talkative supper - with pancakes as it was Shrove Tuesday. The kind team working in the kitchen wrapped some up for me with lemon wedges, to take home for Jamie.
A cheerful talkative supper - with pancakes as it was Shrove Tuesday. The kind team working in the kitchen wrapped some up for me with lemon wedges, to take home for Jamie.
Tuesday, March 08, 2011
Monday, March 07, 2011
And beyond today, there is tomorrow...
...and I discovered that young people who are going to Madrid for World Youth Day are also looking ahead to the one after that, possibly in Mexico...
Our parish has a big group going to Madrid, and the other day there was a very enjoyable fund-raising lunch to help them...
Our parish has a big group going to Madrid, and the other day there was a very enjoyable fund-raising lunch to help them...
This will be a Lent like no other Lent...
...for the men who are taking their flocks into the new Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham.
Anglicans and Catholics alike should pray that much that is great and good will flow from this initiative. It all culminates at Easter, and in the days that follow. It all needs lots of prayer.
Need info? Read here for regular updates. And here is some of the latest news.
Anglicans and Catholics alike should pray that much that is great and good will flow from this initiative. It all culminates at Easter, and in the days that follow. It all needs lots of prayer.
Need info? Read here for regular updates. And here is some of the latest news.
Saturday, March 05, 2011
Just to enjoy...
...a bit of London and pageantry, go to this link from the excellent Joan Lewis of EWTN and see the new Nuncio going by carriage to present his credentials to HM the Queen.
A survey from officialdom...
...comes for my elderly mother to complete. It invites her to describe herself as "heterosexual/straight, bisexual, lesbian..." or a couple of other options. My mother would prefer to describe herself as a "normal married woman". She has never used the expression "heterosexual" nor has she described herself as "straight" and it doesn't seem quite right to make her describe herself in terms that she would never use and indeed might regard as offensive.We leave the papers aside for a while. We talk about Britain a bit. "I pray a lot for this country" she says suddenly "I pray a lot."
Lots of young engaged couples...
...sitting in rows at a Marriage Preparation course in a Catholic parish. The atmosphere is very attractive - friendly, open, interested - and it is a privilege to take part in these sessions. As the talk develops, the mood moves from interest to real involvement - there is great seriousness as we speak of the sacrament of marriage, of Cana, of Bridegroom and Bride, of the link between marriage and the Eucharist. Prayer, passing on the Faith to children, loyalty, building up a family, and looking ahead to life and beyond - and preparing for marriage by thinking about these things...all this gets discussed. The day ends with the priest praying one of the beautiful prayers from the Nuptial Mass which speaks of a couple seeing their children's children, and after a happy old age having "fullness of life with the saints, in the kingdom of Heaven".
As I leave I pick up the parish newsletter. There's a rather good Lenten pastoral letter reminding us all about penance and prayer, about fasting and going to confession. Abstention from meat on Lenten Fridays is especially mentioned.
Home on the Tube, trundling through the suburbs, icy rain lashing at the windows, with a book about John Paul II - I'm reading a lot of his material at the moment after realising that in fact I hadn't actually studied much while he was alive and writing...He's going to be beatified on the feast of Divine Mercy. I didn't really connect with this devotion when this feast was first instituted. I remember thinking: "Well, of course God is merciful. Why do we need a special feast to state that?". But listen to what JPII said:
"It is this love which must inspire humanity today, if it is to face the crisis of the meaning of life, the challenges of the most diverse needs and, especially, the duty to defend the dignity of every human person. Thus the message of divine mercy is also implicitly a message about the value of every human being. Each person is precious in God's eyes; Christ gave his life for each one; to everyone the Father gives his Spirit and offers intimacy.
"This consoling message is addressed above all to those who, afflicted by a particularly harsh trial or crushed by the weight of the sins they committed, have lost all confidence in life and are tempted to give in to despair. To them the gentle face of Christ is offered; those rays from his heart touch them and shine upon them, warm them, show them the way and fill them with hope."
As I leave I pick up the parish newsletter. There's a rather good Lenten pastoral letter reminding us all about penance and prayer, about fasting and going to confession. Abstention from meat on Lenten Fridays is especially mentioned.
Home on the Tube, trundling through the suburbs, icy rain lashing at the windows, with a book about John Paul II - I'm reading a lot of his material at the moment after realising that in fact I hadn't actually studied much while he was alive and writing...He's going to be beatified on the feast of Divine Mercy. I didn't really connect with this devotion when this feast was first instituted. I remember thinking: "Well, of course God is merciful. Why do we need a special feast to state that?". But listen to what JPII said:
"It is this love which must inspire humanity today, if it is to face the crisis of the meaning of life, the challenges of the most diverse needs and, especially, the duty to defend the dignity of every human person. Thus the message of divine mercy is also implicitly a message about the value of every human being. Each person is precious in God's eyes; Christ gave his life for each one; to everyone the Father gives his Spirit and offers intimacy.
"This consoling message is addressed above all to those who, afflicted by a particularly harsh trial or crushed by the weight of the sins they committed, have lost all confidence in life and are tempted to give in to despair. To them the gentle face of Christ is offered; those rays from his heart touch them and shine upon them, warm them, show them the way and fill them with hope."
Friday, March 04, 2011
Who was John Henry Newman?
Come and hear about him.
An illustrated talk by Newman scholar Dr Andrew Nash
WEDNESDAY March 16th, 7.30pm in the church hall at St Winefride’s Church, South Wimbledon, London SW19
ALL WELCOME! Coffee and Victorian Marmalade Cake. Suggested donation £3.00. Funds raised will go towards the work of the Maryvale Institute, the Catholic educational centre established at Maryvale, Old Oscott House, once the home of John Henry Newman.
An illustrated talk by Newman scholar Dr Andrew Nash
WEDNESDAY March 16th, 7.30pm in the church hall at St Winefride’s Church, South Wimbledon, London SW19
ALL WELCOME! Coffee and Victorian Marmalade Cake. Suggested donation £3.00. Funds raised will go towards the work of the Maryvale Institute, the Catholic educational centre established at Maryvale, Old Oscott House, once the home of John Henry Newman.
And more on John Paul II...
...about whom you're going to hear a lkot in the next days and weeks. AS mentioned below (see earlier blog post) I've been reading up about him. Rather than the standard media commentaries, try this one...
Thursday, March 03, 2011
Been reading...
...works by Edith Stein, and realised that I also wanted to read more by and about the great John Paul II. Like a great many of us, I had more or less taken him for granted - "Yes, wonderful man...hugely important..." but hadn't actually hoisted in the hugeness of what was achieved during his Papacy. I knew about the friendship with the Jewish people, opened up by Nostra Aetate and just this week reaffirmed with vigour by our present Holy Father.. But I had not realised the breakthrough that was achieved with the Orthodox Church, specifically by JPII's willingness to express sorrow and repentance for past wrongs caused by Catholics. What has also become very clear is the great intellectual closeness and rapport between JPII and BXVI, the philosopher and the theologian. Over the past three years I've been deep in books by Ratzinger/BXVI, and you note the influence at so many levels...
Wednesday, March 02, 2011
A crowd of young parents...
...packed out a room at St Joseph's, Epsom, this evening for a talk on the sacrament of Penance. Yes, I mean a big crowd - they get about 700 people at the main Family Mass on Sunday mornings, and here were a large number of them, coming for the latest in a series of evening sessions on preparing the children to recieve the sacraments. I was amazed. We keep hearing about how the Church is supposed to be dying, numbers dwindling, etc, but it just isn't.
It was a priviledge to be there as part of a team with Dr Pia Matthews talking about the Sacrament of Penance, and how it works, and what it's all about...there was a great atmosphere, everyone attentive, a good blend of humour and seriousness, an air of realism, faith, and much goodwill. These are families who see their children and the Faith as being of central importance in their lives...
Earlier in the day, I was at a press conference about the H. Father's new book on Jesus of Nazareth...
And in between, a happy family time, helping to collect a small relative from school and walking along with him swinging a schoolbag and chattering agreeably.
It was a priviledge to be there as part of a team with Dr Pia Matthews talking about the Sacrament of Penance, and how it works, and what it's all about...there was a great atmosphere, everyone attentive, a good blend of humour and seriousness, an air of realism, faith, and much goodwill. These are families who see their children and the Faith as being of central importance in their lives...
Earlier in the day, I was at a press conference about the H. Father's new book on Jesus of Nazareth...
And in between, a happy family time, helping to collect a small relative from school and walking along with him swinging a schoolbag and chattering agreeably.
Tuesday, March 01, 2011
A Polish priest...
...visited the office of Aid to the Church in Need in Sutton Yesterday (see previous post), and we had a good chat over mugs of tea. For years and years, faithful ACN supporters in Britain were supporting the Church in Poland, helping to fund the building of the great church at Nowa Huta, praying for Poles struggling against a vicious bureaucratic obstructive Communist state machine, assisting the arrival in Poland of books and literature banned by the State. And now, here was a cheerful priest, busy with plans to take a large crowd of young Poles to World Youth Day in Madrid, showing me snaps of various youth events in Poland, swapping news and information about the state of the Church in Poland and in Britain and elsewhere.
The young faces grinned out from the photographs - groups just like the gatherings of the FAITH Movement in Britain each summer, or, indeed, like the young people in our parish the other day, in their WYD teeshirts, rushing about organising a big parish lunch to raise funds for the Madrid project. But the difference is that to be a practising Catholic in Poland isn't a minority thing - it's much more normal.
I asked: have numbers at Mass gone down since the fall of Communism - is a new generation viewing the Church in a quite different way? Yes, there's a different attitude - it's no longer a case of showing support for the Church in opposition to a Communist regime. But today's generation has grown up with that - they see the Church in a different way but still in a way that inspires them, holds out a message that they like. Many will travel abroad, and all have an attitude that looks wider, likes the idea of something worldwide - the big challenge is to show them that when they do go to different countries, the Church may not seem to large and lively there, and they must make an effort to seek it out.
Earlier, I'd been talking to a - former Anglican - ordinand about evangelisation, and how to bring the Gospel to modern British cities. The shouting, drunken young girls staggering out of pubs late on a Saturday night? The solid Islamic areas? The young single women with their babies on a bleak Council estate? The young men, dedicated to the local football team with the pssionate fervour of a great religious cause?
Tonight, a gathering of an informal Catholic group in London which meets from time to time for talks from guest speakers, wine and snacks, socialising. Tonight, we're watching the Papal Visit DVD, (recommended).
The vast crowd, mostly young, silent at prayer in Hyde Park last year holds a message that is relevant to what I've written above.
The young faces grinned out from the photographs - groups just like the gatherings of the FAITH Movement in Britain each summer, or, indeed, like the young people in our parish the other day, in their WYD teeshirts, rushing about organising a big parish lunch to raise funds for the Madrid project. But the difference is that to be a practising Catholic in Poland isn't a minority thing - it's much more normal.
I asked: have numbers at Mass gone down since the fall of Communism - is a new generation viewing the Church in a quite different way? Yes, there's a different attitude - it's no longer a case of showing support for the Church in opposition to a Communist regime. But today's generation has grown up with that - they see the Church in a different way but still in a way that inspires them, holds out a message that they like. Many will travel abroad, and all have an attitude that looks wider, likes the idea of something worldwide - the big challenge is to show them that when they do go to different countries, the Church may not seem to large and lively there, and they must make an effort to seek it out.
Earlier, I'd been talking to a - former Anglican - ordinand about evangelisation, and how to bring the Gospel to modern British cities. The shouting, drunken young girls staggering out of pubs late on a Saturday night? The solid Islamic areas? The young single women with their babies on a bleak Council estate? The young men, dedicated to the local football team with the pssionate fervour of a great religious cause?
Tonight, a gathering of an informal Catholic group in London which meets from time to time for talks from guest speakers, wine and snacks, socialising. Tonight, we're watching the Papal Visit DVD, (recommended).
The vast crowd, mostly young, silent at prayer in Hyde Park last year holds a message that is relevant to what I've written above.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Through the rainy London suburbs...
...to Holy Cross church in Carshalton, for the funeral of Miss Margaret Hignett, who taught me French at St Philomena's School, and who was later among the team of wonderful volunteers at the Sutton office of Aid to the Church in Need. It was the ACN office team who informed me of her death, and I was able to join them at the funeral.
The prayers of the funeral Mass are glorious, especially the final prayer in which we called on the angels and saints to accompany her as she went to meet God...
Holy Cross church stands next to the railway in Carshalton, a simple suburban church, bright with six candles on the altar, a fine great crucifix in the sanctuary, and a sense of being well-loved and at the heart of a busy parish. And as it happens, a church with family links for me - my parents were married here back in the vanished Britain of 1949...
On to the ACN office in Sutton. Always a busy place, and currently lots happening, with a new book, Persecuted and Forgotten,(about the plight of Christians iun various parts of the world) shortly to be published, and the annual conference for diocesan representatives due to be held next week.
The prayers of the funeral Mass are glorious, especially the final prayer in which we called on the angels and saints to accompany her as she went to meet God...
Holy Cross church stands next to the railway in Carshalton, a simple suburban church, bright with six candles on the altar, a fine great crucifix in the sanctuary, and a sense of being well-loved and at the heart of a busy parish. And as it happens, a church with family links for me - my parents were married here back in the vanished Britain of 1949...
On to the ACN office in Sutton. Always a busy place, and currently lots happening, with a new book, Persecuted and Forgotten,(about the plight of Christians iun various parts of the world) shortly to be published, and the annual conference for diocesan representatives due to be held next week.
I found this...
useful and rather moving statement from Bishop Peter Elliott, in Australia: he was addressing a group of Anglican and discussing the Ordinariate:
"As the historic events leading to the ordinariates unfold, we have around us the prayerful company of the heroes of faith, men and women great in Christian mind and heart. This is where the patrimonies, Anglican and Catholic, merge, a sharing of heritage that is one of the most delightful fruits of unity in Faith. I find that the names of our heroes and heroines are helpful.
The pre-Reformation heritage includes the Venerable Bede, St Columba, St Cuthbert, St Ninian, Duns Scotus, the much loved Dame Julian of Norwich, and, in a wider Europe, the minds of St Albert the Great and St Thomas Aquinas. In the Reformation era, we celebrate St John Fisher, St Thomas More., St Teresa of Avila, St Robert Bellarmine, then in more recent centuries, Rosmini and Scheeben, St Therese of Lisieux, Henri de Lubac, Hans Urs Von Balthasar, St Edith Stein, John Paul II, and our Pope, Benedict XVI.
The Anglican intellectual and spiritual patrimony runs parallel to this stream. The names are familiar: Richard Hooker, Lancelot Andrews, Joseph Butler, John and Charles Wesley, John Keble, Bl. John Henry Newman, Edward Bouverie Pusey, Charles Gore, William Temple, Evelyn Underhill, Dorothy Sayers, Charles Williams, Dom Gregory Dix, Michael Ramsey, John Macquarrie, Kenneth Kirk, C.S. Lewis, Austin Farrer, Eric Mascall – and after such a list I ask pardon for leaving out other great souls."
You can read more of his address here
"As the historic events leading to the ordinariates unfold, we have around us the prayerful company of the heroes of faith, men and women great in Christian mind and heart. This is where the patrimonies, Anglican and Catholic, merge, a sharing of heritage that is one of the most delightful fruits of unity in Faith. I find that the names of our heroes and heroines are helpful.
The pre-Reformation heritage includes the Venerable Bede, St Columba, St Cuthbert, St Ninian, Duns Scotus, the much loved Dame Julian of Norwich, and, in a wider Europe, the minds of St Albert the Great and St Thomas Aquinas. In the Reformation era, we celebrate St John Fisher, St Thomas More., St Teresa of Avila, St Robert Bellarmine, then in more recent centuries, Rosmini and Scheeben, St Therese of Lisieux, Henri de Lubac, Hans Urs Von Balthasar, St Edith Stein, John Paul II, and our Pope, Benedict XVI.
The Anglican intellectual and spiritual patrimony runs parallel to this stream. The names are familiar: Richard Hooker, Lancelot Andrews, Joseph Butler, John and Charles Wesley, John Keble, Bl. John Henry Newman, Edward Bouverie Pusey, Charles Gore, William Temple, Evelyn Underhill, Dorothy Sayers, Charles Williams, Dom Gregory Dix, Michael Ramsey, John Macquarrie, Kenneth Kirk, C.S. Lewis, Austin Farrer, Eric Mascall – and after such a list I ask pardon for leaving out other great souls."
You can read more of his address here
Sunday, February 27, 2011
When in Rome...
...recently, I picked up the atmosphere of anticipation that is already - and it's only February - building up for the Beatification of the great John Paul in May. Today I came across this feature which describes something of it.
Thank the Lord...
....for our Archbishop of Southwark, Archbishop Peter Smith, speaking out clearly defending marriage as the union of a man and a woman and explaining that "No authority has the power to modify the fundamental nature of marriage". There can be no question whatever of the Church allowing any form of "same-sex marriage": this is not something that is negotiable, it's not going to change, it is not ours to change.
The Prime Minister has repeatedly affirmed the importance of the family as central to the stability of society - and he wants a responsible, large and generous society in which we all care for one another and help one another. Plans to belittle marriage by promoting "same-sex unions" will completely undermine any efforts he thinks he is making towards that stable and generous society - it will cut the very guts out of the essence of the thing.
The West is dying because fewer and fewer children are being born. Already we here in Britain have lost over seven million people because they were killed as babies under our abortion law: this has been devastating for us. We have become used to a degree of social chaos that is steadily getting worse. Strong families based on a man and a woman united for life, caring for their children and for their elderly relatives, is the only structure which works: clumsy alternatives centred on an ever-more-intrusive and ever-increasing State are both inefficient and frightening. And they are expensive: so it will be increasingly tempting to complain about elderly people living too well or too long...
The Prime Minister has repeatedly affirmed the importance of the family as central to the stability of society - and he wants a responsible, large and generous society in which we all care for one another and help one another. Plans to belittle marriage by promoting "same-sex unions" will completely undermine any efforts he thinks he is making towards that stable and generous society - it will cut the very guts out of the essence of the thing.
The West is dying because fewer and fewer children are being born. Already we here in Britain have lost over seven million people because they were killed as babies under our abortion law: this has been devastating for us. We have become used to a degree of social chaos that is steadily getting worse. Strong families based on a man and a woman united for life, caring for their children and for their elderly relatives, is the only structure which works: clumsy alternatives centred on an ever-more-intrusive and ever-increasing State are both inefficient and frightening. And they are expensive: so it will be increasingly tempting to complain about elderly people living too well or too long...
Want to learn more about John Henry Newman?
There's another talk coming up: March 16th, 7.30pm at St Winefride's, South Wimbledon, London SW19. (V. easy to reach by Tube - South Wimbledon on the Northern Line). Anyone and everyone welcome. Coffee and cake - the tradition at these Newman events is to serve marmalade cake, because among his correspondence historians found a charming letter thanking a kind friend for the gift of some marmalade to the Oratory Fathers, so it seems appropriate. Donation £3.00 - funds raised will go to the work of the Maryvale Institute.
Today at Mass...
... a family in the queue as we walked forward for H. Communion, small children making rather a noise and pushing about.Older brother, aged perhaps 6, in front of them, arms crossed devoutly, ready to recieve a blessing, turned round and said "SSsssshhh! We're in church!" and they were instantly quiet.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Today and yesterday...
...various meetings talking about the new Ordinariate All such discussions are bittersweet. What will happen to the church buildings which the Ordinariate is now obliged to leave behind? Most will not have congregations large enough to support them in the longer term, as the majority of committed parishioners will be joining the Ordinariate. At first, the church building will remain open and the parish will be given a new minister. But in due course it could be given a lady priest and/or be merged into another parish with different beliefs. And the days of closure loom: the building turned into a carpet warehouse or a mosque.
With the Ordinariate, things look good and it teems with potential. Numbers are substantially larger than most onlookers and commentators - including the friendliest - had imagined, and the whole project more deeply and widely based. And a second wave of entrants is likely within a couple of years.
There is a genuine "Anglican patrimony" that these men and their congregations are bringing: customs, networks, traditions, hymns, music, ideas, ways of talking,ways of celebrating, ways of doing things. It's likely that in this way a number of things which were once sort of "normal C. of E." will be sustained and allowed to grow, which would otherwise have vanished. Which is good, but also rather poignant: the C. of E. itself will limp on, but changing more and more into something quite different.
The crucial need in our country is for evangelisation: to teach about Christ, to help people to know and love God. All the Ordinariate people that Auntie has met thus far have this as their priority., and have an energy and zeal about them.
With the Ordinariate, things look good and it teems with potential. Numbers are substantially larger than most onlookers and commentators - including the friendliest - had imagined, and the whole project more deeply and widely based. And a second wave of entrants is likely within a couple of years.
There is a genuine "Anglican patrimony" that these men and their congregations are bringing: customs, networks, traditions, hymns, music, ideas, ways of talking,ways of celebrating, ways of doing things. It's likely that in this way a number of things which were once sort of "normal C. of E." will be sustained and allowed to grow, which would otherwise have vanished. Which is good, but also rather poignant: the C. of E. itself will limp on, but changing more and more into something quite different.
The crucial need in our country is for evangelisation: to teach about Christ, to help people to know and love God. All the Ordinariate people that Auntie has met thus far have this as their priority., and have an energy and zeal about them.
Came across...
...this piece of quietly good news when looking up some things on the Internet today.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Pray for...
...the people of Christchurch, New Zealand. Like so many British people, I have close family in NZ (all safe).
New Zealand is a great country. You are going to hear of courage and heroism over these next days. Pray for those working to rescue the trapped, for the injured, for the homeless...
New Zealand is a great country. You are going to hear of courage and heroism over these next days. Pray for those working to rescue the trapped, for the injured, for the homeless...
Monday, February 21, 2011
...and while on the subject...
...of John Paul II, why can't people in Britain (and elsewhere in Europe?) obtain copies of the brilliant film, starring Jon Voight, that tells the story of his life?
I have the DVD, a kind gift from an American friend, but it is not generally available in Britain, due to some - surely hopelessly out of date? - export/copyright restrictions. In the age of the Internet, this seems daft.
What can we do about this? You aren't even allowed to buy a copy by post from America, even for individual use. It's weird. Surely these restrictions belong to the 1950s?
I have the DVD, a kind gift from an American friend, but it is not generally available in Britain, due to some - surely hopelessly out of date? - export/copyright restrictions. In the age of the Internet, this seems daft.
What can we do about this? You aren't even allowed to buy a copy by post from America, even for individual use. It's weird. Surely these restrictions belong to the 1950s?
Every time...
...I work on an essay for my Maryvale course (see column alongside), I use a Bible that looks just like any ordinary paperback Bible.
But it's special. It's signed by soon-to-be-Blessed John Paul II.
Some twenty years ago, after organising the XVIth International Congress for the Family, in Britain, my husband went with other Congress organisers to Rome and were granted an audience with the Holy Father. J. had prepared some gifts for him - a Congress teeshirt, an information pack giving details of the event - and also presented him with a Bible which he had already inscribed to "Mr and Mrs J. Bogle" and which he asked the H. Father to sign. Now, you're not really meant to do that - protocol forbids, etc etc - but this was JPII and he took the book like the father that he was, and smiled, and signed it, and now it stands on the shelf beside me as I write, and I use it for my studying, and for my prayers, and I value it more than I can really put into words. And I have a picture of J. with JPII to confirm this story, and JPII also gave him a rosary, which I use, and will use for the rest of my life.
This week, I've been reading up about JPII, especially the book by Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz describing his forty years of working alongside him. More and more details are neginning to emerge about JPII's life, especially the amount of time he spent in prayer, his physical courage, his commonsense, and his wisdom. This was an extraordinary man: we all knew it at the time, but as he finds his place in history, it is becoming even more apparent.
But it's special. It's signed by soon-to-be-Blessed John Paul II.
Some twenty years ago, after organising the XVIth International Congress for the Family, in Britain, my husband went with other Congress organisers to Rome and were granted an audience with the Holy Father. J. had prepared some gifts for him - a Congress teeshirt, an information pack giving details of the event - and also presented him with a Bible which he had already inscribed to "Mr and Mrs J. Bogle" and which he asked the H. Father to sign. Now, you're not really meant to do that - protocol forbids, etc etc - but this was JPII and he took the book like the father that he was, and smiled, and signed it, and now it stands on the shelf beside me as I write, and I use it for my studying, and for my prayers, and I value it more than I can really put into words. And I have a picture of J. with JPII to confirm this story, and JPII also gave him a rosary, which I use, and will use for the rest of my life.
This week, I've been reading up about JPII, especially the book by Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz describing his forty years of working alongside him. More and more details are neginning to emerge about JPII's life, especially the amount of time he spent in prayer, his physical courage, his commonsense, and his wisdom. This was an extraordinary man: we all knew it at the time, but as he finds his place in history, it is becoming even more apparent.
Various adventures...
...that are fun to mention on my Blog:
En route to Rome, I had time to spare at Gatwick, so dropped in to the chapel. A Ch. of F. Communion service was just beginning. I stayed, and a couple of other people dropped in, too. It was peaceful and prayerful, and it was good to be able to join in the Our Father, and to know that prayers were quietly going up, in that busy airport, in the middle of all the rush...
In Rome, I looked in at Vatican Radio, got chatting, ended up being interviewed. They were interested in the book about Mother Riccarda, and then asked me about Caroline Chisholm. Vatican Radio has a rather grand headquarters not far from St Peter's, all smart and modern and w. the latest equipment.
It was odd that Caroline Chisholm should re-enter my life , as she had done so just a few days earlier too...BBC Radio Northampton contacted me on January 26th, Australia Day, to do a feature about her! (If you don't know why Northampton, and why Australia Day, you'll have to read my book about her to find out, won't you?)
Here at home, a rush of meetings, and hospital appts (physiotherapy on my wrist...BTW many thanks to those who have made kind enquiries, things are healing well, all should be back to normal in a few weeks), and work.
Entries are beginning to arrive for the Religious Education Project run by the Association of Catholic Women - it's for children at Catholic primary schools and involves studying some of Scriptural events in the Mysteries of the Rosary (Joyful and Luminous Mysteries). It's very touching to see the children's work. The latest Catholic Times carries a review of the booklet produced following last year's Project in which children wrote about St Peter, the Papacy, and the visit of the present Holy Father to Britain. If you want a little lift, get a copy of the booklet: 70p from ACW - why not send a cheque for a bit more, as a donation to ACW's work, and get a couple of copies, and pass one to a friend? - 22 Surbiton Hill Park, Surbiton KT5 2EE...
En route to Rome, I had time to spare at Gatwick, so dropped in to the chapel. A Ch. of F. Communion service was just beginning. I stayed, and a couple of other people dropped in, too. It was peaceful and prayerful, and it was good to be able to join in the Our Father, and to know that prayers were quietly going up, in that busy airport, in the middle of all the rush...
In Rome, I looked in at Vatican Radio, got chatting, ended up being interviewed. They were interested in the book about Mother Riccarda, and then asked me about Caroline Chisholm. Vatican Radio has a rather grand headquarters not far from St Peter's, all smart and modern and w. the latest equipment.
It was odd that Caroline Chisholm should re-enter my life , as she had done so just a few days earlier too...BBC Radio Northampton contacted me on January 26th, Australia Day, to do a feature about her! (If you don't know why Northampton, and why Australia Day, you'll have to read my book about her to find out, won't you?)
Here at home, a rush of meetings, and hospital appts (physiotherapy on my wrist...BTW many thanks to those who have made kind enquiries, things are healing well, all should be back to normal in a few weeks), and work.
Entries are beginning to arrive for the Religious Education Project run by the Association of Catholic Women - it's for children at Catholic primary schools and involves studying some of Scriptural events in the Mysteries of the Rosary (Joyful and Luminous Mysteries). It's very touching to see the children's work. The latest Catholic Times carries a review of the booklet produced following last year's Project in which children wrote about St Peter, the Papacy, and the visit of the present Holy Father to Britain. If you want a little lift, get a copy of the booklet: 70p from ACW - why not send a cheque for a bit more, as a donation to ACW's work, and get a couple of copies, and pass one to a friend? - 22 Surbiton Hill Park, Surbiton KT5 2EE...
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Monday, February 14, 2011
Came across...
...this site for World Youth Day.Watch the DVD!
And this general background piece has some good links too...
And this general background piece has some good links too...
On the news...
...at the weekend, lots of prattle about planned new legislation concerning churches and same-sex "civil unions". I felt a real chill - is this going to mean some ghastly and crippling legal cases, in which campaigners sue RC priests who refuse them a ceremony? Or will it outright compulsion - a law which attempts to force us to abandon the Faith and the teachings of the Church by holding such ceremonies? The latter seems unlikely, the former of course a real possibility. Will the Govt give fair and just legal protection to Christians so that we can teach and celebrate the Christian faith in Christian churches? It was a quiet relief to hear Archbishop Peter Smith of Southwark affirming calmly and firmly that no Catholic church could hold a ceremony to mark a same-sex union: it is the very nature of marrige that it can only be a union of a man and a woman.
The Church is going to have to be very firm and very clear on this. There must be absolutely no legal loophole in which campaigners can force huge fines on the Church for doing what the Church teaches. There must be freedom for the Church to preach and teach Catholic faith and morals. No compulsion on same-sex unions, no compulsion to teach anything that is contrary to the Catholic Faith, no possibility of people trying to use civil lawsuits to cripple the Church or force church closures.
More info here.
The Church is going to have to be very firm and very clear on this. There must be absolutely no legal loophole in which campaigners can force huge fines on the Church for doing what the Church teaches. There must be freedom for the Church to preach and teach Catholic faith and morals. No compulsion on same-sex unions, no compulsion to teach anything that is contrary to the Catholic Faith, no possibility of people trying to use civil lawsuits to cripple the Church or force church closures.
More info here.
It's official...
...a vicar announces he is joining the Ordinariate. This is Ed Tomlinson, at whose parish in Tunbridge Wells I had the priviledge of speaking recently.
This whole project ois beginning to take shape, slowly, firmly, and prophetically. It all needs to be nourished by prayer.
This whole project ois beginning to take shape, slowly, firmly, and prophetically. It all needs to be nourished by prayer.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
This is important::
the brave parents at the Cardinal Vaughan School need help. This is a fine school and the parents are rallying to its defence: read the saga on that parents' website. They have right and justice on their side, and they deserve support.
There are some fantasists out there...
...in America. A friend, looking for Mass times on a visit, came across a parish website which told women to wear different sorts of headgear according to their marital status. I'm not inventing this. Apparently the priest wants a tradition to be established for this in his church.
Uh? I thought it was a joke at first, but no.
I can't imagine why any priest would want to force this sort of nasty humiliation on anyone - or why anyone would go along with it.
Is the idea that the unmarried ladies are expected to feel worse and worse as the years slip by and no one makes an offer of matrimony? Are they gently allowed to slip into more anonymous headgear as they reach a certain age, and their hopes fade?
While on the subject, I got an email from some one who asked if I was "veiled". This baffled me, but I discovered that it's a cult phrase among groupies (yes, I'm afraid it's the USA again) who like wearing lace mantillas in church. They don't use the word "mantilla", but prefer the notion of "being veiled" and are pushing for it to become something that Catholics feel they ought to do.
I had always rather liked the tradition of black lace worn as a decorative headgear for Mass, but this new approach isn't Catholic at all. Being at Mass is the most important and glorious thing that any person can ever do, and to mix it up with obsessions about "veiling" is just nasty.
Any woman can wear a hat - of any colour or design - at Mass and give glory to God by doing so, provided she isn't being smug or vain, and it's a joy to see an array of lovely hats for a wedding or a special occasion. God loves his daughters and good clothes can be a form of artistry and beauty just as other things can. We do NOT believe that women have to "be veiled" and our theology of human dignity, beauty and form helps us to understand why. Our understanding of these things is one of the things that makes us different from Protestants and, as it happens, Islam.
Uh? I thought it was a joke at first, but no.
I can't imagine why any priest would want to force this sort of nasty humiliation on anyone - or why anyone would go along with it.
Is the idea that the unmarried ladies are expected to feel worse and worse as the years slip by and no one makes an offer of matrimony? Are they gently allowed to slip into more anonymous headgear as they reach a certain age, and their hopes fade?
While on the subject, I got an email from some one who asked if I was "veiled". This baffled me, but I discovered that it's a cult phrase among groupies (yes, I'm afraid it's the USA again) who like wearing lace mantillas in church. They don't use the word "mantilla", but prefer the notion of "being veiled" and are pushing for it to become something that Catholics feel they ought to do.
I had always rather liked the tradition of black lace worn as a decorative headgear for Mass, but this new approach isn't Catholic at all. Being at Mass is the most important and glorious thing that any person can ever do, and to mix it up with obsessions about "veiling" is just nasty.
Any woman can wear a hat - of any colour or design - at Mass and give glory to God by doing so, provided she isn't being smug or vain, and it's a joy to see an array of lovely hats for a wedding or a special occasion. God loves his daughters and good clothes can be a form of artistry and beauty just as other things can. We do NOT believe that women have to "be veiled" and our theology of human dignity, beauty and form helps us to understand why. Our understanding of these things is one of the things that makes us different from Protestants and, as it happens, Islam.
We walked...
...a group of people, at a rather brisk pace, from Westminster Cathedral to the Houses of Parliament last night for Mass. Mass? Yes. For over 30 years now, Mass has been celebrated regularly in Parliament for the MPs, peers, and staff and we were priviledged to be able to attend as the guest of a kind Member of the House of Lords. It was an unforgettable evening: the Mass was one of the most beautiful I have ever attended. Canon Pat Brown, who is parish priest of Pimlico, is the RC chaplain and he has a fine singing voice. We sang the Sanctus and Agnus Dei etc, and Ubi Caritas at Communion, and some fine hymns. An MP did the first Reading. It was rather moving to see busy politicians taking time out to attend a weekday evening Mass. The chapel of St Mary Undercroft is beautiful. My thoughts went back to the afternoon, now more than three decades ago, when Cardinal Basil Hume said the first Mass there. I was working in Parliament at the time for a team of MPs, and it was thrilling to be invited to be at the Mass, which was a very simple and calm but utterly memorable event...the start of a new chapter in history.
At last night's Mass finished, we gathered in WEstminster Great Hall and studied its history. A section of the stone-flagged floor was blocked off and I presume this is for the insertion of a plaque commemorating the Pope's visit last year. It will join the other plaques martking the great events that have happened there...St Thomas More's trial, Sir Winston Churchill's lying-in-state etc.
At last night's Mass finished, we gathered in WEstminster Great Hall and studied its history. A section of the stone-flagged floor was blocked off and I presume this is for the insertion of a plaque commemorating the Pope's visit last year. It will join the other plaques martking the great events that have happened there...St Thomas More's trial, Sir Winston Churchill's lying-in-state etc.
John Henry Newman...
...was the subject of a really excellent talk at Holy Redeemer Church, Chelsea, this week (see announcement below). The hall was packed - every chair was used, people were sitting on the window-ledges and standing at the back and in the kitchen. The talk, illustrated with power-point, was superb, and everyone was gripped. Newman's story really is a fascinating one, and sheds light on so much that has happened in the development of the Church in our country since.
The plan is to offer this talk to other parishes, so watch this space.
We made a good sum for the Maryvale Institute.
Next time some one tells you the Church is dead, dying, all-gone-downhill-since-Vatuican-11 etc etc etc etc, tell them to get real.
The plan is to offer this talk to other parishes, so watch this space.
We made a good sum for the Maryvale Institute.
Next time some one tells you the Church is dead, dying, all-gone-downhill-since-Vatuican-11 etc etc etc etc, tell them to get real.
Tuesday, February 08, 2011
Interesting statistics...
...in discussions re the Ordinariate.
Apparently in gathering figures for official records, a "large" congregation in an Anglican church is deemed to be one of 55 or over. Can this really be true?
Obviously, for reasons of history, Catholic parishes cover in Britain cover far wider territories than do Anglican ones, so a congregation in any given church is likely to be larger. But even so...most Catholic parishes that consider themselves to be fairly small still count people in hundreds, and I know of several suburban parishes that are in four figures,and some of more than 2,000.
While on the subject of church attendance: I was informed by a Catholic writer back in the 1980s that there would be no one at Mass at all in England and Wales by the start of the 21st century, based on his projections. I think of this from time to time. How wrong he was. About a third of the people at a Sunday evening Mass in our parish were hardly born when he made that prediction: but there they are, kneeling and praying. His prediction was made with a sort of gloating ooh-isn't-it-dreadful approach which at the time seemed to me very impressive and knowledgeable and grown-up. But when I came acros it in some old papers I was sorting a few months ago, it just looked cross and sour - and, of course, wrong.
So making predictions is dangerous. But here's one anyway, as a hostage to fortune. I believe that the Anglican Ordinariate parishes being etablished in Britain over the next year and a half will survive and thrive. They will not grow dramatically at first, but will flourish quietly and significantly. Revisit this prediction with me in five years' time and let' see.
Apparently in gathering figures for official records, a "large" congregation in an Anglican church is deemed to be one of 55 or over. Can this really be true?
Obviously, for reasons of history, Catholic parishes cover in Britain cover far wider territories than do Anglican ones, so a congregation in any given church is likely to be larger. But even so...most Catholic parishes that consider themselves to be fairly small still count people in hundreds, and I know of several suburban parishes that are in four figures,and some of more than 2,000.
While on the subject of church attendance: I was informed by a Catholic writer back in the 1980s that there would be no one at Mass at all in England and Wales by the start of the 21st century, based on his projections. I think of this from time to time. How wrong he was. About a third of the people at a Sunday evening Mass in our parish were hardly born when he made that prediction: but there they are, kneeling and praying. His prediction was made with a sort of gloating ooh-isn't-it-dreadful approach which at the time seemed to me very impressive and knowledgeable and grown-up. But when I came acros it in some old papers I was sorting a few months ago, it just looked cross and sour - and, of course, wrong.
So making predictions is dangerous. But here's one anyway, as a hostage to fortune. I believe that the Anglican Ordinariate parishes being etablished in Britain over the next year and a half will survive and thrive. They will not grow dramatically at first, but will flourish quietly and significantly. Revisit this prediction with me in five years' time and let' see.
A talk...
...tonight (Tuesday Feb 8th) at Holy Redeemer Church, Chelsea, about John Henry Newman. Speaker: Dr Andrew Nash.
We are serving coffee and marmalade cake. Among Newman's correspondence is a charming letter to some ladies who had kindly provided the Birmingham Oratorians with some jars of marmalade. So we felt marmalade cake would be a suitably Victorian thing to serve...
Donations of £3 per head are invited, proceeds will go to Maryvale.
We are serving coffee and marmalade cake. Among Newman's correspondence is a charming letter to some ladies who had kindly provided the Birmingham Oratorians with some jars of marmalade. So we felt marmalade cake would be a suitably Victorian thing to serve...
Donations of £3 per head are invited, proceeds will go to Maryvale.
Monday, February 07, 2011
You may find...
...the current issue of New Directions interesting: gives insights into what is happening with the Anglican Ordinariate.
Interested in the Royal Wedding? Click on that link to get Auntie's take on it.
Interested in the Royal Wedding? Click on that link to get Auntie's take on it.
Sunday, February 06, 2011
Typing...
...has been a bit difficult with a broken arm, so I have been doing only crucial reports, academic work, neccessary journalism etc. Hospital appt on Tuesday so things will be better after that.
Life v.v. busy - meetings re Ordinariate, also plans for Rome trip next week.
But there's also been a need to relax, so a happy day with young relatives in Surrey, and a lovely afternoon at the National Gallery w. a dear niece, where we decided to tackle the Impressionists so enjoyed Monet and Degas at length. Then Tea and talk as the London sky darkened beyond the Gallery windows. You get a rather dramatic view of Nelson's column from the cafe/restaurant basement as you look upwards. As we left, there were all sorts of activities arranged around Trafalgar Square to mark the Chinese New Year.
Some of the London pubs are beginning to put up listings for various celebrations for the Royal Wedding in April. But there is somehow a slightly wistful feel to the talk on this subject. Britain has such muddles about marriage and family life at the moment. Officialdom has for the past decade been urging that marriage should not be honoured above any other "relationship" and that the words "husband and wife" should be shunned in favour of "partner" etc etc etc... But we are now allowed to celebrate and honour the marriage of our future king. And with a Royal Wedding comes a hint of promise about the future: an assurance of continuity in Britain, of some sort of heritage that is not yet dead.
In the weird and bleak culture of today's West, our Monarchy holds out, wobbly but still present. Can it survive if the Christian culture of which it is a part is so much under attack?
Life v.v. busy - meetings re Ordinariate, also plans for Rome trip next week.
But there's also been a need to relax, so a happy day with young relatives in Surrey, and a lovely afternoon at the National Gallery w. a dear niece, where we decided to tackle the Impressionists so enjoyed Monet and Degas at length. Then Tea and talk as the London sky darkened beyond the Gallery windows. You get a rather dramatic view of Nelson's column from the cafe/restaurant basement as you look upwards. As we left, there were all sorts of activities arranged around Trafalgar Square to mark the Chinese New Year.
Some of the London pubs are beginning to put up listings for various celebrations for the Royal Wedding in April. But there is somehow a slightly wistful feel to the talk on this subject. Britain has such muddles about marriage and family life at the moment. Officialdom has for the past decade been urging that marriage should not be honoured above any other "relationship" and that the words "husband and wife" should be shunned in favour of "partner" etc etc etc... But we are now allowed to celebrate and honour the marriage of our future king. And with a Royal Wedding comes a hint of promise about the future: an assurance of continuity in Britain, of some sort of heritage that is not yet dead.
In the weird and bleak culture of today's West, our Monarchy holds out, wobbly but still present. Can it survive if the Christian culture of which it is a part is so much under attack?
Friday, February 04, 2011
Things have been busy...
...and Auntie is hampered by having a broken arm. You can catch up with me here.
Wednesday, February 02, 2011
A glorious Mass...
...for Candlemas at Westminster Cathedral. Things are depressing in any British city as 2011 opens. The Christian presence seems - at best - muted, the increasing presence of Islam is the most notable religious feature. Lurid magazines shriek pointless headlines about the sexual antics of nonentity TV "celebs". Young people seem angry and cross and sulky and frightened - you don't often hear laughter or giggles and the predominant noise from groups of people is often sullen sexual expletives or very loud crude obscenities as an argument breaks out.
Then the Cathedral and people are drawn to its presence as it is illuminated at night and looks warm and glowing across the piazza. Inside, people hold candles, and faces are lit up, and music soars. A great rumble of voices responds as the back-and-forth of the Mass begins. There is appropriately glorious music at the Gloria. Christ is our light!
Then the Cathedral and people are drawn to its presence as it is illuminated at night and looks warm and glowing across the piazza. Inside, people hold candles, and faces are lit up, and music soars. A great rumble of voices responds as the back-and-forth of the Mass begins. There is appropriately glorious music at the Gloria. Christ is our light!
Is it...
..."The Ordin-air-ree-ate" or "The Ordin-ah-ree-ate"?
Mostly, people seem to use the former. And is the latter a mite pretentious? Opinions?
Mostly, people seem to use the former. And is the latter a mite pretentious? Opinions?
Sunday, January 30, 2011
...and on to Maryvale...
...where, as always it was a joy to arrive and to go up the drive and past the wide lawn, and plunge into warmth and friendship when barely through the front door. I had come straight from the lovely family who had hosted me for the Ordinariate meeting the night before...and found the team at Maryvale busy with a mailing to Ordinariate people!
Our weekends of lectures for the BA Divinity course are always excellent...this time we were tackling St John's Gospel, and also Moral Theology...
Brigettine nuns bustling about, a lecture hall with people gathering and swapping news as things begin, the chapel with the candles glowing. There have been new carpets put down since I first started coming to Maryvale a couple of years ago, and there is a fine Papal flag in the hall as a memory of the Holy Father's visit to Birmingham, and a sense of gentle glee over being able to say "Blessed John Henry Newman"...but the old house still has that indefinable scent of Old England, a vague feeling of the faithful from centuries past joining in the prayers in the chapel, the strange and agreeable tilt of the old stairs, the sense of being a guest in an old, old home...
Our weekends of lectures for the BA Divinity course are always excellent...this time we were tackling St John's Gospel, and also Moral Theology...
Brigettine nuns bustling about, a lecture hall with people gathering and swapping news as things begin, the chapel with the candles glowing. There have been new carpets put down since I first started coming to Maryvale a couple of years ago, and there is a fine Papal flag in the hall as a memory of the Holy Father's visit to Birmingham, and a sense of gentle glee over being able to say "Blessed John Henry Newman"...but the old house still has that indefinable scent of Old England, a vague feeling of the faithful from centuries past joining in the prayers in the chapel, the strange and agreeable tilt of the old stairs, the sense of being a guest in an old, old home...
The Ordinariate...
...is developing speedily. I had a fascinating evening with a parish in Kent. A full hall, warm hospitality, good links with the local RC parish...an unforgettable evening, with much thoughtful discussion with clergy and their families, after the main meeting...
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Been reading...
..from some recent editions of First Things. I picked up a couple pf copies from a friend...wish I had done this before, as it's a a great magazine, a feast of good reading, with good stuff on current social trends, bioethics (scary but important warnings from Wesley Smith about developments in euthanasia etc), educational and cultural issues, and more...
A facinating evening...
...at a lecture on the subject of the Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School. I have - like many other London Catholics - become aware of the tensions aurrounding the future of this excellent Catholic school.
Pope John Paul II in Familiaris Consortio, emphasised the central and fundamental role of parents in choosing an education for their children. Schools are to be run as a service for families, not regarded as part of an ideological battleground...
Pope John Paul II in Familiaris Consortio, emphasised the central and fundamental role of parents in choosing an education for their children. Schools are to be run as a service for families, not regarded as part of an ideological battleground...
AT LAST....
...a really good idea.
This has been launched by young Catholics who are serious about finding a spouse.
Auntie is aware that this is an important matter: I've had so many pleas from (attractive, bright, delightful) Catholic girls asking if there are any good Catholic chaps out there...preferably without dedication to specific liturgical opinions but with a reasonable range of interests and a sincere ordinary commitment to a Christian way of life, plus a sense of humour.
This has been launched by young Catholics who are serious about finding a spouse.
Auntie is aware that this is an important matter: I've had so many pleas from (attractive, bright, delightful) Catholic girls asking if there are any good Catholic chaps out there...preferably without dedication to specific liturgical opinions but with a reasonable range of interests and a sincere ordinary commitment to a Christian way of life, plus a sense of humour.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
INTERESTED IN LEARNING HOW TO SPREAD THE FAITH?
The Association of Catholic Women
ART AND MUSIC in R.E.
A Study Day
for Teachers at Catholic Schools
March 30th 2011
at The Maryvale Institute, Old Oscott Hill, Birmingham B44 9AG
12.15pm: Lunch
1.00pm: Teaching Christ through Art - Presentation by Dr Lionel Gracey
2.15pm: Tea
2.45pm: Learning Gregorian Chant - Workshop with Jeremy de Satgé
4.00pm MASS – at which we will sing some of the chant learned during the afternoon
Open to all teachers. There is no charge for this day.
A chance to enjoy a day at Maryvale – home of John Henry Newman, and today a study centre welcoming Catholics who want to explore and celebrate their faith!
TEACHING CHRIST THROUGH ART :
An audio/visual presentation with Lionel Gracey.
Lionel Gracey graduated in medicine at Cambridge University, and completed postgraduate studies at Harvard. He was Consultant Surgeon to the Royal Free Hospital, University of London, from 1966-91. Following retirement, he obtained a pontifical degree in theology from the Maryvale Institute, Birmingham, where he is currently a Lecturer in Religious Art.
LEARNING GREGORIAN CHANT:
Children can benefit from the relaxation and peace that chant brings
Jeremy de Satgé had an early musical training as a chorister in Sheffield Cathedral Choir. Later, he sang bass in Clifton Cathedral Choir and decided to concentrate his efforts on music full time, enrolling at Trinity College of Music, London graduating in 1987 with a Singing (with teaching) Licentiate Diploma (LTCL) and the Fellowship Diploma (FTCL) in singing performance.
This Study day is aimed at teachers in Catholic primary schools, but we have a limited number of places available for others, e.g. leaders of children’s liturgy groups, First Communion classes etc. Contact us!
For more information on the Association of Catholic Women, visit our website: www.associationofcatholicwomen.co.uk
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please complete this and return it, by email to: artadmin@maryvale.ac.uk
Or by post to: ACW Study Day, The Maryvale Institute Old Oscott Hill BIRMINGHAM B44 9AG
YES, I want to attend the Study Day at on March 30th 2011
Name (caps please)..........................................................................
School or parish .............................................................................................
email/tel no.....................................................................................
ART AND MUSIC in R.E.
A Study Day
for Teachers at Catholic Schools
March 30th 2011
at The Maryvale Institute, Old Oscott Hill, Birmingham B44 9AG
12.15pm: Lunch
1.00pm: Teaching Christ through Art - Presentation by Dr Lionel Gracey
2.15pm: Tea
2.45pm: Learning Gregorian Chant - Workshop with Jeremy de Satgé
4.00pm MASS – at which we will sing some of the chant learned during the afternoon
Open to all teachers. There is no charge for this day.
A chance to enjoy a day at Maryvale – home of John Henry Newman, and today a study centre welcoming Catholics who want to explore and celebrate their faith!
TEACHING CHRIST THROUGH ART :
An audio/visual presentation with Lionel Gracey.
Lionel Gracey graduated in medicine at Cambridge University, and completed postgraduate studies at Harvard. He was Consultant Surgeon to the Royal Free Hospital, University of London, from 1966-91. Following retirement, he obtained a pontifical degree in theology from the Maryvale Institute, Birmingham, where he is currently a Lecturer in Religious Art.
LEARNING GREGORIAN CHANT:
Children can benefit from the relaxation and peace that chant brings
Jeremy de Satgé had an early musical training as a chorister in Sheffield Cathedral Choir. Later, he sang bass in Clifton Cathedral Choir and decided to concentrate his efforts on music full time, enrolling at Trinity College of Music, London graduating in 1987 with a Singing (with teaching) Licentiate Diploma (LTCL) and the Fellowship Diploma (FTCL) in singing performance.
This Study day is aimed at teachers in Catholic primary schools, but we have a limited number of places available for others, e.g. leaders of children’s liturgy groups, First Communion classes etc. Contact us!
For more information on the Association of Catholic Women, visit our website: www.associationofcatholicwomen.co.uk
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please complete this and return it, by email to: artadmin@maryvale.ac.uk
Or by post to: ACW Study Day, The Maryvale Institute Old Oscott Hill BIRMINGHAM B44 9AG
YES, I want to attend the Study Day at on March 30th 2011
Name (caps please)..........................................................................
School or parish .............................................................................................
email/tel no.....................................................................................
This has been going the rounds...
“I’m thinking of joining the new organization set up by the Roman Catholic Church to assist potential Anglican converts. Would I require any special headgear?”
“No. Just an ordinary ’at.”
“No. Just an ordinary ’at.”
Thursday, January 20, 2011
A most beautiful Mass...
... organised by Aid to the Church in Need, at Our Lady of the Rosary Church in Sutton, to mark the anniversary of Fr Werenfried van Straaten. The church was very full - people squeezed up to fit me in as I arrived rather late. A beautiful Ave Verum at Communion, and also "Be still my soul" sung to Finlandia...
I am so much aware at present of how much dedication there is in the Church - here, on a cold weekday January morning, people were crowding to Mass and to hear a talk on the current needs of Christians in different parts of the world...
Tomorrow (Friday) I am due at the CTS to pack some envelopes in connection with a new project. At this morning's gathering, I tentatively asked a couple of people if they might be able to come along and help.. immediate enthusiastic response, and they started making arrangements to get to the CTS office etc.
Earlier this week, I went to a talk at Ealing Abbey, about Blessed John Henry Newman, preceded by Mass and Adoration...again, large crowds. The talk was meant to be in the parish hall but had to be moved to the church because of the numbers.
I am so much aware at present of how much dedication there is in the Church - here, on a cold weekday January morning, people were crowding to Mass and to hear a talk on the current needs of Christians in different parts of the world...
Tomorrow (Friday) I am due at the CTS to pack some envelopes in connection with a new project. At this morning's gathering, I tentatively asked a couple of people if they might be able to come along and help.. immediate enthusiastic response, and they started making arrangements to get to the CTS office etc.
Earlier this week, I went to a talk at Ealing Abbey, about Blessed John Henry Newman, preceded by Mass and Adoration...again, large crowds. The talk was meant to be in the parish hall but had to be moved to the church because of the numbers.
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