..and a procession through the streets of theatreland and Soho, to mark the feast of the Immaculate Conception. This is an annual event, and starts with an International Mass at St Patrick's, Soho Square: this year it was concelebrated by young clergy led by an Ordinariate priest. I arrived a little bit late, and it was a joy to be drawn in to the glorious Latin chant and to find a place in the well-filled pews. Young people read the Bidding Prayers in various languages, there was a sermon in English repeated in Spanish. At the end, four men lifted the statue of Our Lady aloft and we gradually formed up in front and behind and went out into the streets, singing. We scooped up handfuls of medals as we left the church, to distribute to passers-by: there were also small gifts-bags for the same purpose, each containing a Scripture verse, a medal, a small leaflet, and a sweet.
There are some touching encounters as we give out the medals, wishing people a Merry Christmas and saying "God bless you". Some people fumble as if for money and one has to say "No, no - this is just a gift!" Most say "thank you!" and are glad, some cross themselves. A few refuse, none rudely.One girl asked for prayers...
We complete the procession at the Church of Notre Dame de France, where we pray a decade of the Rosary and sing the Salve Regina...
Monday, December 10, 2012
Baptism..
...of the latest addition to the family. We all gathered at the church - it was a big gathering because there were not only grandparents and godparents and uncles and aunts and so on but also a number of parishioners because the family are longstanding members of the local church... Enchanting new baby (number 4) , lovely lively brothers and sister all jumping about, a beautiful baptism by a priest-great uncle and with a young uncle and aunt doing the Scripture readings. Mulled wine and mince pies and celebration in the adjoining hall, with hugs and news and gifts and a happy atmosphere.
Auntie suddenly found herself thinking: for hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years, down all the generations, on both sides of the family, every new child has been baptised, every baby's head recieving water and the words pof baptism "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit". This child, and her siblings, are the first who are recieving this sacrament in a Britain where the majority of people are no longer baptised, and growing up in a Britain where the Christian faith which has written our history and through which our years are numbered, is no longer the central dominant reality in our culture.
Our family's faith and culture remains vibrant and was renewed again by this happy day, the young voices ringing out in affirmation of it in union with the older generation. The new baby and her siblings have been given the Faith one by one as they joined the family that had crossed the threshold of a new millenium. They will need lots of love and prayers in the bleak Britain in which they will be living it...
Auntie suddenly found herself thinking: for hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years, down all the generations, on both sides of the family, every new child has been baptised, every baby's head recieving water and the words pof baptism "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit". This child, and her siblings, are the first who are recieving this sacrament in a Britain where the majority of people are no longer baptised, and growing up in a Britain where the Christian faith which has written our history and through which our years are numbered, is no longer the central dominant reality in our culture.
Our family's faith and culture remains vibrant and was renewed again by this happy day, the young voices ringing out in affirmation of it in union with the older generation. The new baby and her siblings have been given the Faith one by one as they joined the family that had crossed the threshold of a new millenium. They will need lots of love and prayers in the bleak Britain in which they will be living it...
Bishop Egan...We are with you!
...in this excellent message to David Cameron.
Bishop Philip Egan says:
"If the prime minister proceeds with his intentions, he will pervert authentic family values, with catastrophic consequences for the well-being and behaviour of future generations. He will smother the traditional Christian ethos of our society and strangle the religious freedom of the Catholic Church in Britain to conduct its mission.
Of course, we will need to wait for the results of the current consultation-exercise. But in the meantime, I would like to ask Mr. Cameron: What about my rights as a Christian? Will you exempt the Church, its resources and property, from having to support your harmful ideology? Will Catholic schools, societies and institutions be free (and legally safeguarded) to teach the full truth of Christ and the real meaning of life and love?
The institution of marriage has its ups and downs, but will we ever forget that it was the leader of the Conservative Party who finally destroyed marriage as a lasting, loving and life-giving union between a man and a woman?"
Bishop Philip Egan says:
"If the prime minister proceeds with his intentions, he will pervert authentic family values, with catastrophic consequences for the well-being and behaviour of future generations. He will smother the traditional Christian ethos of our society and strangle the religious freedom of the Catholic Church in Britain to conduct its mission.
Of course, we will need to wait for the results of the current consultation-exercise. But in the meantime, I would like to ask Mr. Cameron: What about my rights as a Christian? Will you exempt the Church, its resources and property, from having to support your harmful ideology? Will Catholic schools, societies and institutions be free (and legally safeguarded) to teach the full truth of Christ and the real meaning of life and love?
The institution of marriage has its ups and downs, but will we ever forget that it was the leader of the Conservative Party who finally destroyed marriage as a lasting, loving and life-giving union between a man and a woman?"
Saturday, December 08, 2012
Chatting to...
...young Catholics in their 20s/30s. Enthusiastic, committed to their Faith. Active with pro-life groups, have been to World Youth Days, Youth 2000 etc. Talked about campaigning in the 1970s and 80s...they cannot really imagine a time when it was normal to have Parliament voting to ban the promotion of homosexual propaganda in schools (Section 28 of the Education Act 1988). They did not know the name Mary Whitehouse. They could not grasp the idea that a campaigner for morality on TV could possibly be awarded a public honour like the CBE.
As I look back 30 years, it is such a very different Britain: it was still possible to speak openly of male/female marriage as the foundation for any society, and it would have been impossible for anyone in public life to be taken seriously in proposing that two people of the same sex could marry. Supporters of abortion still felt obliged to preface their speeches with some statement to the effect that abortion was in general regrettable before continuing with "but...choices...cases of neccesity...". And it was still normal to expect that anyone who wanted to be active in public life should not cohabit but should marry, or live as a single person. It's very difficult now to convey all of this: today's young Catholics simply cannot really know what it was like to live in a culture where some moral norms, while under steady attack, were still praised in public. And in our praying and campaigning, we had public support: in the 1970s it was still possible to muster 80,000-100,000 people in London to cheer pro-life speeches and to march to Downing Street, and the 1980s saw huge pro-life prayer-vigils, candle-lit processions, packed cathedrals...
But the 1990s brought Blair and a whole new raft of legislation. People "wanted a change", a phrase one heard a lot at that time. . (And I remember naivety about the Blairs being "a Catholic family in Downing Street" Oh dear! ). The 1980s were denounced as an evil era, and "Section 28" became a byword for oppression and horror. The public funding of contraception for teenagers, controversial in the 80s, was now standard. Marriage was presented as a "lifestyle choice". And as a new century opened, new areas of biotechnology rolled in, seeming almost to overwhelm us: IVF, embryo experimentation, endless and repeated pressure to accept euthanasia, ghastly evidence of its active practice in hospitals...the pro-life movement kept abreast and kept going, but the political and financial waves beat against it relentlessly...
Young Catholics today tend to assume that the future will include some active persecution of the Church.They feel alienated from most officialdom, having grown up in a world where Government is associated with "gay rights" and promotion of abortion and so on. They tend to see the Church as confident: this is the John Paul II/Benedict generation, which rather relishes a counter-cultural Church and doesn't expect any favours from the State. They have inherited a tradition of campaigning on pro-life and pro-family issues and tend to think that they will do better than us oldies. They don't expect political victories, but look to a transformation of culture.They have plenty of vigour and look ahead with zest. They are listening when BXVI speaks about the New Evangelisation.Their world-view is formed from their perspective and not from Auntie's. Some day they too will look back and ponder.
As I look back 30 years, it is such a very different Britain: it was still possible to speak openly of male/female marriage as the foundation for any society, and it would have been impossible for anyone in public life to be taken seriously in proposing that two people of the same sex could marry. Supporters of abortion still felt obliged to preface their speeches with some statement to the effect that abortion was in general regrettable before continuing with "but...choices...cases of neccesity...". And it was still normal to expect that anyone who wanted to be active in public life should not cohabit but should marry, or live as a single person. It's very difficult now to convey all of this: today's young Catholics simply cannot really know what it was like to live in a culture where some moral norms, while under steady attack, were still praised in public. And in our praying and campaigning, we had public support: in the 1970s it was still possible to muster 80,000-100,000 people in London to cheer pro-life speeches and to march to Downing Street, and the 1980s saw huge pro-life prayer-vigils, candle-lit processions, packed cathedrals...
But the 1990s brought Blair and a whole new raft of legislation. People "wanted a change", a phrase one heard a lot at that time. . (And I remember naivety about the Blairs being "a Catholic family in Downing Street" Oh dear! ). The 1980s were denounced as an evil era, and "Section 28" became a byword for oppression and horror. The public funding of contraception for teenagers, controversial in the 80s, was now standard. Marriage was presented as a "lifestyle choice". And as a new century opened, new areas of biotechnology rolled in, seeming almost to overwhelm us: IVF, embryo experimentation, endless and repeated pressure to accept euthanasia, ghastly evidence of its active practice in hospitals...the pro-life movement kept abreast and kept going, but the political and financial waves beat against it relentlessly...
Young Catholics today tend to assume that the future will include some active persecution of the Church.They feel alienated from most officialdom, having grown up in a world where Government is associated with "gay rights" and promotion of abortion and so on. They tend to see the Church as confident: this is the John Paul II/Benedict generation, which rather relishes a counter-cultural Church and doesn't expect any favours from the State. They have inherited a tradition of campaigning on pro-life and pro-family issues and tend to think that they will do better than us oldies. They don't expect political victories, but look to a transformation of culture.They have plenty of vigour and look ahead with zest. They are listening when BXVI speaks about the New Evangelisation.Their world-view is formed from their perspective and not from Auntie's. Some day they too will look back and ponder.
Friday, December 07, 2012
Letter dated...
...April 19th 2012, from 10 Downing Street London SW1, to Mrs Joanna Bogle:
"We are proposing no changes to how religious organisations define and solemnise religious marriages and we are very clear that a marriage through a religious ceremony and on religious premises will continue to be only legally possible between a man and a woman." (emphasis original)
Now read the latest statement from David Cameron, of 10 Downing Street London SW1.
That April letter went on "We recognise the vital role that religious organisations have in our society, and we are clear on the importance of religious freedom. That is why the Government are listening and working with all religious organisations tht have concerns about this. I hope you will find that reassurring."
No, I did not find it reassurring. And I was right.
Nothing that Cameron could now say - ever - would reassure me.
"We are proposing no changes to how religious organisations define and solemnise religious marriages and we are very clear that a marriage through a religious ceremony and on religious premises will continue to be only legally possible between a man and a woman." (emphasis original)
Now read the latest statement from David Cameron, of 10 Downing Street London SW1.
That April letter went on "We recognise the vital role that religious organisations have in our society, and we are clear on the importance of religious freedom. That is why the Government are listening and working with all religious organisations tht have concerns about this. I hope you will find that reassurring."
No, I did not find it reassurring. And I was right.
Nothing that Cameron could now say - ever - would reassure me.
Ghastly news...
...the Govt's plans to force through the scheme to redefine marriage. Read here. And, very importantly, here...
Cameron is attempting to hurry this through because he knows how unpopular it is, and is trying to get it forced on us well before the next election.
Make no mistake: this is the big issue of our days. Don't get deflected: this needs letters to Cameron and to your MP and it also needs a lot of prayer.
Cameron is attempting to hurry this through because he knows how unpopular it is, and is trying to get it forced on us well before the next election.
Make no mistake: this is the big issue of our days. Don't get deflected: this needs letters to Cameron and to your MP and it also needs a lot of prayer.
Thursday, December 06, 2012
St Nicholas' Day...
...so I left a parcel with bags of (chocolate) gold coins on the doorstep of friends, knocked on the door and heard the children scuffling to answer it, and hurried off up the street in the December darkness.. Satisfying.
Depressing news as the Govt seems intent on its insane plan to redefine marriage.
Evensong and Mass with Ordinariate group, and a lively get-together in the pub afterwards. Everyone cheerful, lots to discuss (liturgy: they want the Mass they are used to, ie the Ordinary Form of the Roman rite in English, with good music). Things got gloomy when conversation turned to current political/state of the nation scene...Govt's ghastly schemes (see above), increasing intolerance of public expressions of Christianity, etc. One member of the group had just been at her grandson's school concert - a "Winter Concert" with no mention of the Nativity whatever. Not carol, not a crib scene, nothing. It was a big community event bringing together several schools including some Catholic ones.
Depressing.
Depressing news as the Govt seems intent on its insane plan to redefine marriage.
Evensong and Mass with Ordinariate group, and a lively get-together in the pub afterwards. Everyone cheerful, lots to discuss (liturgy: they want the Mass they are used to, ie the Ordinary Form of the Roman rite in English, with good music). Things got gloomy when conversation turned to current political/state of the nation scene...Govt's ghastly schemes (see above), increasing intolerance of public expressions of Christianity, etc. One member of the group had just been at her grandson's school concert - a "Winter Concert" with no mention of the Nativity whatever. Not carol, not a crib scene, nothing. It was a big community event bringing together several schools including some Catholic ones.
Depressing.
Working...
...on next book (due out in 2013, text to be w. publishers before the end of this year) has involved revisiting the topic of Fatima at some length. Golly, there's a lot of nonsense out there on the Internet about it. Best book on the subject is this one which carries a Foreword by the excellent Cardinal Raymond Burke of the Apostolic Signatura.
My book isn't on Fatima, but includes some material on the subject, so I needed to check it all out...
My book isn't on Fatima, but includes some material on the subject, so I needed to check it all out...
Wednesday, December 05, 2012
A delightful group...
...of young people from various schools across Britain, all gathering with their parents and teachers at the Houses of Parliament to recieve their Bible Prizes in the 2012 SCHOOLS BIBLE PROJECT. It was a joy to meet them all, to show them around Parliament and tell them something of the history (Westminster Great Hall, St Thomas More, Winston Churchill, the lot...) and then take them across to Millbank House for tea and a splendid Prizegiving, with Lord Alton giving out the Bible prizes. A happy day.
David Alton's talk to the young people was excellent. He emphasised the glory and the importance of the Scriptures - for this life and the next. He told us that Parliament still starts every morning with a Scripture reading (Deo gratias!) and also talked about the fact that the Bible is still banned in some places - including North Korea which he visited recently. Christians there risk terrible punishments in order to read a Bible...how much we should value our freedom to read the Scriptures here...
David Alton's talk to the young people was excellent. He emphasised the glory and the importance of the Scriptures - for this life and the next. He told us that Parliament still starts every morning with a Scripture reading (Deo gratias!) and also talked about the fact that the Bible is still banned in some places - including North Korea which he visited recently. Christians there risk terrible punishments in order to read a Bible...how much we should value our freedom to read the Scriptures here...
Tuesday, December 04, 2012
Enthusiastic...
...young people at St Patrick's, Soho Square, including a couple of seminarians from Australia working in the parish, all take part in a Catholic History Walk. We explore Holborn, St Giles, Lincolns Inn Fields, Ely Place. The Aussies are delighted to encounter the Ship Inn, where Bishop Richard Challoner used to meet and teach Catholics in penal times: they had been taught about this and now were actually visiting the pub itself! We walk down High Holborn, pray in St Etheldreda's and I show them the plaque we placed there commemorating the long link of the church to the Catholic Writers' Guild. It still seems odd to realise that Fleet Street simply doesn't have any link with newspapers any more, and that when we use the term "Fleet Street" meaning the press, it is for historical reasons. Golly, I'm old...
Monday, December 03, 2012
Uncomfortably...
...a good many conversations among Catholics in these days converge on the subject of a coming loss of religious freedom, of our rights as Catholics in Britain to speak clearly and openly about Christ, and about the truth and beauty of his message. In ways that I could never have imagined when younger, we talk about religious persecution, not as something belonging to far away or long ago but as something that relates to Britain, to a possible and imaginable future...
The Holy Father spoke. movingly and beautifully, today to students at the English College in Rome, where our young men study for the priesthood. This is a College which has a noble tradition of martyrs, a tradition which each succeeding generation of students holds in high honour. The Holy Father spoke of this throughout his speech, and ended thus:
"When I visited the United Kingdom, I saw for myself that there is a great spiritual hunger among the people. Bring them the true nourishment that comes from knowing, loving and serving Christ. Speak the truth of the Gospel to them with love. Offer them the living water of the Christian faith and point them towards the bread of life, so that their hunger and thirst may be satisfied. Above all, however, let the light of Christ shine through you by living lives of holiness, following in the footsteps of the many great saints of England and Wales, the holy men and women who bore witness to God’s love, even at the cost of their lives. The College to which you belong, the neighbourhood in which you live and study, the tradition of faith and Christian witness that has formed you: all these are hallowed by the presence of many saints. Make it your aspiration to be counted among their number.
Please be assured of an affectionate remembrance in my prayers for yourselves and for all the alumni of the Venerable English College. I make my own the greeting so often heard on the lips of a great friend and neighbour of the College, Saint Philip Neri, Salvete, flores martyrum...
The Holy Father spoke. movingly and beautifully, today to students at the English College in Rome, where our young men study for the priesthood. This is a College which has a noble tradition of martyrs, a tradition which each succeeding generation of students holds in high honour. The Holy Father spoke of this throughout his speech, and ended thus:
"When I visited the United Kingdom, I saw for myself that there is a great spiritual hunger among the people. Bring them the true nourishment that comes from knowing, loving and serving Christ. Speak the truth of the Gospel to them with love. Offer them the living water of the Christian faith and point them towards the bread of life, so that their hunger and thirst may be satisfied. Above all, however, let the light of Christ shine through you by living lives of holiness, following in the footsteps of the many great saints of England and Wales, the holy men and women who bore witness to God’s love, even at the cost of their lives. The College to which you belong, the neighbourhood in which you live and study, the tradition of faith and Christian witness that has formed you: all these are hallowed by the presence of many saints. Make it your aspiration to be counted among their number.
Please be assured of an affectionate remembrance in my prayers for yourselves and for all the alumni of the Venerable English College. I make my own the greeting so often heard on the lips of a great friend and neighbour of the College, Saint Philip Neri, Salvete, flores martyrum...
Sunday, December 02, 2012
Ealing Abbey...
...is a magnificent church, and I went there this morning for the Conventual Mass. Last visit was for a wedding on a seriously hot day a few summers back - today the gardens of Ealing were all frosted and the leaves crunching icily beneath my feet as I made by way from the Tube station. The Abbey church is high-arched and with wide clean lines with a great spacious feel: it's not actually very old (19th century, damaged by bombing in WWII, etc) but somehow you feel linked to the early centuries of the church. I was wondering if such a large building could actually be filled for Mass, but it is, and indeed there are six Masses there each Sunday, and judging by the crowds still milling from the earlier one, it is a very popular parish.
There is a fine choir, all robed and walking in procession ahead of the monks who fill the sanctuary. There is a sense of timelessness about the Mass and it was a perfect place to mark the First Sunday of Advent.
I met some friends after Mass and they invited me back for coffee: two of their sons have sung with the Vaughan Schola at the TOWARDS ADVENT Festival and I was touched to discover that they remembered this with pleasure and still have the little prayer-books that we give to choir members each year as a commemorative gift. This year's Towards Advent choir was in fact from St Benedict's School, Ealing, and I noticed the choirmaster in the robed procession at Mass...
Main reason for being in Ealing this Sunday was to visit a friend, Prof Dennis O'Keeffe, to talk about Poland. With Roger Scruton and others, he was a visiting lecturer in Poland in the 1980s, in the v. difficult days of martial law, giving lectures to the "flying university" in various private homes...fascinating to hear about all of this, and also to discuss issues of today's Europe and its future...
There is a fine choir, all robed and walking in procession ahead of the monks who fill the sanctuary. There is a sense of timelessness about the Mass and it was a perfect place to mark the First Sunday of Advent.
I met some friends after Mass and they invited me back for coffee: two of their sons have sung with the Vaughan Schola at the TOWARDS ADVENT Festival and I was touched to discover that they remembered this with pleasure and still have the little prayer-books that we give to choir members each year as a commemorative gift. This year's Towards Advent choir was in fact from St Benedict's School, Ealing, and I noticed the choirmaster in the robed procession at Mass...
Main reason for being in Ealing this Sunday was to visit a friend, Prof Dennis O'Keeffe, to talk about Poland. With Roger Scruton and others, he was a visiting lecturer in Poland in the 1980s, in the v. difficult days of martial law, giving lectures to the "flying university" in various private homes...fascinating to hear about all of this, and also to discuss issues of today's Europe and its future...
Saturday, December 01, 2012
The number of young men...
..applying to become priests is steadily rising...and we need more...read this Vocations Blog for more info...and pray that the numbers entering our seminaries continues to rise and rise over the next five years.
Read...
...the latest issue of The Portal, in which Auntie has a feature...and in which there is a splendid account of the TOWARDS ADVENT Festival, with pic. It's noted that the Westminster Cathedral Hall seems rather too small for the large crowds that attend, which is true...
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
To Chelsea...
...for a meeting with Josephine Robinson of the Association of Catholic Women to finalise the brochure for our 2013 Schools RE Project. This is a Project for all RC primary schools in Britain, involving children writing essays on various teachings of the Church: we take up a different theme each year and the 2013 project will of course be linked with the Year of Faith. The brochure will feature the door of a church and we spent some time looking at suitable pix (clip art from the Internet etc). Supported by the CTS, the project has grown and grown and involves large numbers of children at schools across Britain. The brochures go out to schools in January and my next task is to bring together the team of volunteers who do this...actually it is all very enjoyable, as we sit at the CTS warehouse over mugs of tea and lots of chat as we put labels on envelopes and put a brochure in each one...
Earlier, a Catholic History Walk around St George's Cathedral, Southwark. This was the last History Walk of the year, although we will be going carol singing in December. NEXT walk is Monday Jan 28th 2013, in Chelsea. Meet at the church of Holy Redeemer and St Thomas More, 6.30pm...
Earlier, a Catholic History Walk around St George's Cathedral, Southwark. This was the last History Walk of the year, although we will be going carol singing in December. NEXT walk is Monday Jan 28th 2013, in Chelsea. Meet at the church of Holy Redeemer and St Thomas More, 6.30pm...
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Eighty-five English Martyrs...
...were honoured today at Westminster Cathedral. They were beatified 25 years ago by the great John Paul II. Today, I dropped in to evening Mass at the Cathedral - and found it was a magnificent Mass honouring the anniversary of the Beatification. Archbishop Vincent Nicholls was the main celebrant and preached a fine sermon. And we had a glorious Ave Verum at Communion...the choir is in paritcularly fine voice at present. We sang Faith of Our Fathers very heartily. I am always a bit worried with that line "How sweet would be their children's fate/If they like them could die for thee" because it just could be that this might be demanded of us....gulp...and I am not sure of my own courage...
I had gone to the Mass to meet Dan Cooper of the FAITH Movement. He ran the FAITH stall at the Towards Advent Festival and found some good opportunities to talk to people and make contacts. The FAITH Movement has its annual Winter Session in December...
I had gone to the Mass to meet Dan Cooper of the FAITH Movement. He ran the FAITH stall at the Towards Advent Festival and found some good opportunities to talk to people and make contacts. The FAITH Movement has its annual Winter Session in December...
Monday, November 26, 2012
Depressing...
...is the only possible word to describe the London of today, as revealed by the newspapers I was reading as I journeyed on various errands. Major news and features (I am not making any of these up) were: a bright cheery feature in The Times about how best to make use of the new technologies involving destruction of human embryos (should a woman routinely freeze some eggs for future use???etc...), a two-page celebration, in the Evening Standard, of how popular homosexual activity is among smart young financiers in the City, and news of how top officials in the Church of England are planning to find new ways to impose women bishops now that the laity have voted against them.
Coming up...
...on WEDNESDAY (Nov 28th) at 1.30pm, Auntie leads a Catholic History Tour of St George's Cathedral, Southwark. All welcome. No need to book - just turn up. Nearest Tube/train: WATERLOO or LAMBETH NORTH.
The Cathedral ius opposite the Imperial War Museum and is one of London's "hidden gems". Stacks of history - Gordon riots, Pugin, and bombing in WWII. Come and find out more....
The Cathedral ius opposite the Imperial War Museum and is one of London's "hidden gems". Stacks of history - Gordon riots, Pugin, and bombing in WWII. Come and find out more....
To Hatfield...
...to St Peter's Church. Evening Mass, with a good-sized and overwhelmingly young congregation - Auntie felt very much like...well...an auntie. Numbers of students from the University. Some good singing - was glad to have my new Missal which has the music for the Mass chants, both in Latin and in English, all simply included in the Proper of the Mass...
Afterwards, students gathered for a meeting, one of a regular series on Sunday evenings with speakers on the Sacraments. Auntie spoke on Marriage. A really delightful, friendly, interested group, a great atmosphere. Afterwards, Fr Mark gave me dinner, along with a couple of young people from the group - it was so good to relax over a meal and a glass of wine, and to talk about so many things. Above all, it is encouraging to hear about vocations to the priesthood...
It had been a lovely day, beginning with an early start and a train to Hertfordshire, for lunch with Philip Trower, distinguished Catholic author and a friend of many years' standing...we first met when we were both covering the visit of John Paul II to Britain thirty years ago. Philip has the most glorious collection of books - shelves and shelves of them all beautifully sorted and arranged, and a delight for browsing. He allowed me to borrow a volume of von Balthasar which will be of great use for my Maryvale work...and there was a very jolly family lunch, and then as the afternoon drew to a close he drove me on to Mass at Hatfield, through the November countryside on this Feast of Christ the King, the last Sunday of the Church's year...
Afterwards, students gathered for a meeting, one of a regular series on Sunday evenings with speakers on the Sacraments. Auntie spoke on Marriage. A really delightful, friendly, interested group, a great atmosphere. Afterwards, Fr Mark gave me dinner, along with a couple of young people from the group - it was so good to relax over a meal and a glass of wine, and to talk about so many things. Above all, it is encouraging to hear about vocations to the priesthood...
It had been a lovely day, beginning with an early start and a train to Hertfordshire, for lunch with Philip Trower, distinguished Catholic author and a friend of many years' standing...we first met when we were both covering the visit of John Paul II to Britain thirty years ago. Philip has the most glorious collection of books - shelves and shelves of them all beautifully sorted and arranged, and a delight for browsing. He allowed me to borrow a volume of von Balthasar which will be of great use for my Maryvale work...and there was a very jolly family lunch, and then as the afternoon drew to a close he drove me on to Mass at Hatfield, through the November countryside on this Feast of Christ the King, the last Sunday of the Church's year...
ADVENT...
...and the young team at St Patrick's, Soho Square, is running its annual Advent Mission. More info here..
In particular, don't miss the wonderful Procession through Soho on Sunday December 9th. This is now one of London's great events: starts with an International Mass at St Patrick's at 6pm, then the procession moves off at 7pm and goes through the streets to the Church of Notre Dame de France off Leicester Square. Come and join in! The Blessed Sacrament is carried aloft, there is singing, we go through the crowded streets of theatreland - and last year we gave out little gift-bags with an Advent message and a medal as we went along...
In particular, don't miss the wonderful Procession through Soho on Sunday December 9th. This is now one of London's great events: starts with an International Mass at St Patrick's at 6pm, then the procession moves off at 7pm and goes through the streets to the Church of Notre Dame de France off Leicester Square. Come and join in! The Blessed Sacrament is carried aloft, there is singing, we go through the crowded streets of theatreland - and last year we gave out little gift-bags with an Advent message and a medal as we went along...
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Glorious singing, a crowded cathedral hall, and...
...the 2012 Towards Advent Festival was under way! Pouring rain outside deterred no one - crowds of people came, cheery ladies from the Association of Catholic Women with great trays of home-made cakes and sandwiches, Franciscan friars in patched grey robes, publishers like Fisher Press and the CTS with stacks and stacks of lovely books, volunteers for all sorts of charities with beautiful craft goods and rosaries and Christmassy things...
Archbishop Vincent Nichols opened the Festival with an enthusiastic speech reminding us that this is the Year of Faith and giving everyone a sense of welcome and inspiration. A choir of delightful children from St Benedict's School, Ealing, sang a most beautiful Ave Maria and Panis Angelicus and then, led us all in O Come O come Emmanuel, the first verse sung by a boy solo. EWTN was there and featuring Fr Robert Barron's Catholicism (superb). The Ordinariate was there with some beautiful hand-made Christmassy gifts and lots of literature, the National Catholic Library had a wonderful array of books, there were pro-life groups and liturgy groups and lots of excellent charities raising funds for work with blind children in India, and leprosy suffers, and children with all sorts of special needs at home and abroad...
It was all a joy...Sister Catherine Holum gave a spirited , inspiring talk about her journey from Olympic speed-skater to Franciscan Sister of the Renewal - and she and her fellow Franciscan Sister John-Paul were such a delight to have with us as their infectious joy spread itself to everyone they met. A lovely young team from the Centre for Faith and Culture in Oxford led a marvellous celebration of Bl John Henry Newman's "Second Spring" - it was particularly good to have them as they were involved with the Festival over a decade ago as small girls in a drama production which rounded off our first-ever Towards Advent Festival...
Too many people to be thanked, but a special mention must be made of our excellent Chairman, Brian Towler and his team from the Catenian Association. They tackle all the admin, the hiring of the hall and the tables and taking bookings and more and more...
Archbishop Vincent Nichols opened the Festival with an enthusiastic speech reminding us that this is the Year of Faith and giving everyone a sense of welcome and inspiration. A choir of delightful children from St Benedict's School, Ealing, sang a most beautiful Ave Maria and Panis Angelicus and then, led us all in O Come O come Emmanuel, the first verse sung by a boy solo. EWTN was there and featuring Fr Robert Barron's Catholicism (superb). The Ordinariate was there with some beautiful hand-made Christmassy gifts and lots of literature, the National Catholic Library had a wonderful array of books, there were pro-life groups and liturgy groups and lots of excellent charities raising funds for work with blind children in India, and leprosy suffers, and children with all sorts of special needs at home and abroad...
It was all a joy...Sister Catherine Holum gave a spirited , inspiring talk about her journey from Olympic speed-skater to Franciscan Sister of the Renewal - and she and her fellow Franciscan Sister John-Paul were such a delight to have with us as their infectious joy spread itself to everyone they met. A lovely young team from the Centre for Faith and Culture in Oxford led a marvellous celebration of Bl John Henry Newman's "Second Spring" - it was particularly good to have them as they were involved with the Festival over a decade ago as small girls in a drama production which rounded off our first-ever Towards Advent Festival...
Too many people to be thanked, but a special mention must be made of our excellent Chairman, Brian Towler and his team from the Catenian Association. They tackle all the admin, the hiring of the hall and the tables and taking bookings and more and more...
Friday, November 23, 2012
A cute baby yawning...
...caught on video.
This baby is in his mother's womb, which ought to be the safest place on earth. Today it isn't.: a child in the womb can be legally killed and this is promoted as a "woman's right".
We MUST return legal safeguards to protect human life.
This baby is in his mother's womb, which ought to be the safest place on earth. Today it isn't.: a child in the womb can be legally killed and this is promoted as a "woman's right".
We MUST return legal safeguards to protect human life.
To Parliament...
...for a large gathering addressed by Lord Alton, celebrating the 100th birthday of the Catholic National Library, treasure-house of a vast range of books, periodicals and archive material. Launch of a new book by Fr Gerard Skinner telling the story of the Library. One of the great committee rooms in the House of Lords was packed for this event, and it was a tremendous bringing-together of men and women from Catholic public life...MPs and peers and writers and educationalists and leaders of Catholic groups and organisations, clergy and laity...afterwards a most agreeable Reception at the Commonwealth Club in Northumberland Avenue, following a walk down lamplit, rain-splashed Whitehall.
Government panic...
...is never edifying. The Cameron team is looking particularly silly at the moment. All running around in circles, unable to cope with the economic woes, ghastly situation for our army in Afghanistan, a growing sense that people know that things are going badly, they suddenly shrieked that they'll be rushing through a law to force same-sex marriage on the nation. Uh? What? You can almost smell the oh-gosh-whatever-shall-we-do? about this. The polls are showing that people re abandoning the Tories in large numbers - the worst worry was the realisation there weren't going to be adequate numbers at the Party Conference and there had to be a phone-round to try to drum up some support...it's all looking very, very bad for the next election. Why the attempted rush to redefine marriage? I'm guessing that it's money. A couple of Very Big Donors are insisting on this crazy policy, and the thinking is that the money is desperately needed for the election...
Won't work. Chuck, it Cameron, and get on with the job for which you were elected. You can't win an election if your policies are the same as those of the Opposition: same-sex marriage comes massively into that category.
Read here for more on this.
Won't work. Chuck, it Cameron, and get on with the job for which you were elected. You can't win an election if your policies are the same as those of the Opposition: same-sex marriage comes massively into that category.
Read here for more on this.
Thursday, November 22, 2012
and further...
...to my post below, the prize for an inane and possibly slightly sinister remark goes to some one called Mr Tony Baldry who told the House of Commons today that:
"If the Church of England wants to be a national church, then it has to reflect the values of the nation."
The more you think about that statement the more horrid it seems. Values of the nation? Drunkness. Acceptance of pre-marital sexual relationships as the norm. Wide use of pornography. Greed - to the point where obesity is a national disease.
The idea of a National Church that reflects the Values of the Nation is actually quite sinister. The whole point of the Church is surely that it is not national, but is over and beyond all nations.
Undeterred by such spiritual realities, campaigners are now urging that Parliament forces the C. of E. to create women bishops. So any last notion that the C of E is a spiritual entity, resting on the word of God and subject to Christ's ordinances, must give way to the understanding that it is simply a British institution run by British law.
"...and on this rock I will build my Church. In addition, some day some one may invent a parallel body in a small and rather beautiful island, and pretend it is a Church too. It isn't a Church. But there will be some fine and good people caught up in it. Your task will be to help them on their way home to the true Church, encouraging them to bring with them anything and everything of value and beauty that is theirs to bring."
"If the Church of England wants to be a national church, then it has to reflect the values of the nation."
The more you think about that statement the more horrid it seems. Values of the nation? Drunkness. Acceptance of pre-marital sexual relationships as the norm. Wide use of pornography. Greed - to the point where obesity is a national disease.
The idea of a National Church that reflects the Values of the Nation is actually quite sinister. The whole point of the Church is surely that it is not national, but is over and beyond all nations.
Undeterred by such spiritual realities, campaigners are now urging that Parliament forces the C. of E. to create women bishops. So any last notion that the C of E is a spiritual entity, resting on the word of God and subject to Christ's ordinances, must give way to the understanding that it is simply a British institution run by British law.
"...and on this rock I will build my Church. In addition, some day some one may invent a parallel body in a small and rather beautiful island, and pretend it is a Church too. It isn't a Church. But there will be some fine and good people caught up in it. Your task will be to help them on their way home to the true Church, encouraging them to bring with them anything and everything of value and beauty that is theirs to bring."
Well, who would have thought it?
...The C. and E. has turned down women bishops. I must admit to a sense of satisfaction. I am so glad that the Synod - which had seemed to be a seal and stamp on everything politically-correct and tiresomely ill-considered - turned out to have some people who thought outside the usual box of cliches.
I do not accept the theological thinking behind the "men are meant to be leaders, women not" idea, since women can certainly lead and teach. Priesthood is different from that, and it is this precise thing, the priesthood, that has not been fully explored and grasped. But at least there has been some sort of ability to understand that there are some theological issues involved.
Given the tragedies and miseries of the world - some of which (war, hunger, injustices of various kinds) get raised at the C of E Synod - it was rather ghastly to see comfortably-off ladies weeping inconsolably and seeking help and speaking of their agony, because they can't be made bishops. Dear ladies, please be assurred that you will survive quite well, and may even one day think about all this quite differently.
I do not accept the theological thinking behind the "men are meant to be leaders, women not" idea, since women can certainly lead and teach. Priesthood is different from that, and it is this precise thing, the priesthood, that has not been fully explored and grasped. But at least there has been some sort of ability to understand that there are some theological issues involved.
Given the tragedies and miseries of the world - some of which (war, hunger, injustices of various kinds) get raised at the C of E Synod - it was rather ghastly to see comfortably-off ladies weeping inconsolably and seeking help and speaking of their agony, because they can't be made bishops. Dear ladies, please be assurred that you will survive quite well, and may even one day think about all this quite differently.
Back in business...
...with my mobile. Same number. Family and friends please note. ALL IS WELL.
Went to a mobile-phone shop. Felt bleak. Lots of screens and gadgets. Lots of giant plasma TV screens to dominate the home. Lots and lots of smaller plasma screens to dominate the car, the office, the bus, the Tube, the train, the school, the park, the street, the doctor's waiting-room, etc. Laptops and must-have handy-sized carry-around-with-you-at-all-times things so that you are never, ever, free from emails and Skype and Facebook and texting and tweeting. Cute unreal computer-generated figures in a children's soap-opera on giant screens mesmerising small customers. Stacks of gadgets on shiny shelves mesmerising older customers.
Stared at display of mobile phones. Some modestly priced. Talked to helpful young assistant. Human voice - sudden real communication: Auntie explained that she wanted something useful and simple, to make and recieve calls, take photos as required...showed shattered remnants of previous.
He removed the SIM card from my old phone, and talked about an Upgrade, explained that, mirabile dictu, I could keep the same number. We got chatting "You're Polish?" Yes, he was, and I told him I'd written a book about Bl. JPII. "A great man" he said "All Poles love him. But now is history. Not so many young Poles now go to church. Now we think next Pope will be last one and then the end of the world."
Oh dear. Anyway I got my shiny new 'phone and he wrapped up the old one in a box with the new charger and instructions and things and I paid with plastic and left the shop. Odd times, these.
Went to a mobile-phone shop. Felt bleak. Lots of screens and gadgets. Lots of giant plasma TV screens to dominate the home. Lots and lots of smaller plasma screens to dominate the car, the office, the bus, the Tube, the train, the school, the park, the street, the doctor's waiting-room, etc. Laptops and must-have handy-sized carry-around-with-you-at-all-times things so that you are never, ever, free from emails and Skype and Facebook and texting and tweeting. Cute unreal computer-generated figures in a children's soap-opera on giant screens mesmerising small customers. Stacks of gadgets on shiny shelves mesmerising older customers.
Stared at display of mobile phones. Some modestly priced. Talked to helpful young assistant. Human voice - sudden real communication: Auntie explained that she wanted something useful and simple, to make and recieve calls, take photos as required...showed shattered remnants of previous.
He removed the SIM card from my old phone, and talked about an Upgrade, explained that, mirabile dictu, I could keep the same number. We got chatting "You're Polish?" Yes, he was, and I told him I'd written a book about Bl. JPII. "A great man" he said "All Poles love him. But now is history. Not so many young Poles now go to church. Now we think next Pope will be last one and then the end of the world."
Oh dear. Anyway I got my shiny new 'phone and he wrapped up the old one in a box with the new charger and instructions and things and I paid with plastic and left the shop. Odd times, these.
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
To Parliament...
...to arrange presentation of prizes for Schools Bible Project by Lord Alton. To CTS Bookshop to buy 40 prayer-books as souvenir gifts for the choir singing at Towards Advent on Saturday. To a celebratory evening organised by T! magazine...I have been involved with helping to run the Journalism Course sponsored by the magazine and it was a real pleasure to present the Certificates to the young people who have completed the course and shown such enthusiasm and dedicatiion.
Family and friends please note...
...my mobile phone has broken and I am about to get a new one! So my old number is now DEFUNCT.
The 'phone dropped on to the pavement today in London...parts scattered everywhere, some crucial bits broken. Passers-by all started to help and picked bits up... offered consolation, advice, goodwill...Auntie settled down with cup of tea to try to piece the thing together...to no avail, will be buying a new one.
The 'phone dropped on to the pavement today in London...parts scattered everywhere, some crucial bits broken. Passers-by all started to help and picked bits up... offered consolation, advice, goodwill...Auntie settled down with cup of tea to try to piece the thing together...to no avail, will be buying a new one.
Monday, November 19, 2012
Our Lady's Convent School...
...in Loughborough welcomed Auntie this morning to present prizes won in the Catholic Young Writer project, run by the Catholic Writers' Guild and the Catholic Union of Great Britain. Joint winners this year were two delightful young ladies, twins Cara and Iona McNeill, pupils at Our Lady's Convent School.
It meant an early start for Auntie...kind friend Amanda Hill, who earlier helped with the administration of the Project, had offered to give me a lift to Loughborough and collected me at 5.30am, and with a brief stop for breakfast we arrived in good time for the school's Morning Assembly in the beautiful chapel. A lovely school, with a happy and confident feel to it, clear about the Christian values it seeks to transmit. It was real pleasure to talk to the girls, to present the trophy and prizes, and to meet the parents of the winners and runners-up. A family atmosphere. We all chatted over coffee and pastries, and Amanda and I were made to feel so welcome and were given a tour of the school (fabulous 19th century buildings, links with Ambrose de Lisle, Pugin, etc) before I addressed an RE class tackling the Scriptures and ethical issues. It was beautiful and moving to hear a strong affirmation of the value of every human life from a teacher, sharing a personal story. It was a delight to talk about great issues in an atmosphere or respect and reverence for God, for marriage, for human life and for faith. It was grand to be with an RE teacher who relishes teaching the Scriptures and engaging young minds in philosophy and discussion of large and interesting ideas...
A happy morning. We had planned, before travelling back to London, to visit Mount St Bernard Abbey nearby, and when we mentioned this, the headmistress arranged for us to be given a packed lunch to enjoy as a picnic...so we chose sandwiches and drinks from the (excellent!) school refectory and went off in a holiday mood. Mount St Bernards is a magnificent Cistercian Abbey, in the most glorious countryside, and the monks - a good-sized community from the sound of them - were singing the midday office as we arrived, the great Abbey bell having tolled out to announce the timing. We prayed with them in the Abbey church - a fine building, with a great central altar and a sense of strength and of prayers soaring up to God - and later walked up to the Calvary shrine on the rugged pathway, and then enjoyed our picnic...
It meant an early start for Auntie...kind friend Amanda Hill, who earlier helped with the administration of the Project, had offered to give me a lift to Loughborough and collected me at 5.30am, and with a brief stop for breakfast we arrived in good time for the school's Morning Assembly in the beautiful chapel. A lovely school, with a happy and confident feel to it, clear about the Christian values it seeks to transmit. It was real pleasure to talk to the girls, to present the trophy and prizes, and to meet the parents of the winners and runners-up. A family atmosphere. We all chatted over coffee and pastries, and Amanda and I were made to feel so welcome and were given a tour of the school (fabulous 19th century buildings, links with Ambrose de Lisle, Pugin, etc) before I addressed an RE class tackling the Scriptures and ethical issues. It was beautiful and moving to hear a strong affirmation of the value of every human life from a teacher, sharing a personal story. It was a delight to talk about great issues in an atmosphere or respect and reverence for God, for marriage, for human life and for faith. It was grand to be with an RE teacher who relishes teaching the Scriptures and engaging young minds in philosophy and discussion of large and interesting ideas...
A happy morning. We had planned, before travelling back to London, to visit Mount St Bernard Abbey nearby, and when we mentioned this, the headmistress arranged for us to be given a packed lunch to enjoy as a picnic...so we chose sandwiches and drinks from the (excellent!) school refectory and went off in a holiday mood. Mount St Bernards is a magnificent Cistercian Abbey, in the most glorious countryside, and the monks - a good-sized community from the sound of them - were singing the midday office as we arrived, the great Abbey bell having tolled out to announce the timing. We prayed with them in the Abbey church - a fine building, with a great central altar and a sense of strength and of prayers soaring up to God - and later walked up to the Calvary shrine on the rugged pathway, and then enjoyed our picnic...
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Marriage...
...is the lifelong union of a man and a woman. The Church knows that marriage between baptised Christians is a sacrament - Holy Matrimony - a source of grace, a rich and living reality linked to Christ's union with his Church, a mystery at the heart of our Faith.
If the Government wants to impose on Britain the notion of marriage as a union between two people of the same sex, it is going to be neccesary to explain that there can be no question of this ever involving any sort of event or ceremony linked to the Church. The most efficient way to do this would be simply to break the link of the Church with any form of legal marriage: the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony in Church would be unconnected with any civil ceremony taking place in a local registry office. A Catholic man and woman marrying in church might or might not choose to go through a legal ceremony too: as far as the Church is concerned, only the Church's sacramental marriage is valid anyway.
Until now, the Church has sought to co-operate with the civil authorities because it makes sense for the Church to act as legal registrar for marriages that take place in church. But this will change if the civil authorities redefine marriage.
There are a number of practical advantages in simply de-registering churches, and it will of course also save the clergy the bother of extra paperwork. The Church's own paperwork already neccesarily keeps them busy: each bride and groom have to show evidence of baptism, of being free to marry (ie not married already, not under a vow of celibacy etc), and so on.
In the past, some people sought to marry in church who were not eligible to do so - eg people who were divorced and whose previous spouse was still living. But when the Church gently explained that this was not possible, they did not sue. Under planned legislation, and in the current climate, the Church could be vulnerable to legal challenges unless it is made clear that there can never be any offer of any form of legal marriage in a Catholic church, and that all that the Church can offer is Holy Matrimony, on the terms God offers.
A Church-married-but-not-state-married couple might feedl they had some legal need to consolidate their status by going through a legal procedure, eg for tax purposes, and the Church would not prevent them from doing this. If they wanted to divorce, that would not alter their being married in the eyes of God. With today's divorce practices, which are often unjust (fathers denied the right to see their children, etc) , the Church does well to remain unconnected with the tangles of it all.
Freedom for the Church is going to be a major issue in the years ahead, both in Britain and in other Western nations. For a useful comment on the position in the USA, read here.
If the Government wants to impose on Britain the notion of marriage as a union between two people of the same sex, it is going to be neccesary to explain that there can be no question of this ever involving any sort of event or ceremony linked to the Church. The most efficient way to do this would be simply to break the link of the Church with any form of legal marriage: the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony in Church would be unconnected with any civil ceremony taking place in a local registry office. A Catholic man and woman marrying in church might or might not choose to go through a legal ceremony too: as far as the Church is concerned, only the Church's sacramental marriage is valid anyway.
Until now, the Church has sought to co-operate with the civil authorities because it makes sense for the Church to act as legal registrar for marriages that take place in church. But this will change if the civil authorities redefine marriage.
There are a number of practical advantages in simply de-registering churches, and it will of course also save the clergy the bother of extra paperwork. The Church's own paperwork already neccesarily keeps them busy: each bride and groom have to show evidence of baptism, of being free to marry (ie not married already, not under a vow of celibacy etc), and so on.
In the past, some people sought to marry in church who were not eligible to do so - eg people who were divorced and whose previous spouse was still living. But when the Church gently explained that this was not possible, they did not sue. Under planned legislation, and in the current climate, the Church could be vulnerable to legal challenges unless it is made clear that there can never be any offer of any form of legal marriage in a Catholic church, and that all that the Church can offer is Holy Matrimony, on the terms God offers.
A Church-married-but-not-state-married couple might feedl they had some legal need to consolidate their status by going through a legal procedure, eg for tax purposes, and the Church would not prevent them from doing this. If they wanted to divorce, that would not alter their being married in the eyes of God. With today's divorce practices, which are often unjust (fathers denied the right to see their children, etc) , the Church does well to remain unconnected with the tangles of it all.
Freedom for the Church is going to be a major issue in the years ahead, both in Britain and in other Western nations. For a useful comment on the position in the USA, read here.
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Important...
...words on the subject of Catholics and Jews here...
and I draw the attention of some of my readers to this...especially the chap who wrote offering to send me a copy of an anti-Jewish diatribe. Please note: the Church specifically denounces material of that kind. In this Year of Faith the documents of Vatican II are being given renewed attention and invested with renewed and long-term significance. Read the link just given, and also here...
and I draw the attention of some of my readers to this...especially the chap who wrote offering to send me a copy of an anti-Jewish diatribe. Please note: the Church specifically denounces material of that kind. In this Year of Faith the documents of Vatican II are being given renewed attention and invested with renewed and long-term significance. Read the link just given, and also here...
Monday, November 12, 2012
Wisdom...
...from Papa Benedict, visiting a set of homes for the elderly run by the S. Egidio community. He spoke about old age as a blessing.
"One who makes room for the elderly, makes room for life. One who welcomes the elderly, welcomes life.”
"One who makes room for the elderly, makes room for life. One who welcomes the elderly, welcomes life.”
for British people...
...like me who need to know a bit more about this whole Obama/religious freedom thing: here is a good piece to read.
Sunday, November 11, 2012
"O God our help...
...in ages past..." We gathered at the War memorial in Borough High Street to observe Remembrance Day. The War Memorial there is particularly poignant, as it depicts a First World War soldier in full kit, gallantly going forward, in the mud of the Western Front - and because it was erected just months after that War ended, it is accurate in every detail. This particular Memorial has become familiar since I started going to Evensong and weekday Mass with the Ordinariate group at the nearby Church of the Precious Blood. It seemed the right place to observe Remembrance Day. Under a clear sky, a crowd gathered, the bugle notes of the Last Post rang out, the police stopped the traffic, and we were silent.
It's an utterly different country from the one for which the men of the Great War fought and died. In the crowd, a number of young men failed to remove their wolly hats or baseball caps. The crowd was adequate but not huge. When we prayed the Our Father, many people didn't join in: they all too evidently simply didn't know thre words. The singing was good, led by the excellent Ordinariate priest and congregation in fine voice. The bugler was superb. The wreaths were laid, the dead honoured, the tribute to our history paid. And the young men like the one on the fine monument before us will never grow old, and we will remember them...we will remember them.
It's an utterly different country from the one for which the men of the Great War fought and died. In the crowd, a number of young men failed to remove their wolly hats or baseball caps. The crowd was adequate but not huge. When we prayed the Our Father, many people didn't join in: they all too evidently simply didn't know thre words. The singing was good, led by the excellent Ordinariate priest and congregation in fine voice. The bugler was superb. The wreaths were laid, the dead honoured, the tribute to our history paid. And the young men like the one on the fine monument before us will never grow old, and we will remember them...we will remember them.
Saturday, November 10, 2012
Ordinary...
...life goes on, even though somehow the knowledge that America has voted for same-sex marriage and compulsory funding of abortion through insurance schemes, and that our Govt is busy with similar horrible ideas, covers everything a slightly unreal feeling. While keeping up with the news on such things, Auntie spent recent days at various events and meetings. An excellent day-conference of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, culminating with a Mass at which the liturgy was in the particular Anglican-rite form. If you are an Anglican reading this, and you long for familiarity and good English worship, you should have been at this Mass. Echoe and echoes of 1662 plus dignified chant and resounding hymns...
In the evening I went to a friend's house in Chelsea for supper and we watched the extremely good film Karol . Haven't yet seen it? You simply must.
And on Saturday I was giving a talk to a Marriage Preparation group at St Mary's, Cadogan Street. Lots of delightful young people, great atmosphere, a sense of great joy and hope. Walked back through Chelsea with Father Innocent, a priest from the diocese of Lagos in Nigeria who is currently studying in London and has joined the parish team for a year, and with a student from Allen Hall who had been on a placement in the parish for a week or so...we spoke of St Thomas More as we walked along where he once lived, and stood by the great Thames, his river and ours...Allen Hall is thriving at the moment, good numbers of young men training for the priesthood. In the Spring my Catholic History Walkers will be making their annual visit there for the now traditional history-tour, and tea, and joining the men for Benediction...
Interested in carol-singing in central London? Contact me, by sending a Comment to this Blog, with an email address at which I can reply to you. Date is Monday dec 17th, time: 6.30pm...
In the evening I went to a friend's house in Chelsea for supper and we watched the extremely good film Karol . Haven't yet seen it? You simply must.
And on Saturday I was giving a talk to a Marriage Preparation group at St Mary's, Cadogan Street. Lots of delightful young people, great atmosphere, a sense of great joy and hope. Walked back through Chelsea with Father Innocent, a priest from the diocese of Lagos in Nigeria who is currently studying in London and has joined the parish team for a year, and with a student from Allen Hall who had been on a placement in the parish for a week or so...we spoke of St Thomas More as we walked along where he once lived, and stood by the great Thames, his river and ours...Allen Hall is thriving at the moment, good numbers of young men training for the priesthood. In the Spring my Catholic History Walkers will be making their annual visit there for the now traditional history-tour, and tea, and joining the men for Benediction...
Interested in carol-singing in central London? Contact me, by sending a Comment to this Blog, with an email address at which I can reply to you. Date is Monday dec 17th, time: 6.30pm...
Friday, November 09, 2012
PLEASE...
....would the kind correspondent from Australia write to me again with an EMAIL ADDRESS TO WHICH I CAN REPLY written into the actual text of his Comment?I would love to be in touch!
PLEASE NOTE: if you write a Comment to this Blog I have ABSOLUTELY NO WAY OF REPLYING TO YOU UNLESS YOU GIVE ME AN EMAIL ADDRESS.
PLEASE NOTE: if you write a Comment to this Blog I have ABSOLUTELY NO WAY OF REPLYING TO YOU UNLESS YOU GIVE ME AN EMAIL ADDRESS.
Deeply, deeply worrying...
...and things are going to be horrible. The election results in America are very bad news.
Courage and wisdom are needed for the future. Read here for a good analysis.
Courage and wisdom are needed for the future. Read here for a good analysis.
Wednesday, November 07, 2012
Vatican II...
...and a discussion group at the home of a lovely, lively London Catholic family. An excellent presentation on Dei Verbum. A delicious supper (platefuls of Polish bigos with creamy mashed potato. Wine. Choc cake). Much talk: thoughtful,challenging, analytical, positive. A strong sense of a desire to seek Christ. A chorus of young voices in prayer. A busy priest (hospital chaplain, tough job) who had joined us for the evening. A senser of a Church alive and missionary. The Year of Faith.
Tuesday, November 06, 2012
Women ...
...meet at a Christian group called the Wives Fellowship. Auntie has been invited to give various talks, and yesterday's , at a Surrey gathering, was about Hallowe'en. Explored the story: pagan ideas about death as Autumn comes, the Christian message, All Saints, All Souls...
A friendly group, with women sharing Christian values and ideas...
A friendly group, with women sharing Christian values and ideas...
Sunday, November 04, 2012
The latest MAGNIFICAT
...by which I mean the excellent monthly prayer-manual that arrives by post and is a joy to use and handle - has a feature in it by Father James Tolhurst. Fr Jim is a family friend - he married Jamie and me at St Elphege's, Wallington, back in 1980. He is the author of a number of books, and something of an authority on Bl John Henry Newman...
Magnificat is a must-read: it always carries a particularly beautiful work of art which is discussed and explored by a good art historian - the Nov. writer is Elizabeth Lev. It has Morning and Evening Prayer for each day, information about the feast-days of the various saints as they come up (with lots of interesting snippets about obscure saints from long ago, or local saints in particular corners of Britain or the world), the Mass texts for each day, and some good features, meditations, and extra prayers...
Magnificat is a must-read: it always carries a particularly beautiful work of art which is discussed and explored by a good art historian - the Nov. writer is Elizabeth Lev. It has Morning and Evening Prayer for each day, information about the feast-days of the various saints as they come up (with lots of interesting snippets about obscure saints from long ago, or local saints in particular corners of Britain or the world), the Mass texts for each day, and some good features, meditations, and extra prayers...
Pouring rain and a crowded cathedral...
...on a November morning. I went to Westminster Cathedral for Mass because I thought it might be useful to hand out some leaflets about the Towards Advent Festival to people as they left (Saturday November 24th, Westminster Cathedral Hall: BE THERE!). I certainly chose the right day - it was the annual Catenians' Mass (all Catholic groups and guilds etc have All Souls Masses for deceased members etc at the Cathedral in Nov.) and there were hundreds and hundreds and HUNDREDS of them, all with their wives and families, packing out the Cathedral. The Catenian Association is a main supporter of the Festival, really its backbone and our excellent chairman Brian Towler is a Catenian...the Mass was glorious, with the choir in excellent voice...
I handed out all the leaflets to people as they poured out after Mass, and could have handed out more, wished I'd brought twice as many...and then went round to the Cathedral Hall, which was jammed with Catenians swapping news, and was welcomed by many friends. They are a super bunch, among them several who are v. active with the Catholic Union: much talk of current events, religious freedom, the Govt's ghastly plans for new law on marriage etc.
Sent off FINAL corrected version of my latest book to the publisher. Computers have changed the whole relationship with publishers: chatty lunches, the excitement of the arrival of the first proofs, the skills of printers, all gone, and now it's emails back and forth, and the author doing all sorts of techno-things herself...this book will perhaps be among my last to emerge as a book at all, as over the next years it will all be downloads and read-it-on-your-ipod. It feels bleak, like getting a voucher at Christmas instead of a parcel, or chatting to a friend on the phone instead of meeting over a drink.
I handed out all the leaflets to people as they poured out after Mass, and could have handed out more, wished I'd brought twice as many...and then went round to the Cathedral Hall, which was jammed with Catenians swapping news, and was welcomed by many friends. They are a super bunch, among them several who are v. active with the Catholic Union: much talk of current events, religious freedom, the Govt's ghastly plans for new law on marriage etc.
Sent off FINAL corrected version of my latest book to the publisher. Computers have changed the whole relationship with publishers: chatty lunches, the excitement of the arrival of the first proofs, the skills of printers, all gone, and now it's emails back and forth, and the author doing all sorts of techno-things herself...this book will perhaps be among my last to emerge as a book at all, as over the next years it will all be downloads and read-it-on-your-ipod. It feels bleak, like getting a voucher at Christmas instead of a parcel, or chatting to a friend on the phone instead of meeting over a drink.
Bl. John Paul, Pope Benedict, and Vatican II...
...and an evangelical approach to the Faith. Lots of good material in Maryvale studies (in addition to academic work, I decided to take a course in Evangelisation, and am loving it). The Second Vatican Council emphasised the importance of every baptised Christian being a missionary, bringing the message of Christ to the world.
For years, I heard a sort of general message that "before Vatican II everything was going well - we didn't need this Council", and in a way I sort of accepted this without thinking about it very much. I took the attitude that, well, the Council happened and we had somehow to make the best of it. But I also knew that this was a lazy approach and that the reality was all rather different. When I actually studied the documents and also related them to my own experiences of being an active Catholic, I realised how crucial and valuable it all was and is.
And now, here I am, celebrating the 50th anniversary of that Council and seeing the hugeness of it . And the Catechism, the 20th anniversary of which we mark this year: our family copy, much used, is on the ledge beside me as I write this.
For years, I heard a sort of general message that "before Vatican II everything was going well - we didn't need this Council", and in a way I sort of accepted this without thinking about it very much. I took the attitude that, well, the Council happened and we had somehow to make the best of it. But I also knew that this was a lazy approach and that the reality was all rather different. When I actually studied the documents and also related them to my own experiences of being an active Catholic, I realised how crucial and valuable it all was and is.
And now, here I am, celebrating the 50th anniversary of that Council and seeing the hugeness of it . And the Catechism, the 20th anniversary of which we mark this year: our family copy, much used, is on the ledge beside me as I write this.
Islam, and evangelisation...
...and Maryvale.
Arriving at Birmingham, en route to Maryvale, the first priority is always to buy a packet of those useful coffee-filter-in-a-cup things, which allow you to brew some REAL coffee by simply pouring the hot water through the filter. Everything about Maryvale is splendid, except the coffee.
Armed with sufficient supplies - it looks mean just to pour a cup for oneself, so there always has to be enough to share around a bit - I then headed for the bus-stop, but the crowds were so huge that I gave up and got a taxi. Another part of the Maryvale arrival routine is being evangelised by the taxi-driver: most Brummy taxis seem to be driven by kindly, courteous and enthusiastically Islamic drivers. We invariably get on well, and they invariably try to urge me to read the Koran and/or consult various Islamic websites etc. Conversations usually begin with "So you're a Christian?" and then a question such as "Why do you Christians have two Bibles?" (by this he means the Old and New Testaments) or "How can you say Jesus was God's son if he died on the Cross?" or "Why do you Christians believe you need to confess to your priests?" I tackled these and asked him various questions myself. His knowledge of Christianity was scant. We ended up having a really quite profound conversation. And this is not the first, second, or even the third or fourth time that this has happened: it is literally the case that almost every time I get a cab in Birmingham, the driver turns the conversation to religion and urges me to consider the claims of Islam, while I in turn gently try to suggest something of the claims of Christ, no mere prophet but the One promised from the beginning, God himself...
And so to Maryvale - for a course of lectures on evangelisation!
A Mass for All Souls Day, a tasty supper provided by the dear Brigettine nuns, a late-night chat in the students' common-room during which the talk turned to the DVD shown to the Bishops at their recent Synod indicating Europe's demographic slide into an Islamic future...and later still, looking out from my window into the moonlight with Birmingham's city lights on the horizon, much to ponder and pray about...
My room was next door to the one which, in recusant days, was used as a secret chapel. Today we use a newer chapel (built in the late 18th century, when the penal laws were not so savage) and the All Souls' Mass was well attended by local people: Maryvale has a long tradition of devotion to the Sacred Heart and on the first Friday of every month the traditional devotional prayers are said, and people like to come. The altar on which Mass is celebrated is the one that Bl. John Henry Newman used when he made Maryvale his home in the mid 19th century.
There was no one else sleeping in this part of the house this weekend, and it felt very, very silent and the corridors are very, very dark and the stairs creaky.
Arriving at Birmingham, en route to Maryvale, the first priority is always to buy a packet of those useful coffee-filter-in-a-cup things, which allow you to brew some REAL coffee by simply pouring the hot water through the filter. Everything about Maryvale is splendid, except the coffee.
Armed with sufficient supplies - it looks mean just to pour a cup for oneself, so there always has to be enough to share around a bit - I then headed for the bus-stop, but the crowds were so huge that I gave up and got a taxi. Another part of the Maryvale arrival routine is being evangelised by the taxi-driver: most Brummy taxis seem to be driven by kindly, courteous and enthusiastically Islamic drivers. We invariably get on well, and they invariably try to urge me to read the Koran and/or consult various Islamic websites etc. Conversations usually begin with "So you're a Christian?" and then a question such as "Why do you Christians have two Bibles?" (by this he means the Old and New Testaments) or "How can you say Jesus was God's son if he died on the Cross?" or "Why do you Christians believe you need to confess to your priests?" I tackled these and asked him various questions myself. His knowledge of Christianity was scant. We ended up having a really quite profound conversation. And this is not the first, second, or even the third or fourth time that this has happened: it is literally the case that almost every time I get a cab in Birmingham, the driver turns the conversation to religion and urges me to consider the claims of Islam, while I in turn gently try to suggest something of the claims of Christ, no mere prophet but the One promised from the beginning, God himself...
And so to Maryvale - for a course of lectures on evangelisation!
A Mass for All Souls Day, a tasty supper provided by the dear Brigettine nuns, a late-night chat in the students' common-room during which the talk turned to the DVD shown to the Bishops at their recent Synod indicating Europe's demographic slide into an Islamic future...and later still, looking out from my window into the moonlight with Birmingham's city lights on the horizon, much to ponder and pray about...
My room was next door to the one which, in recusant days, was used as a secret chapel. Today we use a newer chapel (built in the late 18th century, when the penal laws were not so savage) and the All Souls' Mass was well attended by local people: Maryvale has a long tradition of devotion to the Sacred Heart and on the first Friday of every month the traditional devotional prayers are said, and people like to come. The altar on which Mass is celebrated is the one that Bl. John Henry Newman used when he made Maryvale his home in the mid 19th century.
There was no one else sleeping in this part of the house this weekend, and it felt very, very silent and the corridors are very, very dark and the stairs creaky.
Friday, November 02, 2012
Vatican II...
...and the Holy Father's important words, pointing to the documents and message that will guide us on this 50th anniversary and Year of Faith: here...
All Saints, All Souls...
...and vast crowds in Oxford Street and Auntie struggling along with them. Impossible to move at one point - sheer pressure of humanity. No, they weren't celebrating All Saints' Day. They were there to shop. Christmas decorations already hanging up above the street, but not yet lit up.Half-term, and huge, HUGE numbers of people shopping and shopping and shopping...
I needed to reach a bank - had promised to get some figures for a small charitable group which needs info in order to complete its annual statement of accounts - but the vast crowds made it very difficult to get down Regent Street and the bank had closed by the time I arrived. Swept back into the crowd, I managed to break off into a side-street and walked through Chinatown to reach Soho Square, where I was celebrating All Saints at St Patrick's Church, and watching the young members of the 2012/13 St Patrick's Evangelisation School make their formal commitment. A beautiful Mass, Fr Thomas from the Community of St John concelebrating with Fr Alexander the parish priest, and young Fr James Bradley of the Ordinariate acting as cantor for the chanted Kyrie, Gloria, etc. Afterwards, a cheery celebration in the big room up in the church tower - wine and snacks and lots of talk. A most useful talk with Marianne Cuthbertson of Maryvale, looking at the difference between evangelisation and catechesis, and the need for both. It made me appreciate anew the role of lay people in the Church's mission in the sense that Vatican II sought to promote and develop it: Maryvale is central in all of this for Britain.
At St Patrick's, as elsewhere, a table at the back of the church where one can write the names of family members and friends who have died, who will be commemorated in Masses for the dead in this Month of All Souls. Every year, my list grows a little longer. Nearly twenty years since my dear father died, and as I wrote his name I had sudden beautiful memories of him. And this year, a dear cousin died - remembered with very special affection, as she was one of bridesmaids thirty years ago...
I needed to reach a bank - had promised to get some figures for a small charitable group which needs info in order to complete its annual statement of accounts - but the vast crowds made it very difficult to get down Regent Street and the bank had closed by the time I arrived. Swept back into the crowd, I managed to break off into a side-street and walked through Chinatown to reach Soho Square, where I was celebrating All Saints at St Patrick's Church, and watching the young members of the 2012/13 St Patrick's Evangelisation School make their formal commitment. A beautiful Mass, Fr Thomas from the Community of St John concelebrating with Fr Alexander the parish priest, and young Fr James Bradley of the Ordinariate acting as cantor for the chanted Kyrie, Gloria, etc. Afterwards, a cheery celebration in the big room up in the church tower - wine and snacks and lots of talk. A most useful talk with Marianne Cuthbertson of Maryvale, looking at the difference between evangelisation and catechesis, and the need for both. It made me appreciate anew the role of lay people in the Church's mission in the sense that Vatican II sought to promote and develop it: Maryvale is central in all of this for Britain.
At St Patrick's, as elsewhere, a table at the back of the church where one can write the names of family members and friends who have died, who will be commemorated in Masses for the dead in this Month of All Souls. Every year, my list grows a little longer. Nearly twenty years since my dear father died, and as I wrote his name I had sudden beautiful memories of him. And this year, a dear cousin died - remembered with very special affection, as she was one of bridesmaids thirty years ago...
Thursday, November 01, 2012
NEXT Catholic History Walk...
....Thursday November 15th, meet 6.30pm at St Mary Moorfields, Eldon Street, London EC2. We will walk around the City and learn something of its history, finishing on the steps of St Pauls's Cathedral....
Not merely an auntie...
...but a GREAT Auntie, and this for the fourth time. A lovely new great-niece arrived this morning, a joyful addition to the family.
Hurried out to post a parcel of celebratory goodies.
Overdue domestic duties: much of the day was spent sorting through old books, and a great suitcaseful went off to the local church for the Parish Fayre. How old is "old"? Several of the books that went to the Fayre dated from the 1970s and 80s, paperbacks detailing the plight of Christians in Russia (v. grim in the 70s - we used to stand outside the Soviet Embassy and shout out the names of people imprisoned in the gulag, collect signatures for petitions, organise vigils of prayer). Several were books on pro-life and pro-family topics, also from the 70s, 80s, and 90s - same debates and arguments as today, all predictions made by pro-life campaigners back then have come true, and we are still lobbying and praying and campaigning.
Will my new great-niece know about books or will it all be downloads from computers, with illustrations that jump about , and all history and biography accompanied by music and sound effects? She will be growing up in a world where words unknown a decade ago will already seem old-fashioned: ebook, download, tweet, facebook. Will she ever write a letter by hand, sew a seam, make jam?
Hurried out to post a parcel of celebratory goodies.
Overdue domestic duties: much of the day was spent sorting through old books, and a great suitcaseful went off to the local church for the Parish Fayre. How old is "old"? Several of the books that went to the Fayre dated from the 1970s and 80s, paperbacks detailing the plight of Christians in Russia (v. grim in the 70s - we used to stand outside the Soviet Embassy and shout out the names of people imprisoned in the gulag, collect signatures for petitions, organise vigils of prayer). Several were books on pro-life and pro-family topics, also from the 70s, 80s, and 90s - same debates and arguments as today, all predictions made by pro-life campaigners back then have come true, and we are still lobbying and praying and campaigning.
Will my new great-niece know about books or will it all be downloads from computers, with illustrations that jump about , and all history and biography accompanied by music and sound effects? She will be growing up in a world where words unknown a decade ago will already seem old-fashioned: ebook, download, tweet, facebook. Will she ever write a letter by hand, sew a seam, make jam?
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Been reading...
Weigel's The Truth of Catholicism. Recommended.
Are you coming to the TOWARDS ADVENT Festival on Sat Nov 24th? Westminster Cathedral Hall. Official opening 10.30am. Among the speakers: former Olympic speed skater now a Franciscan Sister of the Renewal. Plus a team celebrating Blessed John Henry Newman and the "Second Spring". Come and join in....
Been busy giving talks on journalism and the media to young people on half-term courses at a youth centre. The BIG gap in their education is in history and general knowledge. They are aware of this and find it frustrating. I ask them some general history questions: does anyone know who Gladstone was? Disraeli? Can they name the king who followed Queen Victoria? Then I go back a bit: Who won the Battle of Waterloo? Battle of Trafalgar?
It's ghastly to be left in ignorance. And actually discovering your own history can be fun and satisfying. I compile a history chart, explain about the Roman Empire, Saxons, Norman invasion, Middle Ages...Henry VIII (he's about the only one they know, because of his wives: "divorced,beheaded, died/Divorced,beheaded,survived"...), Mary Tudor, Elizabeth...
We keep hearing that the Govt is going to "do something" about the disgraceful betrayal of young people and the way they have been banned from knowing about their country's history. Meanwhile, the thing to do is get on and teach history whenever you can.
Are you coming to the TOWARDS ADVENT Festival on Sat Nov 24th? Westminster Cathedral Hall. Official opening 10.30am. Among the speakers: former Olympic speed skater now a Franciscan Sister of the Renewal. Plus a team celebrating Blessed John Henry Newman and the "Second Spring". Come and join in....
Been busy giving talks on journalism and the media to young people on half-term courses at a youth centre. The BIG gap in their education is in history and general knowledge. They are aware of this and find it frustrating. I ask them some general history questions: does anyone know who Gladstone was? Disraeli? Can they name the king who followed Queen Victoria? Then I go back a bit: Who won the Battle of Waterloo? Battle of Trafalgar?
It's ghastly to be left in ignorance. And actually discovering your own history can be fun and satisfying. I compile a history chart, explain about the Roman Empire, Saxons, Norman invasion, Middle Ages...Henry VIII (he's about the only one they know, because of his wives: "divorced,beheaded, died/Divorced,beheaded,survived"...), Mary Tudor, Elizabeth...
We keep hearing that the Govt is going to "do something" about the disgraceful betrayal of young people and the way they have been banned from knowing about their country's history. Meanwhile, the thing to do is get on and teach history whenever you can.
for pure pleasure....
....click on to this site of the Dominican Sisters of St Joseph and scroll down to where Sister Mary Catherine plays Mozart. Enjoy. Just enchanting.
The Sisters do lots of good things, and initiated the John Paul Walk for the New Evangelisation, which last weekend took a grand crowd of us along the Thames.
The Sisters do lots of good things, and initiated the John Paul Walk for the New Evangelisation, which last weekend took a grand crowd of us along the Thames.
The young team...
...of the St Patrick's Evangelisation School in Soho Square are a great bunch. Today and yesterday I was with them, and I'm impressed with their energy and dedication. Prayer, study, service to the local community especially those in need of a meal and friendship...there are special initiatives such as this one...
The church is of course beautiful, and people hurry in for a lunchtime Mass...you think there are not very many, but then you suddenly realise there are a good number filling up the pews towards the back...and then during the afternoon people come in quietly to pray before the Blessed Sacrament...
It was good to be part of the community for a little while, and I enjoyed the Rosary in the small downstairs chapel, the lively chat as we all sat at a long table for a community lunch, the celebration of a SPES member's 21st birthday, and the laughter as we recalled highlights of that Thames Pilgrimage on Sunday, especially the last bit in the mud and dark with the rain starting...
Poor Ambrose, Fr Alexander's dog, who walked the whole route with us, has spent the past two decades chiefly in exhausted slumber.
The church is of course beautiful, and people hurry in for a lunchtime Mass...you think there are not very many, but then you suddenly realise there are a good number filling up the pews towards the back...and then during the afternoon people come in quietly to pray before the Blessed Sacrament...
It was good to be part of the community for a little while, and I enjoyed the Rosary in the small downstairs chapel, the lively chat as we all sat at a long table for a community lunch, the celebration of a SPES member's 21st birthday, and the laughter as we recalled highlights of that Thames Pilgrimage on Sunday, especially the last bit in the mud and dark with the rain starting...
Poor Ambrose, Fr Alexander's dog, who walked the whole route with us, has spent the past two decades chiefly in exhausted slumber.
Monday, October 29, 2012
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Twenty miles along the Thames...
...is a looooooong walk. But we did it, and a grand team of John Paul II Walkers packed out the chapel the Shrine of Our Lady of Westminster at Hampton Wick, in good voice for Evening Prayer and Benediction, and then did full justice to splendid supper laid on by the Sons of Divine Providence and their team of helpers.
A wonderful day: the Thames Pilgrimage, praying for the New Evangelisation. This was planned partly as a Reunion for the young people who took part in the Summer's Walking Pilgrimage to Walsingham, but it turned out to be much, much more than that.
Arriving at Westminster Cathedral for Mass, I met D., who a couple of weeks earlier had walked a long part of the route with me, helping to plan the day. The Cathedral is always full for the Sunday Masses, so we were glad to find two places near the front. A glorious Mass - as always at the Cathedral, magnificent music - and Fr Simon Heans, our chaplain for the day, concelebrated. Then out into the piazza - to be confrontd by a grand crowd of people, far more than I had hoped or imagined, all ready and eager for the Pilgrimage Walk along the Thames!
Down Buckingham Palace Road and along to Chelsea Bridge, across the river and into Battersea Park, where, now free of traffic noise, we were able to start praying the Rosary, led by Sister Hyacinthe. Before leaving the park, we settled for a pleasant lunch, Fr Simon saying Grace, and by now we felt like a real community together. On down the Thames Path, Sister Hyacinthe giving us some excellent talks along the way, all equipped with microphone and notes: Vatican II, the Scriptures...
The weather was just right, the river rippled peacefully, golden leaves were strewn at our feet. Joggers and walkers passed us and we exchanged greetings: they asked about our banner (Our Lady of Walsingham) and gave good wishes when we told them we had walked from Westminster Cathedral. Kindly people at a Boat Club let us use the loos. Wandsworth, Putney, Barnes...we broke into hymns, we prayed the Rosary, we walked and chatted...
Dusk was falling by now. We cut along the Upper Richmond Road so as to avoid the big loop of the river by Kew, and at Richmond an advance party caught the bus to Kingston. The rest of us rejoined the river and walked , in darkness now... the line of walkers became straggly, well spaced out along the dark towpath. I went back and forth with my torch calling out in reassurance. We had children and parents, and young people and middle-aged and elderly among us. A family of children walked happily together, the girls telling me with enthusiasm about their school (St Catherine's) as we passed it on the opposite side of the river: I was able to tell them that my mother was at that same school, more than seventy years ago, and was happy there just as they were. A group of girls from various countries at a London hostel, led by a delightful nun, walked cheerily along swapping laughter and chat, oblivious to discomforts even though one was wearing beautiful blue shoes more suitable for dancing than a 20-mile hike. Deacon Henry, who joined us from Oscott seminary, walked with vigour, unconcerned by the fact that this long day was the prelude to an early start on the morrow when he'd be flying to Rome on pilgrimage. A team from St Patrick's Soho Square had brought Ambrose, Fr Alexander's dog, who seemed, like them, to be of inexhaustible energy.
The very last bit, once we had crossed the river just beyond Teddington Lock, was the only bit that felt really tiring: by now we were walking past ordinary houses and were nearly at our destination. And then, finally, we were there - a wonderful welcome, a true sense of homecoming, and the Sons of Divine Providence, accompanied by the Herald of the Gospels (a splendid group with the most magnificent religious habits I have ever seen!) literally welcoming us with open arms.
A chapel filled with prayer, a table laid with delicious food...a time to give thanks and there were speeches and cheers and applause. Then relaxing, much talk, thoughtful conversations about hopes for the New Evangelisation, the worries about the future of our country and of Europe...
Vocations to the priesthood are up, there is a sense of great seriousness about prayer for the years ahead, the Year of Faith has been launched...this is a time for commitment and for courage.
A wonderful day: the Thames Pilgrimage, praying for the New Evangelisation. This was planned partly as a Reunion for the young people who took part in the Summer's Walking Pilgrimage to Walsingham, but it turned out to be much, much more than that.
Arriving at Westminster Cathedral for Mass, I met D., who a couple of weeks earlier had walked a long part of the route with me, helping to plan the day. The Cathedral is always full for the Sunday Masses, so we were glad to find two places near the front. A glorious Mass - as always at the Cathedral, magnificent music - and Fr Simon Heans, our chaplain for the day, concelebrated. Then out into the piazza - to be confrontd by a grand crowd of people, far more than I had hoped or imagined, all ready and eager for the Pilgrimage Walk along the Thames!
Down Buckingham Palace Road and along to Chelsea Bridge, across the river and into Battersea Park, where, now free of traffic noise, we were able to start praying the Rosary, led by Sister Hyacinthe. Before leaving the park, we settled for a pleasant lunch, Fr Simon saying Grace, and by now we felt like a real community together. On down the Thames Path, Sister Hyacinthe giving us some excellent talks along the way, all equipped with microphone and notes: Vatican II, the Scriptures...
The weather was just right, the river rippled peacefully, golden leaves were strewn at our feet. Joggers and walkers passed us and we exchanged greetings: they asked about our banner (Our Lady of Walsingham) and gave good wishes when we told them we had walked from Westminster Cathedral. Kindly people at a Boat Club let us use the loos. Wandsworth, Putney, Barnes...we broke into hymns, we prayed the Rosary, we walked and chatted...
Dusk was falling by now. We cut along the Upper Richmond Road so as to avoid the big loop of the river by Kew, and at Richmond an advance party caught the bus to Kingston. The rest of us rejoined the river and walked , in darkness now... the line of walkers became straggly, well spaced out along the dark towpath. I went back and forth with my torch calling out in reassurance. We had children and parents, and young people and middle-aged and elderly among us. A family of children walked happily together, the girls telling me with enthusiasm about their school (St Catherine's) as we passed it on the opposite side of the river: I was able to tell them that my mother was at that same school, more than seventy years ago, and was happy there just as they were. A group of girls from various countries at a London hostel, led by a delightful nun, walked cheerily along swapping laughter and chat, oblivious to discomforts even though one was wearing beautiful blue shoes more suitable for dancing than a 20-mile hike. Deacon Henry, who joined us from Oscott seminary, walked with vigour, unconcerned by the fact that this long day was the prelude to an early start on the morrow when he'd be flying to Rome on pilgrimage. A team from St Patrick's Soho Square had brought Ambrose, Fr Alexander's dog, who seemed, like them, to be of inexhaustible energy.
The very last bit, once we had crossed the river just beyond Teddington Lock, was the only bit that felt really tiring: by now we were walking past ordinary houses and were nearly at our destination. And then, finally, we were there - a wonderful welcome, a true sense of homecoming, and the Sons of Divine Providence, accompanied by the Herald of the Gospels (a splendid group with the most magnificent religious habits I have ever seen!) literally welcoming us with open arms.
A chapel filled with prayer, a table laid with delicious food...a time to give thanks and there were speeches and cheers and applause. Then relaxing, much talk, thoughtful conversations about hopes for the New Evangelisation, the worries about the future of our country and of Europe...
Vocations to the priesthood are up, there is a sense of great seriousness about prayer for the years ahead, the Year of Faith has been launched...this is a time for commitment and for courage.
Saturday, October 27, 2012
A rallying call...
...to evangelise. Read here. The Bishops have come up trumps: it's a stirring call.
We shall be following the call tomorrow, as the John Paul II Walk for the New Evangelisation starts at Westminster Cathedral and heads off along the Thames to the Shrine of Our Lady of Westminster, some 20 miles up-river at Kingston. Along the way, we'll be passing some of the places that hold a huge part of our country's history - Chelsea where St Thomas More lived with his family, Syon where once stood the great Brigettine house - but also the homes and churches and schools and workshops and offices where the people of our great city and its suburbs live and work and pray, the parks and gardens where they relax and enjoy themselves, the sports fields, the boatyards, the pubs, the shops and restaurants. And we'll be praying for God's blessing on everyone, asking that hearts be opened to the glorious message of the Gospel, and that in a spirit of goodwill and neighbourliness the truths of the Christian faith will be communicated and become clear, with a bright hope for this new century...
To participants reading this: it will be COLD, so dress warmly. Hats. Gloves. Scarves. It will be DARK towards the end of our journey so bring a TORCH or a lantern. Bring a good sandwich lunch, and something to drink. Be prepared to obey instructions: we will cross a couple of busy London roads, and be walking alongside a deep and potentially dangerous river, so it will be neccessary at times to be well disciplined.
We'll be hearing some talks along the way, and praying the Rosary, and singing some hymns. There will be a good Tea waiting for us at Hampton Wick.
All readers: please pray for us.
We shall be following the call tomorrow, as the John Paul II Walk for the New Evangelisation starts at Westminster Cathedral and heads off along the Thames to the Shrine of Our Lady of Westminster, some 20 miles up-river at Kingston. Along the way, we'll be passing some of the places that hold a huge part of our country's history - Chelsea where St Thomas More lived with his family, Syon where once stood the great Brigettine house - but also the homes and churches and schools and workshops and offices where the people of our great city and its suburbs live and work and pray, the parks and gardens where they relax and enjoy themselves, the sports fields, the boatyards, the pubs, the shops and restaurants. And we'll be praying for God's blessing on everyone, asking that hearts be opened to the glorious message of the Gospel, and that in a spirit of goodwill and neighbourliness the truths of the Christian faith will be communicated and become clear, with a bright hope for this new century...
To participants reading this: it will be COLD, so dress warmly. Hats. Gloves. Scarves. It will be DARK towards the end of our journey so bring a TORCH or a lantern. Bring a good sandwich lunch, and something to drink. Be prepared to obey instructions: we will cross a couple of busy London roads, and be walking alongside a deep and potentially dangerous river, so it will be neccessary at times to be well disciplined.
We'll be hearing some talks along the way, and praying the Rosary, and singing some hymns. There will be a good Tea waiting for us at Hampton Wick.
All readers: please pray for us.
Friday, October 26, 2012
Glorious...
...music from the Cardinal Vaughan Schola, in concert at the Carmelite Church, Kensington, with funds raised going to Aid to the Church in Need. The magnificent singing was interspersed with Scripture readings and other meditations, all honouring Mary, read by Fr Dominic Allain, the school Chaplain. It was a theological as well as a music feast. I have known and loved this Carmelite Church all my adult life - J. and I went there sometimes when we were engaged, and then many years later I found myself there giving Marriage Preparation talks to young couples...
The Schola, which has become famous over recent years for its superb singing, is in really magnbificent voice at the moment, and offers one of London's finest musical experiences.
The Schola, which has become famous over recent years for its superb singing, is in really magnbificent voice at the moment, and offers one of London's finest musical experiences.
The BBC...
...was one of the first big organisations that was the reciever of indignant letters and protests from the author of this Blog and her friends and colleagues, years and years ago in the 1970s...that was in the days when we were young campaigners and sickened by its bias against Christian and moral values. It was so frustrating that protests against the display of sexually explicit material were dismissed, and that vulgarity and sexual crudity were assumed to be wholly acceptable and rather clever. It was rare, on the Beeb, to have a fair discussion of the great social issues of the day: instead there always seemed to be an assumption that it was neccessary to promote a particular secular, political skewed world-view which reflected a sort Guardian-reading-London-dinner-party pomposity. This was especially true of any programme that discussed sexual morality, or even news programmes covering related topics (eg a pro-life march or rally, and there were a number of huge pro-life events in Britain in those days).
And now...the sordid everyday reality of life at the Beeb in those days is emerging: staff being subjected to sexual overtures, paedophile activities quietly ignored, a culture of acceptance of horrible behaviour. What we all long suspected turns out to be true: this was an organisation where immoral and even gross behaviour was regarded as normal, and opposition to it as merely narrow-minded and absurd.
Mary Whitehouse, the leader of the "Clean Up TV" campaign, which became the National Viewers and Listeners Association, was widely derided as a prude.. For years, she was deemed to be a "non person" at the Beeb, even though she became a national figure as her campaign gathered strength. I was and am very proud to be have been one of her young supporters and, as the years went by, a friend. She was brave, dedicated, and loyal - a woman of great faith who spent time in prayer each day, reading the Bible each morning and night with devotion. Mary and Ernest had a happy home life and were a real example to younger people
The NVALA organised excellent meetings and conferences discussing the role of the media, morality, education, and family and community life. It sponsored awards for good programmes, ran events for schools and youth groups, trained people for TV and radio work. It was a voice for thousands of people who saw the massive influence of TV, and knew that the mass media would expand further and further and be a gigantic influence on all our lives. Evidence was mounting that Britain's tragic rates of divorce, sexually transmitted diseases, abortion, and youth crime were going to cause gigantic problems, and that the influence of the mass media was a major factor in determining people's lifestyles.
Campaigning had its dangers: Mary Whitehouse recieved death threats from pornographers and from promoters of paedophilia, was sent vile things through the post, was physically threatened and abused , and sometimes needed police protection. But her work of NVALA, and associated groups grew and flourished, and ideas and values and hopes were passed on.
And back then, lots of people used to say "One day, Mary Whitehouse will be proved right."
And now...the sordid everyday reality of life at the Beeb in those days is emerging: staff being subjected to sexual overtures, paedophile activities quietly ignored, a culture of acceptance of horrible behaviour. What we all long suspected turns out to be true: this was an organisation where immoral and even gross behaviour was regarded as normal, and opposition to it as merely narrow-minded and absurd.
Mary Whitehouse, the leader of the "Clean Up TV" campaign, which became the National Viewers and Listeners Association, was widely derided as a prude.. For years, she was deemed to be a "non person" at the Beeb, even though she became a national figure as her campaign gathered strength. I was and am very proud to be have been one of her young supporters and, as the years went by, a friend. She was brave, dedicated, and loyal - a woman of great faith who spent time in prayer each day, reading the Bible each morning and night with devotion. Mary and Ernest had a happy home life and were a real example to younger people
The NVALA organised excellent meetings and conferences discussing the role of the media, morality, education, and family and community life. It sponsored awards for good programmes, ran events for schools and youth groups, trained people for TV and radio work. It was a voice for thousands of people who saw the massive influence of TV, and knew that the mass media would expand further and further and be a gigantic influence on all our lives. Evidence was mounting that Britain's tragic rates of divorce, sexually transmitted diseases, abortion, and youth crime were going to cause gigantic problems, and that the influence of the mass media was a major factor in determining people's lifestyles.
Campaigning had its dangers: Mary Whitehouse recieved death threats from pornographers and from promoters of paedophilia, was sent vile things through the post, was physically threatened and abused , and sometimes needed police protection. But her work of NVALA, and associated groups grew and flourished, and ideas and values and hopes were passed on.
And back then, lots of people used to say "One day, Mary Whitehouse will be proved right."
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Church and state, Bishops, the Economy, and Catholic social teaching...
...all discussed in an excellent talk given by Philip Booth of the Institute of Economic Affairs, at the Catholic Writers' Guild this evening. Drawing on Pope Benedict's Caritas in Veritate Bl. John Paul's Centesimus Annus and Vatican II's Dignitatis Humanae along with Leo XII's Rerum Novarum, he gave us a thoughtful and challenging exploration of current economic and social problems. He was scathing about the way in which much of what has passed for Catholic social teaching in recent years has omitted the truths contained in the documents mentioned, and has thus massively missed its mark. May we hope for better in the years to come? General opinion seems to be "yes" , as a younger generation of clergy is taking a fresh approach and is less wedded to the economic ideas of the 1960s and the notion that the State should be the main provider and organiser of social welfare.
Over supper, general talk of Catholic matters....I'm underwhelmed by the (belated?) departure of Williamson from the Lefebvrists: the reasons for his having to leave seem to be that that he was disobedient and disruptive to the Society, rather than that he announced horrible opinions about Jewish people, and about the Church and the Second Vatican Council. And, alas, from Comments recieved (but not published) on this Blog, nasty anti-Jewish statements seem to be acceptable among supporters of the SSPX, in a way that I did not know about until recently.
Also discussed: worries about religious freedom, hopes for the Ordinariate, thoughts on the future of the C. of E. On that last point, I am quite genuinely sad about the fate of the Anglican Church as it pushes itself into absurdity by its apparent ambivalence on the issue of same-sex marriage, and its tortuous discussions about lady bishops. I'm not being patronising: it really is horrid watching it all happen. Please, Anglican readers: there is a great and noble home awaiting you in the Ordinariate: God is calling you, and you are needed, and you could do large and exciting things for our poor country...
Over supper, general talk of Catholic matters....I'm underwhelmed by the (belated?) departure of Williamson from the Lefebvrists: the reasons for his having to leave seem to be that that he was disobedient and disruptive to the Society, rather than that he announced horrible opinions about Jewish people, and about the Church and the Second Vatican Council. And, alas, from Comments recieved (but not published) on this Blog, nasty anti-Jewish statements seem to be acceptable among supporters of the SSPX, in a way that I did not know about until recently.
Also discussed: worries about religious freedom, hopes for the Ordinariate, thoughts on the future of the C. of E. On that last point, I am quite genuinely sad about the fate of the Anglican Church as it pushes itself into absurdity by its apparent ambivalence on the issue of same-sex marriage, and its tortuous discussions about lady bishops. I'm not being patronising: it really is horrid watching it all happen. Please, Anglican readers: there is a great and noble home awaiting you in the Ordinariate: God is calling you, and you are needed, and you could do large and exciting things for our poor country...
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Remember...
...Saturday November 24th, the TOWARDS ADVENT Festival, Westminster Cathedral hall. Official Opening 10.30am with Archbishop Vincent Nichols. Music from the choir of St Benedict's school, Ealing. Come and celebrate in this YEAR OF FAITH!
Among the speakers during the day: Sister Catherine Holum, former Olympic speed skater, now a sister with the Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal.
Also: a celebration of Blessed John Henry Newman, honouring the anniversary of his "Second Spring" sermon.
And: a glorious art gallery featuring work by the Society of Catholic Artists.
And: come and meet the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, the Catenians, the Catholic Truth Society, the Association of Catholic Women, the Knights of St Columba, and more, and more...plus Catholic books, statues, devotional items, craft goods...plus delicious refreshments, opportunities to chat and network, meet old friends and make new ones...
Admission free. Small charge for the main talks.
Among the speakers during the day: Sister Catherine Holum, former Olympic speed skater, now a sister with the Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal.
Also: a celebration of Blessed John Henry Newman, honouring the anniversary of his "Second Spring" sermon.
And: a glorious art gallery featuring work by the Society of Catholic Artists.
And: come and meet the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, the Catenians, the Catholic Truth Society, the Association of Catholic Women, the Knights of St Columba, and more, and more...plus Catholic books, statues, devotional items, craft goods...plus delicious refreshments, opportunities to chat and network, meet old friends and make new ones...
Admission free. Small charge for the main talks.
To St Mary's College,
...Strawberry Hill, Twickenham. Gave a talk to a group a the Benedict XVI Community House, on Faith, Culture and the New Evangelisation. I am interested in the point made by Weigel in his biography on Bl John Paul: "Culture is what drives history over the long haul." Not politics or economics. The Church does not impose herself by statecraft: she preaches the message of the Gospel - and sings it, and draws it, and paints it, and walks it, and celebrates it, and lives it in serve to the poor and sick and imprisoned.
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
My old school...
...St Philomena's, Carshalton. Last night, I was due there for a radio show: Heart Gives Unto Heart Radio, a new internet-based Catholic radio station, is making some programmes and will start to air next month. As I walked there from Sutton, I realised that the main gates (very grand ones - the school buildings are centred on a fine Queen Anne Mansion and its lovely grounds) would be shut. So I turned down Shorts Road and reminisced about using this back entrance very often as a Sixth-former, hurrying out to buy sweets and snacks...and the first gate I came across was also locked, so for a moment I worried that, as of old, I might have to clamber in over a wall (we used a route right down at the end of the lacrosse field...remember?). But there is a new entrance further down, so I entered as a grown-up. Posh new Hall where the old Margaret Clitheroe Dining Room used to be. Felt odd sitting there doing a radio show.
We talked about Catholic education, Catholic schools popular and over-subscribed...but are the children practising the Faith?...how to teach the Faith...the importance of beautiful liturgy...how to encourage young people to go to Mass...
A major issue is that of children of other faiths or none, who seek to attend Catholic schools. There are so many Catholic families who seek places it seems unjust to exclude some in order to offer places to children of other faiths. And what happens when parents get annoyed that their offspring are being taught Catholic doctrine and morals to which they object? That is a bit like insisting on your chuld being given a place at a dancing-school and then objecting when she is taught to dance!
The school grounds, which are beautiful, looked ghostly in the dark and I remembered all those school legends about the Grey Lady, and the footman who fell down the stairs in the 1780s or thereabouts, in the days of Sir John Fellowes...
And the chapel, and the Quad, and that slithery Marble Passage where we weren't allowed to run...
We talked about Catholic education, Catholic schools popular and over-subscribed...but are the children practising the Faith?...how to teach the Faith...the importance of beautiful liturgy...how to encourage young people to go to Mass...
A major issue is that of children of other faiths or none, who seek to attend Catholic schools. There are so many Catholic families who seek places it seems unjust to exclude some in order to offer places to children of other faiths. And what happens when parents get annoyed that their offspring are being taught Catholic doctrine and morals to which they object? That is a bit like insisting on your chuld being given a place at a dancing-school and then objecting when she is taught to dance!
The school grounds, which are beautiful, looked ghostly in the dark and I remembered all those school legends about the Grey Lady, and the footman who fell down the stairs in the 1780s or thereabouts, in the days of Sir John Fellowes...
And the chapel, and the Quad, and that slithery Marble Passage where we weren't allowed to run...
Bit worried...
...about the great Pilgrimage Along the Thames on Sunday (see various posts on this Blog in recent days/weeks). Spent today sorting out various arrangements. What if it simply pours and pours w. rain and we just can't struggle along the towpath by the Thames any longer? I started to worry about this and then realised: we stop, and walk inland and catch a bus or two. The whole route, although it gets fairly rural at times (Kew Gardens, Old Deer Park) is in the London suburbs, and nowehere is far from civilisation and buses and indeed tubes and trains. Our final destination at Hampton Wick - just across the river from Kingston - is half an hour from central London by public transport.
But I'd still be v. grateful for the prayers of faithful readers of this Blog - this is a young people's Pilgrimage, and the aim is to the pray for the New Evangelisation...may I ask, in particular, my American readers - especially those who love London and enjoy reading about it - to pray for us?
But I'd still be v. grateful for the prayers of faithful readers of this Blog - this is a young people's Pilgrimage, and the aim is to the pray for the New Evangelisation...may I ask, in particular, my American readers - especially those who love London and enjoy reading about it - to pray for us?
Monday, October 22, 2012
Worth watching...
...this video
and, while you're about it: have you signed the petition? Have people in your church signed it? Have you written to your MP? And to David Cameron?
and, while you're about it: have you signed the petition? Have people in your church signed it? Have you written to your MP? And to David Cameron?
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