...are organising a YOUTH RETREAT for the weekend of Feb 14th/15th. It will be led by the priests of the Community of St John and will take place in Ipswich, Suffolk. The theme will be The Mass, with teaching sessions on what the Mass means, liturgy, sacrifice...
Ipswich is easily reached from London Liverpool Street and from Cambridge. Cost of the weekend is £30, with reductions for siblings. More info from Mary Lennon on 01449 723636 or email paulmichaelkeennan@hotmail.com
Monday, January 12, 2015
Sunday, January 11, 2015
The Thames at low tide, on a cold clear London morning...
...it was glorious to walk along, and feel at one with centuries of London's history. Always feels weird pottering along a stretch of land that will be underwater in an hour or so. The press recently highlighted a ship that went aground in the Channel - there's a sandbank that is revealed at low tide, and men sometimes go out there to play cricket, just to show that it's possible...
I've been reading a life of John Wesley, simply because whenever I go to the College library in pursuit of my post-graduate work, I always take away something to read on the train home, and after starting with WWI ( because of the anniversary in 2014 etc) I am now working my way back through the 19th and 18th centuries. I find that tackling modern history in this way works well after a few hours spent with Polycarp and Irenaeus and pondering Nicea and Chalcedon...
The bells of St Paul's were pealing out as I made my way along the riverside, and then I was met by the peal of St Saviour's as I hurried through the Borough Market for Mass at Precious Blood Church.
A full church for the 11 am Mass, and we had a retired "Flying Bishop", Mgr Edwin Barnes, concelebrating with the Rector...later, making my way to Islington on a family visit, walking along by the canal, I found myself pondering the long, long history of Christianity in our land...
I've been reading a life of John Wesley, simply because whenever I go to the College library in pursuit of my post-graduate work, I always take away something to read on the train home, and after starting with WWI ( because of the anniversary in 2014 etc) I am now working my way back through the 19th and 18th centuries. I find that tackling modern history in this way works well after a few hours spent with Polycarp and Irenaeus and pondering Nicea and Chalcedon...
The bells of St Paul's were pealing out as I made my way along the riverside, and then I was met by the peal of St Saviour's as I hurried through the Borough Market for Mass at Precious Blood Church.
A full church for the 11 am Mass, and we had a retired "Flying Bishop", Mgr Edwin Barnes, concelebrating with the Rector...later, making my way to Islington on a family visit, walking along by the canal, I found myself pondering the long, long history of Christianity in our land...
Saturday, January 10, 2015
Extraordinarily...
...on Wednesday morning I happened to have a thoughtful and rather moving discussion with a Moslem girl. She had seen me using my rosary and asked me about it. We had a quiet talk about God and prayer...something rather special in a random meeting in busy London...
Later that day the ghastly murders took place in Paris.
Mutual respect and neighbourliness is central to a civilised society. In the discussion with the Moslem girl, we didn't get on to the subject of whether or not Mohammed is an authentic prophet. I don't think he is. And I believe that his followers are wrong in claiming that Jesus Christ didn't die on the Cross. They are muddled and confused, and it is right that there should be open discussion about this. In our conversation, we didn't cover these matters: we were strangers who simply got talking, and it was good to be thinking of God together.
I hope that over the next years it will continue to be possible to talk about religion in an ordinary way. I hope that I will be allowed to repeat the statement that I have just made above about Mohammed. I inmtend to do so from time to time, as a quiet statement about freedom and integrity.
Later that day the ghastly murders took place in Paris.
Mutual respect and neighbourliness is central to a civilised society. In the discussion with the Moslem girl, we didn't get on to the subject of whether or not Mohammed is an authentic prophet. I don't think he is. And I believe that his followers are wrong in claiming that Jesus Christ didn't die on the Cross. They are muddled and confused, and it is right that there should be open discussion about this. In our conversation, we didn't cover these matters: we were strangers who simply got talking, and it was good to be thinking of God together.
I hope that over the next years it will continue to be possible to talk about religion in an ordinary way. I hope that I will be allowed to repeat the statement that I have just made above about Mohammed. I inmtend to do so from time to time, as a quiet statement about freedom and integrity.
Friday, January 09, 2015
Pope Francis has excommunicated...
...a priest in Australia who supports same-sex marriage and priestesses. You probably won't find much about this on the ramblings of self-appointed Guardians of The Catholic Tradition who write pompously and whose hatred of the Holy Father keeps bubbling up. Nor will the general mass media pick up the story. Read about it here...
Lunch and...
...a lengthy discussion with a longstanding friend, a devout Anglican. A classicist, a fine teacher, and a generous and large-minded lady whose ideas and conversation are always of interest...she has long been very unhappy at the C of E's wobbling on issues such as same-sex unions or remarriage following divorce, and its imposition of priestesses. She has friends who have joined the Ordinariate or have been thinking of doing so, but is herself unconvinced about specific aspects of Catholic belief, especially Marian doctrines. She is glad that at present she can worship in a church near her home where there is a clergyman who opposes the ordination of women, and where, at least for now, there is no prospect of a lady bishop interfering with things..."and you can't plan ahead, you can only trust God..."
We have been friends for years, and worked together on a number of projects: our friendship is centred on shared beliefs and values. But the notion that Catholics have warped ideas on Mary run very deep in much Evangelical literature and culture...affecting a great many people who are also unimpressed when they see what appears to be weird activity with people kissing a statue or putting coins under it etc etc...
I think at one level there is a recognition that popular Cathlic piety and traditions should not be mistaken for idolatry...but there is also a feeling that, while the authority and strength of the Church are to be valued, these are swamped by a "clutter" which is unacceptable, or sort of alien.
Yet the CofE through which she has encountered Christ and which has nurtured her faith over the years is no longer something on which she can rely.
We walked down Whitehall together, as she had a teaching engagement nearby, and I was en route to a meeting too...a London we both love in a country for which we both feel a strong sense of loyalty and responsibility...
We have been friends for years, and worked together on a number of projects: our friendship is centred on shared beliefs and values. But the notion that Catholics have warped ideas on Mary run very deep in much Evangelical literature and culture...affecting a great many people who are also unimpressed when they see what appears to be weird activity with people kissing a statue or putting coins under it etc etc...
I think at one level there is a recognition that popular Cathlic piety and traditions should not be mistaken for idolatry...but there is also a feeling that, while the authority and strength of the Church are to be valued, these are swamped by a "clutter" which is unacceptable, or sort of alien.
Yet the CofE through which she has encountered Christ and which has nurtured her faith over the years is no longer something on which she can rely.
We walked down Whitehall together, as she had a teaching engagement nearby, and I was en route to a meeting too...a London we both love in a country for which we both feel a strong sense of loyalty and responsibility...
Wednesday, January 07, 2015
Busy day...
...with colleague Clare Anderson (see below) working on editing and checking our latest EWTN feature.We are good friends as well as colleagures, so we first enjoyed a late-night talk over mugs of tea, catching up on family news etc. Then thenext day was given over fully to work...and we emailed the resulted to the Director and hope he will be pleased...there is still more to do, and it's been a big project...
Then after a drive through wintry countryside, a train to London for an excellent Epiphany Party held in aid of the Ordinariate. This was huge fun, a good mix of interesting guests, a generous buffet with mince pies (served with Wensleydale chese, as the host was a Yorkshireman...delicious),jugfuls of mulled wine,..
This morning, I took down the Christmas cards and decorations. Christmas never loses its joy and charm. And now January brings its own projects. I'm repacking the suitcase-on-wheels with my laptop and papers for another couple of meetings this evening...
Then after a drive through wintry countryside, a train to London for an excellent Epiphany Party held in aid of the Ordinariate. This was huge fun, a good mix of interesting guests, a generous buffet with mince pies (served with Wensleydale chese, as the host was a Yorkshireman...delicious),jugfuls of mulled wine,..
This morning, I took down the Christmas cards and decorations. Christmas never loses its joy and charm. And now January brings its own projects. I'm repacking the suitcase-on-wheels with my laptop and papers for another couple of meetings this evening...
At St Raphael's...
...the beautiful church on the outskirts of Kingston, with a fascinating history now the parish church for the Catholics of Subiton....the funeral of Ruth Real, long-time secretary of the Association of Catholic Women. The church was full, and afterwards there was delicious food and wine in the parish rooms and an opportunity for us all to talk...old friends, a sense of gratitde for dear Ruth's life and her generous work in so many fields...
The parish halls at St Raphael's were originally built as a school for the local poor children, and have recently been refurbished to offer good facilities for parish needs. In addition to the lovely room in which we were all lunching, with its bright and well-equipped kitchens, there is a fine library in whch I browsed, borrowing a couple of good books by and about St John Paul...
Then a walk along the river to catch the train up to London, for a meeting of the Ladies Ordinariate Group - and finally a late train out into the country, to stay with Clare Anderson, my colleague on various TV projects for EWTN.
Because I travel about a lot, I seem always to be trundling a small suitcase-on-wheels, and have discovered that this is turning into a sort of Auntie Joanna trademark - "here she comes, sounding like a railway..." . The suitcase means that I can have my laptop, plus overnight clothes etc, plus a couple of books and the papers for whatever is the latest project - and occasionally also some sewing or other work. I have tried using a small knapsack but I think I look stupid - you can see an example when the latest EWTN programme is aired. I'm wearing a bright red-and-yellow backpack acquired at the Madrid World Youth Day, of which I became rather fond. Looked great at WYD, looks hopeless three years later with a smart jacket-and-skirt-for-TV....
The parish halls at St Raphael's were originally built as a school for the local poor children, and have recently been refurbished to offer good facilities for parish needs. In addition to the lovely room in which we were all lunching, with its bright and well-equipped kitchens, there is a fine library in whch I browsed, borrowing a couple of good books by and about St John Paul...
Then a walk along the river to catch the train up to London, for a meeting of the Ladies Ordinariate Group - and finally a late train out into the country, to stay with Clare Anderson, my colleague on various TV projects for EWTN.
Because I travel about a lot, I seem always to be trundling a small suitcase-on-wheels, and have discovered that this is turning into a sort of Auntie Joanna trademark - "here she comes, sounding like a railway..." . The suitcase means that I can have my laptop, plus overnight clothes etc, plus a couple of books and the papers for whatever is the latest project - and occasionally also some sewing or other work. I have tried using a small knapsack but I think I look stupid - you can see an example when the latest EWTN programme is aired. I'm wearing a bright red-and-yellow backpack acquired at the Madrid World Youth Day, of which I became rather fond. Looked great at WYD, looks hopeless three years later with a smart jacket-and-skirt-for-TV....
Sunday, January 04, 2015
BLESSING....
Yesterday evening, J. and I went to a vigil Mass and then enjoyed a special supper with Christmas-pudding-fried-in-butter and brandy cream...and some delicious damson liqueur (a Christmas gift)...and fudge (ditto)...
...and then at Mass today we had the Blessing of Chalk. Small sticks of chalk blessed in front of the Nativity scene set up in the chapel to one side of the chancel, and then distributed with small slips of paper with the prayer for the blessing of our homes.
Jamie and I first learned of this in Austria, and it is now catching on in Britain. As you say the prayer, you chalk up, over the front door, the initials of the three Wise Men and the date:
20 C + M + B 15
We have been doing it year on year, so all I needed to do this evening as I carried out a chair to the front step and climbed up, was to change the 4 to a 5, while saying the little prayer and making the Sign of the Cross, asking God to bless our home and us in the year ahead...
And this is the prayer:
God of heaven and earth, you revealed your only-begotten One to every nation by the guidance of a star. Bless this house and all who live here. Fill us with the light of Christ, that our concern for others may reflect your love. We ask this through Christ our Saviour. Amen.
Trawling the web, I found lots of good material on this house blessing tradition, and this site is particularly good...
...and then at Mass today we had the Blessing of Chalk. Small sticks of chalk blessed in front of the Nativity scene set up in the chapel to one side of the chancel, and then distributed with small slips of paper with the prayer for the blessing of our homes.
Jamie and I first learned of this in Austria, and it is now catching on in Britain. As you say the prayer, you chalk up, over the front door, the initials of the three Wise Men and the date:
20 C + M + B 15
We have been doing it year on year, so all I needed to do this evening as I carried out a chair to the front step and climbed up, was to change the 4 to a 5, while saying the little prayer and making the Sign of the Cross, asking God to bless our home and us in the year ahead...
And this is the prayer:
God of heaven and earth, you revealed your only-begotten One to every nation by the guidance of a star. Bless this house and all who live here. Fill us with the light of Christ, that our concern for others may reflect your love. We ask this through Christ our Saviour. Amen.
Trawling the web, I found lots of good material on this house blessing tradition, and this site is particularly good...
Saturday, January 03, 2015
A well deserved honour...
...HM the Queen has appointed Professor Jack Scarisbrick an MBE. This is a well-deserved honour, and a tribute to his magnificent work in defending human life, establishing the Zoe's Place Hospice, and much more...and a distinguished career as an historian making a superb contribution to the study of the Tudor period and to the religious history of our country.
Jack and Nuala established the LIFE Movement years and years ago...and it was reading one of their booklets that helped me to understand deeply just why abortion was so wrong, and how important it was to prevent it. Over the years, I heard Jack speak on this and related subjects, always with clarity and wisdom, always in a way that made his hearers understand and grasp the issues involved.Then, more recently, he was one of the lecturers when I was studying for my BA, and I realised what a superb historian he was...it was a privilege to be one of his students and he held us spellbound. He was by then Professory Emeritus at Warwick University, and author of a number of books - his work has meant that superficial assessments of the Tudor period have had to be re-evaluated, and old cliches challenged.
All this - plus a geniality and (rare thing) a genuine humility. His many friends will be thrilled that his contribution to our country has been recognised.
Jack and Nuala established the LIFE Movement years and years ago...and it was reading one of their booklets that helped me to understand deeply just why abortion was so wrong, and how important it was to prevent it. Over the years, I heard Jack speak on this and related subjects, always with clarity and wisdom, always in a way that made his hearers understand and grasp the issues involved.Then, more recently, he was one of the lecturers when I was studying for my BA, and I realised what a superb historian he was...it was a privilege to be one of his students and he held us spellbound. He was by then Professory Emeritus at Warwick University, and author of a number of books - his work has meant that superficial assessments of the Tudor period have had to be re-evaluated, and old cliches challenged.
All this - plus a geniality and (rare thing) a genuine humility. His many friends will be thrilled that his contribution to our country has been recognised.
Some time, soon...
...the Polish martyr Jerzy Popieluszko will be canonised. He is already Blessed. A miracle obtained through his intercesssion is required before sainthood can be conferred. Read an astonishing account here...and there is a film about his life, info here...
In October, I spent some time in Poland with colleague Clare Anderson, working on a new TV feature on St John Paul the Great. This was a follow-up to our earlier feature on the life of St JP - this time we were exploring his message and legacy (the programme will be broadcast during 2015 - Clare and I are spending next week working on the editing). .
As part of this new JPII feature, we went to the grave of Blessed Jerzy and its accompanying museum. This was a powerful experience. Jamie and I visited the grave back in the 1980s, when Poland was still under martial law and we were bringing in booklets and other assistance for the then-banned Solidarity groups. In those days, praying at Fr Jerzy's grave meant, among much else, expressing solidarity with Solidarity. And the church at Zoliborz, and the churchyard, and the surrounding area, were "free Poland", a small bit of territory that the authorities could not touch.
And now all of Poland is free, and we are all in a new era with new challenges.
Over the Christmas break, I've been reading a biography of Blessed Jerzy. The story is much more, than just a martyr-under-Communism - although he was that, and his martyrdom was savage. It is also the story of a dedicated priest, a model for today's young priests...and his story needs to be better known and understood here in the West.
In October, I spent some time in Poland with colleague Clare Anderson, working on a new TV feature on St John Paul the Great. This was a follow-up to our earlier feature on the life of St JP - this time we were exploring his message and legacy (the programme will be broadcast during 2015 - Clare and I are spending next week working on the editing). .
As part of this new JPII feature, we went to the grave of Blessed Jerzy and its accompanying museum. This was a powerful experience. Jamie and I visited the grave back in the 1980s, when Poland was still under martial law and we were bringing in booklets and other assistance for the then-banned Solidarity groups. In those days, praying at Fr Jerzy's grave meant, among much else, expressing solidarity with Solidarity. And the church at Zoliborz, and the churchyard, and the surrounding area, were "free Poland", a small bit of territory that the authorities could not touch.
And now all of Poland is free, and we are all in a new era with new challenges.
Over the Christmas break, I've been reading a biography of Blessed Jerzy. The story is much more, than just a martyr-under-Communism - although he was that, and his martyrdom was savage. It is also the story of a dedicated priest, a model for today's young priests...and his story needs to be better known and understood here in the West.
Friday, January 02, 2015
Pope Francis today...
...gave a beautiful teaching for the New Year, on the feast of Mary, Mother of God. His words echo those of Papa Benedict XVI. And he couldn't have a better teacher. Continuity.
TODAY I SIGNED UP...
..for a course at the new School of the Annunciation, at Buckfast Abbey. I am keen to do the course, which will offer some training in passing on the Faith to the next generation. I already hold a diploma in Evangelisation (from Maryvale) but feel the need to learn more...
And the prospect of a weekend in the glorious setting of Buckfast Abbey in Devon is immenesly attractive. The countryside is enchanting, the Abbey Church is a magnificent place of worship, and it will be wonderful to study in a place of peace and good hospitality.
If things work out properly, I hope to be able to travel on to Torquay, just a few stops down the line, to make a further visit to the Ordinariate group there (see feature below by former BBC correspondent Catherine Utley).
Applying for the course involved getting a signature from my parish priest - who is splendid and always encouraging about this sort of thing - and also writing a 300-word piece about why I wanted to sign up. The short answer is "Because I want to be part of the New Evangelisation". The need is getting urgent. I am probably not going to be much use in evangelising, but at least I'll give it a go...
And the prospect of a weekend in the glorious setting of Buckfast Abbey in Devon is immenesly attractive. The countryside is enchanting, the Abbey Church is a magnificent place of worship, and it will be wonderful to study in a place of peace and good hospitality.
If things work out properly, I hope to be able to travel on to Torquay, just a few stops down the line, to make a further visit to the Ordinariate group there (see feature below by former BBC correspondent Catherine Utley).
Applying for the course involved getting a signature from my parish priest - who is splendid and always encouraging about this sort of thing - and also writing a 300-word piece about why I wanted to sign up. The short answer is "Because I want to be part of the New Evangelisation". The need is getting urgent. I am probably not going to be much use in evangelising, but at least I'll give it a go...
Thursday, January 01, 2015
"OUR FATHER..."
... London writer Michael Smith has produced a really good and thoughtful book on the Lord's Prayer. The Fulness of Life: Reflections on the Lord's Prayer for Today's World (St Paul's). It is a rich and beautiful meditation on the prayer, and is also readable and spiced with some strong insights that are highly relevant to the modern world and the ways in which we can serve God and one another.
It's a book written with real honesty: it tackles tough issues like sin, forgiveness, the need for personal repentance, the greatness of God's love and the joy in seeking and following his will for us. And it is not just a personal statement, although it includes some personal insights that give a freshness and humility to the writring. But he also quotes from, among others, St Paul, John Henry Newman, Charles Wesley, Billy Graham, and Benedict XVI,..I very much recommend this book and reading it has been a really good start for 2015.
It's a book written with real honesty: it tackles tough issues like sin, forgiveness, the need for personal repentance, the greatness of God's love and the joy in seeking and following his will for us. And it is not just a personal statement, although it includes some personal insights that give a freshness and humility to the writring. But he also quotes from, among others, St Paul, John Henry Newman, Charles Wesley, Billy Graham, and Benedict XVI,..I very much recommend this book and reading it has been a really good start for 2015.
We began 2015...
....with a family gathering on New Year's Eve: a house full of cheery noise and children, and an evening with fireworks and marshamallows and flapjack and party hats and streamers, The fireworks were splendid,, the rockets whoosing up into the sky to our oooohs and aaaahs, and applause muffled by woollen gloves and mittens.
There is absolutey nothing lovelier than sitting sipping a gin-and-tonic in a room full of family, by the light of a glittering Christmas Tree. Heaven will be a bit like that.
We stayed the night in Dorchester on Thames, where the bells of the Abbey were ringing out the old year and ringing in the new, the bells answering each other back and forth with glorious pealing beauty. This morning I wandered around the Abbey - over a thousand and a half years of history.
There is absolutey nothing lovelier than sitting sipping a gin-and-tonic in a room full of family, by the light of a glittering Christmas Tree. Heaven will be a bit like that.
We stayed the night in Dorchester on Thames, where the bells of the Abbey were ringing out the old year and ringing in the new, the bells answering each other back and forth with glorious pealing beauty. This morning I wandered around the Abbey - over a thousand and a half years of history.
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
Pondering 2014...
...as we launch into 2015...
Highlight of 2014 for Auntie was the canonisation of Sts John XXIII and John Paul II, on that golden spring day in Rome. To be among the 2 million or more pilgrims surging in the city on that day was a glorious experience. I cherish memories of meeting the great John Paul - and in an honoured place on the shelf in the small crowded room where I do most of my writing is the Bible that he signed for Jamie and me. He handed J. a rosary, which J. entrusted to my care and which I love using. He was "our" Pope, as he was for so many people of our generation. His picture is on the Papal Blessing that we received at our wedding - and we cherish equally the beautiful Blessing for our Silver Wedding that came from beloved Benedict XVI. How beautiful that Benedict was there at the canonisation...and how thrilling to be there in Rome when it happened,..
Highlight of 2014 for Auntie was the canonisation of Sts John XXIII and John Paul II, on that golden spring day in Rome. To be among the 2 million or more pilgrims surging in the city on that day was a glorious experience. I cherish memories of meeting the great John Paul - and in an honoured place on the shelf in the small crowded room where I do most of my writing is the Bible that he signed for Jamie and me. He handed J. a rosary, which J. entrusted to my care and which I love using. He was "our" Pope, as he was for so many people of our generation. His picture is on the Papal Blessing that we received at our wedding - and we cherish equally the beautiful Blessing for our Silver Wedding that came from beloved Benedict XVI. How beautiful that Benedict was there at the canonisation...and how thrilling to be there in Rome when it happened,..
Walking on Exmoor...
...we came across St Agnes' Well. Sparkling water bubbling up along a little lane not far from the village of Allerton. Enchanted by this, I sent an email to a priest-friend who has a special devotion to Agnes -his former parish was dedicated to this saint. It's known as a "holy well". Hmmm. Research reveales that the well was actually named for the daughter of the local landowner in the 19th century...but the spring is evidently older than that, so maybe there is a link to the Saint anyway...
Country walks, family time, a visit to a family grave in a country graveyard, local cloudy cider and excellent cheese, glorious views across Exmoor to the sea...and tomorrow we head back to London.
New projects - this afternoon was spent sorting out the diary for speaking engagements and history walks,.. and on arrival home, it's time for work on editing the latest EWTN programme, filmed in Poland earlier this year, ready for broadcasting early in 2015...
Country walks, family time, a visit to a family grave in a country graveyard, local cloudy cider and excellent cheese, glorious views across Exmoor to the sea...and tomorrow we head back to London.
New projects - this afternoon was spent sorting out the diary for speaking engagements and history walks,.. and on arrival home, it's time for work on editing the latest EWTN programme, filmed in Poland earlier this year, ready for broadcasting early in 2015...
Monday, December 29, 2014
HISTORY WALKS....
...start again soon. The first HISTORY WALK of 2015 will be on
WEDNESDAY JANUARY 28th, starts 6.30pm (after the 5.30pm Mass) - meet on the steps of WESTMINSTER CATHEDRAL.
All welcome - no need to book, just turn up! Dress warmly! We'll be following a Royal theme, looking at St James Park, Whitehall, and Westminster...
WEDNESDAY JANUARY 28th, starts 6.30pm (after the 5.30pm Mass) - meet on the steps of WESTMINSTER CATHEDRAL.
All welcome - no need to book, just turn up! Dress warmly! We'll be following a Royal theme, looking at St James Park, Whitehall, and Westminster...
Sunday, December 28, 2014
...and as a New Year beckons...
...here's something for your diary. Tuesday evenings with the FAITH Movement in London. Here are the dates: alternate Tuesdays throughout Jan, Feb, and March. No need to book - just turn up. Admission free - a glass of wine, pizza, and social chat after the main talk...
The venue: Basement hall, 24 Golden Square, LONDON WI...nearest tube PICADILLY CIRCUS.
Tuesday 13th January 2015
Is there life after death?
Fr Stephen Dingley
Tuesday 27th January 2015
Scandals in the Church: a way forward.
Mgr Keith Barltrop
Tuesday 10th February 2015
Are all religions equally valid?
Anna-Marie Treloar
Tuesday 24th February 2015
Can I love Christ but not the Church?
Sr Andrea Fraille
Tuesday 10th March 2015
The cosmic meaning of the Eucharist
Fr Roger Nesbitt
Tuesday 24th March 2015
Should the Church impose lifestyle choices?
Edward Hadas
7:30pm @ basement of 24 Golden Square, LONDON W1
The venue: Basement hall, 24 Golden Square, LONDON WI...nearest tube PICADILLY CIRCUS.
Tuesday 13th January 2015
Is there life after death?
Fr Stephen Dingley
Tuesday 27th January 2015
Scandals in the Church: a way forward.
Mgr Keith Barltrop
Tuesday 10th February 2015
Are all religions equally valid?
Anna-Marie Treloar
Tuesday 24th February 2015
Can I love Christ but not the Church?
Sr Andrea Fraille
Tuesday 10th March 2015
The cosmic meaning of the Eucharist
Fr Roger Nesbitt
Tuesday 24th March 2015
Should the Church impose lifestyle choices?
Edward Hadas
7:30pm @ basement of 24 Golden Square, LONDON W1
Friday, December 26, 2014
Christmas...
...with family...Mass in a country church, meeting old friends, swapping news and greetings...a splendid dinner with platefuls of delicious roast turkey and chestnuts and cranberry sauce...the Queen's annual message - it is so lovely that every year she quietly and touchingly speaks about Jesus Christ and affirms his message...a walk to the river, the trees with bleak exquisite starkness against the winter sky, house-lights glowing,people greeting each other with "Merry Christmas" in passing... and an evening of jigsaws and music and chocolates and wine and talk and laughter with the Christmas Tree glittering...
Christmas blessings to readers of this Blog....
Christmas blessings to readers of this Blog....
Friday, December 19, 2014
Dennis O'Keeffe RIP...
...writer, academic, and a great voice for freedom...Dennis O'Keefe was one of a small group of British academics who worked in Poland in the years of martial law, lecturing in the "flying university" through which people, meeting in private homes and facing the possibility of arrest, could hear and take part in talks on philosophy, economics, and politics. In this, and through his books and journalism, Dennis was one of the courageous people supporting the emergence of a free Poland.
He died this week after some years spent in full-time hospice care following a serious accident. His courage and faith during these difficult years were deeply moving, as was the wonderful love of his family which surrounded him.
Dennis'writing was witty, well-researched, and challening. He had no time for cliches and trite observations. Nor was he simply a commentator: his was always the voice of a teacher rather than a journalist, and he worked for positive solutions to social problems, rather than simply analysing or proclaiming. And his sinccere Catholic faith gave a depth and warmth to his thinking at every point.
I will always cherish the memory of the conversations in the hospice years - he was not the sort of person who wanted to talk about himself, but the story of his work in Poland did emerge, and - always unselfish and open to new hope and fresh possibilities - he was keen to put me in contact with people there who were helpful in my own researches for a book on St John Paul.
May this good man rest in peace.
He died this week after some years spent in full-time hospice care following a serious accident. His courage and faith during these difficult years were deeply moving, as was the wonderful love of his family which surrounded him.
Dennis'writing was witty, well-researched, and challening. He had no time for cliches and trite observations. Nor was he simply a commentator: his was always the voice of a teacher rather than a journalist, and he worked for positive solutions to social problems, rather than simply analysing or proclaiming. And his sinccere Catholic faith gave a depth and warmth to his thinking at every point.
I will always cherish the memory of the conversations in the hospice years - he was not the sort of person who wanted to talk about himself, but the story of his work in Poland did emerge, and - always unselfish and open to new hope and fresh possibilities - he was keen to put me in contact with people there who were helpful in my own researches for a book on St John Paul.
May this good man rest in peace.
Wednesday, December 17, 2014
Illiteracy...
..is it worth trying to talk to the manager? Does it really matter?
I don't think that the team in the local Tescos meant to be ironic when they put up the big new notice which says: "It's the imaginary ingredients in our bread that make the difference."
I don't think that the team in the local Tescos meant to be ironic when they put up the big new notice which says: "It's the imaginary ingredients in our bread that make the difference."
Prison...
...and the route from the railway station to the prison where I do some visiting is a particularly ugly and smelly walk beside a main road, which in a particularly sad way retains some hints of its former setting as a rural- pathway-alongside-a-meadow...
This particular prison is, however, itself clean and with good provision for education, for family visits, for access to fair advice and help, and more..
I am increasingly impressed by the work of our Catholic prison chaplains, priests who give themselves in service to people that others might want to forget or dismiss as being unworthy of good spiritual care. And there is serious work being done: instruction, baptisms, confessions, talks and use of videos (Fr Robert Barron's Catholicism series, the excellent Evangelium material, and more)...and good numbers for Mass.
Pray for prisoners. Pray for the chap being confirmed next week. Pray for the one who is distraught about the break-up with his girlfriend. Pray for the men I met today.
This particular prison is, however, itself clean and with good provision for education, for family visits, for access to fair advice and help, and more..
I am increasingly impressed by the work of our Catholic prison chaplains, priests who give themselves in service to people that others might want to forget or dismiss as being unworthy of good spiritual care. And there is serious work being done: instruction, baptisms, confessions, talks and use of videos (Fr Robert Barron's Catholicism series, the excellent Evangelium material, and more)...and good numbers for Mass.
Pray for prisoners. Pray for the chap being confirmed next week. Pray for the one who is distraught about the break-up with his girlfriend. Pray for the men I met today.
...and...
...further to the ghastly news of the ruling today by a judge in the Supreme Court concerning conscientious objections to abortion - see this excellent commentary by a senior lawyer...
Back in the 1970s...
...there were huge - HUGE - crowds at marches in London and elsewhere to oppose the 1967 Abortion Act and the widespread killing of unborn babies...I remember speaking at a rally in London where even the BBC admitted some 80,000 people were present, and the real figure was probably much nearer 100, 000.
I remember that in those days, people who supported abortion tended to say "Well, no one is forcing you to have anything to do with it, are they?" An odd remark, because if you are obliged to fund abortion through your taxes, and if you know you should have some care for your neighbours and for human life and for the common good, then you can and must speak out and try to do something when abortion is becoming a part of everyday life...
However,there was and is a "conscience clause" in the Abortion Act that is meant to protect medical staff who knew that involvement in aborting babies is wrong...
Now, today, a Supreme Court judge has announced that midwives do not have the right to refuse, as a matter of conscience, to supervise the provision of abortions on their ward. The judge seems to think that anyone who opposes abortion has a sort of duty to ensure that others provide it - which is most certainly not what the lawmakers had in mind, and seems opposed to any ordinary reading of the Act.
Pray for a revival of spiritual and moral values, and common sense and human decency, in our country.
I remember that in those days, people who supported abortion tended to say "Well, no one is forcing you to have anything to do with it, are they?" An odd remark, because if you are obliged to fund abortion through your taxes, and if you know you should have some care for your neighbours and for human life and for the common good, then you can and must speak out and try to do something when abortion is becoming a part of everyday life...
However,there was and is a "conscience clause" in the Abortion Act that is meant to protect medical staff who knew that involvement in aborting babies is wrong...
Now, today, a Supreme Court judge has announced that midwives do not have the right to refuse, as a matter of conscience, to supervise the provision of abortions on their ward. The judge seems to think that anyone who opposes abortion has a sort of duty to ensure that others provide it - which is most certainly not what the lawmakers had in mind, and seems opposed to any ordinary reading of the Act.
Pray for a revival of spiritual and moral values, and common sense and human decency, in our country.
Tuesday, December 16, 2014
An invitation...
...to a book launch can mean a slightly bleak evening, with some wine and potato crisps and not many people, and a publisher anxiously hoping that somehow all this will result in some sales...
But the book launch I attended this evening was utterly different. An absolutrely packed Westminster Cathedral Hall, lots of young families, a stirring call to evangelise, and at one point we were all invited to sing (yes, you read that correctly) the Hail Mary, and everyone stood up and did so, in rousing style, to a tune I had never heard before.
This was all to launch a book, The Kerygma, by Kiko Arguello, founder of the Neo-Catechuemenate. I heard the word Kerygma ( you say it: Kare-ig-ma) a lot when studying evangelisation at Maryvale: it means the first proclamation of the Gospel, the invitation to encounter Christ.
The Neo-Cats are impressive: enthusiastic, prayerful, practical.There was a warm welcome, interesting speeches, a good atmosphere, and a delicious buffet with sandwiches and snacks and cakes, and plenty of wine. Cardinal Vincent Nichols was there and spoke well, quoting Pope Francis and encouraging us to ake the Gospel out to the lonely and the confused and the needy. A Christmas Tree glittered on the stage, alongside a massive icon depicting the Nativity. A Neo-Cat priest encouraged us to think about three angels - messengers. First, Lucifer, the fallen angel, who tempted Eve and succeeded in getting her to put her own wishes first and disobey God. Then the second angelic messenger - Gabriel, to Mary, who opened her heart to God and said "Yes". And then us - each of us should be a messenger...
I'm enjoying the book and will report on it in due course.
But the book launch I attended this evening was utterly different. An absolutrely packed Westminster Cathedral Hall, lots of young families, a stirring call to evangelise, and at one point we were all invited to sing (yes, you read that correctly) the Hail Mary, and everyone stood up and did so, in rousing style, to a tune I had never heard before.
This was all to launch a book, The Kerygma, by Kiko Arguello, founder of the Neo-Catechuemenate. I heard the word Kerygma ( you say it: Kare-ig-ma) a lot when studying evangelisation at Maryvale: it means the first proclamation of the Gospel, the invitation to encounter Christ.
The Neo-Cats are impressive: enthusiastic, prayerful, practical.There was a warm welcome, interesting speeches, a good atmosphere, and a delicious buffet with sandwiches and snacks and cakes, and plenty of wine. Cardinal Vincent Nichols was there and spoke well, quoting Pope Francis and encouraging us to ake the Gospel out to the lonely and the confused and the needy. A Christmas Tree glittered on the stage, alongside a massive icon depicting the Nativity. A Neo-Cat priest encouraged us to think about three angels - messengers. First, Lucifer, the fallen angel, who tempted Eve and succeeded in getting her to put her own wishes first and disobey God. Then the second angelic messenger - Gabriel, to Mary, who opened her heart to God and said "Yes". And then us - each of us should be a messenger...
I'm enjoying the book and will report on it in due course.
A celebration...
...of the Jewish festival of Chanukah was held in London today - a young friend attended and loved it, and there is a useful description and explanation of it all here, from the Council of Christians and Jews.
The Council of Christians and Jews does good work, and I am glad to be able to commend it.
The Council of Christians and Jews does good work, and I am glad to be able to commend it.
A picture of St John Paul the Great...
...blessed by Mgr Keith Newton at the TOWARDS ADVENT Festival, will now be given to a Catholic residential home for the elderly. Once a year, it will leave there, and be carried on the John Paul Walking Pilgrimage to Walsingham, which in 2015 marks its 10th anniversary. The Pilgrimage is organised by the Dominican Sisters of St Joseph.
I am about to take the picture, which is an embroidered one with the embroiderer's signature on the back, to the Home...
Those who attended the TOWARDS ADVENT Festival may remember the two very charming children who brought it forward to be blessed, and the solemn and reverent way that they stood holding it as the beautiful prayer was said...a very special moment.
I am about to take the picture, which is an embroidered one with the embroiderer's signature on the back, to the Home...
Those who attended the TOWARDS ADVENT Festival may remember the two very charming children who brought it forward to be blessed, and the solemn and reverent way that they stood holding it as the beautiful prayer was said...a very special moment.
Christmas cards...
...tucked along every bookcase and in the useful Christmas-card holders than I bought years ago from Aid to the Church in Need and are among the best purchases I've ever made. Candles on the Advent wreath. Gifts in cheery wrapping paper and bright ribbons. I love it all.
Soon I'll erect the crib, with its special angel. Special? Yes...some years ago I punctured my bike on my way to a friend's house. Fortunately I was just outside a bicycle shop, so hurried in and the tyre was swiftly mended while I chatted and admired the shop's little Christmas tree topped with an angel. I set off again..and five minutes later, the bike ran over some broken glass in the next street, and the other tyre was punctured. I was cross, and fed up. No mobile phones in those days...I'd be horribly delayed, people would be upset. I dragged the bike back to the shop in a bad temper. The man was kind and briskly got to work and as I left he told me "Take the angel. You look as if you need one!" I was embarrassed, but he insisted. And the angel has been part of our family Christmas ever since, hanging over the Christ-child in the manger, in white and gold with swooping wings...
Soon I'll erect the crib, with its special angel. Special? Yes...some years ago I punctured my bike on my way to a friend's house. Fortunately I was just outside a bicycle shop, so hurried in and the tyre was swiftly mended while I chatted and admired the shop's little Christmas tree topped with an angel. I set off again..and five minutes later, the bike ran over some broken glass in the next street, and the other tyre was punctured. I was cross, and fed up. No mobile phones in those days...I'd be horribly delayed, people would be upset. I dragged the bike back to the shop in a bad temper. The man was kind and briskly got to work and as I left he told me "Take the angel. You look as if you need one!" I was embarrassed, but he insisted. And the angel has been part of our family Christmas ever since, hanging over the Christ-child in the manger, in white and gold with swooping wings...
I received some panicky emails and messages ...
...one from a from good and faithful soul, some from self-appointed know-it-alls who announce that they are the-Faithful-remnant-of-Traditional-Catholicism. All were gulping and worrying, because they believed stories that the Pope had announced that animals go to Heaven when they die.
I didn't reply because I am a busy woman and assumed that the Pope had made no such announcement.
I was right. Read here.
I didn't reply because I am a busy woman and assumed that the Pope had made no such announcement.
I was right. Read here.
Monday, December 15, 2014
...and a wonderful welcome in Torquay...
...where the choir at the Ordinariate Mass sang a joyful "Gaudete! Gaudete!" and I enjoyed a delicious lunch and got the whole story on the Torquay Ordinariate project.The local Methodists in Chelston have had to leave their church, and have asked the Ordinariate to "keep the flame of faith burning" there, Fr David and his team are committed to doing just that, and more - and they will need your help and mine to do so.
Send them a Christmas donation, large or small. This is your opportunity to do something positive in response to that moan that has become so popular "Oh, we are no longer a Christian country..."
The Torbay team are busy with outreach - their charity shop not only offers a magnificent local service but is also a place of welcome, good cheer, advice, counsel and simple neighourly friendship for the lonely...the church will be a place of glorious worship, sound teaching, youth activities, and mission. This is a story of hope as a New Year beckons...join in and be part of it!
Send them a Christmas donation, large or small. This is your opportunity to do something positive in response to that moan that has become so popular "Oh, we are no longer a Christian country..."
The Torbay team are busy with outreach - their charity shop not only offers a magnificent local service but is also a place of welcome, good cheer, advice, counsel and simple neighourly friendship for the lonely...the church will be a place of glorious worship, sound teaching, youth activities, and mission. This is a story of hope as a New Year beckons...join in and be part of it!
Saturday, December 13, 2014
Frosty fields...
...in the early morning as the bus trundles through Somerset. I am visiting an elderly relative, and the walk up the hill with glorious views of Exmoor is pure delight. But the chill of the day doesn't work so well for a lady in a wheelchair, and the warmth of an Indian restaurant and a dish of seafoord korma suits her better. As we meet frequently, there isn't much family news to tell, so we enjoy reminiscing...
An evening of writing Christmas cards. Tomorrow I am getting up early to go to Mass at Torquay, because there's a church thyere I specialoly want to visit...
An evening of writing Christmas cards. Tomorrow I am getting up early to go to Mass at Torquay, because there's a church thyere I specialoly want to visit...
Friday, December 12, 2014
Evensong...
...followed by the Advent Course at Precious Blood Church, London Bridge. We pondered the message of various images of the Annunciation - an early one from the East, a glorious one by Fra Angelico, a more modern pre-Raphaelite one. Lots to think about...in Fra Angelico's picture, the sacred space between the Angel and the Virgin, the latter's hands clasped in prayer...in the pre-Raphaelite one, the flames of fire around the Angel's feet...
At Evensong, one of the Scripture readings was the story of Ruth amid the corn...later, we got talking about it...the significance of Christ's genealogy, that reference to Bethlehem...we decided to ask for a specific session on that at some stage.
People say "Christmas is for children", but in my experience it all gets much, much, more important and thrilling and exciting as you get older. The mystery of the Incarnation is so enormous.
As a child, I simply found Advent to be a time of gosh-we-are-one-day-nearer-Christmas, with my mind fixed on gifts under the Tree, and delicious smells in the kitchen. I loved making paper chains and singing carols and putting up the Crib, and of course had one of those Blue Peter Advent Wreaths made of old coat-hangers...(remember? Oh...Mondays and Thursdays, and that familiar signature tune...) But with adulthood came the dawning realisation of the fullness of what we were all celebrating, and every year the wonder of it grows.
At Evensong, one of the Scripture readings was the story of Ruth amid the corn...later, we got talking about it...the significance of Christ's genealogy, that reference to Bethlehem...we decided to ask for a specific session on that at some stage.
People say "Christmas is for children", but in my experience it all gets much, much, more important and thrilling and exciting as you get older. The mystery of the Incarnation is so enormous.
As a child, I simply found Advent to be a time of gosh-we-are-one-day-nearer-Christmas, with my mind fixed on gifts under the Tree, and delicious smells in the kitchen. I loved making paper chains and singing carols and putting up the Crib, and of course had one of those Blue Peter Advent Wreaths made of old coat-hangers...(remember? Oh...Mondays and Thursdays, and that familiar signature tune...) But with adulthood came the dawning realisation of the fullness of what we were all celebrating, and every year the wonder of it grows.
Wednesday, December 10, 2014
The New Movements...
...in the Catholic Church had a big gathering recently in Rome. And here in Britain they have an occasional get-teogether, with a representative or two from each group...and today I went along for the first time, representing the FAITH Movement. It was a useful and friendly day, with quite an upbeat feel, and I learned a lot. There were a good many people I already knew, and we were given a warm welcome at the Focolare Centre in Welwyn Garden City (never been there before...it really is a garden city, at least the part where you approach it from the railway station...all wide lawns and green spaces with shops alongside).
The people from the Neo-Catechumenate were interesting - I met them once on Ealing Common where they were doing a sort of mission/evangelisation thing. They've just published a book by their founder, which will be launched at Westminster Cathedral Hall next week.
The people from the Neo-Catechumenate were interesting - I met them once on Ealing Common where they were doing a sort of mission/evangelisation thing. They've just published a book by their founder, which will be launched at Westminster Cathedral Hall next week.
Sunday, December 07, 2014
A weekend...
...in the country with friends. They were hosting a fund-raising event for a local church, so a busy evening and lots of cheery talk and hurrying around with plates of delicious sandwiches and snacks, finishing with carols and mince pies. Next morning an early Mass followed by a good breakfast and a morning enjoying the outdoors, and writing Christmas cards by a log fire...then a great family lunch with lots of guests, and finally a reluctant departure for home...
IN GOOD VOICE...
...a grand carol singing team gathered at London Bridge station on Friday, and it was tremendous fun. We sang all the traditional carols:"Hark the Herald Angels" "Away in a Manger" "Once in Royal David's City" "Good King Wenceslas" "We Three Kings" "O come all ye faithful"...the works. And there was a wonderful response. People gave money. They came and joined in. They brought their children along to enjoy us. And one lady was to enthusiastic that she presented us with a magnificent bouquet of flowers!
It was all wonderful, and when had given the crowds and crowds of commuters a good couple of hours of singing, we hurried back through the damp cold streets to the Rectory at Precious Blood Church, and enjoyed lots of mulled wine provided by younger members of the team and served in proper style with sliced oranges and sugar and spices. A grand evening.
It was all wonderful, and when had given the crowds and crowds of commuters a good couple of hours of singing, we hurried back through the damp cold streets to the Rectory at Precious Blood Church, and enjoyed lots of mulled wine provided by younger members of the team and served in proper style with sliced oranges and sugar and spices. A grand evening.
Friday, December 05, 2014
Encountering Christ...
...was the topic of a lecture by Fr Michael Holman, former headmaster of Wimbledon College, organised by the Catholic Union, and held at the London campus of Notre Dame University (which is just off Trafalgar Square). It was thoughtful and challenging - asking how we can help young people to discover Christ as a true friend, to have a real relationship with him...recognising the sad reality that so many young people cease attending church after about the age of 14 (with Confirmation being widely named as the "sacrament of departure"), and asking important questions about how families and Catholic schools can open up the way to change that...
Families are central of course - part of the essence of God's plan for humanity.Celebrating the message of Christ at home, in the feasts and seasons, the traditions and ceremonies that mark the Church's year and our lives...in a discussion, when we were invited to think about the people who had most influenced our faith and its practice, parents and family were the first people mentioned.
A Catholic school has a particular role - you cannot love what you do not know, and young people have a right to know about Christ.
Among much else, Fr Michael quoted from - an unlikely source - the spiritual autobiography of a former Lord Chancellor, Lord Hailsham The Door Wherein I went. Hailsham writes of discovering the lovableness of Christ, the joy and vibrancy he communicated...a Person you could love, and want to know for always.
"When I am asked about the utility of Christianity I must point to the consolations of living your life in the companionship of this person who commands your love and adoration precisely because having been through it all and sympathizing with it all he cheers you up and will not have you sad. Your shame at your own misdoings and shortcomings, your sense of awe and fear of the divine majesty, your broken heart in the presence of sickness and bereavement melts in the prsence of this person into the sheer wonder and delight which the happiness of his presence excites."
A JOYFUL...
...gathering in Parliament where Baroness Cox presented the prizes gained by pupils from schools across Britain in the 2014 Schools Bible Project. This was our 25th annual Project and it was, as always, a real delight to meet the young people and their families and teachers. It was a very happy day.
In the Project - open to pupils at all secondary schools in Britain - pupils are invited to imagine themselves present at one of the great events in the life of Christ. They are given six events from which to choose - the Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes, the Raising of Jairus' Daughter, the Crucifixion, the encounter with Mary Magdalene on Easter morning...every essay is read and prizes are awarded. Top prizewinners come to London to receive their awards from Baroness Cox, who is one of our Trustees. They are given a tour of Parliament, and Tea...
This is an ecumenical venture, organised by Christian Projects, a fine example of Christians working together.
In the Project - open to pupils at all secondary schools in Britain - pupils are invited to imagine themselves present at one of the great events in the life of Christ. They are given six events from which to choose - the Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes, the Raising of Jairus' Daughter, the Crucifixion, the encounter with Mary Magdalene on Easter morning...every essay is read and prizes are awarded. Top prizewinners come to London to receive their awards from Baroness Cox, who is one of our Trustees. They are given a tour of Parliament, and Tea...
This is an ecumenical venture, organised by Christian Projects, a fine example of Christians working together.
Wednesday, December 03, 2014
Come and hear us...
...and join in if you like. The LOGS are singing at London Bridge railway station on Friday, in the busiest part of London's rush-hour, starting at 6pm. We'll be in good voice, and all support will be welcomed...
For American readers (of which I seem to have a lot): London Bridge is one of the busiest railway stations in the country with something like a million commuters surging through it daily. The railway lines come in from South East London and Kent, and people pour out to cross the river into the City in the mornings...and then in the evenings, all come surging back again to get to their homes in the suburbs or out into Kent...
For American readers (of which I seem to have a lot): London Bridge is one of the busiest railway stations in the country with something like a million commuters surging through it daily. The railway lines come in from South East London and Kent, and people pour out to cross the river into the City in the mornings...and then in the evenings, all come surging back again to get to their homes in the suburbs or out into Kent...
Tuesday, December 02, 2014
A local history society...
...in Surbiton, invited me to talk to them about "Traditional feasts and seasons". An interested audience, a sense of a shared heritage...and a particular pleasure to be there as I spent some happy years on the excellent Surrey Comet newspaper when it was based in the centre of Kingston, right opposite the parish church (where my father's regimental colours are laid up)...
Talking about Christmas customs, Advent wreaths, and Santa Claus makes sense to an audience that has a familiarity with the basics: Luke's Gospel account, the significance of March 25th and hence its links with the feast of Midsummer (St John the Baptist) and with Christmas at midwinter...what will it be like when a group such as this lacks this bedrock knowledge? A friend recently described a visit to an art gallery where an erudite art historian talked a group through some of the great religious art. A young student asked "Can you recommend a good book that would tell more about the stories shown in these pictures?"
Yes, indeed there is a Good Book, and it is heartbreaking that today's young are not familiar with it. The world's rich heritage of art and music - and literature, and archirecture, and songs, and jokes, and nursery rhymes, and pub signs, and so much more - is closed to those who do not know who Moses was, who Christ was, what the Ten Commandments are, what happened on Calvary...who do not immediately respond to words like "Good Samaritan" "Loaves and Fishes" "Last Supper"....
Oh, the pity of it...
And it is no use just moaning. Find out about solutions, and worthwhile projects. The Schools Bible Project has its prizegiving this week - more info on this later.
Talking about Christmas customs, Advent wreaths, and Santa Claus makes sense to an audience that has a familiarity with the basics: Luke's Gospel account, the significance of March 25th and hence its links with the feast of Midsummer (St John the Baptist) and with Christmas at midwinter...what will it be like when a group such as this lacks this bedrock knowledge? A friend recently described a visit to an art gallery where an erudite art historian talked a group through some of the great religious art. A young student asked "Can you recommend a good book that would tell more about the stories shown in these pictures?"
Yes, indeed there is a Good Book, and it is heartbreaking that today's young are not familiar with it. The world's rich heritage of art and music - and literature, and archirecture, and songs, and jokes, and nursery rhymes, and pub signs, and so much more - is closed to those who do not know who Moses was, who Christ was, what the Ten Commandments are, what happened on Calvary...who do not immediately respond to words like "Good Samaritan" "Loaves and Fishes" "Last Supper"....
Oh, the pity of it...
And it is no use just moaning. Find out about solutions, and worthwhile projects. The Schools Bible Project has its prizegiving this week - more info on this later.
Through dark suburban streets...
...at 6 am to catch the train via London to Bishops Stortford to be at this school for Morning Assembly.to present awards to pupils in the 2014 Towards Advent essay project. I was uncertain of the route to the school from the railway station, but needn't have worried - a cheerful and courteous group of pupils were on the train and I walked with them. All looked v. smart in their school uniforms...the girls wear beautiful ankle-length kilts, giving them a look of poise. They all exuded confidence and seemed happy to be hurrying to school...later, as I faced a group gathered for Morning Assembly, I felt welcomed and I really enjoyed handing out the prizes and explaining about the project (you can read about it on the Towards Advent blog here).
Back on the train to London through misty countryside and grey suburbs with bright windows - tube to Bank and then a walk across London Bridge, which on a grey winter morning is rather magnificent, with Tower Bridge just a bit further down-river, and lights gleaming everywhere...lunchtime Mass at Precious Blood Church and then lunch w. a friend who is active with the School of the Annunciation and the New Evangelisation...
...which in the Britain of the 21st century will be badly needed. Latest figures just published: most popular name for newborn boys in Britain is now Mohammed.
Back on the train to London through misty countryside and grey suburbs with bright windows - tube to Bank and then a walk across London Bridge, which on a grey winter morning is rather magnificent, with Tower Bridge just a bit further down-river, and lights gleaming everywhere...lunchtime Mass at Precious Blood Church and then lunch w. a friend who is active with the School of the Annunciation and the New Evangelisation...
...which in the Britain of the 21st century will be badly needed. Latest figures just published: most popular name for newborn boys in Britain is now Mohammed.
Monday, December 01, 2014
Saturday, November 29, 2014
.The Advent wreath...
...on the table, and I've just been placing the candles carefully in it, and soon we will sing "O come O come Emmanuel..." and light the first candle and pray the Our Father...
It's over thirty years since we had our first Advent together. We bought some plastic Christmas crib figures by mail-order from an advertisment in the Universe and said that these would do for a while, but that one day of course we'd get some Really Beautiful Ones...but now I would hate having anything other than those very first figures, which I'll soon be unpacking and setting up for the 30-something-th time...
It's over thirty years since we had our first Advent together. We bought some plastic Christmas crib figures by mail-order from an advertisment in the Universe and said that these would do for a while, but that one day of course we'd get some Really Beautiful Ones...but now I would hate having anything other than those very first figures, which I'll soon be unpacking and setting up for the 30-something-th time...
A group of young people...
...from Ealing Abbey, on a London history walk with Auntie. Great fun, and although it was a large group there was a sense of community and togethernesss...and starting at Westminster Cathedral we made our way down to the river, with golden and russet leaves, and Autumn sunshine, and enjoyed exploring Roman and Saxon and Norman and Medieval London...and Tudor and Victorian and more, and more...
And ended with snacks and drinks and a long talkative late lunch/tea at a South Bank open-air cafe/restaurant, several tables brought together, Auntie consuming several glorious large cups of tea and cake, young appetites enjoying food, and a grand time...finally as dusk fell I headed home and they varioouslky to pubs and parties...a happy day.
And ended with snacks and drinks and a long talkative late lunch/tea at a South Bank open-air cafe/restaurant, several tables brought together, Auntie consuming several glorious large cups of tea and cake, young appetites enjoying food, and a grand time...finally as dusk fell I headed home and they varioouslky to pubs and parties...a happy day.
Papa Francis at the European Parliament...
...read the actual text, as delivered, here...
and here, also checked against delivery, his speech to the Council of Europe.
I am honestly at a loss to find anything derogatory about grannies in either.
And watch here to see how he was received (14 interruptions fotr applause, and a standing ovation at the end...)
and here, also checked against delivery, his speech to the Council of Europe.
I am honestly at a loss to find anything derogatory about grannies in either.
And watch here to see how he was received (14 interruptions fotr applause, and a standing ovation at the end...)
Friday, November 28, 2014
Latest issue of VOICES...
...the magazine of Women for Faith and Family in the USA, is now published...many tributes to the splendid Helen Hitchcock who launched the organisation some 25 years ago and went to her reward this year. She will be hugely missed. I was privileged to work with her, and VOICES carries my tribute among many others...
The magazine, as always, covers all sorts of topical issues, including a feature on Pope Francis and women...
The magazine, as always, covers all sorts of topical issues, including a feature on Pope Francis and women...
"The Mad Bishop...
...and Bear" is the name of the pub at Paddington Station. And even though it's absolutely in the middle of one of London's busiest railway stations, it somehow has a proper pubby feel to it...
Co-author Clare Anderson and Auntie meet here from time to time to work on our next book/TV feature/other projects. The team behind the bar know us:"How's the book progressing?" "Did the trip to Poland go well?" Today, over fish pie and gin-and-tonic we got to grips with our next (EWTN) TV venture, which involves a good deal of planning and will be filmed (DV) next summer.
We start at 12 noon and are still talking and working as commuters start filling the pub for evening drinks and supper. People are tucking into fish and chips as we part and C. hurries home to rural Berkshire and Auntie crosses London to the southern suburbs. A useful day, and it is satisfying to have things (sort of) planned for our next two major projects...
Co-author Clare Anderson and Auntie meet here from time to time to work on our next book/TV feature/other projects. The team behind the bar know us:"How's the book progressing?" "Did the trip to Poland go well?" Today, over fish pie and gin-and-tonic we got to grips with our next (EWTN) TV venture, which involves a good deal of planning and will be filmed (DV) next summer.
We start at 12 noon and are still talking and working as commuters start filling the pub for evening drinks and supper. People are tucking into fish and chips as we part and C. hurries home to rural Berkshire and Auntie crosses London to the southern suburbs. A useful day, and it is satisfying to have things (sort of) planned for our next two major projects...
Thursday, November 27, 2014
...and
...one of the silliest things I have yet read is a criticism of the Pope in The Guardian for his recent poignant message to Europe at Strabourg, when he noted the continents tragic infertility and absence of new life. The writer, a self-styled Catholic Feminidst announces that this is an attack on grandmothers. I thought it was a spoof at first. No, I'm not giiving the link: some things are so daft it just isn't worth encouraging anyone to go there.
"In sixteen hundred and sixty-six...
...London burned like rotten sticks". Children are still being taught history by using that rhyme - my small great-niece recited it to me the other day when I told her that I was about to lead a special History Walk in London exploring the route of the Fire.
We'll start at The Monument, which conveniently has a tube station alongside. We'll go to Pudding Lane where the fire started, and take a look at some other sites, and some post-fire Wren churches. A recent TV series on the Fire seems to hint at a "Popish plot"...for years the Monument asserted that Catholics had started the fire ( ‘Where London’s column pointing at the skies, / Like a tall bully, lifts its head and lies’). This lying inscription was only finally removed in the early 19th century with Catholic Emancipation: how weird that it should be revived again via TV fiction in the 21st century...
Our Walk this evening will finish with Evensong and Mass at Precious Blood Church, across the river. The Fire stopped when it crossed London Bridge, as there was a firebreak on the south bank, in the form of open land beyond the bridge before the houses and shops and pubs of The Borough.
We'll start at The Monument, which conveniently has a tube station alongside. We'll go to Pudding Lane where the fire started, and take a look at some other sites, and some post-fire Wren churches. A recent TV series on the Fire seems to hint at a "Popish plot"...for years the Monument asserted that Catholics had started the fire ( ‘Where London’s column pointing at the skies, / Like a tall bully, lifts its head and lies’). This lying inscription was only finally removed in the early 19th century with Catholic Emancipation: how weird that it should be revived again via TV fiction in the 21st century...
Our Walk this evening will finish with Evensong and Mass at Precious Blood Church, across the river. The Fire stopped when it crossed London Bridge, as there was a firebreak on the south bank, in the form of open land beyond the bridge before the houses and shops and pubs of The Borough.
Wednesday, November 26, 2014
...and here is...
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...prizewinner Maddie Carling of St Mary's School Bishops Stortford with her parents and Mgr Keith Newton at the 2014 TOWARDS ADVENT Festival. She won a cash prize, a Missal (CTS, hardback, ribbons - something to keep and use for always) and books including, yes, Auntie's book on St John Paul the Great.
pic: ©Oremus/DP
Tuesday, November 25, 2014
Monday, November 24, 2014
The Catholic chatosphere...
...doesn't seem to have made much of this, preferring on the whole to follow the NBC line of silence...
Sunday, November 23, 2014
Do children in Britain today know the Lord's Prayer?
Often the answer is "Alas, no."
No reason to assume this should be permanent or acceptable.
Read here.
No reason to assume this should be permanent or acceptable.
Read here.
Torrential rain meant that...
...we were unable to have the planned Procession of the Blessed Sacrament in honour of today's feast of Christ the King, rounding off the Church's year. All the Sunday school children had been taught about Christ the King and made crowns to wear for the procession, so wore them for Benediction in the church instead.
Saturday, November 22, 2014
Superb singing....
...from the choir of the John Fisher School, a splendid welcoming ceremony with Mgr Keith Newton of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, a hall filled with stalls and displays from a great range of Catholic groups and organisations, and lots of freshly-brewed coffee and delicious cakes and sandwiches to great people as they arrived...the 2014 TOWARDS ADVENT Festival was by any measure a really wonderful day!
It seems extraordinary to reflect that it is our 15th Festival. Standing on the platform at Westminster Cathedral Hall I was suddenly conscious of the great adventure it has all been. When I first chaired a gathering of various Catholic groups (Aid to the Church in Need, Fisher Press, the Catholic Truth Society, the Catholic Writers' Guild, Gracewing Books) to discuss the possibilities for such a Festival, we did believe that we were on to something worthwhile and rather exciting. And we've been proved right - but I honestly don't think that we realised just how deeply and confidently it would become embedded into the life of the Catholic community in London and its suburbs, or how easily it would adapt to the many and swift changes of the past decade and a half...the internet, swift desktop publishing, mobile phones, two changes of Pope, and the arrival of some wholly new things on the Catholic scene including the Ordinariate, a new translation of the Mass.
We celebrated the 15th Festival with the presentation of prizes in our special Schools Essay Project (see below) and with the blessing of a picture of St John Paul which will be carried on pilgrimage to Walsingham with the John Paul Walkers. The choir of the John Fisher School filled the great hall with glorious music. The talks and workshops proved hugely popular - these take place in the Hinsley Room on the opposite side of the Cathedral but no one seems to mind hurrying out into rainy Ambroiseden Avenue to get there - and the stalls reported good sales of books, Christmas cards, rosaries, home-made jam, and more...
We'll have the usual wash-up meeting shortly. There are many groups that ought to be at the Festival (we have a waiting-list now for participants).There were special successes this year (big new coffee-maker - my small nephew proved particularly useful in helping to fill it up with water as Auntie poured freshly-ground coffee in the percolator at the top). And there are lots of things to talk about...
but it was a grand day, and a happy atmosphere, and I've come home with some lovely cards from a craft stall, and some delicious cakes, and a glorious John Paul mug from Youth 2000, and lots of reading material...
It seems extraordinary to reflect that it is our 15th Festival. Standing on the platform at Westminster Cathedral Hall I was suddenly conscious of the great adventure it has all been. When I first chaired a gathering of various Catholic groups (Aid to the Church in Need, Fisher Press, the Catholic Truth Society, the Catholic Writers' Guild, Gracewing Books) to discuss the possibilities for such a Festival, we did believe that we were on to something worthwhile and rather exciting. And we've been proved right - but I honestly don't think that we realised just how deeply and confidently it would become embedded into the life of the Catholic community in London and its suburbs, or how easily it would adapt to the many and swift changes of the past decade and a half...the internet, swift desktop publishing, mobile phones, two changes of Pope, and the arrival of some wholly new things on the Catholic scene including the Ordinariate, a new translation of the Mass.
We celebrated the 15th Festival with the presentation of prizes in our special Schools Essay Project (see below) and with the blessing of a picture of St John Paul which will be carried on pilgrimage to Walsingham with the John Paul Walkers. The choir of the John Fisher School filled the great hall with glorious music. The talks and workshops proved hugely popular - these take place in the Hinsley Room on the opposite side of the Cathedral but no one seems to mind hurrying out into rainy Ambroiseden Avenue to get there - and the stalls reported good sales of books, Christmas cards, rosaries, home-made jam, and more...
We'll have the usual wash-up meeting shortly. There are many groups that ought to be at the Festival (we have a waiting-list now for participants).There were special successes this year (big new coffee-maker - my small nephew proved particularly useful in helping to fill it up with water as Auntie poured freshly-ground coffee in the percolator at the top). And there are lots of things to talk about...
but it was a grand day, and a happy atmosphere, and I've come home with some lovely cards from a craft stall, and some delicious cakes, and a glorious John Paul mug from Youth 2000, and lots of reading material...
Friday, November 21, 2014
PRIZEWINNERS...the St John Paul/St John XXIII Essay Project 2014...
The organisers of the 2014 TOWARDS ADVENT Festival have pleasure in announcing the winners of the St John Paul/St John XXIII Essay Project, organised in association with the Festival.
They are:
GEORGE EZEKIEL and MADDIE CARLING of St Mary's School, Bishops Stortford, Hertfordshire. The prizes will be presented tomorrow (Sat Nov 22nd) at the Festival at Westminster Cathedral Hall by Mgr Keith Newton of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham. George and Maddie win a cash prize of £50 each, plus a commemorative Missal and other book prizes.
Runner-up prizes were gained by other pupils at St Mary's, and by pupils at St Augustine's School, Ealing. These will be presented in ceremonies at their schools over the next few days.
The Project was open to pupils at Catholic secondary schools in the diocese of Westminster, to mark the canonisation of Saints John Paul and John XXIII. We were impressed by the standard of entries and are glad to have played a part in enabling young Catholics to mark this very special year in the life of the Church.
Thursday, November 20, 2014
Britain's former Chief Rabbi...
...spoke superbly at the Humanum conference in Rome. Read and watch here,
He defended marriage as the lifelong bond between a man and a woman, speaking with warmth, dignity, and truth:
"... compassion for those who choose to live differently should not inhibit us from being advocates for the single most humanising institution in history. The family, man, woman, and child, is not one lifestyle choice among many. It is the best means we have yet discovered for nurturing future generations and enabling children to grow in a matrix of stability and love. It is where we learn the delicate choreography of relationship and how to handle the inevitable conflicts within any human group. It is where we first take the risk of giving and receiving love. It is where one generation passes on its values to the next, ensuring the continuity of a civilization. For any society, the family is the crucible of its future, and for the sake of our children’s future, we must be its defenders."
He defended marriage as the lifelong bond between a man and a woman, speaking with warmth, dignity, and truth:
"... compassion for those who choose to live differently should not inhibit us from being advocates for the single most humanising institution in history. The family, man, woman, and child, is not one lifestyle choice among many. It is the best means we have yet discovered for nurturing future generations and enabling children to grow in a matrix of stability and love. It is where we learn the delicate choreography of relationship and how to handle the inevitable conflicts within any human group. It is where we first take the risk of giving and receiving love. It is where one generation passes on its values to the next, ensuring the continuity of a civilization. For any society, the family is the crucible of its future, and for the sake of our children’s future, we must be its defenders."
The Catholic Union...
of Great Britain ...has been working to help support and encourage Catholics in public life in Britain for somegthing like 150 years. The Annual Meeting began with Mass in Westminster Cathedral and then a gathering in nearby Vaughan House. The President, Lord Brennan, gave his retiring speech - he is handing over to Sir Edward Leigh MP. Lord Brennan has been an excellent President, and Sir Edward's strong and lively address gave us all a sense of confidence in the future. There is certainly plenty to do...the meeting was well-attended, the spirit good, but....oh my goodness there are grave issues facing us all and the mood when we tackled these was serious. Deliberate killing of the gravely ill. Imposition of a secularist agenda on all schools. Pressure on Christian doictors and nurses to accept gross and unethical procedures.
Lively talk over drinks and sandwiches...plans for 2015, no sense of abandoning hope or shrugging off the future as beyond our care.
The chairman is Councillor Robert Rigby, of Westminster City Council. Auntie is on the Education and Outreach Working Party. Among many other activities, there is a public lecture sponsored by the Catholic Union on Dec 4th, 6.30pm at the University of Notre Dame, Suffolk Street, just off Trafalgar Square. Topic is Catholic education. Worth attending.
Lively talk over drinks and sandwiches...plans for 2015, no sense of abandoning hope or shrugging off the future as beyond our care.
The chairman is Councillor Robert Rigby, of Westminster City Council. Auntie is on the Education and Outreach Working Party. Among many other activities, there is a public lecture sponsored by the Catholic Union on Dec 4th, 6.30pm at the University of Notre Dame, Suffolk Street, just off Trafalgar Square. Topic is Catholic education. Worth attending.
At the TOWARDS ADVENT Festival....
...the winners of the special St John Paul II/St John XXIII Project will be announced. This is an essay project, a new venture for the TOWARDS ADVENT Festival. Pupils at Catholic secondary schools in the diocese of Westminster were invited to write essays about one or both of these great Popes, focusing on the question "What is a Pope?" and showing evidence of understanding the role and purpose of the papacy.
We have two winners, a boy and a girl, and each will recieve a £50 cash prize and a beautiful Missal. There are runners-up who will also receive Missals (for those of special merit) or other book prizes.
There were some good entries - choosing winners was not easy.
I am encouraged by the work produced in some of our Catholic secondary schools.
A sample: one entrant wrote:
"Jesus Christ appointed Simon Peter the first Pope, 'You are gthe rock and on this rock, I shall build my Church.' This means that the Pope is the Supreme Pastor which means he represents Christ's love and concern for every living being. All Popes are successors and descendants of Peter, although they are not blood descendants, they carry on Peter's work of spreading the good news across the globe."
We have two winners, a boy and a girl, and each will recieve a £50 cash prize and a beautiful Missal. There are runners-up who will also receive Missals (for those of special merit) or other book prizes.
There were some good entries - choosing winners was not easy.
I am encouraged by the work produced in some of our Catholic secondary schools.
A sample: one entrant wrote:
"Jesus Christ appointed Simon Peter the first Pope, 'You are gthe rock and on this rock, I shall build my Church.' This means that the Pope is the Supreme Pastor which means he represents Christ's love and concern for every living being. All Popes are successors and descendants of Peter, although they are not blood descendants, they carry on Peter's work of spreading the good news across the globe."
After last night's Requiem...
...there was an Advent sale of craft goods to raise funds for the "Open House" that St Patrick's offers to the homeless - hot meals and companionship and a place to shelter. I bought some lovely Christmas decorations, and a bag of ginger cookies all tied up with ribbon. You can buy things after all the Masses this coming Sunday (Christ the King) and can also add names to those tucked into the greenery by the altar steps...
Wednesday, November 19, 2014
A Requiem ...
...Mass celebrated in a packed St Patrick's, Soho. Tomas Luis de Victoria's Requiem for six voices, sung superbly by the St Patrick's choir. At the back of the church, cards were provided on which we all wrote the names of deceased family members and friends, and at the Offertory we walked up and tucked these into the thick greenery wreathing the altar-rails...
November and praying for the dead means more and more each year as you get older. Long, long ago, it meant praying for the uncle-who-died-in-the-war-before-I-was-born, and then a bit later, year on year, it meant praying for dear grandparents...then adulthood and then the inexorable arrival of middle age, and with it the deaths of those closer still...
Gleaming chalice and glittering candles, a great church filled with people praying, voices saying the Lord's Prayer, a choir singing "Lux aeterna luceat eis Domine..."
November and praying for the dead means more and more each year as you get older. Long, long ago, it meant praying for the uncle-who-died-in-the-war-before-I-was-born, and then a bit later, year on year, it meant praying for dear grandparents...then adulthood and then the inexorable arrival of middle age, and with it the deaths of those closer still...
Gleaming chalice and glittering candles, a great church filled with people praying, voices saying the Lord's Prayer, a choir singing "Lux aeterna luceat eis Domine..."
As I write this...
...in a cafe near Westminster Cathedral, a cross and sullen horde of youngish people, some with balaclavas covering their faces, is shouting outside. They are carrying placards: one says "F--k fees" and another "Free education tax the rich".
What a depressing and horrid group of people they appear to be. I am particularly nauseated by the sight of anyone trying to look like a terrorist with a face deliberately kept hidden by a black balaclava (I hope he is uncomfortable - it is warm and mild day, unsuitable for such gear).
But above all, how sad it is to see a generation, the most expensively educated in our history, given every advantage and heirs to a freedom and prosperity unknwon to previous generations, ranting and complaining in this sullen way.
Oh, the spoilt, disgreeable, horrid, selfish narcissicism of it all...
And their freedom and prosperity was not of their making. It rests on sacrifices made by their parents and grandparents and great-grandparents...who for the most part never even dreamed of university and travel and the grand opportunities open to today's young......
What a depressing and horrid group of people they appear to be. I am particularly nauseated by the sight of anyone trying to look like a terrorist with a face deliberately kept hidden by a black balaclava (I hope he is uncomfortable - it is warm and mild day, unsuitable for such gear).
But above all, how sad it is to see a generation, the most expensively educated in our history, given every advantage and heirs to a freedom and prosperity unknwon to previous generations, ranting and complaining in this sullen way.
Oh, the spoilt, disgreeable, horrid, selfish narcissicism of it all...
And their freedom and prosperity was not of their making. It rests on sacrifices made by their parents and grandparents and great-grandparents...who for the most part never even dreamed of university and travel and the grand opportunities open to today's young......
Studying and discussing....
Thomas Aquinas, all part of my post-graduate studies in theology. Loving it. The university of course teems with young people, and when I drop into the refectory for some coffee and a piece of cake, there are vast crowds tucking into burgers and beans and chips. The college specialises in sports-related things, and also in theatre studies... all this gives a great sense of pace and energy to the place. At the post-grad theology level, there is energy too, though it's rather different - a real sense of zest as we study. We're a mixed group - a great range of races and ages. We include several priests, a deacon, a young teacher, a cheery nun, a young seminarian from India who has just flown home for ordination...and Auntie, who alas had ti hurry in late yesterday, following a family hospital visit. But I felt involved as soon as I sat down, and was soon deep in Aquinas :"...I answer that..."
Essay due in by Jan 28th. There's a system called Turnitin, which means that the essay goes through a sort of internet mesh to make sure you haven't plagiarised...
Essay due in by Jan 28th. There's a system called Turnitin, which means that the essay goes through a sort of internet mesh to make sure you haven't plagiarised...
Auntie has just completed...
...an embroidered picture of St John Paul the Great. Quite hard work, in petit-point.
I bought the kit in Rome during the wonderful days that we were there for the Canonisation. I like to have some sewing project on hand, as quite a lot of my time is spent with elderly relatives, just sitting and being companionable...and a lot of time is spent on buses and trains. But this particular embroidery was quite complicated, because each tiny stitch matters when you are working to illustrate facial features...and there are sublties of colours and shades for skin and hair...finally the thing was finished, and I bought a mount and a frame...
The idea is that we will carry the picture on the John Paul Walking Pilgrimage to Walsingham next summer (Aug 6th-9th...put the dates in your diary, and come and join us! Info here). So...I thought I'd take the picture to the TOWARDS ADVENT Festival on Saturday at Westminster Cathedral Hall, and get it blessed by Mgr Keith Newton of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham! So you'll see me on the platform with him on Saturday...come and be there to share in it all...and please be polite about my embroidery: it may not be the most perfect piece of artwork, but it was done with love and enthusiasm!
I bought the kit in Rome during the wonderful days that we were there for the Canonisation. I like to have some sewing project on hand, as quite a lot of my time is spent with elderly relatives, just sitting and being companionable...and a lot of time is spent on buses and trains. But this particular embroidery was quite complicated, because each tiny stitch matters when you are working to illustrate facial features...and there are sublties of colours and shades for skin and hair...finally the thing was finished, and I bought a mount and a frame...
The idea is that we will carry the picture on the John Paul Walking Pilgrimage to Walsingham next summer (Aug 6th-9th...put the dates in your diary, and come and join us! Info here). So...I thought I'd take the picture to the TOWARDS ADVENT Festival on Saturday at Westminster Cathedral Hall, and get it blessed by Mgr Keith Newton of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham! So you'll see me on the platform with him on Saturday...come and be there to share in it all...and please be polite about my embroidery: it may not be the most perfect piece of artwork, but it was done with love and enthusiasm!
...and find out about Auntie's latest TV series...
here...I think this series will be repeated at various times, so you may like to check the general website for information...
Monday, November 17, 2014
"Children have a right..."
...“Children have a right to grow up in a family with a father and a mother capable of creating a suitable environment for the child's development and emotional maturity"
Pope Francis, speaking today in Rome.
Do you realise that if he was a Government minister, or a Mayor of a major city, or a senior police officer, or a judge, and he made the above statement in Britain today, he would probably be hounded out of office?
THANK GOD FOR THE POPE!
Having a Christian leader who can speak out in this way is a guarantee of some freedom of speech.
More on his speech here. But he is only saying what everyone, down all the generations, has always and everywhere known to be right and true.
Pope Francis, speaking today in Rome.
Do you realise that if he was a Government minister, or a Mayor of a major city, or a senior police officer, or a judge, and he made the above statement in Britain today, he would probably be hounded out of office?
THANK GOD FOR THE POPE!
Having a Christian leader who can speak out in this way is a guarantee of some freedom of speech.
More on his speech here. But he is only saying what everyone, down all the generations, has always and everywhere known to be right and true.
"Domine, salvam fac..."
...the traditional prayer for the Queen, sung at the end of Mass. The subject came up on this Blog recently (see below, a few days back) and by coincidence - Providence - I went to Mass on Sunday at a church I don't usually attend, and it was sung, and beautifully. It is sung there every Sunday at 11 am Mass.
Interestingly, almost eveything is sung at this Mass, including the Confiteor, and it works well. I used to attend this Mass regularly, and always loved it - the choir is now even better and the congregation has perhaps also grown, although it was always large.
There was a cake sale after each Mass - the young people running it greeted Auntie, having met me at FAITH events - and I bought some to enjoy on a slightly complicated series of travels through the rest of the day...travelling via various errands to end up at Hatfield where I was giving a talk to the Cathoc of the University of Hertfordshire Cathsoc. This was a joy: good numbers, a great atmosphere, reverent prayer, lively conversation. They have a busy programme and a number will be going to the FAITH Movement winter session at Stonyhurst...
Interestingly, almost eveything is sung at this Mass, including the Confiteor, and it works well. I used to attend this Mass regularly, and always loved it - the choir is now even better and the congregation has perhaps also grown, although it was always large.
There was a cake sale after each Mass - the young people running it greeted Auntie, having met me at FAITH events - and I bought some to enjoy on a slightly complicated series of travels through the rest of the day...travelling via various errands to end up at Hatfield where I was giving a talk to the Cathoc of the University of Hertfordshire Cathsoc. This was a joy: good numbers, a great atmosphere, reverent prayer, lively conversation. They have a busy programme and a number will be going to the FAITH Movement winter session at Stonyhurst...
Saturday, November 15, 2014
I went to...
...Tyburn Convent which stands as a place of prayer, penance and reconciliation on the site of the old Tyburn Tree (see below).
The Tyburn nuns are longstanding friends of Auntie, and there is always a welcome there. I had gone on an errand for EWTN, and we also had a long talk about lots and lots of things...and we reminisced as Mother X recalled my first visit, back in 1978, when I was organising an all-night vigil to pray for Christians in Czechoslovakia on the 10th anniversary of the Soviet invasion...
The commnity is growing steadily - there are now convents in all sorts of places and their DVD tells the story
Tyburn....
... the site of the ghastly Tyburn Tree where for many years people were hanged,on a vast triangular gallows that could take several victims at once. People gathered in vast crowds to watch, and there are descriptions of them doing so, bringing packed lunches and with jugglers and musicians to entertain them during the wait for the victims to arrive from Newgate, Sometimes the victims were very young Sometimes they were swindlers or had forged coins, and were unpopular as swindlers and forgerers are today. Sometimes they were good-looking or behaved with remarkable courage, and so got a cheer from those watching them writhe and choke and die. Sometimes they were members of a religious body deemed to be a threat to the State (including of course, the RC Church), and sometimes they were thugs or murderers. Hanging - and in some cases mutilation and butchery while still alive after a partial hanging - was a public spectacle that drew immense excitement and people travelled long distances to watch it all. Nor does there seem to have been any opposition to the notion of families spending a day in this way: along with watching public burnings at the stake, it was apparently an acceptable way for a Christian to spend a London afternoon.
Next time you are told that we are living today in a particularly gross and horrible era, remember that.
Next time you are told that we are living today in a particularly gross and horrible era, remember that.
Friday, November 14, 2014
Come and meet...
...the Ladies Ordinariate Group.
On Monday Dec 8th, one of our young members, Daisy Powles, who walked to Compostella on a traditional walking pilgrimage this summer, will be telling of her adventures. Come and enjoy the talk, and the hospitality of LOGS...6.30pm, St Mary's Church, WEST CROYDON.
On Monday Dec 8th, one of our young members, Daisy Powles, who walked to Compostella on a traditional walking pilgrimage this summer, will be telling of her adventures. Come and enjoy the talk, and the hospitality of LOGS...6.30pm, St Mary's Church, WEST CROYDON.
Thursday, November 13, 2014
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
...and an evening studying...
...St Thomas Aquinas, and pondering von Balthasar's point about a theologian really needing to be a saint...echoing St T's own need to be near the Tabernacle when working...
Apparently......
Papa Francis is keen to have prayers after Mass for the persecuted Church: the St Michael Prayer (of which he is particularly fond) and the "Hail Holy Queen". This seems a good idea. For some years there were "Prayers for Russia", but they were often said in a great rush with a let's-get-this-over feel. A revival would benefit from the gap: there would be a sense of freshness, and of urgency - the prayers would feel intimately connected with the tragic news that we hear almost daily of the savage persecution of Christians.
The Bidding Prayers enable us to have public prayers for specific issues. When they were first introduced they were structured, and worked well: they almost invariably included one for the Queen (which we'd not had as part of normal parish Masses in Britain before) and for those in public office, and for the poor, and for various other needs at home and abroad. Then things went through a very messy stage when some priests would say "Does anyone have anything they'd like to pray about?" which invariably produced awkward silence or some mumbled and incoherent plea, or some statement about a fashionable cause.. Dreary. Now the trend is towards formal Bidding Prayers again. Of course the persecuted are often - in recent months always - mentioned. But something specific after Mass would be very much in Papa Fr's style. If it happens, you heard it here first.
The Bidding Prayers enable us to have public prayers for specific issues. When they were first introduced they were structured, and worked well: they almost invariably included one for the Queen (which we'd not had as part of normal parish Masses in Britain before) and for those in public office, and for the poor, and for various other needs at home and abroad. Then things went through a very messy stage when some priests would say "Does anyone have anything they'd like to pray about?" which invariably produced awkward silence or some mumbled and incoherent plea, or some statement about a fashionable cause.. Dreary. Now the trend is towards formal Bidding Prayers again. Of course the persecuted are often - in recent months always - mentioned. But something specific after Mass would be very much in Papa Fr's style. If it happens, you heard it here first.
The number of Catholics...
....in the world has more than tripled over the last century. Did you know that there are now nearly 1.1 billion of us?
Find out more about...
...that John Paul Walk and the statue from Poland that accompanied us. Read here...
Monday, November 10, 2014
As I walked along the Thames....
...people were streaming towards the Tower of London and the poppies....
My destination was across the river, at The Borough, where the congregation of Precious Blood church walked in procession, led by the churchwardens carrying staves,and the Rector in cope and biretta, to the War Memorial in the High Street. Here, all was done very well and in full traditional style, with "O God our help in ages past" and the Last Post - and the police stopped all the traffic for the Silence, giving us a rather beautiful experience of a London High Street at peace, The Mayor is a Sikh and his local Sikh leader read splendidly from the Bible about swords being beaten into ploughshares. The Mayor is extremely nice - we met him the other day when setting out for the John Paul II Walk along the Thames,as he happened to be finishing some other formal event, all in red robes and golden chain of office, and he greeted the young JP Walkers and it made a very good start to the day...Today, laying the first of a great series of scarlet wreaths, he was again resplendent in formal robes, and there was Autumn sunshine, and the voices uniting in "We will remember them..." and the Lord Lieutenant and local MPs and councillors and so on all coming forward one by one to place their wreaths and stand for a moment...
I spent the afternoon with family out beyond London, a magnificent nephew having volunteered to tackle a computer problem. A woodland walk with a young relative, tracking the course of a local stream...an agreeable sense of adventure along muddy paths and through Autumn mulch, through new territory for us, these woods previously unexplored. Quite suddenly, we came across small Remembrance crosses bearing poppies, planted in the ground - all in the middle of woodland. A brass plate nearby explained that the great tree alongside had been planted in 1919 in thanksgiving for the ending of the War...
My destination was across the river, at The Borough, where the congregation of Precious Blood church walked in procession, led by the churchwardens carrying staves,and the Rector in cope and biretta, to the War Memorial in the High Street. Here, all was done very well and in full traditional style, with "O God our help in ages past" and the Last Post - and the police stopped all the traffic for the Silence, giving us a rather beautiful experience of a London High Street at peace, The Mayor is a Sikh and his local Sikh leader read splendidly from the Bible about swords being beaten into ploughshares. The Mayor is extremely nice - we met him the other day when setting out for the John Paul II Walk along the Thames,as he happened to be finishing some other formal event, all in red robes and golden chain of office, and he greeted the young JP Walkers and it made a very good start to the day...Today, laying the first of a great series of scarlet wreaths, he was again resplendent in formal robes, and there was Autumn sunshine, and the voices uniting in "We will remember them..." and the Lord Lieutenant and local MPs and councillors and so on all coming forward one by one to place their wreaths and stand for a moment...
I spent the afternoon with family out beyond London, a magnificent nephew having volunteered to tackle a computer problem. A woodland walk with a young relative, tracking the course of a local stream...an agreeable sense of adventure along muddy paths and through Autumn mulch, through new territory for us, these woods previously unexplored. Quite suddenly, we came across small Remembrance crosses bearing poppies, planted in the ground - all in the middle of woodland. A brass plate nearby explained that the great tree alongside had been planted in 1919 in thanksgiving for the ending of the War...
Saturday, November 08, 2014
Auntie is declaring war on...
uwwa zyke.
As in "So, I was at uni and uwwa zyke 'where's the party?' and then uwwa zyke 'yay, it's cool' and uwwa zyke..."
Or: "So I got this job and uwwa zyke ' yay, it's OK' but then uwwa zyke late and uwwa zyke dunno what to do..."
Another version is ahmlyke, as in:
"Ahmlyke buying some, like, boots and ahmlyke, yay, wicked, but ahmlyke, they're, like, wild, and ahmlyke, will they, like, fit? And ahmlike, whatever..."
As in "So, I was at uni and uwwa zyke 'where's the party?' and then uwwa zyke 'yay, it's cool' and uwwa zyke..."
Or: "So I got this job and uwwa zyke ' yay, it's OK' but then uwwa zyke late and uwwa zyke dunno what to do..."
Another version is ahmlyke, as in:
"Ahmlyke buying some, like, boots and ahmlyke, yay, wicked, but ahmlyke, they're, like, wild, and ahmlyke, will they, like, fit? And ahmlike, whatever..."
Don't forget...
...to come to WESTMINSTER CATHEDRAL HALL on Saturday Nov 22nd, any time from 10am, for the TOWARDS ADVENT Festival. It promises to be exceptionally good this year...come at 10.30am for the Opening Ceremony with Mgr Keith Newton of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, and the choir of the John Fisher School, Purley. Join us for the talks given by Canon Luiz Ruscillo on Catholic Education, and Mgr Newton on ecumenism and the future - and join us for what promises to be a superb practical workshop on Gregorian Chant and how to sing it...
The Festival - launched as part of the marking of the Millenium, and now a vibrant annual chapter in the London Catholic scene - takes a lot of organising, but is fun. This week, I've been tackling details that range from organising the new coffee machine (freshly brewed REAL COFFEE on sale with other refreshments as you enter the hall) to the commemorative gifts that are presented to all choir members...plus labels and wrapping for the craft goods, and masses of chocolate coins for various stalls...and more...
There is still time for all young Catholic Londoners of secondary school age to take part in the SS JohnPaul and John XXIII essay project...details on that link.
The Festival - launched as part of the marking of the Millenium, and now a vibrant annual chapter in the London Catholic scene - takes a lot of organising, but is fun. This week, I've been tackling details that range from organising the new coffee machine (freshly brewed REAL COFFEE on sale with other refreshments as you enter the hall) to the commemorative gifts that are presented to all choir members...plus labels and wrapping for the craft goods, and masses of chocolate coins for various stalls...and more...
There is still time for all young Catholic Londoners of secondary school age to take part in the SS JohnPaul and John XXIII essay project...details on that link.
HRH the Prince of Wales...
...has given his support to the call for religious freedom and tolerance, and for help to those suffering...
read here, and watch the video...
read here, and watch the video...
Friday, November 07, 2014
The poppies...
...in the blood-red sea at the Tower of London bring more and more people every hour. Each night, the Last Post is played and 180 names are read out, from among the over 800,000 British and Commonwealth dead from 1914-1918 commemorated there.
Something has happened in London over these past few days. Remembrance Day means more this year. There are of course poppy-sellers everywhere, some of them young men and women in uniform - cadets from the three services - and the sight of young people formally attired in this way is so unusual and striking that it makes the whole of a crowd at a railway station or on a busy street look different, somehow. Others sellers are Chelsea Pensioners, or of course simply kindly volunteers of the type you find helping in charity shops or at church events or local fetes and fairs. We are conscious of a friendly and open-hearted Britain that we do not often see, of formal clothes that have a formal meaning, of time given without financial reward, of goodwill and of a sense of common purpose.
It isn't the usual London.
Won't last, of course. But even the dismantling of the scarlet sea - there are over 8,000 volunteers to clean and pack and post the poppies to their owners - will mean something. And we have joined together in something bigger than ourselves, and found a bond with our history that stirs our souls and links us to ideas and ideals we do not often think about and sometimes feel we are no longer allowed to discuss openly.
Something has happened in London over these past few days. Remembrance Day means more this year. There are of course poppy-sellers everywhere, some of them young men and women in uniform - cadets from the three services - and the sight of young people formally attired in this way is so unusual and striking that it makes the whole of a crowd at a railway station or on a busy street look different, somehow. Others sellers are Chelsea Pensioners, or of course simply kindly volunteers of the type you find helping in charity shops or at church events or local fetes and fairs. We are conscious of a friendly and open-hearted Britain that we do not often see, of formal clothes that have a formal meaning, of time given without financial reward, of goodwill and of a sense of common purpose.
It isn't the usual London.
Won't last, of course. But even the dismantling of the scarlet sea - there are over 8,000 volunteers to clean and pack and post the poppies to their owners - will mean something. And we have joined together in something bigger than ourselves, and found a bond with our history that stirs our souls and links us to ideas and ideals we do not often think about and sometimes feel we are no longer allowed to discuss openly.
A nice point of etiquette...
... waiting in the queue for confession this week at Westminster Cathedral, each of us kneeling or sitting as the mood and need for prayer or reflection took us. Meanwhile, in the main body of the Cathedral, the magnificent Annual Requiem Mass for the Catholic Police Guild was taking place. Impressive sight: rows and rows of policemen in their dark uniforms, and a Guard of Honour carried a (proper, bobby's) helmet up to the High Altar. As Mass ended, the Last Post heralded two minutes of silence. No problem - we penitents were already silent. Then Reveille. Then...the familiar sounds that herald the first notes of the National Anthem. My knees automatically unbent and I rose, as with a reflex action, the music simply making it happen. "Sorry" I murmured to the chap next to me. "I fear I am constitutionally unable to remain kneeling or seated for this one. " And so we stood.
What's the etiquette? Does one rise for the National Anthem while waiting for confession, or does the need for a suitable posture of prayer before sacramental absolution take precedence? So far, all those with whom I have discussed this say "Stand".
Auntie has never yet remained seated while The Queen is played and cannot imagine ever doing so.
Your views?
What's the etiquette? Does one rise for the National Anthem while waiting for confession, or does the need for a suitable posture of prayer before sacramental absolution take precedence? So far, all those with whom I have discussed this say "Stand".
Auntie has never yet remained seated while The Queen is played and cannot imagine ever doing so.
Your views?
Wednesday, November 05, 2014
...and this evening, November 5th...
...Auntie is leading a Walk to the Tower of London. We'll be thinking about poor Guy Fawkes and all that, and we'll also look at the poppies in the moat...
Meet 5.30pm (NOTE TIME) at Precious Blood Church, O'Meara Street, London SEI. Nearest tube: BOROUGH or LONDON BRIDGE.
The Walk will take us along the Thames, past HMS Belfast, across Tower Bridge...
Meet 5.30pm (NOTE TIME) at Precious Blood Church, O'Meara Street, London SEI. Nearest tube: BOROUGH or LONDON BRIDGE.
The Walk will take us along the Thames, past HMS Belfast, across Tower Bridge...
on Sunday Nov 16th...
...the Chaplaincy at the University of Hertfordshire will be hosting a talk on the subject of the Ugandan Martyrs. Their message is an uncomfortably topical one. The story of these heroic young men needs to be better known. Sun Dec 16th, Mass 6pm, St Pweter's Church, Hatfield, followed by the talk...
The FAITH Movement...
...has been running excellent Evenings of Faith at the church hall at 24 Golden Square, Piccadilly, on Tuesdays, and last night's tackled the Synod on the Family. Regular readers of this blog will by now know the issues involved...what a mess it has all been, rescued by Cardinals Burke and Pell and the African and Asian bishops. Yesterday evening's talk gave us a good analysis and opportunity to talk about it in some detail...
The next Evening of Faith will be on Tuesday Nov 18th and will tackle the topic of contraception and holiness. A good follow-up to the discussion about the Synod.
Incidentally, by clicking on to that link to the Faith Movement, you can also find out about many more events, including the FAITH WINTER SESSION, which will be held at Stonyhurst after Christmas, and next year's Summer Session...both of these events get fully booked very quickly, so it is worth getting organised now...
The next Evening of Faith will be on Tuesday Nov 18th and will tackle the topic of contraception and holiness. A good follow-up to the discussion about the Synod.
Incidentally, by clicking on to that link to the Faith Movement, you can also find out about many more events, including the FAITH WINTER SESSION, which will be held at Stonyhurst after Christmas, and next year's Summer Session...both of these events get fully booked very quickly, so it is worth getting organised now...
Monday, November 03, 2014
ALL SOULS...
...and it means more as the years pass and there are more and more names to add to the list of those for whom prayers are to be said...
Joan Lewis of EWTN has a good piece on Hallowe'en/All Saints/All Souls and Rome...
Joan Lewis of EWTN has a good piece on Hallowe'en/All Saints/All Souls and Rome...
Early on Sunday morning...
...a telephone call from RADIO SOLENT, where they were interviewing young Leo Stoy, who won this year's CATHOLIC YOUNG WRITER AWARD - he was in the studio along with his parents and parish priest. I was to join in the discussion. There is something agreeably surreal about sitting with a mug of tea in the cold morning light in London chatting on a radio programme down on the South Coast. It was fun and a good way to start Sunday. Then Mass, and on to Oxfordshire to spend the day with relatives. Autumn leaves bronze and golden and green and glowing along the lanes. Exchange of family news and I regaled them with adventures in Poland making the new programme for EWTN, avoiding bears in the Tatras and being offered boiled cheese and whey by a kindly shepherd as he told us about his meeting with St John Paul...
Saturday, November 01, 2014
All Saints Day...
is today, November 1st, but our poor Bishops think that no one could possibly want to celebrate it, so it's been merged into tomorrow, Sunday.
Yesterday was Hallowe'en, the Eve of All Hallows, All Saints. Celebrated with a nationwide explosion of faces painted with grisly torture marks, shops covered in orange and black trimmings, houses draped with sheets and images of ghosts, and children dressed up as ghouls and monsters going from house to house seeking sweets...walking down a residential road in prosperous suburb - I was returning from a session in the College library - was like walking through an American
stage-set for "let's celebrate Hallowe'en - here's how to do it!"
This is absolutely the right time for us to be saying "Yes - and it's ALL SAINTS TOMORROW, and ALL SOULS AFTER THAT! Fantastic opportunity to engage with the culture. Ghosts and ghouls and children having fun - all part of an ancient tradition recently revived (albeit sometimes in horrible and lurid forms). Let's engage. Let's celebrate. Let's evangelise . But no. Our poor dear Bishops think that...er...well...er...let's not have All Saints, let's just tell people to mark it on the next Sunday. Downplay it. Muddle it. Make people feel it's been "abolished". Have no answer when people say "So what's Hallowe'en then? When did Hallowe'een start? " and similar questions. Run away from the culture. Try to ignore it. Heads in sand.
It is all the sadder this year, because All Souls Day has to be moved to Monday anyway (ie, it would do so even without the move-All-Saints stuff).
Please, PLEASE, dear Bishops:
PLEASE MAY WE HAVE OUR FEAST-DAYS BACK?
When I last had correspondence with a Bishop on the subject - a good man, and a kind one - I
explained that, when a feast-day is moved to a Sunday, most people simply think it's been "abolished". They go to Mass on Sunday, and honestly don't notice that the readings etc are for a feast-day. His response: "Do they not read their parish newsletter?"
No, dear Bishop, they don't. Of course they don't. Some may browse it during the homily. Some (devout) people might take it home and have it handy for checking weekday or confession times. Some might - might - take note of some forthcoming event such as the Christmas Bazaar. But the idea that most will even remotely connect the newsletter with "Oh, so it's All Saints Day then! How splendid! A really important feast" is just pathetic wishful thinking. THE WAY TO HELP PEOPLE UNDERSTAND ABOUT ALL SAINTS' DAY IS TO CELEBRATE IT ON ALL SAINTS' DAY.
Yesterday was Hallowe'en, the Eve of All Hallows, All Saints. Celebrated with a nationwide explosion of faces painted with grisly torture marks, shops covered in orange and black trimmings, houses draped with sheets and images of ghosts, and children dressed up as ghouls and monsters going from house to house seeking sweets...walking down a residential road in prosperous suburb - I was returning from a session in the College library - was like walking through an American
stage-set for "let's celebrate Hallowe'en - here's how to do it!"
This is absolutely the right time for us to be saying "Yes - and it's ALL SAINTS TOMORROW, and ALL SOULS AFTER THAT! Fantastic opportunity to engage with the culture. Ghosts and ghouls and children having fun - all part of an ancient tradition recently revived (albeit sometimes in horrible and lurid forms). Let's engage. Let's celebrate. Let's evangelise . But no. Our poor dear Bishops think that...er...well...er...let's not have All Saints, let's just tell people to mark it on the next Sunday. Downplay it. Muddle it. Make people feel it's been "abolished". Have no answer when people say "So what's Hallowe'en then? When did Hallowe'een start? " and similar questions. Run away from the culture. Try to ignore it. Heads in sand.
It is all the sadder this year, because All Souls Day has to be moved to Monday anyway (ie, it would do so even without the move-All-Saints stuff).
Please, PLEASE, dear Bishops:
PLEASE MAY WE HAVE OUR FEAST-DAYS BACK?
When I last had correspondence with a Bishop on the subject - a good man, and a kind one - I
explained that, when a feast-day is moved to a Sunday, most people simply think it's been "abolished". They go to Mass on Sunday, and honestly don't notice that the readings etc are for a feast-day. His response: "Do they not read their parish newsletter?"
No, dear Bishop, they don't. Of course they don't. Some may browse it during the homily. Some (devout) people might take it home and have it handy for checking weekday or confession times. Some might - might - take note of some forthcoming event such as the Christmas Bazaar. But the idea that most will even remotely connect the newsletter with "Oh, so it's All Saints Day then! How splendid! A really important feast" is just pathetic wishful thinking. THE WAY TO HELP PEOPLE UNDERSTAND ABOUT ALL SAINTS' DAY IS TO CELEBRATE IT ON ALL SAINTS' DAY.
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