...of this new Autumn season. Meet on MONDAY (Sept 21s) 6.3pm, steps of Westminster Cathedral....we'll take a look at St James, Whitehall, and Buckingham palace...
All welcome. No need to book, just turn up.
Thursday, September 17, 2015
Wednesday, September 16, 2015
Prison...
...where I did some catechetical work. Comment from a young prisoner in his 20s, who has recently rediscovered his Christian faith: "At school, they teach you about all the other religions - Hinduism, Moslems, and everything. But they don't teach you about your own." He attended a standard (not Catholic) comprehensive school. I am aware that many schools do offer a fair opportunity for children to encounter Christianity - but his comment reflects a generally-held view among many 15-30 year olds who come from a vaguely Christian background and feel that they should have been given a much richer introduction to Christianity at school.
Separately, and unrelated to the above, from working in prisons and elsewhere, I've come to understand the first-hand reality of the terrible disconnection between many people in powerful positions and those who are at the bottom of the social heap. Example: a typical probation officer today is young,female, well paid, very career-orientated and talks in jargon. Clothing tends to be short skirts, big dangly earrings and slightly aggressively high-heeled boots. It's all look-at-me-I'm-powerful stuff, and it's very much a don't-ever-criticise-me style. The jargon tends to involve labelling people and actions and ideas and problems, so that everything somehow seems less human and less ordinary than it would otherwise be.The language, style and attitude are most definitely not about service or neighbourliness.
Down at the bottom of life's heap, many male prisoners are not very verbal, and are at a disadvantage in the use of jargon. Many might find it easier to talk to a probation officer of their own sex, and perhaps of their own age, or older. But they do not have this right, which seems a bit unfair.
Separately, and unrelated to the above, from working in prisons and elsewhere, I've come to understand the first-hand reality of the terrible disconnection between many people in powerful positions and those who are at the bottom of the social heap. Example: a typical probation officer today is young,female, well paid, very career-orientated and talks in jargon. Clothing tends to be short skirts, big dangly earrings and slightly aggressively high-heeled boots. It's all look-at-me-I'm-powerful stuff, and it's very much a don't-ever-criticise-me style. The jargon tends to involve labelling people and actions and ideas and problems, so that everything somehow seems less human and less ordinary than it would otherwise be.The language, style and attitude are most definitely not about service or neighbourliness.
Down at the bottom of life's heap, many male prisoners are not very verbal, and are at a disadvantage in the use of jargon. Many might find it easier to talk to a probation officer of their own sex, and perhaps of their own age, or older. But they do not have this right, which seems a bit unfair.
Tuesday, September 15, 2015
Sunday, September 13, 2015
GOD SAVE THE QUEEN...
...and Catholics in Britain today gave thanks for her long reign. Read the message from Cardinal Vincent Nichols here...and listen in to Vatican Radio here...
Prayers for Her Majesty and the singing of the National Anthem at Catholics churches across the country this morning, as she became Britain's longest-reignng monarch.
Prayers for Her Majesty and the singing of the National Anthem at Catholics churches across the country this morning, as she became Britain's longest-reignng monarch.
Saturday, September 12, 2015
DEO GRATIAS...
...for the vote against the assisted-killing-of-gravely-ill-people plan in the House of Commons.
Parliament has spoken. Under our constitution, Parliament makes our laws.
Let us insist that this rejection of legalised killing will not be undermined by some sleight of hand through an announcement by some piece of "European Union" bureaucracy, or a sudden random decision by officialdom or whatever.
A brief and readable analysis of the topic here.
Parliament has spoken. Under our constitution, Parliament makes our laws.
Let us insist that this rejection of legalised killing will not be undermined by some sleight of hand through an announcement by some piece of "European Union" bureaucracy, or a sudden random decision by officialdom or whatever.
A brief and readable analysis of the topic here.
Staying with relatives...
...on the Kent/Sussex border. A catching-up-with-family-news time, and then tomorrow I am off to Mass here to in the parish celebrations. That link will take you to the remarkable little village parish at Pembury in Kent...and if you want to know more of its story, you should send a Comment to this Blog WITH A NAME AND FULL POSTAL ADDRESS (which I will not print) for the latest issue of FAITH magazine, which carries an intervew with Fr Ed, the priest...
During a busy week, with much travelling, I've been reading Michael Gaitley's The Second Greatest Story Ever Told, which sheds interesting light on the life and message of St John Paul.
During a busy week, with much travelling, I've been reading Michael Gaitley's The Second Greatest Story Ever Told, which sheds interesting light on the life and message of St John Paul.
Wednesday, September 09, 2015
Scotland...
...and a warm welcome in Edinburgh from Mgr Patrick Burke at St Mary's Cathedral.
Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali will be speaking at the Cathedral on September 17th, discussing the theme of threats to religious freedom both in Britain and in the world. This should be well worth hearing - he is knowlegeable and it's an important subject...info here...
We had a useful meeting of the Editorial Board of FAITH magazine. (Incidentally Bishop Michael is among our regular contributors). The current issue - just out - is specially focused on the foirthcoming Synod in Rome. Want a copy? See the previous post: just send a Comment to this Blog - I won't publish it - with your FULL NAME AND POSTAL ADDRESS.
Overnight stay with the Sisters of the Gospel of Life in Glasgow, where I am writing this.
Monday, September 07, 2015
The new issue of FAITH MAGAZINE...
...has just come out. Want a sample copy? Send a Comment to this Blog WITH A FULL NAME AND ADDRESS TO WHICH THE MAGAZINE CAN BE SENT, and I'll do my best to oblige.
Sunday, September 06, 2015
A sense of Autumn approaching...
...and the apple-trees this year are spectacularly laden.A neighbour allows me to gather as many as I want, and I make apple jelly for all the nearby residents. At church, there's a sense of "term time" beginning again with Sunday School re-starting and meetings happening. I'm off to Scotland next week for an Editorial gathering for FAITH magazine.
Big Blessed Sacrament Procession through London: Sat Oct 3rd, starts 1.30pm at Westminster Cathedral. BE THERE! Crosses the Thames at Lambeth Bridge, finishes with Benediction at St George's Cathedral, Southwark.
Ordinariate Festival coming up at Westminster: info here.
Big Blessed Sacrament Procession through London: Sat Oct 3rd, starts 1.30pm at Westminster Cathedral. BE THERE! Crosses the Thames at Lambeth Bridge, finishes with Benediction at St George's Cathedral, Southwark.
Ordinariate Festival coming up at Westminster: info here.
Saturday, September 05, 2015
A happy evening...
...at the Brigettine Guest House at Iver in Buckinghamshire. I stayed overnight - it's extremely comfortable, much, nicer than many hotels...I had a little balcony, and a lovely room with a desk and sofar and so on...and a bathroom with a gloriously hot shower and thick fluffy towels...
The reason for my visit was to speak about the remarkable Mother Riccarda Hambrough, who with considerable heroism hid Jewish refugees in the Brigettine convent in Rome in WWII. It's quite a story - and one about which you will be hearing a lote more over the next few years as the pssibility of her canonisation is discussed further. It was good to be reviewing and discussing this whole topic, especially as among those in the audience were sisters from the order to which the secretary of Pius XII belonged. A really good evening of discussion - I loved it all.
The Brigettines at Iver are mostly from India, and are a lovely and welcoming team. They had some sisters visiting from Denmark and this morning some were off to London to do some sightseeing together. There's an infectious sense of joy and enthusiasm for life among these women.
The reason for my visit was to speak about the remarkable Mother Riccarda Hambrough, who with considerable heroism hid Jewish refugees in the Brigettine convent in Rome in WWII. It's quite a story - and one about which you will be hearing a lote more over the next few years as the pssibility of her canonisation is discussed further. It was good to be reviewing and discussing this whole topic, especially as among those in the audience were sisters from the order to which the secretary of Pius XII belonged. A really good evening of discussion - I loved it all.
The Brigettines at Iver are mostly from India, and are a lovely and welcoming team. They had some sisters visiting from Denmark and this morning some were off to London to do some sightseeing together. There's an infectious sense of joy and enthusiasm for life among these women.
if the anonymous person...
who wrote to me about her school, Cardinal Gagnon, etc, would like to send me a message with an email address to which I can reply, I will most happil do so. I cannot reply to a Comment : it is specifically neccessary to include an email address in the body of the text.
Thursday, September 03, 2015
St Gregory the Great...
...sent a team of missionaries headed by St Augustine to evangelise the pagan Angles and Saxons on this island. And last night we commemorated him with joy, at a special celebration at St Augustine's Shrine at Ramsgate on the Kent coast. Fathers Marcus Holden and Andrew Pinsent - of Evangelium etc - were both marking the 10th anniversary of ordination, and concelebrated a glorious Mass in Pugin's magnificent Abbey Church. It was a great joy and privilege to be there. Fr Nicholas Schofield preached, and spoke powerfully of Pope St Gregory's mission and of the unbroken link that takes us back through the centuries, the faith that was brought here and flourishes anew in each era. The evening had a family feel - it was the Golden Wedding Anniversturiesary of Fr Andrew's parents, and he gave them a most beautiful blessing at the end of Mass. And then followed a feast with a candlelit buffet table spread with good things, and cakes to be cut, and speeches, and toasts, culminating in the singing of "Ad Multos Annos" by all the priests, former students of the Venerable English College in Rome. This is always moving - and it brought back memories of the ordinations and jubilees of various friends down the years...
It was delightful to sit in Pugin's magnificent Grange and relax with wine and talk...and then when I departed, at a late hour, for my hotel, I walked for a moment by the sea, with the waves washing up along the shore far below,and thought of Augustine coming to us across that water...and the Angles and Saxons who had arrived earlier in wave after wave, and the British who were there earlier and had been evangelised earlier...and today along this coast new waves of people are arriving...
It was delightful to sit in Pugin's magnificent Grange and relax with wine and talk...and then when I departed, at a late hour, for my hotel, I walked for a moment by the sea, with the waves washing up along the shore far below,and thought of Augustine coming to us across that water...and the Angles and Saxons who had arrived earlier in wave after wave, and the British who were there earlier and had been evangelised earlier...and today along this coast new waves of people are arriving...
A little picture...
Auntie is seen here sewing a kneeler for a church in Kent. This pic was taken when I was sewing my very first kneeler, a couple of years ago. And I have just finished what I think may be the final one...bringing the total up to about a dozen. And on Sunday Sept 13th the church at Pembury in Kent will be celebrating its recent refurbishment, with the opening of its new hall and the unveiling of a plaque, a Bishop celebrating Mass, general jollifications afterwards...
Tuesday, September 01, 2015
A friend in Australia...
...notes that Pope Francis has announced that, because the Jubilee Year of Mercy "excludes no one" Lefebvrist priests can give valid absolution during this Year of Mercy, with the hope that "in the near future" a solution may be found to their situation. So Auntie's comment of a few days' back may turn out to be right...they may be on the way to repentance.
And in the spirit of the Year of Mercy we'll all be gracious.
And in the spirit of the Year of Mercy we'll all be gracious.
Monday, August 31, 2015
To Somerset...
...on a family visit.Terribly crowded train on the way back, because some of the railway staff were on strike, so some trains were cancelled....but although the passengers were packed rather tightly, everyone was in good humour, and the journey as actually rather fun...a tired child was given safe refuge on a stranger's lap, some one shared out bottles of water and packets of shortbread, we all chatted and swapped jokes...the staff were all helpful, there was a good atmosphere. I think it was partly because the train was not too hot, and there was somehow a gently Autumnal end-of-holidays mood. At Reading people even squeezed up a bit to let on even more passengers. At Paddington people helped one another with luggage. Sometimes it really does feel as though we do share a common home in Britain and can cope together.
Coffee...
after Sunday Mass at Precious Blood Church, London Bridge, saw us busy discussing various arrangements for the Ordinariate Festival (see links below). One of the (many) things that I enjoy about the Ordinariate is that the refreshments include real coffee...and before you sneer, just think about it: why have so many Catholic parishes, groups, associations, and schools, come to assume that it should be standard to offer orange/brown powder topped up with hot water to form a nasty brown liquid? Why not big pots of tea and coffee, jugs of milk, and volunteers serving and pouring and handing-round and washing-up? An informal working group tackling refreshments for this year's Ordinariate Festival has organised the transfer across London of the neccessary jugs and equipment to serve decent coffee to 200-300 people at Westminster Cathedral Hall. It can be done. We did it last year and people arrived from across Britain to be greeted by fresh coffee and tea and doughnuts..
The annual FESTIVAL...
...of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham will take place shortly .
Top speaker is Archbishop di Noia from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Saturday September 19th, Westminster Cathedral Hall
Top speaker is Archbishop di Noia from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Saturday September 19th, Westminster Cathedral Hall
Friday, August 28, 2015
A London day...history, heritage, and the happiness of a wedding...
...of the most delightful sort.
It began on the steps of Westminster Cathedral where I met the group of Americans who had asked me to take them on a Catholic History Walk. They were delightful, and we set off for a couple of hours to walk through centuries and centuries. We started w. the Cathedral itself with its joyful recent memories of visits by St John Paul the Great and beloved Papa Benedict, and then off down Ambrosden Avenue and some history of Archbishops from Wiseman and Manning through to Heenan and Hume and so on...and thence along past the Horseferry Road and some history of London's bridges and the revenue from the ferry which went to the Archbishops of Cantrerbury for hundreds aof years.
And so down to Parliament, with a glimpse at the coat-of-arms of the Westminster City Council which shows Our Lady cradling the Christ-child, and down past Abbey Orchard Street and along Great Peter Street...and we finished along by Richard Coeur de Lion and then Big Ben.
The organiser of the group had asked me in a phone call if she could bring me anything from New York and on a sudden whim I siad Ooooh yes, how very kind.,.perhaps some of those lovely chocolates with peanut-butter inside? And she brought packets and packets and I'm enjoying a delicious nibble as I write this...
All the time we were walking, members of the group had taken charge of the big plastic bag containing my Hat and the suitcase containing my Wedding Gift - because immediately the walk ended, I had to dive into a cafe cloakroom and scramble into Best Clothes and hurry to Brompton Oratory, for the marriage of William Jolliffe to Pia Vogler...
It was a lovely traditional wedding, with bridesmaids in floaty apicot chiffon, and the Prince of Denmark's March, and assorted friends-and relations with some squeaking babies and some pretty hats , The bridegroom's father, Lord Hylton, did the Old Testament reading, and the Psalm was a most beautifully sung The Lord's my Shepherd. I love the wedding prayers, with the lovely bit about marriage being the one blessing not destroyed by Original Sin or washed away in the flood... Afterwards, lots of champagne and nice things to eat and old friends to greet and lots of lively chatter and a great sense of joy...
It began on the steps of Westminster Cathedral where I met the group of Americans who had asked me to take them on a Catholic History Walk. They were delightful, and we set off for a couple of hours to walk through centuries and centuries. We started w. the Cathedral itself with its joyful recent memories of visits by St John Paul the Great and beloved Papa Benedict, and then off down Ambrosden Avenue and some history of Archbishops from Wiseman and Manning through to Heenan and Hume and so on...and thence along past the Horseferry Road and some history of London's bridges and the revenue from the ferry which went to the Archbishops of Cantrerbury for hundreds aof years.
And so down to Parliament, with a glimpse at the coat-of-arms of the Westminster City Council which shows Our Lady cradling the Christ-child, and down past Abbey Orchard Street and along Great Peter Street...and we finished along by Richard Coeur de Lion and then Big Ben.
The organiser of the group had asked me in a phone call if she could bring me anything from New York and on a sudden whim I siad Ooooh yes, how very kind.,.perhaps some of those lovely chocolates with peanut-butter inside? And she brought packets and packets and I'm enjoying a delicious nibble as I write this...
All the time we were walking, members of the group had taken charge of the big plastic bag containing my Hat and the suitcase containing my Wedding Gift - because immediately the walk ended, I had to dive into a cafe cloakroom and scramble into Best Clothes and hurry to Brompton Oratory, for the marriage of William Jolliffe to Pia Vogler...
It was a lovely traditional wedding, with bridesmaids in floaty apicot chiffon, and the Prince of Denmark's March, and assorted friends-and relations with some squeaking babies and some pretty hats , The bridegroom's father, Lord Hylton, did the Old Testament reading, and the Psalm was a most beautifully sung The Lord's my Shepherd. I love the wedding prayers, with the lovely bit about marriage being the one blessing not destroyed by Original Sin or washed away in the flood... Afterwards, lots of champagne and nice things to eat and old friends to greet and lots of lively chatter and a great sense of joy...
Thursday, August 27, 2015
An unusual...
...but in its way rather wonderful, week. With a small team of loyal friends - including one who came to London specially and stayed in a b-and-b specifically to help with this project - I've spent all day, every day, into the evening, wrapping and packing and posting books to young people across Britain who gained prizes in the annual Schools Bible Project. Father Peter at the excellent parish here, allowed us to use the large St John Paul Room in the beautiful Parish Centre, and we made ourselves at home, arriving in time for Mass each morning (very well attended, with a substantial congregation) and working with wrapping paper and jiffy-bags and cardboard boxes and sticky tape, with relays of us trundling a suitcase-on-wheels down to the Post Office in the High Street laden with parcels...
We brewed tea and coffee and made lunch in the well-equipped kitchen, talked and laughed and worked hard...it has been a happy week.
We brewed tea and coffee and made lunch in the well-equipped kitchen, talked and laughed and worked hard...it has been a happy week.
Monday, August 24, 2015
Sunday, August 23, 2015
Sunday...
...and a long talkative lunch after Mass...
A sense of things reconnecting after the summer break. The Ladies Ordinariate Group meets again in Oct...speaker (Mon Oct 5th, Precious Blood Church, London Bridge) is one of our members telling of her adventures in walking the Camino to the shrine of St James in Spain...
It was the feast of St Pius X during the week...at Mass that day of course we heard about him...I read up a lot about him a while back when studying the 1900s and events in Europe and the Church in that era...he died deeply saddened - really broken-hearted - shortly after the outbreak of WWI, a war he and others had tried so desperately to avert and which in retrospect seems even more tragic than was envisaged at the time...
He was responsible for a number of good things in the Church, notably inviting children to Holy Communion at a younger age: at the time First Communion had become something normally only approached in mid- or late-teens, and Pope St Pius instead linked reception of this Sacrament with an age at which chidren were able to recognise its truth, and differentiate between Holy Communion and ordinary bread...
It seems rather terrible that his name has been besmirched long years later by association with a breakaway group from the Church headed by Archbishop Lefebvre...although there are insider-rumours that the Lefebvrists - who split a while back, ridding themselves of their more extreme faction - might be ready to repent and return...
A sense of things reconnecting after the summer break. The Ladies Ordinariate Group meets again in Oct...speaker (Mon Oct 5th, Precious Blood Church, London Bridge) is one of our members telling of her adventures in walking the Camino to the shrine of St James in Spain...
It was the feast of St Pius X during the week...at Mass that day of course we heard about him...I read up a lot about him a while back when studying the 1900s and events in Europe and the Church in that era...he died deeply saddened - really broken-hearted - shortly after the outbreak of WWI, a war he and others had tried so desperately to avert and which in retrospect seems even more tragic than was envisaged at the time...
He was responsible for a number of good things in the Church, notably inviting children to Holy Communion at a younger age: at the time First Communion had become something normally only approached in mid- or late-teens, and Pope St Pius instead linked reception of this Sacrament with an age at which chidren were able to recognise its truth, and differentiate between Holy Communion and ordinary bread...
It seems rather terrible that his name has been besmirched long years later by association with a breakaway group from the Church headed by Archbishop Lefebvre...although there are insider-rumours that the Lefebvrists - who split a while back, ridding themselves of their more extreme faction - might be ready to repent and return...
Friday, August 21, 2015
if you want to enjoy...
...my Blackerry Jam, or the Apple Cheese I made from a Somerset recipe last weekend, you will have to come to the
TOWARDS ADVENT
Festival at Westminster Cathedral Hall on sat Nov 28th.
Picking blackberries and making a blackberry-and-apple crumble makes the grace before meals have a real meaning, giving thanks to God for this food "which we receive from Thy bounty..."
TOWARDS ADVENT
Festival at Westminster Cathedral Hall on sat Nov 28th.
Picking blackberries and making a blackberry-and-apple crumble makes the grace before meals have a real meaning, giving thanks to God for this food "which we receive from Thy bounty..."
PLANS...
...for the Blessed Sacrament Procession in London on Sat October 3rd. Starts 1.30pm WESTMINSTER CATHEDRAL, crosses the Thames at Lambeth Bridge, finishes 3.15pm with Benediction at St George's Cathedral, Southwark. ALL WELCOME!!! Just turn up. Bring your family/parish/friends...this Procession started just a few years ago and has grown and grown in size...makes a fine sight as it crosses the river with the Houses of Parliament as a backdrop...
A meeting at St George's Cathedral to make arrangements. This building is one of London's hidden gems. It is Pugin's gothic, 1840s, much older than Westminster Cathedral. Fascinating history - the high altar stands on the spot where the Gordon Riots began. Some fine chantry chapels, a great sweep of gothic glory as you walk up the main aisle. Pugin himself, brilliant but troubled, ended up in the Bethlehem Royal Hospital - Bedlam - which stands opposite and is now the Imperial War Museum.
The cathedral was bombed in WWII and rebuilt afterwards - older people remember attending Mass in the ruins. St John Paul visited it in 1982 - all the pews were taken out and beds installed, and sick people were brought there to receive the Sacrament of Anointing at his hands...a rather fine stained glass window now recalls the scene,
I'll be leading a tour of St George's Cathedral on TUESDAY OCTOBER 6th. Starts after the 12.30pm lunchtime Mass. ALL WELCOME - just come to the Mass and we gather afterwards.
A meeting at St George's Cathedral to make arrangements. This building is one of London's hidden gems. It is Pugin's gothic, 1840s, much older than Westminster Cathedral. Fascinating history - the high altar stands on the spot where the Gordon Riots began. Some fine chantry chapels, a great sweep of gothic glory as you walk up the main aisle. Pugin himself, brilliant but troubled, ended up in the Bethlehem Royal Hospital - Bedlam - which stands opposite and is now the Imperial War Museum.
The cathedral was bombed in WWII and rebuilt afterwards - older people remember attending Mass in the ruins. St John Paul visited it in 1982 - all the pews were taken out and beds installed, and sick people were brought there to receive the Sacrament of Anointing at his hands...a rather fine stained glass window now recalls the scene,
I'll be leading a tour of St George's Cathedral on TUESDAY OCTOBER 6th. Starts after the 12.30pm lunchtime Mass. ALL WELCOME - just come to the Mass and we gather afterwards.
Wednesday, August 19, 2015
Tuesday, August 18, 2015
Monday, August 17, 2015
At the weekend...
A Procession from the Ordinariate Church of the Most Precious Blood through the streets of The Borough, London Bridge, to celebrate Our Lady's arrival in Heaven...the feast of the Assumption. Here we are, just setting off, under the railway arch. We sang "Ave Ave Ave Maria" all along Southwark Street and into the Borough High Street, children scattering flower petals, and a team of us handing out small cards to explain to people what was going on. Things finished with a barbeque in the CrossBones garden opposite the back of the church...
Summer drawing to an end...apples ripening on the trees in suburban gardens, late roses blooming...I've been picking blackberries to make Blackberry Jam and Bramble Cheese, to sell at the Festival at Westminster Cathedral Hall in November...
I've had...
...a reassuring reply from my Member of Parliament, to whom I wrote about the planned change in the law to permit people to assist in the killing of gravely ill friends and relatives.
He plans to vote against the law. Have you written to your MP to be asurred that he or she will do the same?
My letter said, in part:
He plans to vote against the law. Have you written to your MP to be asurred that he or she will do the same?
My letter said, in part:
When some one dies there are all sorts of consequences - including, sometimes, considerable financial advantages for relatives, and the removal of all sorts of inconveniences that have resulted from the person's illness. The reasons for our laws against encouraging people to kill themselves are not only moral (reflecting our Judeo-Christian heritage) but also practical - society needs to protect itself against the nasty side of human nature.
Most of us at some stage will have to care for some one who is gravely ill, or thoroughly miserable, or both. Old age in itself produces much in the way of suffering and discomfort. It is extremely important that we are not encouraged to help such people to kill themselves. Care, love, and a recognition of the inherent value of human beings have hall marked our official and personal attitudes to illness and suffering and Britain will become a very frightening place if this ceases.
Of course all sorts of apparently humanitarian arguments will be presented in favour of the planned change in the law, but I do very much hope that as a responsible Member of Parliament you will take the longer view and vote against this.
Sunday, August 16, 2015
OVER 500....
...people came to NIGHTFEVER at St Patrick's. Soho, last night, welcomed in from the street by young missionaries going out into Soho with glowing lanterns and asking "Would you like to come in and light a candle in the church?" Lovely gentle music wafted out across Soho Square - a team of singers and instrumentalists led by a Franciscan Friar of the Renewal...and the Blessed Sacrament was exposed on the altar, surrounded by banks of glowing candles, while people knelt - in the pews, on the floor, up by the altar-rails - in prayer. Around the back, and in the confessionals, priests heard confessions. And one by one, or in couples or small groups, people came in, lantern-led, to light a tiny votive candle, and sit or kneel for a while...
So many stories, and most of them I can't share. A man weeping - he's got my hankie and I am so glad I had a large clean one to give away. Two girls with sudden glad news about a sick relative and thrilled to be invited in to give thanks. People who wanted to talk a bit, and people who just wanted to drift away afterwards on their own. People who said they could only come in for a brief moment - and stayed for a long time. And then the people who said "No thanks - the Church hates people like us" or "No. I'm too drunk". But some who said "No" came in later anyway...and all who went away were caught up in the prayers of those keeping vigil all the time in the church...
The young volunteers who make NIGHTFEVER happen come from a variety of groups. Some are from Soulfood, some from Youth 2000.Some had been to the New Dawn festival at Walsingham (see my earlier blog posts) and some came from a big prayer group in Birmingham. Some had been at Evangelium in July, and others on the recent John Paul Walk to Walsingham.
I learned from my young team-mate that NIGHTFEVER began in Germany, an initiative following the 2005 World Youth Day with Papa Benedict...so this summer sees its 10th anniversary, and it's evidence of further fruit of Papa B's pontificate.
At the end of the evening, we gathered for Evening Prayer - extraordinarily beautiful and moving in the candlelit church - and Benediction, and then a brief time of reporting back: which was when we learned that the grand total of candles lit was over 500 (517 to be precise), not counting those lit at side-altars and by the pieta etc.
Being part of NIGHTFEVER is an enormous privilege and an unforgettable one.
So many stories, and most of them I can't share. A man weeping - he's got my hankie and I am so glad I had a large clean one to give away. Two girls with sudden glad news about a sick relative and thrilled to be invited in to give thanks. People who wanted to talk a bit, and people who just wanted to drift away afterwards on their own. People who said they could only come in for a brief moment - and stayed for a long time. And then the people who said "No thanks - the Church hates people like us" or "No. I'm too drunk". But some who said "No" came in later anyway...and all who went away were caught up in the prayers of those keeping vigil all the time in the church...
The young volunteers who make NIGHTFEVER happen come from a variety of groups. Some are from Soulfood, some from Youth 2000.Some had been to the New Dawn festival at Walsingham (see my earlier blog posts) and some came from a big prayer group in Birmingham. Some had been at Evangelium in July, and others on the recent John Paul Walk to Walsingham.
I learned from my young team-mate that NIGHTFEVER began in Germany, an initiative following the 2005 World Youth Day with Papa Benedict...so this summer sees its 10th anniversary, and it's evidence of further fruit of Papa B's pontificate.
At the end of the evening, we gathered for Evening Prayer - extraordinarily beautiful and moving in the candlelit church - and Benediction, and then a brief time of reporting back: which was when we learned that the grand total of candles lit was over 500 (517 to be precise), not counting those lit at side-altars and by the pieta etc.
Being part of NIGHTFEVER is an enormous privilege and an unforgettable one.
Thursday, August 13, 2015
COME AND HEAR about the courage...
...of Brigettine nuns who hid a Jewish family in their convent in Rome in WWII.
A talk, based on the book Courage and Conviction, at Friday September 4th, 7pm, at the Brigettine Convent Guest House , Iver Heath.
All welcome - no need to book, just come!
A talk, based on the book Courage and Conviction, at Friday September 4th, 7pm, at the Brigettine Convent Guest House , Iver Heath.
All welcome - no need to book, just come!
Wednesday, August 12, 2015
Monday, August 10, 2015
Heavenly days...
...in Norfolk, walking the pilgrim way to Walsingham. After a wonderful time at the New Dawn gathering, I came briefly home to London, tackled housework and various crucial bits of writing, re-packed, and set off for Bury St Edmunds, to join the John Paul Walk, back to Walsingham!
The Walk is always joyful - this year perhaps especially so....a beautiful Mass for St Dominic's day in a Medieval church, the sight and sound of young pilgrims singing along the country lanes, the glorious splashing across a ford as we approached the Abbey ruins and fine old parish church at Castle Acre...
Sleeping on the floor in schools and church halls, talking and laughing together...the joy of cool water to drink...
And after the days of walking, the welcome at Walsingham, and the enchantment of an evening there, with the cool air and the silence as night fell. I stayed on after the other JP pilgrims had departed, as I needed to do some work with the team from EWTN. Booked into the Pilgrim Bureau for a delicious refreshing wash, then a fish-and-chips supper next door at the pub with the EWTN team...
A night's rest with crisp clean sheets, and a cooked breakfast, and then the bus to Kings Lynn. Norfolk buses have their own odd systems. No apparent bus-stop in Walsingham, you just wait at the village pump...and although a timetable at the Pilgrim Bureau gives information about bus times to Wells or Fakenham, the bus actually goes all the way to Kings Lynn, with the main stop being Hunstanton. Holidaymakers on the bus but also locals greeting the driver: "Morning Joe" "Morning Pauline" "See tall Andy this week?" "No, he's off work till next Monday" and so on. A long but delightful ride through the glorious countryside...one notices the changes of the years....old Methodist chapels now turned into shops or homes, villages and small towns with trendy craft-shops and coffee-shops, some closed pubs (a tragedy!), signs in Polish or Lithuanian advertising delicacies from home.
London warm and sticky, the Tube almost unbearable...
The Walk is always joyful - this year perhaps especially so....a beautiful Mass for St Dominic's day in a Medieval church, the sight and sound of young pilgrims singing along the country lanes, the glorious splashing across a ford as we approached the Abbey ruins and fine old parish church at Castle Acre...
Sleeping on the floor in schools and church halls, talking and laughing together...the joy of cool water to drink...
And after the days of walking, the welcome at Walsingham, and the enchantment of an evening there, with the cool air and the silence as night fell. I stayed on after the other JP pilgrims had departed, as I needed to do some work with the team from EWTN. Booked into the Pilgrim Bureau for a delicious refreshing wash, then a fish-and-chips supper next door at the pub with the EWTN team...
A night's rest with crisp clean sheets, and a cooked breakfast, and then the bus to Kings Lynn. Norfolk buses have their own odd systems. No apparent bus-stop in Walsingham, you just wait at the village pump...and although a timetable at the Pilgrim Bureau gives information about bus times to Wells or Fakenham, the bus actually goes all the way to Kings Lynn, with the main stop being Hunstanton. Holidaymakers on the bus but also locals greeting the driver: "Morning Joe" "Morning Pauline" "See tall Andy this week?" "No, he's off work till next Monday" and so on. A long but delightful ride through the glorious countryside...one notices the changes of the years....old Methodist chapels now turned into shops or homes, villages and small towns with trendy craft-shops and coffee-shops, some closed pubs (a tragedy!), signs in Polish or Lithuanian advertising delicacies from home.
London warm and sticky, the Tube almost unbearable...
Friday, August 07, 2015
NEW DAWN IN THE CHURCH...
...is the name of a vast annual gathering at Walsingham. This year I was invited to take part, doing a workshop on "Celebrating the Church's Feasts and Seasons" and also giving a talk to the whole gathering.
Highlights of these golden days in Walsinghanm were a candlelit vigil of prayer before the Blessed Sacrament in the gardens around the big barn church, and a glorious morning procession (most pilgrims walking barefoot, as is traditional) down to the old Priory for a vast open-air Mass. These were memorable days, in which I found myself remembering dear Pope Benedict's words "The Church is alive, and the Church is young!" There were something like 2,000 people at New Dawn, families camping in the great fields around the shrine, young people gathering for their own activities, everyone joining together for Masses, talks, times of prayer.
Speakers during the week included Bishops, missionaries, leaders of various groups...the big Mass in the great priry ruins was celebrated by Archbishop Kevin McDonald. Walking down the lane in a vast, slow-moving procession, saying the Rosary, with much singing of "Ave Ave Ave Maria " in between the verses, was wonderful - the river gently lapping by alongside, the wide Norfolk sky above us, the sunshine dappling through the trees...
New Dawn continues for a week, but I left on Wednesday, for the rather delightful reason that I was about to take part in another great Walsingham event...the annual John Paul Walk, which starts at Bury St Edmunds! So I took the train home from Kings Lynn, spent one night at home, then packed and organised myself for this great annual Walk, which would return me to Walsingham!
And set off...and I'll be telling you my adventures shortly...
Highlights of these golden days in Walsinghanm were a candlelit vigil of prayer before the Blessed Sacrament in the gardens around the big barn church, and a glorious morning procession (most pilgrims walking barefoot, as is traditional) down to the old Priory for a vast open-air Mass. These were memorable days, in which I found myself remembering dear Pope Benedict's words "The Church is alive, and the Church is young!" There were something like 2,000 people at New Dawn, families camping in the great fields around the shrine, young people gathering for their own activities, everyone joining together for Masses, talks, times of prayer.
Speakers during the week included Bishops, missionaries, leaders of various groups...the big Mass in the great priry ruins was celebrated by Archbishop Kevin McDonald. Walking down the lane in a vast, slow-moving procession, saying the Rosary, with much singing of "Ave Ave Ave Maria " in between the verses, was wonderful - the river gently lapping by alongside, the wide Norfolk sky above us, the sunshine dappling through the trees...
New Dawn continues for a week, but I left on Wednesday, for the rather delightful reason that I was about to take part in another great Walsingham event...the annual John Paul Walk, which starts at Bury St Edmunds! So I took the train home from Kings Lynn, spent one night at home, then packed and organised myself for this great annual Walk, which would return me to Walsingham!
And set off...and I'll be telling you my adventures shortly...
Monday, August 03, 2015
...after a lovely weekend in the Thames Valley...
....train to Paddington, with a group from the Evangelium conference, still talking about St John Paul the Great, and various current evangelistic efforts in Britain, and more...and more...
Vast crowds at Paddington, pouring off the trains and into the Tube etc, so I decided to walk instead. Hyde Park used to be famous for Speakers' Corner, where anyone could stand and excercise the right of free speech....long ago I used to be a regular speaker there, That was back in the 1970s. It's all so different now. It felt strange as an English woman walking across, wearing a casual summer outfit, the evening breeze in my hair...I was an oddity. All around and across the stretches of the lawns were groups and groups of Islamic ladies all havily veiled and in black, drinking tea and chatting, the younger ones all on mobile phones...most were fully masked although a few had their faces showing and wore full islamic dress but with coloured veils or scarves. Children ran about and further over were groups of Islamic men chatting. London, 2015.
Vast crowds at Paddington, pouring off the trains and into the Tube etc, so I decided to walk instead. Hyde Park used to be famous for Speakers' Corner, where anyone could stand and excercise the right of free speech....long ago I used to be a regular speaker there, That was back in the 1970s. It's all so different now. It felt strange as an English woman walking across, wearing a casual summer outfit, the evening breeze in my hair...I was an oddity. All around and across the stretches of the lawns were groups and groups of Islamic ladies all havily veiled and in black, drinking tea and chatting, the younger ones all on mobile phones...most were fully masked although a few had their faces showing and wore full islamic dress but with coloured veils or scarves. Children ran about and further over were groups of Islamic men chatting. London, 2015.
Sunday, August 02, 2015
...and for summer reading...
...here is the latest issue of The Portal magazine, with some verses by Auntie in it...
Archbishop Bernard Longley......
... Archbishop of Birmingham, was a special guest at the Evangelium Conference in the glorious surroundings of the Oratory School, Woodcote, this weekend. There was a big concelebrated Mass in the chapel with beautiful singing, and then he joined us all for lunch...
It was a great pleasure to chat to him - we first met years ago when he was a seminarian, studying at St John's seminary, Wonersh, where a friend took me for lunch. It was Eastertide, and I remember the three of us singing the Regina Caeli, walking in the seminary grounds....
The Evangelium conference was a triumph: among the highlights a splendid lecture by Dr Roger Scruton, and a lively panel discussing apologetics, with Fathers Marcus Holden and Andrew Pinsent, and Sister Hyacinthe DeFos du Rau of the Dominican Sisters.
Being part of all this was a great privilege, and especially to be invited to give the final lecture on St John Paul and the Theology of the Body. This was an attentive and receptive audience, a real joy to engage with them all.
As the weekend finally drew to its close, and lots of thanks-yous were being said, the finale was three hearty cheers for Frs Andrew and Marcus, all done with enormous enthusiasm, the Belloc Theatre reverberating with the noise. Then a joyful thanksgiving Benediction in the school chapel....
It was a great pleasure to chat to him - we first met years ago when he was a seminarian, studying at St John's seminary, Wonersh, where a friend took me for lunch. It was Eastertide, and I remember the three of us singing the Regina Caeli, walking in the seminary grounds....
The Evangelium conference was a triumph: among the highlights a splendid lecture by Dr Roger Scruton, and a lively panel discussing apologetics, with Fathers Marcus Holden and Andrew Pinsent, and Sister Hyacinthe DeFos du Rau of the Dominican Sisters.
Being part of all this was a great privilege, and especially to be invited to give the final lecture on St John Paul and the Theology of the Body. This was an attentive and receptive audience, a real joy to engage with them all.
As the weekend finally drew to its close, and lots of thanks-yous were being said, the finale was three hearty cheers for Frs Andrew and Marcus, all done with enormous enthusiasm, the Belloc Theatre reverberating with the noise. Then a joyful thanksgiving Benediction in the school chapel....
Thursday, July 30, 2015
Off to the EVANGELIUM conference...
...this weekend, It is held annually at The Oratory School, near Reading. I am speaking on St John paul the Great and the Theology of the Body.
Wednesday, July 29, 2015
Scotland...
...and a cheery welcome in Glasgow from the Sisters of the Gospel of Life, doing wonderful work and at the heart of a great team of young people, including seminarians. These young men will be off to the Scots College in Rome later this year: a sign of hope for the Church of tomorrow.
Lively talk over mugs of tea surrounded by stacks and stacks of all sorts of donated goods, clothes, babyware and more, given by Glaswegians who have long made the Sisters' work their own.
Main reason for the whole trip, however, was a meeting of the Editorial Board of FAITH magazine...you will see the results of our efforts when the next edition of the magazine comes out in Sept.
Fabulous, fabulous drive through the Borders, glorious hills, everything fresh and green, a joy after hot sticky London.
This morning, prayer with the Sisters in the chapel of their house in Glsagow, and then Mass in the beautiful Cathedral, a grand start to the day.
Lively talk over mugs of tea surrounded by stacks and stacks of all sorts of donated goods, clothes, babyware and more, given by Glaswegians who have long made the Sisters' work their own.
Main reason for the whole trip, however, was a meeting of the Editorial Board of FAITH magazine...you will see the results of our efforts when the next edition of the magazine comes out in Sept.
Fabulous, fabulous drive through the Borders, glorious hills, everything fresh and green, a joy after hot sticky London.
This morning, prayer with the Sisters in the chapel of their house in Glsagow, and then Mass in the beautiful Cathedral, a grand start to the day.
Tuesday, July 28, 2015
Monday, July 27, 2015
Tennis shoes...
...in immaculate condition, soles barely marred, thick white laces neatly strung through the eyelets. Waiting at the back of the cupboard as I rummaged for suitable footwear for the John Paul II Walk to Walsingham. I tried them on, walked about the house. They were too flat, no rise at all in the heel. Still, perhaps the right thing to do would be to wear them today and walk about a bit in them? Found a comfortable pair of socks, the ones airlines give you on overnight flights. As I left the house I just knew I was one of those little-old-ladies-in-tennis-shoes who attend Catholic events looking fervent...oh dear.
I'd taken along some other shoes, just in case. It didn't take me long to remove the tennis shoes and place them in a useful receptacle designed for things you do not want and cannot use. Put on my comfortable brown leather shoes with good heels and felt much better. Pity about the purple sox.
I'd taken along some other shoes, just in case. It didn't take me long to remove the tennis shoes and place them in a useful receptacle designed for things you do not want and cannot use. Put on my comfortable brown leather shoes with good heels and felt much better. Pity about the purple sox.
Sunday, July 26, 2015
For all who have been asking me...
...about the next series of London Catholic History Walks:
MONDAY September 21st, meet 6.30pm on the steps of Westminster Cathedral (after the 5.30pm Mass). A walk on a Royal theme, taking in St James' Park.
SATURDAY OCTOBER 3rd, the "Two Cathedrals" Blessed Sacrament Procession. Starts 1.30pm WESTMINSTER CATHEDRAL, goes through London, crossing Lambeth Bridge and finishing at St George's Cathedral, Southwark. COME AND WITNESS TO THE FAITH IN LONDON!
Tuesday October 6th, meet 1.00pm - after the 12.30pm Mass - at St George's Cathedral, Southwark. A look around the Cathedral and the surrounding area.
Tuesday October 27th, 5.30pm - NOTE TIME - meet at the Church of the Most Precious Blood, O'Meara Street, London Bridge, for a walk along the Thames.
MONDAY September 21st, meet 6.30pm on the steps of Westminster Cathedral (after the 5.30pm Mass). A walk on a Royal theme, taking in St James' Park.
SATURDAY OCTOBER 3rd, the "Two Cathedrals" Blessed Sacrament Procession. Starts 1.30pm WESTMINSTER CATHEDRAL, goes through London, crossing Lambeth Bridge and finishing at St George's Cathedral, Southwark. COME AND WITNESS TO THE FAITH IN LONDON!
Tuesday October 6th, meet 1.00pm - after the 12.30pm Mass - at St George's Cathedral, Southwark. A look around the Cathedral and the surrounding area.
Tuesday October 27th, 5.30pm - NOTE TIME - meet at the Church of the Most Precious Blood, O'Meara Street, London Bridge, for a walk along the Thames.
Because I love rain...
...I relished our final day with the Dominican Sisters in the New Forest...everything cool and fresh with heavenly views. The chapel is beautiful: built in a medieval style, its strong wide wooden beams held firmly in place with wooden pegs instead of nails, it has full-length clear glass windows that seem to invite all the beauty of the surrounding meadows to be part of our worship too. The sisters will soon need some more choir-stalls as the community is growing steadily. The singing is lovely. The sisters are extraordinarily busy, organising youth events, running catechetical programmes across the Poirtsmouth diocese, and active at every major Catholuc gathering for young people in Britain...but their lives centre around the call of the bell that summons them to prayer.
We were given hearty meals, had long and wonderful talks - and much laughter - with the sisters, enjoyed books, walks, the garden, prayer, and silence. It was a weekend to cherish.
If you want to meet the Sisters, one of the best ways would be to join them - and some 30 or more cheerful pilgrims - on the John Paul II Walk for the New Evangelisation, which takes place in a couple of weeks time. Info from that link I've given.
We were given hearty meals, had long and wonderful talks - and much laughter - with the sisters, enjoyed books, walks, the garden, prayer, and silence. It was a weekend to cherish.
If you want to meet the Sisters, one of the best ways would be to join them - and some 30 or more cheerful pilgrims - on the John Paul II Walk for the New Evangelisation, which takes place in a couple of weeks time. Info from that link I've given.
Saturday, July 25, 2015
At St Dominic's priory...
...in the New Forest. A glorious weekend, joining the sisters for their prayers in the chapel, and also enjoying beautiful walks with New Forest ponies and bracken and splashy puddles and a golden sunset...
At the core of the weekend, a gathering of catechists to train for the "Come Follow Me" programme. An excellent scheme and the Dominican sisters are dynamic and enthusiastic, with an infectious joy.
At the core of the weekend, a gathering of catechists to train for the "Come Follow Me" programme. An excellent scheme and the Dominican sisters are dynamic and enthusiastic, with an infectious joy.
Tuesday, July 21, 2015
Catholic History Walk...
WED July 22nd,, starts 6.30pm (after the 5.30pm Mass) at Westminster Cathedral. Meet on the steps of the Cathedral...we'll be walking to the river, Parliament, and Westminster Abbey. All welcome! Come and join us...
...and a glorious ordination
...at St George's Cathedral, Southwark. This was a massive event with over 500 people present, a joyful day, and a triumph for the John Fisher School, Purley.
Fr James Clark sent me this report:
A further two former students from The John Fisher school were ordained as priests in Saturday 18th July by His Grace Archbishop Peter Smith in St George's Cathedral. Over 500 people were in attendance including many other former Fisher boys and those from the Faith Movement. Mr Daniel Cooper who taught both boys read the 1st reading. This means that three Fisher old boys have been ordained as priests in Southwark this year. "Like London buses, 3 came along after a long wait (of 13 years)."
Fr Mark Higgins (left on pic) has been appointed to St Andrews Thornton Heath, and Fr Matthew O'Gorman (right) has been appointed to St John the Baptist Purley.
Both celebrated their first Masses in The John Fisher School chapel (10am and 12:15) on Sunday 19th July.
As a school we are very proud of all three (inc Fr James Cadman ordained on 31st May) and we ask the Lord of the Harvest to bless us with plenty more!! St John Fisher, ora pro nobis!
Fr James
Sunday, July 19, 2015
Somerset in golden sunshine...
...and a very crowded Mass: a local family had gathered in force with friendsandrelationsfor a baptism. It was alas clear that many of those involved were completely unfamiliar with attending church and didn't know what to do. They sat and talked loudly and the priest had to appeal for silence before Mass, and then explain about what was going to happen. The drama - that really is the right word - of the anointings and baptism did hold their attention, and there were two little girls in my pew who knew the Lord's Prayer and said it very nicely (their mother latest said they sometimes attend the URC church: a lovely family). But the general mood among most of the visitors was one of slightly chatty bafflement, not so much about what was going on but about being there at all. A sense of unfamiliarity with it all, as though candles and stained glass and reverence and Host and Chalice were somehow unconnected with their lives and of no special importance...
There's a great mission field in Britain...
There's a great mission field in Britain...
A lovely message...
...to this blog from Julia in the USA: please can you contact me again, and this time give me an email address to which I can reply? I'd so like to be in touch...I cannot reply unless you give me a full email address: the Comments are specifically structured with a no-reply system...
Saturday, July 18, 2015
A most impressive group...
...of some 40 young men from this Jesuit High School in the USA came to London on a pilgrimage, visiting various Catholic sites, and I was asked to lead them on a Catholic History walk....it turned out to be a wonderful day.
Things began with the whole group arriving for a Mass celebrated by their priests here - the atmosphere reverent, the altar servers will drilled, a beautiful start to the day. Then on to a full programme of walking and exploration...at one point, as we stopped by the river for me to explain the story of London Bridge (Romans, Viking battles, Great Fire 1666 etc etc) I decided to clamber up on the wall of the Embankment so all could hear me - a sudent clambered up too, to grip me carefully, as the river surged below. Some one took a pic - Auntie Joanna enthusiastically telling 1,000 years of history on the banks of the Thames, held carefully in place by Jesuit-trained student strength. And the whole day was like that - the group interested, attentive, fun,delightful to be with. By lunchtime I was ready for refreshment - the excellent lunch to which the two priests treated me, and our great conversation tackling all sorts of issues, was a joy. And then on to Westminster, still following the river - and things finished by Big Ben, and, gloriously, the clock chimed just on cue...
The group was due to go on to Tyburn for Benedictiion. Fr H. made a kind speech and then made the Sign of the Cross and, without being prompted, the young men bowed their heads and together, prayed aloud that glorious Ignatian prayer "Lord, help me to serve you as you deserve..." To stand in the street at Westminster with that great prayer surging up, was something I will remember always. And then they invoked various saints including St Edmund Campion... who defended the Faith with such surpreme courage just yards from where we were standing...
Things began with the whole group arriving for a Mass celebrated by their priests here - the atmosphere reverent, the altar servers will drilled, a beautiful start to the day. Then on to a full programme of walking and exploration...at one point, as we stopped by the river for me to explain the story of London Bridge (Romans, Viking battles, Great Fire 1666 etc etc) I decided to clamber up on the wall of the Embankment so all could hear me - a sudent clambered up too, to grip me carefully, as the river surged below. Some one took a pic - Auntie Joanna enthusiastically telling 1,000 years of history on the banks of the Thames, held carefully in place by Jesuit-trained student strength. And the whole day was like that - the group interested, attentive, fun,delightful to be with. By lunchtime I was ready for refreshment - the excellent lunch to which the two priests treated me, and our great conversation tackling all sorts of issues, was a joy. And then on to Westminster, still following the river - and things finished by Big Ben, and, gloriously, the clock chimed just on cue...
The group was due to go on to Tyburn for Benedictiion. Fr H. made a kind speech and then made the Sign of the Cross and, without being prompted, the young men bowed their heads and together, prayed aloud that glorious Ignatian prayer "Lord, help me to serve you as you deserve..." To stand in the street at Westminster with that great prayer surging up, was something I will remember always. And then they invoked various saints including St Edmund Campion... who defended the Faith with such surpreme courage just yards from where we were standing...
Wednesday, July 15, 2015
...and...
...an end-of-term day of reflection and study on the Faith at St George's College, Southampton, in which I was privileged to have a part. I was invited to speak about the life and message of St John Paul the Great, and it was a joy to open up to a new generation the story of his remarkable life and his superb Christian leadership. Exciting, too - it all brought back memories of being in Poland under martial law in the last days of Communist oppression. It's all so different now: today's Krakow is fashionable shops and busy bars and restaurants, limitless wines and well-stacked supermarket shelves... it's difficult to remember how grey things seemed back then, but also how precious and exciting were the gatherings of friends, the conversations, the barbed jokes about the government, the sense of honesty in a country dominated by official lies but exulting in deep-rooted hopes of freedom.
Teenagers at St G's were small children when JPII went to his reward in 2005 - to them he is history. But - perhaps because of this - they loved hearing about him, about Poland, about his dramatic life story about "Do not be afraid", about his plays and poetry, his skiing and hiking, his rich theology, his stirring call to reject consumerism, to build something better, to live nobly, to live truthfully, to build families for tomorrow, to focus on a new civilisation of love.
We all lived through a glorious adventure with the pontificate of St JP, and his legacy to us is not only rich in teaching - let's hear his voice resonate in the Synod in Rome this Autumn, tackling marriage and family life - but also identified by a call to courage and to faith in the future.
Teenagers at St G's were small children when JPII went to his reward in 2005 - to them he is history. But - perhaps because of this - they loved hearing about him, about Poland, about his dramatic life story about "Do not be afraid", about his plays and poetry, his skiing and hiking, his rich theology, his stirring call to reject consumerism, to build something better, to live nobly, to live truthfully, to build families for tomorrow, to focus on a new civilisation of love.
We all lived through a glorious adventure with the pontificate of St JP, and his legacy to us is not only rich in teaching - let's hear his voice resonate in the Synod in Rome this Autumn, tackling marriage and family life - but also identified by a call to courage and to faith in the future.
Tuesday, July 14, 2015
The summer term is ending...
...at schools across Britain and this means a flurry of prize-presentations and similar activities. I recently gave away prizes for the Children's Handwriting and Artwork Project, won by pupils at the Princess Frederica CofE primary school in Kensal Rise in North London. I'd never heard of Princess Frederica before, and so dived into the internet to find out more...as I had suspected, she was a sort of spare Hanoverian Princess, cousin of Queen Victoria, living in London and Biarritz etc - it is strange to ponder her life, as she didn't die until 1926 and so lived through the collosal changes brought by WWI. How strange to be a German princess, staying regularly at Windsor Castle and at Osborne, helping with Good Works (a Home for Foreign Governesses, and churchy things and schools and colleges and so on and so on...) aboslutely part of the established order of things...and then to find yourself in that summer of 1914 seen as an enemy, an alien, with a dreadful foreign name and title...
The London primary school that bears her name is a cheery place and I was made most welcome...a lovely Morning Assembly, and the children all knew the Lord's Prayer (which was central to the Handwriting Project, for which I was giving out the prizes) and it was lovely to hear the great chorus of their voices as we prayed together...
The London primary school that bears her name is a cheery place and I was made most welcome...a lovely Morning Assembly, and the children all knew the Lord's Prayer (which was central to the Handwriting Project, for which I was giving out the prizes) and it was lovely to hear the great chorus of their voices as we prayed together...
Monday, July 13, 2015
Ireland...
...and a delightful EVANGELIUM conference...
It was in the superb setting of the great St Patrick's Seminary, Maynooth which among much else offers excellent facilities for such events, and speakers included Dr William Newton, Fr John Harris OP from the Irish Dominicans, and a brace of Bogles.
We had Lauds,Vespers and Compline each day in the beautiful St Joseph's Chapel. Of course there was also Mass each day - with glorious music, the chapel filled with young voices.
On Saturday evening a delightful social time with lots of chat and wine and snacks...and then, for a a small group of us, a beautiful late-night tour of the magnificent great College Chapel, and a chance to get a flavour of the College's magnificent history...
Highlight of the weekend, however, was the final address by the Archbishop of Armagh, setting out a timely, thoughtful, and uplifting, vision for the future, with practical wisdom and great honesty. It was exactly what was needed for a young audience at this stage in Ireland's history, and following the events of the recent referendum and all the debate preceding it. This was a memorable and important address...a privilege to be there and to be listening to it. A lot to think about, and a new approach, and a new hope...
It was in the superb setting of the great St Patrick's Seminary, Maynooth which among much else offers excellent facilities for such events, and speakers included Dr William Newton, Fr John Harris OP from the Irish Dominicans, and a brace of Bogles.
We had Lauds,Vespers and Compline each day in the beautiful St Joseph's Chapel. Of course there was also Mass each day - with glorious music, the chapel filled with young voices.
On Saturday evening a delightful social time with lots of chat and wine and snacks...and then, for a a small group of us, a beautiful late-night tour of the magnificent great College Chapel, and a chance to get a flavour of the College's magnificent history...
Highlight of the weekend, however, was the final address by the Archbishop of Armagh, setting out a timely, thoughtful, and uplifting, vision for the future, with practical wisdom and great honesty. It was exactly what was needed for a young audience at this stage in Ireland's history, and following the events of the recent referendum and all the debate preceding it. This was a memorable and important address...a privilege to be there and to be listening to it. A lot to think about, and a new approach, and a new hope...
Wednesday, July 08, 2015
Mild and enjoyable adventures in a London summer...
..with an evening History Walk starting at St Patrick's, Soho...too warm for a long walk, so we gathered outside the church, and pottered along past the St Barnabas House of Prayer with its satisfying roll-pennies-down-the-metal-tube-on-the-railings slot for donations, and thence to St Giles-in-the-Fields and along to Holborn, and the Ship Tavern where Bishop Richard Challoner used to meet Catholics to give them spiritual encouragement and catechetical instruction in penal times. Then to SS Anselm and Cecilia and finally to Lincolns Inn Fields... we lingered there chatting and then as we dispersed one couple invited me to join them for a meal...and so things finished with a delightful dinner, delicious pasta and white wine and much lively talk on books and historyand people and ideas and more...and then as things drew to a close I wrote down their email address on the big paper menu/napkin and we hurried to Waterloo to catch late, late trains home...
And then...oh, horrors...I lost the napkin the next day, before I'd had a chance to write my thank-you email...sitting with some young friends I was asked to demonstrate how shorthand worked, so took the nearest bit of paper from my bag, and started to write on it - and then we left the table, and it got cleared away...oh, Mr and Mrs W., I'm trying to reach you with my thank-you message for a delicious inner and an unforgettably enjoyable evening, and I hope you might be reading this!
And then...oh, horrors...I lost the napkin the next day, before I'd had a chance to write my thank-you email...sitting with some young friends I was asked to demonstrate how shorthand worked, so took the nearest bit of paper from my bag, and started to write on it - and then we left the table, and it got cleared away...oh, Mr and Mrs W., I'm trying to reach you with my thank-you message for a delicious inner and an unforgettably enjoyable evening, and I hope you might be reading this!
Sunday, July 05, 2015
A joyous Sunday celebration...
...marking the patronal name of the Church of the Precious Blood. A sung Mass with Mgr Keith Newton presiding, and we finished with one of my favourite hymns "And can it be/That I should gain/An interest in the Saviour's blood?"
As Mass ended, the two churchwardens came forward to address us all, They announced plans for the full repair and redecoration of the church for the 125th anniversary in 2017. There is quite a lot that needs to be done: new underfloor heating was laid two years ago and the floor now needs to be finished with proper tiling, bleak flourescent lighting needs to be replaced with something better, and the peeling paint on the walls tackled. The sanctuary carpet has to go and a new floor laid...
Funds are being sought, and this will be a project well worthy of support, the full restoration of a fine church in an historic corrner of London...
After Mass,a big parish barbeque - for this, we used the courtyard of the Anglican diocesan offices next to the church, by the kindness of the Cof E authorities. This is a Victorian building that used to be a school, and includes a large covered archway area, ideal for a big social gathering. A massive noise of talk and the servng of food, and children running about, and everyone having a good time...and it was a good vantage-point from which to see the fine architectural merits of Pr.Bl Church and its adjoining Rectory, both Grade 2 Listed buildings, with pleasing windows and brickwork. As the afternoon drew on, some of us sat talking with glasses of wine, reluctant to hurry home...stories of parish life over the years were told, great events remembered...
As Mass ended, the two churchwardens came forward to address us all, They announced plans for the full repair and redecoration of the church for the 125th anniversary in 2017. There is quite a lot that needs to be done: new underfloor heating was laid two years ago and the floor now needs to be finished with proper tiling, bleak flourescent lighting needs to be replaced with something better, and the peeling paint on the walls tackled. The sanctuary carpet has to go and a new floor laid...
Funds are being sought, and this will be a project well worthy of support, the full restoration of a fine church in an historic corrner of London...
After Mass,a big parish barbeque - for this, we used the courtyard of the Anglican diocesan offices next to the church, by the kindness of the Cof E authorities. This is a Victorian building that used to be a school, and includes a large covered archway area, ideal for a big social gathering. A massive noise of talk and the servng of food, and children running about, and everyone having a good time...and it was a good vantage-point from which to see the fine architectural merits of Pr.Bl Church and its adjoining Rectory, both Grade 2 Listed buildings, with pleasing windows and brickwork. As the afternoon drew on, some of us sat talking with glasses of wine, reluctant to hurry home...stories of parish life over the years were told, great events remembered...
...and, in sizzling heat, a Summer Garden Party...
...in the lovely garden of a residence for the elderly, where a beloved resident lives and where I spend a good deal of time. It was a very happy afternoon: protected from the heat by a large airy marquee, we enjoyed Bucks Fizz, and lots of friendly chat, joined by, among others, Bishop Howard Tripp, who I first met when I was a reporter on a newspaper in Richmond and he was parish priest of the big church at Sheen...
We had smokes salmon sandwiches and scones topped with whipped cream and strawberries, and delicious cakes...and during the afternoon a delegation arrived from the Royal Marines ex-servicemens group, to present a special beret to one of the elderly residents, who had served with distinction in WWII. We all gave him three hearty cheers and he wore his beret with pride, and I got talking to the chaps. Some had served in the "forgotten wars" of Malaysia and Aden, and there is sorrow that those of their conmrades who died there are not honoured and remembered each November...that's something that we should surely quietly rectify...
Afterwards, I went on to visit some young friends, whose son is one of my godchildren and is now a tall teenager and extremely nice - he has been helping with creating a new database for a leading Catholic group and everything is now superbly up-to-date....while the garden sizzled in the heat, the children turned a hose and frolicked in the delicious sprinkling water, while the parents and I, joined by a neighbour, sipped cold white wine and talked and laughed and reminisced and discussed local topics...and then as the evening cool descended, I wandered home, and, refreshed, tackled some emails and preparatory work for the week ahead...
We had smokes salmon sandwiches and scones topped with whipped cream and strawberries, and delicious cakes...and during the afternoon a delegation arrived from the Royal Marines ex-servicemens group, to present a special beret to one of the elderly residents, who had served with distinction in WWII. We all gave him three hearty cheers and he wore his beret with pride, and I got talking to the chaps. Some had served in the "forgotten wars" of Malaysia and Aden, and there is sorrow that those of their conmrades who died there are not honoured and remembered each November...that's something that we should surely quietly rectify...
Afterwards, I went on to visit some young friends, whose son is one of my godchildren and is now a tall teenager and extremely nice - he has been helping with creating a new database for a leading Catholic group and everything is now superbly up-to-date....while the garden sizzled in the heat, the children turned a hose and frolicked in the delicious sprinkling water, while the parents and I, joined by a neighbour, sipped cold white wine and talked and laughed and reminisced and discussed local topics...and then as the evening cool descended, I wandered home, and, refreshed, tackled some emails and preparatory work for the week ahead...
Saturday, July 04, 2015
A splendid group...
...of young men, training for the priesthood with the St Martin Community contacted me as they had heard that I led History Walks in London...
We had a wonderful day together, walking along the Thames, and talking over so many things ranging from history through , Britain, Europe, today's Church, the future, challenges, hopes...
They were a terrific group - from France, Germany and Austria, full of fun and with a sense of zest and enthusiasm, but also thoughtful, knowlegeable, and wise in discussing issues of faith, the Church, and mission...
I was sorry to leave them as the afternoon ended, but I had to hurry to Victoria station to catch a train to Eastbourne, where I was due to speak to members of the Eastbourne Ordinariate Mission. This was a delight: Fr Neil Chatfield and his lovely family welcomed me to a family supper, and then we had a most enjoyable evening with the group, planning and discussing a schools venture for 2016...it was an evening of friendship and talk and solidarity and with a happy feeling of plans for the future and good things to do...
It had been a day of searing heat, but with an evening promise of relief - and as the train headed for London the drama of a storm began, which reached a glorious crescendo at Clapham Junction with tremendous sheets of rain and flashes of lightning, an absolute torrent of water hurtling down like a mighty blessing on a parched and hot city...bliss to travel home through this, and to feel a busy week culminating in refreshment and rest.
We had a wonderful day together, walking along the Thames, and talking over so many things ranging from history through , Britain, Europe, today's Church, the future, challenges, hopes...
They were a terrific group - from France, Germany and Austria, full of fun and with a sense of zest and enthusiasm, but also thoughtful, knowlegeable, and wise in discussing issues of faith, the Church, and mission...
I was sorry to leave them as the afternoon ended, but I had to hurry to Victoria station to catch a train to Eastbourne, where I was due to speak to members of the Eastbourne Ordinariate Mission. This was a delight: Fr Neil Chatfield and his lovely family welcomed me to a family supper, and then we had a most enjoyable evening with the group, planning and discussing a schools venture for 2016...it was an evening of friendship and talk and solidarity and with a happy feeling of plans for the future and good things to do...
It had been a day of searing heat, but with an evening promise of relief - and as the train headed for London the drama of a storm began, which reached a glorious crescendo at Clapham Junction with tremendous sheets of rain and flashes of lightning, an absolute torrent of water hurtling down like a mighty blessing on a parched and hot city...bliss to travel home through this, and to feel a busy week culminating in refreshment and rest.
Friday, July 03, 2015
Thursday, July 02, 2015
THAT forthcoming Synod on the Family...
...come and ponder the issues involved...
FAITH Movement evening meeting...this coming Tuesday, July 7th, at 24 Golden Square WI (nearest tube: PICCADILLY CIRCUS), 7.30pm. All welcome. We'll be looking specifically at St John Paul II's teachings on marriage and family.
FAITH Movement evening meeting...this coming Tuesday, July 7th, at 24 Golden Square WI (nearest tube: PICCADILLY CIRCUS), 7.30pm. All welcome. We'll be looking specifically at St John Paul II's teachings on marriage and family.
FREEDOM OF SPEECH...
...and the right speak about great moral truths....a crucial freedom.
The Secretary of State for Education has made some rather frightening comments about views she regards as "extremist". In this category she seems to place the understanding that homosexual acts are wrong. She sounds rather muddled, so we must assume that she doesn't really know what she is saying.
But what is uncomfortably clear is that she has decided that we all ought to hold the opinion that homosexual behaviour is acceptable. That may be her opinion, but it is not one that we are all obliged to share, and in our country we have a tradition of allowing different points of view on such matters.
From time to time, I publish on this Blog the teaching of the Catholic Church on this delicate and important subject.
If there is ever a time when I am banned from doing so - for example by the internet provider blocking this Blog, or by some officialdom attempting to restrict my writings, then I will know that a cherished freedom, for which my country has been justly famous, has been taken from us.
This is the teaching of the Catholic Church, stated in the Catechism of the Catholic Church
The Secretary of State for Education has made some rather frightening comments about views she regards as "extremist". In this category she seems to place the understanding that homosexual acts are wrong. She sounds rather muddled, so we must assume that she doesn't really know what she is saying.
But what is uncomfortably clear is that she has decided that we all ought to hold the opinion that homosexual behaviour is acceptable. That may be her opinion, but it is not one that we are all obliged to share, and in our country we have a tradition of allowing different points of view on such matters.
From time to time, I publish on this Blog the teaching of the Catholic Church on this delicate and important subject.
If there is ever a time when I am banned from doing so - for example by the internet provider blocking this Blog, or by some officialdom attempting to restrict my writings, then I will know that a cherished freedom, for which my country has been justly famous, has been taken from us.
This is the teaching of the Catholic Church, stated in the Catechism of the Catholic Church
1257 Homosexuality refers to relations between men or between women who experience an exclusive or predominant sexual attraction toward persons of the same sex. It has taken a great variety of forms through the centuries and in different cultures. Its psychological genesis remains largely unexplained. Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity,141 tradition has always declared that "homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered."142 They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved.
2358 The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible. This inclination, which is objectively disordered, constitutes for most of them a trial. They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. These persons are called to fulfill God's will in their lives and, if they are Christians, to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord's Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition.
Tuesday, June 30, 2015
Heat and glare...
...beating down on the city streets. I greatly dislike hot weather, and when people say "What a glorious day!" I can only answer "Mmmm. It's hot" or talk about something else as in " Mmmm. I'm just on my way to..." whatever.
The grass turns white and grey. Rooms get stuffy and open windows admit traffic noise and dust rather than cool air. Trains become like ovens. Everyday tasks become less pleasant, but of course still remain to be done. Walking becomes less enjoyable. Small treats like a decision to choose a pleasant route become less possible: the priority has to be on not arriving looking hot and sticky. Heavy luggage becomes a real burden instead of a bearable nuisance.
The rule is to pretend that none of this matters, so I bought some new sandals and walked with a spring in my step. The sandals broke. I've now got another pair. Apart from writing this blog, I am not allowing myself to whinge about the heat and am pretending that it's all hugely delightful. I've got a delicious cool drink and the roses outside the window are lovely if rather tired. The washing has dried quickly on the line. It's nice chatting to neighbours as people are out and about instead of shut indoors. Lots of people all over the world live with searingly hot weather all the time.
The grass turns white and grey. Rooms get stuffy and open windows admit traffic noise and dust rather than cool air. Trains become like ovens. Everyday tasks become less pleasant, but of course still remain to be done. Walking becomes less enjoyable. Small treats like a decision to choose a pleasant route become less possible: the priority has to be on not arriving looking hot and sticky. Heavy luggage becomes a real burden instead of a bearable nuisance.
The rule is to pretend that none of this matters, so I bought some new sandals and walked with a spring in my step. The sandals broke. I've now got another pair. Apart from writing this blog, I am not allowing myself to whinge about the heat and am pretending that it's all hugely delightful. I've got a delicious cool drink and the roses outside the window are lovely if rather tired. The washing has dried quickly on the line. It's nice chatting to neighbours as people are out and about instead of shut indoors. Lots of people all over the world live with searingly hot weather all the time.
Monday, June 29, 2015
In a London heatwave...
...I took a group of Spanish students, led by a young Legionary priest, along the Thames to tell them some of London's history. The river was at low tide revealing sandy beaches, rocks and intriguing bits of old jetty, plus chunks of wood but little if any rubbish or litter, which was pleasing. I told them about Henry VII and the victory at Bosworth, and the betrothal of young Prince Arthur and Catherine of Aragon, and then Arthur's death and Henry VIII.... They more or less knew the story, of course - and ...er...certainly the bit later on about Philip and the Armada...
We finished at the Tower. A much-needed drink - on hot days mine is always a shandy - at the pleasant bar/restaurant up alongsiside Tower Bridge. Then I left them and crossed the by bridge - always a satisfying walk across one of the world's best-known landmarks - and once on the Southwark side I abandoned my original plan of heading straight for Waterloo and decided to tackle some of the history in the hinterland. I know the riverside well - London Bridge and the little house where Catherine of Aragon first stayed on arrival in Britain, and The Globe, and Blackfriars, and the replica Golden Hinde, and more - but on Wednesday I am leading another History Walk around The Borough, so needed to look at the connections with the Marshalsea, and Dickens, and St George the Martyr church, and so on. The area around Southwark Street and Hopton Street is familiar to me as my late father's office - where his father worked before him - was in Hopton Street, overlooking the Thames...it was he who introduced me to this corner of London. A sudden sense of his dear presence and happy memories as I walked in the cool evening...
We finished at the Tower. A much-needed drink - on hot days mine is always a shandy - at the pleasant bar/restaurant up alongsiside Tower Bridge. Then I left them and crossed the by bridge - always a satisfying walk across one of the world's best-known landmarks - and once on the Southwark side I abandoned my original plan of heading straight for Waterloo and decided to tackle some of the history in the hinterland. I know the riverside well - London Bridge and the little house where Catherine of Aragon first stayed on arrival in Britain, and The Globe, and Blackfriars, and the replica Golden Hinde, and more - but on Wednesday I am leading another History Walk around The Borough, so needed to look at the connections with the Marshalsea, and Dickens, and St George the Martyr church, and so on. The area around Southwark Street and Hopton Street is familiar to me as my late father's office - where his father worked before him - was in Hopton Street, overlooking the Thames...it was he who introduced me to this corner of London. A sudden sense of his dear presence and happy memories as I walked in the cool evening...
Sunday, June 28, 2015
Wonderful weekend...
...at Buckfast Abbey, studying with other catechists from parishes around Britain at the School of the Annunciation. Some really good lectures, tackling how to teach the Trinity, emphasising Scripture and the use of the Catechism of the Catholic Church...
A bonus was the glorious sung Mass this morning. There is a really excellent choir, with young singers from across Devon. Afterwards I met several over coffee and snacks in the South Gate lodge, while the Abbey bells poured glorious peals out across the countryside. We were staying at NorthGate...the the Abbey has a good deal of property and attrracts great numbers of visitors, and the accomodation and meals were extremely good. As we sat at lectures in the modern Conference Centre, tourists arrived to enjoy the Abbey grounds, children scampering across the lawns, and people pottering around the various gardens.
Useful conversations with fellow-catechists...discussing First Communion classes, after-school groups, etc. A major issue is that parents often resist the idea of weekly attendance at Mass: they want their child to have a lovely First Communion day (white dress, pics, all the trimmings), and are happy to send them along to classes on a Saturday afternoon or a weekday evening, but Sunday Mass too often clashes with sports or other "can't miss" activities. They will sometimes express resentment at a priest expecting them to make Sunday Mass a priority for the family. On the other hand, if they as parents happen to sit in on a First Communion class, they generally enjoy it and exclaim with pleasure "Oh, I didn't know all that! Oh, it's all so interesting..." and often decide to come again to learn more...
A bonus was the glorious sung Mass this morning. There is a really excellent choir, with young singers from across Devon. Afterwards I met several over coffee and snacks in the South Gate lodge, while the Abbey bells poured glorious peals out across the countryside. We were staying at NorthGate...the the Abbey has a good deal of property and attrracts great numbers of visitors, and the accomodation and meals were extremely good. As we sat at lectures in the modern Conference Centre, tourists arrived to enjoy the Abbey grounds, children scampering across the lawns, and people pottering around the various gardens.
Useful conversations with fellow-catechists...discussing First Communion classes, after-school groups, etc. A major issue is that parents often resist the idea of weekly attendance at Mass: they want their child to have a lovely First Communion day (white dress, pics, all the trimmings), and are happy to send them along to classes on a Saturday afternoon or a weekday evening, but Sunday Mass too often clashes with sports or other "can't miss" activities. They will sometimes express resentment at a priest expecting them to make Sunday Mass a priority for the family. On the other hand, if they as parents happen to sit in on a First Communion class, they generally enjoy it and exclaim with pleasure "Oh, I didn't know all that! Oh, it's all so interesting..." and often decide to come again to learn more...
Friday, June 26, 2015
A warm June evening...
...and the great tower of Buckfast Abbey, with the rounded Devon hills all green beyond, set against a wide blue sky with feathered clouds swept gently across it in the evening sunlight. A delicious fish-pie supper in good company - greeting friends, exchanging news and ideas - and then an excellent first lecture of this weekend Catechetics course, opening wide the mind and heart for good things...
Compline in the Abbey church, and dusk falling as we make our way back across the lawn to our guest house.
Ghastly news from America and a sudden sense of sadness: a great nation failing and falling.
Compline in the Abbey church, and dusk falling as we make our way back across the lawn to our guest house.
Ghastly news from America and a sudden sense of sadness: a great nation failing and falling.
Thursday, June 25, 2015
George Weigel...
...American writer, spoke to The Keys, the Catholic Writers' Guild, yesterday at St Mary Moorfields. Guild meetings start with Mass, then drinks and chat in the crypt, followed by dinner. George Weigel's talk was excellent - rich in history, well argued, faith-filled, stimulating. He makes a good case for the current and coming era in the Church to be that of Evangelical Catholicism, a Church on mission, calling men and women to be disciples of Christ: we are not living in times where anyone can soak up Christianity from the surrounding culture or from a family tradition that does not need to offer explicit teaching. It's a vision of the Church offered by St John Paul and, perhaps even more strongly, by Benedict XVI who spoke so powerfully about the grim "dictatorship of relativism" under which we are already starting to labour...and it chimes with Pope Francis' repeated calls to evangelise, teach, and serve...
Cardinal Manning...
...has been the subject of an excellent exhibition in Westminster Cathedral for the past few weeks, organised by the diocesan archivist Fr Nicholas Schofield. The exhibition is now touring some other churches in the diocese. Manning's brilliance shone at Oxford and people spoke of him as a future Prime Minister: instead he took Orders in the Church of England and dedicated his life to the message of the Gospel with great seriousness. The early death of his young wife increased that seriousness, and when he became a Catholic it was with a deep sense of solmen commitment which is revealed in all the subsequent photographs. As an old man he looks gaunt, and there seem to be no pictures of him smiling...but he was not a grim figure and his trach record of service to the London poor, of establishing schools (over 40 of them), of public duty (a leading figure in the campagn to build decent homes to replace hideous slums) is extraordinary.
I went to Westminster catheral to meet Fr Nicholas and helped to take down the exhibition and pack it away for its next destination. The Cathedral looks particularly impressive at the moment, because this coming weekend marks the feast of St John Southworth, the heroic London priest whose body lies in the Chapel of St George and the English Martyrs. Each year it is brought out to the central aisle and surrounded by candles, and people come to venerate it and to pray. He ministered to the dying poor in the years of the London plague in the 17th century - but it was illegal to be a Catholic priest at that time, and he was arrested and executed.
On Saturday young men will be ordained to the priesthood in the Cathedral, a new generation...
I went to Westminster catheral to meet Fr Nicholas and helped to take down the exhibition and pack it away for its next destination. The Cathedral looks particularly impressive at the moment, because this coming weekend marks the feast of St John Southworth, the heroic London priest whose body lies in the Chapel of St George and the English Martyrs. Each year it is brought out to the central aisle and surrounded by candles, and people come to venerate it and to pray. He ministered to the dying poor in the years of the London plague in the 17th century - but it was illegal to be a Catholic priest at that time, and he was arrested and executed.
On Saturday young men will be ordained to the priesthood in the Cathedral, a new generation...
Wednesday, June 24, 2015
Tuesday, June 23, 2015
London...
...and a very cheery dinner last night with a grand group of pilgrims from this parish in the USA, led by Fr Doug Grandon. They wanted to talk about St Thomas More, the Tudors, the events of Elizabeth I's reign, and then the Ordinariate, news of the church in |Britain today... We dined on fish-and-chips at the Marquess of Anglesey in Covent Garden...it was only as we were leaving that I realised this was a most suitable place at which to be dining at this time of the Waterloo anniversary....
Afterwards, a walk down to the Strand and across the river to...well....Waterloo. The river glittered in the lamplight, and the tide was partly out, revealing stretches of beach....
Today, lunch with a friend at the National Gallery, and then later I walked across St James' Park to Westminster Cathedral, for the sung Mass marking the eve of the Birthday of St John the Baptist. Canon Tuckwell reminded us of the significance of it all: midsummer and the solstice: John the Baptist heralding Christ...
On to dinner in Marylebone to discuss various plans for future Catholic activities. Midsummer in London.
Afterwards, a walk down to the Strand and across the river to...well....Waterloo. The river glittered in the lamplight, and the tide was partly out, revealing stretches of beach....
Today, lunch with a friend at the National Gallery, and then later I walked across St James' Park to Westminster Cathedral, for the sung Mass marking the eve of the Birthday of St John the Baptist. Canon Tuckwell reminded us of the significance of it all: midsummer and the solstice: John the Baptist heralding Christ...
On to dinner in Marylebone to discuss various plans for future Catholic activities. Midsummer in London.
Sunday, June 21, 2015
The Martyrs' Walk...
...takes place each year on the Sunday nearest the feast of SS John Fisher and Thomas More. We start in the churchyard of St Sepulchre-without-Newgate, and walk the route along which Catholic martyrs were dragged in the 16th and 17th centuries to brutal death at Tyburn. We stop at St Etheldreda's, Ely Place, SS Anselm and Cecilia in Holborn, St Giles-in-the-Fields, (CofE, goodwill visit) and St Patrick's Soho. We pray the Rosary and other prayers, and at each church we have a short history-talk.
This year we had a large crowd - but we were well-prepared with microphone and leaflets etc and it all worked well.
St Sepulchre's (CofE) was having a parish lunch...it is a freshly-evangelical parish and they couldn't have been more friendly, offered food, chatted, and we gave them a hearty round of applause by way of thanks and greetings as we started our Walk...
We began with a look at the result of the Battle of Bosworth and the rise to power of the Tudors, then tackle the heroism of More and Fisher, then the years that followed, with the ghastly cruelties of Elizabeth's reign,and the long centuries of unjust laws...There is so much of history and heroism to ponder on this Walk, from the Doleful Vespers - many of the victims were buried at St Etheldreda's - to the noble Richard Challoner at Holborn...
At Tyburn we were uncomfortably squashed in the chapel, although things were eased as some of the pilgrims had finished the Walk at St Patrick's,..we were running late simply because the large numbers made for delays at the various stopping-places. Benediction with glorious singing, and then a splendid Tea with sandwiches and cakes and apparently bottomless teapots offering much-needed refreshment after the long afternoon's walk...
This year we had a large crowd - but we were well-prepared with microphone and leaflets etc and it all worked well.
St Sepulchre's (CofE) was having a parish lunch...it is a freshly-evangelical parish and they couldn't have been more friendly, offered food, chatted, and we gave them a hearty round of applause by way of thanks and greetings as we started our Walk...
We began with a look at the result of the Battle of Bosworth and the rise to power of the Tudors, then tackle the heroism of More and Fisher, then the years that followed, with the ghastly cruelties of Elizabeth's reign,and the long centuries of unjust laws...There is so much of history and heroism to ponder on this Walk, from the Doleful Vespers - many of the victims were buried at St Etheldreda's - to the noble Richard Challoner at Holborn...
At Tyburn we were uncomfortably squashed in the chapel, although things were eased as some of the pilgrims had finished the Walk at St Patrick's,..we were running late simply because the large numbers made for delays at the various stopping-places. Benediction with glorious singing, and then a splendid Tea with sandwiches and cakes and apparently bottomless teapots offering much-needed refreshment after the long afternoon's walk...
...and home...
...There's a lot more to write about Papa BXVI, and our time in Munich...but it won't be on this Blog: watch out for TV and newspaper features in due course...
Home after a happy final evening in Munich, beer in an open-air market with all the team, and then hopping to a pleasant restaurant for a cheery meal, talk and laughter.
And then today, a change of pace...Sunday in London, Mass at Westminster Cathedral, and on to the annual Martyrs' Walk, which starts near the Old Bailey and finishes at Tyburn with Benediction, and a splendid Tea produced by the good Tyburn sisters.
We caught the number 11 bus from Westminster after Mass, and when we arrived at St Paul's, we were just in time to catch a moment of history...the Honourable Artillery Company with a coach and horses, bringing the Waterloo Despatches. All part of the commemoration of the 200th anniversary of this important battle...they have brought the despatches all the way from Belgium, and it was a delight to catch this sight, right in the heart of London and on the final lap of the journey...
History is taught so shockingly badly in Britain's schools today - not the teachers' fault, but the clumsy compulsory National Curriculum plus general ignorance, political-correctness, inertia, etc - and when I give talks on Journalism to young people I explain the crucial neccessity of a reasonable knowledge of modern history. To get them started, I ask "When was the battle of Waterloo?" They usually don't know. I offer some thoughts to get things into some sort of historical time-line: armour and longbows, or tin helmets and tanks? 13th century? 17th? 20th? Blank. They also don't know who won. So we have to work it all through, starting with the date, then the victory and its implications. We tackle Waterloo in context, and look at the sea battle ten years earlier at Traf - al Gahar...and when they work out that this is Trafalgar they usually light up: "Trafalgar Square!" So then we talk about Waterloo Station too, and from there we get to the whole question of the Napoleonic Wars and who won and with what results...What language do people speak in Australia? Why? They like sudden questions that open wide doors of thought, and then following through...
Home after a happy final evening in Munich, beer in an open-air market with all the team, and then hopping to a pleasant restaurant for a cheery meal, talk and laughter.
And then today, a change of pace...Sunday in London, Mass at Westminster Cathedral, and on to the annual Martyrs' Walk, which starts near the Old Bailey and finishes at Tyburn with Benediction, and a splendid Tea produced by the good Tyburn sisters.
We caught the number 11 bus from Westminster after Mass, and when we arrived at St Paul's, we were just in time to catch a moment of history...the Honourable Artillery Company with a coach and horses, bringing the Waterloo Despatches. All part of the commemoration of the 200th anniversary of this important battle...they have brought the despatches all the way from Belgium, and it was a delight to catch this sight, right in the heart of London and on the final lap of the journey...
History is taught so shockingly badly in Britain's schools today - not the teachers' fault, but the clumsy compulsory National Curriculum plus general ignorance, political-correctness, inertia, etc - and when I give talks on Journalism to young people I explain the crucial neccessity of a reasonable knowledge of modern history. To get them started, I ask "When was the battle of Waterloo?" They usually don't know. I offer some thoughts to get things into some sort of historical time-line: armour and longbows, or tin helmets and tanks? 13th century? 17th? 20th? Blank. They also don't know who won. So we have to work it all through, starting with the date, then the victory and its implications. We tackle Waterloo in context, and look at the sea battle ten years earlier at Traf - al Gahar...and when they work out that this is Trafalgar they usually light up: "Trafalgar Square!" So then we talk about Waterloo Station too, and from there we get to the whole question of the Napoleonic Wars and who won and with what results...What language do people speak in Australia? Why? They like sudden questions that open wide doors of thought, and then following through...
Friday, June 19, 2015
When we went to Marktl...
...the little village where Benedict XVI was born, we were the only visitors. The one shop was not open, but provided coffee for us when our kind German guide knocked on the door and got chatting. There is a museum in the house where the future Pope was born, but it was not open. The whole village was silent...just one or two visitors in the church while we were there. However, the townsfolk seem to be quite proud of Benedict XVI: there is an annual festival marking the life of their most famous son , a commemorative column in the village square in the form of a rolled-up scroll with events of BXVI's life, a tourism centre with a film and various displays...you can get your postcards marked with a special stamp, and there is lots of literature included a mapped out "Benediktweg" for cyclists which takes you to all sorts of local places associated with him...
Bavaria is of course extremely beautiful, and we've been enjoying mountains and lakes and glorious barque churches and delicious food, visited Tittmoning where BXVI spent part of his childhood, and Traunstein ditto...
The Bavarian tourist industry, which is thriving, offers beers, sausages, local costumes etc in great abundance. Apparenly when BXVI was first elected there was "Benedict beer" and shops sold BXVI teddy bears and cakes and so on, but there's nothing of that now. However, every church and village and institution with which he has ever been associated marks him with plaques, statues etc.
Bavaria is of course extremely beautiful, and we've been enjoying mountains and lakes and glorious barque churches and delicious food, visited Tittmoning where BXVI spent part of his childhood, and Traunstein ditto...
The Bavarian tourist industry, which is thriving, offers beers, sausages, local costumes etc in great abundance. Apparenly when BXVI was first elected there was "Benedict beer" and shops sold BXVI teddy bears and cakes and so on, but there's nothing of that now. However, every church and village and institution with which he has ever been associated marks him with plaques, statues etc.
Wednesday, June 17, 2015
On the whole...
...I think the Church/taxpayers relationship in Germany is a bad one...of course it does mean that the German Church is able to fund all sorts of projects in poor countries. But it also means that the Church has lavish funds fotr all sorts of offices and staff it doesn't really need...and it looks bloated, too rich, bureaucratic and lacking in energy and zeal...
There are some fine Catholics in Germany, and I'm enjoying meeting them. But they don't much care for the Church/State bond as it has been established by history, and it's probably time for a fresh approach...
There are some fine Catholics in Germany, and I'm enjoying meeting them. But they don't much care for the Church/State bond as it has been established by history, and it's probably time for a fresh approach...
Tuesday, June 16, 2015
On Sunday, June 21st...
...meet at St Sepulchre's churchyard, near the Old Bailey at 1.30pm for a 2pm start ...it's the annual Martyrs' Walk through London. We'll be stopping at the Church of SS Anselm and Cecilia,, at St Giles-in-the-Fields and at St Patrick's, Soho. - where they are holding their annual Bazaar in the Garden Square, in aid of their work for the homeless - and will then go on to Tyburn. At Tyburn we have Benediction, and then the sisters give us a splendid Tea.
All are welcome to join us. We will be praying the Rosary, and will have a short historical talk at some places of interest alonmg the way...
All are welcome to join us. We will be praying the Rosary, and will have a short historical talk at some places of interest alonmg the way...
Monday, June 15, 2015
Munich...
...and Sunday Mass at Heilig Blut church, where the young Fr Ratzinger was once a curate.... Then busy days, working on a project for EWTN in this glorious cathedral and in various parts of the city, and I'm writing this late at night in the hotel after a tasty wurstl supper...
Saturday, June 13, 2015
...and a happy evening at the Church of Our Lady and St Michael...
...in Uxbridge, with parish priest Fr Nicholas Schofield, some lovely Brigettine sisters from Iver Heath, and a wonderful team of friendly parishioners!
This really is a super parish...just had a Bl. Sacrament Procession with the parish school, children strewing flowers etc...the parish hall had a big display of pics of a pilgrimage to Rome...and pics of all the chldren making their First Communion this year...and there was freshly-brewed coffee and a lovely cake, and a wonderful welcome...
Topic for the evening was "Celebrating feasts and seasons" and we had a good time exploring saints and festivities, ending up with a discussion on celebrating the feast-days of our patron saints, and honouring our baptism anniversaries, and more...
And then after a delicious supper, I was driven to Heathrow, where I am writing this, ready for the flight to Munich tomorrow (Sat) to work on a big project about beloved Pope Benedict XVI in Bavaria...
This really is a super parish...just had a Bl. Sacrament Procession with the parish school, children strewing flowers etc...the parish hall had a big display of pics of a pilgrimage to Rome...and pics of all the chldren making their First Communion this year...and there was freshly-brewed coffee and a lovely cake, and a wonderful welcome...
Topic for the evening was "Celebrating feasts and seasons" and we had a good time exploring saints and festivities, ending up with a discussion on celebrating the feast-days of our patron saints, and honouring our baptism anniversaries, and more...
And then after a delicious supper, I was driven to Heathrow, where I am writing this, ready for the flight to Munich tomorrow (Sat) to work on a big project about beloved Pope Benedict XVI in Bavaria...
Wednesday, June 10, 2015
At a recent meeting of the LOGS...
Fr Nicholas' book on Fr Lockhart, which he's holding in this pic, is a good read, and brings alive the events and activities of the Catholic Church in mid-Victorian London.
Incidentally, Fr Lockhart is a distant relative of the Bogles...
St Etheldreda's is a popular church, which served for many years as the Guild Church of The Keys, the Catholic Writers' Guild...a plaque in the crypt commemorates this.
On Friday, I am speaking at Fr Nicholas' parish in Uxbridge, on "Celebrating Feasts and Seasons". All welcome - come and join in!
Tuesday, June 09, 2015
MEN AND WOMEN ARE DIFFERENT AND COMPLEMENTARY...
...and this is central to our dignity as human beings.
And Papa Francis has just emphasised this again...and we must teach this truth, and challenge the ghastly gender ideology which campaigners are trying to impose on us.
Thank God for Papa Francis speaking out...
And Papa Francis has just emphasised this again...and we must teach this truth, and challenge the ghastly gender ideology which campaigners are trying to impose on us.
Thank God for Papa Francis speaking out...
Many good people will be hurt...
...when the Church gives its definitive statement on the alleged visions at Medugorge.
Like so many other Catholic writers, I've met numbers of good people who have had profound experiences of spiritual renewal at Medugorge. And I've been told dozens of times that I "ought to go" and so on, and so on... But I've never had any desire to go there, and have always assumed that the Church would eventually say something along the lines of "This is a place where many good people have prayed and found help, where many good confessions have been heard and much good has been done...but we cannot state that the alleged visions are authentic." The sheer volume and vagueness of the "messages" together with the seemingly unending saga of the thing as it has expanded over decades made it seem unlikely that there were actual, literal, visions of Our Lady involved.
When the decision is announced, it will be horrible to see and hear the gloating of people who have long sneered at "mega-forgery" and who will delight in the discomfort of those who have been pilgrims and who have believed in the alleged visions.
I won't be among those gloating. Most - indeed virtually all - the pilgrims and fans of Medugorge that I have ever met have been good and sincere people whose activities, manner and commitment to the Church have been worthier and humbler than some of those who attack the alleged visions.
The Medugorge enthusiasts are going to need help and spiritual support, and the Church will need unity and goodwill...
Like so many other Catholic writers, I've met numbers of good people who have had profound experiences of spiritual renewal at Medugorge. And I've been told dozens of times that I "ought to go" and so on, and so on... But I've never had any desire to go there, and have always assumed that the Church would eventually say something along the lines of "This is a place where many good people have prayed and found help, where many good confessions have been heard and much good has been done...but we cannot state that the alleged visions are authentic." The sheer volume and vagueness of the "messages" together with the seemingly unending saga of the thing as it has expanded over decades made it seem unlikely that there were actual, literal, visions of Our Lady involved.
When the decision is announced, it will be horrible to see and hear the gloating of people who have long sneered at "mega-forgery" and who will delight in the discomfort of those who have been pilgrims and who have believed in the alleged visions.
I won't be among those gloating. Most - indeed virtually all - the pilgrims and fans of Medugorge that I have ever met have been good and sincere people whose activities, manner and commitment to the Church have been worthier and humbler than some of those who attack the alleged visions.
The Medugorge enthusiasts are going to need help and spiritual support, and the Church will need unity and goodwill...
Monday, June 08, 2015
"When are you next on EWTN?"
...people ask. And I honestly don't know...I don't keep a copy of the current schedule with me all the time...best to look at the EWTN website or contact St Clare Media in UK...
Missed the programme on St John Paul? You can get it on DVD here... or ask St Clare Media...
Want to know more about what it's like working for EWTN/ walking in the footsteps of St John Paul/organising, interviewing, planning such programmes, having odd adventures??? Send a Comment to this Blog (WITH AN EMAIL ADDRESS AT WHICH I CAN CONTACT YOU), and invite me to speak to your parish or school or Catholic organisation...if it's feasible, I'll do it.
and here are some pix...
...of the Corpus Christi Procession in the parish of the Most Precious Blood at The Borough, London Bridge...
CORPUS CHRISTI, and walking...walking...
...starting with a splendid Blessed Sacrament Procession from Precious Blood Church around The Borough, London Bridge. This was led by the Sunday School children carrying bunches of flowers tied up with white ribbons, and the Rector carried the Blessed Sacrament aloft beneath a great canopy, flanked by candles and incense, and followed by a good crowd of parishioners singing hymns...things finished with Benediction in the church and, finally, with the Angelus...
Then I had to hurry to Chelsea, where I had - weeks ago, without realising that the day would mean I was already busy - organised a great History Walk in the footsteps of St Thomas More. It went well, we gathered at this church, and went along the Thames to More's statue and Roper's Orchard and so on...we finished with prayers at the plaque commemorating More on the wall at Allen Hall...
I had just enough time to enjoy twenty minutes with a cold drink and a snack in the Kings Road, then caught the bus to Oxford Street and the great Blessed Sacrament Procession organised from St Patrick's Church, Soho. A packed church, and magnificent singing as all surged out into Soho Square and through the streets. Distribution of Miraculous Medals and small folded Scripture verses as we made our way through the streets, and a final Benediction in the churchyard of St-Giles-in-the-Fields, The vicar and a team of his parishioners always welcome the procession, and kindly give us wine and fruit juice aftewards, and it was good to stand around chatting in the cool evening after a looooong day...
Home late, and swapping stories with J., who had had a similarly walking day, with an afternoon of cricket, and then a dash to London to take part in the Procession led by Cardinal Vincent Nichols from Farm Street Church to St James', Spanish Place...again large crowds, a packed Benediction...
A good day.
Then I had to hurry to Chelsea, where I had - weeks ago, without realising that the day would mean I was already busy - organised a great History Walk in the footsteps of St Thomas More. It went well, we gathered at this church, and went along the Thames to More's statue and Roper's Orchard and so on...we finished with prayers at the plaque commemorating More on the wall at Allen Hall...
I had just enough time to enjoy twenty minutes with a cold drink and a snack in the Kings Road, then caught the bus to Oxford Street and the great Blessed Sacrament Procession organised from St Patrick's Church, Soho. A packed church, and magnificent singing as all surged out into Soho Square and through the streets. Distribution of Miraculous Medals and small folded Scripture verses as we made our way through the streets, and a final Benediction in the churchyard of St-Giles-in-the-Fields, The vicar and a team of his parishioners always welcome the procession, and kindly give us wine and fruit juice aftewards, and it was good to stand around chatting in the cool evening after a looooong day...
Home late, and swapping stories with J., who had had a similarly walking day, with an afternoon of cricket, and then a dash to London to take part in the Procession led by Cardinal Vincent Nichols from Farm Street Church to St James', Spanish Place...again large crowds, a packed Benediction...
A good day.
Saturday, June 06, 2015
Pope Benedict XVI...
...is the subject of the current project on which I am working with co-writer and TV presenter Clare Anderson. We meet alternately in London and the country to work...so Saturday saw us sitting in the sunny garden of the Anderson home deep in the English countryside, with books about Benedict XVI and Bavaria, while birds chirrupted and the family dogs scurried about...
Clare and I have known each other for something like 30 years, working on various projects - when we first met I had just returned with my husband from an Army base in Germany, and Clare with her husband and bunch of small children from some years in America. Over the next years we would meet very occasionally - both busy with family commitments - as we wrote for different magazines and sent feature articles back and forth. It seems funny now to realise how much could be accomplished with typewriters and scribbled corrections - computers have made things so different from the days of re-typing and Tippex and carbon paper and visits to libraries to pay 20p for a photocopy...
After our book on St John Paul the Great was published last year we had a splendid celebration at Warwick St by kind invitation of Mgr and Mrs Keith Newton,, with our wonderful publisher Tom Longford of Gracewing , and with Neville Kyrke-Smith of Aid to the Church in Need who wrote the Foreword, with lots of friends and a lot of talk and laughter and toasts and fun.... Then later, we had a family dinner for just the four of us - the Andersons and the Bogles - and the two husbands, who get on well, discovered to their amusmenent that they are in fact very distant cousins...both have an interest in family history, and a chance remark got them checking over some books and family trees and the link was found...
Clare and I have known each other for something like 30 years, working on various projects - when we first met I had just returned with my husband from an Army base in Germany, and Clare with her husband and bunch of small children from some years in America. Over the next years we would meet very occasionally - both busy with family commitments - as we wrote for different magazines and sent feature articles back and forth. It seems funny now to realise how much could be accomplished with typewriters and scribbled corrections - computers have made things so different from the days of re-typing and Tippex and carbon paper and visits to libraries to pay 20p for a photocopy...
After our book on St John Paul the Great was published last year we had a splendid celebration at Warwick St by kind invitation of Mgr and Mrs Keith Newton,, with our wonderful publisher Tom Longford of Gracewing , and with Neville Kyrke-Smith of Aid to the Church in Need who wrote the Foreword, with lots of friends and a lot of talk and laughter and toasts and fun.... Then later, we had a family dinner for just the four of us - the Andersons and the Bogles - and the two husbands, who get on well, discovered to their amusmenent that they are in fact very distant cousins...both have an interest in family history, and a chance remark got them checking over some books and family trees and the link was found...
Friday, June 05, 2015
The annual CORPUS CHRISTI PROCESSION THROUGH SOHO...
...is this Sunday, starts after the 6pm Mass at St Patrick's. Goes through the streets of Soho, with the Blessed Sacrament carried under a canopy, with singing, incense, prayer...finishes at the churchyard of St Giles-in-the-Fields with Benediction.
We need a good crowd, so if you are reading this and will be in or near London, come and join in!
This is a powerful witness to the Faith in the heart of a vibrant but often sleazy part of London. But it is only really powerful if it has lots of people praying together, so good numbers are needed.
People in the streets and restaurants stare, a few cross themselves, most accept the small medals they are given, Outdoor Benediction in the ancient churchyard at St Giles on a summer evening is an unforgettable experience...there has been Christian worship on that site for over a thousand years...
Come and join in!
More info here...
We need a good crowd, so if you are reading this and will be in or near London, come and join in!
This is a powerful witness to the Faith in the heart of a vibrant but often sleazy part of London. But it is only really powerful if it has lots of people praying together, so good numbers are needed.
People in the streets and restaurants stare, a few cross themselves, most accept the small medals they are given, Outdoor Benediction in the ancient churchyard at St Giles on a summer evening is an unforgettable experience...there has been Christian worship on that site for over a thousand years...
Come and join in!
More info here...
Wednesday, June 03, 2015
Anyone in London...
is invited to take part in this event with theatre, music, prayer, and a sense of community coming alive...find out more here...
Cardinal George Pell...
... one of the very best: a good man, a fine priest, a great Australian. Currently being subjected to a vile attack, and deserves our full support.
Read here..
Read here..
Interested in St Thomas More?
Then come and join us on the HISTORY WALK this Sunday (June 7th). Meet 2.30pm at the Church of Our Most Holy Redeemer in Cheyne Row, Chelsea.
Monday, June 01, 2015
Auntie and prison...
...read about the work of the Church in prisons in the latest issue of The Portal. Here...
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