Friday, May 15, 2015
ASCENSION DAY...
...PLEASE PLEASE
Dear Bishops
Please may we have Ascension Day back to its proper day??
I don't want - or need - to be told that I can go to an Extraordinary Form Mass or Byzantine Rite or something. WE NEED TO HAVE OUR ORDINARY CALENDAR BACK. We need to have the feast days on their proper days. We want our feast days! We want our Sundays!
ASCENSION DAY IS A MOST IMPORTANT FEAST DAY...and it just doesn't work to move it to the nearest Sunday.
Today, I went to a midday Mass at a London church. It was well attended. This was partly because several people there thought they were celebrating Ascension day. All were regular Massgoers. All were conscious that some feast days had been moved. BUT THEY ALL ASSUMED THAT ASCENSION DAY WAS...ASCENSION DAY!!! So they came to Mass.
In the evening J. and I had an invitation to the Ascension day service at the Guild Church of St Margaret Pattens, with the Worshipful Company of Pattenmakers. The Worshipful Company marks Ascension Day each year with this special service - members wearing robes etc.
Pattens are those high blocks that for many years women wore beneath their shoes when walking in the sloppy mud - especially on the banks of the Thames. As I hurried across London Bridge in driving rain to the City, up Pudding Lane and along Eastcheap, I was walking where thousands and thousands and thousands of Londoners have gone before me...many of them, along ago, wearing pattens...
Today the Worshipful Company keeps up the footwear link by providing, among other things, orthopedic shoes for soldiers injured in battle, and scholarshps for young people engaged in the shoe trade....
It was beautiful to be welcomed into the warm church and to sing glorious old hymns and be inspired by a superb choir. Afterwards, a drinks reception in the City Library by the Guildhall, with a feast of history: letters, seals, photographs, telling the story of the public meetings and Parliamentary debates and massive work that led to the Penny Post and a proper postal service, with lots of original letters from Sir Rowland Hill, and splendid proclamations to postmasters couched in forthright Victorian language.
It is a very satisfying thing to celebrate a feast day in style. It lends itself to all sorts of traditions, celebrations, and trimmings. If the Church of England can do it, why can't Catholics?
Wednesday, May 13, 2015
The election, the new government, the things that matter...
...you might be interested in this overview...
Cardinal Vincent Nichols...
...had just finished celebrating Mass at westminster Cathedral when I arrived to meet my fellow History Walkers on the steps. He greeted me very cheerily and wished us a good walk, adding that he hoped I wouldn't make everyone go too fast...a weeks back I bumped into him when I was hurrying across the piazza. It's true that I do walk v.v. quickly - more than once I've had Walkers begging me to slow down a bit...but I always feel so keen to show everything that is along the route, as London as so much fabulous history!
It was a beautiful May evening, and our Walk took us into St James Park, and on down to Horseguards. The Houses of Parliament were bathed in a sunset glow and then slowly the darkness fell and the lamps came on.
So much of London is ugly now: the revolting "walkie talkie" in the City, the blank, faceless soaring Shard, the horrible concrete and glass slabs destroying any possibilty of a pleasant walk down Victoria Street (always a dull road, and available for some imaginative changes, but no...)
But things move and change...one day the vile ugly buildings will come down, to be replaced by something different again. London once had slums where cholera festered, and a public executiuon site where people crowded to view the hangman and his butcher assistants. And those things seemed normal at the time.
More Walks planned...meet Sunday June 7th, 2.30pm at Holy Redeemer Church, Chelsea, for a walk in the footsteps of St Thomas More....Sunday June 21st for the big Martyrs Walk starting 1.30pm Stepulchre's churchyard, near the OLD BAILEY...Monday July 6th, meet 6pm (after Evening Prayer) at St Patrick's, Soho....
It was a beautiful May evening, and our Walk took us into St James Park, and on down to Horseguards. The Houses of Parliament were bathed in a sunset glow and then slowly the darkness fell and the lamps came on.
So much of London is ugly now: the revolting "walkie talkie" in the City, the blank, faceless soaring Shard, the horrible concrete and glass slabs destroying any possibilty of a pleasant walk down Victoria Street (always a dull road, and available for some imaginative changes, but no...)
But things move and change...one day the vile ugly buildings will come down, to be replaced by something different again. London once had slums where cholera festered, and a public executiuon site where people crowded to view the hangman and his butcher assistants. And those things seemed normal at the time.
More Walks planned...meet Sunday June 7th, 2.30pm at Holy Redeemer Church, Chelsea, for a walk in the footsteps of St Thomas More....Sunday June 21st for the big Martyrs Walk starting 1.30pm Stepulchre's churchyard, near the OLD BAILEY...Monday July 6th, meet 6pm (after Evening Prayer) at St Patrick's, Soho....
ON A TOPIC OF SOME IMPORTANCE...
...the Catholic Union is organising an evening lecture and discussion. All are welcome - especially parents, teachers, and clergy. Schools governors and local councillors should come along too.
Teaching Sexuality Following the Mind of the Church:
a lecture by Louise Kirk
a lecture by
Louise Kirk
on Thursday, 18th June, 2015 at 6.30 pm
at Trafalgar Hall, Notre Dame University
1 Suffolk Street, London SW1Y 4HG
more info here....
Tuesday, May 12, 2015
CALLED TO BE...
HOLY.
Under this title, there is a Novena of Prayer, starting on Friday (May 15th) to Saturday May 23rd, organised by the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, and focusing on some of the great Eng;lish spiritual writings.
A booklet has been produced. It's a feast: The Cloud of the Unknowing..., The DREAM OF THE ROOD...some lovely pieces by Bl John Henry Newman and by Julian of Norwich...Thomas Ken...Lancelot Andrews...
Some of my readers are not Catholics, or even practising Christians. But you will still love this booklet, because it has some of the most beautiful Eng;lish writing. Enjoy it: you can get a copy of the booklet by contacting the Ordinariate (24 Golden Square London W1F 9JR tel 020 7 440 5750 ), collecting a copy from the stack at Precious Blood Church (O'Meara St, London SEI - nearest tube The Borough or London Bridge). Or by contacting the Called to Be Holy website...
Under this title, there is a Novena of Prayer, starting on Friday (May 15th) to Saturday May 23rd, organised by the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, and focusing on some of the great Eng;lish spiritual writings.
A booklet has been produced. It's a feast: The Cloud of the Unknowing..., The DREAM OF THE ROOD...some lovely pieces by Bl John Henry Newman and by Julian of Norwich...Thomas Ken...Lancelot Andrews...
Some of my readers are not Catholics, or even practising Christians. But you will still love this booklet, because it has some of the most beautiful Eng;lish writing. Enjoy it: you can get a copy of the booklet by contacting the Ordinariate (24 Golden Square London W1F 9JR tel 020 7 440 5750 ), collecting a copy from the stack at Precious Blood Church (O'Meara St, London SEI - nearest tube The Borough or London Bridge). Or by contacting the Called to Be Holy website...
Monday, May 11, 2015
An important issue....
..for our times.
One of the main things that people know about the Catholic Church - in fact for lots of people it is virtually the only thing they know about the Church - is that the Church opposes abortion, contraception, and same-sex unions. It is good that people know this. But they need to know more.
It is routine in many Catholic schools for a speaker to come in to talk about why abortion is wrong, but it seems more rare to have in a guest speaker to tackle Confession, daily prayer, Sunday Mass... or some aspect of Church history, or the glories of Christian achievements in art, medicine, science, architecture, exploration...or the Church's teaching on marriage, or the priesthood, or what Baptism is all about, or why we anoint the sick...
Church history, in particular, is important. I have met Catholic students who have received very little information on, for example, the Crusades, Church/State relations, or the Medieval Church. In general, they get - via the media and everyday culture, from folklore and from pub-gossip - what might be called the "Wolf Hall" version on such things.
Result: many young Catholics find that they know a lot about the Church being opposed to abortion - and they are glad to support the Church on this. But they don't quite know how to go on from there. They don't know how to share the message of repentance, forgiveness, and mercy.They havn't had a deep formation in the Christian faith that makes it possible to teach these things, and are left rather stranded when their Church is accused of being pitiless and negative. They know they should be able to offer a message of Christian hope and mercy, but lack the specifics.
A "Wolf Hall" version of how the Church operates, plus inadequate formation in the nature of Christ and the sacraments makes for a lethal mix.
Pope Francis' announcement about the Jubilee Year of Mercy is thus of crucial importance: will pro-life groups take this up and start promoting it? It could be one of the most important things to happen in the struggles to promote an authentic culture of life: a breakthrough with lasting consequences. Over to the pro-life groups.
One of the main things that people know about the Catholic Church - in fact for lots of people it is virtually the only thing they know about the Church - is that the Church opposes abortion, contraception, and same-sex unions. It is good that people know this. But they need to know more.
It is routine in many Catholic schools for a speaker to come in to talk about why abortion is wrong, but it seems more rare to have in a guest speaker to tackle Confession, daily prayer, Sunday Mass... or some aspect of Church history, or the glories of Christian achievements in art, medicine, science, architecture, exploration...or the Church's teaching on marriage, or the priesthood, or what Baptism is all about, or why we anoint the sick...
Church history, in particular, is important. I have met Catholic students who have received very little information on, for example, the Crusades, Church/State relations, or the Medieval Church. In general, they get - via the media and everyday culture, from folklore and from pub-gossip - what might be called the "Wolf Hall" version on such things.
Result: many young Catholics find that they know a lot about the Church being opposed to abortion - and they are glad to support the Church on this. But they don't quite know how to go on from there. They don't know how to share the message of repentance, forgiveness, and mercy.They havn't had a deep formation in the Christian faith that makes it possible to teach these things, and are left rather stranded when their Church is accused of being pitiless and negative. They know they should be able to offer a message of Christian hope and mercy, but lack the specifics.
A "Wolf Hall" version of how the Church operates, plus inadequate formation in the nature of Christ and the sacraments makes for a lethal mix.
Pope Francis' announcement about the Jubilee Year of Mercy is thus of crucial importance: will pro-life groups take this up and start promoting it? It could be one of the most important things to happen in the struggles to promote an authentic culture of life: a breakthrough with lasting consequences. Over to the pro-life groups.
post-election thoughts...
...including a look at the hideous display of screeching anger by spoilt youngsters waving banners with filthy words on them, in a demonstration organised by an extreme-left group in Westminster the other day. They belong to the "deserving rich" who like to shriek with socialist placards and express hatred for the country that has given them a comfortable home throughout their lives. And if you don't believe me about the posh middle-classness of it all, take a look: scroll down to the young ladies with the banner with the F-word...
Some in the crowd defaced a memorial to women who served in WW2...I suppose they weren't able (DG!) to get to the Cenotaph itself.
Perhaps we may charitably assume that others - including those who got their pix in the newspapers - felt that such a defacement was wrong, and would like to say so. We are waiting.
Some in the crowd defaced a memorial to women who served in WW2...I suppose they weren't able (DG!) to get to the Cenotaph itself.
Perhaps we may charitably assume that others - including those who got their pix in the newspapers - felt that such a defacement was wrong, and would like to say so. We are waiting.
Saturday, May 09, 2015
CARDINAL GEORGE PELL...
...Australia's great Archbishop, now heading up an important office in Rome, spoke powerfully and movingly at a significant gathering ithis week.
Read about it here...
and he has reaffirmed the message that the Synod this Autumn won't change the Church's teaching on marriage and family...
Read about it here...
and he has reaffirmed the message that the Synod this Autumn won't change the Church's teaching on marriage and family...
David Cameron...
..once spoke to a Pope about the “new culture of social responsibility that we want to build in Britain”.
“People of faith are great architects of that culture,” he said. “For many faith is a spur to action… Faith is part of the fabric of our country: it always has been and it always will be.”
As Cameron now returns to his responsibilties as Prime Minister,we must ensure that he keeps true to that, and to his shared belief with the Pope that “faith is not a problem for legislators to solve but rather a vital part of our national conversation”.
As it happens, events from seven decades earlier meant that his first public act after accepting office from HM and reeturning to Downing Street to announce the fact, was to take part in a public televised Christian service.
The Scriptures remind us to pray for all who hold public office, so let's do so.
Friday, May 08, 2015
The VE Day anniversary...
..and Auntie's analysis as one grateful for a freedom dearly bought...read here
Thursday, May 07, 2015
MAY PRAYERS...
at this university. We gathered at the Chapel-in-the-Woods in pale May sunshine, students and staff, young voices singing " Virgin Mary, by God's decree... Ave, Ave, Maria..." . The chapel (18th century) is tiny, and we gathered outside by its open door, the candelit interior sending out a welcome. Prayers for those facing exams and dissertations, for the whole University community, for our country on this Election day, for the repose of former students who died in the two World Wars (VE Day anniversary tomorrow)...The students had brought lanterns to light the little old chapel - the big candle-lanterns that are used for NightFever, and glowing votive candles in blue glass, honouring Mary. Afterwards, freshly-brewed coffee and cake and lots of lively chat...a lovely May morning celebration celebrating a special heritage.
Wednesday, May 06, 2015
A booklet arrives...
...in the post from the Catholic Truth Society. It's Everyday Evangelising with Pope Francis and is rather good. It offers a thoughtful and practical approach the the whole idea of spreading the Gospel, emphasising prayer and deeds of kindness. It quotes Pope Benedict "We impose nothing, yet we propose ceaselessly...And everyone, in the end, asks this of us, even those who seem not to. From personal ands communual experience, we know well that it is Jesus whom everyone awaits."
The booklet is readable and attractive, with a powerful message. Recommended.
The booklet is readable and attractive, with a powerful message. Recommended.
Tuesday, May 05, 2015
Ooooh, the Pope's gonna say...
...except that he isn't going to say what people seem to think he's going to say...
Read here for some common sense on the forthcoming "green" encyclical.
Papa Benedict was the "green Pope" and it seems likely that papa Francis will follow the same approach...
Read here for some common sense on the forthcoming "green" encyclical.
Papa Benedict was the "green Pope" and it seems likely that papa Francis will follow the same approach...
and...
...the NEXT CATHOLIC HISTORY WALK
is on
Monday May 11th, starting at 6.30pm on the steps of Westminster Cathedral, after the 5.30pm Mass. All welcome.
is on
Monday May 11th, starting at 6.30pm on the steps of Westminster Cathedral, after the 5.30pm Mass. All welcome.
Monday, May 04, 2015
The Brigettine sisters...
...at Maryvale in Birmingham invited me to the Silver Jubilee of Mother Giacomina. It was a real delight to be at Maryvale again - I have not been through those gates since I gained my degree a couple of years ago, receiving it in due course from Archbishop Bernard Longley in St Chad's Cathedral.
In all the years I studied at Maryvale, praying the daily Offices and attending Mass in that lovely chapel, I never went into the gallery. So today was a first - I was ushered up there because I arrived a bit late, and the rest of the chapel was packed full. So was the gallery, but a space was made for me, and as I joined in the Mass I felt the years slipping away and remembered the many Maryvale days that began with Mass here...and then a breakfast (you had to "tick for an egg" on the notice-board) followed by a morning of lectures...During the Mass Mother C. renewed her vows in a strong clear voice, a moving moment. She had several members of her family with her from India - the ladies in the most beautiful saris.
And then there was a delicious buffet lunch and the pleasure of meeting many friends...
An odd link with my very first visit to Maryvale, back in 2008: I had forgotten my spectacles and that first weekend of lectures and introductions and discovering the layout of the place etc proved a bit more of a challenge than I had planned. On this visit, some half-dozen years later, my spectacles snapped in half as I made a grab for them while sharing a hymn-sheet. So again, I was operating under slight difficulties all day...
Oh, but it was a happy day and a joy to be with the Brigettine sisters. It was through meeting them at Maryvale that I came to write the book which was in due course presented to the Pope and which tells of the heroic Mother Riccarda Hambrough and her care for Jews in Rome in WWII...
In all the years I studied at Maryvale, praying the daily Offices and attending Mass in that lovely chapel, I never went into the gallery. So today was a first - I was ushered up there because I arrived a bit late, and the rest of the chapel was packed full. So was the gallery, but a space was made for me, and as I joined in the Mass I felt the years slipping away and remembered the many Maryvale days that began with Mass here...and then a breakfast (you had to "tick for an egg" on the notice-board) followed by a morning of lectures...During the Mass Mother C. renewed her vows in a strong clear voice, a moving moment. She had several members of her family with her from India - the ladies in the most beautiful saris.
And then there was a delicious buffet lunch and the pleasure of meeting many friends...
An odd link with my very first visit to Maryvale, back in 2008: I had forgotten my spectacles and that first weekend of lectures and introductions and discovering the layout of the place etc proved a bit more of a challenge than I had planned. On this visit, some half-dozen years later, my spectacles snapped in half as I made a grab for them while sharing a hymn-sheet. So again, I was operating under slight difficulties all day...
Oh, but it was a happy day and a joy to be with the Brigettine sisters. It was through meeting them at Maryvale that I came to write the book which was in due course presented to the Pope and which tells of the heroic Mother Riccarda Hambrough and her care for Jews in Rome in WWII...
Sunday, May 03, 2015
London ...
...with helicopters clattering overhead (lots of crowds,media activity around Kensington Palace because of the Royal baby) our Catholic History Walk through Chelsea in bright sunshine culminated in a warm welcome at Allen Hall for a Tea (excellent walnut cake!), tours led by the students, and a most beautiful Vespers and Benediction.
Allen Hall is the diocesan seminary for Westminster and is named for Cardinal William Allen who founded it in Douai in the years when the Catholic faith was banned in England. It is now operating at full capacity, and has also recently had some refurbishment . The library looks beautiful, with some graceful ceiling detail showing mulberry leaves - a reference to the famous mulberry tree in the garden, where St Thomas More is said to have relaxed with his family. The Chapel now has some proper heating - badly needed because of its height - and is about to get a new reredos. Vespers, with the strong young male voices singing the psalms was moving. There is a sense of confidence in the future here, inspired by the courage of the past...
The morning showed a different but also encouraging aspect of Catholic life in London, with the annual May Procession through the streets of The Borough, London Bridge, organised by the Church of the Most Precious Blood.. Four men carried the big statue of Our Lady aloft on its special platform, all decorated with flowers and ribbons, and in front of them walked the children of the parish, scattering flowers from ribboned boxes. The congregation surged behind, and people on buses along Southwark Street took pictures on their mobile phones, and a long line of people queuing at a popular restaurant gawped in silence. All very traditional: we sang "Ave, Ave..." with the front part of the procession singing one verse while the end had started on another, and people in the middle got muddled and struck out with a verse of their own...
A good day.
Allen Hall is the diocesan seminary for Westminster and is named for Cardinal William Allen who founded it in Douai in the years when the Catholic faith was banned in England. It is now operating at full capacity, and has also recently had some refurbishment . The library looks beautiful, with some graceful ceiling detail showing mulberry leaves - a reference to the famous mulberry tree in the garden, where St Thomas More is said to have relaxed with his family. The Chapel now has some proper heating - badly needed because of its height - and is about to get a new reredos. Vespers, with the strong young male voices singing the psalms was moving. There is a sense of confidence in the future here, inspired by the courage of the past...
The morning showed a different but also encouraging aspect of Catholic life in London, with the annual May Procession through the streets of The Borough, London Bridge, organised by the Church of the Most Precious Blood.. Four men carried the big statue of Our Lady aloft on its special platform, all decorated with flowers and ribbons, and in front of them walked the children of the parish, scattering flowers from ribboned boxes. The congregation surged behind, and people on buses along Southwark Street took pictures on their mobile phones, and a long line of people queuing at a popular restaurant gawped in silence. All very traditional: we sang "Ave, Ave..." with the front part of the procession singing one verse while the end had started on another, and people in the middle got muddled and struck out with a verse of their own...
A good day.
Friday, May 01, 2015
You can read the latest issue...
...of The Portal, the magazine of the Ordinariate of O.L. of Walsingham, here.
A Saxon princess and a day in Kent...
...at Minster Abbey., named for St Mildred and originally founded in the wake of St Augustine's arrival...
A fabulous, quiet day there. I went with D., who is secretary of the Catholic Writers' Guild, and on the evening before she gave an excellent dinner party at her London flat, lots of laughter and lively talk over a delicious meal. The next morning we were up early, to get to Minster in time for the morning office at 8.30am (the nuns get up even earlier and sing while all is still dark and the birds are just beginning to wake up...but we had to drive from London...).
Minster is glorious - the nuns singing, the familiar words of the psalms going back and forth, bluebells in the garden, lots of books to enjoy in a comfortable guest-house. There is a sort of farm-ish area they call Parkminster where there are ducks and a big barn they use for welcoming large groups of visitors, pilgrims, and groups studying crafts etc. The village has a couple of good pubs and we lunched there...
We agreed to be silent during the day, except for lunch, attended the nuns' Offices, enjoyed the grounds, read, wrote, sewed, rested. The final Office,Compline, was sung in Latin and followed by a time of silent adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. The chapel is very simple and attractive, the altar centred on a big chunk of glossy wood, the big windows beyond the altar clear glass giving views of the glorious trees and wide Kent sky. We drove back through a dusk still glowing with the remains of a pink sunset.
A fabulous, quiet day there. I went with D., who is secretary of the Catholic Writers' Guild, and on the evening before she gave an excellent dinner party at her London flat, lots of laughter and lively talk over a delicious meal. The next morning we were up early, to get to Minster in time for the morning office at 8.30am (the nuns get up even earlier and sing while all is still dark and the birds are just beginning to wake up...but we had to drive from London...).
Minster is glorious - the nuns singing, the familiar words of the psalms going back and forth, bluebells in the garden, lots of books to enjoy in a comfortable guest-house. There is a sort of farm-ish area they call Parkminster where there are ducks and a big barn they use for welcoming large groups of visitors, pilgrims, and groups studying crafts etc. The village has a couple of good pubs and we lunched there...
We agreed to be silent during the day, except for lunch, attended the nuns' Offices, enjoyed the grounds, read, wrote, sewed, rested. The final Office,Compline, was sung in Latin and followed by a time of silent adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. The chapel is very simple and attractive, the altar centred on a big chunk of glossy wood, the big windows beyond the altar clear glass giving views of the glorious trees and wide Kent sky. We drove back through a dusk still glowing with the remains of a pink sunset.
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