...and an evangelical approach to the Faith. Lots of good material in Maryvale studies (in addition to academic work, I decided to take a course in Evangelisation, and am loving it). The Second Vatican Council emphasised the importance of every baptised Christian being a missionary, bringing the message of Christ to the world.
For years, I heard a sort of general message that "before Vatican II everything was going well - we didn't need this Council", and in a way I sort of accepted this without thinking about it very much. I took the attitude that, well, the Council happened and we had somehow to make the best of it. But I also knew that this was a lazy approach and that the reality was all rather different. When I actually studied the documents and also related them to my own experiences of being an active Catholic, I realised how crucial and valuable it all was and is.
And now, here I am, celebrating the 50th anniversary of that Council and seeing the hugeness of it . And the Catechism, the 20th anniversary of which we mark this year: our family copy, much used, is on the ledge beside me as I write this.
Sunday, November 04, 2012
Islam, and evangelisation...
...and Maryvale.
Arriving at Birmingham, en route to Maryvale, the first priority is always to buy a packet of those useful coffee-filter-in-a-cup things, which allow you to brew some REAL coffee by simply pouring the hot water through the filter. Everything about Maryvale is splendid, except the coffee.
Armed with sufficient supplies - it looks mean just to pour a cup for oneself, so there always has to be enough to share around a bit - I then headed for the bus-stop, but the crowds were so huge that I gave up and got a taxi. Another part of the Maryvale arrival routine is being evangelised by the taxi-driver: most Brummy taxis seem to be driven by kindly, courteous and enthusiastically Islamic drivers. We invariably get on well, and they invariably try to urge me to read the Koran and/or consult various Islamic websites etc. Conversations usually begin with "So you're a Christian?" and then a question such as "Why do you Christians have two Bibles?" (by this he means the Old and New Testaments) or "How can you say Jesus was God's son if he died on the Cross?" or "Why do you Christians believe you need to confess to your priests?" I tackled these and asked him various questions myself. His knowledge of Christianity was scant. We ended up having a really quite profound conversation. And this is not the first, second, or even the third or fourth time that this has happened: it is literally the case that almost every time I get a cab in Birmingham, the driver turns the conversation to religion and urges me to consider the claims of Islam, while I in turn gently try to suggest something of the claims of Christ, no mere prophet but the One promised from the beginning, God himself...
And so to Maryvale - for a course of lectures on evangelisation!
A Mass for All Souls Day, a tasty supper provided by the dear Brigettine nuns, a late-night chat in the students' common-room during which the talk turned to the DVD shown to the Bishops at their recent Synod indicating Europe's demographic slide into an Islamic future...and later still, looking out from my window into the moonlight with Birmingham's city lights on the horizon, much to ponder and pray about...
My room was next door to the one which, in recusant days, was used as a secret chapel. Today we use a newer chapel (built in the late 18th century, when the penal laws were not so savage) and the All Souls' Mass was well attended by local people: Maryvale has a long tradition of devotion to the Sacred Heart and on the first Friday of every month the traditional devotional prayers are said, and people like to come. The altar on which Mass is celebrated is the one that Bl. John Henry Newman used when he made Maryvale his home in the mid 19th century.
There was no one else sleeping in this part of the house this weekend, and it felt very, very silent and the corridors are very, very dark and the stairs creaky.
Arriving at Birmingham, en route to Maryvale, the first priority is always to buy a packet of those useful coffee-filter-in-a-cup things, which allow you to brew some REAL coffee by simply pouring the hot water through the filter. Everything about Maryvale is splendid, except the coffee.
Armed with sufficient supplies - it looks mean just to pour a cup for oneself, so there always has to be enough to share around a bit - I then headed for the bus-stop, but the crowds were so huge that I gave up and got a taxi. Another part of the Maryvale arrival routine is being evangelised by the taxi-driver: most Brummy taxis seem to be driven by kindly, courteous and enthusiastically Islamic drivers. We invariably get on well, and they invariably try to urge me to read the Koran and/or consult various Islamic websites etc. Conversations usually begin with "So you're a Christian?" and then a question such as "Why do you Christians have two Bibles?" (by this he means the Old and New Testaments) or "How can you say Jesus was God's son if he died on the Cross?" or "Why do you Christians believe you need to confess to your priests?" I tackled these and asked him various questions myself. His knowledge of Christianity was scant. We ended up having a really quite profound conversation. And this is not the first, second, or even the third or fourth time that this has happened: it is literally the case that almost every time I get a cab in Birmingham, the driver turns the conversation to religion and urges me to consider the claims of Islam, while I in turn gently try to suggest something of the claims of Christ, no mere prophet but the One promised from the beginning, God himself...
And so to Maryvale - for a course of lectures on evangelisation!
A Mass for All Souls Day, a tasty supper provided by the dear Brigettine nuns, a late-night chat in the students' common-room during which the talk turned to the DVD shown to the Bishops at their recent Synod indicating Europe's demographic slide into an Islamic future...and later still, looking out from my window into the moonlight with Birmingham's city lights on the horizon, much to ponder and pray about...
My room was next door to the one which, in recusant days, was used as a secret chapel. Today we use a newer chapel (built in the late 18th century, when the penal laws were not so savage) and the All Souls' Mass was well attended by local people: Maryvale has a long tradition of devotion to the Sacred Heart and on the first Friday of every month the traditional devotional prayers are said, and people like to come. The altar on which Mass is celebrated is the one that Bl. John Henry Newman used when he made Maryvale his home in the mid 19th century.
There was no one else sleeping in this part of the house this weekend, and it felt very, very silent and the corridors are very, very dark and the stairs creaky.
Friday, November 02, 2012
Vatican II...
...and the Holy Father's important words, pointing to the documents and message that will guide us on this 50th anniversary and Year of Faith: here...
All Saints, All Souls...
...and vast crowds in Oxford Street and Auntie struggling along with them. Impossible to move at one point - sheer pressure of humanity. No, they weren't celebrating All Saints' Day. They were there to shop. Christmas decorations already hanging up above the street, but not yet lit up.Half-term, and huge, HUGE numbers of people shopping and shopping and shopping...
I needed to reach a bank - had promised to get some figures for a small charitable group which needs info in order to complete its annual statement of accounts - but the vast crowds made it very difficult to get down Regent Street and the bank had closed by the time I arrived. Swept back into the crowd, I managed to break off into a side-street and walked through Chinatown to reach Soho Square, where I was celebrating All Saints at St Patrick's Church, and watching the young members of the 2012/13 St Patrick's Evangelisation School make their formal commitment. A beautiful Mass, Fr Thomas from the Community of St John concelebrating with Fr Alexander the parish priest, and young Fr James Bradley of the Ordinariate acting as cantor for the chanted Kyrie, Gloria, etc. Afterwards, a cheery celebration in the big room up in the church tower - wine and snacks and lots of talk. A most useful talk with Marianne Cuthbertson of Maryvale, looking at the difference between evangelisation and catechesis, and the need for both. It made me appreciate anew the role of lay people in the Church's mission in the sense that Vatican II sought to promote and develop it: Maryvale is central in all of this for Britain.
At St Patrick's, as elsewhere, a table at the back of the church where one can write the names of family members and friends who have died, who will be commemorated in Masses for the dead in this Month of All Souls. Every year, my list grows a little longer. Nearly twenty years since my dear father died, and as I wrote his name I had sudden beautiful memories of him. And this year, a dear cousin died - remembered with very special affection, as she was one of bridesmaids thirty years ago...
I needed to reach a bank - had promised to get some figures for a small charitable group which needs info in order to complete its annual statement of accounts - but the vast crowds made it very difficult to get down Regent Street and the bank had closed by the time I arrived. Swept back into the crowd, I managed to break off into a side-street and walked through Chinatown to reach Soho Square, where I was celebrating All Saints at St Patrick's Church, and watching the young members of the 2012/13 St Patrick's Evangelisation School make their formal commitment. A beautiful Mass, Fr Thomas from the Community of St John concelebrating with Fr Alexander the parish priest, and young Fr James Bradley of the Ordinariate acting as cantor for the chanted Kyrie, Gloria, etc. Afterwards, a cheery celebration in the big room up in the church tower - wine and snacks and lots of talk. A most useful talk with Marianne Cuthbertson of Maryvale, looking at the difference between evangelisation and catechesis, and the need for both. It made me appreciate anew the role of lay people in the Church's mission in the sense that Vatican II sought to promote and develop it: Maryvale is central in all of this for Britain.
At St Patrick's, as elsewhere, a table at the back of the church where one can write the names of family members and friends who have died, who will be commemorated in Masses for the dead in this Month of All Souls. Every year, my list grows a little longer. Nearly twenty years since my dear father died, and as I wrote his name I had sudden beautiful memories of him. And this year, a dear cousin died - remembered with very special affection, as she was one of bridesmaids thirty years ago...
Thursday, November 01, 2012
NEXT Catholic History Walk...
....Thursday November 15th, meet 6.30pm at St Mary Moorfields, Eldon Street, London EC2. We will walk around the City and learn something of its history, finishing on the steps of St Pauls's Cathedral....
Not merely an auntie...
...but a GREAT Auntie, and this for the fourth time. A lovely new great-niece arrived this morning, a joyful addition to the family.
Hurried out to post a parcel of celebratory goodies.
Overdue domestic duties: much of the day was spent sorting through old books, and a great suitcaseful went off to the local church for the Parish Fayre. How old is "old"? Several of the books that went to the Fayre dated from the 1970s and 80s, paperbacks detailing the plight of Christians in Russia (v. grim in the 70s - we used to stand outside the Soviet Embassy and shout out the names of people imprisoned in the gulag, collect signatures for petitions, organise vigils of prayer). Several were books on pro-life and pro-family topics, also from the 70s, 80s, and 90s - same debates and arguments as today, all predictions made by pro-life campaigners back then have come true, and we are still lobbying and praying and campaigning.
Will my new great-niece know about books or will it all be downloads from computers, with illustrations that jump about , and all history and biography accompanied by music and sound effects? She will be growing up in a world where words unknown a decade ago will already seem old-fashioned: ebook, download, tweet, facebook. Will she ever write a letter by hand, sew a seam, make jam?
Hurried out to post a parcel of celebratory goodies.
Overdue domestic duties: much of the day was spent sorting through old books, and a great suitcaseful went off to the local church for the Parish Fayre. How old is "old"? Several of the books that went to the Fayre dated from the 1970s and 80s, paperbacks detailing the plight of Christians in Russia (v. grim in the 70s - we used to stand outside the Soviet Embassy and shout out the names of people imprisoned in the gulag, collect signatures for petitions, organise vigils of prayer). Several were books on pro-life and pro-family topics, also from the 70s, 80s, and 90s - same debates and arguments as today, all predictions made by pro-life campaigners back then have come true, and we are still lobbying and praying and campaigning.
Will my new great-niece know about books or will it all be downloads from computers, with illustrations that jump about , and all history and biography accompanied by music and sound effects? She will be growing up in a world where words unknown a decade ago will already seem old-fashioned: ebook, download, tweet, facebook. Will she ever write a letter by hand, sew a seam, make jam?
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Been reading...
Weigel's The Truth of Catholicism. Recommended.
Are you coming to the TOWARDS ADVENT Festival on Sat Nov 24th? Westminster Cathedral Hall. Official opening 10.30am. Among the speakers: former Olympic speed skater now a Franciscan Sister of the Renewal. Plus a team celebrating Blessed John Henry Newman and the "Second Spring". Come and join in....
Been busy giving talks on journalism and the media to young people on half-term courses at a youth centre. The BIG gap in their education is in history and general knowledge. They are aware of this and find it frustrating. I ask them some general history questions: does anyone know who Gladstone was? Disraeli? Can they name the king who followed Queen Victoria? Then I go back a bit: Who won the Battle of Waterloo? Battle of Trafalgar?
It's ghastly to be left in ignorance. And actually discovering your own history can be fun and satisfying. I compile a history chart, explain about the Roman Empire, Saxons, Norman invasion, Middle Ages...Henry VIII (he's about the only one they know, because of his wives: "divorced,beheaded, died/Divorced,beheaded,survived"...), Mary Tudor, Elizabeth...
We keep hearing that the Govt is going to "do something" about the disgraceful betrayal of young people and the way they have been banned from knowing about their country's history. Meanwhile, the thing to do is get on and teach history whenever you can.
Are you coming to the TOWARDS ADVENT Festival on Sat Nov 24th? Westminster Cathedral Hall. Official opening 10.30am. Among the speakers: former Olympic speed skater now a Franciscan Sister of the Renewal. Plus a team celebrating Blessed John Henry Newman and the "Second Spring". Come and join in....
Been busy giving talks on journalism and the media to young people on half-term courses at a youth centre. The BIG gap in their education is in history and general knowledge. They are aware of this and find it frustrating. I ask them some general history questions: does anyone know who Gladstone was? Disraeli? Can they name the king who followed Queen Victoria? Then I go back a bit: Who won the Battle of Waterloo? Battle of Trafalgar?
It's ghastly to be left in ignorance. And actually discovering your own history can be fun and satisfying. I compile a history chart, explain about the Roman Empire, Saxons, Norman invasion, Middle Ages...Henry VIII (he's about the only one they know, because of his wives: "divorced,beheaded, died/Divorced,beheaded,survived"...), Mary Tudor, Elizabeth...
We keep hearing that the Govt is going to "do something" about the disgraceful betrayal of young people and the way they have been banned from knowing about their country's history. Meanwhile, the thing to do is get on and teach history whenever you can.
for pure pleasure....
....click on to this site of the Dominican Sisters of St Joseph and scroll down to where Sister Mary Catherine plays Mozart. Enjoy. Just enchanting.
The Sisters do lots of good things, and initiated the John Paul Walk for the New Evangelisation, which last weekend took a grand crowd of us along the Thames.
The Sisters do lots of good things, and initiated the John Paul Walk for the New Evangelisation, which last weekend took a grand crowd of us along the Thames.
The young team...
...of the St Patrick's Evangelisation School in Soho Square are a great bunch. Today and yesterday I was with them, and I'm impressed with their energy and dedication. Prayer, study, service to the local community especially those in need of a meal and friendship...there are special initiatives such as this one...
The church is of course beautiful, and people hurry in for a lunchtime Mass...you think there are not very many, but then you suddenly realise there are a good number filling up the pews towards the back...and then during the afternoon people come in quietly to pray before the Blessed Sacrament...
It was good to be part of the community for a little while, and I enjoyed the Rosary in the small downstairs chapel, the lively chat as we all sat at a long table for a community lunch, the celebration of a SPES member's 21st birthday, and the laughter as we recalled highlights of that Thames Pilgrimage on Sunday, especially the last bit in the mud and dark with the rain starting...
Poor Ambrose, Fr Alexander's dog, who walked the whole route with us, has spent the past two decades chiefly in exhausted slumber.
The church is of course beautiful, and people hurry in for a lunchtime Mass...you think there are not very many, but then you suddenly realise there are a good number filling up the pews towards the back...and then during the afternoon people come in quietly to pray before the Blessed Sacrament...
It was good to be part of the community for a little while, and I enjoyed the Rosary in the small downstairs chapel, the lively chat as we all sat at a long table for a community lunch, the celebration of a SPES member's 21st birthday, and the laughter as we recalled highlights of that Thames Pilgrimage on Sunday, especially the last bit in the mud and dark with the rain starting...
Poor Ambrose, Fr Alexander's dog, who walked the whole route with us, has spent the past two decades chiefly in exhausted slumber.
Monday, October 29, 2012
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Twenty miles along the Thames...
...is a looooooong walk. But we did it, and a grand team of John Paul II Walkers packed out the chapel the Shrine of Our Lady of Westminster at Hampton Wick, in good voice for Evening Prayer and Benediction, and then did full justice to splendid supper laid on by the Sons of Divine Providence and their team of helpers.
A wonderful day: the Thames Pilgrimage, praying for the New Evangelisation. This was planned partly as a Reunion for the young people who took part in the Summer's Walking Pilgrimage to Walsingham, but it turned out to be much, much more than that.
Arriving at Westminster Cathedral for Mass, I met D., who a couple of weeks earlier had walked a long part of the route with me, helping to plan the day. The Cathedral is always full for the Sunday Masses, so we were glad to find two places near the front. A glorious Mass - as always at the Cathedral, magnificent music - and Fr Simon Heans, our chaplain for the day, concelebrated. Then out into the piazza - to be confrontd by a grand crowd of people, far more than I had hoped or imagined, all ready and eager for the Pilgrimage Walk along the Thames!
Down Buckingham Palace Road and along to Chelsea Bridge, across the river and into Battersea Park, where, now free of traffic noise, we were able to start praying the Rosary, led by Sister Hyacinthe. Before leaving the park, we settled for a pleasant lunch, Fr Simon saying Grace, and by now we felt like a real community together. On down the Thames Path, Sister Hyacinthe giving us some excellent talks along the way, all equipped with microphone and notes: Vatican II, the Scriptures...
The weather was just right, the river rippled peacefully, golden leaves were strewn at our feet. Joggers and walkers passed us and we exchanged greetings: they asked about our banner (Our Lady of Walsingham) and gave good wishes when we told them we had walked from Westminster Cathedral. Kindly people at a Boat Club let us use the loos. Wandsworth, Putney, Barnes...we broke into hymns, we prayed the Rosary, we walked and chatted...
Dusk was falling by now. We cut along the Upper Richmond Road so as to avoid the big loop of the river by Kew, and at Richmond an advance party caught the bus to Kingston. The rest of us rejoined the river and walked , in darkness now... the line of walkers became straggly, well spaced out along the dark towpath. I went back and forth with my torch calling out in reassurance. We had children and parents, and young people and middle-aged and elderly among us. A family of children walked happily together, the girls telling me with enthusiasm about their school (St Catherine's) as we passed it on the opposite side of the river: I was able to tell them that my mother was at that same school, more than seventy years ago, and was happy there just as they were. A group of girls from various countries at a London hostel, led by a delightful nun, walked cheerily along swapping laughter and chat, oblivious to discomforts even though one was wearing beautiful blue shoes more suitable for dancing than a 20-mile hike. Deacon Henry, who joined us from Oscott seminary, walked with vigour, unconcerned by the fact that this long day was the prelude to an early start on the morrow when he'd be flying to Rome on pilgrimage. A team from St Patrick's Soho Square had brought Ambrose, Fr Alexander's dog, who seemed, like them, to be of inexhaustible energy.
The very last bit, once we had crossed the river just beyond Teddington Lock, was the only bit that felt really tiring: by now we were walking past ordinary houses and were nearly at our destination. And then, finally, we were there - a wonderful welcome, a true sense of homecoming, and the Sons of Divine Providence, accompanied by the Herald of the Gospels (a splendid group with the most magnificent religious habits I have ever seen!) literally welcoming us with open arms.
A chapel filled with prayer, a table laid with delicious food...a time to give thanks and there were speeches and cheers and applause. Then relaxing, much talk, thoughtful conversations about hopes for the New Evangelisation, the worries about the future of our country and of Europe...
Vocations to the priesthood are up, there is a sense of great seriousness about prayer for the years ahead, the Year of Faith has been launched...this is a time for commitment and for courage.
A wonderful day: the Thames Pilgrimage, praying for the New Evangelisation. This was planned partly as a Reunion for the young people who took part in the Summer's Walking Pilgrimage to Walsingham, but it turned out to be much, much more than that.
Arriving at Westminster Cathedral for Mass, I met D., who a couple of weeks earlier had walked a long part of the route with me, helping to plan the day. The Cathedral is always full for the Sunday Masses, so we were glad to find two places near the front. A glorious Mass - as always at the Cathedral, magnificent music - and Fr Simon Heans, our chaplain for the day, concelebrated. Then out into the piazza - to be confrontd by a grand crowd of people, far more than I had hoped or imagined, all ready and eager for the Pilgrimage Walk along the Thames!
Down Buckingham Palace Road and along to Chelsea Bridge, across the river and into Battersea Park, where, now free of traffic noise, we were able to start praying the Rosary, led by Sister Hyacinthe. Before leaving the park, we settled for a pleasant lunch, Fr Simon saying Grace, and by now we felt like a real community together. On down the Thames Path, Sister Hyacinthe giving us some excellent talks along the way, all equipped with microphone and notes: Vatican II, the Scriptures...
The weather was just right, the river rippled peacefully, golden leaves were strewn at our feet. Joggers and walkers passed us and we exchanged greetings: they asked about our banner (Our Lady of Walsingham) and gave good wishes when we told them we had walked from Westminster Cathedral. Kindly people at a Boat Club let us use the loos. Wandsworth, Putney, Barnes...we broke into hymns, we prayed the Rosary, we walked and chatted...
Dusk was falling by now. We cut along the Upper Richmond Road so as to avoid the big loop of the river by Kew, and at Richmond an advance party caught the bus to Kingston. The rest of us rejoined the river and walked , in darkness now... the line of walkers became straggly, well spaced out along the dark towpath. I went back and forth with my torch calling out in reassurance. We had children and parents, and young people and middle-aged and elderly among us. A family of children walked happily together, the girls telling me with enthusiasm about their school (St Catherine's) as we passed it on the opposite side of the river: I was able to tell them that my mother was at that same school, more than seventy years ago, and was happy there just as they were. A group of girls from various countries at a London hostel, led by a delightful nun, walked cheerily along swapping laughter and chat, oblivious to discomforts even though one was wearing beautiful blue shoes more suitable for dancing than a 20-mile hike. Deacon Henry, who joined us from Oscott seminary, walked with vigour, unconcerned by the fact that this long day was the prelude to an early start on the morrow when he'd be flying to Rome on pilgrimage. A team from St Patrick's Soho Square had brought Ambrose, Fr Alexander's dog, who seemed, like them, to be of inexhaustible energy.
The very last bit, once we had crossed the river just beyond Teddington Lock, was the only bit that felt really tiring: by now we were walking past ordinary houses and were nearly at our destination. And then, finally, we were there - a wonderful welcome, a true sense of homecoming, and the Sons of Divine Providence, accompanied by the Herald of the Gospels (a splendid group with the most magnificent religious habits I have ever seen!) literally welcoming us with open arms.
A chapel filled with prayer, a table laid with delicious food...a time to give thanks and there were speeches and cheers and applause. Then relaxing, much talk, thoughtful conversations about hopes for the New Evangelisation, the worries about the future of our country and of Europe...
Vocations to the priesthood are up, there is a sense of great seriousness about prayer for the years ahead, the Year of Faith has been launched...this is a time for commitment and for courage.
Saturday, October 27, 2012
A rallying call...
...to evangelise. Read here. The Bishops have come up trumps: it's a stirring call.
We shall be following the call tomorrow, as the John Paul II Walk for the New Evangelisation starts at Westminster Cathedral and heads off along the Thames to the Shrine of Our Lady of Westminster, some 20 miles up-river at Kingston. Along the way, we'll be passing some of the places that hold a huge part of our country's history - Chelsea where St Thomas More lived with his family, Syon where once stood the great Brigettine house - but also the homes and churches and schools and workshops and offices where the people of our great city and its suburbs live and work and pray, the parks and gardens where they relax and enjoy themselves, the sports fields, the boatyards, the pubs, the shops and restaurants. And we'll be praying for God's blessing on everyone, asking that hearts be opened to the glorious message of the Gospel, and that in a spirit of goodwill and neighbourliness the truths of the Christian faith will be communicated and become clear, with a bright hope for this new century...
To participants reading this: it will be COLD, so dress warmly. Hats. Gloves. Scarves. It will be DARK towards the end of our journey so bring a TORCH or a lantern. Bring a good sandwich lunch, and something to drink. Be prepared to obey instructions: we will cross a couple of busy London roads, and be walking alongside a deep and potentially dangerous river, so it will be neccessary at times to be well disciplined.
We'll be hearing some talks along the way, and praying the Rosary, and singing some hymns. There will be a good Tea waiting for us at Hampton Wick.
All readers: please pray for us.
We shall be following the call tomorrow, as the John Paul II Walk for the New Evangelisation starts at Westminster Cathedral and heads off along the Thames to the Shrine of Our Lady of Westminster, some 20 miles up-river at Kingston. Along the way, we'll be passing some of the places that hold a huge part of our country's history - Chelsea where St Thomas More lived with his family, Syon where once stood the great Brigettine house - but also the homes and churches and schools and workshops and offices where the people of our great city and its suburbs live and work and pray, the parks and gardens where they relax and enjoy themselves, the sports fields, the boatyards, the pubs, the shops and restaurants. And we'll be praying for God's blessing on everyone, asking that hearts be opened to the glorious message of the Gospel, and that in a spirit of goodwill and neighbourliness the truths of the Christian faith will be communicated and become clear, with a bright hope for this new century...
To participants reading this: it will be COLD, so dress warmly. Hats. Gloves. Scarves. It will be DARK towards the end of our journey so bring a TORCH or a lantern. Bring a good sandwich lunch, and something to drink. Be prepared to obey instructions: we will cross a couple of busy London roads, and be walking alongside a deep and potentially dangerous river, so it will be neccessary at times to be well disciplined.
We'll be hearing some talks along the way, and praying the Rosary, and singing some hymns. There will be a good Tea waiting for us at Hampton Wick.
All readers: please pray for us.
Friday, October 26, 2012
Glorious...
...music from the Cardinal Vaughan Schola, in concert at the Carmelite Church, Kensington, with funds raised going to Aid to the Church in Need. The magnificent singing was interspersed with Scripture readings and other meditations, all honouring Mary, read by Fr Dominic Allain, the school Chaplain. It was a theological as well as a music feast. I have known and loved this Carmelite Church all my adult life - J. and I went there sometimes when we were engaged, and then many years later I found myself there giving Marriage Preparation talks to young couples...
The Schola, which has become famous over recent years for its superb singing, is in really magnbificent voice at the moment, and offers one of London's finest musical experiences.
The Schola, which has become famous over recent years for its superb singing, is in really magnbificent voice at the moment, and offers one of London's finest musical experiences.
The BBC...
...was one of the first big organisations that was the reciever of indignant letters and protests from the author of this Blog and her friends and colleagues, years and years ago in the 1970s...that was in the days when we were young campaigners and sickened by its bias against Christian and moral values. It was so frustrating that protests against the display of sexually explicit material were dismissed, and that vulgarity and sexual crudity were assumed to be wholly acceptable and rather clever. It was rare, on the Beeb, to have a fair discussion of the great social issues of the day: instead there always seemed to be an assumption that it was neccessary to promote a particular secular, political skewed world-view which reflected a sort Guardian-reading-London-dinner-party pomposity. This was especially true of any programme that discussed sexual morality, or even news programmes covering related topics (eg a pro-life march or rally, and there were a number of huge pro-life events in Britain in those days).
And now...the sordid everyday reality of life at the Beeb in those days is emerging: staff being subjected to sexual overtures, paedophile activities quietly ignored, a culture of acceptance of horrible behaviour. What we all long suspected turns out to be true: this was an organisation where immoral and even gross behaviour was regarded as normal, and opposition to it as merely narrow-minded and absurd.
Mary Whitehouse, the leader of the "Clean Up TV" campaign, which became the National Viewers and Listeners Association, was widely derided as a prude.. For years, she was deemed to be a "non person" at the Beeb, even though she became a national figure as her campaign gathered strength. I was and am very proud to be have been one of her young supporters and, as the years went by, a friend. She was brave, dedicated, and loyal - a woman of great faith who spent time in prayer each day, reading the Bible each morning and night with devotion. Mary and Ernest had a happy home life and were a real example to younger people
The NVALA organised excellent meetings and conferences discussing the role of the media, morality, education, and family and community life. It sponsored awards for good programmes, ran events for schools and youth groups, trained people for TV and radio work. It was a voice for thousands of people who saw the massive influence of TV, and knew that the mass media would expand further and further and be a gigantic influence on all our lives. Evidence was mounting that Britain's tragic rates of divorce, sexually transmitted diseases, abortion, and youth crime were going to cause gigantic problems, and that the influence of the mass media was a major factor in determining people's lifestyles.
Campaigning had its dangers: Mary Whitehouse recieved death threats from pornographers and from promoters of paedophilia, was sent vile things through the post, was physically threatened and abused , and sometimes needed police protection. But her work of NVALA, and associated groups grew and flourished, and ideas and values and hopes were passed on.
And back then, lots of people used to say "One day, Mary Whitehouse will be proved right."
And now...the sordid everyday reality of life at the Beeb in those days is emerging: staff being subjected to sexual overtures, paedophile activities quietly ignored, a culture of acceptance of horrible behaviour. What we all long suspected turns out to be true: this was an organisation where immoral and even gross behaviour was regarded as normal, and opposition to it as merely narrow-minded and absurd.
Mary Whitehouse, the leader of the "Clean Up TV" campaign, which became the National Viewers and Listeners Association, was widely derided as a prude.. For years, she was deemed to be a "non person" at the Beeb, even though she became a national figure as her campaign gathered strength. I was and am very proud to be have been one of her young supporters and, as the years went by, a friend. She was brave, dedicated, and loyal - a woman of great faith who spent time in prayer each day, reading the Bible each morning and night with devotion. Mary and Ernest had a happy home life and were a real example to younger people
The NVALA organised excellent meetings and conferences discussing the role of the media, morality, education, and family and community life. It sponsored awards for good programmes, ran events for schools and youth groups, trained people for TV and radio work. It was a voice for thousands of people who saw the massive influence of TV, and knew that the mass media would expand further and further and be a gigantic influence on all our lives. Evidence was mounting that Britain's tragic rates of divorce, sexually transmitted diseases, abortion, and youth crime were going to cause gigantic problems, and that the influence of the mass media was a major factor in determining people's lifestyles.
Campaigning had its dangers: Mary Whitehouse recieved death threats from pornographers and from promoters of paedophilia, was sent vile things through the post, was physically threatened and abused , and sometimes needed police protection. But her work of NVALA, and associated groups grew and flourished, and ideas and values and hopes were passed on.
And back then, lots of people used to say "One day, Mary Whitehouse will be proved right."
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Church and state, Bishops, the Economy, and Catholic social teaching...
...all discussed in an excellent talk given by Philip Booth of the Institute of Economic Affairs, at the Catholic Writers' Guild this evening. Drawing on Pope Benedict's Caritas in Veritate Bl. John Paul's Centesimus Annus and Vatican II's Dignitatis Humanae along with Leo XII's Rerum Novarum, he gave us a thoughtful and challenging exploration of current economic and social problems. He was scathing about the way in which much of what has passed for Catholic social teaching in recent years has omitted the truths contained in the documents mentioned, and has thus massively missed its mark. May we hope for better in the years to come? General opinion seems to be "yes" , as a younger generation of clergy is taking a fresh approach and is less wedded to the economic ideas of the 1960s and the notion that the State should be the main provider and organiser of social welfare.
Over supper, general talk of Catholic matters....I'm underwhelmed by the (belated?) departure of Williamson from the Lefebvrists: the reasons for his having to leave seem to be that that he was disobedient and disruptive to the Society, rather than that he announced horrible opinions about Jewish people, and about the Church and the Second Vatican Council. And, alas, from Comments recieved (but not published) on this Blog, nasty anti-Jewish statements seem to be acceptable among supporters of the SSPX, in a way that I did not know about until recently.
Also discussed: worries about religious freedom, hopes for the Ordinariate, thoughts on the future of the C. of E. On that last point, I am quite genuinely sad about the fate of the Anglican Church as it pushes itself into absurdity by its apparent ambivalence on the issue of same-sex marriage, and its tortuous discussions about lady bishops. I'm not being patronising: it really is horrid watching it all happen. Please, Anglican readers: there is a great and noble home awaiting you in the Ordinariate: God is calling you, and you are needed, and you could do large and exciting things for our poor country...
Over supper, general talk of Catholic matters....I'm underwhelmed by the (belated?) departure of Williamson from the Lefebvrists: the reasons for his having to leave seem to be that that he was disobedient and disruptive to the Society, rather than that he announced horrible opinions about Jewish people, and about the Church and the Second Vatican Council. And, alas, from Comments recieved (but not published) on this Blog, nasty anti-Jewish statements seem to be acceptable among supporters of the SSPX, in a way that I did not know about until recently.
Also discussed: worries about religious freedom, hopes for the Ordinariate, thoughts on the future of the C. of E. On that last point, I am quite genuinely sad about the fate of the Anglican Church as it pushes itself into absurdity by its apparent ambivalence on the issue of same-sex marriage, and its tortuous discussions about lady bishops. I'm not being patronising: it really is horrid watching it all happen. Please, Anglican readers: there is a great and noble home awaiting you in the Ordinariate: God is calling you, and you are needed, and you could do large and exciting things for our poor country...
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