Tuesday, January 31, 2017
Monday, January 30, 2017
Trundling a suitcase...
...across London, en route to family in Oxfordshire, I stopped for Mass at St Patrick's, Soho, beckoned by the bell ringing out across traffic and litter and roadworks in Oxford Street. Church very full: a young volunteer stands at the back to help steer people to spaces available. I found a place at a pew-end where I was able to put my case by an adjoining side-altar.
Glorious music, beautiful church, candles glowing, dignified and uplifting liturgy, voices raised in responses and hymns. Afterwards, freshly brewed coffee in the crypt...friendly chat, delightful young people being nice to Auntie...
Oxford Street is crowded but messy and somehow a bit seedy - American visitors who come expecting smart shops and a feeling of elegance must be very disappointed...tube to Paddington, and thence by train through lashing rain to a warm family welcome...
Glorious music, beautiful church, candles glowing, dignified and uplifting liturgy, voices raised in responses and hymns. Afterwards, freshly brewed coffee in the crypt...friendly chat, delightful young people being nice to Auntie...
Oxford Street is crowded but messy and somehow a bit seedy - American visitors who come expecting smart shops and a feeling of elegance must be very disappointed...tube to Paddington, and thence by train through lashing rain to a warm family welcome...
Saturday, January 28, 2017
At Exeter University...
...a warm welcome from the Cathsoc. A beautiful and reverent Mass at the Catholic Chaplaincy, strong young voices making the responses, lots of young people receiving Communion with great reverence. A lively buzz of talk in the bar, and then a full hall for the talk. Topic was the Church's understanding of the importance of why we are male and female, with specific input from the teaching of St John Paul.
St JP's Theology of the Body was prophetic in its importance ...there is now such cruel and nasty nonsense being promoted on this subject and Christians need to be equipped to challenge the lies,and inspire people with the truth and beauty of the fullness of what it means to be human, and how marvellously we are made...
A happy evening A particular pleasure to meet the delightful daughter of friends...I was a babysitter for the family when she and her siblings were small! And here she is as a delightful young lady - beautiful and charming, and it was a delight to chat and catch up with news...
Today's young Catholics in Britain face a militant atheism which forges strong alliances with forms of political-correctness where the Christian viewpoint is routinely marginalised or insulted. In a modern university, most of the students will have little or no working knowledge of the Christian faith - for this reason much of the West's art and literature baffles them - and young Catholics who do have this knowledge and perspective are often treated as weird. Lecturers, and the general voice of officialdom, tend to assume opposition to Catholic teaching - especially on sex and relationships - to be the norm and too often fail to acknowledge any alternative view. The work of a Catholic chaplaincy - and a lively Catholic Society with good speakers and access to plenty of opportunities to meet, talk, read,study, debate, take part in events and conferences etc - is crucial. Input from groups such as the Faith Movement are important, and the solidarity fostered by events such as World Youth Day and Youth 2000 is of great value.
St JP's Theology of the Body was prophetic in its importance ...there is now such cruel and nasty nonsense being promoted on this subject and Christians need to be equipped to challenge the lies,and inspire people with the truth and beauty of the fullness of what it means to be human, and how marvellously we are made...
A happy evening A particular pleasure to meet the delightful daughter of friends...I was a babysitter for the family when she and her siblings were small! And here she is as a delightful young lady - beautiful and charming, and it was a delight to chat and catch up with news...
Today's young Catholics in Britain face a militant atheism which forges strong alliances with forms of political-correctness where the Christian viewpoint is routinely marginalised or insulted. In a modern university, most of the students will have little or no working knowledge of the Christian faith - for this reason much of the West's art and literature baffles them - and young Catholics who do have this knowledge and perspective are often treated as weird. Lecturers, and the general voice of officialdom, tend to assume opposition to Catholic teaching - especially on sex and relationships - to be the norm and too often fail to acknowledge any alternative view. The work of a Catholic chaplaincy - and a lively Catholic Society with good speakers and access to plenty of opportunities to meet, talk, read,study, debate, take part in events and conferences etc - is crucial. Input from groups such as the Faith Movement are important, and the solidarity fostered by events such as World Youth Day and Youth 2000 is of great value.
Friday, January 27, 2017
THE KEYS, The Catholic Writers' Guild of England and Wales...
...was begun in the 1930s by staff on GK's Weekly and is proud of its links with the Chesterton/Belloc era. It has met at various places in London over the years. For a long while its Guild Church was St Etheldreda's, Ely Place, where a plaque in the crypt now commemorates our many meetings there. Way back in the 1970s it met at what was then a conference centre (now St Paul's Bookshop) adjoining Westminster Cathedral. Until recently we were based at St Mary Moorfields in the City, which became a very popular home base for us. Latest move is to Farm Street, with Fr Dominic as our chaplain. And this new chapter looks set to be as successful as all the others: good numbers for Mass, a noisily talkative dinner with much conviviality, and then a gathering in the hall for freshly-brewed coffee, and a guest speaker.
Wednesday's meeting welcomed Dr Sara Jane Boss from the Centre for Marian Studies at Roehampton, who gave a fascinating talk on the history and theology of devotion to Mary, analysing the differences between the Catholic/Orthodox and the Protestant understanding...
Guild meetings - I've been attending for something approaching 40 years - are a wonderful time to meet old friends and make new contacts. On this occasion, it was also an opportunity to present the winner of the Christmas crossword in FAITH magazine with her prize: Amanda Hill (a former Mastermind quarter-finalist - no surprise that she is a crossword whizz too) was given her bottle of wine amid applause.
Wednesday's meeting welcomed Dr Sara Jane Boss from the Centre for Marian Studies at Roehampton, who gave a fascinating talk on the history and theology of devotion to Mary, analysing the differences between the Catholic/Orthodox and the Protestant understanding...
Guild meetings - I've been attending for something approaching 40 years - are a wonderful time to meet old friends and make new contacts. On this occasion, it was also an opportunity to present the winner of the Christmas crossword in FAITH magazine with her prize: Amanda Hill (a former Mastermind quarter-finalist - no surprise that she is a crossword whizz too) was given her bottle of wine amid applause.
Wednesday, January 25, 2017
Pius XII...
... has been slandered so much in recent years, but Holocaust historian Martin Gilbert and others have upheld the truth and honoured his memory. The BBC has now admitted that it got something seriously wrong in a recent broadcast. In an important feature, David Alton calls for Pius' beatification, perhaps on Holocaust Memorial Day next year...
Tuesday, January 24, 2017
Across a misty Thames...
... on Westminster Bridge, on a day of bright winter sunlight, slanting low, uncomfortable to the eyes...but London looked glorious.
Coffee with David Alton in the House of Lords. Lots to discuss...among much else, an invitation to the Westminster Award to Magnus Macfarlane-Barrow in February. It will be a privilege to be present...
On to Trafalgar Square, to meet a group of History Walkers on the steps of St Martin-in-the-Fields...we went along the Strand, down to the river, along the Embankment and on to the Inns of Court and the Temple Church...
On Thursday I will be at Exeter, giving a talk to the Exeter University Catholic Society, on St John Paul the Great and his teaching on the theology of male and female.
Coffee with David Alton in the House of Lords. Lots to discuss...among much else, an invitation to the Westminster Award to Magnus Macfarlane-Barrow in February. It will be a privilege to be present...
On to Trafalgar Square, to meet a group of History Walkers on the steps of St Martin-in-the-Fields...we went along the Strand, down to the river, along the Embankment and on to the Inns of Court and the Temple Church...
On Thursday I will be at Exeter, giving a talk to the Exeter University Catholic Society, on St John Paul the Great and his teaching on the theology of male and female.
Saturday, January 21, 2017
Restrictions on what Catholic schools are allowed to teach...
...are being urged by Britain's "integration tsar". She is called Dame Louise Casey, and she seems to think that it is up to her to announce what the Catholic Church is to teach in its schools.
Read here.,.. and write to your Member of Parliament explaining that it is unacceptable for Dame Louise - or any other public official - to try to drag us back to the 18th century in this way. Our freedoim was hard-won, and when justice was finally achieved with the Catholic Emancipation Act shortly before Queen Victoria came to the throne, it was long overdue.
Read here.,.. and write to your Member of Parliament explaining that it is unacceptable for Dame Louise - or any other public official - to try to drag us back to the 18th century in this way. Our freedoim was hard-won, and when justice was finally achieved with the Catholic Emancipation Act shortly before Queen Victoria came to the throne, it was long overdue.
...and in America...
...somehow reassuring to see a President take his oath on a family Bible, and the Cardinal Archbishop of New York leading everyone in prayer... see report here. Cardinal Dolan chose the Book of Wisdom - a very Catholic choice...
Francis...
...of Assisi...the real man behind the statue-looking-cute-by-the-bird-table, was the subject of our first parish study evening of 2017 here. Evensong, Mass, and then a light supper, and a DVD: Bishop Robert Barron, talking about the Pivotal Players in Church history. Among the things to think about: St Francis' life didn't involve a single bolt-from-the-blue conversion moment. Rather, it was a series of calls from God, each one deepening the relationship and taking the adventure further. The call to radical poverty, the call to rebuild the Church, the gathering of a band of brothers...and all along, it is a challenge and with plenty of human difficulties, even while the essential message is joyful. After learning the story - it's all filmed in the lavish countryside and sunshine in the places where St Francis prayed and lived and laboured, and its pace and beat are just right, for thinking and pondering it all - there are study-guides for some further pondering, to be used with the Scriptures and the Catechism of the Catholic Church, copies of which were handed round by Fr C...
Among the things to study were the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy. Plenty to challenge us all there... not just the feel-good stuff about feeding the hungry and visiting the imprisoned, but "to bear wrong patiently..."
We finished by praying the popular "Instrument of they peace" prayer, and took copies home to pray again silently at the end of the day...
Among the things to study were the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy. Plenty to challenge us all there... not just the feel-good stuff about feeding the hungry and visiting the imprisoned, but "to bear wrong patiently..."
We finished by praying the popular "Instrument of they peace" prayer, and took copies home to pray again silently at the end of the day...
Wednesday, January 18, 2017
On Amoris Laetitiae...
...here's a Bishop talking sense.
While the Maltese Bishops are allinamuddleandgoingnowhere, here's a voice of wisdom with a practical way ahead: Read here
And while you're about it, here's some more common sense on a related topic:
While the Maltese Bishops are allinamuddleandgoingnowhere, here's a voice of wisdom with a practical way ahead: Read here
And while you're about it, here's some more common sense on a related topic:
The Maltese Bishops...
...now need to be corrected. Their statement on marriage doesn't conform to the Church's unchanged and unchangeable teaching. The Pope can't change this teaching. Amoris Laetitiae doesn't and can't change this teaching. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith will now need to take action...and in the heightened atmosphere this isn't going to be easy. The message of Amoris Laetitiae has to be read through the hermeneutic of continuity - St John Paul the Great gave magnificent teaching in Familiaris Consortio and in Veritatis Splendor, and all the tools are provided for a clear response to the muddled thinking of the poor Maltese bishops, who are betraying their flocks by the confused and impoverished statement which denies the fundamental truth at the heart of the sacrament of marriage.
Pray for Pope Francis: he will need real humility in dealing with this. He often - and rightly - speaks of the need to be humble, to be open to the voice of the Spirit and not to get trapped in self-esteem and so on. The office of Peter is an unenviable one. People will love to gloat on the difficulties of his position - and he has made a number of people angry with his criticisms of the Roman Curia and so on, enabling not a few to enjoy the prospect of the challenges now facing him. He now needs prayer - a lot of loving prayer - to enable him to tackle the responsibility of teaching the truth about marriage.
Pray for Pope Francis: he will need real humility in dealing with this. He often - and rightly - speaks of the need to be humble, to be open to the voice of the Spirit and not to get trapped in self-esteem and so on. The office of Peter is an unenviable one. People will love to gloat on the difficulties of his position - and he has made a number of people angry with his criticisms of the Roman Curia and so on, enabling not a few to enjoy the prospect of the challenges now facing him. He now needs prayer - a lot of loving prayer - to enable him to tackle the responsibility of teaching the truth about marriage.
Tuesday, January 17, 2017
Propaganda...
...at a mainline railway station. A massive, lavish wide-screen video sponsored by a bank, promoting same-sex marriage. It stretches across the entrance to the platforms, and imposes itself on every passenger arriving at the station, intruding into every part of the concourse.
In the 1950s in Eastern Europe, railway stations broadcast political slogans all the time along with the train announcements: "The next train to Wadowice departs from Platform Eight Socialism is the Way of the Future with our brothers in the Soviet Union". And people did not - could not - complain because it would mean serious trouble for themselves and for their families, with action from the police and the public authorities. There was no one to whom it was possible to complain, and no possibility of a fair hearing if one did.
In the 1950s in Eastern Europe, railway stations broadcast political slogans all the time along with the train announcements: "The next train to Wadowice departs from Platform Eight Socialism is the Way of the Future with our brothers in the Soviet Union". And people did not - could not - complain because it would mean serious trouble for themselves and for their families, with action from the police and the public authorities. There was no one to whom it was possible to complain, and no possibility of a fair hearing if one did.
Monday, January 16, 2017
Major renovations...
...at Bogle Towers. Complete rebuilding of bathroom, heating system etc, requiring massive works... We are sort of camping there...it has been uncomfortable but the work is progressing.
I spent part of last week in Scotland, editorial board for FAITH magazine. Stayed with the wonderful Sisters of the Gospel of Life in Glasgow. Their work has hugely expanded over the years since their foundation, and they now have a great team of helpers, providing all sorts of things for needy families...they are involved with the Rachel's Vineyard retreats...and their convent life has its own pace and rhythm, starting very early...Holy Hour...then off to the Cathedral for Mass, collecting a couple of people along the way...
The Cathedral stands along the waterfront, a little gem among city slabs and concrete...glowing and warm inside, and very beautiful since its renovations, the Gothic pillars with delicate ribbons of blue and gold. In the sanctuary are statues of St Andrew and St Mungo.
The train ride to Edinburgh swept us through snowy countryside...a warm welcome on arrival, a good meeting.
I spent part of last week in Scotland, editorial board for FAITH magazine. Stayed with the wonderful Sisters of the Gospel of Life in Glasgow. Their work has hugely expanded over the years since their foundation, and they now have a great team of helpers, providing all sorts of things for needy families...they are involved with the Rachel's Vineyard retreats...and their convent life has its own pace and rhythm, starting very early...Holy Hour...then off to the Cathedral for Mass, collecting a couple of people along the way...
The Cathedral stands along the waterfront, a little gem among city slabs and concrete...glowing and warm inside, and very beautiful since its renovations, the Gothic pillars with delicate ribbons of blue and gold. In the sanctuary are statues of St Andrew and St Mungo.
The train ride to Edinburgh swept us through snowy countryside...a warm welcome on arrival, a good meeting.
Saturday, January 14, 2017
Evenings of FAITH...
organised by the FAITH Movement, at the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption and St Gregory, Warwick Street, London W1. Nearest tube: Piccadilly Circus.
All welcome. Talks start 7.30pm. The entrance to the hall is in Golden Square, clearly marked at number 24...
| Date | Title | Speaker |
| Tuesday 7th February | Can we be sure God exists? | Fr Matthew O'Gorman |
| Tuesday 21st February | The disaster of sin | Gregory Farrelly |
| Tuesday 7th March | Jesus Christ: Saviour and redeemer | Fr. Philip Miller |
| Tuesday 21st March | The Church: Christ’s voice to the world | Fr. Michael Dolman |
The real Joseph Ratzinger/Pope Benedict...
...emerges from this interview w. Peter Seewald. It's a must-read.
I came to know Peter Seewald through working on the EWTN feature on Pope Emeritus Benedict...he (Seewald) is a superb writer, a serious thinker, and a very well-read man who is good company. At our first meeting, over coffee in Munich, I remember him mentioning the biography of BXVI on which he had at that stage fairly recently embarked...I realised just how much work and worry and care he was putting into it, reading and pondering on so many things. The book will be the culmination of all his interviews and discussions and the long years of friendship which began when Seewald was a journalist on a major German newspaper, with a young family and many questions about life, God, the Church, and the true meaning of things...and it will also be the result of his own study and reflection and the spiritual journey that he has made under Benedict's gentle example.
Clare Anderson and I interviewed Peter Seewald for the first part our TV feature on Pope Benedict, which was broadcast by EWTN a couple of years ago. (The second half, filmed in Rome last May, will be broadcast this year...)
Ratzinger/Benedict is one of the great minds of our era. He will one day be hailed as a Doctor of the Church. His role at the Second Vatican Council, his years at the CDF and his superb book(s) on the life of Christ, plus his rich theological insights - presented so readably and with such grace - have been huge gifts to the Church and will resonate for all the years to come...and all this has come with considerable suffering, as he has been endlessly misrepresented and villified over the years, his character attacked, his motives questioned, his actions challenged in malicious and cruel ways. He's one of the Church's heroes: all of us are in his debt.
I came to know Peter Seewald through working on the EWTN feature on Pope Emeritus Benedict...he (Seewald) is a superb writer, a serious thinker, and a very well-read man who is good company. At our first meeting, over coffee in Munich, I remember him mentioning the biography of BXVI on which he had at that stage fairly recently embarked...I realised just how much work and worry and care he was putting into it, reading and pondering on so many things. The book will be the culmination of all his interviews and discussions and the long years of friendship which began when Seewald was a journalist on a major German newspaper, with a young family and many questions about life, God, the Church, and the true meaning of things...and it will also be the result of his own study and reflection and the spiritual journey that he has made under Benedict's gentle example.
Clare Anderson and I interviewed Peter Seewald for the first part our TV feature on Pope Benedict, which was broadcast by EWTN a couple of years ago. (The second half, filmed in Rome last May, will be broadcast this year...)
Ratzinger/Benedict is one of the great minds of our era. He will one day be hailed as a Doctor of the Church. His role at the Second Vatican Council, his years at the CDF and his superb book(s) on the life of Christ, plus his rich theological insights - presented so readably and with such grace - have been huge gifts to the Church and will resonate for all the years to come...and all this has come with considerable suffering, as he has been endlessly misrepresented and villified over the years, his character attacked, his motives questioned, his actions challenged in malicious and cruel ways. He's one of the Church's heroes: all of us are in his debt.
Wednesday, January 11, 2017
Tuesday, January 10, 2017
More plans for...
....London's Catholic History Walks. We are launching a new series of SUNDAY afternoon walks along the banks of the Thames in March.
All the info is here...get the dates in your diary now, and spread the word!
All the info is here...get the dates in your diary now, and spread the word!
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