And...

The Universe newspaper has an upbeat news feature about the excellent new educational resource for schools, Alive to the World. Why aren't our Catholic diocesan education structures making sure this excellent programme is getting into Catholic schools? It's just what is needed for today, giving a practical values-based scheme through which children can explore the topics that are central to Personal Social Health Education.

The latest...

...issue of FAITH magazine, always a very good read, arrived this weekend. It has an excellent editorial about the recent Intelligence Squared debate and about the Catholic Church.

London...

...on a cold, bright January day. Mass at Westminster Cathedral - I love hearing the roar of voices answering up to the responses, a great congregation filling that vast space, and of course the glorious music...

There is a new initiative for London children - a Westminster Diocesan Children's Choir. This was announced at Mass. A wonderful opportunity for children to share in the fabulous heritage of the Church's music - contact the Cathedral for more details: 020 7798 9055

And if you get the latest edition of OREMUS, the Cathedral magazine, (which is in any case a v. good read)you'll find a big feature about the Catholic History Walks...

To Windsor...

...for Evensong in St George's Chapel. The Royal Stuart Society gathers there each January to mark the anniversary of the death of King Charles I and to lay a wreath on his grave. The Castle looked dramatic against the darkening evening sky as we hurried up to the Chapel. As the wreath was laid, a prayer was said commemorating King Charles and his forgiveness of his enemies as he stood upon the scaffold. Enchanting singing from traditionally-robed christers as we sat in the choir-stalls of the Garter Knights. That glorious intricately-carved ceiling with perfect symetry and accuracy in every detail. Poignant thoughts about England's Royal heritage.

The Tower of London...

...on a bitterly cold January day, and a group of students from the St Patrick's Evangelisation School. We were on a Catholic History Walk, and took in Traitor's Gate and Tower Hill...the latter has a plaque marking the site where so many people were exceuted over the centuries - among them John Fisher and Thomas More, of course - and also the great Memorial Garden dedicated to the men of the Merchant Navy who lost their lives in both World Wars and have no grave but the sea. Panel after panel of names, hundreds and hundreds of them. There are scarlet poppies and small memorial crosses tucked into some of the panels, evidently placed there on November 11th and now damp and weathered by the winter's snow and rain.

I was impressed by the young team from St Patrick's, members of which came from China, Germany, and the USA as well as Britain. Their coursework is linked to Maryvale and a couple mentioned the possibility of going on to study at the Franciscan University of Steubenville. Signs of hope flourishing in the Church for today and tomorrow.

Earlier, I had paced out the route, and dropped into St Margaret Patten's church, where I happened to meet the vicar. He was extremely kind, and arranged to meet us as we arrived, talked to us about the church's history and allowed the girls to try on a pair of 200-year-old pattens. We finished by praying the Lord's Prayer together and he suggested that we each say it in our own language - a moving and memorable experience in this fine old church.

We finished on the steps of St Paul's. I felt suddenly very middle-aged as I recalled watching the Royal Wedding procession almost 30 years ago in a very different Britain.

Today while...

...doing the ironing, I watched the second half of the powerful and moving film "Karol:A man who became Pope". I've watched this film before, and only put it on the DVD today because, well, it was a cold dark January day and I had a great stack of ironing to do and needed some inspiration. (And yes, you CAN watch a film while doing the ironing - in my case it involves positioning the ironing-board across an open doorway in in the one place where I can both see the DVD screen and plug in the iron. Multi-tasking).

The film sent me hurrying to get more reading-material on John Paul II: the Weigel biography is of course excellent and I am renewing my aquaintance with it this evening. There is also Garry O'Connor's "Universal Father", and any number of short biographies to say nothing of the late H.Father's own works. But I had forgotten that there were various books attacking him published in his last few years, all announcing that he was old, cantankerous, useless, etc and looking forward to his replacement with some one who would, oh, announce that the Christian teaching on sexual morality was about to be altered to fit in with the agenda of Planned Parenthood and the Lesbian Parenting Network and so on...how stupid that all looks now.

You can get the "Karol" film from St Anthony Communications and I do hugely recommend it, especially now that Pope John Paul is on the way to beatification...it would be excellent to show to a Catholic youth group (mid-teens and upwards - there's some grim wartime stuff unsuitable for younger children). Get a good-sized TV screen, and some big comfortable chairs and/or sofa cushions, and settle in for the evening. Bring tissues. And be prepared to emerge inspired and with a conviction that we are not meant to waste one moment of our lives but to do something large with them.

A survey shows..

...considerable support for the Conservative viewpoint as we approach the run-up to a General Election. You may be interested in Auntie's take on this...

The collapse of Communism...

...didn't happen in a vacuum. Last night, friends of George Miller-Kurakin gathered to honour his memory and to swap now-it-can-be-told stories of the Association for a Free Russia which he founded. George's funeral was held at a Russian Orthodox church - he was a devout Russian Orthodox Christian, with a deep and sincere faith which was the wellspring of his invariable courtesy, kindness, and good humour.

Among those gathering last night, in the solid comfort of the National Liberal Club - that glorious grand staircase, the fine portraits including that splendid one of Winston Churchill in hussar's uniform - were Members of Parliament, writers, campaigners. There were those who had been arrested in Moscow or elsewhere for human-rights efforts in the 1970s and early 80s - men now middle-aged, looking back on the efforts and adventures of their youth. Some one said "Well, I suppose each of us can say 'I helped to shorten the Cold War by fifteen seconds'..." We recalled afternoons addressing envelopes to Russian addresses to mail freedom literature, and then posting them from all sorts of places around Britain. There were tales of international youth gatherings with efforts made to neutralise pro-Soviet lobbying. Several people recalled trips to the old USSR or Eastern European with freedom literature strapped around their chests under their clothes with sellotape, and training sessions beforehand on how to loose the inevitage KGB follower by dropping quickly off a bus or tram and double-turning into side-streets...

It was good to reconnect with old friends, and to hear news of marriages and the arrival of children - now themselves approaching the ages that we were when we worked for the great causes of a different era. The days of the 1980s seemed a long, long time ago.

Jamie and I both contributed speeches and shared our own memories. As we left, the lamps in Whitehall glowed against the gloom. There are a lot of roadworks at present, partly because of new barriers being erected to protest Govt offices from terrorist activity. We walked back along the Embankment and past the Houses of Parliament - currently all covered in scaffolding for some cleaning/repairs. What new challenges will the second decade of this 21st century now present to all of us?

And if...

...you want to take part in a special Catholic History Walk, and are free on this coming Friday, Jan 29th, meet us at 3pm at Tower Hill Tube Station. This is an extra Walk, arranged with the St Patrick's Evangelisation School, but I am inviting others who are interested to come along too. Wear suitable clothing, and comfortable shoes. We will be walking whatever the weather.

To Manchester...

...to speak to a dinner organised by the Catenians. V. agreeable, friendly, rather grand. Dinner began with the official prayer for the Pope, and finished with Grace after Meals followed by the Loyal Toast to the Queen...I was responding to the toast of "Our ladies and our guests". It was all fun, and there was dancing afterwards, which I much enjoyed too. Apparently ballroom dancing has made a big comeback just recently, because of TV's Strictly Come Dancing. I enjoyed being twirled around the room and it took me back to the days of Army dances and balls in Berlin in the early 1980s when J. was a young subaltern and I was wearing my wedding dress trimmed up with a coloured sash...

The Catenians gave me a simply huge bouquet, which was v. kind, but posed something of a problem: how to take it all the way back to London? However, it gave me much pleasure as I took it back to my hotel room, and I enjoyed it the next day, when along with my luggage it accompanied me to Mass at the "Hidden Gem" church in Mulberry Street. I love this church, which I've previously only visited on busy weekdays, and it was a pleasure to be there for Sunday Mass, and we had "Soul of my Saviour" and "Hail, Redeemer, King Divine"...and afterwards I took the bouquet to the side-altar in that glorious sanctuary, and now it is there in all its glory, all properly with water and everything, and it should last for the whole week and quietly remind the Lord of all the things I prayed to him about...

January...

...might not seem an ideal month for an evening walk around London, but substantial numbers turned up for the Catholic History Walk at Westminster Cathedral on Wednesday. Undeterred by the dark and cold, they gathered on the steps and cheerfully followed me as we set off on a train that took us to Manning House (named after the great Cardinal) and past The Passage, and on to Vaughan House (yes, another great Cardinal) and past the Cathedral Choir School and the Cardinal pub...these Walks are proving hugely popular, and I am constantly impressed by the large numbers and the enthusiasm shown for this and other initiatives among London's Catholics.

On to a committee meeting of the Catholic Writers' Guild, at St Mary Moorfields. Much lively talk over dinner, tackling lots of fascinating subjects, liturgy, feminism, marriage,blogging,and more...

To Oxford...

...for the funeral of Mgr Graham Leonard at the Oxford Oratory. Impressive and moving. A beautiful Mass, and a long procession of clergy bearing candles as the coffin was carried out and a choir chanted "In paradisum deducant te angeli: tuo adventu suscipiant te martyres, et perducant te in civitate Jerusalem..."

A great gathering of people, including many of those who have been involved in the drama of events surrounding Anglicans and the Catholic Church over the past two decades...

Here is something good...

...the Holy Father speaking - powerfully and movingly - at Rome's Synagogue. He was interrupted several time by applause.

Did you read about this in the mainstream media? I thought not. Help spread the word. Pass on the link to others. Tell people about what the Pope said. Quote him, and encourage others to do so. Priests: use his words in talks and sermons, setting the record straight and making clear that this is what the Vicar of Christ is saying.

And please, in particular, give this to those who who, claiming to be devout Catholics, continue to make anti-semitic remarks and/or to offer excuses for Holocaust-deniers.

I found ...

...this an inspiring read for January, in a year when we face many difficulties and need reminders of hope...

But to compound the gloom...

...a newsletter arrivs with figures about Islam in Europe. Read it here. Our Christian Europe is dying, and what comes next will be different. Islam has arrived and is growing fast, while once-Christian nations shun marriage and seem to resent having children. A baby is seen to be some one who will take away from his or her parents' freedom and prosperity. Having a child might be worthwhile, but it might not - at best, it is just an option, to be considered in the same way as a car or an expensive holiday, purely on the grounds of how much pride and pleasure and satisfaction it might provide.

This is, as the great Pope John Paul so aptly described it, a culture of death.

A meeting...

...at St James church, Spanish Place, of the committee of the Association of Catholic Women. Our meetings are always friendly and warm and have a special sense of welcome - committee member Monica Flynn invariably produces delicious cakes or biscuits and at this meeting she excelled herself with an array of goodies she had been given as Christmas gifts and wanted to share. Despite this, and despite the pleasure of being together again after the Christmas break, the swapping of happy news(two members busy with daughters' weddings) and our plans for the coming months including the Day of Art and Music on March 25th , there was a solemn air. Every day seems to bring some new crunch for the freedom to live and work in a flourishing way as Christians in Britain: if the Government's attempts to crush the freedoms of Church schools were not enough, we now have the Liberal Democrat leader's statement that such schools must teach the acceptability of homosexual activity. When we discussed isues concerning care of the elderly - an area of work in which a number of our members are involved as volunteers - terrible information emerged about ill-treatment, starvation, denial of water and other basic care, in hospitals. There is issues of the gravest possible kind here: death by thirst is ghastly.We need changes to the Liverpool Care Pathway.

When the ACW was first founded, we were particularly concerned about extreme feminist lobbying within the Church, pressure for feminist language in prayers, calls from groups denouncing the Christian teaching on marriage and protection of the unborn and so on...but now the focus has shifted and we find much less of that kind of rubbish in the Church, and many newer problems. Meanwhile the Association has flourished, and is active in a number of useful projects (come to our Day of Recollection in Lent, for instance!). But the future looks full of new challenges...

Re the Pope and current controversies...

...I found this feature by a Vatican correspondent - a colleague with whom I had a lengthy and fascinating talk when I was last in Rome - of some interest.

To Parliament...

...for the presentation of awards to young winners of the Robin McNair prize, organised by the Society for the Protection of Unborn Childen. Robin McNair was a Battle of Britain pilot, a Squadron Leader,and a hero, and a longtime supporter of protection of the unborn. His family instituted the Award in his memory after he died in the 1990s. The young people write essays on topics that differ each year and tackle issues including abortion, embryo research, and euthanasia...the ceremony brought the young prizewinners to the House of Commons and a warm welcome from David Burrowes MP, and it was all very cheering and inspiring.

Despite the snow...

...which has made our scruffy road look delightful, and brought out all sorts of friendliness in streets and shops as people cope and struggle and help one another...and despite the fact that I have lots of good things ahead in 2010, and am blessed in my family and friends, it is difficult not to share the sense of quiet sadness that pervades things at present. The tragic collapse of social and community values over the past decade - following on inevitably from policies pursued by successive rulers and bureaucrats - now makes itself felt all the time in crime, family break-up, and the sordid drunken antics of the young in city and suburb every weekend.

As the Govt pushes forward its crunch on church schools - with, alas, the connivance of the Catholic education bureaucracy which instead of defending the schools is dotty about trying to make sure that they are not "elitist" - the plans for the horrible Equality Bill also roll relentlessly forward. There is a general recognition that, as at present formulated, it is designed to make things difficult for the Church by seeking to outlaw a male-only priesthood and the open teaching of Christian morals especially on homosexual activity. So now it's a question of whether or not the Church will be able to draw things out, talking to lawyers and so on, and find some way forward...with the Govt concentrating on ensuring speed so that the things becomes law before a May election.

At the weekend, J. spent some time sorting through papers. Among them, acquired a couple of summers ago on a trip to Runnymede, was a copy of Magna Carta, with its affirmation of the rights of the Church in our country.

And all the while, the bodies of our soldiers are brought back from Afghanistan, often accompanied by heart-breaking stories of courage and self-sacrifice...

Pray for Pope Benedict...

...as he continues the tradition, established by John Paul II, of visiting a Rome synagogue. Thanks to the ghastly anti-Jewish rants of the Lefebvrist's Dr Williamson - still, alas, not denounced by that community - there are tensions between Rome's Jewish community and the Catholic Church. As Cardinal Ratzinger, Pope Benedict did more than anyone else in the Church to help forge new friendships between Jews and Catholics, and it has been tragic to see how the Lefebvrist issue has now got in the way.

For me, one of the most frightening things that happened in 2009 was the realisation that anti-semitism has a hold on a certain (thank God, extremely small) group of Catholics - I was truly shocked and disgusted at some of the emails I recieved after writing about this subject. I suspect that most belonged to schismatic groups or were of a schismatic mentality. But the fact that they felt that they could pronounce horrible anti-Jewish comments under the guise of calling themselves "traditional Catholics" appalled and sickened me. I do not see how anyone who is a traditional and loyal Catholic can be anti-Jewish.

I am currently working on some research concerning an English nun who hid Jewish children in Rome during the war and saved their lives. In the early post-war years, the name of Pius XII was revered by many is Israel who knew of lives saved in this way.

Mgr Graham Leonard RIP...

...a man of God, who served the good cause faithfully, and was an inspiration to many. The Daily Telegraph has a fine obituary.

Mgr Leonard came to speak at a dinner held by the Catholic Cultural Group and it was a great priviledge to have him: it was one of our most memorable evenings. He also spoke at the Catholic Women of the Year Luncheon, and was inspirational. He was a patron of the Continuity Movement, and we all owe him a great deal.

He was a man who loved God, and loved England. Our country needs Christian leaders of his calibre. We we pray for his soul, let's also pray that God will send us more men like him...

One of the blogs...

...that Auntie regularly reads is Cranmer. He has some very relevant information about the Islamic extremists who recently appeared in court and were given special permission to arrive late so that they would not have to stand up for the judge. (They had announced their refusal to stand, on the grounds that the judge was not Allah).

FInd out more...

...about Auntie's latest book A Nun With A Difference, by looking at this website. This book is the first of its type that I have ever done - a biography of a remarkable woman, complete with her correspondence. I enjoyed doing a "Life and Letters", which is an old-fashioned form of biography enabling the reader to get deeply aquainted with the subject...who in this case happens to be a former headmistress of my old school. Do take a look at the website, especially if you are a Philomenian (if you aren't one, you won't know what one is!).

Why have the bishops...

...of England and Wales tried to steal part of our Christmas? They have nicked three days of it this year. MEAN. Horrid. They announced unilaterally a couple of years ago that the Epiphany would be "moved to the nearest Sunday", thus robbing us of a proper celebration of today's feast. We had an Epiphany Mass in our parish on Sunday, and as it is a splendid parish we had a glory of Epiphany liturgy, with suitable vestments, hymns and music, and all this week we've been having readings and sermons that have kept up the Epiphany message and mood. But why did the Bishops rob us of the actual feast - in the teeth of opposition from priests and people alike?

I know that, on a technicality, we can attend an Extraordinary Form Mass using an older calendar. But that misses the point. The Epiphany can and should be celebrated by everyone, across the nation, and it's all there in the universal Church calendar and we share it with the Church of England and everything. Please, please, dear Bishops, GIVE US BACK OUR HOLY DAYS!!!

Let's start 2010 on...

...an inspiring note, with some things that will give encouragement. Get your diaries out...

On March 25th there's a Day of Art and Music, aimed at RE teachers in Catholic primary schools, but also open to catechists, leaders of children's groups in parishes etc. It's at the Monckton Room at the beautiful and historic Holy Redeemer Church, Chelsea and is FREE for teachers. Includes lunch. Opportunity to view glorious art, and to learn Gregorian chant. The day finishes with Mass at which we'l be singing the chant we have learned...

Need a good wintry walk? Lamplight? History? Join us on January 20th on the steps of Westminster Cathedral at 6.30pm, following the 5.30pm sung Mass. A London Catholic History Walk, looking at the Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, Parliament, the Thames...wear warm clothes, comfortable walking shoes, gloves, and bring a torch. No need to book, just turn up. And while you're about it, note Feb 17th, same venue, for another Walk, which will have a Royal theme and take in St James Park, Buckingham Palace, etc...and February 25th, this time meeting at St Mary Moorfields, 6.30pm, for a walk which will explore some of the City's history.