Friday, July 30, 2010

Off to Birmingham...

...to Maryvale for another round of exams. It's a busy place, and full up at the moment as so many students are there for exams and lectures. Some of us will be staying instead at a nearby inn.

Not far from Maryvale there is a disused (? Methodist, from the look of it) church which is up for sale. Suitably reorgnaised inside, it could provide a number of useful rooms, and it's just off the edge of the Maryvale estate, near a row of shops and adjoining some other empty buildings. I keep thinking...

Thursday, July 29, 2010

I have been sent...

...a copy of Dr Alick Dowling's "Enjoy Eating Less" which is a commonsense guide to tackling Britain's obesity problem. But the book has become detached from its accompanying letter, so I don't have details of its price, availability, etc. Alick - can you contact me? I am anxious to review the book in a couple of journals and need more details...

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

The bash-the-Catholic-Church brigade will soon be launching...

...its August campaign, looking ahead to the Papal visit in Sept and hoping to wreck it. THere's a useful feature on the subject here...

In harsh sunshine...

...trawling a heavy suitcase on wheels across London. It was filled with Bibles. I was taking them to the house of a kind friend in Chelsea, where next week a small team will be gathering to embark on the substantial task of sending them out to young prizewinners of the 2010 Schools Bible Project. This Project is an ecumenical venture and is open to pupuls at all secondary schools in Britain: they are invited to imagine themselves present at one of the events in the life of Christ (we give them six from which to choose, with Bible references etc) and to write about it in their own words. The result is a huge number of entries, which pour in from schools across the country...and every year a team of judges meets to choose the winners, and to award Bible prizes to the runners-up. The winners come to London to recieve their prizes, which include cheques for their schools, from one of our Trustees in a ceremony at the House of Lords.

Many - indeed most - of the essays are of a very high standard, and a good number are truly moving and thoughtful. It is always a great delight to meet the prizewinners and their families. And mailing out the Bibles is always a satisfying task...

Expressing some astonishment...

...a Catholic newspaper this weekend highlighted on its front page the news "Journalist manages a day of total silence", and reported that I had remained silent in Westminster Cathedral from the 8am Mass to the 8pm Cathedral closure in order to pray for the success of the visit of the Holy Father...

I am very grateful to the correspondents to this Blog who have promised sponsorship funds. A very large THANK YOU to you all.

And let's all keep praying for the success of this visit...

On the same page of the paper, a rather peculiar speech by the Lefebvrist Dr Fellay is reported. He announces that the Pope is, at heart "a Catholic..." which strikes an odd note, and a somewhat grudging one. It seems to fit with the general attitude of the Lefebvrists: their first reaction, on the lifting of their excommunication, included an announcement that they had never accepted it anyway. It's not quite clear that they understand their position now. If, as seems possible, some do return and regularise their position, they're going to have something of a learning curve, as they slowly discover that the Holy Father, and his predecessor, have been Catholic all along, that it was the followers of poor Archbishop Lefebvre who lost the plot, not the successors of St Peter...and that the word that is needed is "Sorry" not "Let's negotiate".

The sea and the hills...

...and picking the first of this summer's blackberries. A glorious concert in a beautiful old church on a summer's evening. Family time, and chattering nieces. A wonderful afternoon on a gusty beach, splashing in and out of the sea. Moonlight over a meadow, and cheerful friendly families camping. A packed church for Sunday Mass, the usual congregation swollen by numbers of holidaymakers, lots and lots of children.

It's easy to believe, sometimes, that everything really is all right and that behind the ghastly headlines about church scandals, and the drunken scenes in town centres on Saturday nights, and the figures for family breakup, everything is solidly in place and a future for church and nation is assurred. I am not confident. But it was a beautiful weekend in a lovely part of England, a special family time which was important and will be cherished by us all.

Thursday, July 22, 2010

From silence...

...Auntie made £400 in one day towards the cost of the Papal visit.

By remaining completely silent from 8 am to 8pm last Sunday, keeping vigil in St Joseph's Chapel in Westminster Cathedral, I raised this sum in donations - and more, still coming in from various sponsors. If you want to donate, you could do so here, just mentioning that you are sending a donation in connection with Auntie Joanna's 12-hour silence.

People thought I couldn't do it. But it was one of the most beautiful experiences of my life.

All of us...

...that is, the entire population of the world, could fit comfortably into the state of Texas, with everyone having a good-sized house and bit of land.

Please tell this to the ghastly and omnipresent fanatics who keep telling us there are too many people. Britain is dying. Young people are being endlessly told that they should not have children. There is a feeling of pointlessness and gloom and it's time we got real and started to tell the truth.

Get the facts here and pass then on. Quickly.I am sick and tired of living in what John Paul the Great rightly described as a "culture of death".

In sizzling heat...

...to Sussex, where cool sea breezes were a joy, and there was a wonderful welcome at the home of Bryan and Jayne Lock, who run the Continuity/Miles Jesu group organising events such as the Martyrs' Walk and the Catholic History Walks.

After lots of family time and talk, we settled down to a meeting to plan the Autumn events and the 2011 activities. Click on to the Continuity website link to get a full accvount of the recent Martyrs' Walk, and keep in touch there as the website will give details of all this Autumn's Walks as well as plans for 2011, which are now well in hand...


And here are some dates to start you off:

Thursday Sept 9th, CATHOLIC HISTORY WALK. Meet after the 5.30pm Mass on the steps of Westminster Cathedral. No need to book - just turn up! Wear suitable clothing for a walk through Westminster and Whitehall - comfortable shoes. We'll be walking whatever the weather!

Sept 17th-19th VISIT OF THE HOLY FATHER - BE THERE TO CHEER HIM IN THE STREETS!!!


Sunday October 10th - History Ramble at Arundel, Sussex. Meet after the 10.30am Mass at Westminster Cathedral, or at Arundel itself - watch for details on the Continuity website. Bring a packed lunch and be prepared for a good walk.

Thursday October 28th - Catholic History Walk. Meet on the steps of ST PAUL'S CATHEDRAL, 6pm

Thursday, November 28th - Catholic History Walk. Meet on the steps of Westminster Cathedral, after the 5.30pm Mass.

Monday, July 19, 2010

Now here's a chance...

...for you to do some good.

The Evangelium conference for Catholic young people takes place in three weeks' time. It's a great event,bringing together young people in an atmosphere of lively discussion, joy and faith, and it is playing an important part in the re-evangelising of our country.

If you want to attend, simply click on to that link.

If you are older, and want to do some good, please PLEASE consider helping with a donation which would enable a young person to attend. The fee is not high, but it is just a bit more than some young people can afford. Can you help? Send a Comment to this Blog WITH AN EMAIL ADDRESS TO WHICH I CAN REPLY and I will tell you how to make a donation. We are able to accept funds from the USA as well as from Britain.

If you love Britain, and want to help to renew and revive the Christian faith in this country, this is your chance to do something quietly useful and positive. Even a modest donation of £10 would make a difference...

Sunday, July 18, 2010

An awesome day...

...in Westminster Cathedral, where I remained completely silent from the conclusion of the first Mass of the day at 8am to the closing of the Cathedral at 8pm. It was an unforgettable 12 hours.

There was a box for donations at the entrance to St Joseph's Chapel, and at every Mass the Sponsored Silence was announced: an act of witness in support of the visit of the Holy Father and in solidarity with him...and people were invited to join me in prayer, and/or to make donations. And they came, generously giving of their time and their funds, kneeling to pray, shaking my hand, whispering messages of encouragement...old friends, people who know me from EWTN, people of all ages and from a number of different countries, a fellow-student from Maryvale, a family with small children all eagerly dropping in their coins, a dear elderly priest who prayed for a long while...lots and lots and lots of people...

The beauty of the liturgy - Mass after Mass unrolling as I sat in the chapel, slipping out every now and then to join the congregation. Huge crowds pour into the Cathedral for every Mass. There was a lull at lunchtime, and then numbers began gathering again for a glorious sung First Vespers and Benediction. Then the round of evening Masses.

The Gospel for today was about Martha and Mary, v. appropriate, a reminder of the importance of just listening to Christ, and not always scurrying about. It was wonderful just to be, with my Maryvale books, and my Rosary, and Magnificat. A phrase echoed in my mind a lot during the day "The Mass of the ages"...being in the Cathedral all day, hearing the Mass said, chanted, sung, again and again, there was a timelessness about it that was magnificent.

The rumble of voices saying "I confess..." The singing of a Kyrie. The Sign of Peace - which can often seem artificial and forced but which went rustling swiftly like a breath through the vast congregation and was rather moving to see. The silence as the bell rings at the Elevation. The sound of a great congregation singing the Pater Noster.

As the day ended, I was almost sorry to see the kindly figure of Canon Tuckwell, the Cathedral Administrator, coming along in the dusk to announce the Cathedral's closure. I found my voice, to thank him and everyone who had helped - especially the kind lady from the Cathedral office who brought me tea and coffee and biscuits and organised things...

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

And while...

...I was in Yorkshire, so was the Anglican Synod, meeting at York and voting to invent lady bishops. Before RCs get all smug about the disintegration of the Anglican Communion, we should stop to recognise that it will bring much confusion in its wake, and also that there is a considerable amount of heartache going on.

And there some large decisions to be made, and the heartbeat of history is quietly beating steadily here...

There is an Anglican heritage of beauty in worship and music, culture and traditions...and the new offer from the H. Father is waiting, and ready...

Tradition seems to reign supreme...

...in Yorkshire, where I had a wonderful weekend.You can read about it here,and I will add that the Union of Catholic Mothers of the Middlesborough diocese gave me a warm welcome at their annual conference, where everything was done in traditional style with a splendid meal (including chocolate cake, to which they carefully directed my attention) and much goodwill and enthusiasm. If you are interested in the subject of my talk, you can find much of it in the "Yearbook of Seasons and Celebrations" (Gracewing Books). If you want a signed copy send a Comment to this Blog, marking it 'Not for publication',and GIVING AN EMAIL ADDRESS AT WHICH I CAN REPLY TO YOU...

Scarborough, where I was based during my stay, has the most glorious beaches and views, and it was heaven to run down for an early-morning swim. The sea was cold (North Sea), the water deliciously clear and clean ("We've won an Award for it" the lady at the coffee-shop told me). Later in the day the beaches filled up with cheerful families - yes, real families, mothers and fathers and children and grandparents and everyone mixing in together. A kind family looked after my clothes and 'phone and bag when I went in for my second dip of the day. A small grandchild was busily digging a sandcastle, turning her face up from time to time to allow her grandmother to dispense strawberries, "Open wide, Grandam's going to give you another strawberry".

On the Sunday evening I gave a talk to the Hull Faith Forum - lots of young people, several of whom were engaged in football when we arrived but came running to greet Fr William Massie...there was a great sense of welcome and it was a very happy evening.

Monday, July 12, 2010

I have been...

...in Yorkshire (of which more later) and before that in Balham, where I went to a Sunday Mass at Holy Ghost parish . Glorious music - a particularly beautiful setting of "O Sacrament most Holy...".Lots of young families - young dads holding babies, mums and/or older siblings struggling with straying toddlers.

I've also been to a committee meeting of The Keys, the Catholic Writers' Guild. If you are a teenager and want to enter for the 2010 Catholic Young Writer Award, you have exactly six days left in which to do so. This year it is jointly sponsored with the Catholic Union... which incidentally had its Summer Party the other day, at Allen Hall, a great success, good discussions, much strong feeling expressed about defending our Catholic schools and their right to teach the fullness of Catholic faith and morals. Allen Hall stands on the site of St Thomas More's garden, and the significance of his message was not lost on anyone...

From a number of different sources, I've been hearing reports of the huge success of INVOCATION, the great event for Catholic young people at Oscott. I hope the Holy Father hears about it all on his visit...there are many signs of hope in the Church in Britain. We need them, as there are going to be renewed attacks on the Church as the Papal visit draws near...

For various reasons, I left my bike at a friend's house in Balham...collected it the other evening and after a delicious and talkative supper we ended up chatting and laughing outside, with another friend, in the warm summer night, and then I cycled home through the South London streets, following the straight road that was already old when the Normans arrived, and beneath which the Northern line tube follows along the same ancient route. Late at night, when the mosques and shops, bazaars and street vendors, pubs and clubs and schools and offices are not functioning, you notice older things - the sudden appearance of the River Wandle alongside the supermarket before it goes off agreeably into a local park, the hints of ancient Merton Priory (links with St Thomas Becket, who studied there as a boy), and with Lord Nelson (who of course was given Merton after his early victories and is now honoured in local pub signs and street-names, and the old Nelson Hospital)...

Here at home, the grass is crunchy-brown on our small lawn, the apple tree grown from a tiny cutting brought from Fernyhalgh is laden with fruit, phone calls go back and forth with plans for a dear nephew's wedding later this summer, and trips to the Isle of Wight and to Somerset...and in between all this I'm reading and reading for my next set of Maryvale exams, and so the summer goes on...

Wednesday, July 07, 2010

OK, OK....here's how to do it...

On Sunday July 18th, I am taking a vow of silence for the whole day.

I'll be in Westminster Cathedral, where I'm doing a SPONSORED SILENCE to help raise funds for the Pope's visit.

You can come and join me, but I won't talk to you. I'll be in the chapel of St Joseph and the Holy Family. There'll be a box for donations. Be generous. Get you friends to come. Bring your Rosary, and stay for a while and pray with me.

The Sponsored Silence will be announced at all the Masses at the Cathedral on that day. I will be attending the first Mass of the day, and the last words I'll say will be the response to the dismissal:"Thanks be to God". Then it's silence until the Cathedral closes at 7pm

We will be praying for the success of the Holy Father's visit.

Come and join in! Or join in with some prayers at home.

I suspect that my friends and family can't believe that the most talkative woman in London can actually remain silent for a whole day. Let's see...

Tuesday, July 06, 2010

HOW TO SILENCE AUNTIE JOANNA...

...it's quite easy!!

Read this blog and get the information as it first emerges here...

A busy week...

...with a lot happening. In Oxford on Wednesday (TODAY, as you read this) a lecture by Walter Hooper, secretary and biographer of C.S.Lewis...info here.

To Lancashire...

...where I had the great delight of staying with the Hester family - Eric Hester is a distinguished former headmaster, and a current Catholic writer, and we all sat agreeably over a delicious dinner talking and talking until late...

On Monday I went to St Charles Primary School at Rishton to present prizes won in the Schools RE Project run by the Association of Catholic Women.A happy morning. The children came quietly in neat lines to morning assembly, looking very cheerful in their red-and-white uniforms, and there was a friendly chorus of "Good Morning!" when I was introduced. They all knew about the Holy Father and his forthcoming visit - great eager forest of hands when I asked his name, and that of the first Pope - and considerable excitement as I announced that children from this school had won prizes and certificates in the special nationwide project to mark his arrival. Warm applause as the prizes were preesented...a happy, heartening morning.

The countryside was glorious in summer sunwhine as the train took me back to London. At Westminster Cathedral various groups were filming in preparation for the visit of the Holy Father, One team was from Channel Four and were distinctly chilly and not friendly when we went over to chat. Another was from Sky News and rather more human.

Why not pray for all involved with Channel Four News? They have souls too and will have to meet God one day...

St Paul's Publications have produced a delightful book to mark the conclusion of the Year of Priests. It's Our Priests, (£6.95p) written by children, and would be the perfect present for your parish priest, seminarian, or ordinand. There are some gems in it, some comic, some very sweet, some surprisngly thought-provoking.

"A Priest is a person who gives his life for Jesus. At Mass it's like Jesus climbs into a Priest's Bbody and does all the work."

"A priest is some one very important in the church, they can be hardworking. I think that a job of a priest is hard, they help the poor, they help at funerals and weddings. Priests worship God and help people get close to God.They tell people to try to confess the bad things they have done, however being at church can be happy because people sing and pray."

Not all the results of a priest's work are satisfactory:
"Thanks for praying for my baby lizards but only 3 out of 10 survive"

Sunday, July 04, 2010

It has long been family legend...

...that my father was among those who faced the last cavalry charge ever directed against the British Army. I remember him telling me about this when I was in my teens, and it all seemed slightly ridiculous - how could there have been men on horses, waving swords, charging across the landscape during the Second World War? To him, it was all just part of the wider wartime experiences (making fires out of camel dung, being cared for by silent nuns in an Italian hospital, making a tasty meal out of fried crushed Army biscuits and raisins - apparently v. tasty).

This week: confirmation. An obtituary in the Daily Telegraph was eye-catching as it showed a man in magnificent turbaned uniform - as a soldier in an Ethiopian cavalry unit he had taken part in the last cavalry charged directed at the British Army. They attacked a detachment of British troops, including Skinner's Horse and the Surrey and Sussex Yeomanry! So the legend was true, and my memory of Father sitting at home and telling me about it is accurate...as I read the newspaper, sitting in the train from Birmingham, I was transported to conversations of long ago...

I rushed back...

...from Maryvale briefly midweek, to take some young people on a Catholic History walk in Chelsea. It was the end of a long hot day in London and they were tired, but they rallied and we had a happy time...they are a group from L'Aquila in Italy, where the parish is twinned with St Joseph's, New Malden, in a magnificent initiative which began following the L'Aquila earthquake. All praise to the organisers of all of this, and to the families hosting the young people on this summer's London trip. The young people were evidently enjoying themselves. I don't know how much they understood about St Thomas More and Henry VIII, but they seemed interested and it was rather lovely sitting in the evening sunlight by the church where he worshipped, and letting the story unfold around us...

Maryvale was absolutely delightful...a wonderful week. When I arrived back, very late at night after my London dash, there was a sense of coming home. Once our exams were over, there was a full week of lectures, and opportunities for study, talks with the course director, etc. The library is very good, and it was bliss to sit out on the cool lawns, reading. Excellent lectures from, among others, Fr Julian Green on the Trinity, Fr Robert Letellier on the Synoptic Gospels, and Prof Edward Hulme who gave us an introduction to in basic Arabic...