Sunday, August 28, 2011
A particularly interesting insight on Spain's World Youth Day...
...can be found here and is well worth reading...
A London Sunday...
...beginning with Mass at Westminster Cathedral: even with the full choir away,the High Mass is glorious with chant. Had arranged to meet a young relative there and we had a happy day, spent partly in Chelsea at a friend's house where, following tea and cake,she helped me stack and store essays from the 2011 Schools Bible Project (prizewinners have been notified and names and schools will appear on the wesbite as soon as the school term begins). There is a hint of Autumn in the air, delicious coolness after the heat of Spain...I spent a lot of time enthusing about World Youth Day but young M. was expecting this,her sister L. having taken part in the Cologne WYD and loving it. We talked about Catholic things: M. very down-to-earth "The thing I like is that, whereever you are going, you just find out where the local Catholic church is, and check the Mass times, and you go there, and you know what you're going to, and what it's all about."
Friday, August 26, 2011
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
I expect...
..that I'll stop writing about World Youth Day shortly. But endure it a little longer. It has a number of important implications for the future and it's worth pondering.
There are some good highlights here. And Papa B., who obviously loved it all, has been speaking about it at length and describing it as a "cascade of light" and "a precious gift which gives hope for the future of the Church".
One reason why I was keen to go to Madrid was that, a little while ago, I recieved a passionate and angry denunciation of WYD as a pagan counterfeit modernist evil event, together with repeated denunciations of (Blessed)John Paul II. Probably now following the success of Madrid, which followed the success of Sydney,which followed the success of Cologne, which followed the success of Paris and Rome and all the others, this line will change. An apology from the denouncers would be decent and honourable.
There are some good highlights here. And Papa B., who obviously loved it all, has been speaking about it at length and describing it as a "cascade of light" and "a precious gift which gives hope for the future of the Church".
One reason why I was keen to go to Madrid was that, a little while ago, I recieved a passionate and angry denunciation of WYD as a pagan counterfeit modernist evil event, together with repeated denunciations of (Blessed)John Paul II. Probably now following the success of Madrid, which followed the success of Sydney,which followed the success of Cologne, which followed the success of Paris and Rome and all the others, this line will change. An apology from the denouncers would be decent and honourable.
...and more from Auntie on Madrid...
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
"We are the youth of the Pope"....
...the cry of young people at the 2011 World Youth Day. And it sort of has two meanings: that the young people stand with the Pope, and are affirming their full loyalty to him, but also - an extra and unintended meaning - that the young share their youthful energy with the Holy Father and rejuvenate him with their joy and their affection and good humour.
You'll get something of the feel of that unforgettable Saturday night vigil if you watch here. The Pope was so splendid and joyful and amused by the sudden turn of events, undeterred by storm and wind. Enjoy.
You'll get something of the feel of that unforgettable Saturday night vigil if you watch here. The Pope was so splendid and joyful and amused by the sudden turn of events, undeterred by storm and wind. Enjoy.
Two million people...
...were at Mass with Papa Benedict XVI, on a great airfield of scorched Spanish earth after a night of storm and wind that gave way to starlit peace.
Did you see it on TV? Can you imagine what it was like to be part of it?
On Saturday night, after that electric storm, when the rain came down and the sky was lit up with dramatic streaks of lightning, there was a momentary loss of power for the great screens and we didn't quite know what was happening. People were sheltering from the rain (others, like Auntie, were relishing it and stood with joyful arms outstretched in thanksgiving!)and checking on younger friends and drawing people together. And as power was restored and the drama abated, we heard Papa B's voice, calm and reassurring. "Well, the LOrd has been generous with his blessings" And he led us in the great vigil of prayer, just as planned...
The drama did not prevent us from sleeping out, as planned,although some must have had a most uncomfortable night simply due to pressure of space because of the the huge numbers, rising to some two million the next day and already heading that way by Saturday evening. In our sector we had adequate if limited space, and pulled together our mats and settled down to several hours of slumber...I woke in the early hours while all was still dark, and was struck by how curiously serene and safe it all looked, somehow. There were tents and humps of makeshift shelter, and hundreds of thousands of sleeping people. Earlier panics about the ghastly heat had given way to the stillness and cool of the night - healthcare had coped with anyone who found the heat too much, stacks and stacks of fresh water had arrived, and now even the chatting and singing and laughter had died away and there was this extrordinary scene of a great vast swathe of humanity at rest.
And the rain had brought a fresher day for our Sunday Mass. Not without drama: the great tent where the Blessed Sacrament was reserved and where adoration was taking place was ripped down in the storm. Nearby had been stored vast quantities of Communion hosts, to be consecrated at the morning Mass, and these were caught up in the wreckage and could not be used. So when the sun came up and we were all getting organised for the day ahead, announcements were made telling us that we would not be able to recieve Holy Communion at Mass but should make a Spiritual Communion and then, if possible, go to one of Madrid's churches later in the day where HOly Communion would be given to us...
It was touching to see the many, many priests and nuns and friars with the various groups in that vast crowd busy saying their office faithfully throughout our time on the airfield. You would see a friar deep in the Psalm or or a priest opening up his book with its ribbon markers. And as Mass began, this gigantic gathering of humanity slowly turned into a Sunday congregation at prayer, led by a choir and with the Pope concelebrating with Bishops and priests at the altar.
How stupid the sections of the British media that focused on the ranting of some anti-Church demonstrators, thus massively missing the central story. Get real. Here is a new generation of young Catholics, all gathered from the four corners of the earth, affirming their full, enthusiastic and loving commitment to Jesus Christ and taking part in the ancient rites of the Catholic Church with a fullness of devotion that speaks of a great reality for the future. Think about it. This has massive implications for the next decade's shaping of social and community ideas and policies: these people are dedicated, alert, and extremely active. They travelled to Madrid as enthusiastic pilgrims, and their strumming guitars and waving flags and whooping shouts of "Viva el Papa!" are all part of a Catholicism which is rooted in real personal involvement and not in any way imposed by the State or even encouraged by it. This is a movement. If there were two million Greenies, or two million enthusiastic socialists, or two million fans of a particular pop star, it would all be regarded as rather significant and the media would not focus on some (statistically insignificant) opposing demonstrators.
The Pope's message included a strong call that he had also made in his Introduction to the new Youth Catechism with which every young pilgrim has been provided: this new generation must know and understand the Faith better than their parents have done. There are new challenges ahead and great hearts and deep prayer are needed...
After Mass, we ate lunch (packs of food for all of yesterday and today had been provided, complete with delicious ham and bread and olive oil and yoghurts and more) all slowly packed things up and made ready to go...no point in hurrying, as it takes hours and hours for such a crowd - effectively the population of a great city - to disperse and find its way home, as Papa B. was also doing, having found a special place in youthful hearts because he stayed throughout that storm when some of his accompanying monsignori seemed to indicate that he ought to leave...
We were exhausted and very grimy with dust and sweat when we finally got back to our home-base of the church of St Mary of Cana: the bliss of a shower was just indescribably delightful. Then in the evening we all gathered to relax together, to talk over what had been - and suddenly the dust and vicious thorns and thistles and the horrible insects ("mutant grasshoppers" was the favoured expression...although, ugh, the huge ants in their horrid teeming anthills were worse!) were simply part of something that had been so much bigger and more glorious...I wish I could convey the joy and the friendship and the many small kindnesses of the lovely Quo Vadis group with which I have been priviledged to be linked in these Madrid days. The core of the group includes young men training for the priesthood or considering a religious vocation - but for this WYD pilgrimage it has been opened up for large numbers of young people who simply wanted to come alonmg to be part of this unforgettable event. And now with all sorts of shared experiences, and times of prayer, and complicated in-jokes, and hours and hours of friendship and talk and laughter and more, there is of course that sense of unity that is one of the really delightful things that emerges from a time such as this...
Did you see it on TV? Can you imagine what it was like to be part of it?
On Saturday night, after that electric storm, when the rain came down and the sky was lit up with dramatic streaks of lightning, there was a momentary loss of power for the great screens and we didn't quite know what was happening. People were sheltering from the rain (others, like Auntie, were relishing it and stood with joyful arms outstretched in thanksgiving!)and checking on younger friends and drawing people together. And as power was restored and the drama abated, we heard Papa B's voice, calm and reassurring. "Well, the LOrd has been generous with his blessings" And he led us in the great vigil of prayer, just as planned...
The drama did not prevent us from sleeping out, as planned,although some must have had a most uncomfortable night simply due to pressure of space because of the the huge numbers, rising to some two million the next day and already heading that way by Saturday evening. In our sector we had adequate if limited space, and pulled together our mats and settled down to several hours of slumber...I woke in the early hours while all was still dark, and was struck by how curiously serene and safe it all looked, somehow. There were tents and humps of makeshift shelter, and hundreds of thousands of sleeping people. Earlier panics about the ghastly heat had given way to the stillness and cool of the night - healthcare had coped with anyone who found the heat too much, stacks and stacks of fresh water had arrived, and now even the chatting and singing and laughter had died away and there was this extrordinary scene of a great vast swathe of humanity at rest.
And the rain had brought a fresher day for our Sunday Mass. Not without drama: the great tent where the Blessed Sacrament was reserved and where adoration was taking place was ripped down in the storm. Nearby had been stored vast quantities of Communion hosts, to be consecrated at the morning Mass, and these were caught up in the wreckage and could not be used. So when the sun came up and we were all getting organised for the day ahead, announcements were made telling us that we would not be able to recieve Holy Communion at Mass but should make a Spiritual Communion and then, if possible, go to one of Madrid's churches later in the day where HOly Communion would be given to us...
It was touching to see the many, many priests and nuns and friars with the various groups in that vast crowd busy saying their office faithfully throughout our time on the airfield. You would see a friar deep in the Psalm or or a priest opening up his book with its ribbon markers. And as Mass began, this gigantic gathering of humanity slowly turned into a Sunday congregation at prayer, led by a choir and with the Pope concelebrating with Bishops and priests at the altar.
How stupid the sections of the British media that focused on the ranting of some anti-Church demonstrators, thus massively missing the central story. Get real. Here is a new generation of young Catholics, all gathered from the four corners of the earth, affirming their full, enthusiastic and loving commitment to Jesus Christ and taking part in the ancient rites of the Catholic Church with a fullness of devotion that speaks of a great reality for the future. Think about it. This has massive implications for the next decade's shaping of social and community ideas and policies: these people are dedicated, alert, and extremely active. They travelled to Madrid as enthusiastic pilgrims, and their strumming guitars and waving flags and whooping shouts of "Viva el Papa!" are all part of a Catholicism which is rooted in real personal involvement and not in any way imposed by the State or even encouraged by it. This is a movement. If there were two million Greenies, or two million enthusiastic socialists, or two million fans of a particular pop star, it would all be regarded as rather significant and the media would not focus on some (statistically insignificant) opposing demonstrators.
The Pope's message included a strong call that he had also made in his Introduction to the new Youth Catechism with which every young pilgrim has been provided: this new generation must know and understand the Faith better than their parents have done. There are new challenges ahead and great hearts and deep prayer are needed...
After Mass, we ate lunch (packs of food for all of yesterday and today had been provided, complete with delicious ham and bread and olive oil and yoghurts and more) all slowly packed things up and made ready to go...no point in hurrying, as it takes hours and hours for such a crowd - effectively the population of a great city - to disperse and find its way home, as Papa B. was also doing, having found a special place in youthful hearts because he stayed throughout that storm when some of his accompanying monsignori seemed to indicate that he ought to leave...
We were exhausted and very grimy with dust and sweat when we finally got back to our home-base of the church of St Mary of Cana: the bliss of a shower was just indescribably delightful. Then in the evening we all gathered to relax together, to talk over what had been - and suddenly the dust and vicious thorns and thistles and the horrible insects ("mutant grasshoppers" was the favoured expression...although, ugh, the huge ants in their horrid teeming anthills were worse!) were simply part of something that had been so much bigger and more glorious...I wish I could convey the joy and the friendship and the many small kindnesses of the lovely Quo Vadis group with which I have been priviledged to be linked in these Madrid days. The core of the group includes young men training for the priesthood or considering a religious vocation - but for this WYD pilgrimage it has been opened up for large numbers of young people who simply wanted to come alonmg to be part of this unforgettable event. And now with all sorts of shared experiences, and times of prayer, and complicated in-jokes, and hours and hours of friendship and talk and laughter and more, there is of course that sense of unity that is one of the really delightful things that emerges from a time such as this...
Sunday, August 21, 2011
We have shared an adventure together...
...said Papa Benedict to roars and roars of applause, after the electric storm and the thunder and lightening, and the evening prayer vigil interrupted by this dramatic intervention of nature following a day of intense and burning heat and shortages of water among some actions of the million strong crowd.
We who were there will never be able to convey adequately how extraordinary it was, how stunning that mixture of fear and panic and heat and thirst and sudden splashing water...the relentless heat of afternoon giving way to darkness, and the blessed relief as the sun finally, finally went down, and we began to know that the Pope would soon be with us, and also that supplies of extra water were on their way and that this world Youth day was going to be something glorious after all...
Saturday began with groups of young pilgrims gathering all over Madrid and walking,walking, walking, with flags and banners, and snatches of song, out from the city to the vast airfield where we were to pray together and spend the night in vigil. It was hot. All were in good spirits and the route was clear ...ahead of us as we marched was a great wide winding column of young people, with flags from every continent on the earth, all heading for the Cuatro Viente airfield through the dust and scrub and sudden bits of pleasant suburbia. The heat was intense, the sun scorching ...as we passed some blocks of flats there was a sudden glorious relief as people poured out buckets and buckets of cool water on us from their windows. Some had hoses...oh the joy of the cool water on our heads and bodies and feet....
On arrival at the airfield there was of course no shade, the numbers pouring in were larger - much, much larger - than had been thought and great crowds pressed around the water taps. The prospect of spending the night in this chaos seemed grim. But gradually things were worked out, young people running to shriek their joy as the Fire brigade drove up and down showering great powerful jets of water at the various sectors, and announcements being made about water supplies arriving for us all shortly. I prayed for rain...as lots and lots of others must have done, because as dusk arrived so did the clouds and as the Prayrt vigil got under way, Heaven opened on us with wind and lightning and rain and drama...
Papa Benedict had by now arrived too and was hailed with cheers and then started to talk to us and open our prayer vigil,... At one stage things had to break off but they restarted as the storm abated and suddenly there was peace, and I will never, ever forget the silence as something between one and a one and a half million young people knelt before the Blessed Sacrament with the successor of St Peter and prayed...his firm, reassuring and gentle voice guided us into the prayer and then he knelt and the silence slowly, slowly spread out from him in the sanctuary across the wide airfield through crowds and crowds right out to the perimeter where at first the were still people talking and sorting out supper and water and bedding and so on...and in that great silence there was peace and stillness and after that the whole World Youth Day project made complete sense after all, and we shared this great adventure of storm and prayer together...
We who were there will never be able to convey adequately how extraordinary it was, how stunning that mixture of fear and panic and heat and thirst and sudden splashing water...the relentless heat of afternoon giving way to darkness, and the blessed relief as the sun finally, finally went down, and we began to know that the Pope would soon be with us, and also that supplies of extra water were on their way and that this world Youth day was going to be something glorious after all...
Saturday began with groups of young pilgrims gathering all over Madrid and walking,walking, walking, with flags and banners, and snatches of song, out from the city to the vast airfield where we were to pray together and spend the night in vigil. It was hot. All were in good spirits and the route was clear ...ahead of us as we marched was a great wide winding column of young people, with flags from every continent on the earth, all heading for the Cuatro Viente airfield through the dust and scrub and sudden bits of pleasant suburbia. The heat was intense, the sun scorching ...as we passed some blocks of flats there was a sudden glorious relief as people poured out buckets and buckets of cool water on us from their windows. Some had hoses...oh the joy of the cool water on our heads and bodies and feet....
On arrival at the airfield there was of course no shade, the numbers pouring in were larger - much, much larger - than had been thought and great crowds pressed around the water taps. The prospect of spending the night in this chaos seemed grim. But gradually things were worked out, young people running to shriek their joy as the Fire brigade drove up and down showering great powerful jets of water at the various sectors, and announcements being made about water supplies arriving for us all shortly. I prayed for rain...as lots and lots of others must have done, because as dusk arrived so did the clouds and as the Prayrt vigil got under way, Heaven opened on us with wind and lightning and rain and drama...
Papa Benedict had by now arrived too and was hailed with cheers and then started to talk to us and open our prayer vigil,... At one stage things had to break off but they restarted as the storm abated and suddenly there was peace, and I will never, ever forget the silence as something between one and a one and a half million young people knelt before the Blessed Sacrament with the successor of St Peter and prayed...his firm, reassuring and gentle voice guided us into the prayer and then he knelt and the silence slowly, slowly spread out from him in the sanctuary across the wide airfield through crowds and crowds right out to the perimeter where at first the were still people talking and sorting out supper and water and bedding and so on...and in that great silence there was peace and stillness and after that the whole World Youth Day project made complete sense after all, and we shared this great adventure of storm and prayer together...
Friday, August 19, 2011
...and more....
...the Spanish newspapers have been reporting the arrival of the Pope, his greeting the King and the local bishops, his strong and hope-filled message to the young. Papa B. is realistic; he talks about the hopes and beliefs of today´s young, the way in which they struggle to seek God and the fact that many of those here at World Youth day have already seen what, for example, drugs,and a hedonistic lifestyle, and high-pressure secularism and anti-Christian prejudice, can do to the lives and hopes of this generation. His tone is warm and filled with faith: it meets exactly and at a deep level the tone of the yuoung people gathered here, which is one of openess and a willingness to engage and to listen, with a desire to heal and unite and show solidarity and neighbourliness.
One thing which I can seen is widely recognised here is that high-pressure arguments, or angry denunciations, are not the way to spread the Faith. The message was summed up by Blessed John Paul ' the Church proposes, she does not impose'. Anyone in Madrid today would want to know what motivates these young people, the priests who are leading groups through the city with joy and music, the young friars with ropes round their waists sitting talking and laughing over a picnic meal with a team of young people in a grassy spot, the sisters with shady hats topping their veils as against a relentless sun, cheerful and chatty. The joy and enthusiasm is catching, it´s delightful.
A crowd of young French pilgrims gathers at a church already filled to overflowing. Their lovely singing fills the air, the local square, the nearby streets, as they perch on the low walls and kneel in the gardens around the Church to pray together.
A vast crowd is around the entrance to a busy Metro station. No one shoves or pushes, a Brazilian group quietly starts praying together. The atmosphere is calm. Heads are bowed. People cross themselves and the voices rise and fall in a murmur of familiar prayers...
Young people march enthusiastically behind their national flag, pausing to stop and shout "Viva il Papa!" and to cheer as an echoing "Viva!" comes from groups across the street and around a neighbouring square.
It´s all like that.
One thing which I can seen is widely recognised here is that high-pressure arguments, or angry denunciations, are not the way to spread the Faith. The message was summed up by Blessed John Paul ' the Church proposes, she does not impose'. Anyone in Madrid today would want to know what motivates these young people, the priests who are leading groups through the city with joy and music, the young friars with ropes round their waists sitting talking and laughing over a picnic meal with a team of young people in a grassy spot, the sisters with shady hats topping their veils as against a relentless sun, cheerful and chatty. The joy and enthusiasm is catching, it´s delightful.
A crowd of young French pilgrims gathers at a church already filled to overflowing. Their lovely singing fills the air, the local square, the nearby streets, as they perch on the low walls and kneel in the gardens around the Church to pray together.
A vast crowd is around the entrance to a busy Metro station. No one shoves or pushes, a Brazilian group quietly starts praying together. The atmosphere is calm. Heads are bowed. People cross themselves and the voices rise and fall in a murmur of familiar prayers...
Young people march enthusiastically behind their national flag, pausing to stop and shout "Viva il Papa!" and to cheer as an echoing "Viva!" comes from groups across the street and around a neighbouring square.
It´s all like that.
Springtime in August....
...in the heat and sunshine of Madrid. Thousands and thousands and thousands and THOUSANDS of young people teeming in this city, singing, waving flags, praying, and cheering their hearts out as they gather to geet the Pope...World Youth Day is much (MUCH!) more crowded, more enthusiastic, and more prayeful and devout than I had imagined it would be, and the experience of being here is magnificent.
A few snapshots to give you some idea of what is´s like...
Young people from the QUO VADIS group based in South London, are staying at the church of St Maria del Cana, and every morning they gather for Mass and breakfast and have a rota for tidying up etc and then go off for catechesis in various places. I went with them to the ´LOVE AND LIFÉ" centre, excellent talks from Archbishop Chaput (great cheers from a large group from Philadelphia - there are lots of Americans here) and from a priest who runs the Salt and Light Tv in Canada and from the head of the Kts of Columbus in the USA...some very relevant and powerful stuff on religious freedom and the call to Catholics to speak up for the truths of the Faith and the beauty of Christian teachings...
A great Festival of Forgiveness in a large central park, with white confessionals - looking like a great encampment of tepees - set out in rows and priests hearing confessions all day, a rather tender scene as people gather and are given small booklets showing Rembrant´s Prodigal Son and sit or kneel in prayer and preparation and then go to one of the priests and kneel, either directly with the priest or with a screen, depending on choice...
The crowds greeting the H. Father yesterday evening were good natured, exuberant, cheery, prayerful, but slightly scary in their vast numbers - most had waited all day in the heat, singing, chanting, praying, waving flags, swapping badges and greetings with people from different countries, being sprayed with great cooling jets of water from Madrid´s fire brigade. I rested, with a great crowd all around me and squeezing in, against a wall, and at one point was so pressed in that I could not even bend to reach my specs when they fell, and had no possibility of getting into my backpack....but didn´t mind a bit, everyone so helpful, water passed around, greetings exchanged,laughter, friendship, conversations in my limited French and hopeless German, so much goodwill, so many interesting encounters with Africans (esp French speaking), and people from Latin America and from all parts of Asia, from every corner of Europe, from Britain (! one voice suddenly in a restaurant - "Auntie Joanna! Hello!"), from the USA, from India, from Hong Kong... The Holy Father´s warm, kindly voice, speaking with great affection, like a grandpa. No sign of frailty: his arms wide in gesture after gesture of greeting,a friendly talk with each young person coming forward with a message from each continent...A moment of great pride for the British as OUR Deacon James, of the ORDINARIATE, chanted the Gospel in beautiful English...Out in the crowd Union Jacks waved and bobbed...
The speeches of welcome to the H. Father by young people from different continents were so touching, somehow. eg "We have young people here from the great land masses of Oceania and from the islands scattered across the ocean ...all have brought their national flags. Do you see them, Holy Father?" The young voices, clear and sincere reaching out across the vast (VAST!!) crowds, and then the choir singing....the ceremony finished with a magnificent Hallelujah Chorus...
It´s dreadfully, dreadfully hot. Fr Stephen provided the Quo Vadis group with useful water-sprays which we gladly share with others as we splash hands and necks and faces with lovely cool water...we have all, in our backpacks, been provided with fans and water bottles and spare teeshirts...oh, and I can´t decribe the fun to being on trains and people breaking out into song, or "Viva el Papa" or dancing...oh, and the friendliness, the joy, and the KINDNESS of everyone, and the devotion of young people even with the heat and sleeping in halls and schools and so on... We have tickets for meals at local resturants, each offering a simple menu and all so welcoming...and a vigil of prayer in "our" church of St Maria del Cana, and the Spanish people saying the Divine Praises and the British youngsters leading the singing, and the priest bringing the Blessed Sacrament aloft through the church and all kneeling in united adoration...
World Youth day is a sign of hope, of peace and of springtime for the Church and for Europe...
A few snapshots to give you some idea of what is´s like...
Young people from the QUO VADIS group based in South London, are staying at the church of St Maria del Cana, and every morning they gather for Mass and breakfast and have a rota for tidying up etc and then go off for catechesis in various places. I went with them to the ´LOVE AND LIFÉ" centre, excellent talks from Archbishop Chaput (great cheers from a large group from Philadelphia - there are lots of Americans here) and from a priest who runs the Salt and Light Tv in Canada and from the head of the Kts of Columbus in the USA...some very relevant and powerful stuff on religious freedom and the call to Catholics to speak up for the truths of the Faith and the beauty of Christian teachings...
A great Festival of Forgiveness in a large central park, with white confessionals - looking like a great encampment of tepees - set out in rows and priests hearing confessions all day, a rather tender scene as people gather and are given small booklets showing Rembrant´s Prodigal Son and sit or kneel in prayer and preparation and then go to one of the priests and kneel, either directly with the priest or with a screen, depending on choice...
The crowds greeting the H. Father yesterday evening were good natured, exuberant, cheery, prayerful, but slightly scary in their vast numbers - most had waited all day in the heat, singing, chanting, praying, waving flags, swapping badges and greetings with people from different countries, being sprayed with great cooling jets of water from Madrid´s fire brigade. I rested, with a great crowd all around me and squeezing in, against a wall, and at one point was so pressed in that I could not even bend to reach my specs when they fell, and had no possibility of getting into my backpack....but didn´t mind a bit, everyone so helpful, water passed around, greetings exchanged,laughter, friendship, conversations in my limited French and hopeless German, so much goodwill, so many interesting encounters with Africans (esp French speaking), and people from Latin America and from all parts of Asia, from every corner of Europe, from Britain (! one voice suddenly in a restaurant - "Auntie Joanna! Hello!"), from the USA, from India, from Hong Kong... The Holy Father´s warm, kindly voice, speaking with great affection, like a grandpa. No sign of frailty: his arms wide in gesture after gesture of greeting,a friendly talk with each young person coming forward with a message from each continent...A moment of great pride for the British as OUR Deacon James, of the ORDINARIATE, chanted the Gospel in beautiful English...Out in the crowd Union Jacks waved and bobbed...
The speeches of welcome to the H. Father by young people from different continents were so touching, somehow. eg "We have young people here from the great land masses of Oceania and from the islands scattered across the ocean ...all have brought their national flags. Do you see them, Holy Father?" The young voices, clear and sincere reaching out across the vast (VAST!!) crowds, and then the choir singing....the ceremony finished with a magnificent Hallelujah Chorus...
It´s dreadfully, dreadfully hot. Fr Stephen provided the Quo Vadis group with useful water-sprays which we gladly share with others as we splash hands and necks and faces with lovely cool water...we have all, in our backpacks, been provided with fans and water bottles and spare teeshirts...oh, and I can´t decribe the fun to being on trains and people breaking out into song, or "Viva el Papa" or dancing...oh, and the friendliness, the joy, and the KINDNESS of everyone, and the devotion of young people even with the heat and sleeping in halls and schools and so on... We have tickets for meals at local resturants, each offering a simple menu and all so welcoming...and a vigil of prayer in "our" church of St Maria del Cana, and the Spanish people saying the Divine Praises and the British youngsters leading the singing, and the priest bringing the Blessed Sacrament aloft through the church and all kneeling in united adoration...
World Youth day is a sign of hope, of peace and of springtime for the Church and for Europe...
Monday, August 15, 2011
Unconvincing...
...lobbying from a "creationist" group denouncing a Catholic booklet which affirms that it is possible to accept some form of evolution and still believe in the Creator. The lobby group seems to me rather panicky, and also confused and angry. They should calm down. A Christian can accept something of the evolutionary theory - it doesn't neccesarily contradict Genesis. This is a point that Pope Benedict has made more than once, and incidentally which Bl.John Henry Newman also made, writing in 1868, “the theory of Darwin, true or not, is not necessarily atheistic; on the contrary, it may simply be suggesting a larger idea of divine providence and skill.”
The new Youth Catechism produced for WYD tackles this rather well, affirming "God created the world out of nothing. He is Lord of history. He guides all things and can do everything. How he uses his omnipotence is of course a mystery...The sentence 'God created the world' is not an outmoded scientific statement. We are dealing here with a theo-logical statement, therefore a statement about the divine meaning and origin of things..."
YouCat has a Foreword by the H.Father and everyone attending WYD gets a copy. It is competently written and doesn't "talk down" to the young or attempt to be super-cool, it doesn't talk in jargon or assume its readers are stupid. It gives the Church's message and does so with confidence. Recommended.
The new Youth Catechism produced for WYD tackles this rather well, affirming "God created the world out of nothing. He is Lord of history. He guides all things and can do everything. How he uses his omnipotence is of course a mystery...The sentence 'God created the world' is not an outmoded scientific statement. We are dealing here with a theo-logical statement, therefore a statement about the divine meaning and origin of things..."
YouCat has a Foreword by the H.Father and everyone attending WYD gets a copy. It is competently written and doesn't "talk down" to the young or attempt to be super-cool, it doesn't talk in jargon or assume its readers are stupid. It gives the Church's message and does so with confidence. Recommended.
Sunday, August 14, 2011
The broom army...
...has cleaned up Battersea and now only the only evidence of the rioting is the boarding that cover the fronts of half a dozen shops. At Debenhams (the big shop that used to be Arding and Hobbs, near Clapham Junction) one section of board is covered with goodwill messages - "God loves Battersea!" "Don't despair!" , hearts, kisses etc - and people gather there to have their photo taken alongside. While pausing to add my own message, I was joined by a couple of men being interviewed for a TV station and several families busy with phone-cameras.
I'd decided, almost at the last minute, to go to Mass at Holy Ghost church, Balham as I had some papers to deliver there for an Autumn schools venture to be run by the parish priest, who is Vocations Director for the diocese (Southwark). I was so glad I went, because friends were there who had brought along a teeshirt that young L. - who departed yesterday with the youth group from the parish for WYD in Madrid - needed. "We hoped you'd come to Mass here, and brought it along on chance - can you give it to her when you go to Madrid?" I'll be joining the group on Wednesday, so am glad to help. And then on a whim they invited me to lunch and we had a long happy afternoon over a delicious meal, much talk and laughter. Last year we were all gathered around the same kitchen table late at night during the Papal Visit, with soup and toast in between the Hyde Park Vigil and the departure of the overnight coach to Cofton Park. A French journalist joined us and young L. arrived fresh from the Vigil and the earlier gathering at Westminster Cathedral where the young people gave the H. Father such a wonderful welcome... A year on, and young L. is in Madrid and I'm off to join her, and see the H. Father again...
I'd decided, almost at the last minute, to go to Mass at Holy Ghost church, Balham as I had some papers to deliver there for an Autumn schools venture to be run by the parish priest, who is Vocations Director for the diocese (Southwark). I was so glad I went, because friends were there who had brought along a teeshirt that young L. - who departed yesterday with the youth group from the parish for WYD in Madrid - needed. "We hoped you'd come to Mass here, and brought it along on chance - can you give it to her when you go to Madrid?" I'll be joining the group on Wednesday, so am glad to help. And then on a whim they invited me to lunch and we had a long happy afternoon over a delicious meal, much talk and laughter. Last year we were all gathered around the same kitchen table late at night during the Papal Visit, with soup and toast in between the Hyde Park Vigil and the departure of the overnight coach to Cofton Park. A French journalist joined us and young L. arrived fresh from the Vigil and the earlier gathering at Westminster Cathedral where the young people gave the H. Father such a wonderful welcome... A year on, and young L. is in Madrid and I'm off to join her, and see the H. Father again...
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Probably...
...a useful way to spend a day in post-riot Britain was to be working on a big project for schools which will, we hope, spread literacy, knowledge of the Bible, communication skills, and a grasp of the need for hard work in order to achieve agreed goals. Anyway, that's what I was doing. Trundled cases of Bible prizes to the Post Office to go to various schools, all carefully labelled and packed. Chose some more books for the finalist prizewinners - who come to London in the Autumn to get their prizes - and planned the 2012 Project. Then tackled more personal tasks: bought a backpack for travelling to World Youth Day, dropped in to Westminster Cathedral, dropped off DVD of a great film at a friend's house, dropped into supermarket to get some fish for supper (mussels, Friday, delicious), dropped onm to the sofa at home for 2 mins to relax before tackling emails and ironing.
Friday, August 12, 2011
Thursday, August 11, 2011
In London today...
...the mood was normal, cheerful, and rain-washed.Yesterday I phoned friends in Battersea to ask how things were going. It had been frightening, C. admitted, but now people were gathering with brooms and brushes to clean things up.
Pics in the Evening Standard of clean-up operations, and of people donating food, clothing, and cash for those who have lost their homes and livelihoods.
To St Mary Moorfields for a committee meeting of the Catholic Writers' Guild. We had a great number of entries for our 2011 Catholic Young Writer Award (run jointly w. the Catholic Union): all have now been read and some preliminary selections made ...discussions with the Master of the Guild, Mary Kenny, re this. It's the biggest number of entries ever, and the overall standard is high. (Theme was love, marriage, Cana, Christian teaching on love and family - ref. Papal encyclicals of JPII and BXVI.We chose this becuse of the Royal Wedding, and it seems to have struck a chord.)
Phone interview w. Relevant Radio Catholic TV station in the USA, talking about the riots...
Stayed on at St MM's for Adoration, the Rosary - it was Thursday, so the Luminous Mysteries, which I love - Evening Prayer, and Benediction. Home, walking through the City, past the Bank of England and then St Paul's churchyard, which is a feast of roses at the moment.
London cool and rainy and pleasant. Madrid next week will be boiling hot, but I am looking forward to being part of World Youth Day. C's daughter is among the big team of young people attending led by a South London priest - teens and 20s, a mix of races, some seminarians, school pupils, college and university students, nuns...
I was gloomy the other day, felt that the Britain I knew was just going to be a distant memory, that things felt alien. "Do you think" said the priest to whom I was chatting "that when St Augustine wrote the City of God in the collapsing Roman empire, he felt that he was at the end of something, or the beginning of something new?"
Pics in the Evening Standard of clean-up operations, and of people donating food, clothing, and cash for those who have lost their homes and livelihoods.
To St Mary Moorfields for a committee meeting of the Catholic Writers' Guild. We had a great number of entries for our 2011 Catholic Young Writer Award (run jointly w. the Catholic Union): all have now been read and some preliminary selections made ...discussions with the Master of the Guild, Mary Kenny, re this. It's the biggest number of entries ever, and the overall standard is high. (Theme was love, marriage, Cana, Christian teaching on love and family - ref. Papal encyclicals of JPII and BXVI.We chose this becuse of the Royal Wedding, and it seems to have struck a chord.)
Phone interview w. Relevant Radio Catholic TV station in the USA, talking about the riots...
Stayed on at St MM's for Adoration, the Rosary - it was Thursday, so the Luminous Mysteries, which I love - Evening Prayer, and Benediction. Home, walking through the City, past the Bank of England and then St Paul's churchyard, which is a feast of roses at the moment.
London cool and rainy and pleasant. Madrid next week will be boiling hot, but I am looking forward to being part of World Youth Day. C's daughter is among the big team of young people attending led by a South London priest - teens and 20s, a mix of races, some seminarians, school pupils, college and university students, nuns...
I was gloomy the other day, felt that the Britain I knew was just going to be a distant memory, that things felt alien. "Do you think" said the priest to whom I was chatting "that when St Augustine wrote the City of God in the collapsing Roman empire, he felt that he was at the end of something, or the beginning of something new?"
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Feral youth...
...running riot, homes and shops and businesses destroyed, families losing everything they possess and escaping alive by jumoing from blazing buildings.
Why does the BBC described the looters and robbers as "protesters"? These are looters and robbers. They already have fashion clothing, "hoodies", trainers and all. They have "blackberry" mobiles. They have in many cases bikes or motorbikes. But they want more of these things, and are stealing them.
There are many things they lack. Fathers, family life, moral and spiritual formation, literacy skills, jobs. They have not been allowed to experience adequate discipline at school because the teachers fear physical or legal reprisals if they try to impose normal disciplinary measures. They have not been taught any real history, so they lack any sense of belonging to a nation, a community, a people with a sense of heritage and achievement. They have not been taught how to pray: they do not know of the God who loves them. They have not been taught the Ten Commandments. They have been raised in a culture of computer games - many of them violent - TV soap operas, violent films, and consumerism.
Having more police on the streets, although neccesary, will not solve these problems.
There are solutions: it is possible to teach good values by precept and example in school and community, in church and in the workplace. It is possible to support truths about marriage and family life, in schools and in youth and community organisations. It is possible to allow good ventures for the young - teaching service and neighbourliness, courage and commitment - to flourish and not be blocked by bureaucracy or ideological opposition. It is possible to support reasonable discipline in schools, to encourage good male leadership and to announce a commitment to moral and spiritual truths. It is possible to do all this without slogans and in a humble and hopeful spirit - but it will take courage and quiet faith. I wish I could feel that we had a government willing to tackle things from this basis.
Why does the BBC described the looters and robbers as "protesters"? These are looters and robbers. They already have fashion clothing, "hoodies", trainers and all. They have "blackberry" mobiles. They have in many cases bikes or motorbikes. But they want more of these things, and are stealing them.
There are many things they lack. Fathers, family life, moral and spiritual formation, literacy skills, jobs. They have not been allowed to experience adequate discipline at school because the teachers fear physical or legal reprisals if they try to impose normal disciplinary measures. They have not been taught any real history, so they lack any sense of belonging to a nation, a community, a people with a sense of heritage and achievement. They have not been taught how to pray: they do not know of the God who loves them. They have not been taught the Ten Commandments. They have been raised in a culture of computer games - many of them violent - TV soap operas, violent films, and consumerism.
Having more police on the streets, although neccesary, will not solve these problems.
There are solutions: it is possible to teach good values by precept and example in school and community, in church and in the workplace. It is possible to support truths about marriage and family life, in schools and in youth and community organisations. It is possible to allow good ventures for the young - teaching service and neighbourliness, courage and commitment - to flourish and not be blocked by bureaucracy or ideological opposition. It is possible to support reasonable discipline in schools, to encourage good male leadership and to announce a commitment to moral and spiritual truths. It is possible to do all this without slogans and in a humble and hopeful spirit - but it will take courage and quiet faith. I wish I could feel that we had a government willing to tackle things from this basis.
Tuesday, August 09, 2011
Last night...
...I was with local Catholic friends, watching the film John Paul II, starring Jon Voight.. J. telephoned to urge me not to travel home via Croydon, as there was a good deal of rioting there. Another member of the group heard from her son: he had arrived home safely but warned that the trams had stopped running and there were riots around Clapham Junction.
Pray for London.
Pray for London.
Been to...
the FAITH Movement's Summer Session,which was teeming with young people, including a number of seminarians and newly-ordained priests. On a warm summer night, lots of us enjoyed talking long and late out of doors, while children skimmed about and roars of talk and laughter came from inside where teams of young people were taking part in a highly competitive quiz and other activities...
After a cheery family interlude staying with young relations, on to the Evangelium conference, held this year at the Oratory School. Speakers included Fr Ed Tomlinson of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham who gave an inspiring address, linking Walsingham with the events leading up to the establishment of the Ordinariate and placing all this in the perspective of the spiritual heritage of England...
Like the FAITH Session, Evangelium was packed. It is aimed at an older age group - 20s and 30s rather than teens - and this year there was an emphasis on the Scriptures (excellent lecture by Fr Marcus Holden showing how to understand the spiritual messages binding together the Old and the New Testaments), on Gregorian Chant (sung at all the Masses), and on grappling with current challenges (superb workshop and address by Edmund Adamus, director of Pastoral Affairs for the diocese of Westminster, looking at marriage and family issues). Sister Roseanne Reddy gave us a rallying call with her address on cherishing the sanctity of life, focusing on the practical realities of caring for mothers and unborn children with lively anecdotes drawn from her wonderful work in Glasgow...
Much to ponder as we drove home. Active young Catholics in Britain in 2011 have to make daily decisions to live a counter-cultural way. In the most ordinary and fundamental human relationships, the Christian way of living - for so long regarded as the norm by so many people - is now regarded as odd. It's impressive to see the depth of commitment to the Church shown by so many young, the reverence at prayer, the liveliness in discussions, the energy in all sorts of forms of service. It's touching to see how they have to grapple with the challenges thrown their way, including the wounds created by this messy society: no one in unaffected by divorce, by complicated family situations, by the atmosphere in which a lack of commitment is seen as somehow celebarting freedom. I do hope that older Catholics keep the young in their prayers.
After a cheery family interlude staying with young relations, on to the Evangelium conference, held this year at the Oratory School. Speakers included Fr Ed Tomlinson of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham who gave an inspiring address, linking Walsingham with the events leading up to the establishment of the Ordinariate and placing all this in the perspective of the spiritual heritage of England...
Like the FAITH Session, Evangelium was packed. It is aimed at an older age group - 20s and 30s rather than teens - and this year there was an emphasis on the Scriptures (excellent lecture by Fr Marcus Holden showing how to understand the spiritual messages binding together the Old and the New Testaments), on Gregorian Chant (sung at all the Masses), and on grappling with current challenges (superb workshop and address by Edmund Adamus, director of Pastoral Affairs for the diocese of Westminster, looking at marriage and family issues). Sister Roseanne Reddy gave us a rallying call with her address on cherishing the sanctity of life, focusing on the practical realities of caring for mothers and unborn children with lively anecdotes drawn from her wonderful work in Glasgow...
Much to ponder as we drove home. Active young Catholics in Britain in 2011 have to make daily decisions to live a counter-cultural way. In the most ordinary and fundamental human relationships, the Christian way of living - for so long regarded as the norm by so many people - is now regarded as odd. It's impressive to see the depth of commitment to the Church shown by so many young, the reverence at prayer, the liveliness in discussions, the energy in all sorts of forms of service. It's touching to see how they have to grapple with the challenges thrown their way, including the wounds created by this messy society: no one in unaffected by divorce, by complicated family situations, by the atmosphere in which a lack of commitment is seen as somehow celebarting freedom. I do hope that older Catholics keep the young in their prayers.
Tuesday, August 02, 2011
On one of the hottest, stickiest, and most sultry days...
...that London has had this summer, a friend of great goodwill and good humour joined me to help sort and post heavy parcels of Bibles to winners of the 2011 Schools Bible Project. A similarly heroic team had helped to wrap and pack the parcels a couple of weeks ago. I am really touched by the generosity and kindness of people who help with this sort of project, and actually in a sort of way it was fun humping the parcels around and people at the Post Office were extraordinarily helpful. One showed interest and enthusiasm on hearing that the parcels were Bibles and going to young winners of a school Scripture project.
(But it occurs to me that if I reveal the Post Office where this happened the staff member might get into trouble as possibly revealing support for a project involving Christianity. So perhaps I will just add that absolutely no specific religious allegiance of any sort was revealed. Golly, what a weird country we now inhabit).
(But it occurs to me that if I reveal the Post Office where this happened the staff member might get into trouble as possibly revealing support for a project involving Christianity. So perhaps I will just add that absolutely no specific religious allegiance of any sort was revealed. Golly, what a weird country we now inhabit).
Monday, August 01, 2011
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