In the ordinary way...

...life at home is two of us J. and me, plus a lot of activity, much hurrying about, trains, buses, Tubes, telephones, meetings, conferences...

But at Christmas we are part of a series of big extended family gatherings. And the pace changes. Music, talk, books, walks.  A dear elderly relation, shared memories of previous Christmasses, comfortable evenings with a DVD of a classic film and with Turkish delight and glasses of wine. Cheerful kitchen talk over washing-up. Meals with a lot of us gathered around a big table, afternoons spent crawling on the floor with small nephews and nieces, muddy walks in wellies.  Young relations singing Christmas carols alongside Auntie in church.

Time to sit back and share in the general talk and laughter. A splendid box of crackers - a gift from New Zealand relatives and much enjoyed - children sucking sugar-candy sticks  from the Christmas tree and an uncle dozing comfortably. I tackled a new tapestry project. "Auntie - let me see your knitting...let me have a go!" pleaded an energetic small nephew. I showed him how to put in a stitch or two, and with solemn expression and much sucking-in of breath he drew the wool through the material with deep satisfaction.

Some work intrudes. You can do a lot with a laptop, and some book-proofs needed checking and re-checking. An idea for a feature jiggled itself around in my head and resolved itself into something that had to be written. And as 2014 draws into sight, new adventures and new horizons beckon...

Happy New Year...

...and some dates to note:

Tuesday Jan 14th HISTORY WALK, meet 1.30pm  (after the 1.05pm Mass) at Precious Blood Church, O'Meara Street, London SEI (nearest tube: London Bridge)

Wednesday Jan 15th, 7.30pm Church of the Assumption, Warwick St London WI (nearest tube: Piccadilly Circus) . FAITH Evening: speaker, Fr Stephen Dingley. This is the first of a series of FAITH Evenings at Warwick St: book them into your diary - EVERY WEDNESDAY EVENING FROM JAN 15th for FOUR WEEKS.

Tuesday Feb 4th, 3pm Westminster Cathedral. History Walk in and around the Cathedral.

Sat March 8th -Training Day on Public Speaking. See below.

Interested?

...If you are interested in a (one-day) Training Session on Public Speaking, focusing on communicating the Catholic Faith:

A Public Speaking Training Day will be held at EALING ABBEY (London: nearest tube - Ealing Broadway)   on Saturday March 8th.  It will start with (REAL) coffee at 10.30am, and finish at 5.30pm.  The Training Day originated as a follow-up to the 2013 Evangelisation course at Maryvale, but is open to anyone interested. It will be interesting, useful, and fun.

The Day will include a sandwich/buffet lunch. Cost of the whole day: £20.

If you are interested, send a Comment to this Blog marked NOT FOR PUBLICATION. and including - this is crucial - an EMAIL ADDRESS AT WHICH I CAN CONTACT YOU.

Christmas adventures...

... midnight Mass, and then we were with a large house-party on Christmas Day - great fun, a great gathering around the large table, the youngest a baby a year old, the oldest a cheery 80-year-old. Lunch, much talk and laughter and then music...

We decided to leave the exchange of gifts until Boxing Day, and all was prepared for a small family dinner, gifts stacked beneath the Tree, candles glowing by the crib. Jamie cooked a delicious meal but then - in the kitchen,  a sudden slithering of plates, a crash, the sound of breaking china, and Jamie with a badly bleeding arm...I  rushed to patch him up from the First Aid box, but it was more serious than that, and  Hospital was needed.  Our kind guest David - retired Army padre and a wonderful friend - hurried him there in his car while I  sorted out other domestic arrangements... J. is now safely home and the evening ended with mince pies and big mugs of tea...and the gifts beneath the Tree can wait until tomorrow.

Want to see...

...something of our carol singing at London Bridge station?  Read here...

Working on...

...a new series for EWTN, due to be recorded in March. Reading up history, checking out sources, writing up notes, all in the light of the Christmas tree.  Across the room stands the crib, with the Christ-child tucked into a vase nearby, awaiting arrival in the manger after Midnight Mass. Three Wise men are making their way slowly across some piles of books, to arrive for Jan 6th. The Advent wreath has small tealights this year, as being easier to use than taller candles. Yesterday evening a family dinner, marking the Fourth Sunday of Advent...

For January...

... WEDNESDAY EVENINGS 7.30pm  at the Church of the Assumption, Warwick St, WI (nearest tube:  Piccadilly Circus). FAITH Movement.

Wed Jan 15th Fr Stephen Dingley "What makes man unique in God's creation?"

Wed Jan 22nd  Fr Dominic Rolls “The Evocation of the Word”

Wed Jan 29th Fr Chris Findlay-Wilson “God our Environer"

Wed Feb 5th Fr Tim Finigan 'How does Jesus Christ save us?'

 

ALL WELCOME.  No need to book - just turn up.  Come and find out more about the Catholic Faith. Come with questions. Come ready to listen and talk and think things through.  Come on your own or being some one else along too.

 

London as Christmas approaches...

..has some heart-warming sights. A troop of children in long golden robes and with circlets of golden tinsel on their heads, carrying carol-sheets and walking along two by two, with a teacher at the head and rear, heading for a nearby church for a Nativity play. An angelic choir, but giggling and excited and messing about...

Some shops have lovely window displays, and there are lots of Christmas trees including one in New Palace Yard by the Houses of Parliament, and of course the big one in Trafalgar Square.   But...some shops have ALREADY (BEFORE CHRISTMAS HAS EVEN ARRIVED!) taken down their Christmas decorations and put up signs for post-Christmas sales...aaargh!

We - that is LOGS, the Ladies Ordinariate Group - gathered in good numbers at London Bridge station to sing carols. This involved some  formalities beforehand, reporting to the Network Rail Office in Tooley Street and being given a formal Briefing ("In the Event of Fire, you must Leave by the Nearest Available Exit" etc)...and then there is always a moment of awkwardness as the group forms up on the station concourse and carol-sheets are distributed...but then once we really got singing, it was all absolutely superb.. We sang and sang, and there was lots of goodwill, people coming up to donate money, to thank us, to wish us a Merry Christmas. People especially like to bring their children up to put a coin in the box and to enjoy the carol-singing...

Our singing filled the station: we found that the acoustics worked really well if we stood facing outwards, with the trains behind us...and people in fact could also hear us even as they approached from the steps and escalators.

All heartily enjoyable, and then afterwards, a cheery gathering back at Precious Blood Church with mulled wine and mince pies...

Carol singing...

tonight (Fri 21st Dec) at London Bridge station. Look out for us...

And on Wednesday I joined a group singing at VICTORIA station, organised as ever by the splendid Yvonne with volunteers from various places including  the excellent parish of St Joseph's, Roehampton. The singing was really glorious - we had a good crowd, a couple of guitarists and we sang all the traditional carols, with some particularly lovely singing for "Silent Night" and "Joy to the World", and the most magnificent "Glooooorias" for "Angels we have heard on high"  and "Sing dong merrily..."  We sang "Adeste Fideles" in Latin and in English. Mindful of Papa Francis' call to evangelise, we sang  "Joy to the World" specially for him, and it went exceptionally well - and then we sang "Silent Night" for Papa Benedict, and it was so lovely that we sang it again, and then a third time.

It was all most heartily enjoyable, and the station - surging with massive commuter crowds - was filled with our music, and we had lots of people stopping to thank us, take pics, or even come and join in for a carol or two.

Now, this is all part of the real Christmas.

Last night, a group of us were due to sing carols around the streets of a corner of The Borough, but the terrific roaring thunderstorm made it completely impossible,  so after Mass, with the rain still hurtling down and thunder crashing, we settled in the parish room with some wine and snacks and had a very enjoyable time of talk and laughter.

Tonight, London Bridge station...

This morning...

I went to Mass at the lovely Catholic residence where a much-loved elderly relative lives. I normally visit in the afternoon or evening, and this was the first time I'd been at the daily Mass in the chapel. It was a beautiful experience. 

Sometimes - and this was such a time - there is this wonderful sense of being utterly at home in the Church, of knowing that this is where we all belong.  Celebrating the Mass was Bishop Howard Tripp - whom I have known since I was a teenager - and concelebrating with him was Fr Scott Anderson, of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, who was there at my suggestion because we had arranged to meet and this was a convenient place and time. Despite the age and frailty of many of the residents, all joined in the responses, and received Communion with great devotion...while other memories get confused, and life can seem very muddled when you are very old, the Mass remains a constant, and I found it a most powerful experience to be there witnessing that. And a kind volunteer visitor at the Home was serving the Mass - and came up to chat afterwards, reminding me that we had known each other years ago when I was a Borough councillor in the Borough of Sutton...it was so good to talk, and to reminisce...

The Advent candles glowed on the wreath - just one more to be lit next Sunday - and in the big room next door a large crib stood in the wide bay window, awaiting the Christ-child. Bishop Tripp spoke about St Joseph, and his role in the Christmas story, and the whole thing came alive...

This morning Mass gave a glow to the whole day.

Want to know more about Christmas?

And test your knowledge on what you already know?  Try the Christmas Quiz in this parish newsletter. Link here  and go to "Advent III" and you'' get the Gaudete newsletter complete with Quiz...

CATHOLIC HISTORY WALK...

...the last one of 2014. Meet INSIDE Westminster Cathedral this Tuesday at 3pm. A tour of the Cathedral, telling the story of the various side-chapels, the great events that have taken place there etc etc. New stone, recently laid by the great main door, commemorates Papa Benedict's magnificent visit in 2010 and his meeting with the crowd of young people in the piazza. New mosaics up by the High Altar. Mosaic of St David, finally honouring Wales after a century when only England Scotland and Ireland had their saints in the Cathedral. And more. Come and join us.

Gaudete Sunday...

...and after Mass, and a brief interlude for some coffee and biscuits, a team of volunteers set about cleaning the church and getting it ready for Christmas.

Precious Blood church at The Borough, London Bridge is a v. mixed parish. A lot of men - a pleasing sound of deep voices in the Mass responses - a lot of children (yes, and some yelling babies). Mix of races and ages. All sorts of people. Busy parish, and Christmas looks set to be busy.

Some of us got to work cleaning, while others started to clamber up into the attic and search out decorations, manoeuvre big Christmas trees into position and unpack the Nativity scene etc.  "If you find bubble-gum stuck under pews, don't use soap and water to get it off - come to me, as I've got the right stuff", said the Rector cheerfully. Bubble-gum? Yes, although stuck on to the floor, not under a pew. Only one piece. But - ugh!

We did a thorugh job of cleaning. Never thought of hoovering inside a confessional before, but if you think about it, it does get dust and mud and so on in there. We also tackled some high-up cobwebs in a side-chapel, using a mop with a looooong handle...

A couple of years ago, I fell down some stairs and broke my arm and after that I began to be wary of steep stairs or steps, so in order to conquer this fear I've been making a special point of  asking to go up ladders.  This meant that I got some v. enjoyable  jobs today, including putting the star on top of the Tree, and draping the lights, and fixing the golden bells and other ornaments on the highest branches.  Most satisfying.

Putting the finishing touches...

...to the next BOOK, due out in the Spring. I am writing it with a friend, Clare Anderson, with whom I have also made a TV programme, which you can watch on EWTN in due course. The programme is about the great John Paul, and we travelled in his footsteps from Wadowice to Krakow, visiting Czestochowa  and Kalwaria...we have just been sent a DVD and I went to Clare's house to watch it. We  sat rather nervously while her husband put the disc into the machine...but then when the programme3 started, we found we were pleased and even rather gripped.  Info about when it is to be broadcast will be announced on this Blog as soon as it is available...or you can keep checking the EWTN website, which will also of course be carrying info...

Pics arrive...

...from the official photographer at Auntie's Degree ceremony. The Apostolic Nuncio looks splendid, standing in the magnificent Cathedral, handing over a formal scroll, all tied up with ribbon...but who is the the plump jolly bespectacled lady in academic cap and gown, beaming at the camera, all rosy cheeks and hearty handshake? Golly, it's me.

J. says loyally "You look splendid!"  and nephews and nieces give kind affectionate hugs. But I remember a slimmer young woman, long long ago, in other formal photographs taken at dances and regimental dinners, with a waist and with light brown hair....golly, the years go by. And here I am. Different.

A wonderful traditional candlelit procession through London...

...rounding off the Mission Weekend organised by St Patrick's, Soho.  It was a superb sight - and sound - as the crowd came surging through the streets around Piccadilly, with the singing and the glowing candles and lanterns and the young faces.

The Sunday evening began with a great Mass at St Patrick's - this is an International Mass, with everyone singing the   Credo, Agnus Dei, Sanctus etc etc  in Latin, a rousing sound, and saying the Our Father together in lots of different languages. Then the procession moved out into the street, a great statue of Mary carried high by strong young men, and the whole thing led by a Cross-bearer and acolytes... lots of singing...people in pubs and restaurants staring and taking pictures, and teams of young people dispensing holy medals all around...

This year the procession finished at the Ordinariate Church in Warwick Street,  the Church of the Assumption, where there was a Litany, and then  Night Prayer - all the young voices singing, so glorious to hear.  And then there was mulled wine and mince pies for anyone who managed squeeze in and get some...my job was to dispense the mulled wine, and I hugely enjoyed doing this and the wonderful atmosphere of joy and friendship...

Soho...

...all of London needs the love of Christ, but Soho perhaps needs it in specially large doses. And will be receiving it this weekend, as the young team from St Patrick's Soho hold their Advent Mission. Prayer, adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, street evangelisation, young people with lanterns taking the message of Christ out to the lost and lonely and the rich and the miserable and the muddled and the why-was-I-ever born...

Want to help? Join them in prayer...

The culmination of...

...a year's work.  The Prizegiving for the 2013 Schools Bible Project took place this week at the House of Lords. Baroness Cox, who is a Trustee of Christian Projects, the group that runs this big annual essay scheme for schools, presented the prizes.

This is a nationwide project, run on a large scale. Every secondary school in Britain receives a brochure, inviting pupils to study six different events in the New Testament. Each pupil must then choose one of the events and write about it as if he or she had been actually present. This year, the events included Christ raising Lazarus from the dead,  Christ calming the storm at sea, Mary Magdalene meeting the risen Christ...

As all the essays pour in, a team of judges is gathered and every essay is read carefully. The main winners are selected, together with a large number of runners-up. Prizes are posted  or delivered to all the schools - a mammoth task. During the Autumn term, I am also  kept busy visiting various schools to present prizes - a task I very much enjoy.

The main winners go to the Houses of Parliament, where they are given a tour and taught about the history (JB's task again) and then there is Tea and the presentation of the prizes - which include books for the pupils, and cash awards for their schools.

The winners this year:
1st prize: Megan Tyrell, St John Payne School, Chelmsford and How Turnbull, Hereford cathedral School.
2nd prize: Tyson McGuirk, St Joseph's School, Workington and Alice Cox, Our Lady's Convent, Loughborough
3rd Prize: Alex Meher. st John's C and E School Epping and Isabella Ward, St Mary's School, Ascot
4th Prize Binuri Wijesinghe Dr Challoner's High Schools, Bucks, Lindsay Marie Davis, Hillgrove School, Bangor and Harrison Tinley, Mayville High School, Southsea.

A full hall of...

...First Communion parents, at St Joseph's, Epsom. A most happy and heartening evening: this is a large and thriving parish, and every year when I am invited to talk to the First Communion parents, there is such a wonderful welcome...it is partly because this is all not far from my home, and also the home in which I grew up, and so there are all sorts of links, friendships, shared knowledge of schools and parishes and so on.  But it's mostly simply because this is a wonderful parish where good things are happening. This time, I had brought along copies of YOUCAT which had been specifically (and generously!) donated so that every parent could have a copy. I cannot recommend YOUCAT too highly...if you haven't got a copy. hurry and get one.

Yesterday was a strange day, in that it began in Willesden, at the Shrine of Our Lady, where I met members of the SPES team from St Patrick's for a pilgrimage. An early Mass, a short talk about the shrine, which is well worth a visit and then we set off on a Rosary Walk along the canal. It ought to be a lovely walk - and in lots of ways it was, a beautiful Autumn morning, a good spirit between us, and the voices saying the Rosary back and forth - but the path along the canal is spoilt by litter and horrible manic graffiti, and it somehow has a bleak feel to it. We were all perfectly safe, but it would be no place to go for an evening walk....

However...we finished at Tyburn convent, where we paid tribute to the martyrs, and prayed, and then went on to the site of the Tyburn gallows and said some more of the Rosary there (suitably, we were now at the Sorrowful Mysteries).  And so on to St Patrick's.  Here, Auntie acknowledged her age and was given an opportunity for a good rest. Then lunch, and a talk to the SPES team.  Then home, and a rush to pack things up and hurry to Epsom...

...and there is a rather delightful...

report from Rome describing  what it was like being one of the people selected to meet the Holy Father at the publication (good analysis of the thing, too...)

Papa Francis...

...who is of course simply splendid, has come up with a new Apostolic Exhortation, and it's excellent - warm, vigourous, challenging, orientated towards active lay apostles and not diocesan bureaucrats, and with an upbeat 21st-century feel. Full text here.  It tackles greed, the current obsessions with money and the sinister use of unjust power in unbridled money-making, our longing for truth and for beauty, the urgency of teaching the glorious message of the Faith...

At the start of this pontificate, a nasty Blog (USA-based, I think)  which asserts itself as being "traditional", said a number of horrible things about the Holy Father. Never apologised. Never posted a proper correction. Then the Lefebvrists weighed in with their nasty rants, as did a couple of quasi-Lefebvrist lobby groups. Ugh.  Meanwhile, there was a  grand turn-out for World Youth Day, some wonderful encounters in St Peter's Square, and more...

My only worry is that the joyful call for an invigorated evangelisation will fall, as did Papa Benedict's, on deaf ears.  For too many people, Catholicism is seen as a sort of tribal tradition, in which a passionate search for truth and a joyful discovery of God's huge love for us do not really feature.  Papa Benedict's message was centred on the love that God has for each one of us, and the life-changing things that can happen when we discover that love. To help people make that discovery, we must evangelise - and doing so is itself a joyful adventure.

Oh, and a memo to those who don't get what Christ's love is all about: it doesn't mean that the Church ever can, or should, or wants to, or seeks to,  change the deep meaning and purpose in God's plan for human life and love, as taught "from the beginning."  (Bet  they don't listen. While all sorts of great and good things happen, they'll still be moaning about why the Church is oppressive in saying that marriage is between a man and a woman...it must be so dreary for them).

And they never learn from  their mistakes, even the blatant and embarrassing ones. Remember all that talk about John Paul being a Polish peasant whose influence on world events was going to be fairly minimal? About how Communism, while it had irritating aspects,  was basically an economic success story which hadn't been allowed a fair chance to prosper?   About how an elderly Pole couldn't possibly talk to youth in the late 20th century?   And, for good measure, about how Benedict's visit to Britain wasn't going to be a success?   Their idiotic comments flashed through my mind as we stood in Hyde Park and heard the cheers and cheers of the vast crowd as he made his way towards us, and we saw on the TV screens mothers holding up their babies for him to bless, and people holding up placards of affectionate greetings...

Catholic schools...

Read some thoughts by Auntie here...

Whitstable...

...and the Vocations Centre there, now very much up-and-running, with young men at prayer in the chapel and busy at various tasks, good numbers expected at various planned events and conferences, a little Jack Russell dog keeping everyone lively, and a warm welcome for this guest...

Discussion of a school project, piloted a couple of years ago and now about to swing into action for Jan 2014.  A walk by the sea with the sun saying its farewell to the Autumn day in a glow of gold and silver.  Much talk and laughter, and news...

Read more...

...about the Procession here...

A Traditional procession for the Feast of Christ the King...

...to round off the Year of Faith.  The  Blessed Sacrament carried aloft beneath a canopy held up by four very study young men, who responded to an appeal at the end of Mass and tackled the task of getting the whole thing through the church door with vigour...a large flock of people, Sunday School children  wearing brightly coloured crowns studded with glitter etc and with hand-written messages like "Jesus in our king"...all preceded by a loud ringing of the bell and a great Cross and  much swirling of incense, and candles held in those useful glass thingummys on poles, so they don't putter out.   We sang "Hail Redeemer King Divine - all eight (or it is ten? haven't got the sheet with me) verses again and again...this actually worked better than trying to cope with different hymns, and the volunteer stewards in day-glow jackets kept us moving...down the Borough High Street...Workmen at the War Memorial (being dismantled for repairs) stared a bit but none removed their helmets or showed any interest...

Only a few years ago,  a religious procession with servers and a cross and loud singing, would have meant some passers-by pulling off their hats and/or crossing themselves. Now, at least in The Borough High Street, you get indifference, except for lots of people snapping on mobile phones. It's as if people can't enjoy reality, only a picture of reality...

After Benediction, a gathering in the Parish Room with some delicious snacks and fizz...

An afternoon visit to a beloved elderly relation.  Yesterday at Towards Advent I was given a copy of Johnann Christoph Arnold's new book "Rich in Years" which has some wise and helpful thoughts on this subject. The Alliance of Pro-Life Students is distributing it around...warmly recommended...

TOWARDS ADVENT....

...and every year the Festival of Catholic Culture exceeds expectations.  This year, the choir of St Philomena's School, Carshalton,  sang most beautifully, first Panis Angelicus and then "A Gaelic Blessing". It was greatly enjoyable, as a Philomenian, to be there welcoming them at Westminster Cathedral, and then giving each girl a little thank-you gift (CTS Prayer Books). I asked them "Don't you think that your choir director should receive something special" and they chorused "Yes!" and applauded, and I handed over a gift-wrapped parcel (a gold-edged new Missal plus a book by JB)...

It is always a day mapped out in high-speed moves: arrival at the Cathedral Hall with every group - over 30 take part in the Festival - rushing to claim its table and set it up with books and gifts and posters and decorations...the organising of the refreshments that will be on sale all day (Deo Gratias for Josephine Robinson and the wonderful Association of Catholic Women, who have run this with superb efficiency since the Festival's foundation)...greeting the choir and showing them where to change and rehearse etc...unpacking all the things I have brought for various stalls,...finally also unpacking the books for my own stall, shared with a young relative who is an award-winning author  signing copies of her books...and then suddenly, it's time for the doors to open, and people are pouring in...and then at 10.30 the Archbishop arrives, the Chairman (Brian Towler, of the Catenians) makes the opening greetings - and the FESTIVAL BEGINS!

Archbishop Vincent Nichols spoke exceptionally well at the Opening ceremony, lifting our thoughts up to God and setting the tone for the day in exactly the right way.  The mood was friendly, bustling, open and cheerful. The speakers, Edmund Adamus of the diocese of Westminster and Sister Hyacinthe of the Dominican Sisters of St Joseph, were of a high standard. New features included  a stall (including some lovely Christmas cards) run by the splendid team at the Sons of Divine Providence at Hampton Wick),and the popular  craft stall run by the Ladies Ordinariate Group (I found it fun when a couple of people asked me "Have you met those Ordinariate ladies? They're really nice!")...and it was a joy, as always, to chat to the young team running Magnificat and Second Spring...during the day my only regret is that, as I am hurrying about on errands and making announcements, I am only able to have proper conversations with a small number of the friends and colleagues that I greet with a wave or smile too briefly...

...and then it's over, and I'm hurrying back from chairing Sister Hyacinthe's talk (Hinsley Room) to the main hall (Cathedral Hall) and finding people packing up and cleaning things...

...and then Jamie ( who always loyally arrives with gusto, greeting friends and relatives, hugging nieces, enjoying a good natter with various clergy)   joined me for supper with Dan Cooper of the Faith Movement in a restaurant across Victoria Street. I was too tired to eat much and simply began with cup after cup of delicious freshly-brewed TEA, a baffled waitress anxiously bringing a second pot and extra hot water...

The funeral of Canon John Redford...

...who was a much-loved lecturer, theologian, and author, took place today at St George's Cathedral, Southwark. The funeral Mass was concelebrated by a great number of priests, and Archbishop Peter Smith preached beautifully, using some of Canon John's own material especially on the need to pray for the dead... the In Paradisum at the end was beautiful...the congregation included so many Maryvale students, and of course the dear Bridgettine nuns...

An angry anti-Christian lobbying group...

...has been trying to get itself publicity by demanding that the annual Remembrance Day service should be stripped of all religious content, and reduced to a series of wreath-laying rituals. So, a century after the  deaths of so many young in the Great War , we are meant to sign them up posthumously as members of the National Secular Society? What gives the horrid NSS the right to do that?

All my life, at every church I have ever attended, war memorials have featured lists and lists of the names of members of the congregation...in my childhood and teenage years, the names on the  two big War Memorials in our church in Wallington echoed with names still familiar within the parish: men who were uncles, brothers, fathers, husbands, men whose young faces were still imprinted on memories, who had been altar-servers or Scouts or members of different parish groups and sodalities. How DARE the NSS now announce that these men are to be denied Christian commemoration by our nation? How DARE the NSS announce that these men are to be reinvented as 21-century bossy anti-religious campaigners?

St John Payne...

...one of the 40 Martyrs canonised by Pope Paul VI in 1970. And today a fine school in Chelmsford bears his name.  A warm welcome, and it was an honour to be there and giving out prizes gained in the 2013 Schools Bible Project. Curiously moving to see rows and rows of teenagers sweep to their feet and begin their prayers with the Sign of the Cross. The school uses the daily lectionary as a base for its prayers. The Scriptures were beautifully read out, and one of the main prizewinners, Megan, teamed up with a friend to read aloud her essay about the Raising of Lazarus. Afterwards we all gathered in the chapel for some photographs. All along one wall were stacked a great array of beautifully decorated Christmas boxes, each filled with gifts and goodies, ready to be shipped to places of need - the school does this every year and has sent over 5,000 over the years.

Rather too busy...

...and consequently overtired. Emerging from the Tube at Sloane Square, everything transformed by the most glorious singing...a young girl pouring out  "O mio Babbino caro", in a beautiful voice, the music cascading out across the bustle and the traffic. People stopped. I stopped. It was the standard music-student-appealing-for-funds thing, a hat placed on the pavement... I was hauling along an overloaded suitcase topped by two  bulging plastic carrier bags, and had been planning to get a taxi. But this girl at least  merited a couple of coins...fumbled in my purse...only found a fiver.  I wouldn't normally give anything like that. But this is one of Auntie's best-loved pieces of music and it was worth every penny. And I told her so. As she helped me with my bags and whispered "God bless you!" a bus trundled satisfyingly into sight, and soon I was well on my way to a big cup of tea, and a long rest. Bliss.

A happy morning...

...on Monday at Our Lady's Convent school in Loughborough.  Pupils at this school won an outstanding number of prizes in the 2013 Schools Bible Project, and I was invited to present these at Morning Assembly. A quiet, friendly and reverent atmosphere in the school chapel, and one of the young winners read the poem she had written on the theme of Lazarus: this being ideally suited to November, the month when we pray for the dead, the whole assembly had this as its theme, and there were Scripture readings and prayers and a rousing hymn. Afterwards,  it was a delight to meet the parents and prizewinners over fresh coffee and pastries: the school emphasises family values and a strong commitment to the Christian message and there was a great sense of common purpose and goodwill, as well as lots of lively talk and laughter.

A highlight came when one of the RE teachers asked me if I'd like to drop into one of the classes. A bright pleasant room, girls busy at their desks. He started a discussion: which incident in the Gospel of St Mark is perhaps the most pivotal? Girls a bit shy to join in at first, but then one raised her hand "Surely it was Caesarea Phillippi? When St Peter answered the question by saying that he was the Christ?" And then another raised her hand "Mmmm...but what about the baptism? In the river Jordan?"   Impressive.

We drove back to London through darkening mist and - having risen at 5 am - I was tired, and glad there was no pressing afternoon engagement. But ended up working late on current book, must get it ready by deadline (see entry below). Bliss eventually to rest with big mug of tea.

There is always a long queue...

...for confession at Westminster Cathedral, and they put extra chairs along the aisle that leads from the Lady Chapel down to the main door. In Lent and Advent the people waiting stretch right down the length of the aisle...and even on an ordinary Autumn weekday, there were quite a number of people sitting patiently down as far as the chapel of St Paul...

Question: can one get on with some writing while waiting?  Or read a newspaper? I badly needed to check and amend something I had written (and it was about two saints, honestly it was, and I'm working to a deadline...). No one corrected me, but I felt a bit impious. Opinions on this awaited...

Later, some almost-last-minute preparations for the Towards Advent Festival, which takes place on Saturday. Be there!  The Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham will have a stall, and it is your chance to come and find out more about this important development in Church unity, the healing of a 400-year rift...and there will be some glorious music from a girls choir, some 60 voices...and you can meet some of the great workers in many fields of Catholic action, and find out about prayers and pilgrimages, books and big social projects, care for the poor and persecuted, and education for the young in schools and parishes...Don't miss it! Westminster Cathedral Hall, Sat Nov 23rd - doors open 10 am...

Autumn days...

...of crisp fresh air and glowing russet and golden leaves. Spent a morning sweeping up and loved it all, the breeze and the beauty,  the glory of England at this time of year...

After a journey through countryside of  glorious Autumnal beauty, Sunday Mass at St Anselm, Pembury, in the care of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham. They are slowly turning this little hall into a church worthy of its role as a place for worshipping God...and numbers for Mass are steadily growing and growing. Lunch with Fr Ed and the family. I first met them when Fr Ed was vicar of an Anglican church in Tunbridge Wells...now this Anglican Patrimony has found its home in the wider Church, and the future is bright.  Auntie's contribution to the brightness was only that of a tapestry hassock - faithful readers of my blog will know that I enjoy making these, and it was fun to hand over to Fr Ed  the first of what I hope will be a large number. And more on this in due course...

Tradition, families, children, a great sense of community, hymns, an English village, all combine to make St Anselm's a picture of what a country Ordinariate parish could be like in many places in Britain...

The American bishops...

...have issued an important statement about freedom and the future, in the light of the current pressure from officialdom in the USA to force Church organisations to fund abortion and contraception for their employees...

Relevant quote in their statement comes from the Holy Father:

"In the context of society, there is only one thing which the Church quite clearly demands: the freedom to proclaim the Gospel in its entirety, even when it runs counter to the world, even when it goes against the tide.  In so doing, she defends treasures of which she is merely the custodian, and values which she does not create but rather receives, to which she must remain faithful."

The "Reform of the reform"...

...of the liturgy in the Catholic Church has been a matter of much work and care and debate for the past couple of decades.  Some, of course, don't want it: they see liturgy as a sort of flexible mess that simply celebrates people-all-being-together and should have no form at all. Others are obsessed with the notion that nothing, absolutely nothing,  should ever be changed from the form that was used in 1962.  But the "reform of the reform" has nevertheless flourished  - a decent translation of the Mass into English (DEO GRATIAS!) which some tried to oppose but which caused no problems whatever and is working beautifully, and a steady insistent revival of Latin chant and use of some good English musical settings. Papa Benedict, in allowing the use of the 1962 form by anyone that wants it, expressed the hope that this Extraordinary Form of the Mass would work well alongside the Ordinary Form and that the two would influence each other. This too is happening.  But the most interesting development so far has been the Ordinariate liturgy. This is essentially a mix of the 1962 Missal, the reformed Missal (ie the Ordinary Form) and the old Book of Common Prayer from 400-odd years ago.  This liturgy will be in (optional) use in churches run by the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham from this Advent onwards. I think that, although it will not be widespread,  it will again influence other parish liturgies.  Dignity, structure, formal language, and above all the emphasis on all participating in a great sacred action drawing all things to God - this is the essence of the thing, and it is catching.

I joined the Ordinariate although I am a "cradle Catholic" - I was able to do so as my husband was raised an Anglican and so both of us, as a family, qualify to belong.

I am happy with the beautiful handy Magnificat which I use all the time and carry in my bag. But if and when there is a modestly-priced, handy new Ordinariate prayer-book, I would like a copy and will use it with great joy and with a sense of sharing at an important chapter of the Church's long story...

Ghastly news...

..from the Philippines....thousands dead and dying in the wake of a ferocious hurricane...towns reduced to rubble, bodies stacked in the streets, survivors unable to get food or water...

This morning I was due to visit the offices of Aid to the Church in Need, to collect some books. This excellent international Catholic charity will be helping with relief work...news here, and you can donate at that website too...

I  was for several years chairman of the British section of this charity and still maintain close links...it was good to be given swift information on what's happening in the Phillippines, and to catch up on news generally.

I had gone to the ACN office to collect some copies of YOUCAT for a talk I am giving shortly. YOUCAT, originally designed for young people and supported by ACN worldwide, is also superb for adult Catholics too...it works well for enquirers about the Faith, for parents of First Communion children, for parents who seek baptism for their children, etc.  Its question-and-answer format, with straightforward explanations, is matched by an attractive format, good reference materials, and opportunities to learn about prayer and to think things through in depth.

Today, in the rain alongside Big Ben...

...on the green, across the road from Parliament. I recorded some promotional material for EWTN. A light fizzy rain was falling. We had to do the takes again and again as it's so easy to get things wrong - emphasis on the wrong word, too much smiling,  not enough smiling...finally, each one came right.  By which time the rain was beginning in earnest. We plodded damply, carrying the heavy equipment, across the bridge to St Thomas' Hospital where the camera team had left their car in the car park...and from there I got home, carrying books I'd bought at the CTS bookshop near the Cathedral, ready for the Towards Advent Festival in a couple of weeks time...

The absurd thing about TV is its mix of reality and utter unreality. My hair looked a bit messy, but got smoothed down by the rain as if planned that way.  My coat, brown in colour, looked a bit drab against the brown of the trees and the brown/honey colour of Parliament and the grey sky, so we cheered it up with a bright yellow scarf...well, actually not a scarf but  a yellow World Youth Day teeshirt that I happened to have in my bag...

Home to a great pile of work: a book due to be with the publisher in mid-Jan (gulp) and another due for Feb...

The traditional Mass and ceremonies on Remembrance Sunday...

...starting at the local War memorial, led for the first time by an Ordinariate priest. This was the Borough High Street, by London Bridge, and the Civic Remembrance Day Service, attended by the Mayor, the Lord Lieutenant, the local Members of Parliament, and representatives of the various community groups and organisations and of course a crowd of local people. It was the standard traditional service, with "O God our help in ages past", and the laying of wreaths, and prayers...and because there was a good crowd from the Precious Blood parish the singing was strong, as were the voices saying the Lord's Prayer.  As we left, the Memorial - which features a fine statue of a soldier of the Great War, puttees and old-fashioned uniform, etc - was stacked with scarlet poppy wreaths in the bright Autumn sunshine...a November scene that will have a special poignancy next year when we mark the 100th anniversary of that war...

And the parish group from Precious Blood then made its way, behind the processional Cross, back to the church for the traditional Remembrance Sunday Mass, a solemn one (no Gloria, purple vestments) with Bidding Prayers for the war dead, and finishing with "God Save the Queen". As this was the final hymn, the Sunday school children, who occupy the first couple of pews, automatically turned towards the Lady Altar, as they do every Sunday in readiness for the Angelus,  sung every Sunday at noon...I found myself wondering if some might be  a bit confused as to which Queen was the one being mentioned in the hymn...and then we sang the Angelus as usual, and then there was coffee in the parish room, and all the usual buzz of chat and news and so on...

A wreath of poppies on the big War memorial in the church, which you pass as you make your way to the parish room for coffee...two great panels, with two long columns of names on each...

Here we are...

...lining up for the graduation picture and raising a cheer...

After a memporable day...

...in Birmingham, at the Degree Ceremony...a couple of v. busy days and no time to blog...but my EWTN blog keeps you posted on Ordinariate activities here...

...and tomorrow...

...in a ceremony at at St Chad's Cathedral, Birmingham, I will receive my degree (BA, Honours, First Division of the Second Class, as the official announcement puts it)   from the Apostolic Nuncio.

This is the culmination of five years' work and it will be a joy to be with my fellow graduates and celebrating  along with my family....

Spread the word...

...about the TOWARDS ADVENT Festival, Saturday November 23rd at Westminster Cathedral Hall.  More info  here.

Don't miss this. Come and say "hello" to Auntie, who'll be there with books and things. Come and hear our inspiring speakers, join in the beautiful choral opening ceremony, browse the stalls, enjoy some home-made refreshments.

All welcome: tell your parish, your family and your friends...

Doors open 10am. The Festival runs all day...

Been re-reading...

Blessed  (soon to be saint!) John Paul's Crossing the Threshold of Hope.  Full of good things.

Sunday at...

...Precious Blood Church, London Bridge. The new floor has given the whole church a different feel: the heating will be fully functioning by Tuesday, but already the warm colour of the tiles gives the church a sort of glow...and the acoustics have improved so the music and singing is splendid.

The parish newsletter carries an intriguing item: Eurostar came to London to film some interesting random sights, one of which turned out to be the parish's May Procession through the streets of The Borough. A statue of Mary, carried by hefty parishioners, and followed by the parish priest in cope, and some lovely Missionaries of Charity...all are  now shown on the Eurostar's promotional advert in France with its  "Why not come to London?"message.. you can.read all about it in the link just given.  So there we are, part of the London sights, along with the red buses and Buckingham Palace and Big Ben and Parliament...

All Souls Day...

... a busy Autumn Saturday...but the church in the excellent  parish of St Joseph's, New Malden, was full for the All Souls Mass. The Mass here is always beautiful. Today, even though it was just an ordinary Mass, no music, just the solemn commemoration of All Souls, followed by a time of Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, it was special.  Vestments in black trimmed in gold. Strong voices saying the prayers.  Outside, golden leaves falling on to rainy pavements...

All Souls. Grandparents: memories of happy afternoons and lovely teas. My dear father. Dear Auntie S. in America. And more, and more...as you get older, the All Souls list gets longer, and the whole thing means more...

Latest issue of...

THE PORTAL, the on-line magazine of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, is now available. You can read it here...  Auntie has a feature about the Night Walk through Oxford, and there is also news of the Ordinariate nuns...

Want to read more about...

...Auntie's inside-story on the Ordinariate parish in South London? Read here...

A golden day, the New Evangelisation...

...and a biggish team of people walking through London, praying the Rosary, singing, handing out little messages of goodwill and copies of the Gospel.  We gathered at Precious Blood Church, London Bridge, and acquired a number of new followers as a short talk was given on the historical significance of various points along the way...London Bridge itself (Saxon/Viking battle there over a thousand years ago), The Clink Prison, the Globe Theatre, Blackfriars...Among members of the public who joined us was a young Russian, working for a tourist agency and interested in all such history-walks. He was very comfortable indeed with a religious procession of this kind, explaining that they happen all the time in big Russian cities. There is, of course, a massive Christian revival happening in Russia - and to him it all just seems normal, because it began in the 1980s and is an accepted part of life.

Back here in Britain:  the John Paul Walk for the New Evangelisation  is a project of the Dominican Sisters of St Joseph, and the main annual Walk is to Walsingham. But, starting last year, there is now a Reunion Walk, in London, for the Walsingham walkers plus anyone and everyone.  This year, as last year, the numbers were good. We walked along the banks of the Thames to Westminster, crossed at Westminster Bridge, and then all down along the river to the Tower of London, finishing with prayers at the site of the martyrdom of St's Fisher and More. Then across Tower Bridge and back for Benediction and Tea.

London was glorious with golden leaves scattering down along the Embankment, great crowds packing out the bars and restaurants, some pleasure boats chugging by, the sky a piercing blue. That evening the great rainstorm, predicted by the Met Office, hurtled in and railway lines were closed as trees crashed on to the tracks. By the morning, in a London messy with leaves and sparkling in sunshine after rain, I squeezed on to crowded buses and arrived late but triumphant at St Patrick's, Soho, to give a planned lecture on the Acts of the Apostles. Then on to Newman House (London University chaplaincy)  to talk on "Catholic Culture"...a particularly happy evening because my nephew studied there and met his future bride there...cheery memories flooding back...and today's young students were a joy and we sat talking until terribly late...then one walked me safely to the Tube station where I caught the very last train back to the suburbs...

Golden Autumn days and the New Evangelisation...

EXCITING....

REALLY EXCITING!!!

This is Pope Francis, meeting a group of distinguished Jewish leaders...among them Shimon Samuel, of the Simon Wiesenthal Institute, who is handing the Holy Father a copy of my book!  The book is "Courage and Conviction" and it tells the story of brave Brigettine nuns, who hid Jewish people in their convent in Rome during World War II.

I am really thrilled that my book should be given to the Pope.




 

There is an excellent...

...parish newsletter, called Our Faith on Sunday, which is produced by a Catholic firm in Farnworth, Lancs. It is printed in full colour, a page of useful and interesting material, on one side, and the other side if left blank for the parish to print its own news...

I most warmly recommend this newsletter. One of the latest issues has an excellent insight on marriage:
"if some one were to say  'by a triangle I mean a shape of three or four sides' then he would no longer be thinking about triangles, even if he carried on using the word. Likewise, when the law says 'by marriage we mean a conjunction of two adults. whatever their sex', it is no longer speaking about marriage...In such times, what does God ask of us? Of married people, that they love each other and keep their marriages undefiled and open to life. Of all of us, that we pray, and speak the truth. The present darkness will pass, and Jesus will refute all false doctrines."

A very important...

...new Guide for schools on the subject of marriage, has just been produced. You can read it here...
Parents, teachers, clergy, school governors: take note and recognise that you do not have to teach that children must believe that same-sex marriage is necessarily right, and you do not have to sit idly by when people try to force that belief on children. Get informed....more info on this and related matters here...

The Catholic Union...

...of Great Britain teams up with the Catholic Writers' Guild to run the annual Catholic Young Writer Award. This year's winner went to a Writers' Guild meeting recently to collect her award. Pic and report here...

Students at a number of schools gained runner-up prizes, winning copies of  YOUCAT, the excellent Youth Catechism  and other books.

Deep in the latest book project...inevitably

...interrupted by phone calls from TV and radio people when there is something in the news about the Church, or morals and values in community life, or related issues...

But these days I am able to send them on to the excellent CATHOLIC VOICES  where there is a team of informed, lively, committed young Catholics trained and energised for work in the media. While I'm glad to be of use when I can, I am increasingly conscious that there are so many good young speakers out there, and I don't need to hurry off to a TV studio while there is a book humming away to be written here at home...And Catholic Voices is going from strength to strength. It took courage and initiative to get it going, but it was an idea that was absolutely right and absolutely necessary - and it has been blessed with fine people and a sense of direction and purpose, and tasks that need to be done. Deo gratias.

BTW, this website often has good insights on the news: see recent report about Archbishop Nichols speaking out well on a recent radio interview...

The Holy Father...

...today met members of the Simon Wiesenthal Centre.  This is of interest to Auntie, because one of the leaders of the Centre contacted me, interested in my book Courage and Conviction, about the Brigettine nuns who hid Jewish people in their convent during the Second World War. I was glad to be able to send him copies of my book, and we had some good conversations...I am hoping that perhaps my book was among the gifts presented to the Holy Father at the meeting...

A correspondent to this Blog...

...asks about the children's book that I wrote a while back. Yes, it's still in print, and available from Gracewing Books. It's "We didn't mean to start a school" and I wrote it under the pen-name "Julia Blythe". I loved writing it, and a sequel is in preparation...

Excellent series...

...of talks sponsored by the FAITH Movement and held at Precious Blood Church, London Bridge. After each meeting, discussions continued in a local pub until a late hour: evolution, Genesis, the relationship between science and religion, the Scotist understanding of the Incarnation...and more...and more...

I stayed behind from this evening's pub discussion, enjoying instead an equally lively chat in the Rectory about the Ordinariate, and the Church, and Vatican II, and the Faith Movement, and more...

We plan to continue the series of talks, probably in the New Year, and at another  London Catholic venue. Pr. Blood has been hugely welcoming and generous.  BTW, you will find both the Faith Movement and the Ordinariate at the Towards Advent Festival of Catholic Culture on Saturday November 23rd at Westminster Cathedral Hall. Be there! Admission free...a feast of Catholic talk, ideas, books, organisations, movements, DVDs, music...doors open 10am. All welcome.

CATHOLIC HISTORY WALKS...

...take place over the next weeks and months:

THIS SUNDAY (Oct 27th):  the John Paul II  Walk through London, led by Sister Hyacinthe of the Dominican Sisters of St Joseph.  Starts with 11 am MASS at Precious Blood Church, London Bridge. BRING SANDWICHES.  We will have coffee and sandwiches in the Rectory after Mass, then set off - with the banner that the John Paul Walkers carried to Walsingham this summer! - on a walk that will take us to, among other places, Blackfriars, St Paul's, and the Tower of London...we will finish with Benediction back at Precious Blood.

Tuesday November 26th - an afternoon walk, starting from Precious Blood Church after the 1.05pm Mass. Meet at the church door approx. 1.30pm. We will be visiting the Bishop of Winchester's Palace, the Clink Prison, and Shakespeare's Globe Theatre....

Tuesday Dec 17th, 3pm, a tour INSIDE Westminster Cathedral. Come and see the glories of this Cathedral, including the two new mosaics, and the special memorial stone, recently laid and blessed, commemorating the State Visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Britain...

....and here are some dates to book into your 2014 diary:

Sunday June 22nd 2014, The Martyrs Walk, starts 1.30pm at St Sepulchre's Churchyard, near the Old Bailey.

Saturday, October 18th 2014, the "Two Cathedrals" Blessed Sacrament Procession, starts 1.30pm Westminster Cathedral, finishes with Benediction at St George's Cathedral, Southwark.

Giving out prizes...

...to school pupils who produced good work in the Schools Bible Project, is a satisfying way of spending a morning, and also gives opportunities to talk things through with RE teachers, learn what's happening in schools' RE, and so on. Here is Auntie at a school in Essex...

Feast day of...

...Blessed John Paul.   And yesterday a meeting to discuss a new project connected with his canonisation. It is a useful and attractive little project with which Auntie is very glad indeed to be involved.

While doing some research about him, I needed to re-read this  encyclical, and this one, and realised just how prophetic and important they are.

Where was Auntie last Saturday?

At the Ordinations in the Ordinariate church...read about it all here . (Auntie helped with compiling this news report).

The splendid Cardinal Burke...

...of whom Auntie is a fan, recently gave an interview to an American Catholic newspaper. You can read  it here...

Cardinal Burke is a great supporter of the  "reform of the reform" of the liturgy, and emphasises that the Extraordinary Form of the Mass and the Ordinary Form should enrich each other. And he emphasises continuity - no rupture: "The renewed reformed rite of the Mass is not a new Mass, but is in continuity with the holy Mass as it has always been celebrated."

A number of  correspondents to this Blog have brought up questions relating to the prophesies and visions of Fatima: I urge them to read Cardinal Burke on the subject. As Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura, he does know what he is saying, and he measures his words carefully. I suppose that some of my correspondents will always yearn for the Great Conspiracy Thing: secrets-not-yet--revealed and plots-to-hide-the-Real-Truth.  But the reality is what matters. Cardinal Burke: "With regard to Our Lady of Fatima, we know well the prophecies that were given to the three seers at Fatima which have all now been published and what they indicate with regard to the attacks of Satan upon the Roman Pontiff. I am sure that Pope Francis has this clearly in mind and is invoking the intercession of Our Lady for her protection even as she protected Blessed John Paul II from an assassin’s bullet. It was on Our Lady of Fatima’s feast day that the dreadful attempt occurred, and John Paul was fully convinced that she interceded to save his life. I believe that Pope Francis is imploring that same intercession and protection from her at this time."

for more by Auntie on...

...the TenTen Theatre and its work...read here...

Teaching a Confirmation class...

...is not a totally new experience for Auntie.  I have given talks to a number of Confirmation groups in the past, including the large class (usually at least 40 teenagers) in this excellent parish, which is where I learned so much about how to do it, and what to teach, and received so much help and encouragement in starting my Maryvale course...

But actually running a course from scratch is a new experience and one that I am (so far!) enjoying. I'm doing it in this parish and we began last week. This is a special class for people who for one reason or another missed out on Confirmation and responded to an invitation to start a course.  The parish priest started us off with a prayer and a blessing, and the atmosphere has somehow been just right.   With a Catechism to hand, and a Simple Prayer Book for each person round the table, we began work.  There is a wide age-range (youngest a just-teenager, while another member of the group is a busy mum who brought her two small children along, who were given cheerful and kindly care by a wonderful volunteer, with books and crayons etc from the Sunday school). But there is interest, attention, and a great goodwill, and it is a real privilege to be involved...

While we were in the parish room, getting  to grips with God and the Covenant, and the Ten Commandments,  another parish team was busy in the church itself, lifting all the pews and stacking them away, filling the sacristy with all the statues and candle-stands and so on...to get the entire floor area clear for a brand-new heating system to be installed. And once the floor was cleared, it was ruthlessly scrubbed by enthusiasts with brushes and soap suds and is now the cleanest church floor in England...The church is going to be warm and welcoming for Masses this winter.

The TenTen Theatre...

...is really excellent. In a packed  theatre at Leicester Square we were taken to Poland in the 1940s and the drama of Maximillian Kolbe.  The full poignancy of this haunting story of courage and extraordinary heroism is brought out fully in Kolbe's Gift,  a most powerful bit of theatre. We are made to ponder the fullness of the thing: Kolbe stepped forward at Auschwitz when prisoners were being picked out to suffer the horror and torture of death by thirst in an underground starvation bunker.  When one such prisoner blurted out "My wife! My children!" Kolbe offered himself to go in his place, saying calmly to the supervising officer: "I am a Catholic priest", and explaining that he had no family and was prepared to go forward. 

What is especially poignant in the story is that the man whose life Kolbe saved went on to live in a very ordinary way, and not without sorrow. His two sons, having survived the Warsaw Uprising and other wartime horrors were both killed by random fire of the Russians in the last days of the fighting. He  worked as a minor town hall official in the drab and difficult years of post-war Communism, suffering as did all other Catholic Poles from all the petty restrictions and practical hardships and miseries of those years...there was no dramatic reason, humanly speaking, why his life should have been saved.

And that, the drama seems to be saying, is all part of the importance of Kolbe's gift. It was a pure gift, an act of pure generosity. The man whose life he saved didn't have to "earn" the honour by going on to do something hugely significant. The message is about love, and about the law of giving, of being some one for others...Kolbe's gift, not only in his final heroism but by many acts of heroic kindness in Auschwitz where he shared his bread and gave hope and faith to men in desperate misery, is a gift we have to ponder and ask ourselves about...

TenTen has done some powerful work in schools, exploring in drama - really superb drama - issues concerning crime, killing, hatred, sacrifice, and truth.  They also work in prisons.The plays - like Kolbe's Gift - are not comfortable or cosy in their message, but powerful and important.  If you get the chance to see one of their plays, don't miss it. If you are working with young people, connect to the website and get information.

A Surrey town in Autumn...

...and a friendly group awaiting me at the Leatherhead Community Association. I was speaking to them about Caroline Chisholm, the Australian pioneer heroine.

This is the part of the world that has so many echoes from my childhood...family expeditions to the river Mole where my father fished and we'd have a picnic...walks in the Surrey countryside...and although so much has changed, so much hasn't and it's easy to feel at home.

The Britain of today is a place where,  suddenly, and with great depth of understanding, one can have a sense of great alienation, of not belonging. So perhaps it's good just sometimes to relax into familiarity, memories and the joy of shared references to history, to children's books, and more...

Walking through London...

...with the young team from the SPES group.  SPES is the St Patrick's Evangelisation School, based at St Patrick's, Soho. My job was to lead them in the first of a couple of History Walks. Their daily regime is challenging, starting early with prayers and breakfast and continuing through the day with lectures, Adoration of the Bl. Sacrament, Mass, Rosary, and a whole range of activities including  a Maryvale course - gaining certificates by the end of the year - street evangelisation, meals for the homeless, etc etc.

So things began with a talk in their lecture-room at St P's, then Mass and a hearty lunch, at which we were joined by the parish priest Fr Alexander Sherbrook, and then we set off...visiting St Giles-in-the-Fields and learning the history of this area, its leper hospital etc, then on to Holborn and Lincoln Inn Fields (martyrs, Sardinian Embassy chapel, etc), and then the Temple Church (Crusades, Templars) and Fleet Street, and so on to St Paul's. We finished with big cups of tea near St Paul's...these young people are the World Youth Day, BXVI generation, very enthusiastic about evangelisation, with a sense of mission. They love to swap stories of WYD - "I  celebrated my 16th birthday at World Youth Day at Cologne"  "At Rio, praying together on the beach was just so amazing". They want to share their faith,  conscious of the sense of loss and confusion among many of their peers who have never encountered Christ or who have been given only a vague distorted image of him...

It was now nearly 6pm, so as they went back to St Patrick's, I  walked across the Millenium Bridge, for Evensong at Pr. Blood Church on the opposite bank.  The sunset was extraordinarily beautiful, staining the sky pink beyond the done of St Paul's, long strands of glowing light trailing across the London skyline. It was low tide, with the rocky muddy shoreline making the river look more "homely" somehow, showing evidence of the years and years and years of human activities and homes and livelihoods that have been happening along its banks. People were beginning to pack into pubs and into the Globe, and teeming along to Waterloo or London Bridge stations. And so on to Precious Blood...Evensong, and the Psalms going back and forth. Deacon Scott was leading the service, and will be ordained on Saturday.

To Lancaster...

...to present prizes won by pupils at Ripley St Thomas CE Academy, in the 2013 Schools Bible Project. This excellent school is set in magnificent surroundings - a glorious Victorian building, with a great tower, a sense of welcome, some wonderful stained glass, and a splendid sense of reassurance and confidence about it, set in fine grounds. And the grounds include a farm - yes, a farm, and pupils relish it, spending part of their time in wellies, digging and planting, and eating the results, as great stacks of fresh produce is taken to the school kitchens for lunch. I loved my visit: a friendly gathering in the staff-room with an inspirational start to the day,  a warm welcome at morning assembly in the magnificent chapel, where it was a pleasure to hand over the Bible prizes one by one, and to join the pupils at prayer...coffee and talk with the Principal and head of RE and chaplain...and then a couple of pupils showed me round the school. They were so obviously proud to be part of it all - everything from the great entrance hall with its  fine staircase, to the sheep and ponies and rabbits in the farm, and on to to the big hall where a dance class was in progress, and the sports field and the science labs and the classrooms...and all the students looking smart in brought blue blazers, and a great sense of  friendliness everywhere. The school is rooted in a deep tradition of Evangelical Christianity and it shows. I was impressed, and cheered.

The Catholic Young Writer Award...

...is presented every year, organised by the Catholic Writers' Guild and the Catholic Union of Great Britain.  Auntie has been involved with this Award from its inception, and you can read about the 2013 Award here...

At the Catholic Women of the Year...

...event, held on Friday, there was a special tribute paid to the wives of Ordinariate clergy. More about this on the Ordinariate website here...

Red faces among the Grunerites...

...and if you don't know who they are, be grateful, as they are a tiresome bunch who are doing harm.

Their leader, Rev Nicholas Gruner, took them to Rome this past weekend, with banners and placards, thousands of brochures, and large lorries with big slogans on the side - all ordering the Pope to "consecrate Russia".

Of course the Holy Father was not going to do that, because it has already been done, by Blessed John Paul in 1984.

But Gruner and his followers have built up a whole organisation on the basis that there is a dark sinister plot, in which both John Paul and Benedict were deeply implicated,the Real Secrets of Fatima Haven't Been Told,  the past two Popes have been liars and deceivers, and Gruner is to be followed when he orders the new Pope to do things. Oh, and his Fatimist team put it about that  Gruner was already in touch with the Pope, and great things were to be expected, and it's All Going To Happen Soon...

Reality:

On Sunday, Pope Francis, in a prayerful ceremony shared by vast crowds in St Peter's square, entrusted the world to Mary's immaculate heart, and her maternal care. It was a peaceful and beautiful thing to do.

And no, of course it didn't involve Russia, Gruner's nonsense, or anything else.

Gruner and his team - who have been collecting large sums of money from gullible people for years on the grounds that they are some sort of Fatima mission - have been made to look more than usually stupid and wrong.

Now - and this is important: Catholics need to know the truth about things. Cardinal Raymond Leo Buke, prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, wrote to me on September 24th:
"You are correct that there is much confusion about the message of Our Lady of Fatima, caused especially by Father Nicholas Gruner, a priest who is not in good standing in the Church, and that this confusion is harmful to many good people who are being led astray about the important message of Our Lady of Fatima.".

Cardinal Burke thanked me for the feature about Fatima in FAITH magazine:  "May God reward you for working to make known the truth about the message of Fatima!"

I  have the letter before me as I write...I am quoting only the relevant parts of it. I will keep and cherish this letter from a great Cardinal holding high office, who incidentally writes in a most beautiful, humble and pleasant way. Thank God for  his sanity. Thank God for Pope Francis.Thank God for the Church.

St Edward the Confessor...

...has his feast-day today. He was our last Saxon king before the Norman Conquest. He reigned at a difficult time - I only realised, via a sermon yesterday evening at Westminster Cathedral, that when he came to the throne, it was only  a few decades since the Archbishop of Canterbury (St Elphege) had been martyred by the pagan Danes at Greenwich, and the Danes (Vikings) ruled large parts of England for a long time...

Anyone who thinks we live in uniquely difficult times today knows little of history...

History Walks...

...in London: the Autumn/Winter programme of CATHOLIC HISTORY WALKS has now begun. The November Walk will be on Tuesday November 26th,  beginning with the 1.05 lunchtime Mass at Precious Blood Church, London Bridge. The church is in O'Meara Street: nearest tube is Borough, or London Bridge. We'll go along the river, stopping at the Bishop of Winchester's palace, the Clink Prison, the Globe Theatre, and other places of interest. No need to book - just turn up. Wear suitable clothes and shoes - we'll be walking whatever the weather. This is the first time we have done a weekday lunchtime/afternoon Walk of this sort: you can of course leave the Walk at any stage, and we'll be near bus and tube stops all the way.

The Procession crosses the Thames...

...with Parliament in the background, here is the head of the great  "Two Cathedrals"  Procession crossing the Thames at Lambeth Bridge. We were led by a great Processional Cross, carried by robed altar server and acolytes, and then followed a great swathe of the crowd, after which came, in due order, various acolytes and the Blessed Sacrament itself, with clergy from Westminster and Southwark cathedrals, followed by another great swathe of people singing and praying.  It  was very splendid and at the same time somehow  very simple, and fitted perfectly well into the London scene.

Come and join us next year! We walk at a measured pace, and the route is not too long - it's only about an hour and a half's walk. And although the crowd is big, there is a friendly feel and, especially as we all spill out of the cathedral at Southwark as Benediction ends, a sense of something good having been done.

More pics etc from the Westminster Cathedral website and its facebook links...see here, scolling down as required...

The now-traditional procession...

...of the Blessed Sacrament from Westminster Cathedral, across the Thames to St George's Cathedral, Southwark, took place today, with a vast crowd, glorious Autumn sunshine, and some wonderful singing. Every year I am worried that the numbers won't be great, and every year the crowd is huge, and Southwark cathedral is packed, with a great surge of voices singing at Benediction.

This year, the date clashed with a couple of other events, and even as the Procession began to gather on the steps of Westminster Cathedral and Orders of Service were being handed out, an enthusiast for another event was busily trying to recruit, despite my pleas that we be left alone...but once the Bl. Sacrament was brought out, and we began to go down Ambrosden Avenue, everything felt suddenly all right.  In traditional style, we inevitably had one part of the great procession singing one hymn, another beginning a fresh one, and people in between singing something else or praying the Rosary...but the overall result was still  hugely impressive, as well as being  prayerful, sincere, and, I hope, pleasing to God and somehow good for London...

What is most delightful is that, in this third  successful year, we can truly say that it is now an established traditional part of the annual London scene. The Procession was begun in thanksgiving for the successful visit of Pope Benedict in 2010, and the idea is to have it on or near the feast of Bl John Henry Newman, beatified by the H. Father on that visit. The Feast on October 9th, so it can be a Saturday near that date... thus Oct 4th suggests itself for 2014...

The most impressive part of the Procession is crossing Lambeth Bridge, with the Houses of Parliament in the background.  Incidentally, along the whole route, we get no opposition, no signs of disrespect,  and the whole thing always goes peacefully and beautifully.

Deo Gratias.

Working for much of this year, and last...

...on a book about Brigettine nuns who helped to shelter Jewish people in Rome in WWII, I naturally got interested in the whole tragic story...was touched to read today's news item about the H. Father and his meeting today with Jewish people in Rome...

The Catholic Women of the Year Luncheon...

...is always a very cheerful event, and this year was a bit special because, in addition to the four Catholic Women of the Year, a special award was given to the wives of the Ordinariate clergy. This was a really lovely idea, and the Award - in the form of a framed certificate with a message honouring them  - was  accepted on their behalf by Mrs Jill Newton, wife of the Ordinary.

There was an excellent talk by Dr Caroline Fairey, of the Maryvale Institute. She spoke of the significance of the date - Oct 11th, anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council, and of the Council of Ephesus many centuries before. It was at Ephesus that the Church's doctrine on Christ's true divinity was firmly upheld, through the statement that Mary was truly Mother of God, and not merely the mother of  a man called Jesus Christ. Caroline's talk combined erudition with a lively account of recent gatherings in Rome to support the work of teaching and passing on the Faith, and ended on a quiet meditative note and a prayer in which we all joined...

I was at the table with the Ordinariate ladies, and it was talkative and fun. They are a dedicated and courageous lot, and I warmly agree with the citation honouring them. They have “bravely supported their husbands on the path to Christians unity: in the process they have surrendered financial security and family homes while having to support their families at a time of great stress and uncertainty. They are an often forgotten but nevertheless vital part of fulfilling the vision of the Ordinariate.”

The mood at the Luncheon was friendly and there is always a great sense of community, and of energy and commitment in supporting the Church.

Science and religion...

...and a fascinating talk to a packed room.  Fr Roger Nesbitt spoke at an evening gathering organised by the Faith Movement, and held at Precious Blood Church, London Bridge. Among the points raised were the problems faced by today's fashionable atheists in trying to persuade scientists to stop talking about God...because the great advances made in science in recent decades have produced more and deeper discussions about religion, and the great reality of God and the "unity law" perceived in the universe...

Fr Nesbitt:" Modern science has revealed a simple but profound truth - the physical universe is manifestly one. From the furthest galaxy to the smallest atom or micro-organism it is an interrelated and interdependent unity....It is an ordered and harmonious universe, finely tuned and delicately formed. It is not a chaos but a cosmos. Science has consistently revealed that Law, of differering complexity, operates at all levels and in all areas. The differing sciences now overlap with one another. There are laws of physics, cosmology, chemistry, biochemistry, biology etc which are all interdependent, so much so that many scientists are now searching for a Grand Unified Theory which will bind all the physical laws of the universe into one Law..."

Want to know more? Get info from the Faith Movement, and/or come along to the next meeting, on Oct 16th at Pr. Bl church, 7.30pm.

There is a rather good summary of the approach taken by the Faith Movement here...

An overnight stay...

... near Oxford, following the Night Walk to Littlemore (see previous blog post), and then the bus to London this morning. This evening, the first of the Evenings of Faith at Precious Blood Church, London Bridge. Speaker: Fr Roger Nesbitt. Mass 6.30pm, talk at 7.30pm. Light refreshments.

Bl John Henry Newman's Feast Day...

...is today, October 9th, the day that he was received into the communion of the Catholic Church. This happened at the village of  Littlemore, just outside Oxford, and every year there is a Night Walk from Oxford to Littlemore to mark the event. We walk through the city, stopping at places associated with Newman, and praying the 20 decades of the Rosary. At each stopping place, we are told about the link with Newman - it was especially touching to learn about the house where he lived with his mother and sisters - and then a short reading from one of his letters or similar, describing the place in his own words. This year, the first part at each stop was done by Fr Christopher Pearson of the Ordinariate, and the reader from Newman's works was Dr Andrew Nash. The last part of the Walk is by candlelight, and we sing "Lead kindly light". You can find out more about Newman and Littlemore etc here...

A message from...

Premier Radio has just arrived in my in-box and it says:

Hey Joanna

 

You’ll be on the air next week between 7:15 and 7:30 on Premier’s Inspirational Breakfast show, with Thought Of The Day

 

Thanks again for coming in!

 

Chris

 

Chris Byland is the producer. So if you want to hear Auntie on the radio, tune in to Premier next week at 7.15 am London time...

The Catholic Young Writer Award for 2013...

...will be presented this week at a meeting of THE KEYS, the Catholic Writers' Guild of England and Wales. The winner this year is Cecile Janssen, of St Mary's School, Ascot. She wins a trophy to be held for one year, plus a cash prize (£50) and a collection of book prizes.

The Award was inaugurated in 1999, when Antony Tyler was Master of the Guild,  and it has gone from strength to strength. Antony runs Fisher Press, a very successful  small independent publishing company. This year, as always, he will be among those donating a book prize for the winner and meeting her and her parents at Mass and dinner at the Guild meeting. The speaker will be journalist Christopher Howse, whose writings in the Daily Telegraph and elsewhere are always a delight.

Runner-up pries were gained by pupils at a number of Catholic schools, and some will receive YOUCAT, generously donated by Aid to the Church in Need,  others a Simple Prayer Book (CTS) and yet others a small pocket catechism produced by Fr John Redford of Maryvale fame.

Theme of the Award for 2013 was mercy and forgiveness, and students were invited to write a letter to a friend who had said "I don't need to go to confession. I don't commit sins", or to write an essay focusing on the theme of the Prodigal Son.

Don't forget...

..the Blessed  Sacrament Procession on Sat Oct 12th, starts 1.30pm at Westminster Cathedral, crosses the river at Lambeth Bridge and finishes with Benediction at St George's Cathedral, Southwark.

Also of interest: Big Catholic History Walk, and Walk of Witness, Sunday Oct 27th, starts with 11 am Mass at the Church of the Precious Blood, London Bridge. Bring sandwiches. We will be walking along the Thames, praying at the site of St Thomas More's martyrdom, finishing with Benediction at Pr. Blood at about 5pm.

Traditional Mass for...

...the Knights and Dames of St Gregory, at the Church of SS Anselm and Cecilia, in Holborn, a part of London rich in history: the pub where Bishop Richard Challoner used to meet Catholics to give instruction is just round the corner and carries a commemorative plaque telling all about it.

This evening's Mass was celebrated by Archbishop Mario Conti, and there was glorious singing (Mozart: Missa Brevis in D for the Kyrie and Gloria)  from the Scola of the Cardinal Vaughan School. Various Knights did the readings, brought up the Offertory etc. The Agnus Dei and Sanctus were Missa de Angelis and we all joined in heartily, and the hymns included Praise to the Holiest, and Soul of my Saviour... During the Bidding Prayers, we prayed for deceased Knights and Dames and a long list was read out, including names that one recognised as having done all sorts of different things for the Church in Britain...The Knights' formal uniform is in green and silver, a sort of mess-kit, and Dames wear green cloaks. Thanks to the generous and heroic work of a kind friend, designing and stitching,  I wore mine for the first time, feeling a tiny share in a big history.

Hot, sticky weather...

...travelling on the Tube is Much Too Warm.   Hurrying about in the heat, I  went to Premier Radio to record some talks (info on this later) and while there linked by telephone to EWTN's Register Radio for a feature on Bl John Paul. Register Radio has since sent me info about how to listen to their programmes:

Register Radio airs Friday at 19:00 hrs./7:00 p.m. BST on Sky Satellite Radio for Europe  / and for the U.S. audience: 2:00 p.m. EDT (U.S.)

Register Radio encores twice throughout the weekend:

1.      Saturday: 12:00 p.m. BST on Sky Satellite Radio for Europe / and for the U.S. audience: 8:00 p.m. EDT (U.S.)

2.      Sunday: 4:00 a.m.  BST on Sky Satellite Radio for Europe / and for the U.S. audience: 11:00 a.m. EDT (U.S.)

The show airs on 220 EWTN AM & FM affiliates across the U.S., as well as Sirius Satellite Radio’s channel 130, and on Sky (our European broadcast); and around the world on web stream through www.ewtn.com/radio, via mobile devices (EWTN, iHeart and TuneIn apps,) and of course—what first made EWTN go global 20 years ago—our EWTN Shortwave Radio signal traveling the globe.

We will post the audio of the show Friday evening shortly after it has aired and you can download the audio from the podcast if you wish to listen or post it on your website or for any promotional purposes.

Go to www.ncregister.com and click on the “Radio” tab and then click on the “microphone” icon.  Previous shows are also archived there.

The news...

that the canonisation of Bl John Paul and Bl John XXIII is to take place on  Divine Mercy Sunday, April 27th, was not unexpected...but very joyful!  You can read Auntie on the subject here....a very personal account. Talking to "Father Stan" was so interesting, and I will long cherish the rosary, blessed by John Paul, that he gave me...