Tuesday, April 30, 2013
A Newman week...
...at this church, with a lecture on John Henry Newman on May 20th at 6.3pm by Dr Andrew Nash. Do come!
Parents of First Communion children...
gathered at Holy Redeemer church, Chelsea. While the children were having instruction (and being shown Mass vestments and having them all explained etc) we were in the Monckton Room in the crypt where Auntie gave a talk about the Church's calendar of feasts and seasons, and how this is all part of our rich heritage that goes back 2,000 years and more...
Knowledge is crucial. People have a right to know about the Church's calendar, and so much else: what the name "Bethlehem" means, why it is significant that Christ was laid in a manger, why there is a pub sign called the "Pig and Whistle", why March 25th is significant, why the number 40 is significant, the origins of the "Jack-in-the-box" toy, and more...and more...
There is a great joy in realising that being a Catholic doesn't mean adhering to a tradition or belonging to a club...it's all about the Incarnation, about God becoming one of us and joining in with us, and dying and rising again: and this is the core of human history, and everything flows from this.
BTW, I am sometimes asked if I am "willing to give a talk to a local goup". OF COURSE I AM. Just contact me. Send a Comment to this blog with an email address to which I can reply. I cannot replay to a Comment in the ordinary way - ...I have to have an email address (or phone number), so include one in your Commengt. Obviously, I will not publish the Comment.
PS If you want to know about the things mentioned in the second para, invite me to talk in your parish/school/youth group ...or try my "Book of Seasons and Celebrations"...
Knowledge is crucial. People have a right to know about the Church's calendar, and so much else: what the name "Bethlehem" means, why it is significant that Christ was laid in a manger, why there is a pub sign called the "Pig and Whistle", why March 25th is significant, why the number 40 is significant, the origins of the "Jack-in-the-box" toy, and more...and more...
There is a great joy in realising that being a Catholic doesn't mean adhering to a tradition or belonging to a club...it's all about the Incarnation, about God becoming one of us and joining in with us, and dying and rising again: and this is the core of human history, and everything flows from this.
BTW, I am sometimes asked if I am "willing to give a talk to a local goup". OF COURSE I AM. Just contact me. Send a Comment to this blog with an email address to which I can reply. I cannot replay to a Comment in the ordinary way - ...I have to have an email address (or phone number), so include one in your Commengt. Obviously, I will not publish the Comment.
PS If you want to know about the things mentioned in the second para, invite me to talk in your parish/school/youth group ...or try my "Book of Seasons and Celebrations"...
Monday, April 29, 2013
COME AND WALK!!!
Join us on the JOHN PAUL WALK FOR THE NEW EVANGELISATION.
It's a challenge - but it's glorious, and you will love it.
Walking through some of the most beautiful countryside in England... praying at Mass in abbeys destroyed by Henry VIII now echoing again to the ancient prayer of the Church...singing together...eating a hearty supper together at the end of a long happy day...arriving in Walsingham as generations of pilgrims have done down the centuries...
Until you have experienced a glorious outdoor Mass with a group of singing pilgrims...or shared Evening Prayer together after a 20-mile walk....you cannot imagine how beautiful these experiences are.
Come and be part of the adventure. August 6th-11th 2013.
Contact Sister Hyacinthe at the Dominican Sisters of St Joseph: www.dominicansistersofstjoseph.com
It's a challenge - but it's glorious, and you will love it.
Walking through some of the most beautiful countryside in England... praying at Mass in abbeys destroyed by Henry VIII now echoing again to the ancient prayer of the Church...singing together...eating a hearty supper together at the end of a long happy day...arriving in Walsingham as generations of pilgrims have done down the centuries...
Until you have experienced a glorious outdoor Mass with a group of singing pilgrims...or shared Evening Prayer together after a 20-mile walk....you cannot imagine how beautiful these experiences are.
Come and be part of the adventure. August 6th-11th 2013.
Contact Sister Hyacinthe at the Dominican Sisters of St Joseph: www.dominicansistersofstjoseph.com
Sunday, April 28, 2013
From time to time...
...as a statement about freedom of speech, and the importance of discussing moral and social issues, I reprint on this Blog a section from the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
2357 Homosexuality refers to relations between men or between women who experience an exclusive or predominant sexual attraction toward persons of the same sex. It has taken a great variety of forms through the centuries and in different cultures. Its psychological genesis remains largely unexplained. Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity,141 tradition has always declared that "homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered."142 They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved.
2358 The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible. This inclination, which is objectively disordered, constitutes for most of them a trial. They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. These persons are called to fulfill God's will in their lives and, if they are Christians, to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord's Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition. 2359 Homosexual persons are called to chastity. By the virtues of self-mastery that teach them inner freedom, at times by the support of disinterested friendship, by prayer and sacramental grace, they can and should gradually and resolutely approach Christian perfection.
2357 Homosexuality refers to relations between men or between women who experience an exclusive or predominant sexual attraction toward persons of the same sex. It has taken a great variety of forms through the centuries and in different cultures. Its psychological genesis remains largely unexplained. Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity,141 tradition has always declared that "homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered."142 They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved.
2358 The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible. This inclination, which is objectively disordered, constitutes for most of them a trial. They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. These persons are called to fulfill God's will in their lives and, if they are Christians, to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord's Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition. 2359 Homosexual persons are called to chastity. By the virtues of self-mastery that teach them inner freedom, at times by the support of disinterested friendship, by prayer and sacramental grace, they can and should gradually and resolutely approach Christian perfection.
Sunday...
...and Mass at Precious Blood Church and a talkative time afterwards, lots of plans for parish activities. This church is a splendid example of how the Ordinariate can and should flourish...there is now a flourishing Sunday School, and the only problem is that it might be rather overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of children keen to attend...
Friday, April 26, 2013
Dr Margaret White...
...was a leading pro-life campaigner, one of the earliest members of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, a family doctor, magistrate, and a Christian woman of immense faith and courage. Today, her funeral at a country church gathered together family and friends together and we remembered her with much love...she leaves a wonderful heritage to her children and grandchildren, and to so many of us who learned from her wisdom, knowledge, and common sense. She was tireless in her defence of unborn children and in support of marriage and family life: she spoke at schools, colleges, women's groups, conferences, gatherings in Parliament, international events...many young people were helped by her wise counsel and genuine concern for their welfare, and many of us were inspired and encouraged by her Christian commitment.
I first met Margaret in the early 1970s, and I belong to a generation who looked up to her as a mentor, and will always be grateful to her. May she rest in peace, and may God reward her for a life of generous service...
I first met Margaret in the early 1970s, and I belong to a generation who looked up to her as a mentor, and will always be grateful to her. May she rest in peace, and may God reward her for a life of generous service...
Wrote to...
...the new Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Welby...I wrote with an Anglican friend: we both work together on CHRISTIAN PROJECTS, an ecumenical group bringing together Christians from different groups...
We wanted to send Dr Welby an assurance of our prayers on his new appointment - and to beg his support in defence of marriage in the light of the Govt's grim plans. We were - and are - particularly concerned about the freedom of Christians to talk about marriage as the lifelong union of a man and a woman. This greatly affects us as we are involved in talks to schools and youth groups...
I am underwhelmed by the response from Lambeth Palace. A lady cleric has written with a formal acknowledgement of our letter, noting our concerns, and saying that the Lords Spiritual (formal expression for the Bishops in the Hse of Lords) will be aware of these when the issue comes up in Parliament. The letter is not unfriendly....but it's not exactly warm.
Dr Welby - a good man, who has spoken warmly and from a sound Evangelical perspective about Christ and the glorious truths of the Christian faith - is ill-served by this bureaucracy.
We wanted to send Dr Welby an assurance of our prayers on his new appointment - and to beg his support in defence of marriage in the light of the Govt's grim plans. We were - and are - particularly concerned about the freedom of Christians to talk about marriage as the lifelong union of a man and a woman. This greatly affects us as we are involved in talks to schools and youth groups...
I am underwhelmed by the response from Lambeth Palace. A lady cleric has written with a formal acknowledgement of our letter, noting our concerns, and saying that the Lords Spiritual (formal expression for the Bishops in the Hse of Lords) will be aware of these when the issue comes up in Parliament. The letter is not unfriendly....but it's not exactly warm.
Dr Welby - a good man, who has spoken warmly and from a sound Evangelical perspective about Christ and the glorious truths of the Christian faith - is ill-served by this bureaucracy.
Thursday, April 25, 2013
A refreshing day...
...by the sea at Whitstable, visiting the Vocations Centre there, run by Father Stephen Langridge. All very encouraging: from the peaceful chapel with its "Benedict arrangement" of candles and crucifix, to the bright pleasant rooms which welcome young people arriving for vocation gatherings, it is all very attractive...and out in the garden, a young volunteer was mowing the lawn in the sunshine, with that lovely scent of fresh green springtime grass...
A walk by the sea, and around the harbour, and a glimpse of the history of this boat-building town famed for its oysters and with a bustling High Street...
The Ladies Ordinariate Group and the Association of Catholic Women are combining to have a day at Whitstable in July, and Fr Stephen and I were planning this today, and it all looks set to be a happy time.
Dates for your diary: May 20th, 6.30pm, Precious Blood Church, London Bridge - lecture on Bl John Henry Newman.
Sunday June 23rd, 1pm, St Sepulchre's churchyard, near Old Bailey (nearest tube: St Paul's). THE MARTYRS' WALK. We will be walking along the route to Tyburn, honouring the English Martyrs. Finishes with Benediction and Tea at Tyburn. Come and give witness to the Faith.
A walk by the sea, and around the harbour, and a glimpse of the history of this boat-building town famed for its oysters and with a bustling High Street...
The Ladies Ordinariate Group and the Association of Catholic Women are combining to have a day at Whitstable in July, and Fr Stephen and I were planning this today, and it all looks set to be a happy time.
Dates for your diary: May 20th, 6.30pm, Precious Blood Church, London Bridge - lecture on Bl John Henry Newman.
Sunday June 23rd, 1pm, St Sepulchre's churchyard, near Old Bailey (nearest tube: St Paul's). THE MARTYRS' WALK. We will be walking along the route to Tyburn, honouring the English Martyrs. Finishes with Benediction and Tea at Tyburn. Come and give witness to the Faith.
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Overwhelmed...
Today a meeting of the British section of the international charity Aid to the Church in Need. A Luncheon marking Auntie's retirement from the Board...an involvement with ACN which began when she was a teenager.
An announcement from Archbishop's House, Southwark: as one of his last acts as Pope, Benedict XVI appointed Joanna Bogle as a Dame of St Gregory.
I am overwhelmed and can't write any more at the moment...
An announcement from Archbishop's House, Southwark: as one of his last acts as Pope, Benedict XVI appointed Joanna Bogle as a Dame of St Gregory.
I am overwhelmed and can't write any more at the moment...
To Soho...
...which is a headline to get you interested.
I went to St Patrick's, Soho Square, to make arrangements for the DAY OF FAITH we are holding there on Tuesday June 18th.
Speakers include Bishop Philip Egan (afternoon) and George Weigel (evening). You can come for the whole of the conference (£20) or for just the daytime bit or just the evening bit (£10 each). Send a cheque for the relevant amount made out to FAITH/KEYWAY, St Peter's, Bishops Rise, Hatfield Herts AL10 9HN.
There will be a buffet lunch and a supper. It looks set to be a really excellent day. Do please book your ticket NOW. It is already filling up quite quickly...
Phone call from EWTN, as they are about to show my new TV series, featuring various saints days and feast-days.
In between everything else, rushed to get my latest essay to Maryvale. Exams in two weeks time. Then more exams in July.
I went to St Patrick's, Soho Square, to make arrangements for the DAY OF FAITH we are holding there on Tuesday June 18th.
Speakers include Bishop Philip Egan (afternoon) and George Weigel (evening). You can come for the whole of the conference (£20) or for just the daytime bit or just the evening bit (£10 each). Send a cheque for the relevant amount made out to FAITH/KEYWAY, St Peter's, Bishops Rise, Hatfield Herts AL10 9HN.
There will be a buffet lunch and a supper. It looks set to be a really excellent day. Do please book your ticket NOW. It is already filling up quite quickly...
Phone call from EWTN, as they are about to show my new TV series, featuring various saints days and feast-days.
In between everything else, rushed to get my latest essay to Maryvale. Exams in two weeks time. Then more exams in July.
Monday, April 22, 2013
Walking through the city of Westminster...
...on Friday evening, after a committee meeting in George Street....as we approached Grosvenor Square, we decided to take a look at the statue of Ronald Reagan, unveiled there a couple of summers ago. It is an attractive statue, and the inscription gives details about his role in bringing to an end the Cold War, and includes some brief quotations from his speeches, eg "Mr Gorbachev - tear down that wall!"
Stood pondering...Reagan, Thatcher, and the great John Paul II...each of them survived an assassination attempt, each has now, after a long old age, gone to God...
Stood pondering...Reagan, Thatcher, and the great John Paul II...each of them survived an assassination attempt, each has now, after a long old age, gone to God...
Sunday, April 21, 2013
Evangelists...
...from a Catholic group gathered on the Green at Ealing, and began to sing. I was sitting munching a sandwich in the sunshine, preparatory to visiting a friend at St David's Hospice nearby.
The evangelists turned out to be from the Neo-Catechumenate group associated with Ealing Abbey, joined by others from around the country. Large numbers of children. General atmosphere of goodwill, everyone v. relaxed. Some singing, praying, recitation of psalms together, then some talks - of varying quality, all obviously sincere. The best was a speaker who spoke about three encounters - Lucifer in the garden with Eve, enticing humanity away from God, then the Angel with Mary, giving humanity the great news of the opportunity of life in the Incarnation, and finally the Gospel's encounter with us. Essentially, when we hear the Gospel message, we too are having a angelic encounter...
The evangelists turned out to be from the Neo-Catechumenate group associated with Ealing Abbey, joined by others from around the country. Large numbers of children. General atmosphere of goodwill, everyone v. relaxed. Some singing, praying, recitation of psalms together, then some talks - of varying quality, all obviously sincere. The best was a speaker who spoke about three encounters - Lucifer in the garden with Eve, enticing humanity away from God, then the Angel with Mary, giving humanity the great news of the opportunity of life in the Incarnation, and finally the Gospel's encounter with us. Essentially, when we hear the Gospel message, we too are having a angelic encounter...
Saturday, April 20, 2013
Useful meeting...
...of the committee of the Association of Catholic Women. The committee meets at St James, Spanish Place - beneath the church is a large bright room where a children's day-nursery sends out happy noises, plus a kitchen, various offices, and a positive rabbit-warren of intriguing boiler-rooms and storage spaces...and various other rooms, one of which we used today for our meeting...
Lots to plan. Next year sees the ACW's 25th anniversary - we should do something splendid to mark it. Meanwhile, the 2013 nationwide Schools RE Project under way, discussion of plans for a Schools Music Festival, decisions about speakers for our AGM in the Autumn, a summertime pilgrimage trip (jointly with LOGS - see blog entries below), and more...
Much talk about the Govt's ghastly plans to redefine marriage. Among the many aspects not adequately discussed by those supporting these idiotic plans is the whole question of what people in Britain will in future be allowed to say about marriage, and what will be banned. As things stand at present, a ban on talking about marriage as the union of a man and a woman seems likely to be imposed on all sorts of people, randomly and weirdly. School governors, local borough councillors, teachers, clergy, speakers at school prizegivings or other public ceremonies...lecturers in public libraries or at seminars in hospitals or training colleges, policemen, magistrates and court officials...
It's all getting spooky.
Marriage is the union of a man and a woman, establishing a new family. If you don't like my making this statement, get used to not liking it, because I am certainly going to continue making the statement from time to time in the course of my life, both in public as a writer and lecturer, and in private if the topic comes up in conversation.
Lots to plan. Next year sees the ACW's 25th anniversary - we should do something splendid to mark it. Meanwhile, the 2013 nationwide Schools RE Project under way, discussion of plans for a Schools Music Festival, decisions about speakers for our AGM in the Autumn, a summertime pilgrimage trip (jointly with LOGS - see blog entries below), and more...
Much talk about the Govt's ghastly plans to redefine marriage. Among the many aspects not adequately discussed by those supporting these idiotic plans is the whole question of what people in Britain will in future be allowed to say about marriage, and what will be banned. As things stand at present, a ban on talking about marriage as the union of a man and a woman seems likely to be imposed on all sorts of people, randomly and weirdly. School governors, local borough councillors, teachers, clergy, speakers at school prizegivings or other public ceremonies...lecturers in public libraries or at seminars in hospitals or training colleges, policemen, magistrates and court officials...
It's all getting spooky.
Marriage is the union of a man and a woman, establishing a new family. If you don't like my making this statement, get used to not liking it, because I am certainly going to continue making the statement from time to time in the course of my life, both in public as a writer and lecturer, and in private if the topic comes up in conversation.
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Been sent...
...information about events run by this excellent group...it all looks very good indeed, and badly needed.
Also been sent a v. depressing and bitter rant in a mainstream newspaper supporting same-sex "marriage" and denouncing anyone who opposes it. There is something so surreal and horrid about seeing a society round on itself and pursue its own destruction in this way...
Signs of hope...only small ones...but on Monday we in the LOGS (Ladies group connected to Pr. Blood Church, London Bridge) read through all the entries for the children's project - absolutely beautiful artwork and writing all centred on studying the Psalms. From children at schools across London. Watch this space for more info - we are awarding prizes and certificates, planning a big display of the children's work, etc etc....
New Evangelisation...
Also been sent a v. depressing and bitter rant in a mainstream newspaper supporting same-sex "marriage" and denouncing anyone who opposes it. There is something so surreal and horrid about seeing a society round on itself and pursue its own destruction in this way...
Signs of hope...only small ones...but on Monday we in the LOGS (Ladies group connected to Pr. Blood Church, London Bridge) read through all the entries for the children's project - absolutely beautiful artwork and writing all centred on studying the Psalms. From children at schools across London. Watch this space for more info - we are awarding prizes and certificates, planning a big display of the children's work, etc etc....
New Evangelisation...
After...
...a day in London (see below), I headed for the West Country, for a visit to a dear relative who lives by the sea in Somerset.
A small seaside town on a wet April evening... few people around, most eating-places closed...but one pub offering food, and one Chinese restaurant. I am taking the relative to the Chinese place tomorrow so opted for fish and chips in the pub tonight. I have brought work to do, but to match my mood of history and traditions, I spent suppertime studying the history of the Borough, a corner of London I have vaguely known over the years but am now coming to love, and around which I am planning some history walks...so with Somerset accents around me, and a good supper in front of me, I pondered the stories of Chaucer and the George Inn, and St Mary Overie, Harvard, and and Guys, and more...
A small seaside town on a wet April evening... few people around, most eating-places closed...but one pub offering food, and one Chinese restaurant. I am taking the relative to the Chinese place tomorrow so opted for fish and chips in the pub tonight. I have brought work to do, but to match my mood of history and traditions, I spent suppertime studying the history of the Borough, a corner of London I have vaguely known over the years but am now coming to love, and around which I am planning some history walks...so with Somerset accents around me, and a good supper in front of me, I pondered the stories of Chaucer and the George Inn, and St Mary Overie, Harvard, and and Guys, and more...
up early...
...and to London, where I met Antony Tyler, former Master of the Catholic Writers' Guild...we had decided to go together to line the route for Lady Thatcher's funeral...
I had been in Fleet Street just a few hours earlier, leading a Catholic History Walk that finished up outside the Olde Cheshire Cheese, and thence to Waterloo station and coffee and much further talk....London had a great air of expectation... crowd barriers were being erected and preparations made. The Walk had begun in Lincoln's Inn Fields and encompassed several hundred years of history, and it was somehow entirely natural to watch another event about to unfold in this city of the centuries...
So, this morning: we joined the crowds heading up from Blackfriars to Fleet Street, and were glad to be early as people were already lining the road and we were able to get a good place. A good spirit as the crowd swelled and swelled...people talked and swapped ideas, opinions, memories...a former soldier wearing medals, a former Wren, Londoners, people who'd travelled from much further afield...over towards Ludgate Circus a group of protesters waved placards that I couldn't read, and a shrill voice made a speech. General feeling of being British began to pervade the whole thing. A light fizzy rain drifted around a bit.
The drama began. Detachments of Royal Marines, Guards, Royal Naval ratings, marched by. Then young guardsmen marched in to take up their positions at fixed places along the route. One could hear drumbeats etc in the distance. Guardsmen bowed their heads, then raised them and shouldered arms in unison. And then the procession came by - the coffin draped in the Union Flag, on a gun carriage, mounted officers with drawn swords, the full works....
Well, you can read about it in innumerable reports. When the service began in St Paul's, we all began to move off and into local pubs and places where we could watch on TV. We went to the Old Bell - a perfect place, everyone gathered around a well-placed TV screen...the service all v. traditional, a touching moment when the young sweet-faced Thatcher granddaughter read very beautifully from the Scriptures with an American accent...but the best bit for us was the final hymn "I vow to thee my country" - the words were put up on the screen so a couple of us started singing and in a moment the whole pub was singing - a magnificent sound, and a truly glorious thing that I'll remember for years to come...
After the service was over people ordered drinks and food, and a young chap came over to our table to pay for our drinks ands people came up to say thank-you for getting us all singing.
And before you all write in and say this is all unimportant and why-put-it-on-a-Catholic blog, this was a bit of Britain happening.
I had been in Fleet Street just a few hours earlier, leading a Catholic History Walk that finished up outside the Olde Cheshire Cheese, and thence to Waterloo station and coffee and much further talk....London had a great air of expectation... crowd barriers were being erected and preparations made. The Walk had begun in Lincoln's Inn Fields and encompassed several hundred years of history, and it was somehow entirely natural to watch another event about to unfold in this city of the centuries...
So, this morning: we joined the crowds heading up from Blackfriars to Fleet Street, and were glad to be early as people were already lining the road and we were able to get a good place. A good spirit as the crowd swelled and swelled...people talked and swapped ideas, opinions, memories...a former soldier wearing medals, a former Wren, Londoners, people who'd travelled from much further afield...over towards Ludgate Circus a group of protesters waved placards that I couldn't read, and a shrill voice made a speech. General feeling of being British began to pervade the whole thing. A light fizzy rain drifted around a bit.
The drama began. Detachments of Royal Marines, Guards, Royal Naval ratings, marched by. Then young guardsmen marched in to take up their positions at fixed places along the route. One could hear drumbeats etc in the distance. Guardsmen bowed their heads, then raised them and shouldered arms in unison. And then the procession came by - the coffin draped in the Union Flag, on a gun carriage, mounted officers with drawn swords, the full works....
Well, you can read about it in innumerable reports. When the service began in St Paul's, we all began to move off and into local pubs and places where we could watch on TV. We went to the Old Bell - a perfect place, everyone gathered around a well-placed TV screen...the service all v. traditional, a touching moment when the young sweet-faced Thatcher granddaughter read very beautifully from the Scriptures with an American accent...but the best bit for us was the final hymn "I vow to thee my country" - the words were put up on the screen so a couple of us started singing and in a moment the whole pub was singing - a magnificent sound, and a truly glorious thing that I'll remember for years to come...
After the service was over people ordered drinks and food, and a young chap came over to our table to pay for our drinks ands people came up to say thank-you for getting us all singing.
And before you all write in and say this is all unimportant and why-put-it-on-a-Catholic blog, this was a bit of Britain happening.
Monday, April 15, 2013
Pollyanna Bogle...
...a nickname given to me a while back, and which I love.
I started to use it, because I loved the film "Pollyanna" as a child. Remember it? First film I remember watching, at a cinema in the London suburbs, one summer half-term. Based on a children's story written in America in the 1900s...the film starred Hayley Mills as orphan Pollyanna from an impoverished family who goes to live with a grim great-aunt. Pollyanna's late father, a missionary, had taught his little girl "the glad game". The Bible tells us to rejoice over 150 times. The key is to find something about which to be glad, even in a grim situation...
Easy to sneer, and lots of people did when the film came out, and do now.
When I was accused of being a Pollyanna, I thought it was done with affection and fun, and was rather touched. Only later discovered it was meant to be nasty: the idea was to attack Joanna and denounce her joy. Ooops. Too late by then... I was using the name and enjoying it. My Iron Lady moment...
I don't always publish nasty Comments on this Blog - but I always read them, as I have always done with letters (death-threats, the lot!) that I've received over the years. Playing the Glad Game doesn't make you immune from insults, but you see them in perspective.
And, PS: Watch the film. Pollyanna wins. That's the whole point.
I started to use it, because I loved the film "Pollyanna" as a child. Remember it? First film I remember watching, at a cinema in the London suburbs, one summer half-term. Based on a children's story written in America in the 1900s...the film starred Hayley Mills as orphan Pollyanna from an impoverished family who goes to live with a grim great-aunt. Pollyanna's late father, a missionary, had taught his little girl "the glad game". The Bible tells us to rejoice over 150 times. The key is to find something about which to be glad, even in a grim situation...
Easy to sneer, and lots of people did when the film came out, and do now.
When I was accused of being a Pollyanna, I thought it was done with affection and fun, and was rather touched. Only later discovered it was meant to be nasty: the idea was to attack Joanna and denounce her joy. Ooops. Too late by then... I was using the name and enjoying it. My Iron Lady moment...
I don't always publish nasty Comments on this Blog - but I always read them, as I have always done with letters (death-threats, the lot!) that I've received over the years. Playing the Glad Game doesn't make you immune from insults, but you see them in perspective.
And, PS: Watch the film. Pollyanna wins. That's the whole point.
Tomorrow...
...Tuesday April 16th, I'll be leading a Catholic History Walk in London, starting at 6.30pm on the steps of SS Anselm and Cecilia Church, Kingsway (nearest tube: Holborn). We'll be exploring Lincolns Inn Fields and the surrounding area, including the pub where Bishop Richard Challoner used to meet Catholics in secret for religious instruction in the 18th century...
Sunday, April 14, 2013
An early morning Mass...
...at Precious Blood church, London Bridge. There are a lot of things happening at this church over the next months: May Procession, May 5th, Newman lecture May 20th, a week-long Patronal Festival July 1st-8th....
Two young people from the Sion Community spoke briefly at the end of Mass about the Mission currently running at nearby St Michael's College. It sounds good.
The newsletter has a nice pic of Pope Francis and a quote from him as he took possession of St John Lateran last week, asking for our prayers...and also a pic of dear Papa Emeritus Benedict with the suggestion that we pray for him on his birthday, which falls this Tuesday:"Alles gute zum Geburtstag heiligen Vater..."
Two young people from the Sion Community spoke briefly at the end of Mass about the Mission currently running at nearby St Michael's College. It sounds good.
The newsletter has a nice pic of Pope Francis and a quote from him as he took possession of St John Lateran last week, asking for our prayers...and also a pic of dear Papa Emeritus Benedict with the suggestion that we pray for him on his birthday, which falls this Tuesday:"Alles gute zum Geburtstag heiligen Vater..."
Friday, April 12, 2013
Cardinal Schonborn...
...spoke in London the other evening, at a splendid event held in the National Galery. It was a great privilege to be invited, and he gave us an overview of the current position of Christianity and culture in Europe, tackling specifically the iussue of "Christophobia". It was a thoughtful and gentle approach, no polemics, but warmly assertive of confidence in the Church's message. The lecture was rich in the theology of Benedict XVI. Schonborn is one of the "Ratzinger circle" - literally so, because they are not just friends but he is part of the Schulerkreise established by Cardinal Ratzinger with his former pupils from the days when he was a professor...
You can read a rather charming and chatty report of the evening by a felow-guest here...
The evening not only provided a chance to listen to Cardinal Scvhonborn, but also to meet a number of friends...it was a joy to chat to Ann Widdecombe, David Alton, Fr John Saward from Oxford, Neville Kyrke-Smith of ACN...
You can read a rather charming and chatty report of the evening by a felow-guest here...
The evening not only provided a chance to listen to Cardinal Scvhonborn, but also to meet a number of friends...it was a joy to chat to Ann Widdecombe, David Alton, Fr John Saward from Oxford, Neville Kyrke-Smith of ACN...
Thursday, April 11, 2013
To Oxford...
...and lunch with Fr Andrew Pinsent. He is research director at the university's Ian Ramsey Centre for Science and Religion. I have been enjoying his booklet Lumen. Fascinating discussion about, among other things, St Hilda of Whitby, St Hildegarde of Bingen, Aristotle, the relationship between the Church and science, Thomas Aquinas, autism, and the roles of women in the Church in various centuries. Loved it.
In the evening, a long chatty time with a young relative...where we also ended up discussing, among much else, the relationship between faith the science, and the role of quantum physics. Golly.
Also a brief meeting with the young team that produces the excellent Magnificat, with which I bookend my days.
In the evening, a long chatty time with a young relative...where we also ended up discussing, among much else, the relationship between faith the science, and the role of quantum physics. Golly.
Also a brief meeting with the young team that produces the excellent Magnificat, with which I bookend my days.
Tuesday, April 09, 2013
A truly great figure...
...Prime Minister of Great Britain, a patriot, a Parliamentarian, one of the most remarkable women of our era: Margaret Thatcher.
When she became Prime Minister, Europe was locked into the Cold War, Communism looked as though it would be a fixed and miserable part of the landscape for the foreseeable future for millions of people on half the continent, Britain was stuck in a mindset of economic and political stagnation.
She restored to Britain a robust belief in enterprise, gave Eastern Europe a vision of freedom, won a war, and wrote history.
Unlike so many of today's politicians, she entered Parliament with real convictions and beliefs. She was not a professional politician but had worked in industry (research chemistry) and was a qualified barrister. She honoured her parents and the Christian values they had taught her - and spoke about this with frankness and sincerity. She was very happily married. She loved Britain and had a deep sense of its heritage.
And she was a woman of kindness and courtesy. I was a very, very junior person working in the Conservative Research department in the exciting months of 1979. I remember the whirl of excitement as she came into the busy room where we were beavering away on items for the first day of the election campaign. She was efficient and breezy and exuded confidence, but there was also a sense of quiet authority and of efficiency. We talked over the project on which I was preparing a brief - she was competent and knowledgeable. You felt you were part of a team that was going to do something useful and of value. And she was polite and disarmingly downbeat. I honestly do believe she saw politics as public service. And she served her country - and the cause of peace and the betterment of the human lot - well.
May she rest in peace.
When she became Prime Minister, Europe was locked into the Cold War, Communism looked as though it would be a fixed and miserable part of the landscape for the foreseeable future for millions of people on half the continent, Britain was stuck in a mindset of economic and political stagnation.
She restored to Britain a robust belief in enterprise, gave Eastern Europe a vision of freedom, won a war, and wrote history.
Unlike so many of today's politicians, she entered Parliament with real convictions and beliefs. She was not a professional politician but had worked in industry (research chemistry) and was a qualified barrister. She honoured her parents and the Christian values they had taught her - and spoke about this with frankness and sincerity. She was very happily married. She loved Britain and had a deep sense of its heritage.
And she was a woman of kindness and courtesy. I was a very, very junior person working in the Conservative Research department in the exciting months of 1979. I remember the whirl of excitement as she came into the busy room where we were beavering away on items for the first day of the election campaign. She was efficient and breezy and exuded confidence, but there was also a sense of quiet authority and of efficiency. We talked over the project on which I was preparing a brief - she was competent and knowledgeable. You felt you were part of a team that was going to do something useful and of value. And she was polite and disarmingly downbeat. I honestly do believe she saw politics as public service. And she served her country - and the cause of peace and the betterment of the human lot - well.
May she rest in peace.
Sunday, April 07, 2013
Divine Mercy Sunday...
...and memories suddenly flood back of dear Bl JPII, who went to the Father's House on the eve of this special feast which he himself had placed in the Church's universal calendar...if you haven't yet seen the superb film of his life, starring Jon Voight, EWTN is showing it next Saturday, April 13th...
You can now sense Spring in London - daffodils blooming on our small patch of lawn by the front gate, and my muffler suddenly felt too warm as I hurried to catch a bus...
We sang glorious Easter hymns at Mass, and afterwards sat planning various spring and summer activities.
Meanwhile in Rome, the H. Father has blessed a plaque naming the big square by St John Lateran in honour of Bl JPII...
None of us who watched the then Cardinal Ratzinger at the funeral of JPII will ever forget his sermon, one of the great and memorable events in the life of the Church...and then just a short while later he accepted the huge task of following him as the next Peter, and did it with grace and with the gifts of a brilliant mind combined with gentleness and sweetness. And now Papa Francis has climbed into the papal jeep and opened his arms and somehow embraced us all in a hug: he has our hearts.
.
You can now sense Spring in London - daffodils blooming on our small patch of lawn by the front gate, and my muffler suddenly felt too warm as I hurried to catch a bus...
We sang glorious Easter hymns at Mass, and afterwards sat planning various spring and summer activities.
Meanwhile in Rome, the H. Father has blessed a plaque naming the big square by St John Lateran in honour of Bl JPII...
None of us who watched the then Cardinal Ratzinger at the funeral of JPII will ever forget his sermon, one of the great and memorable events in the life of the Church...and then just a short while later he accepted the huge task of following him as the next Peter, and did it with grace and with the gifts of a brilliant mind combined with gentleness and sweetness. And now Papa Francis has climbed into the papal jeep and opened his arms and somehow embraced us all in a hug: he has our hearts.
.
Saturday, April 06, 2013
Friday, April 05, 2013
Just seen...
...on the website of the diocese of Southwark, a cheery pic of the Chrism Mass in Holy Week, which shows our team and the "Thank you to our priests" placard.
It's especially pleasing, because moments before the priests' procession began, the swift wind whirled our placard away from its tall post, so we had to hold it up by hand. But in the end, this proved to be easier and more convenient than wielding it on a long wooden post...so future Chrism scenes will be more or less like the one you see here...
It's especially pleasing, because moments before the priests' procession began, the swift wind whirled our placard away from its tall post, so we had to hold it up by hand. But in the end, this proved to be easier and more convenient than wielding it on a long wooden post...so future Chrism scenes will be more or less like the one you see here...
Been reading...
...and hugely enjoying, George's Weigel's Practicing Catholic, a collection of essays. Recommended.
Felt a bit smug as I pottered about the kitchen this morning, brewing some coffee, dealing with the washing, tackling some emails. Glanced at the clock from time to time and set off for a weekday Mass feeling vaguely that I was a well-organised-Catholic-lady. Soon got into reality. Arrived at church and wondered why no one was there - usual attendance for weekday Mass in this lovely local parish is high. Heard voices from the Lady Chapel - people saying the Rosary. That usually happens after Mass...???...simple, really. On arrival home yesterday evening, we forgot to put the clocks at Bogle Towers forward one hour. So this w-o-C-l is not so well organised after all.
Re-planned the day, hopped on a bus and train and got to a lunchtime Mass at Pr. Blood Church at London Bridge - and am glad I did....the church has been recently cleaned and looked glorious with the most beautiful flowers in the sanctuary, a lovely arrangement below the lectern with golden ribbons, a sense of Easter everywhere. Thought of Pope Benedict and his emphasis on "the Way of Beauty".
Coming up soon - some dates for your diary: Tuesday April 16th: London Catholic History Walk, starts 6.30pm outside the Church of SS Anselm and Cecilia, Kingsway (nearest tube: Holborn). Come and join us in discovering the story of Bishop Richard Challoner, and the pub where his memory is still honoured...Tuesday May 7th: Auntie speaks at the Hull Faith Forum, 7.30pm, St Joseph's. Boothferry Road, Hull. Monday May 13th: History Walk at Westminster, starts 6.30pm steps of Westminster Cathedral. Monday May 20th: Talk on Blessed John Henry Newman by Dr Andrew Nash, 6.30pm at Pr. Blood Church, London Bridge. Tuesday June 18th: all-day conference at St Patrick's. Soho Square: afternoon speaker, Bishop Philip Egan, evening speaker George Weigel - info here and scroll down...
Felt a bit smug as I pottered about the kitchen this morning, brewing some coffee, dealing with the washing, tackling some emails. Glanced at the clock from time to time and set off for a weekday Mass feeling vaguely that I was a well-organised-Catholic-lady. Soon got into reality. Arrived at church and wondered why no one was there - usual attendance for weekday Mass in this lovely local parish is high. Heard voices from the Lady Chapel - people saying the Rosary. That usually happens after Mass...???...simple, really. On arrival home yesterday evening, we forgot to put the clocks at Bogle Towers forward one hour. So this w-o-C-l is not so well organised after all.
Re-planned the day, hopped on a bus and train and got to a lunchtime Mass at Pr. Blood Church at London Bridge - and am glad I did....the church has been recently cleaned and looked glorious with the most beautiful flowers in the sanctuary, a lovely arrangement below the lectern with golden ribbons, a sense of Easter everywhere. Thought of Pope Benedict and his emphasis on "the Way of Beauty".
Coming up soon - some dates for your diary: Tuesday April 16th: London Catholic History Walk, starts 6.30pm outside the Church of SS Anselm and Cecilia, Kingsway (nearest tube: Holborn). Come and join us in discovering the story of Bishop Richard Challoner, and the pub where his memory is still honoured...Tuesday May 7th: Auntie speaks at the Hull Faith Forum, 7.30pm, St Joseph's. Boothferry Road, Hull. Monday May 13th: History Walk at Westminster, starts 6.30pm steps of Westminster Cathedral. Monday May 20th: Talk on Blessed John Henry Newman by Dr Andrew Nash, 6.30pm at Pr. Blood Church, London Bridge. Tuesday June 18th: all-day conference at St Patrick's. Soho Square: afternoon speaker, Bishop Philip Egan, evening speaker George Weigel - info here and scroll down...
Thursday, April 04, 2013
Home...
...driving through chilly but beautiful countryside. A brief cheery stop-on-the-way visit to young relatives - hugs, news, chocolate eggs, cups of tea, a small great-nephew enchantingly playing, with deep breaths and dedicated care, some simple tunes on the piano, to Auntie's great delight.
Army reminiscences as we drove over Salisbury Plain.
Stonehenge in the dusk, isolated and tourist-free, stark and ancient and imponderable.
Darkness and the steady hum of the car. Talking together, and remembering so many other trips, Easters, Christmasses.
Suburbia, and our own front door and organising the chilly house into a welcome. I'm tapping out this in the kitchen as the kettle boils.
Army reminiscences as we drove over Salisbury Plain.
Stonehenge in the dusk, isolated and tourist-free, stark and ancient and imponderable.
Darkness and the steady hum of the car. Talking together, and remembering so many other trips, Easters, Christmasses.
Suburbia, and our own front door and organising the chilly house into a welcome. I'm tapping out this in the kitchen as the kettle boils.
Wednesday, April 03, 2013
Exmoor and Easter lambs...
...and only the limitations of a frustratingly intermittent Internet access prevent me from writing about it all at greater length and more lyrically. I am interspersing long walks and some gentle cookery - plus family activities - with much reading and studying (Tractarians/Newman/CS Lewis/John Paul II/various Biblical commentaries...).
Newest edition of The Portal is just out, and there is a good News Section too at Pr. Blood church in London...reports of Holy Week etc...take a look...
Newest edition of The Portal is just out, and there is a good News Section too at Pr. Blood church in London...reports of Holy Week etc...take a look...
EASTERTIDE....
...beginning with Tea with a beloved elderly relation on Holy Saturday, with giving of Easter eggs etc, followed by travel to Oxfordshire, and a glorious Easter Vigil (six people received into the Church with baptisms and confirmations etc, packed congregation with hundreds of glowing candles, Missa de Angelis, beautiful Easter hymns) , followed the next morning by a family breakfast with cheery decorated eggs, and a happy morning of talk and laughter and chocolate eggs and a great Easter lunch...
And in due course, an Easter Monday journey onwards to more family at the seaside, and a breezy walk along the coast, family meals, affection, swapping of news, more chocolate...
I am writing this with a most enchanting view of the coast before me...it is so lovely that with night falling it is quite impossible to close the curtains...
A laptop and the kindly provision of books from an Anglican clergyman friend enables me to catch up on some necessary academic work...and meanwhile every day the daffodils nod in the stiff sea breezes, the sky is a clear if chilly blue, local eggs and honey and clotted cream make mealtimes a delight.
Alleluia!
And in due course, an Easter Monday journey onwards to more family at the seaside, and a breezy walk along the coast, family meals, affection, swapping of news, more chocolate...
I am writing this with a most enchanting view of the coast before me...it is so lovely that with night falling it is quite impossible to close the curtains...
A laptop and the kindly provision of books from an Anglican clergyman friend enables me to catch up on some necessary academic work...and meanwhile every day the daffodils nod in the stiff sea breezes, the sky is a clear if chilly blue, local eggs and honey and clotted cream make mealtimes a delight.
Alleluia!
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