The Thames and the sea...

...and yesterday began on London Bridge. The final day of filming for a new TV history series about London and the Church. From London Bridge there is a fine view of Tower Bridge -  useful for TV  as an icon of London - and then in the opposite direction the river makes a wide curve and heads off to Westminster.  I stood there, talking about Romans and Saxons and Normans and the Middle Ages and Tudors and Stuarts and on to modern times... and people hurried past, and the river rolled along beneath, with those big new wide fat tourist box-boats creating great surges and the wake rushing up along the shore...

Wonderful TV crew and producer, all Polish, all delightful. Much of the filming has been in churches where the whole team genuflected, spoke in very low voices, walked very quietly and behaved with great reverence while doing a superb and professional job. Whenever things have been difficult with cold wet weather there has been good cheer and laughter and everyone working to get on despite the hassles. And there was a cheery evening when we finished  with a quick visit to  Polish restaurant with glasses of vodka (I wimped out: talking into a microphone all day makes one terribly thirsty and I had apple juice.)

It's been a wonderful time. Saying goodbye was quite gulpy - hugs and hand-kissing and thank-yous. Then I hurried  off towards the Monument to catch the Tube to Victoria and the seaside, where I was due to meet members of LOGS (annual trip to Whistable - more on that in a moment). Work done, I was free,...and then I realised I wasn't: one of the crew came hurrying up behind me "Meecrow! Your meecrow!" We'd forgotten: I was still wearing the micro clipped to my lapel, the heavy   receiver-unit clipped to my waistband, the line trailing up under my coat. We sorted it out, the traffic and the crowds and the wind and  rain and our laughter all mingling to make a final absurd memory of a week's filming.

Your opportunity to take part in a glorious CORPUS CHRISTI PROCESSION...

...with a band, and all the trimmings, in a most beautiful setting, within easy reach of London.

Sunday June 22nd, 3pm, WESTERHAM, Kent. No need to book, just turn up. More info here  or just go to Westerham and head for St John the Baptist Church, Hosey Hill.

Traditional Corpus Christi processions have made a BIG comeback in recent years. This one sounds particularly attractive. Spread the word, take along a friend or two, and be part of it!

History and the Church...

...and the story of Britain. A new TV series, and I've been walking along the banks of the Thames, mostly in heavy rain and under an umbrella, with TV cameras and a producer, and talking about Saxons and Vikings and Henry VII and Henry VIII and Elizabeth I and pirate ships and more...

Walsingham...

...looks beautiful even in pouring rain, and even when you are camping in a nearby meadow. The National Association of Catholic Families holds an annual Pilgrimage at the shrine each May, taking advantage of the Bank Holiday weekend. We set off very late on Friday evening, car packed with camping equipment, and arrived well past one o'clock in the morning - but there were a couple of families still up and about, on what was still a clear night, with the most glorious array of stars. They had been enjoying this magnificent display ( incidentally something very much in keeping with the whole place, because the traditional old English name for what we today call the Milky Way, was the Walsingham Way, because the myriad of stars looks liked the hordes of pilgrims that walked to Walsingham along the crowded lanes for great feast-days....)  They immediately hurried to help us, and soon they had out tent up, and we were getting everything settled and organised. It was a happy start to a happy weekend.

We were warm and snug in the tent, and the dawn began with a most beautiful rosy sky...but then, when the morning arrived in its fullness, so did the rain - torrential sheets of it, rather magnificent in its way, but rendering any attempts at cooking breakfast out of doors impossible.  It turned  the lane into a splashy series of interlocking rivers, but we whooshed down it in our car and enjoyed  a hearty breakfast in the village. The NACF campers are all much more organised, with tents that include special cooking areas, and proper stoves and all sorts of handy equipment, but...well...there are compensations to being in late-middle-age, and our breakfast in a café was one of them.

A happy weekend. All sorts of talks and activities, ranging from a film on St John Paul the Great (the weekend was dedicated to him, as "Pope of the Family"), to a briefing on the Govt's (ghastly!) Equality Act, a Mass in the shrine's big Barn Church, and pleasant times chatting to old friends... late on Saturday I had to return to London, for a week's filming with EWTN (of which more later) but Jamie stayed on, and enjoyed talks with the priests from the Community of St John, and the soon-to-be-Bishop Fr Alan Williams who has been in charge of the Shrine and is now appointed Bishop of Brentwood, and the lovely Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal...

At Mass today...

...we were urged to pray  this afternoon for the H. Father's visit to the Holy Land,  especially for his visit with the Ecumenical Patriarch.  The Pope's straightforward, sort of neighbourly, style strikes an attractive note, refreshingly unpompous, as for example in his plea to the Israeli and the Palestine leaders: "I offer my house in the Vatican as a place to meet and pray"

ZENIT...

...the Rome-based news agency, has a feature which might be of interest to readers of this blog...

YOUCAT...

...the Youth Catechism which was a gift to the young people of the Church from Pope Benedict, is proving its worth. Today, I was arranging for copies to go out as prizes in a schools project organised through the Southwark Vocations office. This offered an opportunity to spend the day at Whitstable, meeting the team of young men working there  as part of their formation for the priesthood. They have created a garden out of a messy area - or, rather, rediscovered a garden that had been there a long while back and was overgrown and had turned into a wilderness. A  statue of Our Lady has been cleaned up and now stands in her own shrine beneath a graceful arch around which flowers thrive.

A hearty lunch, a time of prayer in the chapel, and then a recreation period during which I was invited to talk about the book on St John Paul. Then everyone to various allotted tasks, and I wrote out names on prizes and sorted them for wrapping and posting.. then.a train journey back to London past lovely seaside scenes. Whitstable is a charming town and I'll be back there next week with a group from LOGS, the Ladies Ordinariate Group for our summer pilgrimage.

And I found...

this worth reading...

Auntie is of to the seaside...

...well, a day at Whitstable in Kent, anyway. I'll be visiting the Vocations Centre  and will also take some time out for a walk by the sea...

The day will start early, because before I catch the train to Victoria and thence to Kent, I will hurry to vote in the European and local elections.

...and the day will finish in London where I plan to attend Evensong here...

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...and don't forget...

The Martyrs' walk. Annual  Prayer Walk through London. SUNDAY June 22nd. Meet 1.30pm for a 2pm start: churchyard of St Sepulchre's church (opposite  the Old Bailey).  Nearest Tube: St Paul's.

A hot sunny day...

...and a beautiful walk through Chelsea, with an enthusiastic group discovering the sites linked to St Thomas More. We began at the church in Cheyne Row, went on to his statue facing the Thames, by  his own chapel in Chelsea Old Church, stopped again at Roper's Orchard and viewed More's town house - which was transported to Chelsea in the 1900s -  and then finished at Allen Hall in  Beaufort Street.  This is the seminary which trains priests for the Westminster diocese, and the Rector and students gave us a most wonderful welcome, with Tea waiting for us at tables set on the wide green lawn...absolute bliss.  After we'd all relaxed over tea and delicious cakes, we gathered in the refectory and Fr Rector told us the history of the seminary, dating back, of course, to penal times and Cardinal Allen, and Douai...and then, after we'd visited St Thomas More's mulberry tree in the garden - and everyone had plucked some leaves as a memento, an established tradition for visitors - we went to the chapel for Vespers and Benediction. It was so moving and inspiring to hear the strong male voices filling the chapel with glorious singing, and leading the prayers. Over tea we had been introduced to several of them: in addition to those training for the Westminster diocese there are some from overseas and several from other dioceses in England and Wales. Before we left, we gave them all three hearty cheers...and took up a collection to help with the seminary funds, and promised them lots of prayers...it was a wonderful day.

Young Catholics from across London...

...gathered in good numbers to spend a day reflecting on St John Paul the Great's message about the complementarity of the sexes and the collaboration of men and women in the Church and in the world, on Saturday at St Mary of the Angels church at Notting Hill, welcomed by the parish priest Mgr Keith Barltrop.  Full marks to Sarah de Nordwall for organising and chairing this event - and doing so with much sparkle and enthusiasm. Father Hugh Mackenzie got us thinking about the deeper philosophical aspects of the subject, Dr Jenny Lochner spoke about discovering what "theology of the body" really meant,   Auntie spoke about St John Paul and his message, with reference to his "Letter to Women" and so on. There was  time for reflection and prayer, Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, and Benediction -  and for this it was a joy to gather in the splendid church which I had never visited before, although I've been a Londoner for most of my life.  The talks and discussions took place in the parish room, originally designed for the small community established by Father - later Cardinal - Manning when the parish was first established. There was a good lunch with crusty French bread and salads and cheeses and delicious cakes. There was a great atmosphere of trust and freedom in the discussions. All in all a very good day...

There's a good report, with pic...

...of the latest news from LOGS, the Ladies Ordinariate Group, on the Ordinariate website: view here.

A good read...

..on the subject of St John Paul the Great: here

A project for schools...thanksgiving...

...and a Silver anniversary.

The Schools Bible Project has been running for 25 years. It is a simple idea which is working well: pupils have to imagine themselves present at one of the events in the life of Christ and write about it. A list of six events, different each year,  is offered: Christ walking on the water, calming the storm at sea, calling the Apostles,  healing Jairus' daughter...the Crucifixion, appearances after the Resurrection...

There are cash prizes for the winning schools, plus individual prizes for the pupils, who come to London to receive them in a special ceremony at the House of Lords in the Autumn.

Christian Projects is a group bringing together Christians from the mainstream denominations in Britain, and the Schools Bible Project is its main activity.

This year, we are holding a special  ecumenical THANKSGIVING SERVICE on Friday July 11th at St Margaret's, Westminster, to which  groups from ALL SCHOOLS THAT HAVE EVER TAKEN PART IN THE SCHOOLS BIBLE PROJECT, OR ARE PARTICIPATING FOR THE FIRST TIME THIS YEAR  are invited.  Send an email to:  schoolsbibleproject@gmail.com if you are interested.  More info here  , or send a Comment to this blog with an email address to which I can reply to you...

The Feast of Our Lady of Fatima...

.... is observed today around the world, and the  bullet that so nearly brought the martyrdom of  a Pope in 1981 on this day is now in the centre of the crown in the great statue of Mary at Fatima. And the Pope went on to serve the Church magnificently for a further two decades and more, and is today a Saint in Heaven.  Read here to get the deeper perspective on the Fatima visions...it reads even more profoundly in the light of subsequent events and especially of the role played by its author in the following years and especially in the canonisation of Saint John Paul...his opinion on Saint JP is worth reading again too...

Canon Luiz Ruscillo...

...from the diocese of Lancaster, will be speaking at the EVENING OF FAITH  at London's Warwick St  Church of St Gregory and the Assumption  tomorrow (Wednesday May 14th)  at 7.30pm. All welcome.

The meeting is in the parish hall: 24 Golden Square WI.  Nearest tube: Piccadilly Circus. Fr Luiz is an excellent speaker: this is not to be missed. Sponsored by the Faith Movement...

On Sunday, May 18th...

come and celebrate the life of St Thomas More, and visit the diocesan seminary that stands in what was once his garden.

Meet 2.30pm at Holy Redeemer Church, Cheyne Row, London SW3 (nearest tube: Sloane Square, then bus or walk along the Kings Road). We will visit sites associated with More, including his statue facing the Thames, and finish with a visit to Allen Hall, where we will have a tour, and Tea, and pray with  and for the students. THE CHURCH NEEDS GOOD PRIESTS!

Be prompt: 2.30pm at Holy Redeemer Church....and wear suitable  clothing....we'll be walking whatever the weather.

And on Monday May 19th, 4pm (NOTE TIME)  meet at the Mary Garden, St Joseph's Church, Kingston Road, New Malden. We are going on a walk to the shrine of Our Lady of Westminster at Hampton Wick, the pray for vocations to the priesthood. New Malden is 20 minutes from London Waterloo on the main line. Wear suitable shoes for a 3-mile walk.

Working closely with Pius XII...

...the slightly-built and rather quiet Monsignor was a  hard-working, courteous figure who carried out discreet and - because it was wartime and Italy was bound in alliance with Nazi Germany - often dangerous work. One of his tasks was to liaise with convents and monasteries that were able to hide Jewish refugees. With Pius XII, he was able to help save many lives.

He was home-educated, from a devout family, and had discerned his vocation to the priesthood while still young. He was traditional in his beliefs and practices, well-read, academically gifted, and with a reserved but friendly manner.

Now he is to be beatified. I learned about his wartime work while researching my book Courage and Conviction, about Brigettine nuns who hid Jewish refugees in their convent in Rome during World War II. He was Monsignor Montini then, but became better known when he was elected as successor of St Peter and took the name Paul VI.

I have today read some  horrible Internet attacks on him,  attacks both ignorant and unkind, some from Catholics who should know better.  As Pope, Paul VI was often villified, but he stood firm,  while unhappy and too often lonely,  amid the storms that so often hurtle viciously in and around the Church:  he upheld the Faith,  he gave us Humanae Vitae and the Credo of the People of God, and  Evangeli Nuntiandi, he merits our thanks.

He will be a patron of home-schoolers, and also of all who feel lonely or abandoned within the Church. He seemed unexciting to those of us who were young, and pictures showed him looking solemn, dwarfed by the big egg-shaped  jewelled headpiece then in use, thin and tired.  I personally knew little about him: I think I simply considered him rather feeble.  The mass media were unkind to him.

We live in a different world from the one Paul VI knew. There were some 653 million Catholics in 1970: today the figure is over 1.196 billion.  There were 198.398 parishes in 1970, and now  it has grown to 221,055.  Paul VI knew a Church that was still largely centred on Europe: today the Church is growing in vast numbers in China and in Africa. He was perhaps the last Pope of the "traditional" style. His successor took on the challenge of taking the Church into a new Millenium.

Paul VI can now intercede from Heaven for the Church he loved, and is probably praying for those who are now attacking him.  He was a good and holy man.

Auntie is among the speakers at....

The Vocation of Man and Woman retreat day at St Mary of the Angels, Bayswater, Saturday 17^th May 10am – 4.30pm

If we don't know who we are, how can we know who we're called to become?

A contemplative and interactive day for men and women interested in asking “What in the modern world, is the vocation of Man and Woman?  Are femininity and masculinity sacramental realities or is matter just meaningless? Do our bodies ‘preach the Gospel’ or are they merely ‘raw material for our own experiment?’ Is gender something we choose for ourselves or has God always had a plan for Woman and Man that evokes His nature?

Explore, with the help of speakers, reflection groups and prayer, what is at stake if we underestimate the importance of our calling to be male and female. Discover in depth how the Church helps us fulfil our destiny.  “Purifying all things and bringing them to their finest expression”.  Blessed John Henry Newman

To register for the event go to Eventbrite : https:// www.eventbrite.com/e/ the-vocation-of-man-and-wom an-retreat-day-tickets-115 70731369?ref=estw

Or simply call Sarah de Nordwall on 07849 641 899, leaving your name and number.

There is no charge for the day, although donations to help cover expenses are welcome. Please bring a packed lunch.  Basic refreshments and some sandwiches will be provided.

The day begins with Mass at 10am in the main church. The rest of the event takes place in the Panelled Room.  Enter through the Parish House.   The Event is sponsored by Fr Richard Nesbitt and the Vocations Department of the Diocese of Westminster

On Tuesday May 13th...

...there will be a CATHOLIC HISTORY WALK, starting at 6.30pm at Precious Blood Church (O'Meara Street) London SEI.  Nearest tube BOROUGH or LONDON BRIDGE.  We will be discovering the Bishop of Winchester's Palace, Catherine of Aragon's house, and the Southwark Martyrs, among much else. 

All welcome. Wear suitable clothing - we'll be walking whatever the weather!

In London...

...a big "Alpha" rally was held the other day in the Royal Albert Hall. I  was told about this, and I found it rather moving.

Your thoughts?

Took a group...

...of wonderful American Catholics and their excellent priest, Father John Riccardo on a hearty  History Walk from Westminster Cathedral to the Tower...all hugely enjoyable, everyone cheerful despite insistent rain...at London Bridge Fr John concelebrated a lunchtime  Mass with Fr Christopher at Precious Blood Church, before we enjoyed sandwiches and coffee and then crossed Tower Bridge to pray at Tower Hill...

Later, we sat relaxing  over mugs of tea and the talk turned to  many things: saints, and Christ, and the Church, and the Resurrection... and how and why St Thomas initially failed to believe that Christ had risen. Fr John said "What do we know about Thomas? What was he?" and we all said "um...an Apostle? One of the Twelve...?"
"Yes, but what else?"
 "Er..." and none of us could think.
"He was also known as Didymus."
"Yes! He was a twin!"
 "Exactly. And twins are often mistaken for one another. Think about it. He had spent his life being mistaken for his twin. So he thought it perfectly natural that they had mistaken some one for Christ. He was all ready to say 'look, it happens all the time - you've just made a normal mistake'. And then when he saw the wounds in the Lord's hands and side..."

Never thought of that before.  It really made us think, and we got talking about the New Testament and all sorts of other details that occur in the various accounts...and finally the waiter came up to say that they were closing and we really must go, and we realised we were the last group there and everything was being cleared away... "Oh, sorry..." I said "It was just that what we were discussing was so interesting - " "I know. he said "We've all been listening!  I'm Brazilian. I am sort of a believer, but  I'm not really certain..." , and I gave him one of the holy-cards of St John Paul from Rome and he was happy and so were we, and then later when we were outside and making our farewells, he came out and gave us bowls of unsold fresh fruit, to take away...

If you think....

...that the Euro-election is just a big piece of irrelevance, read this  and find out what your Euro-candidates think.

The ghastly Eurocracy is trying to stop ordinary advertisments showing a married  couple (man and woman) and teachers talking about the normality of  male/female marriage.  Vote for some one who will defend freedom to talk about marriage as the union of a man and a woman.

can't resist...

...giving just one more glorious overview of that magnificent event in Rome

An ordinary sort of day...

...filled with extraordinary small blessings. To Pr. Blood church for a meeting w. the secretary of the Ordinariate Ladies Group. I was late and missed her, but she had only just left, so I went to her usual bus-stop just in case she hadn't yet caught the bus - and we met in the High St!  Sandwich lunch, on me, and over brews of coffee we sorted out arrangements for a Walsingham weekend in the summer, and organised prizes and certificates for the winners of the "Our Father" project organised for RC and CofE primary schools. The children have been writing out the "Our Father" in good handwriting, and decorating and illustrating it, and answering simple questions to show their understanding of it. Some howlers: "I will be done on earth...."  "Our Father, who heart in heaven..."  We had a satisfying time ordering prizes etc - every child is going to get a small gospel book, and there are special prizes for the best work.

A troop of small First Communicants arrived for their class, organised themselves round the table and were handed their books (and I'm making a link to the book, because it really is excellent, and warmly recommended) by their catechist. Another Ordinariate lady was doing the flowers - which at this church are absolutely superb.  As we worked at the parish computer, the Rector came through  with the children, all trooping into church as part of their First Communion class.

Evening fell: out in the rainy London street I hurried to the station, and was joined there by J. - he was running late so 'phoned me "Get yourself a gin-and-tonic and let's eat at the Italian place". So we did, a sudden agreeable treat on an ordinary Wednesday. Sitting sipping g-and-t, with railway noises and London bustle all around, I suddenly felt grateful for life's blessings.

To the John Fisher School....

...in Purley, to talk to give a talk about St John Paul the Great and the canonisation. This is an excellent school, and one with which our family has strong associations. The boys all look smart in their blue blazers with the golden fish emblem, and the mood was welcoming, cheerful, and upbeat. The meeting was chaired by a pupil, who led prayers beforehand: it is moving to hear a strong chorus of boys voices saying the Lord's Prayer together. 

Hurrah for the excellent Mr Dan Cooper, who has been running this Faith Group for more years than anyone can remember, including himself, and it flourishes and flourishes.

So many young men from this school have served the Church as priests, and the service continues. The school chaplain, Father James Clark, is among them: he was at the meeting and I asked him to bless the rosaries etc that I had brought back from Rome.

The school grounds have great trees and stretches of green - it all looked grand on a May evening. The Headmaster was at the meeting: he is doing a superb job and it  was a privilege to be invited to speak at this school.

And the book...

...with authors Clare Anderson and JB, with Neville Kyrke Smith, Director of Aid to the Church in Need in Britain, who wrote the Foreword.

"John Paul II:Man of Prayer".   And did you see the EWTN documentary, with us walking in his footsteps in Krakow and Wadowice?

And as the celebratory mood continues...

...this brief word-picture describes some scenes of the canonisation...

A party...

...to launch the book John Paul II: Man of Prayer. Held at the Rectory of the Ordinariate Church (Warwick St), by kind invitation of Mgr and Mrs Keith Newton...wine, a celebration cake, speeches...

...and just because it is so splendid...

The formula of canonisation read by Pope Francis on Sunday April 27th
:
“For the honour of the Blessed Trinity, the exaltation of the Catholic faith and the increase of the Christian life, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, and of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, and our own, after due deliberation and frequent prayer for divine assistance, and having sought the counsel of many of our brother Bishops, we declare and define Blessed John XXIII and John Paul II be Saints and we enroll them among the Saints, decreeing that they are to be venerated as such by the whole Church. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”

The May issue of The Portal...

...the one-line magazine of the Ordinariate of OL of Walsingham, is now out, and you can read it here