Wednesday, April 29, 2015
Does the Church oppress women? What about same-sex "marriage"? and more...
...if you missed the talk at the Amigo Hall, Southwark, recently, you have a second chance to hear it and to join in the discussion:
The Centre for Catholic Formation is organising a repeat on THURSDAY JUNE 25th at the Catholic Church in Faversham, Kent. The whole series of talks on "Answering common objections to Catholicism" is being repeated, tackling subjects like "Does science disprove religion" and "The Catholic Church is stuck in the past". Admission is free, but it would be useful to book a place in advance. The parish is run by the Carmelites: more info here, or contact thre Centre for Catholic Formation.
The Centre for Catholic Formation is organising a repeat on THURSDAY JUNE 25th at the Catholic Church in Faversham, Kent. The whole series of talks on "Answering common objections to Catholicism" is being repeated, tackling subjects like "Does science disprove religion" and "The Catholic Church is stuck in the past". Admission is free, but it would be useful to book a place in advance. The parish is run by the Carmelites: more info here, or contact thre Centre for Catholic Formation.
Tuesday, April 28, 2015
A very jolly evening...
...at the launch of a new edition of Lynette Burrows' book "GOOD CHILDREN". Lots of young people, young parents with babies...lots of prosecco, delicious nibbles, jazz, talk, and laughter. It all happened at the Cable Cafe in the Brixton Road...it was full of friends and it was enormous fun to be in good company, for a good party, on a Spring evening.
The book is a practical, don't let's-panic-about-it guide to raising children. It has a positive and joyful message about family life...Lynette and her husband raised six children, and there are now lots of grandchildren, and both the book and the party celebrate all of this...
The book tackles all sorts of things, from how to avoid producing spoilt children (she gives specific examples, eg the child who refuses food because it's on the wrong colour plate) to the joys and challenges that a handicapped child brings...it's a good read, with an upbeat message. The chief thing she urged is "don't listen to too many experts". They are so often wrong, and often make parents feel scared and inadequate.. it is not really hard to achieve happy, disciplined children in a happy home where there is love and security, and parental instincts and common sense are central in all of this.
You can order the book at
tyler@fisher-press.fsnet.co.uk
and it is £20 plus £3.00 postage...
The book is a practical, don't let's-panic-about-it guide to raising children. It has a positive and joyful message about family life...Lynette and her husband raised six children, and there are now lots of grandchildren, and both the book and the party celebrate all of this...
The book tackles all sorts of things, from how to avoid producing spoilt children (she gives specific examples, eg the child who refuses food because it's on the wrong colour plate) to the joys and challenges that a handicapped child brings...it's a good read, with an upbeat message. The chief thing she urged is "don't listen to too many experts". They are so often wrong, and often make parents feel scared and inadequate.. it is not really hard to achieve happy, disciplined children in a happy home where there is love and security, and parental instincts and common sense are central in all of this.
You can order the book at
tyler@fisher-press.fsnet.co.uk
and it is £20 plus £3.00 postage...
Monday, April 27, 2015
On marriage, truth, and the freedom to speak of these things...
...and with the Election focusing thoughts on what the next Government will be like, and what might happen over the next years....read here...
CATHOLIC HISTORY WALK...
TODAY , Monday April 27th. Starts at this church...Mass 1.05pm. Nearest tube: LONDON BRIDGE
Papa Francis giving good advice...
...and a heart-warming sight as new priests are ordained. See here...
Sunday, April 26, 2015
While at a care home for elderly people...
...one of the residents kept gently reminding everyone that "Songs of Praise", the popular BBC Sunday programme of hymns, would shortly be on the TV. Part of me thought "Oh, dear...I suppose that's the sort of thing people here like...." But the cheery nurse turned on the TV and we heard some of the most enchanting, beautiful singing from children's school choirs. DO LISTEN, especially to the choir of Ysgol lau Llangennech - and watch the young faces. And there's lots more: enjoy. Here...
And share this with friends.
A particularly wonderful moment this afternoon was the staff and residents of the home - yes, and Auntie Joanna too - joining in with "What a friend we have in Jesus" with the choir of St Peter's CofE school, Go on. Listen, watch, and join in too.
And share this with friends.
A particularly wonderful moment this afternoon was the staff and residents of the home - yes, and Auntie Joanna too - joining in with "What a friend we have in Jesus" with the choir of St Peter's CofE school, Go on. Listen, watch, and join in too.
Saturday, April 25, 2015
London...
...very crowded indeed on a sunny April Saturday. The London Marathon tomorrow, various Gallipoli commemorations today...the bells of St Paul's Cathedral were ringing a most glorious peal (??Evensong? It was just before 5pm) and helicopters were chattering overhead at intervals throughout the day. I was lunching with Ciara, who works at St Patrick's, Soho - good to catch up on news and ideas...she was due to spend the evening in street evangelisation (they give out holy medals, get chatting to people)...
Yesterday evening, I attended, with a fellow student, a fund-raising event for one of our MA team, Fr Bala, who later this year will be returning to India to work with disadvantaged youth in a scheme run by the Jesuits...a group of his friends and parishioners here in London had organised a splendid fund-raising dinner-dance and H. and I were glad to support it. We went along in our best dresses and enjoyed being part of it all! Delicious food, beautiful candlelit tables, lots of talk and music, a very happy atmosphere, a really splendid evening...Fr Bala gave a short presentation about the work he hopes to do in India and you can get a flavour of it here...
Yesterday evening, I attended, with a fellow student, a fund-raising event for one of our MA team, Fr Bala, who later this year will be returning to India to work with disadvantaged youth in a scheme run by the Jesuits...a group of his friends and parishioners here in London had organised a splendid fund-raising dinner-dance and H. and I were glad to support it. We went along in our best dresses and enjoyed being part of it all! Delicious food, beautiful candlelit tables, lots of talk and music, a very happy atmosphere, a really splendid evening...Fr Bala gave a short presentation about the work he hopes to do in India and you can get a flavour of it here...
Friday, April 24, 2015
Shock sex eduation in a Catholic school....
...yes, I thought that would get you reading.
More info here
There is evident fear about what might happen if pupils become influenced. And the organisation involved is active, apparently, in giving talks to other schools and to youth groups. Info here...
More info here
There is evident fear about what might happen if pupils become influenced. And the organisation involved is active, apparently, in giving talks to other schools and to youth groups. Info here...
If you do not know...
...why thousands of Australians and New Zealanders , young and old, will be getting up at dawn tomorrow morning, then you must find out.
This is a day that never goes uncommemorated in the Bogle family (Australian, and grateful and proud of it) because, as for so many other families, it resonants with family names, family history.
An Australian friend sent me an ANZAC link which includes the words from Ataturk on the Gallipoli memorial:
Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives ... You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side here in this country of ours ... You, the mothers who sent their sons from faraway countries, wipe away your tears; your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well.
This is a day that never goes uncommemorated in the Bogle family (Australian, and grateful and proud of it) because, as for so many other families, it resonants with family names, family history.
An Australian friend sent me an ANZAC link which includes the words from Ataturk on the Gallipoli memorial:
Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives ... You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side here in this country of ours ... You, the mothers who sent their sons from faraway countries, wipe away your tears; your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well.
St George's Day...
...and Mass and celebration supper at this London cathedral,
I was due to give a lecture in the cathedral hall, as part of a whole series of talks on the Catholic faith, organised by the Catholic Formation Centre, and it drew good numbers, extra chairs brought in etc. Topic was a suitable one for the feast of St George, who is patron of chivalry...we were tackling male/female relationships, marriage, family...
St John Paul the Great gave us a rich new way of teaching all this, with the Theology of the Body, and there are now some good resources on this to enable useful discussions, especially with the young.
I was due to give a lecture in the cathedral hall, as part of a whole series of talks on the Catholic faith, organised by the Catholic Formation Centre, and it drew good numbers, extra chairs brought in etc. Topic was a suitable one for the feast of St George, who is patron of chivalry...we were tackling male/female relationships, marriage, family...
St John Paul the Great gave us a rich new way of teaching all this, with the Theology of the Body, and there are now some good resources on this to enable useful discussions, especially with the young.
Tuesday, April 21, 2015
University Chaplain...
...Fr Mark Vickers of Hatfield, spoke at LOGS. As Catholic Chaplain to students at the University of Hertfordshire, he welcomes students from all over the world, many of whom are baffled by the (often ugly, sordid, and drunken!) lifestyle of modern Britain. African and Asian Christians find a home-from-home in the Church. It was fascinating to get a picture of what the Church can offer to students at a modern university and to realise the creative part played by things like the FAITH Movement, World Youth Day, and the whole vision of the New Evangelisation...and the day-to-day life of a welcoming Catholic community.
A useful, upbeat and informative evening - and we also had a lot of planning and discussion because the LOGS activities are endlessly increasing as the Ordinariate activities expand and our own evangelistic outreach grows...projects for primary schools, meetings, pilgrimages, and we've got to look ahead and book our slot for carol singing in December (yes, I know that sounds daft but the big London railway stations get booked by dozens of groups each year!) and we're thinking of our programme for 2016 too...
A useful, upbeat and informative evening - and we also had a lot of planning and discussion because the LOGS activities are endlessly increasing as the Ordinariate activities expand and our own evangelistic outreach grows...projects for primary schools, meetings, pilgrimages, and we've got to look ahead and book our slot for carol singing in December (yes, I know that sounds daft but the big London railway stations get booked by dozens of groups each year!) and we're thinking of our programme for 2016 too...
Monday, April 20, 2015
...and meanwhile in San Francisco...
...a major on-line secular newspaper ran a questionaire on the topic of the Archbishop's upholding of Catholic moral teachings in Catholic schools.
The thing began because the San Francisco Chronicle ran an advertisment paid for by rich Catholics demanding that the Archbishop be sacked: they are angry because he is upholding the teaching that Catholic teachers in Catholic schools should abide by Catholic moral teaching on sex and marriage. The rich-team think that as "prominent Catholics" they must tell him to stop doing that.
Here's the latest, reported by the CWR Blog, and you can read more here...
The thing began because the San Francisco Chronicle ran an advertisment paid for by rich Catholics demanding that the Archbishop be sacked: they are angry because he is upholding the teaching that Catholic teachers in Catholic schools should abide by Catholic moral teaching on sex and marriage. The rich-team think that as "prominent Catholics" they must tell him to stop doing that.
Here's the latest, reported by the CWR Blog, and you can read more here...
The San Francisco Chronicle, the newspaper that published the appeal, is the largest circulation daily in northern California, owned by the Hearst group. Its online twin is SFGate, with 22 million visitors monthly.
To reinforce the impact of the appeal’s publication, SFGate also launched a questionnaire with four pre-determined answers—two pro and two con—to this question: Should Pope Francis remove Archbishop Cordileone from the San Francisco archdiocese?
And what came of it? The overwhelming majority lined up not to fire the archbishop, but to defend him.
For the sake of accuracy, at noon on Sunday, April 19th, here are the results of the questionnaire:
77% answered: “No, the archbishop is upholding the values of the Catholic Church.”
11%: “Yes, the archbishop is fostering a climate of intolerance.”
10%: “No, the archbishop is right to oppose same-sex marriage.”
2%: “Yes, his morality clauses for teachers in parochial schools defies the law.”
Evidently, the signatories of the appeal are “prominent Catholics”, but they have neither the pulse nor the following of bulk of the faithful, not even in the U.S. city depicted by the media as the most “liberal”.
Privacy...
...a couple of correspondents have written in demanding that I give out more information about my family - and especially about my closest elderly relatives. I deliberately protect their privacy by not revealing any information: not their names, not the specific relationship, not their address, not any information that will reveal the address. So please stop seeking it. We have discussed this in the family and agreed to protect our privacy.
Like many other writers, I will often want to refer to personal anecdotes and will continue doing so, and will tend to refer simply to "a relation" or "a young friend" etc. Get used to it.
Like many other writers, I will often want to refer to personal anecdotes and will continue doing so, and will tend to refer simply to "a relation" or "a young friend" etc. Get used to it.
Sunday, April 19, 2015
St John Paul - Doctor of the Church?
...The idea has been raised and certainly has merit. Read some thoughts here...
One suggestion is that he should be honoured as the "Doctor of Mercy" but that title really belongs also to St Faustina...
St John Paul's teachings on marriage, family, the male/female sacranmental bond, the "nuptial meaning" of the Eucharist, and the "theology of the body", along with his work on freedom, inter-religious dialogue, and the centrality of truth, are all of huge importance. His Trinitarian emphasis, at the core of all his teachings, is of significance.
One suggestion is that he should be honoured as the "Doctor of Mercy" but that title really belongs also to St Faustina...
St John Paul's teachings on marriage, family, the male/female sacranmental bond, the "nuptial meaning" of the Eucharist, and the "theology of the body", along with his work on freedom, inter-religious dialogue, and the centrality of truth, are all of huge importance. His Trinitarian emphasis, at the core of all his teachings, is of significance.
...and when at St Patrick's. Soho the other day...
...I picked up info about SPIRIT IN THE CITY, which happens in June. Events include drama, a street party, and a great Blessed Sacrament Procession through Soho. More about it all here...
Saturday, April 18, 2015
A sudden gift...
... of a happy evening after a slightly frustrating day.
This is a nice story, so enjoy it.
Our washing-machine having finally given up the ghost, we spent a busy but eventually unsuccessful day trying to sort out a new machine and various other neccessary things for the house...
In the evening, I set off to visit a beloved elderly relative in a residential care home...with a big suitcase of sheets and towels, to take to a launderette on the way back, plus some embroidery to do while the washing whirred.
I started sewing on the bus, and another passenger got chatting, noticing that I was embroidering the words "Our Lady of Walsingham". I felt that I vaguely her.We got off at the same stop, and I mentioned that I was on my way to St W's. care home, and she said that she knew the lovely nuns who run it...and then we suddenly both remembered that we'd met some years ago, when I'd brought a group of carol singers around all the local houses - and that this lady had welcomed us in and given us wine and mince pies... "Are you staying overnight somewhere? she asked, indicating the suitcase, and I admitted that no, it was just some washing for the launderette...
"Why not leave it in my machine while you go to St W's? And so I ended up, after a lovely visit with my relative, back at this kind lady's lovely house, and a glass of wine, and lots of chat discovering mutual friends in the local Catholic parish etc etc... and at her suggestion my husband joined us and we all had a very pleasant time, and trundled back home with freshly washed sheets and towels...
A happy evening.
...
This is a nice story, so enjoy it.
Our washing-machine having finally given up the ghost, we spent a busy but eventually unsuccessful day trying to sort out a new machine and various other neccessary things for the house...
In the evening, I set off to visit a beloved elderly relative in a residential care home...with a big suitcase of sheets and towels, to take to a launderette on the way back, plus some embroidery to do while the washing whirred.
I started sewing on the bus, and another passenger got chatting, noticing that I was embroidering the words "Our Lady of Walsingham". I felt that I vaguely her.We got off at the same stop, and I mentioned that I was on my way to St W's. care home, and she said that she knew the lovely nuns who run it...and then we suddenly both remembered that we'd met some years ago, when I'd brought a group of carol singers around all the local houses - and that this lady had welcomed us in and given us wine and mince pies... "Are you staying overnight somewhere? she asked, indicating the suitcase, and I admitted that no, it was just some washing for the launderette...
"Why not leave it in my machine while you go to St W's? And so I ended up, after a lovely visit with my relative, back at this kind lady's lovely house, and a glass of wine, and lots of chat discovering mutual friends in the local Catholic parish etc etc... and at her suggestion my husband joined us and we all had a very pleasant time, and trundled back home with freshly washed sheets and towels...
A happy evening.
...
Friday, April 17, 2015
THE FAITH MOVEMENT...
...is holding SUMMER TALKS, following the success of the winter and spring series. Venue: crypt hall at 24 Golden Square London W1 (nearest tube: Piccadilly Circus) on alternate Tuesdays at 7.30pm. Aimed at young people, but all are welcome:
Tuesday 5 May
The Church’s teaching on sex; time for change? Ryan Day
Tuesday 19th May
Why a male priesthood? Fr. Roger Nesbitt
Tuesday 2nd June
Clerical celibacy; should priests be married? Fr. Stephen Brown
Tuesday 16th June
The Four Last Things; truth or fiction? Fr. Philip Miller
Tuesday 30th June
Holy Communion; who can receive and why? Fr. Tim Finigan
Tuesday 7th July
Is St John Paul relevant to the Family Synod's discernment? Joanna Bogle
7:30pm @ basement of 24 Golden Square, London, W1F 9JR All welcome
Tuesday 5 May
The Church’s teaching on sex; time for change? Ryan Day
Tuesday 19th May
Why a male priesthood? Fr. Roger Nesbitt
Tuesday 2nd June
Clerical celibacy; should priests be married? Fr. Stephen Brown
Tuesday 16th June
The Four Last Things; truth or fiction? Fr. Philip Miller
Tuesday 30th June
Holy Communion; who can receive and why? Fr. Tim Finigan
Tuesday 7th July
Is St John Paul relevant to the Family Synod's discernment? Joanna Bogle
7:30pm @ basement of 24 Golden Square, London, W1F 9JR All welcome
Come and join in the debate...
"Is the Catholic Church anti-women and anti-gay?"
Amigo Hall, St George's Cathedral, Southwark, this coming Thursday, April 23rd, 7.30pm. Admission free. More info here...
Amigo Hall, St George's Cathedral, Southwark, this coming Thursday, April 23rd, 7.30pm. Admission free. More info here...
Wednesday, April 15, 2015
YES!!!!! And a big THANK YOU to Papa Francis....
...for common sense and wisdom on a topic on which today's muddled Western thinking has become more and more absurd. Read here
...and the NEXT Catholic History Walk is...
...on MONDAY APRIL 27th, a lunchtime walk, starting with the 1.05pm Mass at Precious Blood Church, London Bridge. (Nearest tube: London Bridge, or Borough).
We'll enjoy the river, the story of a Viking Battle at London Bridge, a glimpse of the Tower, and links with Geoffrey Chaucer, John Harvard, and Charles Dickens...
All welcomre. No need to book. Come for as little or as long as you like...
...and make sure this date is in your diary: SUNDAY JUNE 21st, 1.30pm for 2pm, meet at ST SEPULCHRE's CHURCHYARD near the OLD BAILEY (nearest tube: St Paul's) for the annual MARTYRS WALK to Tyburn.
We'll enjoy the river, the story of a Viking Battle at London Bridge, a glimpse of the Tower, and links with Geoffrey Chaucer, John Harvard, and Charles Dickens...
All welcomre. No need to book. Come for as little or as long as you like...
...and make sure this date is in your diary: SUNDAY JUNE 21st, 1.30pm for 2pm, meet at ST SEPULCHRE's CHURCHYARD near the OLD BAILEY (nearest tube: St Paul's) for the annual MARTYRS WALK to Tyburn.
Tuesday, April 14, 2015
Monday, April 13, 2015
Gathering on the steps...
...of Westminster Cathedral on a glorious spring evening, the History Walk started with a good look at the Cathedral, its Byzantine red brick glowing in the April sunshine, and memories of the visit of St John Paul the Great in 1982 and of beloved Papa Benedict XVI more recently...
...And then on down Ambrosden Avenue, with some stories of Cardinals Wiseman and Manning and Vaughan...and so on to the Horseferry Road. A ferry with a platform on which you could stand your horse was an importrant feature of London's transport system in the old days, when there were were fewer bridges over the Thames and no buses or Tubes (or cars or bicycles). Most of London's bridges are fairly new, although London Bridge goes back to the days of Viking battles, and there were bridges at various points such as Kingston (where my father's regimental colours are laid up in the great parish church, where long ago Saxon kings were crowned...).
Down along Great Peter Street - named for our first Pope - on on to the Abbey and Parliament. We went into the gardens alongside the Victoria Tower, and a park keeper came up to tell us the gates were closing...but allowed us to continue our walk and unlocked the rear gate for us. He was nice, and we chatted as we walked along - he enjoys his job working in one of the most famous places in the world, though he said it gets v. cold in winter...and so on to the Sovreign's entrance where we sheltered from the wind and talked of Lords and Commons and Parliamentary democracy...and thence to the Great Hall where Benedict XVI spoke so superbly back in 2010 and reminded us that democracy rests on spiritual and moral values and needs to be constantly nourished by them...
There is always a great atmosphere on these History Walks, and people are friendly and we finish with prayers for our country...
NEXT WALK: April 27th, a lunchtime walk. Meet at the 1.05pm Mass at the Church of the Most Precious Blood, London Bridge.
There's a overview of the History Walks here...
and you can find out about the John Paul walk to Walsingham here...
And book SUNDAY JUNE 21st in your diary: meet at 1.30pm for 2pm at St Sepulchre's Churchyard, near the OLD BAILEY (nearest tube: St pauls) for the annual MATYRS' WALK to Tyburn. All welcome: no need to book, just turn up - bring your friends, your family, people from your parish...
...And then on down Ambrosden Avenue, with some stories of Cardinals Wiseman and Manning and Vaughan...and so on to the Horseferry Road. A ferry with a platform on which you could stand your horse was an importrant feature of London's transport system in the old days, when there were were fewer bridges over the Thames and no buses or Tubes (or cars or bicycles). Most of London's bridges are fairly new, although London Bridge goes back to the days of Viking battles, and there were bridges at various points such as Kingston (where my father's regimental colours are laid up in the great parish church, where long ago Saxon kings were crowned...).
Down along Great Peter Street - named for our first Pope - on on to the Abbey and Parliament. We went into the gardens alongside the Victoria Tower, and a park keeper came up to tell us the gates were closing...but allowed us to continue our walk and unlocked the rear gate for us. He was nice, and we chatted as we walked along - he enjoys his job working in one of the most famous places in the world, though he said it gets v. cold in winter...and so on to the Sovreign's entrance where we sheltered from the wind and talked of Lords and Commons and Parliamentary democracy...and thence to the Great Hall where Benedict XVI spoke so superbly back in 2010 and reminded us that democracy rests on spiritual and moral values and needs to be constantly nourished by them...
There is always a great atmosphere on these History Walks, and people are friendly and we finish with prayers for our country...
NEXT WALK: April 27th, a lunchtime walk. Meet at the 1.05pm Mass at the Church of the Most Precious Blood, London Bridge.
There's a overview of the History Walks here...
and you can find out about the John Paul walk to Walsingham here...
And book SUNDAY JUNE 21st in your diary: meet at 1.30pm for 2pm at St Sepulchre's Churchyard, near the OLD BAILEY (nearest tube: St pauls) for the annual MATYRS' WALK to Tyburn. All welcome: no need to book, just turn up - bring your friends, your family, people from your parish...
OBJECTIONS....
...to the Catholic faith. Come and join in the discussion. Auntie J. is among the speakers. Series starts this week, on Thursday April 16th, 7.30pm at the AMIGO HALL, St George's Cathedral, Southwark, topic "Doesn't science disprove religion?". Auntie speaks on Thursday April 23rd: "Isn't the Church anti-women and anti-gay?"
All welcome - admission free, but you are asked to register: info here.
St George's Cathedral is opposite the Imperial War Museum: nearest tube: WATERLOO or LAMBETH NORTH. Amigo Hall is right alongside the Cathedral.
All welcome - admission free, but you are asked to register: info here.
St George's Cathedral is opposite the Imperial War Museum: nearest tube: WATERLOO or LAMBETH NORTH. Amigo Hall is right alongside the Cathedral.
Sunday, April 12, 2015
The Myrrh Bearer...
...an icon that was given to me some years ago on a special Birthday hangs over my desk. It is of St Joanna the Myrrh Bearer.
"I don't think I've heard of her..." I said tentatively when it was placed in my hands "Oh, yes you have", I was told, and I was sent to look up the Bible's account of the Resurrection.
And there she is: Luke 24: 1-10. Joanna was one of the women who came "on the first day of the week, at early dawn" with spices to anoint Christ's body. And Joanna went with Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James, and the other women, to tell the Apostles what they had seen and heard at the tomb...
"I don't think I've heard of her..." I said tentatively when it was placed in my hands "Oh, yes you have", I was told, and I was sent to look up the Bible's account of the Resurrection.
And there she is: Luke 24: 1-10. Joanna was one of the women who came "on the first day of the week, at early dawn" with spices to anoint Christ's body. And Joanna went with Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James, and the other women, to tell the Apostles what they had seen and heard at the tomb...
...and here's the latest on Divine Mercy...
...the Extraordinary Jubilee Year, set to begin on the feast of the Immaculate Conception...read here
Saturday, April 11, 2015
Divine Mercy...
...and on visiting young relatives, I noticed that in the latest edition of the Sunday Missal this Sunday is of course officially listed as Divine Mercy Sunday. It felt rather splendid to look back and remember St John Paul and that encyclical on Divine Mercy, and all of us asking "What's all this about? Of course God is merciful...", and then the story of St Faustina becomg better and better known...
But it made me feel sort of old, too...the young First Communicant whose beautiful white-and-gold missal I was perusing will always see Divine Mercy Sunday as a normal part of the Calendar, and St John Paul the Great as simply one of the saints of the Church, a figure in Heaven and in history...while some of us remember him as the Pope, met him, talked to him...
But it made me feel sort of old, too...the young First Communicant whose beautiful white-and-gold missal I was perusing will always see Divine Mercy Sunday as a normal part of the Calendar, and St John Paul the Great as simply one of the saints of the Church, a figure in Heaven and in history...while some of us remember him as the Pope, met him, talked to him...
...among the experiences of this Easter...
...perhaps the most unusual was standing in a meadow on the edge of Exmoor with sheep baa-ing nearby, and the sun lifting the mist off the tops of the hills, and broadcasting via a radio network in Alabama about an inspirational French priest! I was interviewed by the Son Rise Morning Show following the feature on Cardinal Jean Danielou in this week's Catholic Herald.
The Danielou story is a fascinating one, and I plan to read more of his work, and help to get it better known...
The Danielou story is a fascinating one, and I plan to read more of his work, and help to get it better known...
I have been asked...
...the question "What is your next book?" a lot just recently. Although I usually give only a vague answer, I do in fact have a specific idea in mind, and this evening I discussed it a bit with a young relative who is a fellow-writer. She was enthusiastic and encouraged me to go ahead. So...this week the project will begin with the usual mapping out of the idea, correspondence with publisher, etc etc...
The Easter holiday provided peace and beauty in good measure, a grace-filled opportunity for pondering a new project.
Our Easter travels finished with a journey home via a joyful family gathering with children running about and demanding to be carried on shoulders, a talkative family supper, family prayers...
The Easter holiday provided peace and beauty in good measure, a grace-filled opportunity for pondering a new project.
Our Easter travels finished with a journey home via a joyful family gathering with children running about and demanding to be carried on shoulders, a talkative family supper, family prayers...
Thursday, April 09, 2015
Wednesday, April 08, 2015
Moslem youth from Britain's cities...
...are flocking to join the Moslem armies in the Middle East...and this Easter the Church around the world has been praying for the Christians fleeing from the Moslem onslaught...
The West of England in Springtime - all along the grassy lanes are bright starry celandines and clumps of pale primroses. I walked this morning to this tiny chapel, accompanied by birdsong and the baa-ing of sheep as their lambs frolicked with wobbly legs...the chapel is open and is evidently in the care of people who cherish it: a posy of fresh primroses on the altar, everything clean and welcoming: an invitation to prayer.
Followinga family gathering in Oxfordshire for Easter, we are now continuing Eastertide with further family visits, this time on Exmoor...
I'm working on essays for the Catechist course (School of the Annunciation: warmly recommended) looking up from time to time to relish the most glorious views. I'm interspersing the work with tackling some envelopes to primary schools for this year's Schools RE Project run by the Association of Catholic Women. You can read about some of the previous Projects here...we always get good numbers of entries, and are glad to be supporting the work of Catholic schools in this way. This year's Project is on the Rosary, and the aim is to help children understand the value and importance of this prayer, learning about the four sets of Mysteries: Joyful, Luminous, Sorrowful and Glorious. They have to study the Joyful Mysteries, and learn about them:"Each of these Mysteries describes an event. Choose three of them and tell us the story of each in yur own words. Tell us why each of these is important. You can illustrate your work, too, if you like."
The West of England in Springtime - all along the grassy lanes are bright starry celandines and clumps of pale primroses. I walked this morning to this tiny chapel, accompanied by birdsong and the baa-ing of sheep as their lambs frolicked with wobbly legs...the chapel is open and is evidently in the care of people who cherish it: a posy of fresh primroses on the altar, everything clean and welcoming: an invitation to prayer.
Followinga family gathering in Oxfordshire for Easter, we are now continuing Eastertide with further family visits, this time on Exmoor...
I'm working on essays for the Catechist course (School of the Annunciation: warmly recommended) looking up from time to time to relish the most glorious views. I'm interspersing the work with tackling some envelopes to primary schools for this year's Schools RE Project run by the Association of Catholic Women. You can read about some of the previous Projects here...we always get good numbers of entries, and are glad to be supporting the work of Catholic schools in this way. This year's Project is on the Rosary, and the aim is to help children understand the value and importance of this prayer, learning about the four sets of Mysteries: Joyful, Luminous, Sorrowful and Glorious. They have to study the Joyful Mysteries, and learn about them:"Each of these Mysteries describes an event. Choose three of them and tell us the story of each in yur own words. Tell us why each of these is important. You can illustrate your work, too, if you like."
Monday, April 06, 2015
In the Thames Valley...
...with Easter eggs and daffodils, roast lamb and simnel cake, and a big family house-party, long talkative meals, long walks.
Stations of the Cross through the streets and lanes of Soho, kneeling on the street "We adore you O Christ and we praise you/Because by your holy Cross you have redeeedmed the world..."
Before going on to the Good Fiday liturgy, I wet to Trafalgar Square to watch the Passion Play. It was moving: the whole story coming alive before massive crowds in the heart of London. Going from there to the 3pm liturgy all fitted...
Rail travel out of London a bit complicated because of all sorts of engineering works at Paddington etc...but I made it to the family gathering, and to the glorious Easter Vigil at the Church of St Birinus in Dorchester-on-Thames.
A strange, and rather touching, thing happened to me on Good Friday. I hurried off the Tube at Oxford Circus and happened to look down. At my feet lay a small silver cross. I have it before me as I write - a slim, simple cross about one inch long and half an inch across. It is in perfect condition.
It felt strange, as I was just on my way to walk the Stations of the Cross through the streets of Soho with a group from a local church. So the Cross was very much in my mind.
I didn't know what to do. I'd love to find the owner of this cross. But thyere are about eight million people in Greater London at any one time. Did anyone lose a small silver cross in London on Good Friday?
Stations of the Cross through the streets and lanes of Soho, kneeling on the street "We adore you O Christ and we praise you/Because by your holy Cross you have redeeedmed the world..."
Before going on to the Good Fiday liturgy, I wet to Trafalgar Square to watch the Passion Play. It was moving: the whole story coming alive before massive crowds in the heart of London. Going from there to the 3pm liturgy all fitted...
Rail travel out of London a bit complicated because of all sorts of engineering works at Paddington etc...but I made it to the family gathering, and to the glorious Easter Vigil at the Church of St Birinus in Dorchester-on-Thames.
Thursday, April 02, 2015
Holy Week and Easter...
...began for me with Tenebrae at this church, which is famous for its beautiful Mary Garden featured on an EWTN history series...
There'll be the Mandatum, then the solemnities of Good Friday, the waiting-time on Holy Saturday, then the glorious fire of Easter...and for the Bogles a round of family visits...
...and good wishes for this holy season to my faithful Blog readers...
There'll be the Mandatum, then the solemnities of Good Friday, the waiting-time on Holy Saturday, then the glorious fire of Easter...and for the Bogles a round of family visits...
...and good wishes for this holy season to my faithful Blog readers...
Today is Maundy Thursday...
...and there will be the Mandatum in churches up and down the land...
It is also the 10th anniversary of a great saint's death: you can read Auntie on that subject here...
It is also the 10th anniversary of a great saint's death: you can read Auntie on that subject here...
Wednesday, April 01, 2015
Southwark diocese Chrism Mass...
...at St George's Cathedral. It is always rather moving to see priests that I have known for years - including the parish priest of Wallington, where I grew up - plus many other friends, at the Chrism Mass at Southwark. The Cathedral was packed, people sitting and standing on the floor in the side chapels and at the back...
The Chrism Liturgy is beautiful, and it was touching to see the oil for anointing the sick being brought up accompanied by two nurses in uniform, and the Oil of Catechumens being accompanied by candidates for baptism, etc.
But oh,at Southwark the music is always ghastly. The Cathedral has a fine organ, but some of the hymns were instead accompanied by a tinkling piano. And the words were beyond banal. During the Offertory we were meant to sing: "We place upon your table, a gleaming cloth oif white/The weaving of our stories, the fabric of our lives/the dreams of those before us, the ancient hopeful cries/the promise of our future/our needing and our nurture lie here before our eyes". Does any reader of this blog have any idea of what this drivel could possibly mean? I think it is simply tripe.
It is unfair on the priests, deacons and seminarians, whose special day it is, to have this nonsense foisted on them.And people who have brought their children to this sacred liturgy - there were a good many young families there - deserve the best. This is a day on which to teach something of the beauty and mystery that is at the heart of the priestly sacramental ministry.
The Cathedral has a splendid choir, which for some reason is banned from the Chrism Mass. There are some superb school choirs in the diocese, and it would be splendid to have one sing for the Chrism Mass: a Missa de Angelis, or some special Mass learned for the occasion, something beautiful for the Offertory and again at Communion, a couple of good hymns for the long priests' procession in at the beginning...this is a day for glorious music...
The Chrism Liturgy is beautiful, and it was touching to see the oil for anointing the sick being brought up accompanied by two nurses in uniform, and the Oil of Catechumens being accompanied by candidates for baptism, etc.
But oh,at Southwark the music is always ghastly. The Cathedral has a fine organ, but some of the hymns were instead accompanied by a tinkling piano. And the words were beyond banal. During the Offertory we were meant to sing: "We place upon your table, a gleaming cloth oif white/The weaving of our stories, the fabric of our lives/the dreams of those before us, the ancient hopeful cries/the promise of our future/our needing and our nurture lie here before our eyes". Does any reader of this blog have any idea of what this drivel could possibly mean? I think it is simply tripe.
It is unfair on the priests, deacons and seminarians, whose special day it is, to have this nonsense foisted on them.And people who have brought their children to this sacred liturgy - there were a good many young families there - deserve the best. This is a day on which to teach something of the beauty and mystery that is at the heart of the priestly sacramental ministry.
The Cathedral has a splendid choir, which for some reason is banned from the Chrism Mass. There are some superb school choirs in the diocese, and it would be splendid to have one sing for the Chrism Mass: a Missa de Angelis, or some special Mass learned for the occasion, something beautiful for the Offertory and again at Communion, a couple of good hymns for the long priests' procession in at the beginning...this is a day for glorious music...
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