Thursday, July 30, 2015

Off to the EVANGELIUM conference...

...this weekend,  It is held annually at The Oratory School, near Reading. I am speaking on St John paul the Great and the Theology of the Body.


Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Scotland...

...and a cheery welcome in Glasgow from the Sisters of the Gospel of Life,  doing wonderful work  and at the heart of a great team of young people, including seminarians.  These young men will be off to the Scots College in Rome later this year: a sign of hope for the Church of tomorrow.

 Lively talk over mugs of tea surrounded by stacks and stacks of all sorts of donated goods, clothes, babyware and more, given by Glaswegians  who have long  made the Sisters' work their own.

Main reason for the whole trip, however, was a meeting of the Editorial Board of FAITH magazine...you will see the results of our efforts when the next edition of the magazine comes out in Sept.

Fabulous, fabulous drive through the Borders, glorious hills, everything fresh and green, a joy after hot sticky London.

This morning, prayer with the Sisters in the chapel of their house in Glsagow, and then Mass in the beautiful  Cathedral, a grand start to the day.

Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Freedom...

...and our duties, rights and obligations. And fear, and so on. Read here.

Monday, July 27, 2015

Tennis shoes...

...in immaculate condition, soles barely marred, thick white laces neatly strung through the eyelets. Waiting at the back of the cupboard as I rummaged for suitable footwear for the John Paul II Walk to Walsingham.  I tried them on, walked about the house. They were too flat, no rise at all in the heel. Still, perhaps the right thing to do would be to wear them today and walk about a bit in them?   Found a comfortable pair of socks, the ones airlines give you on overnight flights. As I left the house I just knew I was one of those little-old-ladies-in-tennis-shoes who attend Catholic events looking fervent...oh dear.

I'd taken along some other shoes, just in case. It didn't take me long to remove the tennis shoes and place them in a useful receptacle designed for things you do not want and cannot use. Put on my comfortable brown leather shoes with good heels and felt much better. Pity about the purple sox.

Sunday, July 26, 2015

For all who have been asking me...

...about the next series of London Catholic History Walks:

MONDAY September 21st, meet 6.30pm on the steps of Westminster Cathedral (after the 5.30pm Mass). A walk on a Royal theme, taking in St James' Park.


SATURDAY OCTOBER 3rd, the "Two Cathedrals" Blessed Sacrament Procession. Starts 1.30pm WESTMINSTER CATHEDRAL,  goes through London, crossing Lambeth Bridge and finishing at St George's Cathedral, Southwark. COME AND WITNESS TO THE FAITH IN LONDON! 

Tuesday October 6th, meet 1.00pm - after the 12.30pm Mass - at St George's Cathedral, Southwark. A look around the Cathedral and the surrounding area.


Tuesday October 27th, 5.30pm - NOTE TIME -  meet at the Church of the Most Precious Blood, O'Meara Street, London Bridge, for a walk along the Thames.

Because I love rain...

...I relished our final day with the Dominican Sisters in the New Forest...everything cool and fresh with heavenly views. The chapel is beautiful: built in a medieval style, its strong wide wooden beams held firmly in place with wooden pegs instead of nails, it has full-length clear glass windows that seem to invite all the beauty of the surrounding meadows to be part of our worship too. The sisters will soon need some more choir-stalls as the community is growing steadily.  The singing is lovely. The sisters are extraordinarily busy, organising youth events, running catechetical programmes across the Poirtsmouth diocese, and active at every major Catholuc gathering for young people in Britain...but their lives centre around the call of the bell that summons them to prayer.

We were given hearty meals, had long and wonderful talks - and much laughter - with the sisters, enjoyed books, walks, the garden, prayer, and silence. It was a weekend to cherish.

If you want to meet the Sisters, one of the best ways would be to join them - and some 30 or more cheerful pilgrims - on the John Paul II Walk for the New Evangelisation, which takes place in a couple of weeks time. Info from that link I've given.

Saturday, July 25, 2015

At St Dominic's priory...

...in the New Forest. A glorious weekend, joining the sisters for their prayers in the chapel, and also enjoying beautiful walks with New Forest ponies and bracken and splashy puddles and a golden sunset...

At the core of the weekend, a gathering of catechists to train for the "Come Follow Me" programme. An excellent scheme and the Dominican sisters are dynamic and enthusiastic, with an infectious joy.


Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Catholic History Walk...

WED July 22nd,, starts  6.30pm (after the 5.30pm Mass) at Westminster Cathedral.  Meet on the steps of the Cathedral...we'll be walking to the river, Parliament, and Westminster Abbey. All welcome! Come and join us...

...and a glorious ordination









...at St George's Cathedral, Southwark. This was a massive event with over 500 people present, a joyful day, and a triumph for the John Fisher School, Purley. 

Fr James Clark sent me this report: 

A further two former students from The John Fisher school were ordained as priests in Saturday 18th July by His Grace Archbishop Peter Smith in St George's Cathedral. Over 500 people were in attendance including many other former Fisher boys and those from the Faith Movement. Mr Daniel Cooper who taught both boys read the 1st reading. This means that three Fisher old boys have been ordained as priests in Southwark this year. "Like London buses, 3 came along after a long wait (of 13 years)."

Fr Mark Higgins (left on pic)  has been appointed to St Andrews Thornton Heath, and Fr Matthew O'Gorman (right) has been appointed to St John the Baptist Purley.

Both celebrated their  first Masses in The John Fisher School chapel (10am and 12:15) on Sunday 19th July.
As a school we are very proud of all three (inc Fr James Cadman ordained on 31st May) and we ask the Lord of the Harvest to bless us with plenty more!! St John Fisher, ora pro nobis!

Fr James

Sunday, July 19, 2015

Somerset in golden sunshine...

...and a very crowded Mass: a local family had gathered in force with friendsandrelationsfor a baptism. It was alas clear that many of those involved were completely unfamiliar with attending church and didn't know what to do. They sat and talked loudly and the priest had to appeal for silence before Mass, and then explain about what was going to happen. The drama - that really is the right word - of the anointings and baptism did hold their attention, and there were two little girls in my pew who knew the Lord's Prayer and said it very nicely (their mother latest said they sometimes attend the URC church: a lovely family). But the general mood among most of the visitors was one of  slightly chatty bafflement, not so much about what was going on but about being there at all. A sense of unfamiliarity with it all, as though  candles and stained glass and reverence and Host and Chalice were somehow unconnected with their lives and of no special importance...

There's a great mission field in Britain...


A lovely message...

...to this blog from Julia in the USA:  please can you contact me again, and this time give me an email address to which I can reply?  I'd so like to be in touch...I cannot reply unless you give me a full email address: the Comments are specifically structured with a no-reply system...

Saturday, July 18, 2015

A most impressive group...

...of  some 40 young men from this Jesuit High School in the USA came to London on a pilgrimage, visiting various Catholic sites, and I was asked to lead them on a Catholic History walk....it turned out to be a wonderful day.

Things began with  the whole group arriving for a Mass celebrated by their priests  here - the atmosphere reverent, the altar servers will drilled, a beautiful start to the day. Then on to a  full programme of walking and exploration...at one point, as we stopped by the river for me to explain the story of London Bridge (Romans, Viking battles, Great Fire 1666 etc etc) I decided to clamber up on the wall of the Embankment so all could hear me - a sudent clambered up too, to grip me carefully, as the river surged below. Some one took a pic - Auntie Joanna enthusiastically telling  1,000 years of history on the banks of the Thames, held carefully in place by Jesuit-trained student strength.  And the whole day was like that - the group interested, attentive, fun,delightful to be with. By lunchtime I was ready for refreshment  - the excellent lunch to which the two priests treated me, and our great conversation tackling all sorts of issues, was a joy. And then on to Westminster, still following the river - and things finished by Big Ben, and, gloriously, the clock chimed just on cue...

The group was due to go on to Tyburn for Benedictiion. Fr H. made a kind speech and then made the Sign of the Cross and, without being prompted, the young men bowed their heads and together, prayed aloud  that glorious Ignatian prayer "Lord, help me to serve you as you deserve..."  To stand in the street at Westminster with that great prayer surging up, was something I will remember always. And then they invoked various saints including St Edmund Campion... who defended the Faith with such surpreme courage just yards from where we were standing...

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

...and...

...an end-of-term day of reflection and study on the Faith at St George's College, Southampton, in which I was privileged to have a part. I was invited to speak about the life and message of St John Paul the Great, and it was a joy to open up to a new generation the story of his remarkable life and his superb Christian leadership. Exciting, too - it all brought back memories of being in Poland under martial law in the last days of Communist oppression. It's all so different now: today's Krakow is fashionable shops and busy bars and restaurants, limitless wines and well-stacked supermarket shelves... it's difficult to remember how grey things seemed back then, but also how precious and exciting were the gatherings of friends, the conversations, the barbed jokes about the government, the sense of honesty in a country dominated by official lies but exulting in deep-rooted hopes of freedom.

Teenagers at St G's were small children when JPII went to his reward in 2005 - to them he is history. But - perhaps because of this - they loved hearing about him, about Poland, about his dramatic life story about "Do not be afraid", about his plays and poetry, his skiing and hiking, his rich theology, his stirring call to reject consumerism, to build something better, to live nobly, to live truthfully, to build families for tomorrow, to focus on a new civilisation of love.

We all lived through a glorious adventure with the pontificate of St JP, and his legacy to us is not only rich in teaching - let's hear his voice resonate in the Synod in Rome this Autumn, tackling marriage and family life - but also identified by a call to courage and to faith in the future.


Tuesday, July 14, 2015

The summer term is ending...

...at schools across Britain and this means a flurry of prize-presentations and similar activities. I recently gave away prizes for the Children's Handwriting and Artwork Project, won by pupils at the Princess Frederica CofE primary school in Kensal Rise in North London. I'd never heard of Princess Frederica before, and so dived into the internet to find out more...as I had suspected, she was a sort of spare Hanoverian Princess, cousin of Queen Victoria, living in London and Biarritz etc - it is strange to ponder her life, as she didn't die until 1926 and so lived through the collosal changes brought by WWI.  How strange to be a German princess, staying  regularly at  Windsor Castle and at Osborne, helping with Good Works (a Home for Foreign Governesses, and churchy things and schools and colleges and so on and so on...) aboslutely part of the established order of things...and then to find yourself in that summer of 1914  seen as an enemy, an alien, with a dreadful foreign name and title...

The London primary school that bears her name is a cheery place and I was made most welcome...a lovely Morning Assembly, and the children all knew the Lord's Prayer (which was central to the Handwriting Project, for which I was giving out the prizes) and it was lovely to hear the great chorus of  their voices as we prayed together...

Monday, July 13, 2015

Ireland...

...and a delightful EVANGELIUM conference...

It was in the superb setting of  the great St Patrick's Seminary, Maynooth  which among much else offers excellent facilities for such events, and speakers included Dr William Newton,  Fr John Harris OP from the Irish Dominicans, and a brace of Bogles.

We had Lauds,Vespers and Compline each day in the beautiful St Joseph's Chapel. Of course there was also Mass each day - with glorious music, the chapel filled with young voices.

On Saturday evening a delightful social time with lots of chat and wine and snacks...and then, for a a small group of us, a beautiful late-night tour of the magnificent great College Chapel, and a chance to get a flavour of the College's magnificent history...

Highlight of the weekend, however, was the final address by the Archbishop of Armagh, setting out a timely, thoughtful, and uplifting, vision for the future, with practical wisdom and great honesty. It was exactly what was needed for a young audience at this stage in Ireland's history, and following the events of the recent referendum and all the debate preceding it. This was a memorable and important address...a privilege to be there and to be listening to it. A lot to think about, and a new approach, and a new hope...

Wednesday, July 08, 2015

Mild and enjoyable adventures in a London summer...

..with an evening History Walk starting at St Patrick's, Soho...too warm for a long walk, so we gathered outside the church, and pottered along past the St Barnabas House of Prayer with its satisfying roll-pennies-down-the-metal-tube-on-the-railings slot for donations, and thence to St Giles-in-the-Fields and along to Holborn, and the Ship Tavern where  Bishop Richard Challoner used to meet Catholics to give them spiritual encouragement and catechetical instruction in penal times. Then to SS Anselm and Cecilia and finally to Lincolns Inn Fields... we lingered there chatting and then as we dispersed one couple invited me to join them for a meal...and so things finished with a delightful dinner, delicious pasta and white wine and much lively talk on books and historyand people  and ideas and more...and then as things drew to a  close I wrote down their email  address on the big paper menu/napkin and we hurried to Waterloo to catch late, late trains home...

And then...oh, horrors...I lost the napkin the next day, before I'd had a chance to write my thank-you email...sitting with some young friends I was asked to demonstrate how shorthand worked, so took the nearest bit of paper from my bag, and started to write on it - and then we left the table, and it got cleared away...oh, Mr and Mrs W., I'm trying to reach you with my thank-you message for a delicious inner and an unforgettably enjoyable evening, and I hope you might be reading this!

Sunday, July 05, 2015

A joyous Sunday celebration...

...marking the patronal name of the Church of the Precious Blood. A sung Mass with Mgr Keith Newton presiding, and we finished with one of my favourite hymns "And can it be/That I should gain/An interest in the Saviour's blood?"

As Mass ended, the two churchwardens came forward to address us all,  They announced plans for the full repair and redecoration of the church for the 125th anniversary in 2017. There is quite a lot that needs to be done: new underfloor heating was laid two years ago and the floor now needs to be finished with proper tiling, bleak flourescent lighting needs to be replaced with something better, and the peeling paint on the walls tackled. The sanctuary carpet has to go and a new floor laid...

Funds are being sought, and this will be a project well worthy of support, the full restoration of a fine church in an historic corrner of London...

After Mass,a big  parish barbeque - for this, we used the courtyard of the Anglican diocesan offices next to the church, by the kindness of the Cof E authorities.  This is a Victorian building that used to be a school, and includes a large covered archway area, ideal for a big social gathering. A massive noise of talk and the servng of food, and children running about, and everyone having a good time...and it was a good vantage-point from which to see the fine architectural merits of Pr.Bl Church and its adjoining Rectory, both Grade 2 Listed buildings, with pleasing windows and brickwork. As the afternoon drew on, some of us sat talking with glasses of wine, reluctant to hurry home...stories of parish life over the years were told, great events remembered...

...and, in sizzling heat, a Summer Garden Party...

...in the lovely garden of a residence for the elderly, where a beloved resident lives and where I spend a good deal of time. It was a very happy afternoon: protected from the heat by  a large airy marquee, we enjoyed Bucks Fizz, and lots of friendly chat, joined by, among others, Bishop Howard Tripp, who I first met when I was a reporter on a newspaper in Richmond and he was parish priest of the big church at Sheen...

We had smokes salmon sandwiches and scones topped with whipped cream and strawberries, and delicious cakes...and during the afternoon a delegation arrived from the Royal Marines ex-servicemens group, to present a special beret to one of the elderly residents, who had served with distinction in WWII. We all gave him three hearty cheers and he wore his beret with pride, and I got talking to the chaps. Some had served in the "forgotten wars" of Malaysia and Aden, and there is sorrow that those of their conmrades who died there are not honoured and remembered each November...that's something that we should surely quietly rectify...

Afterwards, I went on to visit some young friends, whose son is one of my godchildren and is now a tall teenager and extremely nice - he has been helping with creating a new database for a leading Catholic group and everything is now superbly up-to-date....while the garden sizzled in the heat, the children turned a hose and frolicked in the delicious sprinkling water, while the parents and I, joined by a neighbour,  sipped cold white wine and talked and laughed and reminisced and discussed local topics...and then as the evening cool descended, I wandered home, and, refreshed, tackled some emails and preparatory work for the week ahead...

Saturday, July 04, 2015

A splendid group...

...of young men, training for the priesthood with the St Martin Community contacted me  as they had heard that I led History Walks in London...

We had a wonderful day together, walking along the Thames, and talking over so many things ranging from history through , Britain, Europe, today's Church, the future, challenges, hopes...

They were a terrific group - from France, Germany and Austria, full of fun and with a sense of zest and enthusiasm, but also thoughtful, knowlegeable, and wise in discussing issues of faith, the Church,  and mission...

I was sorry to leave them as the afternoon ended, but I had to hurry to Victoria station to catch a train to Eastbourne, where I was due to speak to members of the Eastbourne Ordinariate Mission. This was a delight: Fr Neil Chatfield and his lovely family welcomed me to a family supper, and then we had a most enjoyable evening with the group, planning and discussing a schools venture for 2016...it was an evening of friendship and  talk and solidarity and with a happy feeling of plans for the future and good things to do...

It had been a day of searing heat, but with an evening promise of relief - and as the train headed for London the drama of a storm began, which reached a glorious crescendo at Clapham Junction with tremendous sheets of rain and flashes of lightning, an absolute torrent of water hurtling down like a mighty blessing on a parched and hot city...bliss to travel home through this, and to feel a busy week culminating in refreshment and rest.

Friday, July 03, 2015

...and London in the summer...

...read here...

Thursday, July 02, 2015

THAT forthcoming Synod on the Family...

...come and ponder the issues involved...

FAITH Movement evening meeting...this coming Tuesday, July 7th, at 24 Golden Square WI (nearest tube: PICCADILLY CIRCUS), 7.30pm. All welcome. We'll be looking specifically at St John Paul II's teachings on marriage and family.

FREEDOM OF SPEECH...

...and the right speak about great moral truths....a crucial freedom.

The Secretary of State for Education has made some rather frightening comments about views she regards as "extremist".  In this category she seems to place the understanding that homosexual acts are wrong. She sounds rather muddled, so we must assume that she doesn't really know what she is saying.

But what is uncomfortably clear is that she has decided that we all ought to hold the opinion that homosexual behaviour is acceptable. That may be her opinion, but it is not one that we are all obliged to share, and in our country we have a tradition of allowing different points of view on such matters.

From time to time, I publish on this Blog the teaching of the Catholic Church on this delicate and important subject.

If there is ever a time when I am banned from doing so - for example by the internet provider blocking this Blog, or by some officialdom attempting to restrict my writings, then I will know that a cherished freedom, for which my country has been justly famous, has been taken from us.

This is the teaching of the Catholic Church, stated in the Catechism of the Catholic Church

1257 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.