Aid to the Church in Need...

...and a warm welcome when I visited the office and joined them all for the daily Angelus...

Since finishing my service on the Board, as Trustee, chairman etc, I have deliberately not hovered around the office or dropped in endlessly for visits...so it was lovely to be back, to meet some new members of staff and catch up on everything. Chatty lunch w. the excellent Director. ACN is now a massive charity, always in the news, doing wonderful work helping Christians persecuted for their faith - they recently had a big meeting in Parliament, highlighting some of the needs of Christians in the Middle East and Africa....my memories go back to the 1970s and helping people in Eastern Europe, working with ACN's founder Fr Werenfried van Straaten about whom I subsequently wrote a book...

If you want to catch up with ACN's latest work, come to the Towards Advent Festival on Sat Nov 28th at Westminster Cathedral, when John Pontifex will be talking about the plight of Christians under pressure from militant Islam...

Busy with preparations for...

...this event...been ordering books, reading entries for a young people's writing project, putting labels on jars of jam and other goodies, printing out words of an Advent carol...and handing out leaflets...

Currently reading...

...At the Centre of the Human Drama (K.L.Schmitz), an exploration of the philosophy of St John Paul II. Recommended. Wish I had read it years ago...anyway I'm relishing it now.

Just finished: an excellent biography of CS Lewis by Alister McGrath. Again, warmly recommended and I have just discovered this enjoyable review of it by Paul Johnson...

To Lewisham...

...where, as in so many parts of London, there are massive building works - huge concrete tower-blocks to dominate the place, a swirl of bleak traffic slicing through once-familiar roads and destroying the sense of community life. Ugh.

St Stephen's church is a sort of haven...a  fine building, a magnificent interior, friendly people:  I was made most welcome. They had invited me to speak on "Christian feasts and seasons". It was the Feast of SS Simon and Jude (I went to Mass earlier here) and with All Saints/All Souls coming up, and Advent, and Christmas, and more, this is a good time of year for such a talk...

On train journeys at present, I am working on a fresh sewing project: a kneeler for a school chapel. The colours are blue and gold, the lettering fairly easy...but I fear that tackling the school crest is going to be beyond me. People like to watch, and can't resist asking "What is it you are making?" and one has some pleasant conversations.

...and of course...

...at the FAITH meeting (see below) and at virtually every other gathering over the past few days, we were all talking about the Synod...for a good analysis of where things now stand, read here...

Laudate Si, and a good discussion...

...tackling this encyclical at a FAITH Evening, at the church of St Mary of the Angels in Bayswater.  These Evenings of FAITH had to move from the Church of the Assumption and St Gregory in Warwick Street because the crypt hall there is being refurbished.  There was some worry that numbers might drop drastically following the move, as Bayswater/Notting Hill Gate is much less central than  Warwick Street which is just off Piccadilly Circus. But numbers have been good, and there is lively chat over wine and pizza after the main talk...

Fr Chris Findlay-Wilson unpacked the encyclical and then answered questions and led a good discussion. A fruitful and talkative evening.

..and on the Synod...

...watch and listen here..

A lot of weird spin...

...about the Synod in Rome, with one major Sunday newspaper in Britain telling the exact opposite of what actually happened, and announcing that "the Vatican" had made new regulations for admitting divorced people in new unions to Holy Communion. Uh?  The true story can be found here

At least the press has been accurate however in reporting the Synod's description of homosexual unions as not even remotely analagous to marriage.

Useful overview of the Synod's final report and media here and a good report from a Cardinal actually involved and present is here

Young people...

..at a  Sunday evening Mass in the MUCH TOO SMALL chapel of the  Catholic chaplaincy at the University of Bristol: this needs to be expanded  expand it, and this could be done by knocking down the outer wall and extending it further forward...

I had already been to Mass in London that morning, so thought I would just slip in at the back of the chaplaincy  - no chance. Not a spare place anywhere...eventually I squeezed in, very much struck by the atmosphere of devotion.

Afterwards, a cheery gathering in a similarly overcrowded room for supper -  platefuls of vegetable curry, all cooked and served by the students - and then upstairs for the Cathsoc meeting, at which I was to speak on St John Paul the Great.

Just the sort of evening any guest speaker would relish - great atmosphere, lots of  young people filling sofas and armchairds and extra chairs carried up from below. Well organised but no formality - I sat comfortably on a large solid table and told the story, the wonderful story, of one of the greatest men of our era, a Saint with a great and powerful message for this new century.

It was a strange, but rather touching, thing to realise that in describing adventures in Communist-era Poland (addresses of contacts pinned inside my clothes, careful reminders about conversatons being taped, booklets and materials from London handed over  after a coded exchange of greetings) I was telling about history...but then as I talked about World Youth Day and the Theology of the Body, it was all about now, and about hope for the future.  Several of the audience will be off to World Youth Day, and an even larger number to the TOB series in London in Jan...

A happy evening, and then later there were mugs of tea in the kitchen, and more talk, and ideas about future Cathsoc speakers and meetings, and then finally a retirement to a comfortable room, ready for an early start the next day  as I was off on a family visit to a beloved elderly relative...

Saints John Fisher and Thomas More...

...died as martyrs rather than support their monarch  when he renounced his wife and formed an adulterous union.Today, we remembered them as a group from the Church of Our Lady and the English Martyrs in Cambridge came to London to take part in a Catholic History Walk as part of the commemoration of the parish's 150th anniversary.

Golden leaves fluttered down  from the Autumn trees. We walked along the Tyburn route where martyrs including St Edmund Campion were hauled to their deaths, we visited the beautiful churches of St Etheldreda in Ely Place, SS Anselm and Cecilia in Kingsway, and St Patrick's Soho,  we prayed at the site of Tyburn Tree, and we finished with Mass at Tyburn Convent.  We remembered Bishop Richard Challoner, and visited the pub where he preached  in penal times.

It was a perfect day on which to lead a Catholic History Walk, and good to be with this parish group - "OLEM"  has been important to our family and a  beloved great-nephew was baptised there a few years back...

And as we walked today,  the Synod in Rome was completing its work ....we must pray that over the next years, we are as brave in defending and upholding true marriage as our spiritual ancestors were in our country...the Church continues to teach what Christ taught, and to do so with love and goodwill...

Catholic women...

...gathered in London for the 43rd annual Catholic Women of the Year Lunch. Guest speaker was Fr Alexander Sherbrook,giving a challenging and inspiring message focusing on the New Evangelisation and describing - rather grippingly - the candelit drama of Nightfever in St Patrick's, Soho.

A speaker from Let the Children Live stirred us with a description of the homes established for street-children in Colombia. This is a charity well worth supporting.

Lots of useful meetings and networking at what is always a packed and talkative gathering. Afterwards, some of us went for some coffee and further chat,  For a couple of us, the route home took us past the site of Tyburn tree, so we stopped there to pray. We said the Rosary, remembering especially the Synod in Rome, and praying for the H. Father, and for the unity of the Church.

News  etc from the Synod here.

Singing at the railway station...

...read here...

THE MAN WHO GAVE US NARNIA...

...come and hear about CS Lewis. 6.30pm,  Tuesday Nov 3rd, Precious Blood Church 22 Redcross Way SE1 (nearest Tube: Borough or LONDON BRIDGE). All welcome: light refreshments. Speaker is author Philip vander Elst, who has written a biography of Lewis.

Been reading...

...the reports of the various working groups of the Synod in Rome. Lots of cautious language. In some cases this seems to mask a definite message of lobbying, especially about Holy Communion for those who have left one marriage and emarked on something new...the result conveys somehow a sense of tiredness, as if the zeal has gone out of the mission. In others there is a much greater sense of trust in the truth of the Church's unchangeable teachings on marriage.

Gleeful commentators are now announcing that the Pope will have to make a decision and the Church will split. But a Pope can't make a decision about the Eucharist and the nuptial bond that it signifies between Christ and His Bride the Church: the decision has already been mde - Christ's teaching on marriage is clear.

What is rather dreary is the evidence of bishops losing their zeal and thinking that people don't really want the fullness of the Church's teaching any more. The task of St Peter's successor is to strengthen the brethren - if he fails to do that with vigour, it won't change anything.  And what needs to be changed is not the Church's teaching or the way in which it is lived out in its disciplines, but the missionary zeal among the bishops. Pope Francis talks about mission, and about teaching out to people, and about the joy of the Gospel...now he needs to take time to pray, to gather strength, and then to affirm the fullness of the Gospel message and connfirm and strengthen the brethren in it...

...and, overall, the world's bishops are open to being strengthened and encouraged. Read here  for a general round-up from the Synod which takes an upbeat approach and sees  good things...

The Pope of the Family...

....St John Paul the Great, has his feast-day tomorrow, Oct 22nd. Today, with co-author Clare Anderson, I was giving a lecture about him at the CTS bookshop in Westminster.  This was part of the Lunchtime Lecture series, and despite the fact that it was a rainy day, and that all attending the lectures have to stand as there is no room in the shop for chairs, we got a good audience.

Afterwards, mugs of tea and chat with the CTS team, great fun.  And then a late lunch and catch-up session with Clare. Our EWTN programme on St John Paul is broadcast tomorrow.  Our working sessions are always an agreeable tangle of  swapping family news, organising research for the next TV/book project, checking and correcting material...plus ideas about books we're reading and current events in the Church and the world... This time there was lots of happy family stuff to share about forthcoming weddings of daughters and nieces, plus lots of discussion about the Synod in Rome, plus enthusiasm for various books.( I've ordered this one).

And we finished our discussions with a prayer invoking the intercession of St John Paul for all those at the Synod in Rome, and especially for Pope Francis...

and meanwhile in Rome...

...the Synod continues, and this is a good read.  Do make sure you scroll down and read the analysis of a recent TIMES leader.

Been busy handing out prizes...

...to pupils at various schools who produced high-standard work in the 2015 Schools Bible Project. So to Lancaster: always a pleasure to visit the  splendid Ripley St Thomas Academy, where I was made welcome, and spoke to the school assembly in the magnificent chapel. Candles glowed on the altar, a young pupil played the organ beautifully, and the young prizewinners came up one by one for a handshake and a prize...

Come to the TOWARDS ADVENT Festival...

at Westminster Cathedral hall, Sat Nov 28th. Doors open 10am. Learn Gregorian chant, meet the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, and discover Catholic groups and organisations from the Catenians and the Knights of St Columba to Youth 2000, the Ladies Ordinariate Group, and the Catholic Herald newspaper! Get a first-hand report of the current plight of Christians in the Middle East. Enjoy delicious home-made refreshments and fresly brewed coffee.  Grand Opening Ceremony with Cardinal Vincent Nichols and music from the choir of St James School Twickenham. Be there!

The SYNOD...

...read here...

One of the things that just doesn't make sense is the idea that an - actually rather arbitrary - national grouping of bishops can announce new "rules" about the Holy Eucharist. The Church's teaching on the Eucharist isn't essentially about rules but about the nature and essence of the Sacrament. National boundaries don't apply here. In  the British Isles we have three national conferences of Bishops. It is a matter of national feeling and the convenience of administrative decision-making...and from the Church's point of view that has nothing to do with deciding doctrine.

And the discussion that is taking place about the Eucharist and Matrimony is most definitely about doctrine. It's not about "rules" in the sense that rules are generally understood., eg the rules of a cricket club or ice-skating championship. The link between the Eucharist and faithfulness to God's commandments is central to Catholic doctrine. It can't be regarded as an administrative matter that operates under one set of "rules" in Glasgow and another in Newcastle.

Cardinal Kasper seems to be the person chiefly promoting the idea that local bishops can, in effect, make decisions on doctrine, based on national boundaries. But God's message is the same in Nairobi and in Wimbledon, in Chicago and Buenos Aires and Calcutta and Frankfurt and the Isle of Wight. His Church is a Catholic Church.  Local variations in liturgy, hymnology,custons, traditions, architecture  make up a rich Christian culture and are to be cherished. Doctrine has no variations and is the truth at the core - literally the  heart -  of all.

To the John Fisher School...

...in Purley, to talk to the FAITH Club on the subject of St John Paul the Great. A very good attendance, and an excellent atmosphere. We began with prayers led by one of the boys, who then took the chair and introduced me. The school chaplain, Fr James Clark (a former pupil of the school)  was present,  along with  Deacon Tony Flavin.   We were also joined by another former pupil, Father Mark Higgins, who was ordained this summer and is now working in a local parish.  This is a school which has a magnificent tradition of service to the Church in many fields, and the FAITH Club is a major part of this. The driving force is the splendid Mr Daniel Cooper.

 I enjoyed talking to the FAITH Club,  and the boys showed great interest in the life and message of St John Paul. At the end of the meeting the chairman - who is Polish - led the final prayers in his own langauge, a touching moment.

By long tradition, the boys enjoy stacks of buttered toast after the meeting ends, and there is a general social time, a game  or two of snooker, general talk and laughter...

More from Rome ...

...Under the name Xavier Rynne there is an excellent daily letter from the Synod.  Analytical, well-informed.

Don't get panicky about the Synod.  Keep the Synod Fathers in your prayers.  LETTER NUMBER 16 here...

What will Auntie be doing at the end of November?

Read here...

...and more on that Synod...

....read here...

...on on the subject of...

...John Pontifex and Aid to the Church in Need (see blog post of early yesterday):  he has just been on VATICAN RADIO. Read all about it, and listen in here

An early start...

...to the day as I caught a train in the dark into London and thence across to Chelmsford, to visit  the excellent St John Payne Catholic School  where a large number of pupils had won prizes in the 2015 Schools Bible Project. The Morning Assembly was a dignified gathering with pupils  reading from the Scriptures and praying together, led by the Headmaster. Impressive. And it was, as always, a joy to greet the prizewinners and hand each one his or her prize.

The feast of St Edward the Confessor...

...and I went to the morning Mass at Westminster Cathedral, as I was due to meet ladies from the Tolworth branch of the Union of Catholic Mothers to take them on a Catholic History Walk. It was a golden October morning with a fresh winter-is-coming zest to the air, a perfect day for walking.  After Mass we enjoyed a good look at the Cathedral and discussed its history and that of its Archbishops from the present down down through Bourne and Vaughan etc to Wiseman...and then we went off down towards the Horseferry Road and along Great Peter Street, noting the names of streets that date back to the Westminster monks of old...St Matthew Street...St Ann Street...and so to the Abbey and Parliament...

We stopped outside St Matthew's Church   and had a notable encounter:  John Pontifex of Aid to the Church in Need, and the Archbishop of Aleppo in Syria who is visiting Britain to talk about the plight of his people, suffering under fanatical Moslem fighters...the Archbishop was on his way to Parliament to talk to MPs, and had just given a press conference...

As the morning ended, and I made my way to my next meeting, the glorious bells of Westminster Abbey were creashing and pealing out in celebration of St Edward.

Our last Saxon king, a saint, and one of the great names that echo through our long history. St Edward, pray for England!

latest from the Synod...

...just published...

Read it here

Procession of the Blessed Sacrament goes through London...

The Synod in Rome...

...cannot change God's plan for marriage and family or the Church's duty to live and teach it.  So I share the frustratiion of Synod Fathers at the antics of those who are trying to campaign for such changes or who are posturing about such changes by talking about "pastoral care" or schemes to pretend that one group of bishops in a particular place can make arrangements that run counter to Church teaching. 

Among courageous and forthroight speakers at the Synod are some notable Americans including Archbishop Charles Chaput and Bishop Robert Barron. Thank God for them.  A good analysis and comment on the latest events at the Synod can be found here.

The European church-and-state model that still lingers in the financial arrangements made for the Church in Germany is proving to be a weakness: the American experience seems to have been productive of more robust teaching, more freedom to be wholly and unreservedly devoted to Christ's call...

...and on the subject of Bl John Henry Newman...

...here's an American newspaper with an account of that Eucharistic procession through London...

Narnia...

...and CS Lewis.  Come and hear about the man who gave us Narnia. Tuesday Nov 3rd, in London. Info here:

Blessed John Henry Newman...

...is honoured today...it was on the night of Oct 8th/9th that he came into full communion with the Catholic Church, after years of work and ministry in the Church of England and with years ahead of him for greater, more effective, and more profound evangelisation of souls.

 This evening, I met a friend in church - she is one of the heroic team on the cleaning-rota and was busy dusting and brushing at the John Henry Newman shrine to the left of the main sanctuary here. We had one of those whispering-because-we-are-in-church-but-there-are-a-couple-of-things-I-wanted-to-discuss conversations that often turn out to be deeper and more useful than many at a formal meeting.  The LOGS ladies met earlier this week, and meet again tomorrow, when we are off to Birmingham to spend time with the Sisters of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  When we planned the pilgrimage, we simply picked a day that suited most of us and suited the Sisters...but it turns out to be in the week of Bl John Henry's feast day. God's timing, not ours...

CATHOLIC LADIES...

...might like to sign this letter  to the Synod in Rome.

If you wanted...

...a free sample copy of FAITH magazine, and contacted this Blog, and failed to get one, can you contact me again?  I think that one Comment got lost somewhere.

And to every reader of this Blog: if you want to sample FAITH magazine, just send me a Comment, WHICH I WILL NOT PRINT  with your full name and postal address, and I'll post a magazine to you...

A talk at...

...the CTS bookshop in Westminster Cathedral piazza. They have organised a series of lunchtime talks, timed for 1.05pm, when people come out of the  Cathedral's 12.30pm Mass.

My talk was on "London's Catholic History"  so we swept through the Romans, Saxons, Normans, Middle Ages, Tudors, and onwards...with the river as a sort of theme, the Romans building a fort at Londinium, and much much later our last Saxon king, Edward, building a Minster to the West of London, giving that area a name that echoes around the world...

There's a pace to these lunchtime talks - quite different from the more leisurely feel of people settling down for an evening gathering. We aren't even sitting down - we all just crowd into the bookshop and take it from there. But this gives a slightly "edgy" feel to the whole thing, and I think it all works.

Note: Wednesdays, after the 12.30pm Mass. I'm back on Oct 21st, with colleague Clare Anderson, talking about St John Paul the Great.   BTW, if you want to see the special TV feature on him, watch EWTN on his feast-day, Oct 22nd...

BRAVO!!! Well said...

...over 100 prominent converts to the Catholic Church have sent a major appeal to the Synod in Rome to uphold the clear teaching of the Church on marriage.

It says, in part:

"We are keenly aware of the difficult pastoral situations that you will be confronting at the Synod, especially those concerning divorced Catholics. We also share something of the burden you carry in confronting them. Some of us have experienced the pain of divorce in our own lives; and virtually all of us have friends or close relatives who have been so afflicted. We are therefore grateful that attention is being paid to a problem that causes such grievous harm to husbands and wives, their children, and indeed the culture at large.

We are writing you, however, because of our concerns about certain proposals to change the church’s discipline regarding communion for Catholics who are divorced and civilly remarried. We are frankly surprised by the opinion of some who are proposing a “way of penance” that would tolerate what the Church has never allowed. In our judgment such proposals fail to do justice to the irrevocability of the marriage bond, either by writing off the “first” marriage as if it were somehow “dead,” or, worse, by recognizing its continued existence but then doing violence to it. We do not see how these proposals can do anything other than contradict the Christian doctrine of marriage itself. But we also fail to see how such innovations can be, as they claim, either pastoral or merciful. However well meaning, pastoral responses that do not respect the truth of things can only aggravate the very suffering that they seek to alleviate. We cannot help but think of the abandoned spouses and their children. Thinking of the next generation, how can such changes possibly foster in young people an appreciation of the beauty of the indissolubility of marriage?

Above all, we think that the proposals in question fail to take to heart the real crisis of the family underlying the problem of divorce, contraception, cohabitation and same-sex attraction. That crisis, as Benedict XVI observed, is “a false understanding of the nature of human freedom.” Still worse, as he continued, we now have to confront an outlook that “calls into question the very notion of being − of what being human really means” (“Address of His Holiness Benedict XVI on the Occasion of Christmas Greetings to the Roman Curia,” 2012). Not only are the changes in the Church’s discipline called for by some far from adequate to the challenge before us, they seem to us to capitulate to the problem they purport to address.

As has everyone else, we have witnessed the human wreckage brought about by the culture of divorce. But as converts we have also witnessed Christian complicity in that culture. We have watched our own communities abandon the original radical Christian witness to the truth about man and woman, together with the pastoral accompaniment that might have helped them live it.

And so we turn to you. We look to you to uphold Christ’s teaching on the indissolubility of marriage with the same fidelity, the same joyful and courageous witness the Catholic Church has displayed throughout her entire history. Against the worldly-wise who counsel resignation and concede defeat, let the Church once again remind the world of the beauty of spousal fidelity, when lived in unity with Christ. Who is left who can offer the world something other than an echo of its own cynicism? Who is left who can lead it toward a real experience of love? Now more than ever the world needs the Church’s prophetic witness! As Pope Francis said to the thousands of young people at World Youth Day in Brazil:

Today, there are those who say that marriage is out of fashion….They say that it is not worth making a life-long commitment, making a definitive decision, ‘forever,’ because we do not know what tomorrow will bring. I ask you, instead, to be revolutionaries, I ask you to swim against the time; yes, I am asking you to rebel against this culture that sees everything as temporary and that ultimately believes you are incapable of responsibility, that believes you are incapable of true love. World Youth Day, 2013)

As you gather in Rome for the Synod on the Family, we want to offer you the witness of our conversion, which testifies to the attractiveness of the truth about man and woman as it has been “made clear” by Christ through His Church. It is our hope that our witness will strengthen yours so that the Church may continue to be the answer to what the human heart most deeply desires".

You can read more, plus all the names of the signatories, here

The internet is buzzing...

...with gossip/news/opinions/theories/hopes/  about the Synod on the Family.

You can get a good flavour of things here...  and here...

and, v. relevant...here...

Hmmmm....

The Autumn series...

...of Catholic History walks is now iunder way...

CATHOLIC HISTORY WALKS:


 Autumn 2015

Come and enjoy discovering the history of the Church in Britain, in good company and in a great city. All welcome and the walks are free. Wear suitable clothing and shoes, we’ll be walking whatever the weather. Each walk last about an hour and a half, obviously you can leave at any time.

TUESDAY October 27^th – Meet 5.30pm Church of the Most Precious Blood, O’Meara Street, London SEI. Come and discover a ruined episcopal palace, a prison, and the house where Catherine of Aragon stayed. Precious Blood Church is in O’Meara Street, just off Southwark Street. Nearest tube: London Bridge or The Borough

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 6th – Meet 6.30pm (after the 5.30pm Mass) on the steps of Westminster Cathedral. Was there a Gunpowder Plot? What’s the story? We’ll walk down to the Houses of Parliament, discovering lots of intriguing history on the way. Nearest Tube for Westminster Cathedral: Victoria or St James’ Park

MONDAY November 16th – Meet 1.30pm (after the 1.05pm Mass) at Precious Blood Church, London Bridge. We’ll explore The Borough and walk along the river to the Tower of London. Precious Blood Church is in O’Meara Street, just off Southwark Street. Nearest tube: London Bridge or The Borough

==================================================================

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 28^th: TOWARDS ADVENT Festival of Catholic Culture. ALL DAY from 10am, Westminster Cathedral Hall, Ambrosden Avenue. ADMISSION FREE: all welcome. Discover life with the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal. Music workshop: come and learn Gregorian chant! Stalls and displays by Catholic groups and organisations: gifts, Christmas cards, books, DVDs, rosaries, craft goods and much more on sale. Freshly brewed coffee and delicious refreshments available all day.

========================================================

MONDAY November 30th – Meet 1pm at St George’s Cathedral, Southwark.

We’ll discover the history of this Cathedral and the surrounding area. St George’s Cathedral is opposite the Imperial War Museum. Nearest tube: Lambeth North or Waterloo

MONDAY December 7th – Meet 2pm Westminster Cathedral. Come and learn about this great Cathedral and the City of Westminster. Nearest Tube: Victoria or St James’ Park

"THIS IS GOD'S DREAM FOR HIS BELOVED CREATION...

.... to see it fulfilled in the loving union between a man and a woman, rejoicing in their shared journey, fruitful in their mutual gift of self."

The words of Pope Francis, preaching at the opening of the Synod on the Family in Rome today.

All in God's Providence: today's Gospel exactly fitted the theme of the Synod.

ACROSS LAMBETH BRIDGE...

...we went, singing hymns and led by a great Processional Cross, acolytes with candles, and a great papal flag...

The  Procession of the Blessed Sacrament linking London's two Cathedrals - Westminster and St George's, Southwark - has a traditional feel to it, but is actually  something fairly new. It was begun just four years ago, to mark the first anniversary of the State Visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Britain.  His visit was at the end of September, and its climax  was the beatification of Bl. John Henry Newman, whose feast is on October 8th. So the Procession is timed for early October.

It's very much a London thing. We had Sisters from various London convents, Knights of Our Lady in white cloaks, a good many people who are regulars at Westminster Cathedral, families from south of the river, and...well...just a great concourse of the faithful.   The Blessed Sacrament was carried by Bishop Nicholas Hudson, flanked of course by acolytes with candles and incense....the whole route was marshalled by Knights of St Columba (wearing impressive blue sashes and medals of office) and Catenians.  As the head of the procession was turning off down to Rochester Row, the Blessed Sacrament was just leaving the Cathedral piazza. The rear of the procession was marked by another flag-bearer with the golden and white Papal flag.

In traditional style, one part of the procession was singing one hymn while a section further back had embarked on another, and a couple of groups in the middle were at differenmt stages of the Rosary....but all went well, and the singing was hearty, helped by excellent booklets produced by
Westminster Cathedral and handed out to all. We had to make a detour near St George's as there are massive roadworks there - but this had all been carefully planned in advance, and in fact the last stretch, walking up alongside the Cathedral worked rather well, with a final surge of singing. Then a glorious Benediction...

At Brompton Oratory...

...a gathering of teachers and parents keen to train for Teen Star, a programme for schools that teaches about human relationships and the beauty and dignity of the gift of fertility...it's working well in a number of countries but is as yet undeveloped in Britain, and that looks set to change.

Afterwards,  J. joined me  for a wonderful, joyful lunch with Angela de Malherbe,  the lady who has pioneered this across France....we are friends of many years standing, and it was absolutely lovely to catch up on family news, excahnge ideas and thoughts on a whole range of things...then J. had to return to work and so the rest of us went to the nearby Rembrandt Hotel and carried on chatting....and suddenly it was 5 o'clock and I had to rush to my next engagement, which was the annual Mass  and Dinner for members of Papal Orders...

I scrambled swiftly into an evening dress, rushed to the Tube...and as it trundleda long I made a mental check: green cloak, badge...aaaargh, forgot to bring  mantilla! Hopped off Tube at Victoria, rushed to CTS bookshop which hasd just closed...made a pleading face at the door, and they let me in..."mantilla: small, black cheap?" and they swiftly sold me one. As I already have two or three at home, this makes for something of a surplus. However...taxi from Victoria Street to Kingsway....traffic unbearably slow around Trafalgar Square, but I made it to the Church of SS Anselm and Caecilia in plenty of time.  I put on my cloak and mantilla, and joined other Dames and Knights. In fact as it turned out, some of the other Dames weren't wearing mantillas, but almost all had  white gloves. Golly, I didn't know that was part of it all too. I don't think I'll bother anyway - too hot and uncomfortable.

A beautiful Mass, with the Schola Cantorum of the Cardinal Vaughan School in splendid voice. Chief celebrant was Archbishop McMahon of Liverpool.  To calm myself while waiting for Mass to begin, I read from the lovely new CTS  Psalms and Canticles for Morning and Evening Prayer  of which I was given a copy last week. It is a pleasing book to use, beautully bound and with gold lettering. Meditations and teachings by Pope St John paul and Pope Benedict XVI.

The dinner was fun - lots of old friends, all the traditions faithfully observed, prayer for the Pope, Loyal Toast to the Queen, report on the year's activities, a cheery speech from the Archbishop, a sense of common ideas and purpose. Some useful conversations and ideas for actoivities - one always ends up writing down email addresses and notes on those small place-cards or on the back of the menu...

A walk back across Wzaterloo Bridge - perhaps the best of all views of London.

Why are we male and female?.

...and does it have any significance?

There will be a course on St John Paul's Theology of the Body in  London January, led by Christopher West. More info here...

We badly - almost desperately - need this wisdom. There is a sort of insanity going around on this subject...all part of the cult-like obsession that seeks the end of all that we have ever known and honoured.

There are weird and tragic things happening concerning boys and girls.  A case recently emerged at a school: a troubled boy announced that he wanted to be a girl, and his parents, instead of getting him help, assented to this and will be getting him drugs and in due course arranging to have him mutilated. And this is all being celebrated at the school - the boy addressed a school assembly and talked about why he wanted to be a girl...and everyone was expected to applaud...

No one dares to intervene in such cases: to speak up in defence of the child is to court formal denunciation. We are all meant to accept the orthoodoxy of the new cult.

But in the future people will be scornful of our silence. It is likely that there will be much legal wrangling as people seek to justify themselves:  "Everyone accepted it....it was impossible to speak out...if you voiced opposition you lost your job and your good name..." etc.

Bdetter to be a voice of sanity now. If neccessary alone - but in fact there are others who will be brave too. A good start would be to join the group at St Patrick's....

And you can read Auntie in ...

...The PORTAL here...discussing the Synod.  Auntie is getting a little tired of people running around like Corporal Jones shouting "Don't panic!"  Remember, it was Sergeant Wilson, with his detached embarrasment and actual nexperience of recent warfare, who usually managed to see things through...