Saturday, September 28, 2019

A cheery morning...

...at Coloma  Convent Girls' School, Croydon, where it was a pleasure to present the 2019 Catholic Young Writer Award.  The young writer's essay on the theme of "pilgrimage" will appear in the Jan/Feb issue of FAITH magazine.

The Award was launched some years ago by The Keys, the Catholic Writers' Guild, and is now run by the Catholic Union of Great Britain.  Coloma School has some 1,000 pupils and a good setting on the outskirts of Croydon, where the frankly ugly town gives way to pleasant tree-lined roads.  The girls look smart in their blue uniforms and there is a  pleasant sense of of welcome and of a bustling, well-ordered and happy community. Arriving in time for Assembly had meant an early start: it was grand to be welcomed with freshly-brewed tea, and we hugely enjoyed our visit.

HERE IS SOMETHING WORTHWHILE....

...and of real practical use for schools and for families.

The Values Foundation has produced excellent guidelines for schools for the new Relationships Education. You can read them -  and  download them to take to school governors meetings etc - here.




Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Enjoy discovering history...

...read here...



I have been thinking for some while...

...that the  European young people obsessed with the notion of the extinction of nature and the need to march about it are worryingly like the doomed Children's Crusade of long ago. They have been led into a weird religious fury and feel they must do something...and all the while, the adults feel that they cannot and should not stop them, even though it is apparent that what they are doing is all wrong.

It's not that the cause is wholly without merit - it's just that the religious fervour has been whipped up to create something that is out of all proportion to reality.

Oh dear. The legend of the Pied Piper....

Read here...

and here...

Sunday, September 22, 2019

How appropriate...

...was today's Second Reading, at Mass, from St Paul's Epistle to Timothy:W"...first of all, there should be prayers offered for everyone - petitions, intercessions, and thanksgiving - and especially for kings and others in authority..."

We are living in worrying times for the stability of our country and its institutions. Let's all remember the exhortation to pray.

The Catenians....

...are a delightful group and yesterday I had the pleasure of leading a group of them from SW London on a Catholic History Walk, starting at Westminster Cathedral. They are excellent company, and we had a good time.




Saturday, September 21, 2019

COME ON A CATHOLIC HISTORY WALK!!!

A new round of Walks is just starting. The first is on Monday (Sept 23rd). Read all about them here


Friday, September 20, 2019

SAY NO TO ASSISTED SUICIDE, AND TO EUTHANASIA....

...says Pope Francis, with great emphasis.  And we must all back him.  The "culture of death"  is haunting the Western world. It's vile and terrible, and we must fight it...there is no need, either, to feel despondent about doing so. Life is precious, and people understand that. Medical advances in recent decades have been astonishing. We must not and will not turn away from that and reduce ourselves to nothing better than some ancient pagan culture. Thank God for Papa Francesco's words, and let's heed them.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Rushing...

...on a day that began with a trip to Kent to hand out prizes gained in the 2019 Schools Bible Project at St Columba's  Catholic Boys School. The trains were delayed and I only just made it to the Assembly: they were already gathered in the hall and listening to a Scripture reading. It is always a pleasure to visit this school, which has a well-organised, rather cheering air about it. The boys look smart in their uniforms, and gave generous applause as some of their number came up to receive their book prizes.

Then  off on another train journey, and a Tube to Ealing to this school, where I was due to give a talk about traditional feasts and seasons, how the calendar works,  and the origin of some of our pub signs, old songs, place-names and so on. Again, a warm welcome, and it was an enjoyable session, the children showing an interest and answering up eagerly when I asked questions...there is a fascination among all ages over things like London's forgotten rivers, or why our tax years runs from March to March, or about  a Tube station named from words in the Gospel of St Luke... An excellent lunch - schools meals are so much, MUCH better than in my own schooldays! - and good conversation with the teacher who had arranged this event, and all in a most cordial and happy atmosphere.

Thursday, September 12, 2019

AND PUT THIS IN YOUR DIARY...




Celebrate the FEAST OF ST JOHN PAUL: October 22nd

6.30pm,  Parish Room, Church of the Most Precious Blood, London SE1 1TD

October 22nd 6.30pm

with the story of his life, readings from his poetry, discussion of his message

All welcome. Light refreshments. FREE: suggested donation £10.00p

organised by LOGS, the Ladies Ordinariate Group

A Dominican ordination...

...at Haverstock Hill.  A pilgrimage to the shrine of the Saxon princess St Edith - who rejected the crown of England to remain a nun, caring for the sick and poor -  at Kemsing in Kent. An evening with friends who gave me a lovely clematis plant named for St John Paul. And more...it's been a very busy few days.

With the political events of the past few days, I grow increasingly sympathetic to St Edith, rejecting the affairs of state to remain quietly and busily in rural Kent...


Friday, September 06, 2019

...and a warm welcome....

....followed by a wonderful, talkative, informative supper, at the Bruderhof in Peckham. I have visited some of their big rural communities in the USA and, more recently, here in Britain, and was intrigued to see how it could all work in an urban setting.

A  strong family base, with students living in too. |All have made a commitment to live in community, not owning anything . Clothing is bought for the community and they go to the general storekeeper to get something new when needed. Women wear their hair simply, usually with a headscarf tied on top. No make-up.Simple skirts and blouses of a common design in various colours and prints.

They publish a range of books, including material by and about Gerald Manley Hopkins, Dorothy L. Sayers, Hans and Sophie Scholl...info here...

Historically, in the Reformation era etc a - well, let's say tragic - relationship w. the Catholic Church. Friendship now, and notably with Benedict XVI......and read here too

Wednesday, September 04, 2019

Early Mass in Chelsea...

...at this church, where I met a colleague to sort and post the prizes for the annual schools RE Project organised by the Association of Catholic Women. We wrapped these a few weeks back and arranged to meet to post them when the new term started...

Note the date November 6th: a range of Catholic women's group have joined together to arrange a special Mass to pray for Britain's young people.  11.30am, Church of the Immaculate Conception, Farm Street London W1 3AH.   There is a buffet lunch afterwards. Info available - email  catholicwomenprayingtogether@gmail.com

In the evening, another History Walk. We met at The Monument, talked about the Great Fire, looked at some Wren and Hawksmore churches, visited John Henry Newman's birthplace.  Exploring history - we also took a look back at Romans, Saxons, Vikings and Normans as we walked across London Bridge and paused to enjoy the river in evening light - puts today's political events in perspective...

Monday, September 02, 2019

A long, lively and creative get-together...

...over lunch after Mass, with the team organising the next round of Catholic History Walks. We'll be running them on a new basis, with people booking themselves a place in advance via Eventbrite.  We're distributing leaflets widely too, and promoting the Walks in lots of new ways...This marks quite a big change,  but will also reach a great many more people...and a bigger range of people. Meanwhile, the current set of Walks is  starting tomorrow Tuesday Sept 3rd...come and join us! 6.30pm at The Monument tube station...we'll explore the City, the story of the Fire, discover some churches, and end at John Henry Newman's birthplace...

While we were meeting at London Bridge, people across the river were demonstrating against the Prime Minister. Even if I agreed with them, which I don't, I would be put off by their crude and nasty language, and especially by their viciousness. Actors seem to be the worst. One, among them, called Hugh Grant, who acts "posh chaps" in films, used a crude sexually explicit word in an on-line statement. He also claimed that people who fought in WWII would share his views.  Here I have an advantage over this young man. I was brought up by and among WWII veterans, and I knew some of them extremely well.I can assert confidently that they most emphatically did not share poor Mr G's  political opinions and would never have used such language even when roused to anger or indignation.