I have been doing...

...some interviews for EWTN, the Catholic TV network. They feature various Catholic personalities in Britain, under the title "Catholic Lives". Want to view them? They are all being broadcast during November. You can get the information here.

Where will you be...

....on Saturday? I'm planning to be with others at the prayer vigil/protest over the horrible plans to destroy and tamper with human life. JOIN US!

Auntie on her bike...

...this week: to Chelsea tonight to give a talk at St Mary's Cadogan Street, as part of a series for young engaged couples. To young relations on Wednesday, with Mother, to enjoy an afternoon with great-niece and great-nephew. To Balham on Thursday evening, for a Media Training Evening, ideas on how to get involved with writing for the press, using the Internet, TV and radio (interested? Send a Comment to this Blog WITH YOUR FULL NAME AND YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS SO I CAN CONTACT YOU). To a Coffee Morning on Friday which will raise funds for the St Patrick's Evangelisation School based in Soho...

Interested in London's Catholic martyrs?

...then get yourself a ticket to a talk to be given by Auntie on Thursday October 23rd. It's organised by the Friends of Westminster Cathedral and that link will tell you how to get tickets: £10 each and all funds will go to the Cathedral for its restoration work. Been there recently? Then you will know how urgently they need funds - it's all swathed in scaffolding, and lots of work going on.

...and while on the subject...

...of Brompton Oratory, there is be be an event there, in St Wilfrid's Hall, in support of Christians in Iraq this week: Tuesday, Oct 13th, 6.45 pm. A talk about the plight of the Church there, plus ligsht refreshments etc....suggested donation £10. WELL WORTH SUPPORTING. The speaker is one of this year's Catholic Women of the Year...

I spent virtually the whole of Sunday...

...at Brompton Oratory! The Fathers v. kindly allowed me to give out leaflets about the Festival of Catholic Culture (Nov 8th, Westmin. Cathedral Hall - be there!) at all Masses. It was a wonderful place to spend Sunday morning. I arrived as the 9am Mass was about halfway through...it is well attended, the 10 am Mass more so - with many young families, and singing from the excellent Children's Choir - and then of course there is the famous 11 am Mass with the most glorious music from the most magnificent choir and the church absolutely full, again several families with children. Then there is a 12.30 Mass, where I just arrived for the end...yes, extremely well attended again.

After the 11 am Mass, at which I met many friends, it was fun talking in the Autumn sunshine while children frolicked about. In the afternoon I whizzed back to the suburbs and Mother and I went out for a lovely walk, and Tea at our favourite shop. A friend was taking care of the 4.30pm Mass for me. Off to the Oratory again for the 7pm Mass. Did you know there was a 7pm Mass at Brompton Oratory? V. handy to know - and yes, it's full, this time lots of young people, the girls all denim jeans and swinging hair...made me feel v. middle-aged.

The London trees...

...are turning golden and russet-brown and we are in St Luke's "little summer" with a sudden glow of warm weather as we approach his Feast Day. Yesterday, the annual Rosary Crusade took place in London. More than a thousand people processing from Westminster Cathedral to Brompton Oratory...it's perhaps not as large as it was when we used to go to Hyde Park back in the early 1980s, but it is still a grand day, and the Oratory was packed for the final prayers and a magnificent Benediction. I was among several who were kneeling on the floor, and the side-chapels were full as well. Many of us stayed on for evening Mass, at which there was glorious music provided by the Chamber Choir of the London Oratory School. This is one of several choirs at the school, and it was an impressive sight to see the pupils in their smart uniforms making their way up to the choir-loft with confidence.

A charming...

...new book for children about St Paul, published for this Year of St Paul. Hardback, with delightful illustrations, shows him being converted on the road to Damascus, being shipwrecked, being bitten by a snake on Malta, and everything. This will make him come alive, and is ideal for any child who sits through the Epistles Sunday and after Sunday and needs to know - and enjoy - the life of the man who wrote these things and did so much to pass the Faith on to us.If you have a child who fidgets in church, try this. £4.99 from St Paul's UK ISBN 978-0-854-748-8.

The Catholic Women of the Year Luncheon...

...was held yesterday in London and was very enjoyable indeed. Each year, this event brings together a large crowd of people, to honour Catholic women who have served the Church and the community in various ways. My task was to do the vote of thanks and it couldn't have been easier or more enjoyable. There was a letter from the dear Holy Father with a beautiful message for his "beloved daughters". The Papal Nuncio attended, and said Grace before lunch, and our special guest speaker was Fr Aidan Nichols who was simply superb, inspiring and amusing, with a message that was interesting, intellectually stimulating and at the same time cheering and challenging. The theme of this year's Luncheon was "Communicating the Faith in our times", and Fr Aidan linked this with the martyrs of times past - "any problems we face today are pinpricks, compared to the dungeon, fire and sword they faced" and to our hopes for the future. He was followed,in a way that matched perfectly, by the speaker from the charity we had chosen to support this year - Youth 2000. Charlie Connor, young, energetic, and enthusiastic, gave a rousing account of this movement's excellent work among young people (1,000 at their Walsingham rally this summer) and it was a perfect celebration of our 40th anniversary.

Season of mists...

...and there is lots of mellow fruitfulness in England this year, as the rain has conspired to make the apple crop simply extraordinary.

Today I picked the most important apples of all. Some years ago, at the shrine of Ladyewell at Fernyhalgh, we bought a tiny cutting of an apple-tree, less than a foot high. You know the legend of Fernyhalgh? Well, part of it involves a man looking for a place where grow "apples without any core..." We planted our sprig, and it grew and grew, and this year produced apples...high up, hard to reach, all in a tiny bunch...and today I scrambled up to reach them, via the fire-escape, and grabbed the branches.

Well, the apples do have cores. But we munched with great delight, and thought of Fernyhalgh and Catholic Lancashire and it is a golden Autumn day with slanting sunlight and all is good.

Glowing pink...

...our main room looks beautifully warm on this chill evening. We needed new lampshades for this and for the tiny adjoining room where I work. The old ones were in a shocking state - I can't think why we didn't replace them years ago, they must have been at least 25 years old, and hanging there ever since we moved in....so I went to buy new ones. Practically no one in the big DIY shop which is usually packed with busy people. Is this a sign of things to come? Lampshades reduced to one-third of the original price. Anyway, they are a lovely pink colour, make the whole room look enchanting.

The Crusades...

....were the topic of an absolutely brilliant lecture yesterday at The Keys, the Catholic Writers' Guild, at St Mary Moorfields

Professor Jonathan Riley-Smith, who has written a number of books on the Crusades, gave us a real insight into the current Islamic mindset about the Crusades, and how it was formed. All sorts of things went into this talk - Sir Walter Scott's Ivanhoe, and Kaiser Wilhelm, and Saladin (did you know he was a Kurd? No, nor did I) and much more.

BTW, all Catholic writers/journalists/broadcasters are eligible to join the Guild. Current Master of the The Keys, which is the London branch, is journalist Melanie McDonagh. There are also branches in the North-West (meeting in Manchester at the University chaplaincy) and in the North East. If you are interested, send a Comment to this blog, WITH YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS INCLUDED OR I CANNOT REPLY TO YOU and I'll send you further information.

Scripture, liturgy, and Scott Hahn...

...if you are interested in all of those, then here's an event for you. Oxford, Saturday Nov 1st. There's a conference, organised by the excellent Centre for Faith and Culture, exploring "Scripture and Liturgy in the Theology of Benedict VI

I am told there are still a few places left. It will be a terrific day: speakers include Fr Aidan Nicholls the Dominican scholar and Scott Hahn the American evangelist and speaker. Click on to the link I have given and book yourself in.

While studying...

...happily away yesterday in a coffee-shop, with two glorious hours to spare between meetings, and my Maryvale coursework and Bible and a pen and some coffee, I was completely blissful and absorbed. When the time came to leave, I had just finished the work I needed to do, and everything felt deeply satisfying. Then a thought: where is my mobile phone? Missing. Gone. I hurried out into Victoria Street - and immediately ran into various friends, who happened to be gathering for a Mass at Westminster Cathedral. "Hey - Joanna! How are you?" "Panicking" I answered "I've lost my mobile phone - must have left it somewhere - I'm about to start retracing my steps to all the places I've been - ". Quick prayer. Calmly, Sally G. had the thought of ringing my mobile's number. The voice that answered was that of the manager of the Internet cafe, where I'd been checking my emails earlier in the day...he was very pleased to be able to return it to me safely, big satisfaction all round... as I poured out my gratitude, other customers joined in the general celebrations...

I hadn't planned to go to the Westmin. Cath. Mass (which was commemorating the 80th anniversary of the founding of Opus Dei - cathedral packed, lots of families, sermon by Cardinal Cormac) but I dropped in anyway, to say a heartfelt "thank you"...

The Martyrs' Walk...

...in June began at Tower Hill where Saints John Fisher and Thomas More were beheaded, and went through London to Tyburn, honouring the English Martyrs who died for the Catholic Faith in the years of persecution in the reigns of Henry VIII, Elizabeth I and beyond.

A DVD, based on the walk, and opening up the whole history, telling the heroic stories of some of the martyrs, explaining the background, etc, has now been made. Do get a copy! It could work well for a Confirmation class, or a prayer group or similar gathering. Contact the producers: mail@marysdowryproductions.org or follow this link.

Today...

...was a day of odds and ends...a man came to mend and paint the ceiling of the bathroom and bedroom(leak from the flat upstairs) . This entailed much transporting of books from the bedroom shelves to the floor of the small den where I work. Books, books...Jane Austen and Walter Scott, jostling with Palgrave's Golden Treasury, G.M. Trevelyan's history, Newman's Arians of the Fourth century, (which I will need for my Divinity course and was v. glad to find), and E. Nesbit's Treasure Seekers, and other childhood books including the enchanting Lord of the Rushie River...then a great deal of cleaning and reorganising, and the transporting of books back again...everything clean and pleasing, and two suitcases of general clutter and papers to be taken gloriously away...

THANK GOD...

...for Bishop Patrick O'Donohue.

READ THIS

Thank God for a Bishop with courage and integrity. Let him know he has your prayers and full support.

An Autumn day...

...in Kent, on a family visit, a warm welcome, delightful young nieces, a delicious lunch, a happy day. We walked through Autumn fields, with fabulous views, gathering chestnuts to take home and bake. We stopped at the hop-pickers huts, once used every year by the teams of people who came out from London for the hop season - all empty and derelict now, but the tradition is remembered with an annual end-of-summer gathering and barbeque...

This has been a family weekend: on Saturday a visit from another dear niece, and an agreeable dinner with friends visiting from America. To get a flavour of the conversation over dinner, pick up the Catholic Times each week and read the delightful and amusing Stateside letter from America by Alenka Lawrence.

In the Catholic press...

...there are reports of a set of "Ten Commandments" for bloggers, produced by a Christian group...with some good things that needed to be said.

Surely the most important thing for Catholic bloggers is to emphasise things that are true and large-minded and wise and cheering and beautiful. Of course we should not fail to denounce ideas that are wrong and unjust and dangerous to the common good - especially when they are being imposed on us all with the force of law. But each and every time we do this, we should ensure that this is part of a much wider piece of work which exalts what is good and lifts everyone up to what is great.

Easily one of the best books...

...I have read for ages is ENGLISH CATHOLIC HEROES, edited by John Jolliffe. Do get it. Your Christmas present problems solved! It's a terrific read. They are all here: Edmund Campion and Robert Southwell, Fisher and More, Richard Challoner, and Manning and John Henry Newman and Leonard Cheshire and more...contributors include A.N.Wilson, Dom Aidan Bellenger, Lucy Beckett and Clare Asquith. The book was launched at a very enjoyable party held at St Wilfrid's Hall, Brompton Oratory, last week, but I have been waiting to write about until I had read the book from cover to cover. Do get it. Enjoy. Available from Gracewing Books

Christians in IRAQ..

...are having a very tough time of it, and Aid to the Church in Need sponsored a visit to Britain last week by Bishop Jean Sleiman, leader of the Catholic community there. In London he met Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, and senior Government officials, and addressed a packed conference at Westminster Cathedral Hall....read about it here...

And don't just read...let's keep this community in our prayers...I went to an evening gathering to meet the Bishop, and it was moving to hear him talk about how people are being forced out of their homes, leaving behind everything, and a whole way of life is vanishing.

I've been sent..

..a Parish Study Guide called WITNESS, which is aimed at preparing people for Confirmation. It would be particularly useful for adult candidates, or people going through the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults. No woffle about getting people into a circle and talking about feelings, or "each of us sharing our faith story". This is an information-packed scheme, full colour with pics, going systematically through the Catholic Faith, with answers to questions that people really ask, not ones that some campaigners think they ought to ask!

Thus it goes through the Creed, with detailed material on God the Father, the Trinity, the Virgin Birth, the Last Judgement, the Communion of saints, and more...and there are pages on the Church's seasons, on liturgical vestments, and sacred vessels, and symbols, and everything from incense to cassocks, from initials like AMDG to how St Boniface gave us the Christmas tree. It's published by Heart and Voice Publications

I am hugely enjoying...

...the Maryvale Divinity course. For those who have asked me about it: last weekend we had lectures on "What is theology?", on the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and on Church history, including the Arians of the 4th century (yes, Newman's book etc) and on the Crusades. The latter v. topical at present, and indeed Jonathan Riley-Smith is coming to speak to The Keys, the Catholic Writers' Guild, on the subject shortly.

I'm currently working on my first essay, which is about God, theology, and the human person....

Enjoying this blog?

...then you might enjoy this too...

A group...

...of young people, involved in theatre, writing, or the arts in general, gather for Mass together regularly at the Church of Our Lady and St Gregory in Warwick Street , just off Piccadilly Circus. It's the only surviving church in London that has a direct link going back to the old Embassy Chapels - it was originally the Portugese, later the Bavarian, embassy chapel. In the days when the practice of the Catholic faith was outlawed in England, and Catholics in London could go to Mass there in safety as such churches were technically foreign soil so the penal laws did not apply.On a cold wet evening, it was rather exciting to dive into the basement - for this small group, Mass was being said there rather than in the church above - and find an altar and glowing candles, and everything set for the sacred mysteries.

In an 18th-century folly...

...in the grounds of my old school, I was giving a lecture on Friday evening. The Carshalton Water Tower Trust cares for this superb building, which is available for local events and celebrations, and commands an enchanting view of Carshalton House, the grounds, and what is now called The hermitage (we called it The Grotto, and were slightly scared of the big statue of St Joseph there).

It was fun giving a talk on "Britain's traditional feasts and seasons" in agreeable company in this setting. I stood on the very spot where I had begun my education at the age of four - the building was then used as the kindergarten of St Philomena's junior school...

A very, very early start...

...on Saturday morning, cycling to east Croydon station at 5am in order to make it to London to catch the train to Birmingham. I was off to Maryvale, to begin a degree in Theology! I'll let you know how things progress. This first weekend of lectures was simply terrific and I am feeling very enthusiastic indeed.

The young people...

...at St Patrick's, Soho Square, are having a special Vigil of Prayer on Oct 1st from 6pm to 9pm, and are asking you to join them. If you're in London, just turn up! If you are further away, unite yourself in prayer with them for a few minutes. This is important - they are praying for the future of the work there. The St Patrick's Evangelisation School (SPES) has a group of new students for the new academic year, and there is so much to be done...

One of the young people from St P's came to speak at the Association of Catholic Women meeting the other day (see Blog for last weekend) and gave us such a wonderful and vivid account of the glorious World Youth Day events in Sydney. You can get a tiny flavour of WYD here and here and here ....and if you would like to see something of the WYD spirit alive in London, then supporting SPES and St Patrick's is one way of doing it...

On the radio today...

... comes news of Ruth Kelly's resignation from the Cabinet. In her speech to the Labour party conference, Miss Kelly said she was proud to have been part of a Labour Government which had "made life better for people" in Britain.

No, it hasn't made life better. In a number of hugely significant areas, life is immeasurably worse than it was before Labour took power in 1997. So far this year some 30 young people have been stabbed to death in London alone. Violent crime is now such a standard part of life that people have standard advice to cope with normal journeys down ordinary streets at night ("Hide your mobile phone!" "Don't look as though you are carrying money!" "Just hand your wallet over if you're asked!"). Violence against teachers is now not considered abnormal in schools. The destruction of family life has gathered pace with extraordinary speed - helped by Miss Kelly who didn't resign over acceptance of "same sex" unions by her Govt and steered forward legislation to ensure the removal of the rights of people to speak out freely against the wrongfulness of homosexual activity. Aborting babies is now considered so normal that it doesn't even get the debate it merits, and is routinely assumed to be a standard "right" that must not only be funded by taxpayers but taught as a central doctrine of the British health care system. Gross forms of sex education are imposed on schools. An unjust divorce system robs fathers of regular contact with their children. Academic standards in schools have plummeted: annually, more and more teenagers leave school unable to read and robbed of opportunities for learning and enjoying great things.

Poor Ruth Kelly. She could with honour have resigned over all sorts of issues of issue of morality and human dignity in recent years. She is a Catholic: we all longed for her to put her beliefs into action. She didn't. She' has now resigned because she wants to spend more time with her family. She's still praising the Government which has dumped cruel anti-family policies on Britain. There were so many opportunities, large and small, where she could have done good or, at the very least, mitigated great evil, by publicly renouncing her position with the Government and Party. Hers has been a political career of opportunities missed.

If you share...

..the frustration of many of us at the loopy and sometimes sinister ideological commitment of many who rule our lives today, you may enjoy this.

For priests...

and deacons, and those training for the priesthood: I've been asked to mention this conference - it's on Oct 29th at St Wilfrid's Hall, Brompton Oratory, starts 11.15 am. "Pius XII and preaching the Gospel of Life". Organised by the Assn of Priests for the Gospel of Life. Speaker is Fr John Saward. Buffet lunch. The day includes Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, opportunities for confession.

More info from 0208 300 2697

At the weekend...

...I went to an excellent meeting of the Association of Catholic Women at St James' church, Spanish Place.

It's been a great year for the ACW, fittingly in our 20th anniversary. Our biggest-ever Schools RE Project, reaching Catholic primary schools across England and Wales, the continuing success of our "Catholic Identification cards", (go on, look at the website), a range of new booklets on various subjects, great plans for 2009 including a Day Conference (Feb 9th) for teachers, on Art and Music featuring Gregorian chant, with a workshop on how to sing it and teach it...

Next immediate project for us is our involvement in the Towards Advent Festival, Sat Nov 8th at Westminster Cathedral Hall. We are one of the sponsoring organisations. Admission free. Some terrific speakers including Fr Aidan Nicholls on his new book "The Realm", an unfsahionable essay on the Conversion of England." Be there. Doors open 10 am, official opening 10.30 am with music, speech by Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, etc. Displays by a whole range of Catholic groups and organisations, with books, DVDs etc on sale...

A delightful...

...booklet just out from the CTS: "100 Books you really must read"

This is compiled from ideas sent to the CTS from a range of people...and the result is a terrific collection, an enjoyable read in its own right, of recommendations: biographies, fiction, history...books that are funny, poignant, fascinating, memorable.

You can get this excellent booklet from the CTS - it's just £1.95p and worth every penny.

From Paris...

...via my Big Sis, who has been visiting there, a copy of Paris Match, with splendid coverage of the Pope's visit to France. Wonderful pix, excellent commentary.

The most interesting thing is the cartoon, which depicts an old grandpa - wearing a Che Guevara teeshirt,and his teenage granddaughter, wearing a teeshirt affirming that she loves Jesus. That's the new situation. That's the reality of France in 2008.

September...

...has long been my favourite month, and today in wonderful mellow sunshine we were at a cheerful family gathering in a house near the Thames....Mass at the enchanting church of St Birinus in Dorchester, a place of happy family associations. Glorious singing, beautiful liturgy (ad orientem, rousing voices for the Gloria and Pater Noster, a Marian hymn to finish). St Birinus baptised, in the river at this place, the king of the West Saxons, Cynegils, in 635...and the same river flows, and this land still holds the Faith and oh, golly, let's never, ever, let it go from us...


A long and talkative family lunch, a large crowd of us round the table...a walk to the lock on the river, ice-creams, children playing, cousins talking and laughing, Uncle Jamie pushing a small great-niece in a swing...

This island...

(see below, previous post) has faint echoes of the England of my childhood...skinny-legged eager children running about on beaches, solitary men fishing, real pubs, boats, people being friendly on buses. Church yesterday evening was well-attended. There are tea-shops. Holiday brochures from the summer advertise walks and treasure-hunts and competitions.

Today's papers bring news of a dreary Govt initiative - I'm not making this up: British Day, an official public holiday on which we celebrate being British. After years of telling us we must be multi-cultural, teaching children a muddled version of our history - or practically none at all - sneering at our Christian traditions, attempting to crush our moral values, and remake the fabric of our everyday lives in things as fundamental as male/female marriage and begetting of children...do the Socialists really think they can invent a British Day and make us celebrate the version of things they have left? Probably they don't think they can...it's just a squelch from the last-ditch efforts of this hoples Govt and would be mildly funny if it wasn't so insulting.

I am currently...

visiting the Isle of Wight, which is extraordinarily lovely in September sunshine. Mass yesterday evening here - lovely church with an interesting history.

One hundred and fifteen...

...years ago, a group of nuns, the Daughters of the Cross, founded a school at Carshalton House in Surrey, dedicated to St Philomema. And today, a large crowd of women, all of whom had been educated at this school, met for a glorious lunch and celebration on this anniversary.

I have always been proud of being a Philomenian, and it was great fun to be lunching in style and meeting with people - teachers, nuns, people who had been in my year at school - and celebrating this special link that bound us together. A room had been set aside with tables of memorabilia - photographs, old copies of the school magazine, brochures from various events - and everyone gathered to pore over these and exclaim and swap memories...

The school has a website, which can be viewed here.

Have you written...

...to the Royal Mail about the truly revolting decision to honour Marie Stopes with a special commemorative postage stamp? She's been chosen as one of various British women to be so honoured. This is a gross and offensive thing to have done: she was anti-semitic, sent a book of poems to Hitler as a gift with a gushing letter, and believed that people she considered "defective" (poor eyesight, physically handicapped, ill) should be prevented from having children...

This truly dreadful person should be regarded with contempt and horror. Write and explain to the Royal Mail that the stamps must be withdrawn.

I thought at first that the story about the commemorative stamp was a spoof - but apparently it isn't. Write now. You might find this link helpful.

I am jealous...

...of the Americans, having an election. I WISH WE COULD HAVE ONE. We have had this dreadful Govt for quite long enough. Latest gruesome plan is to extend the Abortion Act to Northern Ireland...something which is opposed by the Northern Irish across all religious divides, but that isn't something to deter the present ideologues who rule us...

A meeting...

at St James Church, Spanish Place (surely one of the most beautiful Catholic churches in England, and with interesting links with the Spanish Royal family, Queen Victoria's granddaughter Queen Ena etc etc)...it is the home-church of the Association of Catholic Women and this first committee-session of the Assn after the summer saw us busy with many plans. After the success of our annual Schools RE Project, which was hugely expanded this year after we teamed up with the CTS, we are now embarking on another schools venture. This will take place on Feb 9th next year and is a Day of Art and Music for teachers at Catholic Primary Schools...more news on this in due course...we have a top team involved, including Dr Lionel Gracey on art, and Jeremy de Satge of The Music Makers ......

I walked back through Green Park for the pleasure of it on this September/just-starting-Autumn day. There are still tourists around Buckingham Palace and the marquee arrangements to house the queues were just closing for the day. The headlines were all of the fire in the Channel Tunnel and the stranded passengers left by the sudden closure of an airline company - an abrupt end to summer and a horrid one for so many people.

Life is complicated...

...at present as both my computer and Jamie's are out of action. I am taking them both to a nephew tomorrow to mend. (Nephews are among the most wonderful things that life has so far brought me).

It gets v. exhausting working without a computer at home. Yesterday I cycled to the local Library, got some work done on the computer there and then had to leave as they Closed for Lunch. Had a sandwich, went to Post Office, got on with various letters etc in cafe over cup of coffee. Returned to library, hurried through as much work as I could before the computer timed-out. Library staff had v. kindly allowed me a bit of extra time but that was all. Got back on bike, cycled to neighbouring Borough (fortunately, we live near the boundary of two London Boroughs...well, to be accurate, one London Borough and one Royal Borough). Joined Library there. Started work again. Managed to get quite a lot done. Pondered cycling to third Borough - where Mother lives. Was tired, came home and tackled housework, ironing etc instead.

Our DVD player has chosen to be out of action, too, just to show solidarity with the computers, or something. It's annoying as the Daily Telegraph is giving away a DVD series about the life of the Queen, with lots of old newsreel etc, and I am collecting the discs every day and can't watch any of them...

However, one cheering aspect of life at present is that my Big Sister has arrived from New Zealand on a family visit. It is rather fun having her around. On Sunday we had a big Family Gathering at Mother's as it was my birthday, and then Mother's later in the week. My brother A., sister-in-law D. and their family arrived, complete with delicious Tea, cake with Candles etc. It was exactly the sort of day that aunties most enjoy. Big Sis gave me a most beautiful necklace which I am wearing as I write this. I look v. elegant.

Busy...

...with arrangements for the Towards Advent Festival at Westminster Cathedral Hall on sat Nov 8th. Put it in your diary! Admission free. Lots of displays from Catholic groups and organisations, books, DVDs, Catholic items on sale. Talks with excellent speakers including Fr Aidan Nichols...music...refreshments available all day...tours of the Cathedral...

The Westminster diocesan archives...

...are kept at Kensington, so I parked my bike at the nearby church of Our Lady of Victories in Kensington High Street, and found my way to the archive office. The materials are housed in a huge basement sort of area, very well organised and in the charge of the Archivist, Fr Nicholas Schofield. Gosh, what a treasure-trove! Some fascinating material here, including a lot relating to the English Martyrs, and to Catherine of Aragon's marriage, and more...

My current research involves seeking material about a priest working in Southwark in the 1780s and 1790s...and behold, I discovered a letter from him, carefully kept and preserved in a big folder along with much other correspondence.It is awesome to be handling a letter written some 200 years ago.I could hardly wait to get home to email my findings to Marcus Grodi of EWTN/Coming Home Network, as whose behest I am doing this research...it feels really exciting when you piece together bits of history, and this particular project is becoming most interesting.

London has a delicious Autumnal feel. The horse-chestnut trees are dropping their conkers, and children are hurrying to and from school in their new uniforms. The Albert Memorial glistens with its over-the-top gold as I cycle past. Not everything is attractive: the russet glow from the leaves of the horse-chesnut trees speaks not of Autumn colours but of some sad disease with which they are afflicted, which is ghastly as they are a landmark of England and it would be tragic if they were to disappear as our lovely elm trees did in the 1970s...

Want to come and hear...

...a talk on "Celebrating traditional feasts and seasons in Britain"? Try this website
and click on to the relevant bit for "events". I am giving a talk in the old Carshalton House Water Tower...which is intriguing because in this unusual 18th century building I began my education at the age of four...

I always get a lot...

...from reading this website. I also contribute to it from time to time, which I enjoy too. But it has some exceptionally good reading on it at the moment: note for British readers, useful insights into the American elections, safe from rants and jargon and assumed attitudes.

Rain...

...has always seemed to be a sort of blessing, because water is the one liquid without which man cannot live.

But, goodness, we've been getting an awful, awful lot of it just lately. Last night it was bucketing down so hard that you could barely see through it in the dusk, and J. was soaked through - absolutely through, even his socks were soaked - and I could barely hear his kock on the door against the buffeting of the wind and rain.

I am reading the beautiful book just out from Family Publications: Fr Dominic Allain's delightful Diary of a City Priest, compiled from his delightful weekly columns in the Catholic Herald. It is a joy to read, and a must-buy for Christmas. Accounts of everyday life in a very busy suburban parish and hospital...it's all there, parish Masses and deathbed hospital anointings, baptisms of babies, First confessions and First Communions, a group meeting regularly to prepare for World Youth Day...and all with insights, thoughtful views, a glimpse of the inner man. I'm touched, amused, enchanted and inspired.

I'm touched by...

this report of the meeting between the H.Father and the former hostage Mme Betancourt. She described how she prayed while a captive asking, not to be released, but just for a sign from God. "When I told the pope this, he replied: 'He heard you because you knew how to ask. You didn't ask for a miracle to be freed yourself, instead you asked to understand what was His will.'

Thoughts about this?

There's a v. good weekend event coming up in Oct - Catholic family conference with good speakers looking at different aspects of the Church's message on marriage and family....now, if you are older and are grandparents rather than parents, this doesn't mean it isn't for you... why not consider sponsoring some younger people to go? Or take along a grandchild or two? Contact the organising team at faithandfamily2008@yahoo.co.uk


details: Oct 25th-26th at London Colney.

Read here:http://www.faithandfamily.org.uk/

Oh, for goodness' sake...

...sometimes it's just beyond absurdity.

Here we are in Britain with a number of young people stabbed to death by other youngsters this summer, a steadily rising rate of family break-up, large numbers of boys and girls growing up without fathers, our Army committed to two wars neither of which seems likely to end soon or to be achieving anything at all, worryingly low academic standards - and standards of everyday speech and spelling and grammar and general knowledge and communication and social skills - a drugs habit afflicting our youth, plans to abort more and more of the next generation....

...and the headline in today's newspaper?

'Fall in number of women getting top jobs'.

We're supppsed to be sleepless with worry about that, I suppose?

I'm back...

...after a terrific summer which included, in no particular order, a lot of family time, some time at sea, some time sorting out computer problems, some time writing a chapter of my next book, and some time in St Petersburg!

And more...but people's holiday travels and fun are of limited interest so I'll leave it mostly aside and simply hope to bring to this Blog over the next months any useful ideas and experiences gained...

Here's just one: it was extraordinarily moving to stand in an Orthodox Cathedral in Russia, beside an array of icons, flickering candles, and throngs of - mostly young - people quietly bustling to and fro and praying. Here a young woman, brought up in the Soviet era, told us of her visits to her grandmother and the latter's answers to the child's questions about Christianity and the meaning of the icons in the granny's flat - the start of a journey of faith which resulted, some years later, in baptism. The Christian Faith is alive in Russia. Beautiful modern icons depict bishops and others who perished in the Gulag. The last Tsar and his family are hailed as martyrs and depicted as such, and their remains lie in a place of honour in the great church where their ancestors also lie buried.

Russia has all sorts of problems, but the years of officially-imposed atheism, closed churches, banning of all Christian books, etc etc, are not merely over but regarded as a tragic time in centuries of Russian Christian history.

In one church we visited, a small display showed items from down the years, including a poster from the 1930s advertising a series of atheist lectures held in the building. Today, those years are seen as a period viewed with embarrassment. People tell of prayers said privately at home, of an unbroken chain of faith leading from one era to the next and of a quiet certainty that Christianity will never perish from Russia.


And all this in what was once the Marxist state and the centre of worldwide atheistic Communism.

Deo gratias.

Remember...

my Blog about a glorious roof at Gorimg-by-sea, Sussex? Well, there's a DVD about the artist who did it! Look at this website...

Fabulous story. Awesome.

Read this??

Do try this site...our Tea w. Royals, & more...

A family time...

with wet weather, happy talk, laughter, by the sea & the moors...why blog? Sometimes it's just family & that's that.

Fawley...

...Court near Henley in Oxfordshire is a glorious Jacobean mansion with wide green lawns and a stretch of water as you look out from a magnificent drawing-room down towards the river Thames. More prosaically, in its extensive grounds it has a modern conference centre which, because the whole place is currently owned by the Polish Marist Fathers, is dedicated to Pope John Paul II and has a large modern church with a shrine to the Divine Mercy.

And here we were, last Friday evening, driving up alongside soaking meadows on a rainswept evening, for a great gathering of Catholic young people: the Evangelium Conference.

It was terrific! Some wonderful speakers - including Walter Hooper, friend and biographer of CS Lewis, Roy Schoeman author of Salvation is from the Jews, Father Jerome Bertram whose latest book on prayer I had just been sent by Family Publications (it's brilliant) and more. Much more. The conference was packed, the daily liturgies a source of great inspiration, the atmosphere fizzing with hope and enthusiasm.

That very first evening, when we gathered for the Church's beautiful night prayer in the chapel, with the Divine Mercy picture gazing down at us across rows of flickering candles beneath the wooden beams of the chapel, I think we all knew that we were taking part in something extraordinary.

And so it proved to be. A time of exhiliarating talk, intellectual stimulation, challenge to action. From Roy Shoeman's powerfully moving personal testimony and revelation of aspects of God's covenant love which I for one had never really pondered before.... through a short but powerful talk from John Pontifex of ACN about the needs of the persecuted Church (remembering China, relevant at this time)... to Fr Jerome's excellent demolition-job on those who claim that the Gospels are irrelevant forgeries...and on to a presentation of the superb Evangelium project which aims to teach the Faith anew in parishes and youth groups and Confirmation classes and more...it was a time to cherish.

Who was there? The young people came from a wide range of groups. Some were from a Charismatic prayer-group sort of background, others had links with the FAITH Movement, several had some involvement with one of the new movements in the Church. When we sang the Latin chant at Mass, there was a general response and a familarity with things like the Credo and Sanctus, as with the concept of Evening Prayer and the singing of the Salve Regina. There was great reverence at Adoration of the Bl. Sacrament, and as we all knelt there in the candlelit chapel, many people went to confession. There was lively talk and laughter and socialising at the bar and in the teams that formed for the Saturday night quiz. What this conference brought together was a sense of the emergence of the next generation in the Church.

"The Church is alive - and the Church is young."

A glorious...

...evening at the Faith Summer Session. These events bring back happy memories of my own youthful attendance at this annual summer gathering organised by the FAITH Movement, with good speakers and a wonderful atmosphere. This time, after a particularly busy day, and a complicated journey by bike and train, I arrived at Woldingham School, rented for the week, and cycled down that beautiful valley road. It was a fabulously lovely evening. The folds of the hill were lapped in evening sunshine. The cows moo-ed agreeably in the meadows. I sang. And, just coming down the lane towards me, was a friend, O., who greeted me joyously - "Joanna! I was just thinking of you!" She had brought along something needed for my mother's house - she's a wonderful friend and with her husband has been visiting M. to chat and be cheerful - and it was perfect timing by Providence that brought us into the lane together...

On to the school, and hugs and greetings from my wonderful nieces and nephew and friends...joy, joy. Much talk and catching-up on news with all sorts of people. Then Evening Prayer in the chapel. What a huge crowd! Two or three hundred crammed in, and pouring out of the doors at the back into the summer evening...the strong voices of this great asembly of young people in a roaring wave answering up the prayers, going turn-and-turn about with the verses of the Pslams. Then the hymn "The day thou gavest, Lord...." These are moment you want to hold in your heart for always...

A lively evening of entertainment was to follow, with a concert and talent show, everyone enjoying themselves. I talked to many friends old and new. There are always so many priests at these FAITH events, including lots of young ones. Then I had to get home. The weather was now hot and humid - and suddenly broke into a magnificent thunderstorm. I cycled back through the last of it, revelling in the rain. Lightening lit up the sky across the hills in great zig-zags. I sang again. Sitting in the quiet station all alone I got on with some work, refreshed and exhilirated. Home to Jamie and mugs of tea.

Try....

... this .... lots to relish - & talk about...

Do read...

this

from a lawyer re the subject of Christians and discrimination.

Today...

...in the Daily Telegraph, there is a description of visiting a cinema where a pack of twelve year-olds ran riot for the duration of the film. No one dared to reprove them, much less to take any firm action. The audience cowered through the film - which they could not hear for the shrieking and shouting - and then cowered out. Cinema staff were cowed into submission too. The children ran shouting and yelling into the street to enjoy more bullying and intimidation, shrieking with power.

The solution, according to the columnist? That people should ask for their money back on such occasions.

Hopeless. The issue at stake here - and it really is at stake, it involves our whole future - is whether or not we have the courage to claim back the right to raise the young. Today, Britain has gross and ludicrous laws (created by Euro-bureaucrats, one assumes, but with the full force of legality in our country) which ensure that anyone who challenges, reproves or in any way moves to restrain a vicious child can be arrested and imprisoned, facing serious charges of assaut. Children know this and yell "I'll get the p'leece on yer!" when challenged in any way. So everyone is frightened of children - some of whom of course now carry knives, and some of whom are likely to be drunk.

Restoring the natural right of grown-ups to protect life and property when terrorised by children won't make everything better in Britain, but it will enable us to create a sense of order in which solutions to our myriad of other problems can be found.

Look....

...at this

link for a very delightful interview with a very delightful person - Dr Tracey Rowland, whose excellent book about Pope Benedict's theology is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand what his influence on the Church will be, and what a gift he is to us all....

Hectic few days here: Mother not too well (better now), much work to do on some lectures to give later this month, and a massive stack of administrative work on the Schools Bible Project.

This Project is for all secondary schools in Britain and next year will mark its 20th anniversary. American readers will be interested to know about it - the situation re. Religious Education is v. different here, and British schools are expected to teach about Christianity...

The judging etc for this year's Project is just completed. A friend, Amanda H., loyally came and helped with a huge stack of administrative work, envelopes and certificates, beavering away on a hot afternoon. Today, as I toiled up Sutton High street on my bike, the street-market was in full swing, a voice bellowing "Luvly roses! C'mon, ladies, get a narce buncha roses!" And they were indeed nice - lovely golden buds just unfolding. So I got some and dropped them off at A's as a thank-you...

As I cycle between Mother's place and ours, I pass a house with a crab-apple tree in its small garden. Nothing else, just one tree, and simply laden with the fruit, the small lawn carpeted with it, and hundreds more still green and bending the branches low with their weight. I knocked on the door and asked if I could gather some of the windfalls to make jelly. The chap couldn't have been nicer - yes, please, take as many as you like, only too happy - and I said I'd leave them a couple of jars as a thank-you....each evening I've been gathering the fruit into my bicycle-basket, and bringing it home...and now have amost satisfactory array of jars glowing with the pink/golden glow of perfect jelly. It tastes good, too - took some to Mother and she gave it top marks...

Take a look...

at this new DVD initiative on English history

I was sent a review copy of this new DVD about St Philip Howard. I wondered if it would be any good - it's produced by a new young team. I enjoyed it and others will, too. It would work well for Catholic schools, or a parish Confirmation group. Or just be interesting to watch in its own right. Watch out for more productions from this group.

A searingly hot day...

...as I cycled to Wimbledon for Mass. I had decided to do this as my route would take me past a splendid blackberrying patch (running parrallel with Worple Road, but beyond the railway track, backing on to those school playing-fields, for those who know it. Blackberries galore). The Sacred Heart Church has a sung Latin Mass at 11.15 am. In common with those of other parishes, the choir was taking a brief summer break, but the congregation did a rousing job of the Credo and Sanctus and Agnus Dei etc without them, and it was good to be there.

I got HOT picking blackberries on my way home, and making jam isn't a cool excercise, so it was rather annoying that a burst water main at Colliers Wood had deprived this whole corner of London of its water this morning...however, to the relief of us all it was back again by teatime and I was able to get everything done, and a picnic packed up for the evening - which J. and I intend to spend, as we did yesterday evening, by the river. Yesterday we sat on the riverbank by Hampton Court - those who have seen A man for All Seasons would know the exact place, although the film cheats a bit by using that double-little flight of steps that leads into the Home Park as the pretended entrance to Thomas More's garden...

I've written about my recent visit to Flanders...

here, if you want to read about it....

A hot day...

...in London yesterday and again today. I met the Blogger of Blackfen near Victoria station and we enjoyed a chat and a laugh about things.

Summer weather means blackberries, and I've been gathering the first-fruits of this year's crop, and turning them into jam. Want to buy some? You''ll have to come to the Festival of Catholic Culture on Sat Nov 8th at Westminster Cathedral Hall.....

Now read...

....this about World Youth Day.

Why did our media in Britain just not get it?

Some friends are organising...

...a conference for Catholic families. It sounds rather good. Find out more about it here.

It's just absurd...

...that the British media has got it wrong about World Youth Day and failed to see the real news story. Get the full picture of this extraordinary event here.

If you want a book...

...to pass to people who say "What do Catholics believe?", buy this one. It's a highly readable paperback, with just that title. By Leonie Caldecott, an excellent writer with three growing-up daughters of her own, it's thoughtful, up-to-date, and answers the sorts of questions that people are really asking, not the ones that experts often think they ask. It tackles the Faith in an interesting way, looking at the Sacraments, the concept of the Communion of Saints, the papacy, an overview of two thousand years of history, and the role of the Church in the world. It's a very "now" book, very BXVI in its non-confrontational, quietly explanatory tone and its gentle exploration of themes that echo some of today's concerns - consumerism, people's sense of alienation, the longing for love. Try it: What do Catholics Believe? Granta Books, £6.99p

Here is auntie...

...having distributed prizes and certificates to young winners in the Schools' RE Project run by the Association of Catholic Women and the CTS! I'm the one at the back...

Haven't the Aussies...

...and the young people from all over the world who took part in World Youth Day in Sydney, done the Church and the Pope proud? A wonderful event, which we've been following via out computer as we have so many friends involved. There's an excellent account of it here

and here.

Things to note: the joyful, exuberant, courteous, friendly behaviour of all the pilgrims, the Holy Father's strong message of hope and optimism coupled with that of self-discipline and acceptance of great responsibilities, the way in which noisy and at time vicious opposition to the event melted away in the face of its reality, and the sense of continuity within the Church combined with a vision of the future opening up, as the "Great South Land of the Holy Spirit" welcomed youth to one of the first great events of the 21st century...

In Dorset...

... with the family, by the sea, for several glorious days. Exhiliarating swims in a crystal-clear sea, views of extraordinary beauty across the bay, walks along the clifftop paths, talkative family meals, discovery of local history and enjoyable pottering about via pleasing coffee-shops, evenings with Hercule Poirot or Lord Peter Wimsey on DVD. The sort of holiday that sneering Anonymous commentators to this blog will be able to quote as evidence of my appallingly suburban myopia. On which subject, I've decided to ditch my previous policy which was to publish nasty comments if they were being horrible about me, but not if they were being horrible about God, the Church, Jewish people, or other objects of people's venom. From now on, I simply won't publish nasty anonymous stuff at all: if you want to be really rude about me, have the courage to put your name to it. I won't publish your name if you don't wish it to be known, but I do want to know who you are if you are attacking me.

A book...

...which has just come my way has the rather odd title "A Primer on the Absolute PRIMACY OF CHRIST" with a rather vivid cover. To be honest, I didn't want to read it. Looked a bit nutty, with a picture of Christ is a bright red helmet-style crown and a very yellow halo.

But I did finally dip in, because it came with a sensible letter mentioning a conference about the work and message of Duns Scotus...and that is what the book is really all about.

Essentially, it is posing the question: did Christ, God the Son, become incarnate only because mankind sinned and needed a Redeemer? Or would He have come to live among us anyway, simply because he loved us? Now, if you think that's an obscure question, it isn't really - it raises some very profound issues, connected with the divisions that have emerged in Christianity....I must say, I like the joyful, exuberant notion that God so loved the world that he sent his Son NOT because he had to, but simply because He loved (and loves) us all that much. Think about it, and you see that this is all part of opposition to the Calvinist/Jansenist viewpoint, to the debate about God's omnipotence, and more ...

I've been asked...

...to mention this website

It is encouraging young people to consider the possibiloity of the priesthood or religious life. Why not take a look, and also spread the word about it??

Current issue...

...of Oremus, the magazine of Westminster Cathedral, is a good read. Fascinating feature about a hero priest who was tortured and killed for helping British prisoners in WW11, a two-page spread about St Thomas Aquinas' Latin hymns on the Eucharist...and more. You can get a copy by just dropping into the Cathedral and picking one up for £2 from the stand by the door. I now write for this magazine regularly, and this month being the patronal month of the Precious Blood, I was able to research and write about that, and the tradition of the Holy Grail, and Joseph of Arimithea...go on, get a copy.

PRINCE CASPIAN...

...the new Narnia film IS WELL WORTH SEEING. It's all there: young Lucy seeing and trusting Aslan when the others don't, and all the heroic/chivalrous messages, and the evil tempting of the White Witch, who so nearly draws Caspian into her power by promising him to restore Tradition without involving Peter and the others...the battle scenes are powerful, the special effects tremendous, the Narnian coastline just fabulously beautiful... take yourselves there, take your children, your godchildren, your tired-and-bored adolescents...

An extraordinary day...

...began with an early telephone call from the BBC which resulted in my rushing up to London to take part in a TV news debate about the Anglicans having voted to have lady bishops. Then home, and just time to tackle various letters and routine work before scrambling into Best Clothes (outfit carefully chosen by my sister-in-law and small niece, determind to make sure Auntie Joanna didn't let the family down...) and off to Buckingham Palace.

A Garden Party at the Palace is tremendous. Vast numbers of people - some in uniform, a sight never seen in London normally as members of the Armed Forces haven't been allowed to wear their uniforms in public since the start of the IRA bombings more than three decades ago - some in national dress (Scotsmen in kilts, Africans in great robes, sheiks in flowing headgear), most in morning-dress and general elegance...the HATS, oh the lovely, glorious HATS!!!

Military bands playing, Yeomen of the Guard marching in, a tea-tent dispensing delicious sandwiches and slices of Victoria Sponge with freshly-brewed Tea and excellent iced coffee...and a superb, beautifully-timed moment when the band's music drew gently to a close, and everyone rose. The Queen and Prince Philip came out briskly on to the terrace in the sunshine, and halted there...and the glorious surge of the National Anthem filling the air, and everyone stock-still and the music soaring:"God save the Queen!"

Yesterday...

...was the 3rd anniversary of the July bombing in London. By coincidence, I was doing yesterday exactly what I was doing on the morning of July 7th 2005, namely, going by Tube to Paddington to take the train to Berkshire to oversee the gathering together at a big country house of all the essays for the national Schools Bible Project.

In 2005, I was in the Underground when everything got delayed and confused...no one knew what was happening...a "power surge", we were told...crowds at Baker Street being pushed this way and that... everything terribly hot... it was only on arrival at my final destination that I was greeted with white faces and people saying "So you're all right! We'd been so worried!" that I heard the news of the bomb and realised why we had all been caught up in such confusion at Baker St and elsewhere...As all the trains into London were then delayed or cancelled I stayed on in the country that night.

And now here we were again, gathering at Ufton Court, for the sorting of the thousands of essays on New Testament themes sent in by pupils at schools across Britain...

A conference...

...at Aylesford Priory, with a range of good speakers, and attractive "extras" including an evening of music, and a guided tour of the magnificent Rochester Cathedral is to be held by the Ecumenical Society of the Blessed Virgin Mary .

Dates are Sept 5th-8th, and it sounds extremely good...I know a number of people in this Society including the Hon Sec, Fr Bill, who is also chaplain at Bath University (see blog entries from a whole back, when I went there to speak to the students)....

The Anglican plan...

...to make some of their priestesses in England into bishops will mean more splits within the Anglican Communion.

Obviously it will marginalise the poor C of E more and more into the shadows of things. And it throws, once again, the claims of Rome into sharp relief.

Whatever happens, and at whatever pace, we will certainly see further development in the gradual re-alignment that started with John Henry Newman's decision to join Rome in the 19th century, and has brought so many of the C of E's most energetic minds and hearts to follow him since...

Now is the time for Rome to excercise that combination of large-mindedness, wisdom, and patience that is most needed. Of course, in the worldwide scheme of things, what is happening in Britain looks small - compared, for example, to the huge numbers pouring into the Church in China, the teeming numbers in Africa. And RCs here, probably especially in the blogosphere, will not be slow to offer pointless warnings to would-be converts about things the latter know only too well already (ugly music, dreary liturgies, confusion, bureaucracy, poor catechesis in our schools and sometimes quite hideous modern churches). But God doesn't neccessarily take note of such things - his concern for the Church, his Bride, is of a different sort and his longing "ut unum sint" will be worked out in his way...and Newman's beatification, some time over the next year or so, will be relevant too....

I've been asked...

...to mention a Symposium to be held at Durham (Grey College) on 9th-11th September, on the work of Blessed John Duns Scotus, which includes a pilgrimage to Duns.

If you enjoy this blog...

...you'll probably enjoy this feature here.

Gregorian chant...

...is the sound of the moment. It's popular, it's important, and it does you good.

So if you want to learn how to sing it, go to St Joseph's, New Malden, for a special one-day Gregorian Chant Workshop this Saturday, July 5th. Find out more about it here.

Flanders...

...has a rich Christian past but seems uncertain of its future. Fastest growing religion is Islam. The countryside is lush and fruitful - everywhere, rich fields of crops, and in the suburbs, people busy on allotments (or whatever they are called in Belgium), and in the towns, busy restaurants and coffee-shops stocked with lovely food. In Antwerp on Saturday, a noisy parade with African-style drums and various other events, plus a massive Hindu parade on the Cathedral Square, while shoppers teemed through the pedestrianised streets.

Home late by Eurostar with a thousand images filling my head from a fascinating visit...

This morning, a quiet cycle ride to Mass through the London suburbs, to St Pius X church in Norbiton. Magnificent singing from the many young people present - turns out several were from the Cardinal Vaughan school which has a magnificent musical tradition...

To Belgium...

...via the Chanell Tunnel (Eurostar) in great style. One images it will feel very dramatic going under the sea, but of course it isn't at all - it's barely noticeable - the train whizzes fast through countryside and tunnels and then one is aware of being in a longish tunnel, then countryside again...

Brussels - kind friends had arranged for me to meet a colleague who introduce me to the city's charming old centre, and a lunch of moules-and-frites. Much talk of the state of things in Belgium generally, in the Church especially...a visit to the beautiful Cathedral, which is dedicated to St Michael and St Gudule (local saint - must find out more about her). As with most churches in Belgium, there is nowhere to kneel down. Pews and kneelers have been replaced with neat bleak rows of chairs so the place feels like a theatre or meeting-hall. Ghastly. So people sit smugly throughout Mass, as if it is a performance and they are mere spectators rather than participants... Even when you simply drop into the cathedral to light a candle and pray - and lots of people do the former and, one assumes and hopes, the latter - you can't kneel, except rather awkwardly on the floor, which I did.

Overnight stay at the welcoming home of M. - more talk and a delicious supper. The next day, a visit to Ghent. Again, a glorious cathedral, again a sense of its being a place where people watch but do not pray. At the - friendly and helpful - visitors' desk, I asked about the Blessed Sacrament. He didn't seem to understand at first - then light dawned "Oh yes, it's in the crypt". Which also houses a display - a rather interesting one - of some of the cathedral's fine vestments and other treasures. Which in turn means that the crypt feels more like a musueum, where people talk and walk about, rather than a church. I felt Our Lord was a bit sidelined and got few if any visitors, felt a bit mean when I had to leave...

In the evening, something very different - a cheering Mass, organised by Opus Dei for the feast of St Josemaria, at the glorious St Jacobus church in Antwerp. The painter Rubens worshipped here, and his works are all around the church. I don't know when I have been at Mass anywhere more splendid. But it wasn't this which made the evening memorable. The congregation gathered for this Mass included many young people, and it was heartening to sing out a glorious Credo and Pater Noster in such surroundings. I got the impression that people were hugely glad to be there - that such a Mass was unusual in its style and its joy. Afterwards many warm introductions at a reception in a nearby college.

It was an interesting example of what is alive, and what isn't, in the Church in today's Europe.

Tha National Prayer Breakfast...

...was held at Parliament this morning. Rousing hymns, and Danish pastries, and coffee and orange juice and croissants. I sat next to Edward Leigh MP, a fellow-Catholic, and we didn't wave our arms about in the hymns. But I must say I like the evangelical rousing singing, even early in the morning (I was cycling to the station at 6 am to get to Westminster on time). General pro-life tenor to the various talks etc, and a mood of standing-for-what-is-right, in a straightforward and decent way. It's difficult to gauge how useful such great events are - I did meet some old and valued friends, and I think the general largeness of the thing sent a cheering message, and a stimulus to good work in all sorts of fields... much of the best Christian work is done, of course, in more humble surroundings, a point that was well made by those organising the event...there were some extraordinarily good interviews plus video-coverage ofa range of really noble work done in places as far apart as India and Sierra Leone and so on...

It felt odd to be eating breakfast, with crisp white tablecloths and an atmosphere of genial goodwill, in the Great Hall where St Thomas More and St Edmund Campion were tried...I think their prayers are always with those who are trying to do what is Christian and right, and certainly all in the hall would have more in common with them than with Richard Rich or with Topcliffe... if martyrdom ever looms again in Britain it would be to Campion's faith and courage we must look...

If you have never read...

...anything by the great journalist T.E.Utley, you are missing out. Get started here to find out about the man. Recently I went to the presentation of the 2008 Utley Memorial Awards, organised by members of this talented family, an utterly enjoyable evening.

Because much political chatter in today's London is dominated by the noisier bits of the 1990s-Left, it's hugely enlivening to spend time in the wider company of people with large minds and lots of humour and a sense of history and a sense of proportion...and a sense of pushing open wider and wider the door that leads to rooms of ideas just a bit fresher and less claustropobic than those we have had to endure this past decade.

Take a look...

...at this new on-line magazine - it's a good read. The article by the Anglican Bishop of Rochester is especially recommended. And the one on the MOD is a worrying and thought-provoking read.

Tower Hill...

...by the Tower of London, is now a Memorial Garden to all the men of the Merchant Navy - hundreds of their names, on the panels of white stone - who were killed at sea bringing food to Britain during two world wars. In the grey fizz of rain, early on a Saturday morning with not many people about, the carved young face of the merchant sailor in his greatcoat stared out towards the Thames.

Gradually, our group gathered, and in the end we were quite a crowd: we were there to commemorate a different chapter of history, starting at the site of the maryrdom of Saints John Fisher and Thomas More, which adjoins the Memorial Garden. The rain was clearing as things began: the 2nd annual Martyrs Walk organised by "Continuity", the movement launched by the Catholic lay movement Miles Jesu.

After an intrduction and talk about More and Fisher, we set off through the City, stopping at various places for a short talk on the history: St Olave's church, St Peter-upon-Cornhill (oldest church in London: the first church on this site was built when we were still under Roman occupation), the Cross Keys pub. At Greyfriars, where we broke for lunch, we had a splendid talk by one of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal...wearing the same style of habit as worn by the brave Franciscan martyrs...) . Then on, praying the Rosary and singing hymns, to St Patrick's Soho Square, where we had Benediction, and welcome cups of tea, and buns, and an excellent talk about the Tyburn martyrs, and so on to Tyburn itself. I think the walk is about seven miles in all. It was extraordinarily moving to be singing a Litany of the English Martyrs as we walked along - all those English names and we sang "Ora pro nobis" after each one. By now it was warm and sunny. Mass at Tyburn, with Fr Nicholas Schofield officiating, in the cool white chapel, with the traffic roaring past on the Bayswater Road but everything calm within, and the words of consecration...

The magnificent spire...

...of Chichester Cathedral soars above West Sussex, a landmark from coast and Downs alike. So it was interesting to read, in an excellent historical display in the Cathedral, of how it collapsed in the 1860s one ferociously stormy night, after great cracks had been appearing in the walls and despoerate engineering work had failed to stem off the disaster. The spire was rebuilt thanks to the speedy and effective generosity of local landowners, including the Duke of Norfolk. It is said that a group of them gathered for a breakfast meeting soon after the disaster and immediately agreed that Sussex' greatest landmark must be restored, and before the ham and eggs were even finished, they had each agreed to give a generous sum.

The Cathedral was at its most glorious in mellow sunshine. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds had telescopes set up in the cloister so that one could view the peregrines who are nesting on the roof. A Memorial Service for some distinguished person was taking place inside and the sound of voices raised in "Tell out, my soul" rang out as I walked round to the West Door.

I was in Chichester to award prizes and certificates gained in the Association of Catholic Women/CTS Schools Religious Education Project by pupils at St Richard's School. A delightful afternoon: the solemn small boy who had won Second Prize wasn't sure if he was allowed to open his parcel, and sat politely holding it very tightly, until I suggested that we open it together, and he was thrilled with the three beautiful books that emerged, while the Headmistress was even more delighted with the generous cheque for the school, which he was able to hand over to her with a suitable flourish.

Later I met, by pre-arrangement, the team from Continuity organising this year's Martyrs' Walk in London on Saturday. Come and join us! Just turn up at 11 am at Tower Hill (we're gathering at the site of St Thomas More's execution)

Do you remember reading

quite widely, until very recently, a columnist called Mark Steyn? Haven't seen much of his work recently. Here's why.

Do you care about your freedom?

Read this about what's happening in Canada.

And ask yourself how things are going in Britain too.

On a cheerier note, do look at this...

parish blog which I think is a very good one. And take particular note of the excellent First Communion scheme they are recommending....

Great meeting...

...organised by Family and Youth Concern on Saturday. First speaker Mrs Irina Tyk, headmistress of Holland House School in Edgware - a fresh, amusing speaker who challenged the cliches that abound in the education scene today. She's set up The Butterfly Project reading course for children using the phonics method, to which people are now returning after discovering that the various "let's pretend" methods don't work, and she's author of Culture in the Classroom, on which subject she spoke. Among other things, she mentioned the difficulty of teaching children who have not been given any concept of right and wrong - this robs them of points of reference, an understanding of morality, and an ability to grasp many things. She emphasised the need to encourage children to have the confidence to look widely, to challenge the recieved statements they get from TV, and the limited packaged-version of soundbites they recieve through the narrow tube of that sub-culture.

Next speaker was Ray Lewis, a former prison governor who now runs the Eastside Young Leaders Academy in the London Borough of Newham.

This is a scheme, in one of the poorest parts of London, for giving troubled young boys a fresh start, so that they don't drop out of school and lose all life's great possibilities. An inspiring and invigorating message. There are some good things going on: with strong links with some of the famous Public Schools chools of Britain, the Young Leaders initiative has recently sent two boys to Rugby School....Ray Lewis is now now assisting new Mayor of London Boris Johnson on youth projects. He was very, very funny about daft bureaucracy and the collosal waste of money involved in various stupid official youth schemes. The Young Leaders Academy involves, among other things,a recognition that boys are different from girls and have their own specxific needs, and am introduction to church and to Christian worship...

We also met foster-parents Owen and Eunice Johns, who have fallen foul of new horrible policies forcing them to accept that homosexual activity is normal and to teach this to any children in their care. They are refusing to do this and after years of dedicated service as foster-parents are now being blocked...


Much lively discussion on all of these and related topics...but a general sense of anxiety as to what the future will bring, now that family breakdown in endemic in Britain, and so much social policy reinforces this. It was good to hear encouraging stories, but goodness, these are rare and the heavy hand of bureaucracy is mostly used to crush independent initiative and to force complaince with anti-marriage and anti-family policies...

London was en fete for the Trooping of the Colour, bright sunshine, hordes of police, various Tube stations closed etc, and I struggled with a heavy case down Picadilly to get to this meeting...but it was well worth it.

A copy of Magna Carta...

...is on the table near me as I write. Regular readers of this Blog will be aware that J. and I obtained a copy on a recent visit to Runnymede, where the Carta was signed by King John in1215...

We put the copy, in its rather splendid black and gold-coloured case, on the table here with other odds and ends after reading it and talking about it for a bit...then it got moved about when I cleaned and dusted...and somehow it has simply stayed there...but today its presence suddenly struck with with a special force: I could not have known that it would be so relevant so soon.

Here is a relevant section, taken from the table and read and typed out for you to read with me:

"No free man shall be taken, imprisoned, outlawed, banished, or in any way destroyed, nor will We proceed against or prosecute him, eccept by the lawful judgement of his equals and by the law of the land."

Habeas Corpus, you see. No arbitrary unjust imprisonment without due trial.

Last night, Parliament voted that I can be imprisoned for 42 days without trial and without being charged.

Want to hear...

...about the Catholic Women of the Year? Vatican Radio has an interview with Auntie about it all.

More schools...

...to visit to distribute prizes and certificates gained in the Catholic Truth Society/Association of Catholic Women Schools RE Project. Do click on that link to the CTS - they have some wonderful books and DVDs. I am interested in their excellent material for children, but their other books and materials are also top-quality - and did you see the recent publicity over their new pamphlet on exorcism?

Don't forget...

...this event in London on Saturday June 21st. It's an opportunity to learn some history and mark London's extraordinary heritage as well as honour the Faith...

Another event worth noting is the Evangelium conference planned for August, run by the CTS. Visit www.evangelium.co.uk for info. It's Explaining the Catholic Faith in the modern world and speakers include Fr Jerome Bertram author of The People of the Gospel, Walter Hooper, biographer of CS Lewis, and Fr Thomas Crean OP of A Catholic Replies to Professor Dawkins....

The National Catholic Register...

...in the USA contacted me to write something about the future of Catholic adoption societies in Britain now that we have this horrible new law compelling all such groups to agree in principle to place children with homosexuals and lesbians or face being closed down. You will be able to read my piece in a few days in the Register.

Whatever happens to the various Catholic adoption societies - and it is better that they close down than attempt to compromise with a grossly immoral law - the ordinary secular authorities are vigourously promoting the lesbian and homosexual lifestyles. A horrid poster in our local shopping centre enthuses brightly for lesbians to come forward to take other people's children for fostering and adoption. (We can be sure that the people who designed the poster are not offering their own offspring for this social experiment).

Children are not a piece of property to which people have a "right".

I am so glad you asked...

...and since you seem so interested in what we are doing on July 8th....

We've been invited to Tea with the Queen!!

Well, us and a few hundred others. We're going to a Garden Party At Buckingham Palace.

It is very exciting and I will borrow a hat from my sister-in-law and wear the nice blue dress-and-jacket bought for our Silver Wedding a couple of summers ago.

Hot July weather...

...continued today. While on the Isle of Wight, one of the jolliest activities was giving out the prizes gained by St Thomas of Canterbury RC primary school, at Carisbrook. They had gained prizes and a Merit Certificate in the 2008 Schools RE Project organised by the Association of Catholic Women and the Catholic Truth Society.

It was a very happy morning: the children sat cross-legged on the floor and the Head Teacher began the Assembly by reading out the Gospel from Sunday's Mass (the calling of St Matthew) and gave a little explanation of it, and then we had the prize presentation. Great enthusiasm. The little boy who won First Prize and a trophy for the School held the latter high up above his head like a football champion. A little Polish girl had gained a Merit certificate for her essay even though English is her second language. The local newspaper turned up to take photographs, and we all posed outside in the bright sunshine.

I was really sorry to leave the Isle of Wight - got home yesterday afternoon - and today seemed hot and sticky and difficult while I was tackling work. Glorious lunchtime break with a friend. She had recently visited Lourdes and brought me, among other things, a Rosary which is now tucked into my pocket. It is the 150th anniversary of Bernadette's apparitions this year and the Rosary is a special commemorative one. Everything felt better as I cycled home from our prolonged, enjoyable and talkative lunch.Tackled ironing, emails, cleaning kitchen floor, and various bits of work in fresh heart.