To Hatfield...

...to St Peter's Church. Evening Mass, with a good-sized and overwhelmingly young congregation - Auntie felt very much like...well...an auntie. Numbers of students from the University. Some good singing - was glad to have my new Missal which has the music for the Mass chants, both in Latin and in English, all simply included in the Proper of the Mass...

Afterwards, students gathered for a meeting, one of a regular series on Sunday evenings with speakers on the Sacraments. Auntie spoke on Marriage. A really delightful, friendly, interested group, a great atmosphere. Afterwards, Fr Mark gave me dinner, along with a couple of young people from the group - it was so good to relax over a meal and a glass of wine, and to talk about so many things. Above all, it is encouraging to hear about vocations to the priesthood...

It had been a lovely day, beginning with an early start and a train to Hertfordshire, for lunch with Philip Trower, distinguished Catholic author and a friend of many years' standing...we first met when we were both covering the visit of John Paul II to Britain thirty years ago. Philip has the most glorious collection of books - shelves and shelves of them all beautifully sorted and arranged, and a delight for browsing. He allowed me to borrow a volume of von Balthasar which will be of great use for my Maryvale work...and there was a very jolly family lunch, and then as the afternoon drew to a close he drove me on to Mass at Hatfield, through the November countryside on this Feast of Christ the King, the last Sunday of the Church's year...

ADVENT...

...and the young team at St Patrick's, Soho Square, is running its annual Advent Mission. More info here..
In particular, don't miss the wonderful Procession through Soho on Sunday December 9th. This is now one of London's great events: starts with an International Mass at St Patrick's at 6pm, then the procession moves off at 7pm and goes through the streets to the Church of Notre Dame de France off Leicester Square. Come and join in! The Blessed Sacrament is carried aloft, there is singing, we go through the crowded streets of  theatreland - and last year we gave out little gift-bags with an Advent message and a medal as we went along...

Glorious singing, a crowded cathedral hall, and...

...the 2012 Towards Advent Festival was under way! Pouring rain outside deterred no one - crowds of people came,  cheery ladies from the Association of Catholic Women with great trays of home-made cakes and sandwiches,  Franciscan friars in patched grey robes,  publishers like Fisher Press and the CTS with stacks and stacks of lovely books, volunteers for all sorts of charities with beautiful craft goods and  rosaries and Christmassy things...

Archbishop Vincent Nichols opened the Festival with an enthusiastic speech reminding us that this is the Year of Faith and giving everyone a sense of  welcome and inspiration. A choir of delightful children from  St Benedict's School, Ealing, sang a most beautiful Ave Maria and Panis Angelicus and then, led  us all in  O  Come O come Emmanuel, the first verse sung by a  boy solo.  EWTN was there and featuring Fr Robert Barron's Catholicism (superb). The Ordinariate was there with some beautiful hand-made Christmassy gifts and lots of literature, the National Catholic Library had a wonderful array of books, there were pro-life groups and liturgy groups and lots of excellent charities raising funds for work with blind children in India, and leprosy suffers, and children with all sorts of special needs at home and abroad...

It was all a joy...Sister Catherine Holum gave a spirited , inspiring talk about her journey from Olympic speed-skater to Franciscan Sister  of the Renewal - and she and her fellow Franciscan Sister John-Paul were such a delight  to have with us as their infectious joy spread itself to everyone they met. A lovely young team from the Centre for Faith and Culture in Oxford led  a marvellous celebration of Bl John Henry Newman's "Second Spring" - it was particularly good to have them as they were involved with the Festival over a decade ago as small girls in a drama production which rounded off our first-ever Towards Advent Festival...

Too many people to be thanked, but a special mention must be made of our excellent Chairman, Brian Towler and his team from the Catenian Association. They tackle all the admin, the hiring of the hall and the tables and taking bookings and more and more...

A cute baby yawning...

...caught on video.

This baby is in his mother's womb, which ought to be the safest place on earth. Today it isn't.: a child in the womb can be legally killed and this is promoted as a "woman's right".

We MUST return legal safeguards to protect human life.

To Parliament...

...for a large gathering addressed by Lord Alton, celebrating the 100th birthday of the Catholic National Library, treasure-house of a vast range of books, periodicals and archive material.  Launch of a new book by Fr Gerard Skinner telling the story of the Library.  One of the great committee rooms in the House of Lords was packed for this event, and it was a tremendous bringing-together of men and women from Catholic public life...MPs and peers and writers and educationalists and  leaders of Catholic groups and organisations, clergy and laity...afterwards a most agreeable Reception at the Commonwealth Club in Northumberland Avenue, following a walk down lamplit, rain-splashed Whitehall.

Government panic...

...is never edifying. The Cameron team is looking particularly silly at the moment. All running around in circles, unable to cope with the economic woes, ghastly situation for our army in Afghanistan, a growing sense that people know that things are going badly, they suddenly shrieked that they'll be rushing through a law to force same-sex marriage on the nation.  Uh? What? You can almost smell the oh-gosh-whatever-shall-we-do? about this. The polls are showing that people re abandoning the Tories in large numbers - the worst worry was the realisation there weren't going to be adequate numbers at the Party Conference and there had to be a phone-round to try to drum up some support...it's all looking very, very bad for the next election. Why the attempted rush to redefine marriage? I'm guessing that it's money. A couple of Very Big Donors are insisting on this crazy policy, and the thinking is that the money is desperately needed for the election...

Won't work. Chuck, it Cameron, and get on with the job for which you were elected.  You can't win an election if your policies are the same as those of the Opposition: same-sex  marriage comes massively into that category.

 Read here for more on this.

and further...

...to my post below, the prize for an inane and possibly slightly sinister remark goes to some one called Mr Tony Baldry who told the House of Commons today that:

"If the Church of England wants to be a national church, then it has to reflect the values of the nation."

The more you think about that statement the more horrid it seems. Values of the nation? Drunkness. Acceptance of pre-marital sexual relationships as the norm.  Wide use of pornography. Greed - to the point where obesity is a national disease.

The idea of a National Church that reflects the Values of the Nation is actually quite sinister. The whole point of the Church is surely that it is not national, but is over and beyond all nations.

Undeterred by such spiritual realities, campaigners are now urging that Parliament forces the C. of E. to create women bishops. So any last notion that the C of E is a spiritual entity, resting on the word of God and subject to Christ's ordinances, must give way to the understanding that it is simply a British institution run by British law.

"...and on this rock I will build my Church. In addition, some day some one may invent a parallel body in a small and rather beautiful island, and  pretend it is a Church too. It isn't a Church. But there will be some fine and good people caught up in it. Your task will be to help them on their way home to the true Church, encouraging them to bring with them anything and everything of value and beauty that is theirs to bring."

Well, who would have thought it?

...The C. and E. has turned down women bishops. I must admit to a sense of satisfaction. I am  so glad that the Synod - which had seemed to be a seal and stamp on everything politically-correct and tiresomely ill-considered - turned out to have some people who thought outside the usual box of cliches.

I do not accept the theological thinking behind the "men are meant to be leaders, women not" idea, since women can certainly lead and teach. Priesthood is different from that, and it is this precise thing, the priesthood, that has not been fully explored and grasped.  But at least there has been some sort of ability to understand that there are some theological issues involved.

Given the tragedies and miseries of the world - some of which (war, hunger, injustices of various kinds) get raised at the C of E Synod -  it was rather ghastly to see comfortably-off ladies weeping inconsolably and seeking help and speaking of their agony, because they can't be made bishops.   Dear ladies, please be assurred that you will survive quite well, and may even one day think about all this quite differently.

Back in business...

...with my mobile. Same number. Family and friends please note. ALL IS WELL.

Went to a mobile-phone shop. Felt bleak. Lots of screens and gadgets. Lots of giant plasma TV screens to dominate the home.   Lots and lots of smaller plasma screens to dominate the car,  the office, the bus, the Tube, the train, the school, the park, the street,  the doctor's waiting-room, etc. Laptops and must-have handy-sized carry-around-with-you-at-all-times things so that you are never, ever, free from emails and Skype and Facebook and texting and tweeting. Cute unreal computer-generated figures  in a children's soap-opera on giant screens mesmerising small customers. Stacks of gadgets on shiny shelves mesmerising older customers.

Stared at display of mobile phones. Some modestly priced. Talked to helpful young assistant.  Human voice - sudden real communication: Auntie explained that she wanted something useful and simple, to make and recieve calls, take photos as required...showed shattered remnants of previous.

He removed the SIM card from my old phone, and talked about an Upgrade, explained that, mirabile dictu, I could keep the same number. We got chatting "You're Polish?" Yes, he was, and I told him I'd written a book about Bl. JPII. "A great man" he said "All Poles love him. But now is history. Not so many young Poles now go to church.  Now we think next Pope will be last one and then the end of the world."

Oh dear. Anyway I got my shiny new 'phone and he wrapped up the old one in a box with the new charger and instructions and things and I paid with plastic and left the shop. Odd times, these.

To Parliament...

...to arrange presentation of prizes for Schools Bible Project by Lord Alton. To CTS Bookshop to buy 40 prayer-books as souvenir gifts for the choir singing at Towards Advent on Saturday. To a celebratory evening organised by T! magazine...I have been involved with helping to run the Journalism Course sponsored by the magazine and it was a real pleasure to present the Certificates to the young people who have completed the course and shown such enthusiasm and dedicatiion.

Family and friends please note...

...my mobile phone has broken and I am about to get a new one!  So my old number is now DEFUNCT.

The 'phone dropped on to the pavement today in London...parts scattered everywhere, some crucial bits broken. Passers-by all started to help and picked bits up... offered consolation, advice, goodwill...Auntie settled down with cup of tea to try to piece the thing together...to no avail, will be buying a new one.

Our Lady's Convent School...

...in Loughborough welcomed Auntie this morning to present prizes won in the Catholic Young Writer project, run by the Catholic Writers' Guild and the Catholic Union of Great Britain.   Joint winners this year were two delightful young ladies, twins Cara and Iona McNeill, pupils at Our Lady's Convent School.

It meant an early start for Auntie...kind friend Amanda Hill, who earlier helped with the administration of the Project, had offered to give me a lift to Loughborough and collected me at 5.30am, and with a brief stop for breakfast we arrived in good time for the school's Morning Assembly in the beautiful chapel. A lovely school, with a happy and confident feel to it, clear about the Christian values it seeks to transmit. It was real pleasure to talk to the girls, to present  the trophy and prizes, and to meet the parents of the winners and runners-up. A family atmosphere. We all chatted over coffee and pastries, and Amanda and I were made to feel so welcome and  were given a tour of the school (fabulous 19th century buildings, links with Ambrose de Lisle, Pugin, etc)  before I addressed an RE class tackling the Scriptures and ethical issues. It was beautiful and moving to hear a strong affirmation of the value of every human life from a teacher, sharing a personal story. It was a delight to talk about great issues in an atmosphere or respect and reverence for God, for marriage, for human life and for faith. It was grand to be with an RE teacher who relishes teaching the Scriptures and engaging young minds in philosophy and discussion of large and interesting ideas...

A happy morning. We had planned, before travelling back to London, to visit  Mount St Bernard Abbey nearby, and when we mentioned this, the headmistress arranged for us to be given a packed lunch to enjoy as a picnic...so we  chose sandwiches and drinks from the (excellent!) school refectory and went off  in a holiday mood. Mount St Bernards is a magnificent Cistercian Abbey, in the most glorious countryside, and the monks - a good-sized community from the sound of them - were singing the midday office as we arrived, the great Abbey bell having tolled out to announce the timing. We prayed with them in the Abbey church - a fine building, with a great central altar and a sense of strength and of prayers soaring up to God - and later walked up to the Calvary shrine on the rugged pathway, and then enjoyed our picnic...

A look at London...

...get a flavour of things as Advent approaches  here...

Marriage...

...is the lifelong union of a man and a woman. The Church knows that marriage between baptised Christians is a sacrament - Holy Matrimony - a source of grace, a rich and living reality linked to Christ's union with his Church, a mystery at the heart of our Faith.

If the Government wants to impose on Britain  the notion of marriage as a union between two people of the same sex, it is going to be neccesary to explain that there can be no question of this ever involving any sort of event or ceremony linked to the Church. The most efficient way to do this would be simply to break the link of the Church with any form of legal marriage: the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony in Church would be unconnected with any civil ceremony taking place in a local registry office. A Catholic man and woman marrying in church might or might not choose to go through a legal ceremony too: as far as the Church is concerned, only the Church's sacramental marriage is valid anyway.

Until now, the Church has sought to co-operate with the civil authorities because it makes sense for the Church to act as legal registrar for marriages that take place in church. But this will change if the civil authorities redefine marriage.

There are a number of practical advantages in simply de-registering churches, and it will of course also save the clergy the bother of extra paperwork. The Church's own paperwork  already neccesarily keeps them busy: each bride and groom have to show evidence of baptism, of being free to marry (ie not married already, not under a vow of celibacy etc), and so on.

In the past, some people sought to marry in church who were not eligible to do so - eg people who were divorced and whose previous spouse was still living. But when the Church gently explained that this was not possible, they did not sue. Under planned legislation, and in the current climate, the Church could be vulnerable to legal challenges unless it is made clear that there can never be any offer of any form of legal marriage in a Catholic church, and that all that the Church can offer is Holy Matrimony, on the terms God offers.

A Church-married-but-not-state-married couple might feedl they had some legal need to consolidate their status by going through a legal procedure, eg for tax purposes, and the Church would not prevent them from doing this. If they wanted to divorce, that would not alter their being married in the eyes of God. With today's divorce practices, which are often unjust (fathers denied the right to see their children, etc) , the Church does well to remain unconnected with the tangles of  it all.

Freedom for the Church is going to be a major issue in the years ahead, both in Britain and in other Western nations. For a useful comment on the position in the USA, read here.

Important...

...words on the subject of Catholics and Jews here... 
and I draw the attention of some of my readers to this...especially the chap who wrote offering to send me a copy of an anti-Jewish diatribe. Please note: the Church specifically denounces material of that kind. In this Year of Faith the documents of Vatican II are being given renewed attention and invested with renewed and long-term significance. Read the link just given, and also here...

Wisdom...

...from Papa Benedict, visiting a set of homes for the elderly run by the S. Egidio community. He spoke about old age as a blessing.

"One who makes room for the elderly, makes room for life. One who welcomes the elderly, welcomes life.”

for British people...

...like me who need to know a bit more about this whole Obama/religious freedom thing: here is a good piece to read.

"O God our help...

...in ages past..."  We gathered at the War memorial in Borough High Street to observe Remembrance Day. The War Memorial there is particularly poignant, as it depicts a First World War soldier in full kit, gallantly going forward,  in the mud of the Western Front - and because it was erected just months after that War ended, it is accurate in every detail. This particular Memorial has become familiar since I started going to Evensong and weekday Mass with the Ordinariate group at the nearby Church of the Precious Blood. It seemed the right place to observe Remembrance Day. Under a clear sky,  a crowd gathered, the bugle notes of the Last Post rang out, the police stopped the traffic, and we were silent.

It's an utterly different country from the one for which the men of the Great War fought and died. In the crowd, a number of young men failed to remove their wolly hats or baseball caps. The crowd was adequate but not huge.  When we prayed the Our Father, many people didn't join in: they all too evidently simply didn't know thre words.  The singing was good, led by the excellent Ordinariate priest and congregation in fine voice. The bugler was superb. The  wreaths were laid, the dead honoured, the tribute to our history paid. And the young men like the one on the fine monument before us will never grow old, and we will remember them...we will remember them.

Ordinary...

...life goes on, even though somehow the knowledge that America has voted for same-sex marriage and compulsory funding of abortion through insurance schemes, and that our Govt is busy with similar horrible ideas,  covers  everything a slightly unreal feeling.  While keeping up with the news on such things, Auntie spent recent days at various events and meetings. An excellent day-conference of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, culminating with a Mass at which the liturgy was in the particular Anglican-rite form.  If you are an Anglican reading this, and you long for familiarity and good English worship, you should have been at this Mass. Echoe and echoes of 1662 plus dignified chant and resounding hymns...

In the evening I went to a friend's house in Chelsea for supper and we watched the extremely good film Karol .  Haven't yet seen it? You simply must.

And on Saturday I was giving a talk to a Marriage Preparation group at St Mary's, Cadogan Street. Lots of delightful young people, great atmosphere, a sense of great joy and hope. Walked back through Chelsea with Father Innocent, a priest from the diocese of Lagos in Nigeria who is currently studying in London and has joined the parish team for a year, and with a student from Allen Hall who had been on a placement in the parish for a week or so...we spoke of St Thomas More as we walked along where he once lived, and stood by the great Thames, his river and ours...Allen Hall is thriving at the moment, good numbers of young men training for the priesthood.  In the Spring my Catholic History Walkers will be making their annual visit there  for the now traditional history-tour,  and tea, and joining the men for Benediction...

Interested in carol-singing in central London? Contact me, by sending a Comment to this Blog, with an email address at which I can reply to you. Date is Monday dec 17th, time: 6.30pm...

PLEASE...

....would the kind correspondent from Australia write to me again with an EMAIL ADDRESS TO WHICH I CAN REPLY written into the actual text of his Comment?I would love to be in touch!

PLEASE NOTE:  if you write a Comment to this Blog I have ABSOLUTELY NO WAY OF REPLYING TO YOU UNLESS YOU GIVE ME AN EMAIL ADDRESS.

Deeply, deeply worrying...

...and things are going to be horrible. The election results in America are very bad news.
Courage and wisdom are needed for the future. Read  here  for a good analysis.

Vatican II...

...and a discussion group at the home of a lovely, lively London Catholic family. An excellent presentation on Dei Verbum. A delicious supper (platefuls of Polish bigos with creamy mashed potato. Wine. Choc cake). Much talk: thoughtful,challenging, analytical, positive. A strong sense of a desire to seek Christ. A chorus of young voices in prayer. A busy priest (hospital chaplain, tough job) who had joined us for the evening. A senser of a Church alive and missionary. The Year of Faith.

Women ...

...meet at a Christian group called the Wives Fellowship. Auntie has been invited to give various talks, and yesterday's , at a Surrey gathering, was about Hallowe'en.  Explored the story: pagan ideas about death as Autumn comes, the Christian message, All Saints, All Souls...

A friendly group, with women sharing Christian values and ideas...

The latest MAGNIFICAT

...by which I mean the excellent monthly prayer-manual that arrives by post and is a joy to use and handle - has a feature in it by Father James Tolhurst. Fr Jim is a family friend - he married Jamie and me at St Elphege's, Wallington, back in 1980. He is the author of a number of books, and something of an authority on Bl John Henry Newman...

Magnificat is a must-read: it always carries a particularly beautiful work of art which is discussed and explored by a good art historian - the Nov. writer is Elizabeth Lev. It has Morning and Evening Prayer for each day, information about the feast-days of the various saints as they come up (with lots of interesting snippets about obscure saints from long ago, or local saints in particular corners of Britain or the world), the Mass texts for each day, and some good features, meditations, and extra prayers...

Pouring rain and a crowded cathedral...

...on a November morning. I went to Westminster Cathedral for Mass because I thought it might be useful to hand out some leaflets about the Towards Advent Festival to people as they left (Saturday November 24th, Westminster Cathedral Hall: BE THERE!). I certainly chose the right day - it was the annual Catenians' Mass (all Catholic groups and guilds etc have All Souls Masses for deceased members etc at the Cathedral in Nov.)  and there were hundreds and hundreds and HUNDREDS of them, all with their wives and families, packing out the Cathedral.  The Catenian Association is a main supporter of the Festival, really its backbone  and our excellent chairman Brian Towler is a Catenian...the Mass was glorious, with the choir in excellent voice...

I handed out all the leaflets to people as they poured out after Mass, and could have handed out more, wished  I'd brought twice as many...and then  went round to the Cathedral Hall, which was jammed with Catenians swapping news, and was welcomed by many friends. They are a super bunch, among them several who are v. active with the Catholic Union: much talk of  current events,  religious freedom, the Govt's ghastly plans for new law on marriage etc.

Sent off FINAL corrected version of my latest book to the publisher.  Computers have changed the whole relationship with publishers: chatty lunches, the excitement of the arrival of the first proofs, the skills of printers, all gone, and now it's emails back and forth, and the author doing all sorts of techno-things herself...this book will perhaps be among my last to emerge as a book at all, as over the next years it will all be downloads and read-it-on-your-ipod. It feels bleak, like getting a voucher at Christmas instead of a parcel, or chatting to a friend on the phone instead of meeting over a drink.

Bl. John Paul, Pope Benedict, and Vatican II...

...and an evangelical approach to the Faith.  Lots of  good material in Maryvale studies (in addition to academic work, I decided to take a course in Evangelisation, and am loving it).   The Second Vatican Council emphasised the importance of every baptised Christian being a missionary, bringing the message of Christ to the world.

For years, I  heard a sort of general  message that "before Vatican II everything was going well - we didn't need this Council", and in a way I sort of accepted this without thinking about it very much. I  took the attitude that, well, the Council happened and we had somehow  to make the best of it. But I also knew that this was a lazy approach and that the reality was all rather different. When I actually studied the documents and also related them to my own experiences of being an active Catholic, I realised how crucial and valuable it all was and is.

And now, here I am, celebrating the 50th anniversary of that Council and seeing the hugeness of it . And the Catechism, the 20th anniversary of which we mark this year: our family copy, much used, is on the ledge beside me as I write this.

Islam, and evangelisation...

...and Maryvale.

Arriving at Birmingham, en route to Maryvale, the first priority is always to buy a packet of those useful coffee-filter-in-a-cup things, which allow you to brew some REAL coffee by simply pouring the hot water through the filter. Everything about Maryvale is splendid, except the coffee.

Armed with sufficient supplies - it looks mean just to pour a cup for oneself, so there always has to be enough to share around  a bit  - I then headed for the bus-stop,  but the crowds were so huge that I gave up and got a taxi. Another part of the Maryvale arrival routine is being evangelised by the taxi-driver: most Brummy taxis seem to be driven by kindly, courteous and enthusiastically Islamic drivers. We invariably get on well, and they invariably try to urge me to read the Koran and/or consult various Islamic websites etc. Conversations usually begin with "So you're a Christian?" and then a question such as "Why do you Christians have two Bibles?" (by this he means the Old and New Testaments) or "How can you say Jesus was God's son if he died on the Cross?" or "Why do you Christians believe you need to confess to your priests?" I tackled these and asked him various questions  myself. His knowledge of Christianity was scant. We ended up having a really quite profound conversation.  And this is not the first, second, or even the third or fourth time that this has happened: it is literally the case that almost every time I get a cab in Birmingham, the driver turns the conversation to religion and urges me to consider the claims of Islam, while I in turn gently try to suggest something of the claims of Christ, no mere prophet but the One promised from the beginning, God himself...

And so to Maryvale - for a course of lectures on evangelisation!

A Mass for All Souls Day, a tasty supper provided by the dear Brigettine nuns, a late-night chat in the students' common-room during which the talk turned to the DVD shown to the Bishops at their recent Synod indicating Europe's demographic slide into an Islamic future...and later still, looking out from my window into the moonlight with Birmingham's city lights on the horizon, much to ponder and pray about...

My room was next door to the one which, in recusant days, was used as a secret chapel. Today we use a newer chapel (built in the late 18th century, when the penal laws were not so savage) and the All Souls' Mass was well attended by local people: Maryvale has a long tradition of devotion to the Sacred Heart and on the first Friday of every month the traditional devotional prayers are said, and people like to come. The altar on which Mass is celebrated is the one that Bl. John Henry Newman used when he made Maryvale his home in the mid 19th century.

There was no one else sleeping in this part of the house this weekend, and it felt very, very silent and the corridors are very, very dark and the stairs creaky.

Vatican II...

...and the Holy Father's important words, pointing to the documents and message that will guide us on this 50th anniversary and Year of Faith: here...

All Saints, All Souls...

...and vast crowds in Oxford Street and Auntie struggling along with them. Impossible to move at one point - sheer pressure of humanity. No, they weren't celebrating All Saints' Day. They were there to shop.  Christmas decorations already hanging up above the street, but not yet lit up.Half-term, and huge, HUGE numbers of people shopping and shopping and shopping...

I needed to reach a bank -  had promised to get some figures for a small charitable group which needs info in order to complete its annual statement of accounts - but the vast crowds made it very difficult to get down Regent Street and the bank had closed by the time I arrived. Swept back into the crowd, I managed to break off into a side-street and walked through Chinatown to reach Soho Square, where I was celebrating All Saints at St Patrick's Church, and watching the young members of the 2012/13  St Patrick's Evangelisation School make their formal commitment. A beautiful Mass, Fr Thomas from the Community of St John concelebrating with Fr Alexander  the parish priest, and young Fr James Bradley of the Ordinariate acting as cantor for the chanted Kyrie, Gloria, etc. Afterwards, a cheery celebration in the big room up in the church tower - wine and snacks and lots of talk. A most useful talk with Marianne Cuthbertson of Maryvale, looking at the difference between evangelisation and catechesis, and the need for both. It made me  appreciate anew  the role of lay people in the Church's mission in the sense that Vatican II sought to promote and develop it: Maryvale is  central in all of this for Britain.

At St Patrick's, as elsewhere, a table at the back of the church where one can write the names of family members and friends who have died, who will be commemorated in Masses for the dead in this Month of All Souls. Every year, my list grows a little longer. Nearly twenty years since my dear father died, and as I wrote his name I had sudden beautiful memories of him.  And this year, a dear cousin died - remembered with very special affection, as she was one of bridesmaids thirty years ago...

Auntie is hurrying...

...off by train for the weekend. Her destination is here...

NEXT Catholic History Walk...

....Thursday November 15th, meet 6.30pm at  St Mary Moorfields, Eldon Street, London EC2.  We will walk around the City and learn something of its history, finishing on the steps of St Pauls's Cathedral....

Not merely an auntie...

...but a GREAT Auntie, and this for the fourth time. A lovely new great-niece arrived this morning, a joyful addition to the family.

Hurried out to post a parcel of celebratory goodies.

 Overdue domestic duties: much of the day was spent sorting through old books, and a great suitcaseful went off to the local church for the Parish Fayre. How old is "old"?  Several of the books that went to the Fayre dated from the 1970s and 80s, paperbacks detailing the plight of Christians in Russia (v. grim in the 70s - we used to stand outside the Soviet Embassy and shout out the names of people imprisoned in the gulag, collect signatures for petitions, organise vigils of prayer). Several were books on pro-life and pro-family topics, also from the 70s, 80s, and 90s - same debates and arguments as today, all predictions made by pro-life campaigners back then have come true, and we are still lobbying and praying and campaigning.

Will my new great-niece know about books or will it all be downloads from computers, with illustrations that jump about , and all history and biography accompanied by music and sound effects?  She will be growing up in a world where words unknown a decade ago will already seem old-fashioned: ebook, download, tweet, facebook. Will she  ever write a letter by hand, sew a seam, make jam?

Auntie is in THE PORTAL...

...which you can read  here...

Been reading...

Weigel's The Truth of Catholicism. Recommended.

 Are you coming to the TOWARDS ADVENT Festival on Sat Nov 24th? Westminster Cathedral Hall. Official opening 10.30am. Among the speakers: former Olympic speed skater now a Franciscan Sister of the Renewal. Plus a team celebrating Blessed John Henry Newman and the "Second Spring". Come and join in....

Been busy giving talks on journalism and the media to young people on half-term courses at a youth centre. The BIG gap in their education is in history and general knowledge. They are aware of this and find it frustrating. I ask them some general history questions: does anyone know who Gladstone was? Disraeli? Can they name the king who followed Queen Victoria?  Then I go back a bit: Who won the Battle of Waterloo? Battle of Trafalgar?

It's ghastly to be left in ignorance. And actually discovering your own history can be fun and satisfying. I compile a history chart, explain about the Roman Empire, Saxons, Norman invasion, Middle Ages...Henry VIII (he's about the only one they know, because of his wives: "divorced,beheaded, died/Divorced,beheaded,survived"...), Mary Tudor, Elizabeth...

We keep hearing that the Govt is going to "do something" about the disgraceful betrayal of young people and the way they have been banned from knowing about their country's history. Meanwhile, the thing to do is get on and teach history whenever you can.

for pure pleasure....

....click on to this site of the Dominican Sisters of St Joseph  and scroll down to where Sister Mary Catherine plays Mozart. Enjoy.  Just enchanting.

The Sisters do lots of good things, and initiated the John Paul Walk for the New Evangelisation, which last weekend took a grand crowd of us along the Thames.

The young team...

...of the St Patrick's Evangelisation School in Soho Square are a great bunch. Today and yesterday I was with them, and I'm impressed with their energy and dedication. Prayer, study, service to the local community especially those in need of a meal and friendship...there are special initiatives such as this one...

The church is of course beautiful, and people hurry in for a lunchtime Mass...you think there are not very many, but then you suddenly realise there are a good number filling up the pews towards the back...and then during the afternoon people come in quietly to pray before the Blessed Sacrament...

It was good to be part of the community for a little while, and I enjoyed the Rosary in the small downstairs chapel, the lively chat as we all sat at a long table for a community lunch, the celebration of a SPES member's 21st birthday, and the laughter as we recalled highlights of that Thames Pilgrimage on Sunday, especially the last bit in the mud and dark with the rain starting...

Poor Ambrose, Fr Alexander's dog, who walked the whole route with us, has spent the past two decades chiefly in exhausted slumber.

Religious freedom...

...is the issue of the day. Read Auntie here...

Storm in New York...

...so thinking of friends there and praying.

Twenty miles along the Thames...

...is a looooooong walk. But we did it, and a grand team of  John Paul II Walkers  packed out the chapel the Shrine of Our Lady of Westminster at Hampton Wick,  in good voice for Evening Prayer and Benediction, and then did full justice to splendid supper laid on by the Sons of Divine Providence and their team of helpers.

A wonderful day: the Thames Pilgrimage, praying for the New Evangelisation. This was planned partly as a Reunion for the young people who took part in the Summer's Walking Pilgrimage to Walsingham, but it turned out to be much, much more than that.

Arriving at Westminster Cathedral for Mass, I met D., who a couple of weeks earlier had walked a long part of the route with me, helping to plan the day. The Cathedral is always full for the Sunday Masses, so we were glad to find two places near the front. A glorious Mass - as always at the Cathedral, magnificent music -  and Fr Simon Heans, our chaplain for the day, concelebrated. Then out into the piazza - to be confrontd by a grand crowd of people, far more than I had hoped or imagined, all ready and eager for the Pilgrimage Walk along the Thames!

Down Buckingham Palace Road and along to Chelsea Bridge, across the river and into Battersea Park, where, now free of traffic noise, we were able to start praying the Rosary, led by Sister Hyacinthe.  Before leaving the park, we settled for a pleasant lunch, Fr Simon saying Grace, and by now we felt like a real community together. On down the Thames Path, Sister Hyacinthe giving us some excellent talks along the way, all equipped with microphone and notes: Vatican II, the Scriptures...

The weather was just right, the river rippled peacefully, golden leaves were strewn at our feet. Joggers and walkers passed us and we exchanged greetings: they asked about our banner (Our Lady of Walsingham)  and gave good wishes when we told them we had walked from Westminster Cathedral.  Kindly people at a Boat Club let us use the loos. Wandsworth, Putney, Barnes...we broke into hymns, we prayed the Rosary, we walked and  chatted...

Dusk was falling by now. We cut along the Upper Richmond Road so as to avoid the big loop of the river by Kew, and at Richmond an advance party caught the bus to Kingston. The rest of us  rejoined the river and walked , in darkness now... the line of walkers became straggly, well spaced out along the dark towpath. I went back and forth with my torch calling out in reassurance. We had children and parents,  and  young people and middle-aged and elderly among us.  A family of children walked happily together, the girls telling me with enthusiasm about their school (St Catherine's) as we passed it on the opposite side of the river: I was able to tell them that my mother was at that same school, more than seventy years ago, and was happy there  just as they were. A group of girls from various countries at a London hostel, led by a delightful nun, walked cheerily along swapping laughter and chat, oblivious to discomforts even though one was wearing beautiful blue shoes more suitable for dancing than a 20-mile hike.  Deacon Henry, who joined us from Oscott seminary, walked with vigour, unconcerned by the fact that this long day was the prelude to an early start on the morrow when he'd be flying to Rome on pilgrimage.  A team from St Patrick's Soho Square had brought Ambrose, Fr Alexander's dog, who seemed, like them, to be of inexhaustible energy.

The very last bit, once we had crossed the river just beyond Teddington Lock, was the only bit that felt really tiring: by now we were walking past ordinary houses and were nearly at our destination. And then, finally, we were there - a wonderful welcome, a true sense of homecoming, and the Sons of Divine Providence, accompanied by the Herald of the Gospels (a splendid group with the most magnificent religious habits I have ever seen!) literally welcoming us with open arms.

A chapel filled with prayer, a table laid with delicious food...a time to give thanks and there were speeches and cheers and applause.  Then relaxing, much talk, thoughtful conversations about hopes for the New Evangelisation, the worries about the future of our country and of Europe...

Vocations to the priesthood are up, there is a sense of great seriousness about prayer for the years ahead, the Year of Faith has been launched...this is a time for commitment and for courage.

Came across...

...this and found it delightful.

Auntie has...

...a feature in the latest issue of FAITH magazine...

A rallying call...

...to evangelise. Read here. The Bishops have come up trumps: it's a stirring call.

We shall be following the call tomorrow, as the John Paul II Walk for the New Evangelisation starts at Westminster Cathedral and heads off along the Thames to the Shrine of Our Lady of Westminster, some 20 miles up-river at Kingston. Along the way, we'll be passing some of the places that hold a huge part of our country's history - Chelsea where St Thomas More lived with his family, Syon where once stood the great Brigettine house - but also the homes and churches and schools and workshops and offices where the people of our great city and its suburbs live and work and pray, the parks and gardens where they relax and enjoy themselves, the sports fields, the boatyards, the pubs, the shops and restaurants. And we'll be praying  for God's blessing on everyone, asking that hearts be opened to the glorious message of the Gospel, and that in a spirit of goodwill and neighbourliness the truths of the Christian faith will be communicated and become clear, with a bright hope for this new century...

To participants reading this: it will be COLD, so dress warmly. Hats. Gloves. Scarves. It will be DARK towards the end of our journey so bring a TORCH or a lantern. Bring a good sandwich lunch, and something to drink. Be prepared to obey instructions: we will cross a couple of busy London  roads, and be walking alongside a deep and potentially dangerous river, so it will be neccessary at times to be well disciplined.

We'll be hearing some talks along the way, and praying the Rosary, and singing some hymns. There will be a good Tea waiting for us at Hampton Wick.

All readers: please pray for us.

Glorious...

...music from the Cardinal Vaughan Schola,  in concert at the Carmelite Church, Kensington, with funds raised going to Aid to the Church in Need.  The magnificent singing was interspersed with Scripture readings and other meditations, all honouring Mary, read by Fr Dominic Allain, the school Chaplain. It was a theological as well as a music feast. I have known and loved this Carmelite Church all my adult life - J. and I went there sometimes when we were engaged, and then many years later I found myself there giving Marriage Preparation talks to young couples...

The Schola, which has become famous over recent years for its superb singing, is in really magnbificent voice at the moment, and offers one of London's finest musical experiences.

The BBC...

...was one of the first big organisations that was the reciever of indignant letters and protests from the author of this Blog and her friends and colleagues, years and years ago in the 1970s...that was in the days when we were young campaigners and sickened by its  bias against  Christian and moral values. It was so frustrating that  protests against the display of sexually explicit material were dismissed, and  that vulgarity and sexual crudity were assumed to be wholly acceptable and rather clever. It was rare, on the Beeb, to have a  fair discussion of the great social issues of the day: instead there always seemed to be an assumption  that it was neccessary to promote a particular secular, political skewed world-view which reflected a sort Guardian-reading-London-dinner-party pomposity. This was especially true of any programme that discussed sexual morality, or even news programmes covering related topics (eg a pro-life march or rally, and there were a number of huge pro-life events in Britain in those days).

And now...the sordid everyday reality of life at the Beeb in those days is emerging: staff  being subjected to sexual overtures, paedophile activities quietly ignored, a culture of acceptance of horrible behaviour. What we all long suspected turns out to be true: this was an organisation where immoral and even gross behaviour was regarded as normal, and opposition to it as merely narrow-minded and absurd.

Mary Whitehouse, the leader of the "Clean Up TV" campaign, which became the National Viewers and Listeners Association, was widely derided as a prude.. For years, she was deemed to be a "non person" at the Beeb, even though she became a national figure as her campaign gathered strength.  I was and am very proud to be have been one of her young supporters and, as the years went by, a friend. She was brave, dedicated, and loyal - a woman of great faith who spent time in prayer each day, reading the Bible each morning and night with devotion. Mary and Ernest had a happy home life and were a real example to younger people

The NVALA organised excellent meetings and conferences discussing the role of the media, morality, education, and family and community life.  It sponsored  awards for good programmes, ran events for schools and youth groups, trained people for TV and radio work. It was a voice for thousands of people who saw the massive influence of TV, and knew that the mass media would expand further and further and be a gigantic influence on all our lives. Evidence was mounting that Britain's tragic rates of divorce, sexually transmitted diseases, abortion, and youth crime were going to cause gigantic problems, and that the influence of the mass media was a major factor in determining people's lifestyles.

Campaigning had its dangers: Mary Whitehouse recieved death threats from pornographers and from  promoters of paedophilia,  was sent vile things through the post,  was physically threatened and abused , and sometimes needed police protection.  But her work of NVALA, and associated groups  grew and flourished, and  ideas and values and hopes were passed on.

And back then, lots of people used to say "One day, Mary Whitehouse will be proved right."
 

Church and state, Bishops, the Economy, and Catholic social teaching...

...all discussed in an excellent talk given by Philip Booth of the Institute of Economic Affairs, at the Catholic Writers' Guild this evening. Drawing on Pope Benedict's Caritas in Veritate  Bl. John Paul's Centesimus Annus and Vatican II's Dignitatis Humanae along with Leo XII's Rerum Novarum,  he gave us a thoughtful and challenging exploration of current economic and social problems. He was scathing about the way in which much of what has passed for Catholic social teaching in recent years has omitted the truths contained in the documents mentioned, and has thus massively missed its mark. May we hope for better in the years to come? General opinion seems to be "yes" , as a younger generation of clergy  is taking a fresh approach and is less wedded to the economic ideas of the 1960s and the notion that the State should be the main provider and organiser of social welfare.

Over supper, general talk of Catholic matters....I'm underwhelmed by the (belated?) departure of Williamson from the Lefebvrists: the reasons  for his having  to leave  seem to be that  that he was disobedient and disruptive to the Society, rather than that he announced horrible opinions about Jewish people, and about the Church and the Second Vatican Council. And, alas, from Comments recieved (but not published) on this Blog, nasty anti-Jewish statements seem to be acceptable among supporters of the SSPX, in a way that I did not know about until recently.

Also discussed: worries about religious freedom, hopes for the Ordinariate, thoughts on the future of the C. of E. On that last point, I am quite genuinely sad about the fate of  the Anglican Church as it pushes itself into absurdity by its apparent ambivalence on the issue of same-sex marriage, and its tortuous discussions about lady bishops. I'm not being patronising: it really is horrid watching it all happen. Please, Anglican readers: there is a great and noble home awaiting you in the Ordinariate: God is calling you, and you are needed, and you could do large and exciting things for our poor country...

Remember...

...Saturday November 24th, the TOWARDS ADVENT Festival, Westminster Cathedral hall. Official Opening 10.30am with Archbishop Vincent Nichols. Music from the choir of St Benedict's school, Ealing. Come and celebrate in this YEAR OF FAITH!

Among the speakers during the day: Sister Catherine Holum, former Olympic speed skater, now a sister with the Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal.

Also: a celebration of Blessed John Henry Newman, honouring the anniversary of his "Second Spring" sermon.

And: a glorious art gallery featuring work by the Society of Catholic Artists. 

And: come and meet the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, the Catenians, the Catholic Truth Society, the Association of Catholic Women, the Knights of St Columba, and more, and more...plus Catholic books, statues, devotional items, craft goods...plus delicious refreshments, opportunities to chat and network, meet old friends and make new ones...

Admission free. Small charge for the main talks.

To St Mary's College,

...Strawberry Hill, Twickenham. Gave a talk to a group a the Benedict XVI Community House, on Faith, Culture and the New Evangelisation. I am interested in the point made by Weigel in his biography on Bl John Paul:   "Culture is what drives history over the long haul."  Not politics or economics. The Church does not impose herself by statecraft: she preaches the message of the Gospel - and sings it, and draws it, and paints it, and walks it, and celebrates it, and lives it in serve to the poor and sick and imprisoned.

My old school...

...St Philomena's, Carshalton.   Last night, I was due there for a radio show: Heart Gives Unto Heart Radio, a new internet-based  Catholic radio station, is making some programmes and will start to air next month. As I walked there from Sutton, I realised that the main gates (very grand ones - the school buildings are centred on a fine Queen Anne Mansion and its lovely grounds) would be shut. So I turned down Shorts Road and reminisced about using this back entrance very often as a Sixth-former, hurrying out to buy sweets and snacks...and the first gate I came across was also locked, so for a moment I worried that, as of old, I might have to clamber in over a wall (we used a route right down at the end of the lacrosse field...remember?).  But there is a new entrance further down, so I entered as a grown-up.  Posh new Hall where the old Margaret Clitheroe Dining Room used to be. Felt odd sitting there doing a radio show.

We talked about Catholic education, Catholic schools popular and over-subscribed...but are the children practising the Faith?...how to teach the Faith...the importance of beautiful liturgy...how to encourage young people to go to Mass...

A major issue is that of children of other faiths or none, who seek to attend Catholic schools.  There are so many Catholic families who seek places it seems unjust to exclude some in order to offer places to children of other faiths.   And what happens when parents get annoyed that their offspring are being taught Catholic doctrine and morals to which they object? That is a bit like insisting on your chuld being given a place at a dancing-school and then objecting when she is taught to dance! 

The school grounds, which are beautiful, looked ghostly in the dark and I remembered all those school legends about the Grey Lady, and the footman who fell down the stairs in the 1780s or thereabouts, in the days of Sir John Fellowes...

And the chapel, and the Quad, and that slithery Marble Passage where we weren't allowed to run...

Bit worried...

...about the great Pilgrimage Along the Thames on Sunday (see various posts on this Blog in recent days/weeks). Spent today sorting out various arrangements. What if it simply pours and pours w. rain and we just can't struggle along the towpath by the Thames any longer? I started to worry about this and then realised: we stop, and walk inland and catch a bus or two. The whole route, although it gets fairly rural at times (Kew Gardens, Old Deer Park) is in the London suburbs, and nowehere is far from civilisation and buses and indeed tubes and trains. Our final destination at Hampton Wick - just across the river from Kingston - is half an hour from central London by public transport.

But I'd still be v. grateful for the prayers of  faithful readers of this Blog - this is a young people's Pilgrimage, and the aim is to the pray for the New Evangelisation...may I ask, in particular, my American readers - especially those who love London and enjoy reading about it  - to pray for us? 

And whie on the subject of Bl. John Paul...

...here is a good read.

Santo Subito!

Worth watching...

...this video

and, while you're about it: have you signed the petition? Have people in your church signed it? Have you written to your MP?  And to David Cameron?

Today is...

..the feast of Blessed John Paul.  Once a person is declared Blessed by the Church, the feast-day can be celebrated - but only in the place(s) with which he or she has been associated, unless or until Bishops elsewhere make a special request. Thus today is a feast-day in Rome and in Poland. But the Bishops of the USA voted to ask the Church to have the feast celebrated in America and so today, it will be!

I think it would be great if it could be celebrated in England and Wales, too, so I am going to write to my Archbishop to suggest this. Why not join me, by writing a note to your Bishop, too?


There are a lot of plans for honouring Bl John Paul the Great, which will develop over the next years, and celebrating his feast-day will be an annual joy...let's get it well established in the calendar...

The Blessed Sacrament in procession...

...across the Thames, with about 1,000 people surging along in a great crowd...

We gathered at Westminster Cathedral and then, singing "Praise to the Holiest in the Height" processed out into the piazza and down Ambrosden Avenue and Horseferry Road to the river. Knights of St Columba - all wearing their formal ribbons of office and other insignia - guided us as we crossed Lambeth Bridge and walked on down through Southwark to St George's Cathedral. We sang "Sweet Sacrament Divine" and "How great thou art!" and other hymns, and said the Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary. The Blessed Sacrament was carried aloft under a canopy by Bishop John Sherrington, with accompanying clergy and altar servers, and Knights of Our Lady in splendid cloaks were in attendance.

At St George's Cathedral we all knelt in prayer - it took quite a while for everyone to pour in - and then there was a most glorious Benediction, a great roar of voices responding to the Divine Praises: "Blessed be God" "Blessed be his holy Name"... and things ended with a great singing of the Salve Regina, the sound surging up to the great arches and filling the whole cathedral...

It's now an established tradition: the Procession took place for the first time last year, marking the first anniversary of  visit of Pope Benedict, and the new feast of Blessed John Henry Newman, and now it's definitely here to stay.  Numbers seemed to me to be a bit lower than last year, but others said they were higher.We had nuns, priests, seminarians,  the SPES team from Soho Square, and lots and lots of ordinary faithful people...there is a report, with lots of pix, on it all .here...and another here...

Pointers for the future: we need more unity in the singing - a good choir at the front and back of the procession?  Some one suggested that we could all carry lighted candles (the sort that come in special procesional holders, as at Lourdes and elsewhere), which I would love, but it's difficult if there is a high wind.

As is traditional, the singing was a bit muddled - one half of the procession singing one hymn, others, further back, already embarked on another, while another set of voices had begun another Rosary...with large numbers, some incoherence is I suppose inevitable... Otherwise, no real hassles, oh,  except that we also had, as we all departed:, some protesters (this time, from the Lefebvrists!) handing out leaflets denouncing the Church...

Pope Paul VI: to be declared Blessed...

...says a news story from Rome   and I for one will be glad to have it confirmed, and to see the ceremony take place in Rome in this Year of Faith. Paul VI was a truly good and holy man, and one who suffered: his years fulfilling Peter's task were a sort of crucifixion for him. After the widespread opposition and denouncing of Humanae Vitae he must have felt horribly alone.  And yet how true and prophetic and courageous that Encyclical was:  today, we are watching Europe destroying itself: whole nations threatened with quiet, miserable, drawn-out disappearance, a refusal of new life, a big "No!" to the future by the simple and ghastly refusal to  have children. Paul VI spoke with wisdom and dignity and valour.  I remember, some time in the mid-1970s, recieving a letter from a priest who ended "...pray for the Holy Father in his Gethsemane."  

auntie on the subject of...

...London, her own city.

Today...

...I hurried to the weekday 10am Mass at my local parish and arrived a bit late. The priest was just finishing his homily and saying "...and there are lots of ways in which we can witness to our Faith in modern London. For example, why not join the big Blessed Sacrament Procession next Saturday, October 20th, starting at Westminster Cathedral....".  Which was Providential, because I had brought along with me a handbill, which I was seeking to photocopy in the parish office so that I could hand out copies all week. Perfect. After Mass,  and various domestic chores, hurried up to London. You will see me handing out leaflets in and around Westminster Cathedral piazza all week.

Been reading...

...."The Secret Life of John Paul II" by Lino Zani.   The title aims to get the book sold, and sounds tabloid-ish. But the reality is the thoughtful, vivid and rather piognant tale of Bl. JP's skiing trips in the mountains - he stayed at the ski-hut run by the author's family, went skiing with joy, prayed long and silently in the breathtaking beauty, came to know the family  and to share in their joys and sorrows.  And there is more: it was in this place that  some of the most terrible battles of World War I were fought, soldiers suffering and dying in the bitter cold - JPII's father was among those who battled there.....there is a great significance in all this and in the great rugged Cross marking the battlefield:  but do get the book and read for yourself. It's not great literature: the author is a mountaineer and ski instructor. But it's a good read and will get you thinking a bit.

The Year of Faith...

...is about seeking the truth in freedom. Pope Benedict, at Loreto this week, entrusted the project to Our Lady, and spoke about her "yes" to the Incarnation.

The Christian way is not to coerce or impose. Freedom is the key.

"God asks for mankind's 'yes.' He has created a free partner in dialogue, one from whom he requests a reply in complete liberty."

The Thames...

...with its choppy waters, winding its way in a series of great loops through London and  Southwark, Middlesex and Surrey.  Today a friend joined me to walk from Putney Bridge to Hampton Wick, checking out the route for the big John Paul II Walk on Oct 28th.  It was a longish walk, over 15 miles, and we stopped for lunch at Richmond, dropping into a pleasant pub at the end of the lane where  my mother lived as a child...

The full walk, from Westminster Cathedral to the shrine of Our Lady of Westminster at Hampton Wick, will be well over 20 miles and will take all day. Walkers need to know that much of the route is muddy: wear sensible boots or walking shoes. But it is a most glorious walk - trees meet overhead like a gothic cathedral's soaring arches, teams of rowers pass on the water with rhythmic splashes and with coxes  calling out sharp instructions, there are  families with children and dogs, and you pass places that echo with history: Kew Palace and Kew Gardens, Syon House,  the Star and Garter Home on Richmond Hill.

Along the way, we sought to work out any hassles that might emerge on the JPIII Walk, but actually the route is simple and it is just a case of "keep on".  Hampton Wick is just across the river from Kingston, and as our walk today finished, D. caught the train back to London from there, and I caught a bus home.

Meanwhile, for those who want to take part in an act of witness, but aren't up for a 20-mile river hike: come to the Blessed Sacrament Procession through London NEXT Saturday (Oct 20th) starts 3pm Westminster Cathedral.  We need you: come and pray for the New Evangelisation.

The light of hope...

...as crowds in vast numbers throng St Peter's Square in a torchlit procession to mark the Year of Faith, echoing that great vigil 50 years ago at the opening of the Second Vatican Council. And the Holy Father, like his predecessor Bl John XXIII, sends the children a kiss...read about it all here...

Is the Tory party is self-destruct mode?

...because at the moment it looks that way. Here we are in an immense economic mess, and with very considerable social  dfficulties (massive crime rate, large numbers of school-leavers unable to read and write properly, households where no one has any experience whatever of having worked and earned a wage, a birth-rate that is below replacement level) coupled with a desperately worrying international situation (tensions - to use a mild word - in the Middle East, our Army stuck in a mess in Afghanistan)...and the Conservative Party, at its annual conference, gets a Minister to stand at the podium and talk about same-sex marriage.

...and for sane people...

...over 16 who care about the future, here's news and a petition to sign...

Meanwhile, Boris Johnson...

...is talking nonsense, which he does from time to time. It's often quite fun to read him, but not this time. He thinks - or does he? I'm actually wondering if this is a spoof - that marriage can be redefined legally to include two people of the same sex, and that it will all be terribly jolly to do this.

Dear Boris: a joke's a joke, but this one isn't that funny. The boy Cameron's daft plan to redefine marriage carries with it real dangers, especially to human freedom. Think about it. Under the  proposed new law, a teacher who openly stated that marriage is the lifelong union of one man and one woman could lose her job. Ditto a magistrate, or a police offcier. Do you really want that? And, if you do, do you  think you are respecting people's freedom?

London has, within living memory, been a city famed for championing the cause of freedom. Boris: that heritage is yours to honour, not destroy.

Brompton Oratory...

...and the funeral of Alexandra Eversole, large-hearted, generous, a much-loved teacher, a wonderful hostess, a tireless worker for many good causes, fund-raiser for charities ranging from leprosy-sufferers around the world to disabled ex-servicemen in Britain...the Mass was beautiful, the church full, and in tribute to Alexandra's life of care and service to the community, the Lord Mayor of Westminster led the congregation.

It was a gathering of so many people who knew Alexandra and know each other, and it was both moving and beautiful to be there at prayer together...Catholic and Anglican, friends and family. In a fine sermon, we were reminded to pray for her and were given a rich perspective on what it means to be a child of God with eternity awaiting...

Like so many others, I am grateful to Alexandra for her hospitality (she hosted meetings of the Catholic Cultural Group which we founded back in the 1990s), for her example of faith (so many Sundays when we'd meet at the Oratory) for her loyalty and great love of Britain (her never-failing organisation of poppy-sales for Remembrance Day). I knew she had been a teacher, but only recently discovered how much she was loved and honoured by the pupils she helped and inspired.

And with her passing a chapter of Catholic London life goes, too...

...and the next...

...Catholic History Walks are:

Sat Oct 20th   the Blessed Sacrament Procession, starts Westminster Cathedral 3pm, crosses Lambeth Bridge, finishes with Benediction at St George's Cathedral, Southwark.

Thursday Oct 25th - tour of Westminster Cathedral. Starts 2pm INSIDE Westminster Cathedral.  No need to book - just turn up.

Sunday Oct 28th - a BIG 20-mile walk along the Thames: the John Paul II Walk for the New Evangelisation.  Bring packed lunch and dress suitably. Starts with 10.30am MASS at Westminster Cathedral. Finishes at the shrine of Our Lady of Westminster, Hampton Wick, approx 7pm.It would be useful to know if you plan to join us. Send a COMMENT to this Blog marked NOT FOR PUBLICATION, and include your email address.

Thursday Nov 15th. Meet 6.30pm at St Mary Moorfields, Eldon St London EC2.  A City walk. No need to book, just turn up.

The YEAR OF FAITH...

...has begun, and Westminster Cathedral was packed with people and glorious music and great wafts of incense and a  great, great procession of priests, for a special Mass that was celebrated in union with the Holy Father in Rome and bishops in cathedrals around the world.

In fact, I had forgotten that today marked the launch of the Year of Faith, and had simply planned to be at the 5.30pm Mass as usual before leading a Catholic History Walk. En route I fell in behind some young men, one of whom was saying "...so I got the von Balthasar book, but have only read four pages so far..." and I said "Golly I find von Balthasar simply terrific, couldn't wait to go on reading!  " and they swivelled round: they are a group from the seminary whom I have come to know well, and it was fun to be talking and laughing with them as we crossed the rainy piazza. I dropped in to the bookshop (St Paul's) and found it unusually crowded: some one else noticed too and asked why, and then I  felt rather daft when it was pointed out that the Year of Faith was about to be launched next door. I just managed to find a seat - next to some Franciscan Friars of the Renewal and behind some Maltese sisters  -  and the cathedral filled and filled, and the seminarians were among lots of others taking a special part in the ceremonies, which were headed by Bishop John Arnold as the Archbishop was in Rome with the H. Father...

We had Newman's "Firmly I believe..." at Communion: the words are splendid.

As the crowds slowly spilled out at the end of Mass a group gathered on the steps for the History Walk, despite teeming rain. And it turned out to be a particularly agreeable Walk: first the Cathedral itself, that great illuminated front facing on to the splashy  piazza, then Ambrosden Avenue, and Archbishop's House (tales of Wiseman, Manning, Vaughan etc), and then down Great St Peter Street to the Abbey and Parliament, passing Abbey Orchard Street and the Grey Coat Hospital (girls still wearing grey uniforms, albeit blazers and miniskirts) and finally to Whitehall, and the Cenotaph (where we keep silence as we walk past) and Charles I...

At the core of this particular History Walk were young people from the SPES team at St Patrick's, Soho Square - undeterred by rain, cheerful, interested, enthusiastic: when I asked, on reaching Parliament, if they wanted to stop there or go on to Whitehall, they opted for the latter without hesitation. A great bunch: their year's work includes tackling a Maryvale diploma while active with evangelism, outreach, social projects, and more...

,,,Commentators to this blog...

...need to know the rules. I reserve the right not to publish any comment. Anonymous comments will not be published unless the writer sends a separate note giving his/her name. Coy nicknames count as anonymous.

Oxford...

...in pale Autumn sunshine. The Oxford Oratory Church is having extensive renovation and rebuilding over the next years, linked to its associations with Bl. John Henry Newman.

Lunch w. fellow blogger and friend Francis Phillips.

Walked through the War Memorial Gardens to Christ Church Meadows - with November coming and the evening falling, and the gentle beauty of the evening, thoughts of the young men of the First World War.

Evening with a young relative, sitting agreeably in a big window-seat in a cosy room overlooking the river and talking of many things.

Late bus home, the Oxford Tube, reading von Balthasar (paperback purchased at Oxford Oratory) and  Ratzinger, and  being much illuminated by both. Meanwhile Pope Benedict has been speaking about Vatican II.

Spent the day...

...doing routine things (Mass, shopping, then to the computer and work, work, snack, work, work) so it wasn't really until evening, en route to an elderly relative, that I appreciated the golden glory of Autumn. Auburn and brown and bright yellow leaves scattering on the pavements along with shining horse-chestnuts. A chill in the air - wore a scarf for the first time and dug cold hands into my pockets to warm them. Glowing windows make homes look welcoming in the suburban dusk, A bus trundles into sight and the driver postively enjoyed seeing people get on board appreciatively after a cold wait. Just occasionally, you get these glimpses of the great beauty of ordinary  things. Deo gratias.

The SSPX...

...have a rather horrid booklet that seems to be used for recruiting purposes: some one sent me a copy a couple of weeks ago. It has a section on Jews that is really nasty  and various angry tirades which reveal a mixture of bitterness, sneers, anger and confusion over the Church and her teachings. I honestly didn't know that their official line was like this. Ugh.

The biggest meeting at the Tory party conference: ...

... the one supporting marriage. Watch this video - and write and tell David Cameron that this is the central issue of the moment. A country is based on families: attempting to redefine marriage is a project doomed to fester into social disintegration and to bring hardship, sorrow and social problems on a massive scale.

The Catholic Women...

...of the Year Luncheon always begins with a rising crescendo of noise as women gather and greet one another and talk and talk,  and then more arrive, and more, and more....AND THE NOISE IS PRACTICALLY DEAFENING! Drinks, and photographs, and much bustling about as people make their way to the dining area and then the Top Table (the elected Cath Women of the Yr, plus chairman and speaker etc) walks in to great applause...it's all done in a very grand style.

Edmund Adamus, of the Department of Pastoral Affairs for the diocese of Westminster was our special guest speaker and was superb. He spoke about the special roles of men and women in the Church, quoting extensively from Bl. John Paul,  emphasised the crucial centrality of family life and the sacred  core of things in the home, the domestic Church,  and ended up with a most moving and inspiring quotation from Mulieris Dignitatem...Auntie's job was to give the Vote of Thanks, and found her task delightful as both he, and Mary Killeen, speaker from the Maryvale Institute (to which funds raised by this year's Luncheon will go), really uplifted us all.  Sitting at the high table at such an event enables one to see how the whole thing is going, and every year I am impressed by the lively chatter and the easy interchange of everyone - it really is an excellent event which brings together Catholic women who relish the chance not only to celebrate their shared faith but also to swap news and ideas and information...among the useful contacts Auntie made were a young student pro-life leader, a journalist working for a political website, a Maryvale graduate now planning to do more study and research, and of course friends old and new enjoying the day...

It was a pleasure to be sitting next to Jo Siedlecka, one of the Women of the Year.  We have often overlapped at various events working as journalists and she is a talented and hard-working writer who has put her skills at the service of so many good causes: it was a real pleasure to see her recieve a well-merited honour.

After lunch, time for a quick cup of tea with Patti, fellow-member of the Association of Catholic Women, and  fellow campaigner and worker for various causes, and  a quick consulting of watches...would it be feasible for me to make a dash to Oxford, for the Newman Night Walk? The Luncheon was held at the Thistle Hotel near Marble Arch, so Paddington was do-able...I decided YES, and and s very very glad that I did.

The Night Walk is special.  It commemorates the wet and stormy October night in the middle of the 19th century when Dominic Barberi  arrived at Littlemore, having travelled there by stage-coach. He had recieved a message that the Rev John Henry Newman would like him to stop by.  As he stood by the fire, with his soaking cloak, Newman came into the room and knelt at his feet, begging to be recieved into the Catholic Church...

We gathered at the Oratory in Woodstock Road, and walked to Littlemore, led by a couple of Oratory Fathers. We prayed the twenty decades of the Rosary along the way, and made a series of stops, each marking a significant event in Newman's life - Oriel, the University Church, St Clement's, the cottage at Littlemore where his mother and sisters lived, Littlemore Church  which he built and from where he served the local poor people with such love and care...

A wonderful, wonderful walk. It is not far - perhaps four and a half miles. The rain which had fallen steadily all day had ceased. The lanes and meadows of Newman's day have given way, of course, to roads and streets of suburban-style houses, but we walked where he walked, and we prayed prayers he wrote, and sang his  "Lead kindly light" as we set off for the final section,  carrying lighted candles.  The sisters The Work organise all of this, and when we got to St Dominic Barberi Church at Littlemore, they had hurried there ahead of us and we kneeling before the sanctuary, in their beautiful bridal-style Choir robes, with white veils.

Each of us took on that Walk our own special prayer-intentions, our hopes and our worries, and asked for Newman's intercession and laid it all before God...

The Year of Faith...

... and prayer-cards being distributed after Mass, and a letter from the Archbishop read aloud. My mind went back fifty years, to the announcement of the Second Vatican Council, and prayer-cards with Pope John XXIII on them. It seemed exciting, back then, to be given something at church - this was in less prosperous times, and before photocopying and cheap printing - and I felt rather important walking home holding this. I stared at the picture: the Pope was plump and wore a fur-edged cape and looked comfortable and cheery. Inside was a long prayer, several paragraphs, asking God's blessing on the big Council that was planned.  It was all obviously something that mattered to the grown-ups, but to me it was just something to put in my prayer-book as a sort of souvenir.

And this afternoon, settling down to some Maryvale study, the documents of Vatican II are core materials. The Catechism of the Catholic Church - its 20th anniversary is being celebrated as part of the Year of Faith too - is the central took for evangelisation. John XXXIII is honoured as Blessed, along with John Paul the Great, who was one of the Council Fathers and  took a major part in its proceedings. And a young theologian who played an important role is now Pope and calling us to prayer as John XXIII did half a century ago.  And I walked home from Mass with another prayer-card in another missal, and the Faith is the same in a changing world.

Glorious classical music...

...from talented young people, in a magnificent "Kids Prom" at St James Church, Islington.  Among the talented young performers - all in their early teens - was a young relative. Auntie sat glowing with pride. Cello, piano, violin, flute, trumpet, clarinet, voice...some fabulous pieces of music, and all in the beauty of a lovely church on an Autumn evening, with home-made cakes (the young team had  done those, too) in the interval. Afterwards, a talkative time at a family gathering, young people munching pizza, parents and grandparents and friends and neighbours enjoying wine and everyone in the afterglow of a wonderful concert...this is Britain at its best.

Home on the Tube. Slithered on the vomit on the floor, but managed toget to a seat. As new passengers arrived, we all - strangers, but united in mild adversity - united to warn them of the need for care. "Ugh!" "Yuk" "How gross..." . One girl, in a hurry, slithered and fell. As I passed tissues and commiserations, we all got talking. They askd me what I was reading. "um...well...theology. I'm doing some study - one of those part-time degrees. Loving it."  We got talking about God, the Bible, Christ. "What's your take on it?"  a girl asked, with genuine friendly curiosity, as one pondering some odd new information or weird piece of news. "Well...." I thought for a long moment. "I don't think Christ was lying....I think he was who he said he was. And I think it's stunning: that God didn't stay remote from us, but came and joined in...." And as we talked, there was an extraordinary bond., and somehow something beautiful, as we carefully made our way out past the vomit on the floor and the shrieking youngsters at the station, to the bus stop and our various homes.

Catholic humanism...

"Without God, man ultimately chooses selfishness over solidarity and love, material things over values, having over being. We must return to God, so that man may return to being man"  Pope Benedict XVI, speaking at the shrine at Loreto, where he went this week to mark the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council. Pope John XXIII went there on the eve of that great Council, and Papa B. told the  10,000-strong crowd this week that he was following in the footsteps of that "unforgettable Pope".

Various meetings took me to a suburban shopping centre for much of yesterday. It is a place which has been familiar to me from childhood, and ought to be rather nice now, as the old High Street has been pedestrianised. The shops are all large-scale chain-stores, and the street was filled with stalls selling cheap clothes and fake jewellry, and there was loud rock music blaring...but instead of a sense of friendly bustle, it seemed to be filled with people - among them many who were unusually fat! -  with an odd listlessness, eating and shouting, throwing food wrappers on to the street, gazing at shop windows and in a weird way, despite the crowds, somehow disconnected from one another.

Catholic History Walks...

...and the Autumn season is well under way. Note these:

Thursday Oct 11th - Westminster, Parliament, and Whitehall. Meet 6.30pm on the steps of Westmnster Cathedral, after the 5.30pm Mass. No need to book, just turn up. Wear suitable clothing and shoes - we walk whatever the weather.

SATURDAY OCTOBER 20th. THE PROCESSION OF THE BLESSED SACRAMENT from Westminster Cathedral, across the Thames, to St George's Cathedral, Southwark.  Starts 3pm at Westminster Cathedral. Don't miss this! Tell all your friends and family. Make this a great act of witness to the Faith!

Thursday October 25th - a tour of Westminster Cathedral. Meet 3pm inside the Cathedral.

Sunday October 28th - the John Paul II Walk along the Thames.  From Westminster to the shrine of Our Lady of Westminster at Hampton Wick - a walk of some 20 miles.  Join us: we are walking and praying for the New Evangelisation of our country. Bring your Rosary, a packed lunch, and water to drink. Starts at Westminster Cathedral after the 10.30am Mass.

Thursday October 15th. Meet 6.30pm at St Mary Moorfields, Eldon St, London EC2. We will explore the City and some of its old churches, finishing on the steps of St Paul's Cathedral.

Prayer and fasting...

...can bring evil things to an end, and can invite God's blessing into places where there was darkness and despair. The Forty Days for Life project is all about this, and you can find out more by following that link. Robert Colquhoun, leading organiser, has gathered numbers of young people to join in this campaign of prayer: It is worthy of support.

Blessed Sacrament Procession...

...Saturday October 20th 2012, starts 3pm WESTMINSTER CATHEDRAL, finishes with Benediction at St George's Cathedral, Southwark.

Come and witness to the Faith!

We will gather in Westminster Cathedral, and then move off down Ambrosden Avenue, and so down through Westminster, crossing the Thames at Lambeth Bridge.

Last year over 1,000 people took part...come and make the 2012 Procession as good or even better!  It is a glorious and unforgettable experience  to share in this great act of witness in the streets of London. Be there!

A solemn mood...

... in discussions with a fellow Catholic journalist... Read here...

Vatican II...

...the theme of a talk given by Bishop Mark Davies to The Keys, the Catholic Writers' Guild, last night.

He speaks in a measured, low-key way, thoughtful and well-prepared. His talk was Christ-centred, warmly supportive of the Council, reflective: he emphasised the futility of seeing things in a "left/right" "conservatives/liberals" series of battles and conspiracies - what matters is the larger reality, the teachings that emerged, the message of hope and renewal, and the opportunity now offerred, by the forthcoming 50th anniversary,  for new evangelisation drawing from the same prayerful faith as that shown by Bl. John XXIII in summoning the Council all those years ago. The Fathers of the Council were gathered, he stressed, not in a sort of Parliament, but in the service of the Church.

The overall message of his talk was that the 50th anniversary is something to celebrate and honour, and that the Council's teachings will serve the Church well in the years ahead. It was a view with a mature perspective: the Council seen in the light of Blessed John Paul and the Catechism.
I first met Bishop Mark years ago through the FAITH Movement, and his general approach very much chimes in with the message that I received through that Movement about Vatican II throughout the 1970s and 80s. He exudes a prayerful and calm sense of competence, and of confidence in the Church.

At the meeting, I was able to announce the winners of the 2012 Catholic Young Writer Award, which is run jointly by The Keys and the Catholic Union. We have joint winners this year - twin girls at a school in Loughborough. Info here.  I will be going to the school the present the Award a shield, plus a modest cash prize, and books) in a few weeks' time.

Also: The Keys was one of the founders of the Towards Advent Festival: Sat Nov 24th. Join us there! Opens 10.30am, talks, music, stalls and displays by a wide range of Catholic groups and organisations...

Vanishing...

...the England where I spent Saturday...

A much-loved regimental padre (C.of E), a who in retirement settled in hunting country, and was a generous host at wonderful lunch parties and dinner parties and tea-parties, died full of years and  his funeral was  in the village church. It was Michaelmas and the 50th anniversary of his ordination to the Anglican ministry. J. was unable to attend, but village loyalty and regimental loyalty - and ties of friendship - required a presence from us. A golden September day:  bus and tube to Paddington, and thence out to the West Country, changing at Bristol Parkway and meandering on that lovely route through rural Somerset to the  market-town where I would catch the local bus to the small seaside town where I would collect an elderly relative...and where we would both be met by a kind friends who would take us to the village. Yes, in modern Britain, it is still possible to do journeys like that: motorways are of no use if you don't drive.

The village church was packed. Elderly relative  ushered into a suitable front pew. I joined people in the porch...and found myself unexpectedly sitting next to J's former CO.  We hadn't met for years...not since Berlin in the 1980s, when J. was a troop commander under him...a vanished Berlin, with The Wall, and regular patrols along it, and East Berlin a strange and alien place with Marxist slogans, and we were in the West, and people could still be shot for trying to flee to us...

We whispered gosh-its-been-years and how-is-Jane? and of-course-little-Anna-must-be-grown-up-now and so on, and then the organ began and a procession of clergy, all white surplices and wide stoles with regimental crests, formed up outside and we rose and sang.  How extraordinary, as a middle-aged woman, to be singing "All people that on earth do dwell" in Michaelmas sunshine and thinking back across half a lifetime to Berlin...and all in the village where I came first as a fiancee and then as a bride and daughter-in-law, oh, years and years and years ago...

And here was an afternoon of the old C. of E., the one that is passing and won't be here much longer....and we will all be the poorer. Glorious singing. A grand sermon - some very, very funny anecdotes, and then by gentle changes a move to a message that was stirring, and inspiring,  important and  worth hearing. Dignified prayers. A final hymn "Glorious things of thee are spoken..." that could be heard in the High Street (shopkeepers all talking of it later). And, as we crowded out into the sunshine the finest sound of all, the funeral-peal of the bells, solemn, beautiful, English, unforgettable.

A splendid Tea - not just proper sandwiches (triangular, no crusts, smoked salmon) and scones with jam and cream, and lemon cake, and eclairs,  but also sherry and gin-and-tonic...and a garden of mellow Michaelmas slightly fading beauty, and quantities of Anglican clergy and their wives, and talk of Army things and country things, hunting and gardens.

Much later, booked into a b-and-b for the night, elderly relative safely delivered home,  I walked along by the sea. The moonlight made a great silvered pathway out to the horizon over the waves.  The small white cottages, once homes to fishermen and the harbour-master and so on, now all holiday-lets or comfortable retirement places, looked cosy with glowing windows.

Lying in bed, the shrieks and shouts of the local teenagers getting drunk and fighting brought me back to modern Britain and that's what life is like.

OREMUS...

...as well as being the familiar Latin exhortation to pray, is also the name of the monthly magazine published by Westminster Cathedral. Auntie has a regular article  in it, exploring the feast-days as they come up in the calendar, and some associated customs and traditions. The October edition features two recent beatified figures who are linked. One Beatus beatified the other, and both share a name.

Tried guessing?

OK, I'll tell you. Bl. John Paul - whose name, before he became Pope, was Karol - beatified Karl, the last Emperor of Austria-Hungary.  Bl. JP's father  served in the Austro-Hungarian Army and in due course named his baby son after the Emperor. 

Both Blessed Karl  and Blessed John Paul have their feast-days in October.  And both, interestingly, find themselves in October for unusual reasons: a feast-day has traditionally been the day on which a saint has died,  but Bl. Karl has instead been given his wedding-day, and Bl. John Paul the day on which he was elected Pope.  Both these new Beati would otherwise have had feast-days that clashed with Lent and Holy Week and  Eastertide.

Restrictions on religious freedom...

...are listed in detail in a  most interesting - and very very worrying - feature in the latest VOICES magazine from the USA.

Americans have a choice in the election this Autumn.  What choice does a British voter have, faced with both a Governent and an Opposition committed to rewriting the law on marriage and  forcing on everyone the pretence that two members of the same sex can marry?

And, if my Member of Parliament is reading this: please, Mr Hammond, could you possibly reply to my request for a meeting to discuss the proposed legislation? The implications of the new law are becoming increasingly clear, especially as they relate to the position of teachers in Catholic schools, and the possibility that they could be told that they must not present to teaching of the Church on marriage and related issues.