The Sisters...

...at Minster Abbey in Kent  are inviting young women to a "Come and See" weekend, April 12th-14th .

They are delightful nuns:they live a contemplative life, have restored a Saxon convent, sing the Offices daily together in chapel, lead retreats, and have a welcoming  guest house. They offer weekends where you can learn various crafts, and have retreat-times for people who have been bereaved and for families with special needs.  I recommend a visit.

This past week...

...each evening I have been listening to CS Lewis' That Hideous Strength  as an audio book. It is some 45 years since I first read it.  It is, in the real and not the attempting-to-predict-the-future sense of the word, prophetic. And important.

Australia shrieks...

and this is relevant

And on the subject of Cardinal Pell....

...you must read this excellent analysis which looks at the whole subject,.

The issue at stake is justice: the jury is not meant to give an opinion on whether or not they like Cardinal Pell, but whether or not he committed the deeds alleged. One correspondent to this Blog wrote to me about this: his point was that it didn't matter whether or not these particular crimes had been committed: he just felt that the Cardinal seemed an unsympathetic character and so it was "karma" that he should go to prison. If that's a common view in Australia, then the justice system there cannot work.

...and here is why:

1. The allegation was that he had committed a sexual act in the vestry. At the time stated, he was actually walking in a procession in a crowded cathedral  accompanied by a number of other people, and then greeting people outside, watched by a large crowd. Witnesses gave evidence to this.

2. He was not in the vestry at the time described, nor could it have taken place later (see 3). He was fully robed and it would not be possible for him to perform the act described in the way described. On returning to the vestry after greeting people he was accompanied by other clergy, who were present with him until all left the cathedral together. They gave evidence to this.

3.The man making the allegation stated that it took place in the vestry while he was a chorister. Choristers did not use the vestry  nor could they have been drinking Communion wine as claimed as it was locked away elsewhere. At the time of the alleged act, the then-chorister and his companion (who has since died, and before doing so admitted that the whole event had not occurred) were with the rest of the choir, rehearsing for a Christmas recording. Had they been absent, this would have been noted.

4.All of this was established at the first trial when the Cardinal was acquitted. Attempts to invent other incidents have failed.

INNOCENT.

CARDINAL GEORGE PELL IS INNOCENT.

MASS in the nightclub...

....in The Siding, opposite Precious Blood Church - was  extremely packed,the somewhat catacomb-like atmosphere enhanced by the decorative style, which in this particular part is deliberately distressed-spooky-shabby with no windows.  The overflow congregation spilled out into the corridor and hall and entrance-way. The club had offered their largest space but it still wasn't big enough...it will be good to have the church back in use!  We all peered in later.... gathering in groups around the doors...the walls are now being painted and it will look beautiful, light, and dignified, with the magnificent font and marble floor leading the eye to the sanctuary and altar.

I had planned...

..that this weekend's History walk would include a wander around Southwark and finish at St George's Cathedral, but , while sticking with Southwark and tackling  The Borough, St Olaf, Saxons and Vikings and more, we decided to finish by crossing the river and visiting the site of Bl John Henry Newman's birthplace, at the back of the Bank of England.  Most satisfactory.

The weird, unusually warm, weather made this a pleasant but tiring walk.I was very thirsty as it finished, and dropped into St Mary Woolnoth where there is a tea-and-coffee place.  This was closed but very lively Evangelical service was taking place, with young people from St George's Holborn singing and praying...they were super and readily brought me quantities of water and a brew of good tea...and I was glad to have a quick prayer there with them.

To St George's Cathedral...

...Southwark for the Mass welcoming the arrival of the statue of Our Lady of Walsingham in its Dowry Tour.  Traditional Marian hymns,and the main part of he cathedral full. Main focus of the display is a reconstruction of the Holy House, flanked by candles, with a box into which people can drop cards listing their prayer petitions...and all around the Cathedral displays tell the story of Walsingham and the Dowry dedication...

For over 50 years...

...a penfriend and I have been corresponding, following a link established when we were both Girl Guides!  We now have an annual get-together...and by tradition, this is always on or near THINKING DAY, the annual day on which Guides across the world think of each other in gratitude for this great movement and all it has achieved...

I met A. at Paddington as arranged, and we had a happy day in London...in Parliament, where we saw the commemoration of the bravery of PC Keith Palmer....in Westminster Abbey where we prayed together and lit candles...and in Westminster Cathedral where A. was amused to see me featured in the current issue of Oremus magazine...

Come and meet Auntie Joanna...

...and enjoy a weekend celebrating our heritage, with cookery, rhymes,  stories, history, and more!!
Find out about it here..and book in!  And tell your friends!

Everyone is welcome...come on your own (you will quickly make friends!) or with family...

England re-dedicated to Our Lady...and on a grand scale...

...read here. This is of real significance.

History...

...in the making, as we made our way on an afternoon Catholic History Walk, starting at St Mary Moorfields (a packed lunchtime Mass!  Lots and lots of office workers...and it's like that every day!) and making our way along London Wall and down towards the Bank etc...

We explored Roman, Saxon, Norman, Medieval and Tudor history, and then as we reached our final goal there was a gently celebratory mood as as a new chapter of history sparkled: at the birthplace of John Henry Newman we rejoiced at the news of his coming canonisation.

SUMMER SCHOOLS...

...at the School of the Annunciation in the glorious surroundings of BUCKFAST ABBEY in Devon. Dates: Aug 8th-11th 2019/ for  DISCIPLESHIP AND THE HOLY SPIRIT  with  sessions on:

❖ The Holy Spirit ❖ Theology of Grace ❖ The Sacrament of Confirmation ❖ The Gifts of the Holy Spirit ❖ Authentic Christian Discipleship ❖ The Sacramental Life & the Love of Jesus ❖ Meditation & Contemplative Prayer ❖ The Effects of the Holy Eucharist ❖ St Therese & the Martyrdom of Love


or Aug 12-15 for CHURCH HISTORY AND THE FATHERS  with sessions on:

❖ The Founding of Christendom ❖ Fundamental Themes in Medieval Church History ❖ Themes in Modern & Contemporary Church History ❖ The Apostolic & Pre-Nicene Fathers ❖ The Post-Nicene Fathers of the Church

Or: Aug 15th-18th for PHILOSOPHY AND APOLOGETICS with sessions on:

❖ Philosophy and the Existence of God ❖ Can we know the truth? ❖ Can we know Christ Who is the Truth? ❖ Philosophy, Catholicism & Moral Questions


You can find out more from:enquiries@sota-edu.com

Just been introduced to...

...THE VALUES FOUNDATION, an excellent organisation:  find out more about it here

They endorse this Statement of Values agreed by a group in Parliament led by Lord Alton.

This is an initiative that is badly needed. Why not contact them, show some support, and help give this group an effective voice?

REJOICE...

...our beloved John Henry Newman is to be formally declared a saint. Read here...

Save the date...

THE GENDER AGENDA

           A conference sponsored by the Association of Catholic Women

What does it mean to be male or female? How – and why – are the two sexes different?

Come and explore a Catholic perspective.

WEDNESDAY June 12^th 2019      

                 St Mary Moorfields, Eldon Street London EC32M 7LS

11 am Coffee and welcome  

11.30 am Kerri Christopher, The Humanum Institute.

What does it mean to be human? Discovering an authentic understanding of the uniqueness of human personhood and human identity.

1.05pm Mass, followed by buffet lunch

2.30 pm Louise Kirk Alive to the World.

What are the current trends in schools on teaching about human identity and human relationships? How can we help children understand and value the truth about human beings and our responsibilities and care for one another?

Discussion

4pm Tea and depart

Admission by ticket, £15.00p Send cheque made out to Association of Catholic Women to: ACW, Flat 2, Salamander Court, 135, York Way. London N7 9LG

Kerri Christopher holds an STB and STL from Pontifical University of St. Thomas through the faculty of Sacred Heart Major Seminary, Michigan, focusing on the New Feminism. In 2012, she became the first woman in the world to receive a Licentiate in the New Evangelisation. As part of her doctoral studies at the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome, she researched the nature of gender and the vocation of woman. She regularly teaches courses on the thought of St. John Paul II, systematic theology, and issues of sexuality.

Louise Kirk is the UK Coordinator of the character education programme Alive to the World.  and author of  Sexuality Explained: a Guide for Parents and Children. She serves on the Commission for the New Evangelisation in Shrewsbury Diocese and  is a member of the Lords and Commons Family and Child Protection Group and co-author of its latest report on sex education schemes in Britain’s schools.

I want a laity, not arrogant, not rash in speech, not disputatious, but…who know their religion, who enter into

                    it, who know just where they stand, who know what they hold and what they do not…

John Henry Newman

                             

                                 Association of Catholic Women: acwconference@gmail.com

A fascinating day...

...in glorious Sussex countryside, with the Bruderhof community. Established in Britain since the 1970s, flourishing for long years before that in Germany and elsewhere, it is full of young families. Find out more here...

Horror in New York...

...read here.   The Catholic Bishops have rightly denounced it.  But where are the other voices? Evangelicals seem to be less vigorous than 20 years ago.Episcopalians have long ceased to be a moral voice.

In response...

...to enquiries about getting my books, especially the one on John Paul II  - you can use this link...or, if you want a signed copy, send a COMMENT to this blog, with an email address to which I can reply and I will give you the info.

Candlemas...

...and, it being the First Saturday of the month, we had our regular Mass and spiritual pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham. At the door of the church, before Mass began,  we each took up a candle and Father Chris blessed them all, and us, with holy water, and we processed, singing, around the church...

It was all rather dramatic because the church looks extraordinary at the moment - bleak wooden planking on the floor covering the fine new marble, scaffolding along the walls, notices proclaiming "DANGER - keep out" at strategic points...

After Mass, we enjoyed pancakes, produced by Auntie Joanna following a French tradition...to eat large round pancakes is customary on this day because it marks the slow ending of winter and the re-arrival of the sun...

Today at Mass, more blessing of candles...this time the great boxes of them, stacked in the sanctuary. These are the candles to be used in church through the year ahead.

I love Candlemas...but am not enthusiastic about the slow disappearance of winter. I love cold, bright days like today. The Thames is magnificent in wintry grey with sparkles of sunlight, the pub windows glow and there is good cheer within, buses look splendid trundling through the dusk. I am in no hurry for the heat and glare of summer.

At St Mary's University, Twickenham...

...continuing work on the History of this remarkable institution. The Library and the Refectory are warm and cheerful while icy rain lashes down outside. 

On the first Saturday...

...of every month, we have a special Pilgrimage Mass honouring Our Lady of Walsingham here.  10am.  We make a spiritual pilgrimage to Walsingham, and say the traditional Walsingham Prayer. Afterwards, we have some tea and snacks and hear the latest news from the Shrine.

On the ghastly topic of sexual abuse...

...there is a lengthy but important contribution here.

We need to understand the truth, and grasp what has really happened, and is happening.

St John Paul...

...and a most enjoyable evening lecturing to a large gathering at St Mary's Cathedral, Edinburgh.

Interested in the book? Contact me, or read here

The Anglo-Saxons...

... were a most remarkable people, and you can connect with them  now at the British Library.Thousands of people have been doing so..

Once baptised and made Christian,  the Anglo-Saxons - barbarians from outside the Roman Empire, who invaded Roman Britain as that Empire crumbled -  produced the most magnificent books and illuminated manuscripts,  and in an extraordinary once-in-a-generation event, the most important of their prayer-books, psalters, Bibles and missals have been gathered as part of this magnificent exhibition.

I visited this superb collection with Sarah de Nordwall right at the beginning - the exhibition runs until mid-Feb - and we were riveted by it all. We had already been planning to offer a day of discovery of Anglo-Saxon Christianity, and this exhibition strengthened our enthusiasm. You can enjoy discovering Anglo-Saxon Christianity with us on March 4th, with pancakes too as part of Shrovetide. You will need to book: details here.

Scotland...

...and a meeting of the Editorial Board of FAITH magazine.

Back to Londn on the Caledonion Sleeper, a most agreeable way to travel.

This evening, to an excellent production of The Hiding Place, telling the story of Corrie Ten Boom and her family who hid Jewish people in their house in Haarlem, Holland,  in WW2. Her father was a watchmender and with her sister Betsie, Corrie led a quiet busy life, taking a special interest in the needs of mentally-handicapped children for whom she ran projects at their church. Then the Nazi invasion came, and there were people in Holland who were sympathetic to Nazi ideas and were also openly anti-Jewish. The Ten Boom family risked their lives to help Jews...eventually they were arrested, and taken to prison and from there to concentration camp. Betsie died in Ravensbruck. Corrie survived to tell the story and, especially, the Gospel message of love, mercy and forgiveness...

A powerful story, and one that we need to hear today.

Finally...

...the reputation of Bishop George Bell has emerged untarnished following a report into the unfounded allegations made against him. A statue of this great man - a truly noble figure, who helped refugees fleeing Nazi oppression and spoke up for true justice and decency in war - is to be installed in Canterbury Cathedral.

It would be right for the Archbishop of Canterbury to offer a proper apology for the way in which the memory of Bishop Bell was smeared. An opportunity will present itself when the statue is installed, and we must hope that he takes it.

I was glad to chair a meeting at Church House, Westminster, defending the reputation of Bishop Bell last year. Worth doing, and I found it moving to hear people who knew him, and/or knew of his life and work in detail, speaking of him.

The name of George Bell House in Chichester should now be restored, and a school bearing his name should now use it once more with honour.

Visited...

...this school to give a talk on the life and message of St John Paul II to the VI form.  A warm welcome, and a very enjoyable morning.  It was a particular pleasure to be greeted by a pupil who, when younger, had been a prizewinner in the Schools Bible Project. Info about this year's Project is here...open to pupils at all secondary schools in Britain.

The train journey back to London goes via Richmond, so I hopped off there to do some further research for the Catholic History Walks I am leading during the next weeks. Henry VII...a royal palace and the story of the Tudors...the Friars...Bl John Henry Newman...St Elizabeth of Portgual...and more...come and learn all about it! There are several Walks organised in this lovely riverside town...a place I know well as I began my journalism, long ago,  as a junior  reporter on the local newspaper, based in the main street...

A museum in Israel...

...had a display on the theme of religion and commercialisation. One item displayed a Cross and a McDonads figure: Christians objected and it was immediately removed.

When offensive material has been on display in Britain, Christians have often protested in vain. It seems that our sacred images are better respected in Israel.

Been visiting...

...the Community of Our Lady of Walsingham, at their new convent - in a converted barn! - at Dereham in Norfolk. A happy, peaceful time. They are very busy and hard-working,  running Dowry House in Walsingham, but have a structured life which includes a free day each week...and this week  they invited me to come and teach them how to make cross-stitch kneelers for their chapel!

It was fun tackling this together in their pleasant  and well organised craft-room. I think the resulting kneelers - each one dedicated to one of their varius Patron Saints - will look well in the community chapel up in the rafters of the former barn.

CALLING ALL RELIGIOUS EDUCATION TEACHERS...

...do make sure you know about the 2019 SCHOOLS BIBLE PROJECT. Open to every secondary school in the United Kingdom.  There are prizes to be won for individual pupils and for schools.

Find out about it here...

A delight...

...to lead members of the Sion Community through London on a Catholic History Walk. They are a wonderful team of people...doing excellent work in schools, and to my pleasure I learned that they have recently carried out a mission to my old school, St Philomena's in Carshalton.

We began at a section of the London Wall, and went on to the Tower, All Hallows, and then other churches including St Margaret Pattens and St Mary-at-Hill, and then finally crossed the bridge and finished at this church for Mass...it looks a bit bleak at the moment, but will look superb when the restoration work is completed. At present the new marble floor is hidden beneath protective wooden boards, and scaffolding is around the sanctuary sides...

I AM FED UP.,.,.,

...with campaigns against men.  So it was a relief to read this excellent feature.

This morning I led another History Walk around London. We stopped to pray at the site of St Thomas More's martyrdom on Tower Hill. Its stands in a small secluded garden, with his name listed along with those of others who were executed there.  It adjoins the large garden area that is sacred to the memory of the hundreds of men who died at sea serving in the Merchant Navy in two world wars.  These were the men who died bringing food to our beleagured country. They included boys in their teens. People like me were born into a free country because of men like that.

I AM FED UP WITH CAMPAIGNS AGAINST MEN.

A weekend of History Walks...

...first with a delightful group of young people, members of the Order of Malta Volunteers, from various European countries. We met at Westminster Cathedral and walked down to Parliament. A most enjoyable and happy afternoon. After I left them, a quick Tube dash to London Bridge, where another group of young people, led by Fr Hugh Mackenzie, based at St James, Spanish Place,   gathered for an evening History Walk, taking in the southern bank of the Thames, with stories  of St Olaf and Saxon/Viking battles. This was preceded by a cheery pizza supper with quizzes and games...

On Sunday, another group met at The Monument, and we walked to the Tower, taking in St Magnus the Martyr, St Mary-at-Hill, stories of the Great Fire, and more...

Jan/Feb issue of FAITH magazine has arrived.Copy sent on request: send an email to this blog, whuch I will not publish, with your name and FULL POSTAL ADDRESS...

Read Auntie Joanna on...

...the anniversary of Catholic Emancipation.  190 years.    Read here...

MASS for the Epiphany...

...and Father C. blessed pieces of chalk for us to take home for our house-blessings  with  the C+M+B inscription.  . I have duly replaced last year's date with 2019 over our front door, saying the traditional prayer...

J. unwell with a bad cold, so I took our Advent wreath and big Christmas candle into the bedroom for  him to enjoy a last lighting of the candles before it was all put away until next year...

Pleasant quiet Christmasssy days with books and visits now give way to the reality of neccessary work and worries...I have kept up with various writing and with other projects over the holiday, but things now continue in earnest.

Twelfth night...

...and a party at the home of an Anglo-Polish friend, Gosia Brezinska. Wine and bigos and delicious cakes...lots of friends...and we had the Polish tradition of the "Fourth king", and sang carols in English and in Polish. The chosen "king" also supervised the collection of funds, which will go to help London children needing special care...

Gosia is illustrating my latest book, due out in the spring (info on this Blog in due course...I'm not putting details yet - you will have to wait!!) and we have enjoyed working on this project together.  Her own book on Polish WWII nurse Bl. Hanna Chrzanowska has been highlighted this year with the latter's beatification by Pope Francis...

For the fun of it, I went to this Twelfth Night party carrying a small candle-lantern: it is lovely seeing this mellow light in suburban streets and is useful in checking names of roads, and house-nu,mbers etc. It also made for friendly contacts: pleasant conversations on the Tube and at bus-stops...

Enjoy Auntie Joanna's verses on the subject of why and how children should be allowed to learn the Lord's Prayer...

...in the latest issue of THE PORTAL. Read here...

...and you may be interested to read these predictions for 2019...

...read here...

Looking ahead to the summer...

...already the travel brochures and websites are urging holiday plans...

Give yourself a treat at Walsingham, and come and enjoy this weekend with Auntie!  Read here...

On New Year's Day...

...an evening Mass at this church, very crowded. Beautiful Christmas garlands highlighting the fine gothic interior.  For the sheer pleasure of it, I walked part of the way there carrying a lantern. Met some friends at Mass and exchanged New Year greetings...they offered me a lift back which I accepted...candle in lantern now nearly expiring.

Mulled wine at home, supper, and gratitude for a beautiful Christmastide with rest and relaxation, family and friends.

I'm busy with various writing projects...and have another History Walk tomorrow...

Looking at the reality of Britain as 2019 opens...the collapse of  important social and moral values in community life, the inanity and vulgarity of so much of our common culture, the problems facing the Church...and more...there are plenty of serious things about which to pray...and there will be a need for courage among Christians in the years ahead. This Christmas has been a time to be grateful for everyday mercies and to stock up, as it were, on Christian inspiration, with lots of faith hope and charity for whatever is coming.

An important read - with thanks to a reader who drew my attention to it...

... a forthright and neccessary comment on a disgraceful situation in Australia...

...and on to the duties and challenges of 2019...

...with three major writing projects and a rising number of Catholic History Walks, and lots of new ventures along the way...

over Christmastide...

...I've been enjoying  some of Dorothy L. Sayers' splendid detective stories featuring Lord Peter Wimsey. Pure enjoyment.

...and if you want areally delightful play to which to take the family, go to this one, which  comes HIGHLY recommended...

...after a very enjoyable History Walk...

...around Westminster, with young men from Rome's North American College, we finished in the Red Lion in Whtehall. I am impressed with these students for the priesthood - they give hope for the future of the Church in the West.

They were also kind and helpful: I had lost my mobile phone and was anxious.  The next morning, panicking, I bought a new one, and only when I had gone through all the trouble thus associated (sim card, transfer of number, etc etc etc) did an email bring the news of the discovery of my phone, harmlessly waiting for me in the church hall where I had left it...

It's old age arriving, I suppose...something to ponder for this New Year's Eve...

Auntie Joanna invites you...

...to start the New Year with a walk through London parks to see places of history as 2019 opens...

Meet 3pm Wednesday January 2nd, steps of Westminster Cathedral. Nearest station: VICTORIA or ST JAMES PARK.

More info here

...and as we look forward to a New Year...

...here is a wonderful description of the Church in mission in London, with Christmassy flavour...

Across London, from Marylebone to Charing Cross...

...we went on a Catholic History Walk, a crowd of young people, starting at St James' in Spanish Place with a cheery fish-and-chip supper after Mass. It was great fun, and a splendid way to finish the term's work, as it were...for at Charing Cross, with luggage all trundled along on the History Walk, I took my leave after a non-stop series of talks at every stopping point, and with mutual Christmas greetings and much goodwill headed off for the train.

And now  it's Chrisms, and holiday time. May this be blessed season for us all.

The choristers...

...at Precious Blood Church were just finishing their celebration Christmas Tea and as I walked down the road the sound of their singing "The Twelve Days of Christmas" wafted cheerily out from the Parish Room.  Later a more sedate group of us, mostly older parishioners, gathered for mulled wine and snacks after Evensong.

It's been carols all week....on Monday the LOGS sang in Flat Iron Square. Yesterday I was at Victoria station singing with a group organised by a friend with support from her local church, St Joseph's, Roehampton. 

With the year drawing to its close, a time to look back.  Asked by Catholic World Report for books I enjoyed during 2018, I produced this .

....and very cheering morning...

...with carol-singing organised by a friend, who gets a group of us every year to sing in all the wards of a big hospital where she sits on the governing committee. I had been reluctant to go, as yesterday evening I felt tired but, given n an early night with an excellent audio-book (Dorothy L. Sayers' minor Lord Peter Wimsey stories - recommended),  in the morning freshness it was suddenly fun. We went from ward to ward singing all the old favourites - Hark the herald, The first Nowell, shepherds and socks and Wenceslas and all....
Then a chatty lunch, and on to London for the annual Dinner of LOGS.

Decorating the Christmas trees....

...after Mass, on this Third Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday.

Two tall trees, one of either side of the sanctuary. They look superb, gleaming with lights and golden and silver baubles. The trunks, wide and thick. were hard to fit into the metal stands, and a strong parishioner chopped away at them with an axe to trim them. A rather notable sight to anyone passing in the street  as he swung the axe with vigour and wide-eyed children watched from a safe distance across the aisle.

A dropped bauble was found to have a neat hole - so with the assistance of an enthusiastic member of the Sunday School I wrote a note to put inside, and we hung the bauble on the tree...for the note to be discovered next year, or maybe in 10 or 100 years time, a secret hanging there amid the glitter...

On to Westminster, where I was leading another History Walk. Stopped briefly in the gardens by St James' Park tube station to eat a sandwich made at home earlier. The Walk went well - a good attendance and a cheery atmosphere. They were particularly interested in why and how we date Christmas and how it fits into the rest of the calendar - Lady Day, Midsummer etc - and we had a great time with fun and friendship and a sense pof the joy of the season...

Then afterwards, on arrival at the station to go home, I suddenly felt exhausted, and drooped. . The kind people at the Pret a Manger gave me a cup of tea for free and added a bar of chocolate. I nearly wept with the sudden feeling of being rescued. I needed it and, rested and fortoified, made it home...where I plan an early night.

...and carols...

...at St Mary's University, with a group standing manfully in the main concourse  as people hurried in the cold to and from the library and refectory.  I had baked some mince pies and we handed these out too as a goodwill gesture. The singing was good and  when we felt we had done our bit we repaired to the chaplaincy and finished off the last of the pies with mugs of tea...

I'll be singing more carols on Monday, in Flat Iron Square near London Bridge, with the LOGS group.  We have previous sung in London Bridge station, but Flat Iron Square is the new trendy place with pubs and clubs so we wanted to be there.  There are all sorts of trendy places set into the arches of the railway: we will be singing in one of these and the accoustics are excellent.  The night-club opposite Precious Blood Church has been a good friend to us all in recent months as we have had Mass there when the church floor was being relaid.

A GLORIOUS CONCERT...

...at St Clement Danes Church in London. It stands at the end of The Strand, opposite Australia House and near the Law Courts. It's a beautiful church, originally established shortly after the Norman Conquest, and rebuilt a couple of times, most recently following the WWII Blitz.

The concert was by a superb chamber choir,  Vivamus. Among the works presented was a most beautiful setting by Mendeslssohn of the Magnificat.  The words sound rather fine in German:"Mein Herz Got/ den Herrn, und es freut sich/Mein Geist Gottes/Meines Heilands..."  We also had a pleasing setting of "O Holy Night", a modern carol "My Lord has come", and lots  more, including some of good hearty traditional stuff in which we were all encouraged to join, which we did with great enthusiasm. A most inspiring and uplifting evening.

A young relative was singing in the choir and, this being the Royal Air Force church, her great-uncle's name is among those commemorated in one of the  glass-fronted memorial stands along the walls. He was shot down somewhere over the North Sea 75 years ago.  As it happens, he had a particular link to this part of London, as he worked for a while near Fleet Street and was married at St Bride's church.  As the music soared, I pondered that, and the story of our family that it represents, binding us to the story of London and of our country...

Cardinal George Pell is innocent...

...and I make this statement clearly and publicly. Truth matters.

The young prizewinners...

for the 2018 School Bible Project came to Parliament today to receive their prizes from our Trustee Baroness Cox. This is always a very delightful occasion and it is a joy to meet the young people and their families. It gives one new heart :a mix of religious and racial backgrounds, a great sense of goodwill and good cheer, a sharing in a celebration in the magnificent setting of the most famous Parliament in the world.

To St Martin-in-the-Fields...

...which now stands not in fields ploughed by Westminster's monks, but in a busy street adjoining the great Square laid out to mark the great British naval victory off the coast of Traf-al-gah in 1805...

Some weeks ago I found a tiny inexpensive gift in the very attractive shop in the church's basement, and sent it to a friend to be opened at Christmas. It occurred to me that the gift would also amuse my great-nephews and nieces soyesterday went to get another one. Then I sat in the very agreeable cafe and wrote my Christmas cards. It occurred to me that I was supremely happy sitting there. How rarely we give thanks.

The CATHSOC...

....at St Mary's University invited me to give a talk about St John Paul...we met first at the old chapel-in-the-woods  for the Angelus - the students gather there and ring the Angelus bell three times, and  pray together.  Then on to a lecture room in the Shannon suite - named after a former Principal of the College - where there was a pasta supper. A friendly group, and we were joined by some Sisters of the Assumption who have a small convent at the University to be a praying presence there.

If you would like  a copy of John Paul II - Man of Prayer just send a Comment to this blog - which I will not pubsh - with your name and address and I'll send it to you, and you can post me back £5.00 (This also applies to the USA, but make it $10).

John Paul is particularly interesting on the subject of authentic religious freedom - some insights here....

We will be singing carols...

...in the trendy hot-spot of Flat Iron Square, near the Borough Market, on Monday Dec 17th. Come and hear us!

To Sussex...

...for a meeting with the team that runs the Catholic History Walks.  The programme of Walks for the firstweeks of 2019 is now available: read here...

Earlier, on Friday, I took a group of young Australians on a walk around the Tower of London and a visit to Tyburn.   Starting at the gateway to the Tower, one can walk around the moat, pausing at Traitors' Gate and then continuing towards Tower Bridge  and going along the road to rejoin the moat path and thence into the Memorial Gardens where the young men and boys who lost their lives at sea in the Merchant Navy in two world wars are commemorated...and finishing at the site of execution where among many others John Fisher, Thomas More Archbiship Laud, and Lord Derwenwater were beheaded...

Explorations...

...with the Catholic History Walks, of WESTMINSTER CATHEDRAL yesterday and ST GEORGE'S CATHEDRAL SOUTHWARK today.

The latter - a fine Pugin gothic church, badly damaged in an air raid in WWII but beautifully repaired - is disappointing in some of its recent additions. A ghastly, unsightly enormous yellow cross with ugly decorations stands several feet high in a side-chapel.Apparently it honours St Oscar Romero, but it is hard to see how or indeed why. He is not a local saint, and there is much important local culture that is ignored. The cathedral's regular congregation includes Londoners whose family origins are from Africa, the Caribbean, the Americas, and many European countries...and the story ofthe Church in Southwark  also includes heroes and martyrs from Saxon times (St Elphege was martyred by the Vikings, nearby) to the Gordon Riots (which were started on this site, when it was St George's Fields). And how about a bit more about St George, and his links with this loop of the Thames?

There is just one newish addition of real merit - a fine stained glass window near the Blessed Sacrament chapel, , honouring St John Paul's visit to the Cathedral in 1982. This is probably the cathedral's best item: it depicts the Holy Father anointing the sick, who were gathered in the cathedral for this historic visit...the whole scene was powerful and moving.

FOR CHRISTMAS...

...or for Advent, with ideas for Christmas activities, recipes etc...

Why not try my "Books of Seasons and Celebrations" ?

Send me a Comment with your EMAIL ADDRESS and your POSTAL ADDRESS - which I will not publish - and I'll send you the book: send me £5.00p when you've received it..

Kingstanding, on the outskirts of Birmingham...

...presumably takes its name because the Royalist Army massed there during the Civil War.  Today, the inhabitants seem to eat many of their meals out of doors, leaving the chip wrappers, beer cans and expanded polystrene burger-boxes around the Kingstanding roundabout.It's a depressing place in which to shop, but I often go there to get extra coffee because halfway through a Maryvale weekend I tend to run out...pleasant coffee-breaks in the Redford Room with a cafetiere and chat.

Maryvale is  some distance away on Old Oscott Hill...all Catholic territory as a recusant family long owned the land. There is a busy Catholic parish, big Catholic secondary school, convent (now home to the Sisters of the BVM, formerly of Wantage), the Maryvale primary school, and the Institute itself, once home to Bl John Henry Newman and now welcoming students who obtain diplomas in catechetics or missionary work, or degrees or doctorates  in theology or philosophy...

Maryvale is a wonderful oasis...Birmingham with its swirl of motorways, the noise and the traffic...and then the  cheery sense of welcome as you turn in at the drive...

"How charming!" I thought...

... last week,when I bought the gloves, and saw that they had a tiny heart, in reinforced material, on the tips of the thumb, forefinger, and next finger.

No. These are 21st-century gloves and the reinforcement is neccessary because most people spend so much of their time using the those fingertips to tap on their wretched mobile phones.

ADVANCE NOTICE...

...of the John Paul Walk for the New Evangelisation, next August (1st-4th).  This annual Walk to Walsingham is organised by the Dominican Sisters of St Joseph and is glorious.  We walk through the most wonderful countryside, we pray, we sing, we listen to superb talks on aspects of the Faith.  We are given overnight accomodation in halls and schools, and there is a hot meal when we arrive at each pilgrim destination...and a splendid welcome at Sunday Mass in Walsingham.

Book the dateds in the diary now, and note that link for further information, booking forms etc.

A relief...

...to discover the actual statement of the Bishops of England and Wales on the "transgenmder" issue. You can read it here...

I don't want to be rude, but...do our bishops know what they are doing?

...in fact I sometimes wonder if they are in charge at all...

What bureaucrat put out that ridiculous Tweet,and why?

On the wretched "trans gender" question...

...it is time to speak out in defence of children who are being treated with drugs and surgical mutilation.

The Catholic World Report has published this on the subejct. Please read.

Anti-Americanism...

...is ubiquitous  in some quarters. Read ...here...

and on a more cheery note, please put these dates in your diary for December and for 2019......

...London at Christmas

Sunday 16th December, 3pm. A walk through St James' Park and on to the Christmas Tree in Trafalgar Square. Meet at Westminster Cathedral. Nearest Tube: Victoria.

2019

London in the New Year

Wednesday 2nd January, 3pm. Enjoy London in the New Year, as we walk to Whitehall and Trafalgar Square, visiting crib-scenes along the way. Meet on the steps of Westminster Cathedral. Nearest Tube: Victoria.

The City and Tower of London

Sunday 13th January, 3pm. A walk through the city with its turbulent history, as we hear the story of brave heroes such as St Thomas More and St John Fisher, walking towards the Tower of London. Meet at Monument Tube Station.

The City and Tower of London

Sunday 20th January, 3pm. A walk through the city with its turbulent history, as we hear the story of brave heroes such as St Thomas More and St John Fisher, walking towards the Tower of London. Meet at Monument Tube Station.

A Royal Walk

Sunday 27th January, 3pm. A walk exploring the history of the Royal Family and Catholicism, through St James' Park and on to Buckingham Palace. Meet on the steps of Westminster Cathedral. Nearest Tube: Victoria.

Richmond-upon-Thames

Sunday 10th February, 3.30pm. Discover the history of this river-side town, with its pre-Empancipation Catholic Church and ancient royal history. Meet at St Elizabeth's Church, The Vineyard, Richmond, TW10 6AQ. Nearest station, tube, and overground: Richmond.

A recent gathering in Parliament...

...with a Cardinal: read about it here....

And meanwhile the ghastly fall-out from the sexual-abuse scandals in the USA grinds relentlessly onwards, with the Pope's recent actions showing a tragic failure to understand how people are feeling and reacting in the USA...

In pouring rain, to Maryvale...

...where there is now always a sense of coming home, of things feeling comfortable and familiar as one turns in at the drive.

Funeral Mass for Mgr Paul Watson in Maryvale's chapel, known and used by Bl JH Newman: like so many Maryvale graduates, I owe Mgr Paul a lot...

Refreshments and lots of chat...

Then the Redford Lecture, given this year by the Bishop of Northampton.

And now today, I've just been in the laundry, pressing my gown for the graduation ceremonies which will take place in St Chad's Cathedral. I enjoy wearing my St Mary's (Twickenham) MA gown, with its special lining of Challoner rose-coloured silk.

I return to Maryvale next weekend to lecture to the BA students on apologetics...

PRAY FOR THE POPE:...

...he's been getting this whole McCarrick business mostly wrong so far. Read here...and pray for the Pope. I wouldn't like to have his job. He merits and deserves our prayers.

Young nuns...

...were busy at St Elizabeth's Church in Richmond, raising funds which they badly need - because they have good numbers of young women expressing interest in joining them...but have insufficient space to ccomodate them! PLEASE HELP these wonderful sisters.They are the Sisters of  Mary Morning Star and you can find out about them here...

And you can help them by sending a donation :Sisters of Maria Stella Natutina, Harvey House,Headley Road, Grayshott GU26 6DP

I was at the church to talk to Fr Stephen the parish priest about CATHOLIC HISTORY WALKS in this beautiful riverside town in the spring. There is rich Catholic history here...evidenced by names like Friars Stile Road and indeed The Vineyard in which St Elizabeth's stands...and there is Bl John Henry Newman's childhood home at Ham...watch for info in due course on the Catholic History Walks website...

I stopped to chat to the Sisters - we met at Youth 2000 a couple of summers back. These are young nuns, and it is somehow fun to have that mix of youth -  the way they talk ("It's, like. amazing, like, to be, like, praying" etc) -  along with traditional nuns' robes...

I bought some of the sisters home-made produce (bikkies, cake, some Christmas gifts) , enjoyed a cup of tea with them...

Home on the bus with lots of cheery Twickenham  Rugby crowds...

WISDOM...

...on Church/State relations...an important matter: read here...

The sound of...

...a roomful of young men saying the Creed together. Rather impressive. I was at the Faith Club at the John Fisher School. It meets every Friday, in a room marked with pictures of St John Paul. An enjoyable meeting, good questions and a lively atmosphere. The boys relish buttered toast after the talk, a tradition established by my mother some 40 years ago.  The school's chaplain, Father James Clark, is a former Fisher boy. The chapel has recently been repainted, in cream and white, much lighter than before, with  pictures of the patrons  of the various Houses, done in stained-glass style on the arches leading up the aisle. The great Pilgrim Cross, which founder members of Faith carried annually to Aylesford on pilgrimage, hangs on the wall at the back, with the date of each pilgrimage hammered into it in nails...

Been busy working on issues of "gender ideology"...

..and realised that we must see this wretched thing as part of the crude damage that is being done in so many ways to the natural world.  We understand the horrible mess that is being made in our oceans with the dumping of plastic waste and so on. The horrible mess that is happening to human beings with this wetched gender-rubbish also needs to be addressed.

 "Valuing one’s own body in its femininity or masculinity is necessary if I am going to be able to recognize myself in an encounter with someone who is different. In this way we can joyfully accept the specific gifts of another man or woman, the work of God the Creator, and find mutual enrichment. It is not a healthy attitude which would seek to cancel out sexual difference because it no longer knows how to confront it". Pope Francis, in Laudato Si.

Useful analysis...

...of the situation in which the American bishops have now been placed...here...

Difficult days for the Church. Pray...

The work of the Church goes on. Today, a gathering in Parliament organised by Catholic MPs and peers, at which Cardinal Peter Turkson spoke, tackling issues of human dignity and human trafficking. There is some good work being done by Catholic groups on this...including nuns who run places of refuge for young women caught up in this ghastly life of prostitution...

The recent Catholic Women of the Year lunch raised funds for Bakhita House...

Today's meeting was in the Speaker's House, approached via a rather grand staircase and entrance just off New Palace Yard. We gathered in rooms lined with enormous portraits of bewigged former Speakers. A gentle reflective  moment of history before the talk turned to the matters in hand:  Cardinal Turkson recalled singing "God Save the Queen  at school as a child in Ghana...

...and this is what it is like...

...going on a Catholic History Walk with some of Mother Theresa's nuns...read here...

The Glasgow Herald newspaper...

...has printed a short feature about the FAITH Movement, written by the Editor of the magazine. Might be of interest: read here...

REMEMBRANCE DAY..and ONE HUNDRED YEARS...

...since the Armistice of 1918 was signed.

J. joined his regiment for the march-past in Whitehall. I went to the local ceremonies at London Bridge. Later, to Westminster Abbey to hear the great pealing out of bells and to see the beacon lit, one of a great number across the whole country.

The bond that unites people in Britain for a short while each November is something quite extraordinary - and ordinary. People feel somehow normal: there is a sense of neighbourliness. In a packed pub, a kilted piper started to play and everyone applauded and called for more. Older men wearing medals - and especially really elderly men wearing  a row of medals - were greeted everywhere with respect. At Waterloo, taxi drivers wearing special "poppy rides" jackets offered free transport to Remembrance events to any Forces chaps, serving or retired.

People chatted, spoke of family members who had served in the Great War for the Second World War.. I thought of my grandfather, wounded twice on the Western Front...he reurned home finally to his wife and baby son...my Uncle John who in turn went on to serve twenty years later with the RAF in the Second World War and was killed, shot down over the North Sea...

As I write this, the beacons are still burning. When I am very old, I will remember that I was in London to mark the centenary of the Armistice, and that I remembered conversations with my grandfather who fought in that war.

NEXT CATHOLIC HISTORY WALKS...

...will be:


SUNDAY 18th November, 3pm:  on a ROYAL theme, starting 3pm Westminster Cathedral, finishing at BUCKINGHAM PALACE



Monday Nov 26th   A tour INSIDE Westminster Cathdral: meet at the main doors 3pm



Tuesday Nov 27th  INSIDE St George's Cathedral Southwark:  meet at the main doors, 3pm


NO NEED TO BOOK: just turn up!

On the USA Bishops' crisis...

...read this comment 

ALL SAINTS DAY...

...and  evening Mass at Precious Blood Church at London Bridge - not as crowded as the lunchtime Mass, but beautiful  with music (Merbecke - the Mass was in Ordinariate Form) and a cheery gathering afrerwards for anyone who wanted, with prosecco and chat before going out into the rainy night...

Come and hear the LOGS group sing carols:  Flat Iron Square, Dec 17th, from 5.30pm.

And a meeting...

...with a longstanding colleague from Christian Projects. Over 25 years ago, we established what is now the annual Schools Bible Project. The young winners of the 2018 project will be coming to London in December to receive their prizes at the House of Lords. There is a sense of achievement about this, but the whole venture is always a work-in-progress. The internet has changed things, not least with the publicity. Local newspapers, radio etc used to report on the project and the prizewinners etc....but it is one thing to have a cheery report in a local newspaper, and another to plaster a child's name and school over a worldwide massive system.  And - more importantly - we have to check for plagiarism in the children's work. In the days when all the entries were hand-written, very few children simply copied out something from a textbook, and it was easy to detect it when they did...today the internet offers massive scope for cut-n-past jobs. In a sense, I think that, in all this as in much else, there has been a sort of loss of innocence...

A day...

...at Aylesford Priory, established by Carmelite monks by the Medway  over 800 years ago, destroyed under Henry VIII, revived in the 20th century...and glorious on a golden Autumn day, with bright leaves fluttering down beneath a blue sky in crisp fresh air...

After Mass we lunched in the ancient, thick-walled Pilgrim Hall, and then enjoyed the library in its gallery...much to discuss, given the state of the Church and so on...

...and pondering...

...the need for prayer for the Pope, that he may do what is right and stand firm for the Church's teaching on the sinfulness of homosexual acts, and take action as required... read here...

Celebrating St John Paul's FEAST DAY

...and praying very much for the Church today....

Confession and then MASS at Westminster Cathedral where, as Canon  Christoher Tuckwell reminded us with a sweeping gesture of his arm to point it out, a great stone set into the floor before the sanctuary commemorates, with a Latin inscription, the fact that Saint John Paul  - many of us remember it - came to the Cathedral  and celebrated Mass there in 1982.

Then, with colleague Sarah de Nordwall, a visit to the superb celebration of Anglo-Saxon life and literature - glorious  illuminated books of the Gospels, psalters, and more - in the British Library. A working lunch there, planning joint history/poetry/cultural events for 2019 with the Catholic History Walks and the Bard School....

...and then, a celebration Tea to honour St John Paul and talk about what he taught us, with sharing of books by and about him...

And may St John Paul the Great intercede for us all in the Church today...we need his prayers badly...

Approaching the 40th anniversary of the election of the great JOHN PAUL...

...and hence his FEAST DAY, Oct.22nd.

And a message from his life, for the current Synod...read here...

WORKING ON...

...the history of this university  offers days in the library, adjacent coffee-shop, and lovely grounds.  Then, for the train journey home, I can choose something good from the library - currently Ian Ker on Bl John Henry Newman...

Been pondering and reading, too, about good St Paul VI...this week, following his canonisation, there are vicious attacks on him in the com-boxes of  some Catholic websites.  Some are astonishingly ignorant, and reveal a truly horrible mentality - showing the truth  his own sad comment about the "smoke of Satan" issuing into the Church. Such smoke has truly got in via these nasty attackers, who claim to be devout Catholics but are spreading anger and poison. Ugh. However, it has all prompted me to read more by and about him: his call to missionary endeavour and his Credo of the People of God...

...and to the Mansion House...

...home of the Lord Mayor of the City of London,  for the launch of the new School of Business and Society at St Mary's University.  The idea is to educate  "the whole person, not just from a business and technical perspective, but to provide ethical formation". Very well attended and done in grand style - my it all flourish and foster great and good things...

And in a private conference...

...a most useful series of talks on this ghastly promotion of propaganda - in our schools and with complete disregard for the truth - about how people can "transition" from being male to being female, and vice versa, simply because they have a feeling that they should.

Excellent input from medical experts, explaining how wrong this all is...but the most worrying aspect  is that there is no possibility of a serious discussion of this subject in medical journals as there is so much fear surrounding it. When a distinguished doctor wrote an important analysis in a major publication he was denounced by "trans" and homosexual/lesbian lobby groups because he did not share their ideas...and the journal formally apologised for oublishing his work.

It's horrible...like the ghastly staged trials in Eastern Europe in the 1950s with people bullied into denouncing their friends and colleagues, and retracting their own ideas on freedom and democracy.  What on earth is going on?

On the way home, I picked up an Evening Standard...a chatty feature by a young columnist described how she was "having a baby with a friend" with sperm from a donor, and was wondering how many unknown siblings the child might have.

The Britain of the near future is going to be a frightening place.

A visit...

...from Bishop Lopes, of the North American Ordinariate, who celebrated Mass at the Church of the Most Precious Blood at London Bridge this morning...all this week the three Ordinaries are meeting, so this was a chance for him to see this parish. Opportunity for a celebration...a glass of fizz afterwards along w. the usual coffee etc. For after-Mass gatherings, the parish now uses space at The Sidings, the nightclub under the railway arches where we had Mass during the summer when the church's new floor was being laid...

Meanwhile in Rome, St Paul VI canonised, along with St Oscar Romero and others...saints whose help from Heaven we can now invoke...orate pro nobis...

Paul VI was a man of courage. He was savagely attacked in his lifetime by critics who tried to spread calumnies against him, and now even when his holiness has been recognised by the Church for all time, there are crude voices raised against him. He is a saint for all who are maligned and villified for upholding the truth of the moral law and for loving and serving the Church...read here...

To Richmond...

...and to this church, which has seen a substantial rise in numbers over the past couple of years...it is across the river from St Mary's University, where I am often to be found busy with my research work.  Lovely to be in Richmond - a place with strong family asociations for me - on an Autumn evening.

Long ago, a young man made a film - in the early days of home cinematopgraphy in the 30s - about the Autumn tide along the Thames, bringing the Autumn to this roverside town. It  featured his parents and siblings: Autumn walks, his schoolgirl sister crunching into a ripe apple, the first leaves scattering down along the paths... and it won an award, and is now of course a period piece. If he had lived, I think he might have been a successful director/producer/writer...  But he did not live to do that. When war broke out, he volunteered for the Royal Air Force and was shot down somewhere over the North Sea.....he was my uncle and his name is on the big RAF memorial overlooking the Thames at Runnymede. And  you and I owe to him, and others like him, the duty of keeping our country a good and happy one, where truth and freedom are upheld and where we can worship God on an Auytumn evening and practise our faith without fear...

To Bexleyheath...

...in Kent, for a morning assembly, tp present prizes gained by pupils at St Columba'sCatholic  Boys School in the 2018 Schools Bible Project.  One pupil has won a major prize and will come to the House of Lords in December to receive it from our Trustee Baroness Cox. Full list of schools that have gained main prizes here...in addition, pupils at a number of schools across Britain gained runner-up prizes.

It was a pleasure to be at this school. The boys were smart in their uniforms, friendly and courteous to a visitor, and attentive to the Scripture reading and prayers led by their teacher. At the prayer "St Colmba. pray for us" they rather touchingly put their hands on their hearts as they echoed the response. Distributing the prizes  for the Bible Project is always enjoyable and maes all the work of organisation etc worthwhile...

And the latest FAITH magazine...

...can now be read on-line here...

Bl John Henry Newman...

...is commemorated annually on  the eve of his Feast Day with a Night Walk through Oxford, marking the night when he was received into full communion with the Catholic Church by Bl Dominic Barberi.  This year's Walk was  particularly splendid - a glorious Autumn evening, Oxford glowing in lamplight,  leaves russet and brown beneath our feet, and  a large crowd of walkers - including many young as this is Oxford.  The Walk begins at the Oxford Oratory and among the prayer-intentions was one for more vocations for the Oratorians - an apparently unnecessary prayer as there are a good number of young ones and it is all thriving...

I'm doing a good deal of walking at present. The next day, back in London, there was a Westminster History Walk. Again, large numbers. We start at Westminster Cathedral, walk down Ambrosden Avenue, learn about the Choir School and the Archbishops of Westminster from 1850 to the present, and head  down towards the Horseferry Road via the pubs and streets named after charity-schools (Green Coat Boy, Grey Coat Hospital etc), and on to Parliament...

WALKING....

...and walking....

After Mass this morning I walked around  Southwark and The Borough  to check the route for the afternoon's History Walk. Then lunched, and met the batch of walkers waiting at Precious Blood Church - a lovely friendly group - and off we set.  On every walk I learn new things...this time about St Olaf, of whom there is an unexpected statue in this church which I attended recently when weekday Masses were not possible at Precious Blood because of the renovation work.  St Olaf was the great Viking king who teamed up with Saxons to fight pagan Viking invaders and saved the city of London... I knew the story but until today I had not fully explored the memorial on the rather pleasing Art Deco office block that bears his name...

THE SYNOD...

...has opened in Rome, and THIS contribution by Archbishop  charles Chaput is of great importance. NOTE IT, ask your Bishops to follow it up: the issue is a central one, concerning truth, integrity, and the value of the human person.

Rose hips at Walsingham...

...and plenty of serious things in our hearts as we gathered to pray.

I gathered the rose hips along the Holy Mile, and am taking them home to turn into rose hip syrop for the winter. We of the LOGS group  had gathered at Precious Blood church at London Bridge and  were sent off for Walsingham with a pilgrim blessing after Mass. As we approached Walsingham we  stopped for tea with an Ordinariate family who have recently settled there and our pilgrimage began with a cheery catching-up of news and a real sense of welcome...and of course we met them again the next morning for Mass at the Church of the Annunciation where there is a good-sized congregation for week day Mass...

Our days of pilgrimage included a Rosary Walk along the Mile, a priviledged visit to the ruined Francican friary - the Franciscans are now back in Walsingham and much in evidence at the Shrine - and a most useful afternoon meeting for planning our future activities for 2019 and beyond...

There was also the unexpected pleasure of a splendid Pilgrimage Mass celebrated with pilgrims - and their Bishop - from the diocese of Lancaster, plus pleasant evenings one of which included a glorious long walk along by the coast at Wells.  The sun was setting in rose-ink glory beyond the sands, and the halyards  of the dozens of little  boats in the harbour were making that faint bell-like sound against the masts in the evening breeze. Kathie said "I'd like to sing 'The day thou gavest Lord...'"  and so we did, turning for home with the cheery lights of the town promising a welcome and a good meal.

A happy time, and a good pilgrimage. We had carried ourpetitions in prayer to the shrine of Our Lady and left them there. Plenty of concerns, and mostly not trivial ones: these are not easy times for the Church and the world.and a pilgrimage isn't an escape from reality but a way of connecting our own duties and responsibilities with reminders of God's providence...