The FAITH Movement...

...Summer Session, held in the beautiful setting of Woldingham School at Marden Park in Surrey. This lovely valley has its own small railway station, and the school is approached via a long lane winding between meadows where cows munch lazily and great horse-chestnut trees cast glorious shade.  An added bonus - most mobile 'phones don't work there. Bliss.

This year's conference pack  has a list of all the FAITH Sessions going back to the very first one in 1973. Oh, we didn't have conference packs then, or badges on loops with information about fire drills, or anything like that. And there were  40 young people gathered at Roehampton that long-ago summer. Now, there are several times that number, some of them the  now-grown-up offspring of the first attenders. Plus many, many priests who have become linked to the Movement over the years...and a great number of seminarians, some from Rome, some from the diocesan seminaries here in England...

Excellent talk by Sister Andrea Fraile of the Sisters of the Gospel of Life. Excellent discussions over meals or in groups gathering in the courtyards and garden. A packed chapel for Adoration, and a Penitential Service, during which confessions were heard. Suddenly, across the silence, the searing siren of a fire alarm. Silently, everyone dutifully plodded out of the chapel and out to the official Fire Assembly Point, where there was a roll-call. For some reason, standing there and hearing each person answer up to his/her name  called out  from a list, I had a sudden frightening premonition of what it might be like in prison, with a roll-call of Catholics summoned for disobeying the latest spiteful infringement of our religious rights and liberties...

Back to the chapel, Undeterred, confessions continued, and then Night Prayer and Benediction. It is singing the Salve Regina that always brings back the deepest memories...now, a new generation of young men's voices starts the prayer, and as we all join in, I'm thinking of others summers decades ago, and the unchanging truths that have been taught and shared...

In reply to...

...the chap who wrote in asking about the rules for Comments on my Blog.....the rules are , in general:

nothing too long; nothing that has an offensive, discourteous  or bullying tone;

not too much from one particular commentator (ie imaximum of one or two  Comments on any one topic from any individual); 

nothing anonymous unless the person concerned sends a separate email giving his/her name, and possibly not even then if the comment is too rambling or discursive or rude; and

nothing that simply prolongs a discussion once I feel it is time to draw things to a close.

These are roughly the rules used by newspapers for publication on a Letters Page.  Newspapers also reserve the right to edit or shorten letters, but I am unable to do that on a Blog.

I told you...

....that Archbishop Mueller was a good man (see earlier post "...and while on the subject of  Rome...") .  Now  read more 

Beautiful liturgy for your parish...

...is achievable. Book in for this conference.  A weekend of music, instruction, ideas and inspiration, with a glorious concert thrown in. Auntie hopes to be there for at least part of it all....

The excellent Archbishop...

...Chaput of the USA has given an important lecture. What he says is, in all sorts of very obvious ways, absolutely true of Britain too. Read, pray, act.

The Prime Minster...

...has made some offensive - and frankly stupid - comments about the Church's teachings on same-sex unions. It is worrying to see him assuming that he can attack the Church in this way. From time to time, as an assertion of my freedom to do so, I publish the teaching of the Church, taken directly from the Catechism of the Catholic Church, on this topic. If there comes a time when I am told by some public authority that I may not state this teaching, or affirm my commitment to it, publicly in Britain, we will know that something terrible has come to pass. Note this: I am publishing this because I affirm my full commitment to this teaching and my right to do so as a Catholic in Britain. Here it is. Starts at section 2357: Homosexuality refers to relations between men or between women who experience an exclusive or predominant sexual attraction toward persons of the same sex. It has taken a great variety of forms through the centuries and in different cultures. Its psychological genesis remains largely unexplained. Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity,141 tradition has always declared that "homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered."142 They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved. 2358 The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible. This inclination, which is objectively disordered, constitutes for most of them a trial. They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. These persons are called to fulfill God's will in their lives and, if they are Christians, to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord's Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition. 2359 Homosexual persons are called to chastity. By the virtues of self-mastery that teach them inner freedom, at times by the support of disinterested friendship, by prayer and sacramental grace, they can and should gradually and resolutely approach Christian perfection.

A friendly welcome...

...at a local Evangelical publishing house which produces attractive Bibles. The Schools Bible Project will be using some of these as prizes in the 2012 Project. The task of mailing out the prizes - a big one - will take up a week at the end of August and I have some good volunteers for the task, which is enjoyable as well as greatly worthwhile...it was excellent to be able to talk with a sense of shared values, and to sense a real concern for the needs of young people in Britain...

Exams, and...

...a mild panic when I arrived, as no one else was there. I was an hour early. The chap at the Cathedral was kind. I daresay he has met daft middle-aged ladies before. In due course other candidates arrived. Cups of tea. Into the examination-hall. Seats all marked with our names and numbers. Prayer. Distribution of papers. Then we began. Afterwards, much lively and pleasant chat - everyone briskly avoiding a post-mortem. Lovely chat with a lady, editor of a Catholic newsletter, who had opted for a Maryvale degree course after reading a feature on the subject sent to said newsletter by Auntie! Delightful. We hugged. The newsletter runs various competitions and I'm donating a copy of my book on JPII as a prize....lunch, now a tradition, with two fellow London-based students in my year group. Much talk. We've been 4 years together, working through Philosophy, Scripture, Ecclesiology, Mariology, Canon Law, and more...we shook hands and pledged to keep on keeping on. We meet again in Sept.

Spectacular...

...opening of the Olympics in London, but Auntie was tucked up in bed, reading von Balthasar, with exams looming the next morning...I was staying with a friend who had generously given hospitality so that I would be near the exam centre (the Amigo Hall at St George's Cathedral, Southwark, since you ask) in the morning. Overhead, as I sat studying, helicopters chattered and clattered. Further up-river that great spectacular was unfolding...and giving, from what all the reports and images seem to tell, a magnificent swirl through British history with just the right message of glory and humour...

Auntie on...

Vatican Radio. Listen here to Auntie talking about the Association of Catholic Women and the Day for Life and related topics...

...and while on the subject of Rome...

...I found this interview interesting. A good man.

...and...

...I spent time in Rome with EWTN's Joan Lewis, and did a programme for Vatican Radio... visited a number of bookshops. Dipped into this fascinating book, among many...could spend a fortune on books if I had money/space to put them...

...and...

...walking to various meetings, it was a joy to visit some of the great GREAT churches of the city. The New Cheese (oh, work it out - it's what the students at the English College call it) never fails to impress, and I have always liked Santa Maria in Transpontina in the Via della Conciliazione which is such a restful stop in the heat of that wide and crowded road. And the church of Sant' Andrea is, most usefully, opposite a new internet centre where I tackled some emails...in St Peter's I prayed - along with a lot of other people - at the tomb of beloved Blessed John Paul II and entrusted a number of things to his intercession...in the Square, a plaque marks the place where he was shot back in 1981. Look high up for the image of Our Lady with the "Totus Tuus" inscription and follow a direct eye-line down from there. In gloriously pouring rain I stood by the plaque but couldn't quite reach it because of the system of railings designed to keep in check the long queues of people entering St P's...the next day I returned in blazing sunshine and found a gate open, knelt to pray...

...and while in Rome...

...I went to Mass on Sunday evening in a modern church I hadn't even known existed. Ugly, I felt,and surely completely unneccesary in Rome where it stands within a very short walking distance of a number of other churches each of which is large and magnificent, rich in the glorious images painted and sculpted by some of the greatest artists of all time and soaked in centuries of prayer and music? However, this church had a good-sized congregation on a hot summer's evening, young people doing the Scripture readings, babies yelling from time to time, the poignant silence with the chiming of the bell at the Elevation...the reality of parish life. It felt somehow just right to find this normality within yards of the glories of St Peter's.

Rome...

...the eternal city. And, as in all the summers these past 2,000 years of Christian history, and all the summers before that, it's been sizzling in heat. There are occasional outbreaks of almost tropical-style rain, and the day after my arrival saw one of these, bringing comments about the Englishwoman from London who brought some London weather...I was kept busy, doing a programme for Vatican Radio, attending various meetings, and above all spending an unforgettable afternoon at a convent, talking to a wonderful gentleman who as a teenager was hidden there with other members of his Jewish family, during World War II. A kindly Sister with a sweet smile brought us a tray of fruit juice and pastries, and we sat around the table with Fr Nicoletti translating everything back and forth as Mr P. did not speak any English and I have no Italian. Outside, the sun beat down on the busy piazza, inside we sat in the cool room with its big old-fashioned furniture and its heavy tablecloth, various pious objects on shelves, and the sound of chanting coming from the chapel...and the tale of events of seven decades ago slowly unfolded...

MARK THIS DATE!!

...put it in your diary. Tell your friends. OCTOBER 20th, Blessed Sacrament Procession through London. Starts 2.45pm WESTMINSTER CATHEDRAL. For the first time, last year, a massive procession brought the Blessed Sacrament through London, from Westminster Cathedral across the river to St George's Cathedral, Southwark. The 2012 Procession will now follow this tradition, making the Procession an annual event. BE PART OF IT. Arrive at Westminster Cathedral in good time for a 2.45 pm start. Spread the word: put it in your parish newsletter, tell your family and friends and Catholic contacts. Incidentally, Oct 20th also sees a day-conference organised by Aid to the Church in Need in the Cathedral Hall: it will climax with all those attending taking part in the Procession.

Working with...

... a team of lively, bright young people on a school end-of-term project. They are hampered by lack of general knowledge, especially history. At their request, a special session on this - proved v.v. popular. Time-line of crucial events in British history... Roman Empire, arrivals of Angles and Saxons, mission of St Augustine, Saxon kingdoms, Norman Conquest, Middle Ages, etc etc. They also loved 19th-century stuff, Battle of Waterloo, Queen Victoria, Prince Albert, India, etc... Much enthusiasm..."Why aren't we taught all this?" "All we've done is bits and pieces, all muddled up. Themes, not proper dates and events." "Can we do more of this?"

Meeting of...

...the Board of the UK branch of the international charity Aid to the Church in Need. As always, a great deal to discuss. New catalogue of books etc out shortly. It includes the book on Fatima with a foreword by Cardinal Burke which is an authoritative guide to the visions and message. ACN's recent Vigil of prayer for persecuted Christians was something of a landmark, involved speeches etc in Westminster Cathedral piazza culminating in the carrying of a great cross into the Cathedral itself for the vigil of prayer as night fell...

Rather underwhelmed...

...with the statement put out by the Lefebvrists re the possibility of their being brought into full communion with the Church. Translated it seems to read as "basically, er, no thanks, but we'll talk to you again later". A bit of gratitude for the generosity they've been shown over recent months wouldn't have gone amiss...Rome has been v. patient and understanding...

Spent the day...

...working with a good team of both Catholics and other Christians on the Schools Bible Project.. Pupils at secondary schools across Britain are invited to study the New Testament - various specific events in the life of Christ, full details on that link just given. A good number of schools taking part this year, and a range of essays of a high standard.