...sponsored by the Catholic Union and the diocese of Shrewsbury. It tackles the whole question of parents, schools, and sex education...your opportunity to get informed.
Some excellent speakers. Organiser Louise Kirk is to be commended by a superb initiative, which could not have come at a better time. Click on that link, spread the word, and let this conference be a great event that helps to set a whole new agenda.
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Rain...
...and Auntie is known to love rain. But sheltering from torrential sloshes of water in Chelsea, it became clear that we could not follow the original plan for our History Walk and go along by the Thames and pause at St Thomas' statue, and follow on to Beaufort Street and Allen Hall...
Sprinted through the rain to the presbytery of the Church of Our Most Holy Redeemer and St Thomas More, and kind Canon Brockie said "Of course!" when I asked if I might have the keys to the church, and make it an "inside walk", doing a tour of the church and learning its history. Hurrying back, jingling the keys, I broke into "Singing in the rain..." and felt cheery.
It's a lovely church, quite unique, built in the 1890s, many interesting items including portrait of St Thomas More... it has a regular congregation of over a thousand every Sunday, lots of young people. But it's not particularly famous, and is in a very quiet side-road, with no passing traffic. Canon Brockie said " I often think I'd like to sit down with some of the people, especially all the 20- and 30-somethings, and just ask how they came to know about the church and why they started coming to Mass." He added that all the central London churches get large congregations. "The media just don't get it - whenever they show a church they always tend to show it empty with just a few people who have dropped in to pray. They never show a church on an ordinary Sunday."
Sprinted through the rain to the presbytery of the Church of Our Most Holy Redeemer and St Thomas More, and kind Canon Brockie said "Of course!" when I asked if I might have the keys to the church, and make it an "inside walk", doing a tour of the church and learning its history. Hurrying back, jingling the keys, I broke into "Singing in the rain..." and felt cheery.
It's a lovely church, quite unique, built in the 1890s, many interesting items including portrait of St Thomas More... it has a regular congregation of over a thousand every Sunday, lots of young people. But it's not particularly famous, and is in a very quiet side-road, with no passing traffic. Canon Brockie said " I often think I'd like to sit down with some of the people, especially all the 20- and 30-somethings, and just ask how they came to know about the church and why they started coming to Mass." He added that all the central London churches get large congregations. "The media just don't get it - whenever they show a church they always tend to show it empty with just a few people who have dropped in to pray. They never show a church on an ordinary Sunday."
Solace and inspiration...
...in reading Fr Leo Maasburg's book about Mother Teresa, with whom he worked in India and Russia and Armenia among other places...there are many gems in this book...some very amusing stories, some exciting ones and some poignant and tender ones...
But the main thing that I have learned is how little personal possessions really matter: how we should tread lightly and firmly across the years, getting on with what we are meant to do but not bothering about acquiring lots of material things or holding on to them once we have got them. I realise that this may be due to my own position as I plod into late middle-age: the desire to paste mementoes into albumns, and store up nice little nicknacks in drawers and cupboards has long faded, and even that oh-I-must-keep-that-dress-I-did-so-love-it has given way to the realities of charity shops and offloading things. But it isn't that: it goes deeper. We don't really own things: everything is a gift and lots of the things we really like could in fact be given away.
Mother Teresa - whom I met and of course have never forgotten meeting - was a very forthright and everyday sort of speaker. I mean, she didn't gush. She had simple tastes and liked to give out holy pictures and - especially - Miraculous Medals. She didn't offer pearls of wisdom - it was just a matter of doing what Jesus wanted and living b y the law of love. She talked about love, and seeing Jesus in everyone and especially in those who were suffering. And that was about it: oh, and she wanted people to smile a lot more. She urged her sisters to make a smile even if they didn't have one.
This has been a useful book to carry around on difficult days.
But the main thing that I have learned is how little personal possessions really matter: how we should tread lightly and firmly across the years, getting on with what we are meant to do but not bothering about acquiring lots of material things or holding on to them once we have got them. I realise that this may be due to my own position as I plod into late middle-age: the desire to paste mementoes into albumns, and store up nice little nicknacks in drawers and cupboards has long faded, and even that oh-I-must-keep-that-dress-I-did-so-love-it has given way to the realities of charity shops and offloading things. But it isn't that: it goes deeper. We don't really own things: everything is a gift and lots of the things we really like could in fact be given away.
Mother Teresa - whom I met and of course have never forgotten meeting - was a very forthright and everyday sort of speaker. I mean, she didn't gush. She had simple tastes and liked to give out holy pictures and - especially - Miraculous Medals. She didn't offer pearls of wisdom - it was just a matter of doing what Jesus wanted and living b y the law of love. She talked about love, and seeing Jesus in everyone and especially in those who were suffering. And that was about it: oh, and she wanted people to smile a lot more. She urged her sisters to make a smile even if they didn't have one.
This has been a useful book to carry around on difficult days.
Monday, January 28, 2013
A day in Parliament...
...and the urgent need to get MPs to grasp the realities of the planned new law on genderless marriage. A very decent MP said he wanted a genuine debate on the subject, and felt this take place once the Bill had been passed,. Uh? The time for a debate is BEFORE something becomes law, not afterwards!
The general message that emerged from one meeting today was "What's the rush?" - even people who were uncertain of their views on the whole thing, felt that this was being hurtled through the House of Commons in a quite bizarre way, with no proper time for debate and reflection and recognition of the huge changes that it will impose on society.
The general message that emerged from one meeting today was "What's the rush?" - even people who were uncertain of their views on the whole thing, felt that this was being hurtled through the House of Commons in a quite bizarre way, with no proper time for debate and reflection and recognition of the huge changes that it will impose on society.
Sunday, January 27, 2013
This week...
...I am meeting various MPs to talk about the govt's idiotic and senseless plans to impose genderless marriage on Britain. Because so many people simply find the whole thing ludicrous, there is a vague feeling that it can't really happen or that if it does, it will just be something absurd that affects only a tiny number of people and can safely be ignored. How wrong they are: this is something that will require amendment to hundreds of laws, poses a threat to the freedom of speech of teachers and public officials, and will create misery for children and confusion about people's actual relationships and identity (children born to "two dads" through surrogacy arrangements etc). Already it is clear that the Secretary of State for Education has misgivings. And we ain't seen nothin' yet...there is potential torrent of complicated litigation, and all sorts of long-term political and social horrors compounded by the anger and frustration that this utterly daft and ill-considered piece of social engineering will produce.
And while MPs talk about it, and Parliament's time is taken up with it, the huge problems facing Britain - including the soaring crime rate, the rising tide of illteracy, the breakdown of family structures, the long-term unemployment facing many graduates - all grow apace...and we are fighting two wars in remote places with no prospect of victory in sight and our young men being killed and maimed, and the world scene is an increasing frightening one with uncertainty (to put it mildly!) in the Middle East...
Do you suppose there is even the faintest chance of persuading a sufficient number of Members of Parliament to vote against this stupid project and tackle the real needs of the country?
Pray.
And while MPs talk about it, and Parliament's time is taken up with it, the huge problems facing Britain - including the soaring crime rate, the rising tide of illteracy, the breakdown of family structures, the long-term unemployment facing many graduates - all grow apace...and we are fighting two wars in remote places with no prospect of victory in sight and our young men being killed and maimed, and the world scene is an increasing frightening one with uncertainty (to put it mildly!) in the Middle East...
Do you suppose there is even the faintest chance of persuading a sufficient number of Members of Parliament to vote against this stupid project and tackle the real needs of the country?
Pray.
Ealing...
...in West London, for the traditional Conventual Mass at Ealing Abbey at 10.30. No mean achievement, given that I had gone to bed not many hours before (see below), and had to negotiate the bus and Tube journey on its slow Sunday schedule...
The Mass at the Abbey is beautifully sung, and the great arches seem to swoop the sound up to Heaven. People are reverent. Holy Communion under both kinds. The robed choir processes in and out behind a great Cross. Afterwards, I chatted to friends - we had been together at the party just a few hours before!
My reason for going to Ealing was to be with Dennis and Mary O'Keefe. Dennis is a distinguished academic whose writings and lectures have stirred, inspired and challenged people over the years. Just at the moment he is giving us all a lesson in courage. Following grave injury in a fall two years ago he is immobilised recieving round-the-clock care in a nursing home, with the support and love of his wonderful family. Relays of friends have of course been visiting. Sometimes in pain and frequently enduring discomfort, Dennis nevertheless has been showing courage and good humour. His wife Mary is a tower of strength. Trying to think of something that would be interesting and helpful to him, we came up with the idea of starting a discussion about his experiences in Poland back in the days of Communism, when Dennis, along with Roger Scruton, was a speaker in Poland at gatherings of the underground University, giving lectures on philosophy, and taking part in wide-ranging debates...part of the extraordinary series of activities which led to the formation of Solidarity and the eventual collapse of the Communist system. Now the fulll story is being put together, and a piece of valuable history is being recorded. With Dennis describing some of the adventures, and me scribbling in a notebook, and emails back and forth to Poland - and a planned visit by Auntie to Krakow in March - this whole project is slowly taking shape.
This morning, Dennis had been able, with difficulty, to sit in a wheelchair for Mass celebrated at the Home. It was exhausting, but an achievement, and made the day special.
Curiously, Ealing in the part of London that has long been "little Poland", with Poles settling there after WWII, and Polish churches and shops and a whole community life. Sometimes, after visiting Dennis, I've dropped into a Polish shop or used a Polish internet cafe, and it has seemed v. appropriate...
The Mass at the Abbey is beautifully sung, and the great arches seem to swoop the sound up to Heaven. People are reverent. Holy Communion under both kinds. The robed choir processes in and out behind a great Cross. Afterwards, I chatted to friends - we had been together at the party just a few hours before!
My reason for going to Ealing was to be with Dennis and Mary O'Keefe. Dennis is a distinguished academic whose writings and lectures have stirred, inspired and challenged people over the years. Just at the moment he is giving us all a lesson in courage. Following grave injury in a fall two years ago he is immobilised recieving round-the-clock care in a nursing home, with the support and love of his wonderful family. Relays of friends have of course been visiting. Sometimes in pain and frequently enduring discomfort, Dennis nevertheless has been showing courage and good humour. His wife Mary is a tower of strength. Trying to think of something that would be interesting and helpful to him, we came up with the idea of starting a discussion about his experiences in Poland back in the days of Communism, when Dennis, along with Roger Scruton, was a speaker in Poland at gatherings of the underground University, giving lectures on philosophy, and taking part in wide-ranging debates...part of the extraordinary series of activities which led to the formation of Solidarity and the eventual collapse of the Communist system. Now the fulll story is being put together, and a piece of valuable history is being recorded. With Dennis describing some of the adventures, and me scribbling in a notebook, and emails back and forth to Poland - and a planned visit by Auntie to Krakow in March - this whole project is slowly taking shape.
This morning, Dennis had been able, with difficulty, to sit in a wheelchair for Mass celebrated at the Home. It was exhausting, but an achievement, and made the day special.
Curiously, Ealing in the part of London that has long been "little Poland", with Poles settling there after WWII, and Polish churches and shops and a whole community life. Sometimes, after visiting Dennis, I've dropped into a Polish shop or used a Polish internet cafe, and it has seemed v. appropriate...
A wonderful family party...
...given by a wonderful family. Alexander and Marie-Angeline have a bunch of delightful children, and a beautiful home exuding gracious hospitality, and invited 50 guests to mark Alexander's 50th birthday! It was a magnificent evening: the youngest child led us in Grace, there was a delicious dinner at candlelit tables, speeches, music - Alexander's brothers sang a song composed in his honour and recited a beautiful poem, the children presented a charming and very amusing power-point with scenes from over the years...oh, it was all enormous fun, and there was such a spirit of goodwill and unity and friendship...this is the kind of evening that is a gift, a glimpse of how things ought to be...
We left at a very late hour, or, rather, an early one, because it was into the first hours of Sunday when we drove home...
We left at a very late hour, or, rather, an early one, because it was into the first hours of Sunday when we drove home...
Saturday, January 26, 2013
"When does the family start?"...
...Winston Churchill pondered in a speech: "Where does family life start?" and answered his own question "It starts with a young man falling in love with a girl - no superior alternative has yet been found."
If he said that today, as Prime Minister and a Member of the House of Commons, he would be denounced and possibly threatened. There would be calls from his dismissal and he would be told he must make an instant and grovelling apology.
His statue still stands in Parliament Square, greatcoat on against the chill, strong defiant expression as he leads the nation in its finest hour. For how much longer, I wonder? Probably at some stage there will be calls to take it down because of his unacceptable views .
From France...
...copies of La Vie magazine, with reports and features on the French and British govt's attempts to force genderless marriage: "David Cameron impose sa revolution culturelle".
In the coming week, I am seeing various MPs to discuss this ghastly plan.
f you have already written to your MP, write again. Ask for a meeting. Get info from here and use it. Pass leaflets to friends and family: drop them through your neighbours' letterboxes.
In the coming week, I am seeing various MPs to discuss this ghastly plan.
f you have already written to your MP, write again. Ask for a meeting. Get info from here and use it. Pass leaflets to friends and family: drop them through your neighbours' letterboxes.
Friday, January 25, 2013
To The John Fisher School...
...in Purley, where the splendid Mr Dan Cooper runs the splendid FAITH Group. I gave a talk on the Ugandan Martyrs. A bright and cheery group of boys. Chaplain Fr James Clark was there: an excellent young priest and it was good to chat. I was at his ordination in the school chapel just a few years back. The school has a fine tradition of producing great priests.
Heard the rumour that World Youth Day will be in Krakow in 2016? And that Bl John Paul II will be canonised there? I've trawled the Web and can't find any info. It sounds a great idea...though the canonisation could draw such vast crowds that it would be better to have it separately in Rome?
Heard the rumour that World Youth Day will be in Krakow in 2016? And that Bl John Paul II will be canonised there? I've trawled the Web and can't find any info. It sounds a great idea...though the canonisation could draw such vast crowds that it would be better to have it separately in Rome?
Organising...
...the annual Schools RE Project run by the Association of Catholic Women. This is sponsored by the Catholic Truth Society (look at their posh new website!) and so we organise a team of ladies who gather at the CTS, brew some tea, and then fold and pack all the leaflets that are sent to Catholic primary schools across Britain. It's chatty, agreeable work: we sit in the big CTS basement, from where, later in the year, we'll be mailing out the prizes, and we catch up on news as we work, sticking labels on to envelopes, folding and packing the leaflets, taking sackloads to the posting-room for franking. I have spent a good part of my life doing this for one project or another, and it seems to satisfy some deep-down urge for that project-accomplished feeling that you get when you have tackled a big pi;le of ironing, or done the Christmas cards or completed your tax return...
Also coming up is a planning meeting for the Catholic HIstory Walks. These have been going well and indeed have become a major part oif Auntie's life.
Book these into your diary:
THIS COMING MONDAY, Jan 28th, meet 6.30pm Church of Our Holy Redeemer and St Thomas More, Chelsea.
MONDAY FEB 25th, meet 6.30pm (after the 5.30pm Mass) steps of Westminster Cathedral. We will be visiting PARLIAMENT, and seeing the great hall where St Thomas More was tried, and where the present Holy Father addressed the nation in 2010...
Sunday June 23rd, the annual MARTYRS' WALK through London. This is a prayer-walk, during which we say the Rosary, stop to pray at various chuyrches along the route, and finish with Benediction at Tyburn. BOOK THE DATE IN YOUR DIARY NOW: we gather at 1.30pm at St Sepulchre's Church, Newgate.(near the Old Bailey. Nearest tube: St Paul's).
Also coming up is a planning meeting for the Catholic HIstory Walks. These have been going well and indeed have become a major part oif Auntie's life.
Book these into your diary:
THIS COMING MONDAY, Jan 28th, meet 6.30pm Church of Our Holy Redeemer and St Thomas More, Chelsea.
MONDAY FEB 25th, meet 6.30pm (after the 5.30pm Mass) steps of Westminster Cathedral. We will be visiting PARLIAMENT, and seeing the great hall where St Thomas More was tried, and where the present Holy Father addressed the nation in 2010...
Sunday June 23rd, the annual MARTYRS' WALK through London. This is a prayer-walk, during which we say the Rosary, stop to pray at various chuyrches along the route, and finish with Benediction at Tyburn. BOOK THE DATE IN YOUR DIARY NOW: we gather at 1.30pm at St Sepulchre's Church, Newgate.(near the Old Bailey. Nearest tube: St Paul's).
There is something surreal...
...about normal life continuing, and London being the great city that it is, and everyone assuming that all of this will continue...while actually our government is seeking to overturn the whole basis on which our society - and any other society - has existed and thrived.
If gender-free marriage is imposed, then the death-wish which one can already sense in our culture with its hideous promotion of abortion and its ugly hedonism, will be that much stronger and more immediate and menacing...
If gender-free marriage is imposed, then the death-wish which one can already sense in our culture with its hideous promotion of abortion and its ugly hedonism, will be that much stronger and more immediate and menacing...
To the Mansion House...
...home of London's Lord Mayor, for a Livery Company Dinner (pattenmakers), with kind friends. Jamie in white tie and struggling with studs. Glittering candles and acres of white damask, formal Grace, and a fish souffle, roast duck and some nice chocolatey things, and cheese...a piano playing, and then the Loyal Toast, (done in some style with National Anthem) that mumur of "The Queen" and the sudden silence as everyone drinks, and the scraping of chairs and chatter as everyone sits down again...
Speeches by the Lord Mayor and others, presentation of various awards and scholarships to young people, and Martyn Lewis as a guest speaker, being amusing about old days at the BBC and making a rather good plea that the media focus on some of the good things that are being done, especially by young people...
Auntie doesn't usually write about her social life, but this evening brought lots of memories.We had the Posthorn Gallop, which Auntie first heard at a regimental dinner at the Woolwich Mess (Royal Artillery) with her father long, long ago...and then a school choir sang, and ended with some Beatles songs..."Will you still need me/Will you still feed me/When I'm sixty-four?" And when I first heard that, sixty four was a long way off...
Speeches by the Lord Mayor and others, presentation of various awards and scholarships to young people, and Martyn Lewis as a guest speaker, being amusing about old days at the BBC and making a rather good plea that the media focus on some of the good things that are being done, especially by young people...
Auntie doesn't usually write about her social life, but this evening brought lots of memories.We had the Posthorn Gallop, which Auntie first heard at a regimental dinner at the Woolwich Mess (Royal Artillery) with her father long, long ago...and then a school choir sang, and ended with some Beatles songs..."Will you still need me/Will you still feed me/When I'm sixty-four?" And when I first heard that, sixty four was a long way off...
Thursday, January 24, 2013
...and you might enjoy reading...
...Auntie's review of. Fr Raniero Cantalamessa's latest book on love...
On Monday...
...Feb 28th, a CATHOLIC HISTORY WALK in Chelsea. Come and walk in the footsteps of St Thomas More, see where today's young men train for the Catholic priesthood where once his garden stood, pray at a church dedicated to him, walk along the river that he knew as today's Londoners do.
Meet 6.30pm at the Church of Our Holy Redeemer and St Thomas More, Cheyne Row, London SW3, 6.30pm. DRESS WARMLY!!! We'll be walking by lantern-light.
Meet 6.30pm at the Church of Our Holy Redeemer and St Thomas More, Cheyne Row, London SW3, 6.30pm. DRESS WARMLY!!! We'll be walking by lantern-light.
In sleet and odd bits of snow...
...a London full of meetings. This ghastly Govt drive to redefine marriage sees us all at battle-stations...in one sense it's not unlike so many previous campaigns, in another it is different because the sense of urgency is greater, things move faster now, the Britain in which we are living and working is that bit more vicious, the whole situation that bit more grim.
In a dreadful twist, tiny victories won over the years may even work against us. One example: in sex-education in secondary schools, the law states that marriage must be taught. But if the Govt's vile plans go ahead, then "marriage" will mean a same-sex union, which will have to be taught as being on a level with real marriage...
Meeting of the Education Committee of the Catholic Union. Last night saw a big gathering, sponsored by the Cath Union, with Archbishop Peter Smith of Southwark, bringing together representatives of all the major Catholic groups and organisations. Action now going forward on various fronts.
And in the middle of all this,other busy Catholic life still continues. Planning session for the 2013 Catholic Women of the Year event. Info here. If you want to nominate some one, all you have to do is write a letter, explaining why a particular Catholic woman should be honoured: it should mention her activities, involvement with parish or other groups, etc, and the special qualities that she brings. We are looking for "unsung heroines", women who serve God and neighbour perhaps in quiet and faithful ways that do not attract publicity (prison visiting, pro-life work, care of the elderly or sick, parish catechetics). Send the letter to:CWOY 22 Milton Rd WARE SG12 0PZ or email mijamajoie@ntlworld.com to arrive before April 30th 2013.
Keep up to date on the latest in the campaign to defend marriage here...
Meanwhile, for a bit more about my recent America trip, read this EWTN link...
In a dreadful twist, tiny victories won over the years may even work against us. One example: in sex-education in secondary schools, the law states that marriage must be taught. But if the Govt's vile plans go ahead, then "marriage" will mean a same-sex union, which will have to be taught as being on a level with real marriage...
Meeting of the Education Committee of the Catholic Union. Last night saw a big gathering, sponsored by the Cath Union, with Archbishop Peter Smith of Southwark, bringing together representatives of all the major Catholic groups and organisations. Action now going forward on various fronts.
And in the middle of all this,other busy Catholic life still continues. Planning session for the 2013 Catholic Women of the Year event. Info here. If you want to nominate some one, all you have to do is write a letter, explaining why a particular Catholic woman should be honoured: it should mention her activities, involvement with parish or other groups, etc, and the special qualities that she brings. We are looking for "unsung heroines", women who serve God and neighbour perhaps in quiet and faithful ways that do not attract publicity (prison visiting, pro-life work, care of the elderly or sick, parish catechetics). Send the letter to:CWOY 22 Milton Rd WARE SG12 0PZ or email mijamajoie@ntlworld.com to arrive before April 30th 2013.
Keep up to date on the latest in the campaign to defend marriage here...
Meanwhile, for a bit more about my recent America trip, read this EWTN link...
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Adventures, adventures...
...well, not very dramatic ones. But Auntie has been busy. Flew from Birmingham, Alabama to Charlotte in North Carolina, but the flight was delayed so missed connection to London. Kind airline staff looked up alternatives, but a flight home via Frankfurt seemed less than alluring given the lateness of the hour...so booked into a local hotel. They do cheap hotels in the USA, where you can buy some food which you can cook up , and there is also (real) coffee, small kitchen area, etc. Phoned to cancel various meetings arranged in London for next day, left reassurring message for J. etc. Sat working and had a cosy evening.
Flight to london the next day was not until late afternoon. Billboard at airport adverised the Billy Graham Library, evidently a big museum of his life and work. Got a taxi down the motorway - which is also named after him. Lovely spot in beautiful countryside, a barn with a big glass doorway shaped as a cross, and inside a whole series of interconnecting studios with commentary, films, exhibits, all streaming and slick, telling the story of Graham's life and work... rather touching to see posters etc from the 1950s, vanished world, Britain in black-and-white, everyone in smart clothes, attending rallies as if dressed for a wedding or job interview. Graham's preaching is stirring, and he has consistently taken a solid stand on moral issues: banned racial segregation at all rallies back when segregation was standard in the southern states of the USA, has been pro-life, supports man/woman marriage etc etc. He is now 94 - when he dies, a chapter of American history will close...
Back at airport, sat reading and making notes for book reviews, flew to Gatwick, train journey home through icily beautiful countryside and London, all grey and stark with freezing fog above snowy fields and streets and office blocks. Even ugly slabs of buildings look better in mist and snow. Home. Slept.
Now: dealt with letters, domestic stuff, kitchen etc. The week ahead: various meetings re the Govt's ghastly plans to redefine marriage, the mess this will create for schools, freedom of speech, etc...media reports Obama's inaugural speech in which he has promised to do a similar wreckage-attempt on America...
Flight to london the next day was not until late afternoon. Billboard at airport adverised the Billy Graham Library, evidently a big museum of his life and work. Got a taxi down the motorway - which is also named after him. Lovely spot in beautiful countryside, a barn with a big glass doorway shaped as a cross, and inside a whole series of interconnecting studios with commentary, films, exhibits, all streaming and slick, telling the story of Graham's life and work... rather touching to see posters etc from the 1950s, vanished world, Britain in black-and-white, everyone in smart clothes, attending rallies as if dressed for a wedding or job interview. Graham's preaching is stirring, and he has consistently taken a solid stand on moral issues: banned racial segregation at all rallies back when segregation was standard in the southern states of the USA, has been pro-life, supports man/woman marriage etc etc. He is now 94 - when he dies, a chapter of American history will close...
Back at airport, sat reading and making notes for book reviews, flew to Gatwick, train journey home through icily beautiful countryside and London, all grey and stark with freezing fog above snowy fields and streets and office blocks. Even ugly slabs of buildings look better in mist and snow. Home. Slept.
Now: dealt with letters, domestic stuff, kitchen etc. The week ahead: various meetings re the Govt's ghastly plans to redefine marriage, the mess this will create for schools, freedom of speech, etc...media reports Obama's inaugural speech in which he has promised to do a similar wreckage-attempt on America...
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Mass at EWTN...
...despite being televised, has a normal and reverent feel to it. There are robot cameras that swivel around noiselessly, high up on the walls, on either side, near the sanctuary. But once you have noticed them on first looking around the church, they make no impact. The glittering candles on the altar, the high Monstrance with a statue of a golden-winged kneeling angel on either side, the quiet amosphere, the familiar sense of welcome with pews and hymbooks and people finding places and so on, are what greet you.
The 7am Mass each day is televised - and is a sung Mass, with a cantor standing in the area behind the altar, where once the sisters were. They now, of course, live at their new convent some 40 minutes away, the Shrine of the Blessed Sacrament - known in local dialect as The Shrahn, and visited by numbers of tourists and pilgrims every year. Non-Catholic groups from various Alabama churches often turn up there to enjoy a visit and there's a gift-shop and picnic area. EWTN here at Irondale has long since spread to occupy what was once the sisters' small convent. Yesterday I broke my glasses and in getting them mended I was introduced to the vast - and I do mean VAST - warehouse - where the scenery and props are made and stored. And there is a Franciscan monastery, and facilities for visitors who come to tour EWTN and watch TV shows being made, and so on.
EWTN also includes a number of houses in a nearby road, where guests like Auntie stay. I'm typing this in a comfortable downstairs room in a well-equipped house with several comfortable rooms, big kitchen, sitting-room etc.
The Church in America has changed in the years since EWTN started to flourish - and EWTN has been a part of that change. A more reverent liturgy, a robust pro-life stance, a renewed sense of Catholic identity, are all evident in many parishes and Catholic groups and institutions. Not all, though. There is still a lot of silly stuff going on, and some awfully silly music in too many parishes. And a new worry is the presence of a rather angry "traditionalist" wing - part of which seems tto loathe EWTN, incidentally - about which a US-based friend contached me the other day. She had just been subjected to a sermon from a young priest about female submission, and this, coming after being asked "Don't you feel drawn to veil?" in what is evidently the latest jargon of the group, has got her worried about the loopy trend among what she had thought were fairly normal people who attended an Extraordinary Form Mass...
America, land of the California hippy, the Amish, the burn-the-flag protesters and the gun-owning hunker-down-they're-coming types, seems to cater for all extremes. EWTN has a a commitment, vigour, pace, and serenity which seems capable of riding out whatever storms hit the Church.
The 7am Mass each day is televised - and is a sung Mass, with a cantor standing in the area behind the altar, where once the sisters were. They now, of course, live at their new convent some 40 minutes away, the Shrine of the Blessed Sacrament - known in local dialect as The Shrahn, and visited by numbers of tourists and pilgrims every year. Non-Catholic groups from various Alabama churches often turn up there to enjoy a visit and there's a gift-shop and picnic area. EWTN here at Irondale has long since spread to occupy what was once the sisters' small convent. Yesterday I broke my glasses and in getting them mended I was introduced to the vast - and I do mean VAST - warehouse - where the scenery and props are made and stored. And there is a Franciscan monastery, and facilities for visitors who come to tour EWTN and watch TV shows being made, and so on.
EWTN also includes a number of houses in a nearby road, where guests like Auntie stay. I'm typing this in a comfortable downstairs room in a well-equipped house with several comfortable rooms, big kitchen, sitting-room etc.
The Church in America has changed in the years since EWTN started to flourish - and EWTN has been a part of that change. A more reverent liturgy, a robust pro-life stance, a renewed sense of Catholic identity, are all evident in many parishes and Catholic groups and institutions. Not all, though. There is still a lot of silly stuff going on, and some awfully silly music in too many parishes. And a new worry is the presence of a rather angry "traditionalist" wing - part of which seems tto loathe EWTN, incidentally - about which a US-based friend contached me the other day. She had just been subjected to a sermon from a young priest about female submission, and this, coming after being asked "Don't you feel drawn to veil?" in what is evidently the latest jargon of the group, has got her worried about the loopy trend among what she had thought were fairly normal people who attended an Extraordinary Form Mass...
America, land of the California hippy, the Amish, the burn-the-flag protesters and the gun-owning hunker-down-they're-coming types, seems to cater for all extremes. EWTN has a a commitment, vigour, pace, and serenity which seems capable of riding out whatever storms hit the Church.
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