Monday, March 31, 2014
Blessed Karl von Habsburg....
...and the tragedy of the First World War...and more...a recent conference in Vienna: read here.
Sunday, March 30, 2014
...an encounter...
...at a Tube station.
"Which way is it to central London?" a young man in tee-shirt and jeans, brandishing his ticket. London not his home patch, he was from Wales. He wanted to get to the Tower of London. I was heading for Waterloo so got him to Charing Cross, and we walked down to Embankment.
He was a soldier, hurrying to see various places: London, Paris and Rome. We talked Army for a while, then got chatting about other things. No, he hadn't any luggage: no need for spare clothes, he'd buy some on the way. (This is the generation that goes anywhere, with a cash-card and a mobile phone and supreme confidence). In Rome, I said, do get to St Peter's, it's superb. "Yeah. But I'm an atheist... I think". I said thought that unlikely, as he was too open and interested in things. "Yeah. Well, I do think there's something. I'm not an atheist really. Agnostic."
We were almost at Embankment Tube station now. Conversation had veered from Rome to Paris and back to London (He knew a lot, he said: did a marathon, parade in Whitehall, Union Jack Club at Waterloo), and then to Rome again. I told him about the marker in St Peter's Square where John Paul II was shot. He was the "Do not be afraid" Pope, I said. "That's my motto" he said. "That's what I always think." I suddenly remembered the medals of Bl JP that a friend had brought from a recent trip to Rome and fumbled to find one, but couldn't, and hauled out a rosary instead. "I want to give you a medal of -" I began, but it got too complicated to explain and we were both in a hurry so, I said "Take this, just put it in your pocket, for your journey". "Not my pocket" he said "I'll do this" and tugged it over his head so that it hung round his neck. Then I said "District line. On your left. Tower Hill" and we grinned a goodbye.
"Which way is it to central London?" a young man in tee-shirt and jeans, brandishing his ticket. London not his home patch, he was from Wales. He wanted to get to the Tower of London. I was heading for Waterloo so got him to Charing Cross, and we walked down to Embankment.
He was a soldier, hurrying to see various places: London, Paris and Rome. We talked Army for a while, then got chatting about other things. No, he hadn't any luggage: no need for spare clothes, he'd buy some on the way. (This is the generation that goes anywhere, with a cash-card and a mobile phone and supreme confidence). In Rome, I said, do get to St Peter's, it's superb. "Yeah. But I'm an atheist... I think". I said thought that unlikely, as he was too open and interested in things. "Yeah. Well, I do think there's something. I'm not an atheist really. Agnostic."
We were almost at Embankment Tube station now. Conversation had veered from Rome to Paris and back to London (He knew a lot, he said: did a marathon, parade in Whitehall, Union Jack Club at Waterloo), and then to Rome again. I told him about the marker in St Peter's Square where John Paul II was shot. He was the "Do not be afraid" Pope, I said. "That's my motto" he said. "That's what I always think." I suddenly remembered the medals of Bl JP that a friend had brought from a recent trip to Rome and fumbled to find one, but couldn't, and hauled out a rosary instead. "I want to give you a medal of -" I began, but it got too complicated to explain and we were both in a hurry so, I said "Take this, just put it in your pocket, for your journey". "Not my pocket" he said "I'll do this" and tugged it over his head so that it hung round his neck. Then I said "District line. On your left. Tower Hill" and we grinned a goodbye.
Laetare, and Mothering Sunday...
...and after Mass (rose vestments, lovely hymns, a take-a-break-it's-mid-Lent feeling) the Rector blessed bunches of daffodils and, with the altar servers, distributed to them to the congregation to give to our mothers...and for those whose mothers had died, to put on the altar of Our Lady, in memoriam...
There is always a brew of coffee and tea after Mass, and then a number of us made our way to the High Street, where the local War Memorial, which had been showing serious signs of its age, was being re-consecrated in a ceremony led by the clergy from the St Saviour's Anglican Cathedral. There were some beautiful prayers. The Rector did one of the Readings. A local councillor gave a short talk explaining how the effort to repair and renew the Memorial had been carried out.... we had the Last Post and two Minutes of silence, and the Mayor and representatives of local regiments etc laid wreaths.
Not a large crowd, but it was all rather moving. But, throughout, some people sat eating and chatting at an adjoining - and I do mean adjoining - restaurant, continued without even standing up for the Silence, or for the National Anthem. I wonder if they felt even slightly uncomfortable?
There is always a brew of coffee and tea after Mass, and then a number of us made our way to the High Street, where the local War Memorial, which had been showing serious signs of its age, was being re-consecrated in a ceremony led by the clergy from the St Saviour's Anglican Cathedral. There were some beautiful prayers. The Rector did one of the Readings. A local councillor gave a short talk explaining how the effort to repair and renew the Memorial had been carried out.... we had the Last Post and two Minutes of silence, and the Mayor and representatives of local regiments etc laid wreaths.
Not a large crowd, but it was all rather moving. But, throughout, some people sat eating and chatting at an adjoining - and I do mean adjoining - restaurant, continued without even standing up for the Silence, or for the National Anthem. I wonder if they felt even slightly uncomfortable?
Saturday, March 29, 2014
Superb...Hurrah for Papa Francis...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKHKmEtpWao&feature=player_embedded
...teaching by example. This is certainly the first time that a Pope has gone to confession before the world.
So no excuses for Catholics who don't go this Lent.
Among the more idiotic and silly things that I have heard in discussions on this topic over the years: "I don't need to go...I don't commit sins." "I can never think of any sins to tell" "I haven't been for years. I consider myself to be a good person".
...teaching by example. This is certainly the first time that a Pope has gone to confession before the world.
So no excuses for Catholics who don't go this Lent.
Among the more idiotic and silly things that I have heard in discussions on this topic over the years: "I don't need to go...I don't commit sins." "I can never think of any sins to tell" "I haven't been for years. I consider myself to be a good person".
In Munich...
...everyone, absolutely everyone, in the noisy crowded city centre wears either tight denim jeans, sometimes trendily ripped at the knees, sometimes stonewashed and white along the seams, but always very tight and sleek, or they wear very tight bottom-hugging black leggings. And these are mostly accompanied, on a hot sunny day, with either furry boots or heavy over-the-ankles black ones, although there were some daring people in trainers. I was an absolutely unique figure: a lady wearing a skirt and ordinary leather shoes. The only other person dressed remotely like me was underground - the nice African lady collecting money in the ladies lavatory.
An odd city. Very prosperous, very trendy. Shouting hippy/drunk/druggy?/grimy/slightly fearsome types hanging around the shoppy area at the main railway station. Lots of excellent places to eat, lots and lots of smart shops, lots of noisy young people (see above), everything very lively. They take their paganism seriously: street theatre, serious messages, leaflets about this and that, posters about pop and travel and every kind of consumerism jostle with posters about various fashionable causes. Also lots of politics: posters urging all to vote for an "oekological and sozialist Munchen."...
Catholicism is everywhere in the background, in street-names and in huge, beautiful churches. But it is somehow like a calendar or a map which marks out your past and the structure, but doesn't impinge on everyday life. The churches are cool and clean and beautifully kept. Candles lit and people dropping in and out, but not in large numbers.
An odd city. Very prosperous, very trendy. Shouting hippy/drunk/druggy?/grimy/slightly fearsome types hanging around the shoppy area at the main railway station. Lots of excellent places to eat, lots and lots of smart shops, lots of noisy young people (see above), everything very lively. They take their paganism seriously: street theatre, serious messages, leaflets about this and that, posters about pop and travel and every kind of consumerism jostle with posters about various fashionable causes. Also lots of politics: posters urging all to vote for an "oekological and sozialist Munchen."...
Catholicism is everywhere in the background, in street-names and in huge, beautiful churches. But it is somehow like a calendar or a map which marks out your past and the structure, but doesn't impinge on everyday life. The churches are cool and clean and beautifully kept. Candles lit and people dropping in and out, but not in large numbers.
Friday, March 28, 2014
Vienna...
...visiting friends and attending a conference (more on that later).
Dropped into the magnificent St Stephen's Cathedral - teeming w. visitors. A good number of people praying before the Blessed Sacrament. But among the tourists brandishing phone-cameras and talking,, a new trend that I have noticed elsewhere - men no longer automatically remove their hats. I indicated to one, and he apologised and immediately took his hat off. Then another - this time an elderly man with a baseball hat - and then a third. It was beginning to become a full-time job. Each time, the gentleman concerned was (a) not young and (b) perfectly pleasant and understood at once. It is as if there is a sort of general forgetfulness. The reality of the great cathedral, sweeping arches leading up to a great high altar, people kneeling in prayer with a glowing sanctuary lamp, statues and sacred images all around, ought to be adequate in explaining that this is a house of prayer, but it seems that modern Western man has lost his memory...I think it is now necessary to put up a notice saying "Gentlemen: please remove your hats as a sign of respect for this house of God".
A large troop of children surged down one aisle, the boys mostly woolly-hatted. Too noisy and complicated to run after them and start to explain. Further evidence that we need to teach and remind everyone. Now.
All the shops are selling the most lovely Easter eggs and choc. bunnies and decorations, much prettier than those at home.
A wonderful talkative lunch with friends, catching up on news and views. General gloom about govt-imposition of same-sex unions, increasing denunciations of Christian and human values. Happier swapping of info on family, books, mutual projects...
Evening Mass at St Peter's church. Fabulous baroque. Numbers here seem to be in reasonable shape. This is in the care of Opus Dei. Sermon - evidently one of a series - on the Seven Last Words of Christ from the Cross. It sounds more dramatic in the German "Mein Gott, mein Gott, warum hast..."
Dropped into the magnificent St Stephen's Cathedral - teeming w. visitors. A good number of people praying before the Blessed Sacrament. But among the tourists brandishing phone-cameras and talking,, a new trend that I have noticed elsewhere - men no longer automatically remove their hats. I indicated to one, and he apologised and immediately took his hat off. Then another - this time an elderly man with a baseball hat - and then a third. It was beginning to become a full-time job. Each time, the gentleman concerned was (a) not young and (b) perfectly pleasant and understood at once. It is as if there is a sort of general forgetfulness. The reality of the great cathedral, sweeping arches leading up to a great high altar, people kneeling in prayer with a glowing sanctuary lamp, statues and sacred images all around, ought to be adequate in explaining that this is a house of prayer, but it seems that modern Western man has lost his memory...I think it is now necessary to put up a notice saying "Gentlemen: please remove your hats as a sign of respect for this house of God".
A large troop of children surged down one aisle, the boys mostly woolly-hatted. Too noisy and complicated to run after them and start to explain. Further evidence that we need to teach and remind everyone. Now.
All the shops are selling the most lovely Easter eggs and choc. bunnies and decorations, much prettier than those at home.
A wonderful talkative lunch with friends, catching up on news and views. General gloom about govt-imposition of same-sex unions, increasing denunciations of Christian and human values. Happier swapping of info on family, books, mutual projects...
Evening Mass at St Peter's church. Fabulous baroque. Numbers here seem to be in reasonable shape. This is in the care of Opus Dei. Sermon - evidently one of a series - on the Seven Last Words of Christ from the Cross. It sounds more dramatic in the German "Mein Gott, mein Gott, warum hast..."
Monday, March 24, 2014
The Church: on marriage, family, forgiveness...
... really, there is so much hype and nonsensical speculation on this in the Western media. For some wisdom, try here...
Southwark Martyrs...and more...
...on Wed April 9th, at 6.30pm (ie after the 5.30pm sung Mass) on the steps of Westminster Cathedral for the first of the new series of Catholic History Walks. London in springtime. All the daffodils are out in the parks, the grass is exceptionally green after all the rain, and there is a general air of liveliness as people grasp the reality that perhaps we are not going to be permanently waterlogged after all.
And looking ahead: Tuesday May 13th, meet at 6.30pm at Precious Blood Church, O'Meara Street, London SEI (nearest tube: LONDON BRIDGE). We will be discovering the story of the Southwark Martyrs...
And looking ahead: Tuesday May 13th, meet at 6.30pm at Precious Blood Church, O'Meara Street, London SEI (nearest tube: LONDON BRIDGE). We will be discovering the story of the Southwark Martyrs...
The Pope...
...has called for 24 hours of continuous prayer, with one church in each diocese allocated for this: and in London (diocese of Westminster) this will be at St Patrick's, Soho, from Friday 28th March at 4pm to Saturday 29th March at 4pm. They are calling for volunteers to pray through the night. This is one of the most beautiful churches in London, and is associated with lots of missionary work, street evangelisation, and so on...
I was at St Patrick's for Mass on Sunday, crossing London on my way home from visiting an elderly relative in Somerset. 5pm Mass. Lots of people - who, as always, chose to sit in the middle or towards the back, leaving the front benches free for...who? I didn't like to trundle my suitcase up there, but the church was filling up and it seemed silly to crowd at the back...I took a moderate somewhere-in-the-front-half-of-the-church option. One or two people who ventured into the front territory looked like brave pioneers.
Somerset was lush and green...as the meadows which were lakes a couple of weeks ago are now draining out, with puddles and great swathes of mud. We did a wheelchair trundle along the sea front and then made enjoyed an excellent Tea with Cakes in a Tea Shop...
I was at St Patrick's for Mass on Sunday, crossing London on my way home from visiting an elderly relative in Somerset. 5pm Mass. Lots of people - who, as always, chose to sit in the middle or towards the back, leaving the front benches free for...who? I didn't like to trundle my suitcase up there, but the church was filling up and it seemed silly to crowd at the back...I took a moderate somewhere-in-the-front-half-of-the-church option. One or two people who ventured into the front territory looked like brave pioneers.
Somerset was lush and green...as the meadows which were lakes a couple of weeks ago are now draining out, with puddles and great swathes of mud. We did a wheelchair trundle along the sea front and then made enjoyed an excellent Tea with Cakes in a Tea Shop...
Saturday, March 22, 2014
And...
...on Friday April 11th, Auntie will be speaking at this parish, on the subject of John XXIII and John Paul II. The canonisation of two popes, both of whom are very much in the living memories of millions, is an event of massive significance for the Church and the world. A time to take stock, and celebrate, and ponder all this together...
Working...
...on further plans for EWTN programmes. Over the weekend of April 26th/27th (Divine Mercy Sunday) you can watch the EWTN feature on John Paul II in which Clare Anderson and I trace his footsteps around Wadowice, Krakow, Czestochowa, and more...This all began with the book that Clare and I have written together John Paul: Man of Prayer: as we sat talking and working on Friday afternoon, an email arrived from the publisher (Gracewing) saying that the books had just been delivered and copies were on their way to us. Great excitement.
We have dedicated this book to our husbands, who have been very patient, tolerant, and supportive during the whole of the researching/writing/planning/Poland/TV/hoursatthecomputer thing...
We have dedicated this book to our husbands, who have been very patient, tolerant, and supportive during the whole of the researching/writing/planning/Poland/TV/hoursatthecomputer thing...
Friday, March 21, 2014
Lectio Divina...
...and a most helpful teaching session on this topic as part of a Lent Course. Reading the Scriptures, pondering them, praying them, allowing God to speak to us through them...
After a helpful introduction to the whole subject , the 23rd Psalm was read, and then we were silent...
Among much else, one thing I learned about this Psalm tonight was its Eucharistic message. Reading it - I mean, really reading it - you notice that the first half speaks about the Lord. And then in the second half he is actually addressed. I was pondering this: Dominus/ Domine...and then some one else mentioned, as if it was something quite obvious to all, the Eucharistic theme of the second half ("You have prepared a table for me..."). And it dawned that that whole of this Psalm, taken together, is like the Mass: the Liturgy of the Word and then the Liturgy of the Eucharist...
After a helpful introduction to the whole subject , the 23rd Psalm was read, and then we were silent...
Among much else, one thing I learned about this Psalm tonight was its Eucharistic message. Reading it - I mean, really reading it - you notice that the first half speaks about the Lord. And then in the second half he is actually addressed. I was pondering this: Dominus/ Domine...and then some one else mentioned, as if it was something quite obvious to all, the Eucharistic theme of the second half ("You have prepared a table for me..."). And it dawned that that whole of this Psalm, taken together, is like the Mass: the Liturgy of the Word and then the Liturgy of the Eucharist...
Thursday, March 20, 2014
Celebrating St Joseph's day...
at this church, dedicated to St Joseph. There are always a good number of people at the 10 am Mass on weekdays, and on this day a class of children from a local Catholic primary school were there: the St Joseph's Class, which from the look of them is the youngest or almost-youngest class in the school. They all behaved beautifully and were silent, reverent, and attentive, although it was obvious that being in a church was an unfamiliar experience for some of them, as few if any genuflected or knew when to kneel...
We had a really interesting sermon, explaining the significance of St Joseph, his sense of justice, his faithfulness, his huge importance in this age where fatherhood is devalued.
We had a really interesting sermon, explaining the significance of St Joseph, his sense of justice, his faithfulness, his huge importance in this age where fatherhood is devalued.
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
Lunchtime Mass...
....at Precious Blood church - numbers for weekday Mass rising steadily during Lent, as it's convenient for people who work in all the offices etc nearby.
A busy day, catching up on things after being away: you can read more on my EWTN blog here...
which I wrote on Sunday...
A busy day, catching up on things after being away: you can read more on my EWTN blog here...
which I wrote on Sunday...
Monday, March 17, 2014
Reading...
Michael Coren's The Future of Catholicism - lively and punchy. Also re-reading CS Lewis' Screwtape Letters - deliciously written and a good Lenten read. The message is as lively and relevant as ever, despite the fact that it was written over 60 years ago.
A while ago...
...a crusader on some website claimed that he knew why Pope Benedict had retired: it was because he wanted to avoid canonising his predecessor, for whom the writer of the piece clearly had a visceral loathing. It was deeply unconvincing, and of course it wasn't true. And Papa Benedict has now spoken, with energy and in some fascinating detail, about his deep conviction of John Paul's sainthood, of his gratitude to the Polish Pope and the magnificent works of his pontificate including, specifically Veritatis Splendor, Fides et Ratio, and Evangelium Vitae...you can read about it here...and hear something about it here...
But what intrigues me is why anyone would want to invent weird and untrue stories about good and holy servants of the Church, and prattle on the Internet about them.
But what intrigues me is why anyone would want to invent weird and untrue stories about good and holy servants of the Church, and prattle on the Internet about them.
A meeting...
..with Antonia Lynn, former deacon(ess) in the CofE, who is running a special "Day for Ordinariate Pilgrims"...see here for info...
Yesterday (Sunday) a pleasant evening with members of the CathSoc of the University of Hertfordshire. Afterwards, a talkative supper with some of them, from Nigeria and from Uganda. This University attracts students from across the world, notably Africa. Extremely interesting to listen to them, and to talk things through with them.
The story of the Uganda Martyrs has long interested me: it was fascinating to hear about the current popularity of the Shrine at Namugongo, which attracts vast crowds of pilgrims every year, especially on the Martyrs' feast-day in June.
Back in the 1970s I remember a Bidding Prayer at Mass for the Church in Africa asking that God would help it to be "truly African". It was deliberately phrased to include a specific form of thought:the fashionable message in Britain at the time was that Catholics in Africa would be very liberal in their theology and in their approach to everything in the Church including doctrine and morals, and the Prayer was phrased to reinforce this view. Even at the time I thought that silly: now, some decades on we can all observe that the very reverse is true, and African Christians are challenging the fashionably muddled approach to doctrine and morals prevalent in the West.
Not everything is glowingly splendid in the Church in Africa: there are lots of problems. But in order to understand these, it is necessary to hear from African Catholics and not to propose ideas that are connected to Western opinions.
Yesterday (Sunday) a pleasant evening with members of the CathSoc of the University of Hertfordshire. Afterwards, a talkative supper with some of them, from Nigeria and from Uganda. This University attracts students from across the world, notably Africa. Extremely interesting to listen to them, and to talk things through with them.
The story of the Uganda Martyrs has long interested me: it was fascinating to hear about the current popularity of the Shrine at Namugongo, which attracts vast crowds of pilgrims every year, especially on the Martyrs' feast-day in June.
Back in the 1970s I remember a Bidding Prayer at Mass for the Church in Africa asking that God would help it to be "truly African". It was deliberately phrased to include a specific form of thought:the fashionable message in Britain at the time was that Catholics in Africa would be very liberal in their theology and in their approach to everything in the Church including doctrine and morals, and the Prayer was phrased to reinforce this view. Even at the time I thought that silly: now, some decades on we can all observe that the very reverse is true, and African Christians are challenging the fashionably muddled approach to doctrine and morals prevalent in the West.
Not everything is glowingly splendid in the Church in Africa: there are lots of problems. But in order to understand these, it is necessary to hear from African Catholics and not to propose ideas that are connected to Western opinions.
Saturday, March 15, 2014
Chelsea...
..and a large gathering of engaged couples, on a Marriage Preparation course. Auntie speaks at these courses, which are held regularly throughout the year for couples from the various parishes in the deanery, and I was already committed to this one when the trip to EWTN came up. So when I arrived at Heathrow, I hurried home, tackled some domestic needs, freshened up, and set off again. Destination: St Mary's Church in Cadogan Street, and it was a happy and useful afternoon, with the young people gathering in the garden of this beautiful church, and a mix of friendship, fun, and real seriousness as we looked at the Catholic teaching on marriage...Cana of Galilee...Bridegroom and Bride...God's plan "in the beginning"...
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