Christmas Blessings

THE PROCLAMATION OF THE BIRTH OF CHRIST
Today, the twenty–fifth day of December,
unknown ages from the time when God created the heavens and the earth
and then formed man and woman in his own image.
Several thousand years after the flood,
when God made the rainbow shine forth
as a sign of the covenant.
Twenty–one centuries from the time of Abraham and Sarah;
thirteen centuries after Moses led the people of Israel
out of Egypt.
Eleven hundred years from the time of Ruth and the Judges;
one thousand years from the anointing of David as king;
in the sixty–fifth week according to the prophecy of Daniel.
In the one hundred and ninety–fourth Olympiad;
the seven hundred and fifty–second year from the foundation
of the city of Rome.
The forty–second year of the reign of Octavian Augustus;
the whole world being at peace,
Jesus Christ, eternal God and Son of the eternal Father,
desiring to sanctify the world by his most merciful coming,
being conceived by the Holy Spirit,
and nine months having passed since his conception,
was born in Bethlehem of Judea of the Virgin Mary.
Today is the nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ according to the flesh

Thomas Merton ~ 40 years on

Yesterday was the 40th anniversary of the death of one of my heroes, the Trappist monk and writer, Thomas Merton, OSCO. He was a man with an amazing ability to communicate. The following quote is from Thoughts in Solitude

My Lord God,
I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
Nor do I really know myself,
and the fact that I think that I am following your will
does not mean that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you.
And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.
And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road
though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore will I trust you always
though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.
I will not fear,
for you are ever with me,
and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.

The One we wait for

As we wait in joyful hope

I am sitting in my room on a cold November morning. The frost is heavy on the windows; traffic is passing by beneath me. The world is not still. In a few days we will begin the season of Advent. A time for stopping in the midst of our busy lives and a time to simply ask, ‘what do I yearn for?’ maybe this economic uncertainties of our world at this time can give us the opportunity to begin to seek what our hearts yearn for, to seek out what we need to live, rather to want what makes our lives comfortable.

Advent is my favourite season in the Churches year. It just seems to follow the climate of our land. As the nights draw in we seek light and warmth. We hear in our liturgy of the long waiting of people for God’s promise to be fulfilled. The themes that are presented to us are expectancy, hope, and joy. The church invites us to ask for and live in a Spirit of expectancy and joy that our salvation is not only close at hand but faithfully present. That for which we wait this Advent is our deeper reception of this gift, wrapped in flesh for us and for the whole human family. Jesus, and the presence of Jesus in our lives, is the cause of our rejoicing and should also leave us a little bit bemused.

As we prepare for the great feast of Christ’s birth, forget the familiar but think of what Christmas really means. God breaks into our human story in a new and vibrant way. God becomes a human being. Not born in grandeur, but in a stable. Not warmed by a fine blanket, but by straw and the breath of cattle. When Mary becomes pregnant with Jesus and gives birth to him in Bethlehem the whole landscape of our future is changed. This is our story; it impacts on each one of us. And this is the real message of Christmas and it is not comfortable, but challenging. God becomes human, he has our flesh, he is bone and blood and muscle and sinew. Emmanuel – God is with us. The Good News of Christmas is here to bring us light in the midst of any darkness, poverty, rejection, emptiness, sinfulness we experience. By reminding us of where and how God comes, the Good News is also a revelation of who we are. We are the people who walk in darkness. We are the people who hunger and thirst for God’s presence. The Advent season and the feast of the Nativity give us an opportunity to express our need for absolute love and vitality, and to be reminded by God, that he is with us, the fullness of life and love.

Being Evangelised by the Young.

I was asked by the Jesuit online journal to write an article for Youth Sunday on my experiences of working with young people in the Church. This article was published on their website today.

I am fascinated by the story of people. Gazing out into the Church during the liturgy I am aware of the many stories of the members of the congregation. Some are in the first stages of grief, others of illness, still others have fallen in love and are caught up in all the excitement that those first steps of a relationship bring. Others are lonely and the parish is the place where their hunger for companionship is fed. All too often we don’t know what is happening in people’s lives until we are invited into the story, by both its telling and our becoming involved.

One of the joys of ministry is being told those stories. People ask for a chat and suddenly the story of their lives comes tumbling out, told often for the first time. It is in the context of the story of our lives that we become evangelised. Jesus knew the value of stories and wove wonderful images of God’s love and kindness into his teaching. The story of our life is our reality and this is where Christ will meet us.


Beginning my story

I am the youngest of a family of four children, brought up in a loving and faith-filled home. We wanted for little, although we were by no means wealthy in real terms. The richness of my family was the love and faith we shared.

As a child I can remember my father teaching me that life is for the living and that nothing should stand in the way of dreams becoming realised. Good words for a young person to hear; they were affirming, encouraging and a challenge to be the best that you can be – a wonderful legacy for a parent to pass on to their child. The greatest gift I received from my parents was faith. They have both shared with me the faith that makes them whole and wholly loving. Loving into life is the task of the Christian and countless times I have been loved into life by the young people of our Church.


Memory

The strongest memory of faith becoming something that I claimed for myself was during the visit of Pope John Paul II to Britain in 1982. I was fifteen and together with a group from my parish I travelled to Ninian Park in Cardiff for his meeting with young people. If I am honest I don’t remember the words that were said or anything of the liturgy. What I do remember is the energy and enthusiasm of my generation at prayer. It changed me and it changed my faith; from that moment on I chose to be part of the Church. I felt called. That call to faith came from my peers, and as I matured in faith, it has been constantly upheld and challenged by the young people I find myself with.

This participation in the Church has led me in many and various ways, from a career as a nurse into religious life and the ordained ministry. Throughout this time I have found myself among the young, and in many ways it has kept me young. It has been both joy and challenge, fruitful and mystifying. I have served in retreat ministry and university chaplaincy. I now find myself working in a densely populated parish and on a team of six priests on a diocesan youth team. I am amazed at the faith I witness among our young people, their generosity and concern for our world touches me deeply. The Church is being renewed as our young Church asks of us: how have we lived the gospel and what kind of faith community are we passing on to them? The reality of working with young people is that they ask urgent questions that demand answers; this requires some applied theology and a deep sense of honesty.


Contextualising evangelisation

St Francis of Assisi instructed his brothers to ‘preach the gospel and if necessary use the words.’ Theology is often a question of who we are and what we do. Books don’t define us, but in a real way action does. I can think of countless ways in which God is made incarnate in very real situations. As a young nurse working in an Accident and Emergency department I remember being in the midst of the pain of people’s lives, and together with other young men and women, trying to resolve that mess. I realised then that faith involves the whole person and we cannot compartmentalise faith from everyday life. I have very strong memories of that time. One September morning everything was chaos, much more so than usual, and a young boy was brought to us. He had been in a road accident and his body was broken in such a devastating way. One of my colleagues said to me, “OK Damian, you believe, where is God in this?” I had no answer. The question haunted me throughout the day. I walked home and prayed and – nothing. Next morning I returned to work and saw my colleagues and friends greeting a new day and new challenges. It then dawned on me, that God was manifestly present in what we were doing, that he was present in the suffering of that child, in his parents’ anguish and in our attempts to restore life and hope. In those moments when God seemed to be remote, he was intimately involved and it was through us that his words and promises were becoming flesh.


Love in community

The religious community that I joined as a young man is Carmel. They take their inspiration from a radical leader of his people, the Prophet Elijah, and a young girl who gave her all to God – Mary, the mother of Jesus. The charism of the Carmelite family is best expressed in its motto: ‘I am filled with jealous zeal for the Lord God of Hosts’. This ‘jealous zeal’ is what attracted me to the community and is something I find most in our young Church.

As a university chaplain, my first task was to create a space, both worshipping and informal, where community could happen. This requires an element of vulnerability, sharing who you are as a person rather than hiding behind a ministry. Late night conversations over coffee and doughnuts brought fundamental questions to the fore. What struck me most about this time is the deep thirst for justice that was expressed by the students. In spontaneous prayer, individuals led the liturgical assembly into an awareness of the needs of others. The concern of housemates for one another when life had become complicated was real and rooted. The students did not want to be bystanders in the lives of others, but brothers and sisters. When looking at the images we have of God we can find our perceptions very limited. Some experience God as a remote and patriarchal figure. Others have the hangover from childhood of an old man with a big book writing down the things we do wrong. Forming an image of God that is gospel-oriented is a major advance in the maturing of faith. A God who, because of his love for us, could not be just a spectator in the mess of our lives, but who yearned to be in the mess with us – a God Incarnate – was the God we shared and worshipped as a community. Filled with ‘jealous zeal’, my congregation of young committed Christians who wanted to change the world, changed me.

In an age where many seem isolated, community speaks to the young. A community where I have encountered love without compromise is Craig Lodge in Dalmally, set in the Scottish highlands. This flourishing community of married couples, families and single young people who choose to share their lives, talents and brokenness, is a place where that ‘jealous zeal’ has another face. The young people I meet there amaze me. Many have had a difficult past, they come and realise that they are both loved and able to love. The tensions of community life are as real there as anywhere, but they love each other anyway. In all the places I have been, that is the place where Eucharist is not merely a noun, but a verb, something to be lived out as well as celebrated.

Community life is a parable of the Eucharist. Gathering, telling the story and breaking bread together are the ingredients of life together. In my own family, meals have always been a time of joy and sharing. It is in the Eucharist that we encounter the generosity of God: this is my body for you. God can give us nothing more – God has already given us everything. Prayer is the fuel of the Christian life. ‘Lord, teach us to pray,’ is the cry of the Christian through the ages. Our young people are hungry for a spiritual life. Communities such as Craig Lodge lead people into a life of prayer, gathering throughout the day to be reminded of how God is present to them.


Pilgrimage
In July 2008 I had the privilege to accompany 170 young people to World Youth Day in Sydney. I must be honest and say that I was not looking forward to the trip. I am not a great flyer and this became an obstacle to my enjoyment of the prospect. However, from the moment we met in the chapel at Heathrow until the day we returned my days were filled with joy. Our young people are amazing. Those who knew no–one were soon making new friends, lives were shared on the long journey and I was deeply moved by the enthusiasm around me. Again as stories were told I was humbled by the experiences of the pilgrims. A turning point for the whole group was a celebration of Reconciliation. Suddenly the reason for the journey was apparent to all; we were there to be loved, and in that love to recognise Christ. These moments of pilgrimage are times when our young Church claims faith for themselves. Faith has become strong, community has become theirs, because in the words of St John of the Cross, ‘Christ is mine and all for me!’ Pilgrimage gives us that assurance. Christ is for us, we are for Christ and we celebrate his presence in one another.

I have enjoyed the opportunity to be with our young people. I hope and pray that I will continue to have my life enriched by them. The media tells us that we live in a society where the young run wild and have no sense of responsibility or consequence. These words seem to be self-fulfilling prophecies. Where were the journalists when, in this last summer of 2008, four hundred young people went with Westminster Diocese to Lourdes as helpers, or when three hundred young people went to the diocesan youth festival at London Colney, or when two thousand young people from these islands travelled to Sydney for the World Youth Day? Where are the stories of hope that abound in our communities and why aren’t they being told?

Have great faith – the Church is alive and the Church is young!

Memories of a Pilgrimage

I recently accompanied a Parish Group to the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in France. This is a journal of that pilgrimage, written by those who made the journey.

From Our Lady of Lourdes to Our Lady at Lourdes: Voices of a Pilgrim Journey
Written by 'The Scribe'

It is 6am, when most of us souls would normally be tucked under the duvet, but this was the beginning of no ordinary week. Early – yes, bright – no, but shining like a beacon in the darkness was the beaming face of tour leader, Pat Bolger. Was his heightened state of euphoria due to the fact that all of us pilgrims had arrived on time at O.L.O.L. or that his beloved Spurs had less than 24 hours earlier recorded their first win of the season? Who said it’s nearly Christmas?

After an uneventful journey along the North Circular and M.11 we arrived at Stansted Airport – with time to spare! After we checked in some of us headed towards Starbucks for coffee and croissants (I’m sure I ordered a builder’s brew and a bacon sandwich). However, disappointment was soon to surface as one of our aeroplane’s engines developed the “Monday morning blues” and refused to start. We disembarked and waited for Titan Airways to summon up a replacement. After two and a half hours delay, we belatedly arrived in Lourdes and, after a hasty meal at the hotel, we all headed to the Domain of Lourdes for Mass in the magnificent Rosary Basilica.

“. . . My impression as a ‘first time pilgrim’ was participation within a welcoming, interested, caring, heartwarming group. I was deeply moved upon entering The Domain, which was enhanced by the obvious deep devotion of many pilgrims around. Altogether a wonderful experience.” ( Michael and Ineka Bolger)

Tuesday saw grey skies. Early Mass in the Oratory of the Poor Clare’s Convent, led again by our own spiritual guide, Fr. Damian, lifted our ‘spirits’ immensely. A short stroll afterwards led towards the steps of the Basilica for a group photograph.

This year, being the 150th Anniversary of the Apparitions, Pope Benedict has attached a special favour to The Jubilee Way in Lourdes. There are four main venues of this walking tour: 1) The Parish Church where Bernadette was baptised. 2) The “Cachot” or abandoned prison where the Soubirous family lived. 3) The Domain, St. Michael’s Gate, the Arches and Grotto. 4) The Hospital Oratory where Bernadette made her first Holy Communion between the 17th and 18th Apparitions. Due to the incessant rain, our walk was reduced to a mini tour, and so after supper:

“. . . some of us went to a concert in the Church of St Bernadette, on the opposite side of the river from the Grotto. It was the final concert given by 1000 French school children who had been attending a conference in Lourdes. It was a great privilege to hear these angelic, youthful voices as they soared to the heights, singing setting after setting of Ave Marias and Salve Regias. The crowning glory was the setting of the Song of Simeon, which we know as the Nunc Dimmitis. As their voices rang out, the song was our prayer “for my eyes have seen your salvation . . . a light to enlighten the Gentiles”, and we truly had been enlightened by this wonderful music.” (David and Nicky Santamaria)

An altogether different social event was taking place at our hotel – do you know who “Cool Hand Ace” is, or “The Quiet Queen”?

“. . . Cool Hand Ace, having come out of retirement for the trip to Lourdes, was eager to show the ‘young boys’ in the card school how good her hands could be! Having won two practice games, confidence was high going into the proper game. If she was nervous it did not show, as the first seven cards of the “50 Euro winner takes all” game were dealt. Despite playing with this group of boys, Cool Hand Ace was not to be bullied and she started well. Unfortunately the good beginning became a bad middle. To stave off this downturn in fortune, Cool Hand drew on her many years of experience, all to no avail, and was left disappointed from this epic card game, won by the Quiet Queen. Is this the end of an illustrious career? When asked if she would play again Cool Hand Ace said “who knows?” But this reporter feels that he knows! Cool Hand Ace will return!” (Peter Catracchia)

Wednesday saw glorious sunshine and 100 kms south of Lourdes lies the small town of Garvanie in the high Pyrannees. So it was:

“. . . off to Garvanie – with our driver, Mark, who Dympna, our tour guide, tells us can drive blindfolded! She also promised us ski equipment when we arrived! By the marvels of modern communication we had seen pictures of snow in London. She says that they mostly do cross country skiing in this area. Quite a relief as I have tried the ordinary type, and cannot do it. The sun came out which made the scenery even more beautiful. Mass on the way was celebrated at the Abbey Church of St Savin. We wondered could our own Parish of O.L.O.L. afford an organ like theirs; rude faces and all! The sense of centuries past came through strongly as we walked in the footsteps of long departed pilgrims. How they must have wondered if they could really cross the Pyrenees, not for them a luxury coach” (Kathy Wurr & Eveline Guerin)

“. . .Garvanie Mountain Walk – An experience to be enjoyed, provided you wear the right clothes. Mountains covered in fine snow like icing sugar looked pretty and amazing, and to see the source of the River Gave – a trickling waterfall, the highest in Europe – made all the effort worthwhile” (Michael and Bridie Forry)

Who was it that said, “when God created Lourdes, with its verdant pastures, He left the roof off”? After the sunshine of yesterday, Thursday was a return to damp, soggy weather. Undeterred, we embarked on a trip to the village of Bartres, where Bernadette spent two periods of her life, - First, as an infant, and later as a shepherdess. Mass was celebrated in the beautiful parish church of St John The Baptist, which contained gilt carvings dating from the XVII century inside. Part of our mass included anointing of the sick, a truly wondrous experience! After a wander around the village, plus coffee in the only cafe open, we arrived back at our hotel for early lunch. After this we took advantage of a break in the weather to do the Stations of the Cross by the river – again part of the Pilgrim Journey undertaken for the sake of faith to profess publically our desire to come closer to God. This part of the day concluded with Fr Damian hearing our confessions whilst standing under a tree – a somewhat different confessional box, but still made of wood! Soon night time approached and we:

“. . .all met at the statue of the Crowned Virgin for our torchlight procession. Lighted candles in readiness for the start: one soon became aware of other groups who had also travelled from far and wide, praying The Rosary and singing the ‘Ave’ in their own language. This truly was a wonderful atmosphere when the groups merged into a river of shimmering light.” (Maria Barguete and Libby Biberian)

Today, incidentally, we all joined in wishing Jean Smith a Happy Birthday – we never divulge a lady’s age, but why the many references to “Cool Hand Ace”??

Dawn was breaking as we breakfasted on our ultimate day in Lourdes. We were soon on our way to the Grotto to celebrate the Eucharist, led by Bishop Blase Cupick, from the Diocese of Rapid City in South Dakota, U.S.A. (all the more symbolic given the year of the U,S. Elections). We celebrated a beautiful Mass, in the chill morning air of Lourdes. This was for many THE Mass of our Pilgrimage and, upon its conclusion, Fr. Damian led us to the candle sheds, whereupon a tall candle was lit and blessed for all members of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish.

So the remainder of Friday included time for personal devotions or a visit to the Baths – an immersion into the very cold waters of Lourdes. We concluded our trip by saying our “Au Revoirs” and, thankfully, arriving safely back to the hallowed grounds of New Southgate.

“. . . This 2008 pilgrimage has been a wonderful experience, a holiday with God, Our Lady and Bernadette. The weather damp and cold but the atmosphere just the opposite – warm, embracing, exciting, joyous, everyday different in the company of fellow parishioners, pilgrims that we only get to say “hello and goodbye” as we meet at Mass. Our daily Mass, with its thought provoking homily, made the days holy and reverent, plus the after dinner socialising with banter and teasing made evenings lively and entertaining. This has been a special “holiday” not to be missed. Would we do it again – yes we would”. (Mike and Irene Albone).

On behalf of all pilgrims, a huge vote of thanks to Patrick Bolger, Tour Leader extraordinaire, to those of you who shared your voices within this narrative and, of course, our exceptional Spiritual Leader, Fr. Damian.

“The Scribe”

Young People

The news is full of horrible stories of knife, gun and gang cultures. the media seems intent on giving a very negative image of our young people. I have been asked by the editors of the Thinking Faith online theological magazine to write an article on my experience of young people. I hope it will do something to restore the balance.

It will appear in the next week or so on the Thinking faith website.

Deacon Chris Cassidy RIP

On Friday 3rd October, my father, Chris, went to his eternal reward. He had been ill for a long time and had been an example of courage and faith to all who accompanied him during his illness. I celebrated his Requiem Mass on Tuesday 14th October.

Homily ~ Rev Chris Cassidy.

I would like to begin by thanking you all for being here. I know many have travelled long distances to be with us today. The countless cards and messages that we have received remind us his family, that this is not just our loss, but yours too. Dad would be very humbled by your love and kindness. And he would be thankful that his life had touched so many. Your being here is a testimony to him.

As I speak can I invite you all to have in your mind a picture of Chris. The one on the order of service might help, but maybe there is an image you have that is special to you – a shared experience, a smile or greeting , or for me the strongest one, from when I was still at school, and dad would wake me up and I would come downstairs to find him with the cat on his lap (who he always claimed to dislike) and praying his breviary. That cat must have become holy by osmosis. As I speak, hold onto the memory that you have, and when we gather later let us share them.

Over the last couple of years I have celebrated many funeral Masses. And I am always faced with the difficult task of summing up a life in a few simple words. And I have come to the realisation that words aren’t enough. We have a poverty of language when we come to explain the mystery of a person. Today is even more difficult as it is very close to home, as I find the words to remember this beautiful man.

But the Church teaches us that we remember best when we do not rely on words but on action. And the action we have before us today is Eucharist. The meal that is crucially, about remembering and being transformed in that action of memory, so that we might become what we receive. . St Augustine puts it beautifully. “When we remember, we make present the past.”

In remembering Chris we will learn more of Christ.

A couple of weeks ago I met with a Dominican friar who was giving a retreat at Aylesford. As friars seem to do when they gather, there was some serious conversation going on and we began to talk about the Eucharist. Three words still linger from that evening –

• Generosity
• Humility
• Vulnerabilty.

I would add a fourth – tenderness.

Dad was a man of the Eucharist. He loved God and this love was his hallmark. These four words seem to unravel the life of him for us.

The generosity of the Eucharist is that total offering of self. ‘This is my body for you.’ This is the promise of Jesus for us, a God who is wholly for us and whose love we are called to imitate. Some of the memories that have been shared with us over the last weeks have spoken of how Chris incarnated this generosity. We have heard of the words of encouragement given. Fr Wilfrid shared a story with me from the winter of 1987 when we had very bad snow. Wilfrid saw Chris pulling a sledge through the village laden with groceries that he was taking round to the elderly. This generosity was also closer to home in the welcome that both mum and dad have given over the years to family and friends. They seemed to operate from the idea that family is a very elastic concept. All who entered their home were welcomed and loved. That generosity is also a necessary part of the married life. The giving of oneself to another in marriage is something that stuns me and something dad never took for granted. The love that mum and dad have shared over fifty five years is a lesson in life that we all benefit from. Because of the experience I have had of marriage through witnessing the married life of mum and dad, I stand in awe of marriage and the love of God that it reveals.

The humility of the Eucharist is, I think, often overlooked. If love is generous it must always be humble. Jesus taught us that serving is about loving. In washing his disciples feet, he showed that those who minister in his name must not be about power or status, ministry is about finding things to love even in people who seem to be unloveable. We are able to love, because we are loved, and Chris saw his loving, not just as a gift of his self, but as God loving others through him. When dad first moved into Lulworth House he was still ministering to his people. In the first months there he found it difficult to sleep and he would often be found at the bedside of bed bound patients, holding their hands or simply sitting silently next to them. In his brokenness and fragility he passed on a peace to those around him. I am told that many of the staff would seek him out at the beginning of their shifts just to receive one of his smiles. It would set them up for the hours ahead.

But what of vulnerability? How is the body of Christ vulnerable? It is vulnerable because it is broken and poured out. Love requires that we are vulnerable, because love is about taking risks. There is a risk in living and living well. Part of this risk is not being able to understand why good people suffer. I do not believe that our suffering is fruitless. I do believe that suffering is a mystery and that I’ll never know its value in this life. Dad was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in the summer of 2000. He contained his illness through determination and down right stubbornness until 2003. He still walked miles visiting the sick in their homes, the hospital, and the hospice. If anything he valued this ministry more than ever. As his own illness ravaged him, he identified more with those he was helping and praying with. We will never know how fruitful this time was. It was hard for us to watch his memory fade and his body weaken. But dad remained steadfast and faithful to his family and his work.

If you have wonderful memories of Chris, then we his family are more deeply blessed. He was a wonderful husband and the best of fathers. My memories of dad usually involve the dinner table and a bottle of red wine. He was most complete when his family were around him. We will always remember the statement at the end of each Sunday lunch, when pushing back his chair from the table he would declare ‘I feel like a butchers dog.’ To which we would all respond ‘and you look like one too!’ I will always remember the gales of laughter that would occur when the grandchildren were visiting and a full English breakfast was on the menu. Can such fun actually be had by the mutual theft of sausages from one plate to another.

Our faith and dad’s own deep conviction tells us that love always has the final word, because love is stronger than death. The liturgy tells us that life is changed not ended. So, although we are sad that dad has been taken from our sight we know that his loving of us, and our loving of him has not ended, and that in God’s good time we will be together again. May he rest in peace and enjoy the great reward prepared for him.

23rd Sunday of Ordinary Time.

In preparing my homily for this Sunday, I came across the following

"If anyone tells you that one mistake put you at risk of losing God’s and our friendship and you believe it, then you will inevitably define yourself as a sinner … If religion tells you that even angry and lustful thoughts are sinful then you will come to think of yourselves as sinner … By that definition and by that approach everyone one of us does something wrong probably every day and we’ll never make it. If nothing short of purity and perfection permits us to stand together before the throne of God, then none of us ever will.

But when religion teaches us that God loves the wounded soul, the chastised soul, that out of experience has learned something about its own fallibility and its own limitations, when religion teaches us to stand together in those experiences, when religion teaches us that being human is a complicated challenge and that all of us will make mistakes in the process of learning how to do it right and that we need to stand together in that process, then we become participants in a wonderful adventure. Our mistakes are no longer emblems of our unworthiness, but invitations to grow. We will be brave enough to live and to share the life."

Harold S. Kushner, How good do we have to be

“Protect us, Lord, from all anxiety as we wait in joyful hope … “
Roman Missal, Communion Rite

23rd Sunday of Ordinary Time.

WYD Final Statistics

WYD 08: Final statistics
Final statistics
World Youth Day, Sydney 2008

The Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal George Pell and Co-ordinating Bishop for World Youth Day, The Right Reverend Anthony Fisher, OP reveal the final World Youth Day statistics.
PILGRIMS & ATTENDANCE
70,000 international pilgrims took part in Days of the Diocese throughout Australia during the week before WYD08
150,000 attended the Opening Mass at Barangaroo and CBD sites
In excess of 400,000 people attended the Final Mass at Southern Cross Precinct
500,000 people came out to welcome His Holiness on Thursday 17 July on the Boat-a-cade, Official Arrival at Barangaroo and Motorcade
223,000 people registered for pilgrim services during WYD08 (110,000 international pilgrims + 113,000 local pilgrims)
Over 170 nations were represented at World Youth Day Sydney 2008
168 international flags took part in the Procession of Flags at the WYD08 Opening Mass
AUDIENCE
WYD08 events were watched live by an estimated international TV audience of 500 million, with TV and internet audiences combined reaching 1 billion
XT3.com, the WYD08 official online social networking site, is expected to attract 225,000 pilgrims as a result of the event
The World Youth Day website received over 500,000 unique users from Saturday 12 July to Sunday 20th July with the biggest spike in hits occurring Thursday 17th July.
WYD08 online streaming received over 250,000 visits during the event period, watching events live all around the world
Top countries watching online streaming included USA, UK, Italy, Canada, Spain and Germany
There were 2,000 accredited media for WYD08
ACTIVITIES
450 Youth Festival events took place during the week from Tuesday to Sunday in over 100 venues
30 large national gatherings took place during WYD08
134 international pilgrims from 58 countries were part of the International Liturgy Group (ILG), as well as a representative from each Australian State and Territory. The ILG undertook the main duties of the liturgies including readings, offertory procession, altar servers, testimonials, flag bearers.
In Terrey Hills, more than 350 cardinals and bishops from overseas enjoyed a lunch hosted by the Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal George Pell.
An average of 2,500 pilgrims walked through the Vocations Expo every hour
Catechesis was delivered at 235 locations across Sydney in 29 different languages
The WYD08 Choir consisted of 300 members, the WYD08 Orchestra was an 80 piece orchestra
1,000 priests heard confession during the WYD08 week
JOURNEY OF THE CROSS AND ICON
Once the Journey of the Cross and Icon reached Wollongong for the 15 Day walk, it had travelled nearly 80,000km around Australia
The Cross and Icon visited over 400 Australian communities during the 12 month pilgrimage around Australia
Nearly 400,000 people touched the Cross throughout Australia
The WYD Cross is 3.8m high and 1.75m wide, weighing some 40 kilograms
The WYD Icon is 118cm high and 79cm wide, weighing some 15 kilogram
4,000 pilgrims took part in the final day of the Journey of the Cross and Icon on Monday 14th July when it travelled on a Manly Ferry before being walked through central Sydney
PILGRIM SERVICES
6,000 blankets were donated by Qantas to pilgrims from across Oceania
37 lucky Burmese pilgrims overcame VISA difficulties to finally make it to Sydney for WYD08
At the WYD Big Aussie BBQ, 220,000 slices of bread were consumed – if laid end to end, it would cover the Sydney Harbour Bridge 21 times
100,000 pilgrims slept in 400 schools and parishes
Over 12,000 pilgrims stayed in Sydney Olympic Park throughout the week
40,000 were billeted as part of the WYD08 HomeStay program
PAPAL FACTS
The Pope’s flight to Sydney took 19 hours and 45 minutes
The Pope’s flight home will take 21 hours
From Rome the flight travelled a total distance of 16,500 kilometres
The Pope will fly back to Rome on a Qantas flight, stopping off Darwin for a brief refuelling
The Pope sent six daily inspirational text messages
The Pope met six native Australian animals from Taronga Zoo when in Kenthurst - a wallaby, koala, python, lizard, baby crocodile and an echidna
12 lucky young people lunched with the Pope on Friday 18 July. This included Australians Craig Ashby from Sydney and Teresa Wilson from Melbourne
24 people were confirmed by the Pope at the Final Mass including 14 young Australians and 10 international young people
The Pope lunched with 50 current and retired Australian Bishops in St Mary’s Cathedral House
The Pope kissed four small children during his Motorcades
VOLUNTEERS
8,000 WYD08 volunteers assisted during WYD08
His Holiness held a special event to specifically thank the volunteers at the Domain prior to his departure
CLERGY
There were 4,000 priests and deacons, 420 Bishops, 26 Cardinals and one Pope present at WYD08
500 special WYD08 chasubles for the Bishops and Cardinals were made
4,000 stoles were made for the priests
1.1 million communion hosts were made for the WYD08 Masses
FOOD
25 million food items were ordered for WYD08
3.6 million meals were distributed across approximately 400 venues during the week
215,000 meat pies, 360,000 lamingtons and 100,000 litres of Dairy Farmers Milk were consumed
SERVICES
400,000 people attended the Final Mass at Randwick Racecourse and Centennial Park
235,000 faithful attended the night time Vigil at Randwick Racecourse.
Over 200,000 pilgrims camped at Randwick Racecourse overnight in anticipation of the Final Mass
232,000 candles were used during WYD08
100 actors took part in the Stations of the Cross performance
4000 toilets were in use at the Southern Cross Precinct
AMBASSADORS, PATRONS, SPONSORS
World Youth Day Ambassadors were:
Carla Zampatti - leading Australian fashion designer
Jared Crouch - Sydney Swans Footballer
The Delezio Family – Ron, Carolyn, Mitchell and Sophie
Matthew Hayden - Australian Cricketer
Amelia Farrugia - Australian Opera singer
Mark Bresciano - Australian Socceroo
Stephen Moore - Australian Wallaby
Jimmy Little - Indigenous Australian musician
Dr John Herron - Chairman of the Australian National Council on Drugs
WYD08 Corporate Affilliates included: Qantas, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Catholic Church Insurances Limited, Corrs Chambers Westgarth, Mercedes-Benz, Telstra, The Daily Telegraph and the Sunday Telegraph, Harvest Youth Tours, Arnotts, Tip Top, Coca-Cola Amatil and Accor Hospitality, Captain Cook Cruises BridgeClimb, Taronga Zoo, The Catholic Weekly, Avis, Cadbury, Cerebos Foods, Dairy Farmers, Mrs Mac's, Sanitarium, Schenker, SACL, Safcol, Moore Stephens
There were 10 World Youth Day Patrons including: St Thérèse of Lisieux, St Faustina Kowalska, St Maria Goretti, St Peter Chanel, Blessed Peter To Rot, Blessed Mary MacKillop, Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, John Paul II, Our Lady of the Southern Cross

Back from WYD SYD08

The days spent with the young people of the diocese were inspiring. The Church is alive and the Church is young! I will post a reflectionlater when I feel more human after jet-lag. But these are the words of Pope Benedict to the young people on Sunday morning

HOMILY OF POPE BENEDICT XVI
MASS FOR THE XXIII WORLD YOUTH DAY -- CELEBRATION OF CONFIRMATION
RANDWICK RACECOURSE
SYDNEY
20 JULY 2008

Dear Friends,

"You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you" (Acts 1:8). We have seen this promise fulfilled! On the day of Pentecost, as we heard in the first reading, the Risen Lord, seated at the right hand of the Father, sent the Spirit upon the disciples gathered in the Upper Room. In the power of that Spirit, Peter and the Apostles went forth to preach the Gospel to the ends of the earth. In every age, and in every language, the Church throughout the world continues to proclaim the marvels of God and to call all nations and peoples to faith, hope and new life in Christ.

In these days I too have come, as the Successor of Saint Peter, to this magnificent land of Australia. I have come to confirm you, my young brothers and sisters, in your faith and to encourage you to open your hearts to the power of Christ's Spirit and the richness of his gifts. I pray that this great assembly, which unites young people "from every nation under heaven" (cf. Acts 2:5), will be a new Upper Room. May the fire of God's love descend to fill your hearts, unite you ever more fully to the Lord and his Church, and send you forth, a new generation of apostles, to bring the world to Christ! "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you". These words of the Risen Lord have a special meaning for those young people who will be confirmed, sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit, at today's Mass. But they are also addressed to each of us - to all those who have received the Spirit's gift of reconciliation and new life at Baptism, who have welcomed him into their hearts as their helper and guide at Confirmation, and who daily grow in his gifts of grace through the Holy Eucharist. At each Mass, in fact, the Holy Spirit descends anew, invoked by the solemn prayer of the Church, not only to transform our gifts of bread and wine into the Lord's body and blood, but also to transform our lives, to make us, in his power, "one body, one spirit in Christ".
But what is this "power" of the Holy Spirit? It is the power of God's life! It is the power of the same Spirit who hovered over the waters at the dawn of creation and who, in the fullness of time, raised Jesus from the dead. It is the power which points us, and our world, towards the coming of the Kingdom of God. In today's Gospel, Jesus proclaims that a new age has begun, in which the Holy Spirit will be poured out upon all humanity (cf. Lk 4:21). He himself, conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, came among us to bring us that Spirit. As the source of our new life in Christ, the Holy Spirit is also, in a very real way, the soul of the Church, the love which binds us to the Lord and one another, and the light which opens our eyes to see all around us the wonders of God's grace.

Here in Australia, this "great south land of the Holy Spirit", all of us have had an unforgettable experience of the Spirit's presence and power in the beauty of nature. Our eyes have been opened to see the world around us as it truly is: "charged", as the poet says, "with the grandeur of God", filled with the glory of his creative love. Here too, in this great assembly of young Christians from all over the world, we have had a vivid experience of the Spirit's presence and power in the life of the Church. We have seen the Church for what she truly is: the Body of Christ, a living community of love, embracing people of every race, nation and tongue, of every time and place, in the unity born of our faith in the Risen Lord. The power of the Spirit never ceases to fill the Church with life! Through the grace of the Church's sacraments, that power also flows deep within us, like an underground river which nourishes our spirit and draws us ever nearer to the source of our true life, which is Christ. Saint Ignatius of Antioch, who died a martyr in Rome at the beginning of the second century, has left us a splendid description of the Spirit's power dwelling within us. He spoke of the Spirit as a fountain of living water springing up within his heart and whispering: "Come, come to the Father" (cf. Ad Rom., 6:1-9).

Yet this power, the grace of the Spirit, is not something we can merit or achieve, but only receive as pure gift. God's love can only unleash its power when it is allowed to change us from within. We have to let it break through the hard crust of our indifference, our spiritual weariness, our blind conformity to the spirit of this age. Only then can we let it ignite our imagination and shape our deepest desires. That is why prayer is so important: daily prayer, private prayer in the quiet of our hearts and before the Blessed Sacrament, and liturgical prayer in the heart of the Church. Prayer is pure receptivity to God's grace, love in action, communion with the Spirit who dwells within us, leading us, through Jesus, in the Church, to our heavenly Father. In the power of his Spirit, Jesus is always present in our hearts, quietly waiting for us to be still with him, to hear his voice, to abide in his love, and to receive "power from on high", enabling us to be salt and light for our world.

At his Ascension, the Risen Lord told his disciples: "You will be my witnesses ... to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8). Here, in Australia, let us thank the Lord for the gift of faith, which has come down to us like a treasure passed on from generation to generation in the communion of the Church. Here, in Oceania, let us give thanks in a special way for all those heroic missionaries, dedicated priests and religious, Christian parents and grandparents, teachers and catechists who built up the Church in these lands - witnesses like Blessed Mary MacKillop, Saint Peter Chanel, Blessed Peter To Rot, and so many others! The power of the Spirit, revealed in their lives, is still at work in the good they left behind, in the society which they shaped and which is being handed on to you.

Dear young people, let me now ask you a question. What will you leave to the next generation? Are you building your lives on firm foundations, building something that will endure? Are you living your lives in a way that opens up space for the Spirit in the midst of a world that wants to forget God, or even rejects him in the name of a falsely-conceived freedom? How are you using the gifts you have been given, the "power" which the Holy Spirit is even now prepared to release within you? What legacy will you leave to young people yet to come? What difference will you make? The power of the Holy Spirit does not only enlighten and console us. It also points us to the future, to the coming of God's Kingdom. What a magnificent vision of a humanity redeemed and renewed we see in the new age promised by today's Gospel! Saint Luke tells us that Jesus Christ is the fulfilment of all God's promises, the Messiah who fully possesses the Holy Spirit in order to bestow that gift upon all mankind. The outpouring of Christ's Spirit upon humanity is a pledge of hope and deliverance from everything that impoverishes us. It gives the blind new sight; it sets the downtrodden free, and it creates unity in and through diversity (cf. Lk 4:18-19; Is 61:1-2). This power can create a new world: it can "renew the face of the earth" (cf. Ps 104:30)!
Empowered by the Spirit, and drawing upon faith's rich vision, a new generation of Christians is being called to help build a world in which God's gift of life is welcomed, respected and cherished - not rejected, feared as a threat and destroyed. A new age in which love is not greedy or self-seeking, but pure, faithful and genuinely free, open to others, respectful of their dignity, seeking their good, radiating joy and beauty. A new age in which hope liberates us from the shallowness, apathy and self-absorption which deaden our souls and poison our relationships. Dear young friends, the Lord is asking you to be prophets of this new age, messengers of his love, drawing people to the Father and building a future of hope for all humanity.

The world needs this renewal! In so many of our societies, side by side with material prosperity, a spiritual desert is spreading: an interior emptiness, an unnamed fear, a quiet sense of despair. How many of our contemporaries have built broken and empty cisterns (cf. Jer 2:13) in a desperate search for meaning - the ultimate meaning that only love can give? This is the great and liberating gift which the Gospel brings: it reveals our dignity as men and women created in the image and likeness of God. It reveals humanity's sublime calling, which is to find fulfilment in love. It discloses the truth about man and the truth about life.

The Church also needs this renewal! She needs your faith, your idealism and your generosity, so that she can always be young in the Spirit (cf. Lumen Gentium, 4)! In today's second reading, the Apostle Paul reminds us that each and every Christian has received a gift meant for building up the Body of Christ. The Church especially needs the gifts of young people, all young people. She needs to grow in the power of the Spirit who even now gives joy to your youth and inspires you to serve the Lord with gladness. Open your hearts to that power! I address this plea in a special way to those of you whom the Lord is calling to the priesthood and the consecrated life. Do not be afraid to say "yes" to Jesus, to find your joy in doing his will, giving yourself completely to the pursuit of holiness, and using all your talents in the service of others!

In a few moments, we will celebrate the sacrament of Confirmation. The Holy Spirit will descend upon the confirmands; they will be "sealed" with the gift of the Spirit and sent forth to be Christ's witnesses. What does it mean to receive the "seal" of the Holy Spirit? It means being indelibly marked, inalterably changed, a new creation. For those who have received this gift, nothing can ever be the same! Being "baptized" in the one Spirit (cf. 1 Cor 12:13) means being set on fire with the love of God. Being "given to drink" of the Spirit means being refreshed by the beauty of the Lord's plan for us and for the world, and becoming in turn a source of spiritual refreshment for others. Being "sealed with the Spirit" means not being afraid to stand up for Christ, letting the truth of the Gospel permeate the way we see, think and act, as we work for the triumph of the civilization of love.

As we pray for the confirmands, let us ask that the power of the Holy Spirit will revive the grace of our own Confirmation. May he pour out his gifts in abundance on all present, on this city of Sydney, on this land of Australia and on all its people! May each of us be renewed in the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of right judgement and courage, the spirit of knowledge and reverence, the spirit of wonder and awe in God's presence!

Through the loving intercession of Mary, Mother of the Church, may this Twenty-third World Youth Day be experienced as a new Upper Room, from which all of us, burning with the fire and love of the Holy Spirit, go forth to proclaim the Risen Christ and to draw every heart to him! Amen.

Father Damien to be canonised (N.B. Diffferent Fr Damien!)

The Congregation of the Causes of Saints at the Vatican has voted to canonize Father Damien of Molokai to sainthood.

After the verification of two medical miracles, after decades of investigation into the life and works of Damien De Veuster, the Consisterie at the Vatican has at long last voted to elevate the Martyr of Molokai to its Pantheon of Saints.

The measure now awaits the signature of Pope Benedict XVI.

"People are very excited because they know he was a great person and role model, and that is the most important thing of the sanctification, he finally can be the role model we need," Damien historian Hilde Eynikel told KITV from Belgium.

The search is now on for a relic of Father Damien, which will be presented to the pope at the sanctification.

A relic can be something touched by the saint, worn by the saint, or an actual body part of the saint.

The diocese in Brussels is now looking into the retrieval of such a relic from Damien's tomb in Leuven, Belgium.

Damien's grave in Kalaupapa contains only his right hand, which was re-interred following his beatification in 1995.

The canonization will take place in Rome, possibly at the end of next year, with celebrations in Belgium and Hawaii.

The pope will probably not travel to Hawaii.

Cardinal Daneels of Belgium may be in attendance.

Supporters of the sainthood effort are overjoyed that now the world will know what Hawaii has known for 100 years -- that Father Damien of Molokai is a saint.

He was born Joseph De Veuster in Tremeloo, Belgium, in 1840.

De Veuster's older brother, Pamphile, was set to travel to the "Sandwich Islands," but was too sick to go. Instead, De Veuster traveled to Hawaii in his brother's place.

The Roman Catholic priest arrived in Hawaii in 1864 and took the name Damien. He served the leprosy patients at the Molokai colony at Kalaupapa for 12 years before he succumbed to Hansen's disease at age 49.

His body was exhumed from his Molokai grave in 1936 when his remains were sent to Belgium, for reburial.

In 1995, a relic of his right hand was given back to the Hawaii Diocese and returned to his Molokai grave.

Preparing for Pilgrimage ~ WYD Sydney 2008

In 19 days time I will be setting out on pilgrimage as chaplain to a group of 170 young people from the diocese of Westminster to the XXIII World Youth Day in Sydney, Australia. During the next couple of weeks I shall be posting some thoughts and reflections on the theme of pilgrimage and journey as I prepare myself to be a pilgrim again

I often wonder if we consider human experiences and needs as expressions of our need for God. Hungers need to be satisfied and thirsts need to be quenched. Restlessness, dissatisfaction and itchy feet often invite us to pursue new paths and new ways. In this time and with this group of people, we have been called to be pilgrims. We are on a different road with new people and we need to reflect on this so that we might grow in this journey. The author of Psalm 62 conveys the depth of longing for God that is at the heart of pilgrimage.

O God, you are my God, for you I long for you my soul is thirsting.
My body pines for you like a dry weary land without water.
So I gaze on you in the sanctuary to see your strength and your glory.
Psalm 62.

For centuries men and women have journeyed to distant places known for their holiness, so that they might become closer to God. The condition of a pilgrim was very popular in medieval times. The reasons for undertaking the pilgrimage varied from person to person. For some it was a penitential exercise; absolution from their sin would only happen at the journeys end. Other pilgrimages were undertaken in thanksgiving for a favour obtained or to seek healing from disease. Often the reason for the pilgrimage was just to be in a place associated with Jesus, or where some of the great saints of the Church had ministered. The physical closeness of these icons of holiness nourished the faith of the pilgrim. But being a pilgrim is more than just setting out to reach a significant destination, To be a pilgrim is also an attitude that requires a certain state of mind and heart. For the Christian, a pilgrimage is an intense lived experience of baptism. The pilgrim's journey is a symbol of the desire to follow Christ, to walk the way of holiness. I think that there are four pillars to pilgrimage

• Thirst for God
• Community
• Prayer
• Service

A pilgrimage is an intense living out of the journey we undertake towards intimacy with God, and paradoxically this intimacy has its genesis in community. The pilgrim soon learns the benefit of sharing the journey with others and in this need community is brought to life. A moment of profound encounter with Christ is often realised in the word, embrace or concern of a fellow pilgrim. We could say that growth cannot be achieved in isolation, but in dialogue and relationship.
We are all people of worth. John of the Cross and Teresa of Jesus learned to revel in the fact that God delighted in them, that they were people of immense worth and dignity; simply that they were precious to God. Community or - to put it more generally - Church is a celebration not just of the reality of my own worth but of the worth of the whole of creation. The language of this celebration is prayer, and the action or liturgia of this celebration is service.
Pilgrims today are not so different from the pilgrims of yesteryear. Our ways of travel may be more sophisticated, making the modern pilgrimage easier, but the lessons to be learnt by the pilgrim remain the same. A pilgrimage is not just the action of an individual, but of the Church. The pilgrim seldom undertakes the journey alone, but journeys with others.
The pilgrim has a ministry to others on the way: a ministry of attentiveness to fellow pilgrims, a ministry of prayer for the needs of all. Above all, the pilgrim is called to share the gift of who they are, seeking authentic relationship with Christ and one another. The pilgrim also seeks solitude for those moments of prayer that nourish faith, that affirm and challenge, that quench the thirst we have for Christ but leave us wanting a more intense experience of encounter with him. A pilgrimage is an expression of the joy that comes from knowing Christ, and of the hope that we have in our future with him.
Some attitudes for pilgrimage

• Be aware of others
• Be joyful
• Tell your story
• Listen to others
• At times, be still.
• Pray
• Encourage

To be a pilgrim is to proclaim Christ in our midst. The destination of our pilgrimage is immaterial, for if we desire to follow Christ, Christ is our destination. Let this time awaken within us the desire to be a pilgrim people, journeying together, sharing talents and needs, as we seek the Christ in our midst, he who is the beginning of our journey and its end.

A favourite book - Fr Elijah

Michael O'Brien presents a thrilling apocalyptic novel about the condition of the Roman Catholic Church at the end of time. It explores the state of the modern world, and the strengths and weaknesses of the contemporary religious scene, by taking his central character, Father Elijah Schäfer, a Carmelite priest, on a secret mission for the Vatican which embroils him in a series of crises and subterfuges affecting the ultimate destiny of the Church.
Father Elijah is a convert from Judaism, a survivor of the Holocaust, a man once powerful in Israel. For twenty years he has been "buried in the dark night of Carmel" on the mountain of the prophet Elijah. The Pope and the Cardinal Secretary of State call him out of obscurity and give him a task of the highest sensitivity: to penetrate into the inner circles of a man whom they believe may be the Antichrist. Their purpose: to call the Man of Sin to repentance, and thus to postpone the great tribulation long enough to preach the Gospel to the whole world.
In this richly textured tale, Father Elijah crosses Europe and the Middle East, moves through the echelons of world power, meets saints and sinners, presidents, judges, mystics, embattled Catholic journalists, faithful priests and a conspiracy of traitors within the very House of God. This is an apocalypse in the old literary sense, but one that was written in the light of Christian revelation.
"I've read thousands of books, and this is one of the great ones. I hope tens of thousands read it, and are shaken as I have been. It's a novel that grips one like a thriller — indeed it is a thriller, but also something far deeper. There are love and friendship, interwoven with drama, but what it is essentially is faith, faith in the Christ."
— Sheldon Vanauken, Author, A Severe Mercy
"Father Elijah is that rare thing, a great novel which is also a testimony to orthodox Catholicism. But it is more even than this. Basing himself squarely on Scripture and human experience, O'Brien has produced a prophetic work and a manual of spiritual warfare. This compelling masterpiece will stretch your imagination in the right direction. Read it and pray."
-— Stratford Caldecott, Centre for Faith and Culture, Oxford

"I guarantee you that once you take up this book you will not put it down until the end of the world. Here is a meaty page-turner with the pace of a thriller, beautifully written, and that something more that turns entertainment into literature."
— Ralph McInerny, Author, Fr. Dowling Mysteries

"... offers up a tale that is satirical, sly, and fast-paced."
— Booklist

"A joy to read. Smoothly crafted, the characters came to life for me. It is a classic story, told in an inspired, inspirational way ... wonderfully uplifting."
— Larry Bond, Author, Red Phoenix

Great Read!

I have just finished reading this book. It is beautiful, disturbing, hopeful and insightful all at the same time. Michael D. O'Brien is such a gifted author and I have always enjoyed the power of his story. He has a way of clothing the reader in the skin of the main character.

The Island of the World is set in the context of World War II and the entire region of Yugoslavia is torn by conflicting factions: German and Italian occupying armies, and the rebel forces that resist them--the fascist Ustashe, Serb nationalist Chetniks, and Communist Partisans. As events gather momentum, all hell breaks loose, and the young and the innocent are caught in the path of great evils. The novel follows the agony and the rising of Josip Lasta, the main character. From childhood to old age you follow Josip's life which is touched by both despair and by God's providential blessings. But the real story is Josip's spiritual journey. He has to learn to regain his faith in God, which was strong as a child but lost as a result of the evil he encounters. We see him, through the course of the novel, struggling with anger and hatred towards the people who turned his childhood world into turmoil. The real climax is when he encounters a mysterious figure, a priest in St Peter's Square (who is really Christ) and as a result sees that God had indeed been with him even in the midst of deep evil. Josip is thus changed and healed by the encounter and learns to feel charity for those who hurt him and to carry God's message of love and healing to all the hurt and wounded souls God places in his path along life. This novel cuts to the core question: how does a person retain his identity, indeed his humanity, in absolutely dehumanising situations? Through the life of Josip, O'Brien shows us that this will demand suffering and sacrifice, heroism, deep forgiveness and reconciliation, and even holiness. It is a story about the death and resurrection of a soul. This book will awaken your mind and stir your heart to its depths.

All of the elements that captivated the fans of O'Brien's other novels are here: exploration of the nature of faith, deep dialogue, extensive character development, and a writing style that makes the reader want to keep on going. Most important, O'Brien demonstrates, through fiction, the beauty of faith and grace. As with Homer's Ulysses, as with Tolkien's Frodo, we carry our wounds, our losses, our beloved ones and encounter the only thing we truly seek and hope for: the eyes of the One who can heal our wounds, embrace our hearts, save our deepest loves.

I highly recommend this book; fans of O'Brien will love it, fans of good Catholic literature will love it. It will touch you.

Saint Simon Stock

Flower of Carmel
tall vine, blossom laden.
Splendour of heaven,
child bearing yet maiden.
None equals thee.

Mother so tender,
whom no man didst know,
on Carmels children
thy favours bestow.
Star of the Sea

Eleven Rules of Life

Rule 1: Life is not fair - get used to it.
Rule 2: The world won’t care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.
Rule 3: You will NOT make $40,000 a year right out of high school. You won’t be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.
Rule 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.
Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your grandparents had a different word for burger flipping — they called it OPPORTUNITY.
Rule 6: If you mess up, it’s not your parents’ fault, so don’t whine about your mistakes, learn from them.
Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren’t as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you are. So, before you save the rainforest from the parasites of your parents’ generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.
Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life has not. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they’ll give you as many times as you want to get the right answer. This doesn’t bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.
Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don’t get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you find yourself. Do that on your own time.
Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.
Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you’ll end up working for one.
–Bill Gates –

Benedict XVI in New York - Start spreading the news ...

I'm leaving today ...

Good Friday

O my God,
with my whole heart, in spite of my heart,
do I receive this cross I feared so much!
Nor for anything in this world
would I wish that it had not come, since You willed it.
I keep it with gratitude and with joy,
as I do everything that comes from Your hand;
and I shall strive to carry it without letting it drag,
with all the respect and all the affection
which Your works deserve.
Amen

St. Francis De Sales (1567 – 1622)

Benedict XVI on Reconciliation

The Holy Father presided over a service of penance yesterday and heard confessions, here is part of his sermon.



When I was Archbishop of Munich-Freising, in a meditation on Pentecost I was inspired by a film entitled Seelenwanderung (Metempsychosis), to explain what the action is of the Holy Spirit in the soul. The film presents two poor devils who, because of their goodness, weren’t able to get ahead in life. One day one of them got the idea that, not having anything else to sell, he could sell his soul. This was bought at a cheap price and put into a box. From that moment, to his great surprise, everything changed in his life. The began a rapid rise in the world, he became ever richer, he attained great honors, and at his death he was even Consul, largely because of his money and property. From the moment when he was freed from his soul, he no longer had any consideration or humanity. He acted without scruples, aiming only at gain and success. Man no longer counted for anything. He himself no longer had a soul. The film, as I concluded, show in an impressive way how behind the facade of success, there is often hidden an empty existence.

On the surface, the man hadn’t lost anything, but he lacked a soul, and without it, lacked everything. It is obvious, as I continued in that reflection, that a human being can’t literally throw away his own soul, from the moment that it makes him into a person. In fact, he still remains a person. And still there is the frightening possibility of being inhuman, to remain a person selling and losing at the same time one’s own humanity. The distance between the human person and the inhuman person is immense, even if your can’t demonstrate it; it is that thing which is really essential, even though it is, on the surface, without importance (cf.Suchen, was droben ist. Meditationem das Jahr hindurch, LEV, 1985).

Even the Holy Spirit, who was at the beginning of creation and thanks to the Paschal Mystery descended abundantly on Mary and the Apostles on the day of Pentecost, offers no evidence to physical eyes. If It penetrates into the person, or not, you can’t see it of demonstrate it; but it changes and renews the whole outlook of human existence. The Holy Spirit does not change the exterior situations of life, but rather the interior. On the evening of Easter Jesus, appearing to the disciples, "breathed on them and said: Receive the Holy Spirit" (John 20,22). In a way even more evident, the Spirit descended on the Apostles on the day of Pentecost, like a roaring wind and in the form of tongues of fire. This night also the Spirit descends upon our hearts, to forgive sins and renew them interiorly, clothing them with a power will make us also, like the Apostles, bold in announcing that "Christ was dead and is risen!"

Dear friends, let us therefore prepare ourselves, with a sincere examination of conscience, to present ourselves before those to whom Christ entrusted the ministry of reconciliation. With a contrite spirit let us confess our sins, seriously proposing not to repeat them any more. This is how we will experience the joy that is true: which comes from the mercy of God, flows into our hearts and reconciles us with Him.

Lazarus! Come forth!

There was a man named Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister, Martha, and he was ill. It was the same Mary, the sister of the sick man Lazarus, who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair. The sisters sent this message to Jesus, 'Lord, the man you love is ill.' On receiving the message, Jesus said, 'This sickness will not end in death, but it is for God's glory so that through it the Son of God may be glorified.' Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, yet when he heard that he was ill he stayed where he was for two more days before saying to the disciples, 'Let us go back to Judaea.' The disciples said, 'Rabbi, it is not long since the Jews were trying to stone you; are you going back there again?' Jesus replied: Are there not twelve hours in the day? No one who walks in the daytime stumbles, having the light of this world to see by; anyone who walks around at night stumbles, having no light as a guide. He said that and then added, 'Our friend Lazarus is at rest; I am going to wake him.' The disciples said to him, 'Lord, if he is at rest he will be saved.' Jesus was speaking of the death of Lazarus, but they thought that by 'rest' he meant 'sleep'; so Jesus put it plainly, 'Lazarus is dead; and for your sake I am glad I was not there because now you will believe. But let us go to him.' Then Thomas -- known as the Twin -- said to the other disciples, 'Let us also go to die with him
On arriving, Jesus found that Lazarus had been in the tomb for four days already. Bethany is only about two miles from Jerusalem, and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them about their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming she went to meet him. Mary remained sitting in the house. Martha said to Jesus, 'Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died, but even now I know that God will grant whatever you ask of him.' Jesus said to her, 'Your brother will rise again.' Martha said, 'I know he will rise again at the resurrection on the last day.' Jesus said: I am the resurrection. Anyone who believes in me, even though that person dies, will live, and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this? 'Yes, Lord,' she said, 'I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who was to come into this world.' When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in a low voice, 'The Master is here and wants to see you.' Hearing this, Mary got up quickly and went to him. Jesus had not yet come into the village; he was still at the place where Martha had met him. When the Jews who were in the house comforting Mary saw her get up so quickly and go out, they followed her, thinking that she was going to the tomb to weep there.
Mary went to Jesus, and as soon as she saw him she threw herself at his feet, saying, 'Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.' At the sight of her tears, and those of the Jews who had come with her, Jesus was greatly distressed, and with a profound sigh he said, 'Where have you put him?' They said, 'Lord, come and see.' Jesus wept; and the Jews said, 'See how much he loved him!' But there were some who remarked, 'He opened the eyes of the blind man. Could he not have prevented this man's death?' Sighing again, Jesus reached the tomb: it was a cave with a stone to close the opening. Jesus said, 'Take the stone away.' Martha, the dead man's sister, said to him, 'Lord, by now he will smell; this is the fourth day since he died.' Jesus replied, 'Have I not told you that if you believe you will see the glory of God?' So they took the stone away. Then Jesus lifted up his eyes and said: Father, I thank you for hearing my prayer. I myself knew that you hear me always, but I speak for the sake of all these who are standing around me, so that they may believe it was you who sent me. When he had said this, he cried in a loud voice, 'Lazarus, come out!' The dead man came out, his feet and hands bound with strips of material, and a cloth over his face. Jesus said to them, 'Unbind him, let him go free.' Many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what he did, believed in him.

Go gentle into the good night.

Act in freeing ways. Avoid rigidity. Speak to someone who appears forbidding. Tell the truth. Make the telephone call you have been afraid to make. Break the silence. Place on paper a letter that has long been on your mind. Ask the hard question. Come to life.

In order to live more fully in the present and prepare for our ultimate departure, we can strive to be more open and vulnerable. We needn’t worry about what other people think. We should laugh uproariously if we feel like it. Go to a park and ride a swing, whether we are ten or seventy. Cry if we are moved and wish to. Respond with the fullness of our being to a poem, the sound of the wind, or the beauty of a cello. We can come alive.

While we are here, our lives can be either unhappy, self-destructive, unproductive and lacking fire, or celebratory, loving, creative and filled with spiritual energy. Choose!

Malcolm Boyd

Silly, but quite funny!

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: Marquess Damian the Erudite of Molton St Anywhere Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

Love means deeds

If the hunger of others is not my own,
if the anguish of my neighbours in all its forms
touches me not,
if the nakedness of my brother or sister
does not torment me,
then I have no reason to go to church and live.
This is the commandment of God
love means deeds, not good wishes.
For this reason I commit myself to working
for the necessities of my brothers and sisters.

Javier Torres, Nicaragua

Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes

In 1858, a sickly 14-year-old girl called Bernadette Soubirous experienced a series of visions of Our Lady and discovered a clear water spring in a cave.

The Visions

Bernadette witnessed a total of 17 visions in the spring of 1858 and is often also credited with having witnessed an 18th on the evening before she left Lourdes.

The First Apparition

On 11 February 1858 at about 11am, Bernadette, her sister and a friend went to search for firewood in a copse of trees in an area called Massabielle, near the river which runs through Lourdes. Bernadette was frail and often ill, so when her friend and sister took off their stockings in order to wade across the river she remained where she was. A strange silence had fallen around Bernadette, and it was here that the first apparition occurred. Bernadette narrates what happened in her own account of the apparitions:

I saw a Lady dressed in white. She wore a white dress and a white veil with a blue waistband and a yellow rose on each of her feet. Her rosary was yellow too... The Lady took the rosary from her arm and made the sign of the Cross. I wanted and managed to do likewise. I got down on my knees and began to recite the Rosary with the beautiful Lady. The apparition moved the rosary beads between her fingers without moving her lips. When it was over she made a sign for me to come near, but I did not dare to... Then suddenly, she disappeared.

Neither Antoinette (her sister) nor Jeanne (her friend) witnessed this apparition with Bernadette. Bernadette told them what had happened on their way home. Bernadette's sister then told their mother what had happened. Bernadette's mother feared that her oldest daughter was hallucinating, so she beat the two girls for 'telling stories', and Bernadette was forbidden from going to the grotto again.

The Second Apparition

14 February, 1858. Bernadette managed to persuade her mother to give her permission to return to the grotto, so after high Mass she and the same two companions went - taking with them a bottle of holy water from the parish church. As Bernadette prayed she saw the second apparition and sprinkled it with the water asking it 'to say if It were of God, otherwise to go away'. The Lady only smiled. As before, the others could not see anything. The events were interrupted by Bernadette's friend Jeanne who rolled a large rock down from the top of Massabielle, it crashed close to the grotto but Bernadette remained entranced on her knees. The others panicked and ran to a nearby mill for help, and the miller (with great difficulty) carried the oblivious Bernadette back home. He was astonished by her weight and despite his attempts to distract her she seemed to be smiling at something he could not see. This incident led to the first general interest among the residents of Lourdes in events at the grotto. Predominantly people disapproved - Bernadette's mother was very angry and upset. On the following day Bernadette was rebuked in the street as she left school, a woman she did not know slapped her for 'putting on comedies'. But there was another theory, more sympathetic to Bernadette, that she was seeing the spirit of a girl who had died the year before. A rich woman who occasionally employed Bernadette was interested in this theory and arranged to take Bernadette back to the grotto early the next morning.

The Third Apparition

On 18 February, 1858, the apparition lasted a long time. The rich woman was pestering Bernadette while she was praying, telling her to ask the apparition to write her name - Bernadette gestured to the woman to be silent.

The third time I went to the grotto was on the following Thursday. Some respectable people went along with me. These had advised me to bring paper, pen and ink and to ask the Lady if she had something to say and to be good enough to write it down. Presenting the paper pen and ink to the apparition I asked would you be so good as to write down your name and what you want of me. This was the reply: 'What I want you to do does not have to be written down. Would you be so good as to come back here for 15 days? I do not promise you happiness in this world, but in the next.'

This was to be the beginning of what is now known as 'the fortnight of apparitions'. In the 15 days between 18 February and 4 March, Bernadette saw the Lady 14 times.

The Fourth Apparition

19 February, 1858, the apparition is reported to have happened early in the morning. Around 12 people accompanied Bernadette to the grotto - the apparition lasted around a quarter of an hour. For the first time Bernadette brought a blessed candle with her.

The Fifth Apparition

This apparition occurred on 20 February, it was conducted in silence - Bernadette in her ecstasy recited the Rosary with the Lady. Around 35 people were with her.

The Sixth Apparition

21 February, 1858, it was the first Sunday in Lent and around a hundred people were at the grotto including Bernadette's mother and her aunt. After the apparition, Police Commissioner Jacomet took Bernadette to his house in the centre of town to interrogate her. The interview ended with him loosing his temper with her - and an angry crowd gathered around his house until Bernadette was taken home by her father.

The Commissioner had no idea of what to make of Bernadette, he decided that she was 'sincere, sane, modest, not trying to attract attention, not in it for the money, not being manipulated by some enterprising adult, and quite incomprehensible'. He forbade her to go back to Massabielle again.

The following day Bernadette ignored the prohibition, but the Lady did not appear. At the same time, the mayor lifted the police ban on Bernadette going to the grotto in light of fast growing public opinion in her favour.

The Seventh Apparition

On 23 February, 1858, Bernadette's vision lasted nearly an hour, three personal secrets were confided to her, with the instructions not to reveal them to anybody. Again there were around a hundred people present, including Dr Dozous, a medical specialist and pronounced atheist , he had come to the grotto to observe Bernadette at first hand and to uncover in the name of medical science the 'Sham of Massabielle'. Douzous went home deeply shaken in his incredulity. He would be converted and become one of the most prominent witnesses to the events at Lourdes.

The Eighth Apparition

24 February, 1858, 200-300 people were present in the grotto. The Lady said to Bernadette:

Repentance! Repentance! Repentance! Pray to God for sinners!

Then the apparition asked her 'to climb on her knees into the grotto and to kiss the ground in a sign of repentance for sinners'. This marked the beginning of the 'Penitential Phase' of the visions.

The Ninth Apparition

This apparition occurred around 5am, over 300 people were present, once again, Bernadette was told to go on her knees into the grotto, and it is this ninth apparition, which explains the origins of the spring of water:

"The vision told me to go and drink from the spring. Since I could not see it, I went to drink from the river. She told me it was not there I was to drink and with her finger pointed under the rock. I went there and found only a little brackish water. I put my hand into it but was unable to take any. Then I dug with my hands and so was able to take some. Three times, I threw the water away since it was dirty: then, the fourth time, I managed to drink. She made me eat some of the grass which grew around the spring."

Because nobody else could see or hear the instructions from Bernadette's vision her 'antics' caused a fresh outburst of mockery, later that day she was summoned to be interrogated again, this time by the town's imperial prosecutor. This interview was another failure from the point of view of the authorities. The prosecutor lost the thread of his arguments once he had eliminated all the usual motives and became so flustered that 'he could not find the hole in his inkwell'. Once again a noisy crowd gathered outside, and afterwards Bernadette's humorous account of the meeting caused the town to laugh at the prosecutor. Yet, on the day after the interrogation, the Lady did not appear to Bernadette.

The Tenth Apparition

On 27 February, 1858, around 800 people were gathered in Massabielle to witness Bernadette's ecstasy and her gestures of penitence.

The Eleventh Apparition

28 February, 1858, at around 7am the apparition came. Over a thousand people were there among whom was Commandant Renault who had been sent by the Prefect of Tarbes-Massy to report on the 'extraordinary events'. After the apparition, Bernadette was taken to appear before the Examining Magistrate for the area. On being threatened with prison if the events were continued she responded with sincerity and firmness in her determination to fulfil her promise to the Lady.

The Twelfth Apparition

The apparition on 1 March, 1858, came at 7am. Bernadette was accompanied by around 1300 people. For the first time a priest came to the grotto to witness proceedings.

The Thirteenth Apparition

2 March, 1858, Bernadette's aunts and around 1600 people were at the grotto.

"She told me to go to tell the priests to build a shrine there. I went to the parish priest to give him the message. He stared at me for a moment and then spoke to me reassuringly: what is the Lady's name? I told him I did not know. He told me to ask her name."

Father Peyramale did not receive Bernadette's message well. For the first time he was confronted with the need for a decision, his perplexed anger confused Bernadette, who only remembered part of the message. Finally, he told her to get out. Only when she had returned home did Bernadette remember that the Lady had asked not only for a church to be built on Massabielle, but that people should come in pilgrimage and procession there. So Bernadette arranged to go back to the parish priest later that day. Father Peyramale considered response was to ask for the Lady's name and to demand as a miraculous sign, that the rose bush in the grotto should flower at once.

The Fourteenth Apparition

On 3 March, 1858, Bernadette went with her mother to the grotto; some 4000 people were waiting there for her. The vision did not appear, the crowd were disappointed and angry. Bernadette went home and then to school, after her lessons she felt 'an irresistible force' and that afternoon she returned to the grotto with her uncle and cousin, no-one else was there: the vision appeared. On this day, Bernadette's parish priest went to seek advice form his friend, a priest, in nearby Tarbes, when Bernadette came to see him for the third time she found him changed. He was no longer beset by doubts but stern, sceptical and reproving. The police thoroughly investigated the grotto - but found nothing amiss.

The Fifteenth Apparition

On Thursday, 4 March, 1858, the last apparition of the fortnight, the police once again investigated the grotto, and Bernadette's ecstasy was witnessed by between 7-8000 people. The apparition lasted three quarters of an hour and involved the, by now, usual prayers, ecstasy and penitential gestures, once again requests to the Lady for her name were received only with a smile. As a result, the crowd were angry and disappointed, but the public authorities were relieved - feeling that their cynicism was vindicated. Once again, Bernadette went to her parish priest to convey the Lady's requests; once again, he demands to know the Lady's name.

The First Interval

From 5 to 24 March, 1858, Bernadette did not go to the grotto. She no longer felt that 'irresistible force' inviting her. Although during this time, the authorities continued to investigate and interrogate her.

During this time, however, the draw of Lourdes continued to grow. Rumours of miraculous cures occasioned by the spring in the grotto began to spread - although Bernadette denied causing any cures. Sick people began to come in greater numbers to the grotto, candles, statues and money were left there.

The Sixteenth Apparition

On 25 March, 1858, the Feast of the Annunciation, Bernadette awoke with a strong desire to visit the grotto. Her parents made her wait until 5am; despite the three-week lull there were around 100 people there waiting for her. On this occasion Bernadette asked the Lady for her name four times for she knew 'without an answer there could never be a chapel'. The lady raised her eyes to the sky and said (in the local dialect),

Que soy era Immaculada Councepciou.

Bernadette left at once and headed straight for the presbytery, repeating the meaningless sounds all the way. When she reached, Father Peyramale she simply said the same words to him:

I am the Immaculate Conception.

Peyramale was considerably shocked. The Doctrine of the Immaculate Conception had been the subject of theological debate for many years - the theory being that Our Lady was herself without 'original sin' when she was born - it had only been officially recognised by the Vatican in 1854, only four years before. It would have been inconceivable for Bernadette to have been familiar with the concept. But from that day Father Peyramale was convinced that these were genuine apparitions of the Mother of God.

The Second Interval

This lasted nearly ten days. The events of 25 March had brought the goings on in the grotto even more to the forefront of public attention and renewed the influx of pilgrims. With the 16th apparition, Bernadette's troubles and sufferings returned and worsened - on 27 March she was subjected to a medical and psychiatric evaluation by three doctors. The intention of this was to get Bernadette admitted into a sanatorium for people suffering from nervous problems and mental imbalance. The interrogation and examination lasted over two hours. On 31 March the doctors returned with a report which was a masterpiece of compromise - the matter was in their eyes to be adjourned.

The Seventeenth Apparition

7 April, 1858, was the occasion of 'The miracle of the Candle'. For some ten to 15 minutes during her ecstasy, Bernadette held her hand cupped around the flame of her candle and totally oblivious to the fact that the flame was licking around her fingers. The crowd cried out that she was burning, but Dr Dozous warned them to leave her alone. When she came out of the ecstasy he went straight to her and examined her fingers - they were quite unaffected. On 9 April, 1858, he told the Commissar:

"I have examined her hands: there is not the slightest trace of a burn. Now I believe! I have seen with my own eyes."

Saint Bernadette

Two years later Bernadette left Lourdes to live in a hospice of the Sisters of Nevers, and in 1866, at the age of 22, she left Lourdes for ever and entered the Sisters convent in the town of Nevers, half way across France. She remained a nun until she died in 1879 after several long and painful illnesses, aged only 35. She never returned to the grotto.

Bernadette underwent a great deal of suffering in the last three years before her death - she had TB with ankylosis of the knee, a back that was almost completely peeled of skin from bed sores as well as having advanced decay of the lungs - all of this makes the subsequent state of her corpse all the more unusual, as her corpse has not yet begun to decompose.

Lourdes - A Place of Miracles.

It is interesting to note that between some of the apparitions Bernadette was herself taken to a thermal spa near to Lourdes to effect an asthma cure, this is when fuss about 'cures' affected in the spring in the grotto of Lourdes was spreading halfway across France. Four of the cures which were shortly to be proclaimed as miracles had taken place during the period of the apparitions, Bernadette had herself met two 'truthful and sincere' people who claimed cures, but she did not seek a cure at Lourdes herself. When she was asked by an English tourist about the miracles in April 1859, she replied 'there's no truth in all that'. When two other visitors asked her if she knew anything of any cures she said 'I have been told that there have been miracles, but... I have not seen them'. She explicitly denied contributing to any of them, and for her own case Bernadette preferred thermalism.

The Catholic Church has recognised 66 cures at Lourdes as miraculous - one of the most recent being the case of Mr Jean-Pierre Bely who was cured in 1987 of multiple sclerosis.