Nativity of the Lord

We are a people of memory, and in the darkness of the night we have gathered to celebrate not just a memory but also an ongoing reality. Our celebration is very familiar. We have sung carols; we have made our crib and have placed the Christ child in the embrace of the manger. We have undertaken those little rituals particular to our own families. The drink left out for Father Christmas that my father always used to insist was a good tot of whisky! The slippers left on the hearth. Our senses over the last weeks have been assailed with familiar sights, sounds, smells, and tastes. We have gathered in our families and communities to feast and express our love for one another and if you’re anything like my family you will probably have a row as well. We have expended a lot of energy deciding whether Granddad would mind another set of hankies, and mum some perfume from the body shop, or queuing for the ‘must have’ toy of the moment. But in the midst of this frantic activity we have gathered to connect with the real reason for our feasting and gift giving. So relax, unwind, forget about the turkey and how long it will take to cook and immerse yourself in the total and passionate love that God has for you. For today we celebrate a concrete, consuming and enduring love

I can clearly remember the first time I was allowed to go to Midnight Mass. I was about 7 or 8, and to stay up that late for me was a great adventure. We came here to the Friars. It was a very cold night and we walked to the friary and our breaths made a fog in the night air. We heard the readings and sung the carols that we have sung and proclaimed today. That Christmas night was magical for me because when we came out of the church the landscape had been totally transformed. During Mass the countryside had been covered with a thick blanket of snow. As I rekindle that memory I realise that there is a lesson for us to learn here. Forget the familiar but think of what this feast 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, my friends, is the real message of Christmas and it is not comfortable, but challenging. God becomes human, he has our flesh, he is bones and blood and muscle and sinew. Why? Why did God find it necessary to do such a reckless thing? Look at the crib. There in the manger we begin to understand. God is revealed to us by coming in the lowliest of possible places.

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 people who experience parts of our lives as dry and unwelcoming as that hay. We are people who, on our own, not only fail to know and understand; we are capable of tremendous infidelity and stubborn independence.

We get our word ‘manger’ from the Latin root, which means simply ‘to eat’. Jesus comes, into the greatest place of our poverty, not only to be with us but to nourish us. The manger can be the place we go this Christmas to be fed with the acceptance, love and peace that we need. There is no place of darkness in which we need ever feel alone. There is no situation, no loss, or tragedy that need ever leave us empty. There is no sin, no matter how selfish that need ever leave us apart from God’s love.

We are living in times of uncertainty, our finances are uncertain, our job stability is uncertain, the ability of our young people to continue in education is uncertain. Our weather is very uncertain! We are now living life without certainties but some remain. In these times of bleak headlines, when our news updates seem to be but litanies of hopelessness, we are called to be different. We are called to be men and women of the good news, men and women of peace and reconciliation. We are called to be hopeful for our future and our Christian faith and the feast that we now celebrate give us the means of our hope, but this hope carries with it a responsibility. God becomes a human being in order that we might know what it means to be really human. God is with his people. He is Emmanuel. Jesus becomes human in order that we may know that we are precious in the eyes of God, and made in his image and likeness.

The attitudes of Jesus are to be our attitudes. This means that when people are isolated we must seek them out and include them in our community. When people are sick and in pain we must accompany them. When people lead lives of violence we must resist, not with a more ferocious violence, but with peace. The way of Jesus is a way of peace, a way of relationship. When God is most powerful in history it is when he is most vulnerable – the crib and the cross. If we want to celebrate this feast well let our hearts be changed by God’s love for us. What a gift this would be for our world. We would see one another with new eyes. The news of Great joy, that God loves his people passionately and intimately would be visible on our faces and in the way that we relate with one another. God is not a distant lover. God has taken the reckless step of loving us whom he has created and this love is ours for the taking. It is pure gift, undeserved and freely given by a generous lover. This is the cause of our joy. May Christ be born in each one of us this day. And may you all have a happy, holy and peace filled Christmas

Preparing for Advent

Prayer in the Days Before Advent

My brother, Jesus. It happens every year. I think that this will be the year that I have a reflective Advent.
I look forward to Sunday and this new season, Jesus. But all around me are the signs rushing me to Christmas and some kind of celebration that equates spending with love.

I need your help. I want to slow my world down. This year, more than ever, I need Advent, these weeks of reflection and longing for hope in the darkness.

Jesus, this year, help me to have that longing. Help me to feel it in my heart and be aware of the hunger and thirst in my own soul. Deep down, I know there is something missing in my life, but I can’t quite reach for it. I can’t get what is missing.

I know it is about you, Jesus. You are not missing from my life, but I might be missing the awareness of all of the places you are present there.

Be with me, my dear friend. Guide me in these weeks to what you want to show me this Advent. Help me to be vulnerable enough to ask you to lead me to the place of my own weakness, the very place where I will find you the most deeply embedded in my heart, loving me without limits.

The Key to Happiness

More than half of Britons believe helping others in the UK and abroad is important to achieving happiness, a new poll has revealed.

On the eve of the release of a new report into human wellbeing, the survey found that 75% of those asked believe helping people in the UK is key to happiness, with 54% citing helping those abroad as important to happiness. Nearly 90% of people said that living in a world where the environment is protected and where poverty does not exist is important.

The poll, by aid agencies CAFOD and Tearfund, and think-tank Theos, asked British adults to identify what makes them happy. The top priority for 97% of people was spending time with friends and family, while having an interesting job was important for 92%. A high income was a much lower priority at 64%.

Tearfund Chief Executive Matthew Frost said: “It’s interesting that in this time of economic uncertainty, when we might have expected people to prioritise income over all else, we have instead found that people look outwards to the state of the environment, world poverty and personal relationships with others as their measures of happiness.

“It is hugely important to people to enjoy interesting and productive work, and to have healthy relationships and friendships – people measure happiness by what they give to others and what they gain in return. Of course a level of financial security is essential, but it’s clear that British people recognise that the people in our lives come first.”

The poll was conducted to coincide with the launch, on 13 October, of Wholly Living, a report by Catholic aid agency CAFOD, Christian relief and development agency Tearfund and the public theology think-tank Theos. The report examines human wellbeing in the context of both the UK and international development. It invites the UK government, as well as people of all faiths and none, to enter the debate on how best to create an environment in which to engender human flourishing. Examples taken from the UK and the developing world indicate that people are most fulfilled when they are productive, creative and have strong relationships with others.

CAFOD director Chris Bain said: ”Society is more than its economy and this new report shows that human beings, whether in rich or poor countries, thrive when they have more than just material goods. Real happiness is difficult to define and is different for different peoples and cultures, but what is clear is that community and caring inter-relationships with other people and with our environment are vital for wellbeing.

“It is time for the UK government to reflect this vision in its policy decisions to shape a new sustainable market system that puts people and our environment right at its heart. The present economic downturn has been catastrophic for many of the poorest across the world and in the UK. We must not make the same mistakes again – just patching-up the tears in this self-centred market system could lead to wider devastation and bigger financial losses when the next crash comes.”

Wholly Living calls for a holistic approach that recognises that economic growth is an important – but not the only – driver towards human fulfilment and that unless growth is sustainable, it can do more harm than good. It argues that people flourish most when they are able to fulfil their potential and live in healthy relationships with others. Drawing on academic and theological understandings of flourishing, it calls for the UK government to consider a range of policy ideas in the areas of economics, environment and governance. In particular, it calls for:

A high profile Prime Ministerial Commission to look at wellbeing (human flourishing) to review current research in this area, consider how to apply a human flourishing approach to policy decisions and to assess potential new indicators for measuring progress – a Human Flourishing Index.

Accountability and transparency of British businesses operating worldwide through appropriate legislation.

The UK and other countries to lead the way in radically cutting carbon emissions, so that developing countries have enough environmental space to develop in a way that benefits poor communities.

The UK to help achieve greater equity at a global level, for example, ensuring that the voices of developing countries are given parity within global bodies such as the World Bank and the IMF, to help tackle the current sense of disempowerment in poorer parts of the world.

Paul Woolley, director of Theos, said: “This report is the product of a year-long research project into what constitutes human flourishing. Wholly Living highlights the inadequacy of traditional indices of development and sets out a more holistic approach. State action can't make people more productive, creative or relational, but it can remove obstacles that impede these qualities and encourage a change in attitudes. We hope that UK policy will be re-shaped accordingly.

“While the theory of human flourishing outlined in Wholly Living draws on a Christian understanding of humanity, the resulting recommendations are profoundly relevant for all people.”

Source: CAFOD

Falling in love with God

Falling in Love With God. Nothing is more practical than finding God, that is, than falling in love in a quite absolute, final way. What you are in love with, what seizes your imagination, will affect everything. It will decide what will get you out of bed in the morning, what you will do with your evenings, how you will spend your weekends what you read, who you know, what breaks your heart, and what amazes you with joy and gratitude. Fall in love, stay in love, and it will decide everything.
- Pedro Arrupe, SJ

FEAST OF ST THERESE OF THE CHILD JESUS AND THE HOLY FACE

Preface of St Therese of the Child Jesus, (Carmelite Missal.)

Father, all powerful and everliving God,
we do well always and everywhere to give you thanks.

You reveal the secrets of your kingdom
to those who become like little children.
Among them you chose Saint Therese, hidden in Christ,
to proclaim the good news of your merciful love.
Your Holy Spirit moved her
to make her life a loving oblation
of prayer and self denial
for the salvation of all mankind
through Christ and his Church.

Now with the saints and all the angels,
we praise you forever

Blessed Chiara Badano

Chiara Badano, a young member of the Focolare movement, who died of bone cancer in 1990, at the age of 18, was beatified on the 25th September by Archbishop Angelo Amato, at the Shrine of Divine Love in Rome.

At the Mass, Archbishop Amato said Chiara was a missionary of Jesus "who invites us to rediscover the freshness and enthusiasm of the faith."

Even as she suffered through her illness, she shared her faith and God's love with the dozens of people who would visit her each day, he said.

"Her last gift was her corneas, the only organs that were still transplantable" because they were not damaged by the cancer that had spread throughout her body, the archbishop said. "They were given to two young people who can see today thanks to her."

Vatican Radio reported that Charia's parents, Teresa and Ruggero, attended the Beatification Mass.

Her mother said that when Chiara became ill, "She taught us how to do God's will, like she did, because you don't just say 'yes' when everything is going well."

After the Mass, around 8,000 young Focolare members gathered in the Vatican audience hall for a celebration of Blessed Badano's life with readings and singing.

Speaking to pilgrims in St Peter's Square after the Angelus, Pope Benedict said that Chiara witnessed to the world the fact that God's love is stronger than suffering and death.

"Only Love with a capital L gives true happiness," and that's what Blessed Badano showed her family, her friends and her fellow members of the Focolare Movement,

Pope Benedict said young people can find in Blessed Badano "an example of Christian consistency," because she was certain of God's love and trusted in that love even as she was dying.

"We give praise to God because his love is stronger than evil and death; and we give thanks to the Virgin Mary who leads young people, even in the midst of difficulty and suffering, to fall in love with Jesus and discover the beauty of life," the Holy Father said.

For more information about Blessed Chiara Badano, see: www.chiaralucebadano.it/



Source: VIS/www.chiaralucebadano/Vatican Radio

Papal Visit Editorials

With an expectation-surpassing UK Papal visit in the books and this recovery week at its end, British Catholicism's twin pillars of the ecclesial conversation have sent up their impressions of the surprising, memorable, triumphant four-day trek in their leading articles.

In that light, as we did in the run-up to B16's unprecedented state visit, let's take a look at both weeklies' top editorials.

First, today's leader from an elated Catholic Herald:

Benedict XVI exposed the heart of the Catholic faith
We owe him our deepest gratitude. His visit was as great a success as that of John Paul II in 1982

The first reaction of Catholics to the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to these shores must be to thank God for its extraordinary success. By the end of the triumphant first day in Scotland, it was clear that the British people were in a mood to listen to the Pope, and that excitement at his presence was bursting out in the most unlikely places. As our guest flew to London, Catholics prayed that the momentum could be sustained. In the event, it was not just sustained but continued to build. Every occasion added new significance to the visit.

In Westminster Hall, the Holy Father asked searching questions that exposed the emptiness of secularism. In Westminster Abbey, his presence seemed to revitalise that ancient building – and his Anglican listeners, too, as they realised how much their Christian witness is valued by the successor of St Peter. In Westminster Cathedral, the Pope acknowledged clearly and with shame the dreadful acts committed by clergy and religious against children; he had done so before, but his decision to do so in the context of a solemn liturgy underlined the abominable insult to the sacrifice of Christ represented by those crimes. In Hyde Park, the Pope literally exposed the heart of the Catholic faith to crowds of thousands and a television audience of millions: very deliberately, he directed our attention away from himself and towards the Blessed Sacrament. In Birmingham, he beatified John Henry Newman, personally raising to the altars a son of the Church for the first time in his pontificate. In doing so, he quoted Blessed Cardinal Newman: “I want a laity, not arrogant, not rash in speech, not disputatious, but men who know their religion, who enter into it, who know just where they stand, who know what they hold and what they do not, who know their creed so well that they can give an account of it, who know so much of history that they can defend it.”

By this visit Benedict XVI equipped us to become that laity. He was an example to priests, too, in showing how the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite can be gloriously celebrated. How fitting it would be if, from now on, priests everywhere were to follow the Holy Father’s example of facing a crucifix at Mass, thus properly orientating the celebrant towards Calvary. And, crucially, the Pope set a further example to non-believers, of a great religious leader who radiated love, communicated by his winning little smile as well as by his words. From now on, militant secularists will find it very hard to sustain their odious caricature of Joseph Ratzinger: these were a terrible four days for anti-Catholicism.

We offer our heartfelt thanks to the Catholic organizers of the visit, and also to the Queen and her Government for their hospitality: given the immense difficulties that threatened to derail everything, truly we can say that victory was snatched from the jaws of defeat. But the person who deserves our deepest gratitude is Pope Benedict, who ensured that this visit was – albeit in a very different way – as great a success as that of Pope John Paul II in 1982. Holy Father, we are missing you already.
...and the first line from tomorrow's edition of a no-less-pleased Tablet:
Visit lays a new foundation
To say of Pope Benedict XVI that “he came, he saw, he conquered” would be true, even spectacularly so – but still only part of the truth. For he was conquered too during his state visit to Britain, as he seemed to admit in his Wednesday general audience this week when he spoke of “the intense and very beautiful four days” in which he found the Christian faith strong in every level of society.

The visit had been preceded by vehement and sometimes malicious personal attacks, and while Pope Benedict spoke politely during the plane trip from Rome of Britain as a tolerant society, there was a nervousness in the Vatican about what was perceived as its aggressive secularism – as Cardinal Walter Kasper so dramatically articulated in a German magazine just before the visit.

What the Pope and his entourage actually found is well reflected in the figures confirmed by the Metropolitan Police after Saturday’s events in London. The enthusiastic crowds who lined the streets to watch him pass on his way down the flag-lined Mall grew to 200,000 while there were 6,000 on the anti-papal march to Downing Street, although the organisers claimed that it was several times that figure. Even those parts of the national media that had been most critical of the visit beforehand, had changed their tune by the time he left.

The Pope’s response to Britain has been greatly influenced by Britain’s response to him and that was due in no small part to his preparation for the visit, as well as his demeanour. While there had been apprehension about the country, Pope Benedict turned his formidable intellect to the question of what makes Britain tick, and the subtle and complex nuances of British society and history were both understood and appreciated and in many respects applauded. It was recognition of this that earned his address in Westminster Hall, arguably the centre piece of the entire visit, such a warm reception. The questions he raised were real and telling, and stood at the heart of political debate. He was asking for a new and constructive way for faith and secular society to work together, which he called a conversation. It struck the right note. It threatened nobody’s rights and privileges. It was plausible, even, to begin to see how the Pope might take Britain as a template for the rest of Europe, as to how faith and reason, Church and State, secularism and religion, might after all be good for one another.

At the Hyde Park rally British Catholicism set out its stall, saying simply, “Here we are, this is what we do.” It displayed its diversity, its contributions to the common good through its care for disabled and elderly people and for the education and welfare for young people, its inclusive concern for immigrants, strangers and refugees, its commitment to international development and to protecting the environment. This is precisely what the Pope, writing as Cardinal Ratzinger, once called a “creative minority”; and it is, as Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks said afterwards, a display of post-Constantinian Catholicism that eschews political power in order to stand, as the prophets of old had stood, alongside the powerless.

What happens locally also happens internationally. The Pope’s visit to Britain came on the eve of the summit in New York where world leaders are assembled to discuss progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), a project to which successive British governments (and successive Popes) have been fully committed. Britain is already one of the largest sources of international aid and development, proportionately larger than any other G8 nation, and will be the first of that group to reach the longstanding target 0.7 per cent of GDP, in 2013. Italy managed only 0.15 per cent. Those same British Governments have recognised in the Holy See a key partner on the international stage on issues such as the MDGs, not because of wealth or might but because of its wisdom and influence. Pope Benedict said at his general audience on Wednesday that the state visit marked an important new phase in relations between Britain and the Holy See. Those relations matter not just to the people of Britain but to the poor of the world for whom the MDGs are designed to help secure a safer, sustainable and better educated future.
Not to be missed from the journal of record's pages: the wrap-up of the paper's venerable Rome correspondent, Robert Mickens, who covered the days from within the Vatican press-pool.

Among other nuggets in Hammersmith's 56-page commemorative issue: a report that the UK church's hotline for inquiries to convert was flooded with "hundreds" of calls and e.mails during and since the visit... and what's more, such are the hopes of the "Benedict bounce" that the Scottish bishops are already eyeing a potential reopening of Scotus College -- the last seminary on Northern soil until it closed its doors last year.

To mark the first observance of the feast of the country's newly-Blessed "kindly light," Archbishop Vincent Nichols will celebrate a Mass of Thanksgiving for the visit's success in Westminster Cathedral on the freshly-decreed Newmanmas, 9 October.

First ever Catholic Daily Newspaper

Press Release - 22 September 2010

Papal Visit newspaper - A vehicle for dialogue and evangelisation

Last week, CathCom, in association with Premier Christian Radio, published a daily newspaper for each day of the Papal Visit. CathCom's original idea was for to print 20,000 papers each day and charge 20p for them. Having contacted advertisers support for the publication came in, and in August Premier Christian Radio offered to pay for the "Papal Visit" paper to be free and increased the number of copies printed to 200,000.

The paper was distributed at virually every place the Pope went. Aside from the obvious venues it was distributed at Glasgow, Heathrow and Birmingham Airports. It was handed out by cabin crews on flights from Glasgow to London. Copies were even given to the executives in Glasgow who had co-ordinated the Pope's flight.

CathCom's, Nick Layton said: "it was a huge project to undertake, but met with an incredible response. Our team came into direct contact with over 200,000 people over the four days, and we had many messages of thanks for CathCom and Premier at the time and afterwards."

Permission was not given to distribute the papers inside the main events. This made the whole project much harder, however, it was the best aspect of the four days: "distributing papers outside the events, meant we were able to spend the time during the events with local residents, protesters and those who did not have a ticket. Some people were so grateful that they insisted on paying up to £2.50 for a paper, even though we insisted it was free. We also actively saught out local residents to give them a paper in thanks for putting up with all the disruption."

Nick continued, "Thanks has to go out to our team who worked up to 22 hours a day to make this happen and also to Premier Christian Radio without whose help the paper would not have been free and the project would not have been so successful."

The papers became an ongoing theme for the Papal Visit and many people were actively looking for the paper when they reached an event. Daniel Griffiths, CathCom's Logistics Manager, said, "people had valued the previous day's paper so much that they came over to us asking to get hold of todays copy. We even had people saying that they had collected 3 issues and could the get hold of the fourth. Since we have had emails asking for this as well we are now going to be offering the full set to people as a souvenir."

The distribution team were frequently given access to walk up and down the road that the Pope was taking to and from the events. This allowed them to talk with the public and crucially meet protesters. "The experience of meeting protesters and those who were inconvenienced by the visit was actually more important than the papers themselves. We were, as one protester put it, able to 'put the humanity back into the debate' instead of corresponding through inflammatory headlines", said Nick.

At Twickenham, many people waited behind barriers to see the Pope while protesters held a rally. Austen Weston, the project's Distribution Manager, said "there was nothing for the crowd or protesters to do other than talk to this group of people in yellow wandering around on the other side of the barriers. As we became a focus it was great to talk with everyone. We also became a focus for press interviews of all kinds, both for and against the visit." The distribution team gave many interviews for TV and radio crews from all overt the world during the course of the days. They also clarified and corrected reports that were being made based on incorrect information.

"Seeing non Catholics and non Christians wanting to read a Catholic newspaper was wonderful", he continued, "and sitting on a tube on the outskirts of North London watching the person opposite reading one of the papers was humbling. The extent to which this project evangelised was quite unexpected."

All four papers are available at www.papalvisitpaper.co.uk.

Pope Benedict to the Youth of the UK

GREETING OF POPE BENEDICT XVI TO YOUNG PEOPLE WESTMINSTER CATHEDRAL
18 SEPTEMBER 2010


Dear young friends,

Thank you for your warm welcome! “Heart speaks unto heart” – cor ad cor loquitur – as you know, I chose these words so dear to Cardinal Newman as the theme of my visit. In these few moments that we are together, I wish to speak to you from my own heart, and I ask you to open your hearts to what I have to say.

I ask each of you, first and foremost, to look into your own heart. Think of all the love that your heart was made to receive, and all the love it is meant to give. After all, we were made for love. This is what the Bible means when it says that we are made in the image and likeness of God: we were made to know the God of love, the God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and to find our supreme fulfilment in that divine love that knows no beginning or end.

We were made to receive love, and we have. Every day we should thank God for the love we have already known, for the love that has made us who we are, the love that has shown us what is truly important in life. We need to thank the Lord for the love we have received from our families, our friends, our teachers, and all those people in our lives who have helped us to realize how precious we are, in their eyes and in the eyes of God.

We were also made to give love, to make love it the inspiration for all we do and the most enduring thing in our lives. At times this seems so natural, especially when we feel the exhilaration of love, when our hearts brim over with generosity, idealism, the desire to help others, to build a better world. But at other times we realize that it is difficult to love; our hearts can easily be hardened by selfishness, envy and pride. Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta, the great Missionary of Charity, reminded us that giving love, pure and generous love, is the fruit of a daily decision. Every day we have to choose to love, and this requires help, the help that comes from Christ, from prayer and from the wisdom found in his word, and from the grace which he bestows on us in the sacraments of his Church.

This is the message I want to share with you today. I ask you to look into your hearts each day to find the source of all true love. Jesus is always there, quietly waiting for us to be still with him and to hear his voice. Deep within your heart, he is calling you to spend time with him in prayer. But this kind of prayer, real prayer, requires discipline; it requires making time for moments of silence every day. Often it means waiting for the Lord to speak. Even amid the “busy-ness” and the stress of our daily lives, we need to make space for silence, because it is in silence that we find God, and in silence that we discover our true self. And in discovering our true self, we discover the particular vocation which God has given us for the building up of his Church and the redemption of our world.

Heart speaks unto heart. With these words from my heart, dear young friends, I assure you of my prayers for you, that your lives will bear abundant fruit for the growth of the civilization of love. I ask you also to pray for me, for my ministry as the Successor of Peter, and for the needs of the Church throughout the world. Upon you, your families and your friends, I cordially invoke God’s blessings of wisdom, joy and peace.

Feast of Saint Albert of Jerusalem.

Today Carmelites celebrate the Feast of our 'lawgiver', the authour of our Carmelite Rule. This is the solemn blessing Carmelites use at Mass today.

Through the prayers of St Albert of Jerusalem may God enable you
to live in allegiance to Jesus Christ, pure in heart and steadfast in conscience
pondering God's law day and night and keeping watch at your prayers. Amen.

May he equip you with the belt of chastity, the breastplate of holiness,
the shield of faith, the helmit of salvation and the sword of the Spirit. Amen.

May he enable you to earn your bread by silent labour,
to find your strength in silence and hope,
to live in the service of your brothers and sisters,
and to find Christ in the superiors he has placed over you. Amen.

May almighty God bless you,
the Father, the Son, + and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The Pope in Galsgow

Pope Benedict's Homily

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

“The Kingdom of God is very near to you!” (Lk 10:9). With these words of the Gospel we have just heard, I greet all of you with great affection in the Lord. Truly the Lord’s Kingdom is already inour midst! At this Eucharistic celebration in which the Church in Scotland gathers around the altar in union withthe Successor of Peter, let us reaffirm our faith in Christ’s word and our hope – a hope which never disappoints – in his promises! I warmly greet Cardinal O’Brien and the Scottish Bishops; I thank in particular Archbishop Conti for hiskind words of welcome on your behalf; and I express my deep gratitude for the work that the British and Scottish Governments and the Glasgow city fathers have done to make this occasion possible.

Today’s Gospel reminds us that Christ continues to send his disciples into the world in order to proclaim the coming of his Kingdom and to bring his peace into the world, beginning house by house, family by family, town by town. I have come as a herald of that peace to you, the spiritual children of Saint Andrew and to confirm you in the faith of Peter (cf. Lk 22:32). It is with some emotion that I address you, not far from the spot where my beloved predecessor Pope John Paul II celebrated Mass nearly thirty years ago with you and was welcomed by the largest crowd ever gathered in Scottish history.

Much has happened in Scotland and in the Church in this country since that historic visit. I note with great satisfaction how Pope John Paul’s call to you to walk hand in hand with your fellow Christians has led to greater trust and friendship with the members of the Church of Scotland, the Scottish Episcopal Churchand others. Let me encourage you to continue to pray and work with them in building a brighter future for Scotland based upon our common Christian heritage.

In today’s first reading we heard Saint Paul appeal to the Romans to acknowledge that, as members of Christ’s body, we belong to each other (cf. Rom 12:5) and to live in respect and mutual love.

In that spirit I greet the ecumenical representatives who honour us by their presence. This year marks the 450th anniversary of the Reformation Parliament, but also the 100th anniversary of the World Missionary Conference in Edinburgh, which is widely acknowledged to mark the birth of the modern ecumenical movement. Let us give thanks to God for the promise which ecumenical understanding and cooperation represents for a united witness to the saving truth of God’s word in today’s rapidly changing society.

Among the differing gifts which Saint Paul lists for the building up of the Church is that of teaching (cf. Rom 12:7). The preaching of the Gospel has always been accompanied by concern for the word: the inspired word of God and the culture in which that word takes root and flourishes. Here in Scotland, I think of the three medieval universities founded here by the popes, including that of Saint Andrews which is beginning to mark the 600th anniversary of its foundation. In the last 30 years and with the assistance of civil authorities, Scottish Catholic schools have taken up the challenge of providing an integral education to greater numbers of students, and this has helped young people not only along the path of spiritual and human growth, but also in entering the professions and public life.

This is a sign of great hope for the Church, and I encourage the Catholic professionals, politicians and teachers of Scotland never to lose sight of their calling to use their talents and experience in the service of the faith, engaging contemporary Scottish culture at every level.

The evangelization of culture is all the more important in our times, when a “dictatorship of relativism” threatens to obscure the unchanging truth about man’s nature, his destiny and his ultimate good. There are some who now seek to exclude religious belief from public discourse, to privatize it or even to paint it as a threat to equality and liberty. Yet religion is in fact a guarantee of authentic liberty and respect, leading us to look upon every person as a brother or sister.

For this reason I appeal in particular to you, the lay faithful, in accordance with your baptismal calling and mission, not only to be examples of faith in public, but also to put the case for the promotion of faith’s wisdom and vision in the public forum. Society today needs clear voices which propose our right to live, not in a jungle of self-destructive and arbitrary freedoms, but in a society which works for the true welfare of its citizens and offers them guidance and protection in the face of their weakness and fragility. Do not be afraid to take up this service to your brothers and sisters, and to the future of your beloved nation.

Saint Ninian, whose feast we celebrate today, was himself unafraid to be a lone voice. In the footsteps of the disciples whom our Lord sent forth before him, Ninian was one of the very first Catholic missionaries to bring his fellow Britons the good news of Jesus Christ. His mission church in Galloway became a centre for the first evangelization of this country. That work was later taken up by Saint Mungo, Glasgow’s own patron, and by other saints, the greatest of whom must include Saint Columba and Saint Margaret.

Inspired by them, many men and women have laboured over many centuries to hand down the faith to you. Strive to be worthy of this great tradition! Let the exhortation of Saint Paul in the first reading be your constant inspiration: “Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering and persevere in prayer” (cf. Rom 12:11-12).

I would now like to address a special word to the bishops of Scotland. Dear brothers, let me encourage you in your pastoral leadership of the Catholics of Scotland. As you know, one of your first pastoral duties is to your priests (cf. Presbyterorum Ordinis, 7) and to their sanctification. As they are alter Christus to the Catholic community, so you are to them. Live to the full the charity that flows from Christ, in your brotherly ministry towards your priests, collaborating with them all, and in particular with those who have little contact with their fellow priests. Pray with them for vocations, that the Lord of the harvest will send labourers to his harvest (cf. Lk 10:2). Just as the Eucharist makes the Church, so the priesthood is central to the life of the Church. Engage yourselves personally in forming your priests as a body of men who inspire others to dedicate themselves completely to the service of Almighty God.

Have a care also for your deacons, whose ministry of service is associated in a particular way with that of the order of bishops. Be a father and a guide in holiness for them, encouraging them to grow in knowledge and wisdom in carrying out the mission of herald to which they have been called.

Dear priests of Scotland, you are called to holiness and to serve God’s people by modelling your lives on the mystery of the Lord’s cross. Preach the Gospel with a pure heart and a clear conscience.

Dedicate yourselves to God alone and you will become shining examples to young men of a holy, simple and joyful life: they, in their turn, will surely wish to join you in your single-minded service of God’s people. May the example of Saint John Ogilvie, dedicated, selfless and brave, inspire all of you. Similarly, let me encourage you, the monks, nuns and religious of Scotland to be a light on a hilltop, living an authentic Christian life of prayer and action that witnesses in a luminous way to the power of the Gospel.

Finally, I would like to say a word to you, my dear young Catholics of Scotland. I urge you to lead lives worthy of our Lord (cf. Eph 4:1) and of yourselves. There are many temptations placed before you every day - drugs, money, sex, pornography, alcohol - which the world tells you will bring you happiness, yet these things are destructive and divisive.

There is only one thing which lasts: the love of Jesus Christ personally for each one of you. Search for him, know him and love him, and he will set you free from slavery to the glittering but superficial existence frequently proposed by today’s society. Put aside what is worthless and learn of your own dignity as children of God. In today’s Gospel, Jesus asks us to pray for vocations: I pray that many of you will know and love Jesus Christ and, through that encounter, will dedicate yourselves completely to God, especially those of you who are called to the priesthood and religious life. This is the challenge the Lord gives to you today: the Church now belongs to you!

Dear friends, I express once more my joy at celebrating this Mass with you. I am happy to assure you of my prayers in the ancient language of your country: Sìth agus beannachd Dhe dhuibh uile; Dia bhi timcheall oirbh; agus gum beannaicheadh Dia Alba. God’s peace and blessing to you all; God surround you; and may God bless the people of Scotland!

Simple Profession of Vows at Aylesford

Brother Andy Joyce, O.Carm, made his first profession of vows as a Carmelite friar, at Aylesford Priory in Kent on Saturday, 11 September.

Following a rite originating in the Middle Ages, Andy's profession of vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, was made into the hands of the Prior Provincial of the British Province, Fr Wilfrid McGreal, O.Carm.

Andy entered the Carmelite Order as a novice in the autumn of 2009. Since then his initial formation has been overseen by the Novice Director and former Prior General of the Order, Fr Joseph Chalmers, O.Carm.

The rite of profession, which took place during a celebration of the Eucharist, was attended by the Aylesford community of friars where Andy has lived for the last year, and brothers from other houses of the British Province. Andy's mother, twin brother, sister, aunt and nephews also attended his special day.

Also in attendance were a large number of Andy's friends from the Catholic Association, which - together with partners including the British Province of Carmelites - organises pilgrimages to Lourdes every August. Andy, as a former nurse, is deeply involved in the life of the pilgrimage.

After a short holiday, Andy will be joining the community of Carmelite friars in York in late September.

St John Chrysostom ~ The Golden Mouthed Preacher

"Do you want to honour the body of Christ? Then do not despise his nakedness. You come to attend church services dressed in the finest silks which your wardrobe contains; and it is right that you should honour Christ in this way. But on your way, do you pass naked beggars in the streets? It is no good coming to the Lord’s table in fine silks, unless you also give clothes to the naked beggar – because the body of that beggar is also the body of Christ. Do you want to honour the blood of Christ? Then do not ignore his thirst. You have donated beautiful gold chalices for the wine, which becomes a symbol of Christ’s blood; and it is right that you should honour Christ in this way. But on your way to services, you passed by beggars who pleaded for food and drink. It is no good putting gold chalices on the Lord’s table unless you give food and drink to the poor from your own tables. The service which we celebrate in church is a sham unless we put its symbolic meaning into practice outside its walls. Better that we do not come at all than we become hypocrites – whose selfishness can only besmirch the Gospel in the eyes of others."

Quote of the day

“Whatever did not fit in with my plan
did lie within the plan of God.
I have an ever deeper and firmer belief
that nothing is merely an accident
when seen in the light of God,
that my whole life down to the smallest details
has been marked out for me
in the plan of Divine Providence
and has a completely coherent meaning
in God’s all seeing eyes
To be a child of God,
that means to be led by the Hand of God,
to do the Will of God, not one’s own will,
to place every care and every Hope in the Hand of God
and not to worry about one’s future.
On this rests the freedom and the joy of the child of God.
But how few of even the truly pious,
even of those ready for heroic sacrifices, possess this freedom.
When night comes, and you look back over the day
and see how fragmentary everything has been,
and how much you planned that has gone undone,
and all the reasons you have to be embarrassed and ashamed:
just take everything exactly as it is,
put it in God’s hands and leave it with Him.
Then you will be able to rest in Him –really rest —
and start the next day as a new life.” St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross

Cardinal O'Brien accusses the BBC of an anti papal bias

Cardinal Keith O’Brien, the senior Catholic authority in Scotland, accused the BBC on Sunday of being contaminated by “a radically secular and socially liberal mindset.”

The prelate added that the public corporation headed by Mark Thompson, a 52-year-old Jesuit educated Catholic, should appoint a religion editor immediately.
Cardinal O'Brian, who is Archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh also accused the BBC of plotting a “hatchet job” on the Vatican in a documentary about clerical sex abuse on the eve of Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to Britain.

“This week the BBC’s director general admitted that the corporation had displayed ‘massive bias’ in its political coverage throughout the 1980s, acknowledging the existence of an institutional political bias,” the cardinal said.

“Our detailed research into BBC news coverage of Christianity in general and Catholicism in particular, together with a systematic analysis of output by the Catholic church, has revealed a consistent anti-Christian institutional bias,” he added.

As proof, Cardinal O'Brian pointed out to 15 percent decline in religious programming over the past 20 years. Also, he added, insiders at the BBC have privately admitted that there is a cultural intolerance of Christianity at the corporation.

“Senior news managers have admitted to the Catholic Church that a radically secular and socially liberal mindset pervades their newsrooms. This sadly taints BBC news and current affairs coverage of religious issues, particularly matters of Christian beliefs.”

The Archbishop of Edinburgh voiced his fears that the BBC will use a forthcoming documentary called "Benedict –Trials of a Pope" to "humiliate the Pontiff on the eve of his visit to Britain." The program was created by Mark Dowd, a homosexual former Dominican friar, and will be aired on September 15.

The cardinal joined the recent Church of England's demand that the broadcaster appoint a religion editor to address the issue of the decline and the bias on religious information.

The BBC immediately dismissed Cardinal O’Brien’s criticism of its religious coverage. A spokeswoman told The Telegraph that “BBC news and current affairs has a dedicated religion correspondent.”

In fact, the BBC appointed Mr. Aaqil Ahmed last year as head of religious broadcasting, the first Muslim to hold that position.

Nevertheless, Roger Bolton, who presents BBC's Radio 4’s "Feedback," said early this year at an awards ceremony in London that the religious perspective was often "bafflingly absent" both on air and behind the scenes in editorial discussions.

“BBC television, unlike BBC Radio, seems to be in the hands of the secular and skeptical, who view religious coverage as a rather tiresome obligation to be minimized rather than a rich and promising area to explore,” said Bolton.

He also noted that Aaqil Ahmed had a proven record in his previous job at Channel 4, but that at the BBC, his “playing field" was "more the size of a fives court than a football pitch.”

Bolton added that BBC News should appoint a religion editor of a similar seniority and prominence to business editor Robert Peston, to appear prominently on its radio and TV bulletins.

“BBC News requires a religion editor, able to appear on the networks to interpret the latest religious story at home and abroad, but more importantly to bring a religious perspective to the vast range of areas such as foreign affairs and medical dilemmas where that perspective is so often, and so bafflingly, absent,” said Bolton.

Quote of the Day

“Today there is so much suffering - and I feel that the passion of Christ is being relived all over again - are we there to share that passion, to share that suffering of people?

Around the world, not only in the poor countries, but I found the poverty of the West so much more difficult to remove. When I pick up a person from the street, hungry, I give him a plate of rice, a piece of bread, I have satisfied. I have removed that hunger. But a person that is shut out, that feels unwanted, unloved, terrified, the person that has been thrown out from society - that poverty is so hurtable and so much, and I find that very difficult....

You must come to know the poor, maybe our people here have material things, everything, but I think that if we all look into our own homes, how difficult we find it sometimes to smile at each, other, and that the smile is the beginning of love. And so let us always meet each other with a smile, for the smile is the beginning of love, and once we begin to love each other naturally we want to do something....

This is something that you and I - it is a gift of God to us to be able to share our love with others. And let it be as it was for Jesus. Let us love one another as he loved us. Let us love Him with undivided love. And the joy of loving Him and each other - let us give now... Let us keep that joy of loving Jesus in our hearts. And share that joy with all that we come in touch with. And that radiating joy is real, for we have no reason not to be happy because we have Christ with us. Christ in our hearts, Christ in the poor that we meet, Christ in the smile that we give and the smile that we receive. Let us make that one point: That no child will be unwanted, and also that we meet each other always with a smile, especially when it is difficult to smile.”
--Mother Teresa, MC

Pilgrimage of the Sick, Aylesford

Last week I was asked by our Prior to preside and preach at the annual sick pilgrimage organised by the Society of Our Lady of Lourdes. I don't normally write out a homily, just notes and jottings from my understanding of the scripures and further reading around the subject at hand. Here are my notes for Sunday's sermon in a readable form. This not how the homily was delivered, but the structure around which I built my input

Assumption of BVM & Anointing of the sick

The proclaiming of the assumption of Mary in 1950 by Pope Pius XII, was the Churches response to the ravages of both World Wars in the first half of the twentieth century. For those living at the time, the terrors and carnage of the wars was like the apocalypse. Tens of millions were lost in trenches and on fields. The final horrors of concentration camps and holocaust bombings of cities including Hiroshima and Nagasaki, also involving millions, though technological triumphs, were human catastrophes. There were lots of dead bodies across Europe, Africa and the Pacific. Human life seemed very cheap and expendable. It was as if human beings, as bodily creatures, were very insignificant.
That is NOT what Christians believe about human beings! Despite today’s situations, where AIDS, war, famine, poverty and various forms of oppression take their toll on human bodies and souls, the body is not an embarrassment or a burden. For centuries in the early Church, heresies denied the goodness of the body. With that kind of thinking, the Incarnation, the coming to flesh of Jesus, would not make sense. In the book of Genesis, God created human beings in his own image and likeness. Jesus took on human form: the body, thinking, language and culture of a man living twenty centuries ago. Through him we learned that flesh, the body, is destined for glory.
Jesus’ body showed the marks of his life: his work hands, travelled feet, scourged and scarred back, major wounds. After the resurrection, his body seemed different; the scars and wounds became signs of victory and glory, “shining stars.” The resurrection of Jesus showed that death does not rule or have the last word. It signals an affirmation of the body, speaks of the vision of human dignity accorded to the body. In the resurrection (which had to happen first, so that others would follow) and assumption, we see the truth about human beings, the truth about ourselves: we see our destiny.
The Feast of the Assumption, then, is a celebration of the truth about human beings: we are God’s beloved creatures, rescued and saved, forgiven and healed by Jesus, who is the way to “paradise”, the one who re-opened its gates. In God’s eyes we are beautiful creations, summoned into God every day. …
The Assumption reminds us that life, and faith, is an experience or encounter with the risen Christ, the embodied God (John Paul II). It recalls our great dignity and destiny. Death is not the final word for human beings. The Assumption is one of the least understood of Catholic celebrations. Even the name seems a bit of a mouthful and a mystery!
I would like you all to take a moment and look at the people around you. What do you see? Humanity comes in many shapes, sizes and experiences. In each one of us Christ has made his home. In each one of us the gospel, the ‘Good News’ of Jesus is written deep in our hearts. Each one of us is an expression of how much God is in love with the world, each one of us is God’s gift to the human family.
Henri Nouwen the writer and priest wrote about the precious gift of life that we all receive. He said it is not precious because it is unchangeable like a diamond but because it is vulnerable like a little bird.

To love and experience life means to love its vulnerability even when it challenges us. Being vulnerable means asking for care, attention, guidance and support.

Sometimes we feel it would be better if we were like a diamond. Unbreakable, always perfect and always with a sparkle but we are not like this, in fact we experience life in a very different way.

We are more like the world around us, which is vulnerable and breakable and challenged by day to day experiences. We experience cold and sickness, heartbreak and joy.
What is most challenging beyond these physical challenges is the experience of darkness and fear all that afflicts the heart and mind on life’s journey.

God did not create us as diamonds but more vulnerable creatures. It is remarkable to recall that God chose to share this human experience by becoming a child, an infant in the womb of Mary. God who we often picture like a diamond; one who is invulnerable, unbreakable, reflecting and full of light, choose to become a child and share life with us, the gift of life that he gave us.

He came to the sick and weak. He came to the vulnerable and those in need. He came to cast his light into the darkness of our lives and remind us of the gift of life and of its hidden promise.

God understands and knows us. With Mary, he says, "Do not be afraid, you have won God’s favour. Listen you are to conceive and bear a Son."

We must take these words to heart. They are the words of God who comes to join us in our lives and wishes to conceive within each one of us the Son of God who will lead us to joy. Even when we are suffering and in sorrow we can become like Mary, the mother of God.
This is the work of the Holy Spirit. God said to Mary, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the most high will cover you with his power."

All the sick must also look forward each day to be covered with the power of the Holy Spirit. Through sickness and illness we can offer a vulnerable life to God, in which the Son of God may be manifest.
Through the Anointing of the Sick the Holy Spirit comes upon those who are in need to be with them and help them in their needs.

Through the Anointing of the Sick the "power of the most high" touches those in need. No one who is anointed goes away empty handed but rather like Mary each person is given the grace to conceive within themselves the healing and loving Son of God.

What do you see...

When an old lady died in the Geriatric Ward of Ashludie Hospital near Dundee, England, it appeared that she had left nothing of value. The nurses, in going through her possessions, found a poem. The quality of the poem so impressed the staff that copies were made and distributed to every nurse in the hospital. When one of the nurses moved to nursing geriatric patients in Briad Valley Hospital in Ireland, she took her copy with her and the poem appeared in a Christmas edition of the Beacon House News, the magazine for Northern Ireland Association for Mental Health. This then was the lady's bequest to posterity.

"What do you see, nurses, what do you see?
Are you thinking, when you look at me...
A crabby old woman, not very wise,
Uncertain of habit, with far away eyes,
Who dribbles her food and makes no reply
When you say in a loud voice, 'I do wish you'd try.'
Who seems not to notice the things that you do
And forever is losing a stocking or shoe.
Who, unresisting or not, lets you do as you will
With bathing and feeding, the long day to fill.
Is that what you're thinking, is that what you see?
Then open your eyes, nurse, you're not looking at me.
I'll tell you who I am as I sit here so still,
As I move at your bidding, as I eat at your will.
I'm a small child of ten with a father and mother,
Brothers and sisters who love one another,
A young girl of sixteen with wings on her feet
Dreaming that soon a lover she'll meet.
A bride soon at twenty - my heart gives a leap
Remembering the vows that I promised to keep.
I'm twenty-five now, I have young of my own
Who need me to build a secure, happy home.
At forty, my young sons have grown and are gone.
But my man's beside me, to see I don't mourn.
At fifty, once more babies play round my knee
Again we know children, my loved one and me.
Dark days are upon me, my husband is dead,
I look at the future, I shudder with dread
For my young are all rearing young of their own
And I think of the years, and the love that I've known.
I'm an old woman now and nature is cruel
'Tis her jest to make old age look like a fool.
The body is crumbled, grace and vigor depart,
There is a stone where I once had a heart.
But inside this old carcass a young girl still dwells,
And now and again my battered heart swells.
I remember the joys, I remember the pain,
And I'm loving and living life over again.
I think of the years, all too few - all gone too fast
And accept the stark fact that nothing can last.
So open your eyes, nurses, open and see
Not a crabby old woman - look closer - SEE ME!"

SOLEMNITY OF OUR LADY OF MOUNT CARMEL

Flos Carmeli (Flower of Carmel)

13th-century hymn to Our Lady attributed to the Carmelite St. 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 Carmel's children thy favours bestow;
Star of the Sea!

Dear Mother of Carmel, we ask you to commend to your divine Son all the cares and anxieties of those who have asked our prayers. Succour and restore the suffering in body and mind, pity those who are tried by ill health and disease, give them light in darkness and, in your great compassion for the afflicted and unhappy, lead them close to the strength of Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord.

We commend to your safe keeping our parents, relatives, and friends and all who have done good to us for the sake of your holy name. Guard them from temptation and surprise and keep them from evil and misfortune.

At your feet may we learn the true spirit of Carmel. May our hearts burn with the zeal of St. Elias; we implore the childlike trust in you of St. Simon Stock; we would crave the undaunted desires of St. Teresa, the mystic love born of suffering of St. John of the Cross and St. Mary Magdalen de Pazzi, the courage and shining purity of St. Albert and St. Andrew. In simplicity with St. Thérèse may our souls grow in trust and deepen in love.
We ask you for vocations: lead other sons and daughters into your land of Carmel. Be our right hand in our weakness: give us greater trust in your promise of blessing and protection: ever renew in us the true spirit of our vocation: desert not your own; give us courage to build anew; quicken our desire to grow and increase and grant us good success.
Let us give God thanks for all his gracious gifts. Blessed be the Most Holy Trinity. May holy Mary and all the angels and saints of God be praised now and for evermore.

Fr. Malachy Lynch, O.Carm. (adapted)

Words that should be front page headline in every UK newspaper

The Jesuit Chaplain of St Ignatius College in Enfield has made a passionate plea to teenagers to surrender their knives. Father Tim Byron SJ made the appeal at the funeral of former student, Godwin Lawson, who was the victim of a stabbing in Stamford Hill in March. He was attacked along with two friends.

Preaching at the Requiem Mass at St Ignatius Church, Stamford Hill, Fr Tim said a decision to reject knives would be a far more fitting tribute to the 17-year-old than flowers on the pavement or messages on a social networking site. “There will be people today here in church who have carried knives or who are thinking of carrying a knife,” he said. “I say to you now – in the name of the Lord – Stop! If you really want to honour the name of Godwin: stop carrying knives!”

Fr Tim rejected the argument that knives provided protection, telling the congregation: “You are ten times more likely to be stabbed if you carry a knife – what type of protection is that? Many of those stabbed are stabbed with their own knives – they are turned against them – so it is not protection. So I tell you again – Stop!”

On leaving St Ignatius College, Godwin attended the Oxford United Football and Education Academy, and was hailed as a promising sportsman. “He was a normal human being like all of us here today – he made mistakes – like we all do,” said Fr Tim. “But he showed us at St Ignatius College how hard he was prepared to work to make his dream come true. That dream was cruelly taken away from him.”

The Jesuit Chaplain also urged young people to reject friends who carry knives and to stop hanging round with them. “Let us all commit ourselves to becoming part of the solution. And in memory of Godwin Lawson, let us pray for more faith and courage – and that we may help each other in making our streets safer.”

Source: Jesuit Communications Office/OUFEA

SOLEMNITY OF THE BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST

“I feel as a priest my great inner hunger and neediness – let this Mass, which is the last supper, be my food and drink. I feel the force of those daily sufferings which belong to every human being and, not least, those which are also bound up in my own life as a priest. Let this Mass, which is Christ’s sacrifice/his cross –Calvary made present in our midst – give me the true context for my own personal share in that Cross of Christ. This Mass which I’m about to pray is, above all else, about Christ’s Resurrection from the dead. It is the celebration of his triumph at Easter. The Holy Communion which we share in this Mass, is the communion with the Risen Christ. And so this Mass, like every Mass, is the sure pledge that each sorrow, each suffering, born in union with his, will turn to joy. By this Mass we proclaim in faith that the last and best word in all our lives belongs to God. The final victory belongs to the crucified and Risen Christ.”
Bishop John Crowley

Bishop Luigi Padovese

From Clerical Whispers blog:-

Mgr Luigi Padovese, bishop of Iskenderun, in Anatolia, was killed today around 1 pm.

The prelate’s driver and aide, a Muslim who had worked for the prelate for some time, is thought to have attacked the bishop with a knife.

Eyewitnesses said that the driver appeared “depressed, violent and threatening” in recent days.
Mgr Padovese, 63, was appointed Apostolic Vicar to Anatolia in 2004.

Currently, he was the president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Turkey.
He was closely involved in ecumenical work and in the dialogue with Islam as well working to revive Turkey’s Christian communities.
He had met Turkish authorities yesterday to discuss problems affecting Christian minorities.
He was supposed to visit Cyprus tomorrow to meet Benedict XVI who is visiting the island where he will issue the Instrumentum Laboris for the Synod for the Churches of the Middle East.
This is not the first time that the Catholic Church in Turkey is the subject of threats, violence and death.
In 2006, a Fidei Donum priest, Fr Andrea Santoro, was assassinated in Trabzon.
In 2006, during the memorial Mass for the murdered priest, Mgr Padovese said, “we forgive whoever carried out this act. It is not by destroying someone who holds opposing views that conflicts can be resolved. The only path that must be taken is that of dialogue, of reciprocal recognition, of closeness and friendliness. But as long as television programs and newspaper articles produce material that shine a bad light on Christians and show them as enemies of Islam (and vice versa), how can we imagine a climate of peace?” Always talking about Fr Santoro, he added, “Whoever wanted to erase his physical presence does not know that his witness is now even stronger.”
Fr Federico Lombardi, director of the Holy See Press Office, said, “What has happened is terrible if we think about other examples of bloodshed in Turkey, like the murder of Fr Santoro a few years ago. [. . .] Let us pray that the Lord may reward him for his great service to the Church and that Christians not be discouraged,” but instead “follow his strong witness and continue to profess their faith in the region.”

Of Gods and men

Review of the French film 'Of Gods and Men'. Fr Peter Malone, Signis

"One of the finest religious films, and one of the best Catholic films, in years.

No controversy here. The film won the Ecumenical Prize at Cannes 2010. It also won the Grand Prix du Jury from the festival itself.

The subject is the Trappist community of Mt Atlas, Algeria, in the 1990s. Living their monastic life amongst the local people and ministering to them, especially with medical services, they were viewed more and more with suspicion in the country, especially because they were French expatriates, by government troops who were becoming more active against the increasing terrorist attacks, and by the terrorists themselves. Seven of the monks were killed in the latter part of May, 1996.

While the film expertly builds up the background of post-colonial Algeria, corrupt government, extreme Islamists imposing something like Taliban terror in the towns and villages, the role of the military is ambiguous. Later, and with stronger evidence emerging in recent years with documentation more open and available, the violence perpetrated by both sides, including the military is now under review. The centre of the film, however, is the life of the monks and their preparation for death.

Filmed in Morocco, the film is both beautiful and austere in its landscapes and in the interiors of the monastery – and in the interior lives of the monks and their commitment to God and to their order.

The director, Xavier Beauvois, shows an instinct for depicting the detail of monastic life with sensitivity and a strong awareness of what it means.

His technical advisers have offered expert information which he has absorbed. And the casting is perfect. The actors look, move, speak and act as if they were authentic monks. Lambert Wilson shows the complexity of a man elected to be superior but who has a tendency to make decisions himself but is ultimately willing to be guided in discernment by the whole community. They are eight, while a visiting monk at the end is caught up in the tragedy. Veteran Michael Lonsdale is the ageing doctor who shows practical wisdom in his medical skills and down-to-earth counsel as well as in his religious life.

There is a very striking sequence (making us wonder how we would handle such a situation) where the leader of the rebels comes to demand the doctor come to his camp to tend to a wounded man. The superior stands his ground, says that weapons are not allowed in the grounds and offers to speak outside the walls. He also refuses to give medicine, stating that they cannot give what they have not got. The leader accepts this after they exchange a quotation from the Quran. He offers his hand to the superior to shake. The superior accepts and explains that it is Christmas eve, which the leader understands. Later, the superior and the community will marvel at what they did and how they then went to celebrate Midnight Mass.

The film is able to cover all aspects of the religious routine of the monastery in accurate detail (allowing for Trappists to point out some small things which may not be quite right, but these are not evident to a Catholic eye). In fact, it communicates the life and spirit, the prayer, Eucharist, sung liturgy, silence and contemplation, the detachment of the vow of poverty, the taken-for-granted sacrifices of the vow of chastity, the work, the meals and the readings, the community meetings, the outreach. This is shown in episodes throughout the film which are as effective, even more effective, than a documentary. The film could well serve as a recruitment vehicle because it shows the life as both credible and authentic.

The screenplay does not shy away from deep and reflective words which support the visual action. First of all, the words from the scriptures are most apt, especially about two together, one taken, one left, and the text on losing and gaining one’s life. But, each of the monks is given several opportunities to speak about his vocation and his commitment. This is stronger as the risk situation becomes more dangerous and their lives are threatened.

All the time, the audience is challenged to wonder what they would do in such dangerous circumstances, especially after official advice from the area is given, recommending the monks leave and return to France. At a community gathering, the superior asks them all to give voice to whether each wanted to stay or leave. Some speak in favour of leaving and explain why: family, illness, the opportunity to continue their work elsewhere. Some are still uncertain. Others wish to stay, intuitively knowing that this is where God wanted them to be.

After this, each of the monks has to discern his path in terms of his commitment and understanding of God’s will. One of the monks experiences dark night in his prayer and the sequence where the superior listens, allows him to voice his doubts, is moving, and enables him to find some peace of soul.

After the advice to leave, the monks listen to the opinions of the local people, especially those who come to the monastery for medical help. Their argument is that the monks remain in solidarity with the people. At the final discernment meeting, this argument is given great attention, with Gospel backing and the spirituality of Jesus who stayed faithful until his death. This inevitability of death has been shown to great dramatic effect in the 1989 film Romero, where the archbishop of San Salvador knows that his words and actions and the anger of his opponents can lead only to death.

For an audience wanting to know and understand something deeper about Christian spirituality, something deeper underlying, despite the sins and failures of the church and of church people and the consequent anger at abuse and scandals, these scenes offer a great deal to ponder.

So does the letter that the superior writes before the monks are abducted in vans, audio-taped for their identity, knowing that they are hostages, and led into the snow and the mountains to their deaths. He goes over the decisions and the motivation but also acknowledges that the monks have lived in a Muslim country with its Quranic ideals and spirituality and its God, far from the fanaticism of those who do not really read their scriptures fully or are caught up in bellicose righteousness. There is a quotation from Pascal about the satisfaction in war of those who fight because of religious conviction – which may be merely a worldly ideology rather than religion. The superior's development of the theology of the incarnation and how they themselves will live this theology as they go to death in the same way that Jesus did.

These Trappists of Algeria were not considered saints in the ordinariness of their religious lives. They did their best. However, faced with the reality of impending death, like many a religious or a secular hero, they found their depths, despite any fear, and discovered a martyr’s saintliness in giving a life for others. The director offers this very movingly, without words, as the community sits to enjoy something of a last supper together, the camera focusing on each, their smiles, then their tears, then their deep resignation, drinking a glass of wine together, and all to the powerful rhythms and melodies of Tchaikowsky’s Swan Lake.

Perhaps this makes it sound as if the film is offering a sermon rather than a movie story. It is a movie first and foremost and that is how it delivers its message, through story and in words and moving images."

World Communications Day

Fr Stephen Wang gave the following homily during the World Communications Day Mass at the Church of Our Most Holy Redeemer and St Thomas More in Chelsea, west London, last night.

In the Spring of 1581, Edmund Campion had been in England as a Jesuit missionary for just over a year. Fifteen years earlier he had preached before Queen Elizabeth in Oxford, and now he was in Lancashire on the run from government spies. Between illicit sermons and undercover Masses, Campion was writing a Latin treatise called Decem Rationes, Ten Reasons, in which he set forth the Catholic faith and challenged his compatriots to debate with him.

Kathleen Jones describes what happened when the manuscript was finished: “It was extremely difficult to get this work printed. Eventually the work was carried out on a secret press at the house of Dame Cecilia Stonor in Stonor Park, Berkshire. Lady Stonor was later to die in prison for her part in this enterprise. Owing to a shortage of type, the treatise had to be set one page at a time, and it took half a dozen typesetters (dressed as gentlemen to disarm suspicion) nine weeks to set it.

On Oxford’s Commemoration Sunday, 27 June 1581, four hundred copies were found distributed on the benches of the university church. The publication of Decem Rationes caused a tremendous sensation, and efforts to capture Campion were redoubled” (Butler’s Lives of the Saints, New Full Edition, Liturgical Press, 2000, 12:3).

You can guess why I wanted to re-tell this well-known story today. We’ve come here to celebrate World Communications Day, and by chance we are doing this on the feast of the Martyrs of England and Wales. It provides a wonderful opportunity to connect these two themes of Christian witness and social communication.

The story of Edmund Campion shows us, first of all, that any Christian who wants to witness to their faith beyond their immediate circle of family and friends will need to use the communications media. Not just to use them reluctantly, but to embrace them with a passion. For Campion, this meant the printing press. I love the historical detail that they didn't have enough movable type to set the whole book.

Can you imagine the frustration, and the consequent dedication that was required: to set one page, to print it; then to reshuffle type, and print the next page. Six men holed away in a Berkshire manor house for two months. And then the audacity of smuggling the printed texts into Oxford.

Are we, as the church today, completely engaged with the communications media? Are we realising its potential for good? Are we putting our energy and intelligence into using the media effectively? Our time and people and money? What would Edmund Campion be doing today to communicate his Ten Reasons?

But there is a broader truth to the Decem Rationes controversy. It's not just that Christians should use the media to witness to Christian truth, it's that the very purpose of the communications media is to witness to truth. Not just Christian truth, any truth, the truth of whatever is at hand. You might dismiss this as a romantic fantasy. I'm like Toby Young in his book ‘How to lose friends and alienate people’. He crossed the Atlantic in search of these heroic New York newspapermen, whose only concern was to speak truth to power (and to drink as much as they could in the process). He ended up working on the gossip column at Vanity Fair.

It's easy to be cynical. But my impression of people in the media is that they are still full of idealism. It's just that the ideals get suffocated by other influences. There are the long-term pressures that you might call ‘cultural’ or ‘political’: to turn the news media into an arm of the entertainment industry; to manipulate the media for political or commercial ends, etc. But for you as individuals working in the media the challenges are probably more short term and personal: worries about contracts, budgets, deadlines; editorial pressures from above; tensions between colleagues; worrying about the present project or the future career; the pressure to dumb down, to oversimplify, to sensationalise. The pressure to frame the story in a way that betrays its essential meaning, or to follow a story you know is trivial just because others are following it. All of this makes it difficult on a day-to-day basis to hold on to the ideals that brought you here in the first place. Difficult even to keep to the most basic principle in media ethics: to tell the truth.

It's the same for the Church, especially for her leaders and representatives. We are called to witness to the truth. Not just the truth of Christian faith, but also the truth of the present situation - including our failures and mistakes. Nothing can be gained from hiding the truth. It's only a love of truth, even of difficult truths, that will save us, and will help others to trust us.

So what can we do? Well, here are two thoughts from the Scriptures. First, let's keep our integrity. It doesn't mean we will avoid every compromise, or live up to every one of our ideals. But at the very least let us not go against our conscience in the workplace, and let us make sure that we don't cross that fundamental ethical line of speaking or writing what is not true. St Stephen was killed simply because he told others what he had seen: ‘I see the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God’. He was killed for telling the truth. We may not seek martyrdom, but we can still seek the truth in the highly pressured circumstances of our work.

Second, let's preserve our Christian faith. St Stephen only managed to endure this ordeal because he was filled with the Holy Spirit and because his gaze was fixed on Heaven. I don't mean that you should fall on your knees and gaze into the heavens whenever you have a tense moment in the newsroom. But you need to be rooted in something deeper than the immediate demands being made on you each day. You need to be rooted in your faith. This involves the simplest of decisions: to practice your faith, to pray each day, to speak about your Christian faith with others -- if the moment arises: that you are a Christian, that you are a Catholic, that it matters to you. These aren't obligations or burdens, they are the foundations that make it possible for you to stay steady during all the madness of the working week. They are the same foundations that gave St Edmund Campion the passion he needed to print his subversive text, and the courage to endure his martyrdom.

Feast of the Martyrs of England and Wales

It is the feast of the English and Welsh Martyrs today.

It is difficult for us to imagine the tensions of mistrust that must have flecked the lives of those who adhered to the True Faith. Those priests who landed in England didn't know if the last Mass they celebrated would indeed be their last, some never actually got to say Mass in England they were arrested on the beach on which they landed, others were betrayed by those to whom they gave the sacraments, or even by those who gave them hospitality, even by their fellow priests.

It was only Christ and his saints who could be trusted. For those facing torture trust in one's own resistance must have been doubtful and trust in God's grace must have been a minute to minute matter.

When Jesus calls the disciples to follow him, he doesn't show them their end, the invitation is to day to day, a minute to minute affair. When Jesus speaks about Peter's death at the end of John's Gospel, he speaks about Peter having a belt put around him and being led in ways he would rather not go. Being led in this way means the follower literally follows step by step, moment by moment.

"Lord for tomorrow and its needs, I do not pray ..."

The Month of May.

The month of May is always dedicated to Our Lady, Young Spanish film maker Santiago Requejo has made a new film on Youtube to celebrate this special month and the Year of Priests. See May Feelings 3 at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_7_VrAxu14

Good Shepherd Sunday

PRAYER FOR AUTHENTIC VOCATION

Creator of the Universe, God of the Nations,
Your people are longing to hear your word.
Send labourers into your harvest -
women and men on fire with your love:
Dedicated single people -
who incarnate your presence
in their daily lives,
whose availability enables them
to respond to a diversity of needs.
Married couples -
whose relationships serve as a sign
of your fidelity to your people,
whose love overflows
to their children and neighbours.
Ordained Ministers -
who gather the prayers and longing
of your people
who serve as a channel of your presence
through the sacraments.
Religious sisters, brothers, and priests -
whose life in community foreshadows
our eternal unity in Christ,
whose service brings your life to the world.
May each of us respond with courage and generosity
to our particular vocations, and may the Church recognize
the Spirit's call to men and women of good will,
trusting in your abundance to answer all our needs.
Amen.