Gathering us in, soul by soul

This SSPX business is constantly in my mind at present, whether at the surface or just beneath it. The Holy Father has shown himself capable of taking astonishing initiatives, going beyond what was imagined: for example, in enabling the establishment of Anglican-use Ordinariates. I hope it may be so in this case.

If a split occurs in the wake of any proposal, it will not be neat, but messy. It will be rather like a bloodless version of the partition of a country, with people fleeing in one direction colliding with others who are fleeing in the opposite direction. We cannot know at this stage how many of each type there will be. I think there will be a good deal of pain.

Our dear Pope Benedict has a great ambition, it seems: to gather us in, as many of us as possible, of all spiritual shapes and sizes and colours, as long as we have a Catholic heart and Catholic faith; to ensure that we of the wild olive shoot are all securely grafted into the true olive where the Good Lord intended us to be. This, I think, is meant to include, quietly but most ambitiously of all, the branches which really belong to the olive but were once, long ago, broken off*. Institutions and groups are one thing, and important; but I believe that in the last resort we are meant to be gathered in as individuals, soul by soul.


* Romans 11: 17-24

A Story about the Intercession of Blessed Cardinal Newman

As mentioned in my post on 24th September, I have started to ask for the intercessory prayers of Blessed Cardinal Newman, for the “thoughtful apostates”, that they may return to the fullness of the Faith.

Here is a little thing that happened this morning. I had just said my prayer, when I suddenly began to feel rather embarrassed, as though I were being importunate in bothering him over this intention, when he had so many others to intercede for.

Rather as one might say to someone, “If it’s not inconvenient”, I felt impelled to add, rather timidly, “If it is the Lord’s will”.

Immediately there came into my mind the following words: “It is not the Father’s will that any of them should be lost”.

You may like to read Matthew 18:10-14, the Parable of the Lost Sheep, at the end of which, almost word for word, is the sentence that came to me.

God is goodness.

Praying to Blessed John Henry for the Return of "Thoughtful Apostates"

On 20th September The Very Revd Gerard Deighan preached on the subject of Blessed John Henry Newman, in Newman’s own church, the Catholic University Church in Dublin, on the occasion of a Mass in honour of Newman’s beatification.

If you have not yet been able to read this brilliant sermon, posted on 23rd September on the Rorate Caeli blog, I urge you to make the time to do so. It is absolutely wonderful.

Unfortunately Rorate Caeli doesn’t seem to have a facility to link to the specific posting. Please follow the link to the blog, and scroll down to 23rd September.

As you would expect, the sermon covers the broad range of Newman’s life and thought, including the true understanding of his writings on conscience, and his implacable opposition to liberalism in religion. It also reflects on his work as a pastor of souls, and his gift for friendship. But in my present post I would like to tell you what happened when I read the following passage from the sermon, which deals with his faithfulness, as a priest and as a friend, in praying for others:

“I have in mind that prayer for which Newman is best remembered: his prayer of intercession. As a man of prayer he had no pretensions. He was no St Teresa or St John of the Cross. When he prayed, it generally involved poring over long lists which he made out, and kept scrupulously up to date, of the people he wished to pray for. In this he is a model to us. Firstly, a model of caring for others so much as to keep them in our thoughts, and in our hearts; but also a model of bringing our loving thoughts of others before God, and asking Him to care for them, and bless them, and heal them, or forgive them, or grant them eternal rest. Newman was a faithful intercessor while here on earth; and now that he is in heaven we can be sure his power of intercession is even greater. So here is my second concrete exhortation to you this evening: Pray to Blessed John Henry! Pray for all your needs, and for those of your friends and foes!”

Isn’t that beautiful? I smiled at the reference to the long lists he used to keep; how endearingly human that sounds! But as I read this passage, I was suddenly filled with tearful thoughts of loved ones (and I am often in tears when I think of them) who have moved away from the fullness of the Church to worship elsewhere; or who have ceased to be Christian, while retaining a firm belief in God. I long so much for them to return! And as I read, I was moved to pray to Blessed Cardinal Newman, to ask his intercession for those who are in that particular category of the lapsed or gone-astray. Until I can think of a better term, I will refer to them as the “thoughtful apostates”. They have thought, they have reflected, they have seen and been dismayed at the state of the Catholic Church, at the examples of banality and casual irreverence. At this stage or that in their reflections, they have made a false step in their thinking, and have continued to apply their reasoning along the erroneous path they have unwittingly taken. And this is where they are today: absolutely sincere; reverent and even prayerful; but separated from the fullness of the Church, or from the personal consciousness that the Lord Jesus Christ, who loves them with infinite love, is waiting patiently, so very close to them.

I will pray for the intercession of Blessed John Henry Newman, whose intellectual powers are so much a feature of his sanctity, for the return of the “thoughtful apostates”.

A Conversion Opportunity for all of us, including our Bishops

Breadgirl’s recent comment has helped me to clarify my thoughts somewhat on an important aspect of the Holy Father’s visit. Specifically, it feels as if we have been offered a conversion opportunity.

I remember the reported words of one of the Polish bishops, in the early 1980s, who said “We all need conversion.” By which, of course, he meant not only those who did not believe, but everyone, whatever their position in the Church, whatever the stage they had reached in their spiritual journey. That has stuck in my mind as something simple and yet profound. None of us has yet arrived where God wants us to be.

This brings me to our bishops. Their conversion opportunity has arrived too. They are not a single, corporate entity; each of them, as a child of God, is on his own individual spiritual path, and only God knows how far they have progressed. What will they make of this moment of grace?

To state it very simply, the call to conversion is the call to repent and believe. Or, if we are already on the Christian journey, to detach ourselves more comprehensively from sin, and to believe more profoundly; and this both in our words and in our actions.

As John the Baptist said: “If you are repentant, produce the appropriate fruits.” The “Light of the World” initiative is, I believe, a simple but rather wonderful conversion-fruit. Who knows what fruits it will itself give rise to? I am sure more good things will come; but there will be resistance, there will be closed minds and amused indifference, even, dare I say it, among the hierarchy and clergy. But I very much hope not. I plan to be realistic, but optimistic. And I will be joining my prayers to those of many others, in praying for our bishops and priests in this new Benedictine era.