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.

"Light of the World" for Every Parish in England and Wales

Here is some very interesting news, courtesy of the Catholic Herald website. Every parish in England and Wales is to receive a framed copy of William Holman Hunt’s “Light of the World”, together with a candle. All have been blessed by the Holy Father at the Hyde Park vigil.

Three moments of tearfulness ...

... When the Pope completed his proclamation of Cardinal Newman as Blessed.

... When those fine young seminarians at Oscott sang "Ad multos annos" as their farewell to their dear Holy Father.

... When our wonderful Pope Benedict climbed the steps to the plane that would take him safely home, after his packed and exhausting visit.

And a moment of thankfulness and relief, as the plane rose into the sky and gently disappeared into the low cloud.

Happy days, so poignant, and, please God, so rich in fruit.

The Construction Work at Cofton Park

Here are some pictures from BBC Midlands of the preparations at Cofton Park for Cardinal Newman’s beatification Mass.

An Empty Husk?

I hope the Altar-cave for the Cofton Park beatification Mass turns out to be more dignified on the day than the artist’s impression suggests. Messa in Latino has come up with this rather extravagant description of it: “Like the fearsome interior of the carapace of some enormous dead grub”. Perhaps it’s not as bad as that, but we shall see! We can’t always judge from a drawing what the reality will look like. This is why I’ve held back from adding my two-penn’orth to the reactions that have appeared in the Catholic blogosphere. All I will say is: that’s an optimistically blue sky for 19th September …

However, I think MiL has hit very close to the mark with its evocation of the idea of an empty carapace. It feels to me like an uncomfortably accurate metaphor for the current condition of the Church in England and Wales. I’m sorry to say that I’ve thought for some time that our part of the Catholic Church demonstrates, in some respects, the deceptive attributes of an empty or nearly empty husk.

A great part of the illusion of health comes from our Catholic education system. School after school refers to itself as having a “Catholic ethos”. If this ethos does not express itself in the form of sound Catholic teaching, does it have any reality, or is it just a fuzzy feeling?

The post-school lapsation rate appears to be catastrophically high. This cannot all be due to adolescent rebellion against devout parents. A large percentage of the pupils must surely belong either to non-believing and non-practising families, or to church-going families who quite sincerely but misguidedly follow the Cherie Blair variety of “Catholicism”, not knowing any better.

I wonder also how many families attend Mass as a form of school fees, as the price to be paid just until their youngest child leaves school, and then they are off. Parish clergy must surely be aware of this phenomenon. However, one never knows: the good habit may be formed, at least in the parents, even if their children lapse. God takes His opportunities to find a way into the most unsuspecting hearts.

Do our parochial and diocesan schools, then, create a great illusion of health in the local Church, and indeed in parish churches? A deceptive impression of fullness, when there is, in large part, only emptiness?

While lamenting these signs of hollowness within the external appearance of the Church in E&W, I must say how much I admire those truly Catholic families, in which the parents know the Church’s teachings and are fully committed to them, in spite of our current adversities; and all credit and honour to them, and to their children who are properly taught by their parents, and who hang on to the true Faith, and come out at the end of their school years with their belief intact.

So, I’ll try not to be too bothered about the physical appearance of the Altar-hood, because there are far worse things, seriously so, swirling around in the English and Welsh Catholic scene. It may well be that a number of things are biding their time to emerge when the Holy Father is safely back in Rome. Will we then see the claws unsheathed? I have a heart-sinking feeling that this may be so.

Dear Heavenly Father, please keep Pope Benedict safe, and may his visit bear the good fruit which we so desperately need.

Mark Dowd to give a talk tonight at a Catholic church in Bath

Mark Dowd, maker of the BBC's radio and television programmes about the Holy Father, is giving a talk tonight at St John’s Parish Hall, South Parade, Bath, BA2 4AF. It is advertised on the Diocese of Clifton’s website, and has also appeared in parish newsletters.

Gregorian chant at the papal events? Over to you!

Two weeks to go. They have signed the contracts and published the programmes. It looks as though we can't do anything more to influence things, either at the Beatification Mass or at the Hyde Park vigil. I'm sure His Holiness understands the situation, and will do his very best for us all.

And yet ... there may be a pause in the music and other entertainment, now and then. Wouldn't it be good if groups of pilgrims, here and there, were to add a little Gregorian chant to the proceedings? One or two pieces from the Missa de Angelis, for example, or the Salve Regina? Go on, you know you want to ...

O Sing to the Lord an Old Song ...

Sorry to contradict Psalm 96, but just this once ... Now that the music has been announced for the Hyde Park vigil, can I say first of all how glad I am that they're not going to sing "Our God Reigns". Back in 1982, I was very soon reduced to turning the television volume down to mute.

Certain tunes have a habit of lodging in one's head, and even when it's a good one, enough is as good as a feast. We have been watching the daily repeats of The Onedin Line, and the Spartacus theme has been haunting our brains. Yesterday, thanks to YouTube, I heard for the first time the famous worship song Shine, Jesus, Shine. It has been floating through my head ever since, even this morning in Waitrose. I must find some other music to listen to, to drive it out.

Now for a non-expert review of it. I thought the tune was quite pleasant. I could imagine swaying about and waving my arms in the air, if I were inclined to attend the more charismatic kind of Mass or service of praise. The combination of music and lyrics is warm and emotional, both of which feelings have a place in our love of God.

There were some good points about the lyrics. They refer to the awesomeness of God. They are trinitarian. They recall St John's words about Christ, the Word, as the light shining in the darkness. They bring to mind Christ's words that "the truth will set you free". "Blaze, Spirit, blaze" reminds me of the Holy Spirit coming down as tongues of fire. The flowing river makes me think of Luke 4:14: "The water that I shall give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life". The last verse says "May our lives tell your story", which is very much a statement of "let's get out there and give witness" - which is good.

I think its limitation is that it stays within the range of belief which the Catholic Church shares with the average evangelical Protestant. The glorious patrimony of Catholic chant, and of our hymns - even the more sentimental ones - teaches these good things and so much more; because it draws on the Christian faith in its fullness.

Some months ago - for a reason which I have now forgotten - I borrowed a hymn book from church for a couple of days, and went through the index, writing down the titles of those hymns whose words and tunes I particularly like. I came across this list only yesterday, and it was lovely to read it again; it lifted my heart as the old favourites, with their touching words and sweet melodies, came flooding back. Leaving aside for the present the beautiful hymns to our Lady, here are just a few:

Hail, Redeemer
Crown Him with many crowns
Alleluia, sing to Jesus
To Jesus' Heart, all burning
Jesus, my Lord, my God, my all
Soul of my Saviour

Now for a tentative suggestion for the vigil. There may be opportunities for small groups to take advantage of the occasional hiatus to sing, quietly but noticeably, one or two of the fine old Catholic hymns, or a piece of Gregorian chant such as the Salve Regina. It may be that the hearts of those who hear them will be moved and attracted by what they hear. One never knows ...

Looking forward to hearing all about Downside

Events conspired to keep me from attending any of the public Masses at this week's LMS training conference at Downside. I was very much looking forward to it, but something cropped up that had to take precedence over everything else. I'm now eagerly awaiting the first reports, both of the conference itself and of the Masses.

LMS Training Conference, 10th-13th August 2010: Bus Service from Bath to Downside

For those who are interested in travelling by public transport to attend the public Masses at Downside Abbey in Somerset, during the Latin Mass Society's training conference for priests, here is a link to the timetable for the number 184 bus service from Bath to Frome, which leaves from Bay 7 at Bath bus station, at half past the hour. The journey takes about 55 minutes, and the bus passes Downside Abbey on its way into Stratton-on-the Fosse. I understand there is a bus stop just by the entrance to the abbey grounds.

If you travel to Bath by train, you should leave Bath Spa station at the exit leading to the town centre, then turn left, and you will very quickly arrive at the bus station, which is a large glass-walled building, on the same side of the road as the railway station.

The 9.30 bus from Bath arrives at Downside in comfortable time to attend the Masses, which are scheduled for 11.00 or 11.15. The return buses leave Stratton at 24 minutes past the hour.

For those of us who can manage it, there will be a beautiful and inspiring Mass, and also a delightful tour of the lovely Somerset countryside.

The CDF on doctrine, authority, assent and dissent

The Italian-language blog Messa in Latino, which is always an interesting read, had a particularly interesting post yesterday. It was the text of a doctrinal commentary by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, dating from 1998. You may already be familiar with the document, but I thought it was worth publishing here, for those of us who were not aware of it.

The document was linked to the publication of a new Profession of Faith and Oath of Fidelity, which were to be made by those assuming any office that is to be exercised in the name of the Church. The profession and oath, which superseded earlier forms, were issued to conform to Pope John Paul II’s Ad tuendam fidem.

This may at first sight seem a little dry, but in fact it was a treasure trove. It set out - in a remarkably concise way for so complex a subject - the sources of the Church’s teaching, and of Her authority to teach, the various categories of Her teaching, the assent that is required on the part of all the faithful, and the position of those who do not assent.

My initial dismay at the thought of battling through such a long translation was soon dispelled when I realised that an English version must already exist somewhere on the internet. And so it does, thanks to EWTN.

Here is the doctrinal commentary.

Here are the Profession of Faith and the Oath of Fidelity.

This is a very helpful summary of the categories of belief, prepared – I think – by EWTN.

And finally, Ad tuendam fidem.

There is a good deal of reading matter here, for those of you who are interested; but fortunately it is broken up into quite manageable chunks. Take your time; no rush! I hope you will find it useful.

One of the Joys of Reading the Old Testament

In furtherance of my resolution to try to link a plenary indulgence work to every Holy Communion I receive, I am now working my way through the Old Testament for, I think, the third time. Tonight I finished Deuteronomy and began to read Joshua.

Some of the Old Testament is wonderful; but parts of it can sometimes be rather hard going. However, it is worth all the toil of trudging through the repetitions, and the lists of names of the tribal leaders and their descendants, and the detailed measurements; it is worth it all, to come across a phrase here and there, which is familiar and well-loved from its use in the New Testament.

There are other phrases too, which have passed into the richness of our language, and touch the heart. I thought I would share today's with you, from Deuteronomy 33:27 -

The eternal God is your dwelling place,
and underneath are the everlasting arms.

Favourite Prayers Meme

Thank you to Athanasius of Suffering World and to Breadgirl of Last Welsh Martyr , for inviting me to join in the fun of doing a Catholic meme. I will try to follow Mulier Fortis’s rules:

Name your three favourite prayers, and explain why.

Tag five bloggers - give them a link, and then go and tell them they have been tagged.

Finally, tell the person who tagged you that you've completed the meme.

The Liturgy and the Sacraments are off limits here. MF is more interested in people's favourite devotional prayers.

I could make it more than three. If I were to do this, I would include the prayers incorporated in St Alphonsus Liguori’s meditations at the Stations of the Cross. Some are addressed to Jesus, and some to our Lady, and I find them quite haunting. I’d also include the Prayer to St Michael the Archangel, which seems to have such power within it. But these are my three, for the purposes of this meme:

The Our Father: because the Lord Himself gave it to us, therefore it is the best and most powerful prayer of all. The Holy Spirit inspires us to say it, and we speak our Lord Jesus’s own words, to our Father in Heaven. Perfect!

The prayer at the end of each Station’s meditation, which I often say as a separate prayer: “I love Thee, Jesus, my love above all things. I repent with my whole heart of having offended Thee. Never permit me to separate myself from Thee again. Grant that I may love Thee always; and then do with me what Thou wilt.”

Finally, I’d like to include a prayer that is so short and simple that it would, I suppose, be called an aspiration: simply the words, “Heavenly Father”. This is a prayer for times of extremity, as well as for those little expressions of love, those turnings toward the Lord that we make during the day. And I can attest that it’s just the thing when one is heavily sedated and being wheeled to the operating theatre; it is a lovely thing to go to sleep to.

I have managed to tag four bloggers, as follows, but I may be beaten to it:

Bob, of Bob’s Blog;

A Reluctant Sinner;

Paulinus from In Hoc Signo Vinces;

Fr Hunwicke, priest-in-charge of the Anglican church of S. Thomas the Martyr, Oxford, who has a most erudite blog. It is a joy to cheer him on, silently, from the wings, as he makes his journey in these momentous times.

Since so many bloggers have already been tagged, I think I should excuse my tag victims from finding any others, if they find they are struggling with it.

The Person in the Womb

John Smeaton, the Director of SPUC, has drawn the attention of his readers to an interesting and very encouraging Zenit interview with Monsignor Ignacio Carrasco de Paula, the new head of the Pontifical Academy for Life. In the course of the interview Mgr Carrasco said the following:

One of the problems we have with regard to the embryo is that it isn't seen. Instead of embryo we should speak of a child who is in the initial phase of development. Because we cannot see him, he is in a situation of tremendous danger, at tremendous risk.

The words we use are indeed extremely important. Further on in this post I'll record a few thoughts on the word "child"; but before doing so I'd like to refer to the general use of the term "unborn".

While it is of course a statement of fact, I have always felt there was a certain insufficiency in the word. My slight discomfort arises from a phrase which occasionally used to crop up in the loftier kind of political speech, when the politician wanted to inspire his listeners with a vision of the faraway sunlit uplands to which his party’s policies would undoubtedly lead the nation. He would refer to “generations as yet unborn”.

In that example the generations did not in fact exist at the time of the speech. Might the term “unborn” convey something of that same sense of non-existence - or of not yet existing - when used in reference to the child in the womb? Not to us, of course; but does its use miss an opportunity to impress upon a wider and less informed audience the reality, the totality, the existence here and now, of an actual human being, from the instant of his or her conception?

Returning to the word "child", I’d love to hear it used, as Mgr Carrasco recommends; and used as the standard term. “Baby” would be good too; but I feel that the use of “child” emphasises even more strongly the individuality, the humanity, the personhood, the sense of continuity with all stages of a person's development and growth to adulthood. So for me, it is “the embryonic child”, “the gestating child” or "the child in the womb" which fits the bill better than any other phrase.

No posts for a few weeks

This is to let my readers know that it will be a few weeks before a new post can be added to this blog. Life is extremely busy just now. Nothing bad, just a lot of hard work.

The Richness of Catholic Prayer and Devotions

It's hard to believe I started this blog one year ago today. Time goes by so quickly!

I have been thinking a good deal about my mother-in-law, who is in her nineties, almost blind and quite frail, though mentally alert. She is not a Catholic. One of her uncles was enthusiastically involved in the local Orange Lodge, which gives a good indication of the religious "flavour" of her family. She herself has never been a church-goer during her adult life, as far as I know.
The only prayer resource she has seems to be the Lord's Prayer; and what could be better that that? But it has struck me, by contrast, what a wealth of prayer, meditation and devotions would be accessible by the averagely devout Catholic of a similar age. What a treasure we have!

So, in addition to my recent postings about the value of teaching the Virtues, here is another rich seam of Catholic life which it would be wonderful for our priests to encourage from the pulpit. Perhaps some members of their congregations might even be persuaded to stay behind occasionally after Mass, while their priests lead them in Benediction or in some of the old, familiar and life-enhancing prayers. Just a thought; no pressure ...

Good news following the recent health scare.

Thank you so much to my kind readers for the prayers you have said in response to my recent post. We have now seen the consultant, who gave us the good news that he does not consider that the latest test results are an indication of cancer. He is fairly confident that antibiotics followed by various tests will identify and solve the current problem. However, it seems as if it will always be necessary to monitor the situation with periodic blood tests. At least this will alert us to any further concerns, of whatever kind. For the time being, relief all round!

The Holy Father on Clerical Careerism

Here is an interesting article, published today in Paolo Rodari’s Diario Apostolico. The Holy Father is speaking about the contrast between clerical careerism and the true spirit of the priesthood.


Careerism, the seeking after power, present in the Church (above all among the clergy), was - more than so many other things - the evil which Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger denounced in his meditations on the Way of the Cross in 2005, when, a few weeks before succeeding John Paul II, he said: “How much filth there is in the Church, and indeed even among those who, within the priesthood, should belong completely to Him!”

Read it here: Ratzinger’s meditation at the Ninth Station.

Benedict XVI has returned to this theme on other occasions, for example when he said on 3rd February 2010: “One’s career, the exercise of power: are these not a temptation? A temptation from which even those who have a role of activity and governance in the Church are not immune.”

Read it here: the General Audience.

The Pope had spoken about it in a more forceful manner on 12 September 2009, when he listed the characteristics which must not be lacking in the life of the priest. At a certain point he said: “We do not bind men to us; we do not seek power, prestige, esteem for ourselves. We lead men toward Jesus Christ and thus toward the living God. By this we lead them into truth, and into freedom, which has its origin in truth. Faithfulness is altruism, and precisely because of this it is liberating for the minister himself and for those who are entrusted to him. We know how things in civil society and, not infrequently, also in the Church, suffer from the fact that many of those upon whom a responsibility has been conferred, work for themselves and not for the community, for the common good.”

Read it here: the homily for the Episcopal ordination of five new priests.

Today, once again, during the Mass for the priestly ordination of fourteen new priests, a few hours after the news that Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe, Archbishop of Naples, an important man in the engine-room of the Wojtyla pontificate, ex-Secretary of the Congregation for Priests, ex-Prefect of Propaganda Fide, has been included in the register of those under scrutiny at Perugia in the public works investigation*, the Pope has reaffirmed the constant idea: “The priesthood can never represent a means of attaining security in life, or of achieving for oneself a position in society. A man who aspires to the priesthood in order to increase his own personal prestige and his own power has radically misunderstood the meaning of this ministry.

“He who wishes above all to fulfil his own ambition, to achieve his own success, will always be a slave to himself and to public opinion. In order to be esteemed, he will have to flatter; he will have to say what pleases people; he will have to adapt himself to the changeability of fashions and opinions, and he will thus deprive himself of the vital relationship with truth, reducing himself to condemning tomorrow what he has praised today. A man who plans out his life like this, a priest who sees his own ministry in these terms, does not truly love God and others, but only himself, and, paradoxically, ends by losing himself. The priesthood – let us always remember – is founded upon the courage to say yes to another Will, in the awareness – which he should nurture so that it grows stronger every day - that in truly conforming ourselves to the Will of God, “immersed” in this Will, not only will our individuality not be rubbed out, but on the contrary, we shall enter ever more deeply into the truth of our being and of our ministry.”

Read the entire homily here.

*An investigation into possible criminality in the letting of public works contracts.

A Surprisingly Comforting Platitude

Here is a platitude, and a surprisingly comforting one, when one has been jolted into appreciating it: it is that this life is only temporary.

There comes a time when health scares of one kind or another become a feature of life, always there in the background, and sometimes flaring up with all the consequent distress. Up to now, there has always been a release of that distress, a relief when tests produce a negative result. Until the next time, when the worry and the uncertainty surface again.

I know how sweet God's comfort is when the tears come, and it seems - quite vividly - as though I am resting my head on His shoulder. God is beautiful, and God is good. He is more than good: He is Goodness. It is a most strengthening thing to experience this.

After the first scare, then the second and third, a certain resilience emerges. We are beginning to seize the day; time is precious. I have started to de-clutter our house. Just in case; one never knows. Please God, may my husband and I have many more years together.

The latest worry may, once again, be no more than that. But the odd prayer, now and then, would be much appreciated.