Twenty seven years ago today …

I was ordained to the Priesthood. I crossed a threshold that I could never have created or even thought of for myself, being given a share in the Mystery of the Priesthood of Jesus Christ, by which everything is changed and made fitting for God's Plan.

I took this photo last month during the Retreat for Priests in Ars. Many of us had come out  one evening to the Basilica, where Adoration was taking place. The open door, revealing not just the interior of the old Church of Ars, but also the presence of the Lord himself, speaks loudly to me of the gift which I share. 

Human freedom always flows out of following one's vocation, whatever it may be, but the kind of freedom which the Priesthood enables is of another kind. The way in which the Priesthood has changed and shaped me goes far beyond what I could ever have expected of myself and of God's purposes for me. I desire now, much more than I did twenty seven years ago, to be nearer to the heart of the Mystery - a nearness which the priesthood makes possible in the most extraordinary way.

I was ordained on the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. I took great delight in this date being given to me by my bishop twenty seven years ago. My mother had, all those many years ago, given me a middle name - Simon, after St Simon Stock, who on this day in 1251 was given the Brown Scapular. We should not forget that it was also on this day in 1948 that the Bishops of England and Wales consecrated the country to the Immaculate Heart of Mary at the newly developing Shrine of Walsingham. This Shrine too, has always been at the heart of my life.

Please pray for me, as I make my next steps on the English Mission.

Going out with someone.

We used to call it dating or even courtship, but going out with someone and discovering that another person is special to me, and then beginning to discern the possibility of a communion of life and love with that person is one of the most exciting experiences in life. 

In a secular age is there a Catholic vision for dating? Yes, there is, and I'm offering an opportunity to those who are 18 and over to look with me at this vision.

Going out with someone: an evening seminar, Wednesday 15th July 2015 at 7.30pm in St Ignatius Parish centre, WF5 0DQ.

For more details, please contact me on stignatius@gmx.com 

The house of a recusant.

Two weeks ago we kept the feast of the rebel Cardinal, John Fisher and the retired Chancellor, Thomas More, the first of England's Reformation martyrs to be canonised. Earlier this year I was in Rochester and, after visiting the Cathedral, where once John Fisher was Bishop, I glanced over to the old Bishop's House on the north side of the Cathedral. The house, now no longer the Bishop's Palace, and almost certainly altered since Tudor times, is nonetheless the house in which John Fisher lived when he was Rochester's Bishop.

The house is still small and would have been a humble Bishop's house, by medieval and renaissance standards. But within its walls there remains those spaces which nurtured the blossoming of an apostolic courage which would establish the Church in this country on new and certain footings, even if they departed from contemporary expectations. Here, and in the old house in Chelsea (Thomas More's home), were forged the beginnings of recusancy - the desire to conform always to the person of Christ, together with the desire never to conform to the prevailing culture. These two men stood out in a singular way from all their contemporaries, but many would follow them - those for whom the term 'recusant' would be applied. In our country we have no greater models and leaders than our recusant forbears, because they show us how to be recusants today. They appeal to our deepest sensibilities, the relationship that we have with Christ the Lord, and to forge in our own homes and places of work those same desires. How the Lord will use these desires of ours is His to name.

Fathers and sons.

On this day when we keep the feast of the first canonised Martyrs of the English Reformation, SS John Fisher and Thomas More, I am mindful of those other Fathers who were led out from the Tower in May 1535, passing the Bell Tower in which Fisher and More were held, awaiting their fate. The three Carthusian Priors, Houghton, Webster and Lawrence, together with Frs Reynolds and Haile, were the very first to be executed for the Faith in that era.

During a recent visit to London I discovered that I was near to the site of the former Charterhouse and enquiring at the Gatehouse chanced upon a guided tour. I accompanied the guide for the first part of the tour only, in order to visit the present chapel, pictured above. This chapel, the guide informed the tour party, had been the Chapter House of the original monastery, and therefore the place where the three Priors, together with the community of the London Charterhouse, deliberated how they should respond to the situation of the King's claim of supremacy of the Church in England. The original Chapter House has been modified over the centuries but still holds, in the far corner, the remains of a sacrarium next to where a medieval altar, in the Chapter House, had once been.

The guide then showed us the site of the original monastery Church. The Church is long gone, but its site is marked out in stone on the grass at the very front of the present Charter House buildings. It was here, and on its High Altar, that Prior John Houghton celebrated the Mass of the Holy Spirit, during which the entire Community discerned the way in which they were called to respond to the King.

On the wall at the side of this site, a wall which was most probably the original north wall of the Church, there is a plaque commemorating the three Priors, the other priest members, and brothers of the Community, all of whom suffered torture and death, following their decision to witness to Christ, rather than to the King.

The place where the lawn and plaque is found, is bounded by a perimeter railing and is not a public place. Nonetheless, it is good to see that such a plaque is there with the names of all the Community.

These, our Fathers, and sons of the Most High, are worthy of great veneration, and we are humbled that this memorial to their great struggle and their great faith, is here in the middle of our busy capitol city.  

An old friend.

I was recently in the old city of London, looking up historical sites which hold so much importance for us. I walked along the Poultry and took the above photo at the building which occupies the site of the Poutlry Compter of old. 

The Poultry Compter was once what its name suggests, but it became a prison in Tudor times and one of the many 'holding places' of Catholics. It was a very primitive place. Here in the Spring of 1594 Fr John Gerard SJ was held. This great confessor of the faith speaks about his experience here in his autobiography.

Today, the location is very different now from how it was in Tudor times; the tower block on the corner of Poultry and Old Jewry could be found in just about any modern city. The Great Fire would have scoured out, to its fetid foundations, the old Poultry Compter.

Close by is the magnificent Guildhall where, three years later in 1597, Fr John Gerard was brought for interogation.

In this enormous medieval aula Fr Gerard, before a Royal Commission, was subjected to an intense session from Richard Topcliffe, the priest hunter. It is hard to picture it now, but then a whole State was intent upon extinguishing the Catholic Church, which had been the very heart of its life and formation up till that time.

London, in spite of its secularism, is rich with Catholicism, precisely because of such great confessors. Blessed Henry Garnet SJ was tried in the Guildhall in 1606 and condemned to death here. The Guildhall somehow survived the Great Fire, and preserves its memory of the old days. 

The secular age tries its best to maintain its project, but what these confessors of old witnessed to is the fullness of human life - the saving Mystery of Jesus Christ.

Doing a little weeding.

I had to launch a boat in order to tackle the couch grass that had invaded the pond!

A shrine under renewal.

The renewal of the Shrine at Walsingham is to include the provision of facilities for retreats and conferences. This will enable a tremendous development of the Shrine. Many times I have wished to take groups to Walsingham for a retreat or period of formation, but the lack of a place to meet together has always weighed against this. It will soon be possible for conferences and retreats to be envisaged.

This is particularly important when one recognises that the basic nature of England's Nazareth is that it is a shrine to the family. Christian formation at the level of the family lies at the heart of the renewal of the Church in this country.

Walsingham has an extraordinary place in this context. The many thousands of people who visit the shrine each year, whether as Diocesan, Parish or association groups, all have their family ties, and many of them come as family groups. The shrine has an organic potential to help to nurture the Christian family, having at its centre the house of the Holy Family of Nazareth. The whole sense and environment of the family is one which can easily be engendered and honoured at Walsingham, enabling particular formation to be given within the context of a visit to the shrine.

This can be done at all levels: young people considering marriage and the family, newly married spouses, young families, families with teenagers, extended families, and grandparents. In each case, there can be a particular ministry, directed to honouring the evangelisation already taking place within families, and equipping them even more in their mission.

It is particularly the case that many older people come to Walsingham, often from families that no longer practice the Christian life, yet a visit to Walsingham can be the place where a whole life-time of prayer and evangelisation on behalf of their families can be acknowledged, witnessed to and honoured.

Families themselves could be drawn into the mission of the Shrine, becoming agents of family formation in Walsingham. Other Institutes and bodies in the country could also, perhaps, feed into the mission of the Shrine, for example, the new School of the Annunciation, whose mission is already so closely identified with that of Walsingham.

Again, the renewal of the Shrine at Walsingham is something which calls for our attention and our support.

Walsingham Development.

When I was a teenager in the 1970s there was a nationwide campaign, led by the Director of the Shrine, Fr Roland Connelly, to develop the Shrine and place it more at the centre of the life of the Church in England. The most obvious consequences of this campaign were the number of parish pilgrimages that came to Walsingham, particularly from the northern half of the country, and the replacement of the open-sided hexagonal outdoor chapel with the Norfolk-barn style Chapel of Reconciliation.

Today, a new and fuller project has begun to develop the Shrine again so that it can be at the heart of the New Evangelisation of this country. I commend and applaud Mgr John Armitage for his vision for the next stage of the renewal and building up of the Shrine. The basis of this project can be seen on the new webpage: www.walsinghamdevelopment.org 

This project will involve both new buildings and a renewed schedule for pilgrims. But at its heart is a great vision for the Shrine - a vision to develop the welcome that is extended to pilgrims and their formation in the life and mission of the Church. 

I will post on this again soon.  

Also on that day.

Saturday 16th May 2015. A Walk for Life in York.

In reparation for the legalisation of Abortion.

11.30am Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament at St Wilfrid's Church, York.

12 noon Holy Mass

1pm Procession to the Ouse Bridge for prayers and a flower ceremony, naming the babies.

2pm Procession to the Bar Convent for veneration of the relic of St Margaret Clitherow.

3pm Procession to the site of the gallows on the Knavesmire.

4.15pm Benediction of the English Martyrs Church, followed by refreshments.

Contact: Pat 0113 2582745

Guild Day in York

The Guild of Our Lady and St Joseph in association with the Buckfast School of the Annunciation are holding a day for parents, catechists and all those who wish to share the Gospel with joy: Saturday 16th May 2015, at The English Martyrs Church, York, 10.30am to 4.30pm. 

The day focusses on sacred art and media in Catechesis and the New Evangelisation. Cost £15. To register: guildofourladyandstjoseph@gmail.com 

White Rabbit

Yesterday, on the Vigil of the great feast of St Joseph, I went with a group of youth from the parish to see the Leeds performance by Rise Theatre of "White Rabbit". This very impressive production, written by the Rise Theatre, documents the lives of two young people who are confronting the challenges of contemporary living, and who, according to their own lights, are not faring well. However, the person of God, who is present in their lives throughout the drama, is ultimately recognised and welcomed by both characters, whose lives are transformed by the encounter.

"White Rabbit" is the second production of Rise Theatre which I have experienced; the first being "Soldier to Saint" (a play about St Alban), which I saw a year ago. This small Christian, and very Catholic, theatre company represents a tremendous and very welcome intervention in our culture. The four-member cast are very professional, very gifted, and inspirational actors. They are a joy to watch.

The current play "White Rabbit" conveys a very skillful anti-Pelagian message: the self-improvement project of the secular vision is doomed to failure; we were made for grace, we need grace.

I strongly recommend "White Rabbit" to you, and particularly to young people. And I hope that the Rise Theatre Company goes from strength to strength; they deserve much support. Look them up on their website and check out the remaining dates for the current show: www.risetheatre.co.uk

Emotional singing.

Each week during Lent we have sung, in the Parish, at the end of Eucharistic Exposition, the hymn "Ave Verum Corpus".

This fourteenth century hymn was written to be sung during the Elevation at Holy Mass; its final phrases are indeed quite emotional, with respect of both the words and the way in which the chant soars.

This Eucharistic hymn seems especially fit for Lent; its words, and its music encompass both Christmas and Easter, but focus on the work of Jesus and His utter dedication to the Father's plan. It is such a beautiful hymn to sing during Lent. We will sing it also throughout the Easter season, when its resonance will be transformed.

We finish with the Lenten anthem to the Blessed Mother. These prayers, and the music which lifts them, are a great grace because they are leading us still into the Mystery.

The Synod. 8.

The basic motif of modern life is social mobility; economic and cultural freedom to move within society and within the culture. This ethos means that values and structures cannot be thought of as a solid or unchanging framework. Within the secular vision, neither marriage nor the family can be thought of as solid or unchanging elements of life. This certainly puts Christian marriage and family in a position, precisely because in the Christian life marriage and the family are an essential human and Christian framework. It is the secular project and its vision (and its media), which has made life difficult today for marriages and families.

The first thing to say is that history shows that the Christian life is strong and grows when it holds fast to the Gospel and to Christian principles. Indeed, the mandate of Catholic Bishops has always been to defend the Tradition.

Secondly, we don't know where the secular project will go. Its future will be neither rational, nor scientific, nor thoughtful. What superstitions and misunderstandings about the Christian life that it will come to embrace is not yet clear. In such a context, the whole Church needs to be very discerning about contemporary culture - don't follow the culture should be the general rule.

We should also point out the following basic principles:

1. The essential ingredient for any pastoral approach is the desire for the Christian life. Without this we can easily put the cart before the horse. Fostering Christian marriages and families happens on the foundation of a desire for the life of Jesus Christ.

2. After evangelisation, the second most important ingredient is the formation of people before and after marriage, awakening their awareness of their mission. It isn't that Catholics should suddenly take a tight grip upon the mission of Christian marriage and the family (which could result in the distortion of that mission), but rather that Catholics become more aware, more conscious of the depth and greatness of the mission of marriage and the family, and its central place in God's plan. 

The Synod is a 'wake up call' for the Church to renew its appreciation of what it has taught about Marriage and the Family during the twentieth century, so that she can take a firm hand on the helm, at this time when Western Civilisation is breaking down. Marriage and the family are our greatest goods.
This post concludes what I want to say about this subject, for the time being.

The Synod. 7.

As society submits itself, more and more, to the forces of secularism, and the Christian life is evaluated, more and more, from the perspective of secular opinion, it is important for the whole Church to see Christian spouses as leaders and primary agents of the civilisation of love. The challenge for the Church then, is to proclaim the Gospel to Christian parents and families, and then to honour them by allowing them to be the primary agents of the formation of Christian life and culture in our midst. Thus, all the other agents of Christian life and culture; clergy, schools, catechists etc, must increasingly see themselves as subsidiary to spouses and parents.

In the new evangelisation, Christian spouses have a primary role; the Church is called to nurture and support them, so that their reception of the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ can be at the very heart of the Church.

John Paul II was very earnest in his desire that the genuine forces within the family should be unlocked for the good of the Church and of the world. His pastoral approach, which he modelled for all of us time and time again, is something that we need to learn again and set in relief in the life of the Church today.

The most important people in the world today are Christian spouses, those who are trying to embrace their mission, and priests, those who are trying to embrace their mission to be pastors after the heart of Jesus Christ. Everyone stands in relation to these two missions, but the role of Christian spouses comes first.

This vision is so wonderfully presented by Paul VI in "Humanae Vitae", where the consciences of spouses stand at the very heart of all human affairs.

The Synod. 6.

During this age of media culture, the family has swopped places with the media in terms of being the principal agent of formation and of the handing on of values; what was formerly done by the family is now largely done by the media. This change has been effected by the media itself. 

The mass media presents the family as an impersonal reality. By subjecting the family to the gaze of society, actual families have been made to feel self-conscious and awkward, perhaps even frightened.

The models of family life which are constantly presented by the media have been used to teach values. The family, which is a profoundly human reality, and the very source and foundation of values, is now challenged by this new form of totalitarinism. The media with its steryotypes has become the agent of modelling families and value transmission. Living one's life vicariously through media families is often a substitute for the reality of one's own family life.

The media's presentation of the family even touches upon human freedom. Truth is manipulated and misrepresented, and the family is often presented as an obstacle to personal freedom. In fact, the truth about the family leads people to exercise their freedom.

It is possible to consider the presentation of the family by the media in a genuine and formative way - presenting the family in its own truth, but this is not the place to do that. But what is important to point out is the way that roles have changed in the media age. Human formation and the transmission of values used to take place within the family; society stepped back from this privileged place. Today it is accepted that secular society and its agents are fitting places for human formation and the transmission of values. The family has lost its privileged place and, to a large degree, its unique mission. In this culture it is important for parents to be people of character and to appreciate anew the greatness of their mission. In the light of "Humanae Vitae" and "Familiaris Consortio" parents today can rediscover ad re-evaluate their role and task. The importance of the formation which the Church gives to young people, to those prepring for marriage and to young families cannot be overstated. Spouses and parents hold the first place in society, their role in interpreting the culture and of forming the next generation is the most important one. 

Don't look where the media gazes, but look at the inner truth of the family. And wherever there are parents struggling to embrace their mission, there is the foundation of human civilisation. 

The Synod. 5.

During the twentieth century, and especially with Paul VI and then John Paul II, the Church gave an extraordinary teaching to the family; in a sense, they handed the Family its Gospel, a vision of its own inner life and mission.

But the Church gave this teaching at a time when modern culture, and especially the mass media, was trivialising the family. During my life-time the culture has lost sight of the family, and the media has done immense harm by making the family the subject of its gaze and of its own secular agenda.

Today, forming a community of persons, serving life, participating in the development of society and in the mission of the Church, are hardly reference points at all. Instead, the pursuit of relationships, rather than marriage, the pursuit of life-styles, rather than educating and forming human beings, and as for society, that is down to the welfare State and its organs to provide us with.

Yes, a huge shift took place in the Church's understanding of the family (with Humanae Vitae), but a huge shift also took place within the culture, in which the mass media took hold of the controls.

By projecting soap opera families onto our screens the media has made the family self-conscious and utterly vulnerable to manipulation by the media. The mass media insists on providing models of family living and, in so doing, has indicated the way in which families should see and understand themselves.

What was formerly the preserve of families themselves - handing on the culture - has been taken out of the hands of families, in a significant degree, by the mass media, and more recently by the virtual reality of internet and its own social media.

Never before has the family been so intensively modelled as it is today by the media. The Church has never given models for family living, except of course, the Holy Family, which of its nature, transcends all times and cultures.

In considering the themes which the Synod of Bishops has raised, it seems to me that it is important for the Church to see what the culture has done to the family today, and more importantly, for the Church to look again at its own teaching and vision of marriage and the family, and to make these as available as possible in the simplest and clearest ways, to parishes and to communities, opening them up and receiving them anew. This is the first essential step for the Church today.

The Synod. 4.

In addressing the place and mission of marriage and the family, the Church has given remarkable light and encouragement. In the secular vision of human life and activity, marriage and the family have no coherent form or place. "Humanae Vitae" situates the role and mission of spouses at the very centre of all human affairs, and by rejecting artificial contraception, seeks to protect that role and mission from the many forces of secularisation. Artificial contraception admits third-party interests into the marriage union, and by separating sexuality from procreation, seeks to secularise and diminish the dignity and mission of spouses.

Once we see that marriage and the family is the foundation of all human affairs, then we see that every one in the whole world stands in relation to marriage and the family. Yet in the changing culture of the modern world, all the many models of family life fail to convince us. The 1950s model family with the housewife at home, and the husband who comes home from work to find his wife and children well attired and waiting for him to join them at the family table, "The Waltons" (who?), or more recently the roles played out on modern soap operas, are all conditioned by the culture, and whilst being formative of the culture, are unable to reveal the truth about the family.

In the light of "Humanae Vitae" - which newly establishes spouses at the very centre of human affairs, and which sets them as the primary interpreters of culture - John Paul II gave us what can fairly be described as the greatest statement about the family ever made.

"Familiaris Consortio" of 1981 does not look at the family from the outside, but from the interior, and so it speaks of what is the essetial reality of the family; not a kitchen full of 'white goods', or having two or three smartly dressed children, nor the anguish of a teenager who feels 'hemmed in' by his or her parents. Suddenly, when one realises that the family is the centre and ground of civilisation, its mission to 'create a community of persons' is set in relief. So too is its mission to serve life, to participate in the formation of society, and to share in the mission of the Church. With these four missions, John Paul II touches the essence of the family. In a sense, it doesn't matter what a family looks like, or how the culture seeks to present the family, because now we can see what the family is. The mission of the family reveals its identity.

If "Humanae Vitae" establishes spouses in their identity, "Familiaris Consortio" establishes families in theirs. And at the root of this foundation of all human reality we find a bond; the marriage bond between a man and women; a God-given spiritual reality, whether natural marriage or sacramental, upon which the whole edifice of human civilisation rests.

The Synod. 3.

We can't speak fully about Marriage and the Family without speaking about Paul VI's teaching on this subject.

The claim is made by many who speak about the Encyclical Letter, "Humanae Vitae", that its teaching is a matter of conscience. This is merely wordplay, because they go on the say that Paul VI's teaching here is not secure aand that everyone must decide about the matter on the basis of their own conscience.

"Humanae Vitae" is indeed a matter of conscience, the conscience of spouses, and it is a matter of conscious awareness for everyone.

With "Humanae Vitae" Paul VI enabled a huge shift to take place regarding the way in which marriage and the family are perceived. He took the mission of spouses out of the position that it was in - one of being watched and analysed by others - and placed that mission in the exclusive hands of married spouses. In Humanae Vitae, Paul VI establishes anew the mission of spouses in its greatness and uniqueness; they are the only ones who have the mission to transmit human life. It is their mission and theirs alone.

In the Council Document, "Gaudium et Spes", the Church speaks about marriage and the family as one topic among many. But in "Humanae Vitae", the role and mission of spouses is taken out of the arena and entrusted entirely to them.

It is a stunning piece of teaching, in which the Pope relegates to a poor second place all other interests which weigh in on family life in the modern age: governments, politics, medics, teachers and the media. And he elevates, in front of all these interests, the conscience and awareness of married people to the greatness of their mission.

Marriage and the family had never been spoken of before like this. Humanae Vitae paved the way for the extraordinary teaching document on the family of JPII, "Familiaris Consortio". Without "Humanae Vitae" such a lucid understanding of the family could never have come about. Spouses stand before the whole world, entrusted with the mission to transmit human life. Their consciences, before the world, matter a great deal. And so, Paul VI presents the simple basis by which spouses should evaluate their mission in real life. Importantly, he denies the 'voice' of modern contraception methods, as unworthy of the mission of spouses.
Humanae Vitae is the very basis by which spouses and parents are freed for their role in the world and in society. No one else has any rights here.
To say that "Humanae Vitae" is a matter of conscience and that spouses must make up their own mind whether to use contraception of not, is to undermind the mission of spouses, and in a certain sense, to patronise them, thinking that their consciences are not worthy of the light of truth.

The Synod. 2.

Our society has largely accepted the secularisation of marriage and the family, and the voices that call for that acceptance in the Church, are being echoed in the Church. By presenting examples of many difficult situations that some Catholics are in, and by emphasising the complexity of those situations, an implicit argument is being made that the teaching of the Church about marriage and the family should change; that the Church too should be secularised.

However, both the world and the Church are indebted to all those men and women who, down through the ages, and still today, embrace and live the calling to the spousal vocation. Their lives, their witness, and the fruit of their lives, although largely unacknowledged by our contemporary culture, are honoured by the Church. The countless multitude of people who live marriage and family as both a a gift and a task, stand at the forefront of humanity.

Also, a question must be asked: why are some Catholics arguing that the complexity of human life today suggests that the Church's teaching should be re-evaluated, rather than seeking to enlighten those situations from the perspective of truth?

Why, after so much light has been shone on marriage and the family by the Church during the twentieth century, are there voices that contradict, and even seek to overturn, the clarity and beauty of that teaching?

In her teaching about marriage and the family, the Church is guarding the most fundamental patrimony of humanity. 

(To be continued.)

The Synod on Marriage and the Family. 1.

Having let some time pass, my thoughts on this subject have matured and I can make the following series of comments.

The complexity of the human situation today regarding marriage and the Christian life tells us that the secular vision has intruded heavily upon marriage and the family. Homosexual unions, the call for remarriage to be recognised in the sacramental life, and the call for free unions to be re-evaluated, and so many other issues, are being spoken of as legitimate arguments for why the teaching of the Church should be changed. What this represents is the secularisation of marriage and the family, in which scenario the Church is now seen as the one who imposes burdens.

This does indeed look like Satan's strategy; changing things around so that it seems that it is the Church, and not the secular vision, which imposes burdens upon people. And in which what is essential is made to feel marginal or obsolete.

Marriage, like the priesthood, is something which one receives, or enters into, on a particular day. Yet these sacraments are callings which change us, form us, in our whole person, for the whole of life. This is why we speak of them as vocations.

Marriage (like priesthood) is something which one enters into freely, and which then frees one for living one's vocation. It is a vocation which marks the whole of one's life, and lasts for the whole of life. Becoming a spouse is a way in which one's whole being is involved in a particular mission. This mission is to love one's spouse and, in so doing, to stand at the very heart of human society and its flourishing. Out of spousal love flows the family, and out of the family flows society. 

The vocation to marriage is God-given, and is central to all human life and activity. Everything about a spouse is called to be incorporated and fashioned by his or her vocation; heart, mind, body, work, plans and hopes, money, virtues, and the life of grace.

Since everyone of us comes from a marriage and a family, the family is the first and primary focus of our lives. All other interests are secondary to the family.

Yet today, all the other interests, including marginal and ephemeral ones have been given primary focus in the secular vision. So today, lifestyle, career, wealth and self-centeredness have been superimposed on the family, and on marriage. The consequence of this is that we no longer see marriage and the family for what they are, and seek to change them in favour of newly perceived goals in life.

The Church however, does continue to see the essential truth about marriage and the family, yet the secular clamour has entered into the Church today.

(To be continued.)

Avoiding reality.

The British Parliament votes to allow a three-parent IVF baby to come into being. It is quite ghastly living in a country which places ideology in front of reality. It is the exclusive right and privilage of dads and mums to make babies.

Would you like to stand as a Pro-life candidate in the next election? If you would like to stand in the Wakefield Constituency, I would gladly support you. We need to live in reality - I'll always vote for that.

A fraternal schedule.

Last month the members of the English section of the St John Vianney Society met for a few days of fraternity. During that time we ear-marked a date each month, at least until high summer, for our monthly fraternity sessions.

There was something very uplifting about putting these dates in our diaries, since in doing such a simple thing, the reality of our fraternity was set in relief. The SJMV is not a 'talking shop' or a nice idea, but is a real, living fraternity. I remember the Moderator of the Society saying to us, when I joined some years ago, that "when priests come together, the charisms come together." In saying this, he gave me a whole new sense of my priesthood, and in light of his encouragement I am able to invest much more of myself in this Society than I had at first sensed.

My life as a priest is now marked by these monthly fraternity sessions, when we spend 24 hours together, celebrating the Mass, in a hour's Adoration, in Gospel sharing, in life sharing, in praying together and for one another. Our sessions include a lot of relaxation together, since making time for one another is at the heart of the SJMV. 

May God bless the Society and give it increase, and may it do His will.

Another new Pastor.

Congratulations to the new bishop of Digne, France, on his episcopal consecration last Saturday in the Cathedral of Digne.

Mgr Jean-Philippe Nault is a member of the St John Vianney Society based in Ars, to which I also belong. May he have the prayerful support of all in his Diocese; he will certainly have the support of the members of our Fraternity. It is a good sign for the Society, that one of its members - the first - has been chosen as a Bishop. I am myself very grateful to God for the nurturing of the Diocesan priesthood which this Society has undertaken, and especially for the way in which it brings together its members, and forms them through fraternity.

A new presence in the Church.

Our long wait is over and there is a new presence of Christ in His Church. 

Christmas greetings to all my readers. This Christmas I was joined by the newly ordained deacon, Lewi Barakat, who is now completing his preparation for the Priesthood in Rome. Deacon Lewi, who is training for the Sydney Archdiocese began his seminary formation in Sydney in the same year that I joined the staff there. It has been a great joy and honour to welcome Deacon Lewi to the parish and to the celebration of this great feast.

Warm greetings to all our Australian colleagues and friends - may our fraternity in Christ's mission bear much fruit.

Inspirational staging posts

In speaking about the recent Supreme Court rulling on the Scottish midwives, Bishop Keenan describes them as "inspirational staging posts". These two humble yet courageous women may wonder at this description of themselves.

For my part, I think of this description as similar to John Paul II's words at the World Youth Day Vigil in Toronto 2002, when he called on those young people present to work with God in building, brick by brick, the civilisation of love.

For anyone of us to be called "inspirational staging posts" is today an extraordinary honour. We are called to obey the State, yes. But, if the State is wrong, then we have to tell the State that it is wrong. Today, our society says that our conviction has nothing to do with reality and, to a great extent, we have accepted this judgement of us by society. Society tells us that our view of reality is actually a refuge from reality, and many of us have to some degree probably accepted this trivialisation.

No, Christian faith does not cut us off from reality, but rather it enables us to embrace the reality, dignity and destiny of every person.

Abortion is not a Catholic issue, as our society likes to think of it. Abortion is wrong, not because the Church says that it is wrong, but because abortion corrupts the reality, dignity and destiny of the human person.

There are indeed two visions here, one which is cut off from reality, and the other which refuses to set reality aside. Much of our society has a vision of life which is very far from reality, but there are many in our midst who have not capitulated to this "worn out logic of meanness and fear", and who even now are forerunners for the life and freedom of many.

God bless Connie and Mary.

Reality unveiled.

Bishop John Keenan of Paisley has spoken about the High Court ruling over the two Scottish midwives, who were seeking the protection of law from being involved indirectly with abortions in the hospitals they worked in. The High Court has ruled against them. However, Bishop Keenan's words, the text of which I include in its entirity below, distinguishes with clarity the two cultures which today stand side by side, one is a culture, the other, an anti-culture - he says: "We should be in no doubt that this was a battle between competing proposals of the kind of country we want: a project propping up a culture of death by means of oppressing any legitimate opposition to it or a vision promoting respect for the life and freedom of all peoples." His tremendous words here unveil, as it were, what is real and true in the midst of an inauthentic version of human life which we all daily jostle with. And, in so doing he points to true human culture as the only viable course for us. Indeed, he says, it "is surely only a matter of time" before the anti-culture in which we live will be overturned - as has been the case with every single ideologically led civilisation. Enjoy digesting Bishop Keenan's words.

I read with disappointment and concern the United Kingdom’s Supreme Court judgement against two Scottish midwives, Connie Wood and Mary Doogan, who have today been denied their basic human right to freedom of belief in the course of their employment in the NHS. In short they have lost their jobs because they were pro-life. At the same time the courageous and convincing witness of these two women, ready to take on the might of the establishment no matter what the personal cost, makes me and many others more certain than ever that the final victory of a free and pro-life generation is surely only a matter of time.

Years ago Connie and Mary went into the midwifery profession following a call of the heart to be there for mums giving birth to their children. They devoted themselves to this work faithfully until the NHS management decided to move an abortion provision into their unit and demanded that they made up the abortion rosters. When Connie and Mary made a request to be exempted because of their beliefs they were refused, with the ultimatum that they would be sacked if they did not comply. The NHS management pursued the case all the way to the highest court in the land at the cost of hundreds of thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ money. Mary and Connie had to fund their own legal costs. Today the Supreme Court backed their NHS managers and Connie and Mary lose their jobs even though it would have meant the most minor of adjustments by NHS managers to get other nurses to see to the rosters. So let us be clear right away that this case was not about depriving women of abortion services. It was about forcing nurses who had trained to deliver babies to become involved in medically killing them. We should be in no doubt that this was a battle between competing proposals of the kind of country we want: a project propping up a culture of death by means of oppressing any legitimate opposition to it or a vision promoting respect for the life and freedom of all peoples.

When Pope Francis addressed the European Parliament last month he spoke of a once great Europe that used to have confidence in humanity not so much as citizens but as men and women whom it respected as persons endowed with transcendent dignity. This same Europe, he said, had somehow become old and haggard, less an innovator of a better world and now increasingly aloof, mistrusted and even suspect. He added, ‘What kind of dignity is there without the possibility of freely expressing your thought or professing your religious faith? What dignity can there be without laws to limit the rule of force’ over the freedoms of others.

The decision handed down today, the collaboration of supreme judges and NHS managers, is that of an old and tired establishment that has run out of ideas and vision as to how to bring about a brighter and better future for our people. Having committed itself to supporting a culture of death in the past generation it now sees that to preserve this culture into the next generation it has to become an oppressor of the basic human freedoms of ever increasing numbers of its citizens and all, with ultimate irony, in the name of being pro-choice. It has ended up in an intellectual bankruptcy plain for all to see.

Out of all of this, however, two of the most genuinely unlikely of heroes have emerged. Today Connie and Mary have lost their jobs, their livelihoods and their legal arguments but will have won the respect, good will and admiration of thousands upon thousands of their fellow citizens up and down the land who work and hope for a better world tomorrow, for a society that celebrates heroes who refuse to be silenced as a voice for the voiceless and who will stand up for human life and freedom, whatever it takes, against any reactionary forces peddling their worn out logic of meanness and fear.

As Pope Francis said; “In many quarters we encounter a general impression of weariness and aging, of a Europe no longer fertile and vibrant. . . which once inspired but seems to have lost its attraction, having been replaced by the bureaucratic technicalities of its institutions. Such an establishment has lost its right to inspire the young.’

Connie and Mary, on the other hand, will, without doubt, some day be seen as pioneers of a fresh start, as inspirational staging posts for a new generation determined that it does not have to be this way.

First guardian and catechist.

When I first read the story of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico, and learned about St Juan Diego, what most struck me about him was that once the spernatural nature of the image and message of Our Lady was recognsied, Juan Diego dedicated himself to that image and message, becoming as it were, the first guardian and catechist of the new Shrine of Our Lady on Tepeyac Hill. For the rest of his life he lived in a small room behind the new chapel - effectively, in the sacristy - and gave himself to welcoming visitors to the chapel and in speaking about Our Lady to them. He became a catechist of the Mystery of Christ, being an agent of that Mystery in the first shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Yesterday, on his feast day, I asked his prayers for those who will be chosen to be the new guardians of the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham. Since the Marist Fathers will be departing the shrine soon, it seems to me that the prayers of this humble servant of Our Lady of Guadalupe should be sought. England's Nazareth will soon need new guardians - to welcome pilgrims, to pray with them and to lead them deeper into the Mystery of Christ.

The pattern of St Juan Diego's life after Our Lady appeared to him, is a tremedous model for any shrine's guardians to seek to follow.

What does the land say.

Fr Thomas Tunstall was born in the small village of Whinfell, which was in the countryside about four miles north east of Kendal in Cumbria. The village no longer exists and the name 'Whinfell' is now little more than the name of a part of the parish of Kendal. The photo above shows the place of Whinfell, the last village before the Pennine hills of east Cumbria. The land, now as then, is farming land and, where there was once a village, there are now only occasional farmhouses.

This territory was once very Catholic and, during the 1600s, through sequestration of lands and heavy fines, the Catholics were diminished and livelihoods changed hands. Even so, this location feels like a place of grace, a place which welcomes and is nurtured by the Gospel. The religion of this State is not Catholic, but the religion of the land is.

Not far away, a little nearer to Kendal, one of those Catholic houses still stands. This region underwent huge challenges in the 1600s, yet the house and chapel at Dodding Green are still there, testimony to the originl religion of the land.

Three hundred years ago this territory was littered with such homes, homes which welcomed the priest and the Holy Eucharist. All it takes is for us to scratch the surface a little and there we find beauty and the desire to be Catholic.

It is good to remember, not just the martyr, Blessed Thomas Tunstall, but also the many families who payed a heavy price in order to remain Catholic. The land, at least, still honours their witness.

 

A glorious Norwich story.

Within the frame of the Stonyhurst picture of Blessed Thomas Tunstall is a sliding panel on which is written a short piece about the martyr. Sadly, this writing is not dated yet it must have been written after 1706 (a date mentioned in the text), and before 1828 (the year in which the painting came to Stonyhurst).

The text tells how Fr Tunstall was held for four of five years in Wisbech Castle, and after his condemnation was held in Norwich Castle (not the old city Gaol, which I had previously indicated). And that at his execution he showed more than natural courage, and prayed for his accusor and thanked him for being instrumental in his death.

After his execution his quarters were displayed at various parts of the city. These were later taken down by Catholics in the city and kept there until 1706, when they were given to a Benedictine who placed them in an altar at Bath.

These few details about a young priest, originally from Whinfell, just north of Kendal in Westmorland, who gave his life freely for Christ just outside the Magdalene Gate of the city of Norwich, where Magpie Road meets Bull Close Road, reveal an extraordinary character and a saint, who has marked this country and the city of Norwich by his commitment to the Mystery of Christ. This is a glorious story, and the more we uncover about the lives of these Blesseds, the more we too can honour Christ and by changed by His presence.

There really should be a memorial to Fr Thomas Tunstall at the Maudlin Gate. This isn't a story to be kept in the dark or in secret. It is full of virtue and of light.

Grateful thanks to Stonyhurst College for the image and permission to reproduce it here.

A curious Norwich story.

Earlier in the year I came across an old journal which had a reprint of a story which had originally been printed in 1736. The story was written by a Frederick Higbane who, in 1736, had visited Norwich from London, and had encountered a 'ghost' of the priest martyr Thomas Tunstall. Thomas Tunstall was martyred at Norwich, just outside the Magdalene Gate, in 1616 and was beatified by Puis XI in 1929.

Frederick Higbane's story is indeed curious. He was staying at an Inn (which he doesn't name) on Maudlin (Magdalene) Street, Norwich, and was struck by a portarit of a man which was hanging in his room. He didn't know who this man was. The following day, in the evening, he was near one of the old gates which lead through to the Cathedral domaign and noticed a shadowy figure who seemed to be beckoning to him. He drew near and, to his shock, saw that this figure was a man who had a terrbly bloated face, a rope around his neck and a knife sticking in his chest. The figure spoke no words and, as Mr Higbane withdrew, the figure vanished. 

When he returned to his room at the Inn he immediately recognised the image that was hanging on the wall as the man that he had just encountered. He enquired in the inn if there was a Catholic priest in Norwich. He was directed to a priest who told him about the martyr, Fr THomas Tunstall, and where the martyr had been executed. Now, Stonyhurst College in Lancashire holds an old painting of Fr Thomas Tunstall which, unlike most paintings of the English martyrs that show them robed, presents this priest in just his shirt - as he would have been at the execution.

I don't know if this painting is the same one which was hanging in 1736 in a guest room in an inn on Maudlin Street, but, as far as I know, there are no other images of this martyr. Stonyhurst acquired this image in 1828 and, I acknowledge, with grateful thanks, the photograph of the painting which I include in this post.

The image is small; approximately 5 inches by 4 inches and is enclosed by a wooden frame. The abundant black hair and the mustache, together with the shirt, indicate a contemporary, if not eye-witness of the Martyr, at the moment of his execution.

The appearance of a ghost of the martyr in 1736 is curious since Fr Tunstall is amongst the Blessed. Perhaps Frederick Higbane's story has more to do with his own state of soul. 

But let us also remember that "the saintliness of his demeanor on the scaffold produced a profound impression on the people." (Catholic Encyclopedia) Blessed Thomas Tunstall was living for Christ and gave his life as a witness to the saving Mystery of Jesus Christ. His self-offering stands forever before the Throne of grace - something that can be relied upon because it has opened up the Mercy of God; yes, to the people of Norwich, and to all of us.

Returning to the the great corpus.

The recent Synod in Rome has kept inspiring me to revisit the extraordinary teaching about the family, given by Pope John Paul II in 1981, Familiaris Consortio and, in searching for my copy of that text, my hand lighted upon another Apostolic Exhortation, Ecclesia in Europa. This was the last of the five continental Letters which John Paul II wrote; The Church in Europe was promulgated in 2003 and, since this was the text which my hand first took from my book cabinet, I decided that I would re-read this Letter first.

A great gift of understanding and of counsel was given to this Pope and, as I take up this Letter anew - the first re-reading of a 'Wojtylan' text since he was declared a saint, I can now ask for his intercession as I read, asking him to guide my heart and my mind as I enter into this Letter again.

I remember reading this Letter ten years ago and being struck by the clarity and courage with which he wrote it. I ask now that his clarity and courage will enter into me as I seek to respond to the very circumstances about which he wrote. 

I would like, in due course, to re-read all Pope John Paul's Letters and, this time, to rely on his heavenly patronage as I read.

Prophecy in our time.

My first awareness of a Holy Father was in January 1964 when my mother bought a copy of the magazine Paris Match for its coverage of Paul VI's visit to the Holy Land. I still remember being introduced to black and white photographs in which the Pope was present at a place where Christ had once been.

Now that Paul VI is numbered amongst the blessed we should remember his greatness. He who had so many critics and not enough brothers was a great prophet of our age.

Two prophetic teachings stand out:

First, in his great Encyclical Letter of 1968, Humanae Vitae, he gave what is arguably the greatest account ever written about the nature of married love. Without this vision of truth the contraceptive mentality might have completely submerged married love. But his prophetic teaching has kept the door open.

Secondly, in his 1975 Apostolic Letter, Evangelii Nuntiandi, he proclaimed the need for a new evangelisation. And the thing is, at that time, I think that he was the only person who saw it. Without that proclamation, much of the Church might have become utterly Pelagian. Because of his prophetic vision of 1975 he enabled a great grace for many.

When all is said and done, the 1960s and 1970s is more about Pope Paul VI than anyone else. The BBC may not recognise this, but many will.

One of the great Company.

Blessed Thomas Tunstall from the Lake District, a Douay priest, ordained in 1610 was executed at Norwich on 13th July 1616. Earlier this year I went to pray at the site of his execution.

The photo above shows "The Library" - now a restaurant - just behind the Guildhall, which is the site of the old City Gaol. It would have been here that Fr Tunstall was held, after his arrest in King's Lynn, while awaiting execution. He had already spent four or five of his six years of priesthood in one or another gaol in England.

Norwich, like York, was a place of frequent execution over the centuries. But, whereas Norwich Castle, or its ditches, were a usual place for criminals to be executed, a special gallows was set up for the execution of Fr Tunstall. This was just outside the Magdalene Gate on the north side of the old city.

If you walk up Maudlin (or Magdalene) Street you come to a cross-roads just outside the old city walls. It was here, on this open space that Fr Thomas Tunstall was hung, drawn and quartered.

A part of the old city walls is still visible, but there is no memorial for this Blessed, who stands forever before the Throne, and before Norwich, pointing to the Mystery of Christ.

The Grid reference of the site is TG232096. There should be some commemoration of him here.

Blessed Thomas Tunstall, be a light for us today, and especially be a strength to your brother priests who are still on the mission.