Prayer workshops

 Our desire to pray comes from the very root of our lives. We do pray and we sometimes talk about prayer, but we rarely explore together the great potential that we have, as baptised people, for intimacy with the Lord. During Lent this year, I would like to place prayer as a particular focus and, in order to nurture this focus, to offer some workshops on prayer.

“Every person needs a ‘centre’ in his life, a source of truth and goodness to draw from in the flux of the different situations of everyday life and its toil. Everyone of us, when he pauses for a moment of silence, needs to feel not only the beating of his own heart, but more deeply, the beating of a trustworthy presence, perceptible to the senses of faith and yet more real: the presence of Christ, heart of the world.” (Pope Benedict XVI, 1.6.08)

I am offering weekly workshops, via Zoom, starting before Lent so we can look to discover a deeper personal contact with the Lord. My hope is that, together, we can nurture our prayer with new vision and rhythm.

The workshops (25 minutes) will take place on Sundays at 5pm, starting this coming Sunday, 24th January. If you would like to take part in these Zoom calls, please send your email address to office.stignatius@dioceseofleeds.org.uk

Sad news

 

Earlier today I learned, from social media, of the death of Mrs Daphne Mcleod, a leader of the Catholic Faith, and especially of Catechesis, in our country.

As a young man, I met Mrs McLeod on two occasions in the early 1980s; once in Preston and once at Westminster Central Hall. Both of these occasions were hugely inspiring and influential for me as they occurred just before I went into seminary. Almost single-handedly she set me up for what I was to encounter at seminary, and how to respond from a Catholic perspective. I am still deeply grateful to her.

I know too, that she was a tremendous presence in the Church in this country for decades, informing and forming many people's consciences and intellects about the Faith and the Church. I don't know where we would have been without her. I think that we had a saint in our midst!

I hope that in due course her life will be written up more fully, by those who are competent to do so, and so that her life and her witness can be helpful to, and inspire new generations. I will offer Mass for her next week.

A Drama Displayed

 

A Novena to St Joseph

 

On the Feast of the Immaculate Conception last year, Pope Francis inaugurated the Year of St Joseph, whose aim he said, is to increase our love for this great saint, to encourage us to implore his intercession and to imitate his virtues and his zeal.

This year is the one hundred and fiftieth Anniversary of the proclamation of St Joseph as Patron of the Universal Church, and we can look with great confidence to St Joseph as we try to live with the effects of the pandemic, seeking both his intercession and leadership.

A Novena to St Joseph in the nine weeks leading up to his Feast Day on 19th March, taking place on nine Saturdays at 5pm, via Zoom, starting on Saturday 16th January, and finishing on Saturday 13th March.

The intention of this Novena is the safety and Christian lives of our families.

Each Saturday we will have a short reflection on St Joseph (based on Fr Gildorf’s book, Go to Joseph), followed by the Litany of St Joseph and the Novena prayer. The Novena is led by Fr Richard Aladics, each session lasting around 12 to 15 minutes.

If you would like to take part send your email address to

pp.stignatius@dioceseofleeds.org.uk

Last year's reads

 

A very happy new year!

We often see, at this time of year, recommendations of good books for the year ahead. I can reveal the books that I read during 2020, in the order that I read them.

"The Shallows" by Nicholas Carr. This book about the influence of the internet on the way in which we think, is a very important book - we will learn more from this book than we do from the internet! Things have moved on since this book was published, but I wonder if anyone has developed Carr's presentation.

"Letters by J.R.R. Tolkien." Wonderful, especially the letters to his son, Christopher, during WWII. Tolkien's view of the world is very much mine.

"In the school of the Holy Spirit" and 'Time for God" by Jacques Philippe. I used to recommend this author to the seminarians when I was in Sydney and wanted to catch up on some of his books. They are good.

"Sherry" by Ben Howkins. Excellent. I really wanted to learn about sherry, how it is made etc, and learned so much from this book. I can see now why there is a new sherry revolution taking place in Spain, and this book draws you in to that revolution. "Sherry" and its namesake is truly excellent.

'The Buildings of Tudor and Stuart Wakefield" by Peter Brears. This book is fascinating and a total revelation. Wakefield had some of the best building of these eras in the whole country, but living on the edge of Wakefield, as I do, I would not have known. This book is written so well and with such detail. There is a sadness associated with this book since many of the buildings which the author describes were lost in the 1960s and 1970s. Wakefield could have looked fantastic - and it still could, if a real project to develop the two was put in place.

"The day is now far spent" by Robert Cardinal Sarah. This Cardinal is a true prophet. I will read this book again and recommend that you do too.

"Transformation in Christ" by Dietricht von Hildebrand. I read this book for the first time ten years ago while I was in Sydney. This second reading, enabled by lock-down, was wonderful and set in motion a series of texts about the Christian life that I then wrote for families in my parish.

"Opening the door of faith" by Jim Sullivan. This author indicates the new evangelisation and ways in which we can enable it. I recommend this book especially to lay people in parishes.

"Companion to the Order of Mass" by Bruce Harbert. This booklet was published at the time that the new English Translation of the Altar Missal was published. We gave copies to all the seminarians in Syndey. Again this is my second reading of this excellent work which opens up the Scriptural basis of our Liturgical texts and the Mysteries that they express. This booklet is for every Catholic.

"Life of the Cure d'Ars" by Abbe Francis Trochu. My third reading of this definitive biography. I enjoyed this reading even more and continue to be surprised by St John Vianney and his modelling of the priesthood.

"Cranmer's Godly Order" by Michael Davies. This book is a masterpiece. It presents the English Reformation at the level of faith and shows how keenly a new version of Christianity was devised and then imposed on the people, distorting both the faith and its practice. I met the author twice when I was young and wish that he were still around today.

"The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles" I have dipped into these ancient texts before but never read them through. It was a fascinating read, helping by referring regularly to Wikipedia to look up names and places which were unknown to me. I was amazed at how devastating to the English were the Viking raids, and at how quickly a power struggle developed between Church and state. Reading these texts has sent me in search of learning more about the first Dark Age for this country.

I look forward to getting into this year's line-up of books on my dresser.

A new series

 

When the government originally said that parents would not have an 'opt out' option for their children with reference to the RSHE curriculum, I wanted to put together a clear and simple presentation of Catholic anthropology. A genuine vision of who the human person is, is the necessary foundation for everything that happens and is taught in a Catholic context, and it is the very thing that is lacking, in practice, at this time.

So, in March, at the start of lock-down, I began writing a series of texts which sought to delineate the basic truth about the human person. I am very grateful to Christine Ward who helped me with the starting point of this project. After I had written a number of texts it became clear to me that I wanted to write a presentation of what it means to live in Christ Jesus - all underpinned by this genuine vision of the human person.

To date I have written fifteen texts, each one is around two pages of texts, interspersed with carefully chosen photos, and each one finishing with a question designed to further engage the reader. I converted each text into a PDF and have emailed these to a whole raft of recipients.

These are the titles of the texts:

1.   What is a human being?

2.   How can we really understand who we are?

3.   Human nature and Christ Jesus.

4.   Human nature in the hands of Jesus Christ.

5.   Approaching the education of our children.

6.   Discerning the value of culture.

7.   Discerning the value of human nature.

8.   The spiritual life.

9.   The Life of the Church.

10.                 Human beings and virtue.

11.                 The formation of the will.

12.                 The moral life.

13.                 The Christian life and science.

14.                 The Christian life and the internet.

15.                 The Christian life and philosophy.

      16. Who is God? 

I am glad to have developed this form of presentation of the faith during lock-down. I have enjoyed writing them, and I hope that someone finds some value in them. Currently, I am writing the sixteenth text - which really should be no. 1.

I now intend to develop the series more, but will hold subsequent titles in abeyance for the time being, and then look to make them more widely available. 

Remains of Parlington.

Our Catholic History Walk last Saturday went ahead, partly due to the lovely weather we had that morning. Our destination was the old estate of Parlington Hall, just to the south of Aberford. This house had been the seat of the Gascoigne family from the mid 1500s up to the beginning of the twentieth century. The Gasgoignes had moved here from their original house, the remains of which are in the grounds of Harewood House, north of Leeds. The family had been Catholic from the early days until 1780, when Thomas Gascoigne became and Anglican so that he could become an MP.

Parlington Hall was abandoned by the family at the start of the twentieth century and was finally demolished in the 1950s. The house had been remodelled in the 1700s, but there is no evidence now to give indications about is medieval origins. This photo shows the house as it was at the end of the nineteenth century. 

We all parked on the south end of Aberford village on the old Great North Road, close by the Gascoigne Almshouses.

These were built in 1844 by Elizabeth Gascoigne for two men and two women who had worked on the estate. They are now used as offices.

A little further up on the other side of the road is the former Catholic chapel of St Wilfred. This chapel was built by the Gascoigne for local Catholics in 1788, together with a presbytery. I think that it was served by priests from Ampleforth Abbey up until the 1980s when it was sold. It is now a private house.

We found the old main entrance to the Parlington Estate and walked up the lane. Here we caught a view to where the old house had stood.

And so we arrived at the famous and unique monumental arch. This was built by Thomas Gascoigne to celebrate the American victory in its War of Independence. The inscription reads: "Liberty in N America Triumphant 1783". There is no other monument to the American victory in this country. One day, the Prince Regent, who was coming to Parlington for lunch, stopped to view the arch and had his carriage turned round and drove off to find lunch elsewhere!

We walked back down Parlington Lane, crossed the Cock Beck and walked over to the site of Becca Banks. This Ancient Briton fortification, part of the extensive earthwork defences of the Kingdom of Elmet, was perhaps created to stop the Roman invaders. Perhaps its builders and defenders were not Catholics, but all of us we were interested to see it for the first time. It would have been more impressive to see without the tree cover.

Our next walk will be on the last Saturday in September, weather and virus protocols permitting. We have yet to decide upon a destination.

Catholic History Walk near Aberford.

Now that we are coming out of Lock-down we can look to take up where we left off in February. This next walk is at the end of the month, Saturday 29th August - unless it is pouring rain.

I'm calling this walk, "Remains of Parlington", the old estate of the Gasgoigne family close by Aberford. We can take in also the old, now disused, Catholic chapel at Aberford, the ancient earth works at Aberford and, depending on how we plan lunch, we could take in a visit to the old church in Barwick, where the medieval Gasgoignes are buried. And we could also drive over to see the now disused Catholic chapel at Lotherton Hall.

The walk will be no more than 4 miles in all, over more or less flat land. Wear outdoor shoes. Lunch could be packed, or in a pub. The plan is to meet at Aberford at 10am. Park on the main road near the Almshouses, which is at the south end of Aberford.

We are leaving the parish at 9.30am and would expect to be back at the parish by 2pm, at the latest.

 

Summer Session of the SJMV 2020

 

This photo of the priest members of the SJMV was taken on 5th August 2020 at the Foyer in Art, France.

I am fifth from the left on the back row. There is an empty space on the right hand side; this is purely by chance and not because a priest had fallen over the railings behind.

The weather for our session was beautiful. The week before it had been 39C, the week following our session was 39C, but during our session it was between 23 and 26C.

We welcomed around a dozen new priest members into the Society at the various stages of engagement, and I was struck again by the evident and overriding ethos of the Society - carefully and intentionally to nurture the lives and supernatural vocations of Diocesan priests.

I wish I had known about and had joined the Society twenty years before I did. St John Vianney, keep us all before God.

Easter 2020

The best thing about Easter this year is that Cardinal Pell is acquitted and free.

Thanks be to God.

The cardinal is acquitted, but not so Australia. But mercy is open to her.

Towards a real vision

Isn't it great to wake up in Our Lady's Dowry!

I have been asked a few times in life about which country I would really like to live in.

Instinctively I have been able to answer immediately: I would like to live in pre-Reformation England.

Well, now that we have made new the Rededication of England as the Dowry of Mary, we are tapping into a very old tradition, but more importantly, into a spirituality - a desiring to share our lives and their content with the Blessed Mother.

A dowry presupposes that a marriage is near, and about this we want our whole country to be a part of that marriage, which is the fullness of union between Christ and his Church.

All marriage need working at, and now we have a real contact and a renewed purpose to build the vision of the Church in this land.

A beautiful word of encouragement

I often think of, and refer myself to these words:

"Dear friends,

may no adversity paralyse you.

Be afraid neither of the world, nor of the future, nor of your weakness.

The Lord has allowed you to live in this moment of history so that,

by your faith, his name will continue to resound throughout the world."

Benedict XVI, 28.8.11

A supreme court

The present hearing in Australia about the erroneous conviction of Cardinal Pell is something that is easily fathomed.
This conviction and subsequent appeals are not about Cardinal Pell, who everyone of right mind knows is innocent of the very thing that he was charged with and convicted of. This is about the incapacity of Australian society to be able to deal with the appalling sexual abuse phenomena, both inside and outside the Catholic Church, in recent decades.
I lived in Australia for over four years and liked every second of it. It is a land of huge horizons, of beauty, light and openness. But I was aware also, from Australian Cinema, Australian drug culture, alcohol culture, its suicide rates, all the various routes of hedonism, the terrible youth culture, and its strict and neurotic Anglo-Saxon bureaucracy, that there is a very dark side to Australia. 
In our home countries - and in the most surprising places - we are aware of this and try to circumnavigate it as best we can. But Australia is intent on making a scapegoat out of one of her very best sons. Cardinal Pell has done more to nurture Australian goodness than any other Australian, of our life time, who we could mention.
The conviction of Cardinal Pell on such a ludicrous charge beggars belief. Australia - you have a big problem, and treating your Cardinal in this way is not going to help you. He has already helped you more than you know. Do not darken the Southern Cross more. Australia - you are called to grow in grace and in goodness. Do not be oppressed by the darkness. Let there be interior light in Australia. You are on a knife edge. Why? You have so much to lose, and you have so much to gain. Why do you want dark powers to hold sway in your midst?

Catholic History Walk near Towton.

Saturday 28th March 2020 to Towton battlefield.

We will visit the battlefield site, the village of Saxton, and finish with a visit to the church of the Immaculate Conception at Barkstone Ash.

The battle field walk is around 3 miles on country paths, and we could walk to Barkstone Ash and back which would add another 3 miles. Please wear outdoor shoes, and we can decide, as before, whether to bring a packed lunch or to find a pub.

We’ll leave the parish at 9.30am on the Saturday, or we could meet, just after 10am at the battlefield site, which is just north of Saxton village.

We’ll finish the walk with the Guild prayers in the church of the Immaculate Conception.

The battle was fought in 1461 on 29th March. Our visit will be on the eve of the anniversary.

A beautiful day

Yesterday's Catholic History Walk was wonderful. As you know, because of the poor weather, we exchanged the walk to Hathersage and back for the celebration of Mass at the Padley Chapel.

We had a beautiful, votive Mass of the Martyrs in the chapel at Padley, after learning so much about the site and its significance from the custodians. We sang much of the Mass in honour of the two Blesseds, Frs Nicholas Garlick and Robert Ludlam, who were captured there in 1588.

Special thanks to the custodians of the chapel for preparing the place for our visit and for the wealth of knowledge which they shared with us.

Following the Mass and a look round the remains of the old manor house, we all drove over to the beautiful village of Tideswell, about nine miles away. The custodians had told us that the house in which Nicholas Garlick had lived, together with the connecting buildings which had been the school where he had taught local children the Catholic Faith, before he became a priest, is still there at the top of Hardy Lane in in the village. We also learned of the tradition; that following his execution in Derby, local Catholics brought he severed head back to Tideswell and buried it in the graveyard of St John's, the 'Cathedral of the Peak'. A plaque on the entrance to the church yard states this tradition.

I should also say that we had a wonderful lunch at the Anchor pub, just outside Tideswell. It really was a wonderful day.

Catholic History Walk at Padley.

This coming Saturday we have the Catholic History Walk. However, because the weather forecast is promising a lot of rain I have changed the plan somewhat.

We will celebrate Mass at the Padley Chapel at around 11am, instead of making the walk to Hathersage and back.

Following the Mass we could have lunch in a local pub.

So, please do come for 11am and park near Grindleford train station. Postcode S32 2HY.

Remember the date

The meeting the Regina Caeli initiative is this coming Saturday.

A second Catholic History walk.

The walk is scheduled for Saturday 29th February 2020 and will visit the Padley Chapel and Hathersage in Derbyshire. For information on the Padley Chapel.
We will meet at Grindleford train station at around 10.30am. There is parking room on the  lane down to the train station. From there the Padley Chapel is only a few minutes walk away. I have arranged with some of the chapel's guardians for us to visit inside.
We will pray for our country using the prayers of the Guild of Our Lady of Ransom.
From there we will set off walking to Hathersage, a three mile walk. So, in all, the walk is six miles. The walk is on the flat, fairly easy, and only a part is on a road. Please wear outdoor shoes.
We can have lunch in Hathersage. There are a number of pubs and cafes. We can also visit Little John's grave. Although we walk back to the Padley Chapel, it is by a different path.
We could envisage being back at Grindleford station at around 3.30pm

Leatherwood Honey

This is my favourite honey - Leatherwood. I've never been a fan of honey, but this honey, which I discovered while I was on mission in Sydney, is exceptional.