11th April 1987

A freshly ordained deacon steps into the Castillian sunlight. This photo was taken moments after the diaconal ordination Mass at the English College, Valladolid. After nearly five years of priestly formation in the seminary, I was ordained deacon by Bishop Kevin O'Brien of Middlesborough, on 11th April 1987. Up to that time, this day was the happiest in my life. The old spanish vestments, which we borrowed from the Cathedral in Valladolid for the occasion, mirrored the wonder which I felt inside and, in some way, expressed the gift which Christ made of himself to me on that day.

A good step

At least, I hope this is a good step forward; a Catholic Radio Station for the Holy Father's visit to the UK in September. The Papal Visit Radio Station (www.heartgivesuntoheart.co.uk) will be broadcasting from 14th to 20th September from 7am to midnight. A Catholic Radio station has long since been appropriate, indeed, I tried to inaugurate one in the late 90's, briefly establishing the "Catholic Broadcasting Network" through a wide range of contacts at home and abroad. Sadly, it didn't get off the ground.

The Holy Father's visit is an extraordinary grace and we should be open to the momentum which such a grace can create in the Church. And should pray earnestly that the Church will be ready for the visit and be ready to respond to the grace. A Catholic Radio Station broadcasting concurrently with the Visit is a tremendous opportunity. I do hope however, that this Station will not be another neo-pelagian project.

As an Internet Radio station it will miss some sectors of the population, sectors for whom Radio holds an important place: the elderly, drivers and prisoners. This is a reason why we could really benefit from Catholic Radio that has a territorial frequency. One step at a time ...

En anglais

Just a quick post to point something out which happened about a year ago and which may be of interest to some readers. The St John Vianney Society added a page in English to its website; follow this link www.sjmv.net/spip.php?page=sommaire-en. I am very pleased about this small development because I can now direct non-french-speaking enquirers to this page. I am very pleased too, that more people should know about this priestly movement at the heart of Europe, of which I am a member.

What if ...

What if you learned that in the Church there was a group of people who were were looking, in a commissioned and dedicated way, at how the Gospel and culture can come together, and to develop a vision for the life of the Church today which is based upon that dynamic; would you not be pleased? Just such a thing is taking place right now under the direction of the Holy Father who is inaugurating the Pontifical Council for the New Evangelisation.

So much then, for all those (Catholics) who say that it doesn't matter that people, and especially young people, have no idea who Christ is and who don't come to Mass, saying that these people will find their own route in life. And all those who say how good it is that so many, and especially so many young people, are unhindered by the Church and can give their time and energy to all sorts of social and environmental causes. Or those who applaud the new society; that instead of meeting and engaging with people in essential and apostolic ways, we can now text them and pubilcise ourselves to them on internet networks.

Is there a need for the Gospel to meet culture? Yes, there is. And it will only take place when Catholics accept this reality, and when the Gospel is presented to culture in an audible way.

How wonderful then, that the Holy Father is creating a Council to help engender and enable the Church's primary focus and mission. We should support with prayer, Archbishop Fisichella (pictured) and all those who will work with him, that the gentle, yet life or death, message of the Gospel might be the overriding message in the world today.

A new leaf

It is some months now since I heard about the demise of "Family Publications" of Oxford, however, I wonder if a campaign, or something similar, has been initiated to continue the mission of, arguably, the best Catholic Publisher in the UK. What a marvellous work "Family Publications" did; surely there is the possibility within the UK of taking up this work.

Scene 2010

Tomorrow, the second Sydney Congress of the New Evangelisation begins. This week-long event, centred on St Mary's Cathedral in Sydney, is giving expression to the new direction being taken in the Church in response to the huge change in culture which has taken place in the world in the last 50 years. Full details on www.scene.org.au . If you are in town, get involved; give it whole-hearted spiritual support.

Invocation 2010

What a marvellous opportunity for Grace is being offered by the Church in England this weekend - Invocation 2010 - a vocations discernment event at Oscott College in Birmingham. I still remember the powerful Vocations Exhibition which was held at The Queen's Hall in Leeds in 1966 (just before everything went haywire). I gather that over 300 young people from all over the country are coming to Birmingham today for this event. Support it with loads of prayer!

Real evangelisation

The relegation of the place of virtue by secular culture is, arguably, one of secularisms triumphs. Secularism coincides with a diminishing of humanity, whose essential hinge is the nurturing and exercise of virtue - the inner power of genuine humanity. Secularism has changed the goals which humanity set for itself and allowed itself to be formed by. Celebrity, life-style and conformism are some of the popular aspirations. In such a context, it is well to remember humanity's ultimate goal - adoration of God.

Here, let us recall the essential mission of parents (and education) in forming, first children and then young people, to be able to adore God. It would be valuable here, time permitting, to look at the virtues involved in this genuine human project. However, let me just note that those who are today the principal recipients of formation, the hinge of culture and civilisation are today's parents themselves. Young people who are considering the married vocation, or those who are recently married are they who should allow themselves to acquire the very best formation for the life and the task which they undertake today in a bewildered age.

The sublime to the ridiculous

Remember the bizarre film "Elizabeth - the golden years" and how Westminster Cathedral became the set for Philip II's "El Escorial". The secular world just doesn't know how to relate with Catholic churches.

On the Feast of the Sacred Heart while Cardinal Pell was ordaining six new priests in his cathedral, the City Lights Projector was making pretty pictures on its west facade (photo above). While inside the Cathedral a real enlightenment was taking place, outside images of another kind were being projected!

A visit

A visitation aims to accomplish something. It is symbolic of a greater encounter which it seeks to be the conduit for. The visit by the Holy Father to the UK in September will be a grace given by God to the UK, so that an encounter between the country and God might take place.

The Holy Father, Pope Benedict, is himself a grace; he is a part of Christ, a gift from Christ, because Christ has willed and desired both the Petrine Office and the bishop who he calls to receive this Office. His visit to the UK will take place in the order of grace; in other words, God wishes to express something of Himself to the country. Many - led by the Press - will endeavour to pervert this intention.

What is it that makes the UK so pretentious and intractable in its closedness to God? A psychologising of faith hasn't taken place until recently (I am referring to the Blair faith Foundation). The UK has never drunk deeply from German rationalism which infected so much of continental Christianity. Furthermore, the UK has the cultural legacy of conservatism and phelgmatism. Yet in Britain today, the only person to mention God on the TV on Christmas Day is Her Majesty the Queen. I have lived in the UK for most of my life and I am still at a loss in understanding why its culture and its people are so closed to God!

The Beatification of Newman - like lighting a candle in the darkness - is a humble gesture of hope and faith given by God to a people who are labouring in darkness. Newman himself showed that it is faith which brings us before the Mystery of God, opening our lives to His beauty and His love for us.

The coming Beatification is a clear indication of God's patient and gentle manner of handling the UK, and of His desire that all its people should know how much He loves them and wishes to draw them to Himself. In the midst of this Benedict XVI is the figure of beauty and truth whom He sends to the UK. What great gifts of grace are Cardinal Newman and Benedict XVI for the UK!

We should join in praying grace into the whole nation at this time, that its people might open up their souls to the Mystery of Christ.

A year of grace.

In the evening of the Feast of the Sacred Heart, Cardinal Pell ordained six men to the priesthood in St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney. What a wonderful way to bring to a close the Year for Priests, and what a wonderful feast on which to be ordained a priest. The photo above was taken at the beginning of the Ordination Rite; the Cardinal is sitting on a faldstool in front of the altar. A huge number of priests took part in the Mass, filling both the Choir and the Chancel. The photo below was taken as the Cardinal blessed incense at the Offertory.

This Year has been an unexpected grace for the Church and especially for priests - a Year of renewal, confirming us in our configuration to Christ. How beautiful was the Holy Father's sermon at St Peter's yesterday for the Mass of the Sacred Heart, in which he emphasised the movements, affections and desires of Christ's heart, the source of grace and experienced in the Mass. Out of this heart has flowed the vocation and mission of all priests. Priests are a gift of grace to the Church and to the world because Christ has willed them; they are a part of Him, He has fashioned us in His heart.

He speaks about Mass as a doorway into Christ's heart. I love this; there is a whole spirituality, a whole life to be discovered and lived here when we approach the Mass in this way:

We are celebrating the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and in the liturgy we peer, as it were, into the heart of Jesus opened in death by the spear of the Roman soldier. Jesus’ heart was indeed opened for us and before us – and thus God’s own heart was opened. The liturgy interprets for us the language of Jesus’ heart, which tells us above all that God is the shepherd of mankind, and so it reveals to us Jesus’ priesthood, which is rooted deep within his heart; so too it shows us the perennial foundation and the effective criterion of all priestly ministry, which must always be anchored in the heart of Jesus and lived out from that starting-point.

For me, the Year for Priests has coincided with my unexpected move to Sydney where I have really felt my priestly ministry being embraced and draw out out of me by the Church here. The high point of the Year for me was in February this year when I gave an eight day Retreat to the Seminarians. I hope that this Retreat powerfully influenced them, because it has powerfully influenced me in my priestly life and spirituality. The fact that I do not live on my own in Sydney but with other priests - priests who are really seeking to live their priesthood at the heart of the Church - has also been a huge grace for me.

What a wonderful grace it is to be a priest. What a wonderful thing it is that the Church ordains men to the Priesthood. How wonderful it is that Christ's heart has been opened up and that the riches of His love and His desires for mankind can be experienced in the Eucharist. How wonderful it is that He wishes to share His Priesthood with so many men. How wonderful it is that the priest is a gift of grace to the Church and to the world!

Leaders in our times

When the Industrial Revolution was at its very height in the second half of the nineteenth century, and when so much of what was genuinely human was obscured in the pursuit of industrial and imperial progress, in this dark time, one man steps out as a leader and guide for many. John Henry Newman, recognising how submission to truth had been replaced by rationalism, joins the despised, little Catholic Church in England. In an age of impressionable darkness, he followed the kindly light that had led him, and stood for God's truth. What a great guide for our times, and how wonderful that he should be Beatified now, at this time when England is so cavalier about the truth, mocking both the Gospel and the Pope. Newman gave up all that, going against all the trends of the culture and society of his day, in order to embrace the unique light of truth.

About one hundred years later, just after the Second World War, an obscure nun decides to leave her teaching Order and to go and work with the poorest of the poor. This decision was one of the most important decisions of the Twentieth century, for entering into the physical and spiritual darkness which is the lot of so much of humanity in our cavalier world; but not just entering into it in folly, but entering into it with the light of Christ, Mother Teresa, perhaps more than anyone today, has secured a place for God's truth in the world.

We can speak also of John Paul II's witness to truth - these three are towering lights for our age.

Emerging from the dark side

I wonder if today we have really emerged from the Industrial Revolution. Yes, the depressing landscape of dark mills has, for most people, disappeared; our cities have been largely refurbished and we speak about a post-industrial age. Yet, the vital signs today, in my estimation, show that we have not emerged properly, or at all, from that era in which our humanity became obscured by technology and in which hope in God was exchanged for hope in human production.

Today human production no longer refers to what our factories can turn out, but rather a new embracing of the Enlightenment's claim that all things, even our knowledge of the things of God, are dependent upon ourselves.

Having recovered not just from one World War, but two, what we have seen take place in the West has not been a real nurturing of human life, but rather an embracing of the hopelessness that is a consequence of the Industrial Revolution; that we are on our own, that there is no God, and that darkness is at hand. The name we give to this is "secularisation", a phenomenon which represents an inability on the part of society, to emerge from the Industrial Revolution.

We experience this today, as I have said before, in the fundamental benchmark of humanity - that is, can we, or can we not, decide who dies? We have taken this decision to ourselves in Abortion and Euthanasia.

We experience it in choosing human autonomy above and beyond what we are given by God. We see this especially in our false, dehumanising, national and international economies.

We experience it in choosing a loss of human dignity and identity rather than by building that dignity and identity through openness to God. We see this in the way we dress and in the confusion of roles.

We experience it in the way we hand over our children to the new mills of state education systems, relinquishing essential and organic elements of human life, that is to say, childhood and parenthood.

You will, no doubt, be able to add to this list. But my question is, why? Why have we not been able to emerge from a dark era in human history? Why have we not been able to place our hope in Christ? And, perhaps most worrying of all, why has the Church been so slow to respond to the call to a new evangelisation - she who is called to be and give light?

Dunkirk to expense claims

What has happened to Britain since the War? Dunkirk - virtue and nobility. The new government - a Minister claims expenses on behalf of his lover and the resigns. At Dunkirk the British showed themselves at their very best in modern times; nearly seventy years on and the signs are not so good. Indeed, Britain's contemporary liberal society and its parliament is going nowhere. We have totally misplaced our hope, and our new Government reveals the bewilderment of a society which cannot see the truth. At the heart of this lies the stark fact that while ever the claim can be made that we can decide who can be killed, which we do in the Abortion Law, we will not be able to attain that progress which the British Expeditionary Force, in 1940, faught and died for.

Sorry, more views!

Before I came out to Australia just after World Youth Day, I remember seeing photos which young pilgrims had put on the internet, and remarking on how beautiful the coastline of New South Wales looked. Recently, I made a trip south out of Sydney to a region of what is called the South Coast and experienced first hand the pristine beauty of the coastline; gracious and undeveloped. And, one morning, for the first time, I watched the sun rise over the Pacific horizon. What a wonderful part of the world this is!

The first two photos here were taken on Jervis Bay, and the third shows Kiama's 'blowhole'.

The heart of the College

A few posts ago I said that the heart of Campion College was the celebration of Mass; and so it is. But not simply in the sense that we have the celebration of Mass every day, at a time in the day when nothing else is scheduled. No, it is also the heart of the College in the sense that as a community and as individuals we are being formed in the very core of our being - our relationship with Christ.

In the Mass Christ and the Church come together; it is the high point of the Christian life. His love is revealed, expressed and given in a tangible, sacramental but real way. The Mass is the moment when the movements of Christ's heart, his inner life, are experienced by the Church. At the same time, we who are present at the celebration of the Paschal Mystery, at this 'exposure' to Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit, are being formed in our affective, heart-felt, response to the gift of Christ's love. This takes place, above all, when we receive our Eucharistic Lord into that place in ourselves which we open to Him - our hearts.

Being able to respond to Christ's love means that a person is already different, that he or she has and is being transformed by grace. Such a person, such a community, is living in a new way. A community and a person who loves God, is in a totally different position as they approach the rest of their life, and all their activities are marked by grace.

We at Campion College, although aware of our human frailty, endeavour to offer our sinful human nature to Christ in the Mass, in which we know that our hearts can be engaged by the power of Divine love. The platform which we seek to base our studies on, is that we might have Eucharistic hearts.

B16 - a witness to the Priesthood.

I wonder if you have seen the prayer of entrustment and consecration of Priests to the Immaculate Heart of Mary made by Pope Benedict at Fátima, Wednesday, 12 May 2010; he expresses here the truth about the Priesthood and offers all priests to God through Her heart.

"Immaculate Mother, in this place of grace, called together by the love of your Son Jesus the Eternal High Priest, we, sons in the Son and his priests, consecrate ourselves to your maternal Heart, in order to carry out faithfully the Father’s Will.
We are mindful that, without Jesus, we can do nothing good and that only through him, with him and in him, will we be instruments of salvation for the world.
Spouse of the Holy Spirit, obtain for us the inestimable gift of transformation in Christ. Through the same power of the Spirit that overshadowed you, making you the Mother of the Saviour, help us to bring Christ your Son to birth in ourselves too. May the Church be thus renewed by priests who are holy, priests transfigured by the grace of him who makes all things new.
Mother of Mercy, it was your Son Jesus who called us to become like him: light of the world and salt of the earth.
Help us, through your powerful intercession, never to fall short of this sublime vocation, nor to give way to our selfishness, to the allurements of the world and to the wiles of the Evil One.
Preserve us with your purity, guard us with your humility and enfold us with your maternal love that is reflected in so many souls consecrated to you, who have become for us true spiritual mothers.
Mother of the Church,we priests want to be pastors who do not feed themselves but rather give themselves to God for their brethren, finding their happiness in this. Not only with words, but with our lives, we want to repeat humbly, day after day, our “here I am”.
Guided by you, we want to be Apostles of Divine Mercy, glad to celebrate every day the Holy Sacrifice of the Altar and to offer to those who request it the sacrament of Reconciliation.
Advocate and Mediatrix of grace, you who are fully immersed in the one universal mediation of Christ, invoke upon us, from God, a heart completely renewed that loves God with all its strength and serves mankind as you did.
Repeat to the Lord your efficacious word: “They have no wine”,so that the Father and the Son will send upon us a new outpouring ofthe Holy Spirit. Full of wonder and gratitude at your continuing presence in our midst, in the name of all priests I too want to cry out: “Why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?”
Our Mother for all time, do not tire of visiting us, consoling us, sustaining us. Come to our aid and deliver us from every danger that threatens us. With this act of entrustment and consecration, we wish to welcome you more deeply, more radically, for ever and totally into our human and priestly lives.
Let your presence cause new blooms to burst forth in the desert of our loneliness, let it cause the sun to shine on our darkness, let it restore calm after the tempest, so that all mankind shall see the salvation of the Lord, who has the name and the face of Jesus, who is reflected in our hearts, for ever united to yours!
Amen."

I'm a podfather at last!

My first Podcast now streaming on www.xt3.com

Led by the Spirit

When I was a student in the very early 80's the question of being a student of Biology who happened to be a Catholic was something that really did come into focus. As a student of Biology I was part of quite a large and varied group of similarly aged young people. As a Catholic I was, by and large, on my own in that group. Yet, I saw both these dimensions of my life as important and endeavoured to fully embrace both. It was a rich mix and, ultimately, a vocation was discerned and I quietly left Biology behind for seminary formation in Spain.

For most students, whether Catholic, Christian, other faith or none, the University or College offers an intellectual pursuit whose context is broadly secular. Only a minority of Colleges offer a context for study in which the intellectual pursuit is set within the context of the deep foundation of the person in his or her dignity.

Campion College espouses the Catholic vision of formation; a project of integral formation of the person, who ultimately (and immediately) is led by the Spirit. A person is someone who acknowledges that he or she is in God's hands.

Being a student of the Liberal Arts here at Campion does not simply mean that a range of "classical" studies are followed, but that the call to enter into a deeper relationship with Christ, who has a mission to the world and to the Universe, is also acknowledged and engaged in. This is the essential ingredient of the being of a Catholic student.

At Campion College this ingredient is expressed in a rich variety of ways. First, students and staff share their time and their lives, at meals, in conversation, in discourse and in leisure. Secondly, whilst studying we are also at prayer; this is a College at prayer. Not during lectures of course, but communally and individually, we seek Christ's company. Thirdly, the schedule of the College's day, week and semester allows for a rich engagement of the College community with life, through study, friendship and the many opportunities for reflection.

The heart of the College's life is the celebration of the Liturgy. There are periods of Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and there exists a level of Christian sharing and of witness to Christ, both on and off the campus, which enables us to make a sincere offering of ourselves to God during this privotal period in our lives.

Being led by the Spirit; knowing that you/we are in God's hands and that He is actively building up our lives, is the very greatest way of embracing student life. How great Catholic learning is, and how great it is to embrace this vocation during the few years that a person is able to engage with it.

Gaps and transitions

The original Pentecost novena was, for the Apostles, absolutely a period of withdrawal from the world, and a period of preparation and transition to a new way of living. The Apostles were hidden in the Upper Room for ten days before embracing publicly their mission under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

There is a sense in the life of every student that their studies offer them a period of separation, preparation and transition, away from the usual demands of life, and in order that they can be better prepared to contribute to the life of the world after they graduate.

Today, gap years offer recourse to some young people before University, who sense that they are not yet ready for such a period of preparation. Others sense the need for a gap year after University in order to fill out and complete that period of preparation and transition. And of course, as we know, there are some who, even then, do not feel ready to embrace a concrete role in life.

At Campion College, this sense of embracing a period of separation, preparation, and transition marks the whole ethos of the life of the College. The content and format of the study program, its relationship to the maturing of the personality and to the emerging adult Christian life of the students, enables Campion College students to really engage in a formative way with this era in their lives.

At the beginning of his Encyclical Letter "Fides et Ratio", Pope John Paul II spoke of how "the admonition Know yourself was carved on the temple portal at Delphi, as testimony to a basic truth to be adopted as minimal norm by those who seek to set themselves apart from the rest of creation as 'human beings', that is as those who 'know themselves'."

Our students at Campion are preparing themselves, during this rich 'interlude' in their lives, to become mature men and women, mature Christian men and women; Christian men and women who can enter into secular society as bridges to Christ, agents of Christ and of Christian living in a secular and often pagan milieu.

The life and the study of Campion College students, who enter into the three-year degree period of intellectual, spiritual and personal growth and formation, is a rich antidote to much of what contemporary culture impedes: knowledge of self and knowledge of Christ. These are the foundations of life.