A meeting...

...to plan more fund-raising events for Maryvale. Research for current book (complicated). Ironing (satisfying, and a useful rhythm for thought. Came up with some useful ideas for various projects). Wrote feature article for May edition of Portal - web-based magazine of the Ordinariate of OL of Walsingham. Tackled some letters and made domestic arrangements. Then spent some time trawling the internet for som info, inevitably got side-tracked. Looked at various websites and blogs on Catholic topics, political topics. There is a traditional memo that grannies taught about speech, would be useful for us bloggists and internet commentators to remember - one should ask, before speaking/writing: is it true? Is it kind? Is it neccessary?

Back in January, marooned in a snowstorm....

...at the headquarters of EWTN in Alabama, I read and read...I had prepared what was needed for my new EWTN series, activity was restricted as I had a broken arm. I was able, with difficulty, to get to Mass most mornings, and help, if really needed, was only a phone call away...but essentially life turned into a gentle spiritual retreat. Snow is rare in Alabama - no one was prepared for it, and roads were impassable and icebound. For a few delicious, almost enchanted, days, I was in a silent snowy world, safe and warm in a comfortable house with food available, and books and books and books...

No shortage of reading material, as EWTN is sent dozens to review each week.A number of new ones had arived and one had the odd title The Pope's Maestro. Not specially well-written, it nevertheless told an intriguing tale, and formed a part of my silent reading in those January days. So I was fascinated to see its author interviewed just today here...

Teachers...

...from Staffordshire, Birmingham, and the Midlands came to Maryvale today (Wed) for a most successful Day of Art and Music organied by the Association of Catholic Women.

Jeremy de Satge of The Music Makers led an excellent training session on Gregorian Chant, beginning with a thoughtful introduction to the whole topic of music and liturgy, with reference to the H. Father's Sacramentum Caritatis. There was greast dedication and enthusiasm for the singing, as we tackled a Kyrie and a Sanctus and moved on to other chants...

Then a most beautiful Mass in the Maryvale Chapel, the Chairman of the ACW doing the readings, a young teacher and a nun alternating with singing the verses of the Psalm, everyone singing a rousing Pater Noster and, a most lovely Ave Verum at Communion...

It was a pleasure to meet these teachers: a lot of inspoiration there.

For us, on the ACW team, much lively talk of future plans: all sorts of ideas for further activities for schools, pilgrimages, and more...

Appropriately, when I got home, a great batch of entries had arrived for our ACW Schools RE Project, to be forwarded on to the various judges. ON a cursory glance, the standard looks good....

If you don't...

...know much about Walsingham (see my earlier post about the special Mass at Westminster) , and want to know more, you'll find a bit here...

Go for it....

...look up this link to see info on the new drama production from the Divine Comedy team in Oxford. Tickets available from the Oxford Playhouse - the info is in that link.

If you want to see some good drama, if you are a fan of JPII, if you love Oxford on a spring evening, if you simply want an enjoyable evening out, then this is for you...

Are you a...

...young Catholic in Britain aged 11-18? Or a pupil at a Catholic secondary school in the UK? If so, you are eligible to enter the 2011 Catholic Young Writer Award. It is sponsored jointly by the Catholic Union and The Keys, the Catholic Writers' Guild. Check out the info on the Catholic Union website here.

The theme is about love and is connected to the Royal Wedding...

Last year's winner, on a theme of John Henry Newman and his message, was Corinna Keefe, a pupil at St Leonard/Mayfield school, with a really excellent entry: read more about it here.

NB: Sorry, but this Award is for UK residents only...

To Wonersh...

...to St John's seminary, accompanying Dr Pia Matthews, who teaches there. The Surrey countryside entrancing in the spring: daffodils, trees with a profusion of pink and white blossom like bridesmaids' dresses.

Impressed by the young men at the seminary: cheerful, welcoming, friendly. An easy, relaxed atmosphere at lunch, strong male voices saying Grace, the room filled with lively talk during the meal, staff, students and visitors all together. The seminary has a quietly busy, purposeful air. The grounds are attractive, and students all have specific jobs both outdoors and indoors to keep the whole place running smoothly. Judging by the notice-boards, they have plenty of other things to keep them busy too - sports, guest speakers,all sorts of activities, involvement with Catholic groups and organisations.
In the main entrance hall, there is a statue of Our Lady where they gather to pray. Peeked into the chapel, but there was a group practising for Mass.

An outsider coming in to see what a Catholic seminary is like would have to note the normality, openess, and warmth of welcome, the sense of doing something positive, the genuine atmosphere of a community getting along together - a rare and delightful thing - and the general cheerfulness. I am sure that lots of seminarians have bleak days. But the general impression of Wonersh was one of good cheer.

We need more men prepared to say "Yes" if they sense that "the Lord is here and he is calling for you..."

Look at...

...these pix of the glorious Mass at Westminster Cathedral to mark the 950th nniversary of Walsingham....

At Mass...

...today, we had a guest preacher: Fr Peter Walters of Let the Children LIve, a charity dedicated to Our Lady of Walsingham. The parish is supporting this as a Lenten Project. I sat and put my brain into a sort of oh-well-I'm-sure-it's-a-worthy-charity-do-I-really-need-to-listen? mode, but from the moment that Fr started speaking I was gripped. He described how, some thirty years ago, he was on holiday in South America and had a problem with his return ticket, so had to stay on while it was sorted out. He had no money by this time so went hungry - and was befriended by some street children who at first had tried to beg from him but then found it hilarious when he told them he had no cash and was hungry like them. By the time he was able to fly home he had decided that he must find some way to help these children - and this resulted in his working with the local Bishop on a number of projects which flourish to this day. He launched the charity as a young Anglican priest working at the Shrine in Walsingham, and it has grown and grown. He is now a Catholic priest, based permanently in Colombia, and the charity is still linked to Walsingham: the shrine of her "holy house" makes a bond with the homeless children, and the centre in Colombia is called "Casa Walsingham" and has a statue which is carried in procession and much loved...

Colombia's economy and social fabric has been wrecked by the drugs trade, and the street children are the resulting victims. But their future could be bright and full of hope if help is given - the projects currently include educational ventures, a choir, a residential home, support for families...

Every time some people buy cocaine here in the West, they are helping to kill children in Bogota: the illegally-produced rugs fund gun crimes and killers who shoot children simply because they are regardedas beggars and a nuisance.

Came across...

...this blog and felt it was worth sharing with others.

And also this Blog, from St Paul's Bookshop, next to Westminster Cathedral. The St Pauls publishing group produced, for the Year of Priests, a book on St John Vianney by JB. I was of course familiar with this saint, but discovering the details of his life, and its message, was a project that was deeply interesting. A man of humility and prayer, a model for all priests. JPII was inspired by him, shared his grasp of poverty and penance, adopted his general style.

At a London Tube station...

...police were handing out leaflets - "It's about today's march". Uh? It seemed a bit odd - after all, London has been seeing protest marches and demonstrations all my life and for many years before that. One more anti-Government march didn't seem so odd.

But when I crossed Piccadilly later in the day I saw why there was a worry. Faces hidden by balaclava helmets with gaps cut for eyes and noses, shrieking and angry, they came down the street waving red and black flags - it was frankly horrible. Others wore black scarves across their faces. A girl stood shouting "Let them hear your anger! Shout your anger!"

I had come from St James Church in George Street, where we had had a most inspiring Day of Recollection led by a priest from Brentwood Cathedral. Thoughtful, challenging, it was focused on the importance of holiness - and of seeing God's work as central, not our own efforts to achieve things. The day was organised by the Association of Catholic Women, and in the quiet room and in the beautiful church for Mass, there was a chance to be close to God...

It is a pleasant walk from there to Westminster, and a route I know well. But in Piccadilly the marchers were menacing and suddenly everything seemed nasty. Later, TV coverage showed windows being bashed, the youths with the sinister black and red flags running and shouting....why did they wear the terrorist-chic unfiform of balaclavas and scarf-covered faces, why did they not want people to know who they were?

In Green Park the bright daffodils sent a springtime message but it was impossible to shake off the horrid feeling. At Westminster Cathedral, however, a vast crowd was packing the place out, celebrating Our Lady of Walsingham. Today is the Feast of the Annunciation, and 2011 marks the 950th anniversary of Walsingham, "England's Nazareth". Young women from the Community of Our Lady of Walsingham carried her statue, there was a great concourse of clergy led by the Archbishop, the Nuncio,and several other Bishops, and there were Knights of Malta and Knights of this and that, and Guardians of the Anglican Shrine, and a representative of the Archbishop of Canterbury and clergy of other denominations...

The huge crowds had had long since overflowed from the seats and kneelers, and were in the side-aisles and kneeling on the floor at the back, and finding places in the chapels of St Patrick and St Paul and Our Lady ...there were substantial groups from the Ordinariate, noticeable because they came up for a blessing at Holy Communion, as they are in the process of reception into the Church and thus in a "Eucharistic fast": it was impressive and touching to see them: a new chapter opening.

A time to pray for our country. There was a new hymn, sung with organ, brass and choir accompaniment:
Lady of Walsingham, Lady of England
Look with love on this our land...

Traditional Catholic Walks and Talks...

... we've been working on the programme of these for the rest of 2011. Regular readers of this Blog will know the drill: note the date and time, and just turn up, wearing suitable shoes and clothing as we walk whatever the weather.

April 14th: meet at 6.30pm (after the 5.30pm sung Mass) on the steps of Westminster Cathedral. This History Walk will have a Royal theme, to link with the forthcoming Royal Wedding. You'll learn about history and traditions, folklore and faith...and we finish with prayers for our country and for a great revival of the Church in this land.

Two History Walks in MAY: May 12th, meet at 6.30pm on the steps of St Paul's Cathedral for a walk around the City, tracing links with saints and martyrs, and seeing some of the old City churches. May 25th, meet 6.30pm on the steps of Westminster Cathedral for a Westminster Walk which will also include a "passport to Pimlico" and conclude at Holy Apostles Church. Again, both these Walks will end with prayers...

In June we are invited to Allen Hall, on the site of St Thomas More's garden in Chelsea. It is the seminary where priests are trained for the diocese of Westminster. We'll be shown around by some seminarians, have tea, and then join them for a Holy Hour and Benediction. We'll be praying for all the students and also for more vocations to the priesthood. Before we leave, we'll visit the gardens, and the mulberry tree where the More family used to gather together to talk and relax: we'll pray there and invoke the intercession of St Thomas More...

AND NOTE THIS DATE: Sunday JUNE 19th. THE MARTYRS' WALK. This traditional Walk through London follows the route taken by Catholic Martyrs dragged to Tyburn where they suffered for the Faith. Meet at 1.30pm for 2pm at the churchyard of St Sepulchre-without-Newgate (near the Old Bailey). Bring your Rosary. We visit various churches on the way, and finish at Tyburn Convent with Benediction at approx 5pm...

More info on all of this, plus background info HERE...

LIke lots of others...

...I am finding out more and more about John Paul the Great in these days leading up to the beatification. You gotta see this DVD...

A most lovely message...

...from a dear friend who is a nun on the Isle of Wight. The community at St Cecilia's is thriving and more people ought to know about it. The life is a challenging one, but all the sisters look so happy!

Take a look at theiur new website and pass the word along. Somewhere out there are some young women who are searching for something, and for whom this is the Lord's plan.

WANT TO LEARN GREGORIAN CHANT? .

There is just time, but only just, to book yourself into the Day of Art and Music, for Catholic teachers and parish catechists, organised by the Association of Catholic Women. March 30th at the Maryvale Institute tel 0121 360 8118. The day includes an illustrated talk on Christian art, showing how to use the world's glorious art to teach the Faith; and a training session in Gregorian chant. Things finish with Mass in the beautiful Maryvale chapel - and we will sing the chant we have been learning that afternoon.

More info here.

Come along to...

...a talk on John Henry Newman. Auntie has been involved with organising a string of these in London. Info on the latest here. Funds raised go to the Maryvale Institute.

Do you share...

...the concern of many of us about the downgrading of Religious Education in Britain's schools?

I'm not talking here about RE in Catholic schools - it goes without saying that good RE there should be a priority, and taught with the fullness of Catholic Faith. That is central to the mission of a Catholic school.

No - here I am talking about ordinary schools, not Church schools, but all the other schools in the country.

A genuine and rounded education must include religious education. And, within that, pupils have a right to know, specifically, about the Christian faith - about Jesus Christ and who he was and what he did. They have a right to be taught the central precepts of the Christian faith: without some knowledge of Christianity they cannot undertand Britain's language, culture, history, art, legal and Parliamentary traditions,and much more.

I am involved with an ecumenical Christian group which seeks to help and support teachers. We run an annual Schools Bible Project which has been hugely successful for over twenty years. See info here.

Damp grass...

...needing to be cut, for the first time after the long winter. Inevitably, bits of litter and rubbish from the road get tangled into it. Lawnmower out and I struggled with it in the increasingly warm sunshine. Sudden realisation that spring is truly here.

"Whan that Aprille with his shoures soote..." Aid to the Church in Need is organising a pilgrimage to Walsingham on April 30th, with coaches departing from London. Info here. It was absolutely wonderful last year and I'm looking forward to going again.

Every Thursday...

...after the morning Mass, our parish priest places - better, enthrones - the Blessed Sacrament on the altar for adoration. People come throughout the day to pray. It is peaceful and beautiful: candles glittering, some devotional booklets on a table near the door, plus a book you can sign if you like.

There are massive roadworks going on alongside the church, making access difficult but this has made no difference: there were large numbers at Mass this morning.

Mid-afternoon saw me hurrying with some old DVDs and other clutter to take to a charity shop. I did a shall-I-shan't-I at the major road junction, wondering whether or not to make a visit to the church. I am so glad I did. Thursday is the day you say the Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary.

To OXFORD....

...and the Oxford Oratory, where great plans are afoot to create a shrine to Blessed John Henry Newman, and a cloister garden plus much-needed extra accomodation for the rapidly-expanding Oratorian community. Mass, a good number of people in the congregation, and several pews filled with children in bright yellow school uniform teeshirts, looking rather sweet. They were all going one by one to confession, the confessional door opening and shutting with its quiet click.

Then coffee with Elizabeth Mills, who is part of the fund-raising team for the Building for the Future campaign. We are having a gathering in London in May to reach potential donors, and have been emailing and phoning to arrange this: it was good to be together and working on lists and plans in a sunny springtime day in Oxford.

On to the Caldecott family and the team presenting the forthcoming play celebrating John Paul II. A contagious sense of joy and enthusiasm - and a lot of hard work ahead as they rehearse. This looks like a play well worth watching: click on that link to get details.

Appropriately, I'm reading Why he is a saint: The Life and Faith of Pope John Paul II. The information on JPII's prayer life is intensely powerful. It really challenged me: this is the bit of life that really matters...

Dusk falling as the train takes book and Bogle back to London...

A fresh, spring day...

...with bright daffodils suddenly in all sorts of places, and great clouds of white and pink blossom on trees lining suburban roads. But all the time, walking and talking, hurrying to a meeting or chatting gently to Mother, a nagging sense of worry and dread. War surging in a distant land, ghastly media headlines and images of destruction,and a sickening anxiety as to what will be the outcome.

Aerial bombardment creates a sense of superiority: a feeling of invincibility as things explode and destruction is achieved far below. But what really matters is who wins on the ground: who takes control when the noise and explosions are over, who is the long-term gainer.

We must pray...

...that the action taken by the British and other forces in Libya will result in a good government emerging there. I have the gravest doubts that this is a likely outcome. It seems much more possible that a ferociously Islamicist alliance of various factions will emerge and, after a period of chaos, take over.

Pray. Pray hard.

On Friday evening...

...I was invited to speak to our parish Confirmation candidates. There are a large number of them - it was rather daunting to enter the hall and hear the great chatter and noise. But I need not have worried - they listened, they were interested. The topic was "saints" - they each have to choose a Confirmation name, and the idea was to explain about this, about the Communion of Saints, about saints praying for us in Heaven just as we do for one another here on earth, about saints' days and the calendar. The evening ended with the parish priest leading the group in a sung Litany of the Saints. They turned to face the great crucifix, and sang the responses and the hall was filled with the prayer of it all.

I walked home through the chilly suburban streets feeling quite uplifted.

This Sunday, at Mass...

...the beauty and clarity of the liturgy. The new translation, used for the first time in our parish, and it is excellent.

We are a very big parish, with a great many young families - a busy suburban area - and the church is filled several times each Sunday, with people in all the side pews and also standing at the back. Mass is said reverently and the 11.30am Mass has a good choir, which leads us in Latin chant as well as singing beautifully at Communion...and into all this the new translation, which is accurate, sensitive, dignified and worthy found its place with naturalness and peace.

This looks delightful...

... A John Paul II Walking Pilgrimage for young adults, for the conversion of England. Find out about it here.

Lent...

...and plenty to pray about. Some thoughts on LOndon in Lent 2011 here...

"Lord, when did we see you hungry?..."

In Japan. Right now. Pray for them.

The Old Friary...

...near Westminster Cathedral - actually originally built as a school/orphanage for the children of soldiers of the Crimean War - is now owned by a director of the Catholic Herald newspaper, and a press conference was held there to mark the launch of Persecuted and Forgotten?, an important new report produced by Aid to the Church in Need. The report highlights the problems faced by Christians in various parts of the world. At the press conference, Archbishop Nichols spoke extremely well, quoting the Holy Father on the subject of religious freedom as a fundamental right. Archbishop Bashar Warda of Iraq was the special guest speaker and spoke movingly about the plight of Christians in his country.

Mass in Westminster Cathedral - large numbers because it was St Patrick's Day. Glorious music. On the way in, we met Fr Keith Newton, of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham. He didn't mention it, but he and the other two former Anglican bishops have just been made Monsignors.

While trawling the news, I came across the significant message delivered by the Holy Father to mark the celebration of 150 years of modern Italy. The clear message that it gives about the role of the Church gives clear definition to the approach of the Church following the Second Vatican Council and is a forward-looking and good way ahead.

Another topic of major interest: the new Missal. The Catholic Truth Society has been working on this project for months and the news is very good indeed: the new translation of the Mass is, of course, in good English with clarity and beauty, and it's clear we can expect the various Missals to be beautiful too, both those for use on the altar and those for the faitful are to be of fine quality, and worthy of their purpose.
.

Working...

...on an essay about St Paul and Christian moral teaching.

Busy with arrangements for the Day of Art and Music at the Maryvale Institute, Birmingham on March 30th, sponsored by the Association of Catholic Women. All teachers are invited. Contact Maryvale for details...

Next Catholic History Walk is on Thursday April 14th, meet at 6.30pm on the steps of Westminster Cathedral. All welcome. No need to book, just turn up.

I'm reading a lot at the moment about John Paul II: what a great man, and a great Pope who gave the Papacy a fresh zest and sense of authority for this new millenium. And yet always very simple in his liturgical style, and in his personal tastes. Somehow this spoke to people - they could see that he wanted to teach about God, to focus on God, to open up people's hearts, including his own, to God.

Tradition...

...beauty, glorious music, and a sense of history, at Westminster Cathedral as the new Papal Nuncio was welcomed at a magnificent Mass. I happened to be meeting a friend for a drink this evening, and had arranged to do so on the Cathedral steps, hadn't known there was anything special happening. But then some one told me there was to be the Mass for the Nuncio at 5pm, so I arrived early and went in. The choir sang a beautiful Introit and Gradual (Protector noster aspice Deus....), and Offertory Motet, and Byrd's Ave Verum at Communion... A rather grand letter was read out formally announcing the Nuncio's appointment, and then later Archbishop Nichols introduced him and then he addressed us....it was all rather splendid, with the Nuncio speaking of his presenting his letters of credence to the Queen,and Her Majesty having recalled with recent visit of His Holiness with great pleasure etc etc...in a sometimes bleak and ugly modern Britain it was delightful to have this reminder of traditional diplomatic formalities and to enjoy it all...

Afterwards a long delightful talk with a friend, a real joy.

While on the subject of church music, The Music Makers has a new CD, dedicated to Our Lady of Walsingham...

A traditional Catholic Sunday...

...with Mass (pastoral letter from the Archp, 1st Sunday of Lent). In the parish bookshop, the Pope's new book, Jesus of Nazareth, vol 11 was on sale. I couldn't resist and bought a copy. Afternoon with Mother, too cold and wet for her to enjoy a walk.The days can seem long and quiet when you are 90, but there is always family news to discuss, and we talked about Easter and the great-grandchildren, and in due course we'll be going out to buy chocolate eggs...on to collect my bike and then home to make a snack supper, and on to the parish hall where we had an informal get-together to watch a film about Pope John Paul. V. powerful and moving - we'd all been chatting comfortably over tea and cakes beforehand but as the film began silence descended and soon we were all utterly gripped. What an extraordinary gift to the Church was this man, and what an era we all lived through together.

...and I've been reading...

...this blog about the Ordinariate.

Not sure if...

...it's very good, but you can hear Auntie talking about her planned new book here on Vatican Radio...

A Traditional Catholic History Walk...

...a strong tradition now having been formed and a real sense of it emerged as we gathered in London, at Tower Hill. The brochures had stated that we would meet at the site of St Thomas More's execution, which is in the Memorial Garden near the Tower but we hadn't know that the Garden gates are locked as evening falls...so the first talk, and our opening prayers, took place just outside the gate. This turned out to be the best place of all, as the impressive entrance carries the names of the thousands and thousands of men of the Merchant Navy who lost their lives at sea, bringing food and supplies to our beleagured island during two World Wars...I had in any case intended to incorporate this into the opening talk, but standing by the entrance gate gave the whole evening a most moving and unforgettable start. The names continue all round the walls of the monument within the gates...

We went to the Tower, visited Traitors' Gate, plunged further back to the Roman and Saxon times, heard the history,learned how the Thames has shaped our city and our country's story down century after century...

Our Walk finished outside St Margaret Patten's church, where we prayed for our country and its future.

More info on all these Catholic Histyory Walks here. Next one is on April 14th, starts 6.30pm on the steps of Westminster Cathedral and has a Royal theme to connect with the R. Wedding...

This interview...

...with the leader of an Ordinariate group is worth watching. He explains things very well. And this one is good too.

Up early...

...to hurry to London for a talk on Premier Radio about Ash Wednesday, Lent, and the meaning of it all. The young team presenting the programme - all informal chat and rock-Gospel music - were terrific, we got on really well, and there was great interest in the whole subject. Evangelical and Pentecostal Christians are becoming increasingly interested in the Christian seasons, and no longer neccessarily discuss such topics as if coming from across a great divide. I saw the whole topic through new eyes, and while I was the one providing information ("Why 40 days, where do the ashes come from, what is the significance of it all, why are ashes linked to penitence?" and more...) it was they who somehow helped to bring its true meaning out...

Walked back towards Westminster Cathedral and dropped in - there was the most glorious singing coming from a side-chapel, and there, behold, were the children of the Westminster Cathedral Choir School, with teachers and parents, at a most beautiful traditional Ash Wednesday Mass. The boys looked very smart in their crimson uniforms, and there was an atmosphere of reverence. They sang beautifully for the distriubution of ashes, and for Communion, and all the parts of the Mass - the Pater Noster was especially fine - and there was dignity and a prayerful sense throughout, the voices joining in the responses and a quiet rustle of formal greetings at the Sign of Peace. I came away rather uplifted.

The new translation of the Mass is due to arrive in parishes soon. It's good, and will make a great difference to the depth of our faith: the trite phrasing we have known for too long gives way to a richer and more dignified tone throughout, to say nothing of greater accuracy. Because of the poor language that we have had to endure in recent decades, I was worried that the whole project of a vernacular liturgy might one day be banned again as it was for so many years. But as with so much that came from that Vatican Council from the 60s, we're getting the real fruits at last.

An excellent day...

...at the Kairos Centre in Roehampton, where Aid to the Church in Need was holding a conference for all its local diocesan representatives. Mass in the beautiful chapel: there is a magnificent stained glass above the altar, showing Mary Magdalene at the foot of the Cross. Talks and discussions on aspects of ACN's work - a new edition of its report Persecuted and Forgotten is due out soon. And a highlight: guest speaker Rev Keith Newton of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham. Informative, upbeat, vigourous, and he answered questioon after question without flagging and with interest and enthusiasm.

A cheerful talkative supper - with pancakes as it was Shrove Tuesday. The kind team working in the kitchen wrapped some up for me with lemon wedges, to take home for Jamie.

History in the making...

...read here...

And beyond today, there is tomorrow...

...and I discovered that young people who are going to Madrid for World Youth Day are also looking ahead to the one after that, possibly in Mexico...

Our parish has a big group going to Madrid, and the other day there was a very enjoyable fund-raising lunch to help them...

This will be a Lent like no other Lent...

...for the men who are taking their flocks into the new Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham.

Anglicans and Catholics alike should pray that much that is great and good will flow from this initiative. It all culminates at Easter, and in the days that follow. It all needs lots of prayer.

Need info? Read here for regular updates. And here is some of the latest news.

Just to enjoy...

...a bit of London and pageantry, go to this link from the excellent Joan Lewis of EWTN and see the new Nuncio going by carriage to present his credentials to HM the Queen.

A survey from officialdom...

...comes for my elderly mother to complete. It invites her to describe herself as "heterosexual/straight, bisexual, lesbian..." or a couple of other options. My mother would prefer to describe herself as a "normal married woman". She has never used the expression "heterosexual" nor has she described herself as "straight" and it doesn't seem quite right to make her describe herself in terms that she would never use and indeed might regard as offensive.We leave the papers aside for a while. We talk about Britain a bit. "I pray a lot for this country" she says suddenly "I pray a lot."

Lots of young engaged couples...

...sitting in rows at a Marriage Preparation course in a Catholic parish. The atmosphere is very attractive - friendly, open, interested - and it is a privilege to take part in these sessions. As the talk develops, the mood moves from interest to real involvement - there is great seriousness as we speak of the sacrament of marriage, of Cana, of Bridegroom and Bride, of the link between marriage and the Eucharist. Prayer, passing on the Faith to children, loyalty, building up a family, and looking ahead to life and beyond - and preparing for marriage by thinking about these things...all this gets discussed. The day ends with the priest praying one of the beautiful prayers from the Nuptial Mass which speaks of a couple seeing their children's children, and after a happy old age having "fullness of life with the saints, in the kingdom of Heaven".

As I leave I pick up the parish newsletter. There's a rather good Lenten pastoral letter reminding us all about penance and prayer, about fasting and going to confession. Abstention from meat on Lenten Fridays is especially mentioned.

Home on the Tube, trundling through the suburbs, icy rain lashing at the windows, with a book about John Paul II - I'm reading a lot of his material at the moment after realising that in fact I hadn't actually studied much while he was alive and writing...He's going to be beatified on the feast of Divine Mercy. I didn't really connect with this devotion when this feast was first instituted. I remember thinking: "Well, of course God is merciful. Why do we need a special feast to state that?". But listen to what JPII said:

"It is this love which must inspire humanity today, if it is to face the crisis of the meaning of life, the challenges of the most diverse needs and, especially, the duty to defend the dignity of every human person. Thus the message of divine mercy is also implicitly a message about the value of every human being. Each person is precious in God's eyes; Christ gave his life for each one; to everyone the Father gives his Spirit and offers intimacy.

"This consoling message is addressed above all to those who, afflicted by a particularly harsh trial or crushed by the weight of the sins they committed, have lost all confidence in life and are tempted to give in to despair. To them the gentle face of Christ is offered; those rays from his heart touch them and shine upon them, warm them, show them the way and fill them with hope."

Who was John Henry Newman?

Come and hear about him.

An illustrated talk by Newman scholar Dr Andrew Nash

WEDNESDAY March 16th, 7.30pm in the church hall at St Winefride’s Church, South Wimbledon, London SW19

ALL WELCOME! Coffee and Victorian Marmalade Cake. Suggested donation £3.00. Funds raised will go towards the work of the Maryvale Institute, the Catholic educational centre established at Maryvale, Old Oscott House, once the home of John Henry Newman.

And more on John Paul II...

...about whom you're going to hear a lkot in the next days and weeks. AS mentioned below (see earlier blog post) I've been reading up about him. Rather than the standard media commentaries, try this one...

...and for Auntie's take on the Royal nuptials...

...click here.

Been reading...

...works by Edith Stein, and realised that I also wanted to read more by and about the great John Paul II. Like a great many of us, I had more or less taken him for granted - "Yes, wonderful man...hugely important..." but hadn't actually hoisted in the hugeness of what was achieved during his Papacy. I knew about the friendship with the Jewish people, opened up by Nostra Aetate and just this week reaffirmed with vigour by our present Holy Father.. But I had not realised the breakthrough that was achieved with the Orthodox Church, specifically by JPII's willingness to express sorrow and repentance for past wrongs caused by Catholics. What has also become very clear is the great intellectual closeness and rapport between JPII and BXVI, the philosopher and the theologian. Over the past three years I've been deep in books by Ratzinger/BXVI, and you note the influence at so many levels...

A crowd of young parents...

...packed out a room at St Joseph's, Epsom, this evening for a talk on the sacrament of Penance. Yes, I mean a big crowd - they get about 700 people at the main Family Mass on Sunday mornings, and here were a large number of them, coming for the latest in a series of evening sessions on preparing the children to recieve the sacraments. I was amazed. We keep hearing about how the Church is supposed to be dying, numbers dwindling, etc, but it just isn't.

It was a priviledge to be there as part of a team with Dr Pia Matthews talking about the Sacrament of Penance, and how it works, and what it's all about...there was a great atmosphere, everyone attentive, a good blend of humour and seriousness, an air of realism, faith, and much goodwill. These are families who see their children and the Faith as being of central importance in their lives...

Earlier in the day, I was at a press conference about the H. Father's new book on Jesus of Nazareth...

And in between, a happy family time, helping to collect a small relative from school and walking along with him swinging a schoolbag and chattering agreeably.

If you want...

...to get Auntie's take on The King's Speech, you'd better click here...

HOPE...

...in the Heart of Soho is the message of the team based at St Patrick's, Soho Square. Click on here and here for info on lots of good things, including a trip to Paray-le-Monial, street evangeliusation, talks on TOB, and more...

A Polish priest...

...visited the office of Aid to the Church in Need in Sutton Yesterday (see previous post), and we had a good chat over mugs of tea. For years and years, faithful ACN supporters in Britain were supporting the Church in Poland, helping to fund the building of the great church at Nowa Huta, praying for Poles struggling against a vicious bureaucratic obstructive Communist state machine, assisting the arrival in Poland of books and literature banned by the State. And now, here was a cheerful priest, busy with plans to take a large crowd of young Poles to World Youth Day in Madrid, showing me snaps of various youth events in Poland, swapping news and information about the state of the Church in Poland and in Britain and elsewhere.

The young faces grinned out from the photographs - groups just like the gatherings of the FAITH Movement in Britain each summer, or, indeed, like the young people in our parish the other day, in their WYD teeshirts, rushing about organising a big parish lunch to raise funds for the Madrid project. But the difference is that to be a practising Catholic in Poland isn't a minority thing - it's much more normal.

I asked: have numbers at Mass gone down since the fall of Communism - is a new generation viewing the Church in a quite different way? Yes, there's a different attitude - it's no longer a case of showing support for the Church in opposition to a Communist regime. But today's generation has grown up with that - they see the Church in a different way but still in a way that inspires them, holds out a message that they like. Many will travel abroad, and all have an attitude that looks wider, likes the idea of something worldwide - the big challenge is to show them that when they do go to different countries, the Church may not seem to large and lively there, and they must make an effort to seek it out.

Earlier, I'd been talking to a - former Anglican - ordinand about evangelisation, and how to bring the Gospel to modern British cities. The shouting, drunken young girls staggering out of pubs late on a Saturday night? The solid Islamic areas? The young single women with their babies on a bleak Council estate? The young men, dedicated to the local football team with the pssionate fervour of a great religious cause?

Tonight, a gathering of an informal Catholic group in London which meets from time to time for talks from guest speakers, wine and snacks, socialising. Tonight, we're watching the Papal Visit DVD, (recommended).

The vast crowd, mostly young, silent at prayer in Hyde Park last year holds a message that is relevant to what I've written above.