A bookshop window...

at St Paul's Bookshop by Westminster Cathedral.  The family of my co-author, Clare Anderson, were impressed to see their mum's book on display, so took a pic...

2nd shelf down, "John Paul II:Man of Prayer". And we've started to get some nice reviews on Amazon too...

And shortly...

...I will be off to Walsingham, staying at the Anglican Shrine, with this group...

We are having a study weekend, and most will be arriving by train and car...but I will be walking part of the way, as I'll start my trip by meeting fellow-members of the John Paul II Walking Pilgrimage, gathering at Bury St Edmunds for Mass (4.30pm - come and join us!) in the Abbey Ruins. This is where Magna Carta was first drawn up. All are welcome at the Mass, and you cannot imagine how beautiful it is to pray there, in this place of peace and of such huge significance...

After the Mass, we John Paul Walkers will stay the night at Bury St Edmunds (sleeping  on the floor in the Catholic parish school) and the next day after morning prayer in the church  will be taken into Norfolk to start our Walk to Walsingham. The first day's walking will take us as far as Swaffham. From there, the Walkers will go, over the next two days, along the lanes and meadows, and via a Mass in the ruined abbey at Castleacre, to Walsingham. But I  am unable to join them for the full Walk this year, as I am committed to this Study Weekend. So I will be given a lift straight to Walsingham...

There's still time to join the John Paul II Walking Pilgrimage - just click on that link.  It has a special significance this year, as we are celebrating his canonisation...

Heat...

...London sizzling in harsh summer sun, everything sticky and uncomfortable. Grim news from the Middle East, harsh headlines.

The cool peace of Westminster Cathedral as I lead a pilgrim group around, telling the story of the various chapels and mosaics. Earlier, Canon Christopher Tuckwell was amused to find me barefoot and carrying my shoes, by the Lady Chapel, enjoying for a moment the deliciously cold marble of the cathedral floor...

Dinner and an overnight stay with a kind friend in her beautiful flat overlooking the Cathedral, sitting with a cold drink and my sewing, out on the balcony.

Horror...

..was expressed by a Sunday newspaper last weekend. The newspaper revealed that a Member of Parliament had links with a group that sought to uphold marriage as the union of a man and a woman. Outrage was expressed. The Christian group involved has apparently been quite blatant about its opinions, acting as though it had a right to speak openly on this and related subjects.

I wrote to the newspaper, but the letter hasn't been printed. Here it is:

Dear Sir

Your reporter (Sunday Tel. July 20th 2014)  writing about the Member of Parliament linked to a Christian group that "actively supports and encourages marriage between a man and a woman" seems appalled that politicians should uphold such support, especially as it is opposed to current official policy.

There are precedents for taking firm action. A former prominent Member of Parliament was deemed to have committed treason for refusing to adapt his views on marriage: his last words were before execution were that he remained "the king's good servant, but God's first". 

What punishment is the Sunday Telegraph proposing for the current Member of Parliament, denounced by this newspaper for having "failed to distance" himself from Christian teachings on marriage?

Incidentally, I think you should also know that there are a number of centres around Britain where "marriage between a man and a woman"  is frequently publicly taught and affirmed. There is one near me attended by over 1,000 people each week.  Should politicians be penalised for attending such places? Should the ban be extended to others who hold public office? Should such places be subjected to police investigation, or simply closed down? I really would be most interested to know your newspaper's stance on this.

Filling the shelves...

...through God's bountiful generosity at this time of year.

While in the kitchen on such tasks, it's useful to think  about large things, otherwise one finds the brain is asking "Why am I standing in the kitchen washing rose petals?"

The shelves are filling up with jams and jellies that will go to various fetes and fairs and Harvest Festival gift tables and so on...and the prayers are for peace in the Middle East, in line with Papa Francis' anguished plea at his Sunday Angelus...

Incidentally, I came across this website, which I found of interest...

Prayers for the persecuted Christians in Iraq...

...at Mass this evening (Oxford Oratory). Today people were gathering in London to stand in solidarity with the Christians suffering under militant Moslem-Caliphate rule. How fearsome it is to write those words.

I am in Oxford to lead a group of visiting Americans to places associated with Bl John Henry Newman. Oriel College, and the University Church...history, beauty...packed streets, noise, searing heat... and then calm prayers of a parish Mass, and supper by the river, and much to talk about...

Do read this...

...review about the plight of the Jews in Rome in World War II in L'Osservatore Romano.

The Australian ambassador to the Holy See has written a review of Auntie's book Courage and Conviction.

Auntie on travels...

...to America, as part of the EWTN FAMILY FESTIVAL later this month. Info here...

American readers of this blog...I look forward to seeing you there!

BERRIES AND PLANS...

...always the stuff of summer.  Picking blackberries in the summer heat, the great thick fruit making the brambles hang down with their weight.  And blackcurrants in a generous friend's garden, plump and juicy and ready to turn into fabulous jam. And - for the most delicate and lovely jam of all - rose petals, fresh and enchanting, gathered swiftly and hurried into the kitchen, to cook up gently and very very slowly with water and lots of sugar and then - magic moment - a tablespoon of lemon juice added and the sudden transformation of greyish mush into beautiful rose-coloured syrup to be poured into jars...

And plans. Busy with plans. The TOWARDS ADVENT Festival, Saturday November 22nd. PUT THE DATE IN YOUR DIARY NOW!!   Westminster Cathedral Hall: stalls and displays from a great range of Catholic groups and organisations from across Britain, books, DVDs, music, craft goods and more on sale. Glorious music, top speakers: it is not to be missed.  Summer sees the posters arriving from the printer and much emailing back and forth making plans for the great day...

And the "TWO CATHEDRALS" great Blessed Sacrament Procession through London. DON'T MISS THIS DATE!!! Saturday October 18th, starts 1pm for 1.30pm at Westminster Cathedral. Come and swell the crowd to make this a great procession of witness as it crosses the Thames...

In this hot and stifling weather...

...spare a prayer for prisoners.  If you are a prison-visitor,  you will know what it is like in a heatwave, even in a modern, clean and well organised establishment.

What's London like...

...at the moment?  For a snapshot of it all,  with a Catholic slant, try here...

Tea...

..an absolutely glorious Tea, with sandwiches-with-the-crusts-cut-off, and scones with jam and cream, and a towering four-layered  lemon drizzle cake...all organised and hosted by Frances Scarr and a team of Catholic ladies to welcome ladies from the Ordinariate. A wonderful and happy afternoon - and a useful one, as we sat overlooking Westminster Cathedral and talked of a great many things, ranging from the recent "Our Father"  prayer project for schools (entries from children across Greater London), to pilgrimages and processions and prison work, and craftwork and confession, and Sunday Schools, and singing at stations, and enthusiasm and evangelisation.

We drank cups and cups of fragrant tea, we planned activities and pilgrimages, we swapped jokes and stories: the perils of a procession ducking under railway arches and trailing down The Borough High Street,  the howlers in children's careful writing out of prayers ("MY will be done on earth...").  The Cathedral Bell rang for the Angelus and we stopped to pray it all together. Teatime morphed gently into evening, and we finished with glasses of cold white wine, and then goodbyes and lots of good plans for the future.

..and in the stifling summer heat...

...our Parliament is debating whether or not we should make it possible for sad and gravely ill people to be killed...and the Church of England has slammed the door on ecumenical possibilities and invented female bishops...and there is turmoil in the Holy Land, and death in the skies over Ukraine...

...and a sense of things ending, and a tired feeling, and now the Government is going to penalise people for having proper families - they've apparently announced that anyone with more than four children will be denied taxation benefits.  It sometimes seems as though our officialdom doesn't really want our country to have a future, and believes that in a dark and worrying world we should try to encourage as little hope as possible.

And so to Sunday...and Mass, and there is hope for all.
...

A sad day...

A fine Catholic writer and a good friend, Stratford Caldecott, has died. He will be hugely missed: he leaves a lovely family, and a legacy of good work done with great love.  All who use the beautiful monthly Magnificat  journal are in his debt. God will reward him...pray for his soul and for the consolation of his dear family.

YOU SIMPLY MUST READ....

...this excellent and inspiring call to us all on the subject of the gruesome legislation being planned for our Parliament this week.

Please read. Please pray.

On Wednesday July 16th...

...at 7.30pm, at the church hall of Warwick St Church, I am giving a talk about St John Paul the Great. ALL WELCOME. Light refreshments.

Entrance to the hall is at 24 Golden Square, London Wi. Large notice - easy to see.

Nearest tube: Piccadilly Circus.

Visiting...

...an elderly relative...Somerset in enchanting summer greenery, a tasty meal in a village restaurant where they quickly helped us with the wheelchair, made everything pleasant and comfortable, chatted as drinks were poured...

Sadness as we were joined by a dear Anglican clergyman, unhappy at today's dreary decision by the CofE to invent lady bishops and thus drive the final hammer-blows into the heritage he had valued...

Prayers, led by the above, at a family grave, a sudden moment of calm and sweetness. Scent of mown grass.

Squeaks and cheers of children at the village school having Sports Day nearby.Fabulous, fabulous views across Exmoor and down to the sea.

A glorious Thanksgiving Service...

...with pupils from a range of schools in different parts of Britain gathering at St Margaret's Westminster, to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the Schools Bible Project.

The choirs of Ripley St Thomas CofE Academy, and Our Lady's Convent School, Loughborough, led the singing: we began with a rousing "Guide me, O Thou Great Redeemer" and then during the service each choir sang a most beautiful anthem...pupils from various schools did the Scripture readings, and read prayers, as did our Trustee, Baroness Cox. The Dean of Westminster Abbey led the service and preached. There was a beautiful message from Archbishop Vincent Nichols. It was a united Christian celebration, soaked in lovely music and with the young people attentive, reverent, and involved.

In the Schools Bible Project, of which Auntie is Chairman, pupils have to imagine themselves present at an event in the life of Christ - they are given six from which to choose - and then write about it. Every year, we receive hundreds and hundreds of essays from schools across Britain. There are prizes for those who write essays of fine quality. The whole project is, as Dean John Hall noted, very Ignatian. You place yourself in the scene described in the Scriptures, and get right into it.  It is an encounter with Christ.

The service ended with a blessing, and  "Amazing Grace" and the choir sang Rutter's "The Lord bless you and keep you..." The sound of the young voices filling that great church sent a message of hope...

The Vatican, cricket, and goodwill...

...and see this link...

Auntie on Vatican Radio...

..listen in here

You might enjoy...

...this blog post.

Don't give some one poison...

...and then claim that you are simply "assisting him to die". It's a gross and vile idea. Killing some one who is ill and frightened and in pain is wicked, and the plans to legalise such killing must be blocked. There is planned legislation in the House of Lords: the Bill comes up on July 18th.  Read here, and write to a couple of members of the House of Lords, as a matter or urgency. (That link will give you info on how to do so).

Walsingham...

..and the glorious beauty of the Norfolk countryside: a fabulous weekend. Have you thought about joining in the John Paul II Walk for the New Evangelisation?  It will be exceptionally good this year.  More info here

At a Catholic secondary school...

...a warm welcome, and everyone v. friendly and courteous, pupils smart in their uniforms, a pleasant sense of purpose around the place. But...a rather depressing experience in the RE  group I addressed: the only thing, really virtually the ONLY thing the pupils seem to know or understand about the Catholic faith is that the Church opposes abortion, contraception, and IVF! A glance at the RE work on display revealed that they had been studying something of the Trinity, and the Incarnation, and the Mass, and there were some posters showing glowing candles, altars, incense...but none of this seems to have stuck. Nor did they seem to know much about the Church's work for the poor, for the imprisoned, the hungry, refugees.  They just get one shouted message from the mainstream mass media, and from the sub-culture of their lives, and from speakers and campaigners: that the Church opposes abortion, contraception, IVF, and same-sex unions.

I was giving a talk about St John Paul II. It is a life-story of courage and adventure, of responding to the glory of God's call and the thrill of being part of his great mission of love and hope. Good response from the pupils: they were rapt and interested throughout. But when it came to questions, they were awkward, shy, didn't know what to say. Then one boy raised his hand "What do you think about IVF?"  It took a moment to register.  I hadn't mentioned sexual ethics particularly in the talk, which had ranged from the wartime occupation of Poland through Stalin's grip on Eastern Europe, the Mass, poetry and theatre, Rome, the drama of John Paul I's sudden death, the events of 1978 and 79, and on through the assassination attempt, missionary journeys, World Youth Day, the Rosary, mysticism, healings, 2005, and more...

So I answered the question on  in-vitro-fertilisation and gave a brief, vigorous, and I hope useful explanation of why it is wrong...but I don't think he was convinced, and then another pupil  asked "But isn't the Church  unfair on couples who long to have children?" and another asked  "What about abortion in cases of rape?" And then when the lesson had finished a lad came to complain about "girls who get pregnant and then get a flat and all that money from the Government"...

Oh dear. OH DEAR.

In fairness, some of the boys afterwards asked for a booklet about St JP and wanted to know more about him. So I think there is a lot of interest...but... it is tragic that young people's view of the Church is conditioned solely by one main message: that the Church opposes abortion and contraception. They just get propaganda about this the whole time. The Church's great "yes" to God's offer of life is glorious, and needs to be presented with vigour...but it's clear that we can't teach it by simply joining in the general din on the subject in the current  porn-saturated and ugly culture of our country. 

Saint John Paul and Pope Benedict XVI  showed us another way: at World Youth Day they did  not moralise, did not get gloomy, but instead lifted young hearts and minds to great, noble, glorious things, focusing on Christ, on the splendour of  unchanging truth, on the Eucharist,  God's great mercy, on the joy of it all. And Pope Francis is doing this too. This is the way ahead.

I  get a bit tired of people saying "Our bishops should speak out more about abortion". Actually, being anti-abortion is the one thing that people do  know about the Catholic Church. BUT THERE IS SO MUCH MORE TO THE CATHOLIC FAITH THAN THAT!

I think we should focus strongly on sending in to Catholic schools  faith-filled troops with strong lively presentations of the  Catholic Faith in its truth and its glory: God taking human flesh and living among us, our salvation, the Cross, the Resurrection, the magnificence of it...facts, beauty, inspiration, a message of hope. Barron's CATHOLICISM, the DVDs from St Anthony Communications,  the New Movements, EVANGELIUM, materials from the CTS and more, and more...

...and in the evening light...

...of a warm July day, a group of History Walkers making their way from Westminster Cathedral (which is dedicated to the Precious Blood of Christ)  to the Church of the Precious Blood at London Bridge. The image of Mary and the Christ-child on the Westminster City Hall's coat-of-arms, the streets around Westminster Abbey (St Ann's, St Matthew's...Abbey Orchard Street...) echoing with memories of the long-ago monks...the glorious spires of Parliament matching, by intent and design and with a profound sense of the meaning of things, the spires of the adjoining Abbey...and down along the teeming South Bank of the Thames, crowds, restaurants, cafes,  street-theatre...stunning views of St Paul's and hideous ones of the ghastly giant "walkie-talkie" and associated tower-blocks which are wrecking our city...

---and so to London Bridge, via the Globe Theatre and the Bishop of Winchester's old palace and more...and then through the Borough Market, and to Mass at Precious Blood Church, the steady peaceful message of the liturgy, a sense of coming home...

It's a longish walk along the river, took us a couple of hours partly because of the crowds...but it was a beautiful evening, and the cheery supper provided by the welcoming Ordinariate team at PrBl Church was a joyful conclusion to a happy day...

Walsingham...

...and at the weekend a glorious pilgrimage there. We gathered at the Anglican shrine  and a service of blessing and sprinkling with water from the well...this was very beautiful.  The message was one of healing and hope, and also of placing trust in God, of just wanting to be with him. He made everything, and he made and loves us, and we are his children. There was a timeless quality to the day, a sense of a link with all the pilgrims down the centuries and with the origins of the shrine... "The water was there before you were".

A procession, led by the Cross and acolytes, to the Catholic shrine, a picnic lunch, meeting friends and lots of talk...time for a visit to the beautiful Slipper Chapel, and then Mass in the barn church. The Mass was concelebrated by lots of priests from the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, and was in the Ordinariate form. A good day.

You can read about this and also read Auntie's page in the latest issue of The Portal...