Since the end of July, I have been on a retreat with fellow men in Religious Life; we represent countries from all over the world. Somebody joked that Jonathan has come, once again, to win a  Gold Medal – a medal more valuable than those given out at the Olympics – one that wins us a place in heaven. This is the Gold Medal we should all be aiming to win.

‘People in and around the Olympic Games are commenting on something called the British ‘Feel Good Factor‘ – a rather strange and new phenomenon, spreading itself world-wide, and the first I heard of this was by way of an email, from a website that calls itself, ‘Hope, not Hate’. I like this website, because it is in favour of celebrating Britain’s diverse society, and there was a reference to the young Somali man, Mo Farah, the British Muslim who recently won the Olympic 10,000 metres race.

Mo Farah On His Way to Winning  the Olympics 10,000 metres

Only yesterday, an Italian friend said to me, jokingly, that he had read in the newspaper that something strange was happening in London: people were actually talking to each other on the tube, this week, during the Olympics! The same thing happened when Pope John Paul II came to Britain, in 1982, and again on Pope Benedict’s visit to Britain two years ago, in 2010. By contrast, I can well remember 1961 when working in London; there was a 20 minute delay in the South Electric train from Charing Cross to Blackheath, where I lived. On the train, we were crammed like ‘sardines in a tin’, elbow to elbow, almost cheek to cheek, and it was hot. Hardly anyone spoke for that 20 minutes! Many times, I have been on the underground in London, and the only ones speaking were the young Spanish, Italians or French, who were passengers at the same time.

My conclusion is, there must be something happening in Britain, London in particular, at this time.  I hope it continues, as it seems to me most inhuman not to communicate with ‘fellow man’, people ‘cheek-by-jowl’ in the same activity, for whatever reason. Could it be our British reserve? Could it be the weather? Or could it be our sense of individuality? I really don’t know the answer!

Meanwhile as this retreat goes on, I have learned something more about the Gold Medal of Life.

We, in Britain, can only admire our own Team GB, and those athletes who have done so well; at the same time, we know, and they know, that they have had to focus on getting to the top in their sport, avoiding anything that distracted them.  For years, it has been the ‘one thing’ in their lives.

The same is true for the Gold Medal of life. For us to be fully human, fully alive, fully love, fully united with God and each other, we must turn away from anything that is part of not loving, and focus positively on all that is loving. It can even mean turning away from the good things (like recalling the happy moments of life), if that conflicts with what we should be focussing on, at the time – like really listening to the person who is talking to me. Obviously, it also means turning away from sin and evil, and what is not God’s will.

Personally, I do not necessarily find this denial of self very easy, but I do my best to achieve it. Not to waste time before going to bed is always hard, and I have to make a big effort then, to focus on what I am meant to do. But then, the other thing is to accept the “slings and arrows of outrageous fortune”, coupled with “the sea of the troubles of life”, as Shakespeare puts it. Each day, and often in each moment of the day, there are things we have to do which are difficult. Those are a part of life for everyone: for me, another example is getting up in the morning, or emptying the dishwasher… there are so many things, and this is being repeated every day, and every hour of the day.  Tackling these little things – minor though they are – is all part of our training for the ‘Gold Medals’ of our lives. For the rest of our training we must add those essentials such as living in faith, hope and love, and I have no doubt that then we shall be fit – fit to enter the race of our lives – and Jesus will meet us, help us to mount that heavenly podium and give us our medals, for we will be in Him.

Looking on will be Our Father in heaven, Mary our Mother, all the angels and saints, together with those relatives and friends who have gone before us and earned theirs.

Jesus and Mary, both human like ourselves, had to suffer Shakespeare’s ‘slings and arrows’, and they were perfect.  Sin never touched them, yet they had to suffer like all human frailty.  Mary, knowing what must be, and what must come, suffered passively the “Sword that was to pierce her heart”, and out of love, gave up her son as a sacrifice for the world.  Jesus, God made Man, pro-actively became man, lived and died for all of us – each and every individual person, and what greater love can there be, but to ‘lay down one’s life for one’s friends’.  Both Mother and Son, with minds focussed on what had to be won, endured their years of training and ran the race to the end.  Both gave everything for their ‘Golds’.

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Here I am, on retreat with some friends in Religious Life, all of whom have re-found the meaning of their Religious Lives through the experience of living the Spirit of Communion of the Church. Finding that meaning has come to us via the Focolare Movement.  In essence, it is an experience of heaven on earth.

  Bro Real Savegeau (Marist brother, Canada), Brother Claude Passebon (Brother of St Gabriel France), Self (Benedictine England), Miha, a young Vincentian Lay helper (Slovenia), Germano Van de Meer (Divine Word Missionary, Brazil) 

On 7 June 2012, at the Eucharistic Congress, in Dublin, Cardinal Ouellet gave a talk at a theological symposium, in which he stated: “The ecclesiology of communion is the central and fundamental idea of the Council’s documents.” This has been confirmed by documents of the Church ever since; it means, in practice, that we in the Church, ought to aim to be truly a family of people, each person with different functions. Each person is invited to make his, or hers, the New Commandment of Jesus: “To love each other as I have loved you” (John 13, 34-35). This ‘central plank’ of the new vision of things, has been the inspiration for the Church, and the humanity of the second Vatican Council, ever since.

The first male Religious who followed this path, and helped to set up a group of men in Religious Life who discovered this ‘treasure’, was a Franciscan called Fr. Andrea Balbo. Inevitably, he had an immense influence on my life, because I, too, found in this Spirit of Communion, the meaning of my Ampleforth Benedictine life. He became known as Fr. Novo (meaning new), because of that saying in the Gospel:  “You must be born anew”. (John 3: 7), when he was first introduced to this ‘spirit’ in 1953, by Chiara Lubich.

Fr. Novo with the founder of the Focolare, Chiara Lubich. 

Fr. Novo was born in Vicenza, Italy, in 1923, and at the age of 13, went off to the minor seminary of the Friars Minor. He was in love with his studies, philosophy and the natural sciences, and all the new technology that had been developed during the 2nd World War. He studied theology in the Holy Land, and, after further studies in the Anatomy Institute, Naples, he continued for four more years studying chemistry, physics and astronomy, at the Sorbonne, Paris. He was the first Franciscan Friar since the French Revolution, to study in that famous university. 

In the summer of 1953, he was invited to attend a meeting in the Dolomites. He agreed to go, because he thought he could study the geology of the mountains, and, to this end, he brought all his scientific instruments with him. Ultimately, he had no time for any studies, because that meeting was, in fact, one of the first Mariapolis, a summer appointment of the Focolare Movement. In regard to this, he explained: “Inside of me began the demolition of everything I had constructed, to give way gradually to a new vision of things. There a new kind of catalyst entered my life: God, Jesus in the midst of us. He began to create in me a new interior ordering, also a new mind set.”  

I think that this new mind set, and this new vision of things, has created a new internal ordering in the lives of all those Religious that have learnt about this new spirit – a spirit which is fully in unison with the spirit of communion of Vatican 2. It is something that contains the Holy Spirit of God, as it brings so much hope, and life, to us in Religious Life and to the Church. It is this spirit that Fr. Andrea Balbo has led us to appreciate, alongside many other ‘foundation stones’ among Religious men. He was firm in his faith, in the power of this Spirit of Unity as a gift for the Church, and for the whole of humanity, even when he was an old and sick man in the last years. 

Sadly, Fr. Novo died early in the morning of last Saturday, 28 July. It is probable that there will be many Religious, men and women, Priests and laity, at his funeral on Thursday 2nd August, possibly even Bishops and a Cardinal or two. The second of August is a prominent day for Franciscans; it is a feast of mercy, linked to the famous shrine in Assisi, the Porziuncula, where St. Francis died, and is one that brings mercy into peoples’ lives, by visiting a Franciscan church and praying there. Mercy is also an aspect of the modern vision of the Church since the Vatican Council. 

His funeral will pass, largely unnoticed in the hurly burly of life, but then, Jesus’ death passed by unnoticed. However, he has made a huge difference  to many peoples’ lives, including my own. I thank God for his life, and thank God for Fr. Novo’s continued support and protection, from his everlasting reward in heaven; more especially, because he was one of those instrumental in letting me have an experience of the kingdom of God on earth, and later, one day, I hope we can all enjoy the kingdom of God, in all its perfection, in heaven.

  Fr. Novo during his last illness with a friend Fr. Fabio Ciardi OMI

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We have seen the Olympic Flame going all over Britain in these past two and a half months. Crowds of people have come out to see it, early in the mornings and all through the days. The ‘living flame’ is a good symbol – a symbol that is very much a flame alive.  A living flame is powerful and dangerous; it is exciting; it is also a cleansing flame that can burn out the old and make way for the new. 

Ultimately, the flame of God is able to make all things new. 

For the athletes, competing in the games, there is always the question of training – training so hard for the honour to succeed. For years and years, they have been training, training, training, often giving up other things in their lives, to focus only on their sport, and on the will to win. 

Our task, as Christians, is to have the same, even stronger, commitment for God, analagous to the athletes and their focus on their sport, always with that one long-term aim – the glory of winning that prized gold medal. Our task, also, is to win our own ‘gold’ medals, first the Kingdom of God on earth, here and now, in all the circumstances of life as we find them, transforming those circumstances by God’s grace, for nothing happens without it being a manifestation of God’s love! Our final ‘Gold’ will be the perfection of the Kingdom of God in heaven, where a host of saints, angels, relatives and friends await us.  It requires some good training for people to believe, experience and know that this is true. That is why people attend the ‘Mariapolis’, to train in the things of God. 

But our way is different to the way of the World. It is not in my strength, or in our strength, that we win the ‘Gold Medal’ of God’s kingdom. It is only in God’s strength. 

Below are two pictures illustrating the Mariapolis, and the vital connections with the Olympics; they display their own inimitable message.

Vitally, we need the flame of the Gospel, alive and burning in us, for the Word of God is like the flame; it makes new; it cleanses; it excites; it gives new meaning to life. In essence, this is what we are sharing at the Mariapolis, at Leicester University, this week in July. In total, there are about 400 of us here, of all ages, and we are becoming one great family, in the one Family of God, the Mystical Body of Christ, in which every person finds their true home.

The flame of the Word of God is our beacon on the journey of life. 

The photograph below shows a group of parishioners from Leyland, attending the Mariapolis, and visiting Mount St. Bernard Abbey. Among them, one can see Fr. Anselm Stark, a monk dressed in white. He lives a life of prayer and contemplation, but he, too, is living the Mariapolis and ‘undergoing the same training’, living in his enclosed Abbey, only about half an hour’s drive from the University, where we are staying. Although not with us, physically, he is closely united with us, in that special spiritual way. In his words, he lives the same spirit of unity, or communion, that the Word of God is teaching  to all of us. 

Group from Leyland who are at the Mariapolis in Leicester 

May God bless us and keep us all safe, this summer, and give us all a good rest. May the living flame of God’s Love renew us, burn out what is not of Love and turn us into loving people.

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Recently, various events have happened  in my direction, and together, they have helped me to see ‘Peace’, and ‘Relationships for Peace’ in a new way. 

I have been visiting a family – a very good family, with good values and strength of conviction about all that is good; however, within the family itself, things are not ‘easy’, as there are issues with the children that are giving rise to a need for conflict resolution. Nobody would suspect this from the outside.  Truly, there is great joy in the family; but, there are also some serious issues. 

Another continuing experience concerns a Religious Community, I know, which does a great deal of good. Yet, among its members, it is more or less dysfunctional, but overall, people find God, despite the wounds that are visible within. 

I visited Manfred about whom I wrote last week.  In doing so, I realise how a man, relatively young, can be faced with very serious health problems – something all of us will face one day – and remain, not only positive, but joyful within all the ‘ups and downs’ of life. He knows that Jesus is his Peace – not a platitude for him – but a living experience, with the living and risen Lord. 

Finally, I came across the below shown Peace Icon. It was produced in 1999, before the Year 2000 Olympic Games, for Pax Christi in the monastery of St. John near Jerusalem. It is the icon that is copied in a prayer card, linked to promoting 100 days of peace for the world, over the period of the Olympics. This tradition of peace goes back to the original Olympics in Greece, when a truce was called to allow the athletes, competing at the games, to travel peacefully to the Olympic venue. In 1992, the Olympic Games Committee revived the idea of the ‘truce’ or ‘peace’, and promoted that very important idea of ‘Peace through Sport and the Olympic Ideal’. The idea has been repeated  on the occasion of the Olympics, ever since.

“Christ is our Reconciliation” is the vitally important message conveyed by the icon. It depicts important people throughout the Biblical times, (and history), all of whom stood for peace. The main figure shows Esau and Jacob embracing; this pre-figures peace between Jews and Arabs. There are other important people depicted on the icon, for example St. Francis and St. Clare of Assisi.  For my own part, I would pray for peace in the Holy Land, and especially in the Middle East, highlighting  the conflicts going on in the countries of Iraq and Syria, at the present time. 

NOTE:  This week-end, should they wish, those readers attending our Church, will be able to pick up one of these icons; it has the Prayer for Peace on the reverse.  To find out more about the icon visit

 http://www.peacelegacy.org.uk/About%20the%20Icon.pdf

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“The Fire of God’s Love” is a phrase that many of us are familiar with. Fire really does burn us up, and the image is used in the Scripture to burn away the dross and leave the pure metal: “… like gold in the furnace he tried them”, (Wisdom 3:6). The Word of God is also a fire that consumes us, and no wonder, as the Word is Jesus, and his Spirit is the Spirit of God. Not surprisingly, also, it takes some time for most of us to understand the Word of God, because we run away from fire should it be burning us up; similarly, we run away from God’s Love, if He is burning us up out of Love; we would, I suspect, only remain in his fire if we have a real personal experience of God and his love.

Manfred, a friend of mine, has an incurable brain tumour, discovered only about 6 months ago. He is much younger than I, and many are praying for his recovery. Prayers are already being answered, as he remains so positive in his experience, and what he goes through; he does not keep his illness to himself, but shares with others. This is not to boast or show off; rather to strengthen many people.  His testimony is an example of what living God’s Word is all about. It includes the scriptures, relationships with others that devolve on having the Word, having Jesus among us and facing suffering; it involves also prayer, the Eucharist, and sharing the Word with each other, so that it does not get lost. You go to God never alone but with others as Jesus himself, when he died, certainly went to heaven with the good thief: “Jesus remember me when you come into your kingdom .… Today you will be with me in Paradise”, (Lk 23; 42). 

What Manfred writes is helpful to me. For him, everything turns on God’s Love; it includes knowledge of his complaint, the treatment he receives, and the prognosis that his brain tumour is inoperable. His experience is by no means all light – it has darknesses, though there are beautiful moments of light.  Through it all, he points out that God does not want perfect people, but those who love him, no matter what. I can take on board all of that, in my life! 

In April he already wrote to those who are his friends: 

“Hi there, 

On a practical level I am now in my fourth week of the vaccine trial and in my third week of the chemo and radio therapy. By now certain side effects are beginning to make themselves known, such as nausea, tiredness and general loss of taste as well as an increasing aversion to food, i.e. in the present moment I can’t actually stand the sight of food. Sleeping is also a bit of a lottery. But…. and this is a big ‘but’, things are actually going very well considering, I am not in pain, I am up and about, I can be active in a limited way. So, all these small thing are there to be offered for a lot of things for my friends and the life of the kingdom of God.  

God’s fantasy, I have to say, is really without limit! We have just had a retreat over Easter and at one point I was simply moved by the fact that His love really has no end! We are so different from one another and yet such a tremendous gift for one another. It’s really moving to see some times! And I normally don’t do ‘moving’! 

I had an opportunity to understand that there were countless moments before this chapter of my life started in which God prepared me for this adventure. Yes, it is an adventure of love, in which he asks me in every present moment to love, love by being there for my neighbour in the present moment, by living each moment as if it was my last full of love, by being in constant dialogue with Jesus in my neighbour in the present moment. In this way I am beginning to experience something very beautiful – a more constant presence of Jesus amongst us.  Jesus is giving me to understand through my brothers and sisters that the ‘real’ life is his continued presence amongst us more than ever. The greater that presence the more we will be able to discern the plan on each one of us. We will be able to see each other as those gifts from God for each other. This in turn brings about a very concrete expression of this love in every moment.   

I thank God for the immense peace and the joy he gives me, for the lack of pain, for the many things he has made me understand in these two months, for the sufferings I can offer. But most of all, I thank him for using me, a sick and limited person, who has even less of a brain than before for his plans.  

He also has a great sense humour: fancy picking me, with half a brain at the best of times and then taking away the little I have and let me know for the first time that I have clear ideas. Well, I am glad He knows what he is doing and I am up for staying with Him all the way.  

Be sure of my daily offering.  

We meet and are one in our pact of living the new commandment.” 

Manf

Manfred undergoing treatment to do some palliative medical treatment on his brain 

This next news came from Manfred, early in July. 

“Hi there,  

This is just a continuation of the communion of my little journey since the last time! The adventure continues and from a practical point of view I have now entered the second part of my treatment. Next week is the second round of chemo in that second part. But God loved me so much that he thought I could cope with a detached retina and so on 30th May I had an operation and had to cancel my trip to Scotland. But I was able to go a bit later. It was great because with varying tricks I was able to eat discovering the beauty of smoothies! Last Monday I had a meeting with the nurse and she thought I looked really well although she is worried about my weight loss. Last Saturday I managed to run two workshops at the Bright Lights festival with many young people from the diocese in Aylesford explaining a little how I live my faith in the light of pain and suffering. The echoes were very positive. The following day I was asked to update some married couples who met in Welwyn Garden City.  

I have to say that there are so many graces and gifts attached to this experience, that I am really moved by it. God is really at work despite me and my condition. But there are also moments of darkness, when I wished I was not ill, when I wished I could do more even around the house, when I am afraid of what is to come, and when I lose patience. However, God’s love is never far away. I read something from my friend Emmaus about God’s closeness to us all who live the Word of God. 

I have God with me when I love in the present moment. 

I need to love always. If I am outside myself I find that his love is there and God does not need perfect people to do his work, he needs people who are willing to love him, no matter what.  

Sharing with others what I live is a really powerful tool to change the world. So, it is no longer me who lives this experience, but us. Suddenly there is a different perspective on things: The sky is the limit, because we have Jesus with us. What more do we want. Emmaus is very powerful when she says that if God is in the driving seat in our lives for the Kingdom, we can do anything! God is in the driving seat when we have Jesus amongst us. It really is simple, but also not really! 

Giving my moments of living a purpose gives me direction. All contributes to the common goal of a more united world. This coming week I will offer everything for the Mariapolis preparations.  

Be in touch.” 

It is strange that, for many, or most of us, it takes so long to understand what, or who, the Word of God is, and how to put it into practice!

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Life is so full of paradox and contradiction. One that ‘stumps’ me is that the Word of God is, essentially, the person of Jesus; if we listen to it and put it into practice, we will receive ‘Life’ to the full. Yet, for many Christians, the Word of God is just something that belongs to the ‘boring’ Bible, is anything but ‘cool’, and basically has no effect. Far from being a ‘Word of Life’, it is a sterile thing. What a paradox!

Young people working with Animate Volunteers

Regarding the Word of God, we always seem to get it so wrong. It is not simply an intellectual exercise teaching us the meanings and interpretations of scripture and its life-giving powers; rather it is a part of life itself – all that makes up our lives. The Word of God is the one ‘through whom everything exists’, so our thoughts, our feelings, our affections, our worries and everything else, good and bad, easy or difficult that we encounter, are all included. To be able to interpret these human things, and act then in a fully human way, we need to live as we are created. We human beings are created in the image and likeness of God, so if we ignore God, we are not being human, and, we ignore God if we do not know the scriptures. It is through the scriptures, the written Word of God, that we can interpret those human experiences. 

Last month I was living for the whole month – along with millions of others over the world, and with many specific friends in our country – the Word: “Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you”, (Jn 6: 27). It is wonderful to take a small extract from the scriptures, yes, the Word of God, for a whole month. In every little word in the scripture, the whole Word of God is present, i.e. Jesus. It means I can digest the meaning in small ‘chunks’ as I live his Word; he becomes alive in me, and in my relationships, when I make the Word real. 

About two weeks ago, I went to visit the ‘Animate Group’ at Lowe House, St. Helens. The Group is a team of young people who work with Fr. Simon Gore, a diocesan priest, to ‘animate’ Catholic Youth throughout the diocese, and beyond, in their relationships with God. It was a simple evening. We ate together, with simple fun, chat and laughter, and I was able to ask them some questions, and find out more about who the young ones were, and why they had volunteered for this work.

Leyland young person, Natasha Lee, commissioned as a Minister for Holy Communion

What intrigued me – as ever – was how easy it was, to make friends and share with them. I asked one, a leader called Fergus, if he had found that their experience of trying to help young people, in schools and parishes, to know and love God, had helped him. “Definitely”, was his straightforward reply. In other words, who are the real beneficiaries of the ‘Animate Experience’? The answer must be, both the young the team serve, and the team. A further question could be, “Who gets the most benefit?” I think the answer may not devolve, on the masses of young people, the team visit. 

The same question might be asked of mums and dads, of teachers and their pupils, of priests and parishioners. Who benefits the most from their lives? Certainly, for that evening, I think I benefitted much more, seeing this group of dedicated young Catholics, aged probably 20 to 25, with their priest, than they benefitted from me.

 Young people working away at a project with Animate – a reciprocal experience

 When we live the Gospel, we always receive, as well as give. It is the nature of life – the essence of the Word of God. To know Jesus, we must know the scriptures and make them real, let them live, let Jesus be alive. It is not a dry, intellectual exercise that would lead, inevitably, to the sterile boredom of those who do not know God – and do not want to know. Rather, it is an affair of life, of the heart. 

Jesus gives us the ‘Food’ that endures for ‘Eternal Life’, and that means he gives ‘Himself’. Living in, and among, us He forges with us, and for us, new friendships, and we have the benefit of his presence. We are invited to live with Him, now and forever. 

N.B. If anyone wants to live the new “Word of Life” of this coming month, then it is: “For to those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.” (Mt 13,12). A commentary that I find most helpful, on this text can be found on our St. Mary’s Website under the tag “Bulletin”. Click on that and find the drop down menu including “Word of Life”.

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In this week’s blog, it is my pleasure to present an article written by a good friend of mine, Angela Graham.  She is a writer, a married ‘mum’ of three and is involved in TV presentations in Wales; she is also a member of the ‘Focolare’, movement.  Largely leaving aside the traditionally historic Catholic view of devotions to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and some ideas that were largely ‘wrapped up’ in a rather sentimental past, her article takes on a more critical look at the ways the Church – the whole mystical Body of the Church – now focuses attention on the Image of the Sacred Heart, and the love of Jesus, it portrays, for all mankind. Friday, 15 June 2012, is the Feast of the Sacred Heart. 

Fr. Jonathan   

“I am a laywoman, involved with the Focolare Movement. I have been a reader of the magazine “Charisms in Unity” produced by the Religious of the Focolare Movement for some years and find it full of wonderful things. It has been inspiring to read about the lives and enterprises of religious. In the January/March edition, Vol. XX, I read the article, “The 40th. Anniversary of the Movement of Women Religious” by Antonia Moioli, S.B.G. and received an especially welcome gift. She writes about the encounter on April 14th, 1971 between women religious and Pope Paul VI, in St. Peter’s Square, a meeting which is regarded as “… the official and public inauguration of the Movement of Women Religious, Adherents of the ‘Focolare’ Movement”, to use Chiara Lubich’s (Founder of the Focolare Movement) words of the time. The Pope told them, “We know that you have come together precisely in order to be close to the “Focolare”, that is, to the Heart of the Lord which irradiates charity. You intend, in fact, to go to the Lord’s school, to the Lord’s “Focolare”, to warm and enflame your hearts with the charity of the Lord.”

 I was very struck by this statement that the ‘Focolare’ is “… the Heart of the Lord which irradiates charity”. As an Irish person, I grew up under the gaze of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Almost every Irish Catholic home displayed an image of Jesus, pointing to his ‘blazing’ heart. It was a common gift to ‘newly-weds’. Most churches had two side altars, one to the Virgin Mary and the other to the Sacred Heart. Windows depicting the Sacred Heart were common, often showing St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, the seventeenth-century French nun who promoted devotion to the Sacred Heart. The practice of keeping the Nine First Fridays, linked to the Sacred Heart, was widespread; this involved reception of Holy Communion on the first Friday of nine consecutive months, in fulfilment of the condition for a ‘good death’.  Most Catholics had some knowledge of the Promises of the Sacred Heart, made to St Margaret Mary. Novenas to the Sacred Heart were popular, as were insertions in newspapers, offering to the Sacred Heart, “Thanks for favours received”. In short, the image of that ‘burning heart’ was all around us.

Jesus Appears to St. Margaret Mary

Yet no one ever really explained what the image was about. There was an assumption that we understood. It was used to tell us how much Jesus loved us, but this was almost overwhelmed by the emphasis placed on how we did not love him sufficiently in return. As a result, I read his gaze as one of reproach, on the whole. Many social factors of those times, in Ireland, led to the devotion often coming across as something resorted to by powerless, desperate people, with nowhere else to turn, rather than as something as first, and foremost, life-affirming. 

And how did one translate all that love of his into something useful for everyday life? We were encouraged to take our troubles to him, put flowers before his image, and say, “Sacred Heart of Jesus, I put all my trust in thee,” but I did not understand how to link this devotion properly to my life. As a young adult, I found a leaflet in a church, which in a small way made a link between behaviour and the devotion, and I remember feeling indignant that nobody had explained this before. It was something to do with God loving us, and we loving others. Perhaps, I was particularly dim! 

Many years later, I researched the origins of the devotion, its development and spread, and this opened up to me a better understanding of that aspect which I had found hard to grasp: “In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the expiation for our sins.” (1 John, 4: 10). I had received the impression that the devotion was about our efforts to love God, but I now began to understand that, devotion to the Sacred Heart, is a school in taking hold of the fact that God loves us. That is what the imagery is trying to convey – God’s personal love for each individual, whether or not, that person responds.  I sensed that there is, in this, something that is good for me, and so I make the Novena to the Sacred Heart, and, occasionally, say the Litany, because these are statements of the primacy of God’s love for me. 

 “No man has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.” (1 John, 4:12). ‘Focolare’, I had always heard, is a word that means ‘hearth’, the place where the fire burns. Until reading the “Charisms in Unity” article, I had not come across a link made between this hearth and the Heart of the Lord, but now, of course, the link is clear. For me, the long-established devotion, and the new charism are seen as one in essence. If the “Lord’s Focolare” is “the Heart of the Lord which irradiates charity”, then the members of the Movement – who are at one with each other – live in that Heart. 

Are there implications? I can sense two, at least. In my parish church, built in 1911, the central window high up in the nave is of the Sacred Heart, and there is a side-altar of the same dedication. Devotional practices were somewhat eclipsed in many parishes, post-Vatican II, in a well-intentioned shift of emphasis away from, potentially, lifeless outward forms of religiosity, and, at present, there may be a fear that such devotional forms are associated with a fortress-mentality, or a bias, against a Catholic faith fully engaged with the times in all their complexity. However, we now have a wonderful new window on the devotion. The Sacred Heart of Jesus is the hearth, or, to use a phrase from the Litany, “… the glowing furnace” (fornax ardens) of charity, in which the Spirituality of Communion, forges many hearts into one. I’m not wise enough to do more, at the moment, than wish to draw attention to the link between the Heart of the Lord and the ‘Focolare’. I am pleased to be able to see my own efforts to build unity, in my Volunteers nucleus, (a temporary Focolare), as steps towards living in the Heart of Jesus. Secondly, I dimly perceive the possibility of presenting devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, in a fresh and contemporary way. 

So thank you to “Charisms in Unity” for this wonderful gift.”

Angela Graham

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For most of my adult life, my music preferences have always leaned toward the classical; however, good music of whatever genre will always find a welcome in my ears, and pop music is, certainly, no exception.  Throughout the years of the 70’s and early 80’s, the pop music scene was to see a Swedish male / female, group of four, take the world by storm; their music to most was attractive in terms of the beautiful melodies they sang, the wonderful and quite meaningful lyrics that were woven into the music, and the foot-tapping rhythms that set everyone’s feet a-dancing – the young and the not-so-young.  I refer to ‘ABBA’, of course.  The name came from the first letters of the their Christian Names, Agnetha Fältskog, Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus and Anna-Frid Lyngstad; they came together to form a group in Stockholm in 1972, won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1974, and arguably, were considered by many to be the best group ever to have won the contest.

‘ABBA’ 

It is estimated that they have sold over 370 million records, world-wide, and their music still sells millions of records every year, making them amongst the top, best-sellers, in the history of pop.  Though of non-English ethnic background, their greatest successes were in the English speaking countries – England, Ireland, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and the Philippines; however, some of their records were made in Spanish and this ensured their popularity in the Latin American markets. 

Whilst together as a band, Björn and Agnetha were a married couple, and later, Benny and Anna-Frid became married, also.  Unfortunately, I think largely because of fame, and the pressures this brings to people in the public eye, both couples were to split up and become divorced, though the group of four still performed together; however, the effects of the estrangements became evident in the music they sang, becoming rather more introspective – more soul-searching – though no less attractive to millions, for all that.  And so it continued, until the eventual break-up of the group in 1983, after which, the individual members pursued solo music careers, in various roles. 

One of their most thoughtful songs, I think, was called ‘I have a dream’, the words of which are as follows:

“I have a dream, a song to sing
To help me cope with anything
If you see the wonder of a fairy tale
You can take the future even if you fail
I believe in angels
Something good in everything I see
I believe in angels
When I know the time is right for me
I’ll cross the stream – I have a dream
I have a dream, a fantasy
To help me through reality
And my destination makes it worth the while
Pushing through the darkness still another mile
I believe in angels
Something good in everything I see
I believe in angels
When I know the time is right for me
I’ll cross the stream – I have a dream
I’ll cross the stream – I have a dream
I have a dream, a song to sing
To help me cope with anything
If you see the wonder of a fairy tale
You can take the future even if you fail
I believe in angels
Something good in everything I see
I believe in angels
When I know the time is right for me
I‘ll cross the stream – I have a dream
I’ll cross the stream – I have a dream.”

Reading the words, and giving them serious consideration, leads me to think that the members of the group were searching for ‘something’ else – that ‘something’ on a higher plane.  The song is of this world, but yearning for the ‘good’ – a ‘good’ that transcended all that the pop-world had given them; “I have a dream….I believe in angels….something good in everything I see….”  If one listens, carefully, to this rather beautiful melody and the way in which the words are sung, is not long before the whole composition begins to take one to a world, other than the earthy one we all know so well for its ‘other-than-spiritual’ values – values that, mostly, pervade the popular music scene, internationally.  In a way, I think it does take us to the world of angels – and beyond.

Creation – God Gives Life to Adam – Sistine Chapel – Michaelangelo 

From this point, it is easy to make the transition – a short leap of faith – from Abba, the pop-group to Abba (Father).  

The word ‘Abba’ was originally an Aramaic form, its definitive meaning being ‘The Father’, or ‘O Father’.  It was borrowed by the Greeks, in which language it was written as ‘Αββα’and in which it was invariably followed directly by the word meaning ‘Father’.  In Hebrew, it came to be used, historically, as a title of honour to the Jewish rabbis; by this time the vice president of the Sanhedrin was already known as the ‘Father’ of the Sanhedrin.  Later on, the title became applied to the bishops of the Coptic and Syrian churches, and in particular, it was the title used by the Bishop of Alexandria.  The name, Barabbas, comes from the same source ‘bar’ meaning ‘son’ of ‘abba’ meaning father. Our English words ‘abbot’ and ‘abbey’ are derived from the Aramaic ‘abba’. 

More importantly, the phrase ‘Abba, Father’, used three times, that we know of, in the New Testament, was identified, emphatically, as the way in which Jesus referred to His Father in heaven: 

“And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt.” (Mark 14:36) 

“For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear, but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.” (Romans 8:15)

“And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.” (Galatians 4:6)

Michaelangelo’s depiction of the Blessed Trinity 

From these examples, it would appear that Jesus’ disciples followed his example in calling God the Father, Abba, Father, though I think we would be wrong to assume that Jesus only used the term of affection for His Father, on just one or two occasions.  It is more than probable that Jesus spoke in Aramaic, the language which was the fore-runner to the Greek translations of the New Testament.  The Aramaic word ‘Abba’ was a warm and intimate way for a son to address his father. It was very much the way in which a trusting child would call on his loving father, and it is not too much of an extrapolation to assume that Jesus used this term of endearment, to teach his followers something of the relationship he enjoyed with His (and Our) Father in heaven.  In this way, Jesus introduces us to God as ‘OUR FATHER’, also, and in a way that was never used in the old ways of the Jewish Old Testament. 

I wonder if this is what the pop group ‘ABBA’ were searching for?

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God never has, never could and never will, leave his people without his presence and his support. Both in Biblical times, and in the history of the Church, since Jesus lived and died and rose again, God has found ways to manifest his presence, and support his people. In the Old Testament, this might mean ‘punishing His beloved people’, as the Word of God proclaims: 

My child, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,

or lose heart when you are punished by Him;

for the Lord disciplines those whom he loves,

and chastises every child whom he accepts.  (Heb 12 5-6)

 1)       Map showing the Exodus  2)       Jews taken to Babylon 

The exile to Babylon, in the time of King Zedekiah, (597 BC), is a particular example, because the leaders of Judah, the priests and people, were very unfaithful to God; they copied the shameful practices of those who did not know God, defiled their temple, and when God sent them prophet after prophet, they ridiculed God’s messengers and laughed at them. God’s anger became so fierce that there was no other remedy except exile, and the scholars think about 50,000 Jews were taken there, (2 Chronicles 36: 14-21). It makes one think about what might happen in our own times.

God does not only help and support by punishing. He also gives us practical help, and this is illustrated by events in Church History. Let us take, as an example, St. Benedict (480-547 AD), and his monastic movement in the 5th and 6th centuries in Europe.

1)       St. Benedict’s statue in the entrance to St. Mary’s Priory Leyland …… 2)       An Ancient Monastery 

At that time, Europe suffered a major breakdown in its civilisation, because the rampaging tribes from the East had invaded this rich and fertile Empire of Rome. From the early 4th Century, Christianity had been the official religion of the Empire, (Emperor Constantine 313 AD), but in the following 200 years, a kind of melt-down of normal life happened. 

St. Augustine of Hippo, (died 330 AD), wrote a book called “The City of God”, in which he laments the fall of the Empire, with the invasions already happening, and he sees it as a great disaster, because so many saw the structures of the State and of the Church so closely linked, that the destruction of the State, might also mean the destruction of the Church. However, St. Augustine was a great man of God, and he saw beyond to God’s providence and love for his people, despite the tragedy that was happening. 

The monasteries, for the next few hundred years, were centres of peace and learning, in a ‘desert’ without civilisation: it is true that some were attacked and destroyed by invaders, but the ideal, and the life, lived through it all, and contributed to the restoration of stability, peace and a new civilisation once again. 

Benedict followed God and the Word of God; his rule is totally immersed in the Scriptures, and Benedict would say: “… that we must labour to return to God, by listening to God and his Word under obedience to God, whom we have lost by the sloth of disobedience, (Prologue of the Rule, start). “I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me”, (John 6: 38), and Jesus can say: “I and the Father are one”, (John 10; 30). To be one with God, and in Him, with our neighbours, is one fruit of living the charism of Benedict, and to find the meaning and purpose of our mysterious lives. 

St. Benedict was the first Saint to be named a Patron of Europe, and through him, God worked to build up what had been destroyed.  He gives an example of what happens throughout history; similarly, we may expect such divine providence in today’s world, in which the values of Christian living are under threat, in the different circumstances of today.

 The graph below shows the decline in all UK Church attendance, that even in 1980, started from a low percentage of say 12%.

The question at the start of this reflection is, “Will the Church survive?” Faith tells us that it will, but it may not happen in some places. The very first place, where followers of the ‘Way of Jesus’ were called ‘Christians’, was at Antioch, and this great Church has been totally destroyed, in the course of time. So has much of the Church of North Africa, and such destruction could happen in our own country. Three further pieces of evidence have come my way, in the past weeks, sufficient to make me realise the depths of the challenge the Church faces. 

The most significant is from Archbishop Joseph Tobin (C.S.S.R.), who is the current secretary of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life of the Vatican. In a recent address to the Union of the European Conferences of May Superiors, he refers to the forthcoming Synod of Bishops, to be held in Rome, on the New Evangelization. In it he points out that those preparing for this Synod, in their document, ‘Lineamenta’ explain about the ‘educational emergency’ the Church is facing. He goes on to state:

Mgr. J W. Tobin 

The “educational emergency” means that the Church is no longer able to transmit to young people all that she owes them. This failure, even impotency, is more tormenting, if one believes that an essential element of the mission of Jesus and, as a necessary consequence, the mission of the Church is to “proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind … to let the oppressed go free” (cf. Lk 4, 18). Is it possible that the true freedom of young people is actually distorted because of the inability of the Church to transmit to them what they need to live? 

I would certainly identify with this ‘impotency’ of the Church to transmit to young people, and would add that it is just as difficult for many parents and grand-parents trying to communicaate with them. 

Then, there is evidence from the new Confirmation Programme we have just completed. Bishop Tom Williams saw the joy, and even enthusiasm, on the faces of the candidates; he commented on the presence of strong families around them, and asked me if there had been a significant increase in numbers at Mass as a result. I had to answer there was no significant change in Mass numbers! Worshipping regularly, in Church, is not on the ‘radar’ of an increasing number of Catholics – at least in Leyland. However, this does not mean that people do not believe in God. 

Finally, a member of the South Ribble Borough Council was sharing with a group of us about funding, and other issues. He was able to state, clearly, that funders who would support development projects, in Church buildings, would only do so, if they saw a need that was sustainable over the next 20 years. If, in a Church, it was seen that there would be only a small group of 50 or so worshippers, regularly coming to Church in 20 years’ time, and nobody else, in any other capacity from the community, they would not be prepared to give money, to develop the building. Witnessing the decline in Church numbers, funders in Lancashire, at least, are not prepared to support Church building developments, for the congregation alone. The ordinary business man is pretty clear what is going to happen. 

Observing those who are active in the parishes, it is a fact that many of these faithful are those who have been touched by something extra, to feed their spiritual lives, than just the structure of diocese and parish. We all need that something extra. The hierarchical aspect of Church life, with its ritual, its commissions, its organization, its ideas, is not enough, in the present age, to feed the people spiritually. This observation is supported by important teaching in the Church, namely from Pope John Paul II, 1983, to the Latin American Episcopal Council (CELAM). 

“The spiritual needs of many Catholic lay people are not being met through the traditional institutions of the Church. These spiritual needs, coupled with the challenges facing Christians in a secularized world, have led to the formation of the communities (i.e. new movements in the Church). Their spiritual hunger and their fulfilment through the gifts of the Holy Spirit have brought unexpected blessings to the Church and to society. The groups have been in the vanguard of the “new evangelization”. They are experienced as “new in ardour, methods and expression” 

Cardinal Ratzinger, before he became Pope in 1998, reflected that “the charismatic and institutional aspects are quasi coessential to the constitution of the Church.” The charismatic side of the Church includes all the Religious Orders, and now, increasingly recognised, are many new ecclesial movements in the Church. It is the latter, that are the more important for the future of the Church today, as it is not true of the Religious Orders, that they have new life-styles, new in ardour, methods and expression. In a way, they may often have become ‘fossilized’ with their own institution, ritual and style; certainly, there are few vocations. 

The new, Spirit-led Movements are really gifts of God, for our time, and, as this reflection began, God never deserts his people. He seems to have organized, especially, the laity – without excluding clergy – to be open and ready to be a part of these different ‘Movements’. At Pentecost 1998, Pope John Paul II issued an invitation for members of new movements to come to a gathering in St. Peter’s Square in Rome; in fact five hundred thousand Catholics came and participated in the event. This was followed by Pope Benedict, in 2006, with many of the members of different ecclesiastical movements. 

One aspect of these New Movements – like the Religious Orders – is that they all take the Word of God seriously. Just like the Religious Orders, they form people into community; this is what God’s Word does!  

When we return to the original question: “Will the Church survive?” we can say through faith “Yes, of course”, but not in any particular place. For the sake of the future, for our children and grandchildren, let us pray that the Church, and its values, will survive, even in our own country. The key will be that, those who are already a living part, of the Body of the Church, will persevere and remain faithful. All those people will require help to do so, from God, and from his chosen instruments – people who bring God’s presence into life – people who are firmly believers, and who, joyfully and humbly, put their beliefs into practice – people who do not flinch from that path. 

In conclusion, Pope Benedict, at the vigil of the Feast of Pentecost, June 3rd 2006, said:

 His Holiness the Pope – St. Peter’s Square – the Vigil of Pentecost 2006 

You have come to St Peter’s Square this evening in really large numbers to take part in the Pentecost Vigil. I warmly thank you. You belong to different peoples and cultures and represent here all the members of the Ecclesial Movements and New Communities, spiritually gathered round the Successor of Peter to proclaim the joy of believing in Jesus Christ and to renew the commitment to be faithful disciples in our time. …. 

A similar meeting that took place in this same Square on 30 May 1998 with beloved Pope John Paul II springs to mind. A great evangelizer of our time, he accompanied and guided you throughout his Pontificate.  

He described your Associations and Communities on many occasions as “providential”, especially because the Sanctifying Spirit makes use of them to reawaken faith in so many Christian hearts and to reveal to them the vocation they have received with Baptism. He also helps them to be witnesses of hope filled with that fire of love which is bestowed upon us precisely by the Holy Spirit.

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The ‘Word of God’ cleanses us and accomplishes what it is meant to do: 

“So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55: 11). “You have already been cleansed by the Word that I have spoken to you.” (John 15: 3)

I think when the disciples heard this clear word of encouragement spoken by Jesus, their hearts must have leapt for joy.

The Word of God is seldom put into prominence in tuition courses, to prepare people for initiation into Christian Life, and this is a serious omission. Why do we not emphasise God’s Word, when Jesus, alone, has the words of eternal life, according to Simon Peter, (in John 6: 68), and there is nowhere else to find these words?  In fact, speaking in the name of the disciples, Simon Peter goes on to say: “… we have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God”. (John 6: 69)

I suspect it is hard to explain the importance of the Word of God, in words that make sense. Yet, increasingly this year, I am aware that the Word of God is something practical and real – something that brings about personal union with God, and with others – others who also lead me to God.

We need to be inserted like branches into the ‘tree’ of the Word of God, and pruned as well. 

The sacraments are essential, but they are over in a short time; Mass may be 25 minutes long. However, I can be in union with God through the Word, each day, and every day, and that is what I want and need. This is because, if I understand God aright, he is our Father and my Father; He takes a personal interest in me, and is the only one who will lead me, a monk and a priest, through the ‘spiders’ web’ of complicated lives that we all live. He is my real friend, my only ‘Good’, and I know and love Him, because of the Word of God; I am also very aware that He knows and loves me.

Below are some ideas that have crossed my mind concerning the reasons why Catholic Christians, at least, do not emphasise the Word of God enough.

Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ, like being unable to see the beauty of Creation around us. 

The Word of God is not just about the scripture, though scripture is essential. On this point, St. Jerome wrote that ‘Ignorance of Scripture is Ignorance of Christ’. Yet, at the same time, I know many Catholic Christians who have certainly known Christ, but would not have known much of the Scripture! They did the essential thing: they lived the Word of God, as interpreted by those in the Church, who had taught them. 

For many, the words of the Bible are opaque and difficult, and to some even irrelevant. Yet, the Word of God is about a whole experience of life, and words alone cannot do justice, adequately, to this whole experience. The experience I speak of is the experience of loving – and being loved in return; it is what psychologists, like Eric Fromm, speak about, but it is not just something human. No, rather it is of God, divine. The nature of God is Love, according to the scriptures, (1 John 4: 16), and so there must be ‘relationship’ in God, because Love does not permit of ‘solus cum solo’ – the alone with the alone. (In passing, this is no judgement on the value and love of that ‘silence’ of being alone with God, for silence is essential, if we are to know God; it is just that solitude is not what human beings are made for; all of us are made for companionship with God, who is Love, and each other.) When a person truly lives the Love of God, the heart of the Scriptures, then there must be something of a giving and receiving, something that reflects, on earth, the presence of God, who is Love. 

The Word of God reaches its culmination – its high point – for those of us who are trying to be disciples of Jesus, in living what Jesus called, ‘My Commandment’: “… love one another as I have loved you” (John 15: 12). This edict of Jesus is repeated again, and again, by those who teach about the meaning of Christianity, in Church, but people do not live out its obvious implications. It is too much of a commitment, and yet it is the path to freedom.

 Love one another as I have loved you 

The Word of God is intimate to – and in – my own personal life. Intimate things are not easily shared, and many intimate things should not be shared, except with those who share that intimacy. We can be intimate in God, or destroy intimacy by being intimate outside God’s will. When we are in – and part of – the divine type of intimate relationship, the Word is operating right down – and through to – the ‘marrow of life’ and it is here that we find ‘family’, also.  In a family we are truly intimate, and that life is a hidden, secret life, that should not be put on display. Human family life can be either a heaven or a hell; it depends, not on luck, or good fortune, or on a right chemistry, or on anything from, merely, the temporal below; it must include the above, the spiritual, the Godly. At its best, it depends on the bond of family life being formed in true love, not the ‘masquerade’ we humans all too often call ‘love’, which is often self-centred, and is not the self-giving Love that is of God.

If we have companions with whom we live the New Commandment of Jesus, then we have a family in which the members are not just of the same blood, but all have that inner spirit – a spirit so powerful that all would be ready to give their lives for each other. That spirit within, a gift of the Holy Spirit, is what enables a family, even one that seems outwardly disastrous, to be, inwardly, a family in heaven; I have come across such nuclear, human families.

A Franciscan and a Benedictine in strong conversation. Some readers may recognise Fr. Suawek OSB who stayed in Leyland 

I remember well the first time I said, explicitly, to somebody, and he replied in the same vein to me, that we were ready to give our lives for each other. Events had transpired to make me rather ill. In 1977, I was diagnosed as suffering from a stomach ulcer, and Abbot Ambrose allowed me to leave Ampleforth, my monastery in North Yorkshire, to go and recuperate with a Franciscan community, in a retreat house fairly near Padua, in North East Italy. It took three months for the cure to be effected. 

The community of three Friars were all dedicated in their religious life, and all were trying to live that vocational calling according to the Gospel precept of the New Commandment. One of the three was less talkative than the others. He was a straight-forward, hard-working man, who spent his mornings in the retreat house, cooking for the many visitors, sometimes more than a hundred. I had begun to realise that God was calling me to make this step, of actually ‘declaring to somebody’ that I was ready to give my life for them, and so, tentatively, I said this in a quiet way, to this unassuming and good man, Fr. Bruno. He smiled at me, as he was climbing the steps from the kitchen, below ground level, obviously tired after a hard morning, and very simply, he said: “Of course, Jonathan, I too am ready to give my life for you”. It was all over in that very natural, very easy, very quick and very simple way. There was no fuss! A joy entered my heart, that day, and it continues to this day, as with others, I live the same “Word of God”. Moreover, whenever I meet Bruno, whom I do still see from time to time, at international meetings of religious, we renew this agreement, sometimes with a smile of recognition, sometimes in words. Such actions change things, and make ‘the Family of the Body of Christ” real. 

There is a little section in the new revised, standard version of the Gospel of Luke that has the heading, “The True Kindred of Jesus”. In that translation it goes like this: 

“Then his mother and his brothers came to him, but they could not reach him because of the crowd. And he was told, ‘Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you. But he said to them, ‘My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God, and do it.” (Luke 8: 19-21). 

The Word of God, as spoken by Jesus, himself, in this passage – Jesus, who is the Word of God – implies that the Family of God is bigger, and wider, even than our natural family, and that those who belong to the kindred of Jesus, can be mothers, brothers and sisters of Christ himself. We actually ‘generate’ the Lord, himself, when together we live out the Gospel, for Jesus also said: “Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.” (Mt 18: 20). 

Every day, in little things, and big, God is revealing himself to us in his Word, if we, consciously, try to put that Word into practice. This is all the more clear, when we do so with others. Usually, the events are quite small, and so was the one I turn to now. 

One day, quite recently, I was with many others all round the world, trying to put into practice the Word of God: ‘You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you’ (Jn 15:3). It was one of those days in which I had a great deal to do, and not enough time to do everything. The following short episode helps me to know that God is my father too – father to me, as an ordinary man, whom he has called to have responsibility in a big parish, as a monk and a priest. Each day, to help live the Word, I receive from my friends a word of encouragement – a ‘password’ – to help me focus on the Word of God, the ‘Word of Life’ for that month. On this particular April day, it was: 

‘Proclaim the Word’. 

Related to the above, I wrote down a short experience for someone with whom I share this mutual experience of living the Word, including the New Commandment. 

“This is a short password and to the point. As I write, the sky is blue and clear, and it is a super morning. Off to jail today, and straight after a wedding.  

Thank God that yesterday I was able to finish doing what I had to do as there were two families I wanted to visit and it took ages, from 6.15 – 8.45 pm, both very good and elderly parishioners. The first visit was to the grandparents of the man being married today. Grandma’ is too ill to come to the wedding, and she is upset about that. But, in conversation, it turned out that the Granddad is also ill, with a heart condition that I knew nothing about. He is coming to the wedding, only to Church, not to the reception. So, it was good to let them share with me, and even let off steam a bit. I was also able to give them the sacrament of the sick, and they were very happy about that.

 We are not just children of our own natural family, but we are children of God. 

With the second couple I prayed – the husband Eddie is sick and has been in his special bed, unable to eat or drink except through a tube, for 7 months, and unable to speak. He is 82 or so, and his wife about 80, and she looks after him with a devotion that would be similar to Anna and Simeon, going into the temple each day. To my shame I see both these couples rarely. I did enjoy going to visit them. She offered me something to eat, a balm-cake and a chocolate biscuit. That meant I did not need to worry about getting food ready when I returned home. We prayed, as I left them at 8.30 pm, that I could finish what I had to do: put the bulletin on the website, (takes an hour or so), add a new front to the website, prepare two sermons; one for the prison and one for the wedding. Unusually, it all was fairly easy, and I had finished everything by 11.30pm.  And so, that was another little miracle – just a little one. Perhaps, we should be able to enlarge on them, as yesterday’s ‘password’ was that the ‘Word moves Mountains’: a more challenging proposition! ”

How can I deny that God is my Father, when each day, there are so many experiences like this one, all of them making a practical difference to my life? 

“The Word of God cleanses us and accomplishes what it is meant to do.”

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