This is the time of year when people move on and things change. It is the end of term, and those who are leaving school will move on either to another school or college and that can be difficult for some. There are members of staff who retire or change their jobs, and in our school there is the chaplain who has decided that she (yes, we have a young lady who has the name “school chaplain” as her title) should move on and start a different career.

Tuesday morning mass at 8am is one in which we invite our students at school to come to mass, and a solid core of about 10 have been there regularly over the last year. Teachers come too, and also our chaplain. Last Tuesday the young altar server asked me if she could say a word after mass to thank our chaplain Gemma for supporting her and the students in the school and wish her God speed in her new job; after Holy Communion she did just that. It was an emotional moment because the pupils and staff are very sorry to see Gemma go, even if objectively it is the right thing. This all made me reflect.

It is hard For priests to leave a parish, just as in many cases for parishioners it is hard to lose their priest. He has often become a part of the parishioners’ lives, part of their families through his ministry. When asked “what is it like to be a priest on a parish”, the response I give is that it could not lead to better “job satisfaction” because you become a trusted member of so many different families. That is as long as a priest has a small amount of love and giving in him and an interest in people. It is such a privilege to be invited to be so fully trusted, almost a member of the family.

It all ends when things change and moves happen and that can be a strong emotional experience of loss and little gain. It is true also for teachers who leave schools and those who leave friends and neighbours as circumstances take them away to new places. What remains of all the time that people have shared each others’ lives? The events and happenings do not remain: they may be happy or unhappy memories but they cannot return. Nothing remains except the love that has gone into the days lived together.

Faced with these young people at that Tuesday morning mass I felt suddenly quite incapable of explaining to them the special nature of Christian Love. It is quite different to the love that we hear proclaimed in so many songs or expounded in the newspapers or in novels or TV plays. How are you able to go beyond the mundane to the genuine article of a really satisfying experience of loving? Especially as I have seen young people, older than the ones in front of me in the chapel last Tuesday morning, who are aimless and bored, into drugs, sitting cabbage like in front of Television or computer with seemingly little purpose in life. Jesus was on this earth and has given each person the chance to find out the meaning and purpose of his life. It is all to do with “love” and yet how hard it is to share what this really means. The saying is true: “Love does make the world go round”.

What is love? For some people love and sex are completely entwined. How then did Jesus love? Had he failed in love, a person who chose not to have a personal intimate relationship with another human being? I know a man who thinks that anyone who is consecrated to God by vows of celibacy has repudiated love.

Everyone wants both to love and be loved. Yet it is not something that you can keep and preserve. It is a bit like water: if you try to grab it the liquid runs between your fingers and goes.

Love necessarily includes relationship. I think it would be true to say that the relationship of Jesus and Mary his mother was the strongest human relationship that has ever existed in this world. Since Mary, Jesus’ mother is considered to be the “type” or the “model” of the Church, and the Church is the spouse of Christ, Mary must not only be the mother of Jesus but also his spouse. Given that Jesus is God made man, Mary is immaculate and made worthy to be the mother of God, a short reflection makes a person realise the uniqueness of their relationship. Their parting must have been very hard, especially in the circumstances of the crucifixion where it happened.

John and Mary at the foot of the cross

During his time on the cross Jesus seemed to have said to his mother “I am no longer your son” because in St. John’s Gospel, from the cross Jesus saw his mother the disciple whom he loved standing next to her and said “Woman, this is your Son”. Turning then to the disciple he said, “Here is your Mother”. And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home. (John 19: 26-27) That must have been an agony for Mary his mother, precisely as his mother.

One day Jesus was speaking to the crowds and his mother and brothers appeared, standing outside, anxious to have a word with him. A man came to Jesus to tell him, and Jesus said to him “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” Stretching out his hand to his disciples he said, “Here are my mother, and my brothers. Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven, he is my brother, and sister and mother”. (Mt. 12: 47-50)

Your mother and brothers are here

On the surface what an extraordinary thing Jesus said about the one with whom he had such a strong relationship. It is amazing to think that Jesus found those who were his disciples and did God’s will were also in relation to himself like a mother or a brother; i.e. people who make him feel good, loved and wanted. He too gave others that sense else why did they leave everything to follow him? Our Lord it is said did not cling to his equality with God, but emptied himself to become human. (cf Phil 2; 6-8). It seems that he also did not cling to his relationship with his mother, but quite deliberately left home and family to begin a new adventure with others who would follow him and become another kind of family. This was the prototype of the Church that would later be formed by his disciples. At the same time he never forgot his mother Mary, and she never forgot her son Jesus, but they went about in their own way their Fathers’ business for them.

I read a meditation linked with this thought recently. It runs:

Whoever follows Jesus does not do so in order to live in a particular place (like a presbytery or religious house)…Whoever follows Jesus follows God and therefore has no place except in God himself.

If on the one hand this might seem negative, a renunciation of everything, on the other hand it can also be viewed in a positive sense. Every place in the world, all the houses in the world, become ours, because the Son of Man is master of the universe and his home cannot just be a little house in a little town.

Whoever follows Jesus finds his home everywhere, finds his town everywhere, and similarly finds his family and his homeland everywhere.

This is an overwhelming aspect of a vocation; we do not follow Jesus in a particular place, in a particular house; we follow Jesus in order to be his children and his brothers and sisters throughout the whole universe.

This thought may be able to throw light onto what Love is: probably the words will help us to understand if we have experience personally of what it speaks.

Let us remain open to God teaching us by his Holy Spirit what true Christian Love really is. It is this Love that in the midst of our tears will assuage sadness at parting and make sense of all the difficulties we will face in life.

Nearly every news item contains headlines of frightful teenage atrocities and our immediate reaction is to have them put away for life.  There is absolutely no excuse for their behaviour, but there are a number of reasons that may well be the cause.  In our high school, in south Liverpool, roughly 70% of the pupils have only one parent – usually a mother on her own, or with a partner – many of these children are “keyhole kids” because, when they get home from school, their parent is at work and there is nobody home to welcome them.  The lucky ones have a “Nan” who will look after them until someone comes home; consequently their Nan and Granddad are the people they know and love most.  

Family life at home is a rare or unknown experience.  They seldom – if ever – eat together as a family, but have their tea on a tray in front of the TV, often watching unsuitable and violent programmes until well into the night.  In a word, they lack any real experience of discipline.

The ‘Mission Statement’ of the College is as follows:

“That we provide a safe, secure and happy environment.

We provide opportunities for all pupils to develop their talents,

recognising and celebrating their achievements and success.

We believe that God loves each person and we encourage

respect for people and treat them equally.

We encourage a spirit of cooperation,

responsibility and self-discipline.

We affirm the Christian values of faith, hope and

love – love being the greatest of these.”

That, I think, is why the School is the centre of their lives,

though they would be unlikely to admit it!

What about the rest of the young people, we hear so much about, because of their totally unacceptable behaviour?  Judging by the number of pupils who are sent to our Support Centre from other schools where, if they have a ‘Mission Statement’, it would seem to fail to deal successfully with the pupils’ problems; as a consequence, on some occasions, the pupils express a wish to change schools, and after a six weeks trial period, they begin to show some signs of stability, self-discipline and punctuality. The Managers of the Centre may well recommend them to be accepted, provided their previous school is willing to give them a transfer – which they usually give – only too happily!

Most of their problems are anger management, attention seeking, truanting and considerable insecurity.  So they easily get themselves mixed up with even more unsuitable companions, who are already ‘fixed’ on alcohol and drugs.  One of the glaring problems is the lack of discipline in their lives and we would do well to listen to one of St. Paul’s letters: he says: “The Lord disciplines him who he loves.  It is for discipline that you have to endure.  God is treating you as sons, for what son is there whom his father does not discipline?  If you are left without discipline, in which, all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.” – tough words, but badly needed advice, we would do well to heed.

One of the problems is the lack of safe, well run, places for young people in which to recreate, such as youth clubs – well organised, with plenty of things to do – and rules which they must keep or be asked to leave.  Some time ago, I came across an article in the paper about a family who are running a youth club from their home, making a place where they know they are loved and respected – but run also with strict discipline.  The point of the article was to say how successful it is, and that they are overcrowded with applications, and in great need of somewhere in which to expand.

The other day, there was a programme on the TV about a gang intent upon doing violence and damaging property.  A young lad of about 11 years was anxious to join them.  The gang leader gave him a brick and said: “If you want to join us, throw this through the old woman’s window.”  The lad dropped the brick and said: “If that’s your game, frightening old women, you can get lost.”  The leader stabbed him with a knife and left him bleeding on the ground.  He was taken to hospital and eventually recovered, having nearly paid the price of his life for doing what he knew to be right.

What can we do, as individuals, to help young people feel secure in themselves, and not want to get involved in all that they see on the streets, hear what is going on in other young peoples’ homes and what their friends tell them?  If it is possible to give a welcome in your home, to your teenager’s friends and get to know them, they will feel loved and accepted, and hopefully want to change their lifestyle – should it need to be changed – and feel at home with your family.  In my experience, when they are shown respect, love, and are willing to accept the rules, they usually react in a positive way, and want to respond in order that they may continue to be accepted.

It is easy for me to make these statements, when I am not immediately subjected to teenagers constantly knocking at my door, or taking advantage of the family’s generosity, but, for them, it might be the beginnings of a change of pattern of behaviour; it may just help them to cope with the many disadvantages most of them face.

St. Augustine lived in the third and fourth centuries and died in the year 330 AD. The extent of his writings was vast, so much so that his many books, today, make up 46 thick volumes in their English translations. When I say ‘ writings’ , they were not all written by him, in the actual sense, as he dictated his books to ‘stenographers’, often keeping a particular book in his head for many years, as he dictated. In addition, he was constantly writing sermons, letters and dealing with multitudinous issues, as the Bishop of a very large diocese, at Hippo, in North Africa. His ‘stenographers’ were scribes, who, in those days, had to write on tablets – all quite heavy and coated with wax – later to be transcribed again onto parchment.  So Augustine, on his journeys, in his study – or wherever – would have scribes working away on what he was dictating. Reportedly, it took 20 years to write one of his greatest books, “The City of God” – its pages all there, assembled inside his head – and unravelling, one by one, all in perfect order as he dictated. Today, although we know a great deal about him from his writings, it is very difficult to gain any real idea of the essential genius of this great man, and how he achieved so much.

(Probably the earliest) portrait of St. Augustine of Hippo

One of my friends – an intelligent man – has definitive views about St. Augustine of Hippo. A lapsed Catholic, and one who considers himself an Atheist, he has never found the Catholic teaching on chastity to his liking, and is of the opinion that St. Augustine is the cause of all the bad teaching, within the Church, on the subject of sex.  He thinks that the guilt, carried by Catholics deep in their hearts concerning sexual morality, has its roots in St. Augustine’s strict moral teaching.

Within my own experience, circumstances have, from time to time, led me to meet up with many Augustinians. I have one friend in Spain who is of the Augustinian order, and likewise, his sister. She belongs to a semi-enclosed Augustinian convent at Huelva, a town in southern Spain. He, Fr. Manolo Morales on the other hand is like most Augustinian priests involved in active pastoral work. Both of them, it must be said, radiate a wonderful sense and presence of joy!  

The Augustinian community of Huelva July 2001

(Fr. Manolo is 4th from left – back row)

Some years ago, I was with them, in their convent, on 28th August, the feast of St. Augustine, and my friend, the priest-brother was proud to introduce me to his sister and her companions. We had a most wonderful celebration of the feast, in the courtyard of the convent, and I well remember the joyful atmosphere, enhanced considerably, when the younger sisters performed some traditional Spanish dancing, to a guitar played by one of the sisters.  I will never forget, the beautiful singing and the evident joy among the sisters – an atmosphere of true happiness reflecting the life-style of the community and one that led, in those days, almost inevitably to the desires of a number of young girls to join them.  

As far as I am aware, that is still the case.  I was with a group of men in religious life, on holiday near Huelva,  and Fr. Manolo, the Augustinian priest, although not well physically, but spiritually alert and ‘playful’, used to walk up and down the beach with a very ‘well-thumbed’ copy of St. Augustine’s ‘Confessions’. He told me he never tired of reading the book, that is the first-ever biography, historically, in which a person reflects on his own feelings about God, and on his own feelings about life, personally.  I will always remember Fr. Manolo’s humorous stories, and the way he related to all of us who were with him on that holiday. His persona, his manner, his outlook and life-style, his character – all of this and more – ‘shouted’ to all and sundry, that this was, certainly, not the outward-expression of somebody ‘riddled’ with guilt about sin.

But, to return to St. Augustine, often in our breviary readings we have extracts from his writings – very often from his sermons. One such extract occurred on Sunday 4th July, and its content was very meaningful to me. It was concerning sinfulness, and in it Augustine refers to the famous psalm, often called “The Miserere”, (Psalm 50 or 51) which begins, in the grail translation: “Have mercy on me God in your kindness, in your compassion blot out my offence.” This psalm is allegedly written by King David after his adultery with Bathsheba, and his murder of her husband Uriah, the Hittite.

What follows is an extract of the Roman breviary for 4th July, this year, taken from St. Augustine’s writings:

“’I acknowledge my transgression,’ says David. If I acknowledge it, then pardon me, O God. We must not assume at all that we are living good lives, free from sin. Let a man’s life be praised in so far as he asks for pardon. But as for men without hope, the less attentive they are to their own sins, the more they pry into those of others. They seek, not what they can correct, but what they can criticize. And as they cannot excuse themselves, they are ready to accuse others.”

This extract reminds me so very much of articles that appear in our newspapers, concerning the bad behaviour of so many people, strongly criticized in this very public way, by the media. This kind of writing – ‘gutter press’ if you like – fails to bring hope to peoples’ lives.   On the contrary, it can, and often does, destroy lives. The passage in the Gospel comes to mind: “Let him who is without sin cast the first stone”, … .. and one by one those who were about to stone the woman, taken in adultery, slunk away, until only the woman was left with Jesus.

One English Sunday newspaper springs readily to mind.  To me, it appears to be very hypocritical: on one page it seems to rejoice in displaying all kinds of half-naked people (or worse), in writing about peoples’ affairs and so forth, and then on another page it will delight in openly writing about some scandal involving a person in a high position – its tone usually sexual – and with a distinct air of self-righteous justification.  Some may say ‘indignation’!

Augustine goes on in his sermon:

“… … as they cannot excuse themselves, they are ready to accuse others. This was not the way that David showed us how to pray and make reparation to God when he said: ‘I acknowledge my transgression, and my sin is always before me.’  David was not interested in other men’s sins.”

Rather, I think it ought to be that, within this practical attitude to life, lies the root of real joy and hope – the joy of being forgiven, totally, by the all merciful God. When somebody says he is not a sinner he is making God to be a liar according to the scriptures (cf 1 John 1,10); in other words that person is the liar. We are all sinners – excepting Jesus and his Mother – every last one of us, even the saints. Yet you never see a sad saint, as that would be a contradiction in terms. However difficult life is there is always a chance for joy when there is union with God, and in Him, union with others.

Returning to my friend and his attitude to St. Augustine, I have to say: no, I do not think St. Augustine is the reason for an unhealthy view about sex in our world. Personally, I would be much more inclined to think that if we have an unhealthy view of this subject it is much more to do with our inability to rest in the goodness of God, aware that we are all forgiven sinners, and that all too often we are far more interested in the misdemeanours of others, at the expense of a critical examination of self.  Above all this, surely, it is far better to focus on the joy of God’s infinite and daily love for each one of us, personally, remembering as the scripture says, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you (Matthew 7:12).”

Extreme Unction – by Rogier Van der Weyden

‘Extreme Unction’ was the title given to the ‘Sacrament of the Sick’, until the Vatican Council re-christened it, on the grounds that it was available to all baptised Catholics who were seriously ill, or suffering from the affects of old age, and not only those who were at the point of death.  The sacred anointing of the sick was instituted by Christ Our Lord, and it is mentioned by St. Mark, when he describes Jesus’ instructions for the mission of the Twelve: “So they set off to preach repentance; they cast out many devils, and anointed many sick people with oil and cured them.” (Mk: 6: 12-13).  We find a mention of it, also, in St. James’s Letter: “If one of you is ill he should send for the elders of the church, and they must anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord and pray over him. The prayer of faith will save the sick man and the Lord will raise him up again and if he has committed any sins, he will be forgiven.” (James: 5:14-16)

I can remember, many times, being called to someone who was ill, in the night, when I was at St. Peter’s, Seel Streeet, Liverpool in the `1950′s, and hearing the Dockers, standing outside the pub saying: “Look, Priest.” The accent was on the word ‘priest’, implying: “Someone’s had it!” (or someone had not much longer in this world). In those days, when people saw the priest going to the tenements, they would assume he had the Blessed Sacrament with him, and they wouldn’t expect him to talk to them.

When administering the ‘Sacrament of the Sick’, the priest begins with a short introduction, ending with these words: “Let us entrust our sick brother/sister to the grace and power of Jesus Christ, that the Lord may ease his/her sufferings and grant him/her health and salvation.” He then invites the sick person to make his/her confession or make an act of sorrow and gives absolution.  Then, in silence, the priest lays his hands on the head of the sick person and prays over him/her, in the faith of the Church. This action is used also in Baptism, Reconciliation and Confirmation; it signifies blessing and healing and follows the instructions given by Jesus, that the Apostles, “… .. should lay their hands on the sick and they will be healed.”

The priest then anoints the sick person on the head, and on the palm of the hands, with the words: “Through this holy anointing may the Lord, in his love and mercy, help you with the grace of the Holy Spirit. May the Lord who frees you from sin, save you and raise you up.”

Those of us who have experienced this sacrament at first hand, ether by receiving it ourselves or by being present when someone we are looking after receives it, will have experienced some of the many effects of this amazing sacrament. The first grace of this sacrament is one of strengthening –  peace and courage – given to the sick person, to overcome the difficulties that go with the condition of serious illness, or the frailty of old age!  (I could write a book about that – old age, I mean!)  This grace is a gift of the Holy Spirit, who renews trust and faith in God and strengthens the sick person, against the temptation of discouragement, and anguish in the face of death. His gift of grace is meant to lead the sick person to healing of the soul, but also, to the healing of the body, if that is God’s will.

By the grace of this sacrament, the sick person receives the strength and the gift of uniting himself more closely to Christ’s Passion, thus taking a real share in the saving work of Jesus.  In addition to the anointing, the Church offers those who are about to leave this life, the Eucharist as Viaticum — a passing over – from death to life – from this world to the Father.

All this puts me in mind of one very special occasion. I remember the time when one of the senior members of a Parish family was nearing death, after a long and drawn-out sickness, and the whole family was gathered in the sick room.  I offered Mass for him, and the whole family present were all able to receive Holy Communion and join in the responses for the Anointing and Viaticum. Granddad – the patient – was conscious throughout, and the effect of the joint family prayer gave him great joy and peace.

It happens sometimes that people are reluctant to call the priest, largely because they fear that the sick person may begin to think he is more ill than he had, at first, thought. Priests are trained to handle the situation with great tact. If in doubt, you should explain that the patient is of a nervous disposition and the priest will act accordingly.

For myself, I keep the Holy Oils in the car because one never knows what one may come across when visiting people. I have often used them in the school, when a pupil comes to see me in great distress, either about themselves, or about the family. When that seems to be appropriate, I explain all about the Sacrament and tell them to go and think about it, and if they decide they would then like to receive it, to come back and let me know.  On the occasions when they have come back to me,  I have been impressed by their attitude, and even more, by the results.

The longer I live — especially in my contacts with teenagers – the more I realise what problems they have to face, quite apart from the inevitable ones of growing up. Most often, they are searching for someone willing to listen, and accept them as they are; only then, are they prepared to listen to advice, consider it carefully, and eventually to accept it – in all probability. They long to find someone who will always be there for them – someone who will be a ‘rock’ for them. What we have to remember, is well written in that excellent book, ‘The Little Prince’ where the author makes the point: “You become responsible forever, for what you have tamed — It is only with the heart that you can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.”

During the last week, a group of us held our monthly ‘Focolare/Word of Life’ meeting at one of the local prisons with about 25 prisoners present. We read as usual, on the computer ‘Power Point’ and text, the commentary on the Gospel extract, chosen for the ‘Word of Life’ for June, “Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it” (Mt 10: 39). All those present are free to comment and share their experience of what God’s Word means in our lives; the first to comment was a prisoner who had read the extract.  He said: “When Jesus said these words he was thinking of martyrdom”, and then posed the question: “What does the Church think of martyrdom today?”

In using the word ‘martyrdom’, the prisoner was referring to the ‘modern martyrs’, most often identified as such, in today’s media – ‘suicide bombers’ in other words. Using the term, he had no idea that the modern era has seen more Christian (mostly Catholic) martyrs, than at any time in the Church’s history. These true, Christian martyrs, who never make the headlines, are the real ‘heroes’ of today’s world. I say ‘true’ because the true martyr – the real martyr never kills anyone else; there is no hate, only love in his or her heart, a heart full of love for God and neighbour.

On the other hand, ‘suicide bombers’ are, no doubt, ’courageous’ in giving away their own lives, but, we are then driven to question what kind of ‘radicalisation’ and ‘lack of human compassion’ has entered their hearts, for, together with their own deaths, they then want to kill as many others as possible – in some misguided furtherance of their cause, ideology, whatever? It is right, also, to question ‘what kind of injustice they, perhaps, suffer to make them want to act in this way?’ Possibly, they suffer such deep injustice, under some oppressive regime, that it leaves them –and people like them – feeling utterly helpless, with no acceptable alternative but a ‘murderous’ death. In his own time, Jesus, too, could well have been driven to the same conclusion – even acted in similar fashion! But, could he, in reality?  He was the Son of God, and so he couldn’t – he didn’t!  He gave away his life in meekness, love and compassion, thus accepting his fate for the salvation of all – a lonely and ignominious death – his reasons well hidden from the ‘madding crowd’ and known only to the ‘chosen’ few, and coming to life only because of the remarkable Church founded by them.   His followers, with faith, came to know he was raised from the dead and alive among them.

Here in Britain, a land of relative freedom, it is difficult for us to understand how ‘suicide bombers’ can believe they are contributing to our world, in any positive fashion. We should pray that God, in his infinite mercy, will forgive them the murders they commit, even though they may feel justified in their actions. I suspect they must be able to find some justification, somehow? Rumour has it some of these people are under the influence of drugs, though others say they can sometimes be at peace, smiling, cheerful and friendly, as they blow themselves up – together  with as many bystanders as possible. If I were the ‘angel of darkness’, I would be rejoicing at any ‘devilish’ method of domination, control, power, whether it comes from an oppressive regime – or a reaction to it – such as ‘suicide bombing’. ‘Suicide bombing’ seems to portray courage, but you can tell there is something very wrong, just by the ‘fruits’ it produces – fear, anger and the terrible sufferings of innocent people. The ‘real’ martyr who dies silently, giving his life for the God, in whom he or she believes, bears other fruits, including compassion, bravery, the strengthening of peoples’ convictions, and a great coherence in the community or society to which he or she belongs; and that greater coherence can be of ‘long term’ effect.  In saying this I point to Blessed Jerzy Popiełuszko, who was beatified on 6 June 2010, just two weeks ago in Poland, some 26 years after his assassination on October 19, 1984, by the communists. His death contributed to the end of the Communist regime in much of Eastern Europe.

Father Jerzy Popiełuszko

“The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church”, wrote Tertullian (c. 160 – 220 A. D.), one of the early Fathers of the Church, and so we can look forward to a great “re-generation” of the Church, in the light of so much love, given by people who are the unknown, and unsung, heroes of our age. One group, among hundreds of thousands, were the seminarians in Rwanda, who belonged to both the Hutu and the Tutsi tribes – forty of them – wantonly slain by a murderous gang in 1994. They refused to separate themselves into the two ethnic groups, when ordered to do so, and forty died together, as a witness to their love of God and each other. On 11 June, in Rome, it was very moving to watch, on the internet, three who survived the ‘massacre’, all three now ordained priests and hear their testimony of forgiveness; one of them was shot several times, but lived; another, seven years after the killings, went to a parish, in Rwanda, to serve the people, and recognised, in the congregation, those who had been the murderers of his companions; in his testimony, he said that God gave him the grace to forgive them.

At this point, I want to perform a ‘leap of faith’ and take you to a completely different era – different in time – but related in terms of theme, as you will see. I love St. Thomas More and St. John Fisher and, very much connected with them, Katharine of Aragon. Often, in our houses, we see their portraits, and John Fisher looks dignified and noble, but also rather thin and emaciated. He was Bishop of Rochester, and the only Bishop, at the time of King Henry VIII, who was prepared to stand his ground, against the King, when Henry cut most of the Church, in England, away from its stock. John Fisher, was confessor to Katharine of Aragon, and their common friendship makes me wonder if Katharine’s steadfastness gave him courage. St. John Fisher gave his life, out of love for God, his neighbour and the Church on 22nd June 1535. St. Thomas More, was appointed Chancellor of England by the same King Henry VIII, and he gave his life for the same cause on 6th July 1535.

St. Thomas More              Katharine of Aragon             St. John Fisher

The positive part of the Word of Life “Those who find their life will lose it and those who lose their life for my sake will find it” is the second half: we are able to find Life – the Life that Jesus wanted us to know and to experience, by first losing our life. The actual commentary of Chiara Lubich referring to martyrdom is:

 “When Jesus said these words he was thinking of martyrdom. We, like every Christian, have to be ready in order to follow the Master and stay faithful to the Gospel, to lose our lives, dying if needs be, even a violent death. With that, by God’s grace, we will be given true life. Jesus was the first who ‘lost his life’, and he regained it glorified. He warned us not to be afraid of those who ‘kill the body but cannot kill the soul’ (Mt 10:28).

(Apropos martyrdom, there is another kind of martyrdom called a ‘White Martyrdom’, consisting not of a single violent death, but rather, the daily dying to self, that is part of a holy life. This could be illustrated by many saints who are confessors, rather than martyrs.  It is something that is ‘normal’ for any Christian life.)

Katharine of Aragon was the first wife of Henry VIII.  During her marriage, she had at least six pregnancies, but only one child – Mary – survived to become Queen, after Henry’s death. Largely because his 18 years marriage to Katharine had failed to produce a male heir to the throne, Henry decided to repudiate her in favour of Anne Boleyn.  The King maintained he should not have been allowed to marry Katharine as she was his elder brother, Arthur’s wife, and this was against Canon Law.  In order to marry,  Pope Julius granted Henry and Katharine a dispensation, on the grounds that her marriage to Arthur had never been consummated.  Katharine, never relinquishing her stance, was always to stand by her vow that this was the case,  but Henry – his assertions built on very shaky ground – continued his repudiation by taking Anne Boleyn as his wife.  In this dispute, Henry versus Katharine, all the evidence appears to support Katharine’s avowed position – the people certainly supported her and believed she had been truthful throughout.   However, her place usurped by Anne, Katharine became virtually removed from her place as Queen of England, from 1525 until her death in 1536, though she remained popular with the people of England, largely because of her ‘transparent’ goodness and integrity.

There is a second important aspect to her life.  Katharine always refused to accept Henry as Supreme Head of the Church of England and considered herself, as did most of England and Europe, the King’s rightful wife and Queen until her death.  In proclaiming himself Supreme Head of the Church in England, Henry simply defied Pope Clement VII, who refused Henry his nullity. But, these were dangerous times, and any attempt to antagonize Henry was tantamount to courting disaster, as Thomas More and John Fisher found to their cost. Both were executed for High Treason; they did not agree with what the King was doing – and said so, in forthright terms.   Likewise, Katharine could well have met the same fate.  Putting herself against the King, she stood by the truth – displaying again stalwart courage and integrity –  and was banished for her stance.  She refused to go against the truth: she lost her life, but then found it.

Katharine was intelligent, attractively very pretty, and religious. Saint Thomas More was to reflect, later in her lifetime, that in regards to her appearance: “There were few women who could compete with the Queen [Katharine] in her prime.” She learned to speak, read and write in Spanish and Latin, and spoke French and Greek, Spanish and English. She had domestic skills, such as needlepoint, lacemaking, embroidery, music and dancing. The great scholar Erasmus would later say that Katharine “loved good literature which she had studied with success since childhood”. Education among women became fashionable, partly because of Catherine’s influence.

She was loyal always to her husband. In 1513, Katharine fell pregnant yet again. Henry appointed her Regent when he went to France on a military campaign. When the Scots invaded, they were defeated at the Battle of Flodden Field, with Katherine addressing the army, and riding north in full armour with some of the troops, despite being heavily pregnant at the time. She sent a letter to Henry, along with the bloodied coat of the King of Scots, James IV, who died in the battle.

Katharine died, relatively, young – at just forty nine – after living a life of deprivation and isolation for years. A month before she died she wrote the following to her husband, Henry VIII.

My most dear lord, King and husband,

The hour of my death now drawing on, the tender love I owe thee forces me, my case being such, to commend myself to thee, and to put thou in remembrance with a few words of the health and safeguard of thy soul which thou ought to prefer before all worldly matters, and before the care and pampering of thy body, for the which thou hast cast me into many calamities and thyself into many troubles. For my part, I pardon thee everything, and I desire to devoutly pray God that He will pardon thee also. For the rest, I commend unto thee our daughter Mary, beseeching thee to be a good father unto her, as I have heretofore desired. I entreat thee also, on behalf of my maids, to give them marriage portions, which is not much, they being but three. For all mine other servants I solicit the wages due them, and a year more, lest they be un-provided for. Lastly, I make this vow, that mine eyes desire thou above all things.

Katharine the Quene.

This, I suggest, is the mark of a great lady, who had – by then – died a ‘thousand’ martyrdoms, at the actions of her wayward husband; he seemed bent on his own human ‘solutions’ to the difficulties he faced rather than relying on a loving trust in God, portrayed by his first wife, Katharine. Her destiny was closely linked to that of John Fisher and Thomas More, both of whom were put to death because of ‘The King’s Great Matter’, i.e. his repudiation of Katharine of Aragon, because he wanted a marriage annulment, from the Pope – and that he never got!

Katharine discovered the ‘Life’ that Jesus speaks of in the ‘Word of Life’, despite the sufferings caused by the politics and self-centredness of people around her. The letter above is witness to it, and so are the testimonies since her death. It is said that, at her funeral, when she was buried in Peterborough Cathedral, 70,000 people lined the route out of respect for her. Furthermore, to this day, there are always flowers at her tomb, and a constant stream of people to honour her memory.  She remains a kind of legend in our country. Should you ever have a chance to visit Peterborough and its cathedral, you can verify this for yourself. You will see, there, her place of rest, with the letters above her tomb, “Katharine Queen of England”.

Never was there any hint of the mind of a ‘suicide bomber’ in her example; rather, her life was very much concentrated on the following of her Master and Lord, Jesus. Small wonder, it was, then, that after the break with Rome and the Church, King Henry feared that Katharine might be the centre of a popular uprising. She has not been declared a Saint, but in any study of her life, the reader may well be struck by the similarities with those who lead holy lives – who die to self, day by day – a loyal queen, a great lady – steadfast and true to her calling – imbued with inner strength and integrity – a lady who would not deviate from the path of life which lead her to suffering and death – and to the loss of her life, in order to find it.

Perhaps we too can face the challenges of life with a bit more peace and gentleness of heart, with the examples of Thomas More, John Fisher and Katharine of Aragon to encourage us, and be mindful of many of our fellow Christians, mostly Catholics, who are suffering severe persecution, in our own time, and losing their lives, only to find them.

I want to take you to a little house situated not far from the centre of a small rural community.  Nothing sets it out as anything special – nothing specific – its just like all the rest in the neighbourhood – functional but poor, simple, houses in that rather quiet part of the village.  As we enter, we see ‘mum’ going about her daily work – washing, cleaning and polishing, mending, cooking and baking ready for the evening meal.  She sets the table so that the family can sit and eat, then sits down – for the first time in the long day – and relaxes, rests, waiting for her men-folk to come in from work.  They will be hot and tired and hungry. 

But, this working ‘mum’, you can see, is uneasy.  She tries to relax, but relaxation does not come easy.  Her face shows the worry that is troubling her – unsettling her.  You feel for her – this hard-working, caring, loving matriarch of the family – and want to try to help.  But help you cannot – she cannot even help herself. You see, she does not know what is troubling her.  She cannot ‘put her finger’ on it. She just knows, with a mother’s intuition, instinct even, that there is ‘something in the wind’, something indefinable, not spoken, not visible, but turning her life ‘upside down’.  She utters a prayer – that things will be alright – and then the mood is broken, as her husband and son come in from their day’s work, from the workshop, nearby.  They are hot and dirty from their labours.  Her husband washes and then almost ‘collapses in a heap’ to wait for his ‘tea’.  He is old and rather weary – getting near to retirement – but retirement would bring further problems.  They have little money on which to live and his work keeps them surviving.  Once he finishes work, their income would suffer and life would be all the harder.  The son, grown up now, would then have to provide for the family and, with just one person working, the money coming in would be halved, almost.  Son follows father, washes, and gets ready for his meal.  Suddenly, he puts his arms around his mother and says: “Love you, mum!”

They sit to the table and ‘mum’ serves the simple meal.  They sit and eat – mostly in silence – each with their own thoughts on the day’s events, and wondering what tomorrow may bring.  The scene is outwardly peaceful – a small family, grouped round the table, eating their evening meal – but there is an undercurrent.  All is not right.  Each of them is aware of something deep – troubling – worrying. All is not quite at peace. 

All at once, the son breaks the silence and sets hearts blazing: “Sorry to have to say this, mum, dad, but I am going to have to leave home.”  Mum and dad look at each other and turn, the unspoken question alight in their eyes.  Then Jesus answers their look and drops the rest of his ‘bombshell’: “Tomorrow – I have other work to do.” 

Mary and Joseph – still speechless – cannot come to terms with what has just happened.  In shock, they ask with loving hearts and eyes – the unspoken question, “Why”, and food has long since been forgotten.  Joseph, is beside himself with concern for the son – his life-long friend and help-mate – and what will happen to his family?  Mary, heart and eyes full of tears – remembers the words of the wise old man in the Temple, to the effect that a ‘sword should pierce her heart’ – and knows also that, for the future, there is much, much worse still to come, for she knows the scriptures and cannot forget those words of Jesus, spoken many years previously – also in the Temple – “Did you not know that I must be about my Father’s business?”  And Mary knows something about how God works!

Thus, from this most unsettling scene in Nazareth, with a ‘bombshell’ that near tore his family apart, Jesus begins his life’s vocation, to then go about his Father’s affairs and begin his public ministry.  On the morrow, he gathers his few personal things together, says his ‘Goodbyes’ to Joseph and Mary and walks away from his home – the home in which he has been happy for some 30 years, a home in which he has been subject to mum’s, and dad’s, love and controlling influence, a home in which he has repaid that love with perfect devotion to his earthly ‘parents’. 

It must have been a very sad parting – one tinged with deep regret, that the days of childhood and youth were now long-gone – with steps into a future, unknown.  Mary and Joseph must have been beside themselves with grief at the ‘loss’ of a ‘son’ they loved with all their hearts.  Yet in all this, and because of the people they were, they would be accepting all that was happening as the will of God.  They would be praying to Him that things would turn out well, knowing full well that God knows, far better than any of us, the ‘why’s’ and the ‘wherefores’, and what the future holds.  Even in deep sorrow, Mary and Joseph – I think – would still be aware of the immensity of the ‘job-in-hand’, the life-changing importance of the work Jesus was about to undertake, and so there may have been a sort of ‘acceptance’ – a sort of ‘not my will, but thy will be done’ – about it all.  I hope so, because, without that kind of assurance, the parting would then have been nothing short of disastrous – and what would have been the point?

Bishop Seamus Cunningham, Hexham & Newcastle, ordains Fr. Marc Lynden-Smith at St. Aloysius Church, Hebburn, 12 June 2010

I have been trying to reconcile the scene at Nazareth with some kind of parallel, within the realms of my own experience – difficult, I know – but there is one which, without too much imagination, has some common themes to commend it.   Many years ago, whilst still at Grammar School, I remember visiting priests coming to talk to the student body about vocations to the priesthood (and religious life).  I remember some of the heart-breaking, heart-rending decisions such visits brought about in some families, when sons and daughters decided they would choose to leave home and study for the priesthood.  Parents – invariably, they would have been loving parents, almost by definition – must then have been ‘pitch-forked’ into the ‘Mary and Joseph’ situation, only to find themselves between the proverbial ‘rock and a hard-place’ – torn between love for their children and their love of God, pride that their children should be choosing to give their lives to God, yet despair at the apparent ‘loss’ of ones held so dear.  I remember such thoughts crossing my mind whilst still at a rather tender age.  I remember my parents’ reactions when I voiced them, and though they would not have stood in my way, they would have been saddened, I know, should I have made the decision to take things further.  It was not to be! I think I would have made a rather poor job of it, in any case, – but the thoughts, the feelings, the concern and the worries the decision would have caused – are still part of my make-up.  

Fr. Marc Receives His Chalice at His Ordination, 12 June 2010

From the point of view of an ‘outsider’, I cannot begin to fully comprehend, fully understand, the feelings of separation – how could I?  However, it seems to me that in making the decision to follow one’s vocation to the Religious Life, this must inevitably involve mixed ‘blessings’.  I see great ‘sacrifices’ made  by parents, that sense of loss, those feelings of leaving behind home and family – something like tearing away an arm or a leg – to begin studies leading, eventually, to the giving of one’s life to God, but then there are the compensations – and very rewarding ones at that!  

Having come to know Father Jonathan and several other monk priests very well – with many years of learning on my part – I begin to realise something, I think, of the peace and harmony in their lives – lives devoted to the service of God and their fellow brothers and sisters.  This is not to say that priests, monks and nuns have it easy – surely, there are tribulations, distractions, along the way – but ultimately, they are following the example of Jesus, who left home and family behind at Nazareth.  And with just one driving motive – to serve; to serve God and do His will; to serve their fellow men and women and to help them on their way to paradise.    

And not just our friends, the Benedictines, but great ‘servants’ from the Jesuits, Redemptorists, Franciscans and many others, those who give their lives to the Missions, the many orders of nuns – Sisters Gabriel, Anna and Veronica, providing us with just three wonderful examples from the many other Religious Orders – all people, and religious, serving God and their communities – something magnified thousands of times throughout the Church.  What wonderful gifts from God – gifts to the men and women who make this ‘sacrifice’ –  to their parents, to their communities and the world, at large.  On  this note, and as this ‘Year of the Priest’ comes to an end, it would be as well to remember all this, and to thank God for his great love.  Without these men and women, our societies – and our lives – would be, so, so much more, the poorer.  We thank God for all this.  We thank all our priests, monks, brothers and sisters, who give their lives to serve us.

Jesus left home and family – to serve his community and world – in much the same way – then to make the ultimate sacrifice to His Father.  Parallels – yes, parallels there certainly are – across two thousand years – the service to mankind in between.

And, the answer to the rhetorical question in the title?  To serve – is to love – is to live!

Today, Friday 11th June – the feast of St. Barnabas – happens to be ousted by the solemnity of “The Sacred Heart of Jesus”. St. Barnabas is known in the Bible as “The Man of Encouragement” and one may think him an ‘attractive’ saint, for many reasons. One who so thought was a monk called Fr. Barnabas Sandeman, who died 30 years ago on the Feast of St. Lawrence, 10th August 1980. For those Ampleforth monks old enough to have known him, Fr. Barnabas was a courteous, learned, cultured and encouraging man, who had to put up with some ‘rough-necked’ monks – those who did not share his love of Dante, Latin literature, Renaissance Paintings, fine poetry and the like – but were more interested in the ‘soccer’ results, the rough and tumble of Ampleforth College school-life, fishing, and other mundane pursuits. But, Fr. Barnabas also had a fair amount of the ‘Love’ that comes from the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Father Barnabas in the Orchard at Ampleforth

At the same time, the Feast of the Sacred Heart is a very important feast, and His Holiness the Pope opened the ‘Year for Priests’, in 2009, on this very feast day; it closes on the same feast day, this year. This feast is not unconnected with ‘encouragement’, the ‘motto’ of St. Barnabas. Its ‘raison d’être’, however, is the ‘Love of the humanity of Christ for all people, shown by the ‘heart, the imputed sign of love for any human being, and, therefore, of Jesus. The heart is where our ‘person’ is, and for Jesus –   the ‘Word of God, become flesh’ we honour his ‘human’ heart, his ‘human’ person, by giving the Feast the title: ‘The Sacred Heart of Jesus’.

Face on the Shroud of Turin – Is this the loving face of Jesus?

But, to turn to my main theme, our Parish Pastoral Council, in this ‘Year of the Priest’ decided to try and deepen our parishioners’ understanding of the priesthood, and this has proved a worthwhile exercise –  certainly for this parish priest.  Firstly, I think, it was important to establish parishioners’ understanding of what was distinctive about the role of a priest. With this in mind, we ran a ’tick box’ questionnaire of 20 statements – divided into three sections – headed ‘Mass’, ‘Sacraments’ and ‘Support’. The vast majority of parishioners did know that only the ordained priest could ‘Preside and Celebrate at Mass’, ‘Could Celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation’, as intended by the Church’s teaching, for the forgiveness of sins. Also, the majority were aware that it is only the Ordained Priest – and not even an ordained deacon – who can administer the ‘Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick’.

However, what has become clear is that there are other things – very important, spiritually – that laity can do,  at which they can be immensely effective – possibly more effective – and influential, on the spiritual life of a person, than a priest might be. For instance, it says in St. James’ epistle: “Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective”. (James 5: 16)  This ‘advice’ does not mention that the other need be a priest. I have often heard about people talking over their own lives with a friend they can trust, someone not a priest, and finding that, sharing in this way, is both ‘life-giving’ and ‘life-changing’. In sharing confidences, it strikes me as obvious – perhaps advisable – that it may be much better for a woman, facing some personal challenges, to consider, well, talking over the situation with a trusted lady friend, and the same for a man to man, tête-a-tête. There is no need to be absolute about same-sex confidences, but, in general, it seems a good and sensible thing to consider. In our own Parish, our Administrator, I know, is ever in great demand, as a person in whom people confide, and this, to me, seems a very good thing, its robust spiritual roots very much in line with St. James’ Epistle.

Our research established other things – other actions – that the laity can do well, also. These came under the general heading of ‘Supporting’ and included supporting those close to death. Perhaps we should bear in mind that there were no priests, present with Jesus, as he was dying. Laity can, and do, pray with sick people, “Bear one another’s burdens and in this way fulfil the law of Christ” (Gal 6; 2), also teach others about God and be a spiritual guide “teach and admonish one another in all wisdom. The lay person can be a good administrator, lead a Prayer Group or a Gospel Enquiry Group, and thus, do so many things, in support of people and the Church.

Having satisfied ourselves that these ideas were well rooted in peoples’ hearts, we then decided to find out, from parishioners, what kind of person they thought a priest should be, how he should act, and how a priest should be involved with others:

The questionnaire asked the parishioner to choose three answers from the five below, thinking about a priest as a person, about the ‘Being’ of the priest, and the ‘WHO’ of the priest:

1.   who is united with the Pope, the Bishop, his fellow priests and his parishioners?

2.   who is a holy and who lives according to the teachings of Jesus?

3.   who is welcoming to all?

4.   who is immersed in the Scriptures and the Church’s teaching?

5.   who always respects confidentiality?

The questionnaire asked the parishioner to choose three out of the five of the below that were more to do with the Action of the priest:

1.   be prayerful when leading the community in Church?

2.   celebrate reconciliation and healing of body, mind and spirit?

3.   have the help others in his own journey to God?

4.   be a role model for others?

5.   guide the Parish as the Holy Spirit inspires the Church today?

The questionnaire in the final section asked about priestly INVOLVEMENT with people, again asking the parishioner to choose three out of the five below:

1.   to build community in the parish, with fellow Christians, those of other religions and all of

      good will?

2.   to serve the needs of all as far as he is able, especially the poor?

3.   to support the young on their journey to God?

4.   to promote the spirit of sacrifice?

5.   alongside people throughout life, especially at times of need like infirmity and death?

From the results of the survey, four key themes consistently appear across the various congregations of Mass-goers, 6.00 pm Saturday, 9.30 and 11.00 am on Sundays. They highlight the priest:

*   who builds community in the parish, with fellow Christians, those of other religions and all

     of good will

*   who is welcoming to all?

*   who is with people throughout their lives, especially at times of need, like infirmity and

     death?

*   who guides the Parish as the Holy Spirit inspires the Church today?

The other themes also remain important and are not to be discarded despite not being in the four key themes as highlighted by parishioners in the survey.  However, It is clear that – in considering the statements of how a priest ‘should’ be, act, and involve – community, is one key element identified by parishioners; another is how the priest relates to people; another is his role as guide for the present time, and the future.

The end of the ‘Year of the Priest’ for us in St. Mary’s Leyland is actually a beginning in many ways, and that is why I gave this ‘Blog’ the title ‘Omega and Alpha’. Our ordained priests are challenged to work alongside the laity, who are seen – with the priests – as part of the community. This is something that Vatican II, and the ‘Leaving Safe Harbours’ initiative, in the Archdiocese of Liverpool, have been promoting. It would be simply impossible, for the parishioners of St. Mary’s, Leyland, to accept a Church in which the Priest has the controlling role in the Parish, and in which the people would be simply following, and obeying the ordained priest, on our journey to God. Rather, it follows the scriptural exemplification of Jesus, as portrayed in Chapter 15 of St. John’s Gospel: “I am the vine and you are the branches”, or the Pauline teaching: “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ”, (1 Cor. 12;12).  Here we see, clearly, that ALL are co-responsible for the welfare of the Church locally. Thank God, this very much happens in our Parish.

Personally, I thank God for the liberation that this vision brings. It is not just, “the Fathers”, who are the key players in the local parish. Rather, it is all of us, together, fulfilling our own role, and being drawn together into harmony and unity, the community of monks united with the Parish Priest, and the Parish Priest, in turn, united with the other monks and the people. All are in harmony with the Bishop, and other priests in the Pastoral Area; again, all are linked through the Bishop to our brother Bishops and, in particular, to the Pope, who is the centre of harmony and unity of the whole Church.

The ‘burning’ question is how to live all this out in practice, and it seems to us, at the Pastoral Council, that this will be something of a challenge we face each day, and which we hope to face in a more systematic way next year, just as we tried to face the challenge of understanding the Ordained Priesthood, this year.

To conclude, I return to St. Barnabas and the Feast of the Sacred Heart. Yes, within the Church, priests and people all need encouragement if they are to fulfil the God-given role that each one of us has. It may seem a small and insignificant role, but it is one that only each unique person can do, within that unique family, involving those unique people, in each unique street. For the priests it is the same. They have a unique role and they need to learn how to be filled with such compassion and love for others that they will grow in learning how to understand, and love, so much diversity among their parishioners – and among their fellow companion monks. Some lay persons may have bigger roles to play, within the community, but this does not make them better, more important, or higher up, than others. It just leads to them being of greater service to the whole community. Priests and people need to learn how to ‘love’ others with the Heart of Jesus. The Feast of the Sacred heart may help us, and teach us, as we reflect on all these things, and the challenging situations we face each day.

Eternal Father, through your Word You gave new life to Adam’s race,

transformed men into sons of light, new creatures by your saving grace.

The Word of God will transform the whole world

That is the hymn we sang yesterday morning at our office of readings. It says God gives new life through the Word. This reflection is about that.

The Church has given us the book of Job to read in the office or readings these past days since Pentecost. We have to pick it up again because we were reading Job before Lent began, and as is often the case Lent and Eastertide with its mystery of darkness and light is sandwiched by the book of Job. We monks are quite lucky because prayer together is something we do each day at a set time; we are almost “compelled” to take time out to listen to God’s Word, pray the psalms together, reflect and let God speak to us. Anyone who wants to have a friendship with God must give God time and space and that is not easy in today’s demanding world and the many things that engage our attention. Of course I am thinking of those who read this blog and are not monks, but might be busy at work, or a mother with children, or somebody who lives alone and is busy with many daily tasks including children and grandchildren. It will be time well spent however to do some reading of God’s Word, because no person will be able to discover himself or herself if they do not have a relationship with God. It is in our very being to know God, love Him and serve Him, and to do so not only in our personal prayers but also in all the people around us who, in God, are our brothers and sisters and are our pathway to Him. If we are distracted by many things all day long this will be impossible

Job, who has done nothing wrong, in fact has always been a virtuous man, has lost everything: his possessions, his family, his health and his self-esteem, and he is sitting on the dung heap. Three miserable friends, Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar try to console him but only make things worse. The whole story of Job is ironical, tragic and humorous too, because it is not that Job’s three friends are wrong in what they say: but they do not convince Job at all, their words do not hit the mark. Nor is Job in his discourse completely right; we can sense there may be some self-pity in there, understandable as it is.

Last Friday we read Job’s speech which follows a discourse by Zophar (Chapter 12 of the book of Job). It begins in our translation:

“Doubtless you are the voice of the people,

 and when you die, wisdom will die with you!…

A man becomes a laughing stock to his friends

if he cries to God and expects an answer.

The blameless innocent person incurs only mockery.

‘Add insult to injury’, thinks the prosperous person

‘strike the man now that he is staggering!’

Yet the tents of those who are wicked are left in peace,

and those who challenge God live in safety,

and make a god out of their two fists!

If you would learn more, ask the cattle,

seek information from the birds of the air.

The creeping things of earth will give you lessons,

and the fishes of the sea will tell you all.

There is not one such creature but will know

this state of things is all of God’s own making.

He holds in his power the soul of every living thing,

and the breath of each man’s body.”

This quotation came alive to me when we read it, and it made me realise once again that everything is held in the palm of God’s hand, the good and the bad things we experience. Our task is to trust in Him as Job did, and perhaps I achieved that a bit more and knew the presence of God in the particular details of my own life.

The Word of God is life-giving. We are created through the Word, and each individual is different to every other person born in this world, and has a unique task to perform in his or her life on earth. Personally when it comes to taking up the Word in the scriptures, I would recommend getting help to let it become digestible and applicable. To read the bible without a guide is not easy, and we distribute in the parish the Wednesday Word, a guide to the Sunday scripture readings which you can find also on a website www.wednesdayword.org. Also you can look at the Word of Life that we publish each month in the parish bulletin, and each week in shorter chunks or look up the website www.focolare.org.uk. This is helpful because in this website you find experiences of how the Word can be lived.

The Word of God is not something only to help you in prayer; it is not something that you read simply to strengthen your knowledge of God; it is not just to be read so you can understand Jesus and the life of the early Church; of course the Word of God helps in all these things. The Word of God is to be lived; and to insure God’s presence that is generated by living the Word is not lost, it is good to share with others who are receptive, in an appropriate way. Not only is it a necessity to live the Word, it is necessary to share the fruits of living the Word with others.

We need to live in a different way once we are responding to the immense Love that God has for each one of us. It demands “a new culture”, and many who are reserved or shy need to learn how to share the life that God generates in them. Then we begin to change from within, and the gifts of God begin to grow, gifts like “tolerance of the differences of the other”, “patience with the weaknesses that we find in ourselves and in others”, “growth in understanding the other person and seeing his or her good qualities rather than the negative aspects”, “confidence and trust in God in the very circumstances we are in, the people, the place, the life we lead”. Then the Word is life-giving.

To illustrate the above point by its opposite, we all know perfectly well that when God’s Word is not lived by Christians it causes scandal to people who are outside the family of the Church. We know also from recent events that if the Word of God is not lived by clergy and religious, or by lay people closely associated with the Church such as in Catholic orphanages or Catholic institutions, then the Church gets a very bad name and other Christians not directly involved can be deeply shocked and scandalised.

To end here is something that happened to me as a fruit of trying to live the Word, trying to live Love which is the same as the Word of God.

One day about lunch time the phone went and a mother I knew informed me that her husband was so ill in hospital with his heart problems that he had no hope. The very next day the doctors in the high dependency unit at Blackpool Victoria would turn off the machines that were keeping him alive as he was not responding at all. So she asked me if on the next day at the time they were going to switch off everything, could I go to the hospital, pray with her and the children, have Holy Communion and help them all to say good bye to Dad and husband. Implied in all this is the famous phrase of Jesus ‘Where two or more are gathered in my name, there am I among them’, and Jesus is the way, the truth and the life.

Finally God sent his Son, Jesus, who revealed the face of God in its fullness by showing Him as Love and by condensing his law into the single commandment of love for God and for one’s neighbour.

Of course I made arrangements to do that, changing appointments and so on. I promised to pray for them all there and then and offer up my life for the next 24 hours for this gentleman.

The next day I rang the mother at the hospital before setting out, and she told me a remarkable thing. Her husband had made a response in the afternoon of the previous day. It looked as though the doctors were going to review their decision. Yet could I please come with Holy Communion and pray with all as we arranged.

So I arrived, not sure what to expect. My friend was there wired up with all the monitors as usual. There was no sign of anyone turning them off. In fact even I could see some response, and so our prayers continued but in a changed form. Everyone had Holy Communion, Dad received a blessing (he was ‘nil by mouth’ and could not communicate nor does he remember this event), all in that hospital bay were filled with gratitude and wonder at what God had done, and from then on things looked up. This gentleman and his wife are still very much a part of the faith community of the Church, and it must be about ten years ago that these events happened.

A tiny postscript: similar stories could be told again and again by priests who have the chance to anoint the sick and share God’s healing that is described in some of the miracles of Jesus in the gospels. God is close to us: he is waiting for us to believe in Love, to live the Word and let Jesus live in us.

It is a great joy to introduce Fr. Theodore Young as a help in writing these blogs. Fr. Theodore, now in his late 80’s, is still known to his friends as Theo – he works as a chaplain in a High School, and has the distinction, I presume, of being the oldest priest in the world to be a chaplain in a school! For those who do not know Theo, he was in Leyland for 25 years, and among many things he did, his work among young people up to 1982 is still remembered. Every now and again there is a chance for me to visit him in Liverpool, and the joy and happiness of those conversations remain in my heart.

I would like to add a little ‘rider’ to what Theo writes; so soon after Pentecost, the Holy Spirit ‘looms large’ in the minds and hearts of those in tune with the life of the Church. One of the aspects of the Holy Spirit is to help us ‘grow up’ and learn to be the people we are meant to be. My own observations in life make me realise that adults, all too often, need to discover who they are – and some adults never grow up. Some young people are mature and whole, even in their youth. So what is written below is certainly of great interest to me.

Fr. Jonathan

“Growing Pains”

When I was in my teens and complained of pains, the answer was always: “Don’t worry, they are just growing pains.” They probably were and I have come across them many times since in my dealings with young people, but I try not to give that same answer!  I remember one sad occasion when a lad, whose dad had left home, came down the stairs for the first time in long trousers; he looked so proud until his mum looked at him with disgust and shouted: “Get them off at once – you look just like your dad.” I have never forgotten the look on that lad’s face. I wonder how she expected him to look?

When I read the paper or watch the TV news and hear of just another horrific murder of a young person by teenagers, I wonder what sort of home they have – from what sort of home they come? Have they experienced any real, genuine love or discipline, at home? Have they ever been treated with respect by their parent, or guardian, or teacher?

The present ‘craze’ with teenagers is to have what goes by the name of  ‘Attention Deficient Hyper-Disorder’ or to give it its initials, ‘ADHD’.  To put this into plain English, it means that they are likely to go ‘off the handle’ if they think they are being treated unjustly. An increasing number of teenagers in school, have a ‘pass’ which allows them to leave class and to see either their Year Tutor, or myself. Often, I find they need to talk and to say what it is that has made them so angry. Sometimes it is a misunderstanding of what has been said by the teacher, or perhaps, they feel that they are the ones who always being blamed.. Once they have ‘cooled down’, it helps to ask them what they would do if they were the teacher, and they had a room full of twenty or so pupils to deal with?  Perhaps there was a ‘row’ when they were leaving home and lots of hurtful words were said by both parties. Of all the methods for dealing with this problem, the one I have described seems to work the best because by meeting regularly, a sense of respect, friendship and trust are engendered. The signs of improvement in their behaviour in the classroom, tend to show when they come to see me less frequently.

But, for many of them, things are not so easily dealt with.  Perhaps, dad has left home for good and the young person feels it is his / her fault. Worse still, dad’s place is taken by mum’s partner who thinks he has a right to act as the ‘man of the house’ and can tell the ‘kids’ what to do and what not to do. Consequently, it is not surprising if the young person strongly resents his interference.

Another example comes to mind – that of  a lad I had known when he was at High School, because he was in a ‘band’ and they used to practise in our hall. When leaving school, he was courting a Catholic girl and one day she came to see me – in tears – to say that he had failed to turn up as arranged, and there she was, dressed up in all her splendour – and all for him! Eventually, I managed to track him down and gave him a piece of my mind. I ended by saying: “The problem is that you are having difficulties in growing up”. He replied: “It’s blooming hard growing up – does it get any easier as you get older?”

To ‘cut a long story short’, I eventually married them.  They were very happy and eventually had a daughter , but, alas, just a year ago he died of cancer. His wife told me that he was a wonderful husband and father; not bad – considering that his mum was often out with a ‘partner’, and so also, was his dad. On one occasion, when his dad came home, the lad said to him: “Are you coming in for keeps, or not; if not, go out – and stay out – and stop behaving like a blooming teenager!”

People tend to look at all this as a 21st Century problem, but you only have to look at the Bible to see many examples of problems between teenagers and their parents. Take the 5th Joyful Mystery of the Rosary – ‘The Finding of Jesus in the Temple’.  For three days, Mary and Joseph searched for him everywhere, and only on the third day, in desperation, they returned to the temple. There he was, as ‘happy as Larry’, having the time of his life:

“Three days later, they found him in the Temple, sitting among the doctors, listening to them and asking them questions; and all those who heard him were astonished at his intelligence and his replies. They were overcome when they saw him and his mother said to him: My child why have you done this to us? See how worried your father and I have been looking for you. Why were you looking for me? He replied: Did you not know that I must be busy with my Father’s affairs? But they did not understand what he meant.” Lk.2:46-50

William Barclay writes in ‘The Daily Bible Study’:

“As the years went on he must have had thoughts; and then at this first Passover, with manhood dawning, there came in a sudden blaze of realization the consciousness that he was in a unique sense the Son of God. This discovery did not make him proud.” (Luke p.300)

Jesus working as a carpenter with Joseph

He went home and he was obedient to Mary and Joseph.  The fact that he was God’s Son made him the perfect son for his human parents. He spent the next 18 years leading a family life; we know it as the ‘hidden’ life, presumably spent doing the things children of his age do – going to school, playing with his friends, doing jobs around the house and learning the carpenters’ trade, with Joseph.  What better preparation for all that lay ahead? And, who better than he, to understand the problem of discovering who you are, and what God has in store for you?