This Madonna and Child, shown below, has been produced by the famous Sister Anthony Wilson SND, who is well known in Liverpool, for all her artistic work for the Metropolitan Cathedral – “Paddy’s Wigwam” as it is ‘affectionately’ known by the “Scousers”.

I like the image very much, because Jesus is shown with a typical English face, (grown up, he might be an English football star, probably playing for one of the Liverpool teams).  Mary is a young, vibrant woman; her glory is shown in her gold dress, adorned with the cross motif, while she carries Jesus in red swaddling clothes – a foretaste of his martyrdom – looking intelligent, alert and ready to grow in wisdom and age, for his great mission of redemption.  Above is the Holy Spirit, hovering, and Jesus is clearly the Holy One of God, for he has the halo. Mary, his mother, holds him, at once protecting him, whilst almost giving him away; Jesus and Mary are clearly under the protection also of the Holy Spirit – under the shadow of His wings, whilst Jesus, with his outstretched arms, demonstrates where those arms will be on the cross.

God’s Glory! What is this? The Angels sang; “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to people of good will”. Whatever God’s glory is, it always remains the same; it is not affected by what goes on in creation. However God is not an impassive prime-mover; he is our loving Father, merciful and kind, knowing us through and through, like our human fathers, and he wants us to know something of his glory. St John’s Gospel says that the Cross of Jesus is his Glory – self-giving love.

God’s glory is unshakeable and not dependent on a human way of looking at things! It need not boast, or seek praise from anyone. Jesus, born in obscurity, amid troubles and suffering, the Word of God made flesh, shows his glory according to the Gospel on the Cross; birth, death, life’s ‘ups and downs’, are all one in his glory.

Our understanding of God’s Glory comes when “I abide in Him as He abides in me”. I love the English hymn “Abide with me” of the 19th century Anglican priest, Henry Lyte. One verse strikes me as so realistic and entirely apposite: “When other helpers fail and comforts flee, Help of the helpless, O abide with me.”  The Word of God is born again in us, each day if we let him. Every day is Christmas Day. Its fruit, in us, is peace. May peace reign everywhere – and not just at Christmas!  

A Happy and Holy Christmas to Everyone.

Fr. Jonathan

In their small communities, the focolarini live out their vocation for the glory of God, and the good of many others, including others of the Focolare family, and the majority of people who have no knowledge of such an ‘ideal’ of communion. Manfred, however, was not the type of person you would take for a deeply religious man, (and I know many monks in our monastery like that – others too, who are priests, or dedicated lay-people). Manfred was, and remained till the end, so human, earthy, moody, cheeky and, sometimes, hard to understand; the kind of person you would want to call your friend on a good day. Then, with the onset of his illness his life developed, and changed.

About April 2012

In February 2012, he was diagnosed with a brain tumour; since then, culminating in his death last week, 12th December 2013, he has lived knowing that he had an incurable and fast growing cancer. God gave him 18 months, and in that period, not only did he enter into a new phase of the holy journey of life himself, but he helped many others to face up to the challenges of their personal journey, including myself.

In November 2012, he gave an interview published in the ‘New City Magazine’. This outlines the change that occurred in him. In that interview Manfred was asked to share his reflections about his illness covering the past seven months:

“I think my illness has profoundly changed my life! Firstly it has shown me that I am totally in God’s hands. Whilst I may previously have lived an active life which gave me the illusion that I was actually doing something, now I realised that it was not the ‘doing’ that was effective but the ‘being’. I became aware of how much God loves me and has always loved me as I am. He does not want me to be perfect: he just wants me to love him above everything else. Suddenly the illness makes sense: it is there to make me love more, to be there for the others and to give my life to God, moment by moment. I realised the only thing I had was the present moment. I could worry about the future; I could regret the past but could change neither. My only chance was to live the present. It does not make the illness nice! It turns it into an opportunity.”

Manfred lived in communion and had many friends, some of whom share the spirituality that he entered as a young man. He explains in the same interview about why he dedicated his life to God in the Focolare community.

“I don’t really know to be honest! I don’t think I ever had a vocation in the ordinary sense of the word. It was a continual saying “yes” to what God proposed in each moment that brought me to here. I feel very strongly that I am not here because of my own merit, but because I had God’s help, through others, and through circumstances, to say yes to him in each moment. I realised that he, God, loves me, a creature, enormously! Well, to be loved by God, there really isn’t anything better”.

He also was asked why he had shared his experience on Facebook and through other social media.

“Very early on in the illness I understood I could not live this on my own. It all happened very publicly, it was something serious, and I tried to live communitarian spirituality, the spirituality of unity. So it was a logical step to communicate my experience on a daily basis on Facebook to all those who know me. I was keen not to exclude anybody and was careful about the language I used. I was convinced that ‘he who has ears to hear, let him hear’. Nobody was left out. I have the impression it created a community.

At the same time I was able to provide a blog for those who shared my own way of life. It was a sharing on a deeper level. It is a rich experience for me and I believe for many, because it allows me to show how much God is at work in us. It has allowed us to focus on what is really important and live with him in the present moment.”

(The whole interview with Manfred is still available on the Parish website: www.leylandstmarys.org.uk as a document that can be read; go to ‘Documents and Albums’, then scroll down to documents.)

 One thing that really impressed me about Manfred, that I find a daily help, was his discovery of ‘diamonds’ during the day. In other words, the special moments when there is a moment of love and joy, beyond the normal in some event, some encounter, some good moment. He found these very helpful moments with God. I have found these happening to me, too, each day; they can be found in so many ways. Today, for instance, I found myself preparing for the Christmas liturgy with a member of the music group. We shared about so many different things and got on with the task of preparing joyfully for the Christmas services. It was a joyful, happy, ‘diamond’ time.

Manfred in the later stages of his illness with his mother

The last time I saw Manfred was on November 8^th 2013. He was in bed permanently: his eyesight had gone, he was cared for by carers, who came in to see him four times a day, and by a wonderful companion focolarino, who had come over from Italy for the task, together with others in his house, who continued with their work, as best they could. It was a mammoth task, caring for him, as his needs were numerous; his personal hygiene, food, companionship, fear, prayer, loneliness, the unknown ahead … and the fact that he was so big and so heavy.

We were assembled there, and it was a good moment, for me, to give him the Sacrament of the Sick. Manfred was keen to be anointed, and as he was lying there, hardly able to see, he smiled, joked and, most certainly, it was another ‘diamond’ moment for me. I think, now, he will find that his life will be one of light and joy, in the company of so many others, in Jesus, with God the Father, the Holy Spirit and with Mary. May he continue to pray for each one of us, as love for him, from many still in this world lives on.

Father Jonathan

Christians worldwide are very well acquainted with the many beautiful feasts arranged annually in honour of Our Blessed Lady, but one of the most charming, in my humble view, is that of Our Lady of Guadalupe – largely speaking, I think, because throughout all of the events occurring in 1531, on the road to Mexico City, it is Mary who takes charge.  She has a message for us!

It is She who approaches a poor peasant on his way to Mass; it is She who asks that a church be built in her honour at that place; it is She who convinces a very sceptical bishop of her appearances and her wishes; it is She who works miracles of healing; it She who implants her most beautiful image on a humble peasant’s tilda (cloak); it is She who makes a promise that leaves no doubt She is in charge:

“Hear me and understand well, my son the least, that nothing should frighten or grieve you. Let not your heart be disturbed. Do not fear that sickness, nor any other sickness or anguish. Am I not here, who is your Mother? Are you not under my protection? Am I not your health? Are you not happily within my fold? What else do you wish? Do not grieve nor be disturbed by anything.”

All this happened in the winter of 1531, on the road to Mexico City.  Juan Diego, a very poor 57 years old peasant, who lived about five miles from the City, was on his way to morning Mass when he heard music coming from above him on the hill, called Tepeyac Hill; even more surprisingly, a female voice was calling to him from out of the music.  Juan climbed a little higher and he then saw a lady, dressed apparently as one of his own people, at which point the lady told him she was the Virgin Mary, and that she wished him to go and see the bishop and ask that a church be built on the Tepeyac, in her honour, to assist in the conversion of the people of that country, and to be a source of consolation to all the people.

Juan, still flabbergasted, no doubt, did as Our Lady asked, but the bishop was not impressed.  Recognising Juan as a poor, but devout Catholic, he was not prepared at that point to believe in the Virgin’s appearance – or her request for a church – and Juan was forced to return to the Teypeyac, and the ‘Lady’, ‘empty-handed’.  She told Juan to go back to the bishop and repeat her request, and at this, the bishop told Juan he should ask the Lady for a sign that she was the Mother of God, and that she wished a church to be built there.  When he returned to the hill, Mary gave Juan Diego the sign that was needed. Quite miraculously, roses appeared, blooming on the hill in the middle of winter, and Juan gathered the blooms in his tilma, or cloak; Our Lady then arranged the roses, in his tilma, with her own hands, and Juan returned once more to see the bishop. When Juan opened his tilma, allowing the flowers to fall to the floor, it was revealed that a miraculous image of Our Lady had imprinted itself on his tilma.

 The bishop, Bishop Fray Juan de Zumarraga, fell to his knees when this happened and came to believe in Juan Diego’s message. A church was built on the site of the apparition, as Mary had requested, and millions of people became converted to Catholicism, upon hearing the accounts of what had taken place at Tepeyac; the news concerning an ordinary peasant, the appearances to him of Our Lady, the erection of a church in her honour and all this plus a ‘miraculous’ image of Our Lady, took that part of the Americas by storm.  In time, the importance of the events was to take the story to a worldwide audience, and all of this many decades before the later appearances of Our Lady at Lourdes and at Fatima.  Again, similar to the two aforementioned Holy Places, to Our Lady of Guadalupe are attributed an incredible number of miraculous cures and interventions, worldwide, but especially in the Americas; she is honoured and venerated by Catholics – and Christians – millions of them in every continent.

The tilma worn by Juan Diego was an ordinary peasant garment, over six feet in length and almost four feet wide, woven out of coarse cactus fibre with a life-span of no more than, perhaps, 20-30 years; experience says it should then have fallen apart, through age, but today, almost 500 years later, it is still intact and shows no sign of disintegration. Superimposed thereon is the exquisite and delicate figure of Our Blessed Lady, an image of almost 5 feet in height.  It has been examined using all the modern techniques, and here it bears remarkable similarities to the Shroud of Turin, in that no paint was used, and chemical analysis has not been able to identify the colour imprint, or how it was applied to the cloak.  Perhaps, even more remarkably, it is said that the pupils of Mary’s eyes, in the picture, reflect the people present at the time of the first sight of the image, and that the stars on Our Lady’s mantle match exactly the stars of a Mexican sky of December, 1531.

Today it hangs above and behind the High Altar, in the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City, a place of honour visited by millions of pilgrims, annually, to venerate and to pray before Our Lady, “Santa Maria de Guadalupe” – a title chosen by Mary, herself, and her Sanctuary has been visited officially by many, many, Holy Fathers as one of those most ‘Holy Places’, significant in the annals of Christianity. 

The Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mexico City

 
In 1895, by decree of Pope Leo XIII, the Image of the Blessed Virgin of Guadalupe was crowned with great solemnity. In 1945, on the 50th anniversary of that crowning, Pope Pius XII proclaimed her Patroness of all the Americas.  Pope John Paul II travelled no less than four times to visit Our Lady at the Sanctuary, the first in 1979 – his first outside Rome – and then again in 1990, 1999 and 2002.  In 1999, he declared Our Lady of Guadalupe’s feast day, 12 December, to be a Liturgical Holy Day for the whole of the Continent of South America, at the same visit, entrusting to her care, the ’cause of life’, the innocent lives of children throughout the world, especially those in danger of not being born.  The picture below portrays her patronage beautifully:   

 Our Lady of Guadalupe – Pray for us.

Socius

In the novel, “The Afghan” by Frederick Forsyth, there are ruthless killings by those involved with ‘Al Qaeda’ of anyone who may stand in the way of their fanatical ideals. Basically, the novel is about an attempt to perpetrate even a greater atrocity than the destruction of New York’s ‘Twin Towers’, aiming at the deaths of thousands of Western people; in this, the fanatics hope to include many Christians.

The book is well written and well researched, and is a chilling read. Fanatical hatred, involving the suicide of Islamic extremists – in their hope for many deaths – is woven into the story. The ‘glorious’ deaths of these Islamist ‘martyrs’ will mark, for them, an entry into a supposed paradise, and their “glorious” self-sacrifices will be remembered in the annals of the Muslim world by fellow extremists for hundreds of years. Thank God, the book is fiction!

 A Group of Orthodox Sisters 

Daily, the world hears about such things in real life, usually not at such a dramatic level, but not that far removed. One of the latest incidents happened in Syria this week; armed men forced their way into a convent and kidnapped a group of helpless, Christian Orthodox nuns. People in the Christian world, and I dare say, many true peace-loving Moslems, are praying for their safe release, unharmed. During his Wednesday audience, yesterday in Rome, Pope Francis asked people to pray for the sisters.

Never in the life of the Church has there been such persecution of Christians, and those who know Church history, are aware that the ‘Blood of the Martyrs is the Seed of the Church’. Martyrs, in the true sense of the word, are those who die for love – love of God, and others – for that ideal. They come from all religions, and none. Most certainly, they are not diabolical, ‘imposter suicide’ martyrs, who die for an ideal of hatred, and the killing of other human beings. A large number of those who are murdered for their beliefs are Christians in today’s world. We know there are many others, too – innocents killed of all religions; fellow Muslims are often known to have killed others of their own faith, for example. Similarly, there may be fanatical Christians, who cannot be called true disciples of Jesus, involved in such evil deeds, somewhere on our earth.

It is true that some Christians do, ruthlessly, kill.  One only has to look at the Mafia, or the IRA movement. Then, take the very rich people, especially those of the world-wide conglomerates, who uphold economic systems that lead to perpetual inequalities of life, especially in the ‘Third World’ and which result in the dying of simple, innocent people from lack of water, food and medicines. These economic systems have built-in structures, often supported by the ‘Western Christian World’ in collusion with those of non-Christian religious persuasions, in the Middle and Far East.

Christian teaching states clearly, and consistently, that it is a grievous sin to kill others; digging just a little deeper, it is true that there are many different interpretations of the teachings of Mohammed, for the Islamic world, where, I suspect, one finds the very same parallel teaching about murder, within that Faith, too. Our Pope Francis, previous Popes and others in the Christian world, condemn unjust economic systems that, more or less, allow the wealthy countries to live so well, while millions in the undeveloped world are dying of disease, hunger and thirst. Things could be very different, and it is not an impossible, or idealistic dream that, one day, all human beings might live in a more united world. We have to do something about it but it will be impossible on our own. We must obtain the help and support of like-minded people. Such people are the silent majority, in our world, but it is surely time to get organised and so overcome the evils around us.

The title for my blog attempts to explain why, in general,  Christians are so meek? We are disciples of Jesus, the ‘Word of God’ made flesh, as we will celebrate, once again, at Christmas with awe and thanksgiving.  That’s fine, BUT, it is not enough just to remember that ‘baby’ and then continue in our self-centred ways, enjoying the good things of life, not living as disciples. The fact is that Jesus, risen from the dead, is alive with us today, sharing his Holy Spirit with us, to lead us on our journey through this world to God the Father. It is the same journey Jesus made, two thousand years ago, and it is lived again, by each one of us, personally, and in our togetherness in the Body of Christ. As we await, joyfully, the celebration of Christmas, day-by-day, we let the risen Lord guide us in the detail of our life, so that we may be made worthy to celebrate, with friends and family, the wonderful mystery of the Incarnation.

After the glory of the resurrection, Jesus, the Word of God, through whom all things are made, has taken unto himself the whole of creation, everything in the heavens, in the earth and in the underworld. In the very beautiful ‘Alleluia Chorus’ of the ‘Messiah’, the composer, George Frederick Handel created some of his most wonderful music, expressing this truth in words of Scripture:

“Hallelujah! for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ: and He shall reign for ever and ever. Revelation 19:16 16. . . . KING OF KINGS, LORD OF LORDS …”

Should anyone feel the need to prepare, properly, for Christmas, I recommend no more profitable way than to spend an afternoon, listening to, and taking in, Handel’s Messiah. It is an exceptional piece of music, a meditation that outlines, in a wonderful way, the plan of God for humanity, in which each disciple participates.

Through our baptism and our faithful discipleship, we Christians share in the glory that Handel’s music proclaims. Christians have a dignity that could never have been invented, save by God himself. We have the life of the risen Jesus already with us. Our lives, and deaths, contribute to the same plan of God, as fulfilled by Jesus and in which we share already, albeit ‘as in a glass, darkly’ through the majestic dignity of Jesus himself. Our life, as Christians, is hidden with Christ, in God. Within us, in Him living in us, is also the whole of humanity, the whole cosmos, all that was ever created. This is why we have the mark of joy, and love, and hope, as Christians.

The key to this life of love, leading to the unification of the world, is the Cross, the glory of Jesus, as man, on this earth. It means the loving acceptance of all that brings the cross into my life today, in me, in others, in our families, our country and our world. Suffering, though it does not feel like it, has a loving purpose.

The words written by St. Paul in his letter to the Philippians take on a new meaning in this light:

“Though being divine in nature,

he did not claim in fact equality with God,

but emptied himself,

taking on the nature of a servant, made in human likeness,

and in his appearance found as a man.

He humbled himself by being obedient to death,

death on the cross.

That is why God exalted him

and gave him the name which outshines all names,

so that at the Name of Jesus all knees should bend

in heaven, on earth and among the dead,

and all tongues proclaim that Christ Jesus is Lord,

to the glory of God the Father.”     (Phil 2: 6-11)

If all this is ours, is it any wonder that Christians are pro-actively meek, doing all they can to follow their Master and accepting all the challenges of life, from youth to old age joyfully.  A Very Happy Advent to all.

Father Jonathan

There are 59 pills, or beads, on the rosary.

Pope Francis at his “window” explains the 59 little pills – All is revealed

Here at Leyland St. Mary’s, we imitated the Pope and gave out some rosaries, in Church, to mark the end of the “Year of Faith”, with an explanation of how to pray the rosary. It seems more important to do something than merely to speak, endlessly, about Faith, Hope, God, Love, Jesus and the Gospel. It was something special to see many people leaving Church, on Sunday last, and looking joyfully at the little pamphlet about how to say the rosary – and with a smile on their faces.

Since then Pope Francis has done so many other things; they are all aspects of evangelisation, because he knows that gestures and facts count much more than words. Possibly the most important is the publication, on Tuesday 26 November 2013, of a long document on Evangelisation, called “The Joy of the Gospel”. In Latin, its name is “Evangelii Gaudium”.

It is a beautiful document; at 90 pages of A4 in length, it is too long to publish, but there is a summary of it on our website at, www.leylandstmarys.org.uk, under the documents and albums button; (then scroll down to documents). This summary was produced for the press release on Tuesday last. Should they wish to, anyone could download the whole long document, by using a search engine and putting in the Latin title. It is easy to read, and is full of joy at the start. (I have only had time to begin reading it).

Pope Francis points out that our whole life should be evangelical, and that Jesus, who is always new in his inspiration, provides many new ways to evangelise, that are different to preaching. These new ways may not quite be like my experience of Monday last, in Liverpool! On my day off, I walked through the ‘Liverpool One’ shopping precinct. There, on his own, dressed in a smart suit, amid a teeming busy crowd, was a young, personable man with a nice face, who was proclaiming to everyone, and nobody, that Jesus is our Saviour. As I walked past, no one paid him any attention; nobody stopped to listen. Another well-dressed man, not quite so friendly looking, thrust a small pamphlet into my hands, about how Jesus is the ‘Good Shepherd’. I wonder whether such activities do any good at all. Much better, may be some practical act of kindness, made by one neighbour to another – or a gesture, like many of those by Pope Francis.

One such gesture came to my knowledge only this week. In the secular press, it was reported that a priest, in Rome, refused to baptise a child, whose mother was a single parent and she was not a church-goer. Somehow, Pope Francis traced her ‘phone number and rang her. He then told the woman that he would baptise the baby!  What a lovely gesture!

The spirit of this new document, (“The Joy of the Gospel”), is one of welcoming everyone, whosoever and wherever, they find themselves. It begins in an explosion of joy, that should be the spirit within every Christian, because a Christian knows that he, or she, is redeemed by Jesus, and then offered a life in union with Jesus, and so with God. The Pope insists that, we Catholics, including the priests, should not make life difficult for others, but welcome them. The first pages of the document are ‘thick’ with quotes, from scripture, that resonate with joy; they show the point the Pope is making, is the same as the message of the Bible.

It contains some amusing phrases, and some of the meanings go very deep; I quote:

“There are Christians whose lives seem like Lent without Easter”.

“Thanks to our encounter with the person of Jesus, with God’s Love, which blossoms into an enriching friendship, we are liberated from our narrowness and self-absorption. We become fully human when we become more than human”.

“An evangeliser must never look like someone who has just come back from a funeral!”

Once again, Pope Francis is giving us hope. We all need hope – hope that links to our inner spirit – and which brings out joy, even when circumstances might make us feel down-hearted, even broken-hearted. Thank God, for the evident signs of light shining in the darkness; the darkness will never prevail over the light.

Fr. Jonathan

“Now cracks a noble heart. Goodnight sweet prince,

And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest!” 

(Hamlet Act V, Sc. II)

 Sarah Bernhardt as Hamlet – 1887

They remind me very much of the words of ‘In Paradisum’, a quite beautiful and touching ancient anthem that we recite at the end of a Requiem Mass, usually, as the body of the deceased is being taken from church to his or her place of rest:

“May angels lead you into Paradise;

may the martyrs receive you at your coming

and lead you to the holy city of Jerusalem.

May a choir of angels receive you,

and with Lazarus, who once was poor,

may you have eternal rest.”

By now we are well into November, the month of All Saints and of All Souls.  It is the month when, traditionally, we remember all those who have died, and gone before us to their place of rest, and in this, I refer to all those who have died in war, and in many other ways, together with our own relatives and friends.

The Book of Wisdom makes the point that there is just one way to enter into this world – and only one way to leave it – and it is as well that we remember this throughout our lives.

We remember the dead in our prayers, for it is not given to everyone to live such a life of holiness as to be able to expect that, once life is finished for them on earth, they should be welcomed into heaven, without a stay in Purgatory.  It is not necessary that we should pray for those who have achieved their goal – paradise for all eternity – as they are the saints who pray for us.  However, “it is a holy and wholesome thing to pray for the dead, that they may be released from their sins,” and so we pray for all those others who suffer some period of separation from God, before being united with him in heaven.

Father Jonathan, who follows the activities of Pope Francis assiduously, adds a rider at this point – a rider in the words of His Holiness, on the subject of sinning, repentance and forgiveness:

In St. John’s first letter chapter one verse eight we read: “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us”. Pope Francis asks a good question on this point:  ”But what is the difference between sin and scandal?” The difference, he said, is that “whoever sins and repents asks for forgiveness, he feels weak, he sees himself as a child of God, and he humbles himself and asks Jesus to save him. But the one who gives scandal does not repent and continues to sin and pretends to be a Christian”. It is as though he leads “a double life,” and he added, “The double life of a Christian causes great harm … it is hypocrisy”. (Sermon at Santa Marta, 11 November 2013). We need to make sure we are humble children of God and not corrupt sinners who defy God.

Some time ago, I remember sitting quietly, at home alone, and without the often disturbing company of the television, and it was then that I was arrested by the thought of that walk along ‘Sunset Lane’.  Perhaps the name will ‘give the game’ away, but Sunset Lane is inevitably a ‘One Way Street’; there is no carriageway in the returning direction.  And, there is one further restriction on travel along this road, for one must travel along it alone. People travel along it every day – many times in their thousands – but, essentially, they travel this road as individuals, one person, one heart, one spirit.

Men, women and children, of all ages, from all sorts of stations in life, young and old, rich and poor – it makes no difference once they are on this road – all heading in just one direction. And, they only ever travel this way once in their lives.  There may be many times when a person may think he has reached Sunset Lane, but then at the last minute, he finds that he was on a different route and not actually on the Lane as first thought.

Where does it lead?  Who waits for us? What future is there when we get to the end of the Lane? No one really knows and though many travel this way trusting and believing that they know who, and what, is waiting, they do so in faith alone, for no one knows for certain.  Unfortunately, many travel this lonely road without caring, with complete disregard and utter contempt – throughout all of their lives – refusing to believe they would ever meet anyone at the end of this Lane.  I shudder at the thought of the fate that may be awaiting some of these – and pray for them – for some saving grace that may help them.

Now, readers of this short blog may be starting to think that they could have been reading something not quite so dark – not quite so depressing – and I can readily understand their feelings.  It is not easy for one to ‘dig a little of his own grave’ every day, though different orders of monks – Christian and many others, have been recorded over hundreds of years as doing just that, and St. Benedict, the father of monasticism in Europe, foretold his own death by six days, and instructed his monks, secretly, to dig his grave.  On the sixth day, Benedict fell ill, died, and was buried there.

St. Benedict with Cross and Rule

On Ash Wednesday we are told to ‘remember that thou art but ash and unto ash thou must return’, and so, within our faith(s), we are reminded frequently that life on this earth will come to an end, one day, and there is nothing we can do about it. Even Jesus and Mary, His Mother, had to face death.  So, what can we do in the face of that walk along ‘Sunset Lane’?

Physically, we can do nothing, but mentally, we can prepare – and the saving graces in all of this are faith, hope and trust in God’s goodness.  When created, God never intended that we should have to face death.  He created us to live – and it was only through envy and pride that mankind was tempted to challenge God’s power.  Human kind has faced death ever since, and the Book of Creation explains and tells us why.  But, in being expelled from that perfect life in ‘The Garden’, God made us a promise – to give us Mary, who would crush the serpent’s head under her heel – by being mother to God’s Son – our redeemer, and the only one able to save the human race from utter devastation.

That Redeemer came, lived and showed us how to live, then suffered and died for the sins we men, and women, have committed, will commit.  He rose from the dead, thus proving his divinity, and God’s favour for all humanity.  Therein lies our source of hope – and we must never forget it.  If we believe in God’s goodness, and in his favour, we shall die – yes – but then live for all eternity, in God’s goodness and majesty.

It seems there may be ‘light at the end of the tunnel’, after all.

Socius

On Saturday 9th November, history was made at the meeting called, “Many Streams – One River”, a gathering of 1,600 people, involved in 20 different Church (Ecclesial) movements, all meeting at Westminster Hall, from 10.30 am – 5.00 pm. The event came less than five months after the world meeting of ecclesial movements, and communities, with Pope Francis at the Vatican, on Pentecost Sunday. By the grace of God, I was able to be present. Most certainly, this week-end, there will comments in the Christian Press – for us the Catholic newspapers. It was a new, first step, on a long road for the Church, I suspect, because this event has been awaited for years; at last, it has taken place. To be doing something, together with members of other movements, each with its own charism, is not easy. It is very similar to the getting of religious orders together, to support and help each other, with no other aim but God’s glory, the good of the Church and of humanity.

Background Picture on the Stage Screens

Participants on the day – described as ‘An A-Z of New Life in the Church’ – included: Ascent, Catholic Charismatic Renewal, Chemin Neuf Community, Faith Café, Focolare, Jesus Youth, L’Arche, Madonna House, The Maranatha Community, Mothers Prayers, Neo-Catechumenal Way, Schoenstatt, St. Egidio, Sword of the Spirit, Sion Community, Teams of Our Lady and Youth 2000.

Archbishop Nichols opened the day and thanked everyone present for the way they enrich the life of the Church, concluding: “I do hope that the Church may ever grow from the gifts given to you and through you passed on to so many others”.

Cardinal Cormac Murphy O’Connor said it was significant that Pope Francis’ first visit, outside Rome, was to meet the asylum refugees from Africa, on Lampedusa, many of their colleagues having died at sea, on their ‘escape to freedom’. The Cardinal said: “He sees God as you and I should. He sees God everywhere. Pope Francis is a witness before he is a teacher.” He said Pope Francis has challenged the Church and each Christian to go out, beyond themselves, because the world needs to meet God in order to find its identity, to find justice, peace and unity.  He ended by saying: “I want to assure you how much the Church values you. The Movements are a vital part of the Church … And we are very blessed in our country to have all of you. It gives me encouragement.”

Inside the Hall

To summarise the meeting, in brief: Every movement leads people to have a personal encounter with Jesus; to meet him, in different ways. The ideal of unity was manifesting with almost every movement – each one, almost without exception, being ecumenical in its expression. Twenty ‘Movements’ were present; the organisation was splendid and took place in a ‘seamless’ way without a hitch; it was as though some unseen hand was directing, quietly, silently, from behind the scenes. The 1600 present represent others who could not come so easily, all of whom love the Church, and want to further its mission, as God is leading us so to do.

 Many from different groups sing together “We Believe in Love”

For me, a very ‘bright light’ came from L’Arche, and their Service users, who are very severely handicapped – much more than those we might see at Church on Sundays. Some might say that such men and women should be quietly looked after and kept out of normal circulation; that would really put them on the edges of normal society. During the day, there was one lad in a wheel-chair, who shouted out during the whole day, loudly, filling the hall with noise. It was not constant, but intrusive and, at first, I wondered how the speakers would cope; I found myself resenting his presence. Then the ‘penny’ slowly ‘dropped’ for me – he was joining in, doing so in the only way he could, knowing from his L’Arche experience that he was loved and cherished – and my attitude began to change. His total inadequacy was saved by the knowledge that he loved, and was being loved, and this helped me to appreciate the totality of my own real worth and value. What a constant conversion it is, truly, to know that I am loved, not by God alone, but by the others who are trying to live, and love me, in God!

Kevin, from L’Arche, emphasised the same point. He spoke of his encounter with Edith, a person with multiple disabilities, whose life had been devoid of love. The movement’s founder, Jean Vanier, says that to love someone, is to reveal to them that they are precious. Over the years, Kevin revealed to Edith, that she was precious, that she was valued and loved. He said: “What is remarkable and life-changing, and potentially world-changing, is that Edith had become someone whose respect I needed, someone by whom I measured myself.  Edith had revealed to me that I was precious, that I was loved.”

L’ Arche Community Mime

The L’ Arche Community also did a mime: it was beautiful to behold, as they passed love from one to the other, and then to everyone. During this mime a lady who was severely mentally handicapped, and yet as free and happy as a bird, walked and danced around the stage. She was only very gently led away, with much love and no comments, when she rather interfered with what was going on. Nobody minded, and everyone continued their simple acting; it was a moment of peaceful love, without anger or rancour – and it was beautiful.

Celia, from Focolare, said: “Sometimes the movements are looked upon with scepticism or suspicion. Are they ‘happy-clappy’? Is it a ‘frothy’ faith? Are they ‘right wing’? Or ‘left wing’? Do they take people away from the parish? In reality they enable people to walk in the normality of life in God, and to find their role in the parish or anywhere else.”

Gary, from Schoenstatt, said: “We aren’t traditional, we aren’t progressive – we are Christians in a modern world. We want to help to build the Church we love, to support people in their faith, in their hope and in their love. We want to show that Christianity is more than a ‘decoration’. It is a way to live, a different quality of life. I stopped being the person that took the odd collection at Church to being fully active and doing my bit. I learnt that it’s not just about doing the massive things, it’s doing a lot of small things that have the biggest impact.”

This wonderful day lasted from 10.30am to 5.15pm and it was over in a ‘flash’. It has left me pondering; reflecting and praising God in my heart; realising that God is working away, even in Britain, and this despite all appearances!

Fr. Jonathan

‘“Woe to you who are rich!” (Lk 6: 24) “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” (Mark 10, 25)

Is Jesus hard on the wealthy? Yes in regards to riches, but he has the greatest compassion for rich people. “Greatest”, because they live on the edge of a precipice and run the risk of plunging into it. Their lives are based on a misconception; the foundation stone of their lives is very fragile; indeed it contains in itself deadly poison. “In his riches, man lacks wisdom: he is like the beasts that are destroyed”, Psalm 49 declares about human beings in the carnal language of the Old Testament. Jesus shouts out against the wealthy to wake them up from their hypnosis to try, (with the greatest compassion), to move them away from the precipice.

Wealth makes them blind and they are unable to see Lazarus at their door: it is not that they are evil; they simply do not notice him, they ignore him. He has no part to play in their lives. They cannot see that Lazarus is worth much more than their possessions, precisely because he does not own them. He is a person, not an empty dummy as they are.

 Lazarus at the Rich Man’s Door

   
The lie about wealth is dangerous for everyone because it is so bewitching. A poor person may be rich at least in his longings. It is a contagious virus that spreads and devours those who have caught it, emptying them of their humanity. To counter this Jesus proclaimed: “Blessed are the poor in spirit – right into their deepest fibres – for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”, (Mt. 5: 3) and the rich cannot enter that kingdom. The poor are blessed, i.e. fulfilled, whole, true, happy, without the need of anything, save that their humanity is from God, the only one they trust.

Jesus said all this, and moreover he lived like this, radically. Who knows why Christians and the Church (permit me the distinction) often think, and act so differently.

How courageous, fatherly, manly and loving Jesus is, if you think about it!  If you know anything of Pope Francis, you would find he would agree 110% with what is written above!

Father Jonathan

“Hello, my name is Wayne, and I’m 8 years old.  I go to skool, but not this week as we are on half term.  Don’t like hols so much, not much to do, but this week should be ok ‘cos on Thursday its Halloween an’ me and me mates will be out trick and treating.  All me things are ready, pumpkin lantern, black cape and a frightenin’ old wizard’s hat.  I even thought about gettin’ a stuffed black cat to sit on me shoulder, but I didn’t bother in the end.  T’wud have made me look a bit like Long John Silver – but his was a parrot – and anyway, I’ve still got both legs.  We’ll be out round the houses, knockin’ on doors, trying to make some dosh – shud come in handy for bonfire night. Shud be kool.”

 

“Hello, I’m Socius, and a little bit older than Wayne.  And, as Thursday happens to be the Eve of All Hallows (Halloween), with Friday, 1 November, the Feast of All Saints, I thought I would write just a few lines about the two great feasts that occur at the beginning of November – All Saints and All Souls.”

When we come to Halloween – the Eve of all Hallows – we are looking forward to one of the most beautiful of feasts in the Church’s year.  It is all concerned with that great communion of holy men and women who have died before us and found their way to heaven – the Feast of All Saints – a true cause for celebration. It also begins the ‘Season of Hallows’ which includes the Feast of All Souls. This occurs the following day, and here we pray for all those who have been forced to spend some time in Purgatory.  It is our belief that these suffering souls cannot help themselves and so we are asked to pray for them to help them on their way to heaven, at the earliest opportunity.  We believe that the saints in heaven also pray for the Souls in Purgatory – so the Holy Souls are being helped from two different sources – a wonderful way in which the communion of Christian souls works to the benefit of all.

I have always thought that this Community of the Church – those in heaven, those in Purgatory and those of us still living on earth, is one of the most wonderful (extended) families  in creation – that is, until one then starts to question what has happened to our most beautiful celebration as time has gone by.

     Halloween in Dublin

Halloween has its origins in the ancient Celtic festival known as “Samhain”.  Pronounced “Sahwin”, this is a celebration of the end of the harvest and the gathering in of crops for the winter.  The ancient Gaels believed that on October 31, the boundaries between the worlds of the living and the dead overlapped and the deceased would come back to life and cause havoc such as sickness or damaged crops.  The festival in most cases involved bonfires to drive the bad spirits away, and such fires attract flies; they, in turn attracted bats – another traditional ’connection’ with evil.  Masks and costumes were worn in an attempt to mimic the evil spirits or appease them.  All of these come together to make up our present day traditions practised on Halloween, though most of them have been corrupted and no longer bear resemblance to their intended origins, which were, invariably, to encourage good, and drive away evil.

One of the practices, however, is of a much more recent origin, and here I refer to ‘Trick or Treating’, where young people go out visiting people, knocking on doors and then asking for treats. Originally, treats were mainly composed of sweets, biscuits, sweet meats, and the like, but these days are more likely to be about money.  The essence of the ‘Trick or Treat’ lies in the threat that if the householder does not treat the callers in some small way , then they can look forward to tricks being played on them – not too far away from demanding money with menaces – I wonder!  Now, I am aware of the fact that young children do not intend to take things that far, but I have seen evidence of older youths actually causing mischief for people refusing to give them money, and that’s a long way from what should be a Holy Night.

Of comparative recent origins, the ‘Trick or Treat’ has spread throughout much of the United Kingdom, Europe, the USA – also to many of the Arab countries of the Middle East.  In England, the police have issued warnings about such practices, simply because of the ‘illegal’ aspects of ‘Trick or Treating’.  In some parts of the USA, this particular evening is now known as ‘Beggars Night’ – again, a long, long way departed from the Feasts of All Saints and All Souls.  We begin to depart even further when one considers the costumes the young people most often wear. Halloween costumes are traditionally modelled after supernatural figures such as vampires, monsters, ghosts, skeletons, witches, and devils.  In my increasing years, I ask myself, just where are we going – the human race – and, in particular, our children?

Certainly, I have no wish to play the ‘Baron Hardcastle’ and come down like a ‘tonne of bricks’ on the young.  I love to see the children and the young ‘let their hair down’ and enjoy themselves – enjoy life.  However, there are many, many, good ways to create happiness and enjoyment for such young people; unfortunately, not all of them, today, are blessed in their methods, and in their intended ends.  Halloween, in my humble view is one of those occasions where both ‘sail very close to the wind’, and there are very real dangers here of the devil’s power at work.

Perhaps, it has been out of a wish to counteract the evil influences manifestly abroad on Halloween, that in many countries, Christians practice measures designed to fight against the ‘black arts’.  Many walk in processions (e.g. Poland), praying out loud, as they walk the night; In Spain, bells are rung to ‘ward off’ the evil spirits and remind believers to remember their dead in this ‘Season of Hallows’.  Some practice abstinence (as in Canada), and in some countries, instead of meat, they resort to pancakes and colcannon. The Church, traditionally, observed Halloween by means of a vigil service, at which worshippers would prepare themselves, with prayers and fasting, for the feast day itself, an initiative once known as the ‘Night of Light’.  After the services, suitable festivities and entertainments would often follow, and there would be organized visits to the graveyards where flowers and candles would be carried and left there in preparation for the All Saints’ Day. In Finland, because so many people visit the cemeteries on All Hallows’ Eve, to light votive candles, there they are known as ‘Seas of Light’.

And, that last description says to me, very clearly, that this ‘Season of Hallows’ should be about light – not darkness; it should be about good – not evil; it should be about heaven – and not hell; it should be about life – and not corruption – it should be something like the following picture – this does an awful lot more for me than all the Halloween stuff!

All Souls Day in Dakhar.

God bless us – everyone!

Socius

 NB. Readers of the blog may be interested to take in a quite beautiful article in November’s ‘Far East’ magazine (pages 6-7) entitled “The Holy Gathering” by Fr. Colm McKeating; in this, he describes the very special way in which the ‘Season of Hallows’ is celebrated in the Philippines – a celebration that is not at all like ours. 

The Gospel for this coming Sunday – the 30th of the year – contains the famous parable of the Pharisee and the Publican.  Both walked up the steep steps of the Temple to pray.

 

It is the only one of Jesus’ parables to take place in the Temple. The Temple is where God lives and, in the new world of Jesus, the ‘Real Temple’ made of ‘Living Stones’, is where God lives – the Church.  It follows that the parable is meant for us. All of us have something of the Pharisee inside us that prevents us from being in union with God.  Likewise, we all have something in common with the Publican – and thus we need to be careful, from two quite different points of view.

The reader would do well to look at the text of the story in Luke 18: 9-14. Below is a comment on this story from a friend, followed by some personal additions from myself (in italics).

“Two men: a just man and a sinner. That is how it is. One, a Pharisee, is perfect in observing the laws of God; the other, a Publican, is dishonest. Society categorises these two like that and the members of Jewish society in Jesus’ time are not wrong.”

Bear in mind the Pharisee came from those who followed the law scrupulously; praying regularly in the Synagogue, fasting, paying 10 per cent of his money to support the Religion, and furthermore, paying more for the many poorer people who refused, or could not afford to pay, their tithes. He is the upright, good religious man; he is the kind of man I might like to be, if I were a true disciple of Jesus, within the Church, within our own times.

The publican was a treacherous thief, and a ‘lackey’ of the hated Romans. He stole money, not only from the rich but, principally, from the poor. His job was to hand over taxes to the Romans and, as long as he paid the quota due, he could pocket all the rest – which he did. He was so hated that he was cut off from normal Jewish society. No ordinary Jew would welcome him into their home, or talk to him; he was regarded as totally unscrupulous, perhaps well compared, today, to a cruel loan-shark, who lends money to poor, vulnerable and desperate people; should they fail to repay their loan, he would use every kind of intimidation, including violent means, to regain his money with extortionate interest. According to Jewish law, by praying to God as he had in the parable, the publican was not about to get back into favour with the people. There were more steps for him to face. He would be required to repay all the money he had stolen, from every poor person, plus 20 per cent more. His appeal to God, made in desperation, was just the start of a long process. With such warnings in mind, ‘good Catholics’ need to be careful not to identify, too quickly, with the publican, as against the Pharisee, as maybe we are prone to do, on a scant first reading of the story.  There is much more to the parable than just that.

For God, strange as it may seem, the judgement of society is wrong. Both come to the Temple to present themselves before Him, and pray.

The just man appears to pray to God, but, in reality, is looking at himself, his uprightness, his fidelity to the law. God does not truly exist for him: ego is the centre of his own world. He is trying to speak to God, and, in his own ‘tin-pot’ way, he considers himself the benefactor of God in the conversation – the one who is pouring out on God his own gifts.

The other has nothing to give – less than nothing – just his sins. He gives them to Him, without knowing that he is entering God’s heart. The good works of the Pharisee are an obstacle between him and God. The absence of good works – without reason for self-praise – in the case of the publican, allows him to establish a relationship with God. He does not dare to lift up his eyes, but God turns his gaze to him, because He sees before Him, a poor person who trusts, who is not making any demands, one who is simply abandoning himself to God.

Jesus ‘sinks his knife’ into the heart of the people – and into the structures of society; he undermines the certainties of behaviour and of conventions; he turns things ‘upside down’ and ‘inside out’, just so that they can be re-examined.  Who knows if He is always in agreement with the ‘monumental tomb-stones’ to the benefactors of the Church, or with the statues erected to honour the ‘great people’ of civil and ecclesiastical life! What would he say about the roads, or city squares, named in honour of such people, I wonder!

Finally, though we may be tempted after just a first glance, we cannot say that Jesus has ‘canonised’ the publican, because it is not a real story; it is a parable; a lesson. However the ‘good thief’ truly did exist. What’s more, Jesus did canonise him!

The real key to understanding this parable lies in its preface:

“Jesus spoke the following parable to some people who prided themselves on being virtuous and despised everyone else”.

If we think like that, we have failed to have a true understanding of God – a great temptation for the Pharisees in Jesus’ day, and Jesus is saying that this particular Pharisee had ‘fallen’, as probably most had. If we are like that at all, we worship a false God, something referred to in the Old Testament as adultery. Our task is to examine ourselves and ask God for his gift not to despise anyone else – or any other group around us – to become more and more Godlike.

Father Jonathan