Today is our Parish patronal feast day, and a Holy Day in the Catholic Church. Why does the Church celebrate this day with such solemnity? In Catholic Countries, like Italy, Spain, Portugal or the Philippines there are great fairs, processions and joyful gatherings of the people – so why all the joyous feasting?  I have just returned from prison after celebrating Mass with a small group of prisoners. Why do we have a special Mass today? What is it all about? All such questions have been buzzing round in my brain, and I tried to explain some of the answers to them.  At the end, one said: “I enjoyed that, Father”; for him, it had made sense.

Stained glass window in the Church of the Theotokos at Loppiano Italy portraying the Assumption.

(Mary is the transparency that opens up the vision of God for us.)

In plain and simple language, today is a great feast because we celebrate the truth that Mary was taken up into heaven, not just in her ‘spirit’ or ‘soul’ but in her body as well, in a wonderful and mysterious way. We bury, or cremate, people who have died. The body is the ‘container’ (or the ‘matter’), in which the person who died has lived, and loved, and suffered.  For that person, earthly life has gone, ended, so we honour the body of the dead person; this is because it is very much a part of who the person was, and is – for us,  a ‘temple of the Holy Spirit’, if the person was baptised; potentially so, if the person was not.

There are no remains of Mary’s body on earth, and this is also true for Jesus.  Why is this important? To answer, it is because “we believe in the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting”, (Apostles Creed). The promise made to Mary is also to be fulfilled in us.

The challenge, and the feast day, is one of ‘authenticity’, closely linked to the “Word who became flesh in the Virgin Mary”. Again, referring to the creed: “We believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come to judge the living and the dead”.

To be truly authentic, there can be no ‘double standards’. To be painfully honest, we human beings often have double standards. Our loving (i.e. godly) words, feelings and aspirations do not live up to our actions. All of us Christians are disciples of Jesus, who lives in us by our baptism and daily union with him – something to be worked at daily – yet we fail to be authentic.

The Word is not just the Bible, but the person of Jesus, and furthermore, we have the Word of God in ourselves, as we are created in the Word; our choices, informed by our consciences, show us how and where we respond to the Word, but, when we examine ourselves carefully, we do not always follow the teachings of the Word, or of God.  We do not always let the Word of God take over in us, and we fail to become the person we are called to be, born in the Word of God before creation began.

Our task is – should always be – to start again and let Jesus light up his life in us each day.  In the present moment, we can live in full union with God (and by God’s grace, these ‘present moments’ can multiply and become a ‘way of life’ for us); how wonderful it is when this becomes the norm of our life; it is how we become fully human. Directly opposed to this letting God’s Word live in us is, of course, the very powerful evil one, who is out to destroy all that is good, all union with God, and all communion and real love between people.

Jesus is “The Word of God”, from above – from heaven – before the creation began; fully human, he suffered, was tempted, and knows what it is to be human, but did not sin. Mary is the perfect disciple: she is from below – from earth – and she, too, is fully human; she also suffered, was tempted and our Catholic Faith also teaches us that, likewise, she did not sin. The “Word of God” grew in her to perfection (if those words are the right way to express it).  Always sinless, she achieved perfection in her role as the Mother of God, and – so we believe – it would therefore have been wrong for her to face death and corruption as we ordinary humans do; consequently, she was taken up to heaven in both body and spirit.

It is because of the Word of God – and in the Word of God – that we can be sure of victory. The role of Mary is that of total and absolute unity with the Word, and she leads us to him.  She is like a ‘transparent pane of glass’ through which we can have that wonderful view of God.  If there was no transparency, we would not see anything.  So her role is ‘essential’ in the ‘salvation story’ that God has revealed to us.

We celebrate this feast day, each year, on the 15^th August. It is our Parish feast day; we celebrate it joyously because it marks her victory – and our victory; for us, it is Mary’s guarantee that she is the Queen of Heaven and Earth.

Father Jonathan

This coming Saturday, 10 August, the Church celebrates the feast of St. Lawrence, thought to be one of the truly great martyrs of the early Church. Although his life was distant, geographically and in time, from we humble Christians in Leyland, there is a much closer and rather interesting connection with the Benedictine Monks of the Ampleforth community; consequently, also, with our Parish.

The English Benedictines had been dissolved by Henry VIII in the 1530′s, but one monastery was re-formed at Westminster Abbey by the Catholic Queen Mary; just a few years later, this was dissolved by Queen Elizabeth I.  So much for the to’s and fro’s of the Reformation, and so, by the early 1600’s only one of the Westminster monks was left alive – Fr Sigebert Buckley.  He professed a group of English monks in France, and so passed onto them all the traditions of the old English Benedictine Congregation. In 1608, these English monks took up residence in an abandoned church of St. Lawrence at Dieulouard, northern France.  So it came to pass that, later, when the monks were required to leave France to escape the violence leading up to the French Revolution, they were welcomed to North Yorkshire by Fr Anselm Bolton, Chaplain to the late Lady Anne Fairfax of the nearby Gilling Castle.  He was then living at Ampleforth Lodge.  In 1802, this became the monks’ new monastery.  The French connection has been, and is still maintained, today, by virtue of the adoption of St. Lawrence as the Patron Saint of the Ampleforth Community.

 The Abbey Church of St. Lawrence, Ampleforth

St. Lawrence, it is believed, was born, (circa. 225) in Northern Spain, at Huesca, in the foohills of the Pyrenees.  Whilst still a youth and completing his studies at Zaragoza, he met the future Pope Sixtus II, who became one of his highly esteemed teachers.  At the end of his studies, Lawrence and Sixtus travelled from Spain to Rome.  Sixtus was made Pope in 257, whereupon he ordained Lawrence as a deacon of the Church – chief among seven deacons – and Archdeacon of Rome, a position of great trust, as he was given responsibility for the care of the treasury and the valuables belonging to the Church at that time.  It was also his job to look after the giving of alms to the poor.

Then in Rome, it was the norm for any denounced Christian to be executed, their goods to be seized and taken over by the imperial authorities.  Reinforcing this norm, it is recorded that, at the beginning of August, 258, the Emperor Valerian issued an order calling for the immediate execution of all bishops, priests and deacons of the Church and Pope Sixtus II was one of the first to fall foul of this order.  During his celebration of the liturgy, he was captured on August 6, 258, and beheaded.

The Prefect of Rome then ordered Lawrence to hand over the treasures of the Church, at which command, Lawrence is said to have asked for three days in which to assemble these before being able to hand them over.  In the three days, he worked tirelessly to distribute these riches to the poor, and on the appointed day, he appeared before the Prefect with the assembled  poor, the crippled, the blind, the sick and the lame behind him, saying to the Prefect that these were the ‘true’ treasures of the Church, and declaring “The Church is truly rich, far richer than your Emperor.”  This act of defiance led directly to his own martyrdom, recorded as taking place on August 10, 258.

Legend has it that Lawrence was executed by being roasted alive on a grid-iron.  However, on this point, there has been much disagreement and whilst some authorities still maintain he was killed in this way, others point out that his death was much more likely to have been by means of a sword-thrust to the throat, or by decapitation, these latter means being more in keeping with the Imperial order requiring immediate execution.

 The Martyrdom of St. Lawrence - Tintoretto

Broaching the question of this blog with Father Jonathan, he was very much in favour of such an attempt.  After a little research, I was able to put together a précis of the historical background, which found favour with Father, but he was then able to bring the whole subject much ‘closer to home’, with his more ‘personal’ knowledge of many aspects pertaining to Ampleforth’s Patron Saint.  I am, therefore, very much indebted to Father Jonathan for his following most valuable supplement, which, of course, converts this blog,  very much, into a joint enterprise.

Socius

Fr. Jonathan writes:

“Politics provides the close, and very important association, Ampleforth Abbey with St. Lawrence. The King of Spain in 1608 was Philip III. He had heard of the ‘fledgling’ English Benedictine community at Dieulouard, and he was the Catholic ‘champion’ of Europe. England was a powerful country but, religiously, did not form part of ‘Catholic Europe’, and a state of enmity still existed between the two countries; remember that the Spanish Armada – an expedition designed to overthrow Elizabeth I and her Protestant policies – had floundered twenty years previously.

However, to Dieulouard, King Philip sent a relic consisting of one of St. Lawrence’s bones, hitherto kept by him in the “Escorial”, his Royal Palace in Spain, (incidentally, also bearing the name of San Lorenzo).  The “Escorial” is built in the shape of the ‘grid iron’ on which St. Lawrence is thought, by many, to have died. This relic (with authentication from Rome), is still kept at Ampleforth to this day.

 Relic of St Lawrence at Ampleforth Abbey

On the Feast Day of St. Lawrence, the First Reading is from 2 Corinthians 9, wherein one finds the clause: “God loves a cheerful giver”. For me, as one of the monks of this “Lawrentian community”, I have often reflected that this phrase has been expressed in the lives of many of my brother monks.

Take, perhaps, its most famous son, St. Alban Roe, an Ampleforth monk, put to death in the usual most cruel fashion, on January 21 1642. He was for many years in prison and yet free to go out in London and minister to the people – a rather strange arrangement! He was always cheerful and used to play cards with the prisoners and others. That clause, from the First Reading of the Feast Day of the Patron Saint of his Abbey ‘strikes home’ with him; it must have been well known to him.

I have known many monks in my life-time, and one characteristic is their cheerfulness in the giving of self. One student at our High School, who went recently to Ampleforth, told me that what struck him – and his friends – was the goodness, kindness and the cheerfulness of the monks. St. Lawrence had the very same reputation.

Over many years now, I recall the sight of my brother monks, kneeling at this relic, which is kept at the right-hand side of the altar, and praying fervently to St. Lawrence. Such devotions continue to this day. He is a living memory for us, and on Saturday next, it will be a great feast day for our Ampleforth monks.”

Father Jonathan

Every scribe who becomes a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out from his storeroom things both new and old. Mt.13: 53

What does this phrase of Jesus bring to mind? The context is Jesus speaking to the crowds about the kingdom of heaven. He compares it to a fishing-net which is thrown into the sea. In the net when it is dragged ashore there are fish good for eating and a lot of rubbish to be thrown away, fish that are inedible, weeds, ‘flotsam’ and ‘jetsam’ of all kinds. This will happen at the end of time and the angels will be involved. These angels on the last day will do the separating of the wicked and the just; and the wicked – says Jesus – will be thrown into the blazing furnace where there will be “weeping and grinding of teeth”. This sounds either harsh, in that it does not reflect the usual mercy of God, or rather far fetched. Yet it is there in the passage of Matthew’s gospel. It is best not to ignore Jesus’ words.

In a way it is like the parable of the good wheat and the rotten weeds in the field.  At harvest time the good wheat is kept and the weeds are thrown away to be burnt. He asks the people if they understand about the fishing net and the people say they do. I wonder? I was asked if I wanted to be a monk, when I made my first profession of vows, and I said I did; it wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t fully true.  Then he adds the phrase above.

Every scribe who becomes a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out from his storeroom things both new and old. Mt.13: 53

I write these few words from mid Wales where about 500 people of all ages and all denominations or none, of all social classes, many from other countries including a fair number from Africa, are having a kind of “retreat”. As there are also non-believers among us it is best to understand that word “retreat” in a different, “new” way. There is a lot of talk about “Jesus (Love who is God) living among us”. We plan each day what kind of intentions we should use for the three different kinds of worship, Catholic Mass, Anglican Eucharist and a Free-Church prayer service. The word of God, for Thursday 1st of August, includes this passage from St Matthew.

We are experiencing both new and old. Perhaps all of us from the main stream denominations could be likened to the “Scribe” mentioned by Jesus. We are often deeply rooted in our Church ways, as the Jewish scribes were in the “Jewish ways” in Jesus’ time. Precisely the presence of such a diverse group of people is something new. Yet most people present are having an experience of the Kingdom; it is a “retreat” that is meant to bring you closer to the Word of God, Jesus, and that is happening. Who would go on a retreat with “atheists”?

We have learnt about other new things, old and new in the fields of education, politics, art, medicine, parish life and so on. Above all, many of us, and certainly myself, have learnt what it might be like to be a “new” person. Let us thank God that the Spirit of God is always alive and hope is not meaningless; there are people all over the world, maybe small in number, but united in a new vision of God, and society, quietly and without fuss, being changed and bringing about change; in God, we can be confident that it can, and will, come about.

Despite everything we can say ‘No’ to cynicism, ‘Yes’ to hope!

Father Jonathan

 The photos show some of the people at our “retreat” called Mariapolis, the City of Mary who gives birth to the Word of God.

Photo Gallery

Some of the many people attending the Mariapolis 2013

      (1) Some young people at their singing (2) people getting to know each other                 

 (1) A young man shows the Welsh Connection (2) Some of the Leylanders attending

 James gave me the following poem when I told him I met a Religious Brother with his same name. Both James Hayes were interested in this fact. At the Mariapolis he got very ill and without being taken to Shrewsbury hospital he might have begun his rest in the arms of the one who loves him. I suspect his greatest friends in this world are those of the UK Focolare Movement.

This Life of Mine:

This life of mine

Will soon end

So this message

To my friends I send.

I thank you for the kind

Support you have given me

Thank you for all your support

And the love you’ve given me

You loved me from the very start

You loved me with all your heart

You loved me of your own free will

And I know that you love me still.

For a new commandment was given to you

“Love one another as I love you.”

The love God gave you was free

This is why I know you still love me.

I did the best that I could do

In the allotted time

That time is now over

Now I’ve crossed the finishing line.

The journey is now over

And so now I can rest

In the arms of the one who loves me

And who knows I did my best.

James Hayes

I love this Pope Francis more and more. He seems such a happy soul; his smile is genuine, his happiness is infectious and his ideas are very positive. Today during his first visit abroad in Brazil, he went to visit a slum area of Rio de Janeiro called Varginha. He simply went about walking among the people, though he also spent time in prayer with a very poor family in their tiny house; he was mobbed by the people who wanted to touch him and they pulled at his clothes; he also spoke to them in a way that touches the heart.

“Dear Brothers and Sisters, 

It is wonderful to be here with you! From the start, my wish in planning this visit to Brazil was to be able to visit every district throughout the nation. I would have liked to knock on every door, to say “good morning”, to ask for a glass of cold water, to take a cafezinho, to speak as one would to family friends, to listen to each person pouring out his or her heart – parents, children, grandparents … But Brazil is so vast! It is impossible to knock on every door! So I chose to come here, to visit your community, which today stands for every district in Brazil. How wonderful it is to be welcomed with such love, generosity, and joy! One need only look at the way you have decorated the streets of the community; this is a further mark of affection, it comes from your heart, from the heart of all Brazilians in festive mood. Many thanks to each of you for this kind welcome! 

From the moment I first set foot on Brazilian soil, right up to this meeting here with you, I have been made to feel welcome. And it is important to be able to make people welcome; this is something even more beautiful than any kind of ornament or decoration. I say this because when we are generous in welcoming people and sharing something with them – some food, a place in our homes, our time – not only do we no longer remain poor: we are enriched. I am well aware that when someone needing food knocks at your door, you always find a way of sharing food; as the proverb says, one can always “add more water to the beans”! And you do so with love, demonstrating that true riches consist not in material things, but in the heart!”

For me, it is so refreshing to hear these ideas – and – moving away from Brazil to ourselves, we too have the poor and marginalized around us, those with low self-esteem, those who are ill, above all the lonely and also those who can hardly make ‘ends meet’. Our food bank in Leyland is increasingly busy!

It is the young people at the World Youth event that has brought Pope Francis to South America. The atmosphere among them is ‘electric’. The young people are enthusiastic, joyful, hopeful and in solidarity with one another, though they come from all over the world.

 Liverpool youth at the Statue of Christ Risen from the tomb at Rio de Janeiro

At the shrine of Our Lady of Brazil, Pope Francis called for Christians to be hopeful, open to being surprised by God, and to live in joy.

About hope he said:  “Always know in your heart that God is by your side; he never abandons you! Let us never lose hope! Let us never allow it to die in our hearts! The “dragon”, evil, is present in our history, but it does not have the upper hand. The one with the upper hand is God, and God is our hope!” 

About being surprised by God he added: “Anyone who is a man or a woman of hope – the great hope which faith gives us – knows that, even in the midst of difficulties, God acts and he surprises us.

Then about life in joy: “Christians are joyful, they are never gloomy. God is at our side. We have a Mother who always intercedes for the life of her children, for us….. Christians cannot be pessimists! They do not look like someone in constant mourning. If we are truly in love with Christ and if we sense how much he loves us, our heart will “light up” with a joy that spreads to everyone around us.” 

I have asked myself if I am hopeful, open to being surprised by God and living in joy. Yes! I think there are those gifts in me, to some extent. Are they there in you?

Father Jonathan

Do you ever ask yourself about the Holy Spirit, about who He is, what He does?  I always think that He is surrounded in mystery.  Not so very long ago we used to call him by the name of the Holy Ghost, and I suppose that title made Him even more mysterious – especially to children.  Perhaps, that is why the powers-that-be changed the name to Holy Spirit, the name we now most always use.  Myself, being that bit older, and having used the former name for many years, I can still hear myself saying ‘Holy Ghost’ in some of my prayers.  I don’t think it really matters; what matters is that the prayers get heart and soul behind them and they will then get through to Him – I have no doubts.

Blessed Sacrament Chapel – St. Mary’s Leyland

(Tapestry Identifying the Relationship(s) in the Blessed Trinity)

(Designed by Architect Jerzy Faczynski)

Now we think we know a lot about God the Father – we don’t actually – but we think we do.  We know that he was the Architect and Creator of the Universe – with everything it contains and has contained – then and now.  We know he created the lands, the skies and the seas, the animals that roam the earth, the birds that fly and the fish that swim in the waters.  We know he made us in his own image and likeness – to love him in this world and to be happy with him forever in the next.

The person of Jesus, the Son of God, is also familiar to us – perhaps, even more so than the Father – because at God’s bidding, he became a man like us, to bring redemption for the Original Sin of Adam and Eve, and for all the sins committed by our own mortal selves.  We know that without Jesus, we would have had no hope of a life of happiness after death.  And, in his short life on earth, Jesus taught us such an awful lot about His Father in heaven, and about many other things – how we should live our lives, for example.

The Holy Spirit as a Dove – Connection between Creator and Cross

So where does the Holy Spirit come in?  We know he is the third person of the Holy and Blessed Trinity – but what is his special role – what does he contribute to life in this world and the next.  I repeat – it’s all a bit of a mystery.  People say he is the ‘Breath of God’ – but that doesn’t tell us much.  Some say that He is the love that exists – that flows – between Father and Son – that he ‘proceeds from the Father and the Son’ – a phrase that always sounds to me as if He is not quite as important as they are.  But, that cannot be right, because the doctrine surrounding the Holy Trinity makes Him one with them and equal in every way.  We are getting ‘bogged down’ now in ever more mysterious truths and all of this analysis is getting us nowhere – fast!

Without being in any way disrespectful, I think he is a kind of postman.  For the Royal Mail, a postman sorts the mail and brings it to us.  This heavenly ’Postman’ sorts the gifts of God and brings them to us.  From God we all receive the gifts that make us what we are – gifts to even those who do not necessarily believe.  The Apostles received many gifts from the Holy Spirit – among them the gifts of fortitude and wisdom, the ability to be understood in different languages – according to the ‘tongues’ of the various members of their listening audiences.  But I think there is much more to this Holy ‘Postman’.  I am convinced he brings us God’s love, he brings us faith and hope and understanding, coupled with all the other well know gifts of the Holy Spirit.  And, although spirit, I know from my own experience, He is real, the fount of goodness, the fount of love and kindness, the fount of hope and expectation of a supernatural life in paradise, once we have done with this ‘ordinary’ and ‘natural’ life of ours.  I also know in my heart that if we lay our hearts ‘on the line’ and ask him to help us, in any way that is for our good (and the good of others), He will always listen and come to our aid.

We ask him in our prayers to:

“Come O Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love.  Send forth your Spirit that they may be created – and they shall renew the face of the earth.

O, God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations, Through Christ Our Lord. Amen.”

Then again:

“Come, Holy Spirit, come
Let thy bright beams arise,
Dispel the darkness from our minds,
And open all our eyes.
Revive our drooping faith,
Our doubts and fears remove,
And kindle in our breasts the flame
Of everlasting Love. Amen!”

I think there is much more to the Spirit of God than many of us suspect.  What is more, I am beginning to come to the conclusion that the more we think about him, the more we pray to him, the more we try to understand his great role in the entirety of things, the more we try to love Him, then, perhaps, some of the mystery that surrounds him may begin clear and make sense to our tiny minds.  We will never understand Him completely, because that would be impossible for us, but perhaps, just a little bit of the mystery might begin to thin and disappear; thus we may find ourselves a little closer to Him, and not quite as frightened.  All little children are a bit frightened of spirits and ghosts, and we are all a bit like children, sometimes.  Of the Spirit of God, there is no need to feel afraid; if we’re trying our best to be good, to lead good lives ourselves, and to help others, He will always help us!

And all of this says to me, to all peoples very clearly, that we should devote more of our prayers and spend a little more of our time in devotions to Him, than perhaps we are wont so to do.

Socius 

‘Gaudeamus omnes in Domino (Let us all rejoice in the Lord)’

We have very joyful news in our parish, and they (parishioners with whom I have discussed the following) and myself are of one mind – joyful news. Although not strictly a parishioner, the subject of this blog is very much one of our very own; he will retire this September as the head of one of our primary schools, St. Anne’s.  Mr Michael Barrett has been head teacher at St. Anne’s for 23 years, and, as I have been in Leyland as parish priest for the last 21 years, we have worked closely together. As I say, he does not ‘belong’ geographically; he is active in his own parish of Our Lady’s, Tarleton, but I calculate that, over the years, Mr Barrett has educated well over 700 of our young boys and girls, and got to know their families. He has been an influence for good to many, many people at St. Mary’s, Leyland.

Pupils at St. Anne’s School

Over the centuries, teaching has been considered by leaders in the Church as one of the vocations nearest to the heart of Jesus. Jesus came to teach us all about God, a task he performed to perfection, and any teacher who proclaims goodness, love and knowledge, in the living of a coherent life, is also doing the same – following in the ‘footsteps’ of Jesus – as best as he, or she, can. A teacher in our schools, whatever his or her parish, is also a parishioner, in that sense, of St. Mary’s, Leyland. Good parents are considered to be the first, and best of teachers, in the ways of God for their children. What a privilege to be a mum or dad!  But also, what a responsibility!

Mr Barrett is a widower; his beautiful wife, Jackie, died a few years ago at a young age, leaving him with two lovely daughters. That very sad and deep personal experience will have its effects, be felt deeply throughout the whole of life; however, despite his loss, he has followed the personal call of the Lord, and has decided to try his vocation as a diocesan priest, in our Archdiocese of Liverpool, and has been accepted by the Liverpool authorities, and the news is out in the open; moreover, the news is joyful. To become a priest is to be another kind of ‘teacher’ – another type of ‘father’.

 Beda College – Ministry of Acolyte with Cardinal John Foley – March 2010

   
He will study at the Beda College, Rome, beginning in the autumn of this year. The Beda College is under the ‘wing’ of the English and Welsh Bishops, and is a college for ‘late’ vocations, to which resort English-speaking men from all over the world. Michael will be one of the older ‘students’, in all probability, and his course will take four years to complete. God willing, many people of St. Mary’s will attend his ordination, wherever that takes place, in 2017 or 2018.

Beda College – A weekend for Year 4 – 2010

Why do “we”, why do “I” feel so joyful at this news? For me it is because in this ‘event’, concerning Mr Barrett, somehow I sense that God is more real for me, in my own context. A person, known and highly respected by many and by me, has decided “to give himself to God and God’s people”, and to do so with great joy and happiness. We humans really do belong, one to the other; what one does, what one does not, has its impetus on others, in this case me.  People of any age may take note of this; perchance, it may act as a ‘spark’ to encourage them also to ‘believe more strongly’ that they could find happiness and joy, in this direction. For me, I will only ever find my true happiness, corresponding to my deepest inner feelings and yearnings, in union with God and his will.

Myself, I may not be free to leave everything behind and begin a new life, but I can, in my own circumstances, renew my trust in God himself.  A chosen few may have the freedom, may be  given the courage to do something similar to Michael Barrett, but my faith and trust in God, and his immense love for me, is strengthened by what we witness happening in these days. There is a new joy, that a man I know, and respect, who has already, positively and greatly, influenced me over the years – a man who is a friend, to myself and many others who come into this category –  should make such a decision. It reflects the living existence of God in a way that is much deeper than words.  Little wonder, then, that I feel a kind of exultation.

Little wonder, that this is such joyful news.

Father Jonathan

The other morning, I was at home, relaxed and at ‘peace with the world’.  I was listening to music on CD – music composed by John Barry – to whom the title of this blog must be attributed.  It is the title he gave to the album of music, composed and conducted by him, and I was totally absorbed by its beautiful melodies; and, as I say, relaxed and at peace.

John Barry – September 2006 – at the Royal Albert Hall, London

The following quotation, taken from the sleeve notes of the CD, begins to explain – gives us a hint of – what was in the composer’s mind when creating and compiling the CD:

“As a young boy growing up in the North of England, our family would on occasion drive out to an old mill house in the country for lunch.  After a meal of the best York ham and eggs, and home-made bread and butter with tea, we would take a stroll through the woods by the river before setting out on the journey home.  Driving across the plain of York one would see the magnificent Minster silhouetted against the setting sun.  In  the years to come, I would commence my serious musical education in composition with Doctor Francis Jackson, the Minster’s Master of Music, in the shadows of this great cathedral.

In the late 70’s, I decided to make my home at Oyster Bay, Long Island, New York.  On journeying back and forth to New York City, one is faced with possibly the most spectacular skyline in the world – with its inherent feeling of vitality and excitement, the dynamic hub of the western world.

Both these visions, past and present – ‘The Old Country’ and ‘The New World’ – harbour so many dreams, memories and reflections beyond the norm: The Beyondness of Things.”

(For my son Jonpatrick – John Barry 1998)

Born 1933 in York, John Barry Prendergast, later to be known as simply, John Barry, was educated in the city and received his first lessons in music, as he says, at the hands of Dr. Jackson, one time organist at the Minster. Later, whilst fulfilling his National Service in the armed forces in Cyprus, he began to perform as a musician, having learned to play the trumpet. He first formed his own band, called The John Barry Seven, in 1957.  Shortly after this he developed his interest in composing and arranging music; he made his debut for TV in 1958, and from then on, he was consistently composing and arranging music – mostly for TV and the film industry – for the next 50 years and more.  He moved to the United States in 1975 and lived there for the remainder of his life, until his death in 2011.

York Minster – Floodlit at Night

As his career developed, he became known world-wide for his ability to assimilate the essence of a film into the film music he composed to accompany and enhance what was being portrayed on screen, and among his most beautiful scores are the themes for  films such as ‘Out of Africa’, ‘Dances with Wolves’, ‘Midnight Cowboy’, ‘Born Free’, and his last score for the film ‘Enigma’ in 2001.  In addition, he composed a great deal of light music and was perhaps most famously known for his arranging and compositions associated with many of the ‘James Bond’ 007 films.  He became the winner of many ‘Grammy’ and ‘Academy’ awards.  In 1999, he was given the MBE for his services to music.

But, in all this and not to get too ‘tied up’ with his career, what is most intriguing to me is the title he gave to the music I was hearing – ‘The Beyondness of Things’.  I began to ask myself the obvious questions as to what he was meaning; what was the composer getting at; what was running through his mind as he put this music, this album, together?  In reply, I can point to only one source for inspiration – the notes he penned to accompany the music – his ‘harbour for ‘so many dreams, memories and reflections beyond the norm’.  In the music, one can hear imponderables such as mystery, longing, yearning, peace and, for me, the spiritual essences of life.

All of us live lives in two quite different worlds.  In the first, we experience all that is real and tangible.  We have our possessions, our homes, our families around us, our jobs, our businesses – food, money and the like.  We are well used to all of these.  There is nothing puzzling about this life.  It is something we see and feel every day of our lives.  We know about birth, about death and all that comes between.  But, there is another very different life – a life of intangibles, of many things beyond our senses – things we cannot see, things we cannot hear or feel, touch or taste.  This life is one lived in the world of many unknowns, a world where there is no proof – no certainty; it is beyond logic and, to all intents and purposes, beyond reason.  Yet, this world most definitely exists.  It forms an important part of our lives – just as the physical one does.  In this ‘other’ world, virtually all of it must be taken on faith, on belief, on imagination and on feelings that are found, perhaps, only in our ‘sixth’ senses, in our very soul ; it is a world full of those delicious intangibles that John Barry refers to in his sleeve note – the dreams, the memories and the reflections beyond the norm.  And, it is this world we hear in the music of his album.

I have thought long and hard about this ‘other world’.  For me, it is world which belongs not to this ‘hard nosed’ earthly life of ours, but to that ‘other world’ in which the spirit governs.  It is a life which has its centre in our innnermost selves, our thoughts, our prayers, our sorrows, our joys, happiness – and its opposite; for me, it is all about the soul which is our ‘true life-blood’.  This is the life that yearns for God, for Jesus our Saviour, for the Holy Spirit, the last named person of the holy Trinity being the One who, in my mind, gives us this life of the spirit.  In this way, He is teaching us about the ‘other things’ that matter – the things that transcend our ‘hum-drum’ lives in the ‘ordinary’ – and pointing us to the dynamic and, ultimately, magnificent life that God wishes us to know and love, a life in the extra-ordinary.  This ‘second’ life is one of beauty and imagination beyond all comparison – if only we allow ourselves to recognise and follow it.  It is this we can sometimes hear in music – and see in great works of art – a life that can be truly wonderful to behold.

It is also, by its very nature, a life on earth that holds open for us the door to something much greater than the norm – a life of promise – a life of hope – a life of eternal happiness in heaven, for, come what may, that is our destiny.  Out of his infinite love, God designed this destiny for each and every one of us.  All He asks is that we do our best to love Him in return.

Socius

In this Year of Our Lord, 2013, we now find ourselves in the last week of June, and, before the month disappears from our calendars altogether, I just wanted to say a few words about the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  Traditionally each year, the Church has dedicated the month of June, to devotions to the Sacred Heart.

On June 1, 2008, at his weekly Angelus address, Pope Benedict XVI urged Catholics “to renew, in this month of June, their devotion to the Heart of Jesus.  He said:

“The Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is a moveable feast, but it most often takes place in June, and thus June is traditionally dedicated to the Sacred Heart.

The Sacred Heart … (he explained) … is a symbol of the Christian faith that is especially dear, to ordinary people as well as to mystics and theologians, because it expresses the ‘good news’ of love in a simple and authentic way, encapsulating the mystery of Incarnation and Redemption.

… The Sacred Heart reminds us that Christ is not God simply appearing as man; He is truly man, just as He is truly God.  

… From the boundless horizon of His love, God entered the limitations of history and of the human condition. He took a body and a heart so that we can contemplate and encounter the infinite in the finite, the invisible and ineffable Mystery in the human Heart of Jesus of Nazareth.

… In that encounter, we feel the presence of Christ’s heart within our own.”

When we speak about the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we are leaving aside the purely organic functions of the human heart and referring, symbolically, to nothing other than love – the greatest love that the world has ever known; it is a love that will never be surpassed.  This is not the same as romantic love, so often described in the many forms of our media, but to God’s love – through Jesus – to all of us.  God’s infinite love becomes manifest to us in the form of Jesus – His Son – His Beloved One – given to each one of us for our re-birth, our salvation and redemption.  Jesus is our Saviour and Redeemer – and no greater love has ever been demonstrated to the human race.

In the Litany of the Sacred Heart, we use heartfelt and very beautiful words to describe our feeling for Jesus, the Sacred Heart.  We ascribe titles to him such as ‘Holy Temple of God’ and ‘Tabernacle of the Most High’, but then go on, more simply, to use words to describe him as our ‘source of consolation’, our ‘hope of all who die in thee’ and ‘our peace and reconciliation’ – the latter terms much more descriptive of our frail and human state, than the former ‘majestic’ names.

Jesus, who was also human just like us, must have experienced those same deep feelings for those around him Mary his mother, Joseph, the disciples.  Jesus was also divine – the Son of God – and this is where the greatest love resides – love that transcends everything – love that conquers sin and death – love that demands the giving of one’s life for each and every one of us, each and every day. This love that is expressed as the “Sacred Heart” is more like a furnace of love for each one of us, individually, who have been called, by God, and by our name. When God called Abram (who became Abraham) in that one person was included all those who have faith in God.

This is how Pope Francis put this on Wednesday of last week:

“God creates the stars, creates the plants, creates the animals, creates this, that and the other.  … but He creates Man in the singular …  one!  God always speaks in the singular to us, because He has created us in his image and likeness. And God speaks in the singular. He spoke to Abram and gave him a promise and invited him to come out of his land. We Christians have been called one-by-one: none of us is Christian by pure chance. No one.” There is a call, ‘by name, and with a promise,’ the Pope said, “Go ahead, I am with you! I walk beside you.” This, he said, Jesus knew as well: “Even in the most difficult moments He turns to the Father”.

We can also feel the love that God has for each one of us if we let him into our hearts and the Love that is expressed by God, is that of Jesus as he loved those around him who are so close to him, like his mother, or Joseph or the disciples. The implication is that each one of us should love others with the very self same love, just as God’s love is “poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us”. (Romans 5: 5).

In his blog two weeks ago Father Jonathan spoke about Pope Francis and his message of hope.  Then again in last week’s, he spoke of his feeling of hope, reinforced as he visited Holywell.  To conclude my blog for this week, I would suggest that, if there is one great message in all of this for mankind, it is surely the fact that the Sacred Heart of Jesus – a message essentially about love – contains one great fundamental truth, and that truth is about HOPE.  The most perfect love the world can ever know,  offers all of us – each and every man, woman and child – that promise of hope that is beyond all comparison.  Believe in Jesus, accept his love in the spirit given, trust in him, and nothing can ever be lost, for there is always HOPE, hope of salvation, hope of everlasting happiness with him and Our Father in heaven.

Socius – Father Jonathan – (A Joint Enterprise)

Last Monday was my day off, and after a good night at my friends in Liverpool, I was off early enough in the morning and heading for Greenfield in Flintshire, North Wales, next to Holywell. It all turned out a lovely surprise for me.

Aerial Map of the Greenfield Site

At the bottom of the aerial map, (No. 10) are the ruins of Basingwerk Abbey, founded some 750 years ago by the Cistercians and it was very good to go round and reflect on the monastic life led there, all those centuries ago by the monks of that era – that was until 1536, when the monastery was dissolved. The old abbey Church proved elusive for me, and in this diagram perhaps it is to be found at the very bottom of the picture.

 First view of the ruins of Basingwerk Abbey

Eventually, after a walk up the beautiful Greenfield Valley, and having made a detour to enjoy open stretches of Welsh countryside, I hit upon the medieval shrine of St. Winefride’s Well (No. 7 in the aerial map).

St. Winefride was a beautiful young girl whose uncle, (the brother of her mother, Wenio), was St. Beuno.  She had a suitor, Prince Caradog, and when she decided to become a nun and refused to marry him, he, in his rage, cut off her head; her severed head rolled down the hill, where it came to rest, and at that point, a spring of water with healing properties began to flow. The story reminds us of Lourdes and St. Bernadette, in some ways: in fact, the shrine is called the Welsh Lourdes. But, to return to Winefride, her uncle St. Beuno is said to have retrieved her head, whereupon he placed it back on her shoulders: miraculously she became alive again.  Later, she did enter a convent, where she died in 660 AD.

A small ‘miracle’ happened to me on the occasion of my visit. The lady who looks after the shrine shop told me that, in an hour’s time, at 12 noon, there would be the daily service at the well, in honour of St. Winefride. Meanwhile, I looked round the museum and, as I did so, could not help but muse over the story of the well, St. Winefride, and the pilgrimages that had grown in number – particularly numerous under the Jesuits – who promoted the shrine in the early 20th century. It appears that there have been unbroken pilgrimages, from the death of the Saint in the 660 AD till today – thirteen hundred unbroken years of healing.  As in Lourdes, there are the crutches on display from those whose limbs had been restored to health – all stored there. I did not linger to read, in full, the long story of St. Winefride, written in the 13th century by a monk scribe. For me, it seemed a little too ‘far fetched’.  By 11.30am, I left the warmth of the museum, and still feeling ‘peckish’, went to see the medieval perpendicular shrine, built some time after 1500 to cover the well, by Margaret Beaufort, mother of King Henry VII and grandmother of King Henry VIII.

I sat down in the shrine, by the side of the water. It had been raining slightly as I had ascended the hill to this point; breakfast had been at 7.00 am, and I was not really in the mood to stay; rather, I would have preferred to get on with a good invigorating walk over the Welsh hills, and find some food. My mood was also coloured by my doubts about the ‘legend’ of St. Winefride, written in the 13th century, a long time after the supposed events. There were very few others about, and for 25 minutes I was left alone with my thoughts. It was then that I felt a change of heart:

“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”  (Ezek: 36, 26) 

Mind in turmoil, I felt the need to do a wee bit of penance, to sit there and think of the mighty power of God; then I began to realise just how sceptical I had been, so many times in my life, preferring my own comfort to a short period of prayer in God’s presence. Furthermore, I did not like the ‘smack’ of superstition and sensationalism in the story of St. Winefride. However, I think this saint, in her own “pilgrimage place”, worked a small miracle in me. After all there had been centuries of pilgrims over the years going there, and they still do! It was my ‘inner attitude’ that was ‘worldly, negative and not open to faith’. I stayed the short time until a few minutes after 12 noon, a layman Minister of the Eucharist from the local parish, and myself, went through the litany of St Winrefride. I responded as he led me, supposing me, I think, to be an elderly lay-pilgrim come to say his prayers.

 Relic of St Winefride 

Saint Winefride; pray for us:

Glorious Virgin and Martyr: pray for us;

Fair flower of ancient Wales: pray for us:

That we may be delivered from disordered passions of the mind;

Virgin and Martyr pray for us… 

In truth, I didn’t mind the ‘mechanical’ ritual; I didn’t mind the total lack of any relationship between us; I didn’t mind his unsmiling seriousness; I didn’t mind the cold, nor my empty stomach. When the ritual words had ended, the layman invited me to kiss the relic that he took from a felt covering. Was this really St. Winefride’s little finger? It made no difference to me, as I kissed it devoutly, and I drank from the well-water tap that is on the side of the building. It was a case of saying ‘thank you’ to my companion and departing. It’s true that for me Christianity could be expressed in a very different way. As I left, I felt much better, changed inside from my usual ‘hardness of heart’, that often prefers the easy path to self-satisfaction, rather than the harder, and humanly more difficult way, back to God. Penance and Prayer, even as small as this, is invaluable.

The experience made me realise that there is always hope; I need not be stuck in my usual negative thoughts on this kind of occasion. If I endure, God can show me his favour, and I can realise he has changed my heart into one of more compassion and love. The rest of the day was a delight – and, somehow, my spirit was uplifted.

Yes, there is always time to grow and change and develop and understand more about oneself and the mystery of God. 

Fr. Jonathan

It is only three months since Pope Francis was elected Pope on 13 March 2013, and this leader of ours has broken the mould of who a Pope is, how he should behave, how he should speak, and what his priorities are. He is a real ‘breath of fresh air’ in the Church – fresh air that permeates right down to the people in the pews, and even to those who do not frequent the pews of our Churches.  Already, he is not just breaking the mould of the papacy, but also of the Church, itself: he is changing the ways in which authority should be expressed – by bishops, priests, indeed, any person. He insists that the people – priests – should get out of the sacristies of the churches, and get involved with the poor, or those on the edge of society. The emphasis on ritual in the liturgy is being replaced by the inner spirit of the liturgy; there appears to be a greater openness and relaxation than ever before; there is a break-down of the ‘fear element’ when taking new initiatives, a basic commitment to the Gospel as the guide for life, rather than reliance on law and regulation. I perceive openness to all – in whatever state they find themselves.

Pope Francis and some of the 9,000 Jesuit students

On the 7^th June, for instance, Pope Francis, a Jesuit himself, met with 9,000 Jesuit pupils from Jesuit schools across Italy and Albania. He had a short address of ten minutes to give them but, seeing the enthusiastic love and support of all present, he said: “I’ve prepared a text but it’s a little long…I’ll give it to the Provincial so you can each have a written copy. Instead some of you can ask me questions and I will try to answer them”.  This is actually what he did; it is not the usual way for a Pope to act! One cheeky little girl, with great simplicity, asked him if he had “wanted to become Pope?” After initial laughter, Pope Francis, with some hesitation and thought, answered: “Anyone who wanted to become a pope would not be doing himself a favour.  God would not bless anyone who did … I didn’t want to become Pope.”

He celebrates Mass each day and delivers a short sermon. His practical words are eagerly followed all over the world – not least by the author of this blog! Apparently, in Argentina, his sermons as Archbishop of Buenos Aires were printed in the daily newspapers, as people were so keen to read them. On the day of writing this short article, the Pope’s homily at Wednesday morning Mass centred around Jesus’ words in the Gospel of the day: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.” (MT 5:17). 

“The hour of the law’s fulfilment, is when the law reaches its maturity when it becomes the law of the Spirit. Moving forward on this road is somewhat risky, but it is the only road to maturity, to leave behind the times in which we are not mature. Part of the law’s journey to maturity, which comes with preaching Jesus, always involves fear; fear of the freedom that the Spirit gives us. The law of the Spirit makes us free! This freedom frightens us a little, because we are afraid we will confuse the freedom of the Spirit with human freedom.”

 Pope Francis when he said he did not want to have the job of being Pope

In the above short paragraph, ‘moulds’ in our lives, that need ‘breaking’, are there. I want to mention a few but without any specific person in mind:

• Mould (1): For young people and older people that worshipping in Church is not ‘cool’; we can be united with God, but can easily ignore worship with others.
• Mould (2): That I am unable to go to Church because I have broken the rules of the Catholic Church.
• Mould (3): That priests and nuns and monks (Religious men and women of all orders) come from other peoples’ families, not mine own.
• Mould (4): That I have a routine in my life which is fixed and nothing can disturb it.
• Mould (5): That Jesus and God are not important for me to have fun and enjoy life; better without them.
• Mould (6): That there is not much I can do in this world to change it for the better.

At the previously mentioned interview with young people, somebody asked Pope Francis how should the young respond to the challenge of material, and spiritual poverty, in our world. This is how the Pope responded:

“First of all I want to tell you something, tell all you young people: don’t let yourselves be robbed of hope. Please, don’t let it be stolen from you. The worldly spirit, wealth, the spirit of vanity, arrogance and pride…all these things steal hope. Where do I find hope? In the poor Jesus, Jesus who made himself poor for us. … Poverty calls us to sow hope. This seems a bit difficult to understand. I remember Fr. Arrupe (Father General of the Jesuits from 1965-1983) wrote a letter to the Society’s centre for social research. At the end he said to us: ‘Look, you can’t speak of poverty in the abstract: that doesn’t exist. Poverty is the flesh of the poor Jesus, in that child who is hungry, in the one who is sick, in those unjust social structures. Go forward, look there upon the flesh of Jesus. But don’t let well-being rob you of hope. Young people should bet on their high ideals, that’s my advice. But where do I find hope? In the flesh of Jesus who suffers and in true poverty. There is a connection between the two.”

On this question of ‘hope’, I told a class in school that, since becoming Parish Priest in Leyland, I have dealt with quite a few suicides of young people, who must have lost hope. I think here we have a Pope who is helping people to find the sense of meaning of life, even when all might seem to be lost. 

If you wish to watch a short clip about the audience on June 7^th download:

http://www.thenational.ae/news/world/video-pope-francis-tells-children-why-he-forgoes-luxury

Father Jonathan.