The impression of the Old Testament God is that he is an avenger. He punishes those who disobey his commandments and wreaks vengeance on his enemies.

 God the Father – Sistine Chapel – Michaelangelo 

Actually, the New Testament tells us something about the inner nature of God, and that He is Love. Over time, as the Spirit of God has worked in the Church, we have learned that God is a Holy Trinity, and we are invited to enter into the loving relationship within God, in the mystery of the Holy Trinity, through our union with the Word of God, Jesus Christ. 

Again, I emphasise, over time this relationship is changing and developing within us , constantly year by year, and, as a relationship is not a static thing, I wonder whether, in God, that relationship is also alive and changing? I would like to think so. For instance, at present Christians of all denominations find Pope Francis, and his simple and human behaviour, fascinating. Today, Holy Thursday, Pope Francis is going to a young offenders’ institution to wash the feet of 12 young people, in their prison – something not done before by any Pope. I wonder if, “in the Word of God” in heaven, there is as much interest in this new development within the Catholic Church, by the Holy and Undivided Trinity, as there is on earth? Does not our union with Jesus, as human beings and as Christians, ‘affect’ the Holy Trinity in some way?  Jesus, ‘The Word of God’, necessarily, will always be intensely interested in what we on earth, in time and space, are thinking and doing, even if He lives outside time and space. It is all an intense mystery of Love that we cannot penetrate. I suppose it is akin to the mystery an unborn child might feel – before he, or she, is born – if only that unborn babe could think.  What will the world outside my mother be like?  Today, we could ask: “What will it be like, outside our world of time and space, in heaven?” 

I have been thinking of the fantastic development of our understanding of God, since the Old Testament times – a development that is still continuing, even in our present day.  It has taken all this time for us to see that ‘Revelation’, over centuries, was – and is – explaining the true nature of God; God is not vengeful, though it seemed that way, in the beginning.  Rather, God is pure Love. He cannot act – except out of Love! No wonder he taught us to live the new commandment, “love each other as he has loved us”.

May the Gospel shine forth again, through us personally, in our homes,
in our cities, in our nations.

Chiara Lubich wrote what follows, for those who follow her way to be a Christian, and I find it expresses my own thoughts precisely: 

“This explains today’s feast day, Maundy Thursday. Many years ago – and today too, Jesus gave the new commandment to his disciples, that commandment which is the fundamental law and basis of every other norm for each Christian; today too, Jesus prayed for unity: ‘that all may be one’; today too, he instituted the Eucharist that makes him present among us and indeed brings about our unity with Him and among us. And today too, he instituted the priesthood that makes the Eucharist possible. What would our life be like without the New Commandment, without the Eucharist, without the Ideal of unity? 

Every day is Good Friday.  Looking at the news, in front of the wars, killings and assassination attempts, one after the other we see pictures of inhuman violence and in the cry of those sufferings, resounds the cry of abandonment which Jesus cried out to the Father on the cross: ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’, his greatest trial and the darkest shadow. But it’s a cry which didn’t remain without an answer. 

Jesus did not remain in the abyss of that infinite pain, but, with a huge and unimaginable effort he re-abandoned himself to the Father, overcoming that immense suffering and in this way he brought people back into the bosom of the Father and into a reciprocal embrace. He said: ‘Into your hands I commend my Spirit’.  

From that cross Jesus, gives us the highest, most divine and heroic lesson on what Love is: a love which makes no distinctions, but loves everyone; which doesn’t expect anything in return, but always takes the initiative; that knows how to make itself one with the other, knows how to live the other; that has a measure that is infinite: it knows how to give its life. This love has a divine strength; it can produce the most powerful Christian revolution which must invade not only the spiritual realm, but also the human one, renewing its every expression: culture, politics, economy, science and communication. 

The New Commandment of Jesus,’“love one another as I have loved you,’ when it is lived-out in a radical way generates unity and brings about an extraordinary consequence: Jesus himself, the Risen One, is present in our midst, as he promised ‘where two or three are gathered together in my name,’ that is, in his love. 

‘Unity! We feel it, we see it, we enjoy it, but it’s ineffable! Everyone enjoys its presence; everyone suffers when it is absent. It is peace, joy, love, ardour, an atmosphere of heroism and utmost generosity. It is Jesus among us! And with Him, it’s a perennial Easter!’” 

A Happy Easter to all who may stumble upon this blog.

Father Jonathan

Yesterday, on my day off, I walked with a friend of mine along the banks of the River Mersey. The river was still, the sun was shining as we set off and the seagulls soared, played and scavenged, while we conversed about so many things, and walked.

“Have you ever met anyone who, deliberately and truly, has cut himself off from God: in other words instead of trying to journey in God’s direction, quite deliberately goes in the other?” That was one question put to me. So it got my brain cells working, and honestly, I could not think who might be like that, among people I know. “Could anyone have the true idea of God that would make it possible to reject him?” Again my brain cells whirred and I could understand the point he was making; also, I could empathise, from an intellectual point of view. After all, I am told that when we say anything about God, what we say is far, far away from the actual reality of the divine Godhead we are trying to describe and, if that be the case, then it may be that silence is best before God.  When one thinks about it, perhaps this summary is true! Perhaps, we would do well to listen to his silence!

But then another thought came to mind. St. John wrote: “How can you say you love the God you cannot see, if you do not love the neighbour that you do see?” (cf 1 John 4:20). Turn this on its head, and, if you discover a human being who hates and despises another, and actively does everything they can to destroy the physical, or moral well-being of that person, then …. what are the inevitable consequences? Would this not be a kind of atheism, at least? I could imagine a person who might even be a good ‘Church goer’, who behaves in such a way.  Analysing the point a little deeper, it too, may well, from time to time, be ‘atheistic’ in that sense.

All this brings me back to the need for change in our Church. A week ago last Monday I attended the funeral of an Anglican friend, in a country Church near Harrogate. He was 86 years old, and I have known Ian and his wife, Rosemary, for 40 years. I can personally testify that he was a generous Christian man. I wrote the following about Ian to friends last week. We like to share what God through his Word is doing in our lives: 

“Ian was an amazingly good man, having been a Spitfire pilot after the war. He gave it all up, (though he loved it), because he felt that his pacifist tendencies were too strong, and he did not want to be involved in killing people. He was a structural engineer, also having studied at Cambridge, and became an innovative leader in the use of wood, in all sorts of buildings. He was one of the first Anglicans to know the Focolare and its spirit to promote unity. There are four children, and with their wives and children they all sang and spoke at the funeral. It was amazing. One section of the family sang an evangelical ditty called, ‘If you ask me how I know ….(Jesus)’, and it was quite beautiful, especially as the youngest child has Downs Syndrome; that little girl of about 4 years old touched everyone’s hearts when her mother put a small toy mandolin round her neck and she strummed enthusiastically. Her elder brothers and sisters sang beautifully together with their mum and dad (Ian’s Son). The words are very simple: 

‘If you ask me, how I know there’s life beyond the grave,

I’ll tell you, Jesus rose again, victorious to save.

He came to me, He lives in me, He fills my heart with love.

I know Him as my living friend, who leads me on to Heaven above,

who leads me on to Heaven above.’ 

Ian was also an apostle of unity. The vicar together with the Reverend Simon Hoare, an old friend of Ian and indeed of myself conducted the ceremony which proved to be a little bit of heaven; very well done, indeed. I felt, in a new way, the beauty of the Anglican Church, and how it is, in its own way, the presence of God, for many people. Although there was no Holy Communion, it impressed as a very sincere and touching service. I think we should praise God for these prophetic moments, when we get an insight both into heaven, and how the Church on earth, might be one day.”  

In writing about this experience, I am reminded of the story Pope Francis recounted at his first address to the massive crowds of 300,000 last Sunday in St. Peter’s square.  

Pope Francis Addresses the Crowd in St. Peter’s Square

He spoke of an elderly widow, he encountered during a Mass for the Sick, celebrated in connection with a visit of the image of Our Lady of Fatima.  

“I went to confession during the Mass, and near the end – I had to go to do confirmations afterward, an elderly lady approached me – humble [she was] so very humble, more than eighty years old. I looked at her, and said, ‘Grandmother,’ – where I come from, we call elderly people grandmother and grandfather – ‘would you like to make your confession?’ ‘Yes,’ she said – and I said, ‘but, if you have not sinned…’ and she said, ‘we all have sinned.’ [I replied], ‘if perhaps He should not forgive [you]?’ and, with great certainty she replied, ‘The Lord forgives everything.’ I asked, ‘How do you know this for sure, madam?’ and she replied, ‘If the Lord hadn’t forgiven all, then the world wouldn’t [still] be here.’ And, I wanted to ask her, ‘Madam, did you study at the Gregorian (the Pontifical Gregorian University, founded in 1551 by St. Ignatius Loyola, the oldest Jesuit university in the world)?’ – because that is wisdom, which the Holy Spirit gives – interior wisdom regarding the mercy of God. Let us not forget this word: God never tires of forgiving us, but we sometimes tire of asking Him to forgive us. Let us never tire of asking God’s forgiveness.”  

My prayer is that we, as Catholics, can shake off any sense of superiority over others; that we can learn to be more flexible, remembering that ‘ritual is for man’, not ‘man for ritual’; that we can be open to the simple wisdom of ordinary people, many of whom are not religious in the ordinary sense of the word, and that we never forget the poor. Of course, we remain thankful to God for all the great tradition of our Catholic Church, but the way we have lived out our Catholic Faith, at least in Britain, often has not been pitched at the level of ordinary people, and we forget that it is not much use going to Church, Sunday by Sunday, and having no influence on the local community in which we live. That too, might be a kind of atheism, as would Catholics, whether they be Cardinals, Bishops, Priests, Sisters or lay people, who live lives not in accordance with the Gospel.

Father Jonathan

When a Pope dies, there is a sense of great loss in those of us who love our Catholic Church. We have lost our beloved friend, a friend who is at the centre of the Unity of the Church, our spokesman, our channel (in one sense) to God, and there is a real bereavement.  I remember when Pope Benedict XVI came to the UK, in September 2010, that the excitement in the air was tangible, and the whole four days were very ‘special’; people “felt better” for attending with him, or watching on Television, and it did not matter who one was, or to which denomination (or none) that one belonged.  I would say it was a ‘Moment of God’.  No wonder, when a Pope dies, people feel sad at the loss. It is different, of course, in the case of retirement.

 Pope Benedict embracing a child on his visit to the UK 

During his visit, Pope Benedict XVI was on his way from his (temporary) Wimbledon residence, to one appointment. As he came to his car, he spotted a lady with a small child. His helpers asked the lady if the Pope could bless her child, and she was delighted. The incident touched the hearts of everyone who saw it. The BBC TV presenters went out of their way to try and find the lady; they did so after about half an hour, and there with the child, she was interviewed. “How did you feel when the Pope was given your child?” “Proud as anything; it will go down in our family story as one of the most important moments ever”. “Is he your child?” “Oh no; I am grandma. I mind the child for my daughter, and we live close by, so I thought it would be lovely to see the Pope on this historic occasion”. “You must be very happy as a Catholic to let the Pope bless your grandchild?” “I am not a Catholic, I am an Anglican, and I am delighted that the Pope blessed him”.  I could not help smiling, and again, feeling a sense of great joy. The Pope is, for many people, a very important person. But time marches on … … 

When, on the evening of Thursday 13 March, I was told there was “white smoke”, and the cardinals had done their job of electing the Pope, I stayed glued to the television to watch the amazing story unfolding, about who would be the new Pope. I felt the exultation and joy that the people in the Piazza, in front of St. Peter’s, felt.  It was described as “tangible” and everyone present, a vast crowd, felt it. That sense of being without the leader of the Church was being taken away; something new and great was happening. 

 Pope Francis 

When eventually, it emerged that Pope Francis was Cardinal Jorge (George) Bergoglio, I had no idea who this person was. But, his posture, and first words, were striking and remarked upon: with his hands at his side, looking calm and a little awkward, he said: “Brothers and sisters good evening.” Then a very short speech in which came the humble words: “I would like to give the blessing. But first I want to ask you a favour. Before the Bishop blesses the people I ask that you would pray to the Lord to bless me – the prayer of the people for their Bishop. Let us say this prayer – your prayer for me – in silence.” I was touched deeply by these events, and felt a huge joy and sense of pride inside me, as I watched with Fr. Theo, in his room, in our Priory House.

 Pope Francis receives a blessing from the Roman People (mainly) in St Peter’s Square 13 March 2013 

In his first short sermon, as Pope Francis on Thursday 14March, he included these words: “When we walk without the Cross, when we build without the Cross, and when we profess Christ without the Cross, we are not disciples of the Lord. We are worldly, we are bishops, priests, cardinals, popes, but not disciples of the Lord.” Notice he includes himself in the words; he is a Pope who is “one of us” – a pilgrim Bishop on the way, and the Bishop of Rome – also known as the Pope of the Catholic Church. 

Pope Francis, like his different predecessors, is living in the realm of God, of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was involved in his election, and this had nothing to do with the speculations of the media or the machinations of anything of this world. His choice by the Cardinals was quite unexpected. God has chosen him, and it happened so quickly. Now, all together in the Church, we will face the quiet breeze of necessary change in our Catholic Church, that may well come with this humble man, who has described inequality as “a social sin that cries out to Heaven”, and has emphasised the Church’s duty to serve the poor and disenfranchised. I think that emphasis is hitting exactly the right note. 

Fr. Jonathan

  While Jesus was teaching in the temple, the Scribes and Pharisees brought in a woman who had been caught in the act of committing adultery. They said to Jesus, ‘In the law Moses commanded us to stone such women.     Now what do you say?’ (Jn. 8: 5). 

All human beings are utterly interdependent. It has always been so and is more evidently so in our day, when we can see the effects of a breakdown of some part of the human network. I well remember the strike that affected our hospitals when hospital cleaners decided not to work. It more or less paralysed the entire working of the hospitals. These men and women were the least well paid amid all the echelons of staff, but their work was essential.

This interdependence affects everything we do. We cannot pretend that we are not a part of the injustices of this world. The fact that such a small percentage of human beings has the wealth and comfort that, probably, all who read this blog enjoy, is something to which all of us are a part. When I eat chocolate, for example, I am told that those who produce the chocolate, at source, are often virtual slaves, working for a pittance. Is my eating of the chocolate not a contribution to the misery of others?

My contention would state that, in the realm of morality, we also are interdependent; that it is not possible to ‘opt out’ of our one human family, and pretend that we were not, or are not, also a part of the horrors of moral evil, which appear to be everywhere in our world today.

There is also moral evil in our Church, today, and some is to be found among a small proportion of its clergy. Of course, the scandals caused by this small proportion are huge, and should not be minimised. Unfortunately, interdependence means that lay persons cannot just opt out of this mess. Take a person who might have been judgemental, unfriendly or not caring enough for his, or her, neighbour; this will make him, or her, not as compassionate as they might have been, and this has a ‘knock-on effect’ on the soul or spirit. Multiply this 60 million times for the population of the UK, and we come to something approaching what we today observe – a Britain in which there is a distinct lack of love. Priests and Bishops – and even a Cardinal – may have behaved badly because they did not receive the example of love and mercy that ought to be manifest throughout the human race – the love and mercy  taught to us by Jesus. In other words the lay person may not have been, fully, the disciple of Christ that he or she should have been.

It is true that, in one sense, I was not directly responsible for the famous “Moor Murders”, when in the 60’s, children were killed by evil people and buried on the moors: however, I think there is another sense, in which all human beings are responsible to a degree, because we do not see the beauty that is in each human being, whatever they have done. Therefore, we do not love enough, going out of our way to be loving to even the worst person, continuing to love as Jesus did right to the end, even when he was hated and tortured by others. Jesus is the model of what it is, or should be, to be human. When will more of us begin to understand that, even in the wicked sinfulness of some, we are all called by God to love each and every other?

The Pope Leaves Rome and Flies to Castelgandolfo 

In recent days, with the resignation of Pope Benedict and the many scandals reported by the media that have happened in the Church, a reporter in a national paper wrote like this:

“One of the more unsettling moments of the Pope’s UK visit in 2010, for me, was when he called on “the whole church” to atone for its crimes. But those were not my crimes, Pope Benedict: I am not one of the ordained men who has abused children or helped cover up their abhorrent behaviour, and I resent being treated as one.

In fact, all around me, I increasingly hear these words from my fellow Catholics: not in my name. These crimes that have been committed, this power that has been abused, this trust that has been betrayed: not in our name, Your Holiness, has it happened. Guilt has dogged my church through the centuries, and it’s a guilt that has often been planted most deeply among the lay people.

Somehow to me the above writing in italics does not ring quite true, well written though it is, and in some ways I sympathise with its import: rather, I would side with Pope Benedict, in that the whole Church should atone for its crimes, because all Catholics are in the one Body of the Catholic Church. I would say that nobody, who belongs to the Church, can stand outside it and say “I am completely innocent or uninvolved in the crimes mentioned by the reporter above”. It could be that I have sinned by omission as the “I confess” in the Mass states: “I have greatly sinned….in what I have done and in what I have failed to do”. If I did not ‘do’ something about the sins of our day – including the moral evils – then I, too, am guilty by omission; in other words, if I have failed in my ‘loving’. For instance, do I really love, even my enemies? The mystery of being ‘non-judgemental’ about others, is that I should not judge those with whom I totally disagree, even about their moral judgements. A good example is the debate between those in favour of “Pro-Life”, and those in favour of “Abortion”, or those who favour “Gay Marriage”, and those who oppose it. A Christian involved in these debates, should never judge the opposite person who holds a different view, as that would not be the way Jesus taught us.

It is in this context that I would like to consider this phrase of Jesus ‘Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her’ (Jn.8:7), with its commentary by Chiara Lubich, written in 1998. It seems to me to be helpful to us in 2013 as we enter this ‘rocky’ time for the Church.  I say ‘rocky’ with good reason, as we await the election of a new pope, and while we do so we can be sure that there will be more scandals affecting our Church, and more accusations against it, particularly in Britain and Ireland They may well be based on some evil events that have happened.

“WORD OF LIFE – March 2013

(First published in March 1998)

We are in no position to condemn anyone. We too are sinners. We need to treat each person with the tenderness and mercy that Jesus displayed.

‘Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her’ (Jn.8:7).

While Jesus was teaching in the temple, the Scribes and Pharisees brought in a woman who had been caught in the act of committing adultery. They said to Jesus, ‘In the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?’ (Jn. 8:5).

      They wanted to set a trap for him. If Jesus had shown himself to be against the stoning, they could have accused him of going against the law. According to the law, the eye-witnesses had to begin stoning the one who had sinned, to be followed by the rest of the people. If, instead, Jesus had confirmed the death sentence, they would have made him contradict his own teaching about God’s mercy to sinners.

      But Jesus, bending down and writing on the ground with his finger, showed how unruffled he was. He straightened up and said:

‘Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.’

     When they heard this, the accusers went away one by one, beginning with the eldest. Jesus then turned to the woman and asked, ‘Where are they? Has no one condemned you?’ She said, ‘No one, sir.’ And Jesus said, ‘Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and from now on do not sin again’ (see Jn. 8:10-11).

‘Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.’

With these words, Jesus certainly doesn’t show himself as permissive in front of evil, such as adultery. His words: ‘Go your way, and from now on do not sin again’ clearly state God’s commandment.

      Jesus wishes to unmask the hypocrisy of those who set themselves up as judges of a sister who has sinned, without recognizing that they too are sinners. Like this his words underline his famous declaration: ‘Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgement you make, you will be judged’ (Mt 7:1-2).

      Speaking in this way, Jesus is addressing also those who totally condemn others, with no consideration of the penitence that can well up within the heart of the guilty. And he clearly shows how he treats those who fall: with mercy. When all had gone away from the woman taken in adultery, ‘Two were left,’ as Augustine of Hippo wrote, ‘misery and mercy.’ (Homilies on the Gospel of John 33:5.)

‘Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.’

      How can we put this word of life into practice?

Let’s remember, as we come before each brother or sister, that we too are sinners. We have all sinned and, even though it seems to us that we’ve not done anything seriously wrong, we have always to bear in mind that we may not realize the heavy circumstances that caused others fall so low, making them stray from God. How would we have done in their place?

      We too, at times, have broken the bond of love that ought to unite us to God; we’ve not been faithful to him.

      If Jesus, the only man without sin, didn’t throw the first stone at the adulteress, then neither can we at anyone whoever it may be.

      And so, have mercy for all, react against those impulses that drive us to condemn without pity—we have to know how to forgive and forget. No harbouring in our hearts any lingering judgement or resentment, where anger and hatred can breed and alienate us from our brothers and sisters. See everyone as new.

      Having in our hearts, rather than judgement and condemnation, love and mercy for each person, we will help each person begin a new life, we will constantly give courage to start afresh.”

I would suggest that the above reflection on that phrase ‘Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her’ (Jn.8:7) may throw light on the painful circumstances in which the Catholic Church finds itself at this time, especially in Britain and help one or two at least to find some light in the darkness that surrounds us.

Jonathan Cotton

The resignation of Pope Benedict XVI has stirred up much thought in those who can see the importance of the event. People who are indifferent to the Catholic Church like many British people, or those in our country hostile to the Church would probably not be bothered and that is perfectly understandable.

Like other Catholics and Christians of other Churches, I have found myself deeply interested in what is going on. At first I doubted the truth of the announcement, then felt sad and sorrowful, confused at what may happen, and uncertain about the future. Later I realised the greatness of Pope Benedict and his response a disciple of Christ. The expressions of sorrow at the departure of Pope Benedict come from all over the world, and I suspect from the humblest Catholic to the most influential dignitaries in the Church.

When Pope John Paul 2 wrote his famous encyclical in 1995 Ut Unum Sint (May they all be One), he asked for all the Churches to join in with the Catholic Church to reflect on the role of the Papacy for all the Christian Churches. Pope John Paul 2 acknowledged that the papacy itself was an obstacle to Christian Unity because of the whole story of the divisions within Christianity.

The theological issues are discussed in learned papers by learned people. The one issue that comes to my mind is the fact that there is increasing interest in the Papal Office in recent times. This in itself may be part of the issue. It is said that one in three of all human beings spent some time watching the funeral of Pope John Paul 2 in 2005. It is also said that those attending Papal audiences have simply increased and increased, and we from the Parish certainly experienced the much longer queues and many more people the last time we were there with a Parish Pilgrimage about five years ago.

Some people may see this huge desire to see the Pope as completely out of proportion. The office of the Papacy is given a kind of “god-like quality” that they may feel is wrong.

Now for the first time in 600 years a Pope had decided to resign. This might begin to throw all the “exaggeration” (if it is exaggeration) about the Papacy into confusion. The fact is that we Catholic Christians say the Papacy is the centre of unity of our Church. To be a Catholic means being in communion with the Pope and this happens through the Bishops of each diocese who are themselves in communion with the Pope. Is it this truth that leads to the millions of people each year wanting to visit Rome and see the Pope? He is the one who guarantees the fidelity to the Apostolic tradition alongside the Bishops of the Church who are united with him. In the end communion with the Pope is not complex; however in practice unity is not always easy to maintain with both Pope and the Bishops. We need to be in communion with both.

If we ask what in our confusing and rapidly changing world lasts for ever, the answer would be the Word of God. “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever” (Is 40: 8) Interestingly the Pope and the Curia are having a retreat this week from Cardinal Ravisi, and he speaks in what might seem the opposite sense, of the fragility of the Word : (“The Word) is extremely fragile – because once said, it passes away – but at the same time it has a particular efficacy, because communication would not exist without the Word.” The Word of God is not just words spoken or read (even from the Bible) but we know the Word of God is a person, Jesus himself. The Word became flesh and dwelt amongst us, and He died and rose again and is still with us. “I am with you till the end of time.”( Mt 28: 20) The challenge for us is truly to know and have a relationship with Jesus. In other words it is God who remains for ever and He is Love.

In the light of all this I would like to put into this blog the 20 frequently asked questions that have been answered by Fr. Lombardi, director of the Vatican Press Office. The questions are very relevant and the answers are clear and concise.

In the meantime may we all pray for Pope Benedict XVI and for those responsible for the election of the next Pope.

Some interesting Questions and Answers

about Pope Benedict XVI’s resignation

Benedict XVI’s renunciation has raised many questions, and not only in the Catholic world. Some of the questions are of a practical nature, while others regard more far-reaching doubts.

Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, director of the Vatican press office, has given several press conferences since the Pope announced his resignation February 11^th.

During the briefings, journalists have asked questions to which Father Lombardi gave answers with the information available at the time. Following is a quick and brief selection of 20 of these questions and answers, in summary form. They are not word-for-word quotes of Father Lombardi, but rather a synopsis of his responses.

Pope Benedict on February 16th 2013

1.What will be Benedict XVI’s last public appearance as Pope?

A: Benedict XVI’s last public appearance as Pope will be the General Audience on February 27, 2013, in Saint Peter’s Square. Exceptionally, the general audience will include a liturgy of the Word and moments of prayer. The next day, Thursday the 28th, there will be a private audience in the Clementine Hall of the Holy See with some cardinals. This will be the last audience of his pontificate.

2. Does Benedict XVI have some serious illness in particular?

A: No, Benedict XVI does not have a serious illness in particular.

3. Is it true that Benedict XVI has a pacemaker?

A: Yes, it is true that Benedict XVI has a pacemaker. He has had it since he was cardinal prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. A few weeks ago the batteries of his pacemaker were changed.

4. Will the encyclical on faith be published that Benedict XVI has been writing?

A. No, there is no plan to publish the encyclical, as Benedict XVI was unable to finish it. Eventually, if he decides to publish it, it will not be ranked as an “encyclical.”

5. Why did Benedict XVI choose 8:00 pm on February 28 to end his ministry as Pope?

A: Because it is the time in which he usually ends his work day.

6. Where will Benedict XVI live after he retires as Pope?

A: Initially, for a period of two months, in the papal residence of Castel Gandolfo. Afterward he will return to the Vatican to live in the Mater Ecclesiae cloistered convent.

7. Is it true that Benedict XVI decided to resign during his apostolic journey to Mexico?

A: During his apostolic journey to Mexico and Cuba, Benedict XVI matured in the matter of his resignation as one more stage in his long process of reflection and discernment on this subject. However, the trip had no other particular relevance in this regard.

8. What will Benedict XVI’s name and title be after February 28?

A: It is a matter that is still being reflected upon. There is a certain unanimity that he should keep the name Benedict XVI and that his title should be “Bishop Emeritus of Rome.” In the Pontifical Yearbook Benedict XVI will continue to be the official name used.

9. Will Benedict XVI take part in the Conclave to elect his successor?

A: No, Benedict XVI will not take part in the Conclave to elect his successor and he will not be part of the College of Cardinals.

10. How will Benedict XVI dress after February 28?

A: It is not yet known how Benedict XVI will dress after February 28.

11. Is provision made in the Church for a Pope’s renunciation?

A: Yes, a Pope’s resignation is provided for and regulated by the Code of Canon Law.

12. What will happen to Archbishop Georg Gänswein, Benedict XVI’s private secretary and prefect of the Papal Household over the last few months?

A: Archbishop Georg Gänswein will continue to be Benedict XVI’s private secretary. He will accompany him to Castel Gandolfo (and later to the Mater Ecclesiae convent), and he will also continue to be prefect of the Papal Household. Similarly, it is possible that his second private secretary will go to Castel Gandolfo and accompany Benedict XVI for a time.

13. Who will live with Benedict XVI in the Mater Ecclesiae convent inside the Vatican after his retirement?

A: The Memores Domini (a group of consecrated women, who help the Pope in the ordinary needs of a home), and his private secretary, Archbishop Georg Gänswein, will live with and assist Benedict XVI after his retirement.

14. Did the subject of the so-called Vatileaks scandal influence the Pope’s decision?

A: It had no relevance. If one wants to receive correct information, one must limit oneself to what the Pope has said about his renunciation.

15. When, approximately, will the conclave begin?

A: The most likely dates are that it will begin between March 15-20 2013.

16. Did Benedict XVI change the norms for the election of a Pope in the last weeks?

A: No, Benedict XVI did not change recently the norms for the election of a Pope. He made a small change in 2007 to modify the system of voting. The modification of 2007 establishes that a two-thirds majority will always be necessary in the voting carried out in the Conclave. However, the rest of the norms in force continue to be those of the Apostolic Constitution Universi Dominici Gregis.

17. Are there power struggles in the Vatican?

A: In all institutions there is a dynamic that leads to different opinions, which is always good. The difference and diversity of opinions are positive if they lead to the good of the institution itself. However, such differences should not be given too much weight as they would not correspond to the reality or to persons’ intentions. To say that there are power struggles does not correspond to the reality of what is happening in the Church at this time.

18. Did journalist Peter Seewald interview Benedict XVI before his renunciation?

A: German journalist Peter Seewald, who has interviewed Joseph Ratzinger-Benedict XVI several times in the past, interviewed Benedict XVI two and a half months ago. The interview is to be included in Benedict XVI’s official biography, on which Seewald is working.

19. Will Benedict XVI meet with the new Pope?

A: There is no plan for Benedict XVI to meet with the new Pope.

20. Why has Benedict XVI decided to stay in a convent in the Vatican, after his two months at Castel Gandolfo, and not return to his native Bavaria?

Although Benedict XVI has not explained it clearly, his presence and prayer in the Vatican gives spiritual continuity to the papacy. Moreover, Benedict XVI has been living in the Vatican for more than three decades.

On Tuesday last nearly all the monks of Ampleforth Abbey were at a special meeting at the Abbey for the election of our abbot.

Some of the monks during an interval in the Election Chapter

It happens when an Abbot retires or every eight years, and is an unusual event that has happened several times so far for me. It is when perhaps a Benedictine Abbey is most clearly distinct from any other Catholic Religious Order and is always a moment for the monks of “excitement in the Holy Spirit”.

After the election monks ready for a photo in the Abbey Church.

On the Tuesday morning of our deliberations, when we came out of a long discussion together, we were greeted by the astonishing news that Pope Benedict would retire at 8pm on Thursday 28^th February.

Pope Benedict on Ash Wednesday 13 February 2013

That news has caught the interest of the World from China to Cuba and all countries in between! Nobody expected it, and it happened for me when the Ampleforth monks’ minds were distracted. We re-elected Abbot Cuthbert Madden, already abbot for eight years and all of us sensed in different ways that the Holy Spirit had been present with us at Ampleforth as He is always with the Church.

Abbot Cuthbert after his election as Abbot of Ampleforth 12 February 2013

A monastery is a small and complete “Church”, because it is constituted within the living structure of the universal Church, and recognised and welcomed by the highest authorities. The presence of the Holy Spirit will always be there as long as the monks remain in communion with the whole Body of Christ, the Church.

Every authentic natural Christian family is also a complete “Church” when it too belongs to and is in communion with the living Church. The Holy Spirit will be present in such a family, the smallest cell of the Church.

So it is with the Universal Church and it is now to be expected that the Holy Spirit will guide all those responsible for the choosing of the new Pope. Before Easter we will have a new successor of St. Peter, a new Bishop of Rome who is the centre of the unity of the whole Church. People will debate at length who may be the “front runners” for this noble task, and some if not most, will do so forgetting that the Holy Spirit is the one who guides the Church, big, or small. They will look at the process from below, whereas believers are invited to look at it from above. For the whole Church is present “Where two or more are gathered in the name of Jesus”, and the Church, in its universality or its smallest unity is guided by the Holy Spirit.

Bishops in session at Vatican 2 in St. Peter’s Basilica

It is in this context that it is worth looking at what happened when Pope Benedict declared publicly his resignation. It came in a very ordinary way: during a gathering in which he was going to declare that three persons would be declared saints. It came without any fanfare and as bolt from the blue. However Pope Benedict had in fact hinted at this decision when he gave an interview to the German journalist, Peter Seewald. “When a Pope comes to the clear awareness of not being able physically, mentally or spiritually to carry out the task entrusted to him, he then has the right and even the duty, in some circumstances, to resign.”

Nearly everyone seems to think this Pope Benedict has done a brave and noble deed and that is my own opinion. People will speculate about it, but underneath I think we have among us a straight-forward, highly intelligent, wise and loving Pope, a disciple of Jesus like St. Peter, a man who understands his limitations, and who like his master simple says yes when he means yes, and no when he means no. He made his statement below, in a spirit of trust and loving confidence.

“After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry. I am well aware that this ministry, due to its essential spiritual nature, must be carried out not only with words and deeds, but no less with prayer and suffering. However, in today’s world, subject to so many rapid changes and shaken by questions of deep relevance for the life of faith, in order to govern the bark of Saint Peter and proclaim the Gospel, both strength of mind and body are necessary, strength which in the last few months, has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me. For this reason, and well aware of the seriousness of this act, with full freedom I declare that I renounce the ministry of Bishop of Rome, Successor of Saint Peter, entrusted to me by the Cardinals on 19 April 2005, in such a way, that as from 28 February 2013, at 20:00 hours, the See of Rome, the See of Saint Peter, will be vacant and a Conclave to elect the new Supreme Pontiff will have to be convoked by those whose competence it is.”

Our Archbishop of Liverpool, Patrick Kelly made a short statement about this too:

“During his visit to this country in 2010 Pope Benedict XVI clearly appreciated the gift of God of Cardinal John Henry Newman. Two phrases from Blessed John Henry Newman’s hymn ‘Praise to the Holiest’ capture for me the Cardinal and then the Pope whom I have been blessed to know: ‘the loving wisdom of our God’ and ’the wisest love’.

Pope Benedict broke open for us, especially during his visit to our country, the wisdom above all given to us in the Word of God and to that Word of God a word of love for us. He has been a herald with only one concern; that in the words of John the Baptist: ‘the Lord must increase and I must decrease’.

Therefore in the deepest sense it is no surprise that such a disciple of the Lord, when he discerns that the resources of body and mind are inadequate to fulfil the mission entrusted to him, comes to the clear humble and selfless decision to resign.”

Pope Benedict bless the ashes on Ash Wednesday, one of his last Liturgical official functions.

Yesterday morning these words from Psalm 102 (103) struck me forcibly: they echoed various reflections I had.

The Lord is compassion and love,

slow to anger and rich in mercy.

His wrath will come to an end;

he will not be angry for ever.

He does not treat us according to our sins

nor repay us according to our faults.

The psalmist takes for granted that we have sins and faults and that God who is compassion, love, slow to anger and rich in mercy will forgive us. Why did the Psalmist think like that? He must have had some special experience of God’s mercy and forgiveness, how, I do not know. He wrote without knowing of the redemption of all humankind and of the whole cosmos through Jesus in his loving death and glorious resurrection

Yesterday, 6 February 2013 I had received a particular daily encouragement to live out my Christian life as a builder of peace. This means to try to spread peace with the particular people that I am in touch with during the day. There is a beautiful blessing given in various liturgical ceremonies taken from St. Paul’s letter to the Philippians 4: 7. May the peace of God that is beyond all understanding keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God and of his Son our Lord Jesus Christ.

Peace from God is beyond all understanding. Nobody can therefore discover true peace, God’s peace, by his or her understanding! We cannot “think it up” or “create peace by our own efforts”. It is beyond understanding, beyond human thinking and is a gift from God. Nobody can manufacture it: nobody can take it away from me.

Loving our brothers and sisters is the key to this peace! It is hard to know how to love them properly and how much to give in to them, because as I get older I can see the selfishness of the old man of sin coming out in various ways, often subtle in my case. It is often not so subtle in others.

Last Sunday’s Gospel story is really most interesting Luke 4: 20-31.

When they heard this (Jesus’ teaching), all in the synagogue were filled with rage. They got up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they might hurl him off the cliff. But he passed through the midst of them on went on his way. (Luke 4: 28-30)

When those Nazarenes wanted to kill Jesus and took him to the top of the cliff to throw him off, I am sure that Jesus – who had lived among them throughout most of his hidden life, and there were no more than a 100 people in the whole hamlet of Nazareth – would not want them all to “go to hell” so to speak because they wanted to kill him. He came to redeem everyone, including them. In the gospel story it says he just “slipped through them” and escaped. It was not the right moment for him to die as his time had not come. Later some of those people from Nazareth, and some were his relatives, became pillars of the first Church in Jerusalem. So later they came to believe and became disciples of Jesus and I am sure they found that peace which passes understanding.

We distribute food parcels to those who are poor and in need. Last Friday when I was particularly busy moving chairs and getting ready for a big conference on Saturday, two rather destitute people came to the door, a young lady and a young man. Seeing me struggling with chairs they immediately came to help: – a good instinct. They got their food parcels, but then pointed out in a strong way that the food was no good to them as they had no electricity with which to cook the food, and they had no place to go anyway, unless we could provide money to buy electricity on their key.

Bishop Michael Cambell of Lancaster diocese addressing our conference on Saturday 2 February 2013

I was busy on that Friday evening, 1^st February, pre-occupied with the four guests coming to stay in our house and their evening meal, and still with a mountain of things to do including moving chairs. So I let the two people in need be, and continued my work; but a little niggle in my heart told me: “Jonathan, you must listen and respond to their needs”. So I stopped, talked to them and discovered they needed £8. The SVP (St. Vincent de Paul Society) member gave me permission to use their money and I decided to stop doing what I was doing to serve Jesus in these two poor people.

Small group discussion at the Conference 2 February 2013

It meant a walk to the shop. It was a pleasant breather for me, and gave me a chance to “spend time” with these two needy young people and talk to them. Apart from some moans about how harsh life was from the young man, we had a pleasant walk to the shop: we got the electricity, and after a very cordial and friendly good night I returned. The young girl was particularly friendly and courteous. It was as though we had a moment of peace.

I had to overcome my hardness of heart in their regard, and the young and needy destitute pair had to learn how to overcome their own negativity which they did.

The Lord is compassion and love,

slow to anger and rich in mercy.

His wrath will come to an end;

he will not be angry for ever.

He does not treat us according to our sins

nor repay us according to our faults.

Imagine my surprise when I was told on Tuesday that the young girl “inadvertently” had taken a cocktail of drugs and had died the previous day. I was so glad that I had not been stubborn with those two young people and helped them the previous Friday! I am sure there was a sense of mutual respect and understanding, even of love while we walked to the shop that night. Furthermore we had all gone beyond the faults and sins all of us have. I hope that the moment of peace I had felt, especially with the young girl who died was something she too felt.

I am sure God will not treat that young lady according to her sins nor repay her according to her faults, and I am praying for her speedily to enter the fullness of life in heaven where there is true and lasting peace

I went on a retreat/conference last week, and if a retreat does anything that is meaningful it should help us to grow in our love for Jesus in myself and among us. This is what happened. It was simple and normal and a lived experience of the presence of Jesus for the Diocesan Priests and Religious who came, I suppose about 700 in all. There is a photo below that shows a part of the priests and religious at the mass we had together.

During the course of it all we had a talk about the Vatican Council. The speaker, a respected Theologian and Rector of a University, spoke about there being one Council of the Church that could be compared with Vatican 2.

As he said this I racked my brains to think which Council that could be? I thought of the Council of Trent, in the mid 16th Century. The nineteenth ecumenical council opened at Trent on 13 December, 1545, and closed there on 4 December, 1563. Its main object was the definitive determination of the doctrines of the Church in answer to the heresies of the Protestants; a further object was the execution of a thorough reform of the inner life of the Church by removing the numerous abuses that had developed in it.

But that was not the reason why “good” Pope John 23 called the second Vatican Council – 11 October 1962 till 8 December 1965. In fact there was no specific reason. Pope John 23 had said it was “to bring the presentation of the Church’s doctrine up to date and to promote the unity of Christians”. These two objectives were intended to renew the Church’s relation with the modern world and thus to revive her mission to the whole world.

Nearly all the Ecumenical Councils of the Church were summoned for particular theological reasons, not for “general renewal and to promote unity” even if these would be a welcome outcome always.

The speaker at my retreat finally revealed what he meant. He said “the council that is like the 2^nd Vatican Council is the very first Council of the Church, the Council of Jerusalem”.

That council was set up to identify the right direction for the newly born Church in regard to the major differences of approach between the newly converted Christians. At the beginning of the Church a strong group came from the Jewish community, and another bigger group from “pagans or non Jews”. The Jerusalem Council happened about the year 48AD. They needed to discern the right way .to be disciples of Jesus Should they follow Jesus and also many Jewish rituals that Jesus probably had himself followed? Or should they follow Jesus and leave behind the Jewish rituals that were alien to the non Jewish converts? It was St. Paul who wrote on this issue: “I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Jesus Christ my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish in order that I may gain Christ” (Phil 3:8). The words “everything” and “all things” refers precisely to the Jewish practices binding through the Old Testament Law and its interpretations for Jews. The Jerusalem Council came down firmly on following the way that that no longer emphasised the Jewish rituals. Rather to follow St. Paul who goes on in Philippians 3, verse 11: “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection of the dead”. It was a new beginning sanctioned by the authority in the Church

The first disciples had a strong personal relationship with the risen Lord who had been crucified within the living body of Christ, the Church. So should we. His Holy Spirit would teach them how to live, how to act, what rules to follow and what ways to worship and so on. The Holy Spirit will teach us also. Yes, there was authority in the Church from the Apostles and their successors and it was an authority of service for the whole body. That authority still exists in the Church.

The right direction for the Church today and each individual in it is exactly what needs to be discovered and the second Vatican Council has given us authoritative guide-lines. In this sense it is a new beginning although it takes away nothing from the tradition of the Church in the past. Our challenges lie in the fact that we do need new ways to express these age-old truths in that sacred and long tradition today.

The expression is not necessarily in words so much as in a living experience of the risen Jesus within his body the Church, who by the power of the Holy Spirit leads us to the Father. Words to explain this real presence of Jesus in each of us and among us will only come later.

Jesus himself spoke about “those who gather in my name will find me among them” (Mt 18: 20). Gathering may or may not be in Church, may or may not include speaking of the Gospel, but He is still there.

So I recommend each reader to find some friends who take living for God as the gospel teaches as a high priority and live it out. That is why I went on my retreat. If a person is lucky he or she will find these companions, and all of us are entitled to, and all of us need such help and guidance today. Furthermore it is an adventure of Love, for the message of the Gospel is indeed one of Love, a message that leads to our fulfilment as human beings as well.

Fr. Dermot Mills OMI, Fr. Bonaventura Marinelli, OFM Cap and self OSB last week

18 January 2013

Learning is for life.

As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, ‘Follow me’. And he got up and followed him.

And as he sat at dinner in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came and were sitting with him and his disciples.

 ‘Why does your teacher eat with tax-collectors and sinners?’ But when he heard this, he said, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.’

This month of January the Word of God that gives life to me is precisely this strange short Word spoken by Jesus: Go and learn what this means, I desire mercy, not sacrifice. On Wednesday a group of 8 men in religious life met at the De La Salle house in St. Helens and after a shared meal, we shared what this might mean for an hour or so.

It was not easy to share. It takes time to know how to share what God might have done in our lives by trying to live the Word of God moment by moment. We had some discussion about different ways of translating from the original Greek text and the use of the word “desire” rather than the plainer English “want”. “I want mercy not sacrifice”. For some this was important, for others very unimportant. What struck me was that as we shared we got to know each other’s mind-set a bit better, we got to know what the other was like, and we grew in trusting each other.

But somebody pointed out that Jesus had said something before those words in the context of that meal with the tax-collectors and sinners. Jesus turned to those who did not like that sort of person and said: ‘Go and learn’…

That learning process echoes in my experience. What a journey of learning has taken place in my life to realise that in life it is not efficiency that is important, rather it is love or loving mercy that builds up relationships. Another learning point for me: it is not my way of doing things that is necessarily the best; there are other ways of doing things. Furthermore we all make mistakes in life and so all of us want (desire) mercy rather than condemnation.

Somebody also asked a question? “What do you do when you show loving mercy to another, and he or she simply refuses to respond, acknowledge or enter into any meaningful relationship with you?” That happens to me from time to time. There is no easy answer. I can only share what once happened to me.

One of my brethren who has now gone to his eternal reward found me very hard work and I did him. We got on from time to time, but often it was better to avoid each other. This wonderful man who had many skills was at work and there was no sign of any illness. But early in the day he had a brain haemorrhage and I went to see him where it had happened. He was sitting on the floor in an office where he was working, in the corner, comforted by a colleague. He could no longer talk but as soon as I saw him he gave me an engaging smile that I will never forget all my life. It spoke volumes. It said to me: ‘Jonathan, I want to be your friend. We may not have seen eye to eye, but all that is forgotten. Let us go ahead from now on caring for and loving each other as the Good Lord asks of us. Forget what happened in the past!’ I was able to be with him a short time, reassure him of God’s great love, join with him in prayer, me speaking him silent. And I felt with Mother Julian of Norwich what she wrote in her revelation of divine love. “All shall be well, and all shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well.”

Learning is a life-time process and whoever can give you an easy answer to the mystery of difficulties in relationships is not speak the truth as we learn from experience. I shared something of this with a wonderful sister in the Carmelites in Preston. She looked at me and said: ‘Perhaps Fr. Jonathan we have lived to a ripe old age because God is still teaching us and we are slow learners!’

In Romans 1: 16 St Paul wrote “I am not ashamed of the Gospel”. I have been thinking what he might mean. He had to deal with all those Jewish converts who found it so hard really to understand that all the rituals of the Jewish religion were utterly unimportant, even rubbish, for somebody who had the freedom to be a disciple of Jesus (Phil 3; 1-8). He means “I am not ashamed of Jesus”. In ‘young people speak’ today, people might say ‘Jesus and the things associated with him, especially the Churchare not cool’. The Gospel is in fact the person of Jesus Christ who is with me and among us for as long as we want to belong to him and his “gang”.

I am increasingly aware that I should do all in my power to make being a follower of Jesus ‘cool’. But this can only happen if I have a genuine experience of Him, of Jesus in me and among ‘us’.

Nobody ever sees God and we do see our neighbour. For forty years now I have been exposed to a way of following God that is called a ‘communitarian way’. This way leads to God himself as truly as anyone who has never been exposed to it.

It is a different way to behave and act because underpinning it is the Gospel truth that we belong as disciples to ‘one body, the body of Christ’. We could say ‘we belong together to the person of Christ’. It is both to my shame and a reflection of reality that I am still, after forty years, prone to act as a man in relation to God not so much “with others” but as a man with my individual relationship with God alone. This “individualism” goes back a long way and probably the eighteenth century enlightenment was a strong supporting factor. Whether it is part of the human condition, of being a part of the fallen human race, I am not sure. I do know that the modern experience both when I am in front of my computer and when I am driving my car emphasises this individualism; unless every time I use the computer or the car it is in some way in the service of God and others. My whole life will only make sense if it is seen in service of God and others.

To this end I would like to quote again from a reflection of my friend Manfred who has an incurable brain tumour, writing soon after the tumour was first treated in May 2012. It may help to explain what I am trying to explain, and as only last Monday I had the joy of a long conversation with him, here is a photograph of him and me on that day. He insisted I wore a woolly hat-he was suffering from a severe headache and it does add something. His spirit has grown since May 2012, and he still sees everything that has happened to him in regards his terminal illness as God’s love for him.

Hi all,

Just a quick update on how it’s all progressing. First off all a big thanks for all the prayers and support. It’s been very important and great! Most importantly I am feeling actually quite well, according to the doc better than anticipated. Well, that’s from the brain perspective.

I have now completed my chemoradio therapy on the 4th May, and since then have been dealing with the after effects, which is mainly tiredness and continued loss of appetite. Both of those are getting better and last Friday I managed to have a proper full meal for the first time in a long while!! My appetite is slowly coming back.

As far as tiredness and fatigue is concerned it was hitting me quite badly, but I have to say that the last two days in May things have actually been quite good. Had good nights sleep and by and large felt great. Even managed to watch the whole of Champions League Final!

Then I had a bit of a scare on when I seem to loose part of my sight in the left eye. But to my relief my brain docs were not worried about it from the tumour side but sent me last Tuesday to Moorfields Eye Hospital. There the extent of God’s love became clear again when I was diagnosed with a detached retina. The following day I was again under the knife for 1 hr and 20mins. Now I have to lie on my right side for a week for 50 mins of each hour, practically always. Had to cancel my holiday in Scotland as I was literally otherwise detained!!!

What can I say other than, God is great all the time and all the time God is great! His love sometimes feels overwhelming, but it is so good, because all these occasions are a real eye opener (good pun, eh!!) for me. More and more I understand what it is that he is trying to do: To free me from anything that is in the way of loving him and to guide us to live with him in our midst offering all our big or small gifts. I thank him for being in our midst in focolare and in the zone. I thank him for the peace and joy he gives me. I thank him for his love. I offer all so that there is always Jesus amongst us in this focolare of the zone, for the Mariapolis and for the young people. I couldn’t begin to list the gifts I have received from God during this period! He is simply great and most of all he is really Love!

Next steps: Tomorrow back to brain hospital for treatment. Then on the 6th the first MRI scan after all the treatment to see how my brain looks after all the pounding. Then chemo increase from 150mg to 550mg for the first week of each month. If my blood count is ok in June then …waiting what God wants next!

Always meeting each one of you in the pact of unity

Manf