I well remember a once-time meeting with some young men in Religious Life and, on this occasion, was asked to share with them, my thoughts and experiences of ‘community life’; addressing this subject, it is essential to point out that Christianity is concerned not just with the ‘private’ relationship I have with God.  Essentially, it must include my relationships with others – and also something of their relationships with God. The only commandment that Jesus gave, calling it ‘HIS’, is the ‘New Commandment’ in St. John’s Gospel, (13; 34): “I give you a new commandment, love one another as I have loved you”; this alone should help us to realise that our Christian Faith is concerned as much with others, as with self.  

Many wise people – political and religious thinkers, etcetera – have pointed out that the greatest joys of our Christian Life stem from our relationships with others; concomitantly, these also provide, potentially, the greatest sufferings. Anyone, who makes living in ‘communion’ a priority, knows that it is not an easy option. Furthermore, there is no such thing as a ‘perfect community’ – one which could last for ever and ever on this earth. Human life is simply not like that; we are fickle human beings and change each day, oftentimes several times in a day.  Our circumstances change and so does the world about us.  We ‘changeable’ human beings have moods, misunderstandings and many limitations; sometimes we ‘fall out’, and this can lead to the break-down of relationships , for a time – or even permanently. In fact, it is God, alone, who gives us the graces to live in community, in harmony, or in unity, but we do not always accept them, and our lives (and relationships) are never static – never constant – and we must face new challenges, new problems, day after day, as we progress through life.  

Knowing that there are others, with whom I share Jesus’ New Commandment, means that the little word, ‘AS’ – a word of only two letters – assumes the greatest significance. I know that, in the literal sense, I cannot ‘love’ those with whom this relationship exists ‘AS’ Jesus did (and still does), for that would mean I would not be here to write these lines; nonetheless, that is the spirit of the relationship. Living the New Commandment is the condition for that promise of Jesus to be true: “Where two or more are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” (Mt 18:20). I may not always act in the way I should, but I can try to practice the first Gospel message of Jesus, as reported in St. Mark’s Gospel: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent and believe in the Good News”, (Mark 1: 14), for that is not a one-off message, for one occasion, but for each and every day that comes. Essentially, the Kingdom of God means living in the presence of Jesus; He is with me when I am alert to all He wants, in every present moment of life.  

To return to the young men in Religious Life, we did not, immediately and at once, come to discuss ‘community life’. I was interested to hear that, not all of them were able to feel that God loved each one of them, personally, and unconditionally. That came as no surprise, for it took me some eleven years of monastic life, for that particular ‘penny to drop’ and my young audience was of shorter vocation. My advice to them was to pray for the grace – really to know – that God loves each one of us, personally, immensely and without condition, not because the knowledge comes from parents, teachers or priests, but from within – heart, mind and soul – from within one’s own being. ONE JUST KNOWS IT! One of the young men came from the Congo, and I could not help but empathise with him in the fact that, in the east of that huge country, war seems endemic, and up to 4 million people have died in the past few years. “Oh yes,” he said, “that is the region I come from”. In an instant, the thought of much human suffering – killing, raping, injustice and hunger, etc – flashed through my mind, and not knowing him at all well, I wondered what on earth his experience was. He took me up on my words, “Knowing that God loves you personally, immensely and without condition depends,” he said, “on how you feel each day.” I remained silent!  Another of the young men came up with a challenging remark about prayer. Do you ‘feel’ God close to you when you pray? He said that, for him, a lot of the time, prayer was an empty ritual and it did not seem to change things much. He followed this by pointing out that, if this was so for him, a man dedicated to God in Religious Life, how much harder it must be for laity, without that advantage. I listened well and had to admire the honesty of that young man. 

Many people may be able to identify with the challenge he presented, and yet, by the grace of God, this emptiness is not necessarily, (or usually) the only experience. Once Jesus is alive (and real) for a person – once he becomes KNOWN – then to pray becomes a great joy. I had a conversation with Fr. Theo (an occasional fellow ‘blogger’) this week, and he, in his late eighties, will get up early each day to pray; if he does not, then he will not have the time and space to do so. He also told me how much he loves the Breviary and that, if confined to a desert island, he would take the Breviary as his one book; he would feel lost without it. What then, is the difference between the young man who feels prayer is difficult, empty and virtually meaningless, and the old monk, who cannot but, spend time with the Lord? I suggest that it is not that one is better than the other, but that one has allowed the relationship with God – through Jesus – to grow, whereas the other is, perhaps, as yet, unaware of the closeness and goodness of God; that may continue until that special moment when, God willing, he will get to know Him. To feel comfortable, at home almost, in the presence of God, who, in the final analysis, is ‘almighty’, ‘all powerful’, ‘far beyond’ anything we can think (or imagine), and, from the human intellect’s deepest reasoning, ‘unknowable’, is a gift. The ‘heart’ of a person knows God, in ways that are not expressible in words, yet in a very special way, a person can come to know, and sense, that God is very close to him, and loves him, personally and without condition.  What I am describing is something intuitive – instinctive, yet very real!  

Life today is exceedingly complicated – I suppose it has always been so, but, with the changes that have taken place over recent decades, in technology, communications, travel and the movement of populations – I could go on and on – the changes we experience are accelerating.  Life changes so very quickly, ideas change and this means that the way we do things must change, correspondingly. For some people, the ‘old’ ideas – our traditional certainties about knowing God – are no longer certain, and so it becomes all the more important, in this present day and age, to have some kind of ‘evidence’ of a loving God. I believe that one can take this a step further, and, with careful observation, it may be that God is trying to help us accrue this evidence, if only we take time to reflect and look.  

The rescue of the Chilean miners, from their ‘rock’ cave 2,000 feet below the Atacama Desert, has deeply affected the peoples of the world during the last few days.  I believed this to be a prime example of God, at work, in the world today.

The Chilean Miners – in ‘Captivity’ and in Thanksgiving for their Rescue 

Some parishioners have commented that the BBC has not broadcast quite so many examples of reverence to God and prayer – graphically illustrated by television pictures of rescued miners falling to their knees in humble thanksgiving – since the Pope was here. Millions have seen the faces of the rescued miners – and their loved ones – in circumstances of supposed tragedy, in hope, and in the joys of deliverance – and these are sincere, simple people of peasant stock – not your sophisticated intellectual with all his well-developed tastes and assets.  One of the miners, describing his ‘captivity’ and rescue said; “I was with God and the devil.  They fought and God won.” The emergency – involving the lives of 33 men – led to a cooperative effort from many nations, all helping in the rescue that demonstrated a sense of world-wide solidarity and unity. Certainly, people all over the world, have prayed for the trapped miners and are now rejoicing and thanking God for their rescue. 

However, there are more examples of God at work in the world.  Today, I received an account of the tragedy of the Pakistan floods.  Again, the misery and suffering has been almost beyond imagining, but there is more … . strangely, the report, though it brought tears to the eyes, it also speaks of hope. It was sent to me by a friend, Tomeu Mayans, who received it directly from his friends in the Pakistan Focolare community; they, in response to many enquiries, were desirous of sharing their experiences of the flood and its effect on the communities.  (Tomeu, a Majorcan, and myself have holidayed together several times.  He has worked in London for the last 18 years or so, and has been waiting for his visa to re-enter Pakistan, which has now been granted.  We share the same desire to live ‘in communion’ – in ‘unity’.)  

“These floods have created a mass of water on the move equal in size to the land mass of the whole of Great Britain. 78 of the 121 districts of Pakistan are affected. 14.1 million people are directly involved in the disaster which indirectly has affected another 6.2 million people. 1.1 million homes are destroyed and another 800 thousand damaged. 

As we slowly analyse what has happened and come to terms with it, we realise the disaster is without any precedent, and that the number of vulnerable people in need exceeds the capability of any single institution to help them. Only a common effort of a lot of people and organisations can possibly help to alleviate the sufferings of these people. Because of geographical reasons and the numbers involved in this natural disaster, it is the biggest and most complex situation that the world community has ever had to face.  The majority of those suffering are poor peasant people and unskilled workers who live on the threshold of poverty already.  To give you an idea of the situation we (the Focolare community of Pakistan) thought it would be helpful to share with you some experiences that have come from the Karachi community which is in the South of the country, and a city of 16 million people, and in the midst of the tragedy.” 

“We are poor people but we realised we could share with the others the little that we have and look for further help. God would certainly help us because we were doing this not for ourselves but for his children in need.  

On September 13 a small group visited a school that was completely full of people who had lost their homes. Some government volunteers were there doing a good job but there were still many things needed. I told my Muslim supervisor at work and he donated a lot of medical supplies, while other colleagues helped collect money and new clothes together with some neighbours.  

We split into two groups, one for the school and other for victims some distance from the city, because things in the Sindh province were even worse. The Bishop of Hyderabad encouraged us and was pleased with our initiative. 

In the end we managed to get together 20,000 rupees (about 181 Euro), a good sum considering our situation, but too little to help the 70 families and in particular the 200 babies we wanted to help. But we got other help from friends from all over the world and we were able to buy many other things to put together some good parcels for each family with essential ingredients including the ingredients to make a nice cake!  

During the three of the four days of the Muslim festival at the end of the fasting time of Ramadan, we worked preparing everything.  

Along the road to reach the refugee camp in the heart of SIndh we became aware of the harsh reality: many groups of people were waiting along the road and they ran behind the cars that passed. We were unable to stop because we knew that many lorries with supplies had been attacked and destroyed before arriving at their destination. A child ran behind us for almost a kilometre and only further ahead when we sure we were safe could we quickly stop and give him something.

Pakistani Floods – In the School 

But the real shock was when we reached the camp. Instead of the 70 families we had been told about there were 105. The class rooms of the school were packed with people, men and women, some expecting babies, many just newly born and children. They were all wearing the clothes they had on when they had escaped from the floods leaving all their things behind.  

They told us the waters had washed away all the crops and the farm animals. 

We gave out the 70 parcels which had some clothes inside and we managed to give to the 35 extra families at least some new clothes. What touched us was that these people were quite delighted with what we gave them, in fact they hugged us when they got their parcel. Even the children were delighted with their little parcels. We will go on helping them.” 

++++++++++++++++ 

“On the 18 September we went back to the same camp to give them dishes and clothes to wear that they asked for the previous time, because they told us the government gave them food but no dishes with which to eat the food or put it out.  

We wanted to make the best use of the funds we were given and went to different bazaars to find the best prices. In Karachi the situation did not help, because there is much violence on the streets and many advised us not to go out. We went anyway because we felt it was so urgent to do so, and people could wait no longer.  

In the first camp we found 800 people crammed into a school; we gave out what we had and were able to give some money to a mother who had just given birth to a baby via a caesarean birth. We were told there were seven newly born babies in the camp. 

We got the older children together and played some games with them and they were really happy.  

Apart from the help we can give, we realized that moral support for these people is essential, to listen to their stories and let them feel not by words but by our presence and love for them that they had some brothers and sisters, and that God loved them. 

We then left for another camp given that we still had some dishes with us. The camp was inside an open air rice warehouse. It came as a great shock to us. There were in all six thousand people there, whole families living in a very confined space without any privacy. There was a long queue of people waiting to get water from a water wagon, a lady doctor with a nurse who were administering medicines to all that they could, even to a young child all on his own. ‘We do this’ they said, ‘because it is a matter of life and death’. As there was so little drinking water they forbad us to give out dehydration tablets because the people would have come to ask for water to swallow them and there was none. The lady doctor said to us ‘do all you can that is helpful in these circumstances; medicines are insufficient, they need mosquito nets, we need a dermatologist for the many skin diseases’. The people did not know what to do, and it seemed life had ceased for them. 

What struck us is their ability to face these difficulties. The patience of these people is incredible; though they have lost everything they are not angry or rebellious, but in peace, thanking God they are alive. We feel we cannot give ourselves peace while there are these brothers there like this; we feel their suffering is ours.” 

++++++++++++++++ 

Nasreen visited the Risalpur camps and she shared with us: “Apart from taking practical help, given that I was the only person let in to the section reserved for women, it gave me the chance simply to stay with them and share their suffering. I was the first to be able to get in, and they really need to tell somebody what had happened.

Pakistani Floods – In the Women’s Camp 

The next day we got a phone call from a family member who lives nearby this town and she told us of the joy of the people to discover things in their parcels that they really wanted, like pens and paper to write letters and some powdered mild for the little children etc. 

For Ramadan we organised some other ways of helping in another camp where they had not had much of anything yet. We got together 681 parcels for the two different camps. 

In the first where the soldiers were we had gone the first time. The second camp was run the by the local administration and it was a much sadder place. The people were more abandoned. Many children had no clothes at all, they were dirty with matted tousled hair because they could not wash. They suffered many skin problems both because of dirt and the mosquitoes and flies that infested the camp. Luckily where they were there is water, and so seeing our parcels that had a lot of things to improve their hygiene they were so happy they could at last get a good wash. The women above all could not express their gratitude, it was so great.  

The soldiers came to help us in the first camp and they told us: ‘we see that you have done everything with a special kind of love and that you manage to give to each person an equal share, giving them much happiness’”. 

Nasreen went on: “for me I felt that the merit was not ours because the largest part of the money we had to buy things we had received from many generous people; our part was something different. I do not possess much, but I can offer my time and my work to go and buy things in the large market at Rawalpindi. There was a lot of traffic and it all took a long time in an asphyxiating heat. I was happy to go even though I had a serious eye infection that I got at school and gave a lot of grief. It was a hard and dangerous journey because the people are so poor. Armed men stop lorries and destroy them. Giving out parcels is not just an external gesture but above all the way to get close to these people, to be with them, sharing those moments of suffering. Really these are small things in comparison to all these people have lived through who were directly involved in the floods; it is my small contribution, and all together we can alleviate their suffering.”  

Some of the Risalpur families who were in the school have now been placed in tents, because the school must begin again as term has started. Winter is now coming and they need adequate clothing, shoes and mattresses apart from food.”  

++++++++++++++++ 

This account really touched me because my friend, Tomeu Mayans, is going back to Pakistan in ten days time to share this experience, in the same Focolare community. As I said, he is a Majorcan and, with him I have, ‘Jesus in our midst’ through our pact of ‘unity’. Now, I live in luxurious England, where almost every need I have is catered for, and yet there, across the world, is a friend who will be in touch, at least, with those in the front-line of this massive Pakistan flood problem. With him, I can feel ‘in solidarity’: God has given me this friend, and across the miles, we can remain united; for this reason, among many others, I can say, even as I write these lines, that Jesus is close to me. Yes, in a special way I feel his presence; but, it is not a physical thing; it is spiritual and very real.  

In conclusion, I hope, and pray, that the Religious I met on that occasion, and all who read this ‘essay’ will find the same knowledge of God and his presence. Of course, it is based on faith, but faith is knowledge, and in a way, God is thus giving us evidence of his presence in our world. May our faith remain strong, and firm, and sure, and may the good Lord, through the helping hands of many people, help the people of Pakistan, as we thank Him also for the safe rescue of the Chilean miners.

Fifty years, or more, ago there was a common saying in an around old Lancashire, to the effect that: 

“God’s good –  An’ t’divil’s not bad to them ‘e teks to.” 

So there we have it – the dichotomy of two diametrically opposing concepts – good and evil, a dichotomy that pervades all our lives, from cradle to grave, whether we like it or not.  And the greater problem, perhaps, is that human beings are prone to the latter, rather than the former.  Sin is not – and never will be – a ‘nice’ subject.  A writer, putting his mind to a discourse on ‘sin’ is never going to win any popularity contests in his choice of subject matter.  Most would agree that it is not ‘fashionable’ to talk about ‘sin’. Rather distasteful, but, why?  I think the answer to my question is that we would all have to admit to having a guilt complex about sin.  It would be something we would rather see ‘brushed under the carpet’ – rather that, than get it out into the open – but get it out in the open, we must, as this is important to the discussion.  Sin is something that makes us all feel guilty – we are all sinners – apart, that is, from a couple of perfect saints who lived some two thousand years ago – Jesus and Mary, his Mother.  From Adam and Eve, and right down to you and me, across millions of years and billions of people, we are all – apart from these two – egotists who have put ourselves before God and the good of our neighbours.  

I use the  word ‘ egotists’ advisedly, for that, essentially, is just what sin is – putting ourselves and our desires before God and his loving friendship and kindness – and before the love and welfare of our neighbour.  In following our desires, our wants, our feelings, the ‘ego’ in us comes to the fore, promoting ‘us’ to the exclusion of ‘them’ – ‘them’ being God and our fellow man.  Please do not misunderstand – this is certainly no attempt at preaching – as I very much include myself in all of this.  Sinning thus, we turn away from God and our backs to every ‘Tom, Dick and Harry’ on earth.  Just how self-centred can we get?  Well the answer is on display world-wide today and has been ever since the world began.  

Everywhere we can see examples of what ‘self’ – in its lust and greed for power, money, sex and all the earthy things that go with base human nature – can do for love, friendship, caring, peace and security, justice and fair-play.  It does not seem to matter in which direction you look, for, on every side, on every level, there is war, injustice, torture, false imprisonment, deprivation and hunger etc, on the international and national scenes, and all these are reflected in what we do to each other, when we examine our human activities, at the more personal levels. I take a look at the TV magazine, and on the front see ‘David’s Evil Plot’, ‘Has Marlon killed Shadrach?’, ‘Hostage Terror’, to name just three recent ‘spicy headlines’.  “Alright”, I hear you say, “but that’s fiction.”  Then switch on the TV and the national and local news programmes, and I will lay odds that quite often the truth is worse than the fiction.  All the positives – subsumed under the ‘umbrella of love and human kindness – are tossed to one side, when the negatives of self-centredness are allowed to take over.  And, it is just no use blaming governments or tyrants for what they do to thousands, perhaps millions, when we realise that we individuals are all in this mess together.  

And, what a mess! And over what a time span! The Bible is full of examples of such behaviour, right from Adam and Eve – through Cain and Able – Sodom and Gomorra – on to, and through the New Testament where Jesus calls a halt, and gives us two new commandments to replace the old ten:

Love God, above all.. … .. Love your neighbour as yourself. 

Unfortunately, humankind takes not much notice and continues down through all the pages of history – to the Greeks and Romans, the European nations in more modern times and their search for empires, west versus east, and north versus south, the ‘haves’ against the ‘have-nots’, with slavery in the middle, dictators and tyrants versus their peoples, homicides, fratricides, matricides, patricides – through to genocides – you name it, and we have done it, individuals, families, partners, communities, societies, nations and groups of nations as far as the international – top to bottom and bottom to top – we have been there – killing, raping, assaulting, kidnapping, pillaging, stealing, lying – evil on top of evil – God and his goodness – never in sight – brotherly love thrown out the window; I said at the start that sin, and sinning, does not win any popularity contests.  How depressing!  But, that again, is just what sin does to us.  Because of the guilt complex – invariably attached to sin – we become part of a downward spiral and end up in deep depressions. 

So where is the light then?  Life, surely, cannot be all about doom and gloom – all about evil – to the total exclusion of good.  Experience teaches us that the totality is never composed of just one aspect, one side, one way of life, one set of actions, one faith, just one ideology.  Only God has that kind of unity, and it is he that provides the other side to the seemingly overwhelming imbalance.  He gives us the positive – the light – the good – the chance to escape the depressing and total blackness of sin and death to self. 

Given the gift of faith, we believe that God provided the answer to the unrelieved total ‘blackness’ of sin.  He has always loved us.  He loves us now, every second, every minute of every hour and day ….. so much so, that it was against His very nature to see us condemned to unremitting death for all eternity.  As we die, each one of us, He wants all of us to be with Him in heaven, a life of joy, peace and happiness, ‘until Hell freezes over’, upwards, and onwards …. ….  So Jesus comes into the ‘frame’ comes to save us from that horrible fate of sin’s ‘black hole’ and to give us hope – to give us light – to show us the way – to teach us the secret of happiness – because to give, is to serve, is to love God and our fellow man – the opposite of self – the opposite of ‘me’ – the opposite of ‘take’, ‘take’, ‘take.   We take Jesus at his word, the ‘penny drops’ and we then begin to see how wonderful it is to live with a clear conscience, to live loving God and trying to do His will, to live trying to love, be kind and to help others.  It seems to me that the man with a soul washed clean, is a man with a clear conscience, a man happy about his life and about his future.  He loves God.  He loves his fellow man.  He is united within himself – not at odds with anything or anyone – very much in that happy mode we call a ‘state of grace’  On the other hand, I never saw anyone truly happy when living a life opposed to God, opposed to his neighbours, when manifesting a soul as black as t’ fire-back. 

At this point, I think, we are back precisely where we started – back with the dichotomy – good versus evil: 

GOOD – A FRIEND OF GOD AND NEIGHBOUR – HAPPY – FULL OF HOPE

EVIL – NO LONGER A FRIEND OF GOD OR NEIGHBOUR – UNHAPPY -  DEPRESSED – NO HOPE 

And this forces me to ask the question as to whether this discourse has been a waste of time?  I think not!  Given all the evil in the world is there any hope? I think there is – that there must be! The analysis forces us to consider that with God on our side and given the actions of Our Blessed Lord, his birth, life, death and resurrection, we are given the magnificent graces of  repentance and forgiveness for the sins we commit, if only we say sorry in all sincerity to God.  Once we are honest with ourselves and admit our faults, then ask for God’s help and forgiveness, we know that he will not turn away from us and leave us friendless.  He will always help us to ‘start over’ and with a ‘clean slate’ – at whatever time, however late – even on our death bed, as we draw our last breath.  All that we ever need to do is to turn to Him and say: “Sorry.” 

Where next?  Is that the end of all useful discussion on the subject?  Well no – because the subject inevitably takes us to the grave and beyond, to two judgements – the individual, immediately after death, and the general, at the end of time. 

Sistine Chapel Fresco – The Last Judgement by Michelangelo 

And here, we must rely on faith and the words of Jesus, himself.  We know that if we die in a state of enmity to God then, at our judgement, we shall hear the dreaded words: “Depart from me …… ” and we then face an eternity of suffering – the greatest of all perhaps being the knowledge that, through our own doing, we have denied ourselves that state of perfect happiness, living in God’s presence for ever, and ever – throughout an infinity we cannot begin to comprehend.  Hopefully, we may have succeeded in trying our best to follow God’s will, loving Him and neighbour, and then we will hear those wonderful words of welcome: “Come ye blessed of my Father….. “  However, at this point, most will more than likely meet with a problem – a problem all to do with some venial (minor) sins, and / or, the guilt attached to other sins we have committed.  The past sins, themselves, will have been forgiven, but there is now an atonement to be paid and that means a stay in Purgatory.  

 (Logic dictates that to pray for the dead means to pray for the souls in Purgatory.  The souls that have found their reward in Heaven have no need of our prayers – they can pray for we who are still alive.  As for those in Hell, it is of no value to pray for them as they have no promise of escape from their torments there – they are there for all eternity)… … … 

II Maccabees 12:43-46: “And making a gathering, he [Judas] sent twelve thousand drachms of silver to Jerusalem for sacrifice to be offered for the sins of the dead, thinking well and religiously concerning the resurrection, (For if he had not hoped that they that were slain should rise again, it would have seemed superfluous and vain to pray for the dead,) And because he considered that they who had fallen asleep with godliness, had great grace laid up for them. It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins.” 

 St. Teresa of Avila – Interceding for the Souls in Purgatory

(from the Workshop of Reubens) 

The above arguments lead us to consider, now, some of the evidence for the existence of Purgatory – often thought of as a place to which souls go for a time.  The intuitive evidence, certainly, can be traced back thousands of years, to the earliest Christians, and the Catacombs, where there are 1st to 3rd centuries’ records of the Christian practice of praying for the dead, and beyond that, into the annals of Jewish history.   

The Catacomb of Callistus – Procession

(Writings found in the Catacombs (other than in the New Testament) take the tradition, of praying for the dead, back as far as centuries 1 – 3 A.D., to the early Christian writings such as the ‘Acts of Paul and Thecla’ and the ‘Martyrdom of ‘Perpetua and Felicity’)

The Bible speaks of something other than Heaven and Hell, often called the Limbo of the Fathers, for in the First Letter of St. Peter, (1 Pet. 3:19), it is said that Jesus, after his death and before his resurrection, went and preached to the ‘imprisoned spirits’ – souls of the just, in Limbo, who had died and could not yet go to heaven, because ‘redemption through Christ’ had not yet taken place.   Years ago in the ‘Apostles Creed’ we Catholics used to say: “… .. he descended into hell… ..”   Could it be that this (hell) Limbo (of the Fathers) is the same as purgatory? Maybe yes!  Maybe not! However, the long held belief is that the souls of the just were held in Limbo pending the actions of the Messiah.  If the limbo of the Fathers was purgatory, then this argument points directly to the existence of Purgatory. If the Limbo of the Fathers was a different temporary state, then the Bible at least says such a state can exist – a state other than heaven and hell.  Even today orthodox Jews commonly recite a prayer known as the ‘Mourner’s Kaddish’, for eleven months after the death of a loved one, so that the loved one may be purified. 

Similar intuitive evidence also exists for several other religions, the Eastern Orthodox Churches, Mormons, among them, and the Moslems believe that Hell is temporary for some and permanent for others – all appearing to indicate the existence of some intermediate state – for certain souls – between heaven and Hell.   The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines purgatory as: 

“purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven,” which is experienced by those “who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified” (CCC 1030). It notes that “this final purification of the elect . . . is entirely different from the punishment of the damned” 

Theologians have tendered opinions as to Purgatory, somewhere between Heaven and Hell, and the time limits on our periods to be spent there – limits in proportion to the amount of sinful debt to be expunged – but my feelings, my instincts, are less than convinced by some of the arguments.  As I understand the teachings of the Church on this point, then our lives after death are lives of the spirit – lives spent in a state of being, no longer subject to, or limited by, time and space.  Going to Purgatory, therefore, will not be anything like a prison sentence of 6 months in ‘Strangeways’. We are told that God lives in a  perpetual ‘now’; He who is called ‘I am’ does not know past or future – only present – and, therefore, time would seem to have no meaning for the Souls in Purgatory.   However, we try to understand and explain what we mean by Purgatory, I think our efforts – largely built on faith and tradition – are likely to be wide of the mark.  The trouble is we have no clear explanation concerning this state of separation from the presence of God.  Hell, certainly, is a state of being in which we are to be everlastingly denied the presence of God, for nothing stained by mortal sin can ever enter Heaven.  Purgatory differs from Hell in one vital element – there is no mortal sin involved – and because of that it holds the promise that our separation from God and the happiness of heaven, will not last for ever.  The trouble with this is that this ideology takes us back into the problem of time, once again.  Leaving all that aside, the great promise of Purgatory, we believe, is that once the guilt of our sins is expunged, we shall then take our rightful place in heaven – with God – and in total happiness for all eternity. 

Good and evil, sin and death, Judgement Day, Heaven, Hell – or the promise held out by Purgatory – even if it happens to be ‘second best’ – takes us where, may I ask?  Forgive me for saying so, but such concepts describe the totality of what it means to be a human being – to have existence – in this world of ours.  In using the word’ totality’, I intend that it should be interpreted as holding all the most basic structures pertaining to our very existence – both spiritual and temporal.  We are born.  We live for an indeterminate number of years.  Our life is (bound) to be neither totally bad, nor totally good, but somewhere between the two extremes.  At some point in time, life gives way to death and then we face the judgement – and the consequences of our life on earth.  Those consequences can be hellish or heavenly – or again, in some spiritual state, somewhere between the two – but with the ultimate promise of a life of happiness with God.  

From childhood, I remember, vividly, some of the ‘fire and brimstone’ sermons that used to be preached in many Christian churches.  Thank God, this rather frightening aspect from our past seems to have mellowed, and we no longer listen (and shudder) at the sound of these tirades.  I cannot believe that God is like that – neither does he expect us to live in fear like that.  My own view, founded only on belief in God’s great love, is that through all – life, death, good, evil, judgement – God simply wants us to love him in return, to love our neighbour for his sake and to try to do our best to keep these two Divine commands. He knows we are not perfect, but, if we do this, if we try – sincerely – honestly – we shall not fail. 

My final thoughts go back to Maccabees: ‘It is a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead.’ I live in the fervent hope that someday, someone, somewhere, will pray for me. 

Socius

You may ask: “Why does the Church beatify, or canonise, people?” Such celebrations should not be – and never are – undertaken lightly, simply because both amount to proclamations, to the effect that, with certainty, a particular human being has found his / her way to heaven; consequently, all of us, still here on earth, can think of him, or her, as a saint, as blessed, and a model for us to follow in our own lives. For both, the process is a long and difficult one, and the Church does its best to check every detail of a person’s life, before publicly declaring the subject to be, certainly, ‘in heaven’.  What a wonderful accolade to be paid to a person’s life!  Only a few days ago, when Pope Benedict visited Twickenham at ‘The Great Assembly’, he said to the young people present: “I hope that some of you listening to me are some of the future saints of the twenty-first century. What God wants, most of all for you, is that you become holy”.

Pope Benedict with Young People – Twickenham – September 2010

The phrase, “Most of all that you become holy!” is a most interesting statement of intent, and one that comes straight from the Scriptures: “For this is the will of God, your sanctification” (I Thess 4:3) If we know God, we know that God is all goodness and love; he desires only the very best for each and every person. He has the good of each one of us, personally, at heart – much more than any goodness we, ourselves, can achieve, and so this must mean that the ‘events of life’ – the situation we are actually in right now – is, precisely, what God wants for each one of us. Every event is, either the direct result of his will, or it is permitted by God. Not all of us will find this easy to grasp; furthermore, unless we come to know God – really know him, “not in a ‘notional’ way, but in a ‘real’ way” (Blessed Cardinal Newman’s language), we will find it impossible to grasp, at all.

God does not want us to remain ‘unchanged’ by the circumstances of life we experience, circumstances that are constantly changing; rather, what he wants is a ‘transformation for good’ of our selves. With the grace of God, we may feel, perfectly at peace, in our circumstances, and our constant, daily, task is to glorify and thank God. Otherwise, we may not feel at peace – may feel unhappy, disturbed, threatened … .. ; my experience is that many feel depressed, sad, lonely or deeply upset. Life teaches us that things are never ‘plain sailing’ for long; always, there is an element of suffering, anyway, and one cannot see what is round the next ‘bend in the road’; personally, I find that even getting up in the morning, is not something easily achieved, each coming day. In the Gospels, the first proclamation that Jesus makes is: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the Good News”. Mark 1;14.  But, this is not something that we do on one occasion ­­– so to speak – and then leave it at that. The Words of the Gospel, analogous to all that Jesus said, and taught, are to be put into practice each day. The word ‘repent’ can be interpreted to mean ‘be transformed!’ As Christians, we cannot remain ‘stuck in a groove’; rather, life moves on, and we must move with it. God offers everyone ‘stuck’ in a ‘negative situation’ the chance of real redemption, but we must play our part; it is essential, in all of this, to believe, to trust in Him and to accept with love what He allows to happen to us; throughout we should remain united with Him.  If we can accept and follow this prescription, then we are fulfilling the words of the Pope, above:  “… … What God wants, most of all for you, is that you become holy”, and this brings me to the main thrust of my blog.

To return to my opening gambit, the reason the Church declares people to be ‘saints’ is so that we can have ‘living’ models to help and guide us on our journey – travelling that same road – once upon a time, taken by them.  On Saturday last, 25th September, a young girl by the name of Chiara Luce Badano, was declared a “Blessed” by the Church.  She was aged just 18 years, when she died in 1990.  Most certainly, she remains a person, on whom many young people would do well to model their lives.

Very often, in England, when something tragic happens, one will hear the expression: “That’s life.”  It may, for example, describe the death of a young person, and when used, it is expressive of a ‘realism’ that may be ‘hopeful’ or, indeed, ‘fatalistic’.  Truly, the comment, ‘That’s life’, has been used to me, so many times, and in so many different circumstances, but so often relating to the death of a young person; here, it rings true also, for the story of the short-lived, but very influential, Chiara Luce, whose life, and death, certainly, has had an impact on our world.  Her story, however, is not one of fatalistic resignation, but rather, one filled with that kind of ‘positive’ meaning, given by God alone.   Here in the UK, we are familiar with the idea of Beatification because, as recently as  two weeks ago, on Sunday, 19th September, 2010, Cardinal John Henry Newman was also beatified, in Birmingham – and what a joy that was, for all of us!  I join you in love and reverence for Blessed John Henry Newman, but now wish to turn my attention to Chiara Luce; I have known about her life and death for many a year, and, in sharing something of her, put forward the view that her ‘so-much-less-complicated’ life than that of Cardinal Newman, may the more easily be understood.

The ‘Blessed’ Cardinal Newman and Chiara Luce

Chiara Luce was born on 29th October 1971. Her parents are very devout people, and part of the small Village and Parish of Sassello, a community of just over 1000 inhabitants in the area of North Italy, by Genoa. In that part of Italy – just as here in Leyland – it often happens that life-long partnerships are formed, from an early age, between children in nursery schools, growing up together. So it was that ‘romance’ blossomed for ‘dad’, Ruggero Badano, and ‘mum’, Maria Teresa. They married in 1960, and so this year, 2010, marks their Golden Wedding anniversary. Both parents came from deeply religious families – poor materially – but rich in love and faith. Ruggero is a quiet man, a retired lorry driver, and his view of life, after ten years of childless marriage, was to feel that he was ‘missing out’ because all his friends had been blessed with children; he and his wife had none. Maria Teresa knew how much Ruggero loved her; her view was that the absence of children was part of this ‘Love’ they shared. It was after Ruggero visited a shrine to Our Lady, to pray for a child, that Maria Teresa fell pregnant, much to the joy of both, and eventually Chiara was born, in 1971.

Chiara with her parents Ruggero and Maria Teresa

As a growing child she was a carefree, serene little girl, surrounded by love, but not spoilt. Also, from her earliest years, she was taught about Jesus and how to pray to Him.  At the age of eight, Chiara had the good fortune to learn about ‘unity’, the gift that can transform people completely.  Certainly, it was to change her; it offered a new way of living; she responded to it, and it remained with her; it satisfied her ‘thirst’ for God.

Chiara Luce, at 9 years,  dressed ‘to kill’ for the Shrove Tuesday Carnival, 1985, and as a beautiful young lady, full of life, before falling ill in 1988 

Many people, who have embraced the ideal, or ‘Charism of Unity’ of the Focolare Movement, have had the same experience. I include myself among them.  This gift of ‘unity’, as Ruggero explained, when he, too, was captivated, said; “It was a kind of love that was different from the love I had for Maria Teresa and Chiara, a love that was strong, and natural, and supernatural. Gradually it dawned on me that there was a Jesus right next to me, to whom I could speak personally, to whom I could tell everything.”

But, to return to Chiara Luce, she loved ‘pop’ music and dancing. She also liked singing, and, in fact, she had a lovely voice. An exceedingly popular young lady, everyone liked her, and she was always surrounded by friends – both girls and boys. One of her friends said of her: “She liked to dress well, she kept her hair well-groomed; and sometimes she wore make-up, but she never overdid it”. Chiara, with hopes of becoming an air-hostess when she grew up, loved sport, and took every opportunity to take part in many kinds of physical activity. Besides going for long walks in the mountains with her father, collecting mushrooms, Chiara loved tennis and swimming. Her mother remembers her plunging into the huge waves at the seaside, time after time.

One afternoon, in the summer of 1988, she was playing tennis.  As she carried out a stroke, she felt such pain in her shoulders that she dropped the racket, and had to crouch down, in agony. At first, she thought nothing of it; but the pain was to persist, and medical investigations became a necessity.  These revealed something very serious – osteo-sarcoma with metastasis, which in ordinary language means a very aggressive, spreading bone cancer. When she realised the full truth of her situation, she took the news without flinching. However, there were many further steps to be taken.

A massive change occurred after her first operation. Her mother, Maria Teresa, described it like this:

“For some time she had realised things were going badly and she really did have cancer. Nevertheless she was full of hope that she would be cured. A few days after the operation she asked the doctor what the real prognosis was. So she discovered the truth about her illness and she was told that she would lose her hair through the chemotherapy. In fact, it was probably this that made her realise the gravity of the illness: she was quite proud of her hair. We were in Turin staying with friends because the operation had been done in the hospital there. I can still see her there in the garden in her green coat. She had a fixed, almost absent look on her face as she came into the house. I asked how it had gone and she replied: Not now, don’t let’s talk about it now.’ She threw herself down on the bed, her eyes closed and stayed there for twenty-five minutes. I was dying inside, but the only thing to do was to stay beside her, in silence, suffering with her. It was a battle. Eventually she turned towards me, smiling: ‘Now we can talk,’ she said. It was done. She had said her ‘yes’ once again, and she never turned back from that. Only once did she ask the reason for her suffering. After the first operation she had exclaimed: ‘Why, Jesus?’ But a few moments later she said: ‘If you want it Jesus, then so do I.’”

Her illness lasted two years, and she lived it in the company of her parents, and her friends – some young, some old – with whom she was ‘united’ in sharing love for God and each other. Young people visited her in home and in hospital; they visited to support and console her, and came away, themselves, consoled and strengthened. But, it was not all ‘one way traffic’, as she, too, was supported in making her daily ‘YES’ to God and his will – often amid severe pain – with the help of her young visitors and others. Out of all this came an amazing correspondence with the founder of the Focolare, Chiara Lubich. Three months before she died in July 1990, she wrote to Chiara Lubich:

“First of all I want to update you about the state of my health. They have stopped giving me the chemotherapy because it was no use. So, medicine has laid down its arms! Now only God can do anything. Stopping the therapy has meant an increase in the back pain, and I am hardly able to turn on to my side.

“This evening my heart is full of joy. Do you know why? Carlo’s mum came from Genoa to see me (Carlo was a young boy involved in the life of unity of the Focolare movement who had died some time before). It was a very strong moment of Jesus among us. I was so moved that I found it almost impossible to speak. She brought me some photos of Carlo so that I could choose one for myself. In fact I have it right in front of me now. While I was with his mother, Carlo was also with us. In fact, his presence was so strong that I found myself looking at the chair in my room to see if he really was there. Yes, he was there!

“Oh, my little mum, (her way of speaking to her friend Chiara Lubich), will I manage to be faithful to Jesus forsaken and live to meet him, like Carlo did? I feel so small and the road ahead is so hard. Often I feel overwhelmed by suffering. But it’s my spouse who is coming to visit me, right? Yes I will repeat with you, ‘If you want it Jesus, I want it too.’ Another thing I wanted to say: here everyone is praying for a miracle (and you know how much I would like that….), but I am not able to ask for one. Perhaps I find it difficult to ask for a miracle because I feel that it is not in his will. Could that be so? What do you think?

“I would be happy if you could choose a new name for me (if you think it the right moment).”  

Chiara Luce acting in a mime, as a young girl, proclaiming God’s Love for us from the Cross, “Gesu’ Abbandonato” or, in English, “Jesus Forsaken” 

A week later the reply arrived:

“Thanks for your letter in which you tell me about your health and the visit from Carlo’s mum. Jesus in the midst that you established with her was so great that you also felt the presence of Carlo. I am happy about that. Thanks too for your photo. Your luminous face shows your love for Jesus. Chiara, don’t be afraid to say your ‘yes’ to him moment by moment. He will give you strength, be sure of it! I too am praying for this am always there with you. God loves you immensely. He wants to penetrate the most intimate part of your soul to give you a little taste of heaven.  

“The name I have thought for you is Chiara Luce. Do you like it? It is the light of the ideal which conquers the world. I send it with all my love. On St. Clare’s feast day (11th August) you too will be with me spiritually.” 

There is much more to be said about Chiara Luce but not in this blog. She died just before her 19th birthday, on the 7th October 1990, in her own bedroom, surrounded by her family: with a great effort she had greeted many of her young friends, the evening before her death. It is interesting that people who were at her Beatification Ceremony, and at the celebration that took place in the evening, when 25,000 people were present, also said: “We felt the presence of Chiara Luce with us”.  

The Beatification Celebration – Chiara Luce Badano – September 2010

People in St. Peter’s Square watching the celebration after the Beatification 25th September 2010

There is an Internet ‘Face-book’ testimonial, that each day, carries various messages from people, young and old, all over the world. I have chosen two to complete this short story:

“I didn’t’ know anything about you until last Sunday. I have found that you answer a lot of my questions about life – now I can count on you”. (A young man called Renzo Colzami)

“What a beautiful (beatification) ceremony and experience. Chiara Luce help us always to live in the light of love. (A young girl called Susan Greene)

I wonder whether Pope Benedict, who first declared Chiara Luce “Venerable”, in 2008, and confirmed the miracle cure of a young boy, to support her cause, was thinking of her, when he said to the young people, in Britain’s ‘Big Assembly’:

“I hope that some of you listening to me are some of the future saints of the twenty-first century. What God wants most of all for you is that you become holy”.

My blog title’s famous Latin phrase, meaning “I came, I saw, I conquered”, is built on words attributed to Julius Caesar, at the end of a victorious battle, in Turkey, (BC 47).  This year, well over 2,000 years later, they were to be used again by a former Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury, to describe the humble, gentle, pilgrim Pope, Benedict XVI, on his recent four-day ‘State Visit’ to Britain. The manifestly humble ways, and wise words of the Pope, won over multitudes of the British people, and so this phrase should not, in any way, be seen as giving glory to the Pope himself; rather, the glory must be given to the Lord, whom the Pope represents as the Vicar of Christ on earth – in major contrast, and diametrically opposed to – the ways of Julius Caesar, who attributed all his successes, in war (and elsewhere) to himself.  But one may ask the simple questions: “Why did so many people go out onto the streets; why did many millions watch on Television?” The answer lies with the understanding that the Papacy is, truly, a presence of God in our world.  Jesus is THE revelation of God, and if people reviled and rejected HIM, it is not so surprising that a small minority did the same when Pope Benedict came to visit.

CHRIST AS A HUMBLE, GENTLE LEADER – TAPESTRY, ST. MARY’S CHAPEL, TWICKENHAM

The phrase, ‘I came, I saw, I conquered’, was used by Sean Lovett, a perspicacious journalist, whose words I have followed, frequently and with much interest. He works for the Vatican Radio, and invariably accompanies popes who are wont to travel.  In April 2008, when Pope Benedict went to the United States, I well remember his words describing the Pope as having won the hearts and minds of the American people; ultimately, they fell ‘in love’ with him, and did not want to let him ‘go’. Similarly, in May 2009, Pope Benedict visited the Holy Land, and Sean described the joy and hope the visit gave, especially to the Palestinian people – to the tiny minority of Christians and the many Moslems – together with their wonderfully warm welcome to the Pope.  He went on to explain that the Pope also won the hearts of those Jews open to dialogue, love and reason, for he prayed at length, and silently, at the Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem, and said “May the names of these victims never perish! May their suffering never be denied, belittled or forgotten! And may all people of goodwill remain vigilant in rooting out from the hearts of people anything that could lead to tragedies such as this!”

I doubt if many readers of this blog will have read what Sean said about the Pope’s visit to Britain, and so I now reproduce a substantial section of his very telling words:

THE SECRET OF SUCCESS Reflection on the Pope’s visit

Pope Benedict XVIth’s four-day visit to Great Britain has ended. Sean Patrick Lovett looks back to trip and draws his conclusions…

“He came, he saw, he conquered”. No, not Julius Caesar – Benedict XVI.

And, no, I didn’t say that about him – a former Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury did. Even if I couldn’t think of a better way to describe one of the most anxiously anticipated papal visits ever, to anywhere.

So, it’s official: Benedict XVI’s state visit to the United Kingdom has been universally judged a “success” (the papal spokesman used the word “wonderful”). Before you say “I told you so”, remember that its success wouldn’t be news at all if it weren’t for the fact that, up until only a few days ago, a significant number of highly-placed-people-in-the-know (both in London and in Rome) were convinced it was going to be a disaster.

Their trepidation was largely based on a barrage of nasty news stories and the very vociferous protests of several anti-Catholic individuals and groups. What made these voices different from similar protests in the past was that they were so loud and insistent they gave the impression they were reflecting the views of the “silent majority” of people living in the United Kingdom. Conclusion: the Pope wasn’t welcome, no one cared, at worst he’d be insulted, at best he’d be ignored.

Now we know that’s not what happened. When did what was going to go so terribly wrong, start to go so terrifically right? Sociologists, psychologists and spin-doctors will undoubtedly have their own versions but, personally, I think the success of this trip is the result of a perfect fusion of content and form. Let me explain. On the one hand it was a truly historic event: there was pomp and ceremony, pageantry and colour – and everyone loves a good show. On the other there was the surprise effect of Benedict himself. Contrary to popular preconceptions, he was warm, gentle, and authentic. Here was someone who wasn‘t doing and saying all the things that politicians and celebrities usually do and say. Nowhere did he use a big stick to chastise and condemn, nor did he grumble and lecture. Everything he did say appealed to a spirit of shared values and to good old common sense – and that’s something the British understand and appreciate. Not just the country’s 6 million Catholics, but its 60 million citizens of all faiths, and none at all.

Over recent days, it has been fascinating to talk to many people among our Catholic community about the visit. Almost all have been – and still are – deeply moved by the Holy Father’s presence among us: one of my friends, a priest, who gives the impression of being a tough and unfeeling man, told me that, as he was watching on Television, he could not suppress a small tear, at the joy and beauty of what was taking place. I experienced many similar moments – on several different occasions. Whilst waiting for Pope Benedict’s arrival in St. Mary’s Chapel, Twickenham, with many other religious, the sense of expectancy was tangible. The photograph, below, shows some of those present, on that occasion, and the Pope walking through our midst.

THE POPE AT ST. MARY’S CHAPEL, TWICKENHAM

Immediately afterwards, the Pope attended the ‘Big Assembly’ and the following photograph pictures, perfectly, the sense of sheer joy and exuberance shown by the school children.

CHILDREN AT THE BIG ASSEMBLY TWICKENHAM 

On Friday afternoon, 17 September, the Pope experienced a ‘Trinity’ of events very much connected with the English “Establishment”, firstly, at Lambeth Palace, the London home of the Archbishop of Canterbury, secondly, at the iconic Westminster Hall, that ancient and historic edifice within the Palace of Westminster, (or Houses of Parliament), and, lastly, at Westminster Abbey, the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster. On all three occasions, Pope Benedict, with his natural humility, charm and with seemingly effortless ease, won over the ‘audiences’ at the three different ‘State’ venues.  His presence, and address, in Westminster Hall, were applauded to the echo, by no less than five, past and present prime ministers, by parliamentarians, members of the legal profession and many, many notorieties – ‘top’ people from the ‘Establishment’. Indeed, it was very touching – very moving – to sit and watch, then to ponder, and inwardly digest, history in the making. Quite spontaneously, someone remarked to me, it was as if the ‘Reformation’, with all its sad divisions, had, for a moment, been swept away.

THE POPE MEETS ARCHBISHOP ROWAN WILLIAMS – AND ATTENDS WESTMINSTER HALL

It was quite another experience to be among the thousands in Hyde Park, for eight hours – and more – hours that slipped by in a ‘flash’.  Our small group from Lancashire would not have ‘missed it for the world’ and several were heard to remark: “How lucky we are to be here, and how we wish many others of our friends could have come”. The huge crowd was joyful, well-mannered, helpful to each other, and so, in a way, we saw what a ‘new world’ could be like – a world in which people became united, truly, in common purpose, in respect and loving care for each other – surely a lesson in love and its inevitable legacy! 

OUR SMALL GROUP FROM LANCASHIRE AND YOU CAN SEE OUR JOY 

Much later, and after the Pope’s arrival, we knelt, we sat, we stood in silence – all 90,000 of us – young and old, at the Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament; at the end of the evening, it was heart warming and deeply moving, to join and sing, ‘full voice’, together and with our Blessed Lady and Mother, the ‘Magnificat’:  

“My soul magnifies the Lord,

And my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour.”

THE MAGNIFICAT … … PICTURE FROM THE SCREEN WITH THE WORDS PRINTED FOR THE PEOPLE TO SING 

My readers will have gathered, by now, that to me, the Pope’s visit to the UK was nothing short of ‘magical’ – formally, socially, and with a deeply meaningful religious vein – and so should not be surprised to read that, in a different context, I could go on, and on, and on … … in praise and thanksgiving to the Holy Father and to God who was with him, ‘alpha et omega’; however, a blog demands a certain brevity and conclusion.  For this, please allow me to end with another quote from Sean Patrick Lovett – largely because, in other circumstances, the visit could have turned out so very differently, and his reflections, again, will in all probability, be unknown to the majority of my readers: 

HEART SPEAKS UNTO HEART:  Reflection on the Visit of the Pope 20th Sept 2010 

If you were given just under four days to deliver over a dozen speeches to thousands of people (and millions more via TV and the internet) – what would you say? 

The problem, you see, is that everyone wants you to say something to them. Everyone is waiting for a message – a word of comfort or consolation, confirmation or inspiration, a word of guidance or enlightenment, pious sentiments or political insights. They want you to talk about life and love, about failure and faith, suffering and salvation. They want you to tell them about goodness and God, to say you’re sorry for sins you didn’t commit and to express shame for things you’ve already said you’re ashamed of.

And when you’ve done that, when you’re breathless from speaking, when your mouth is dry from telling them all the things they’ve asked you to tell them – there will always be those who will claim that everything you said was still “too little, too late”.  

It isn’t easy. It takes courage. And conviction. Not only are you expected to know what you’re talking about and to be utterly credible, you’re expected to live out what you say – to practice what you preach. And then, when all is said and done, how do you know that anyone has actually heard, taken heed, and taken to heart your multitude of words and messages? You don’t. But you do it just the same. 

That’s only one of the things that fascinates me about covering the Pope – the fact that he does it just the same. With courage and conviction he forges ahead into potentially hostile and unsympathetic waters. With patience and gentleness he confronts the controversy and contradictions. With firmness and frankness he tells us – not necessarily what we want to hear, but certainly what we need to. 

It can’t be easy. It must take courage. And conviction. But he’s the Pope – and he has plenty of both. 

With Pope Benedict in the UK, I’m Sean Patrick Lovett.

“‘Have-a-Go’ Heroes” is the title given to the ‘Mission’ in our High School this week, as we await the Pope’s visit to the UK. Some ‘wag’ – and there is always one – said that they thought Pope Benedict might have ‘popped in’ to open it. In some ways, any modern Church leader needs to be a hero, because there is such a lot to consider, in today’s complex society. Our Archbishop, Patrick Kelly of Liverpool, put it very well in his Pastoral Letter, published last week.

“Pope Benedict comes to us when so many families are deeply affected by what is happening in Afghanistan. And the reality which is Afghanistan is woven into the story of the whole Middle East. For very many years our country has been involved in that part of the world. And it is wise to remember this: the story of the British Empire, of the Commonwealth ties us into the history and the well-being of so many races and peoples and religions. And that is closely connected with immigration to this country. For the Pope to meet the Queen of this country, to speak with our political leaders is complex indeed. And it is worth remembering: when Pope John Paul visited us we were at war with Argentina in the South Atlantic.

Because of the complexity of our society, where Christians, Jews, Muslims and those of many other religions find their home, the Pope will meet with Jews, Muslims and those of other religions. He will do so especially as they all seek, because of their fidelity to the deepest aspects of their life, to be a blessing in every aspect of human flourishing, both here at home and in the councils of the nations.

But shining through all of the Holy Father’s teaching is this fact: ‘Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.’ The way we read that great story of the two sons is this: When we, the younger brothers and sisters wandered away into far countries, even as far as hell, the first, well-beloved only Son, in the words of Pope Benedict’s first homily as Bishop of Rome, leapt to his feet. And in the words of Cardinal Newman’s hymn: ‘O loving wisdom of our God, when all was sin and shame, a second Adam to the fight and to the rescue came.’”

We three, from Leyland St. Mary’s Priory, Columbian, Fr. Luis, Tanzanian, Brother Alfons, and I, spent the whole day on Wednesday, 15th September, in our Catholic Technology College – most of us still think of it as our ‘High School’. On that day, it was the turn of Year 9, which meant that, throughout the day, lessons were interrupted while they were asked to think about how they, themselves, might be heroes – a task not as impossible as it might first sound. The three of us, religious, from three different continents, decided on the complex task of finding a common hero – one to whom we could all relate. It is true that, although we come from different parts of the world, and although we are very different in temperament, we have become very good friends, so much so that it will be rather sad to see Fr. Luis and Bro. Alfons, leave Leyland in the very near future – but all good things must come to an end! In our deliberations, we found a very moving ‘Power Point’ presentation concerning Pope John Paul II, and so showed this to the students, pointing out that ‘JP2’ was a common hero for all three of us. The students were then asked to comment and answer questions.

One of the things we asked went like this:

“Our hero, Pope John Paul II, from the age of eight, had a relationship with a person whom he called his ‘friend’. John Paul II never forgot his ‘friend’ all his life and his ‘friend’ remained with him always. What is your relationship with this ‘friend’?”  Not surprisingly, one bright young girl thought the ‘friend’ was an ordinary human being.  However, the ‘friend’ to whom we referred, of course, was Jesus, and at the age of eight, young Lolek, as he was then known, made his First Holy Communion. 

The photograph, here, is of him at that age, and at that special moment in his life.

It was so very interesting to hear the responses of some of the Year 9 students (aged between 12 and 13) to the question about Lolek’s ‘friend’. Some – either not baptised, or non-Catholic, yet attending our school – were quite sure that one could know God. One young girl spoke simply, and with conviction, of knowing God, personally, through her praying, and through God’s help to her when experiencing difficulties. Some others, among the young people, said with great honesty, that they could not have a relationship with a God whom they had never seen. Another said that, as God had never done anything for him, he could not believe in God. Although controversial, it was very good to hear their honest – and unafraid – replies.

From where, I wonder, did some pupils get their convictions about knowing God (or Jesus)? From where, did a few others express their findings – their views – that they could not have a relationship with God at all? I do not know the answers, for sure, as I did not ask them, but I would suspect that, in both cases, it comes from their own experience of their own families, probably from their parents and grand-parents. In simple terms, belief in God is, usually, reinforced by the Catholic school; it is not usual for it to be ‘caught’, or to ‘originate’, there.  Basically, we know that it is God, himself, who reveals himself to people of any age, and all that parents can do – teachers, to a much more limited extent – is to develop the conditions in which God can more easily enter into a person, at whatever age. I believe, however, that the Rite of Baptism has got it ‘spot on’, when it describes the parents of the, just baptised child, as “the best teachers of their children in the ways of faith”.

On a brief, more secular note, we also asked the students who their heroes may be. Some of the youths came up with eminent scientists, artists or sports people. Interestingly, not one footballer was mentioned, though one mentioned a rugby player and another a basket-ball hero; some answers included musicians and singers. In every case, boys named male heroes, and girls ‘plumped for’ female heroes, (more correctly, heroines, I think!).  It was wonderful, however, to hear some of them saying that my ‘mum’ is my hero. One girl gave this kind of answer, and when I asked her why, she explained that her mum was suffering from ‘multiple sclerosis’ – and yet, she was always cheerful and loving – and a ‘mum’ for her.  This reply had the ring of very real truth about it. Another boy spoke about his father, and said he was his hero, because he was always ‘there for him’. What lovely accolades!

The discussion put me in mind of my heroes, and to take the subject a little further, a girl from year 11 – our ‘Year 11 Heroine’ – acting as ‘guardian angel’ to Fr. Luis, Brother Alfons’ and myself, and who was Confirmed in our Parish last year, asked me who my heroes were? This allowed me to put forward something that has been in my mind for quite a time. For me, it is often the people I meet, here in the Parish, who live heroic lives. None of them would be known outside their family circle – perhaps a few, as far as among parishioners or neighbours. I have mentioned these in my blog, from time to time. Today, I would mention a gentleman who is a very fine human being, and who is seriously ill in hospital. When I went to visit him, yesterday, the first thing he asked me was: “How are you, Father?” He asked this with such sincerity that I was taken aback. I had been looking forward to seeing Jim at home, but events ‘took over’ – as they many times do – for ordained priests, in parishes, and he ‘beat me’ to the hospital. In the meantime, I had heard from his family that he was, really, not very well at all, and, on hearing this, nothing would stop me visiting him there – a ‘number one’ priority! It was such a joy for me to see him, but his ‘How are you, Father?’ made me realise how much good, the laity can do for us ordained priests. Indeed, we really do support, and need each other! I was touched by his ‘pure gratitude’ for the gift of the Sacrament of the Sick and the Viaticum. After I had given him Holy Communion, he said to me: “Words cannot express what I feel.” 

Earlier, I mentioned the heroic nature of Pope John Paul II, and I now want to return to the subject of this holy man. In the ‘Power Point’ presentation of John Paul II it explained that, although some people criticised him, he got on with his life and his work, and, in the final analysis, he found himself with many friends. He dearly loved children and young people, and in the end they came to visit him, when he could no longer go to visit them.

Pope John Paul II with Children and Babies

He often pointed out how much it meant to him, to him to have these many friends; conversely, he knew how much it meant to them, to know him so well, because he knew how sad they were, as he lay dying. The image of a man crying comes from a photograph of people in St. Peter’s Square, on hearing the news that Pope John Paul had died. Another photograph shows the crowd, as his body is carried through the multitude on its way to burial.

 Pope John Paul II with Youth, His Death and Burial

Pope John Paul II hands the Cross to Cardinal Ratzinger

The last slide in the presentation has a beautiful caption; ‘Help my brother who will continue the work of Christ’, and it shows Pope John Paul II, passing the Cross to the then Cardinal Ratzinger. This is an appropriate way to finish the ‘blog’ as we now have the presence of Pope (Ratzinger) Benedict XVI among us. Certainly, for me, I would like to do exactly what the words on the ‘slide’ say – ‘Help my brother… …’, and this is the reason I am so happy to be able to support Pope Benedict, by seeing him in London – at Twickenham, on Friday, and on Saturday, at the Hyde Park Vigil. Incidentally, one of our parishioners will be speaking at Hyde Park, in the ‘warm up’ to the Pope’s arrival, between 5.00 pm and 6.00 pm on Saturday, when Ethel Singo, will explain how her ‘Parish Experience’ in St. Mary’s, has helped her to appreciate her Catholic Faith.

To go ‘full circle’ and end where I began, the slogan for the High School Mission seems, to me, an excellent one: ‘Have-a-Go Heroes, Mission not impossible’. Our young people may, or may not become, as famous a hero as Pope Benedict XVI, or Pope John Paul II, but they can also be real heroes, like the good ‘mum’ or ‘dad’ aforementioned, or indeed, like Jim, my friend, who will never be famous. Mission not impossible! True! And is the word ‘hero’ not very close to the ancient biblical word ‘saint’?

( For the Pope’s visit, if not on the normal channels of the TV, you will be able to watch

the events on EWTN or on the internet: look for the websites:

www.thepapalvisit.org or www.thepapalvisit.org.uk/webcast )

In a week’s time, God willing, Pope Benedict XVI will be here among us, being only the second Pope ever to visit us, throughout our long history. 

Pope Benedict XVI 

Some, of course, will well remember the visit of Pope John Paul II in 1982, blessed as he was with a week of glorious sunshine, a relatively young man and full of energy. I remember, so well, the ‘buzz’ that his visit aroused, as I walked up from Putney to Wimbledon, and to the residence of the Papal Nuncio, where Pope John Paul was to stay and appear on the balcony, that night. And there was a real ‘buzz’!  Strangers were talking to each other – most unusual for our fellow countrymen and women – normally so reserved. I was in the ‘happy’ crowd that was with him as he spoke, briefly, and prayed that night.

Pope John Paul II 

The Pope is the one who succeeds Peter – his true successor; Peter was the centre of unity for the apostles, and his successor is the centre of unity for the Bishops and for us Catholics – a major responsibility given to him by Jesus. Peter, and therefore his successor, was given the ‘charge’ to care for and feed the flock. Jesus said to St. Peter:

“Simon you are a blessed man, for it is not flesh and blood that revealed this to you but my Father in heaven. Now you are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church”.  

For us Catholics, the Pope is our leader and spiritual father, providing a focal point for the stability of our faith; he is our hope; he is the focus of our love. These three, cardinal virtues, mark us as Christians, for without them we cannot be followers of Christ. That is why it is so wonderful that the Pope should be coming among us to confirm us in these virtues, and, for sure, we need this confirmation – given the times in which we live.  

In his unique position, the Pope is the ‘Father’ of a worldwide ‘family’, and, as such, during his visit to Britain, he will meet leaders of other Christian denominations, as well as leaders of other faith communities. Because his visit is a ‘State Visit’, he will meet with the Queen and political leaders of the various denominations, and in such meetings, he will be able to share world-wide views of the challenges facing societies today.  In this regard, and in all probability, he will be unlike any other ‘national’ leader. It is remarkable that the Pope, alone, has the stature to bring together peoples of all religions – and also peoples of none.  During the papacy of his predecessor, this happened for world religions at Assisi, on three occasions, when representatives of all the major Christian Denominations – and World Religions – came together and prayed, in 1986, 1993 and 2002.  

With all these ideas in mind, I feel it is an honour to be allowed to fly the Papal flag, even here in our small town of Leyland. Surely, it is something of which to be proud, knowing that we can also contribute to this world-wide mission of the Pope, something very much reflected in the official prayer, set out in preparation for his coming, with the words: “May Pope Benedict be a witness to the unity and hope which is your will for all people”. 

John Henry Newman, in Earlier Life, and later as Cardinal

During his visit, the Pope will beatify Cardinal John Henry Newman 

Cardinal Newman: Quite apart from his many other talents, this great Englishman had a direct affect on the life history of my own family – the ‘Cotton’ family – under the leadership of Henry and Rosemary Cotton, our father and mother, because my mother, as a young girl in the 1930’s, read Cardinal Newman’s ‘Apologia Pro Vita Sua’, and was deeply influenced it. It was after reading the treatise that she entered into Full Communion with the Catholic Church, (circa. 1933); later, she was to tell me, that it was Newman who pushed her, finally, into the Catholic Church. Mother was no intellectual, but the crux of her argument was: “If it was good enough for Cardinal Newman, it is good enough for me”. Her strong Catholic faith – together with her love of the Anglican Church – was something that influenced me, greatly, as a young man.  I remember, well, the days when we would listen to ‘Evensong’, then often broadcast late evening on Radio 3, (The Third Programme those many years ago), and my mother would always delight in listening – and joining in – with the psalm singing and the hymns she knew so well. 

Personally, I think there were other influences on my mother – influences complementing those from Cardinal Newman. Rosemary, who was baptised an ‘Anglican’ in line with the rest of her family, had been educated by the Catholic Sion Nuns, in London, during her teens; later she, and her twin sister Elaine, were sent by my maternal Grandparents, Laurie and Nyda Tremlett, to a finishing school – also run by Catholic nuns – on Lake Constance, South Germany. Grandfather Laurie said to both girls, as they left home to begin this experience: “For pity’s sake, do not be influenced by those Papist nuns – remember you are Anglicans”. Later, Rosemary became a ‘nanny’ for a very good Catholic soldier, General Martin, and his wife – the general being the Military Attaché, in Poland, in the early 1930’s; from there she observed the Catholic Church, with its mark of ‘universality’, because she was to meet so many Catholics at Sunday Mass, in the many different Churches visited by the family.

Henry, Rosemary carrying her first born – my elder sister Joanna –

and Granny Gigia (Henry’s mother) 

However, there was to be one ‘last straw’, in my mother’s decision to enter the Catholic Church, and that was her meeting with my father at the house of General Martin, some time later at Chatham.  Both my father and the ‘Sapper’ General, were members of the St. Vincent de Paul Society, in the Catholic parish, in Chatham. She told me later that, at the first meeting, she was determined to ‘marry that man’; my Father, Henry, was a deeply religious Catholic, all his life, including those years encompassing his mid-twenties. I think the religious ‘streak’ possessed by my Father, attracted my mother to him, and, although she afterwards told me she did not become a Catholic because of him, I have no doubt this was an influence, well within my mother’s temperament, leading her to ‘act more from the heart than from the ‘head’.  

But, now I want to return to Cardinal Newman – and his importance – for me. This holy man took a long time to consider before ‘taking the plunge’ and becoming a Catholic – in all about 20 years. Firstly, in this regard, I believe it may have been far better not to have rushed into things, especially when considerations involved not just matters of doctrine, but also matters pertaining to the taking on of another culture. Secondly, the things he wrote about – all eminently sensible – reflect what actually happened. One of his books is called ‘The Development of Christian Doctrine’, the title, itself, giving such a positive feel to the dynamic nature of Christian life: although everything is revealed through Christ, yet our understanding develops, gradually, over time – in this case over centuries, and this happens in life as well. All of us know what it means to be human, even as a child, but our conception and understanding of this generic concept, as an adult, is very different to the child’s ‘immature’ outlook.  Another of his books is called ‘An Essay in Aid of a Grammar of Assent’. In this, he deals with ideas such as ‘How can I believe what I do not understand?’, and “Can I believe what is not proved”?  I remember, personally, trying to understand, and, hopefully, trying to arrive at some possible answers to these questions: I have a suspicion that the answers may still be escaping me, but also that, perhaps, my mother’s philosophy was what helped me through: “If Cardinal Newman thought it, it must be all right.” 

What impresses me most about Cardinal Newman, is that he was willing, and pleased, to be received into Full Communion, by Blessed Dominic Barberi, in October 1846 – not by a brilliant, Catholic, theologian, but by a holy Italian missionary, who could not even speak English, properly.  In August 1890, 20,000 people lined the streets of Birmingham, to see his coffin move along the streets of Birmingham to his grave, and this fact, alone, speaks volumes about his appeal, not only to the intellectuals, but also to the ordinary person in the street. It reminds me, in miniature, of the death of Pope John Paul II, when millions queued to be with him, as he was dying, in the year, 2005. 

It has been a very good and worthwhile exercise to dwell, for a time – to consider – to try to understand, some of the importance Cardinal Newman has had – on Catholic thinking – and on my own family’s fortunes, but it is also important to return to present society, and to Pope Benedict’s visit, 2010.  In truth, I think, here, the best thing to pray for as the Pope comes to visit to our shores is for good weather. It may be that not too many people fully realise the effect that our weather has on peoples’ disposition and good humour.  Certainly,  it will make a massive difference, should the days September 16 – 19, be bright and sunny, and that ought to be one of the prime things to pray for in these few days of preparation. On a more faith-based note, may he bless and encourage us, and confirm us in our faith, hope and love for the Glory of God, and the good of all.

In the psalms, last Tuesday morning, came the verse:

 But all the wicked shall perish

and all the enemies of the Lord.

They are like the beauty of the meadows,

They shall vanish, they shall vanish like smoke.

(Psalm 36, Grail Translation)

Dark Rider

These words put me in mind of various films, of a certain genre, I have seen, one of which was ‘Lord of the Rings’. In this ‘epic’, there were nine evil men – in league with those trying to destroy the ‘Hobbits’ – who had the ‘Ring’ with them. The ‘Nine’ rode fast and furiously on black horses, wearing black hoods that hid their faces. In one scene, the hoods opened up and their faces did not exist. Instead there was just ‘nothing’.  In the end, these ghastly evil presences simply disintegrated; much the same sort of thing happens in many horror movies. The ‘evil monster’, when challenged, will disappear – or disintegrate – in a puff of smoke. 

Many people, especially the very young, are frightened of the dark, of nothingness, of loneliness and of evil. I think that these fears have their roots, largely, in the awareness we have of our ‘impotence’ in the face of forces we do not understand, in our ‘inability’, often, to change things and to bring about their metamorphosis to things as we would like them – into things we are comfortable with; involved in these feelings, certainly, are those senses we can all experience, of being worthless, powerless – when faced with the unknown. Against all this, I am driven to reflect on the Divine Majesty of God, and that one day each of us, having ‘vanished, vanished like smoke, will find ourselves in His presence. There before God, He will not want us to be just an ‘empty shell’ – a ‘pale shadow’ of our real selves; He wishes us to have that ‘fullness of life’, that ‘magnificence of spirit’, for did not Jesus witness that: “I have come that they may have life, life to the full”. Now, you may ask: “Is this a paradox with no solution?” I don’t think so, and in this regard, events, experience and help from important Christian teachings, can throw much light on the matter. 

This last week has been one of those times that have affected me deeply – no doubt because of the experiences it brought – and these have led to a certain chain of thought. A few days ago, I was privileged to be with a friend of mine, Malcolm, when he was dying, and although I had not been involved in the hard work – staying up all night with him – as he approached this serious moment of his life, it happened that this was the way ‘providence’ arranged things. (We Catholics pray the Hail Mary throughout our lives, asking Our Lady’s help: “…. pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of our death” – and often, I would wager, not fully realising the absolute importance of these two moments of our lives – especially the latter.  Whoever composed this prayer was a genius, someone, I suspect, very much filled with the Holy Spirit.)  But, to continue, with me were two other mutual friends, so I was not alone with Malcolm, as he departed this life.  

When one’s friend, just before he dies, opens his eyes and looks at those who are with him, there is a very real and moving finality about this; there is also another look, so it sometimes seems, at someone else behind – or beyond – those in immediate focus, then, gradually, his breathing stops, and one is there in that dramatic silence, an awesome moment as the life of a friend comes to an irrevocable end; this, to be sure, is something that, certainly, sends out its mark to those close by, and to those observers it can seem as if there is a departure into nothingness – into a complete and void emptiness – into a hole that is left behind. 

However, when you know a great deal about the loving goodness of your friend, and the efforts he has made to live as good a life as he could, within his own limitations and personality, you realise that the words Jesus spoke, in the Gospel, just before he died, ring very true for such a loved one: 

“After Jesus had spoken these words, he looked up to heaven and said, ‘Father the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do.” John 17; 1-4 

Malcolm had finished the work given him by his Creator. This was to remain faithful to God, right to the very end, and on his journey of life, to have done all he could to follow the path God had marked out for him. I found myself, in his last moments of life, simply saying: “Thank You” to him, just for being himself. Looking back over our friendship, it wasn’t so much because of his abilities as a ‘wit’, as an interesting companion, as a loyal supporter of so many, but just his ‘being’ that had now ‘gone’. There is now a ‘hole’ in my life – and in the life of his friends – a ‘hole’ that he once filled. I look around and at a picture of my own ‘blood’ brother, Tim – brother and life-long friend – that reminds me so much of Malcolm, and have the same feeling – an emptiness in me, a ‘hole’ that is left because he is no longer here. 

However, in both these bereavements, I do not feel ‘lost’: rather there is a knowledge that the relationship remains, constant, unbending, unbroken, and I can continue to talk with them, in my mind and heart, in a way that is meaningful. It is not a complete ‘emptiness’, of ‘nothingness’, but somehow a ‘full’ emptiness that is taken up by the power and the presence of LOVE; LOVE that reflects their way of being, LOVE that reflects their way of loving, because the beauty I see in them is the development, in them, of gifts that were not theirs, but reflections in them of God’s LOVE. 

It is not easy, to put into explanatory words, the ‘realities’ I know to be true. Before sharing these with you, I must tell you that Malcolm, a Probation Officer working in Prisons, was also dedicated to God, and had decided to forgo the vocation of marriage – just like priests, monks and nuns. Two ‘illustrations’ will help to throw light on the matter. Both come from ‘holy’ women, the first of whom is Mother Teresa of Calcutta, who writes about ordained priests, but her statement applies to all who, out of love for God, and accepting his gift, live a celibate life:

Mother Teresa of Calcutta

“Dear collaborators with Christ, you have said “Yes” to Jesus and He has taken you at your word. The Word of God became in Jesus “poverty”. Your priestly celibacy is the terrible emptiness that you experience. God is not able to satisfy whatever is full. He can only fill what is empty…Today He wants to live his complete submission to the Father in you; agree with him and let Him do it. It does not matter what you experience, but what He does in you……You and me should do everything to let Him live in us and through us, in this world. Be very close to Our Lady, because she, before she became full of grace, full of Jesus, had to enter this darkness. “How will that be possible?” she asked. Yet in the moment she spoke her “Yes”, she felt the need to hurry away to take Jesus to John and his family.” 

For me, it is through the loving acceptance of God, in the emptiness of my being, that I can find the way to let Him fill my life – and this in collaboration with others – who wish to do the same. He will then help me to take himself – who is LOVE – to others with whom I come in contact.  

The second lady is a parishioner, called Nora, who is very ill with cancer. She is, also, almost totally blind, bed-ridden, grieving the death of her husband only four and a half months ago, and yet she remains serene, and sure of God’s immense goodness and love for her. I found myself saying, in a short note, a ‘Thank You’ to her, also, for her response to God’s gift, knowing and saying – as  she continually does – how good God is; I told her that she reminded me of a soul with Our Lady living within her.  

To offer a little further explanation, the ‘emptiness’ that is filled by God’s presence is a beautiful ‘emptiness’, quite different from the ‘ugly emptiness’ of those who live  estranged from God. Everything will appear to disappear into ‘nothingness’ when we pass from this world to the next, as Malcolm did before my eyes. But, for the ‘just’ it will not be like the emptiness of the wicked who shall ‘vanish like smoke’. This ‘emptiness’ for the ‘just’ is a void that will be filled with the goodness of God – a fullness of God that is built on our own ‘YES’ to Him every day, and built on the nothingness of our human nature, filled with the power and wisdom and love of God. 

Malcolm Pyman (Died 30 August 2010) May he Rest in Peace

One final word about my friend, Malcolm; in the last days of his life, a friend asked him for a word of encouragement for all, and he simply said: “Keep moving onward”. Malcolm, I think, is saying this in his picture.

During the last week, I met a lady who told me she had learned 45 different psalms, by heart. Her statement struck a chord with me, because I once learnt, by heart, Chapter 17 of John’s gospel. This, to me, was a really worthwhile exercise because, at times, walking along, alone and with time to myself, in thought – and whatever else – I used to repeat the chapter to myself, and the words were capable of assuming meanings, and facets of meanings, I never suspected they had.  I believe it will be the same for this good lady, and her psalms. In the psalms, there is much that touches a personal chord, especially for someone trying to live as a faithful follower of the Lord; He is the inspirer of the psalms; they are God’s prayers to himself for they were used by Jesus; moreover, they remain to be used by us who are still here on earth.

However, I could not leave things just like that.  The lady and her psalms had given me a ‘kick-start’ to then look again at John, Chapter 17, using a different translation – different from the one I had used before – and this gave a new slant on the meaning of the text:

“I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those you gave me, because they are yours”.

Jesus seems to distinguish the world of God and the world in which we all live. On reflection, this is not so surprising, when we remember Jesus and his temptation by the devil … … 

‘Then Satan .. … in an instant showed him all the kingdoms of the world…’ and said to Jesus: “To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please” (Luke 4: 5-6).

In these quotations, we have two worlds, described by Jesus – this sense of a world that belongs to God, and all those that God has given to Jesus – and that other world that does not belong to God.

Abbot Cuthbert Madden of Ampleforth, August 2010

In the context of our monastic life and our August Chapter, it is good to think about the ideal that we are called to – that ideal which leads to a life in God, and not of the world. I remember, many years ago, talking to the father of monastic contemporary of mine, who came to visit and stay with us when we made our final profession, as monks. He then marvelled at the ‘beauty’ of our way of life, and said to me: “You are all like brothers, supporting, helping and loving each other as in a family”.

Two Contented Older Monks

Our Monks at Work and in Relaxation

Benedictine Monks are called to follow God in the pattern laid down by St. Benedict. The life consists of brothers, or sisters, (as the case may be), living as a family, under an Abbot or Abbess – a life that entails giving up one’s own possessions, one’s own will, and living a celibate life, in community.  We do not take vows of poverty, chastity and obedience – although my novice master used to say that our vows amounted to the same thing. Our vows are actually named ‘Conversion of Life’, ‘Stability’ and ‘Obedience’.  And, as one would expect, the context of life, for a monk, is much focussed. We pray together the monastic office, and spend a ‘longish’ time, each day, in this prayer, or in praise to God. St. Benedict called this ‘The work of God’ or, in Latin, ‘Opus Dei’.  Nothing is more important for St. Benedict than this work of prayer.  However, this primary is complemented by private prayer, ‘Lectio Divina’ (prayerful reading) – studying and reading.

Quite apart from this life of prayer, the monks work to earn the money needed to live and survive, and so there is work to be done of the most varied kinds, according to each monastery. Our monastery has a wide range of working patterns – a range which includes teaching in the monastic school, Ampleforth College, the work of chaplains in the school, hospitality work with guests – including retreats, talks and conferences – then there is life, and work, on the parishes. Lastly, but by no means least, there is the manual work that needs to be done – work in the orchard, in the gardens and in the woods, belonging to the monastery.

I believe it to be an interesting fact, that the monastic life, whilst ‘not according to the norms of most peoples’ lives’, manifests, at the same time, a life of great contentment and joy – at its best. It is quite hard – difficult in words – to ‘pin down’ the ‘charism’ of monastic life; some refer to it as ‘Prayer and Work’, (in Latin, Ora et Labora), or ‘Peace among Thorns’, (in Latin, Pax inter Spinas).  What is certain, however, is that all of us within our monastery, know monks who have lived the Ampleforth monastic way of life for 60 years, and more – and are still full of love and joy – what a wonderful gift from God!  But, monastic life also points the way to something ‘special’ for all people. Those of us who are not called to be monks, nevertheless, are called, in our own way, ‘to be in the world’ – but not ‘of the world’, where we can, with God’s help, integrate ‘Prayer and Work’ into our lives, so that our lives also become ‘unified’. This is a Christian ‘calling’, common to all of us, and so each one of us needs to learn how to aspire to that calling, each in our own individual way. Certainly, we all need to find a place for prayer, and for work, these two important aspects of our lives in harmony with each other.

I look at the world in which we live, at life today in contemporary Britain, and at recent events from which one cannot escape, and all this makes me stop and think about the power of the world – that other world – the one that does not belong to God.  Many of the values that constantly bombard people – values inculcated – ingrained almost – within our culture, are, to put it mildly, rather godless. Recently, the extent of growth in addictions, for example, those to do with ‘sex, drugs, drink, alcohol and greed for more – money and possessions’ – has ‘homed in’ on me.   In this kind of world, everyone can recognise a Christian, because they live in a different way, a way that is free from any slavery to addiction, and, on an even more positive footing, putting God first, putting Sunday worship before other things, putting oneself out to worship God each week.  Take Sunday, and any town in England, including Leyland. You will see many cars at the shopping centres, outside the swimming pools, and loads of young people playing sport. Now, all these things are good, in themselves; people do need to shop, it is good to relax, it is good to support the young in sport.   But, where is God in all this?  Yes, of course, there are those who come to church to worship God, as well, people who are prepared to give that time to God rather than to the other ‘necessities’ or ‘luxuries’ of life, but these are only a very small minority.  It comes down to a matter of priority.  Unfortunately, for many in Britain, the priority is not worshipping God, together in the faith community, but in taking themselves off to that ‘other’ world.

Thank God, God’s world still exists and it is heartening to know that much praying goes on, each day, in peoples’ lives, within our Parish. A few have the time and energy to join us, here in the Parish Community, for the daily round of ‘Morning Prayer’ that usually begins 45 minutes before the morning Mass. In our Priory Community, we have Midday Prayer, each day, and, of course, Evening Prayer, as we monks wish, very much, to do our best to keep community prayer alive, each day.

Prayer can take many forms and family prayer together is a very good way to introduce, and maintain, a rhythm of prayer. Thus, some pray together at each meal, and others have family morning prayers at breakfast, to thank and praise God for the new day, and to ask God’s blessing on each day’s activities. Prayers, and the things of God, are so inter-linked. Preparing our children for first Holy Communion is another aspect of Christian Life and prayer, as it leads to our involvement in the most important prayer of all, the Mass. In this regard, Chandon Oakley recently made her preparations in Australia, and then came back to her Grand-parents’ Parish, here in Leyland, for her first Holy Communion, on the 15th August, this year.

(1)  Praying the Morning Office at Leyland (2) Chandon Oakley’s 1st Holy Communion, The Assumption, 2010

“I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those you gave me, because they are yours”.

When Jesus asks God for something, it is Jesus who is praying.  He prays for us, continually, in heaven, and this, too, can give us another understanding of God’s immense love for us, and could lead to a desire, on our part, to respond to Him.  In this way, we can be sure we are among those that God has ‘given to Jesus’; in fact, all people are candidates for this great privilege – the privilege of belonging to Jesus. On this point, it is enough for us just to want to be with God, to decide to believe in Him, and act on our belief; if we do this, in all sincerity, God will help us to be united with Him, and to live his will throughout the circumstances of our lives. Then, in this confusing world of ours, things will acquire new meaning and new purpose; then, we will become people of peace and harmony, in ‘Prayer and in Work’.

Ampleforth Abbey Church

During this last week, we have had our Summer (August) Chapter meeting for all the monks of Ampleforth Abbey. Chapter is a time when the brethren come together to discuss important business considerations of the monastery and in St. Benedict’s Holy Rule there is provision for such meetings. Bear in mind, St. Benedict lived from about 480AD to 547AD, so the Rule of St. Benedict is very ancient. It is still read every day in monastic houses – we read it each day, here in Leyland – and, with the help of the Holy Spirit in all Religious Life, including Benedictine monasteries like Ampleforth, we are formed into a family of God where we pray, and where we hope, God is always present.

Of calling the Brethren to Council – Chapter 3 of the Rule of St. Benedict.

As often as any important business has to be done in the monastery, let the abbot call together the whole community and himself set forth the matter. And, having heard the advice of the brethren, let him take counsel with himself and then do what he shall judge to be most expedient. Now the reason we have said that all should be called to council, is that God often reveals what is better to the younger. Let the brethren give their advice with all deference and humility, nor venture to defend their opinions obstinately; but let the decision depend rather on the abbot’s judgement, so that when he has decided what is the better course, all may obey. However, just as it is proper for disciples to obey their master, so it is becoming that he on his part should dispose all things with prudence and justice.

In all things, therefore, let all follow the Rule as master, nor let anyone rashly depart from it.

Monks in Choir praying

What this says is that everyone is ‘under’ the Rule, and we should realise that, for St. Benedict (as for all founders of Religious Life, in any form), the Gospel is what they must follow. In the prologue of the Rule of St. Benedict it is stated: “Let us, therefore, gird our loins with faith and the performance of good works, and following the guidance of the Gospel walk in his paths.”  Essentially, this precept means that everyone should live and work according to the Word of God  - and here the word ‘everyone’ includes the Abbot and all the monks, and all the important and less important people in the monastery. This guiding principle is the same for any Christian association, such as a school. Not only are the students under the Word of God, but so is the head-teacher, staff and everyone. It is the same with a parish: the Priests, (the monks in our case), are as much under the Word of God as the parishioners.

This is the context for our Chapter meetings which, of course, are now arranged according to our present-day culture, some fifteen hundred years after St. Benedict was alive. Invariably, it is a time when many people have many things to say; the Abbot will also put forward his views, and all try to listen to each other. Nowadays, we often break up into smaller groups, so that each person will really have the chance to say what he wants to say, in an ‘easy’ and ‘comfortable’ atmosphere; ultimately, all the group discussions – the differing points and opinions – are reported back to the whole community.

For us monks, one of the highlights of the Chapter is the celebration, each year, of jubilees. Readers of this blog might like to know that, in fact, monks are very restrained when it comes to the celebration of jubilees – at least in our Abbey. All that happens is the enjoyment of a glass of wine for the monks and  an introduction by the Abbot, followed by a short speech by the jubilarian, and a formal – though poignant – song in Latin, “Ad moltos annos vivat, plurimosque annos vivat”, (May he live for many years and many more years). This year, for the first time, all was combined with a good meal, during which we had our celebratory glass of wine, and between courses, the speeches were made. It was organised in this way to save time, largely because, this year, there was a ‘bumper crop’ of ten jubilarians.

(In passing, we had the privilege of two Tanzanian monks staying with us in Ampleforth, this year, and I asked one of them, Brother Alphonse – who will be in Leyland for three weeks, in September – what they did in their big monastery for jubilees? He described how they have a big feast, speeches are made and then the younger monks would sing joyful African songs for the older ones.  Exuberant Africans do things in a different way! It is also usual in England for diocesan priests to have ‘big’ celebrations for their silver, ruby and golden jubilees of priesthood.)

In our monastery, this is not our tradition and I wonder if this is because of our ‘English culture’, as our monastery is very ‘English’ in its ‘tone’. I remember my novice master, an Irishman, Fr. Bruno Donovan from Galway, speaking to us on this very point. He actually made a huge contribution to the spiritual welfare of many monks in our abbey, and was much loved. Rather surprisingly, he also shared with us novices, something of his sufferings, brought about by living as an Irishman in an English culture.  You may wonder, but it took him a long time to come to terms with his ‘lot’. Perhaps it was this sense of an Irishman, lost in a sea of the English, in part, that made him such an empathetic person, and such a good friend to so many people! True empathy can be an especially wonderful gift and he certainly had it in abundance. On this particular ‘Irish Question’, I remember that it was only when I came to work on the parishes that I heard, for the first time, the hymn ‘Hail Glorious St. Patrick’.  This occurred at Warrington, St. Mary’s Parish and the very ‘English’ Parish Priest there was Fr. Gabriel Gilbey. Fr. Gabriel always flew the flag of St. George on the flag-pole, 23rd April – his Feast Day – but would not fly the Irish ‘Tricolour’ on St. Patrick ’s Day, much to the annoyance of many Irish parishioners. Parishioners tend to be far less restrained than the monks, within the monastery, when it comes to celebrating jubilees or birthdays – very much a tradition in our Benedictine parishes, and to prove the point, witness Bishop Ambrose’s 80th birthday, my 50th birthday and Fr. Martin’s Golden jubilee of priesthood, here in Leyland, among others I could mention.

Abbot Patrick Barry our oldest Jubilarian

As I noted a little earlier, this year there were ten such jubilarians to celebrate – quite a number! The names included several monks that people from our Parish, would know as old friends. Abbot Patrick Barry celebrated 75 years of his clothing as a monk, (1935), and 65 years of priesthood, (1945) – almost two life-times of service; he quite often visited Leyland as our Abbot. Fr. Martin Haigh and Fr. Theodore Young celebrated 70 years of clothing (1940).  Our ‘slightly more youthful’ Bishop Ambrose, Fr. David O’Brien (now at Bamber Bridge – but often supplying for us at week-day Mass) and Fr. Rupert Everest, all celebrated 60 years of clothing as monks (1950), and Fr. Alberic Stacpoole, (who, some years ago, spent a year in Leyland), celebrated 50 years of clothing (1960). It is very encouraging, enlightening and also moving for a ‘slip-of-a-lad’ (like myself), to see the continuing enthusiasm, joy and sense of humour in these wonderful men, as they each shared, briefly, something of their experiences of monastic life – experiences, it must be said, of God working in their lives. They are like our “Granddads”, and just as often in families, we venerate and love our grandparents, so it is the same in monastic life.

Psalm 93 talks about the youthfulness of those who love God – a quality borne out by these jubilarians – and something very much attested to by our celebrations:

“The just will flourish like a palm-tree

That grows like a Lebanon cedar;

Planted in the house of the Lord

They will flourish in the courts of our God,

Still bearing fruit when they are old,

Still full of sap still green,

To proclaim that the Lord is just,

In him, my rock, there is no wrong.”

(Psalm 91: 13-16)

At this Chapter we also renew our vows – vows that we have taken for life – at the Mass on the last day. This took place on Wednesday 18 August and, collectively and for each individual, it was very much a joyful act of Faith, as who knows what each New Year will bring? Again, everyone, including the Abbot renews their vows, even though most of us have, of course, made our monastic vows a life-long commitment.

To conclude, and to underline all that has gone before, Chapter is always a moment to stand before God, and to face him – taking in all the challenge and loneliness that can entail – but then, the reward, potentially, is something wonderful to behold. St Benedict in his rule put it like this:

“As we progress in our monastic life and in faith, our hearts shall be enlarged, and we shall run with unspeakable sweetness of live in the way of God’s commandments”. (Prologue to the Rule)