This morning in my home parish my dad made an address on behalf of the St Vincent de Paul Society. Dad has been the president of the parish's SVP ever since I was young. He and a couple of others have done great work in visiting the sick and helping people who need it in the east Hull area.
There are five separate speeches by the society for all of the Sunday's during September. In today's, the story of Dawn is told. She has attempted suicide twice due to the pressures and stress of being in debt. She was helped by one of the SVP's debt advisers. Dawn admitted she had been so ashamed by her debts that she had given up hope. But the counsellor had been so helpful because he was not judgemental. This is just one example the society's activities.
The SVP formed 175 years ago by young students who wanted to put their Catholic faith and charity into practice. Much of the work, dad said, involves visiting the elderly and housebound. But its activities go way beyond that. Members collect furniture that would otherwise go to land-fill. They repair it and give it to families that need it. The SVP also organises camps for children and even the odd holiday for families who can't afford them. A local example of the society's work involved members helping a man who's house was devastated by last year's floods in Hull.
In England and Wales last year, the SVP made around 600,000 recorded visits, "being the hands and feet of Christ" in the community. Today's address concluded: "Helping people is not about making headlines, it is about giving something of oneself in Christ's name."
Please remember the SVP's work in your prayers and, if you think you can, consider helping them out.
Sunday, 31 August 2008
Thursday, 28 August 2008
40 Martyr reflections: Saint John Payne
Reading the life of St John Payne, the Beatitude “Blessed are those who are persecuted in the cause of what is right, theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven” springs to mind constantly.
The pious priest was accused of being in a fictitious plot to violently overthrow Queen Elizabeth. A body of 50 assassins, armed with swords and pistols, were to lay in wait for her highness and senior members of the Privy Council before killing them. George “Judas” Eliot, involved in the arrest of no less than 30 priests, made up the claim to condemn Fr John to death. This was brought forward as the charge because before Payne’s trial in 1582, the two previous martyrdoms had been condemned by public opinion both home and abroad. So the authorities wanted to find the priest guilty of treason to make the execution more “justified”.
As well as being violently racked twice - resulting in his injuries being so bad he was not able to write – and suffering a martyr’s death, Fr Payne was taunted throughout his ordeal and subject to the “foolish babbling” of two Calvinists he was forced to spend time with. Frequent temptations to conform to the Church of England were also thrown his way. But Fr Payne showed great courage, patience and humility in denying the claims against him and professing the Catholic faith every time he was challenged.
For Catholics who struggle to believe the real presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament, St John Payne is the man to pray to. Possibly because of his former Protestantism, John was troubled over doubts over the Real Presence. These were erased when, during Mass at seminary in Douai, he witnessed a vision of Christ rising from the chalice at the moment of elevation. A relic – called the Bosworth Burse – is inscripted with the lines:
“At Gwin’s first Mass
John Payne once was
Where dowting of ye cupp
Christ God and Man
Rebukt him then
And made him thus geve upp.”
Just imagine what you’re reaction would be if you witnessed a vision like this during the consecration at Mass. No, didn’t think you could…
It’s clear that this experience strengthened Payne in his zeal for the faith and for the priesthood.
Very little is known of John’s early life. He was born in the Peterborough area and was almost certainly a Protestant who converted to Catholicism at an unknown place and date. He went to Douai College with 12 other students in 1574 and was ordained at Cambrai on April 7 1576. In between these times, he was the college’s bursar for a short while.
Before embarking on the English mission, he made the “spiritual exercises” with the Jesuit Fathers. He set out with two other priests (Henry Shaw and Cuthbert Mayne) on April 24 1576. Within a short space of time, news came back to Douai that numerous threats were already being directed at them because they were already converting people to Catholicism. Fr John wrote to the college saying that whenever any converts fall into the hands of the heretics “with such fortitude, courage and constancy do they publicly profess the Catholic faith that the heretics are dumbfounded with astonishment”.
In the early days of the Mission there was no organisation. So John went to Ingatestone Hall in Essex – the home of recusant Lady Petre, who harboured a number of priests. He posed as a servant but acted as her personal chaplain. In 1855, a priest’s hiding place was discovered. It had been used as a lumber room in the 1700s but the secret hideout would no doubt have housed Fr Payne.
He also ministered to the scattered Catholics of other areas. But in January 1577 John was arrested at the Petre house. The family was then high up in the English Court. William Petre had been one of King Henry VIII’s commissioners for the dissolution of the monasteries. But remorse led him to consider his life and he died a Catholic in 1572. His family have been loyal to Rome ever since.
Nevertheless, the Petres’ link to the Court had a certain hand in ensuring the priest was released by the end of the year. According to some accounts, John was back and forth between Douai and England after this period. But in 1579, Payne was back at Ingatestone posing as a steward. Unfortunately for him, also working at the house was the notorious priest-catcher George Eliot. He was said to have seduced women, stolen his employer’s money and even murdered someone. Eliot turned spy and Fr Payne was arrested in Oxfordshire.
He was imprisoned in the Tower of London. It was here that he went through the ordeal of being racked. Sometimes he was asked if he would conform but definitely refused to.
One early morning in March 1582, the courageous priest was hurled out of bed and, half dressed, sent to Chelmsford for trial. John was said to be so gentle when being transported that the guards didn’t feel the need to restrain him. The chief witness at the hearing for the crown was Eliot, who stated the priest had said Mass at Haddon. He painted a picture of Fr Payne being a main mover in the plot to overthrow the monarch and her three most trusted statesmen. This was the only evidence brought against him and priest defended himself with several points which included that he had never had a conversation with Eliot about the plot and that God was his witness. Fr John also exposed Eliot as a known rapist, thief and guilty of other crimes – thus making him an unreliable witness. The priest also prayed for the queen.
However, despite the poor evidence, few juries in these cases dared to go against the Crown. They found Payne guilty of treason. When brought back to be sentenced he next day, John demanded to know when his death would be. He was told Monday April 2 1582 at 8am.
After being dragged to the place of execution in Chelmsford, Fr John got to his knees and prayed for a reported 30 minutes before walking over and kissing the gallows. Remarkably, he continued to smile and, after a few moments in prayer, he addressed the crowd. Even at this late point in his life, the priestly office of Fr Payne was ridiculed. A rumour floated about that Jesuit priests didn’t believe Jesus was God. The priest rebuked this by making a full declaration of his belief in the Holy Trinity. He once again denied any treason against the queen.
Ministers demanded he pray in English. But Fr John prayed in Latin, “a tongue he well knew”. As the ladder was taken away, people in the crowd shouted for him to be hanged before being butchered. They prevented the hangman from cutting his body until he was dead. Fr Payne had been well known and admired in the local area. The actions of the crowd suggest some of them may well have been sympathisers.
For those who are persecuted today for their faith, whether it is by word, action or imprisonment, the example of St John Payne is an inspiration. Clearly influenced by the story of the arrested Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, Fr Payne was so sincere and un-confrontational with his jailors and united his excruciating sufferings with Christ on the Cross. Yet, he was not afraid to defend himself against false charges and proclaim his Catholic faith intelligently at those times when a weaker person would maybe have given in and conformed to the “new” religion out of fear. As mentioned before, the Eucharistic miracle observed by St John reaffirms the truth that wine is transformed into the blood of Christ at the moment of consecration, meaning that the Son of God becomes physically present in front of us at the altar at every Mass. It is fitting that one of the “40 martyrs of the Mass” was shown this vision, spurring him on to die for the Holy Eucharist.
Saint John Payne, pray for us.
The pious priest was accused of being in a fictitious plot to violently overthrow Queen Elizabeth. A body of 50 assassins, armed with swords and pistols, were to lay in wait for her highness and senior members of the Privy Council before killing them. George “Judas” Eliot, involved in the arrest of no less than 30 priests, made up the claim to condemn Fr John to death. This was brought forward as the charge because before Payne’s trial in 1582, the two previous martyrdoms had been condemned by public opinion both home and abroad. So the authorities wanted to find the priest guilty of treason to make the execution more “justified”.
As well as being violently racked twice - resulting in his injuries being so bad he was not able to write – and suffering a martyr’s death, Fr Payne was taunted throughout his ordeal and subject to the “foolish babbling” of two Calvinists he was forced to spend time with. Frequent temptations to conform to the Church of England were also thrown his way. But Fr Payne showed great courage, patience and humility in denying the claims against him and professing the Catholic faith every time he was challenged.
For Catholics who struggle to believe the real presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament, St John Payne is the man to pray to. Possibly because of his former Protestantism, John was troubled over doubts over the Real Presence. These were erased when, during Mass at seminary in Douai, he witnessed a vision of Christ rising from the chalice at the moment of elevation. A relic – called the Bosworth Burse – is inscripted with the lines:
“At Gwin’s first Mass
John Payne once was
Where dowting of ye cupp
Christ God and Man
Rebukt him then
And made him thus geve upp.”
Just imagine what you’re reaction would be if you witnessed a vision like this during the consecration at Mass. No, didn’t think you could…
It’s clear that this experience strengthened Payne in his zeal for the faith and for the priesthood.
Very little is known of John’s early life. He was born in the Peterborough area and was almost certainly a Protestant who converted to Catholicism at an unknown place and date. He went to Douai College with 12 other students in 1574 and was ordained at Cambrai on April 7 1576. In between these times, he was the college’s bursar for a short while.
Before embarking on the English mission, he made the “spiritual exercises” with the Jesuit Fathers. He set out with two other priests (Henry Shaw and Cuthbert Mayne) on April 24 1576. Within a short space of time, news came back to Douai that numerous threats were already being directed at them because they were already converting people to Catholicism. Fr John wrote to the college saying that whenever any converts fall into the hands of the heretics “with such fortitude, courage and constancy do they publicly profess the Catholic faith that the heretics are dumbfounded with astonishment”.
In the early days of the Mission there was no organisation. So John went to Ingatestone Hall in Essex – the home of recusant Lady Petre, who harboured a number of priests. He posed as a servant but acted as her personal chaplain. In 1855, a priest’s hiding place was discovered. It had been used as a lumber room in the 1700s but the secret hideout would no doubt have housed Fr Payne.
He also ministered to the scattered Catholics of other areas. But in January 1577 John was arrested at the Petre house. The family was then high up in the English Court. William Petre had been one of King Henry VIII’s commissioners for the dissolution of the monasteries. But remorse led him to consider his life and he died a Catholic in 1572. His family have been loyal to Rome ever since.
Nevertheless, the Petres’ link to the Court had a certain hand in ensuring the priest was released by the end of the year. According to some accounts, John was back and forth between Douai and England after this period. But in 1579, Payne was back at Ingatestone posing as a steward. Unfortunately for him, also working at the house was the notorious priest-catcher George Eliot. He was said to have seduced women, stolen his employer’s money and even murdered someone. Eliot turned spy and Fr Payne was arrested in Oxfordshire.
He was imprisoned in the Tower of London. It was here that he went through the ordeal of being racked. Sometimes he was asked if he would conform but definitely refused to.
One early morning in March 1582, the courageous priest was hurled out of bed and, half dressed, sent to Chelmsford for trial. John was said to be so gentle when being transported that the guards didn’t feel the need to restrain him. The chief witness at the hearing for the crown was Eliot, who stated the priest had said Mass at Haddon. He painted a picture of Fr Payne being a main mover in the plot to overthrow the monarch and her three most trusted statesmen. This was the only evidence brought against him and priest defended himself with several points which included that he had never had a conversation with Eliot about the plot and that God was his witness. Fr John also exposed Eliot as a known rapist, thief and guilty of other crimes – thus making him an unreliable witness. The priest also prayed for the queen.
However, despite the poor evidence, few juries in these cases dared to go against the Crown. They found Payne guilty of treason. When brought back to be sentenced he next day, John demanded to know when his death would be. He was told Monday April 2 1582 at 8am.
After being dragged to the place of execution in Chelmsford, Fr John got to his knees and prayed for a reported 30 minutes before walking over and kissing the gallows. Remarkably, he continued to smile and, after a few moments in prayer, he addressed the crowd. Even at this late point in his life, the priestly office of Fr Payne was ridiculed. A rumour floated about that Jesuit priests didn’t believe Jesus was God. The priest rebuked this by making a full declaration of his belief in the Holy Trinity. He once again denied any treason against the queen.
Ministers demanded he pray in English. But Fr John prayed in Latin, “a tongue he well knew”. As the ladder was taken away, people in the crowd shouted for him to be hanged before being butchered. They prevented the hangman from cutting his body until he was dead. Fr Payne had been well known and admired in the local area. The actions of the crowd suggest some of them may well have been sympathisers.
For those who are persecuted today for their faith, whether it is by word, action or imprisonment, the example of St John Payne is an inspiration. Clearly influenced by the story of the arrested Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, Fr Payne was so sincere and un-confrontational with his jailors and united his excruciating sufferings with Christ on the Cross. Yet, he was not afraid to defend himself against false charges and proclaim his Catholic faith intelligently at those times when a weaker person would maybe have given in and conformed to the “new” religion out of fear. As mentioned before, the Eucharistic miracle observed by St John reaffirms the truth that wine is transformed into the blood of Christ at the moment of consecration, meaning that the Son of God becomes physically present in front of us at the altar at every Mass. It is fitting that one of the “40 martyrs of the Mass” was shown this vision, spurring him on to die for the Holy Eucharist.
Saint John Payne, pray for us.
Tuesday, 26 August 2008
Youth 2000
I spent from Friday night until Sunday night at Walsingham for Youth 2000's renaissance@walsingham summer pilgrimage. Unfortunately, I lost my camera on Sunday afternoon, leaving it in one of the portaloos. But I've just received a facebook message from Anthony Errington who tracked it down yesterday. St Anthony has helped me out here and how fitting it is that he arranged for Anthony to find it! It does mean, frustratingly, this post will not be as colourful as I wanted it to be but hopefully I can do a seperate post when I'm reunited with the camera. I must also mention from the outset that I didn't take any notes or recordings of the talks/homilies so the reports on them will be very brief and general.
Anyway, if you want to see the vibrance and youthfulness of the Church, go to an event like Youth 2000. More than 500 youngsters from all around the UK and abroad, along with several families, gathered for one weekend in the same place for the same purpose - to adore Christ and to gain strength from him in our efforts to convert our country back to Catholicism.
For me, the event was radically different to what I'm used to. If I'm honest, it was a bit of a culture shock and some of it was pretty intense. I thought I would try it out as I discovered that quite a few who go to events run by the Faith Movement also attend Youth 2000, another of the new movements in the church. As there was a small contingent of friends from Yorkshire and the North East going, I decided to join them and give it a go.
Knowing quite a few who are involved in Youth 2000, I knew what I was letting myself in for in terms of liturgy and singing. Extensive praise and worship sessions (with, at times, deafening music) are not my cup of tea but are the prevailing form of worship at Youth 2000. At my university chaplaincy in Sheffield, this was the dominant form of spirituality and did after three years start to frustrate me. However, after initially developing "an attitude" as one of my friends put it on the Friday night, I did get used to it fairly quickly and entered into a quiet zone of adoration as the arms waved and the legs swayed around me.
It was reassuring to hear from people I knew at the retreat (including some that had been going to Y2K for several years) that the singing didn't particularly float their boat either. It showed many were there because they recognise that the movement is completely sound and one of the main movers in evangelising Britain, even if they weren't keen on guitars and drums and clapping. Of course, for those who are brought closer to Christ by this form of worship, it's fantastic.
It was interesting talking to many friends from Faith about how different the two movements are. My conclusions were that a Youth 2000 retreat and a Faith summer session are pretty much polar opposites in many regards. In any case, one is a retreat and the other specifically not intended to be a retreat but a conference. The weekend focused heavily on people's personal experiences - their conversions and journeys back to holiness - although there was some solid catechises in places. It also consentrated on how to practically develop one's spiritual life. In contrast, Faith bases its emphasis on challenging, intellectual talks that try to tackle sometimes complex theological and scientific concepts to explain the vision of Fr Edward Holloway as Christ as the Lord of the Cosmos, thus helping people to grow in faith through knowledge of Jesus. However, despite the clear differences, both movemnts complement each other and arm young Catholics with the tools they need to go out into our secular world and strive to be like Christ, to aim for sainthood.
I arrived at 9.30pm on the Friday night and headed for the main tent once I had got parked up. It was the reconciliation service. The first observation I made was the confessions were long - sometimes half an hour - and probably the longest I've ever been to. The priests took more time in giving people spiritual direction and going through each sin more thoroughly than perhaps your average confession in the parish. This is obviously one of the underlying features of these retreats and is certainly a blessing.
The most amazing thing was that the Blessed Sacrament was exposed around the clock during the whole weekend. It's probably the most time I've spent with Our Lord in the monstrance over the short space of two days in my life. It was fantastic. What better way to spend a weekend than with your Maker truly present in front of you?
Another talking point is how Y2K expose the Blessed Sacrament. The monstrance is placed on top of a "burning bush" (connected with the story of Moses) that is placed in the middle of the tent with candles around it. This is the point where I get more annoyed about losing my camera as I could have shown you what it looks like without having to write. It is a wooden tree kind of structure. I would say the problem with it is that you get distracted from prayer when people walk in front of you, to the side of you, or behind the other side of the "burning bush". Personally, I think it would work much better placed on the altar constructed to the side of the tent in the middle. However, I know this is Youth 2000's way of doing it and am merely putting my comments forward.
Of course, the other difficulty is the lack of chairs when you've got so many people and a limited budget. It means at the organised liturgies (sometimes three hours long) you have everyone trying out a hundred different sitting positions, some of which are not so reverent when you've got Christ in front of you. Even when kneeling for a period of time, your knee caps eventually can't take the rugged mat and you are forced into another position.
After the reconciliation service it was time for refreshments in the canteen tent. Here I was delighted to meet so many people I knew from various different circles. There were people from Faith, SPUC (including students from Cardiff University that I first met at the SPUC student conference in Scotland in March), University of Sheffield Catholic Chaplaincy and friends of friends.
Then it was time for bed. It's very much a camping event at Walsingham, something which I've not done for several years and something that I'm still recovering from even half way into this week. Phil Cunnah had brought two tents from home. He shared with Tom Parr, from Bridlington, while I was in with Greg Jayasuriya from Middlesbrough. Getting ready for bed, rolling out a new sleeping mat, brushing your teeth in a facility across the way and then finding your way back to the correct tent - all in pitch black with only the help of light from your mobile phone screen is not an easy set of tasks.
The talk on Saturday morning was “Pray Constantly” by Abbot Christopher Jamison, Abbot of Worth Abbey. He told the story of how "O God come to Our Aid; O Lord make haste to help us" became the opening prayer of the Divine Office. In the desert just a few hundred years after Christ, two monks, one enthusiastic and ready to do anything, the other more cynical, asked an abbot about how was it possible to "pray constantly"? When pressed by the cynical monk, the abbot let him into the big secret that this foundation prayer is the answer to the call "pray constantly". Father Abbot urged all of us to have a foundation prayer if we hadn't already got one. This is a line or two that we say to start our prayers. It was a topic that we looked at in discussion groups after the talk.
Abbot Christopher referred to the following day's closing ceremony of the Olympics and how people across Britain were planning to sing in groups to mark the handover of the Olympic torch to London. He referred to a radio discussion about how, as a nation, we always use to sing and take pride in it - an aspect of our culture we had lost. The person being interviewed said many have been made to think that they are unable to sing, or are even "tone deaf". Abbot Christopher made this comparison with prayer. He called for the need for our country to return to prayer. It was an impressive talk - followed up by an amusing but powerful homily at the Sunday Mass. For your information, Abbot Christopher wrote an excellent article for The Times last month, criticising the media for its biased coverage of World Youth Day in Sydney.
The discussion groups were again different to those at Faith. At Y2K, there are set questions and in our group, each member took it in turns to answer the question. A lot of it was quite personal, focusing on prayer life and what each individual did to follow Christ.
On Saturday afternoon, myself and Phil wondered into Walsingham to meet Fr Michael Simison, a Marist and parish priest in the village. He was Phil's parish priest in Hull before being moved to East Anglia several years ago. It was good to see him. The last time we met was about six years ago on my only other visit to Walsingham. He bought us a very nice lunch (I had a well-done sirloin steak) in the Black Lion. We were later joined by Tom and Greg for a pint.
Trotting back to the National RC Shrine, it was time for the open-air shrine Mass. The weather was fine and the preacher was Fr Stephen Wang. He spoke passionately about the significance of Walsingham being the venue for the retreat. Fr Wang explained that, at one point, Walsingham was one of the most important places of pilgrimage on earth. England is Our Lady's dowry because of the widespread devotion to her in the country. He pointed out that there was no better place to start the conversion of the UK than "England's Nazareth".
In the evening was the healing service. This is something that I'm warming to. I've experienced this a few times it's very powerful. It involves the deacon processing around the tent with the monstrance and taking the Lord to every single person for a few moments. With around 500 in attendance, it takes the best part of two hours. The idea is based on the Woman with the Hemorrhage story. To recap, the woman's strong faith drew her to touch the cloak of Jesus and Our Lord realised the power that went out of him. When the terrified woman came forward to own up to touching him, Christ said her faith had healed her. The idea is that you touch the humeral veil with which the deacon holds the monstrance and think of an intention or something you want to be healed from. You kneel down and the monstrance is placed on, or very near to your head for a few seconds. It's a very moving experience.
On Sunday morning, the talk was “Be perfect…………..” by French nun Sr Hyacinthe Defos du Rau, who has been working in the south of England for a few years. She gave us reflections on striving to be perfect like Christ with the help of the sacraments.
At the end of Mass, there was a round of applause followed by three cheers to thank all the priests for their witness to Christ and his Church.
After lunch on Sunday we packed up the tents and Tom, Greg and Phil headed back to Hull. I went on to an excellent workshop on discernment. There was a married couple, who talked about how God had drawn them together despite both of them seriously considering the priesthood and religious life respectively. A consecrated single lady also gave her testimony. She was followed by a novice, a young man just about to start seminary and a diocesan priest, Fr Philip Connor. All of them gave very useful tips on discerning vocations and promoted their way of life as one that strives to glorify God and work to do His will.
It was great to spend an hour or so in front of the Blessed Sacrament before the next talk -
“Receive the power” Fr Mario Knezovic. He spoke through an interpreter, which made his address easier to absorb as it came in little chunks. He spoke on Medjugorje, a place were Our Lady is still appearing. Fr Mario explained his journey to religious life, choosing to give up a promising career in basketball and finish with his girlfriend to pursue his vocation.
After tea was the "testimonies" service that I had to sneak off from towards the end of the as I was faced with a two hour drive ahead of me.
In the end I was sad to leave. The weekend was intense but prayerful. I came away feeling spiritually refreshed and more determined to improve my prayer life. As I said before, the sheer numbers of youngsters with such enthusiasm for their faith gave me a renewed optimism that this new and orthodox generation of Catholics - although small in number - are ready to lead the "renaissance" of the Church as our future priests, religious and lay people.
Just as a footnote, my intention here has been to give a "first-timer's" perspective on the retreat. I hope some critical points I have expressed will not lead Youth 2000 to take offence. As I was only there for the weekend, anyone who was there is more than welcome to fill in the gaps in the combox.
One thing is clear - the new movements are leading the revival of the Catholic Church in Britain.
Anyway, if you want to see the vibrance and youthfulness of the Church, go to an event like Youth 2000. More than 500 youngsters from all around the UK and abroad, along with several families, gathered for one weekend in the same place for the same purpose - to adore Christ and to gain strength from him in our efforts to convert our country back to Catholicism.
For me, the event was radically different to what I'm used to. If I'm honest, it was a bit of a culture shock and some of it was pretty intense. I thought I would try it out as I discovered that quite a few who go to events run by the Faith Movement also attend Youth 2000, another of the new movements in the church. As there was a small contingent of friends from Yorkshire and the North East going, I decided to join them and give it a go.
Knowing quite a few who are involved in Youth 2000, I knew what I was letting myself in for in terms of liturgy and singing. Extensive praise and worship sessions (with, at times, deafening music) are not my cup of tea but are the prevailing form of worship at Youth 2000. At my university chaplaincy in Sheffield, this was the dominant form of spirituality and did after three years start to frustrate me. However, after initially developing "an attitude" as one of my friends put it on the Friday night, I did get used to it fairly quickly and entered into a quiet zone of adoration as the arms waved and the legs swayed around me.
It was reassuring to hear from people I knew at the retreat (including some that had been going to Y2K for several years) that the singing didn't particularly float their boat either. It showed many were there because they recognise that the movement is completely sound and one of the main movers in evangelising Britain, even if they weren't keen on guitars and drums and clapping. Of course, for those who are brought closer to Christ by this form of worship, it's fantastic.
It was interesting talking to many friends from Faith about how different the two movements are. My conclusions were that a Youth 2000 retreat and a Faith summer session are pretty much polar opposites in many regards. In any case, one is a retreat and the other specifically not intended to be a retreat but a conference. The weekend focused heavily on people's personal experiences - their conversions and journeys back to holiness - although there was some solid catechises in places. It also consentrated on how to practically develop one's spiritual life. In contrast, Faith bases its emphasis on challenging, intellectual talks that try to tackle sometimes complex theological and scientific concepts to explain the vision of Fr Edward Holloway as Christ as the Lord of the Cosmos, thus helping people to grow in faith through knowledge of Jesus. However, despite the clear differences, both movemnts complement each other and arm young Catholics with the tools they need to go out into our secular world and strive to be like Christ, to aim for sainthood.
I arrived at 9.30pm on the Friday night and headed for the main tent once I had got parked up. It was the reconciliation service. The first observation I made was the confessions were long - sometimes half an hour - and probably the longest I've ever been to. The priests took more time in giving people spiritual direction and going through each sin more thoroughly than perhaps your average confession in the parish. This is obviously one of the underlying features of these retreats and is certainly a blessing.
The most amazing thing was that the Blessed Sacrament was exposed around the clock during the whole weekend. It's probably the most time I've spent with Our Lord in the monstrance over the short space of two days in my life. It was fantastic. What better way to spend a weekend than with your Maker truly present in front of you?
Another talking point is how Y2K expose the Blessed Sacrament. The monstrance is placed on top of a "burning bush" (connected with the story of Moses) that is placed in the middle of the tent with candles around it. This is the point where I get more annoyed about losing my camera as I could have shown you what it looks like without having to write. It is a wooden tree kind of structure. I would say the problem with it is that you get distracted from prayer when people walk in front of you, to the side of you, or behind the other side of the "burning bush". Personally, I think it would work much better placed on the altar constructed to the side of the tent in the middle. However, I know this is Youth 2000's way of doing it and am merely putting my comments forward.
Of course, the other difficulty is the lack of chairs when you've got so many people and a limited budget. It means at the organised liturgies (sometimes three hours long) you have everyone trying out a hundred different sitting positions, some of which are not so reverent when you've got Christ in front of you. Even when kneeling for a period of time, your knee caps eventually can't take the rugged mat and you are forced into another position.
After the reconciliation service it was time for refreshments in the canteen tent. Here I was delighted to meet so many people I knew from various different circles. There were people from Faith, SPUC (including students from Cardiff University that I first met at the SPUC student conference in Scotland in March), University of Sheffield Catholic Chaplaincy and friends of friends.
Then it was time for bed. It's very much a camping event at Walsingham, something which I've not done for several years and something that I'm still recovering from even half way into this week. Phil Cunnah had brought two tents from home. He shared with Tom Parr, from Bridlington, while I was in with Greg Jayasuriya from Middlesbrough. Getting ready for bed, rolling out a new sleeping mat, brushing your teeth in a facility across the way and then finding your way back to the correct tent - all in pitch black with only the help of light from your mobile phone screen is not an easy set of tasks.
The talk on Saturday morning was “Pray Constantly” by Abbot Christopher Jamison, Abbot of Worth Abbey. He told the story of how "O God come to Our Aid; O Lord make haste to help us" became the opening prayer of the Divine Office. In the desert just a few hundred years after Christ, two monks, one enthusiastic and ready to do anything, the other more cynical, asked an abbot about how was it possible to "pray constantly"? When pressed by the cynical monk, the abbot let him into the big secret that this foundation prayer is the answer to the call "pray constantly". Father Abbot urged all of us to have a foundation prayer if we hadn't already got one. This is a line or two that we say to start our prayers. It was a topic that we looked at in discussion groups after the talk.
Abbot Christopher referred to the following day's closing ceremony of the Olympics and how people across Britain were planning to sing in groups to mark the handover of the Olympic torch to London. He referred to a radio discussion about how, as a nation, we always use to sing and take pride in it - an aspect of our culture we had lost. The person being interviewed said many have been made to think that they are unable to sing, or are even "tone deaf". Abbot Christopher made this comparison with prayer. He called for the need for our country to return to prayer. It was an impressive talk - followed up by an amusing but powerful homily at the Sunday Mass. For your information, Abbot Christopher wrote an excellent article for The Times last month, criticising the media for its biased coverage of World Youth Day in Sydney.
The discussion groups were again different to those at Faith. At Y2K, there are set questions and in our group, each member took it in turns to answer the question. A lot of it was quite personal, focusing on prayer life and what each individual did to follow Christ.
On Saturday afternoon, myself and Phil wondered into Walsingham to meet Fr Michael Simison, a Marist and parish priest in the village. He was Phil's parish priest in Hull before being moved to East Anglia several years ago. It was good to see him. The last time we met was about six years ago on my only other visit to Walsingham. He bought us a very nice lunch (I had a well-done sirloin steak) in the Black Lion. We were later joined by Tom and Greg for a pint.
Trotting back to the National RC Shrine, it was time for the open-air shrine Mass. The weather was fine and the preacher was Fr Stephen Wang. He spoke passionately about the significance of Walsingham being the venue for the retreat. Fr Wang explained that, at one point, Walsingham was one of the most important places of pilgrimage on earth. England is Our Lady's dowry because of the widespread devotion to her in the country. He pointed out that there was no better place to start the conversion of the UK than "England's Nazareth".
In the evening was the healing service. This is something that I'm warming to. I've experienced this a few times it's very powerful. It involves the deacon processing around the tent with the monstrance and taking the Lord to every single person for a few moments. With around 500 in attendance, it takes the best part of two hours. The idea is based on the Woman with the Hemorrhage story. To recap, the woman's strong faith drew her to touch the cloak of Jesus and Our Lord realised the power that went out of him. When the terrified woman came forward to own up to touching him, Christ said her faith had healed her. The idea is that you touch the humeral veil with which the deacon holds the monstrance and think of an intention or something you want to be healed from. You kneel down and the monstrance is placed on, or very near to your head for a few seconds. It's a very moving experience.
On Sunday morning, the talk was “Be perfect…………..” by French nun Sr Hyacinthe Defos du Rau, who has been working in the south of England for a few years. She gave us reflections on striving to be perfect like Christ with the help of the sacraments.
At the end of Mass, there was a round of applause followed by three cheers to thank all the priests for their witness to Christ and his Church.
After lunch on Sunday we packed up the tents and Tom, Greg and Phil headed back to Hull. I went on to an excellent workshop on discernment. There was a married couple, who talked about how God had drawn them together despite both of them seriously considering the priesthood and religious life respectively. A consecrated single lady also gave her testimony. She was followed by a novice, a young man just about to start seminary and a diocesan priest, Fr Philip Connor. All of them gave very useful tips on discerning vocations and promoted their way of life as one that strives to glorify God and work to do His will.
It was great to spend an hour or so in front of the Blessed Sacrament before the next talk -
“Receive the power” Fr Mario Knezovic. He spoke through an interpreter, which made his address easier to absorb as it came in little chunks. He spoke on Medjugorje, a place were Our Lady is still appearing. Fr Mario explained his journey to religious life, choosing to give up a promising career in basketball and finish with his girlfriend to pursue his vocation.
After tea was the "testimonies" service that I had to sneak off from towards the end of the as I was faced with a two hour drive ahead of me.
In the end I was sad to leave. The weekend was intense but prayerful. I came away feeling spiritually refreshed and more determined to improve my prayer life. As I said before, the sheer numbers of youngsters with such enthusiasm for their faith gave me a renewed optimism that this new and orthodox generation of Catholics - although small in number - are ready to lead the "renaissance" of the Church as our future priests, religious and lay people.
Just as a footnote, my intention here has been to give a "first-timer's" perspective on the retreat. I hope some critical points I have expressed will not lead Youth 2000 to take offence. As I was only there for the weekend, anyone who was there is more than welcome to fill in the gaps in the combox.
One thing is clear - the new movements are leading the revival of the Catholic Church in Britain.
Friday, 22 August 2008
Walsingham
I'm now setting off from work to Youth 2000's annual pilgrimage at Walsingham until Sunday.
I've never been before but thought I would try it out and support one of the other new movements in the Church. I'm sure it will be enjoyable and reflective.
I'll post from the perspective of a new person going to Youth 2000 on my return.
I've never been before but thought I would try it out and support one of the other new movements in the Church. I'm sure it will be enjoyable and reflective.
I'll post from the perspective of a new person going to Youth 2000 on my return.
Thursday, 21 August 2008
40 Martyr reflections: Saint Ralph Sherwin
After a long (and regrettable) lull in the 40 martyr reflections, we’re back tonight with St Ralph Sherwin.While in prison after his arrest following just a few months on the English mission, Fr Ralph is said to have felt like sleeping at the foot of the cross for five days, sharing in the suffering of Christ after being tortured on the rack and then forced to lay in snow before being racked again. This double assault on his body makes you wonder about the excruciating pain he went through because he refused to give up his marriage to Christ and his Church. After coming round in the cell where he was without food for 112 hours, he found that, miraculously, he didn’t have any pain in his joints that were forcibly pulled during the double racking.
At this point, it’s important to spell out what a rack does to his victim. The legs are fastened at one end of the rectangular wooden frame, and the wrists are chained to the other. As his interrogation regarding the whereabouts of Fr Edmund Campion and Fr Parsons progressed, Fr Shewin’s joints would have slowly dislocated. It is likely that he would have been stretched to beyond a limit, causing his cartilage, ligaments and/or bones to snap. To then place him in snow after this doesn’t even bear thinking about.
St Ralph is most famously know for being the protomartyr or the first martyr of the English College in Rome. He was born in Rodsley, near Longford, in Derbyshire in 1550. His natural talents got him in to Exeter College, Oxford, where he took his M.A. in 1574 and gained high honours. Sherwin was described as "an acute philosopher". When leaving university in 1575 he was also received into the Catholic Church. Not only this, but like many of the convert martyrs, he also felt God was calling him to the priesthood. The young man went to Douai seminary and was ordained in 1577.
Ralph was among the first batch of students to be transferred to the newly opened English College in Rome to complete his theological education. He studied there until April 1580, when his offer to set off for the "English Mission" was taken up by the seminary staff. He knew this was a dice with death and indeed was to become the first of 40 great men from the College to give their lives for Jesus.
On their way to the Channel, the convey of missionaries stopped at Milan on the way. For a few days, they were guests of St. Charles Borromeo, the Archbishop of Milan. One day, Sherwin preached in St Charles’ presence. When the party reached Geneva in Switzerland, they were given stylish French lay clothing to wear to disguise their identity once on English shores.
Before crossing the Channel, Fr Sherwin wrote to a friend to "say his beads" for him, "so that in humility and constancy, with perseverance to the end, I may know God in this vocation whereunto though unworthy I am called." It was to be the first of one of many emotional letters of correspondence he sent to friends asking for their prayers and explaining the reason for his unwillingness to conform to Protestantism.
Before crossing the Channel, Fr Sherwin wrote to a friend to "say his beads" for him, "so that in humility and constancy, with perseverance to the end, I may know God in this vocation whereunto though unworthy I am called." It was to be the first of one of many emotional letters of correspondence he sent to friends asking for their prayers and explaining the reason for his unwillingness to conform to Protestantism.
Only four months after arriving in England, Fr Sherwin was arrested at the house of Mr Roscarroke in London in November 1580 where he was caught preaching to a Catholic congregation. Taken to the Marshalsea prison, he was clapped into leg-irons. He wrote: "I have on my feet some bells that remind me, when I walk, who I am and to whom I belong. I have never heard sweeter music than this..." Marshalsea was a notorious jail on the south bank of the River Thames, where St Nicholas Owen was also kept.
Sent on to the Tower of London the next month, he underwent severe torture on the rack. The torturers demanded he name his "fellow missionaries" and admit his part in a fictitious Catholic conspiracy to invade the British Isles.
After the severe ordeal referred to earlier, he was a close prisoner for about a year. It was during this time that the authorities tried to entice Fr Sherwin away from the one true fold by offering him the second bishopric of England if he would go to St Paul’s cathedral and deny the authority of the pope. He defiantly resisted the temptations.
Fr Ralph and others were put on trial on November 14 1581 on the trumped-up charge that they had conspired to start a rebellion. Sherwin himself stated at the trial the real cause: "The plain reason of our standing here is religion, not treason." After being condemned to death at Westminster Hall along with Edmund Campion, he wrote an intense letter to friends. Imaging getting something through the post from your best friend who informs you that he will be executed in a few days?
Extracts from the correspondence include: "This very day, which is the festival of St Andrew, I was informed by superior authority that tomorrow I was to end the course of this life. God grant that I may do it to the imitation of this noble Apostle and servant of God, and that with joy I may say, rising off the hurdle, Salve Sancta Crux."
"My sins are great, I confess, but I flee to God’s mercy. My negligences are without number, I grant, but I appeal to my redeemer’s clemency. I have no boldness but in His blood, His bitter passion is my only consolation."
Sherwin also wrote to his uncle on the day before his final journey to Tyburn. He said: "God grant us both His grace and blessing until the end, that, living in His great fear and dying in His favour, we may enjoy the other for ever. Salute all my fellow Catholics. And so, without further troubling you, my sweetest benefactor, farewell."
The priest shared a hurdle with another one of the glorious 40 martyrs, Fr/St Alexander Briant. On their arrival on December 1 1581, they saw St Edmund Campion hanged and quartered. The hangman, still with blood on his hands tried to scare the priest. But Fr Ralph kissed the sticky blood, the first to venerate St Edmund.
His final speech was interrupted by a man challenging him to confess his treason against the reigning queen, Elizabeth I. But he said: "I am innocent of any such crime. I have no occasion to tell a lie – it is a case where my soul is at stake."
He added: "If to be a Catolic only, if to be a perfect Catholic be to be a trator, then I am a traitor." His last words were "Jesu, Jesu, Jesu, esto mihi Jesus!"
St Ralph obviously is a great example to all seminarians, particularly those studying at the English College. They celebrate their feastday on December 1, the day on which the martyr gave his life for the priesthood. The day begins with a Mass and the veneration of the saint’s relics that are kept beneath the altar of the college church. They also have a vigil that includes a reading from his letters.
The seminary earned the unique official title of the "Venerable English College" because with St. Ralph's martyrdom, more than 40 more of its students laid down their lives for the Catholic faith between 1581 and 1681. Because of this, St. Philip Neri used to greet the English seminarians on the streets of Rome: "Hail, flowers of the martyrs."
Something that I haven’t focused on is that his life was rooted in prayer. He would spend those long days when he was shackled up in prison in prayer and meditation. The keeper at his prison described the priest as the most devout person he had ever seen. Here’s a lesson for us – if we ever have a test of faith, always turn to the Lord pleading for his intercession. The saint also teaches us that writing to fellow Catholics (and other forms of communication) is so important in keeping the faith through prayer requests, preaching or clarification of a point in teaching between a priest and laymen. How blessed we are that letters expressing such profound things from the pen of a man days close to union with God have been preserved. Many of the texts can indeed be used as prayers to help us grow in faith.
St Ralph Sherwin, pray for us.
Tuesday, 19 August 2008
Mulier Fortis
Both at the Faith Summer Session and at Mount Grace at the weekend, I had several kind people come up to me to say how much they enjoyed Bashing Secularism. I was pleasantly surprised on each occasion because, as you know, I go through fits and spurts of posting and often wonder if people bother to check-up.
One fellow blogger, Mac McLernon, kindly bought me more than one pint of beer at Woldingham. In return, she asked me to give her blog a shout on Bashing. I said I had long had Mulier Fortis on my recommended list but she said: "I want a proper mention." So here goes:
For a roller coster of cats, technology, traditional liturgy and education - look no further than Mulier Fortis. Mac is a single woman who has taken private vows. She works as a science teacher in London and has the privilege of being in the parish of the Hermeneutic (Our Lady of the Rosary, Blackfen) and consequently keeps a close and watchful eye on his activities.
At Faith events, everyone is always quite baffled as to how she manages to be the first at the bar with a round of drinks already ordered, paid for and waiting for thirsty people. It was only this year that I realise how she does it. Mac is well in with the staff at Woldingham School. I saw here perching suspiciously outside the bar just after lunch one afternoon. This is her secret of success - she waits for a friendly member of staff to arrive so that she can order her round hours in advance to ensure pints are at the ready immediately after night prayer. Crafty but good work. However, I'm sure that now that her secret is out, some people might want to beat her to it at the next available opportunity.
Until then, enjoy exploring her blog which has a particularly good layout and use of clear, good quality pictures. This is something I need to work on - but first I need a few hundred quid for a decent camera.
One fellow blogger, Mac McLernon, kindly bought me more than one pint of beer at Woldingham. In return, she asked me to give her blog a shout on Bashing. I said I had long had Mulier Fortis on my recommended list but she said: "I want a proper mention." So here goes:
For a roller coster of cats, technology, traditional liturgy and education - look no further than Mulier Fortis. Mac is a single woman who has taken private vows. She works as a science teacher in London and has the privilege of being in the parish of the Hermeneutic (Our Lady of the Rosary, Blackfen) and consequently keeps a close and watchful eye on his activities.
At Faith events, everyone is always quite baffled as to how she manages to be the first at the bar with a round of drinks already ordered, paid for and waiting for thirsty people. It was only this year that I realise how she does it. Mac is well in with the staff at Woldingham School. I saw here perching suspiciously outside the bar just after lunch one afternoon. This is her secret of success - she waits for a friendly member of staff to arrive so that she can order her round hours in advance to ensure pints are at the ready immediately after night prayer. Crafty but good work. However, I'm sure that now that her secret is out, some people might want to beat her to it at the next available opportunity.
Until then, enjoy exploring her blog which has a particularly good layout and use of clear, good quality pictures. This is something I need to work on - but first I need a few hundred quid for a decent camera.
Monday, 18 August 2008
Mount Grace
At the weekend I was back up in Hull and witnessed a piece of history. Hull City played their first game ever in the top flight of English football - and won 2-1. It was a brilliant afternoon. We went one nil behind and I thought it would be a drubbing. But a fantastic goal by Brazilian Geovanni just before half time got us back into the game and a tap in from Caleb Folan in the second half sent us into pandemonium.
It was my first time at this particular diocesan event. For the last few years, the music group at my home parish, St Francis of Assisi in Hull, have provided the music for this Mass. I was able to get a lift up with my dad who was due to play the guitar (I hear the trads among you retching and reaching for a bucket) at the Mass. A drum kit also featured (O dear, that's gone a bit too far, I'll let you fetch a mop). The choice of hymns was pretty horrendous (sorry everyone), a point that I reiterated to my dad afterwards. But they played very well.
After the Mass, the rain really did come down and we struggled to get the cars out of the field. One of them got stuck in the mud so the St Francis lot all got their hands dirty and pushed the cars onto the track.
On Sunday, I went up to the Diocesan shrine to Our Lady at Mount Grace, in Osmotherley, one of the most beautiful villages in north Yorkshire. The occasion was the 50th anniversary of the Assumption pilgrimage.
The Lady Chapel at Mount Grace originated as an outlying chapel of the nearby Carthusian priory of Mount Grace, now belonging to the National Trust but managed and maintained by the English Heritage. An annual pilgrimage was restored by the late priest brothers, Fr Anthony and Peter Storey. They and friend came upon the shrine in 1942 ‘in a haven of peace and quiet reflection not far from Mount Grace Priory’. There were traditions, they learned, of visits by pilgrims, of secret burials and the possibility that St Margaret Clitherow’s body was taken there after her execution in York in 1586.
It was my first time at this particular diocesan event. For the last few years, the music group at my home parish, St Francis of Assisi in Hull, have provided the music for this Mass. I was able to get a lift up with my dad who was due to play the guitar (I hear the trads among you retching and reaching for a bucket) at the Mass. A drum kit also featured (O dear, that's gone a bit too far, I'll let you fetch a mop). The choice of hymns was pretty horrendous (sorry everyone), a point that I reiterated to my dad afterwards. But they played very well.Dad dropped me off at the Golden Lion in the village where I met Fr William Massie for a very nice lunch. We then walked up and I got taking to quite a few people, in particular Fr John Paul Leonard. We compared notes on how Hull City and Middlesbrough had got off to good starts the day before.
After the rosary, the Mass started. It was held outdoors and the rain held off until the priests were processing off at the end. It meant that our tea and cakes afterwards also included complementary fluoride.
The pilgrimage gave me my first opportunity to see our relatively new bishop, Terence Patrick Drainey. I have to say I was quite impressed by his confident, but honest delivery. He had carefully prepared written addresses for both the beginning and end of the Mass, as well as his homily. At the end, he urged everyone to tell people about Mount Grace and described it as the Diocese's shrine to Our Lady. He also said it was the second most important annual pilgrimage of the Middlesbrough Diocese, behind the one to Lourdes.
Here I've provided my edited extracts of a moving part to his homily. He said:
"Over the last month I've taken the opportunity to have a break - a holiday. It was an important moment for me because of what happened to me over the last six months. I've not really had the time or the opportunity to reflect and ponder on everything that's happened. The strange thing though is that I began to go through my thoughts and feelings right back to the time when I was asked to be your bishop. The only way I could express them to myself was in terms of a dying, of a grieving and a mourning for something which apparently was being suddenly taken away from me.
"I expect it's the fact that the position and life of a bishop is so public and to a certain extent it was the end of me as a private person - and there's a lot of private person within me. It was a genuine process of grieving and mourning. A wave of emotion would cut through me at the most unexpected moments and I could do nothing about it until it had literally taken it's course.
"I expect it's the fact that the position and life of a bishop is so public and to a certain extent it was the end of me as a private person - and there's a lot of private person within me. It was a genuine process of grieving and mourning. A wave of emotion would cut through me at the most unexpected moments and I could do nothing about it until it had literally taken it's course."At times like that you need people around you who have experienced something similar who can not only sympathise but can empathise.
"I've no doubt that there are people here who are going through periods of grief or mourning. Perhaps someone close has died - a husband, a wife, a family member, a close friend. Perhaps it's another type of grieving over a relationship, a change in your life where you've had to leave something of great value behind you. The last thing you want to hear in these types of situations is 'For goodness sake, pull yourself together. Get on with life.'
"Yes there's a time to hear that and a time to respond to it. But we have to mourn, we have to grieve, it's a very basic human thing to do. We literally need a shoulder to cry on, someone to support us and stand by us, someone who has been there, who has passed through that door as well.
..."Mary followed Jesus on the way of the cross. For her it was not a devotional prayer but the reality of her son's final hours on this earth with a painful, shameful death. She knew what grieving and mourning were all about.
..."Refuge in grief, star of the sea pray for the mourner pray for me.
..."At the foot of the cross, Mary was given to us in the person of John as Our Mother too.
..."Where she has gone, we too, by God's grace, should also aspire to go."
After the Mass, the rain really did come down and we struggled to get the cars out of the field. One of them got stuck in the mud so the St Francis lot all got their hands dirty and pushed the cars onto the track.Thursday, 14 August 2008
Bournemouth
Last weekend, straight after the Faith Summer Session, I went for a weekend with friends I used to live with during my three university years in Sheffield. We try to meet up at least every six months to catch up. To introduce them, Henry is from Windsor and work for BBC news in London, Dan is a lawyer from London and Phil, from Bristol, is now a Medicine student at Manchester University after doing a degree in Sociology at Sheffield. I stayed over at Henry's on the Friday and Dan came over on the Saturday morning.
We stayed at the New Westcliffe Hotel near the centre of the town. For the Saturday night, it was about £50 bed and breakfast for shared rooms. The hotel was nice and had its own bar, pool and a Barack Obama lookalike of a manager.
The weekend was typically British. On Saturday, the weather was dreadful. This didn't stop us from having Harry Ramsden's (fish and chips) on the sea front late on Saturday afternoon before I went off to find a Mass. On my return, we freshened up and then went to a steak house followed by a few pubs and bars.
After a gorgeous cooked English breakfast, we went walkies and ended up in the town's famous crazy golf course. It took me back to family holidays when I was younger. I used to challenge my dad to a game and usually get beat. But Sunday's contest was a triumph, with a win for myself by three shots. Here I am with Dan and Phil showing off the scorecard.
By Sunday, the weather had brightened up and we were able to enjoy the sun with a walk along the beech and a paddle in the sea. Then it was time to say goodbye and drive our separate ways.
We all commented on how friendly the locals were in pointing us in the right direction and making conversation. It must be the sea air that does it...
Wednesday, 13 August 2008
Faith Summer Session
I realise this is old news compared with most bloggers who were there last week. The week was so tiring I've only got round to having my say!
Only at this year's conference did it really strike me about how rich the faith is among youth Catholics.
It dawned on me that everyone was unique, each bringing their own area of expertise to discussions and all aspects of the week. Among the youngsters was a tennis coach, a ministry of defence mapper, teachers, journalists, a fashion designer, doctors, political lobbyists, varying degrees of shop workers and businessmen. Students studying history, law, medicine, maths, science and others joined recent graduates with a whole host of degrees.
In terms of geography we had people from Yorkshire, Lancashire, the south east, London, the south west, the East Midlands, the West Midlands, East Anglia, Scotland and Ireland. There were married couples, single people, a deacon, more than 30 priests and two religious sisters. On the football field there were fans of Celtic, Manchester United, Hull City (hooray), Crystal Palace, Manchester City, AFC Wimbledon, Liverpool, Blackpool, Bolton and Chelsea to name but a few. Sorry to go on, but you can understand what I'm getting at.
The beauty of this event is that it is held within a close-nit environment, miles from anywhere and with little or no mobile phone signal. When you're with hundreds of practicing orthodox Catholics in this environment, it's a great feeling and unlike any week of the year. It's a bit like what you hope heaven will be like.
But there is a sense that the secular world hits you in the face after you've been on an event like this. With the conference touching heavily on the sanctity of marriage and the goodness of sex always open to the possibility procreation within the marriage union, we also naturally talked about the struggle to lead chaste lives particularly in out modern sexualised world. It was particularly telling, then, that barely a few hours after the end of the conference, I walked into the gents in a pub and found a total of three condom machines with very suggestive pictures on them. It was back down to the secular world with a bang to say the least.
As you know, I was on holiday so tended not to take many notes during the talks. I have, however, got the CD recordings and plan to do a summary on each one.
The homilies at all the Masses were also first class. One of them was by army chaplain Fr Alex Strachan, who has been out to Afghanistan a few times over the last couple of years. He spoke movingly of a soldier who insisted on having and organised an Easter service for the regiment. One day, the soldier's vehicle was attacked by Taliban fighters and he was killed. Fr Strachan told us about how he had to comfort his comrades and lead the ceremony that brought the dead soldier back home to the UK. The young congregation was visibly moved by his account.
Unfortunately, my pictures of the week didn't come out that well at all. Many look absolutely dreadful on them (not naming names). I can only really publish a couple without embarrassing people.
Here are some of the Yorkshire and North East people, including Fr William Massie:
More later on in the week.
Only at this year's conference did it really strike me about how rich the faith is among youth Catholics.
It dawned on me that everyone was unique, each bringing their own area of expertise to discussions and all aspects of the week. Among the youngsters was a tennis coach, a ministry of defence mapper, teachers, journalists, a fashion designer, doctors, political lobbyists, varying degrees of shop workers and businessmen. Students studying history, law, medicine, maths, science and others joined recent graduates with a whole host of degrees.
In terms of geography we had people from Yorkshire, Lancashire, the south east, London, the south west, the East Midlands, the West Midlands, East Anglia, Scotland and Ireland. There were married couples, single people, a deacon, more than 30 priests and two religious sisters. On the football field there were fans of Celtic, Manchester United, Hull City (hooray), Crystal Palace, Manchester City, AFC Wimbledon, Liverpool, Blackpool, Bolton and Chelsea to name but a few. Sorry to go on, but you can understand what I'm getting at.
The beauty of this event is that it is held within a close-nit environment, miles from anywhere and with little or no mobile phone signal. When you're with hundreds of practicing orthodox Catholics in this environment, it's a great feeling and unlike any week of the year. It's a bit like what you hope heaven will be like.
But there is a sense that the secular world hits you in the face after you've been on an event like this. With the conference touching heavily on the sanctity of marriage and the goodness of sex always open to the possibility procreation within the marriage union, we also naturally talked about the struggle to lead chaste lives particularly in out modern sexualised world. It was particularly telling, then, that barely a few hours after the end of the conference, I walked into the gents in a pub and found a total of three condom machines with very suggestive pictures on them. It was back down to the secular world with a bang to say the least.
As you know, I was on holiday so tended not to take many notes during the talks. I have, however, got the CD recordings and plan to do a summary on each one.
The homilies at all the Masses were also first class. One of them was by army chaplain Fr Alex Strachan, who has been out to Afghanistan a few times over the last couple of years. He spoke movingly of a soldier who insisted on having and organised an Easter service for the regiment. One day, the soldier's vehicle was attacked by Taliban fighters and he was killed. Fr Strachan told us about how he had to comfort his comrades and lead the ceremony that brought the dead soldier back home to the UK. The young congregation was visibly moved by his account.
Unfortunately, my pictures of the week didn't come out that well at all. Many look absolutely dreadful on them (not naming names). I can only really publish a couple without embarrassing people.
Here are some of the Yorkshire and North East people, including Fr William Massie:
More later on in the week.
Tuesday, 12 August 2008
Holiday
As you may have guessed from the lack of blogging, and seen from other blogs, I was on holiday last week.
Last weekend was my cousin's wedding and then from Monday to Friday I was at the Faith Summer Session, which is one of the best I've ever been on. We explored the subject of the role of the sexes in the plan of God, asking exactly why He seperated the sexes. The talks looked at the ultimate marriage, between Christ the bridegroom and his Church the bride. Some of the concepts unpacked in the talks were things I'd not heard of before, reinforcing the fact that new aspects of the faith to different people are always revealed every year at these kind of gatherings. I hope to blog in depth about the talks and write a bit about what an event like Faith does to bring together like-minded people and enrich the Chruch in today's secular Britian.
After the conference, held at Woldingham School in Surrey, I went to a university friend's house in Windsor and then onto Bournemouth for the weekend on Saturday where we met up with another two former housemates from my Sheffield days. I will blog on the weekend as well, including details of a crazy golf victory for me!
Holidays are supposed to be relaxing but this one was pretty tiring. Therefore, I will give you a post tomorrow on the Faith Conference in more depth (with pictures) when I'm a bit less-shattered.
Last weekend was my cousin's wedding and then from Monday to Friday I was at the Faith Summer Session, which is one of the best I've ever been on. We explored the subject of the role of the sexes in the plan of God, asking exactly why He seperated the sexes. The talks looked at the ultimate marriage, between Christ the bridegroom and his Church the bride. Some of the concepts unpacked in the talks were things I'd not heard of before, reinforcing the fact that new aspects of the faith to different people are always revealed every year at these kind of gatherings. I hope to blog in depth about the talks and write a bit about what an event like Faith does to bring together like-minded people and enrich the Chruch in today's secular Britian.
After the conference, held at Woldingham School in Surrey, I went to a university friend's house in Windsor and then onto Bournemouth for the weekend on Saturday where we met up with another two former housemates from my Sheffield days. I will blog on the weekend as well, including details of a crazy golf victory for me!
Holidays are supposed to be relaxing but this one was pretty tiring. Therefore, I will give you a post tomorrow on the Faith Conference in more depth (with pictures) when I'm a bit less-shattered.
Sunday, 3 August 2008
Triangular Lodge
Last Friday I had a day off and decided to explore a bit of Catholic Northamptonshire.Every day on the way from Corby to Kettering I pass one of those brown signs that indicate an attraction or somewhere of important. This sign points towards “Triangular Lodge” which is the other side of Rushton village just off the A43.
Triangular lodge is a intriguing but small triangular building that was planned and built by Sir Thomas Tresham between 1593 and 1596. Although it was built as Tresham’s warrener’s lodge, it is a towering symbol of the devout Catholic man’s faith and faith in God as three persons. Connotations of the Holy Trinity are evident both outside and inside the whole building.
The Treshams were a recusant family during the time when it was illegal to practice Catholicism in England. Thomas Tresham seems to have been bought up a Protestant, or at least to have conformed to Protestantism in early adulthood. But in 1580 the Jesuits (Society of Jesus) sent a group of missionaries to England. Sir Thomas was one of their most important converts. He refused to attend Anglican services and, because of this, he was consistently in prison, subject to house arrest, or under surveillance between 1581 and 1597. He was also fined a total of £8000 over a period of more than 20 years.
Another interesting twist to the tale is that his eldest son, Francis, was involved with the so-called Gunpowder plot in 1605. He is thought to have been the one who wrote an anonymous letter to Lord Monteagle, his uncle, warning him not to attend the Houses of Parliament on the day of the operation. The peer told the authorities and Tresham, along with the others, was searched for and arrested. Although admitting to knowing about the plot, he denied being directly involved with it. He was set to be hanged drawn and quartered with the others involved but died in the Tower of London of natural causes later that year.
Triangular Lodge lies within the estate of Rushton Hall that is traditionally the home of the Tresham family, although it is now a posh hotel and spa where lots of rich and famous people get wed. The Hall can be seen in the distance through the trees from the Lodge, now taken care of by, surprise surprise, the English Heritage.
As soon as you walk up the stairs to the entrance you get a sense you are standing on a Catholic bit of Northamptonshire. Above the door are the words “Tres testimonium dant” which could either mean “The number three bears witness or “Tresham bears witness” (his wife used to refer to him as “Tres”).
Also written on the exterior of the building is:
On the south-east front: APERIATUR TERRA ET GERMINET SALVATOREM – “Let the earth open and bring forth a saviour” (Book of Isaiah 45:8)
On the north side: QUIS SEPARABIT NOS A CHARITATE CHRISTI – Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? (St Paul’s letter to the Romans 8:35)
On the south-west front: CONSIDERAVI OPERA TUA DOMINE ET EXPAVI – “I have considered your works, Lord, and have been afraid” (Habakkuk 3:2)
On the north front, the chimney is the emblem of the Lamb of God carrying a cross above the word “Ecce”. There are numerous other inscriptions and symbols indicating that the inspiration for the lodge came from a holy man. Interestingly, experts think that the number 55 that appears on the exterior refers to Our Lady as the words “Jesus Maria” both have five letters in them.
Inside there are three floors, each with a main room in the middle along with three small rooms at each point of the triangle. The interior is very simple and there is little natural light (and the National Heritage haven’t got lights in there either). All of the windows are either triangular in shape or a cross.
This is the view outside one of the top floor windows. I managed to capture a passing train as well:
The building was intended to be a rabbit warren where the animals would be kept before they were sold for meat and skins. It is also thought to have been a destination for the Tresham family during an afternoon stroll where they would stop for a break and maybe something to eat. But, most significantly, historians have not ruled out the possibility that Mass would have been celebrated during the night on occasion at there. Tresham leased a deer park at Brigstock (which is in my office’s patch for reporting), a village just a few miles away. The land also had a small lodge and pretty sound evidence shows that Mass was held there. But to reduce the threat of the priest and congregation getting caught, the location of the Mass was changed fairly often in these times. In the upper room of Triangular Lodge, there are strong references to the Mass such as the writing “SSSDDS” (Sanctus Sanctus Sanctus Dominus Deus Sabaoth). A visit to the lodge is all the more fascinating when you think Masses could have been held there in secret.
The Lodge is an extraordinary, although slightly odd, spectacle given its location. It is well worth the £2.50 odd entry fee. Despite there being a lot to explore, it is a relatively small building and will only take an hour at most to visit. You can also take a picnic into the grounds and eat on the grass, which seems like a great idea. This is partly because, if you choose to pop up the road to Rushton Hall, expect to pay £7.95 for afternoon tea per person! Needless to say I walked straight out the door when I saw the price list. Alternatively, you can do what I did and have lunch at the pub in the village which does a decent meal.
Rushton Hall
It’s worth going to the Lodge as it’s a vital part of Catholic heritage. As I have said on many occasions, it is scandalous that we don’t make a big fuss about the martyrs who died for simply attending Mass at that time. But we can also often forget about those lay people who were not martyred but were heavily fined and imprisoned for keeping the faith going in Elizabethan England. It is people like Tresham who most Catholics in England know barely anything about and yet, as Triangular Lodge shows, countless people were not afraid to show their Catholic faith in such a public way even in the face of possible execution.
Internet trouble
Once again, sorry for the lack of blogging recently. Part of it is down to me being busy and part of it is down to recent internet problems (ie no access to the internet) at my Kettering address. Hopefully it will be resolved sometime this week. But I managed to write the following and put it on memory stick last week. I'm now at home in Hull for the weekend and have internet access. So here you go...
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