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Issue 189 June 2020

‘With the Church in prayer at home’

Bishop Vincent Malone 11 September 1931-18 May 2020

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contents Welcome This month we pay tribute to Bishop Vincent Malone and give thanks not only for his great ministry among us but also for the way in which he lived out that ministry, his gentle manner and his kindness and care for his many friends.

I was privileged to know Bishop Vincent for over 35 years, to work alongside him, to have the benefit of his wisdom and to enjoy his friendship, support and humour. It could be said that I was an old friend, but I wasn’t, many people knew him for far longer than I did. More importantly Bishop Vincent lived out the parable of the labourers in the vineyard, those who arrived at the final hour were treated in exactly the same way as those who arrived at the first hour. All received the same attention, the same care and the same loyalty and each one had the same privilege of knowing him and receiving his kindness.

He combined these exceptional human qualities with immense wisdom, intellect and incredible organisational ability enabling him to do so much both for our archdiocese and the Church in England and Wales.

Contents We will miss him as the ‘good and faithful servant’ takes his rest. May the choirs of angels welcome him and may he rest in peace.

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Main Feature Bishop Vincent Malone 1931-2020

From the Archbishop’s Desk

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News From around the Archdiocese

In the days after Bishop Vincent’s death I received many messages of condolence and sympathy. One letter and mass card came from a retired bishop who described Bishop Vincent as gracious. He said that he had thought carefully about the right word and he arrived at graciousness to sum up his ministry. I couldn’t agree more. Bishop Vincent was kind, gentle and always made time to listen to people. These are not my words, but the sentiments expressed in the messages I have received. To be gracious is to be full of grace, like Tuesday’s child in the nursery rhyme, but for Christians it has a special meaning.

St Thomas Aquinas teaches us that there are two kinds of grace: created grace and uncreated grace. The first are the gifts which we receive spiritually or actually, like a firm faith in God, a helping hand or an answer to a prayer. Uncreated grace, often called sanctifying grace, is nothing less than God sharing his life with us. That is pretty amazing and hard to believe but nonetheless true. Bishop Vin, despite his human failings had a large measure of both kinds of grace. There are many good things that he will be remembered for in his priestly and episcopal ministry, but I hope that he will be remembered not for what he has done but as a person graced by God. I feel privileged to have known this gracious man, and I will miss him. May he rest in peace.

Most Rev Malcolm McMahon OP Archbishop of Liverpool Twitter: @PicCatholic Youtube: CPMM Media

Editorial Catholic Pictorial Magazine Liverpool Archdiocesan Centre for Evangelisation, Croxteth Drive, Liverpool L17 1AA Tel: 0151 522 1007 Email: catholicpictorial@rcaol.co.uk

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Picture credits: Cover and Profile: Tom Murphy Main Feature: Tom Murphy; L’Osservatore Romano, Andrew Teebay, Mazur/cbcew.org.uk

Publisher CPMM Ltd Suite 4 Pacific Chambers, 11-13 Victoria Street, Liverpool L2 5QQ

Copy deadline July 2020 Friday 19 June 2020 Website: www.catholicpic.co.uk

16 Tributes Bishop Vincent Malone remembered 17 Holy Land 2000 Memories from the Catholic Pictorial’s Holy Land pilgrimage, 2000, led by Bishop Vincent Malone 19 Profile Bishop Vincent Malone remembered

by Tony Charnock 20 Sunday Reflections Liturgy and Life 21 Animate Locked down in an empty Lowe House 25 Cathedral Record Cathedral music on lockdown

Editor Peter Heneghan

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15 Nugent Reflections on Leadership during a Pandemic

CPMM Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced copied or transmitted in any form or by any means or stored in any information storage or retrieval system without the publishers written permission. Although every effort is made to ensure the accuracy and reliability of material published, Catholic Pictorial Ltd. can accept no responsibility for the veracity of the claims made by advertisers.

26 Pic Extras Mums the word News from the KSC 28 Pic Life The gloom is real but faith can shine a light 30 Justice and Peace Even in dark days, remember to live love

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Bishop Vincent Malone 11 September 1931-18 May 2020

by Peter Heneghan Bishop Vincent Malone, Bishop of Abora and Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus of Liverpool, died on the morning of Monday 18 May in the Royal Liverpool Hospital after testing positive for coronavirus. Bishop Malone was 88 years old and in the 65th year of his priesthood.

Following his death tributes came from all walks of life and from all parts of the world. Pope Francis sent a message of condolence to Archbishop Malcolm McMahon who himself said: ‘Bishop Vincent had retired from his role as auxiliary bishop when I arrived in Liverpool six years ago, but he was still a very active member of the archbishop’s council and a trustee of the Archdiocese. No report or set of accounts was safe from Bishop Vin’s eye for detail. As a young priest he had trained as teacher of mathematics, and numbers and diagrams certainly contributed to his view of the world or at least of the Church, but it would be very wrong to portray him as a person who was unfeeling.

‘His mild and polite manner found its fulfilment in his ministry as a priest and bishop which was characterised by unfailing kindness and respect to all those he met and served. Bishop Vincent told me that he enjoyed being an auxiliary bishop because it kept him close to people. He made a massive contribution to the life of the local Church and city as dean at the Metropolitan Cathedral, chaplain to 4

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Liverpool University and chair of numerous committees including the early ecumenical bodies which laid the foundations for the harmony we enjoy between churches and people of faith in these days. In life, Bishop Vincent Malone was at peace with God and his creation, may he now be welcomed by his Lord into a place of peace and light.’

Cardinal Vincent Nichols remembered the time when he served with the then Monsignor Malone at Liverpool’s Metropolitan Cathedral. 'As a fairly young priest I was sent to live for a few years at the Clergy House of the Metropolitan Cathedral in Liverpool,’ he said. ‘Monsignor Vincent Malone was in charge. Above all I remember his endless patience to get right every aspect of the work of the Cathedral; his unfailing courtesy with every person he met, even those who were occasionally very difficult; his kindness to those in need who came to the door. He had a gentle rebuke for those who acted precipitously and a readiness himself to make amends. He offered warm hospitality without ever being ostentatious and a quiet, witty conversation. He was a lovely man to be with.

‘He served the Archdiocese unfailingly and the Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, especially in our ministry in universities, in which he had considerable experience. We will miss him. We pray that he is received by our Heavenly Father with loving mercy and that he can look down upon us with an affectionate smile as he sees us still

‘He enjoyed being an auxiliary bishop because it kept him close to people.’ struggle to do our best. His service, his struggle is over. May he rest in peace and rise in glory.'

The Anglican Bishop of Liverpool, Paul Bayes, tweeted, ‘Giving thanks to God for the life of RC Bishop Vincent Malone, auxiliary-emeritus of Liverpool, who has died. May he rest in peace and rise in glory.’

The Liverpool Mayor, Joe Anderson, said that Bishop Malone was ‘an unsung hero, who did a lot of good work behind the scenes … a practising Catholic myself, I found him to be a lovely, humble, gentle man, who was very well respected by people of all faiths and none.’

Vincent Malone was born in Liverpool on 11 September 1931.

He attended the parish school at St Oswald's, Old Swan, his home parish, to which he held a lifelong loyalty and affection. From 1942 to 1949 he attended St Francis Xavier College which was then run by the Jesuits in Salisbury Street, Liverpool, and would become a regular figure at the annual school reunions throughout his life.

In 1949 at the age of 18 he went to St Joseph's College, Upholland, to study for the priesthood. He later recalled an inauspicious start to his college career: ‘Being inappropriately dressed can be very embarrassing. Picture the scene: everyone else seems to know that formal attire should be worn, but you have arrived in informal wear.

My first day at Upholland left me in a dilemma of that kind. I had been sent the wrong list of clothes to bring, which didn’t take account of the fact that as a First Year Philosopher – I’d never even heard of them! – I should wear clerical dress. So, I arrived without the necessary cassock – worn all day every day by Philosophy students at that time – clerical collar, surplice and biretta. This looked like a problem not just for a few hours on that first day, but for every day

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feature Chaplaincy on Mount Pleasant. He instantly took to university life together with the community of students who lived at the Chaplaincy building. Spirituality and social events mixed and the barn dances which he used to organise were legendary according to former student Frank Kennedy. ‘I am one of many former Liverpool University students who have kept in touch with Vin – as he always introduced himself and was happy to be known by us – since our youth in the 1970s,” he recalled. “He spent eight years as university chaplain, hosting "cheese and jam butty lunches", hilarious social nights that plenty of non-Catholic friends enjoyed, and sharing the Chaplaincy with three or four students every year. I was one of the lucky ones, in my final year, enjoying the dry sense of humour Vin applied to everything from hosting Archbishop Derek Worlock to trying to catch the Chaplaincy mouse.

‘When Vin moved on to the Cathedral as “Monsignor Vincent”, he compiled a list which became a booklet and later a digital document of well over a hundred of our names and contact details, and added the name and birth year of every baby he heard about. This he christened “D’you ‘member Thingy?”. He sent a letter – later email – to us all every Christmas, always setting us a “who said what?” quiz to tease out if we knew each other as well as he knew us. We never did.

Celebrating Mass for his Episcopal Silver Jubilee. July 2014

as far as the eye could see. There was no going home or shopping for the next four months!’

To his relief another student was able to lend him the formal attire. ‘My blushes were spared,’ he recounted. ‘But to those in the know there was an added irony: my uncle was one of the main suppliers of clerical attire to the college and could have fixed me up with everything I needed – if only we had known!’ He successfully completed his studies and was ordained back in his home parish of St Oswald on 18 September 1955. He had many fond memories of his time at Upholland and attended the St Joseph’s Society reunions faithfully every year, missing only one – in 2019.

His first appointment in 1955 was to be Chaplain at Notre Dame Convent and College in Mount Pleasant, Liverpool. He served there until 1959 but formed lifelong friendships, attending the year group student reunions until his death.

While there he studied at Liverpool University and was awarded a Bachelor of Science (B Sc) in 1959. From Cambridge University he obtained in 1960 a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) and in 1964 a Diploma in Education (Dip Ed). In 1967 he became a Fellow of the College of Preceptors (FcollP).

From 1960 to 1961 he served as Assistant Priest at St Anne's, Overbury Street, Liverpool and was a part-time teacher at St Francis Xavier's Preparatory School which was at that time also the Cathedral Choir School. Then for the next 10 years (1961-1971) he served on the staff of Cardinal Allen Grammar School for Boys, first as an assistant teacher and eventually as Head of the Department for Religious Studies.

In 1971 a new phase of his life began when Archbishop George Andrew Beck appointed him as Catholic Chaplain to the University of Liverpool based in the

‘Naturally, we wanted to get together again and so began a series of sizeable five-yearly reunion gatherings – first at the former Chaplaincy in Brownlow Hill and later based in and around the Cathedral. These ran from 1982 to 2017, and I was looking forward to Vin's reminder next year about keeping a weekend free in 2022. The only rule was that there had to be some barn dancing – and the record for taking part in the most dances was undoubtedly held by our former chaplain himself.

‘A great administrator and devout priest he undoubtedly was, but hundreds of former students will remember Vin Malone as one of their kindest and most thoughtful friends, with his unexpectedly playful humour and dancing feet.’

In 1979 Archbishop Worlock appointed him as Administrator of the Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King and the following year he was appointed Honorary Prelate (Monsignor) and Canon of the Metropolitan Chapter. There were many significant events during his years at the Cathedral. In 1980 the National

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feature

Above: With Pope Benedict XVI, Archbishop Patrick Kelly and Bishop Tom Williams. Ad Limina Visit 2010.

Pastoral Congress took place and in 1982 the Papal visit. In 1989 as the city of Liverpool came together in grief following the Hillsborough disaster, a Mass was organised at the Cathedral, though such were the crowds that as Archbishop Worlock celebrated the Mass inside, Monsignor Malone celebrated an outdoor Mass on the Cathedral piazza with the help of a megaphone loaned to him by the police.

In 1980 he was elected Chairman of Convocation of Liverpool University, the first churchman to hold that post.

It was during his three-year term of office that the university celebrated its centenary in 1981. In that same year, he became a member of the Archbishop's Council and a Trustee of the Archdiocese, in which capacity he served until 2019. He also served as Chairman of the Archdiocesan Council of Priests.

‘He served the Archdiocese unfailingly and the Bishops' Conference of England and Wales’ 6

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His years at the Cathedral saw the growth of ecumenical co-operation through the partnership of Archbishop Worlock and Bishop David Sheppard, and it was a cause to which he was totally committed. He served as Deputy Speaker of the Merseyside and Region Churches’ Ecumenical Assembly and as Chairman of its Standing Committee, bringing to that work the same courtesy, kindness and

intellect which were hallmarks of his service in the Roman Catholic Church.

Former Ecumenical Officer Rev Martyn Newman said of him: ‘He was a man for whom I had a great deal of admiration and respect as well as affection, and through him I managed to penetrate some of the curious and nuanced language of “Vaticanese”, which helped me to interpret Catholics and Protestants to each other. He was firm in both faith and order, never divisively in my experience, but always looking for opportunities to be inclusive. And behind a sometimes impassive exterior, there was always a sense of humour trying to get out. I shall be remembering him with great thanksgiving.’ In a sign of gratitude for his work for unity, the Easter Candle was lit and prayers said for him in York Minster following his death.

He was appointed as Northern Regional Coordinator for the 1982 Papal visit, a major task but ideally suited to his organisational ability. He readily acknowledged that his assiduous attention to detail could occasionally cause frustration for others, but by his own admission, he met his match at a meeting to organise the Liverpool leg of the visit when a very long discussion ensued over whether to issue first-aiders with Savlon antiseptic cream or Savlon antiseptic liquid.

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feature On the day of the visit as the Pope arrived at the Metropolitan Cathedral, Archbishop Worlock introduced Monsignor Malone as the man ‘who has made all the arrangements for your visit to the north of England’ and then as Bishop Malone later recalled, ‘the Pope put his hand on my shoulder and said, “It is a big job”’. It is ironic that Bishop Malone died on the day which would have been Pope St John Paul II’s 100th birthday.

He was ordained as Titular Bishop of Abora and Auxiliary Bishop of Liverpool

by Archbishop Worlock in the Metropolitan Cathedral on 3 July 1989.

An Auxiliary Bishop is assigned a titular see as they assist a diocesan Bishop but do not have a diocese of their own. Bishop Malone was given Abora, an ancient diocese in Tunisia.

When such appointments are made the Bishop-elect normally finds out about the appointment a week or so before the announcement is made; in Bishop Malone’s case he had to wait for five weeks before the announcement as Archbishop Worlock had just left to visit Liverpool priests serving in Latin America when the news came through from Rome. In true fidelity Bishop Malone did not break the confidentiality. On his appointment he moved from the Cathedral and returned to live at his family home in Old Swan.

For the next 17 years he worked tirelessly as Auxiliary Bishop to Archbishop Worlock and then Archbishop Patrick Kelly. Along with many parish visitations and confirmations he also took on the task of liaising with the Archbishop on clergy appointments and dealing with many of the challenges facing the Church at the beginning of the 21st century. His interest and background in education served him well when he was appointed as Chairman of the Bishops' Conference Committee for Higher Education.

Archdiocese until 2019. Although he no longer conducted parish visitations, he continued with Confirmations and assisted with supply work. He also served as Chaplain to the Sisters of St Joseph of the Apparition, celebrating Mass daily at their convent close to his home. He was a regular visitor to the archdiocesan offices for meetings and on most days for lunch, becoming a great friend and source of encouragement to the archdiocesan staff.

He also served as the Episcopal Liaison for the National Board of Catholic Women, and that group’s former president, Pearl Clarke, paid tribute when saying: ‘As the Episcopal Liaison to the NBCW, Bishop Malone exemplified his faith, hope and charity by his welcome support and gentle encouragement. The news of his death heralds an irreplaceable loss to the Church in England and Wales. We are positive he will be embraced by Christ for his humility which belied his intellectual prowess. May we celebrate his lifetime’s achievement knowing he is in the presence of God.’ Bishop Malone retired as Auxiliary Bishop in 2006 on reaching the age of 75 but continued to serve as Vicar General and a trustee of the

Archbishop Malcolm received the following message from Pope Francis on the death of Bishop Vincent Malone: ‘His Holiness Pope Francis was saddened to learn of the death of Bishop Vincent Malone, and he sends prayerful condolences to you and to the clergy, religious and lay faithful of the Archdiocese. United with you in offering thanks to God for the late Bishop’s many years of priestly and episcopal ministry, especially his service to the education of young people, His Holiness commends his soul to the merciful love of our heavenly Father. To all who mourn Bishop Malone’s passing in the sure hope of the resurrection, the Holy Father cordially imparts his Apostolic Blessing as a pledge of peace and consolation in the Risen Lord.’

Mass for the centenary of Holy Family church, Cronton. September 2010

Cardinal Pietro Parolin Secretary of State

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News diary If you’ve got any news from your parish that you’d like featured e-mail us with the details at: catholicpictorial@rcaol.co.uk

Bishop Vincent is laid to rest On Monday 1 June Archbishop Malcolm celebrated Mass for Bishop Malone in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel of the Metropolitan Cathedral.

The Mass was livestreamed so that his family and many friends could join in.

Bishop Malone’s sister, Mary, who lived in America for many years, was also remembered as she had died on 28 May at the age of 92, just ten days after her brother.

In his homily Archbishop Malcolm recalled the help which Bishop Vincent had given him on his arrival in Liverpool: ‘When I came to the diocese, Bishop Vin was still very active as Vicar General, even though he had retired as an Auxiliary Bishop some seven years before. It was hard to see what he had actually retired from doing. He helped me understand the workings of the diocese, with a chart of course, but he also offered a listening ear and a kind word, as a brother bishop, a true brother to me, whom I had known for nearly 14 years, but I only saw the true man as he helped me settle in. He was always supportive, never critical of any of the brethren but would help me understand

them with kindness – a true teacher and friend.’

Due to the restrictions caused by the current pandemic Bishop Malone’s funeral was a graveside service prior to

interment in the family grave at Allerton cemetery on Tuesday 2 June. On a warm, sunlit morning a very small group of priests, family and friends observed social distancing as Bishop Vincent was laid to rest with his parents. The service was led by his brother Auxiliary Bishop, Tom Williams, and Archbishop Malcolm led prayers and gave the blessing.

Bishop Tom read from St Matthew’s account of the Ascension which concluded with the following words: ‘Go therefore, make disciples of all the nations, baptise them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teach them to observe all the commands I gave you, and know that I am with you always, yes, to the end of time.’

Clergy Appointments The following appointments will take effect in the Archdiocese of Liverpool in July and September 2020.

From 1 July 2020 Fr Kevan O’Brien, parish priest, Holy Cross, St Helens Fr Jonathan Brown, chaplain to Carmel Monastery, Allerton From September 2020 Canon Thomas Neylon, parish priest and dean in Widnes Fr Carl Mugan, parish priest in Widnes Canon Michael Fitzsimons, parish priest, St John Fisher, Knowsley and St Columba, Huyton Fr Philip Carr, parish priest, St Julie, Eccleston and English Martyrs, Haydock Fr John Hindley, parish priest, St Philomena and Holy Name, Fazakerley Fr Kevin McLoughlin, parish priest, Holy Family, Southport Fr Leo Daley, parochial administrator, Our Lady and All Saints, Parbold in addition to St John the Evangelist, Burscough.

Fr Joseph Simionato FDP, parish priest, Our Lady of the Annunciation, Standish and St Bernadette, Shevington Fr Bruce Walles, parish priest, Our Lady of Walsingham, Netherton in addition to St Benet, Netherton Fr Michael Thompson, parish priest, St Mary, Castletown and St Columba, Port Erin Fr Leo Cooper, parish priest, St Benedict, Hindley Fr Kenny Hyde, parish priest, St Richard, Skelmersdale Fr Dominic Risley, assistant priest, St Michael and All Angels, Kirkby Deacon Peter Murphy, assistant priest, Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King Deacon Paul Rooney to the parishes of St Austin’s, Thatto Heath and St Teresa, Devon Street, St Helens, the St Helens Pastoral Area and Liverpool Hope University Fr Philip Gregory, dean of Upholland Pastoral Area Fr Martin Kershaw, dean of St Helens Pastoral Area

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news diary

The service of charity

By Steve Atherton It came as a terrible shock to us to have church categorised as a ‘non-essential’ service, less important than supermarkets and even off-licences. Our bishops have an obvious concern for the opening of church buildings so that we can worship and express our faith through the Mass, and public and private prayer. We need our churches for our life as a community: for Baptisms, First Communions, weddings and funerals.

Yet closed churches do not mean that we can no longer express our Catholic, Christian faith. In his exhortation ‘On the Call to Holiness in Today’s World’, Pope Francis says that ‘the ultimate criterion on which our lives will be judged is what we have done for others’. These words make it clear that we express our faith by our actions towards other people.

With this in mind, and with an awareness of the impact of the pandemic on some of the most vulnerable people in our area, the Archbishop and the Trustees recently decided that diocesan funds ringfenced for charitable initiatives would go to support local charitable projects. Grants of £5,000 have been made to Feeding Liverpool (www.feedingliverpool.org) and SWAP (www.swapwigan.org) to help their much-needed work to continue.

To provide some information about these charities, Feeding Liverpool is an ecumenical pilot project of Feeding Britain – and a wonderful example of the strength of ecumenical relationships among churches in Liverpool. In ‘normal’ times, the aims of Feeding Liverpool are to: • Create arenas for practitioners to share and shape good practices in relation to tackling hunger and food insecurity in the Liverpool city region • Draw on experiences from the ground to influence policy debates locally and nationally • Raise awareness and understanding of food policy and related issues Since Covid-19, Feeding Liverpool has played a key role, in collaboration with the mayor’s office, in the procurement and distribution of food supplies to support vulnerable households, using funds secured through its relationship with Feeding Britain and with local churches. Feeding Liverpool understands food insecurity as one part of a wider web of poverty and seeks to change the structures that allow injustice to continue.

Its chief challenges and concerns are as follows: • Un/under-employment; loss of income, e.g. ‘furloughed’ workers not receiving the 20% top-up • Delays in receiving Universal Credit • Debt, including dangers of informal lending • Digital exclusion, e.g. ensuring tablets/stable internet connections for schoolwork; financial digital exclusion, e.g. older people who are fearful about leaving their homes but do not have access to cash or online banking to pay for home deliveries • Social isolation and fears to ask for help, particularly among those struggling to care for children • Deteriorating mental health; especially for young people over 10

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• •

• •

summer holidays, groups who are continuing to shield/fearful to leave home, single parents, single people Vitamin D deficiencies – both in young children but also in shielded and vulnerable population Dependency on free food parcels; the need to move away from free food parcel models towards encouraging affordable food initiatives Tailored debt advice/support Understanding the pandemic’s impact on Liverpool through collection of suitable data

SWAP – the Support Wigan Arrivals Project – looks after the interests of over 1,000 asylum seekers in Wigan borough and the surrounding districts by providing advice, case work support, and language classes. It has maintained its outreach to some of the area’s most vulnerable people despite a funding crisis during the pandemic. Asylum seekers and refugees are doubly disadvantaged by having very limited accommodation and not always being able to understand health instructions. They are one of the groups least likely to have digital access, making it difficult for their children to keep in contact with schools.

Nationally, the Bishops’ Conference has acted by creating an online booklet titled Responding to the Coronavirus Pandemic which serves as a toolkit for parishes, providing advice from the Caritas Social Action Network and the St Vincent de Paul Society (Nugent, in the case of our diocese) as well as a full list of contacts.

Although lockdown may be easing for some, many in our parishes will continue to need our support. Hopefully this document will encourage, support and enable this important work. It can be reached via www.liverpoolcatholicresources.com or www.liverpoolcatholic.org.uk (by clicking on ‘Prayer and Other Resources’). Please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

The quotation from Pope Francis at the start of this article goes on to say: ‘Our worship becomes pleasing to God when we devote ourselves to living generously, and allow God’s gift, granted in prayer, to be shown in our concern for our brothers and sisters.’

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news diary

Together in Spirit

Bishop Tom to livestream Mass for care workers Bishop Tom Williams is to livestream Mass from the Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King in order to show a spiritual solidarity with the Sick and their Families, NHS Front-Line workers and those working in Social Care.

The Mass is part of the initiative where a Catholic Bishop celebrates a livestreamed Mass in a Cathedral each Thursday at 7.00 pm.

Bishop Tom will celebrate the Mass on Thursday 9 July, others planned include: Thursday 11 June - Bishop Patrick McKinney, St Barnabas Cathedral, Nottingham

by Deacon Kevin Duffy When we embarked on our Lenten journey this year none of us would have imagined that we would be unable to go to Mass before we reached Palm Sunday, but the pandemic led us into strange times. Priests were left to celebrate Mass alone as Deacons and the faithful were unable to enter church buildings.

For those able to access the internet virtually attending Mass became the norm.

As a deacon I felt lost as to what I could do. In prayer and discernment, I felt the Holy Spirit calling me to create a WhatsApp group. I began to work through my phone contacts to see who used WhatsApp and invited them to join the ‘Together in Spirit’ group. I told them I did not know what it actually was going to be but felt the Spirit would guide us.

Around 30 people whose only connection was I had their number and they used WhatsApp began to virtually walk together through these strange times. What evolved with God’s grace has been amazing. Paradoxically my journey through Holy Week and the Easter season has been the most fruitful of my life. Father Tony Slingo during spiritual direction asked me what the group was. I thought its not a conventional group such as a scripture group who may now meet virtually at the same time as usual. I thought, is it a community? Although we all shared the same faith it feels so much more than just a loose grouping by faith. It is a continuing conversation some just listen and others share their thoughts and feelings.

The freedom from a specific time of a conventional group means people contribute when they are able. That may be after they have attended daily Mass virtually somewhere in the world, a thought that strikes them as they read a spiritual book or reflections on the passage of the bible as prayers before going to sleep. My role has been facilitation of this Spirit filled discussion. People are able to say what they feel without fear of judgement or stay silent listening to others speak. Of course, we have sadly joined in prayer for friends and family who have died. There are no long uncomfortable silences, no one can control the conversation as sometimes happens in traditional groups. With the routines and rituals of traditional faith life pruned away new and flourishing growth has sprung forth. The best way I can describe it is an extended family gathered around a communal table each offering food to nourish each other. What the new normal holds for our faith lives we don’t know but we know we will continue to be Together in Spirit at our virtual table in the future.

Thursday 18 June - Archbishop Bernard Longley St Chad’s Cathedral, Birmingham Thursday 25 June - Bishop Alan Hopes, Cathedral of St John the Baptist, Norwich Thursday 2 July - Archbishop John Wilson, St George’s Cathedral, Southwark The livestreams can be found by visiting the Cathedrals’ webpages.

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news diary

May crowning in Croxteth

by Sandra Ryan

This year Our Lady had an unusual May crowning on the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima at Our Lady Queen of Martyrs church, Croxteth.

Deacon Chris Housbey led a rosary service linking up with the children in the school Hub who made rosaries out of pipe cleaners and flower bouquets out of tissue paper. His daughter Caitlyn, aged 14, crowned the parish statue on behalf of the local children, parishioners and Salesian sisters who were watching via the parish live stream system.

The children later did their own socially distanced procession and listened to Marian hymns recorded by the parish music group. Father Chris Fallon the parish priest has been trying many ways to engage with homes, the sick and families in the community using a variety of innovative technologies.

Deacon Chris said ‘it was a great honour and brilliant the children could join in from the school hub. So many are missing church but the daily live streaming from the parish is still bringing all members of Our Lady Queen of Martyrs and St Teresa's together’.

Online giving launched In response to the amazing generosity of parishioners who have expressed a wish to continue giving to their parishes while churches are closed the Archdiocese of Liverpool is now offering an opportunity for people to donate online.

The donations website is at: https://donate.liverpoolcatholic.org.uk/ with the following message: Are you able to help?

Daily life has changed dramatically in these last weeks and many people are experiencing difficulties in adapting to a new situation. We continue to follow the necessary government restrictions to protect those around us, and our churches remain closed. There is no public worship at this time, but maintenance costs remain unchanged. Many people have shown their generosity by asking how they can continue to make their offerings to support their parish.

In response to this we are now able to offer this online giving facility so that those

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who wish to, and are able to do so, can continue to make donations directly to their own parish.

How can I donate?

If you would like to donate to your parish it is easy to do. Choose your Parish Area from the menu and then find your parish in the list. You will be offered a choice of donation amounts.

Donations may be made by standing order, as a one-off donation, or as a regular weekly donation. If you are a UK taxpayer, you can also use Gift Aid which could increase the value of your donation by 25% at no extra cost to yourself. If you wish to Gift Aid your donation, please tick the box.

We are grateful for your support and our prayers remain with you at this time.

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news diary Reflections from the Synod Office

by Matt Jeziorski The work of Synod 2020 is ongoing.

During these difficult and different days of pandemic we are still listening for the Holy Spirit speaking through our experiences as we discern where God is calling us.

When the restrictions associated with COVID-19 came into effect in late March there were, of course, some significant implications for our Synod 2020 journey.

Our instinct in the office was the practical: what needs to be moved or re-thought, how do we make provision for effective home-working, how do we navigate the uncertainty?

Yet, when faced with the full effect of lockdown, it was the opportunities rather than the challenges that began to come to the fore. Public Masses were suspended, the doors of our churches locked, and gathering as a community with our friends, family, and neighbours impossible. We were all experiencing a very different way of being Church as many of us gathered remotely, online, and from our own homes.

It was clear that our Synod could learn a great deal as we reflected on our experiences of being Church under lockdown and continued to pray our Synod prayer, help us to become the Church that you are calling us to be.

Your reflections have come in from every area of our diocese in considerable numbers. Upwards of 250 individual

responses have arrived in the Synod Office covering quite a breadth of experience and concern.

Not unexpectedly we have seen a great deal of response to the experience of livestreamed Masses. A general gratitude for their availability is clear as people have been able to maintain a sense of community either in their own parish or as a virtual visitor to another. There is also a desire that livestreaming will continue as a service for the sick, the housebound, and those unable to get to Mass. How can communications technology be used to build community and promote a sense of belonging?

Yet the experience of livestreaming has not all been positive. Technological limitations leave many feeling excluded, others want to join Mass from their local Church rather than being a live-stream tourist, whilst some find the experience of online Mass to be hard to engage with and yearn for the re-opening of our Churches. How do we ensure everybody is included?

Concern for the sick, the vulnerable, the aged, those who faced three months of social isolation, sometimes alone, moved many people to ponder how well equipped our parishes were for responding to the needs of the vulnerable within our communities. Do we know the people of our parish, do we know their needs, can we contact them? What changes do we need to make to be able to do this more effectively in the future?

Whilst the overwhelming majority of reflections have been inspired and coloured by the immediate implications of COVID19, the period of lockdown seems also to have given people the space to ponder deeply some of the bigger questions about our Church and the future. Ideas continue to arrive about how the home-school-parish partnership can be strengthened, how our young people can be supported in the development of their faith, and how diocesan structures can be enhanced, how we use our Church buildings, the wellbeing and support of priests, how we reach out to the weak and the marginalised, and much more.

We know that reflections will continue to be enriched as lockdown is gradually lifted, as our schools reopen, and as we look forward to our church doors opening at least for private prayer. The invitation remains to continue reflecting on the joys, sorrows, challenges, and struggles of living through lockdown and contribute your ideas and observations via the Synod website.

Please go to www.synod2020.co.uk and click ‘Submit a Proposal’. The extended deadline is Tuesday 1 September.

Liverpool couple create garden café to raise money for global coronavirus appeal In a normal week Jacquelyn Williams and her husband Alan would enjoy several trips to a local café or coffee shop but lockdown made this impossible, so they decided to get creative.

Jacquelyn and Alan set up their own garden café where all proceeds go to charity.

During lockdown, the couple from Liverpool embarked on a ‘Coffee Challenge’. They created a coffee shop in their garden and donated what they would have spent on coffee to the coronavirus appeal of international development charity, Cafod.

This innovative idea gained a lot of attention in the community and the pair invited their parish to get involved – to set up cafés in their own gardens and raise money to help vulnerable overseas communities.

Cafod education volunteer Jacquelyn William, said: “Before the lockdown, we never really thought anything about going a few times a week for a quick coffee and cake, but since we’ve been in lockdown, we realised how much we missed the experience of sitting down together for a relaxing hot drink.

“So, we decided to recreate the experience in our own garden – 14

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and it’s been a real treat! We wanted to do this challenge to show everyone how easy it is to fundraise and help others.

“It doesn’t have to be something big. A small gesture really can make a big difference.”

The pair’s chosen charity, Cafod, has recently launched an emergency coronavirus appeal and is scaling up its support to local aid experts. These local experts are providing food to vulnerable families, as well as improving handwashing and sanitation facilities across communities.

Cafod is also helping churches in developing countries to use their networks to share hygiene messages through Catholic radio stations and to produce posters in local dialects on infection prevention.

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Reflections on Leadership during a Pandemic Last year I came across a true story of a submarine Captain, who had studied to command one type of submarine, but at the last minute, was assigned to a different boat. The crew of that boat knew their job, and their boat, extremely well. The Captain learned quickly to trust his crew by providing intent and clarity.

It was his crew that moved the boat, not him. I recently wrote to the staff and volunteers in Nugent, reflecting on this leadership model (Intent Based Leadership).

Normandie Wragg Chief Executive Nugent

To put the following blog into context, this was written during the pandemic when the peak of infection has passed (for the first wave at least) and lockdown was easing. Nugent has many care homes, for both older adults, adults with learning difficulties or brain injuries, those who have mental health challenges and for vulnerable children.

Our special independent school continues to educate students.

Our teams (including our volunteers) are tired and so very brave. At time when many companies, businesses and services are preparing to start back up again, we have not stopped, for over 10 weeks, 24 hours a day and we will continue until our services are no longer needed. I am so very proud of them all.

It is in this context that the narrative below was written.

At the time of writing this, despite operating in a ‘Covid hotspot’ we have not experienced Covid infections in our care homes which is in contrast to the devastation across care homes in the UK (and other countries) where so many have experienced infection and death of residents. This position could change at any time, and our thoughts and prayers go out to the families, staff, and organisations who are bravely continuing to provide care in homes that have had infections. Like many organisations, we have experienced staff shortages and

re-deployed staff from across Nugent to reduce agency staff usage.

I am grateful that as a charity we have the intellectual resources to receive, understand disseminate and implement operational adjustments as new risks emerge or as government guidance changes. We have not only continued to help or educate those in our care you have also helped each other and helped other charities who needed our help.

I am thankful that together, we were able to respond very quickly to the changing needs of this pandemic. We were quick to think about the people we serve, our

staff, supply chains, ICT and working remotely, communications, ensuring we had our finances in place, redeploying staff and recruiting new staff and generally keeping our services running and staff being paid.

At this point in time, I don’t think we will ever quite look the same way again and I believe that to be a positive. We are accelerating our offer, services and outlook, far more quickly than we ever have, and our beneficiaries will experience the positive benefit. I realise that across the organisation there is still much work to do, and wrinkles to iron out, but we will get there. We all share the same values and that is important.

We all subscribe to the same mission and that is why we are here.

I am thankful for extremely competent people around me and across Nugent, including you, our courageous and optimistic Nugent heroes, who put their arms around the people we educate, care for, protect and inspire. As a leader, I have never been through a world pandemic before, none of us have. I sought counsel from those with the expertise in their areas, both internally and externally to our charity. Wherever I could glean information, I gathered it. I continue to do so with the intention of providing clarity as to what we may anticipate experiencing in 6 months, 12 months or 2 years from now.

Finally, I am thankful for your ongoing support. Leading through Covid has certainly been my greatest challenge. I was asked recently what was most on my mind during the pandemic, and I said ‘the wellbeing of our staff and the people we are entrusted with’. I couldn’t hold that responsibility if it was not for all our heroes.

I am not taking the submarine to where it needs to be. You are.

How you can be a hero too Nugent continues to welcome new heroes into our charity. We have both volunteer roles and paid roles, with flexible hours. Please see our website for our opportunities. https://www.wearenugent.org/careers/

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Bishop Vincent Malone remembered ‘We at St Mary’s School and Parish in Chorley would like to pass on our condolences. I was fortunate enough to sit down with the Bishop for tea a few years ago together with our Parish Priest, Father Francis Marsden and school headteacher and it was a privilege to listen to him tell his stories in that softly spoken voice.’

Paul Hodge, Year 3 teacher at St Mary’s Catholic Primary School and Nursery ‘The college was very sad to learn of the passing of Bishop Malone. We were always immensely impressed with his intellect with his wonderful personality but above all he personified what being a good Christian leader was all about.’

Archbishop Beck Catholic College ‘It saddens us to hear of the passing of a long-time supporter of Nugent, the Right Reverend, Bishop Vincent Malone.

‘Bishop Malone, supported not only our charity but was a friend of the Catholic deaf community and a supporter of our Caritas work in the archdiocese. Our thoughts and condolences go out to his family, and friends at this time. He will be missed greatly by all who knew him.’

Nugent ‘My memories of Bishop Malone and his interaction with young people is firstly the manner in which he would put all confirmation candidates and their families at ease. When a candidate came before him it was as if they were the only people in the church, he would ask questions and chat as if he had all the time in the world. I remember on one occasion the Bishop coming to see me I asked if he could come half an hour later than he asked for. When I told him it was because the confirmation group were meeting he asked why he could not join us, and he did. My second memory was how when visiting the schools he was totally relaxed and at ease with all ages from reception children tugging on his cassock to teenagers asking him to explain Church teaching on whatever was the topic of the day. He certainly lived up to his own motto ‘the Lord loves a cheerful giver’. He gave his all as priest and Bishop with a cheerful heart to our Archdiocese.

Father Philip Swanson, Chair of Governors and School Chaplain, St Cuthbert’s Catholic High School, St Helens ‘Bishop Malone was a long serving, supportive governor of our school. When 16

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times were difficult he was always there to help and support in practical ways including saying Mass for the school community.

Bishop Malone was especially helpful in ensuring fellow governors understood the legal responsibilities around school admissions. He was a person of great integrity and this shone through when he was in charge of education during some very difficult times. His actions always portrayed his deep desire to help schools to fulfil their mission to be centres of excellence where faith is nourished.

His passing, while undeniably a huge loss for Liverpool and the wider Church, has reawakened fond personal memories for many of the staff and governors at Bellerive.

Some of us knew him as a colleague and a friend and some of our staff, and indeed parents, were confirmed by him.

A person with a brilliant mind he could make his observations in a way that no one at a meeting was ever made to feel inferior.

In all his dealings he was unfailingly courteous and constructive, displaying a depth of insight that made him the uniquely gifted person who was such a blessing to know. May his generous soul continue to inspire.’

Pamela Thornton, Chair of Governors Bellerive FCJ Catholic College ‘Anytime I met him he was gentle and truly lived out the Gospel in his actions and words. The scripture ‘Let the children come

to me, for theirs is the Kingdom of God’ from Matthew’s Gospel sums him up and his passion.’

Catherine Hughes, Curriculum Leader for Religious Education, St Cuthbert’s Catholic High School, St Helens ‘Bishop Vincent Malone was a most loved Bishop across the city and was remembered especially by all the children in Our Lady and St Swithin school on ascension day with prayers and reflective artwork to mark the repose of his soul.

The children, staff and families have many memories of him from many holy communion and confirmation services and also as a parish friend dropping in for the recent jubilee celebration of Our Lady Queen of Martyrs parish.

He was also a popular member of the audience at the annual Croxteth pantomines held in the parish club. His smile and warmth were loved by the children on visitations to the area and he was a wonderful inspiration to them sharing the joys of his ministry and challenges of faith.

During the livestreamed Mass from the Metropolitan Cathedral celebrated by Archbishop Malcolm the children at home lit candles and prayed for him, bidding the choirs of angels to lead him into paradise.’

Sandra Hamilton, Our Lady and St Swithin Catholic Primary School, Croxteth

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Memories from the Catholic Pictorial’s Holy Land pilgrimage, 2000, led by Bishop Vincent Malone Following the sad passing of Bishop Vincent Malone the Catholic Pic reflects on the special pilgrimage to the Holy Land in the year 2000 for Pic readers, led by Bishop Vincent and assisted by Mgr John Furnival, Frs Dave Gamble and Eddie O’Toole.

Visiting Biblical sites and reading from Scripture at each location, the ultimate story was seen at first hand by those who made their “journey of a lifetime”.

Many of the pilgrims used the occasion to fulfill their lifelong dreams of going to the Holy Land and were ‘spiritually and emotionally” uplifted by the experience.

The pilgrims visited all places such as the Garden of Gethsemane, the Dead Sea, the Mount of Olives and Cana and the route Jesus took to Calvary was also retraced.

Bishop Malone said: “The journey of a Lifetime it is sometimes called – because most Christians can only hope to go once in their lifetime on pilgrimage to the Holy Land.

“But the Archdiocesan millennium pilgrimage just completed also recalled the lifetime journey of Christ himself from the moment of his conception at Nazareth to the remembrance of his ascension into heaven from a hill outside Jerusalem – the journey of a lifetime.

“Every stop we made on our journey prompted us to turn to the sacred scriptures to refresh our memory of forgotten details of the well-known story, and to absorb the reality of such features as the hillside caves around the shepherds’ fields, the ancient steps that would have led up to the Temple of Jesus’ time, and the Lake of Galilee.

“We prayed at many other gospel shrines for the pilgrims’ needs and for those of their relatives and friends back home, as well as for all God’s children.

“How focused the mystery of the incarnation becomes when you are

surrounded by the physical context in which God prepared his chosen people for the time when he should send his son to share our human condition.

“We have been to the land where the word became flesh and dwelt among us. We pray that we are renewed in our readiness to share with others his Gospel news because we have been touched by the reality of the Incarnation in a new and special way. Thanks be to God”.

Catholic Pic photographer Tom Murphy who recorded Bishop Vincent’s pilgimage to the Holy Land

Bishop Vincent on the Via Dolorosa

Bishop Vincent leads pilgrims on Banks of River Jordan

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profile

Bishop Vincent Malone Tony Charnock OBE pays tribute to Bishop Vincent Malone’s work in education My first real contact with Bishop Vincent Malone was in the early 1970s when I joined the Catholic Teachers’ Federation (CTF). Later when I became secretary of the Liverpool branch, our friendship developed and I grew to know him much better. He was, as a former teacher, very interested and involved in everything to do with education, and over the years – through my own involvement serving on the Archdiocesan Schools’ Commission and as a head teacher – our paths crossed frequently.

When he became the Cathedral Administrator, despite the very many calls on his time, he was still very supportive of the CTF. He was always willing to enable our Mass to be celebrated in the Metropolitan Cathedral and attended several of our conferences, both locally and nationally. His advice on educational matters was always welcome and highly informative.

Bishop Vincent was a mild, quiet, humble and gentle person who showed kindness and respect to everyone he met. He had a very clear and incisive mind and, though he was willing to listen to all points of view, his clear and sharp intellect enabled him to see the essential and important parts of the matters under

discussion and help to move the discussion forward. He was able to do this with great patience, even when conversations became heated. His contribution on many Archdiocesan working parties regarding Catholic education, such as looking at its future across the diocese, was very much appreciated and valued by all involved – even by those who might have thought differently to himself. He was respected by everyone and his sincerity, honesty and integrity were always admired.

His involvement and interest in education went across the whole spectrum, from nursery to university and in support of all those involved in Catholic education.

When undertaking a school visit he would arrive well prepared with knowledge of the school and its community. He had a great interest in the staff and made sure there was time to meet and chat to them. He wanted to hear what they were doing and always gave encouragement to them in what, at some periods over the past 40 years, was a very challenging vocation. Though he was somewhat shy by nature, his real affection for the children came through, enabling him to engage with them at their level. He was interested to see their work, to ask them about what they were

learning and what their future hopes were. Along with his warm smile, there was always some good advice to give to them too before he left.

Bishop Vincent was concerned to improve and develop all aspects of Catholic education, including the people who volunteered to be governors of our Catholic schools. He wanted them to be properly trained so that they understood their important role in the development and oversight of our Catholic schools. He was always supportive of the Archdiocese’s plans to ensure they had the resources and professional support to enable them to do their work.

Bishop Vincent was also a regular visitor to Chorley where I worked, as well as to other areas across the Archdiocese, to administer the Sacrament of Confirmation to our young people. In celebrating this important milestone in their lives, he was always ready and eager to meet the young people and their families after the celebration and had a quiet greeting for each of them.

Bishop Vincent was an unfailing servant of the Archdiocese of Liverpool and a wonderful supporter and champion of our Catholic schools and universities and of all those who worked in education.

May he rest in peace.

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sunday reflections On a liturgical note The Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus falls this year on Friday 19 June.

This liturgical feast celebrates the heart that loves us so much – but it is a heart crowned with thorns, a side pierced with a lance, hands which have washed the feet of the apostles, and feet which have walked the dusty tracks of Galilee and the polished marble of the Temple of Jerusalem. In other words, the heart of Jesus celebrates that humanity of Jesus who loves the rich young man, weeps over Lazarus his friend and over Jerusalem which had failed to grasp the fullness of the gift that was being offered to it.

The heart is a sign and a symbol. It stands for the humanity of the incarnate Christ Jesus and it is also a pointer to the fullness and perfection of love which we can only strive to imitate and mirror. It is not a love which we have to merit, or attain, or grasp – it is a free gift and what we need to do is learn to receive graciously (as we do with any love, human or divine) but then also to recognise that this love never leaves us where we are, but always seeks to perfect and to ‘bring us on’ to achieve the best we can, to be the best we can.

This is because love in its purest and fullest reality ennobles us, it makes us realise our true dignity and worth.

Sunday thoughts I write this during the anniversary of VE Day. Comparisons are being made between the pandemic and the Second World War. The war lasted six years but there’s a touch of ‘war-time spirit’ in the air. A sense of shared danger, restrictions and uncertainty can bring out the best in us. Many have felt a deeper sense of our common humanity and the vulnerability that goes with it.

The Church’s experience behind the Iron Curtain in the Soviet era, and in repressive regimes such as North Korea today, have something in common with our experience of practising the faith during the lockdown. In the ‘Church of Silence’, Christians practised their religion underground, deprived of public celebration of the Mass in open church buildings. Some were imprisoned for their beliefs. Yet many moved beyond the public rituals they were denied into a fresh ownership of their faith and an appreciation of the

Canon Philip Gillespie

We heard it from the mouth of Pope Leo the Great at Christmas (Office of Readings): ‘O Christian, be aware of your nobility – it is God's own nature that you share: do not then, by an ignoble life, fall back into your former baseness.

Think of the Head, think of the Body of which you are a member. Recall that you have been rescued from the power of darkness, and have been transferred to the light of God, the kingdom of God.’ In the preface of the Eucharistic Prayer for the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart we give thanks that ‘Christ poured out blood and water from his pierced side, the wellspring of the Church’s Sacraments.’

In this time when the physical celebration of the Sacraments is not possible in many of our communities, it is perhaps good to reflect on where all of the Sacraments find their origin, their purpose and their fulfillment – it is the pierced side of Christ, the self-giving love of Christ, the invitation of Christ to ‘Come, follow me’. Having been thirsting for these Sacramental gifts for the past weeks, may we soon return to them with a deeper understanding and a greater love and devotion.

Mgr John Devine OBE

presence of God deep within them. In spite of isolation, Christians experienced a sense of solidarity with other believers, even though they couldn’t meet together.

Similarly, during the time of the Reformation, whenever news was passed that a priest was staying in the vicinity, many risked their lives to attend Mass. People and priests ran the risk of imprisonment, torture and brutal execution. The early Christian writer Tertullian wrote that ‘the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church’.

Our weeks of lockdown hardly match the suffering of persecuted Christians but there is a sense that the faith we may have taken for granted grows in times of hardship. These weeks can inform recommendations we make on the shape of the Church in the future.

They give fresh impetus to our Synod 2020 preparations.

Weekly Reflections are on the Archdiocesan website at www.liverpoolcatholicresources.com 20

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The power of unity In 1977 I met a community in Liverpool that consisted of two nuns from different orders, a priest, and two families who were from a Free Church background but who all lived together in peace and harmony. That community was the basis of the Kirkby Christian Fellowship and those who led and still lead it became lifelong friends. What has united us over the years is a common experience of the spirit and a belief that the spirit is calling us towards what Pope Francis calls ‘unity in diversity.’ We have just celebrated Pentecost and surely the greatest gift of the spirit is unity.

With the dawn of the Second Vatican Council, documents were produced that seemed to stretch out the hand of friendship to people of other traditions. We were allowed to pray with others of different understandings. We gathered in each other’s churches to pray for Christian unity. That was the was the work of the spirit. There was hope and enthusiasm among the Church traditions that had never been felt before. It wasn’t a negating of Catholicism, as some thought, but an awareness of what the spirit was doing across the churches and a moving with that spirit.

For me, one of the greatest scandals in the Church is disunity; not difference but disunity.

We can do things differently and still be united but too often suspicion and fingerpointing rear their ugly head. Too often a mix of power struggles, jockeying for position and wanting our own way acts to destroy the simple call to be united in love.

I’m sure that’s why Jesus in John’s Gospel prays for unity. We can’t go it alone. It’s together that we make a difference The early Church knew the power of unity and knew that unity would be its greatest sign to the world of a God who had brought people together and kept them together in the face of opposition and persecution, people who were willing to stand for love at all costs. It takes the power of the spirit to make that happen and so Jesus prays ‘that they may all be one’.

The greatest witness we have today is unity.

What will convince the world of the presence of God is certainly not moralising or dogmatic statements but people who come together in love to share love with one another and the world, people who know how to stand with those in need, people who know how to celebrate love and life together. My prayer for Pentecost, therefore, would be for the spirit of God to sweep across this country and free us from all that would stop us being united.

Fr Chris Thomas

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youth ministry

Locked down in an empty Lowe House

By Father Simon Gore Normally, as the deadline date for the Pic gets closer, I have to remind whichever team member is on that month’s rota that they should get typing. This month, with my sense of time and date distorted, it has been my turn to be reminded by Peter, our editor, that something must be written.

And as I look around and see not a single team member, it is down to me.

Yes, the Animate team left Lowe House at the end of March as lockdown began and for someone used to living in a community for the last few years it has been a strange and solitary life in the big house here. Indeed, as I sit down to write our monthly update, I realise I have drawn the short straw as there really is nothing to update anybody on.

This term is usually incredibly busy.

We have our usual retreats and missions, and also the Lourdes pilgrimage to plan for and the annual Faith in Action award ceremony to organise. Instead of that coordinated chaos, it has been a far simpler affair. With the schools not in, there has been no retreat work.

Meanwhile, the Lourdes pilgrimage has been postponed and the Faith in Action event curtailed (although as

we were coming to the end of the year, most young people have been awarded their certificates by post).

When all you would normally do has been cancelled, how to fill the time?

It is a question most of us have asked ourselves recently and, with nothing to update you on, I thought I might as well share what life in ‘Lowe House lockdown’ has been like! As mentioned above, it is a big house and I have been thankful for that over the last weeks. Yet it does present problems. I think half of my week must be spent cleaning. The slightly ill-fitting, old wooden windows are not great at keeping dust out. Perhaps I take it a bit far, though. I am not saying I am a ‘clean freak’ but getting cotton buds out to tackle the woodwork in the chapel might be considered excessive by some. As the house has got cleaner, I feel I have become more dishevelled. At the start of lockdown, I optimistically thought it would not last this long so decided I would not try to cut my hair and would grow a lockdown beard. Nine or ten weeks on, I am not sure that was a wise decision as I look at a different ‘me’ in the mirror every morning.

In order to get out of the house (and

avoid any mirrors), I have been spending more time in the garden.

Those of you who know Lowe House will know there is a grotto and a Calvary scene at the bottom of the garden. Again, in a slightly optimistic view, I thought I would spend Holy Week cleaning up the Calvary scene. I eventually finished this week. Even though it has taken longer than expected, there is something cathartic about seeing a visible difference made at the end of the day. Hopefully people will be able to sit and use it as a place of quiet reflection. I certainly have done.

On the subject of prayer, I have found a personal rhythm to my own prayer life to be sustaining. I am lucky to have a (spotlessly clean) chapel to use each day for Mass. And I have the grotto in the garden to pray the rosary. And the Calvary scene to just sit and think and perhaps allow myself to reflect on what our Saviour endured on the cross, but how new life and hope came after the suffering. In those prayers I have remembered all our Archdiocese. In particular, I have tried to keep a special place in my prayers for the young people; there must be so much anxiety and unease in so many families at the moment. I have to believe, though, that the Lord will offer His comfort to all those who suffer.

And I commend to the Lord all those who have died recently, especially those taken to the Lord through Covid19. I was saddened to add the name of Bishop Vincent Malone to this list. As a younger person I remember seeing Bishop Malone at a distance, and then going to seminary I had a chance to meet the man behand the mitre.

Latterly, he was a source of advice and support. Bishop Malone also holds a special place in the life of Animate as the first chair of our management committee. The diocese will be a poorer place for his loss, but we can be assured he goes to be with the Father in glory.

Your lockdown stories We are looking to create some ‘News from lockdown’ stories for the Archdiocesan website to showcase what parishes/groups/individuals/schools have been doing. If you would like to contribute – be it with a brief 30second video clip (selfie-style is fine) or a short written piece – please send it to me at s.gore@animateyouth.co.uk.

Anything you send in is covered by the diocesan privacy policy – see liverpoolcatholic.org.uk/privacynotice.

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education news Technology helps navigate the challenges Staff and students at St Cuthbert’s Catholic High School have turned to technology to navigate challenges faced as a result of the coronavirus crisis.

Following the UK Government announcement in March that closed many school buildings and cancelled exams to help stop the spread of the coronavirus, the secondary school in St Helens turned to innovative solutions to help students continue to learn from home and keep its community connected and supported.

Teaching staff packed the school’s online portal with resources and immediately came together to share ways to keep students engaged and their studies on track.

The department had previously used the platform to create private year groups, accessible by a unique code, where students could access resources and work assignments with set deadlines. The platform allows these to be submitted, marked and returned to students with feedback and stored securely online.

Social media also took centre stage, both in the delivery of lessons and response to assignments. The school’s Spanish

department began using Left to right: Teachers Miss its dedicated Instagram Smith and Mrs Barrett channel to live-stream interactive lessons for each year group on a daily basis.

Adept at the use of smartphone technology and social media, students have also been submitting footage of work being done in their ‘classroom spaces’ at with ‘Clap For Our Community’ on the last home, including one Year 7 student who day of term – in a YouTube video that filmed herself undertaking a science received more than 1,000 views shortly experiment. after being uploaded – to donating crates Headteacher, Catherine Twist, said: of freshly washed and sanitised eye “Having an innovative team and a resilient, protectors from the school’s science well-rounded student body makes an department to NHS hospitals. enormous difference in times of crisis. We “Technology has not only facilitated the were already doing things differently, so practicalities of engaging our students at we were much more prepared for the home. It has also supported the very challenges we have faced in recent human need to remain connected and be weeks.” part of a community during what is a very Although technology has been pivotal to unsettling and sometimes frightening St Cuthbert’s practical response to the time.” Catherine added. “It’s important that coronavirus crisis, community has we don’t lose sight of the important role remained at its heart; from a rallying call to schools, their staff and students play in staff to congratulate students and parents bringing people together.”

Pupils say: “Thank You NHS” Children of key workers and vulnerable children from Holy Trinity Catholic Primary School and St Austin's Catholic Primary School who have been attending Banks Road Primary School have been getting creative in the lockdown.

During these testing times teachers have been remote-teaching the children in each of their settings using a variety of online tools. To encourage the children in all three schools they decided to produce a book of the children’s writing, which they would sell and give all profits to the NHS. The book entitled “Thank You NHS” which had the theme of ‘How the world healed’ is now complete and parents are beginning to put their orders in.

The book contains 94 stories written by the children, teachers and well-known Liverpool actor Ricky Tomlinson. Children from all year groups submitted stories with most of the children who submitted stories writing them unaided at home, some used ‘model texts’ provided by their class teachers and had their class teachers look them over before submitting them for publication.

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James Savage, assistant headteacher at Banks Road Primary, said: “We have completed two books here at Banks Road before. These books have been around different themes and both books have had a huge impact on writing across the school. This is the first time we have collaborated across three schools to produce a book but it has worked brilliantly”.

Linda Gibson, headteacher of Banks Road, said: “At the time of the pandemic in March, the three schools pulled together in challenging circumstances to keep key workers' children and vulnerable children safe.

“For the children, we thought this book would provide a wonderful opportunity to give them a voice in these trying times. We wanted their stories to be optimistic, but we also thought it was very important that they be given the opportunity to write in their own words their thoughts and feelings about the world around them.

“It was inspirational for the children to know that their teachers and a well known local celebrity was also taking part.

“Not only does the published book look amazing, it has also allowed the children to contribute to raising funds for a great cause – our wonderful NHS!”

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education news Local schools raise thousands for hospice Pupils and teachers from four local schools have joined forces to raise money for St Joseph’s Hospice in Thornton.

Sacred Heart Catholic College together with three primary schools – St Edmund’s and St Thomas’, Great Crosby and Ursuline – set pupils the challenge of finding exciting ways to raise funds for patient care during the Coronavirus crisis and have so far brought in over £5,300, to be split between St Joseph’s and the Aintree University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

The schools started with a competition to see who could come up with the best rainbow design. The winner was Nate, a reception pupil at Great Crosby, and his younger sister Trixie who came up with a colourful face-paint design. Charlotte Gee, the after-school manager at Ursuline Catholic Primary School, and a former pupil of both St Edmund’s and Sacred Heart, did her bit by completing a 10-mile bike ride from Sacred Heart to Ursuline wearing a rainbow costume made by her pupils.

The schools then took on the national 2.6 Challenge, involving fundraising initiatives featuring the number 2.6. Two sets of siblings from

St Edmund’s and St Thomas’ – Millie, Harry and Poppy Strange, and Izzy, Jess and Max Faraday – ran 26 miles between them to raise over £1,700.

Nine-year-old Maisie Edwards from St Edmunds and St Thomas’ raised more than £1,000 with a 30-mile cycle ride from Waterloo to Southport. Meanwhile, Casandra Samuel, a Year 7 pupil at Sacred Heart College, and her sister Rhiannon, from Ursuline Primary, camped out in a den for 24

ASFA unveils a ‘Peace Garden’ The rooftop garden at the Academy of St Francis of Assisi (ASFA) has undergone a beautiful transformation during lockdown.

With the help of staff volunteers, Chaplain Phil Johnson has created a ‘Peace Garden’ for the school community to enjoy once students and staff are back in full time.

The unique garden, which sits on the top of the school building, has been tidied up and a number of colourful plants have been planted, alongside a statue of Jesus Christ which offers visitors the chance to collect their thoughts and think about their faith.

Phil said: “I hope this will be a peaceful garden where students and staff can just be still and reflect. Environments like this can help us connect with God and focus our prayers.

“The garden is certainly a therapeutic place and is ideal for contemplation and reflection.”

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hours and raised £250.

Ian Walker, head teacher at Sacred Heart, said: ‘We’re delighted to be able to help at these moments of great need. We’re all acutely conscious of the conditions the brilliant hospice team have to work in and our group of schools wants to play its part in doing everything possible to help.’

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cathedral

by Dr Christopher McElroy Director of Music, Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral

Cathedral Music on Lockdown

Visit of Pope St John Paul II in 1982 You might be forgiven for thinking that the Cathedral Music department has gone into hibernation during this period of lockdown. However, nothing could be further from the truth!

Our entire chorister programme has been moved online, and music staff have become experts in the use of the Zoom video conferencing software.

Across a typical week during lockdown, Cathedral music staff (from home) have carried out the following: 1 Junior Choir rehearsal 1 keyboard skills class for our young organists in training 1 university choir rehearsal 4 staff meetings 22 chorister rehearsals 43 individual singing lessons 45 individual theory tutorials In addition we are carrying out voice trials (auditions for the choir) over Zoom and holding Big Sing! events where we gather all of our choristers,

Youth Choir members and Lay Clerks to sing and reflect together. At our Pentecost Big Sing! we spent some time learning about the opening of our Cathedral at Pentecost in 1967, and the visit of St John Paul II at Pentecost in 1982.

Socially, members of the choir gather on a Sunday evening each week for a community quiz on Zoom covering a wide variety of subjects (not just music!)

Our driving motivation is to ensure that once we are able to sing again in our Cathedral, our choristers will have maintained their musical training and engagement with the Cathedral during lockdown.

Feedback from our choristers and their parents has been very positive.

Although they are all really missing singing on a daily basis in the Cathedral, they are really appreciative of the opportunity to continue their musical education and maintain the sense of community with the rest of the choir.

Cathedral Record Canon Anthony O’Brien – Cathedral Dean This months’ record is dedicated to the memory of Bishop Vincent Malone, a former administrator of our Cathedral prior to being ordained as an auxiliary Bishop of the archdiocese in 1989.

Bishop Vincent had been the Cathedral Administrator for ten years throughout the 1980’s and prior to this was the Catholic University Chaplain based in the former chaplaincy building on the Cathedral site. During his time here at the Cathedral there was the National Pastoral Congress in 1980 and then the visit of Saint John Paul II at Pentecost in 1982. These are still significant highlights in the history of our Cathedral and Diocese and Bishop Vincent with his clear and precise mind was able, many years later, to recount the details and challenges that they faced in hosting these historic events for the ‘peoples voices’ recordings for the Golden Jubilee Anniversary of the Cathedral in 2017. It was also Bishop Vincent who was responsible for deciding to celebrate Mass at the external altar on the precinct of the Cathedral in response to the huge crowds who had gathered to pray for the victims of the Hillsborough tragedy on hearing the news.

As an auxiliary Diocesan Bishop he was a frequent visitor to the Cathedral for confirmation celebrations and many other events and was always supportive of Cathedral activities. As a member of the Chapter of Canons he regularly attended the Masses and meetings here until last year when his health started to deteriorate. His involvement was not just liturgical and formal, he attended the occasional Cathedral social events and he kept in touch with former students from the Catholic Chaplaincy days and up until recently attended reunion socials with them at which there was always barn dancing, which he really enjoyed. A few years ago he celebrated his 60th anniversary of priesthood at the Solemn Sunday Mass. He was determined to have some refreshment outside the main entrance, rather than the Gibberd Room, for people to share with him following the Mass, but only soft drinks were available. This in some ways was an indication of his personality – he didn’t like extravagance of any form but was always hospitable and welcoming and inclusive of all. One of Bishop Vincent’s legacies here was the creation of flow diagrams for every occasion. As we prepare for the gradual reopening of the Cathedral we could do with his expertise for a diagram for social distancing in church.

May he rest in Peace.

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Pic extras

Mums the Word Here we are again, ladies, still in lockdown. I have never considered myself to be ‘extremely vulnerable’ but I have had a letter from the government to tell me that I am. This reminds me of the time when my grandson came home from school and asked his mother: ‘When is grandma going to turn into a little old lady with glasses and a bun?’ He was only six. To all such assumptions we should all shout ‘Never!’.

Sadly, we have had to cancel the UCM’s Annual Mass at the Cathedral which should have taken place on 3 June. We look forward to celebrating it at some future date. Our members at St Clare’s parish, meanwhile, had to cancel the May Bi-monthly Mass which would have marked the 40th anniversary of the founding of the UCM in their parish.

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A century of service News from the Liverpool Province of the Knights of St Columba

A thank you to Fr Chris The feast day of our patron, St Columba, falls on 9 June and in normal times we would be celebrating the day with Mass at St Columba’s parish church in Huyton. Alas, this year it is not possible due to the Coronavirus restrictions. Nevertheless, members with their families and friends will find other ways to remember St Columba on this day.

We promise that we will celebrate with them as soon as we possibly can.

Instead, Father David Potter, our diocesan spiritual adviser, offered Mass for all members who have died since the outbreak of the virus. This included Lil Newsome, a former diocesan president who many members will remember with affection. Lil oversaw the very successful concert which UCM performed at the Neptune Theatre in 1993 to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the founding of the organisation in 1913.

It is also an opportunity to thank Father Chris McCoy who, until recently, was parish priest at St Columba and St John Fisher and who always went to a great deal of trouble to make our annual visit to his parish so memorable. His homilies and newsletters over the years gave us insights into different aspects of the life and times of St Columba. As a recent example, every member of our centenary-year pilgrimage to Iona last October received from Fr Chris a souvenir bookmark offering biographical details about St Columba, who arrived on Iona from Ireland in the year 563. The images on the bookmark (pictured) are of window panels in St Columba’s church.

As our pilgrimage to Walsingham has had to be cancelled too, the rector, Monsignor John Armitage, is arranging to celebrate Mass at the shrine for each of the groups who would have been there if it were not for the lockdown. It will be available to watch online on 7 July if you go to the walsingham.org.uk website and then choose the heading ‘Live Stream’ – at least this way we will be there in spirit, if not in person. As coincidence would have it, the UCM's first pilgrimage to Walsingham was in 1945, just after VE Day. God bless, ladies. Stay safe, stay well.

Madelaine McDonald, media officer

Another example comes from the parish newsletter for last year’s Mass for the Feast of St Columba, in which Fr Chris recounted the following tale about our patron: ‘On one of his journeys, St Columba encountered several Picts who were burying the body of a man who had been killed by an aquatic monster which lived in the River Nesa: a story that has often since been interpreted as the first written reference to the Loch Ness Monster. … Columba then saved another man from the monster by ordering the beast to retreat, which it did. St Columba died in the monastery he

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had built on Iona, in 597. The island became a place of pilgrimage, and has remained so ever since.’

In February Fr Chris joined the staff at the Metropolitan Cathedral after 10 years as a parish priest. We thank him for all he has done for the KSC in Liverpool over the last decade and wish him well in his new role.

Websites: www.ksc.org.uk www.kscprov02.weebly.com Email: dpokeane@aol.com

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Keep up to date with all the news from around the Archdiocese online at: www.catholicpic.co.uk You can now follow us on twitter at:

@PicCatholic

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PIC Life Now is the time to cling to Jesus

By Moira Billinge Sebastian was almost beyond consolation when his grandfather died.

Nothing seemed to be able to distract him from his all-consuming grief.

Despite people trying their best to comfort him, the ache latched on to his first thoughts when he awoke and stayed with him for the rest of the day.

He was normally a philosophical and upbeat character. There is, however, no rehearsal in life to equip us for the raw pain of the death of a loved one.

Regardless of any previous experience, a death is always a unique occasion.

As the day of his grandfather’s funeral approached, Sebastian, who had hoped to be able to do the Readings at the Mass, was feeling so very unhappy that he confided in advance to the celebrant, Father Andrew. The priest took hold of Sebastian’s hands. ‘Just cling to Jesus,’ he said. ‘Cling tightly to Jesus.’

These simple but profound words sliced

through Sebastian’s grief. He repeated them to himself, constantly, during the ensuing days, and again as he climbed up to the lectern to read for his grandfather. In the years since, whenever he has encountered a problem, he calls to mind Fr Andrew’s words and he has indeed clung tightly to Jesus.

We are in the middle of the Coronavirus pandemic. Thousands of people have died from it across the entire world, and many more are extremely ill. Covid-19 is all-embracing. It does not discriminate, afflicting people who were previously well and those already sick. It is sweeping greedily, ruthlessly and relentlessly through all age groups.

Relatives and friends cannot travel to be at the side of their loved ones, either in sickness or in death, and nor can they meet in a group to comfort one another.

Life as we knew it bears no resemblance to life as it is now. Churches are closed.

We are celebrating Mass and other services and devotions online. Shops,

businesses, restaurants, gyms, schools, universities … almost everything is shut and we are on lockdown across the entire globe. Most hospitals are at breaking point and others are gearing up to cope with the sickness which is, almost inevitably, going to come their way.

History has not seen this happen before and we know not what the future holds.

We have no precedent on which to base our calculations, estimations or predictions, but we have endless examples of utter heroism from countless people: health service workers, police and fire services, delivery drivers, shop workers and so many more individuals across all walks of life.

Regardless of what is happening, and no matter how much better or worse things may become, our wonderful God does not stop loving each of us more than we can ever realise. In these uncertain times, His love for us is our only certainty. We have to continue to trust Him and echo the words of St Peter: ‘Lord, to whom shall I go? You have the words of eternal life.’ (John 6:68) For many, this has been an opportunity for spiritual growth as we have been afforded this extra time to pray and to reflect on the Scriptures. Extra time to ponder what our faith really means to us, this precious gift of God, and the life and the love of Jesus. In Psalm 26 we are asked to ‘Hope in him, hold firm and take heart. Hope in the Lord.’ Now, more than at any other time in our lives, we must ‘Cling to Jesus. Just cling tightly to Jesus.’

Worth a visit - Lima In the month dedicated to the Sacred Heart, let’s explore the example of two inspiring South American saints, writes Lucy Oliver.

Lima, the capital city of Peru, is home to many historical treasures – among them the Basilica and Convent of Santo Domingo founded in 1535. Here, Saint Rose of Lima’s skull, surmounted with a crown of roses, resides on public display as a reminder of her life devoted to purity and prayer. Visitors can take a tour of the monastery and see the chapel dedicated to the patroness of Peru as well as the shrine to St Martin de Porres, which draws pilgrims from across the globe in gratitude for his intercession. It is significant that Lima, the so-called City of Kings, known for its rich history and culture, should also be the birthplace of a saint who knew racial discrimination and hardship but championed the poor, cared for orphans and the sick, and is now a patron saint for so many, including those who seek racial harmony. Other city highlights include a bus tour of barrios blessed with striking

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architecture and street art, and a stroll along the Miraflores boardwalk with its views of the Pacific coastline.

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Catholic Pic Tours The Catholic Pic announces two special pilgrimages for readers for 2021, in association with Northern Star Travel No deposit required to reserve your place!

Poland in the Footsteps of St Pope John Paul II & St Faustina 9 days £949 departing from Liverpool May 2021: dates to be confirmed 2 night’s dinner, bed & breakfast Warsaw 1 night dinner, bed & breakfast Czestochowa 5 nights dinner, bed & breakfast Krakow Warsaw • Niepokalanow • Swinice Warckie • Czestochowa • Wadowice • Krakow Zakopane • Auschwitz • Lagiewniki (Divine Mercy) • Wieliczka On this journey, we will follow in the footsteps of three great Polish saints - St John Paul, St Maximilian Kolbe and St Faustina, the Apostle of Divine Mercy - as we embrace the culture of the Polish people.

Pilgrimage to the Holy Land 8 days £1350.00 departing from Manchester Departure: October 4th 2021 4 nights half board 4* Hotel Bethlehem 3 nights half board 4* Hotel Tiberias.

Tel Aviv • Caesarea • Stella Maris • Nazareth • Cana • Tiberias • Sea of Galilee • Jordan River Mt Tabor • Jerusalem • Ein Karem • Bethlehem • Qumran • Jericho • Dead Sea • Mt of Olives Mt Zion • Holy Sepulchre • Capernaum Guiding in the Holy Land with a licensed Christian Guide.

Sea of Galilee

Gardens of Gethsamane, Jerusalem

For more information about what the trips include and the full itinerary please either email: enquiries@cpmmmedia.com or telephone Barbara on 0151 733 5492 Catholic Pictorial

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Letter from Oscott

by Peter Ross Do not be misled by the name of this column – I left Oscott around 10 weeks ago and have been spending the lockdown period in Knotty Ash. The college community had been holding onto the prospect of returning to Oscott for the last week of June in order to celebrate the annual diaconate ordinations. This will no longer be the case, sadly. Instead, we have been informed that Oscott will re-open at the beginning of the next academic year.

This is the right decision and will make returning in the autumn all the more joyful.

In the last few weeks of May, I had my oral exams (via Zoom) and also submitted all of my work, so the seminary year is slowly drawing to a close. On top of all of that, the end of May brought the news that Archbishop Bernard Longley had appointed Father Giles Goward as the 24th Rector of Oscott College.

Fr Giles is, at present, our pastoral director. His appointment as rector, needless to say, comes at a strange time so if you could spare a prayer for him, I’m sure he would be very grateful.

In the period following the Feast of the Ascension, we held a Novena to the Holy Spirit at Saint Margaret Mary, streamed live on YouTube. Alongside the prayers that accompanied the Novena, we included a prerecorded reflection each evening from a different person associated with the parish.

These reflections included contributions from Father Joe Bibby, pastoral associate Jo Wallace, and Sister Bridget Folkard. Fr Ian McParland and I enjoyed putting this Novena together and you can access it, if you wish, by going to the parish YouTube channel for St Margaret Mary Liverpool. One thing I must say is that live streaming is extremely temperamental. You can plan everything perfectly and then because of a poor signal, it can all go wrong. Nevertheless, I must say equally that people in the parish have been so kind and supportive, even when it does buffer!

As lockdown begins to ease, I feel as though ‘normality’ may slowly be returning. Yet let’s not forget all of the people who have been fighting the virus and pray that they will be given strength. As for me, I can see that a ‘Letter from Oscott’ will in reality be a ‘Letter from Knotty Ash’ for a few months more; nevertheless, Knotty Ash is a good place to be, with some wonderful people. Let’s keep praying that the Holy Spirit of Pentecost will inspire us all during this time, so that we may be all the more open to loving God and loving one another.

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justice & peace Even in dark days, remember to live love

By Steve Atherton, Justice & Peace fieldworker In the first reading of Ascension Day, as Jesus is taken up into the sky, his disciples are asked: ‘Why are you men from Galilee standing there looking at the sky?’ The same question needs to be asked today.

For those of us who would follow Jesus, our eyes should not be focused above on heaven but on the needs of this world, here and now. We are called to find the Jesus who is still here, crucified in our midst, to stand at the foot of that Cross, and to mourn.

There is much to be mournful about: malnutrition is still the main cause of death throughout the world; 30 million people survive on less than £3 a day; 900 million people are illiterate; there are 40 wars going on in the world; refugee numbers are increasing; the worldwide Covid-19 death toll, at the start of June, stands at around 375,000; the world climate is becoming inhospitable to human life ...

But there is also much that gives us reason to rejoice. Pope Francis wrote in Gaudete et exsultate: ‘Saint Paul says that what truly counts is “faith working through love” (Gal

5:6). We are called to make every effort to preserve charity: “The one who loves another has fulfilled the law … for love is the fulfilment of the law” (Rom 13:8.10). “For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself’.” (Gal 5:14).

‘In other words, amid the thicket of precepts and prescriptions, Jesus clears a way to seeing two faces, that of the Father and that of our brother. He does not give us two more formulas or two more commands. He gives us two faces, or better yet, one alone: the face of God reflected in so many other faces. For in every one of our brothers and sisters, especially the least, the most vulnerable, the defenceless and those in need, God’s very image is found. Indeed, with the scraps of this frail humanity, the Lord will shape his final work of art.’

When a fellow parishioner tells me that I always write the same thing, I reply that there is not really a lot to say – just the challenge of finding new ways to tell the same good news: God loves us. We love God. We love each other. There’s an account elsewhere in this edition of the Pic that shows one of the ways our diocese is living this commandment of love.

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