May 2020 | Edition Number 258 | FREE
Westminster Cathedral Magazine Cambridge is blessed with the dominant church of Our Lady and the English Martyrs
2
Oremus
April 2020
Oremus Cathedral Clergy House 42 Francis Street London SW1P 1QW T 020 7798 9055 E oremus@westminstercathedral.org.uk W www.westminstercathedral.org.uk
Inside Oremus
Oremus, the magazine of Westminster Cathedral, reflects the life of the Cathedral and the lives of those who make it a place of faith in central London. If you think that you would like to contribute an article or an item of news, please contact the Editor. Patron The Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster
CONTENTS Cathedral Life: Past & Present Cathedral History: Trial and Error by Patrick Rogers
8&9
School Life in a Pandemic by Nathaniel Scott Cree
11
Cathedral History in Pictures: Bl. John Southworth Translated to St George’s Chapel by Paul Tobin
12
Chairman Canon Christopher Tuckwell
Features
Editor Fr John Scott
St Agnes and a Cambridgeshire Cupboard by Edward Kendall
4
An Unofficial Bishop – Mgr Ma of Ningxia
6
St John Henry Newman – On Pain
7
A Consideration of the Ascension by the late Fr Norman Brown
9
Oremus Team Tony Banks – Distribution Ellen Gomes – Archives Zoe Goodway – Marketing Berenice Roetheli – Proofreading Manel Silva – Subscriptions Design and Art Direction Julian Game Registered Charity Number 233699 ISSN 1366-7203 Opinions expressed by contributors do not necessarily represent the views of the Editor or the Oremus Team. Neither are they the official views of Westminster Cathedral. The Editor reserves the right to edit all contributions. Publication of advertisements does not imply any form of recommendation or endorsement. Unless otherwise stated, photographs are published under a creative commons or similar licence. Every effort is made to credit all images. No part of this publication may be reproduced without permission.
In 1884, 43 years after the first Catholic church had opened in Cambridge, the former ballerina Yolande Lyne-Stephens, widow of Stephens Lyne-Stephens, reputed to be the richest commoner in England, offered to fund the £70,000 construction of a new church (equivalent to £7.5 million in 2016). The architects were Dunn and Hansom, and the construction of such a prominent Catholic church, as well as its dedication to the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales (Feast day 4 May) caused much controversy. Despite this, and the ill health of Mrs Lyne-Stephens, the church was completed and then consecrated on 8 October 1890. It is affectionately known as ‘Olem’. Photo © cmglee
Homily of the Holy Father Francis 10 & 11 Visiting the Virtual RA
13
Regulars 5
From the Chairman In Retrospect
14
Monthly Album
15
Crossword and Poem of the Month
16
Join the Companions ... and help us to keep publishing Oremus free of charge Although we earn income from the advertising which we carry, Oremus relies on donations from readers to cover its production costs. The Companions of Oremus was established to recognise those who give generously to support us. Open exclusively to individuals, Companions’ names are published in the magazine each month (see page 7). All members are invited to one or more social events during the year and Mass is offered for their intentions from time to time. If you would like to support us by joining the Companions, please write to Oremus, Cathedral Clergy House, 42 Francis Street, London SW1P 1QW or email oremuscomps@rcdow.org.uk with your contact details, including postcode. Members are asked to give a minimum of £100 annually. Please mention how you would like your name to appear in our membership list and if you are eligible to Gift Aid your donation. Postal subscriptions to Oremus may be purchased through the Cathedral Gift Shop’s website or by using the coupon printed in the magazine. Thank you for your support.
May 2020
Oremus
3
ST AGNES IN CAMBRIDGESHIRE
Who’s on that Cupboard? Edward Kendall A carved 15th-century sculpture displayed on top of a cupboard at the National Trust’s Anglesey Abbey in Cambridgeshire has been discovered to be a unique reliquary bust, previously thought to have been lost. The bust of the martyr St Agnes has been identified as being by Niclaus Gerhaert von Leyden, a 15th-century sculptor in northern Europe or his workshop. But only 20 of his works are believed to have survived and the newly-discovered sculpture is the only work by Gerhaert in a UK public collection. The discovery was made as part of a National Trust fouryear sculpture cataloguing project to fully record and research all 6,000 sculptures and statues in its collection. It is the first time the Trust has had the resource to study all of its sculptures in this way. Gerhaert's life-sized bust of St Agnes is carved from walnut and was made around 1465. It would originally have been painted and displayed in a church, possibly as part of an altarpiece. The bust shows St Agnes holding a lamb and was a reliquary which would once have contained a piece of bone or another relic from the saint. The relic has long been lost and the cavity in which it would have rested has, at some point, been sealed.
The St Agnes was part of a set of four sculptures with St Barbara, St Catherine of Alexandria and St Margaret of Antioch, which were commissioned for the Benedictine Abbey church of Ss Peter and Paul in Wissembourg, Alsace, north-eastern France. They survived in the church until the late 19th century, with plaster casts of all four busts made around 1870 which are now at the Musée de l’Œuvre Notre-Dame in Strasbourg. Three of the busts were later sold in Paris and subsequently ended up in museums. Nothing is currently known about the whereabouts of St Agnes from that time until it came into the collection at Anglesey Abbey when it was purchased sometime between 1932 and 1940 by the house's owner Lord Fairhaven, a keen collector of sculpture and statues. However, the bust was incorrectly described in his 1940 inventory as 'The Virgin and the Lamb' and has been on display on top of a cupboard in the Windsor Bedroom for many years. The discovery of its true identity was made by Dr Jeremy Warren, the National Trust's Sculpture Research Curator, who said: ‘It was clear to me that the sculpture was of superb quality, with enough clues to lead us to look at the work of sculptors who were working in the later 15th century. My research took me to the surviving plaster cast of this bust, which tied up all the loose ends neatly. It has taken over 80 years for St Agnes to be given back her identity’. Alice Rylance-Watson, the Trust's Collections Cataloguer comments that: ‘This discovery demonstrates the enormous importance and value of cataloguing. The project has involved visiting properties and examining each sculpture in person to produce detailed and accurate descriptions, followed by research in archives across the country to determine who made the pieces, and how they came into the Trust's collections. We are making this information publicly accessible for everyone through our Collections website and with Art UK’. Following the identification of St Agnes, the bust is now being re-displayed in the Dining Room at Anglesey Abbey.
4
Oremus
May 2020
FROM THE CHAIRMAN
Canon Christopher Writes As others have already had a month or more in which to comment on the extraordinariness of our present situation, I find it hard to find words to add to those expressed in every conceivable forum. However, the one constantly cheerful aspect of these days is the glorious spring weather; but, along with all others who are deemed to be ‘high-risk’, I can only enjoy it at a distance. My major regret is that I cannot get out to enjoy the flowers and trees now at their peak, yet that makes me think of people who are living with all manner of disappointment. I have in mind especially those who were being prepared to receive the Sacraments for the first time at the Easter Vigil Mass, as well as those who have been preparing for marriage, the children excited at the prospect of their First Holy Communion and our Confirmation candidates. Nor can we forget the sadness and disappointment of the many who have lost loved ones and have been unable to properly observe their funeral rites. Our hearts must go out to them especially, even as we remember all those working so bravely and tirelessly amongst the very sick. Many have told me how much they missed the celebration of Easter this year, but have also been very complimentary about the live-streaming of the Triduum services led by the Cardinal, and of the daily Masses and Holy Hour led by our Chaplains. They maintain a modified round of the customary timetable by celebrating Morning and Evening Prayer together in our Common Room, and I trust that you will be strengthened in your own prayer life at this time by knowing that we are praying for you.
Westminster Cathedral Cathedral Clergy House 42 Francis Street London SW1P 1QW Telephone 020 7798 9055 Service times 020 7798 9097 Email chreception@rcdow.org.uk www.westminstercathedral.org.uk Cathedral Chaplains Canon Christopher Tuckwell, Administrator Fr Daniel Humphreys, Sub-Administrator Fr Julio Albornoz Fr Michael Donaghy Fr Andrew Gallagher, Precentor Fr Hugh MacKenzie Fr Vincent Mbu’i SVD Fr Rajiv Michael Fr John Scott, Registrar Also in residence Franciscan Sisters of Our Lady of Victories Music Department Awaiting appointment, Master of Music Peter Stevens Obl. OSB, Assistant Master of Music Callum Alger, Organ Scholar Cathedral Manager Peter McNulty Estates Manager Neil Fairbairn Chapel of Ease Sacred Heart Church Horseferry Road SW1P 2EF
With every blessing.
During this time we have missed two important Special Collections. First, the Good Friday collection for the support of the Holy Places; all will be aware of the continuing and severe pressures endured by our fellow Christians in the Holy Land, and this collection is a crucial sign of our support for them. The Holy Father hopes to reschedule it for a time when we are again able to gather for Mass and to express our solidarity with those who witness to our faith in and through the Holy Places. The second Special Collection is diocesan, for the Priests’ Training Fund. The seminarians have been continuing their studies in adapted ways, so that they can become the new priests for whom we continue to pray. A seminarian has come to the Cathedral each year to speak on the Fourth Sunday of Easter and we hope to rearrange this for a future date. Four of the Chaplains have come from the seminary in the last five years, so the Cathedral has received good value for money. Please note also two great feast days this month; on Thursday 21 May we celebrate the Lord’s Ascension and ten days later, Sunday 31 May, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. As we re-examine our lives and expectations through the pandemic, the guidance of the Holy Spirit is crucial – Veni, Creator Spiritus! – Ed. May 2020
Oremus
5
NEWS FROM INNER MONGOLIA
A Life Well-Lived Fides/Diocese of Ningxia Mgr Giuseppe Ma Zhongmu Tegusbeleg, the only Mongolian bishop, died recently at the age of 101. Bishop Ma was an unofficial bishop, not recognized by the Chinese state, which considered him a simple priest. For the Holy See, he was Bishop of Ningxia, a diocese that includes part of the autonomous region of Ningxia, part of northern Shaanxi and part of northern Inner Mongolia. Bishop Ma retired in 2005 and lived as a pastor in his hometown parish of Chengchuan, Inner Mongolia. He was born in Chengchuan on 1 November 1919 and studied theology in Datong, Shanxi, being ordained a priest on 31 July, 1947. After a few years of study at the Fu Ren Catholic University, then in Beijing, he carried out his priestly ministry in Zhongwei and Hohhot. In 1958, after refusing to join the Patriotic Association, he was sentenced to forced labour and branded as a ‘counter-revolutionary‘.
6
Released in 1969, he returned to his hometown, where he worked as a labourer at a water conservation facility. Rehabilitated in 1979, in 1980 he returned to his ministry and on 8 November, 1983 he was consecrated as the unofficial bishop of Ningxia, retiring in 2005. According to the obituary of his diocese, Mgr Ma translated the Roman Missal into Mongolian and had submitted it to the Vatican for approval. But unfortunately as ‘no one in the Vatican knew the Mongolian language’, the translation has never been approved. There are two parts of Mongolia: Outer Mongolia (‘Mongolia’) is an independent Republic, with some connections to the West, whilst Inner Mongolia is an an autonomous region of northern China and therefore part of the People’s Republic of China. It was in the latter part of Mongolia that the Bishop served. At this time when our external participation in the Church’s life is restricted, it is important to be reminded of those who have remained faithful in their discipleship through long years of hardship and deprivation. May the soul of Mgr Ma, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
Oremus
May 2020
ST JOHN HENRY NEWMAN ON PAIN
The Purpose of Pain
Companions of Oremus
The natural effect, then, of pain and fear, is to individualize us in our own minds, to fix our thoughts on ourselves, to make us selfish. It is through pain, chiefly, that we are to realise to ourselves, even our bodily organs; a frame entirely without painful sensations is (as it were) one whole without parts and prefigures that future spiritual body which shall be the portion of the saints. And to this we most approximate in our youth, when we are not sensible that we are compacted of gross terrestrial matter, as advancing years convince us. The young reflect little upon themselves; they gaze around them, and live out of doors, and say they have souls, little understanding their words. ‘They rejoice in their youth.’
Mrs Mary Barsh Dr Stuart Blackie Anne Veronica Bond Richard Bremer Francis George Clark Daniel Crowley Ms Georgina Enang Alfredo Fernandez Fred Gardiner Connie Gibbes Zoe & Nick Goodway Rosalinda Grimaldo Mrs Valerie Hamblen Bernadette Hau Bernard Adrian Hayes Mrs Henry Hely-Hutchinson Mrs Cliona Howell Alice M Jones & Jacob F Jones Poppy K Mary Thérèse Kelly Florence M G Koroma Raymund Livesey Alan Lloyd in memoriam Barry Lock Clare and John Lusby Pamela McGrath Linda McHugh Peter McNelly in memoriam Christiana Thérèse Macarthy-Woods James Maple Dionne Marchetti Paul Marsden Mary Maxwell Abundia Toledo Munar Chris Stewart Munro Mrs Brigid Murphy Kate Nealon Cordelia Onodu Cris Ragonton Emel Rochat Berenice Roetheli John Scanlan Mr Luke Simpson Sonja Soper Tessa and Ben Strickland Julia Sutherland Eileen Terry Mr Alex Walker Jacqueline Worth Patricia M Wright
Newman as a young man
This, then, is the effect of suffering, that it arrests us: that it puts, as it were, a finger upon us to ascertain for us our own individuality. But it does no more than this; if such a warning does not lead us through the stirrings of our conscience heavenwards, it does but imprison us in ourselves and make us selfish. Here, then, it is that the Gospel finds us; heirs to a visitation, which, sooner or later, comes upon us, turning our thoughts from outward objects, and so tempting us to idolize self, to the dishonour of that God whom we ought to worship, and the neglect of man whom we should love as ourselves. Thus it finds us, and it obviates this danger, not by removing pain, but by giving it new associations. Pain, which by nature leads us only to ourselves, carries on the Christian mind from the thought of self to the contemplation of Christ, His Passion, His merits, and His pattern; and, thence, further to that united company of sufferers who follow Him and ‘are what He is in this world’. He is the great Object of our faith; and, while we gaze upon Him, we learn to forget ourselves. from Parochial and Plain Sermons Vol III May 2020
Oremus
We are very grateful for the support of the following:
and of our anonymous Companions If you would like to become a Companion of Oremus, see page 3
7
CATHEDRAL HISTORY
Trial and Error Patrick Rogers
When the Cathedral Architect, J F Bentley, died in early March 1902, he left no finished mosaics in the Cathedral and very little in the way of mosaic drawings and designs. It was thus left to future architects, donors and designers supervised, from 1936, by the Cathedral Art Committee, to decide on the mosaics. Bentley’s 1895-96 drawings of the west and north elevations include small pencil sketches of mosaics above both the main and north-west entrances, and in 1899 he provided a written outline for the decoration of the Lady Chapel and one of the chapels of the north aisle. But the only one of these schemes to be adopted was that above the main entrance which was put in place, with some alterations, in 1915-16. Cardinal Vaughan, the Cathedral’s founder, had also been considering the question of the mosaics, and between 1899 and 1901 a total of 12 prominent Catholics, half of them clerics and half laymen, had been asked to provide written suggestions for a scheme for the nave. Vaughan had expressed the view that this should tell the history of the Catholic Church in England, and most of the responses consisted of lists of scenes and saints illustrating this theme. But Bentley’s death, followed by that of the Cardinal in June 1903, put an end to the initiative. Bentley’s ideas can best be seen in the Chapel of the Holy Souls where he worked with the artist W C Symons on the mosaics. Symons was an old friend and fellow convert, and in 1899 Bentley had asked the Cardinal that he should decorate one of the chapels (with Bentley himself doing another). Correspondence between him and Symons in 1900 on the themes for the Holy Souls mosaics reveals that Symons suggested the Three Young 8
As in Adam, all die ...
Men in the Burning Fiery Furnace for the west wall, while Bentley suggested the Purgatory scene with the archangels Raphael and Michael for the east wall. Symons also suggested portraying Adam and Eve, though Eve was later rejected in favour of Christ for the north wall. Bentley’s influence in the Holy Souls is very evident. He wanted a ‘severe and very Greek style’ and supervised the sketches and subsequent full-size cartoons in Symons’ studio, designing two garlands for the vault himself. To install the mosaics they chose George Bridge and his 26 young lady mosaicists of Mitcham Park, Surrey, who had an Oxford Street studio to which Bentley was a frequent visitor. Initially it was intended to prepare much of the mosaic face downward on canvas in the studio (the indirect method). But this was not a success and was soon abandoned. Instead the direct method was adopted in
which the glass tesserae, largely made by Bridge himself, were inserted individually directly into the putty (of lime and boiled oil) on the walls and vault. Installation of the Holy Souls mosaics took 18 months, from June 1902 to November 1903. The opus sectile glass tiles for the altarpiece were made by George Farmiloe & Sons, and they, with the Great Rood in the nave, were painted by Symons also in 1903. However, with a wife and nine children, he wanted the work to continue. Advised in a letter of April 1903 from George Bridge (who also wanted work) that a rival, the Venice and Murano Glass Company, had bid to execute the mosaic above the main entrance, Symons submitted his own design for this to the Cardinal in May; and then Vaughan died the following month. So, urged on by Fr Herbert Lucas SJ, one of the 12 who had put forward suggestions for the general scheme for the nave, Symons Oremus
May 2020
A FESTAL CONSIDERATION approached the new Archbishop, Francis Bourne, seeking an interview to discuss his mosaic designs for both the entrance and the Blessed Sacrament Chapel. Bourne, however, was not to be rushed and seems to have resented the pressure. Nor would he agree to Symons’ request in 1904 to be allowed to work on one of the chapels as a model. The only commissions Symons received were to design mosaic panels of St Edmund in the crypt, St Joan of Arc in the north transept and the Holy Face in the Shrine of the Sacred Heart, all executed by George Bridge and his mosaicists using the direct method in 1910-12. Symons’ design for the Holy Face was a death mask, disliked by the donor, but he refused to change it. He died in 1911 and five years later the Sacred Heart Shrine mosaics, all executed by Bridge, were taken down and replaced by James Powell & Sons of Whitefriars at a cost of £780, the new Holy Face being based on one in St Mary’s church, Cadogan Street in Chelsea.
… so in Christ, all shall be made alive. The Risen Lord replaces Symons’ original idea of having Adam and Eve facing each other across the Holy Souls Chapel
The Ascension Fr Norman Brown
It is a strange fact that Matthew and John do not mention the Ascension and simply close their Gospels with the risen Christ present with his disciples, giving them a mission to all the world, assuring them that he will be with them and with the Church till the end. Mark and Luke mention it very briefly, and it is only in the Acts of the Apostles that the full account is given. This means that the Ascension is not an end, but a beginning; not a departure, but the assurance of Christ’s continual presence with us. It is, however, even more than this, for it expresses vividly the glorification of Christ and that his human nature has been raised to sit at the right hand of the Father, ever presenting before him the marks of the crucifixion. May 2020
Oremus
The Apocalypse describes him in the image of a lamb, ‘standing, as it had been slain’, standing because it possesses life, yet still with the mark of his death, in which the flesh died once for all. The period of 40 days between the Resurrection and the Ascension were not an extra time given to Christ for the completion of his ministry, they were a privilege granted to the apostles, and the essential glorification of Christ is seen by most of the New Testament, particularly the Epistles of St Paul, as being fully achieved in his Resurrection. The Ascension has nothing whatever to do with breaking the laws of gravity, it is expressing theological fact in the imagery so well known to the Jews, and consequently
the cloud of the Ascension, like the cloud at the Transfiguration, is a sign of God’s presence, but whilst it merely overshadowed Jesus and the three disciples on the former occasion, in the Ascension Jesus actually enters it to be hidden until his Return at the Second Coming. Christ is now no longer restricted by space and time, he is present in a personal way with each one of us, and by sharing his life with us gives us a share also in his victory over sin and death and because of this fact the message of the Ascension is that Christ is with us here in London now. The late Fr Norman, who was blind, served as a Cathedral Chaplain for many years and wrote this piece in preparation for the celebration of the Lord’s Ascension in 1970. 9
A ROMAN HOMILY
Pope Francis Preaches on Low Sunday
You may object: ‘But I keep falling!’ The Lord knows this and he is always ready to raise you up. He does not want us to keep thinking about our failings; rather, he wants us to look to him. For when we fall, he sees children needing to be put back on their feet; in our failings he sees children in need of his merciful love. Today, in this church of Santo Spirito in Sassia that has become a shrine of mercy in Rome, and on this Sunday that St John Paul II dedicated to Divine Mercy 20 years ago, we confidently welcome this message. Jesus said to St Faustina: ‘I am love and mercy itself; there is no human misery that could measure up to my mercy’ (Diary, 14 September 1937). At one time, the saint, with satisfaction, told Jesus that she had offered him all of her life and all that she had. But Jesus' answer stunned her: ‘You have not offered me the thing is truly yours’. What had that holy nun kept for herself? Jesus said to her with kindness: ‘My daughter, give me your failings’ (10 October 1937). We, too, can ask ourselves: ‘Have I given my failings to the Lord? Have I let him see me fall, so that he can raise me up?’ Or is there something I still keep inside me? A sin, a regret from the past, a wound that I have inside, a grudge against someone, an idea about a particular person … The Lord waits for us to offer him our failings, so that he can help us experience his mercy. Let us go back to the disciples. They had abandoned the Lord at his Passion and felt guilty. But meeting them, Jesus did not give a long sermon. To them, who were wounded within, he shows his own wounds. Thomas can now touch them and know of Jesus' love and how much Jesus had suffered for him, even though he had abandoned him. In those wounds, he touches with his hands God's tender closeness. Thomas arrived late, but once he received mercy, 10
© Riccardov
Last Sunday we celebrated the Lord’s resurrection; today we witness the resurrection of his disciple. It has already been a week, a week since the disciples had seen the Risen Lord, but in spite of this, they remained fearful, cringing behind ‘closed doors’ (John 20: 26), unable even to convince Thomas, the only one absent, of the resurrection. What does Jesus do in the face of this timorous lack of belief? He returns and, standing in the same place, ‘in the midst’ of the disciples, he repeats his greeting: ‘Peace be with you!’ (John 20: 19, 26). He starts all over again. The resurrection of his disciple begins here, from this faithful and patient mercy, from the discovery that God never tires of reaching out to lift us up when we fall. He wants us to see him, not as a taskmaster with whom we have to settle accounts, but as our Father who always raises us up. In life we go forward tentatively, uncertainly, like a toddler who takes a few steps and falls; a few steps more and falls again, yet each time his father puts him back on his feet. The hand that always puts us back on our feet is mercy: God knows that without mercy we will remain on the ground, that in order to keep walking, we need to be put back on our feet.
The church of Santo Spirito in Sassia stands on the site of King Ine of Wessex’s Schola Saxonum, or 'Saxon School', a charitable institution for West Saxon pilgrims in Rome
he overtook the other disciples; he believed not only in the resurrection, but in the boundless love of God. And he makes the most simple and beautiful profession of faith: ‘My Lord and my God!’ (John 20: 28). Here is the resurrection of the disciple: it is accomplished when his frail and wounded humanity enters into that of Jesus. There, every doubt is resolved; there, God becomes my God; there, we begin to accept ourselves and to love life as it is. Dear brothers and sisters, in the time of trial that we are presently undergoing, we too, like Thomas, with our fears and our doubts, have experienced our frailty. We need the Lord, who sees beyond that frailty an irrepressible beauty. With him we rediscover how precious we are, even in our vulnerability. We discover that we are like beautiful crystals, fragile and at the same time precious. And if, like crystal, we are transparent before him, his light - the light of mercy - will shine in us and through us in the world. As the First Letter of Peter said, this is a reason for being: ‘filled with joy, though now for a little while you may have to suffer various trials’ (1 Peter 1: 6). Oremus
May 2020
SVP CATHOLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL On this feast of Divine Mercy, the most beautiful message comes from Thomas, the disciple who arrived late; he was the only one missing. But the Lord waited for him. Mercy does not abandon those who stay behind. Now, while we are looking forward to a slow and arduous recovery from the pandemic, there is a danger that we will forget those who are left behind. The risk is that we may then be struck by an even worse virus, that of selfish indifference. A virus spread by the thought that life is better if it is better for me, and that everything will be fine if it is fine for me. It begins there and ends up selecting one person over another, discarding the poor, and sacrificing those left behind on the altar of progress. The present pandemic, however, reminds us that there are no differences or borders between those who suffer. We are all frail, all equal, all precious. May we be profoundly shaken by what is happening all around us: the time has come to eliminate inequalities, to heal the injustice that is undermining the health of the entire human family! Let us learn from the early Christian community described in the Acts of the Apostles. It received mercy and lived with mercy: ‘All who believed were together and had all things in common; and they sold their possessions and goods and distributed them to all, as any had need’ (Acts 2: 44-45). This is not some ideology: it is Christianity.
In that community, after the resurrection of Jesus, only one was left behind and the others waited for him. Today the opposite seems to be the case: a small part of the human family has moved ahead, while the majority has remained behind. Each of us could say: ‘These are complex problems, it is not my job to take care of the needy, others have to be concerned with it!’ St Faustina, after meeting Jesus, wrote: ‘In a soul that is suffering we should see Jesus on the cross, not a parasite and a burden … [Lord], you give us the chance to practise deeds of mercy, and we practise making judgements’ (Diary, 6 September 1937). Yet she herself complained one day to Jesus that, in being merciful, one is thought to be naive. She said: ‘Lord, they often abuse my goodness’. And Jesus replied: ‘Never mind, don't let it bother you, just be merciful to everyone always’ (Diary, 24 December 1937). To everyone: let us not think only of our interests, our vested interests. Let us welcome this time of trial as an opportunity to prepare for our collective future, because without an allembracing vision, there will be no future for anyone. Today the simple and disarming love of Jesus revives the heart of his disciple. Like the apostle Thomas, let us accept mercy, the salvation of the world. And let us show mercy to those who are most vulnerable; for only in this way will we build a new world.
It’s School, But Not as We Know It Nathaniel Scott Cree
It has been four weeks now since the school closed its doors and, strange as it has been adapting to new means of working, it is even stranger still not being able to work normally where everything that we do is based on close-working and relationships. What we have been able to focus on positively is the continued strength of our faith community, coupled with the many tools for effective communication we have at our fingertips, that enable us to stay connected. At St Vincent de Paul, teachers have been writing on a weekly basis to the children and parents of their class to keep them updated, but also to set work tasks and challenges to keep their learning in focus. This has been important not just in providing learning, but also in enabling teachers to share what they have May 2020
Oremus
been doing and how they are coping with isolation. The school is in an arrangement with our local cluster to provide care for the children of key workers and the most vulnerable pupils. As numbers requiring this are low, it makes sense to combine this critical offer and we take it in turns to host, a very positive example of schools working together. We celebrated the Easter holiday, albeit very differently. Staff, parents and pupils have been able to participate in the many live-streams of Mass and, just before Holy Week, many of our community would have joined Pope Francis for his Urbi et Orbi message from the Vatican. A line particularly resonated for me: ‘We have a hope: by his cross we have been healed and embraced so that nothing and no one can
separate us from his redeeming love. In the midst of isolation when we are suffering from a lack of tenderness and chances to meet up, and we experience the loss of so many things, let us once again listen to the proclamation that saves us: he is risen and is living by our side.’ Summer term has started remotely, and we do not yet know when we will be able to reopen, but I look forward to the day when we can be reunited as a school family, with classrooms and playground again filled with the sounds of children enjoying their learning and being together, and when we can again enjoy the splendour of the Cathedral. Until then, we must remain positive and hopeful. Mr Scott Cree is SVP School’s Head Teacher. 11
CATHEDRAL HISTORY
CATHEDRAL HISTORY – A PICTORIAL RECORD
Bl. John Southworth Translated to St George’s Chapel from the Choir School), carrying the lanterns still used for outdoor processions on Palm Sunday and of the Blessed Sacrament. The casket is borne by six priests (although the Cathedral Chronicle lists them as 2 Benedictines, 2 Franciscans, 2 Jesuits and 2 secular priests, one of whom was Fr Albert Purdie). Preceding them were members of the Guild of the Blessed Sacrament in red robes and the choir who chanted the psalms from Vespers of a Martyr whilst the Cathedral bell tolled. At the rear of the procession is Cardinal Bourne, accompanied by his Assistant Deacons, Mgr Jackman and Canon Tynan; and kneeling in the front are schoolgirls (from nearby St Vincent’s School?) accompanied by Sisters of Charity in their distinctive wimples. Paul Tobin Ninety years ago, Thurday 1 May 1930, the body of Blessed (now St) John Southworth was brought into the Cathedral, 276 years since his martyrdom at Tyburn. His body had been embalmed and smuggled to the English College at Douai in France, where it was kept in the chapel until 1793 at the time of the French Revolution, when it was moved to an unmarked grave below the college chapel. In 1927, whilst digging a cellar for a shop to be built, a workman struck a lead coffin that was proved to contain the remains of the body of Fr John Southworth, and so it was brought back to England by Fr Albert Purdie, Assistant Headmaster of St Edmund’s College, Ware, who was commissioned to undertake the task by Cardinal Bourne. The body was then kept at St Edmund’s College until 1930, when it was translated to its final resting place here in the Cathedral. John Southworth was one of 186 Martyrs of England and Wales beatified by Pope Pius Xl in 1929 during the centenary year of Catholic 12
emancipation. Being declared a Beatus (Blessed) enabled the return of his body to the area where he had ministered as a priest in penal times and would have ministered to those suffering in the plague of 1636-7. On 30 April, the body was driven from Ware firstly to Tyburn Convent, and thence to Cathedral Hall, where it was received by Bishop Joseph Butt, an Auxiliary Bishop of Westminster. Next morning the Chapter Mass in the presence of the Cardinal started a Triduum of celebration. In mid-afternoon the procession with the body passed along Ambrosden Avenue and Francis Street, down the south side of the Cathedral and Ashley Place, and then through the West Doors to St George’s Chapel. In the picture, from left to right, are the Bishops of Salford and Northampton, Bishops Bidwell and Butt (Auxiliaries of Westminster), the Bishop of Southwark, Bishop Biermans of the Mill Hill Missionaries, the Bishop of Leeds and the Archbishops of Liverpool and Birmingham. Immediately behind are the thurifer and acolytes (servers
After the body had been placed in St George’s Chapel with due ceremony and prayers, a solemn Te Deum was sung, followed by Pontifical Benediction given by the Cardinal; and in the evening the first Triduum sermon was given by Abbot Cuthbert Butler OSB of Downside. Fr John Filmer, First Master of the Guild of Our Lady of Ransom, and Dom Bede Camm OSB, the well-known martyrologist, gave the sermons on the following two days. On Sunday 4 May, the Feast of the English Martyrs, High Mass was again celebrated in the presence of Cardinal Bourne and in the evening, Compline was sung at which the preacher was Archbishop Joseph Goodier SJ, former Archbishop of Bombay. Owing to the number of people wishing to venerate the relics, it was decided to leave the casket exposed for a month, after which they were ‘covered in a teak outer case with a glass window in the side fitted with red curtains enabling Blessed John Southworth’s body to be seen on less solemn occasions when the outer casing was not removed’1 References: Nicholas Schofield and Gerard Skinner ‘St John Southworth, The Parish Priest of Westminster’
1
The Tablet: 10 May 1930 Westminster Cathedral Chronicle: June 1930
Oremus
May 2020
THE ROYAL ACADEMY IN CLOSURE
Doors Closed; Come on In The Royal Academy’s doors may be closed, but art-lovers can still experience a range of innovative online content and activity from the RA’s galleries. The exhibition on Belgian artist Léon Spilliaert can still be experienced through a pioneering TV-style ‘slow-looking’ virtual tour of the galleries. This 25-minute video tour has already brought the exhibition to over 50,000 people. Building on this success, the RA has created a 38-minute film of the major exhibition Picasso and Paper. In an additional short film, curator Ann Dumas offers an introduction to some of the highlights in the exhibition revealing how the iconic artist innovated by tearing, burning, sculpting and collaging with any paper he could get his hands on. Finally, Picasso can be seen making a masterpiece in an excerpt from Le Mystère Picasso, a documentary from 1956 capturing the artist in full creative flow. A series of three ‘In 60 Seconds’ videos explore works from Gauguin and the Impressionists: Masterpieces from the Ordrupgaard Collection, providing online access to the exhibition which was due to open recently. See a bite-sized biography of Gauguin and take a deep dive into Renoir’s Le Moulin de la Galette and Manet’s Woman with a Jug. May 2020
Oremus
13
FIFTY AND ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO
In retrospect: from the Cathedral Chronicle ‘Records I Like’ The Social Committee of the Parish Council, in organising a series of evening events, which have included talks by Mgr Bartlett and Canon Harvey, has invited Miss Valentine Britten to speak on Tuesday 12 May. She will, I think, be interesting and very entertaining. She is going to talk about, and play her personal choice of gramophone records. Miss Britten has now retired from her post as Librarian of the B.B.C. Gramophone Library; but during the course of 21 years there she was instrumental in building up one of the finest and most comprehensive collections now existing in the world. She is a record enthusiast and has expert knowledge of her subject. Prior to joining the B.B.C. she was on the staff of E.M.I., starting her career at the very beginning of electrical recording in 1925, which was something of a revolution in that particular field. Miss Britten will illustrate her programme with a variety of records specially chosen by her (‘the best of all sorts’, as she says). She brings a very personal touch to recounting her experiences in the record world, where of course she has met and known many artistes, both serious and comic. At the Parish Council meeting recently, it was pointed that the Tuesday evening affairs clashed with the Holy Hour. Miss Britten had already been invited and had accepted for 12 May. After that, a serious attempt will be made to choose another evening in the week. There are various factors to be taken into consideration, such as ecumenical meetings, organ recitals and so forth. from the May 1970 Westminster Cathedral News Sheet Varia We read recently that an Anglican dignitary had complained of the paucity of the attendance at the morning functions of the cathedrals, and had stated that unless an improvement was made, the elaborate choral service would have to be ‘scrapped’. Surely this illattendance is no new thing? Years ago we recollect being present at the morning office of Anglican Cathedrals, rendered by a full choir of surpliced men and boys in a practically empty church. Frankly, we think that what threatens the choral service is the depreciation of funds owing to the war; in fact we know this is so in the case of one ecclesiastical establishment not a hundred miles from Westminster, in which, owing to the decreasing value of money, it has not been possible to maintain the old arrangements. 14
As to ourselves, there is not a great deal to complain of with regard to attendance at the morning function, viz., the Capitular Mass – another illustration that ought to go home to our Anglican friends, that it is ‘the Mass that matters’. Afternoon Vespers is a somewhat desolate affair, but even then a small band of faithful generally foregathers pretty well in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel. But even if from year’s end to year’s end Mass and Vespers were celebrated for an empty nave, the Opus Dei would go on just the same. If the people cannot come, it is their misfortune, not their fault; if they will not come, it is their grievous loss; but the heavenly Commercium, with its accustomed dignity and even splendour, continues to be celebrated on behalf of good and bad alike. ..... Some sort of outdoor procession during the summer months has now become an established usage at the Cathedral. Advantage will be taken this year of a unique opportunity, in the canonisation of the Blessed Maid, Joan of Arc, to organise a more than usually striking pageant. The Catholic Women’s League have obtained the consent and the hearty co-operation of the Cathedral authorities to celebrate the event on Sunday 16 May. Picturesque features will be deliberately introduced, and will consist first and foremost of a living representation of the Maid riding a white charger, surrounded by pages of honour. The young lady who will impersonate the saint is to remain incognita, but she is a member of one of our ancient Catholic families with a martyr in her ancestry; the pages will come from one of the Catholic Public Schools. The French Embassy will send representatives, and French children from Notre Dame, Leicester Square, will walk clad in the native costume of the period. The Italian Church has also promised to send its usual charming contingent of Bersaglieri and peasant girls for the pageant. [The pictures of the event, held in the Cathedral’s archives, are indeed striking and deserve more attention than can be given in this online edition of Oremus. When we are able to return to a full-length print edition of the magazine, there will be full coverage of the remarkable Canonisation Pageant. Ed.] from the May 1920 Westminster Cathedral Chronicle Oremus
May 2020
MONTHLY ALBUM
The Chaplains’ Weekend Work Ever since the lockdown, each Chaplain has his own space, vestments, chalice and paten and supplies of bread, wine and water in the sacristy, so that he can celebrate whichever Mass he has been appointed to for the day. Be assured that all the booked Mass intentions have been faithfully fulfilled.
Frs Vincent, Julio and Michael, equipped with Brasso and surgical gloves or marigolds, had been set to work on cleaning up candlesticks.
The Oremus camera checked up on Saturday morning duties. Fr Rajiv was spotted reading Theology (what else?) whilst covering as Clergy House Receptionist.
Fr Andrew, as Prefect of the Sacristy, is Gangmaster there, but was able to reprise the role of Florist which he undertook during his time of formation at Allen Hall Seminary. Fr Daniel is anxious that it should be known that his absence from the images is due to his search for the extension lead so that the sanctuary carpet might be vacuumed.
May 2020
Oremus
15
CROSSWORD AND POEM
Our Lady of the May Lionel Johnson (1867 – 1902) O Flower of flowers, Our Lady of the May! Thou gavest us the World's one Light of Light: Under the stars, amid the snows, He lay; While Angels, through the Galilean night Sang glory and sang peace: Nor doth their singing cease, For thou their Queen and He their King sit crowned Above the stars, above the bitter snows; They chant to thee, the Lily, to Him the Rose, With white Saints kneeling round. Gone is cold night: thine now are spring and day: O Flower of flowers, our Lady of the May!
Alan Frost March 2020 – No. 77
Clues Across 1 Only opera of composer celebrating 250th anniversary this year (7) 6 Place of accommodation booked up at time of the Nativity (3) 8 Brother of Moses, led Israelites out of Egypt (5) 9 & 10 Acr: Address and reference to London church, built on site of Catholic chapel in time of Persecution (7) 10 See 9 Across 11 Type of living creature, one part of John the Baptist’s wilderness diet (6) 13 Organised method of doing something (6) 15 The Great early Dominican scientist, or London Memorial and Hall (6) 17 Composer of same nationality as 1 Down (6) 20 Woman’s name meaning ‘noble’, widow of Senator Robert Kennedy (5) 21 Coins from heaven according to the song! (7) 23 ----- Webber, composer of the musical ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ (5) 24 ‘El ---’, name of famous Christian knight of Castille, and blockbuster film of his life (3) 25 Name of Chapel at end of Walsingham Holy Mile that is the National Shrine to Our Lady (7) Clues Down 1 Canonised Polish nun promoting our trust in Jesus (8) 2 Hopes or imaginings as that of St John Henry Newman’s Gerontius (6) 3 Son of Jacob who founded a tribe of Israel (4) 4 Serious commitments that are sworn (5) 5 Altarpiece carved on three panels, usually hinged (8) 6 ‘------ of Prague’, reference to the young Jesus in Czech national shrine (6) 7 Architecturally, the main central body of a church (4) 12 Vierne composed ‘-------- de Westminster’ as part of a four-set suite for organ (8) 14 Cleric, or senior figure in Palace of Westminster (8) 16 ‘------ the Lamb of God’, from John’s direction to the people he was baptising (6) 18 & 22 Down: Saint founder and spiritual father of the Oratorians, Feast Day 26 May (6) 19 Advisers to 14 Down, or railway reference to passing red signals (5) 20 Saint and martyred King of Sweden, Feast Day 18 May (4) 22 See 18 Down
ANSWERS
O Flower of flowers, our Lady of the May! Thou gavest us the blessed Christmas mirth: And now, not snows, but blossoms, light thy way; We give thee the fresh flower-time of the earth. These early flowers we bring, Are angels of the spring, Spirits of gracious rain and light and dew. Nothing so like to thee the whole earth yields, As these pure children of her vales and fields, Bright beneath skies of blue. Hail Holy Queen! Their fragrant breathings say: O Flower of flowers, our Lady of the May! O Flower of flowers, our Lady of the May! Breathe from God's garden of eternal flowers Blessing, when we thy little children pray: Let thy soul's grace steal gently over ours. Send on us dew and rain, That we may bloom again, Nor wither in the dry and parching dust. Lift up our hearts, till with adoring eyes, O Morning Star! We hail thee in the skies, Star of our hope and trust! Sweet Star, sweet Flower, there bid thy beauty stay: O Flower of flowers, our Lady of the May! O Flower of flowers, Our Lady of the May! Thou leftest lilies rising from thy tomb: They shone in stately and serene array, Immaculate amid death's house of gloom. Ah, let thy graces be Sown in our dark hearts! We Would make our hearts gardens for thy dear care: Watered from wells of Paradise, and sweet With balm winds flowing from the Mercy Seat, And full of heavenly air: While music ever in thy praise should play, O Flower of flowers, our Lady of the May! O Flower of flowers, our Lady of the May! Not only for ourselves we plead, God's Flower! Look on thy blinded children, who still stray, Lost in this pleasant land, thy chosen Dower! Send us a perfect spring: Let faith arise and sing, And England from her long, cold winter wake. Mother of Mercy! Turn upon her need Thine eyes of mercy: be there spring indeed: So shall thine Angels make A starrier music, than our hearts can say, O Flower of flowers, our Lady of the May!
To submit a poem whether by yourself or another for consideration, please contact the Editor – details on page 3.
Across: 1 Fidelio 6 Inn 8 Aaron 9 Spanish 10 Place 11 Insect 13 System 15 Albert 17 Chopin 20 Ethel 21 Pennies 23 Lloyd 24 Cid 25 Slipper Down: 1 Faustina 2 Dreams 3 Levi 4 Oaths 5 Triptych 6 Infant 7 Nave 12 Carillon 14 Minister 16 Behold 18 Philip 19 Spads 20 Eric 22 Neri