Westminster Record - September Edition

“My faith is encouraged by the enthusiasm of the young people and their desire to be missionaries.”

Bishop John Sherrington (see page 10)

September 2013

“Go and make Disciples of all nations” (Mt 28: 19)

“During these days here in Rio, you have been able to enjoy the wonderful experience of meeting Jesus, meeting him together with others, and you have sensed the joy of faith. But the experience of this encounter must not remain locked up in your life or in the small group of your parish, your movement, or your community. That would be like withholding oxygen from a flame that was burning strongly. Faith is a flame that grows stronger the more it is shared and passed on, so that everyone may know, love and confess Jesus Christ, the Lord of life and history.” (cf. Rom10:9).

Pope Francis Homily homily for World Youth Day’s closing Mass

In this edition: Westminster Cathedral Choir Profiling Chiswick World Youth Day Rio 2013 Life in the Notting Hill Carmelite Convent

Editorial

Westminster Record September 2013

Westminster Record – Contact us

The Good we Bring

Editor Bishop John Arnold Archbishop’s House, Ambrosden Avenue, SW1P 1QJ Deputy Editor Jo Siedlecka 020 7267 3616 jsiedlecka@gmail.com Managing Editor Barnaby Johns communications@rcdow.org.uk Inhouse writer Alexander Balzanella 020 7798 9178 Design Julian Game Proofing Michael Holmes, John Scott Advertising Carol Malpass 01785 662685 To order copies contact Andrea Black 0161 214 1216 or email andrea.black@thecatholicuniverse.com Print Management and distribution by The Universe Media Group Ltd.

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The secular press in this country gave more coverage to Brazil than previous World Youth Days and despite predictions that it would be a disaster, that numbers would disappoint, that civil unrest would overshadow the event and that the occasion did not justify the cost, the trip of Pope Francis was a major success. I remember all too clearly the same negativity that preceded the visit of Pope Benedict to these shores in 2010. Our press still seem generally averse to good news.

Pope Francis brought an estimated three million young people together for Mass on the beach in Rio do Janeiro while making significant speeches and numerous visits during his short stay. He evidently enjoyed the event as his constant smiles and laughter showed while he moved through the heaving crowds of well wishers.

Two moments from the trip strike me as worthy of particular mention and reflection. He spoke to the bishops of Brazil

and asked if our Church is strong enough and compassionate enough to walk with the people who may feel distanced from it or rejected by it? We cannot live behind closed doors where everyone inside is guided by rules and traditions. We have to leave the doors open, inviting people back. Even more dramatically, we must not be afraid to go out to them. No-one is to be forgotten or rejected. We have so much good to bring to the world in which we live.

The Good News is not simply for those who embrace it but to be offered to all who might in time come to value it for themselves. It Bishop John Arnold is to be offered to a world which is struggling with conflict, injustice, moment in our history, we face inequality and poverty. challenges and problems. We have The other moment of particular difficulties and failures. But, with significance for me came as the Faith, we always have Hope. journey was ending. Pope Francis answered questions from journalists for over an hour on his flight home. Un-rehearsed he accepted all the questions and was not afraid to admit the difficulties and the failures. We certainly have Bishop John Arnold much to celebrate but, as at every Editor

The View from Rome: Building Bridges to Westminster

by Antonio Pineda, Westminster Seminarian at the Venerable English College, Rome When I received a letter in March 2011 telling me that I was to undertake priestly formation at the Venerable English College in Rome I jumped for joy. It was truly a wonderful surprise for I knew that few seminarians had the opportunity to study in Rome, right in the heart of the Catholic faith, and – as I joked to my friends – have the Pope as my neighbour.

I could dedicate a whole article on the many benefits of studying in Rome but I would like to point out one of the very few drawbacks. Seminarians from England studying in Rome find it difficult to maintain links with their respective dioceses. This is why during the summer holidays, I grab every opportunity to be a part of Page 2

Westminster and know more about the diocese that I feel I am called to serve. In July, I took part in the diocesan pilgrimage to Lourdes along with other Westminster seminarians.

It felt very good to interact with parishioners from all over Westminster and to be of service to them in so many different ways. Some seminarians spent the week assisting the sick, some worked with the youth, while others, such as myself, spent time with parish groups.

The rest of my summer was very much Westminster-themed. I was lucky enough to be involved in no fewer than three parishes. The first is my home parish of St George’s in Sudbury.

My parish ended the summer by saying goodbye to our much loved and long-serving parish priest, Fr Tony Seeldrayers, who went on his welldeserved retirement. We also said farewell to Fr Brian Griffiths who had been assisting Fr Tony for a few years.

It was a sad time for the parish but on the bright side we welcomed Mgr Jeremy Fairhead as our new pastoral leader, as well as newly ordained deacon Rev Shaun Richards.

The second parish I was a part of this summer was St Michael and St Martin in Hounslow. This parish has become my second home as Fr Derek McGuire, parish priest, has been kind enough to give me a base there. I look forward to

Fr Nicholas Schofield with some of his parishioners from Our Lady of Lourdes and Saint Michael, Uxbridge.

staying there whenever I am in London. The welcome that I get from parishioners is always warm, making sure that whenever I am there, I feel very much part of the diocese.

For the whole of September, I am on placement at Our Lady of Lourdes and St Michael in Uxbridge. I enjoy

working with Fr Nicholas Schofield.

There is so much to learn from him: in addition to being the parish priest, he is our diocesan archivist. Needless to say, I also appreciate getting to know the parishioners of Uxbridge and being a part of their lives for a few weeks.

I consider being a seminarian a blessing and a privilege, and being a Westminster seminarian is twice the privilege. I will miss the diocese when I go back to Italy in October but at the same time, I look forward to being in a better position to give you more Views from Rome!

Westminster Record September 2013

Peace witnesses remembered on Nagasaki Day Peace activists from around Britain gathered in London on 9 August to remember witnesses for peace in the world, writes Ellen Teague. They also lamented the deaths of more than 70,000 people in Nagasaki, Japan, on 9 August 1945 after the world's second nuclear bomb was dropped on the city by the United States as the 2nd World War ended.

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News

Kidney transplant patient wins immigration appeal hearing

Roseline Akhalu will not return to Nigeria where she would have faced the prospect of death ‘within weeks’.

A service, organised and led by Pat Gaffney of Pax Christi, was held in the Westminster Cathedral crypt to recall Blessed Franz Jägerstätter, an Austrian farmer and a Catholic who was executed seventy years ago, on 9 August 1943, for refusing to join Hitler's army. He was beatified in 2007. Around 75 people heard a meditation by Fr Patrick Riordan SJ where he expressed astonishment at Franz’s self-assurance and confidence in his own judgment of conscience. “Despite the lack of formal schooling, he showed great clarity of thought and precision of analysis” said Fr Riordan of Jägerstätter’s judgement to reject military service, “and for him it was Christ or Hitler”.

Prayers of remembrance were said for those who have given their lives in the cause of peace. There was a litany of names of conscientious objectors and of Mennonites and members of the Society of Friends who have campaigned against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. When the congregation was invited to add names, those of Archbishop Oscar Romero and Franziska Jägerstätter,

Franz’s widow who died earlier this year at the age of 100, received special mention.

The service was followed by a procession to the Peace Pagoda in Battersea Park, led by Buddhist monks in saffron robes and Christians of many denominations carrying peace banners. The Stop the War Coalition of Wandsworth was amongst groups gathered at the Peace Pagoda when the procession arrived.

Bruce Kent, vice-president of Pax Christi, was one of the Christian speakers at the Buddhist prayer ceremony, and he took the opportunity to call for people of faith to oppose the renewal of Britain’s Trident nuclear weapons programme, with its estimated cost of £100 billion. As the sun set, the service concluded with a ceremony in which colourful illuminated lanterns were set afloat on the River Thames to commemorate those who died in Hiroshima and Nagasaki 68 years ago and to pray for peace in the world.

On 26 July, judges in the Upper Immigration and Asylum Tribunal rejected an appeal from the Home Secretary, Theresa May, that Roseline Akhalu, a 49-year old former postgraduate student from Leeds should be returned to Nigeria where she would have faced the prospect of death ‘within weeks’.

On hearing news of the judgment Roseline Akhalu told her friends and supporters: “Thank you everybody for the support, for the prayers, for the publicity, for everything. Hopefully the UKBA will let matters rest at this stage.”

Judge Southern on behalf of the Upper Tribunal in rejecting the Home Office’s appeal said: “We are satisfied that the [original] judge did not make an error of law…the circumstances here were, if not truly unique, so exceptional as to stand out from the ordinary run of cases where a claimant complains of being disadvantaged by a comparative lack of medical care in his or her own country. That was not the basis of the decision here”.

Tessa Gregory, a solicitor at Public Interest Lawyers, representing Ms Akhalu said: “We are delighted that the Upper Tribunal has dismissed the Home Secretary’s appeal and found in Rose’s favour. The facts of Rose’s case are exceptional and have been rightly recognized as such. It must now be time for the Home Secretary to accept that it would be unlawful to deport Rose to a certain and lonely death in

Nigeria. No more money should be wasted on further appeals and Rose should be allowed to get on with her life within the community that has given her such incredible support throughout this ordeal.”

condition. We really hope that the Home Office now has the sense to admit defeat so that Rose can get on with her life and continue contributing to her community as she has been doing for so many years.”

Esme Madill on behalf of the Save Rose Campaign declared: “We are overjoyed with today’s judgment.

Roseline has had to endure months of needless worry and anxiety because of this groundless and expensive appeal by the Home Secretary, which has aggravated Rose’s fragile health

Rosaline's parish in Leeds, several parishes in Westminster, the SVP and actor Colin Firth were among thousands of people who campaigned for her to stay. SVP member Siobhan Garibaldi from Barnet said: "We've all been praying for Rose for months. This is such good news."

Page 3

News

Westminster Record September 2013

Discernment, Engagement and Enrichment – Key Tools for Grassroots Caritas

by John Coleby, Director of Caritas, Diocese of Westminster As Caritas Diocese of Westminster (CDOW), the diocesan social action agency, moves into its second year, it is working on a three-pronged approach to supporting new social action projects in individual parishes throughout the diocese.

Developing a discernment tool that would assist parishes in identifying and understanding social action needs in their own particular communities is central to this.

Whilst many parishes already do this successfully, others would benefit from support and resources in this area.

Underpinning any discernment tool developed would need to be a commitment to and active encouragement of, community engagement whereby the parishioners themselves, embedded in their own communities, are all part of the designing and ownership of their own responses to the local needs they have identified.

As Father Mark Woodruff, CDOW Advisory Board member, puts it, “We need to challenge our assumptions about why people want to engage in social action and try and look at what it is that actually gets people switched on from within so that they can respond authentically."

In the meantime, the three key social action projects developed last year in collaboration with other leading national charities are flourishing ; the Borehamwood Foodbank, based in the parish of St. Teresa of the Child Jesus, opened in March of this year, has, to date, fed over 200 families and individuals, and was paid a visit by an enthusiastic Archbishop Nichols in July; the monthly Contact the Elderly tea parties for the isolated over 75’s hosted in parishioners’ homes are thriving - the St Monica’s, Palmers Green and St. George’s, Enfield, groups launched in March and May this year respectively, continue to be well attended and appreciated by the older guests and there are plans to launch a Kensington group in the autumn followed shortly by at least another two before the end of the year in the wider diocese; last, but not least, the Magic Breakfast Healthy Breakfast Programme has expanded significantly the reach of the food aid it provides within the It is hoped that these three elements five diocesan primary schools. of discernment, engagement and enrichment will provide a valuable If you are interested in the work tool for the support of an of CDOW, please contact the invigorated, grassroots approach to director, John Coleby: johncoleby@rcdow.org.uk Catholic expression of caritas.

The final element, that of enrichment, where the key concepts of Catholic Social Teaching (life and dignity of the human person, call to family, community and participation, rights and responsibilities, option for the poor and vulnerable, the dignity of work and the rights of workers, solidarity and subsidiarity) will also be integral to the CDOW support for parishes, echoes Pope Benedict’s sentiment expressed in Deus Caritas Est: “For the Church, charity is not a kind of welfare activity which could equally be left to others, but is part of Her nature, an indispensable expression of her very being”. Catholics are prominent in social action because they are Catholic and all love given to others flows from the love we receive from God. We are responding to “do this in memory of me”, and Pope Francis himself also reminds us that we need first to be aware of our own poverty before we can hope to address poverty in others.

"Paintings from Prayer"

All paintings and photos ©Stephen B Whatley.

The chapels of St Andrew and St Patrick at Westminster Cathedral were ablaze with light and colour in the recent stunning exhibition "Paintings from Prayer" by Expressionist artist Stephen B Whatley, writes Amanda C Dickie. (Visit: www.stephenbwhatley.com).

The pictures were on sale with a percentage of proceeds going to the Cathedral.

Three lay people

Pope Francis

Page 4

Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Lourdes Pilgrimage 2013

by Rebekah Curran, Westminster Youth Ministry The Diocesan annual pilgrimage to the Holy Shrine of our Lady in Lourdes took place 21-27 July 2013. To even make it to Lourdes was amazing because it had been overwhelmed by the worst flooding for many years, just four weeks prior to our pilgrimage.

There was still some damage to parts of the domain, the underground basilica was unusable for our stay and many hotels had to be closed for the season.

Despite the challenges, we arrived and began what turned out to be a lifechanging and spiritually enriching time. This year had the theme of ‘Lourdes as a gateway’, picking up on the Year of Faith and how at Lourdes we are called into greater unity with God and more personal experience. For many of the Red Cap volunteers (primarily 6th form students from across the diocese who volunteer to serve the sick and elderly on the pilgrimage), I know that the service they gave to others was a very tangible way of experiencing a growth of faith.

“What is faith without works? What good is light hidden or salt that is tasteless?” (Matthew 5:13-16) We felt very united with the pilgrims who were in Rio at the same time for World Youth Day, and felt the influence of Pope Francis from across the planet with his call to be a church on the streets, and to be a church for the most needy of our society. I could see that in the service of Westminster pilgrims helping, supporting and caring for others. Archbishop Vincent Nichols was a very influential presence during the pilgrimage, very approachable and engaging, challenging us to make the most of this special time, and calling us to draw closer in relationship to Mary and to Jesus.

It was a privilege to be present at Lourdes, and to learn from Bernadette the humility of doing what is asked of us for the good of others, and to unite our prayers and petitions with our Holy Mother. Westminster Youth Ministry is planning a ‘Post-Lourdes’ gathering for all of the Red Cap helpers in the second week of September to continue that journey of growth through service and to see how we can be a ‘visible presence’ on the streets and in our parishes as Pope Francis is calling us to step up and be.

News

Westminster Record September 2013

Westminster Record September 2011

The Choir: Westminster Cathedral

by Barnaby Johns

Westminster Cathedral Choir, As Master of Music Martin is the one certainly one of the finest choirs in to organize and choose the music for the country and probably the world, each day: “I plan the music on a has a reputation that is built on the termly basis, and always start with firm foundation of regular practice. the Graduale Romanum, the official The 25 boy choristers from the Choir music book of the Church. This has School begin their day with an hour’s the chant Propers of the Mass - the practice at 8am and then Introit, Gradual, Alleluia, and so on. recommence at 4.30pm, being joined Gregorian chant has a different by the professional lay clerks. The notation from normal music notation choir sings what is known as the with a four line stave and square dots, rather than the usual capitular liturgy five. Once the correct which is daily Mass (weekdays at 5.30pm, “What makes a good chant for each day has been established I weekends at 10.30am) and Vespers daily at choir great? ‘It’s the tie in a polyphonic 5.00pm and Sundays detail, and the daily Mass setting and two motets: offertory and at 3.30pm. Martin communion. It can be Baker, Master of hard work which Music at the enables us to reach quite a musical jigsaw puzzle! The Cathedral since 2000, a level where we nuances of the explains that “the liturgical calendar choristers, who board can sing need careful at the Cathedral Choir complicated music emphasis – the music School, sing both the for a feria will be treble and alto lines, with relative ease’” simple, becoming which is unique for a increasingly elaborate cathedral choir in this country. They are joined by up to 10 for memorias, feasts and solemnities. professional lay clerks – four basses, The acoustics of the building are a four tenors and two counter tenors. major factor in deciding repertoire.

One of the defining characteristics of Everyone loves Mozart, but its the choir’s sound is that the alto line complex rhythms and short notes do is a mixture of counter tenors not communicate well in a large space – it comes across as a big blur and boys.”

The choir processes into Mass while – so our core repertoire (in keeping singing the introit and then divides with the directions of Sacrosanctum off on the sanctuary to take its place Concilium, the main document of the in the apse, behind and above the Second Vatican Council) is the high altar. It is out of sight but not treasury of Renaissance polyphony. Its out of mind. Martin explains that, long, legato lines and slow “the Mass isn’t about the choir in the declamation of text ideally sense of it being a performance. The complements the Gregorian Chant communicates clearly Mass is about the Mass, so the music and throughout the building.

The we sing is an accompaniment to the Cathedral’s first Master of Music, Sir liturgical rite which is, of course, in the foreground. Although we can’t be Richard Terry, was one of the pioneers seen the sound rolls down the nave of the early music movement; in the reflecting off the marble of the half first two decades of the last century domed apse. It’s a great space for he transcribed hundreds of masses singing with no need for any and motets from manuscripts and performed them with the cathedral amplification.”

choir – composers such as Palestrina, Victoria, Tallis, Byrd, Taverner, whose music hadn’t been heard for centuries were brought to the attention of modern ears through his work, and we continue to build on that today.

Commissioning new music has always been a focus for the cathedral choir.

Vaughan Williams, Britten and Berkeley, for instance, all wrote music for the cathedral’s liturgy, and most recently James MacMillan, whose spectacular Tu es Petrus for Pope Benedict’s entrance in 2010, combining choir, organ, brass and percussion, was much commented on.

All of Macmillan’s music is inspired by his Catholic faith – it defines his music and we are very blessed to have him.”

(Tu es Petrus and other works by MacMillan feature on the Cathedral Choir’s much acclaimed latest CD release on the Hyperion label.)

The high points in the year are clearly Christmas and Holy Week. Martin explains that the choristers usually favour Christmas: “The music is highly approachable and attractive, full of tinsel and glitter, and young minds respond naturally to this, but I think the music for Holy Week and Easter is infinitely better! The ceremonies at the Cathedral are incredibly powerful and

the music plays a key role in enhancing the drama of the movement from Palm Sunday, through the Institution of the Eucharist, to the Crucifixion and finally the Resurrection. The services on Good Friday and Easter morning are the best attended of the whole year – the side chapels are full and the aisles crammed with people standing – but the two Offices of Readings (Good Friday and Holy Saturday at 10am) are my favourites. These meditations on the Passion are formed of psalms sung by the choir in alternation with the congregation, readings, lamentations, and the famous Tenebrae Responsories

by Victoria. The experience of conducting the Victoria pieces with this choir (and in doing so I bear in mind the choir’s iconic recording made under George Malcolm in the 1950s) is difficult to better!”

“It is a great privilege to be able to use my musical talents to serve the Catholic Church. Although I spend most of my musical time with the choir, I am first and foremost and organist, and I still enjoy the opportunity of improvising music for the liturgy, often at the Sunday 5.30pm Mass. Of course I don’t claim to be able to approach in quality the music of the great composers, but the immediacy of improvisation – the fact

that one is thinking and playing in the present tense, in the moment – make it an ideal accompaniment to the liturgy; one can respond precisely to the moment in the way that a carefully chosen and well-rehearsed piece of music, might not.”

Future plans for the choir include a recording of the Masses of William Byrd, several concerts in the Cathedral (Bach Passions, Venetian Music, Mozart Requiem, Britten Ceremony of Carols) and touring where the schedule permits.

But what makes a good choir great?

“It’s the detail, and the daily hard work which enables us to reach a level where we can sing complicated music with relative ease and know that we have something in reserve for those special occasions that demand it. The choristers come to us aged eight from a wide range of backgrounds and with a variety of skills, but the routine and discipline of the chorister life-style enables them, in the course of only five years, to morph into young professionals with skills which allow them to work alongside the best adults in the profession. Whether or not they go on to be musicians later in life, they take a valuable lesson with them: that nothing of value is achieved without hard work!”

Page 5

Marriage and Family Life Matrimony: The next generation On 20 July Byron and Francine Pirola, directors of the Marriage Resource Centre, Australia and authors of the “Engage” marriage preparation resource used widely in the Diocese of Westminster addressed a large gathering of marriage preparation providers and mentors in Westminster Cathedral Hall.

Pilgrimage for Families to Rome Families from around the world will gather in Rome on Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 October on pilgrimage to the Tomb of St Peter led by the Holy Father. This event is one of the initiatives for the Year of Faith announced by Benedict XVI, Pope Emeritus.

The title of the pilgrimage, “FAMILY, EXPERIENCE THE JOY OF FAITH! The Pilgrimage of Families to St Peter’s Tomb for the Year of Faith,” reminds us that our faith is something to be celebrated and shared joyfully with all the family.

Strong Foundations Married for 25 years with five children, the Pirolas have been preparing engaged couples for marriage for most of their shared life. “We’re a boy and girl next door story. We went to the same parish and were heavily involved in youth ministry. We came out with an incredible richness in our own formation.” So strong was their formation that just six months after exchanging vows they began preparing others to do the same.

“It didn’t occur to us that we might not know much about marriage at the time but there is no way you learn more than by teaching.” This is a reality that Byron says should encourage more married couples into marriage preparation work – their own marriage tends to be strengthened through their mentoring of the engaged.

Creating a Legacy Through showing the engaged couple how relevant is the gift of God’s grace in their marriage, the preparation veterans hope to capture their attention and create a legacy for them in the Catholic Church. “It’s never about just one couple. It’s about their children and further descendants, who will have a much better chance of knowing God and being raised in the Catholic faith if their marriage is supported,” emphasised Francine.

The Pirolas have seen a shift in reasons for marrying in the Catholic Church. More are citing a Churchrelated childhood memory or parental pressure. This presents “a teachable moment” – an opportunity to re-evangelise through marriage preparation.

Without it “there was every chance

Byron and Francine Pirola, directors of the Marriage Resource Centre

the couple would be subconsciously confirmed in thinking the Church had nothing relevant to say about marriage.” Then, explained Byron, there’s a danger that neither they nor their descendants would set foot in a Church again: “We’re not just talking about one couple’s marriage preparation but the future of their family - their legacy in the Catholic faith.”

Sacramental Vocation Byron and Francine also highlighted the importance of seeing marriage as a sacramental vocation. “We’re not in the business of divorce prevention. That’s a low bar. In matrimony we’re being called to a sacramental vocation.”

The challenge with this, acknowledges Byron, is communicating it to a couple unfamiliar with the Church.

“It can’t be done in six sessions, but we can launch a boat and give them a better target to aim for than just not getting divorced.”

An essential part of communicating the sacramental vocation of marriage is Pope John Paul II’s Theology of the Body. In emphasising the sacredness of sexuality within marriage, we’re putting the spousal relationship at the centre of our faith because this is the love most similar to the love God has for each of us.

However it was important to emphasise the need for good communication, with simplicity being key. “Our job is not to create theologians but to open their hearts and minds to a lifestyle which sees marriage as sacramental.”

Essential work

Edmund Adamus and Archbishop Vincent Nichols

Page 6

Westminster Record September 2013

Following the question and answer session, a visit from Archbishop Vincent Nichols was much appreciated: “I’m here to thank you and the Pirolas for supporting engaged couples. There's a lot of work to be done" – in this he was echoing Pope Benedict XVI that the Church "devote maximum pastoral attention to preparing couples for marriage" (Sacramentum Caritatis).

Having run the Engage programme in his parish for several years, Fr Philip Miller from St Augustine, Hoddesdon, said he had found the resource to be an enriching experience for engaged couples.

But attendance was not limited to those using Engage, nor even only to people in the Diocese of Westminster. Word got round that the Pirolas were coming and, drawn to learn more about their work, active and would-be mentor couples came from as far afield as Dublin and from Northampton, Portsmouth and Southwark dioceses. “We seem to share similar values with the speakers so we thought it would be an interesting talk to attend” said John and Gretel from Kent.

“Engage” is just one aspect of Byron and Francine’s work under the overall banner of “SmartLoving” which also includes resources and programmes for marriage enrichment and for marriages in difficulty. In addition, the Marriage Resource Centre produces a variety of resources for families.

For further information on all the programmes and resources see the websites www.smartloving.org and www.marriageresourcecentre.org.

The Engage resource is available for purchase in the UK from Edmund Adamus at the Diocese of Westminster Office for Marriage and Family Life (contact details right). There is also an expanding team of couples who present the non-residential SmartLoving marriage enrichment seminar – contact Edmund if you are interested in attending or hosting a seminar or want to find out more about what is involved.

Couples keen to use the Engage resource in their parishes are recommended to attend a SmartLoving seminar first as part of the groundwork. The next seminar is on 21 and 22 September at Hendon, London NW4 4TY.

The programme will include a celebration of the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation in the Piazza del Popolo, veneration at the Tomb of St Peter and Holy Mass with Pope Francis. Pilgrims will be invited to pray and reflect on the value of the family itself, a privileged place for the transmission of the faith, and to be witnesses of our faith throughout the world.

To join the pilgrimage, it is essential to register before 30 September at www.family.va (for English language version, select ENG at the top of the page). Scroll down the English page and click on the poster for the pilgrimage, this will open up a page with downloadable registration forms, flyers and programme.

Registration is free.

For information on accommodation in Rome, email accoglienza@peregrinatio.va with “Peregrinatio ad Petri Sedem” in the subject line.

FOR MORE INFORMATION For further details contact Edmund Adamus at the Diocese of Westminster Office for Marriage and Family Life edmundadamus@rcdow.org.uk or 020 7798 9363

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Vocations

Westminster Record September 2013

The Painter Priest

Fr Gianni Notarianni has recently been appointed as Vocations Director for the Augustinians in the UK, as well as parish priest of St Augustine’s in Hammersmith.

He is also at the heart of the new Austin Forum initiative.

I caught up with him recently to find out more…

by Fr Richard Nesbitt

called to a vocation with the this idea in mind. Augustinian Augustinians took root and grew. spirituality is shaped by St Augustine of Hippo’s belief that all people I believe you also have a passion whatever their background - are for art… made in the image of God, and so it Yes, as well as being an Augustinian seemed natural for us to search for priest I’m a painter. So I am very new ways to engage with people interested in the relationship beyond the church pews. between the Church and contemporary art. I don’t believe art How does Austin Forum’s vision should be used as a preaching tool - connect with your own vocational when that happens then art is no journey? longer open to interpretation, a My mother was a convert to prerequisite for all great art - but I Catholicism, and so I’ve always been do believe religion and art can interested in how the Church can be complement each other. One offers a open to others. Many of my friends creed, the other offers questions; are not religious, and so I’m sensitive both use the material world as a way to how the Church is seen from their into the immaterial world. I’m standpoint. As I approach the altar at interested in looking at how Beauty Mass I always say the words from the can be a common ground for Song of Songs, “Draw me, we shall experiencing the Divine, for believers run after you in the odour of your and non-believers alike. ointments”. I understand this as St This vision is central to the Austin Thérèse of Lisieux did - ‘draw me, Lord, and in following you I will take Forum initiative. Could you all those I love and know with me’. explain what this is?

Austin Forum is a new initiative by the UK Augustinians which provides a creative public space where Catholics and people from other faiths and none can come together to explore spirituality and collaborate on community projects rooted in Augustinian values. We also focus on creative ways of working with young people in and outside the Church through social justice and arts projects.

Congratulations firstly on all your new appointments!

Many thanks – yes, it does look like quite a lot on paper but I have a great team around me for all of this so I am just taking things day by day at the moment and trying to remind myself that it is the Lord who is in Where did the idea for the project come from? charge here and not me!

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI How did God lead you to the emphasised the need to create Augustinians? meeting places between the Church I grew up in an Augustinian parish so and society - a space for dialogue I got to know the friars as a child. But "with those to whom religion is the Augustinians really began to something foreign, to whom God is intrigue me when I was asked to get unknown and who nevertheless do involved in their youth ministry as a not want to be left merely Godless, student. Working alongside them but rather to draw near to him, albeit helped me to get to know them as the Unknown.” (Dec. 21, 2009). better and I discovered that they Pope Benedict likened this point of were people I could really identify encounter to the Courtyard of the with. I felt at home with them and Gentiles; the part of the Jerusalem realized that I shared the same Temple where non-believers could fundamental outlook and desires as ask the priests questions about God. them. From this my sense of being Austin Forum was established with

I would say that, like St Augustine himself, an Augustinian is a restless person, somebody who will never say, “I’m content now, I can stop striving for more in life” - a person who’s not afraid to ask the big questions in life and share their search for meaning with others. I think Austin Forum speaks to all of this.

Who is involved in Austin Forum and what are you doing?

We draw upon volunteers from St Augustine’s parish in Hammersmith, where Austin Forum is based. At the heart of the volunteers is the new Augustinian Lay Community for young Catholic adults - a residential community serving the Church, based on Augustinian values.

In concrete terms this means youth work - organising workshops, projects, youth groups and retreats for young adults in and outside of the Church. We offer Confirmation retreat days to youth from other parishes in London. Also, arts-based projects, such as exhibitions by established and emerging artists. We also offer spirituality and interfaith

activities – teaching and reflecting on Augustinian spirituality through workshops and retreats which offer opportunities for dialogue and reflection to people of all ages. Also, social justice programmes reaching out to people outside the Church including marginalised groups such as immigrants. In recent months we have begun free English lessons for immigrants; created a peace garden, and launched an arts project which brings the creativity of Catholic and Muslim school girls together. We have also begun a course called “A Beginner’s Guide to Augustinian

Spirituality”, which has proved to be very popular. Many people have commented on how relevant and contemporary the Order’s spirituality is.

And if someone wants to find out more…?

A website is being created but if you want to know more about Austin Forum or the Augustinian Lay Community, please email me at: austin-forum@hotmail.com, or ‘like’ our Austin Forum Facebook page. And, of course, please keep us in your prayers for the journey ahead!

My heart is restless, Lord...

Fr Gianni will be the speaker at the first of our new series of Vocations Discernment Group meetings on Friday 27 September.

He will reflect on the lessons for us all today of St Augustine and Augustinian spirituality, entitled “My heart is restless, Lord...” The group is for men and women, aged 18-30s, and meets on the fourth Friday of each month from 7-9pm in the Hinsley Room in Morpeth Terrace, next to Westminster Cathedral. For more info email: richardnesbitt@rcdow.org.uk

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Page 7

School News

Westminster Record September 2013

St Thomas More Catholic School win Nicholas Breakspear Best Production for ‘London Boy

celebrates 50 Years

The winning team and their drama teachers with Rudoph Walker and Ellen Thomas. ©Tony Atile

St Thomas More Catholic School in Woodgreen won Best Production at the Rudolph Walker inter-School Drama Awards (RWiSDA) held at Millfield Theatre in London on Sunday 14 July. They staged a drama called ‘London Boy,’ a coming of age story about a Nigerian boy’s whirlwind experience of London.

The Year 10 students from St Thomas More wrote, directed and performed the play, with the support of their drama teacher, Cheryl Rosen. To qualify for the competition the students had to submit a 60 second advert about why they wanted to take part in the competition. Seven schools were

shortlisted for the Grand Final at the Millfield Theatre. The founder of the award, Rudolph Walker OBE, asked Eastenders actress Ellen Thomas to mentor the students in preparation for the final. Ellen said: “The students were inspirational, hardworking, motivated and creative. They were a pleasure to work with and learn from.”

It was an exciting day with students Opeyemi Adewuyi, Benjamin Ahern Parker, Vitoria Coelho-Goncalves, Sani Kimbidima, Ruth Nantongo and Rogeka Baker getting to experience first-hand what life is like for a professional actor. The judges were TV producer Kath Beedles, actor

Cyril Nri and theatre directors Phillip Hedly and Anton Phillips. They were all very impressed with the standard produced by the students of St Thomas More. The event is not only about drama, but also gives awards to young people for being role models. Michael Akinbola of St Thomas More received an award for his positive contribution to the school and was presented with the award by Jimmy Akingbola, who plays Antonie Malik in Holby City. It was a fantastic project for the students of St Thomas More to be involved in proving that hard work and determination prevail.

Deputy Prime Minister visits outstanding St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg and Minister of State for Schools, David Laws visited St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School in Camden on Wednesday 17 July.

funding for children entitled to receive the Pupil Premium. In a speech to parliament David Laws declared that “we have been sending out a message about what The school has achieved remarkable success looks like at the end of Key Stage results this year. In a primary school which is totally congratulatory letter, David Laws wrote: “The overall percentage of your pupils achieving Level 4+, combined with excellent rates of progress in both English and mathematics place you amongst the top performing primary schools this year”.

wrong”. He further stated that schools like St Joseph’s, which have well exceeded the lowest measure of achievement for primary schools, are “leading the debate in education” and the Government needs to respond.

A talented Year 9 student shows her altar piece for the Thanksgiving Mass that depicts the school’s gospel value of love.

Nicholas Breakspear School in St Alban's first opened its doors in 1963 and is celebrating its 50th birthday this year. Events will include a special Mass, a pilgrimage to Rome and an open day for former pupils and staff.

Preparations are already under way for a Thanksgiving Mass at St Alban and St Stephen’s Catholic Church in St Albans at 11am on Thursday 12 September to mark the start of the Golden Jubilee celebrations. The Most Reverend Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster, will be the main celebrant. The Mass will be attended by the whole school and show a number of altar pieces

Laws went on to highlight the necessity of English and mathematics at the secondary school level, stating: “These pupils now have a really good start for the next stage of their education.”

The school visit came as Nick Clegg announced his plans to increase Page 8

Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg with children from St Joseph’s

Students on a trip to Rome.

produced by talented Year 9 students, depicting the school’s gospel values of truth, peace, justice and love.

Head of School Bernie Whittle said: “We are really excited about this next year and celebrating all that is good about Nicholas Breakspear Catholic School, past and present. We would love to hear from former pupils, see their old photos and see how the school has changed over the years.” A pilgrimage to Rome during February half term 2014 is also planned which is to be open to all staff, governors and parents, past and present.

Youth Special

Westminster Record September 2013

believes that developing lively parish based youth and young adult groups is where learning about the faith and true fellowship takes place.

Director’s Spotlight Having spent many years working in the business sector, it has been interesting for me to see how everything seems to quieten down during the months of July and August in the church environment.

The seminarians are on placement and therefore the seminaries are closed, the schools are on their long summer vacation so many of the parish groups take a breather, and even the Pope takes his much needed break (although he remains in Rome rather than heading to Castel Gandolfo).

Parish priests, however, never seem to get much chance to have some time off as there are still so many people to reach out to and daily tasks to complete. Recognising this, we have spent time in the last couple of months discussing with various parish priests and deans about getting parish groups set up to lighten their load. We have now moved away from focusing on our diocesan pilgrimages to World Youth Day and Lourdes, and are now continuing the fulfilling grind of setting up parish groups. As I write, I

am pleased to say that we have a number of new groups around the diocese in various stages of development.

As I’ve highlighted before, our faith and prayer life cannot be based on World Youth Day and other pilgrimages, as exciting and joyful as they are. We are most likely to question our faith and prayer life on return to our local parish, where the music might not be great or the homilies are perhaps dull and young people are few and far between.

Westminster Youth Ministry truly

Therefore, in this week’s youth section of the Westminster Record you will read a great column by Terry Toolan (Assistant Director of SPEC) about the need for more peer-topeer ministry, as it truly works. There is also a large amount of photos of Westminster pilgrims on their pilgrimage to World Youth Day and Lourdes.

If you have yet to visit the recently refurbished Centre for Youth Ministry, please do pop down sometime to meet the staff, to take a look at our resource library, and maybe even chat about how we can help develop your local parish’s young people’s group.

by Terence Toolan, Assistant Director - SPEC Someone recently said that ‘peer to peer ministry is like the blind leading the blind’. Ouch. Well, it would fit on a placard; but it’s just plain wrong. I’ll put it on the shelf with ‘Christianity has nothing to offer’ ... when I’ve finished with it.

But let’s focus for a moment on ‘the blind leading the blind’ as in: young people leading young people. It’s easy to see where this attitude comes from, because if you put young leaders in over their heads – it won’t help them and it won’t help the other young people they are trying to minister to.

How do you stop young leaders going in over their heads?

1. A proper environment ‘A proper environment’ involves setting up the interaction between the young people and their young ‘leader’ in such a way that they aren’t presented as experts, and

they don’t pretend to be. They are leaders who help those other young people explore their faith through the tools that they have been taught to use such as prayer, the Bible, the Catechism, their attitude and the art of living.

There is a very real danger in youth ministry that we only ever associate ourselves with Jesus – and don’t take the more humble step of imagining ourselves on the road to Emmaus; ourselves a disciple, walking with another disciple and listening to Jesus as he opens the scripture. We are all, to some extent, blind. None of us are ‘fully formed’ and it is the recognition that our job is to bring people to Jesus that allows us to stay on track.

2. A support network By the very nature of the relationship, the questions posed by the young people to their leader

It’s okay that they are only one step ahead of the people they are ministering too – as they grow, so will the gap; and one day they will look around and realise they are training other young people to be leaders. Should they be silent because they haven’t read all of Sirach, or find bits of the catechism unintelligible? No! “Seek to grow deeper in your knowledge, but recognise that today you work with what you have” (1 Timothy 4:12).

You can find out more about the Diocesan Youth Service and the experiences of our young people by going to www.rcdow.org.uk/youth The site includes coverage of events, interviews and photos.

You can also keep in touch online with the latest youth activities at http://on.fb.me/15fzuXE twitter.com/ RCWestminster or WestminsterWYM See photos of youth events at http://tinyurl.com/5vqohvo If you have a story for the blog or for Westminster Record email us at: communications@rcdow.org.uk

Hero to Hero Ministry are going to be the sort of questions that are also close to the leader’s heart. It’s important that they aren’t left to carry that burden alone, but are surrounded by prayer, people who can answer their questions, and occasionally have a CRB–checked shoulder to cry on.

Get involved and keep in touch!

When you meet someone who has something that you don’t, that you consider to be great like great kindness, outstanding generosity, endless patience, at that moment something that is written in our soul makes us point and say “That feels written in my bones”. That's important! Recognise those moments.

There is a moment in Wreck-itRalph (spoiler alert) right at the end where the hero realises that he cannot save himself. He suddenly realises that he has a purpose, something deeper written in his heart which is telling him the right course of action, that despite the fact that he faces certain annihilation, it is still the right

thing to do; giving his own life to save another.

Our hearts respond to this story of salvation - it echoes in our hearts.

We all want to be saved, and in some way we all want to be a saviour too. We are made for Christ, and in His image we are made. We are called to save and be saved. We are called to be heroes.

You don’t need to wait until you’ve read every page of the bible, every catechism quote, every encyclical and every Vatican II document before you start evangelising, because eternity starts today. So whether you are young or whether you are old – we’ve got the good news! Let’s tell people.

3. Reasonable expectations Some things stress out young people. Some things stress out anyone; but different things stress out different people. Some will be comfortable with standing up in front of a thousand people and giving a testimony – most won’t.

Ask your young leaders what they are capable of, and keep asking whether or not they are comfortable.

When the young people are gently and carefully led deeper into their faith, they will lead others deeper into theirs. Now I’ll tell you something very important: the heroes that you meet are more important than the heroes you never meet.

Page 9

In Pictures

Follow us on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/diocese.westminster

Westminster Record September 2013

Westminster Record September 2013

World Youth Day – Rio 2013 outh D Y ld r o W f o t The Great Gifton

Mass for Seafarers Wednesday 25th September 2013 at 17.30 Westminster Cathedral for more info information contact John Green johngreen@apostleshipofthesea.org.uk or 0207 012 8607 I thank the Lord for the work of the Apostleship of the Sea, which for many years has offered human and spiritual support to those who live this difficult and challenging way of life.

Pope Benedict XVI

Page 10

Fr David and Anel Zuniga

Anne Rowney discuss Paula Mendez and Joa suitable location for whether London would be hosting a World Youth Day. at was more amazing WYD was amazing, but wh us believe. During our was what this event made ched several times by time in Rio we were approa world asking whether pilgrims from all over the y in 2016 will be in the next World Youth Da nt surprise. First, asa London. It was a very ple next WYD is the the of on ati because the loc ne knows but no one worst kept secret. Everyo aware it was Poland, acknowledges it. We were ing filled us with ion so this enthusiastic quest sibility that London pos the ne agi hope. Just to im of such magnitude and could ever host an event lics gives us goose tho relevance for young Ca bumps of excitement. er the success of But are we ready for it? Aft 0 and the 201 in the Papal visit of around 4,000 unprecedented attendance 1 we have been UK pilgrims in Madrid in 201 the Catholic in l experiencing a reviva These events . les Wa and Church in England young Catholics served as an initial point for this has been in the UK to meet and now media. We ial soc extended by the use of media that took should know, as it was social eers tweeting and us to Rio working as volunt ics in the UK are posting on Facebook. Cathol er now than oth h more connected with eac ever before.

The Olympics last year demonstrated that London can indeed hold an event of this magnitu de in terms of accommodation and transport within the city, but above all, our beautiful capital city has a repu of being one of the most iconic, cosm tation opolitan, welcoming and tolerant cities in the world. What better place than London to host such a joyous event?

It is wonderful to feel that pilgrims from all around the world are very keen to come to Lond on for World Youth Day. If this is ever to happen, it would surely be a great gift, both for British and international pilgrims. While we were never going to hear Francis announce our country as the next Pope host, or the one after Poland (WYD will head out of Europe next time), we live in hope that we will soon hear: “I am glad to announce that the next Wor ld Youth Day will take place in London in 2022!”

“In a society that tempts us away from the truth of Jesus Christ, I as a young Catholic often find it difficult to live my faith and even pray. Going to World Youth Day in Rio and being surrounded by so many young Christians, one can’t but be filled with happiness and be re-energised to persevere in prayer.”

Jude

Ooberfuse

To mark the feast of Our Lady Star of the Sea, Stella Maris, also World Maritime Day, the Apostleship of the Sea invite you to a mass for seafarers

Registered Charity No. 1069833

In Pictures

Could London host WYD?

ay

Sherring ing

by Bishop John images spring a multitude of d na ha ba I o ca Ri pa e from gathered on Co As I flew hom illion pilgrims m 3 e m, the th d: in d pray with hi into my m an t s ci an Fr pe wanted to gree me Po g people who beach to welco un ng yo ri an du ili et az m le I the Br e young peop enthusiasm of sincerity of th e st and follow th , ri us Ch e t ac re to mee si and embr de ep de r ei ch conveyed and th pe Francis whi my catechesis s Po of ve lo d ng with bishop th an ent, the meeti Him, the warm es pr as e w th ho of e ody w me a new sens itself to everyb ld which gave or w e th nd from arou e Pope. bishops with th ssions: college of the to lead three se d ge ile iv pr as rist, and bishop, I w a disciple of Ch g in As a catechist be , od G r et were thirsting fo ung people I m yo e searching and Th s. ie ar be faithful in a h as mission ons of how to ti finally, go fort es qu y an m g Catholic. ling with and joy in bein ce sincere, strugg en id nf co Christ to other but full of e witnesses of th complex world be to t ou in their nt them hich they hold w pe Pope Francis se ho e th e our were the and to shar lp of the neighb he d young people an ts en the sacram l. hearts. Prayer, ped at the vigi their hich he develo w es em th e ople and re e th p g n u o y ts is sm of the bishops and pries ia s u th n e s e we face a ged by th , their l parishes hrist. Pope is encoura es. The challenge a c h it lo fa ir e y C th M nari ergy into nesses to er be missio el this en t they may be wit n ing togeth desire to n e a b h d c n a to ; a m le th e p o o s e to help th f young p s of work ht for the and place hope and energy o d encouraging sig s e g e ll o c e an poke of th was a wonderful Francis s h c Youth Day a e b is week at World abana th c at a th p ise o gn C co t re I a h. t gift. The the Churc inues to be a grea nt f co o d an re en be tu s ha fu leged to s whom I was privi rim lg pi er st in tm es W e Church e great hope for th m n ve gi ve ha ad le ss, Fr David ank you to Phil Ro Th e. es oc di e th in who mmunications Team Reilly, and the Co anks also Th . rs he ot this with helped us to share who made iests and parishes must go to the pr ort of our ssible in their supp the pilgrimage po d in their prayers an young people and to share ed ht lig de s ives. I wa fundraising initiat ard th Archbishop Bern the pilgrimage wi William d an s pe s Alan Ho Longley and Bishop Aberdeen.

Hugh Gilbert from Kenny, and Bishop may we naries of Christ Go forth as missio ts and ar he 's wish to our each take the Pope into our lives.

Follow us on Twitter at: twitter.com/RCWestminster

“WYD has left me inspired, spiritually enlightened and I loved every second of it.”

Alex

Company Registration No. 3320318

Page 11

In Pictures

Follow us on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/diocese.westminster

Westminster Record September 2013

Westminster Record September 2013

World Youth Day – Rio 2013 outh D Y ld r o W f o t The Great Gifton

Mass for Seafarers Wednesday 25th September 2013 at 17.30 Westminster Cathedral for more info information contact John Green johngreen@apostleshipofthesea.org.uk or 0207 012 8607 I thank the Lord for the work of the Apostleship of the Sea, which for many years has offered human and spiritual support to those who live this difficult and challenging way of life.

Pope Benedict XVI

Page 10

Fr David and Anel Zuniga

Anne Rowney discuss Paula Mendez and Joa suitable location for whether London would be hosting a World Youth Day. at was more amazing WYD was amazing, but wh us believe. During our was what this event made ched several times by time in Rio we were approa world asking whether pilgrims from all over the y in 2016 will be in the next World Youth Da nt surprise. First, asa London. It was a very ple next WYD is the the of on ati because the loc ne knows but no one worst kept secret. Everyo aware it was Poland, acknowledges it. We were ing filled us with ion so this enthusiastic quest sibility that London pos the ne agi hope. Just to im of such magnitude and could ever host an event lics gives us goose tho relevance for young Ca bumps of excitement. er the success of But are we ready for it? Aft 0 and the 201 in the Papal visit of around 4,000 unprecedented attendance 1 we have been UK pilgrims in Madrid in 201 the Catholic in l experiencing a reviva These events . les Wa and Church in England young Catholics served as an initial point for this has been in the UK to meet and now media. We ial soc extended by the use of media that took should know, as it was social eers tweeting and us to Rio working as volunt ics in the UK are posting on Facebook. Cathol er now than oth h more connected with eac ever before.

The Olympics last year demonstrated that London can indeed hold an event of this magnitu de in terms of accommodation and transport within the city, but above all, our beautiful capital city has a repu of being one of the most iconic, cosm tation opolitan, welcoming and tolerant cities in the world. What better place than London to host such a joyous event?

It is wonderful to feel that pilgrims from all around the world are very keen to come to Lond on for World Youth Day. If this is ever to happen, it would surely be a great gift, both for British and international pilgrims. While we were never going to hear Francis announce our country as the next Pope host, or the one after Poland (WYD will head out of Europe next time), we live in hope that we will soon hear: “I am glad to announce that the next Wor ld Youth Day will take place in London in 2022!”

“In a society that tempts us away from the truth of Jesus Christ, I as a young Catholic often find it difficult to live my faith and even pray. Going to World Youth Day in Rio and being surrounded by so many young Christians, one can’t but be filled with happiness and be re-energised to persevere in prayer.”

Jude

Ooberfuse

To mark the feast of Our Lady Star of the Sea, Stella Maris, also World Maritime Day, the Apostleship of the Sea invite you to a mass for seafarers

Registered Charity No. 1069833

In Pictures

Could London host WYD?

ay

Sherring ing

by Bishop John images spring a multitude of d na ha ba I o ca Ri pa e from gathered on Co As I flew hom illion pilgrims m 3 e m, the th d: in d pray with hi into my m an t s ci an Fr pe wanted to gree me Po g people who beach to welco un ng yo ri an du ili et az m le I the Br e young peop enthusiasm of sincerity of th e st and follow th , ri us Ch e t ac re to mee si and embr de ep de r ei ch conveyed and th pe Francis whi my catechesis s Po of ve lo d ng with bishop th an ent, the meeti Him, the warm es pr as e w th ho of e ody w me a new sens itself to everyb ld which gave or w e th nd from arou e Pope. bishops with th ssions: college of the to lead three se d ge ile iv pr as rist, and bishop, I w a disciple of Ch g in As a catechist be , od G r et were thirsting fo ung people I m yo e searching and Th s. ie ar be faithful in a h as mission ons of how to ti finally, go fort es qu y an m g Catholic. ling with and joy in bein ce sincere, strugg en id nf co Christ to other but full of e witnesses of th complex world be to t ou in their nt them hich they hold w pe Pope Francis se ho e th e our were the and to shar lp of the neighb he d young people an ts en the sacram l. hearts. Prayer, ped at the vigi their hich he develo w es em th e ople and re e th p g n u o y ts is sm of the bishops and pries ia s u th n e s e we face a ged by th , their l parishes hrist. Pope is encoura es. The challenge a c h it lo fa ir e y C th M nari ergy into nesses to er be missio el this en t they may be wit n ing togeth desire to n e a b h d c n a to ; a m le th e p o o s e to help th f young p s of work ht for the and place hope and energy o d encouraging sig s e g e ll o c e an poke of th was a wonderful Francis s h c Youth Day a e b is week at World abana th c at a th p ise o gn C co t re I a h. t gift. The the Churc inues to be a grea nt f co o d an re en be tu s ha fu leged to s whom I was privi rim lg pi er st in tm es W e Church e great hope for th m n ve gi ve ha ad le ss, Fr David ank you to Phil Ro Th e. es oc di e th in who mmunications Team Reilly, and the Co anks also Th . rs he ot this with helped us to share who made iests and parishes must go to the pr ort of our ssible in their supp the pilgrimage po d in their prayers an young people and to share ed ht lig de s ives. I wa fundraising initiat ard th Archbishop Bern the pilgrimage wi William d an s pe s Alan Ho Longley and Bishop Aberdeen.

Hugh Gilbert from Kenny, and Bishop may we naries of Christ Go forth as missio ts and ar he 's wish to our each take the Pope into our lives.

Follow us on Twitter at: twitter.com/RCWestminster

“WYD has left me inspired, spiritually enlightened and I loved every second of it.”

Alex

Company Registration No. 3320318

Page 11

Youth

Westminster Record September 2013

1,000 Pilgrims at Aylesford Priory for WYD@Home

by Nathan Satchell

In the spirit of Pope Francis’s “I hope there will be noise” nearly 1,000 young adults gathered with the Carmelite community at Aylesford Priory for WYD@Home as part of the annual Brightlights Festival, now in its 18th consecutive year serving young people and the Church in its mission of evangelisation.

This four day event commenced on Friday 26 July with ‘Born for This’ a dramatic and moving production of the Stations of the Cross through the grounds and gardens of the Priory.

The Big Top was action packed with inspiring speakers including David Wells, Frankie Mulgrew, Mgr. Tim Menezes and Fiona Mansford. The Shrine became the perfect venue for CJM music to lead worship and celebrate liturgy with preaching from Fr David O’Malley, Bishop Declan Lang, Archbishop Peter Smith and Archbishop Vincent Nichols who shared the message of Pope Francis to young people on Discipleship.

Mass on Sunday ended with an impromptu conga line, a wonderful witness to see young adults with their priests and religious celebrating the vibrancy of the Church together.

The joyous atmosphere all weekend was encouraged by a great line up of musicians and bands that provided moments when the tent rocked to such bands as Sunday headliners Sounds of Salvation. After link ups with pilgrims in Rio via a big screen

Bright lights

by Carolyn Wickware

before and after Sunday afternoon Mass in the Shrine, an evening of Latino style celebrations and a tasty Hog Roast followed.

The Friars at Aylesford opened their home to the young adults sharing their community prayer times and Carmelite spirituality. This ancient pilgrimage site provided the perfect backdrop to the festival.

CAFOD Partners César and Freddy from Bogotá in Colombia shared their experiences of social justice, peace building and young leadership with the energetic crowd of young Catholics from the UK, Ireland and Spain. Freddy held a graffiti workshop and Cesar played his AK-47 rifle that he has transformed into a guitar to play their songs of peace.

We were privileged to be joined by Westminster Deaf Services who provided sign translation throughout the weekend. Their presence at the festival was so well received that everyone present at Mass started to sing the Alleluia in sign, taking a lead from the deaf young adults who attended. Demand was so great that an extra last minute introduction to signing workshop was arranged.

The weekend was packed with teachings, opportunities for discipleship in ambitious and creative styles and those who arrived young disciples left as missionaries after a three-fold instruction ‘Go’ ‘Serve’ and ‘Be imaginative’ by Archbishop Vincent Nichols.

Amid the fields of Aylesford Priory, seven hundred pilgrims congregated to celebrate World Youth Day@Home.

With live feeds of the action in Rio, guest speakers and workshops, the pilgrims celebrated their faith through exuberant song and sense of community. The final day closed with a Mass celebrated by Archbishop Vincent Nichols.

Pilgrims attended the event from as far as Spain, Ireland and from across England. Joe Darby from South London said of the event: “I thoroughly enjoyed the weekend. I wasn’t sure what to expect but it was definitely worthwhile.” The days included a series of workshops and guest speakers. “The workshop I attended taught us different ways to tackle the difficult questions about our faith,” said Joe. “After this weekend, I can definitely explain my faith to people who ask and I can tell them how wonderful it is to be Catholic. I can go out and be confident instead of being afraid to say I’m a Catholic, which was difficult before.”

Between heavy rain and bright sunshine, the Archbishop’s homily during the closing Mass emphasised this, telling the young people to heed Jesus and “invite people to follow the Lord”. The Archbishop gave the attentive congregation three rules to always keep in mind in this mission.

The first echoed Joe in reassuring the young people to always be confident in their faith: “We are right to be confident. Our faith is not the product of human thinking and imagination. It is not a theory among many others.

It is a gift of God.” The second point to remember was to be inclusive to everybody despite any disagreements: “Don’t ever close your heart to another or give that other person a sense of being not respected or not loved because to do that is to shut the door of faith on them which is our task to keep wide and to keep open always.” Errol from Croydon has plans to spread the faith with this point in mind. “It’s about going out into the community and subtly allowing people to embrace the divine power of God and to involve them a bit more,” said Errol. “There are a lot of

Errol far left in the dramatisation Page 12

Picture: Jo Boyce with CJM Music

young people in my area who aren’t practising Catholics. I think it’s about reminding them of their faith and to live a life that will lead them into salvation.”

The Archbishop concluded by asking the young people to start any dialogue or disagreement we may have with another “from what is good in the lives and in the thinking of others so that we may build together a structure of understanding.” He continued; “The Gospel is not proclaimed by shouting at somebody else. It is always an invitation of love, always expressed and offered with reverence and great regard for the goodness in people’s lives.”

With the theme for this year’s World Youth Day asking pilgrims to ‘go and make disciples of all nations’, much of the event focussed on the relationships young people establish with others outside the Church. The Archbishop reminded the young people: “When, each day, we find time to be with God then that’s the source from which our discipleship flows. It’s impossible without that intimacy with Jesus.”

This was reflected in the moments that meant the most to many of the pilgrims. For Joe, it was Sunday night that became a favourite moment. “I went into the St Joseph Chapel by myself and had a conversation with God. I hadn’t done that in a long time so it was nice to experience that again.” For Errol, morning prayer was the best time for reflecting: “I would sit even after the prayer was over and have an internal conversation with God and ask Him how I can better my life.” It is these times, emphasised Errol, which are the most important for events like this. “We could all go to parties and listen to loud music but what is the point of it all if the central Person that we’re here for is not included. We need to reflect on our relationship with God.” Errol, along with many of the young people, hopes to attend World Youth Day in Krakow in 2016. “The coming together of young people in one area and seeing how much God has touched their lives is quite inspiring and it also helps me as well, it takes my whole role in the Church and amplifies it.” The jubilant atmosphere could have been found in Rio. Even after three nights of camping in the surrounding fields, the tired pilgrims erupted into song and dance at the close of Mass. Heartfelt goodbyes were given as coaches took the pilgrims ‘to go and make disciples of all nations’.

St Lawrence's Youth Club from Feltham, pictured with their parish priest, Fr Chris Vipers, at Bright Lights WYD@HOME at Aylesford Priory during World Youth Day weekend in July, drawing nearly 1,000 young people for a festival of Catholic faith and life."

Parish Profile

Westminster Record September 2013

Chiswick: Our Lady of Grace and St Edward Family at the Heart

by Barnaby Johns “Sometimes I pinch myself and ask why I am so lucky, having such a beautiful church in good shape and a great parish to look after” says Canon Anthony Dwyer, now in his fourth year as Parish Priest at Our Lady of Grace and St Edward the Confessor on Chiswick High Road.

Chiswick is indeed a pleasant area of London to live in, near to the river, with a variety of shops along the high street and easy access in and out of London. Thus in recent decades it has become an affluent and sought-after location. This is a place where young and not-so-young professionals can afford to live and begin family life and see it grow.

“The more you put into the Mass the more you get out.”

“This is such a lovely place and the majority of those coming to church are families, which makes our 11 o’clock Family Mass a very lively affair,” explains Canon Anthony. On Sunday there are six Masses which are all pretty full. About 1600 people attend each Sunday but over a few weeks there would be over 2000 attending on a regular basis. Quite a large part of the attraction is the music. The choir is very vibrant and there is a gifted organist to lead them.

“I was recently talking to a woman visiting from Ireland who is used to a half-hour Mass back home,” recounts Canon Anthony. “She was struck how everyone was quite content with an hour or more’s liturgy, with no one leaving early. She said it made her realise that the more you put into the Mass the more you get out.”

Our Lady of Grace and St Edward the Confessor was built in a classical Italianate style and consecrated on 13 October 1864; so plans are afoot for the 150th anniversary next year. “I am very fortunate as my predecessors

Canon Anthony Dwyer

looked after the Church, School and Presbytery very well. It is all in good shape.”

The Chiswick community consists of Canon Anthony, his assistant Fr Graham Stokes and, until recently, Deacon Fortunato Pantisano who was ordained to the Priesthood in June and has now moved to join Fr Chris Vipers in Feltham. Then there is Cardinal Cormac in an adjoining house and the former Parish Priest Canon Peter Gilbert who is still living in Chiswick.

Both help out with weekday and Sunday Masses.

“I came here from being Vice-Rector for six years at Allan Hall Seminary but I see myself fundamentally as a Parish Priest. The return to parish life has demanded more of me than I expected as this is a very busy Parish and there is always something to do and people to see, particularly in the evenings. I would describe it as relentless. Fortunately the parishioners are understanding and hugely supportive.”

The priests have a strong connection with the nearby parish school, St Mary’s, where they offer support and pastoral care for the children, teachers and governors. It is a good and highachieving school, which makes it more attractive when people look at league tables. There is also a strong faith ethos. The RE inspector from the diocese stated that it was ‘an outstanding catholic school at a recent inspection. However, Canon

Anthony explains the challenges of it being only a one-form entry: “You can have 90-100 applications for each entry, which is a real problem that has gone on for years. My predecessors have looked at trying to expand, it as it is a real heartache to see families not get their child in. We have recently set up an expansion committee to explore the possibility yet again.’”

The Church is also fundamentally a place of prayer and worship. Each day there is Eucharistic Adoration between 1pm and 5pm and from 5pm-6pm on Saturday when confessions are happening. The Sacramental programmes are however, busy with 84 children making their first communion this year and 46 confirmed. Baptisms average 80 per year.

The Parish Renewal Programme at Chiswick Canon Anthony Dwyer explains the steps being taken in to renew the life of the parish “I began working with a renewal group looking at the different areas of parish life. From there we did a parish survey to see what they wanted and expected from the parishioners, and we came up with five main areas to work on: 1) Spirituality – developing a relationship with God and with one another 2) Outreach – the Parish supports a monthly Foodbank collection and for the last two years, and has worked with the Hounslow night shelter providing the homeless with accommodation and care along with seven churches in the area from January to March. There has been huge support for this with 80-90 people signed up so no one was overloaded.

3) Formation in programmes such as confirmation and marriage preparation, and also on-going formation with resources such as Fr Robert Barron’s ‘Catholicism DVDs which are being played for a third time. There is also the Alpha course.

4) Youth – demonstrating an expressed concern for young people to try and connect with them.

5) Social – just enjoying each other’s company.

The team did some research and drew up a plan to develop parish life in all these areas, and to set up a pastoral council with 12 people on it working towards this vision for the parish and making sure that we are in touch with the needs of as many parishioners as possible. But, as Canon Anthony says: “This isn’t the end of the road. We had a poster up saying ‘Catholicism is coming to Chiswick’ referring to the formation programme. Now when I see the Archbishop he asks me if Catholicism has really come to Chiswick.

It makes me laugh but I think I can say that we are working hard on it.”

Top: the Church was built in a classical Italianate style.

Above: Our Lady of Grace and St Edward the Confessor on Chiswick High Road.

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CAFOD News

Westminster Record September 2013

Haiti – three years on

Sheep or Goat?

by Michael Walsh, CAFOD Volunteer “Look, read the Beatitudes: that will do you good. If you want to know what you actually have to do, read Matthew Chapter 25, which is the standard by which we will be judged. With these two things you have the action plan: the Beatitudes and Matthew 25. You do not need to read anything else.” (Pope Francis during World Youth Day, July 25) What a stark summary of the Faith!

What a challenge! From the hour of his election Pope Francis has brought renewed vigour and urgency to the longstanding commitment of the Church to meet the call of Jesus in the parable about the Last Judgement. Those who are to inherit the Kingdom had to ask the King when it had been that they

had given Him something to eat or drink: the damned equally want to know when they had denied Him basic necessities.

It is not difficult to identify the counterparts of those whom Our Lord described as the least of His brethren. In today’s world there are about 870 million people, one in eight of the members of Our Lord’s family, who go without food, clean water, clothing, and medical help. It is not a question of missing a meal occasionally or needing an aspirin.

It means begging all day because there is no other means of eating: it means going to sleep hungry every night; it means dying of illnesses which are easily treatable at minimal cost.

Dispatches from Bolivia In July more than 20 volunteers had the opportunity to welcome Nikki Evans, CAFOD’s programme officer for Bolivia, to the Church of Christ the King, Cockfosters. Nikki had the opportunity to share her experience of working with CAFOD’s partners in the country, and of meeting people for whom these projects are making a real difference. One of CAFOD’s office Westminster volunteers, Tope Akinmoladun, wrote about the talk and her inspiration for volunteering for CAFOD: “I started volunteering with CAFOD Westminster diocese in mid-April and it has been so far one of the most enriching and eye-opening experiences. I have seen how much effort they put into organizing events and trying to get the word out about global hunger and poverty within the community through schools and parishes.

Last Wednesday was probably the exact moment when I felt so glad to be part of such a great organization.

Nikki Evans, CAFOD’s Bolivia representative, came to visit the office. She explained to us how CAFOD is using the money raised by people like you and me. CAFOD helps local people develop a more sustainable living by helping them to fund local projects. Nikki’s job is to make sure that they were putting the money to good use and measuring the progress and impact these projects were making. She also spoke Page 14

Volunteer Tope Akinmoladun sends a special greeting to CAFOD’s partners in Bolivia

about issues to do with the lack of variety of food, meaning that the local people did not have essential nutrition needed. Issues like this tie in closely with CAFOD campaigns such as Hungry for Change.”

If you’re interested in learning more about CAFOD’s work in Latin America, please join us at the Church of Christ the King, Cockfosters, from 10am to 12:30pm on Saturday 14 September. The head of CAFOD’s Latin America team, Clare Dixon, will be sharing her experiences and inspiring stories of CAFOD projects in Guatemala and Nicaragua. To book a place, contact CAFOD Westminster: 0208 449 6970 or westminster@cafod.org.uk.

The plight of the world’s poorest people is often made worse by the impact of climate change on the crops they produce and the increasing concentration of global economic power. They are not helped by governments whose horizons are limited to competing to attract foreign companies to exploit natural resources. The Hungry for Change campaign of the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD), which tens of thousands of Catholics in the Westminster Diocese alone have publicly supported through sending cards to the Prime Minister, addresses abuses in the world economic system and asserts the need for coordinated action by governments for the common good of humanity.

In England and Wales, the Catholic bishops have named CAFOD as the official aid charity of the Church and by enabling it to have two fast days each year the Bishops have given their strong backing to CAFOD’s work. The generous contributions of Catholics to CAFOD have enabled it to equip communities in poor countries to become self-reliant in meeting needs for food and other basic necessities and to assert their human dignity.

Parishes in the Diocese will be announcing the second of the two Fast Days on 28 and 29 September.

These dates would be suitable for short talks during or after Masses about the Fast Day on Friday 4 October, after which parishioners will be asked to contribute in CAFOD envelopes at least the price of a meal given up on the day. In thanking parishioners for their kind offerings, CAFOD gives full account of its stewardship of the resources entrusted to it, not just to Bishop John Arnold, Chairman of the CAFOD Trust, but to all who support its work.

Please help to support CAFOD’s long term development work by supporting the Harvest Fast Day appeal in your parish. Perhaps you could also mark the day with a prayer service, a community soup lunch, or other event within your parish or school community. For more information, please contact CAFOD Westminster: 0208 449 6970 or westminster@cafod.org.uk.

The earthquake that struck Haiti on 12 January 2010 was the biggest urban disaster in modern history, killing nearly a quarter of a million people and leaving more than a million homeless. The Catholic community in England and Wales responded with amazing compassion, entrusting CAFOD with over £5.3 million to respond to the disaster.

According to CAFOD director Chris Bain, Haiti was where “working in partnership really came into its own,” as having partners already in the country ensured that CAFOD’s response was both rapid and very effective at reaching those in need.

In the first few weeks after the earthquake, CAFOD delivered tents, shelter, and emergency kits to more than 11,000 people who had lost their homes, as well as supplementary food to prevent people from becoming malnourished. Among other projects, CAFOD and its partners also worked to help children to recover from the trauma of the disaster, using puppetry and film-making to give them the opportunity to express themselves

and create a safe, fun environment.

In the three years since the earthquake, CAFOD and its partners have helped Haitians not only to take the lead in rebuilding their country, but enabling them to “build back better”, especially through housing capable of withstanding future earthquakes and hurricanes, and also in training local people to have the skills to build such homes.

“I am so happy with the new house, so excited,” said Casimir, an elderly gentleman from Port-au-Prince who had lost his home in the earthquake.

“I keep thanking God because it is like a miracle”.

If you would like to learn more about how the Haitian people have worked to recover from the earthquake, CAFOD has recently launched a downloadable photo exhibition of its work following the 2010 earthquake.

To see how your generosity has helped to make a remarkable difference, visit cafod.org.uk/Haiti.

Casimir with the beginnings of his new house in Port-au-Prince. The house has been completed since this photograph was taken in 2012.

A Billion Reasons to Believe in Africa We hope you can join us for CAFOD’s annual Pope Paul VI memorial lecture on Friday 18 October. CAFOD will be welcoming guest speaker Fr Agbonkhianmeghe E. Orobator SJ, Provincial of the East Africa Jesuit Province, who will be exploring Africa’s long march from ‘the hopeless continent’ to ‘the spiritual lung of humanity.’

Father Orobator will be looking beyond the stereotypes of Africa to explore turning points in the continents history, its contributions to the wider world, and reasons for hope in its future. In particular, he will examine the relevance of Catholic teaching to Africa’s present condition, and to its quest for genuine development and social transformation.

The lecture will take place at the Greenwood Theatre of King’s College London SE1 3RA, and will begin at 7pm. Tickets to the lecture are free, but must be booked in advance.

Donations will be collected on the evening.

For more information or to book a place, visit cafod.org.uk/lecture, or contact 0208 449 6970.

Strawberry Tea for CAFOD in Welwyn Garden City Many thanks to the Holy Family Friday Group at Holy Family parish, Welwyn Garden City for organising a wonderful strawberry tea party in late July. In addition to a great way to enjoy the summer weather, they raised nearly £200 for CAFOD’s overseas work. Well done!

Dates for your diary Saturday 14 September – Harvest Volunteer Morning – 10am to 12:30pm at the Church of Christ the King, Cockfosters N14 4HE. See “Dispatches in Bolivia” for further details.

For more information or to book a place on any event, contact CAFOD Westminster: 0208 449 6970 or westminster@cafod.org.uk.

Justice and Peace

Westminster Record September 2013

Celebrating Creation Time

by Barbara Kentish

SEE

From 1 September to 4 October, the feast of St Francis of Assisi, some churches are starting to celebrate the ‘Creation Season’, not only with harvest festivals, but also special services and prayers of thanksgiving for creation. We sent out our diocesan environment leaflet, Our Environmental Mission, with the July Record, hoping to stimulate forward-thinking for post-holiday prayers and action.

Many schools and churches hold Harvest Festivals, and bring offerings of food. Our local Catholic Worker night shelter benefits from some of this bounty for the 20-plus asylum seekers whom it houses all through the year. I can imagine that the mushrooming foodbanks we are seeing will welcome these also. As far as food is concerned, the ‘Creation Season’ is a marvellous opportunity to remember that: “There is enough for each one’s need, but not for each one’s greed”.

But the ‘Creation Season’ is not only an opportunity to give thanks for food, but also to express gratitude for Nature’s beauty, which many of us have Fr Norbert Fernandes blesses the Peace Garden in enjoyed on holiday, in respite his parish of Our Lady Queen of Apostles, Welwyn Garden City from the daily routine. Perhaps gardens have figured in our excursions. The more sedate among us love visiting gardens, but even young children enjoy the exotic: the Eden Project, botanical gardens, mazes and labyrinths. One way to give thanks for this is to come back and try to ‘green’ our own corner of the city, to connect more closely with God’s creation.

My own parish priest has green fingers. The little ‘well’ area behind the ramp for wheel chairs has been developed into a kind of patio garden, with a water-feature, an olive tree, clematis and numerous other plants that I don’t recognize. Now a Lourdes grotto adorns the corner just under the ramp angle, and we look forward to the Archbishop’s visit this month to bless it. Fr Clive’s creativity is amazing. Behind this small modern (70s) church is an area he has turned into a green oasis, with climbers, creepers, a pond and a dovecote. With doves, running water and an olive tree, we have a wordless sermon on peace and harmony. He tells me that we are the only Hackney Church to have entered ‘Hackney in Bloom’!

Others in the parish are similarly gifted. One, Margaret Pitt, has founded a community garden, Culpeper, supporting it for 30 years. Founded on a derelict site, this award-winning garden encourages children, vulnerable and disabled people to take up gardening. Margaret observes that gardening is very therapeutic for all sorts of traumatised groups. Asylum seekers and refugees are frequent visitors to Culpeper. Another parishioner cooperates with her local council in planting vegetables in their front garden and planting wildflowers around the trees in the streets. Peace gardens at Our Lady Queen of Apostles in Welwyn Garden City, and St Mellitus, Tollington Park are known to many. September is a good time to incorporate these visible signs of God’s bounty into our parish prayer life.

JUDGE

Creation and the Environment have been constant concerns of the last two Popes and indeed of Pope Francis himself, implicit in his chosen name. “Let us be protectors of creation, protectors of God’s plan inscribed in nature, protectors of one another and of the environment,” he said in his opening address on March 18th this year. And we know from Pope Benedict’s Peace message that he sees peace, conflict and the environment to be closely Culpeper Community Garden, Islington connected: ‘If you want peace, protect the environment’.

What we need to do in the Creation Season is to deepen our awareness of the environment through prayer and liturgy, to give us new energy for this crucial work. We look, then, for inspiration where Jesus himself drew some of his teaching – in the psalms. They are, of course, a rich source of wisdom on creation. Psalm 96 illustrates the joy of creation before its Maker: “11 Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad let the sea resound, and all that is in it.

12 Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them; let all the trees of the forest sing for joy.

13 Let all creation rejoice before the LORD, for he comes, he comes to judge the earth.

He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his faithfulness.” Psalm 96 (95) (It will be known to some through the lively ‘fun’ hymn, The Trees of the Field by Steffi Geiser Rubin & Stuart Dauermann. Children will love this, as it can be sung as a round, getting faster and faster!)

Thus ‘equity’ or fairness or righteousness are closely linked with the physical universe. All will rejoice when everything is in harmony. Psalm 19, ‘The heavens proclaim the glory of God’ is another beautiful hymn to God’s creation, celebrated in Haydn’s wonderful Creation Oratorio.

Our prayers during this season will not lack for stimulus material.

ACT

Liturgy

Whilst we cannot turn over all our Sunday liturgies to Creation themes, Eucharistic Prayer 3, ‘Father, you are holy indeed, and all creation rightly gives you praise …’ would be really appropriate , and we could incorporate prayer for creation into each week’s bidding prayers. Churches Together In Britain and Ireland have an online bank of intercessory prayers under the heading, ‘Creation Flourishing’, and written by Catherine Brennan, SSL at www.ctbi.org.uk/creation time. All the hymn books have some creation hymns: the St Francis ‘Laudato Sii’ springs to mind, as also the well-known, ‘We plough the fields and scatter’, and John Rutter’s more modern, ‘For the beauty of the earth’. Marty Haugen’s Mass for Creation is used by many. Get hold of our environment leaflet ‘Our Environmental Mission’, for more websites and suggestions. CAFOD and Operation Noah have particularly rich prayer resources.

Meal Our parish holds a shared international meal in September to link with the CAFOD Harvest Day, this year on St Francis’s feast, 4 October. It neatly brings in the theme of Racial Justice Sunday too! With many nationalities, our shared meals go down very well, and there are usually the proverbial 12 baskets left over!

Gardens Gardens in the area can be visited, with prayer points and environmental or peace walks incorporated. Confirmation groups enjoyed a peace walk in North Islington last April as part of their confirmation programme. This sort of outing could be widened to the rest of the parish, with the gardening experts guiding us on plant wisdom.

Peace messages in Peace Garden Page 15

Evangelisation

Westminster Record September 2013

The two paths of prayer

by Deacon Anthony Curran

We are often asked to pray for various needs and people but do we know what we’re doing when we pray?

There are two main categories of prayer but many Catholics are often unaware of the differences and the importance of knowing the difference between the two categories for our personal spiritual lives and our mission in the world.

The two main areas of prayer are liturgical prayer or the public prayer of the church, and private or devotional prayer. Within these two main forms are numerous “ways” to pray. Unfortunately, we often confuse these two main categories of prayer.

For example, five hundred people might be sitting in meditation together in a church or praying the rosary together at a shrine and this is still private or devotional prayer.

Conversely, someone might be praying the Divine Office of the Church alone at home in an armchair or a priest might be celebrating the Eucharist alone and this is public, liturgical prayer. The distinction, as we see from these examples, is not dependent upon the number of people participating, or whether the

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prayer is taking place in a church, or even whether the prayer is being prayed in a group or privately.

The distinction is based upon something else.

What is liturgical prayer? It is the prayer of Christ through the church for the world. Our Christian belief is that Christ is still gathering us together around his word and is still offering an eternal act of love for the world. As an extension of that we believe that whenever we meet together, in a church or elsewhere, to gather around the scriptures or to celebrate the Eucharist we are entering into that prayer and sacrifice of Christ. This is liturgical prayer; it's Christ's prayer, not ours. We pray liturgically whenever we gather to celebrate the scriptures, the sacraments, or when we pray, in community or privately, something that is called the Prayer of the Church or the Divine Office (Lauds and Vespers).

This kind of prayer is not restricted to the ordained clergy. By virtue of our baptism and part of the implicit covenant we make with the community at our baptism is the commitment, when we reach adulthood, to pray habitually for the world through the liturgical prayer of the church.

What needs also to be highlighted here, since we easily miss this aspect, is that the church's liturgical prayer is for the world, not for itself. The church, in this world, does not exist for its own sake, but as an instrument of salvation for the world. Its function is to save the world, not itself. In liturgical prayer we pray with Christ, through the church, but for the world.

Private or devotional prayer has a different intent. Though it has many forms (meditation, praying the rosary, devotional prayers of all kinds), it has a single aim, to draw us and our loved ones into deeper intimacy with Christ. In the end, whatever its particular form, all nonliturgical prayer ultimately aims at personal intimacy with God and is, ultimately, private, even when it is done publicly or in a large group. All private and devotional prayer can be defined in this way: It is prayer that tries, in myriad ways, to open us or our loved ones up in such a way that we can hear God say to us: "I love you!"

It is important to know this distinction when we go to pray: Which kind of prayer are we entering? To confuse the two is to risk doing both poorly. For example, the person who feels frustrated because the liturgical ritual and interaction of a congregation inside a church service are felt as a hindrance and distraction to the private devotional prayers she would like to be saying is confusing the two forms of prayer and is consequently doing both poorly. The function of liturgical prayer is not first of all devotional.

Or sometimes the confusion leads someone to abandon one form of liturgical prayer altogether.

Someone, after years of praying the Office of the Church may decide to stop and do his own private prayer in its place because he doesn't find the ritual prayers personally meaningful.

His private meditations now might well be wonderfully effective prayer, but he is no longer praying the

liturgical prayer of Christ when he is praying in this way. We see this sometimes too in well-intentioned, but badly planned, church and school services where what is intended to be a liturgical service ends up being a guided private meditation, however well-done and powerful, which neither properly uses scripture nor prays for the world.

So, when we are about to enter into a time of prayer it’s important to be very aware of which type of prayer we are entering into before we begin: Liturgical Prayer or Private Devotional Prayer – because it really can make a huge difference about how we approach our prayer times and how effective they will be.

In the past year catechists across the Diocese have been involved in formation in many ways. The introduction of the Archbishop’s Certificate in Catechesis at the beginning of the Year of Faith has been enthusiastically taken on by a large number of catechists.

During the Year of Faith Archbishop Vincent and each of the Auxiliary Bishops have led days of prayer and catechesis, which have proved very popular. A number of catechists are also studying for the Catholic Certificate in Religious Studies (CCRS) Each year we also offer training for parish catechists in parishes across the Diocese in all of the areas of sacramental preparation, for leaders of the Liturgy of the Word with Children, and in other areas of catechetical formation.

Arts

Westminster Record September 2013

Book Review

DVD Review

Les Misérables: Dream a Dream

by Jo Siedlecka The award-winning movie adaptation of the musical Les Misérables has recently been released on DVD. This spectacular film offers something for everyone: soaring anthems, heart-wrenching romance, thrilling drama - and a very positive portrayal of the Catholic Church.

Pope Francis: Untying the Knots

by Paul Vallely Publisher: Bloomsbury Press

by Jo Siedlecka This is by far the most interesting study of Pope Francis yet published and gives an indication of how he has developed in his faith and ministry. When Pope Francis was elected Pope he said he wanted to see 'a poor Church for the poor', but Vallely reveals that as a young priest he was suspicious of colleagues who wanted to live in the slums. The Bishop of Rome, loved now for his warm, lighthearted and informal approach was once seen as deeply authoritarian and had the nickname 'the man who never smiles'.

The book examines Bergholio's conduct as a new leader of the Jesuits through the years of the military junta, when many people in Argentina - among them his own priests - faced torture and death. Did he provoke the kidnapping of two priests after they refused his command to leave the favelas? Or did he work courageously behind the scenes to free them five months later?

When he researched the book in Argentina Vallely was told that some other Jesuits disliked Bergholio so much that after stepping down as their leader he was sent to a lowly post 400 miles away from Buenos Aires.

But he goes on to show how Pope Francis's personality was transformed in the crucible of the Dirty War, emerging with his inflexibility, aloofness and a taste for power burned away. When drug dealers threatened to kill one of his slum priests four years ago, he acted without hesitation, telling him: "If someone has to die, I would prefer it to be me" and offering to sleep at his house. A fascinating book.

In fact, this faithful adaptation of Victor Hugo's novel, which was transformed into a worldwide stage sensation by Cameron Mackintosh, is a deeply moral story. Characters rise and fall calling on God for grace and mercy, seeking personal redemption while trying to better the lives of others.

As the central character, exconvict Jean Valjean, played by Hugh Jackman, comes to realize, "To love another person is to see the face of God." Director Tom Hooper paints with an enormous brush and Les Misérables is staged on an epic scale, overstuffed with grand set pieces and hundreds of extras.

Hooper's fondness for extreme close-ups heightens the emotional impact, and is likely to send some viewers reaching for their tissues.

Spanning two decades in postrevolutionary France, the story revolves around three main characters: ex-convict Valjean, who has broken his parole and is trying to make a fresh start; Police

Inspector Javert (Russell Crowe), obsessed with hunting him down; and the tragic Fantine, played by Anne Hathaway, who sacrifices everything for the care of her outof-wedlock child, little Cosette (Isabelle Allen).

The kindness of a Catholic bishop (Colm Wilkinson) convinces Valjean to amend his life. Over time, he changes his identity, works hard and eventually becomes the benevolent mayor of a village and a factory owner.

When Fantine is unjustly fired from his factory and forced into a life of prostitution, Valjean steps in, promising the now-dying woman that he will raise Cosette as his own.

Cosette has been living with the Thenardiers (Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter), wicked tavern owners and professional pickpockets. Their collusion with Inspector Javert makes for a narrow escape for Valjean.

Years pass, and Cosette has blossomed into a refined young woman (Amanda Seyfried). On a Paris street she meets a young revolutionary, Marius (Eddie Redmayne). It's love at first sight, much to the chagrin of fellow rebel Eponine (Samantha Barks), who happens to be the Thenardiers' daughter.

survive the rising tensions of the mob, as streets are barricaded and weapons drawn? Is Javert closing in on Valjean at long last? Les Miserables barrels along to a satisfying climax that is profound in its endorsement of the power Can Cosette and Marius' love of faith.

Book Review

by Jo Siedlecka

Why Bother Praying by Richard Leonard SJ This accessible volume is less about how to pray, and more about why we pray and what it does for us, for God and for the world. The author explores the context within which we pray, what is distinctive about Christian prayer, praying to Jesus, what communal prayers do, how Mary and the saints help us pray, and finally, what the point of prayer is sending us out with Christ to witness to the reign of God in our world.

“In this book I have suggested that one of the reasons some of us give up on prayer is because we may not have been introduced to its riches.

Prayer is making space for God to love us, for us to hear that, and then through the community of faith, to have the courage to return the compliment. It changes lives. The best of prayer engages our vivid imaginations and a vast array of biblical images to develop a set of ideas that reflect various personal theologies for God that will suit every season under the sun. One size does not fit all. This enables us to enter deeply into a relationship with God who accompanies us through the events of our lives.”

Publisher: Paulist Press

With little spoken dialogue and 50 songs from composer ClaudeMichel Shonberg, and lyricist Herbert Kretzmer, Les Miserables' is more of an opera than a musical. Fortunately the actors' voices are up to the challenge, especially Hathaway, whose heartbreaking rendition of the signature tune, 'I Dreamed a Dream' is sensational.

Les Misérables on DVD is widely available from shops and as a download. It is Cert 12.

Written in 1862, Les Misérables was considered one of the finest novels of its time. This musical is one of a long run of film adaptations of the story - the first of which was the 1935 version starring Frédéric March and Charles Laughton.

In 2000 it was reprised in a good TV mini series starring Gerard Depardieu and John Malkovich. If you get the chance - do read the book.

Page 17

Obituary and Saints The Catholic Police Guild have expressed their sadness at the death of one of their faithful members at the age of 90 - Bill Wright. Uxbridge - born Bill saw active service during WWII in Burma and India with the Green Howards and on demob became a bus driver in Croydon with his clippie Bridie becoming his future wife (the Eric Sykes and Hattie Jacques of the garage!)

Catholic Police In 1951 at the age of 28 he made a career change and joined the Metropolitan Guild pays tribute Police as a Class 1 patrol driver steering fast police cars instead of buses around to Bill Wright the area. Later on he was transferred to Scotland Yard's Information Room where he manned the hot lines which received 999 emergency calls from the public and there he remained until his retirement.

by John Kenny During his police career he became an extremely active member of the Metropolitan & City Catholic Police Guild and soon became its general secretary and took a leading role in extending the size of the Guild to covering the whole country in 1974. In 1985 he organised a trip to Rome taking 72 members for an audience with Pope John Paul II. He was also a member of the Knights of St Columba and at one stage was Provincial Grand Knight for Surrey. Bill leaves behind Bridie and a daughter and four sons (one son pre- deceased him). May he rest in peace.

Bill Wright RIP

Feast of Our Lady of Walsingham Our Lady of Walsingham is England's national Marian shrine.

Page 18

According to legend, Our Lady appeared in Walsingham to the Saxon noblewoman Richeldis de Faverches in 1061.

In three visions Richeldis was taken by Mary to be shown the house in Nazareth where Gabriel had announced the news of the birth of Jesus. Mary then asked her to build an exact replica of that house in Walsingham.

Later, Geoffrey de Faverches left instructions for the building of a Priory by the Holy House. The Priory passed into the care of Augustinian Canons somewhere between 1146 and 1174.

Throughout the centuries Walsingham became one of the most popular shrines in England. Many pilgrims returned from their visit healed in body and spirit.

Walsingham received visits from Kings Henry III, Edward II, Edward III, Henry IV, Edward IV, Henry VII and Henry VIII, who finally brought about its destruction in 1538.

In 1897, the first official Catholic pilgrimage after the Reformation took place at the restored 14th century Slipper Chapel, which is now the centre of the Roman Catholic National Shrine.

In the 1920s the Anglican shrine began growing in the remains of the original Priory and now has its own church, housing a copy of the original statue of Our Lady of Walsingham and a replica of the Holy House. There is also now a Russian Orthodox chapel in Walsingham. The village is home to many retreat centres and pilgrim hostels and once again attracts thousands of pilgrims each year. For more information and pictures visit: www.walsingham.org.uk

Westminster Record September 2013

Liturgical Calendar 1 September St Giles 3 September St Gregory the Great 4 September St Cuthbert 5 September Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta 8 September Our Lady's Birthday 13 September St John Chrysostom 16 September Sts Cornelius and Cyprian 17 September St Hildegard of Bingen 22 September St Thomas of Villanueva 23 September St Pio of Pietrelcina 24 September Our Lady of Walsingham 26 September Sts Cosmas & Damian 27 September St Vincent de Paul 29 September Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael 30 September St Jerome

We want your News You can send us your latest news online, just visit our website at: www.rcdow.org.uk/ wrecord

In Memoriam: September Fr Gerard Barry (1998) Fr Lance Joseph Boward (2011) Bishop Christopher Butler OSB (1986) Mgr Cuthbert Collingwood (1980) Fr Leonard Collingwood (1985) Fr Brian Connaughton (1979) Fr William Erby (1974) Fr George Ingram (1992) Canon Nicholas Kelly (1988) Fr Bernard Lang (2005) Fr James Loughnane (1993) Canon John Marriott (1977) Fr Joseph Murray (1989) Archbishop Edward Myers (1956) Fr Robert Newbery (1981) Fr Michael O’Dwyer (1977) Fr Des O’Neill (2008) Fr John O’Neil (1971) Fr John Pakenham (1987) Canon Michael Roberts (2004) Fr William Ruhman (1978) Fr Gerard Strain (1980) Fr Frederick Thomas (1986) Fr James Whitehead (1983) Fr Godfrey Wilson (1998) Fr Leslie Wood (1984) Canon John L Wright (1978)

Westminster Record September 2013

Diary

REGULAR EVENTS If you have an event, please email us at communications@rcdow.org.uk SUNDAYS

Taizé at St James’s Piccadilly Every third Sunday 5pm. Call 020 7503 5128 for details.

Ceilidh at Camden Irish Centre Real Ceilidh dancing every Sunday from 8pm, with lessons for newcomers until 8.30pm then on with the dance!

All are welcome. £4 per session with great music from Tony Kearny. Partners not needed. Contact 020 7272 5815 Tyburn Benedictines Monastic afternoon First Sunday of the month 2pm-5pm Martyrs’ Crypt, Tyburn Convent, Bayswater Road near Marble Arch.

Westminster Cathedral Young Adults Young adults meet socially after the 5.30 and 7pm Masses on Sundays. on the steps of the Cathedral, then a pub.

Deaf Community Mass First Sunday of the month 4.30pm in Westminster Cathedral Hall Ambrosden Ave. SW1P 1QW

Catholic tours in London Qualified Catholic tour guide leads ‘Saints and Scholars’ walk every Sunday including Mass.

Contact Peter on 07913904997 or circlingthesquaretours@ hotmail.co.uk

Young Adults Mass - First Sunday of the month At Mount Street 7pm. Quiet prayer at 7.15pm, Mass at 7.30pm. Social gathering afterward. Contact: organise@ fsplus.info or visit www.fsplus.info.

Young Adults Mass - Third Sunday of the month At Mount Street. A quieter version of First Sunday. Contact team@fsplus.info St Francis of Assisi Catholic Ramblers’ Club Every Sunday throughout the year walkers meet for a ramble in the Home Counties. Contact Antoinette 020 8769 3643 or visit www.stfrancisramblers.org.uk.

MONDAYS Mothers’ Prayers at St Dominic’s Priory, Haverstock Hill Every Monday 2.30-3.30pm in the Lourdes chapel. All are welcome.

Prayer Event for people in the arts and media Third Monday of each month 6.30pm. For more information see www.artisaninitiatives.org

TUESDAYS Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament Tuesdays 6-9pm concluding with Benediction at Newman House, 111 Gower Street. Details 020 7731 3367 Mass at Canary Wharf Tuesdays 12.30pm at 2 Churchill Place E14. Organised by Mgr Vladimir Felzmann, Chaplain to Canary Wharf Communities. Details

www.cwcc.org.uk Prayers for London at the Shrine of Our Lady of Willesden Tuesdays 7.30pm Organised by the Guild of Our Lady of Willesden, Nicholl Road, London NW10 9AX Vocations Prayer Group Second Tuesday of the month 8pm at 47C Gaisford Street, Kentish Town, NW5

WEDNESDAYS Wednesdays on the Wall (WOTW) First Wednesday of the month 6pm. At All Hallows on the Wall 83 London Wall, EC2M 5ND. A short service of prayer and reflection at 6pm, coffee at 6.45pm followed by discussion.

Youth 2000 prayer group Wednesdays 7.30pm at Corpus Christi Church, Maiden Lane, Covent Garden.

THURSDAYS

Jesus Christ the Fullness of Life JCFL First Thursday of the month.

Young adults from all Christian denominations pray and share a meal. Details www.jcfl.org.uk.

Soul Food A Catholic charismatic prayer group for young adults meets from 7 to 9pm at St Charles Borromeo, Ogle Street, W1W 6HS Details www.soulfoodgroup.org info@soulfoodgroup.org

FRIDAYS

Association of Divorced and Separated Catholics Third Friday of the month.

All divorced and separated

Catholics, are welcome. Call Frank or Christine 020 8422 1591 Divine Mercy Prayers and Mass First Fridays 2.30-4.30pm at the Church of Our Lady, Mother of the Church, 2 Windsor Road, Ealing.

St Albans Fridays at 12 noon. Mass is celebrated every week at St Alban’s Abbey, one of the oldest Christian churches in England.

Westminster Cathedral Charismatic Prayer Group 7.30pm Prayer, praise and teaching.

First Friday is a healing Mass. Details 020 8748 2632 Vocations Discernment Group 7pm, Hinsley Room, Westminster Cathedral. Meetings for young adults aged 18-38. Visit www.free2become.org or call 01277 373 848

SATURDAYS Aylesford Friary - All night vigils First Saturdays 10pm - 6am.

Night vigils take place May-October on the first Saturday of each month.

Call Mrs Tugadi 020 7352 4478 or Miss Ogbeni 07847 532199 or 01733 553762.

Taizé at Notre Dame Church Leicester Square 7.15pm.

Call 020 7437 9363 Catholic Under 35s Catholic Under 35s aims to help young catholic adults in London meet like minded people via regular social events, such as meals and days out. For further info please email Elroy at elroyf@gmail.com or visit our Facebook group: http://catholicunder35s.com

LATIN MASS Sundays Low Mass 9.30am, St James’s Spanish Place, W1 Low Mass 9am, High Altar, the Oratory, Brompton Road, SW7 Sung Mass 10.45, St Bede, Thornton Road, SW12 Low Mass 6pm St Thomas Aquinas, Ham Common, TW3 Mondays Sung Mass 6.30pm Corpus Christi, Maiden Lane, WC2 Low Mass 7am, St Bede, Thornton Road, SW12 Low Mass 8am The Oratory, Brompton Rd SW7 Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays Low Mass 7am, St Bede, Thornton Road, SW12 Low Mass 8am The Oratory, Brompton Rd SW7 Low Mass 12.30pm, St Bede, Thornton Road, SW12 Fridays Low Mass 6pm St Etheldreda, Ely Place EC1 First Fridays only.

Low Mass 7am, St Bede, Thornton Road, SW12 Sung Mass 6.30pm St Mary Magdalen, East Hill, SW18 Low Mass 8am The Oratory, Brompton Rd SW7 Mass St John the Baptist Church, King Edward's Rd Hackney E9 at 6pm.

Every Second Friday Low Mass 6.30pm, Corpus Christi, Maiden Lane, WC2 Saturdays Second Saturdays at 4.30pm, Low Mass Side Chapel Westminster Cathedral Low Mass 12.15 St Wilfrid’s Chapel, The Oratory, Brompton Rd SW7

FORTHCOMING EVENTS Cathedral Choir Tickets are NOW ON SALE for the Cathedral Choir's performance of the Mozart Requiem on Wednesday 13 November at 7.30pm - pop into the Cathedral Gift Shop or visit www.ticketmaster.co.uk to get your tickets!

Knights of Our Lady in England All are invited by the Knights of Our Lady in England to the 10th Annual Michaelmas Open Day on Saturday 28 September at the Brompton Oratory (St Michael’s Hall) in South Kensington.

The Chapter will be from 1pm to 2:45pm The Talk will be from 3pm.

Mrs Fiorella Nash, will speak on: Holy House: Our Lady of Walsingham and the Family

Individual subsription costs include postage and packing and are valid for one year. £10 per annum.

Europe - £12 per annum.

You can subscribe online at http://bit.ly/cePGGE Otherwise please fill in the coupon below.

Further information: Stephen de la Bédoyère: swabed@btinternet.com; 0208 675 6218 Tuesday 29 October – Romero Lecture Tour - Fr Timothy Radcliffe OP will be speaking on the theme Telling the Truth, linked to Archbishop Romero and how his message is applied to our own times. Held at Westminster Abbey, starting at 6:15pm.

Please send a cheque made payable to 'The Universe Media Group Ltd.' to Andrea Black, Westminster Record, The Universe Media Group Ltd. Alberton House, Ground Floor, St Mary's Parsonage, Manchester M3 2WJ. Alternatively please telephone 0161 214 1216 or email andrea.black@thecatholicuniverse.com

Page 19

Spotlight

Westminster Record September 2013

Celebs, Carnival - and Carmel

By Carolyn Wickware Along the route of the bustling Notting Hill Carnival procession and a stone’s throw from trendy Portobello Road, the Carmelite Monastery lies hidden behind a twenty-two foot enclosure wall.

In stark contrast to their location in an ‘alternative’ London area, the Carmelite nuns spend most of their day in total silence observing their vows of poverty, obedience and chastity. Once the gate of the courtyard closes, the quiet is astonishing.

Through an indoor window into the cloistered life, and resisting the tendency to whisper in such a quiet atmosphere, I spoke to Sr Luke, the monastery’s Bursar. The parlour is darkened and, with the chairs set in rows, it was a room reminiscent of a theatre. As a contemplative order, the nuns’ access to the outside world is limited and there is a designated Sister for media relations.

With this Sister unavailable, an apprehensive Sr Luke appeared from behind a withdrawn wooden panel and iron grate.

Their day begins at 5.20am, when the community of 17 Sisters come together for silent prayer. What follows morning prayer is a careful balance and regular alternation between work, prayer and recreation, although as it was a feast day for the Carmelites, their tasks were lighter, such as making rosaries and other crafts.

Work for the Carmelite Sisters involves gardening, housework and making six million altar breads every year for churches in Westminster Diocese, including the Cathedral. Sr Luke understands that “to most people, our work might seem mundane but it leaves our mind open to be filled by God as He chooses”.

“As I cook, dampen or cut the altar breads, sometimes I pray for those who work in factories, or those who are unemployed.

However, sometimes my mind is just completely quiet or preoccupied with the work at hand,” continues Sr Luke thoughtfully.

The corridors of the Convent

In a city permanently glued to its smartphones, it seems incredible to think the Sisters could complete their work in total silence. “St Teresa of Avila was a very practical woman and she understood that without recreation, the silent times would be much more difficult,” insists Sr Luke.

“So when the bell rings for

“When the bell rings for recreation, there are great eruptions of laughter and chatting.” recreation, there are great eruptions of laughter and chatting.”

A later saint, Thérèse of Lisieux, lived a very accessible and practical life as a Carmelite nun, following her ‘Little Way’ of encountering life’s

everyday challenges with love (many of us remember the visit of her relics to the Cathedral). She is held precious by both the Carmelite Order and many beyond. As Sr Luke says: “I was drawn to the Carmelite life through the simplicity of St Thérèse of Lisieux’s Little Way – it was nothing grand.”

However, the Sisters are attracted to the silence of contemplative life for many different reasons. Speaking of her personal experience, Sr Luke says: “I had rebelled from the Church by not going to Mass for two years. In that time, I worked for Age Concern and was interested in social action.

Only after a pilgrimage to Lourdes, where I saw the strength of the sick and dying, did I feel the call to God. I went home and told my mother I wanted to spend time with God and she panicked because I was so changed by my experience at Lourdes.”

“I knew I wanted to give God everything, including something that would cost me. I’m naturally a very vivacious and talkative person,” she smiled.

Not everyone is equipped to become a Carmelite, but Sr Luke says assuredly: “We are normal, healthy

women. There is a misconception that we’re withdrawn individuals or somehow different but we’re usually just the opposite – even extroverted.

We’re regular women from all different walks of life and from all different nations.”

“We go through many of the same challenges as people outside these walls, such as finances and taking care of our home – the monastery. An additional challenge would be the realization of not having children, but that passes.”

Society holds several misconceptions of contemplative religious life.

“Society often thinks of us as escaping from life, hidden behind a pious façade with no worries or cares.

This could not be further from the truth. We are very aware of the challenges of the outside world and we withdraw from society in order to re-enter and embrace it at a deeper level. We receive prayer requests from all around the world and although we do not have television or radio, are often are the first to hear of conflicts and disasters because people call asking for prayer.”

The Carmelite Monastery of the Most Holy Trinity, Notting Hill was founded on 29 September 1878 to be a spiritual powerhouse for the evangelization of England. Seven Sisters from the first French Carmel in Paris were sent to establish a new contemplative monastery in London in the spirit of St Teresa of Avila. This sixteenth-century Carmelite reformer reinstated solitude into the life of Carmel and promoted a personal relationship with God. Despite perilous periods, including two world wars, the Sisters continue in their cloistered life and contemplation. Sr Luke described the Carmelite Sisters and contemplative life in general as being like the engine room of a ship. “The engine is below deck, unseen and not thought of often, but it drives the ship. In the same way, I like to think we are a loving force behind society as we pray for it.”

This ‘Carmelite engine’ is a large international association of autonomous monasteries. “I feel at home in any Carmelite monastery.

The spirit of St Teresa is very much present, even though we may interpret it differently externally”.

When speaking of her simple dark brown habit, and black veil, Sr Luke feels it helps her be a witness to her faith. “I think young people are attracted to the habit because it is counter-cultural, it is poor and it says we are followers of Christ”.

Sr Luke, the monastery’s Bursar

Following Pope John Paul II’s call to put more of God on the internet, the Carmelites have a very active website at carmelitesnottinghill.org.uk, as well as podcasts. The Sisters also keep up a YouTube channel (nottinghillcarmel) chronicling everything from solemn professions to the woodpeckers and hedgehogs found in their three acre garden.

As the interview drew to a close, the iron grate was shut across the window and the wooden panel replaced, again dividing outside society from its engine below deck.

The usual relief found at the end of a good interview was replaced by a

thirst for more of their inner and outer peace. Perhaps if we all lived life in a more contemplative fashion we might read fewer news stories of people filled with malice and more about hedgehogs and productive social action.

The Convent Chapel

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Page 20 Published by The Diocese of Westminster, Archbishop’s House, Ambrosden Avenue, London SW1P 1QJ. Printed by NWN Media Limited, Mold, Flintshire. All rights reserved.