Westminster Record September 2017 by RCWestminster

Westminster Record

September 2017 | 20p

Passchendaele Remembered

Lourdes Pilgrimage

Praying with the Pope

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Pages 8 to 10

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Love and Service in Lourdes

The pilgrimage to Lourdes this year was a successful event with about 700 pilgrims from various parishes joining. The theme for the pilgrimage was, ‘The Almighty has done great things for me’. The first day began with a procession from the Rosary statue, located opposite the Rosary Basilica. The Redcaps (young student helpers up to the age of 18 are called ‘Reccaps’) had arrived with the older pilgrims they were assisting, standing strong with banners displaying the theme of the pilgrimage, with one banner dedicated to Our Lady of Willesden, which had been brought along to Lourdes as a focus and reminder of our devotion to Our Lady. The opening Mass was celebrated by Bishop Paul McAleenan and concelebrated by Cardinal Vincent, Bishop John Wilson and Fr Dennis Touw. After lunch, we had catechesis followed by the Rosary where each decade was enacted by the Redcaps. The Cardinal remarked he hadn’t seen such a beautiful sight in a long time.

The Redcaps at Mass celebrated at the Cathedral in the Trees

In the evening the penitential service took place in the St Pius X Basilica. The vast Basilica, with pictures of saints along the length on both sides, added to the reverent ambience. Cardinal Vincent enriched our reflection with his homily: ‘Reconciliation is the sister of Baptism. They go together. They are better together. They need each other and together they grow and prosper. As we know, we are constantly forgetting our Baptism and all that it means. Then we find ourselves spoiling God’s good work; defacing what is lovely by speaking or acting spitefully, corrupting the goodness in others when we persuade them into joining us in something wrong. We need reconciliation whenever we become aware of these things in our lives. We need this fresh washing, this fresh start, back to the beauty of our Baptism.’ The Cardinal added, ‘So often we think freedom means being able choose to avoid God…Freedom comes not in avoiding God’s embrace but through being held in God’s embrace, a bit like William and Harry remembering the great hugs they were given by their mother, Diana. In that kind of love we are set free.’ (For the complete homily visit rcdow.org.uk/cardinal/ homilies) Priests sat along the length of the basilica for the Sacrament of Reconciliation while the Blessed Sacrament was exposed on the altar for us to soak in the Lord’s Presence.

Diocesan pilgrims take a group picture at the Rosery Basilica, Lourdes

After the service, pilgrims left in silence, with some having experienced an overwhelming feeling, moving them to tears. Pope Francis early in his papacy once said at a morning Mass, ‘You see, sometimes in our lives, the glasses we need to see Jesus are tears.’ The morning of the second day was dedicated to administering the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick. Bishop John Wilson began the service with a beautiful explanation of how this sacrament is not, as many mistakenly believe, for the very sick and dying, but also for those who are unwell due to an injury, an accident, or any other reason and need a priest to pray over them. He

shared the story of a young man he met in the days when he was a hospital chaplain. The man, who had had a bike accident, finally agreed to be anointed with holy oil after learning about the meaning of the sacrament for a sick person. When asked to stretch out his hands to be anointed, the man placed his hands out, the knuckles side up, on which were tattooed, hate and anger. Bishop John turned the man’s hands and blessed his palms. The question that he posed to the congregation was, how many of us have hate and anger, perhaps not tattooed on our hands, but in our hearts and live with them every day? We were asked to place all our disappointments, worries, every negative feeling into the

by Sharon Pinto

Lord’s hands as the priests went around blessing the sick, reminding us of Jesus on the Cross crying out to us, ‘Lay it all down and I will give you rest’: a solace in times of trouble. After lunch, we followed the blue line on the road from the Grotto leading to St Bernadette’s parish church, Sacré-Coeur. Mass was celebrated, after which pilgrims queued to dip their finger in the baptismal font, where Bernadette was baptised. The church also houses the tomb of Abbot Peyramale, the parish priest of Lourdes at the time of the apparitions. A statue of him welcomes you at the entrance of the church.

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Editorial

Westminster Record | September 2017

Westminster Record – Contact us

Handed Down the Generations

Editor Mgr Mark Langham Archbishop’s House, Ambrosden Avenue SW1P 1QJ Managing Editor Marie Saba 020 7798 9031 Inhouse writers Martha Behan 020 7798 9030, Sharon Pinto 020 7798 9178 Photos Mazur/Catholicnews.org.uk Design Julian Game To order copies contact Andrea Black 0161 908 5327 or email andrea.black@thecatholicuniverse.com Print management and distribution by The Universe Media Group Ltd.

October publication dates Editorial deadline: 8th September 2017 Listings email: communications@rcdow.org.uk News and stories call 020 7798 9030 Email: communications@rcdow.org.uk Advertising deadline: 15th September 2017 To advertise contact Carol Malpass 0161 908 5301 or email carol.malpass@thecatholicuniverse.com Produced by the Communications Office of the Diocese of Westminster. News and articles published in the Westminster Record do not necessarily represent the views of the Diocese of Westminster, unless specifically stated otherwise. Appearance of advertisements does not imply editorial endorsement.

September: beach clothes are packed away, holiday souvenirs look slightly forlorn on the mantelpiece, and from the cupboard are produced backpacks, blazers, pencil cases and bus passes. Time for school again (or indeed, college or university). A time of excitement and anxiety, of getting back into routine, of counting the weeks. Appropriately, we mark Education Sunday early in September, celebrating those involved in Catholic education,

and our Catholic education system itself, such an integral part of our Catholic identity. Over a hundred years ago, when Cardinal Manning achieved the astonishing feat of state-funded Catholic schools, he underlined the importance of education. ‘Don’t build a church,’ he said strikingly, ‘Build a school!’ The Cardinal realised that it was the school which first builds up a Catholic community, and his vision is with us still. Our Catholic system of education is a remarkable witness to the faith handed on from generation to generation, a presence in the community, an incentive to serve society. The theme of this year’s Education Sunday is ‘Gathered in my Name.’ It recalls the gospel saying of Jesus: ‘Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them.’ Our education system does not exist simply to publicise our presence, nor in the first place to achieve exam results or

even to ensure a supply of altar servers. Our Catholic schools and colleges are places where pupils and staff meet Christ, where they nourish that encounter with him that is at the heart of our faith. They learn to see the world with his eyes, and recognise the kingdom of heaven breaking through into our lives. At the start of this academic year, we ask God’s special blessing on all who work and study in our schools and colleges, that they may truly encounter Christ in their midst.

Prayers and Birthday Wishes for Cardinal Cormac © Mazur/Catholicnews.org.uk

happy birthday, one full of thanksgiving for all of God’s blessings. We assure you of our prayers and love at this time. May God fill you with the joy of knowing that you are held in his loving care, even as you were at the moment of your birth those 85 years ago!’ In a letter to all priests in the diocese, Cardinal Vincent wrote: ‘Although his own

Ahead of Cardinal Cormac’s 85th birthday on 24th August, Cardinal Vincent offered his wishes for a ‘most peaceful and

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celebrations will necessarily be muted, I am sure that we will all have him at the forefront of our prayers on such an important day. We not only give thanks for his long and fruitful life and ministry, but we also wish him well for all the time still to come.’ A few days earlier, Cardinal Vincent had asked for prayers for Cardinal Cormac whose health had taken a ‘defining

turn’ and who remains in hospital, adding ‘for Cardinal Cormac these loving prayers are a source of great strength and comfort as he calmly ponders on all that lies ahead, all in God's good time. May the Lord strengthen him in faith and trust and may the prayers of the Church, which he loves so much, comfort and uphold him.' Please keep Cardinal Cormac in your prayers.

Westminster Record | September 2017

Passchendaele: Praying for the Fallen Homily preached by Bishop John Wilson at the Mass commemorating the centenary of the Battle of Passchendaele on 31st July You may have seen the sculpture, by the Dutch artist Damian Van Der Velden, in Trafalgar Square to mark the centenary of the Third Battle of Ypres commonly referred to as Passchendaele. Crafted from sand mixed with soil taken from Flanders, it depicts the figure of a WW1 soldier and is designed to disintegrate slowly under a steady drip of water, recalling the devastation of war and the dreadful mud swamps. The intense shelling between 31st July and 6th November 1917 churned the land between the Allied and German lines. It destroyed the natural drainage and left massive craters like scars on the face of the earth. Combined with the heaviest rains in 30 years, the battlefield became a sea of mud, swallowing up soldiers and hampering the rescue of the wounded and the recovery of the dead. The horror of what took place was captured vividly by the war

poet Siegfried Sassoon: ‘I died in hell - they called it Passchendaele My wound was slight, And I was hobbling back; and then a shell Burst slick upon the duckboards: so I fell Into the bottomless mud, and lost the light.’ While estimates vary, there were around half a million Allied and German casualties at Passchendaele, the so-called Battle of Mud. Many soldiers were in their later teens or early twenties, a generation wiped out. And only a fraction were buried properly, as John McCrae described, ‘in Flanders fields where the poppies blow, between the crosses row on row.’ The Book of Lamentations echoes what must have been the experience of so many during the desperate days: ‘My soul is shut out from peace; I have forgotten happiness.’ But despite the terror and tragedy of brutal warfare, faith was far from absent. In fact, it brought a

comfort like nothing else could, expressed in sentiments, again like those in Lamentations: ‘“My portion is the Lord” says my soul “and so I will hope in him.”’ Fr Benedict Williamson, a Benedictine monk and Catholic chaplain at Passchendaele, describes visiting soldiers on the front line, where the trench mortar battery was established: ‘In one of these small pillboxes…our Catholic boys assembled. The building was so low that we could not stand upright. By the light of a solitary candle, all crouching down, we sang Faith of Our Fathers, Sweet Sacrament Divine, and Soul of My Saviour, and then after Benediction all the boys received Holy Communion. Shorn of every outward sign of solemnity, yet I scarcely remember a service more impressive than this, in that cramped underground vault, with the voices of the singers within punctuated with the crash of shells without.’ (Tom Johnstone and James Hagerty, The Cross on the Sword:

by Bishop Nicholas Hudson The biggest gathering of bishops and archbishops in Orkney’s history’ That was how BBC Scotland described the celebration to mark the 900th anniversary of St Magnus’s martyrdom. I felt very privileged to be in St Magnus’s Cathedral, Kirkwall, on the last Sunday of July for a Mass to commemorate the supreme sacrifice offered by this saint of Orkney on Egilsay in 1117: Earl Magnus Erlendsson, grandson of Earl Thorfin, greatest of the Orkney earls. The whole Bishops’ Conference of Scotland was present, joined by bishops from Norway, Denmark and England, not least because Magnus was related to the medieval kings of Norway; the Orkney Islands had been Christianized by Norway;

sign of victory over death: the Cross of Jesus Christ and his promise of eternal life. Pope Francis reminds us that when we look at the Cross we see God’s reply to violence and death: ‘violence is not answered with violence; death is not answered with the language of death. In the silence of the Cross the uproar of weapons ceases and the language of reconciliation, forgiveness, dialogue and peace is spoken.’ As we look back, we remember all who lost their lives a hundred years ago. As we look back, we seek still to learn the lessons of the futility of war. As we look back, we pledge ourselves anew to always working for reconciliation and peace over violence and death. We pray for all who died in Passchendaele. May their sacrifice be caught up into the supreme sacrifice of Christ who died so that all might see and share the glory given to him by his Father.

site. I was moved to discover a memorial with links to Westminster: a cairn ‘erected in 1937 by the Rector and congregation of the church of St Magnus the Martyr by London Bridge ... to mark the traditional spot where Earl Magnus was slain’. It was in the very face of death that Magnus showed the depth of mercy which lay in his heart. Magnus shared the title of Earl of Orkney with Hakon in a reign that amounted to a long and bitter struggle. When matters had reached an impasse, they agreed to meet on Egilsay to resolve their differences. It was Good Friday. Hakon came much more heavily armed since he had resolved, in fact, to kill Magnus. The Orkneyinga Saga recounts how Magnus’s chief concern was not for his own life but rather for Hakon’s soul. Magnus would do anything to save his cousin from the eternal stain of murder on his soul. He offered to go on pilgrimage to the Holy Land and never return, to be imprisoned in exile, or to be blinded or maimed and cast into a dungeon. But Hakon was persuaded by his chieftains to accept none of these; and instead had his cook Lifolf kill Magnus, on Easter Sunday 1117, with a great and

grievous axe-blow to the head. Entering St Magnus’s Cathedral for Sunday Mass on 30th July, at the climax of our pilgrimage, the procession of bishops paused at a pillar, where a century ago the bones of a man whose skull had indeed been torn asunder by a hefty blow were found: relics lost at the Reformation but revered now as those of St Magnus. ‘Unless a grain of wheat falls on the ground and dies it remains only a single grain; but, if it dies, it yields a rich harvest’, proclaimed the deacon in the Gospel. We had sensed how Magnus continues to yield a harvest of peace and mercy 900 years after he made the supreme sacrifice. I bade farewell to Orkney, Stromness and the Old Man of Hoy with a deep sense that the harvest yielded by Magnus’s generosity will indeed continue to be bear fruit long and abundantly through the century that lies before us. ‘Several times a day,’ wrote Mackay Brown in the final line of his autobiography, ‘I say, “St Magnus, pray for us”.’ Since returning from pilgrimage I find myself doing the same, several times a day.

St Magnus, pray for us

Catholic Chaplains in the Forces) For thousands of soldiers, the small, specially produced copies of St John’s Gospel would have been a source of great inspiration. One solider wrote to the Scripture Gift Mission: ‘When your small Testaments were distributed on the Common at Southampton I, among others, accepted one in a more derisive than a complimentary manner. I little dreamed that I should use it and find in it great consolation in lonely hours. I have learned to realise the great personality of the Saviour. When at night I have been on duty alone with him by my side…I realised that I needed more than my own courage to stand the strain.’ (The Gospel According to St John, 100th Anniv Ed, Scripture Gift Mission) In the torment of Passchendaele the Passion and Resurrection of Jesus brought consolation and reassurance. In the face of terrible destruction and desolation there reigned the

and Norway, Denmark and England had all been united under Canute in the 11th century. Magnus was and remains the most illustrious witness to the faith of Canute’s Anglo-Scandinavian Empire. Indeed, the Orcadian poet, George Mackay Brown, described Magnus as ‘the first Orkney man of rank to take the new religion seriously’. It was reading Mackay Brown’s novel, ‘Magnus’, that I first encountered this saint who sacrificed everything for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven, and who was a powerful prophet of both peace and mercy. He showed his peace credentials in a most dramatic way when, as a young man required to join in a Viking raid on Anglesea, he refused to bear

arms but sat rather in the prow of the longship armed only with the psalter from which he recited psalms of peace: he would not allow himself to be forced to kill a single innocent Welshman. His continuing prophetic power was brought home to us pilgrims when we took a boat out to Egilsay, the island of his martyrdom, where we celebrated a votive Mass for peace in the ruins of the 12th century church. Bp William Nolan of Galloway preached on Magnus’s enduring witness to peace and reconciliation, reminding us how Magnus had come to this lonely place to reach out the hand of peace to his cousin Earl Hakon, and how Magnus had passed his last night on earth in prayer inside the church which stood on this

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Westminster Record | September 2017

Called to Serve in Lourdes There has been a long traditon in our diocese of seminarians going on the annual pilgrimage to Lourdes. The 2017 pilgrimage proved to be an extra special one. This was due to many things but above all else it was the wonderful atmosphere that filled our pilgrimage. There was such a good sense that ‘we were in this together’ and to echo Mary’s words ‘The Lord has done great things for me’. This year’s seminarians wanted to help with the pilgrimage as much as possible but they also wanted to put over the message that God is always calling us to service in the Church and, for some, that call is to the sacred priesthood. To do this they re-focused their activites. Greatly helpled by both the diocesan Youth Ministry and the Redcaps’ leaders, they did their daily work as support chaplains to the young people. (David Knight did equally good work with St Joseph’s pilgrims.) Each day the seminarians spent time with a small group of young adults, giving short talks, answering questions, eating supper together, meeting up with them for refreshments. It was really good to see how so many friendships developed. We also established at our hotel on the outside porch a daily meeting place that we called our Vocations Station. Here we sat and chatted with anyone and everyone. It was good to share with others the calling to priesthood. Perhaps the highlight of our week with the pilgrims was the opportunity we were given to talk about the call to priesthood to the whole pilgrimage as it assembled for Mass at the Cathedral of the Trees. Dan Daley, a first year student at Allen Hall gave a wonderful personal witness to us all about how God has called him and confirms that calling as he continues his training. He received a warm and wellderserved round of applause from all the pilgrims and not least from members of his old Sixth Form College (St Dominic in Harrow) and his home parish (St George’s Sudbury). Don’t just take my word for what a great this pilgrimage this Page 4

has been. Let me give you a few comments from some of the seminarians themselves. Tim Mangatal: This was my eleventh time to Lourdes but it never ceases to amaze me how Lourdes presents us with a glimpse into the love that God has for his people.Much of our promotion did not happen in a formal setting but rather anywhere and at any time, many people would approach us curious as to why we feel called to serve the Church in this way. Dan Daley: The highlight for me was during the torchlight procession. As I had the honour of carrying Our Lady of Willesden I was near the front of the procession and when we reached the Basilica I had a clear view of the whole procession. When they all raised their candles during the singing of the ‘Ave’ I glimpsed the reality of Christ’s family. So many unique individuals united in the name of Christ. It was a humbling moment and it will keep me grounded. Deacon Mark Dunglinson: It was wonderful to go on pilgrimage to Lourdes just a few weeks after my diaconate ordination, enabling me to exercise my new ministry in this holy place. It was a dream come true for me, to be a deacon at the altar in the Grotto, when we celebrated Mass there. I was also a Redcap chaplain during the pilgrimage, and my job was to bring a spiritual element, and God’s blessing, to the work of the Redcaps. The miracle of Lourdes for me is to come to this ‘magical’ place to gain the strength to carry on our normal lives for another year. Deacon Antonio Pineda: This was my fifth pilgrimage and it was very special because I was

I truly felt a member of the diocese. I feel confident that I made new friends that I will be able to call on in the future when, God willing, I will be a priest . The pilgrimage has been full of blessings for me. David Knight: I spent the week working with Caritas St Joseph’s. Gail Williams and her team show great love to the people and families whom they help and support The St Joseph there as a deacon. In some ways, pilgrims bring with them a being a deacon at the pilgrimage unique and often active was quite daunting; but it was approach to faith. I give thanks also a wonderful experience to God for them. Another because it felt as though I was moment of reflection for me was being introduced to the diocese. during the meditation on the I study at the English College in Way of the Cross. It spoke to me Rome so it was fantastic to be as a priest in training. ‘Christ’s with the diocese in a real and sacrificial Love restores us. If we meaningful way. I also let him, he makes each one of us appreciated being with some of whole again; bringing a real true the seminarians from Allen Hall. meaning to our lives.’ And a last thought; the service our By the end of the pilgrimage,

remarkable Redcaps give each year is inspirational. Those whom I met with the St Joseph’s group were, without question, outstanding. To find out more about Vocations please contact Canon Stuart Wilson Office: 0207 739 5620 Mobile: 07515 065 696 email: vocationspromoter@ rcdow.org.uk web: www.rcdow.org.uk/vocations/ news/

60 Years of Religious Life

Hoxton welcomes new Augustinians For the first time in a number of years, the Augustinians (OSA) in Britain solemnly professed two men in training for the priesthood. Arthur Bolivar, a former nurse, and Gladson Dabre, formerly a social worker, made their final vows before Fr Robert Marsh OSA, Provincial of England and Scotland. The ceremony took place at St Monica’s Church, Hoxton Square, London, at the Saturday 6.30pm vigil Mass on 5 August. A crowded church witnessed the event, followed by a reception the school hall.

Brothers Arthur and Gladson plan to be ordained deacons as the next stage on their journey towards priesthood. In the meantime, David Tan,will be entering the Augustinian international English-speaking novitiate in the United States later this month. For further information, contact Gabriella at the Augustinian communications office gabriella@austinforum.org

Sister Sarah Smith, a member of the Congregation of the Sisters of St Mary of Namur celebrated 60 years of religious life on Sunday 19th August 2017 at Our Lady and St Thomas of Canterbury Church, Harrow on the Hill. Sister Sarah has spent most of her life as a missionary in both Africa and Brazil. Parish Priest, Father Guy Sawyer, Fr Anton from Liverpool and Father Neville McClement from Lowestoft joined Bishop John Sherrington in a service in which Sister Sarah renewed her vows in front of a congregation of parishioners, friends, and family members. At the end of the service Bishop John presented Sister Sarah with a Papal Blessing. Sister Sarah hopes to be able to continue her ministry of visiting the sick and housebound so that they never feel cut off from their community or alone.’

Westminster Record | September 2017

‘Gathered in my Name’ by JP Morrison, Director of Education

This summer we have witnessed many events that have shaped public consciousness about large gatherings of people. Images and testimonies from Charlottesville VA, Las Ramblas in Barcelona, and the beaches of Greece as migrants come ashore, are indelibly linked to a collective hesitancy and anxiety that our world today is characterized by prejudice, hate and mistrust. We fear one another and question others’ motives and reasons. This is why the theme of this year’s Education Sunday, ‘Gathered in my Name’, is so important. Jesus said, ‘where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them’. We must take strength and comfort that we are never alone, even if all we see or read around us appears to contradict this truth. Catholic schools, if they are to mean anything, must be the coming together of a community in faith ‘Gathered in my Name’. Their mission is to make disciples for Christ. They need to demonstrate and bear witness to how Jesus would quell prejudice, remove hate and instill trust and respect. Our schools must be seen to be environments of hope, healing and belonging. We are rightly proud and grateful that our diocese has schools and colleges that, year in year out, demonstrate academic excellence, professional diligence and parental aspiration. But if that was all that we offered then it is not enough. Not even close. Catholic education is not about the gathering and interpreting of information; rather, it is about the formation of the character as a spiritual being in the likeness and image of God. This Education Sunday is an opportunity for Catholic parents, teachers, students and school communities to return to and refresh their relationship with and dependence upon Jesus Christ: the way for all of us involved in Catholic education is a person. Having worked in Catholic education for 25 years in this country and abroad one thing is certain: change is the reality in national policies. Systems are forever being

reshaped, recalibrated and rejected for another system, only to be reshaped, recalibrated and again rejected. This can lead to cynicism amongst many that the system has let them down or they didn’t get a fair experience. But Catholic education is not and never has been a system. It is a daily witness to the life and teachings of Christ. In the Gospels Jesus is called by many names and described in many different ways, but one description far outweighs any other. No less than 53 times Jesus is called Teacher. He is the teacher in every school in our diocese. He is present and living among the 91,000 students who enter our schools every day. Our job is to ensure that encounter is real in everything we do and sustained in all we achieve. Jesus’ love is present in how we treat and care for one another; his compassion is there when mistakes happen; his hope is in every child who puts on the uniform of a Catholic school that they will one day join him in heaven and experience his grace. Education Sunday allows us to discern who we are and why our schools matter. Catholic educators need to use this day to look in the mirror and see the face of Christ. If he is not looking back at us then we need to look again. The Church provides schools to assist in its mission to make Christ known to all people; assist parents in the education and formation of their children; be at the service of the local Church, the diocese, the parish and the Christian home; and finally to be of service to society. In a world seeking tolerance, harmony, respect, love, compassion, collaboration and diversity, so much of what we see on social media tells us that these values are absent from our world. But all of these values are found in Christ and they are found in our schools. The challenge is to ensure they can be found every day and for every one. This year our diocese is seeking to invest in and nurture a network of Families of Schools across our diocese in a way that will allow us to protect, secure and develop Catholic education for the foreseeable future. At a

time when all schools are having to do more with less it is vital that our school communities have greater opportunities to work together in solidarity. The diocese has spent the last seven months listening to teachers, governors and parents to shape a new vision and a new way to lead and manage our schools. This is outlined in ‘Families of Schools: The implementation of Catholic Academy Trusts (CATs)’, published this September. A key element of this policy is an investment in and development of governance. All schools need good governors and their ability to hold up the mirror of Christ and recognise him in all that they see and do. This is a very exciting time for Catholic education and if you are interested in becoming a governor and wish to know more about what it involves please contact the Education Service to find out more. Every day our schools are ‘Gathered in my Name’ and we all have a duty to ensure that every child who enters a Catholic school receives the sacraments and graces of the Holy Spirit as the one source that is never replaced or overlooked. We have a duty to be dependent on the true and consistent Teacher in all of our schools,

Students from St Augustine’s Priory celebrating A Level results

Students from Newman Catholic College celebrating GCSE results

Congratulations to all our incredible staff and pupils for the excellent GCSE and A-Level results achieved across the diocese. Good luck with your next venture. Jesus Christ. It is only through our daily relationship with him and our regular encounter with his teachings that our schools will flourish. Ask not what can a Catholic school do for you or your child, but rather what can you do to ensure the face of Christ is known to all who enter. Our

prayers and gratitude are with all the teaching and support staff, governors, local authority officials, and support services who, at the start of a new academic year, lead our youth to know and love Christ our Lord. Education Sunday is celebrated on 10th September.

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Westminster Record | September 2017

Director’s Spotlight

Chaplain’s Corner

Phil Ross, Youth Ministry Director

The new SPEC campus has landed and we have guests already arriving. In fact we had a group from France spend a week in our new residential complex towards the end of July and their leader, Fr Pierre, said to me that our setting was ‘paradise, praise indeed’. Coming up very soon we have Youthscape holding one of their leadership training weekends here, quickly followed by diocesan school and parish groups enjoying our ‘paradise’ too! In the meantime, we have three important events on the horizon that will help us put SPEC on the map and hopefully encourage more visitors. We need to be on top form for sure! On 11th September we host the diocesan central services staff day in our Rotunda building and this will test our ability to support a large group who bring with them a range of complex requirements. The very next day we host a day for seminarians and we are grateful to Fr Roger and Fr Michael for choosing to hold this important day in Pinner. This event is similarly complex but I’m sure we’ll meet the challenge. Before we know it we’ll arrive at 3rd October and it’ll be our official opening, starting with Mass which is being celebrated by Cardinal Vincent. This very special event will bring together the wider Westminster diocesan community, those that have been a part of the SPEC story over many years and many of the local Waxwell residents who have been exceptionally supportive throughout twelve months of building work and very patient! This is a new chapter for SPEC and the campus is looking magnificent. Don’t just take my word for it; get in touch and come and have a look for yourself. Page 6

Fr Mark Walker, Diocesan Youth Chaplain I’m delighted to be writing my inaugural ‘Chaplain’s Corner’ column as the new youth chaplain for the Diocese of Westminster. Having said that, at the time of writing, I haven’t yet taken up my new appointment and, in fact, haven’t left my old one! I therefore don’t have an awful lot to write about in terms of youth work! Let me therefore simply introduce myself. I’m thirty-two years old and was ordained a priest for the diocese four years ago. My first appointment was as assistant priest to three parishes: Our Lady Help of Christians, Rickmansworth; St John the Evangelist, Mill End and Maple Cross; and St John

Fisher, Chorleywood. I’m a ‘cradle Catholic’, growing up in the town of Harpenden in Hertfordshire. It was here that, as an altar server, the idea of priesthood first entered my mind so, after graduating with a history degree from the University of Durham, I applied to the seminary, was accepted and spent six years in formation at Allen Hall. Having spent four years in parish ministry, it was rather daunting and unexpected to be asked to become the new diocesan youth chaplain. I look forward to carrying on Fr David Reilly’s ministry and to working with Phil Ross, the team at Westminster Youth Ministry together with all involved in youth ministry across the diocese and, of course, our young people, who are the future of the Church. Becoming the diocesan youth chaplain is not something I would have ever asked for or considered myself a suitable candidate for, so allow me to conclude with some words from Pope Benedict upon his election to the See of Peter: ‘The fact that the Lord knows how to work and to act even with inadequate instruments comforts me, and above all I entrust myself to your prayers.’

Visit www.dowym.com for more news, resources and upcoming events.

Civilisation of Love Westminster Youth Ministry is inviting young people from the ages of 16 to 30 to come and spend a week with us exploring a revolutionary worldview, based in Saint John Paul II’s Theology of the Body. The name of the event is ECHO, and we’ll be diving into the themes of prayer, our identity and our mission to love. We are inviting you to step into this ‘civilisation of love’; there will be great community, live music, prayer, sports, games and countless possibilities to encounter something new of God, and His immeasurable love for you. Some things you can expect to do are: listen to inspiring talks and have really great

discussions; have some awesome one-on-one time with Jesus; jam out to live music and maybe share your gifts and talents; engage your competitive spirit in some awesome games and sports; receive God’s amazing gift of mercy in the Sacrament of Reconciliation; attend daily Mass; and experience the love of God and a community like you’ve never experienced before! The week will be led in partnership with Dumb Ox Ministries. Based in New Orleans, USA, the team at Dumb Ox will be guiding us though this adventure to discover more of who we are created to be. For more info on ECHO, visit dowym.com. Follow us on Twitter at: twitter.com/RCWestminster

Westminster Record | September 2017

1517 and all that ... the Relevance of the Reformation Today

by Anthony Baker, Newman Association

and a greater appreciation of the reformers’ insights. So it may be helpful to reflect more on the relevance of the Reformation and its lasting effects on our society today. One lasting consequence may be argued to be the shift of power between ecclesiastical and civil institutions, and between the individuals and the institution. Previously Church and state had preserved an uneasy balance, not without disputes about the limits of jurisdictions, as in the investiture controversy. Where the Reformation combined with secular national developments to create state churches, as in England and in Sweden, religious jurisdiction became increasingly subject to state arbitration, with a much greater

Vespers in Hampton Court Chapel as a sign of warmer ecumenical relations

identification and overlap of secular and religious laws; the residues may still be seen in, for example, civil marriages and the right of a state church to opt out of the witnessing of same -sex weddings. By contrast the ‘fully reformed’ Calvinist movements such as in Scotland and the Netherlands, or indeed in the puritan movement in England leading to the Civil War, have always promoted strong elements of individual resistance to authority, secular or ecclesiastical, often with a resulting split into greater fragments to preserve a ‘purity’ of doctrine and practice. The Reformers’ insistence on the Bible as the only source of theological and moral authority has also had continuing effects on the language of the people. Luther’s Bible provided an unchallenged source in the German-speaking world; English-language translations could provide ground for greater controversy, with King

James bringing together a range of scholars to produce the definitive Authorised version of 1611. In both cases the Bible is a major source of everyday phrases, with most speakers now being quite unaware of their origin. The same is true about the impact of the sixteenth-century Anglican liturgy on the English language, powered by the majesty of Cranmer’s English, in many cases a translation of Latin originals. In the arts, the reformers often enriched our culture, despite extreme reforms leading to regrettable iconoclasm and stripped-out churches. In the visual arts, the stress on the word certainly led to a focus away from religious themes, although the paintings of Rembrandt, for example, show the power of biblical inspiration. In German music, the Lutheran service patterns provided the ground for the creative genius of generations of composers, with JS Bach as the supreme example. Bach

himself, however, was certainly familiar with Catholic forms and the B Minor Mass is argued by many to be the summation of his work. Much has been made of the independence of mind allowed by the Protestant Reformation, ‘freed from the shackles’ of an all- powerful Church, and free to embrace scientific advances of the 17th century Enlightenment, but it can also be argued that the Enlightenment was not so much a struggle between religious ideas as the promotion of a secular reason in opposition to a religious faith: a continuing challenge. Such issues are still relevant today, so a Conference on 28th October in St Albans will explore the continuing relevance of the Reformation from the standpoint of four speakers from different backgrounds: Bishop Martin Lund, a Swedish Lutheran Bishop; Dr Charlotte Methuen, an Anglican priest; Revd Dr Patricia Took, former President of the Baptist Union; and Professor John Morrill, a Catholic deacon from Cambridge University. For further information and booking please call 01727 890290 and see the poster with further details.

The 500th anniversary of Luther’s iconic nailing of his theses to the church door in Wittenberg provokes a mixed reaction in Catholic circles. Many of the principles of the Reformation were admirable. By the 1500s another purification of Christian belief and practice was overdue, and the Catholic Church had come through and embraced previous reform movements with renewed vigour. However, the actions of the Protestant reformers and the way they were handled by Catholic authorities had the disastrous effect of breaking up western Christianity and causing enduring conflicts. Thank God, in our own time there has been a gradual clearing of misunderstandings

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‘The Lord has done great things for me. Holy is his name.’ Joy at Coming of Our Saviour Homily given by Cardinal Vincent at the International Mass in the Basilica of St Pius X on Wednesday 26th July 2017

Redcaps and carers in action

Continued from page 1

listening to the word being shared by the celebrant was akin to the sheep listening to Later that evening, we their shepherd. waited in anticipation as the Later that afternoon, Marian Torchlight Procession Cardinal Vincent led the was to begin at 9pm, with the Blessed Sacrament Procession diocese leading it. The sight winding its way solemnly was nothing less than magnificent with pilgrims from around the domain to the Basilica of St Pius X, filled with different countries, joining the procession, candles lifted up at pilgrims waiting in silent the chant of ‘Ave Maria’, a sign reverence. People from different cultures, races, of the universal Church gathering as one to ask Mary to regions, and communities, all bowed down for Christ, truly intercede for us. present in our midst. This sight The third day began with affirmed our individual faith in the International Mass the marvels the Lord has celebrated in different worked in our lives and languages, led by Cardinal continues to do so, and how Vincent, with the Basilica of St Pius X filled with pilgrims from much we as humans thirst for the world over. (The full text of his mercy and his grace to be bestowed upon us. the homily is adjacent.) Later in the evening, we returned to the Basilica of St Pius X for a meditation on the Stations of the Cross, a first of its kind for our annual pilgrimage. It featured a slide show of each station with images of the Upper Stations, as passages were read and the choir sang to aid our reflection. The fourth day started off with Mass at Cité St-Pierre, aka the Cathedral in the Trees, celebrated by Bishop John. The sight of pews made of grass and stones, the congregation

Cardinal Vincent anointing a sick pilgrim Page 8

Bishop John Wilson lighting the candle for the victims of the Grenfell Tower

The final day of the pilgrimage had arrived, with the closing Mass at the Grotto where all the pilgrims sought Our Lady’s final blessings until they could set foot on this holy ground once more. After Mass, the diocesan candle was lit along with a candle for the victims of the Grenfell Tower and another from the Shrine of Our Lady of Willesden. This marked the end of our pilgrimage, with the faith that we may return next year stronger and brighter with the flame of the Virgin Mary’s love and her Son’s mercy shining in the lives of all those we meet as we return to our daily lives at home.

This year in Lourdes, we ponder on the words ‘The Lord has done great things for me!’, words of Mary found in the Gospel of St Luke as we have just heard. The ‘great things’ that the Lord has done in the life of Mary, what are they? This Gospel passage gives us the answer. In it, we heard of Mary travelling, in great haste, across the Judean hills to visit Elizabeth who also was with child. Please imagine this scene. Mary travelling across the barren and dry hills, carrying within her the Eternal Word of God, the very light of the world. What a wonderful image: the source of our salvation, within the womb of the Virgin Mary, moving across the thirsty landscape of our lives, hidden from sight yet already shedding his light and grace. This hidden presence of Jesus, like a light glowing within Mary, evokes the startling response from John, the yet-to-be-born child in the womb of Elizabeth. He leapt in joy in recognition at the One who had arrived. How important it is for us to remember that this first dialogue of faith with Christ takes place between two unborn babies. This surely is such a powerful testimony to the dignity of life in the womb, which should always be protected and not killed. The joy of John, the joy of Mary, our joy at the coming of our Saviour, resonates so deeply within us because, as we heard in the First Reading, it is the fulfilling of an ancient promise: ‘Lo, I will come and dwell in your midst!’ Now, in Mary, this promise is wonderfully fulfilled. He comes and we leap for joy! He is in our midst and will never leave us! Our lives are transformed, redeemed! This is indeed the ‘great thing’ that the Lord has done in Our Blessed Lady. We come to Lourdes to celebrate our Blessed Mother, to be with her, to thank her. And

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here, in Lourdes, we must learn her lesson. It is the same lesson that is taught to us by St Bernadette. The Lord can truly come into our inner-most being if, like Mary and Bernadette, there is a true lowliness in our hearts. Mary has told us so: ‘He has looked on the lowliness of his servant!’ Only then can he enter and take possession of her and so come into our world. This is the lowliness of heart that we must learn. There is no better place to learn it than here in Lourdes. This lowliness is not negative. It is not about pretending that we are no good. It is a joyful simplicity, a happy recognition that all we have comes as a gift of God and that, in Jesus, we have the one who shows us how those gifts are to be used, even the experiences of weakness and dependence on others. In our lowliness we too become bearers of the light of Christ in the pathways of our world: our high streets and tower blocks, our supermarkets and corner shop, our homes and our hospitals. We do not have to shout or protest: just continue steadily about our business, aglow with the light of Christ who fills us with his joy and love, even as he filled Mary on her journey along the pathways of her time. Indeed, the Lord has done great things for us! Holy is his name. Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. Amen.

Pilgrims from different nations at the International Mass

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Sean Whittle, extreme left; Gumley students with their carers

Gumley Power Pack in Action This year 15 students from Year 12 at Gumley House FCJ joined the Lourdes pilgrimage as Redcaps under the leadership RE teacher, Sean Whittle. The students were assigned to 10 malades (sick pilgrims requiring assistance are referred to as malades), some forming groups of two Redcaps per malade, their work involving pushing the wheelchairs and transporting the malades to diocesan events. It was quite a daunting task, especially when uphill but the Redcaps never seemed to be fazed. With a little help from their fellow students, they carried on. Founded in 1841, Gumley House is an all-girls Catholic school (except Sixth Form), which, living by the motto Vive Ut Vivas, ‘ensures students achieve academic excellence combined with a vibrant extracurricular life’. This was the first time in Lourdes for these students. Being a Redcap is a voluntary service they choose to undertake with fundraising support from the school and generous charities. One charity provides a voluntary grant of £200 per student. Another charity, the Catenian Group donated £50 per student, which may seem little, but turned out to be a big financial help when added to other donations. The students raised funds by selling raffle tickets and holding charity events such as cake and brownie sales, carol singing and bag packing at Tesco, all of which began as far back as last October. Follow us on Instagram at: @dowym

When asked how they first heard about the pilgrimage, some said teachers, while another student added, ‘I wanted to come here because of my grandparents, from all the stories that I hear from them’. Another student, Holly, says, ‘I came along with my parents five years ago since my dad is very religious, so it was not a new place to me. The thought of helping someone made me happy and so I volunteered’. Many others said what attracted them to Lourdes were stories they had heard from senior students who shared their experiences from last year in the school magazine. Every story, they said, made a mention of how rewarding an experience it had been for the senior students, with the opportunity or representing their school at this annual diocesan event. The most touching comment came from a student who said, ‘We may be from different communities but since we are here, we are here for a common goal, and that’s the community experience that we have found in the last few days.’ There can be no better place to develop communal peace and harmony among our future generation than a pilgrimage. On being touched in a spiritual manner, a student, Jessica says, ‘I felt overwhelmed at the Reconciliation Service with the choir singing and tears rolling down my eyes.’ This was a common experience shared by many other Follow Westminster Youth Ministry on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/doywm

students. Another student mentioned that she was agnostic before coming to Lourdes, but this experience has made her rethink the whole concept of spirituality and bought her closer to God. There were moments shared where the malades opened up to their Redcap helpers, as one student explains, ‘My malade shared with me his experience of how he used to come to the Grotto with his late wife and was moved on reaching the same spot. I feel privileged that I could listen to him and comfort him.’ The malades have been kind and gracious to the Redcaps with some taking them for an ice cream in the evenings, others offering them soft drinks on a hot summer’s day, and some buying them goodies, as a token of appreciation. Bernie Pereira, an administrative staff member at Gumley, is on her second pilgrimage and explains what brought her here this year. Last year on her first pilgrimage, she noticed a woman whose mannerisms were very similar to her late mother’s, moving and compelling her to return to Lourdes again this year. Our Lady has unusual ways to speak to our hearts, sometimes through other people. Bernie was proud of the Gumley students and in her words, ‘In bringing the students on this pilgrimage, it makes them more sensitive to the needs of the elderly, as they too have grandparents with whom they can relate. The kids were mentally prepared, before coming to Lourdes about how laborious the task can be.’ On asking which event would the students name as the highlight of the pilgrimage, the answer unanimously was the Marian Torchlight Procession, which, in the students’ words, was ‘seeing the faith of the Church, in one place, helping each other come closer to Mary’, a reassurance that she is with them even as they journey back home.

Newman House students with Fr Stephen Wang, extreme left and Sr Carolyn Morrisson, fifth from left

A Walk in the Shoes of Young Pilgrims It is a common sight to see the older Catholics and clergy on pilgrimage. Ever wondered what attracts the youth to a pilgrimage? What motivates them to come when the world out there has so much to keep them engaged and entertained? Here is a first hand encounter with youth from the Catholic chaplaincy for London universities, Newman House, as they served the malades at St Frai in different capacities. St Frai is a place of hospitality with complete medical facilities and trained staff to care for the sick, elderly and the frail who wish to make a pilgrimage to Lourdes. The elderly and sick, referred to as malades, are encouraged to join the pilgrimage every year and are in constant need of helpers to look after. Newman House had 20 students volunteering at St Frai this year, under the able guidance of medical staff and experienced volunteers and the leadership of Fr Stephen Wang, Senior Chaplain, and Sr Carolyn Morrison, Social Outreach Chaplain. Sylvia, a volunteer who was visiting Lourdes for the first time, said, ‘I wanted to come as a carer for the past two years but it hadn’t worked out for various reasons, but this year it all came together with a little support from Fr Stephen, of course.’ Her duties involved waking her malade every morning, bathing her, looking after her needs for the whole day, taking her to diocesan events, and right up to tucking her into bed after dinner. Sylvia explained how it made her more aware of the needs of the elderly and other dependent family members, and how it feels

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to put someone else’s needs and comfort first for nine hours of the day. The malade was a recluse at first but opened up in the following days, sharing stories of her life’s experiences. Sylvia said that her experience was quite intense, physically and emotionally, but thoroughly rewarding, especially to hear her malade saying thank you. Her eager message to others is that they must go and experience Lourdes if an opportunity arises. Rose, a medical student, who served as a medical assistant, says, ‘Although being a nonCatholic, mine has been an amazing experience and one that I am excited to share with others.’ Another student, Kierra, had a special experience. It was her second time in Lourdes, but her first as a carer. She is currently discerning a vocation to the religious life, helped by her spiritual director Sr Carolyn, who encouraged her to come to Lourdes for an opportunity to experience the richness of serving people whilst making a few friends. Kierra says her malade was chatty and interesting, and believed in putting her best foot forward, wherever she went. Oliver, another student volunteer who visited Lourdes for the fourth time this year, was quick to add that serving as a

Cardinal Vincent visiting pilgrims at the St Frai

carer for the last three years, he feels a part of the St Frai family especially with the Cardinal visiting the sick at St Frai, which makes it even more special. He spoke about how Newman House goes about recruiting volunteers for the pilgrimage every year. Nick Leonard, the Chief Brancardier (chief stretcherbearer), gives the students a talk about the pilgrimage inviting them to consider volunteering, and fundraising events are arranged early on in the year, which helps build a base of student support. On being asked would she visit Lourdes again as a carer, Kierra confidently replies, ‘yes’, saying she has already volunteered for the 2018 pilgrimage. She reminisced about visiting Lourdes five years ago as a Redcap and compared it to her experience this year, especially as she is discerning a vocation at the same place. The Penitential Service was definitely the highlight of Oliver’s pilgrimage. For Kierra, the highlight of the pilgrimage was the visit to the baths, rightly put in her words, ‘The baths are an experience, not only because the water is 12C, but also as it is water from the very spring that Bernadette dug. The realisation does not hit you at the time, but it sinks in later as you return to normal life.’ To sum up her Lourdes experience, she said, ‘Seeing the international Church and hearing prayers in different languages, brought a feeling of collective support in the midst of vulnerability, with all sharing the same goal of wanting to come closer to Mary.’

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Westminster Record | September 2017

Redcaps and carers in action

Continued from page 1

Cardinal Vincent anointing a sick pilgrim Page 8

Bishop John Wilson lighting the candle for the victims of the Grenfell Tower

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Pilgrims from different nations at the International Mass

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Sean Whittle, extreme left; Gumley students with their carers

Newman House students with Fr Stephen Wang, extreme left and Sr Carolyn Morrisson, fifth from left

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Cardinal Vincent visiting pilgrims at the St Frai

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Westminster Record | September 2017

Sharing Joy in Lourdes After lunch, we travelled up the hill for a whole pilgrimage mass in Lourdes Parish Church. We had a beautiful Mass with David Knight leading the singing After a walk around town we returned to the hotel for supper, and afterwards we joined the Marian Torchlight Procession. Day 3

A group from Caritas St Joseph’s and Caritas Deaf Service joined the Diocesan pilgrimage to Lourdes this year. Caritas development workers Phoebe Prendergast and Edward de Quay went along as part of the team. Here they share their experiences: Day 1 We started the day with our first visit to the ‘domain’. It was grey and drizzly, but that did not dampen our spirits! Medford led the procession with the Caritas St Joseph’s banner, where we joined the rest of the Westminster Pilgrimage in the Church of St Bernadette for the opening Mass. This was made very special by the statue of Our Lady of Willesden, which was brought all the way from the Marian shrine in Willesden.

We then went back to the hotel for our reconciliation service, and Fr Michael welcomed those who have not previously been to Lourdes. After supper, some of us joined the main pilgrimage for their penitential service in the huge underground basilica. We also ate very well, and enjoyed four seasons in one day! Day 2 After breakfast, we had our healing service. Fr Michael helped us to reflect on some of our burdens. This was a beautiful service where everyone was anointed.The service was accompanied by St Joseph’s student Donna on the flute. A small group also went and joined the main pilgrimage, before rejoining the St Joseph’s group for our pilgrimage photo outside the hotel.

Today we began with our mass for St Joseph’s, appropriately enough in St Joseph’s underground chapel near St Michael’s gate. The mass was celebrated by Bishop Paul McAleenan, and included our pilgrims re-enactment of the Wedding at Cana. Everyone looked fantastic in their costumes, and we brought two stone jars made by the ceramics group all the way from Hendon specially for the occasion. Following the mass, we took the St Joseph’s candle, decorated with prayer intentions on heart shaped paper, to the candle bank,

Medford lwith the Caritas St Jospeh’s banner

where it was lit. After lunch, we got on coaches and headed up the hill to Lac de Lourdes for a picnic, sunbathe, sing-song and for some, a pedalo ride! The lake was beautiful, and everyone had fun. After supper, we joined the main pilgrimage for the stations of the cross in the underground basilica. This year, the pilgrimage musicians had written a special arrangement for the evening, set to images from the high stations of the cross. Day 4 After breakfast we boarded the coaches again, this time heading to the Cite St Pierre in the hills, where we had mass with the main pilgrimage in the ‘Cathedral in the trees.’ It was beautiful to have mass out in the

open. In the afternoon, there was the opportunity for our pilgrims to visit the baths, where you are immersed briefly in the waters from the spring. Those that went found it an amazing experience, if a little cold! Before supper, the pilgrimage led the blessed sacrament procession, again ending in the underground basilica for a time of adoration. After supper, the pilgrimage gathered in the Solitude Hotel for a pilgrimage sing-a-long, including performances from our very own Kevan and Jason! Day 5 The last full day! We started with the closing mass outside, celebrated from the grotto itself. The weather was perfect for an outdoor mass – no rain, warm, and a little bit of cloud, so no sunburn! Afterwards we processed through the grotto, and moved to the candlebank to light the (huge) diocesan candle. After lunch, we walked to the low stations of the cross, where David Knight led us through the stations. We admired the stunning granite carvings, and the stories that went with them. After supper, we had a party! The microphone was passed around our talented performers who sung, danced and joked for us, with plenty of good chatter and memories from a packed week.

Catechetical Co-ordinator & Pastoral Assistant – Catholic Parishes of Borehamwood Responsible for developing, supporting and co-ordinating catechetical programmes to facilitate growth in the spiritual life of the parish Hours of work: 25 per week Salary: £11-£13 per hour (dependent on skills and experience) Closing date: 15 September 2017 Interview date: W/c 18 September 2017 If interested in applying, please download our job application form and submit to humanresources@rcdow.org.uk

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Westminster Record | September 2017

Raising a Spicy £1,000 for Charity

10 years of CAFOD by Nicole Crosbourne

On Wednesday 19th July, Fr Peter delivered a talk at the parish of Ss Peter and Paul about this year’s CAFOD Fast Day Appeal in El Salvador. The day marked 10 years for the parish’s Young CAFOD Group. Fr Peter spoke about the question of poverty, what it really means to be a Catholic, and the challenges raised in Laudato Si’. Having spent many years working as a missionary in Lima, Peru, Fr Peter became the theological advisor for Latin America. He worked closely alongside Gustavo Gutierrez and Peruvian bishops to support developing programmes for social and pastoral action. Using the words of Pope Francis and echoing Ss Peter and Paul, Fr Peter spoke about poverty, and

how this burning issue both within the Church, and our world forms the foundations of CAFOD, ‘I want a church by the poor, for the poor’. He highlighted the shocking statistic by Oxfam International that 50% of the world’s wealth is in the hands of eight people, reducing those who live in poverty to ‘nobodies’ or a ‘surplus’. Fr Peter emphasised how material poverty is directly against the Christian message ‘God is a God of Love […] God is life.’ Following Fr Peter’s engaging message, we celebrated 10 years since Ss Peter and Paul’s Young CAFOD group was created. The group, aged 12 to 18 years old, started in 2007 to raise global awareness amongst teenagers within the parish. Founded by Mary Ward, the group’s aim is to increase

consciousness of the world around us, of those who are less fortunate and to recognise some of the big issues which affect humanity. ‘We are extremely proud of our young people; in a cynical world, they bear witness to the power of God’s love.’ On behalf of CAFOD, Parish Priest Fr Jim Duffy presented Mary Ward, Claire Hardiman, Liz Higgins-Noonan, Joy Hynes and young members of the Young CAFOD Group milestone certificates in recognition for their work and dedication within the parish. Over the last decade, the Young CAFOD Group has inspired over 100 members and has raised a staggering £12,000 through a variety of fundraisers. Nicole Crosbourne is a CAFOD office volunteer.

The Enfield Malayalee Association UK (ENMA) have presented the aid agency CAFOD with a cheque of over £1,000, raised by celebrating the food heritage of Kerala. Over 100 parishioners from Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St George Church, Enfield raised the money by enjoying an authentic Indian curry night. Organised by the UK ENMA, which represents the rich tradition and heritage of the Indian state of Kerala, volunteers prepared a delicious three-course meal consisting of traditional food, including butter chicken, mattar paneer, onion bhaji, samosas and payasam. The curry was so delicious that parishioner Mike Mackenzie didn’t want his parents to miss out, ‘The curry was so

lovely I ordered a take away for my Mum and Dad too!’ Many members of ENMA are parishioners at Our Lady, which is where their involvement with CAFOD began. Organiser of the event, Beena George, said, ‘We got to know CAFOD at church and started to get involved in local events, such as the Fairtrade Fayre. We like the work CAFOD does overseas, supporting those in need especially that they help no matter what faith individuals come from. We really enjoyed the curry fundraiser for CAFOD, which was an amazing success. In addition to raising money, we felt it brought the whole parish together. There was a real feeling of community.’

Solidarity with Spain Following the attacks on the Ramblas in Barcelona on 17th August and in Cambrils on 18th August, Cardinal Vincent has condemned the terrorist actions and offered prayers for the victims: ‘I am profoundly shocked and dismayed at the terrorist attacks targeting innocent people in the Ramblas area of Barcelona and in Cambrils. I pray for all who have died,

those who were injured, and all who were affected by the senseless attacks. I offer my condolences to all who mourn those who have died. ‘As we stand in solidarity with the people of Spain, I pray that God may restore peace and strengthen and sustain all people of goodwill in our resolve to stand united in the face of evil.’

Administrative Assistant to PrecentorWestminster Cathedral To look after preparation of the daily liturgies, special events of the Cathedral,producing a high standard of printed material for the use of all pilgrims, visitors etc. Hours of work: 35 hours per week Closing date: 8th September 2017

40 members from St Dominic’s Sixth Form College, Harrow on the Hill participated in the 4th Annual Walk for St Luke’s Hospice. St Luke’s Hospice looks after people whose illnesses are no longer curable. The members from St Dominic’s had worn purple T-shirts, all representing St Dominic’s in different capacities. The community succeeded in raising over £2,000 for this noble cause.

If interested in applying, please download our job application form and submit to humanresources@rcdow.org.uk Please note we do NOT accept CV’s

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Westminster Record | September 2017

Vocation of Catechist On 8th July, Bishop Nicholas Hudson addressed a group of catechists at St Peter’s Church (the Italian Church) during a day of recollection. Thank you for accepting this vital ministry of being a catechist in the Church. I hope you experience what many catechists find: that they receive more than they give; that, in catechizing, they find they are catechized; and also that they mature in faith. It was Pope Paul VI who suggested that the role of a catechist is not so much a ministry as a vocation, a love indeed. ‘What is this love?’ he asked in Evangelii Nuntiandi. ‘It is the love,’ he said, ‘not so much of a teacher as of a father, or rather of a mother’ (EN 79). As the General Directory for Catechesis affirmed, ‘the task of the catechist is to help a person to encounter God’ (139). It went on to say, ‘the catechist is essentially a mediator. S/he facilitates communication between the people and the mystery of God … as well as with the community’ (156). I find particularly encouraging the words of Pope St John Paul II to the

Proclaim: Review, Refresh, Renew by Deacon Adrian Cullen

After the summer break, will it be business as usual? There is a change in the air, and it is International Catechetical not just the weather. For many Congress of 1997. They have an there will be a significant even deeper resonance now than change in their daily routines: when he first uttered them 20 children starting new schools, years ago and said, ‘The young people starting new catechist in a way interprets the courses at college or Church to those who are being university, or perhaps a new catechized. The catechist reads job. At work, a new boss and teaches them to read the arriving or it’s just time to put signs of faith, the most important out this season’s products, to entice the customer. At home of which is the Church. At the same time, the catechist must be the garden or the window boxes need a tidy, clearing able to discern and make the away the faded summer most of the spiritual inklings blooms, planting bulbs for the already present in a person's spring; while indoors some respiritual life, according to the decoration to be done, to make fruitful method of saving the rooms brighter, to capture dialogue. This is a task which the autumn glow. With the arises again and again: catechesis changes, there may be some must be able to grasp the anxiety, but there is also questions arising in the human excitement as we look towards heart and direct them towards new adventures, new the answers offered by creative opportunities and new and saving Love.’ growth. The last thought with which I September is also a good shall leave you is what it says in time to refresh and renew our the General Directory for Proclaim work in the parish. Catechesis, that catechesis is ultimately a mystery.

The Proclaim Initiatives which were started earlier in the year, or may be as far back as 2015 when Proclaim first began, can be reviewed to see if they are still effective. New initiatives, already agreed before the summer, are now ready for implementation; while the Parish Evangelisation Team considers new opportunities and new ideas for the autumn and beyond. The work of evangelisation is one of constant renewal. The work of Proclaim reflects the words of Pope St John Paul II, that the mission of bringing the Good News is ever ‘new its ardour, new in its methods, and new in its expression’. We respond to the changing world around us, taking up the invitation of Pope Francis to be ‘bold and creative in this task’ of evangelisation. This autumn, to help parishes to review, refresh and renew their Proclaim work, the Agency for Evangelisation has arranged nine Proclaim workshops across the diocese,

running from September and December. Each parish is encouraged to be represented at one of these workshops by their Parish Priest and by members of their Parish Evangelisation Team, or those who could help form such a team in the parish. The focus of the workshops is Initiatives & Resources, and will provide an opportunity for parish teams to share their success and ideas, to learn about how Proclaim Westminster is being progressed, and to set out or develop further local evangelisation strategies that will support them in the continued growth their parish as a missionary parish. For parishes to register for one of the workshops please contact Warren Brown by email at the Agency for Evangelisation: catadmin@ rcdow.org.uk (Telephone contact is 0207 798 2152) Deacon Adrian Cullen is Evangelisation Coordinator

Proclaim Workshops Autumn 2017

Our Lady of Willesden Torchlit Procession

Wed 13th Sept 7.00pm-9.00pm (Arrival from 6.45pm) St Albans: St Alban & St Stephen, AL1 3RB

Sunday 8th October 2017 From 7pm

Thur 14th Sept Kingsland: Our Lady & St Joseph, N1 4AG Wed 20th Sept Finchley East: St Mary, N2 8HG Tue 26th Sept Feltham: St Lawrence, TW13 4AF

Bishop John Wilson will preside and preach the homily.

Tue 3rd Oct Ruislip: Most Sacred Heart, HA4 8NN

Join us to pray to Our Mother for her protection, that she may wrap her mantle around London.

Wed 11th Oct Ware: Sacred Heart of Jesus & St Joseph, SG12 7EJ Mon 30th Oct Enfield: Our Lady of Mount Carmel & St George, EN2 6DS Mon 6th Nov Kensington 1: Our Lady of Victories, W8 6AF

Our Lady of Willesden Church 1 Nicoll Road NW10 9AX Page 12

Wed 8th Nov Tollington Park: St Mellitus, N4 3AG Follow us on Twitter at: twitter.com/RCWestminster

Westminster Record | September 2017

Talking about Death Fr Peter-Michael Scott Lately in the hospice we have been considering how society talks about dying and it has made me think about my parents. They were a wonderful pair, very unique, always interesting. My father was a genuine man who wore his heart on his sleeve. My mother had great humour and went through life giggling and laughing. They were exceedingly different and their distinctive personalities reflected how they talked about dying. Dad and I would have long conversations about death. Not in a morbid way, but he would talk about the inevitability of dying, his funeral and life after death. He had certain frustrations: the kitchen table he had made would undoubtedly be around long after he had died, but he did not worry about facing

God. He believed God was loving and merciful and would answer his long list of questions. My mother, on the other hand, would not talk about death; she would avoid the subject, almost walk out of the room. She was a retired nurse, so she must have witnessed a great many deaths, but I think she preferred to side-step talking about dying because she considered it sad, and her approach to life was underlined by laughter. Mum was not one of those people afraid to talk about dying because it could ‘tempt fate’, that raising the subject could kill her, because she was remarkably wise and knew that was completely daft. She never stopped my father talking about death; she just did not want to.

After a long life together, they died rather unexpectedly within two weeks of each other. They left me and my brother a wonderful practical gift. It was a clearly marked box, which sat on a shelf in my father’s study and contained their wills, funeral plans, details of their graves and liturgies for their Requiem Masses. Which of them convinced the other to create the box, we will never know, but after their deaths it was remarkably helpful. The box also contained a prayer directed at me, my brother and their grandchildren, and was reflective of their unique personalities: ‘think deeply, speak gently, love much, laugh often, work hard, give freely, pay promptly, pray earnestly and be kind’. Please pray for the patients, staff and volunteers of St Joseph’s Hospice.

The Miraculous Relic Image of Our Lady of Guadalupe will be visiting St Hilda’s Church, Stevenage, from 6th to 9th October. Bishop Paul McAleenan, will be the main celebrant for the Mass of Reception on Friday evening. During this weekend, there will be Masses for the Polish, Philippino and Keralan communities. For more details or to arrange a pilgrimage contact Barbara Kay, Media and Communications Coordinator, the Guardians of Our Lady of Guadalupe, email:mbky3@outlook.com, tel:01234 340759, or www.relicourladyofguadalupe.co.uk

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Westminster Record | September 2017

9th September: St Peter Claver

Born in Catalonia in 1580 to impoverished parents, Peter committed to his studies in order to improve his situation. After coming to the end of his education locally he went to the Jesuit college in Barcelona before joining the Jesuit Novitiate, taking his final vows in August 1604 and being sent on mission to the New World.

He arrived in Cartagena, which at the time was the main slave port in the New World, where men and women brought over from West Africa were sold at auction and taken across the Americas. While continuing his formation at seminary and living in Jesuit houses there, he came to see the appalling treatment of the African slaves who arrived on

Beginning Experience

the ships throughout spring and summer. After his ordination in 1616 he began his ministry to the many slaves who came into the port. When Peter took up his mission he realised the journey of these people was so dire (onethird died on the journey) that he would have to board the ships as soon as they docked. He would make his way immediately to the hold where the slaves were kept like cattle, giving them emergency medical attention, and baptising young children and those who were dying at their request. He continued to care for the slaves while they were in port until they were sold, by administering the sacraments and providing them with food and water. During the winter when no ships arrived, he travelled around the New World, staying in slave huts and ministering to as many people he could, and educating slaves about their rights as Christians and slave owners about the evils of slavery. It is thought that he catechised and baptised 300,000 enslaved people. After baptising the slaves, he would challenge the slave owners to grant slaves their

In Memoriam: September

freedom or, at minimum, to recognise their human dignity by feeding and educating them properly. We recognise him now as an early human rights campaigner. He ministered for 33 years before his death on 8th September 1654, aged 74. Hundreds of people came to pay their respects to this holy man, stripping the walls of his tiny room bare of anything that could be considered a relic. St Peter Claver was a vocal anti-slavery advocate. He spoke out against this great sin, using his racial privileges which gave him a better platform to bring this message of equality than the African men and women who were his brothers and sisters in Christ. He continued to care for the physical and spiritual needs of his flock while being an outspoken political voice. On the occasion of his canonisation on 15th January 1888, Pope Leo XIII said ‘No life, except the life of Christ, moved me so deeply of that of Peter Claver’. St Peter Claver, sometimes known as the ‘slaves’ slave’, is the patron saint of slaves and seafarers.

There is a healing weekend for men and women who find themselves single again following divorce, separation or the death of a partner from 6th to 8th October 2017 at the Emmaus Centre, West Wickham, Kent. For more details please contact Sandra 01293-783965 Freda 01322838415 or John 01992-642443 email johnabrotherton@hotmail.co.uk

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12 14 15 16

17 18 19 20 21 23 24 26

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Fr Gerard Strain (1980) Deacon Timothy Marsh (2013) Fr John O’Neil (1971) Canon Michael Roberts (2004) Canon John F Marriott (1977) Mgr Cuthbert Collingwood (1980) Fr William Erby (1974) Fr James Whitehead (1983) Fr Leslie Wood (1984) Fr William Ruhman (1978) Fr Leonard Collingwood (1985) Fr Brian Connaughton (1979) Fr Robert Gates (2014) Canon Nicholas Kelly (1988) Fr Patrick David O’Driscoll (2016) Fr Frederick Thomas (1986) Fr John Pakenham (1987) Canon John L Wright (1978) Fr Alan Ashton (2014) Fr Patrick Lyons (2015) Fr Des O’Neill (2008) Fr Austin Hart (2013) Fr George Ingram (1992) Fr Godfrey Wilson (1998) Mgr Peter Anglim (2016) Fr James Loughnane (1993) Fr Bernard Lang (2005) Fr Lance Joseph Boward (2011) Fr Robert Newbery (1981) Fr Gerard Barry (1998) Fr Michael O’Dwyer (1977) Fr Joseph Murray (1989)

St Francis of Assisi Catholic Ramblers’ Club meets every Sunday for walks around London and the Home Counties. Contact by email: antoinette_adkins2000@yahoo .co.uk, call 020 8769 3643 or check out the website: www.stfrancisramblers. ukwalkers.com

Free Catholic Tours in the City of London Qualified Catholic tour guide leads 'Saints and Scholars' walk first Sunday of the month including Mass. Contact Peter FFI on 07913904997 or circlingthesquaretours@hotmail.co.uk

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Events & Calendar

REGULAR EVENTS Westminster Record | September 2017

Liturgical Calendar - September

If you have an event, please email: communications@rcdow.org.uk

Prayer Groups SUNDAYS

Taizé at St James, Piccadilly W1J 9LL every third Sunday 5pm. Call 020 7503 5128 for details. Tyburn Benedictines Monastic afternoon Every first Sunday 2-5pm Martyrs’ Crypt, Tyburn Convent, 8 Hyde Park Place W2 2LJ. Westminster Cathedral Young Adults meet socially after the 7pm Mass on Sundays and then at the nearby Windsor Castle pub. For further details please contact: westminsteryoungadults@gmail.com

MONDAYS

Mothers’ Prayers at St Dominic’s Priory, Haverstock Hill NW5 4LB Mondays 2.30-3.30pm in the Lourdes Chapel. All are welcome.

TUESDAYS

Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament Tuesdays 6-9pm concluding with Benediction at Newman House, 111 Gower Street WC1E 6AR. Details 020 7387 6370.

Prayers for London at the Shrine of Our Lady of Willesden Tuesdays 7.30pm. Organised by the Guild of Our Lady of Willesden, Nicoll Road NW10 9AX. Our Lady of Walsingham Prayer Group First Tuesday of the month 2.30pm to 4.15pm in the Chapel of St George and the English Martyrs in Westminster Cathedral. Details: antonia@walsingham.org.uk

Vocations Prayer Group Second Tuesday of the month 8pm at 47C Gaisford Street NW5 2EB. Taizé at St James’, Spanish Place, W1U 3UY every first Tuesday of the month at 7pm. Email: penny28hb@aol.com or just come along.

WEDNESDAYS

Wednesdays on the Wall (WOTW) Every 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. Corpus Christi Contemplative Prayer Group for Young Adults Wednesdays from 7pm at Corpus Christi, Maiden Lane WC2E 7NB. For further details please contact corpuschristipg@yahoogroups. co.uk.

Our Lady, Untier of Knots, Prayer Group of Intercession meets every third Wednesday at St Anselm & St

1 Fri

Feria; Friday abstinence

2 Sat

Feria or Blessed Virgin Mary on Saturday

Cecilia, Lincoln’s Inn Fields. Parish Mass at 6pm followed by Prayer Group until 8.45pm. Rosary, Adoration, Silent prayer and Divine Mercy Chaplet. Email: Antonia antonia4161@gmail.com.

3 Sun

+22nd SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

4 Mon

Feria, Twenty-second Week of Year 1 or St Cuthbert, Bishop

5 Tue

Feria

6 Wed

Feria

JCFL

7 Thu

Feria

8 Fri

THE NATIVITY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

9 Sat

Feria or St Peter Claver, Priest or Blessed Virgin Mary on Saturday

10 Sun

+23rd SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

11 Mon

Feria, Twenty-fourth Week of Year 1

12 Tue

Feria or the Most Holy Name of Mary

13 Wed

St John Chrysostom, Bishop & Doctor

14 Thu

THE EXALTATION OF THE HOLY CROSS

15 Fri

Our Lady of Sorrows; Friday abstinence

16 Sat

Sts Cornelius, Pope, and Cyprian, Bishop, Martyrs

17 Sun

+24th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

18 Mon

Feria, Twenty-fourth Week of Year 1

19 Tue

Feria or St Januarius, Bishop & Martyr

20 Wed

Sts Andrew Kim, Tae-gon, Priest, Paul Chong Ha-sang, and Companions, Martyrs

21 Thu

ST MATTHEW, Apostle & Evangelist

22 Fri

Feria; Friday abstinence

23 Sat

St Pius of Pietrelcina, Priest

24 Sun

+25th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

25 Mon

Feria, Twenty-fifth Week of Year 1

26 Tue

Feria or Sts Cosmas and Damian, Martyrs

27 Wed

St Vincent de Paul, Priest

28 Thu

Feria or St Wenceslaus, Martyr, or St Lawrence Ruiz and Companions, Martyrs

THURSDAYS

Jesus Christ the Fullness of Life (JCFL) provides a space for Christians of different traditions to join together in prayer and friendship. For further details please visit www.jcfl.org.uk.

NFG Prayer Group meet weekly at 8pm for praise and worship followed by a social. Monthly a DVD is watched followed by a time of sharing. Held in St Mark’s Room, Christ the King Church N14 4HE. Contact Fr Christophe: christophe.brunet@chemin-neuf.org. Soul Food A Catholic charismatic prayer group for young adults meets Thursdays 7-9pm at St Charles Borromeo, Ogle Street W1W 6HS. Details at www.soulfoodgroup.org.

St John Paul II Prayer Group Every second Thursday of the month 7-8pm, Mass, Adoration and Prayer at Corpus Christi, Maiden Lane WC2E 7NB.

FRIDAYS

Divine Mercy Prayers and Mass Every first Friday 2.30-4.30pm at Our Lady, Mother of the Church, 2 Windsor Road W5 5PD.

Westminster Cathedral Charismatic Prayer Group meet every Friday 7.30pm Prayer, Praise and Teaching. First Friday is a healing Mass. For details, please call 020 8748 2632.

29 Fri

Ss MICHAEL, GABRIEL AND RAPHAEL, Archangels

30 Sat

St Jerome, Priest & Doctor

Deaf Community Mass First Sunday of the month 4.30pm at Westminster Cathedral Hall, Ambrosden Avenue SW1P 1QW. Young Adults Mass with an Ignatian twist

Every Sunday at 7pm. Church of the Immaculate Conception, 114 Mount Street W1K 3AH. Contact: yam@mountstreet.info or visit www.pathwaystogood.org Mass at Canary Wharf Held on Tuesdays at 12.30pm at 2 Churchill Place E14 5RB. Organised by Mgr Vladimir Felzmann, Chaplain to Canary Wharf Communities. Details www.cwcc.org.uk.

St Albans Abbey Fridays at 12 noon. Mass in the Lady Chapel of St Albans Abbey AL1 1BY. Members of the Westminster LGBT Catholic Community are specially welcomed at the following Sunday Mass at the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Farm Street, and invited to our parish hall afterwards for tea/coffee, when there is also an opportunity to learn of pastoral help available: 2nd and 4th Sundays of the month, 5.30pm. EXTRAORDINARY FORM MASSES

Sundays: Low Mass 9.30am, St James Spanish Place W1U 3QY. Low Mass 9am, The Oratory, Brompton Road SW7 2RP. Low Mass 5pm, St Bartholomew, St Albans AL1 2PE. Low Mass 5.30pm, Shrine of Our Lady of Willesden, NW10 9AX.

Mondays: Low Mass 8am The Oratory, Brompton Road SW7 2RP Mass 6.30pm Corpus Christi, Maiden Lane WC2E 7NB. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays: Low Mass, 8am The Oratory, Brompton Road SW7 2RP.

Queen of Peace Prayer Group at Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Acton. Every Friday evening after 7pm Mass. Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, a homily, recitation of the Holy Rosary and the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. All welcome

Fridays:

Low Mass 8am The Oratory, Brompton Road SW7 2RP.

SATURDAYS

Low Mass 6pm St Etheldreda, Ely Place EC1N 6RY. First Friday only.

Taizé at Notre Dame de France 5 Leicester Place WC2H 7BX at 7.15pm. Call 020 7437 9363.

Low Mass 6pm St John the Baptist Church, King Edward's Road E9 7SF. First Friday only. Low Mass 6.30pm Corpus Christi, Maiden Lane WC2E 7NB. Second Friday only.

Pope’s Intentions for September:

Saturdays: Low Mass 12.15pm, St Wilfrid’s Chapel, The Oratory, Brompton Road SW7 2RP.

Parishes That our parishes, animated by a missionary spirit, may be places where faith is communicated and charity is seen.

Other regular Masses

Low Mass 4.30pm, Side Chapel, Westminster Cathedral SW1P 1QW. Second Saturday only.

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Westminster Record | September 2017

Pope’s Prayer Intention: Animated by a Missionary Spirit by Fr David Stewart SJ

comfort and security when we’re bereaved and funerals must be held. But when we reflect on our parishes, we will recall that we’re not talking about a building or even a place that has certain functions, however valuable. The meaning of parish goes much, much deeper than that. This month’s Intention leads us to reflect on this reality. The parish is, or should be, a sacred place, a sacred space. If it’s not defined just by its function or by the building’s facilities, it’s good to reflect on just what does define it. This month’s Intention could help us to do just that. It highlights the communication of faith and visibility of charity. Those, and everything that happens in a parish, are to be ‘animated by a missionary spirit’. That spirit is nothing less than the compassion, the mercy of the Trinity. It’s got to underpin everything that happens in our parishes: all our plans, all our programmes. And people must be able to notice it. For some it’s painful that local bishops, in many places, can no longer find priests for the parishes and sometimes parishes have to face merger, even closure. For some, it may feel like a lifetime of belonging and memories are being shut down, not just a church door. But if we remember to let that missionary spirit enliven our hearts, even as we recognise the difficulties of such situations, we will come to see more clearly what we are called towards. Pope Francis has asked us, several times, if we know the date of our baptism and whether we celebrate it, like we do our birthdays. That makes us think! We could research it and maybe even make a resolution to commemorate it, setting aside some time for a quiet prayer on that date, for example. How about drawing to mind, also, the church where we were baptised and placing it, and the parish community that gathers there, before the Lord in prayer too?

Pope Francis’s single intention for September has already been announced and he will add further requests for our prayers in the course of the month. Many are the concerns in the Pope’s heart, for the serious challenges that face humanity and for the spread of the Gospel, not least its call for peace and justice. His first request to us for this month will catch the attention of many of us, for it is about parishes: he invites us to pray ‘that our parishes, animated by a missionary spirit, may be places where faith is communicated and charity is seen’. We all know at least one parish; the parish, at some point, has featured in the lifestory of everyone reading this reflection. Some of us live our lives deeply inserted in our local parish; others, less so. One aspect of contemporary life, for some of us, is mobility. This can mean much more frequent changes of location and of job while for others it leads to less engagement with a specific geographical parish, perhaps going to different churches at different times, according to the demands of a 21st century lifestyle. Yet every Catholic knows at least one parish, if only from childhood memories. The parish where we grew up has meaning for us, and memories. Likely it will be the place and the context of our first hearing of the Word, perhaps in baptism, in catechesis and other key sacramental moments, such as First Reconciliation, First Communion, Confirmation, Matrimony, and a place of Page 16

Prayer moment: Ask God’s Spirit to lead you to a place of interior calm and silence within yourself, and of external quiet too, if possible, away from some of the noise of everyday life. Let God’s gaze upon you and on the world become a reality for you, now. Place yourself, in your imagination, among the people of a parish that you’ve known and where you were known, and held. Ponder what feelings arise within you at this moment, because you are now praying about, and for, that parish and all its people. Hold it before the infinite God, asking for life and blessing, faith and charity to suffuse that parish. Meditation moment: Still conscious of God’s gaze on you now, turn over in your mind Pope Francis’s call to parishes to be an ‘oasis of mercy’ and to be missionary. What would it take for your parish to become so and, if it already is to whatever extent, what more might be possible? As this month’s reflection in our ‘Living Prayer 2017’ booklet points out, ‘we reach out to people with the message of Christ from our conviction that the message is the mercy of God’. Pope Francis has said that mercy is ‘the heartbeat of the Gospel’. Suggested Daily Offering prayer for this month, drawn from the Pope’s Prayer Network ‘Living Prayer’ booklet: Father of all goodness, I thank you for the beautiful world you created. Give me the grace to open my eyes to see the beauty where I live, where I am studying or where I work every day. Help me to discover the beauty of the people who cross my path. I offer you my day, in union with Mary, for the Pope’s Intention for this month. Our Father … Hail Mary … Glory be … Fr David Stewart SJ is National Director of the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network.