The Holy Father receives Archbishop Nichols and the Westminster Bishops.
The guests are received at the Magistral Palace on Tuesday.
The Grand Master with Archbishop Nichols.
VISIT OF THE ARCHBISHOP TO THE GRAND MASTER
On the occasion of the Ad Limina visit of the Bishops of England and Wales to Rome last week, Archbishop Nichols, with some of his auxiliaries, including Bishop Hopes, and other bishops, were received by HMEH the Prince and Grand Master for lunch at the Magistral Palace in Via Condotti.
NEW ORGAN FOR THE CHURCH
We have been very delighted to receive a new organ in the Conventual Church, the gift of two anonymous members of the Order of Malta to the Grand Priory of England.
The electronic organ was installed on 15th January, and blessed before Mass that evening by Father Christopher Colven, Rector of Spanish Place church.
It was first played for Sunday Mass on the occasion of Bishop Hopes' visit for Fr Sloan's installation, since when it has greatly enhanced the solemnity and beauty of the liturgy, and is used to accompany the sung offices of Lauds and Vespers for the members of the Grand Priory.
It is a three-manual Content organ made in Holland, supplied by Classical Organs of St Austell, Cornwall.
The electronic organ was installed on 15th January, and blessed before Mass that evening by Father Christopher Colven, Rector of Spanish Place church.
It was first played for Sunday Mass on the occasion of Bishop Hopes' visit for Fr Sloan's installation, since when it has greatly enhanced the solemnity and beauty of the liturgy, and is used to accompany the sung offices of Lauds and Vespers for the members of the Grand Priory.
It is a three-manual Content organ made in Holland, supplied by Classical Organs of St Austell, Cornwall.
The Chancellor of the Grand Priory, HE Fra' Duncan Gallie, at the keyboard.
ANTHONY, EARL OF GAINSBOROUGH. R.I.P.
Please pray for the repose of the soul of Anthony Gerard Edward, Earl of Gainsborough, Bailiff Grand Cross of Honour and Devotion, and President of the Hospital, born 24 Oct 1923; died 29 Dec 2009, for whom a Requiem Mass was at the Brompton Oratory on Thursday 28th January at 11am.
Brompton Oratory was all but filled for the Requiem, which was celebrated by Fr. Ronald Creighton-Jobe. The music, from Anerio's Missa Pro Defunctis, was sung by the London Oratory Choir.
Thirty members of the family were present, the Dowager Lady Gainsborough escorted by her son Viscount Camden, the new Earl of Gainsborough. HE Cardinal Cormac Murphy O' Connor, Dom Edward Coubould OSB, Dom Dominic Milroy OSB, and the Grand Prior of England were robed in the sanctuary.
Seventy members of the Order and over seven hundred friends attended, including a contingent of estate workers and their families, all of whom the late Lord Gainsborough knew personally.
In his homily, Fr. Ronald Creighton-Jobe spoke of Tony Gainsborough's sixty years of service to the Order of Malta and the Church, championing the Lourdes pilgrimage, devoting much time to the development of the Hospital of St. John and St. Elizabeth as its chairman, and latterly to the Orders of St John Homes Care Trust. His kindly presence was a comfort to malades over many years of devotion to them.
Lord Gainsborough was chairman of Rutland County Council and a well-loved Commodore of the Bembridge Sailing Club. A generous host and friend, he was married for 62 years, was a member of the Order for 60, raised seven children and lived to know his great grandchild.
Thirty members of the family were present, the Dowager Lady Gainsborough escorted by her son Viscount Camden, the new Earl of Gainsborough. HE Cardinal Cormac Murphy O' Connor, Dom Edward Coubould OSB, Dom Dominic Milroy OSB, and the Grand Prior of England were robed in the sanctuary.
Seventy members of the Order and over seven hundred friends attended, including a contingent of estate workers and their families, all of whom the late Lord Gainsborough knew personally.
In his homily, Fr. Ronald Creighton-Jobe spoke of Tony Gainsborough's sixty years of service to the Order of Malta and the Church, championing the Lourdes pilgrimage, devoting much time to the development of the Hospital of St. John and St. Elizabeth as its chairman, and latterly to the Orders of St John Homes Care Trust. His kindly presence was a comfort to malades over many years of devotion to them.
Lord Gainsborough was chairman of Rutland County Council and a well-loved Commodore of the Bembridge Sailing Club. A generous host and friend, he was married for 62 years, was a member of the Order for 60, raised seven children and lived to know his great grandchild.
Tony Gainsborough was President of the British Association, Order of Malta 1968-74; Chairman of Saint John and Saint Elizabeth Hospital from 1970 to 1980, and President of the Hospital from then until his death.
His family has long association with the Hospital, the 3rd Earl was the first Treasurer of the Hospital from 1880 to 1883.
Requiescat in pace.
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 2nd - CANDLEMAS
A Reception will be held afterwards in Fortescue House.
The normal weekly Mass will also be celebrated in the morning at 11am.
CHANGE IN MASS TIMES
From Tuesday 26th January, Holy Mass will be celebrated weekly on Tuesday at 11 am.
The Wednesday 12.15 Mass will be suppressed from this date.
The Thursday 6.30 pm and Sunday 11 am Masses will remain unchanged.
It is hoped that this change will be more convenient for the patients, staff and Hospice helpers.
The Wednesday 12.15 Mass will be suppressed from this date.
The Thursday 6.30 pm and Sunday 11 am Masses will remain unchanged.
It is hoped that this change will be more convenient for the patients, staff and Hospice helpers.
ARRIVAL OF FATHER SLOAN
Bishop Hopes with the Reverend Mr Vincent Malone, Deacon
The new Chaplain, Fr Richard Sloan, was welcomed into the Conventual Church at a Concelebrated Pontifical Mass on Sunday 17th January, and formally installed as Hospital Chaplain by the Right Reverend Bishop Alan Hopes, Chaplain of the Order. The Chaplain Emeritus of the Hospital, Canon McDonald, was also present.
Fr Sloan greeting the people, watched by Canon McDonald.
We wish Father Sloan well in his ministry amongst Our Lords the Sick, in both the Hospital and Saint John's Hospice.
Our Lady of Philermo, pray for us,
Saint John the Baptist, pray for us,
Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, pray for us.
HAITI APPEAL - THANK YOU
A very warm thanks to all those who contributed so generously to the Order's Appeal for the relief work in Haiti at the Mass on Sunday. A total of £400 was raised in cash in the retiring collection.
Many of you took the Appeal leaflet and Gift-Aid form with you, please fill it in and send it back quickly with as much as you can afford to give. Additional copies are available here.
As the Grand Prior stated in his appeal, this is not a project for a few months, or even years. This work will take more than a generation to complete, to restore normal human conditions to this tragic people.
Please, therefore, continue to hold Haiti among your charitable works, and above all in your prayers.
Many of you took the Appeal leaflet and Gift-Aid form with you, please fill it in and send it back quickly with as much as you can afford to give. Additional copies are available here.
As the Grand Prior stated in his appeal, this is not a project for a few months, or even years. This work will take more than a generation to complete, to restore normal human conditions to this tragic people.
Please, therefore, continue to hold Haiti among your charitable works, and above all in your prayers.
O Crux Ave, Spes Unica
You may view updates of progress in Haiti on this blog: Knight of the White Cross.
HAITI APPEAL
Photo © Daily Telegraph
A 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck Haiti in the late evening of 12th January, with reports giving many thousands dead, and leaving millions of people homeless, in this, the poorest country of the Western hemisphere. The Archbishop of Port-au-Prince, Msgr. Joseph Serge Miot, is among the dead, found beneath the rubble of his collapsed residence. Thousands of lost children wander through the grey dust covering the area where as yet an unknown number of buildings and homes have been destroyed. There is major damage to the infrastructure, roads and the communication system, and the authorities are struggling to cope.
Top priority: basic medical care, clean drinking water
Malteser International is preparing the deployment of an expert medical team from Germany and France to support local Malteser teams on the ground. “Our colleagues in Haiti are fully aware that basic medical care and the provision of clean drinking water are matters of top priority now,” Ingo Radtke, Secretary General of Malteser International, explains. The emergency relief of Malteser International is coordinated within the worldwide international network of the Order of Malta.
For 15 years the Order of Malta, through its Associations in the United States, has been supporting a hospital (Hôpital Sacré Coeur, Milot) in the north of Haiti, the poorest country in the Western hemisphere. The 73-bed hospital is the only one in the region. In 2008, Hôpital Sacré Coeur treated 56,000 outpatients, with over 4,100 hospital admissions and 1,262 newborn deliveries. There is no other pharmacy or laboratory in the area, so last year the hospital filled 136,000 prescriptions and completed over 77,000 lab tests. It provided almost 2,000 patient visits through the Mobile Clinic project.
The first members of the emergency team arriving in Haiti today,
with the Order of Malta's Ambassador, Hans Rothe
The Archbishop of Westminster has asked all people of the Diocese to say the following prayer this coming Sunday, and during this time of tragedy.
We pray for the people of Haiti, struggling with the devastating effects of the recent earthquake: that despite the destruction around them they may not lose hope and may find the strength to rebuild their lives. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
SATURDAY 30th JANUARY
As part of the monthly Grand Priory Day of Recollection, Sung Mass of Our Lady's Saturday will be celebrated in the Church at 12 noon.
The office of Lauds will be sung at 10am; and Vespers, Holy Hour and Benediction at around 3.30pm, to which all are most welcome.
HOMILY FROM CHRISTMAS MIDNIGHT MASS
We are very grateful to the Reverend Dr Michael Cullinan for providing the text of the homily which he preached at the Midnight Mass in the Conventual Church, which we provide below.
What do you want for Christmas most of all? What would be the best present you could get?
We’re all thinking about presents at the moment. We’re all looking forward to receiving something. We all hope we’ll get something nice. So I’ll ask again. What do you want most for Christmas? What would be the best present you could get?
Actually you all know the right answer. But you might need to think a bit. Because most people aren’t really aware at all what the right answer is. Think of the things you most want for Christmas. And for next year. And now imagine you have them all. Everything you want. Every thing. Wouldn’t you be very happy?
When I began to study moral theology in the Seminary, on the very first day of the course, we were told three stories. One was about the man who dies and wakes up in a beautiful place, surrounded by beautiful faces. They will do anything for him. Anything at all. They are angels, and they can make almost anything happen for him. Give him anything. So for some time he is blissfully happy. But after a week or two he asks a question. ‘Is there anyone else here? Another human being to talk to?’ The angels put him off for a while by offering to talk, raise a football team, or do something else. But he insists. Gets angry. And finally remarks that surely there must be someone else in heaven to talk to. Then one of the angels says, ‘What makes you think this is heaven?’
Got it? Imagine you’ve got every thing you ever want. Every experience. Except another human being. Except anyone to love you.
So back to the question: What do you want most for Christmas? What would be the best present you could get? Not any thing at all. So what’s the answer?
What about love? Being loved and being able to love?
Almost there. But we haven’t really got to Christmas yet. Most people can get as far as seeing that things on their own aren’t enough for us. That we need love. But most people can’t seem to get any farther. That’s why they’re not here with us at Christmas.
We all want to be loved and to love. But human love is never perfect. If you don’t know that after the rush of the last few days, you certainly will after the next few! We don’t find it easy to get on with each other. Even when we live together. Especially when we live together. And human love doesn’t last forever. Not in this world. It hurts when we are left alone. When someone we loved, someone we still love, isn’t there anymore. Many of us will be thinking of someone in particular this Christmas who isn’t there for us anymore.
We are made to love and be loved. Forever. But we aren’t very good at loving. We need to learn to love. And to be able to love forever. And that brings us right to Christmas. To God’s infinite love for us. To God teaching us that he loves us by becoming one with us. One of us. To teach us how to love. To make it possible for us to love forever. To our Catholic faith.
If we recognize our need for his love. Which means recognizing how bad we are at loving. And how much we need to be forgiven. And that we cannot reliably get God’s love except through his family the Church. A family that, like any family in this world, isn’t always as happy or as good at getting along together as we would like. And that brings us right to our Catholic faith.
We’re here tonight because we can see that we need more than things to make us happy. And more than human love. We’re here to renew our gifts of faith and hope and love. God’s great present to us all.
Our faith is a gift. A gift past generations gave their lives to preserve for us. A gift given to us by our parents, our teachers, and our priests. A gift to receive and enjoy.
When I was an academic, we were warned about working for industry. Never do it just for the love of it, we were told. If you don’t put a high price to your work, they won’t value it, and they won’t value you either. It was a useful lesson.
The faith tends to flourish where the price is higher. Where you’re forced to work on Sundays. Not allowed to put your case fairly in the media. Not allowed to run your own schools in your own way. Discriminated against because of what you believe.
All things done in some places to persecute us. All things getting nearer to being done here in England out of sheer ignorance and contempt for our faith.
It seems to get worse each year. We Catholics are the only minority that doesn’t seem to have minority rights. The only once persecuted group that is treated as if we were part of the old oppressive establishment. The only religion that it isn’t regarded as wrong—or dangerous—to offend and insult.
It used to be that we were either treated with respect, or that the false images some people had of the Catholic faith were so ludicrous that they weren’t really very dangerous to our own faith.
But that’s changed now. Today’s false images of us are much more dangerous. Because they contain just a tiny bit of truth. And the worst things people can say about you are the half-truths. The things that aren’t true about you but have just enough truth in them to be believable.
You have to work quite hard to find out what the Pope really said and meant in his lecture about Islam. And most people haven’t the time. You have to know quite a lot of canon law to see how wrong the BBC were about how the Vatican deals with shameful conduct by clergy. Most people don’t know any canon law. You have to know a lot about scripture and history to see what twisted rubbish Dan Brown has written about how our faith developed. But most people know very little about scripture and history. You have to know a bit of philosophy and theology to see through some of the arguments of Professor Dawkins. But most people don’t get taught very much theology or philosophy. And care less about them.
We now have the most anti-Christian government ever. With government spokesmen threatening to use the law to force us not to discriminate against women and those with partners, in applications for the priesthood. In an election year. They must believe that the Catholic vote has ceased to exist. I think we have let them believe that by not doing enough about previous restrictions on the expression of our faith.
So we have to work much harder now. To defend our religion and to protect the gift of our faith.
But there are two other gifts for us as well. Our hope is a gift. Our hope for a better world, a world without sin and suffering. A hope put in God’s grace and our own good works, rather than simply in politicians and clever plans. A hope that can’t be destroyed by all the terrible things in the news.
But the greatest gift is the third one. The one designed to last forever. Our love is a gift. God’s forgiving love for each of us. To teach us how to love and forgive.
That’s why we need to be here tonight. And every week. To renew our faith and hope and love. To practise our faith, our hope, and our love for each other. And because God has given us a very simple gift to remind us of his love for us. A reminder of the first Christmas.
It’s called the Mass. Where Christ again becomes weak and powerless for us. Where bread and wine become God. Where we receive the divine body of Christ to become more the divine Body of Christ ourselves.
What do you want most for Christmas? What would be the best present you could get?
Now we all know the answer. God’s forgiving and everlasting love. The love that sent God to earth as a tiny, helpless baby. The love that gives God to us. Then in the stable. Here and now in the Mass. To teach us how to love. To renew our faith and hope. To make us love and be happy. The love that one day God wants to give us perfectly and forever.
In default of any photographs of the Mass, we display two images of
Christmas Cribs in Malta, displayed in an exhibition at the Order's former Auberge of Italy.
What do you want for Christmas most of all? What would be the best present you could get?
We’re all thinking about presents at the moment. We’re all looking forward to receiving something. We all hope we’ll get something nice. So I’ll ask again. What do you want most for Christmas? What would be the best present you could get?
Actually you all know the right answer. But you might need to think a bit. Because most people aren’t really aware at all what the right answer is. Think of the things you most want for Christmas. And for next year. And now imagine you have them all. Everything you want. Every thing. Wouldn’t you be very happy?
When I began to study moral theology in the Seminary, on the very first day of the course, we were told three stories. One was about the man who dies and wakes up in a beautiful place, surrounded by beautiful faces. They will do anything for him. Anything at all. They are angels, and they can make almost anything happen for him. Give him anything. So for some time he is blissfully happy. But after a week or two he asks a question. ‘Is there anyone else here? Another human being to talk to?’ The angels put him off for a while by offering to talk, raise a football team, or do something else. But he insists. Gets angry. And finally remarks that surely there must be someone else in heaven to talk to. Then one of the angels says, ‘What makes you think this is heaven?’
Got it? Imagine you’ve got every thing you ever want. Every experience. Except another human being. Except anyone to love you.
So back to the question: What do you want most for Christmas? What would be the best present you could get? Not any thing at all. So what’s the answer?
What about love? Being loved and being able to love?
Almost there. But we haven’t really got to Christmas yet. Most people can get as far as seeing that things on their own aren’t enough for us. That we need love. But most people can’t seem to get any farther. That’s why they’re not here with us at Christmas.
We all want to be loved and to love. But human love is never perfect. If you don’t know that after the rush of the last few days, you certainly will after the next few! We don’t find it easy to get on with each other. Even when we live together. Especially when we live together. And human love doesn’t last forever. Not in this world. It hurts when we are left alone. When someone we loved, someone we still love, isn’t there anymore. Many of us will be thinking of someone in particular this Christmas who isn’t there for us anymore.
We are made to love and be loved. Forever. But we aren’t very good at loving. We need to learn to love. And to be able to love forever. And that brings us right to Christmas. To God’s infinite love for us. To God teaching us that he loves us by becoming one with us. One of us. To teach us how to love. To make it possible for us to love forever. To our Catholic faith.
If we recognize our need for his love. Which means recognizing how bad we are at loving. And how much we need to be forgiven. And that we cannot reliably get God’s love except through his family the Church. A family that, like any family in this world, isn’t always as happy or as good at getting along together as we would like. And that brings us right to our Catholic faith.
We’re here tonight because we can see that we need more than things to make us happy. And more than human love. We’re here to renew our gifts of faith and hope and love. God’s great present to us all.
Our faith is a gift. A gift past generations gave their lives to preserve for us. A gift given to us by our parents, our teachers, and our priests. A gift to receive and enjoy.
When I was an academic, we were warned about working for industry. Never do it just for the love of it, we were told. If you don’t put a high price to your work, they won’t value it, and they won’t value you either. It was a useful lesson.
The faith tends to flourish where the price is higher. Where you’re forced to work on Sundays. Not allowed to put your case fairly in the media. Not allowed to run your own schools in your own way. Discriminated against because of what you believe.
All things done in some places to persecute us. All things getting nearer to being done here in England out of sheer ignorance and contempt for our faith.
It seems to get worse each year. We Catholics are the only minority that doesn’t seem to have minority rights. The only once persecuted group that is treated as if we were part of the old oppressive establishment. The only religion that it isn’t regarded as wrong—or dangerous—to offend and insult.
It used to be that we were either treated with respect, or that the false images some people had of the Catholic faith were so ludicrous that they weren’t really very dangerous to our own faith.
But that’s changed now. Today’s false images of us are much more dangerous. Because they contain just a tiny bit of truth. And the worst things people can say about you are the half-truths. The things that aren’t true about you but have just enough truth in them to be believable.
You have to work quite hard to find out what the Pope really said and meant in his lecture about Islam. And most people haven’t the time. You have to know quite a lot of canon law to see how wrong the BBC were about how the Vatican deals with shameful conduct by clergy. Most people don’t know any canon law. You have to know a lot about scripture and history to see what twisted rubbish Dan Brown has written about how our faith developed. But most people know very little about scripture and history. You have to know a bit of philosophy and theology to see through some of the arguments of Professor Dawkins. But most people don’t get taught very much theology or philosophy. And care less about them.
We now have the most anti-Christian government ever. With government spokesmen threatening to use the law to force us not to discriminate against women and those with partners, in applications for the priesthood. In an election year. They must believe that the Catholic vote has ceased to exist. I think we have let them believe that by not doing enough about previous restrictions on the expression of our faith.
So we have to work much harder now. To defend our religion and to protect the gift of our faith.
But there are two other gifts for us as well. Our hope is a gift. Our hope for a better world, a world without sin and suffering. A hope put in God’s grace and our own good works, rather than simply in politicians and clever plans. A hope that can’t be destroyed by all the terrible things in the news.
But the greatest gift is the third one. The one designed to last forever. Our love is a gift. God’s forgiving love for each of us. To teach us how to love and forgive.
That’s why we need to be here tonight. And every week. To renew our faith and hope and love. To practise our faith, our hope, and our love for each other. And because God has given us a very simple gift to remind us of his love for us. A reminder of the first Christmas.
It’s called the Mass. Where Christ again becomes weak and powerless for us. Where bread and wine become God. Where we receive the divine body of Christ to become more the divine Body of Christ ourselves.
What do you want most for Christmas? What would be the best present you could get?
Now we all know the answer. God’s forgiving and everlasting love. The love that sent God to earth as a tiny, helpless baby. The love that gives God to us. Then in the stable. Here and now in the Mass. To teach us how to love. To renew our faith and hope. To make us love and be happy. The love that one day God wants to give us perfectly and forever.
WELCOME FOR NEW HOSPITAL CHAPLAIN!
The new Chaplain to the Hospital, Father Richard Sloan, will be welcomed at the Sunday Mass on the 17th January.
We are very grateful to the Diocese, and to Bishop Alan Hopes, and extend our best wishes to Father Sloan for his new ministry with us.
We hope as many people as possible will come to greet him at Mass on the 17th.
We are very grateful to the Diocese, and to Bishop Alan Hopes, and extend our best wishes to Father Sloan for his new ministry with us.
We hope as many people as possible will come to greet him at Mass on the 17th.
ARCHBISHOP NICHOLS' PASTORAL LETTER FOR THE FEAST OF THE HOLY FAMILY
On this Feast of the Holy Family, and during this Christmas season, we have in our minds the image of the crib. The scene of the birth of Christ is portrayed in so many different ways. Yet, in essence, it is always the same: a child, a mother and father, a stable, animals and some surrounding shepherds.
It is a picture of simplicity and poverty. Yet it is rich in meaning and bears much reflection, from many points of view.
Look at it this way. This scene contains all the elements of our created world. The hay and straw of the stable represent the fruit of the cultivated earth. The ox, ass and the sheep are the animal kingdom. At the centre is the person of Jesus. And, without ever romanticising poverty, there is a certain harmony between all these elements. Each one has its place. Each one has its space. And all serve the well-being of the weakest and most vulnerable person, the new-born child.
This simple reflection may have a special resonance at a time when we are intensely conscious of the fragility of our world and the threats to its stability.
Today we have to find a balanced and sustainable relationship between ourselves and the natural world, and between all people who share this planet. Unless we do so the chances of peace in our world are slim and the careless exploitation of our environment will continue. These right relationships have to begin in our homes, just as the readings we have heard suggest: respect between the generations, patience with each other, sensitivity to each others’ wishes and needs.
Indeed the crib reminds us that we are really dependent on each other, on the created world and on God. Only when this dependence is acknowledged have we a hope of realigning ourselves and our way of living into something more appropriate to the needs of each other and of our environment.
Of course over Christmas we have been spending hard-earned income in order to express our love and thanks for each other. We must also have felt the pressures of advertising and expectation to spend more than we could afford. Yet, at the end of the day, in our family celebrations what counts is sincerity rather then extravagance, sensitivity rather than excess. When this is understood, then we can probably live far more simply without any loss of enjoyment. Then we can be more attentive to how much we consume, to what we throw away, to what we have to give to the poor.
The crib, then, is a lesson in right living, in the regard we have for each other, in our support for the poor and in our care for the created world.
Yet there is another element in the crib I almost overlooked. There are the angels. I nearly forgot them. Angels are just glimpsed, often at critical moments. They remind us of our hidden spiritual selves, for there is a life within each one of us which is open to God and only fully satisfied in the knowledge and love of God. In this world such knowledge and love is only ever partial, although the promise of its fulfilment lies ahead of us all. Yet even now God dwells with us, not least in the gift of forgiveness of which St Paul speaks in the Letter to the Colossians, as we have just heard: ‘The Lord has forgiven you; now you must do the same.’ (Col 3.13) Whenever we need to give or receive forgiveness this is the truth to remember: for us it is almost impossible; but for God working in us, it is not.
And this comes about all because of the Incarnation, the birth of the Eternal Word of God into the family of the stable of Bethlehem. He is Emmanuel, God with us. Because He shares in our human life, then we can share in his divine life. This is the miracle of our salvation.
Remember the lovely words of the poem about the crib:
‘Welcome, all wonders in one sight
Eternity shut in a span,
Summer in winter, day in night
Heaven in earth and God in man.
Great little one,
Whose all embracing birth
Lifts earth to heaven,
Stoops heaven to earth.’
May God bless you and your families on this day and throughout this Christmas season.
+Vincent Nichols
You may listen to the Archbishop deliver his letter here.
It is a picture of simplicity and poverty. Yet it is rich in meaning and bears much reflection, from many points of view.
Look at it this way. This scene contains all the elements of our created world. The hay and straw of the stable represent the fruit of the cultivated earth. The ox, ass and the sheep are the animal kingdom. At the centre is the person of Jesus. And, without ever romanticising poverty, there is a certain harmony between all these elements. Each one has its place. Each one has its space. And all serve the well-being of the weakest and most vulnerable person, the new-born child.
This simple reflection may have a special resonance at a time when we are intensely conscious of the fragility of our world and the threats to its stability.
Today we have to find a balanced and sustainable relationship between ourselves and the natural world, and between all people who share this planet. Unless we do so the chances of peace in our world are slim and the careless exploitation of our environment will continue. These right relationships have to begin in our homes, just as the readings we have heard suggest: respect between the generations, patience with each other, sensitivity to each others’ wishes and needs.
Indeed the crib reminds us that we are really dependent on each other, on the created world and on God. Only when this dependence is acknowledged have we a hope of realigning ourselves and our way of living into something more appropriate to the needs of each other and of our environment.
Of course over Christmas we have been spending hard-earned income in order to express our love and thanks for each other. We must also have felt the pressures of advertising and expectation to spend more than we could afford. Yet, at the end of the day, in our family celebrations what counts is sincerity rather then extravagance, sensitivity rather than excess. When this is understood, then we can probably live far more simply without any loss of enjoyment. Then we can be more attentive to how much we consume, to what we throw away, to what we have to give to the poor.
The crib, then, is a lesson in right living, in the regard we have for each other, in our support for the poor and in our care for the created world.
Yet there is another element in the crib I almost overlooked. There are the angels. I nearly forgot them. Angels are just glimpsed, often at critical moments. They remind us of our hidden spiritual selves, for there is a life within each one of us which is open to God and only fully satisfied in the knowledge and love of God. In this world such knowledge and love is only ever partial, although the promise of its fulfilment lies ahead of us all. Yet even now God dwells with us, not least in the gift of forgiveness of which St Paul speaks in the Letter to the Colossians, as we have just heard: ‘The Lord has forgiven you; now you must do the same.’ (Col 3.13) Whenever we need to give or receive forgiveness this is the truth to remember: for us it is almost impossible; but for God working in us, it is not.
And this comes about all because of the Incarnation, the birth of the Eternal Word of God into the family of the stable of Bethlehem. He is Emmanuel, God with us. Because He shares in our human life, then we can share in his divine life. This is the miracle of our salvation.
Remember the lovely words of the poem about the crib:
‘Welcome, all wonders in one sight
Eternity shut in a span,
Summer in winter, day in night
Heaven in earth and God in man.
Great little one,
Whose all embracing birth
Lifts earth to heaven,
Stoops heaven to earth.’
May God bless you and your families on this day and throughout this Christmas season.
+Vincent Nichols
You may listen to the Archbishop deliver his letter here.
HODIE CHRISTUS NATUS EST
Today we celebrate the wonderful feast of the birth of our Saviour. When we come to admire the crib in our church, let us recall that it was for our sake God made himself a tiny child, entirely dependent on others for all His human needs. If God did that for love of us, how much more must we humble ourselves to serve him and our neighbour. Let us make this our resolution for the coming year.
I wish you all a very happy and holy Christmas,
Fra' Freddy
Grand Prior
MASSES OVER THE CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY
The following Masses will be celebrated in the Conventual Church, in addition to the normal timetable:
Thursday 24th December
CHRISTMAS EVE (MIDNIGHT MASS) 9pm Sung plainchant Mass (1962) with carols and procession to the Crib.
Friday 25th December
CHRISTMAS DAY 11am Sung Mass
Thursday 31st December
NEW YEAR'S EVE 6.30pm Mass
Friday 1st January
NEW YEAR'S DAY No Mass
Wednesday 6th January
EPIPHANY (Obligation is transferred to Sunday)
No lunchtime Mass.
6.30pm Sung Mass (1962)
A Very Happy Christmas and blessed New Year 2010 to everyone!
Thursday 24th December
CHRISTMAS EVE (MIDNIGHT MASS) 9pm Sung plainchant Mass (1962) with carols and procession to the Crib.
Friday 25th December
CHRISTMAS DAY 11am Sung Mass
Thursday 31st December
NEW YEAR'S EVE 6.30pm Mass
Friday 1st January
NEW YEAR'S DAY No Mass
Wednesday 6th January
EPIPHANY (Obligation is transferred to Sunday)
No lunchtime Mass.
6.30pm Sung Mass (1962)
A Very Happy Christmas and blessed New Year 2010 to everyone!
CONCERT - "CANDLEMAS"
The renowned choir, MUSICA CONTEXTA, who have given such wonderful concerts in the Conventual Church in the past, will give a concert of sacred music on Wednesday 27th January at 7.30 pm. The concert will raise funds for Saint John's Hospice, for which we are very grateful to MUSICA CONTEXTA.
The programme will include:
John Sheppard's Six-part Cantate Mass
and motet Gaude, gaude, gaude, Maria Virgo;
Thomas Tallis's Videte Miraculum and Quod Chorus Vatum; William Mundy's Videte Miraculum;
plus other festal motets from the English Renaissance by Robert White and others.
plus other festal motets from the English Renaissance by Robert White and others.
For more information on booking and tickets visit their site.
The concert is open to all, and you are warmly encouraged to attend.
REPORT ON CAROL SERVICE
Many thanks to all concerned for a most wonderful Advent Carol Service, particularly to the choir "Cantores Missae" and their director Mr Charles Finch, for exquisite motets, and to the many people who attended and sung the carols with such joy.
It was an excellent spiritual preparation for a true appreciation of the Christmas Feast, and raised a considerable sum for Saint John's Hospice, for which Matron has expressed her gratitude to all who gave so generously. The Hospice is in permanent need of funds, all the care provided is entirely without charge, and you are encouraged to continue to give throughout the year.
It was an excellent spiritual preparation for a true appreciation of the Christmas Feast, and raised a considerable sum for Saint John's Hospice, for which Matron has expressed her gratitude to all who gave so generously. The Hospice is in permanent need of funds, all the care provided is entirely without charge, and you are encouraged to continue to give throughout the year.
O Sapientia, quae ex ore Altissimi prodidisti,
attingens a fine usque ad finem,
fortiter suaviterque disponens omnia:
veni ad docendum nos viam prudentiae.
O Wisdom, coming forth from the mouth of the Most High,
reaching from one end to the other mightily,
and sweetly ordering all things:
Come and teach us the way of prudence.
ARCHBISHOP NICHOLS' CHRISTMAS MEDITATION
Below is the text of the Mediation preached by His Grace the Archbishop in the Cathedral on 16th December.
In 1847 a French wine merchant approached his parish priest for permission to write a Christmas poem. His name was Placide Cappeau de Rocquemaure. History does not record the quality of his wines, but we all recognise the words of the poem he then wrote:
‘O Holy Night,
The stars are brightly shining
It is the night of our dear Saviour’s birth.’
And it is true. At least here in the Cathedral, the stars are shining brightly, the star on the top of our tree and, I would like to believe, those in our hearts as we are enthralled by the beauty of this moment.
Star light, as we know, takes a long time to reach us. The measurement of light years is not something I understand, but I know that light from distant stars travels for much longer than we might think. Indeed it is a fact that the light of a star can come into our sight long after the star itself has ceased to exist. Stars collapse, yet their light still reaches us.
Is this an image for the light of faith today? Here we are, celebrating that light, the story of the birth of our Redeemer over two thousand years ago. The story has come to us over the centuries, in a long, slow process. But must we now face the possibility that for many in our society the source of that light, the gift of faith given by God, has largely collapsed. We might catch a glimpse of its light in the innate goodness of so many people. But is its source something for which we no longer have a place?
Or this beautiful music. Its words and sounds thrill the hearts of us all. But are these words, is this beauty simply an echo of a lost faith, a cultural inheritance which we treasure and enjoy, but no longer a message which shapes our lives, for which we might be prepared to give all?
This evening let us strengthen the connection between this beautiful light, this enchanting music and their true source. Without such a reconnection this is simply a performance, a beauty without its true soul. Then it is like a life which lacks a coherent narrative. Such a life is no more than a series of moments, some wonderful, some nostalgic, some poignant or even painful. Yet it lacks an inner meaning which gives purpose, which summons us to self-sacrifice, which opens for us a lasting hope.
Yet tonight the narrative is clear: God, in his infinite love, enters our world in one unrepeatable, transforming moment. The Eternal Word of God takes flesh and is born of the Virgin Mary. From that moment all is changed. The horizons of our consciousness are expanded. Now the instinct, the desire, for ‘more’, which always stretched us beyond the present towards an inexpressible future, finds its full meaning. God has shared in our human condition so that we might come to share in God’s own divine life. This is the wondrous exchange, this transformation of our existence, this revelation of truth, of meaning, of enduring hope which gives rise to this beauty as our hearts sing in thanksgiving and praise.
Let us play our part in the recovery of this true Christmas story. Let us tell it in its fullness within our family circle, around a family crib, passing it on in wonder and loving awe, from generation to generation. Let us not be dismayed by the inevitable streak of cynicism which emerges out of the culture in which we live. But let us with faithful simplicity share our joyous faith in the God who comes to meet us. He comes to welcome us and to uplift us.
This is a truth for everyone, without exception. Much of the time this is hard to grasp. But at Christmas time our defences are down. We are ready to go to the crib. There, on our knees, we can again sense the source of the music; we can glimpse its true origin. There we intuit the truth: that the mystery of God, awesome as it must be, comes to us in a darkened night so that we are not blinded but intrigued, its light beckoning us to come closer and receive.
When the feast of Christmas comes, go to the crib as I will. Take a reluctant friend. Then let us piece together our broken story so that our world may receive a measure of healing and find again its true source of happiness and peace. Amen.
+Vincent Nichols
GAUDETE - THE THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT
INTROIT: PHILLIP. 4. 4-6
GAUDETE in Dómino semper: íterum dico, gaudéte. Modéstia vestra nota sit ómnibus homínibus: Dóminus enim prope est. Nihil sollíciti sitis: sed in omni oratióne petitiónes vestræ innotéscant apud Deum.REJOICE in the Lord always, again I say, rejoice! Let your tolerance be evident to everyone: the Lord is near. There is no need to worry; but if there is anything you need, pray for it, asking God for it.
We were very happy that Fr Dominic Robinson SJ was again able to celebrate the Mass this Sunday. He preached on the importance of silence, and particularly the silent retreat which forms an important part of the life of members of the Society of Jesus, and invited us to use these days of Advent, notwithstanding all the noise of the material world, to allow silence into our spiritual lives as a preparation of our hearts for the coming of Our Saviour at Christmas.
THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION
This year the feast of the Immaculate Conception fell on a Tuesday and this gave the opportunity for a Sung Mass offered with all due solemnity in the Conventual Church. There were about twenty knights and dames present amongst them the Chancellor of the Grand Priory who was seated on the sanctuary. It was good to see around six Companions there as well together with a good number of the Sunday faithful. Mass was offered by our old friend Fr Ian Dickie who made the journey from rural Hertfordshire to be with us. We are extremely grateful to him for taking time out of his busy parish to come to the Conventual Church.
Cantores Missae lifted our hearts and minds heavenwards allowing for contemplation of that great mystery of the Immaculate Conception. In his sermon, Fr Dickie reminded us of the absolute nature of Our Lady’s “Fiat” – the ultimate blank cheque so to speak – and how her example of quiet service and fidelity whilst on this earth is the model for both religious, priests and indeed lay people to follow. Hers is the perfect example of vocation accepted and fulfilled. As our Mother she is close to all her children and as Mediatrix of All Graces intercedes for us with her Son – often with marvellous results.
A buffet supper followed in the Chancellery which was well received as a restorative and a chance to relax before the next stage of the evening – a Marian Liturgy for the Immaculate Conception in the Church organised by Eoghain Murphy (whose birthday by happy chance it was – ad multos annos!) with a twenty-strong choir of impeccable standard performing a motet after the Alma Redemptoris Mater, Tallis's Videte Miraculum. It was extremely moving and we are grateful to all those who took part. A “dessert” followed - again in the Chancellery - this time consisting of festive fare and around fifty people were there. All in all it was a most enjoyable evening and a highly appropriate way to celebrate this very important and beautiful feast.
Tota pulchra es, Maria, et macula originalis non est in te.
DECEMBER 10th - ADVENT EVENING OF RECOLLECTION
Following the successful evening last year, there will be an Advent Evening of Recollection in the Conventual Church on Thursday 10th December 2009.
The Evening will begin with Mass at 6.30pm followed by a conference and Holy Hour, concluding with Benediction. The conference and Holy Hour will be led by our confrere and Chaplain Emeritus of the Hospital, Canon John McDonald.
All are warmly encouraged to attend, and to avail themselves of this useful opportunity to add to their spiritual preparations of this Holy Season.
The Evening will begin with Mass at 6.30pm followed by a conference and Holy Hour, concluding with Benediction. The conference and Holy Hour will be led by our confrere and Chaplain Emeritus of the Hospital, Canon John McDonald.
All are warmly encouraged to attend, and to avail themselves of this useful opportunity to add to their spiritual preparations of this Holy Season.
DECEMBER 2nd. FEAST OF OUR LADY OF LIESSE, "Causa Nostrae Laetitiae"
Memorial in the Missal of the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order
of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta
In 1134 three Knights of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem,
prisoners of the Muslims in Egypt,
miraculously found or received in their prison a statue of Our Lady,
which they named "Notre Dame de Liesse" [Our Lady of Joy in French].
In response to their prayers, a young Muslim princess, named Ismerie,
took an interest in the Knights and through the intercession of Our Lady
and the mercy of God the princess was converted.
The princess arranged the escape of the pious crusaders
and joined them on their journey to France.
They carried the statue with them, and in the region of Laon, about 35 miles northwest of Reims,
they founded a church as a resting place for the statue.
Through local devotion the church took on the name of the statue,
and gave that name to the whole region,
so that "Notre Dame de Liesse" came to mean both "Our Lady of Joy"
and "Our Lady of [the place called] Liesse".
The statue came to be venerated by many,
and "Our Lady of Liesse" became the Patroness of the Diocese of Soissons.
In 1620 the titular Bailiff of Armenia, Fra' Jacques Chenu de Bellay,
built a church to Our Lady of Liesse at Valletta in Malta.
It is today the chaplaincy church of the Port of Valetta. The pediment is illustrated above.
The original statue was destroyed during the French Revolution,
but the medieval basilica at Liesse remained a center of devotion to the Mother of God,
and a new statue was installed and crowned there in 1857.
It is still the focus of pilgrimage, especially on Whit Monday.
The Collect
O God, who brought joy to the world
by the incarnation of Christ your Son,
grant to us, who honour his Mother as Cause of our Joy,
the grace to follow your commandments
and to set our hearts on the true joy of heaven.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son,
Through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
BASMOM ANNUAL REQUIEM
The annual Requiem for deceased members of the Order and benefactors took place as is customary on the last Thursday in November. Unlike the occasion of Thanksgiving though, which fell on the same day, the purpose of the Requiem is not only to remember the dead but to pray for them. As last year, the Formation Day for new candidates was arranged to occur on the same day, and so around fifteen candidates for the Order were also present for both the Mass and Vespers of the Dead – the latter sung by members of the Grand Priory before the beginning of Mass.
Mass was offered by Mgr Antony Conlon, Chaplain to the Grand Priory, and in his sermon Mgr Conlon contrasted the culture of “celebrity death” popularised by the tabloids, with its implicit fear of death and the almost improbable situation of anything beyond it, with the traditional Catholic understanding of death as merely the first part of our journey towards God. We will all die one day and we will all need the prayers of those left behind as well as those of the saints in Heaven. Both the Grand Prior and Chancellor of the Grand Priory (himself a member of the Sovereign Council) were on the Sanctuary, adding to the decorum of the occasion.
The music was provided by our friends Cantores Missae – the Dies Irae, alternating polyphony with chant, is always hauntingly prayerful and an aid to prayer. The sanctuary party was of its usual high standard and it is good to see some new faces amongst the number – all the more so as they are mostly young and are now Companions. Their dedication and hard work is exemplary. To them and indeed to the Celebrant and choir we are grateful for taking time out of their busy schedules to ensure that the Requiem was celebrated in due and fitting manner.
ADVENT PREPARATION
The Holy Father presides at 1st Vespers of Advent in Saint Peter's (Picture copyright Fotografia Felici)
ADVENT PREPARATION can be compared to the activities we undertake the month before a baby is born into our family, with all the buying of baby clothes, repainting the nursery, making new curtains for the cot etc. In the same way, we must prepare the nursery of our souls, clean out all the dirt of accumulated and unrepented sins, by devout confession, for the coming of the Christ into our midst. we must deck out the cot of our hearts, to welcome Him, the baby who longs to reside within us, but who can only come and share our lives, join the family of our body and soul, if we have fully prepared for His birth.
People often say that the commercial side of Christmas is a distraction to a truly Christian approach to the real meaning of this great festival. This can be so, but only if we give in and allow it. In a strange, but really positive way, we can use all the present-buying and food-preparation to our own spiritual advantage. Let us think of it just like preparing for the arrival of a new baby in the family: when you are in the toy shop, or the department store, or working in the kitchen, remember who the baby is, and all these activities become an invitation to prayer, to meditation on the mystery of God's love for us. If you join your colleagues and friends for parties, remember that this is not the real party, but a preparation, and discretely maintain your abstinence. After all, what parents or family would open the champagne or eat the christening cake before the Baby is born?
If you have children, use this time to teach them in a practical way: do not put up the decorations until Christmas eve, and make sure the crib is set up, in the centre of your home, at least a week before, without the Holy Family, so that everyone can see that Jesus has not yet been born.
When at last Christmas comes, the day of great Joy, some people will say to you, "thank goodness it’s all over"; but you will smile to yourself, because you know that it has only just begun, and in your heart you feel the warm glow of a new born Baby.
ADVENT CAROL SINGING IN AID OF SAINT JOHN'S HOSPICE
Members of the Grand Priory and friends will be carol-singing in the environs of St John's Wood on the afternoon of Sunday 13th December. Last year a group of six singing for just under two hours managed to raise almost £400 for Saint John’s Hospice, and with increased numbers this year we hope to build on this.
The afternoon will be great fun and the quality of singing is not the most important thing; rather the numbers who are able to swell the overall sound. It is a relaxed and jolly affair and will start from Fortescue House, 58 Grove End Road, (beside the Hospital main entrance) at around 2.30pm finishing in time for (restorative!) tea with crumpets and mince pies at around 4.00pm. Everyone is welcome; the only prerequisite is enthusiasm. Companions and members of the OMV are especially encouraged to come if they are able.
If you are able to come, it would help with catering if you replied to this post, giving numbers (not your name, of course), in the combox below.
Please note: this is in addition to the Carol Service (see here) on the 15th, to which you are also very warmly encouraged!
SATURDAY 28TH NOVEMBER
As
part of the monthly Grand Priory Day of Recollection, Sung Mass of Our
Lady's Saturday will be celebrated in the Church at 12 noon.
This is a very good preparation for the season of Advent, which begins the following day.
PURGATORY - A MEDITATION
We are very grateful to Fr John Hemer MHM for providing the following meditation on Purgatory, based upon the homily he preached in the Conventual Church on All Soul's Day. Fr Hemer is a scripture scholar, and formation adviser at Allen Hall, the diocesan seminary.
All Souls
Purgatory and prayer for the
dead is one of those areas which sharply divide Catholics from many other
Christians. Why is this? It’s to do first of all with the different
understanding that Catholics and some of the churches of the Reformation have
regarding what exactly salvation means. In classic Lutheran theology, when a
person stands before God for judgement, Christ (in Luther’s words) “wraps the
cloak of his virtues around the sinner”. So when God looks at you or me on
judgement day what he sees is not the sinner that I am, but the virtues of
Christ which are then imputed to me. God declares me to be ‘just’ and that’s
salvation. This means that I remain the same lousy sinner, but God pronounces
another verdict on me. Luther described the Christian before God as a “dung
heap covered with snow”
Catholic theology is rather
more positive about the way God deals with the human condition. When the priest
mixes the wine with a little water at Mass he says this prayer: “By the mystery
of this water and wine may we come to share in the divinity of Christ who
humbled himself to share in our humanity” That’s an amazing claim. As Catholics
we claim that we become like God; that our share in the life of God grows to
fullness. (The Orthodox churches of the East are much stronger and clearer on
this than we often are. They say that the point of Christian life is
‘divinisation’) Bear in mind that on the first page of genesis the Bible tells
us that we are made in the image and likeness of God. That image is tarnished
and obscured through sin so God makes sure that when we join him finally and
for ever, we bear that image fully.
This process of being made
like Christ begins at Baptism, and many of us, most of us, die before it is
complete. It must somehow be completed since that is God’s original intention
for us. So after death there is still room for God to purify us, complete us,
make us fully the people he wants us to be. That’s what we call Purgatory, it
is the finishing off of that process.
You may ask: “why can’t God
just forgive, wipe the slate clean? In the story of the Prodigal Son, the father
just runs and forgives the boy, end of story. But it’s not the end of the story.
Jesus deliberately doesn’t tell us how it all ends. The Father’s loving
embrace, one of Jesus’ most powerful images of God, is only the beginning of a
story When the father embraced him the son knew he was loved, forgiven welcome,
but it would take time maybe years for him to feel fully at home and allow that
love to turn him into someone who would never feel the need to leave home
again. He still had to repair his relationship with his older brother (and the
brother had plenty of room for improvement too.) So although the father’s
forgiveness is immediate and unconditional, it was the beginning of a process
of healing and reconciling which could perhaps be quite lengthy.
The same is true with the woman
who had a bad reputation in the town who wipes Jesus’ feet in Luke 7. She is
forgiven, there and then, but her many sins will have done all sorts of damage
to her character and self-esteem. Although she knows that she’s fully accepted
by God, it may take many years to repair the damage her dissolute life has
done.
So when we are forgiven of our
sins we are truly forgiven. I once heard a priest say: “After confession your
sins are buried at the bottom of the sea, and God puts a sign there saying ‘No
Fishing’”. That’s true but we know how sin damages all sorts of things and even
after forgiveness, complete forgiveness, we may have to work quite hard to
repair that damage.
In classic Lutheran theology the
accused man walks out of court acquitted, with a verdict of innocent recorded
against his name, but he’s still the same lousy no-good. In Catholic theology God
is not content just to acquit him, but he wants to turn him turns him into
someone truly good and loveable and beautiful, the person he intended him to be
in the first place.
Most of us I suppose would be
happy for God to just let us off the hook, but his purpose is much bigger, he
wants us to become holy – like him. We would settle for mere acquittal, but God
will settle for nothing less than our full transformation and the Catholic
Church will settle for nothing less than insisting on God’s purpose being
realised in all its fullness.
Chapter 6 of St. John’s Gospel
gives us the sense that by continually partaking in Eucharist we become like
Christ, we draw his life. As St. Augustine says we become what we eat. We offer
Mass for the dead because they took part in Eucharist here and that began the
process of transformation into Christ. In another way the Eucharist offered for
them continues to help them in that growth and transformation.
I’m not much of a craftsman or
an artist. If I have to make something with my hands I settle for the easiest
solution, usually involving nails or glue and probably quite a lot of grunting
and shouting. A craftsman won’t do that. He’ll take his time and make something
both functional and beautiful. God is just such a master craftsman, he wants only
the best for his children. He intended us to be like him and he isn’t content
until that is fully realised. Purgatory is the place where the last stages of
that process take place.
An unfortunate trend has grown
in some places whereby a funeral Mass is called a “Memorial Service for Joe
Bloggs” or sometimes even “A Celebration of the Life of Joe Bloggs” It’s
important to realise that a Requiem Mass is nothing of the sort. It is like
every Mass, a celebration of the life, death and resurrection of Christ. If you
want, it’s a memorial service, but it is Christ who is remembered and made
present, not the dead person. And in doing that, Joe Bloggs has the chance of
salvation, of eternal happiness. Yes we do give thanks for his life, but we do
that in union with Christ. The Mass is first and foremost about Christ, not the
person who’s being buried.
A memorial service is
something people do when they don’t believe they can do anything to help the
dead person. My father was not a Catholic and when he died the local Vicar came
to pay his respects, and I must say was very gracious and charming. We’d
brought Dad’s body back home, and the Vicar went and looked in the coffin for a
moment but said no prayer. As an evangelical I suppose he didn’t believe in
praying for the dead. But I remember thinking to myself that if as a priest all
I had to offer bereaved people was sympathy I’d be very badly off indeed. Sadly
for many people the best they can do for their dead loved ones is keep their
memory alive. That’s well and good and necessary but it’s for the benefit of
the living. It does the dead no good. As Catholics we can help actually them, with
our prayers. In fact the only thing we can do which helps the dead is praying
for them. That’s why the Catholic Church does it incessantly every day hundreds
of thousands of times, at every single Mass.
Often people die and we have
unfinished business with them. All too often we see the tragedy of someone
dying with broken relationships before they or their estranged loved ones had
chance to do anything to mend the rift. People feel particularly powerless and
feel the loss very acutely when that happens. Praying for the dead means that
even in that dreadful situation we are not powerless, we can do something.
Someone once said that the Church
is the only organisation that doesn’t loose members through death. We believe
in the communion of saints. We here on earth, the Church Militant, the souls in
purgatory, the Church Suffering and the saints in heaven, the Church Triumphant
are all in this together. The saints can help us, and we can help those who
have finished one phase of their journey towards union with God, but haven’t
quite made it to the end.
8th DECEMBER - SOLEMNITY OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION
This most important Feast of the Church will be marked in the Conventual Church with a Sung Mass at 6.30 pm, at which the music will be provided by the choir 'Cantores Missae'.
The music for Mass will be:
Missa Trahe me post te Victoria
Tota pulchra es Palestrina
Sacerdotes Domini Palestrina
Alma redemptoris mater Palestrina
Later in the evening, at 9 pm, the solemn Alma Remptoris Mater will be followed by Tallis's Videte Miraculum, sung by the choir 'Schola Baptista', in honour of Our Blessed and Immaculate Mother.
Videte miraculum matris Domini: concepit virgo virilis ignara consortii,
stans onerata nobili onere Maria; et matrem se laetam cognosci, quae se
nescit uxorem. Haec speciosum forma prae filiis hominum castis concepit
visceribus, et benedicta in aeternum Deum nobis protulit et hominem.
Behold the miracle of the mother of the Lord; a virgin has conceived though she knows not a man,
Mary, who stands laden with her noble Burden; knowing not that she is a wife, she rejoices to be a mother.
She has conceived in her chaste womb one Who is beautiful beyond the sons of men,
and blessed for ever, she has brought forth God and man for us.
The painting shows Saint Francis and Blessed John Duns Scotus venerating Our Lady's Immaculate Conception. Duns Scotus preached this Dogma in England in the 13th Century, nearly two centuries before the Feast was established universally in the Church by Pope Sixtus IV, when this was truly a Catholic country.
Dos tua, Virgo Pia, hæc est.
The music for Mass will be:
Missa Trahe me post te Victoria
Tota pulchra es Palestrina
Sacerdotes Domini Palestrina
Alma redemptoris mater Palestrina
Later in the evening, at 9 pm, the solemn Alma Remptoris Mater will be followed by Tallis's Videte Miraculum, sung by the choir 'Schola Baptista', in honour of Our Blessed and Immaculate Mother.
Videte miraculum matris Domini: concepit virgo virilis ignara consortii,
stans onerata nobili onere Maria; et matrem se laetam cognosci, quae se
nescit uxorem. Haec speciosum forma prae filiis hominum castis concepit
visceribus, et benedicta in aeternum Deum nobis protulit et hominem.
Behold the miracle of the mother of the Lord; a virgin has conceived though she knows not a man,
Mary, who stands laden with her noble Burden; knowing not that she is a wife, she rejoices to be a mother.
She has conceived in her chaste womb one Who is beautiful beyond the sons of men,
and blessed for ever, she has brought forth God and man for us.
Dos tua, Virgo Pia, hæc est.
ADVENT CAROL SERVICE IN AID OF THE HOSPICE
You are warmly invited to attend
A SERVICE OF ADVENT LESSONS AND CAROLS
in the Conventual Church of Saint John of Jerusalem,
at 6.30 p.m. on Tuesday 15th December, 2009
The renowned choir ‘Cantores Missae’, under the direction of Charles Finch, will sing carols and motets.
There will be a retiring collection for the
much-needed support of
Saint John’s Hospice.
Following the service, all are warmly welcome to join members of the Order for mulled wine and mince pies in Fortescue House, adjacent to the Hospital.
ASSISTED SUICIDE - URGENT APPEAL BY THE BISHOPS FOR YOUR HELP
The Bishops of England and Wales have asked us all to write in response to the Consultation Document issued by the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Visit the Bishops Conference webpage HERE for more information about why this is so important, or read the Diocese of Westminster commentary HERE.
You might wish to listen to Archbishop Peter Smith explaining the gravity of the situation:
from Catholic Church (England/Wales) on Vimeo.
As the Bishops' website is rather complicated, you can more easily download the form HERE.
The questionnaire begins on page 7. The answers are 'yes' or 'no' from drop-down menus, the Bishops offer advice on how to reply.
When you have filled it in, either email it to:
assistedsuicide.consultation@cps.gsi.gov.uk
or post it to:
Assisted Suicide Policy Team
Crown Prosecution Service Headquarters - 6th floor
50 Ludgate Hill
London
EC4M 7EX
Visit the Bishops Conference webpage HERE for more information about why this is so important, or read the Diocese of Westminster commentary HERE.
You might wish to listen to Archbishop Peter Smith explaining the gravity of the situation:
from Catholic Church (England/Wales) on Vimeo.
As the Bishops' website is rather complicated, you can more easily download the form HERE.
The questionnaire begins on page 7. The answers are 'yes' or 'no' from drop-down menus, the Bishops offer advice on how to reply.
When you have filled it in, either email it to:
assistedsuicide.consultation@cps.gsi.gov.uk
or post it to:
Assisted Suicide Policy Team
Crown Prosecution Service Headquarters - 6th floor
50 Ludgate Hill
London
EC4M 7EX
Responses must be received by 16th December.
PLEASE ACT, DO NOT IGNORE THIS APPEAL. THIS LEGISLATION THREATENS THE LIVES AND DIGNITY OF EVERY PERSON IN THIS COUNTRY.
Our Lady, help of Christians, pray for us.
1st NOVEMBER - ALL SAINTS DAY.
It was a great joy on this Feast of the Church, that the Mass, in the presence of the Grand Prior with a congregation of over 80 faithful, was celebrated by Fr Dominic Robinson, SJ, to whom we are most grateful for all the support and assistance he has given us over the past months.
On All Souls Day, November 2nd, a Requiem Mass was sung by Fr John Hemer MHM, to whom we also extend our profound gratitude.
OCTOBER 10th. ROSARY CRUSADE OF REPARATION
The Annual Rosary Crusade procession in honour of the Immaculate Heart of Mary this year was attended not only by several member of the Order, as has become customary in recent years, but also by a group of the Companions and Faithful of the Conventual Church, including our youngest altar server, who walked with one of the Order's Lourdes banners.
The weather was fine and, as usual, the Holy Rosary was recited all along the route from the Cathedral to the Oratory, and hymns sung as we passed through the crowd of shoppers on the busy streets of Belgravia and Knightsbridge.
The Crusade was well attended by over 2,000 people, in spite of the Cathedral also being packed for a Day with Mary. Benediction at the Brompton Oratory was celebrated by Mgr. Emmanuel-Marie de St Jean, Abbot of Sainte-Marie de Lagrasse. The sermon was preached by Fr. Nicholas Schofield of this Diocese.
May Our Lady shower blessings upon our Country and upon the Church.
The Crusade was well attended by over 2,000 people, in spite of the Cathedral also being packed for a Day with Mary. Benediction at the Brompton Oratory was celebrated by Mgr. Emmanuel-Marie de St Jean, Abbot of Sainte-Marie de Lagrasse. The sermon was preached by Fr. Nicholas Schofield of this Diocese.
May Our Lady shower blessings upon our Country and upon the Church.
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