THE CLOCKS GO BACK TONIGHT!
Saturday 30 October 2010
Thursday 28 October 2010
Evangelium: Sharing the riches of our Catholic Faith
Whatever we think about the current state of play in the Church of England, we all need to discern the direction in which Christ is calling us. Part of that is a rediscovery of who and what we are, both as a church community and as individuals. We need, in that sense, to ask again what it is that we need to be faithful Christians and to ensure that these fundamental elements are available to us.
So... here at St John's we will be studying our Christian faith afresh and challenging ourselves to ask that question, and find an answer.
We will be doing that through Evangelium, a course which is designed to teach the Catholic Faith through sacred art, and well-presented and user-friendly Powerpoint presentations. We will be running the course on Wednesday evenings from November at 7.30 p.m. in church, just after the 7.00 p.m. Mass. All are welcome to join us!
More details available after Mass on Sunday.
Tuesday 26 October 2010
Fr David Elliott: Choosing an honourable path
Fr David Elliott, of the Most Holy Trinity, Reading, writes these words on his blog:
Followers of this blog may wonder why the posts have been fewer in recent weeks. For the first part of October I was away on holiday/retreat in Italy enjoying a much needed recharge of batteries. On return we had the joys of the Forward in Faith National Assembly. I have as a consequence spent much of this month pondering the future. My own future, the future of the parish I serve, and the future of others in the 'catholic wing' of the Church of England.
I have been much struck in the past year by the number of people from around the world who have assured me personally and the parish of HTR of their prayers. This was magnified by my recent trip to Italy. Many of the nuns I met in various bookshops and other outlets indicated their fervent prayers for us. A Roman Catholic seminary I visited not only showed hospitality beyond expectation but assured their prayers for us and for the success of the ordinariate. In contrast I have hardly received any such messages from the Church of England. These and other issues give a great deal to ponder. Below I offer some thoughts under three brief headings.
CAN THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND BE CATHOLIC?
Many of us who have not only considered ourselves catholic but who have considered the Church of England to be part of the Church catholic find ourselves in a peculiar position. Our Oxford Movement forebears were able to claim that the Church of England was catholic. Indeed many were angry at the the re-establishment of the Catholic hierarchy in Britain precisely because it cast a shadow on that which they were claiming. As the Roman Catholic Church has re-established itself in these islands we have continued to make claims that the Church of England is catholic. But something has changed. One of the most poignant parts of the recent Forward in Faith conference was the valedictory speech of Dr Geoffrey Kirk who for two and half decades has done more than anyone else to promote the catholic argument within the Church of England. One of the conclusions he has come to realise, and with which I concur, is that the Church of England has taken the decisions it has about women priests and now bishops while we have deluded ourselves about the bogus doctrine of reception as a lifeline for us. We may call ourselves catholic, but when the church to which you belong has no regard for doctrine or the sacraments one must realise that you can't have a catholic PART of the Church. Either a church is Catholic or it is not.
The distinction between our us and our Oxford Movement forebears is that they were kicking up a stink to remind the Church of England that it IS catholic. We are kicking up a stink to tell the Church of England that it is NOT catholic. If we want to be catholic and we are saying that the church to which we blong is not, what's the point in trying to get a haven for ourselves within a church we believe is un-catholic?
CATHOLIC GROUP IN SYNOD
Much has been made in recent days privately and in the press about the catholic group in synod. William Oddie has written an excellent piece on the Catholic Herald Website. I note also however that the chairman of this group unwisely wrote a letter in last Friday's Catholic Herald to express his deep regret that Bishop John Broadhurst had signalled his intention to resign. Bishop Broadhurst's reasons will run deep. He has invested a large part of his life to fighting a cause for catholicism within the Church of England. His reasons for now leaving must run along the lines of that which I have written above. But it is important for Canon Killwick and others in the General Synod of a catholic persuasion to note that just as Bishop John has made a monumental decision, their decision to 'stay and fight' is no less monumental. And just as Bishop John will have to justify his reasons so will they. I believe that the decision of most of those who wish to fight on derives from an honourable position to see the business through. Many of them have themselves invested great time and energies to the process thus far and are keen to ensure they look after those who are unlikely ever to leave the Church of England. What is so very difficult however is to see how this can be done in an honourable way.
Another speech at FiF was from Preb. David Houlding, the former head of the catholic group in Synod. He forwarded two contradictory arguments. He argued quite rightly that once you had women priests you have to have women bishops because otherwise you are discriminating on the grounds of gender, but what was needed was generous provision for those who object. With another breath he said (and has since been confirmed in the press) that they think they have a 'blocking vote' in the house of laity with a combination of the Traditional catholic and Conservative Evangelical votes. In other words, there have to be women bishops, but unless we get what we want we'll stamp our feet and block it. Aside from whether this would be an honourable course, it would almost certainly lead to the annihilation of any residual goodwill on the part of those who may be sympathetic to catholics.
No less serious in my mind is this extraordinary alliance with the Conservative Evangelicals. Are we to understand that those with whom on other issues we disagree almost entirely are to be the catholics' bedfellows on women bishops? Is the trade off that lay presidency at the Eucharist is OK (we all know it already happens unofficially). Are catholics to lay down every other principle in order to block a piece of legislation to be passed by an organisation which we already know to be un-catholic? I believe that even were this chain of events to transpire (which would require nobody dying or changing their mind as happened in the early 90s) history would judge those involved as dishonourable. The evangelical dimension is however interesting in another aspect of this current debate:
THE SOCIETY MODEL
The Society model as promoted by some 'catholic' bishops has been widely ridiculed not least by Damian Thompson on his excellent 'Holy Smoke' blog. Unlike the previous section I am less concerned here with the 'honourable path' as the 'catholic path'. The Missionary Society of S. Wilfred and S. Hilda is after all intended (as far as one can tell, though it is very difficult to tell anything about it other than it exists - and the jury is even out on that) for catholics who want to remain (either for all time, or just for a while till they are ready to leave or something like that, maybe) in the Church of England. It strikes me that they have a number of options open to them which they may wish to pursue (possibly all of them over time). The question I have for each of these options is: is it catholic?
1) The society model may wish to work with the catholic group on synod to get 'the best possible deal' for those who wish to remain in the Church of England. Aside from my concerns expressed above about being a catholic 'bit' of the Church of England there is a more fundamental question. If some deal is hammered out with the help of Evangelicals and having held the Church of England to ransom, which bishops will sit in a House of Bishops or College of Bishops with one woman on it? It cannot be catholic to do this and turn a blind eye, nor can it be acceptable to say I believe those 99 men are bishops but don't believe that woman is. At this point we enter again into the realm of gender discrimination and the ecclesiological gymnastics involved are simply NOT CATHOLIC.
2) Perhaps there is a will to break away and form some sort of continuing church as we have seen elsewhere in the Anglican Communion. Catholic societies have quite rightly always objected to continuing Anglican churches on the understanding that they are a further fracture and wound in the body of Christ which is the Church. The argument promoted through the history of Anglo-catholicism is that the Church of England is a wound we wish to heal. To break away from the break away is a move away from unity, not a move towards it. It must therefore as an option be NOT CATHOLIC.
3) Perhaps therefore the Socety may wish to become disobedient if they don't get their own way. The great problem ARCIC found throughout the history of negotiations is that the Anglican Churches have a problem with Authority (hence 3 reports on it so far as opposed to 1 on any other issue). Authority is necessary for catholicism - disobedience is NOT CATHOLIC. The argument might be forwarded... what about all those disobedient Victorian catholics sent to prison by their bishops for being disobedient. There is a difference inasmuch as they were disobedient to remind their bishops that they 'were' catholic, whereas this society if it were disobedient would be doing so to tell its bishops that they were not being proper catholics. Well if the Church authorities are not catholic, then neither are the people under them. You cannot have a catholic 'bit' of a church.
4) Perhaps the society sees itself along the lines of the societies and personal prelatures in the Roman Catholic Church. There is a significant difference in that a society in the RC Church is in full communion with that Church. The society model in the RC Church is not an 'alternative to' but an 'as well as'. The latter is catholic, the former is NOT CATHOLIC.
So... is there a future for the Society model. In short, yes. The Society model is a perfect model for disgruntled evangelicals. They too have set up a society (I think it is going to be named after S. Augustine (of Canterbury I guess, not of Hippo)) and for them this is an ideal model. They have very different scruples about what is a church and the society model will work perfectly well for them. They also have the advantage in this situation of not being against women priests but only against women in authority (an incumbent or a bishop) which would make the society model ideal for them precisely because they are NOT CATHOLIC.
Followers of this blog may wonder why the posts have been fewer in recent weeks. For the first part of October I was away on holiday/retreat in Italy enjoying a much needed recharge of batteries. On return we had the joys of the Forward in Faith National Assembly. I have as a consequence spent much of this month pondering the future. My own future, the future of the parish I serve, and the future of others in the 'catholic wing' of the Church of England.
I have been much struck in the past year by the number of people from around the world who have assured me personally and the parish of HTR of their prayers. This was magnified by my recent trip to Italy. Many of the nuns I met in various bookshops and other outlets indicated their fervent prayers for us. A Roman Catholic seminary I visited not only showed hospitality beyond expectation but assured their prayers for us and for the success of the ordinariate. In contrast I have hardly received any such messages from the Church of England. These and other issues give a great deal to ponder. Below I offer some thoughts under three brief headings.
CAN THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND BE CATHOLIC?
Many of us who have not only considered ourselves catholic but who have considered the Church of England to be part of the Church catholic find ourselves in a peculiar position. Our Oxford Movement forebears were able to claim that the Church of England was catholic. Indeed many were angry at the the re-establishment of the Catholic hierarchy in Britain precisely because it cast a shadow on that which they were claiming. As the Roman Catholic Church has re-established itself in these islands we have continued to make claims that the Church of England is catholic. But something has changed. One of the most poignant parts of the recent Forward in Faith conference was the valedictory speech of Dr Geoffrey Kirk who for two and half decades has done more than anyone else to promote the catholic argument within the Church of England. One of the conclusions he has come to realise, and with which I concur, is that the Church of England has taken the decisions it has about women priests and now bishops while we have deluded ourselves about the bogus doctrine of reception as a lifeline for us. We may call ourselves catholic, but when the church to which you belong has no regard for doctrine or the sacraments one must realise that you can't have a catholic PART of the Church. Either a church is Catholic or it is not.
The distinction between our us and our Oxford Movement forebears is that they were kicking up a stink to remind the Church of England that it IS catholic. We are kicking up a stink to tell the Church of England that it is NOT catholic. If we want to be catholic and we are saying that the church to which we blong is not, what's the point in trying to get a haven for ourselves within a church we believe is un-catholic?
CATHOLIC GROUP IN SYNOD
Much has been made in recent days privately and in the press about the catholic group in synod. William Oddie has written an excellent piece on the Catholic Herald Website. I note also however that the chairman of this group unwisely wrote a letter in last Friday's Catholic Herald to express his deep regret that Bishop John Broadhurst had signalled his intention to resign. Bishop Broadhurst's reasons will run deep. He has invested a large part of his life to fighting a cause for catholicism within the Church of England. His reasons for now leaving must run along the lines of that which I have written above. But it is important for Canon Killwick and others in the General Synod of a catholic persuasion to note that just as Bishop John has made a monumental decision, their decision to 'stay and fight' is no less monumental. And just as Bishop John will have to justify his reasons so will they. I believe that the decision of most of those who wish to fight on derives from an honourable position to see the business through. Many of them have themselves invested great time and energies to the process thus far and are keen to ensure they look after those who are unlikely ever to leave the Church of England. What is so very difficult however is to see how this can be done in an honourable way.
Another speech at FiF was from Preb. David Houlding, the former head of the catholic group in Synod. He forwarded two contradictory arguments. He argued quite rightly that once you had women priests you have to have women bishops because otherwise you are discriminating on the grounds of gender, but what was needed was generous provision for those who object. With another breath he said (and has since been confirmed in the press) that they think they have a 'blocking vote' in the house of laity with a combination of the Traditional catholic and Conservative Evangelical votes. In other words, there have to be women bishops, but unless we get what we want we'll stamp our feet and block it. Aside from whether this would be an honourable course, it would almost certainly lead to the annihilation of any residual goodwill on the part of those who may be sympathetic to catholics.
No less serious in my mind is this extraordinary alliance with the Conservative Evangelicals. Are we to understand that those with whom on other issues we disagree almost entirely are to be the catholics' bedfellows on women bishops? Is the trade off that lay presidency at the Eucharist is OK (we all know it already happens unofficially). Are catholics to lay down every other principle in order to block a piece of legislation to be passed by an organisation which we already know to be un-catholic? I believe that even were this chain of events to transpire (which would require nobody dying or changing their mind as happened in the early 90s) history would judge those involved as dishonourable. The evangelical dimension is however interesting in another aspect of this current debate:
THE SOCIETY MODEL
The Society model as promoted by some 'catholic' bishops has been widely ridiculed not least by Damian Thompson on his excellent 'Holy Smoke' blog. Unlike the previous section I am less concerned here with the 'honourable path' as the 'catholic path'. The Missionary Society of S. Wilfred and S. Hilda is after all intended (as far as one can tell, though it is very difficult to tell anything about it other than it exists - and the jury is even out on that) for catholics who want to remain (either for all time, or just for a while till they are ready to leave or something like that, maybe) in the Church of England. It strikes me that they have a number of options open to them which they may wish to pursue (possibly all of them over time). The question I have for each of these options is: is it catholic?
1) The society model may wish to work with the catholic group on synod to get 'the best possible deal' for those who wish to remain in the Church of England. Aside from my concerns expressed above about being a catholic 'bit' of the Church of England there is a more fundamental question. If some deal is hammered out with the help of Evangelicals and having held the Church of England to ransom, which bishops will sit in a House of Bishops or College of Bishops with one woman on it? It cannot be catholic to do this and turn a blind eye, nor can it be acceptable to say I believe those 99 men are bishops but don't believe that woman is. At this point we enter again into the realm of gender discrimination and the ecclesiological gymnastics involved are simply NOT CATHOLIC.
2) Perhaps there is a will to break away and form some sort of continuing church as we have seen elsewhere in the Anglican Communion. Catholic societies have quite rightly always objected to continuing Anglican churches on the understanding that they are a further fracture and wound in the body of Christ which is the Church. The argument promoted through the history of Anglo-catholicism is that the Church of England is a wound we wish to heal. To break away from the break away is a move away from unity, not a move towards it. It must therefore as an option be NOT CATHOLIC.
3) Perhaps therefore the Socety may wish to become disobedient if they don't get their own way. The great problem ARCIC found throughout the history of negotiations is that the Anglican Churches have a problem with Authority (hence 3 reports on it so far as opposed to 1 on any other issue). Authority is necessary for catholicism - disobedience is NOT CATHOLIC. The argument might be forwarded... what about all those disobedient Victorian catholics sent to prison by their bishops for being disobedient. There is a difference inasmuch as they were disobedient to remind their bishops that they 'were' catholic, whereas this society if it were disobedient would be doing so to tell its bishops that they were not being proper catholics. Well if the Church authorities are not catholic, then neither are the people under them. You cannot have a catholic 'bit' of a church.
4) Perhaps the society sees itself along the lines of the societies and personal prelatures in the Roman Catholic Church. There is a significant difference in that a society in the RC Church is in full communion with that Church. The society model in the RC Church is not an 'alternative to' but an 'as well as'. The latter is catholic, the former is NOT CATHOLIC.
So... is there a future for the Society model. In short, yes. The Society model is a perfect model for disgruntled evangelicals. They too have set up a society (I think it is going to be named after S. Augustine (of Canterbury I guess, not of Hippo)) and for them this is an ideal model. They have very different scruples about what is a church and the society model will work perfectly well for them. They also have the advantage in this situation of not being against women priests but only against women in authority (an incumbent or a bishop) which would make the society model ideal for them precisely because they are NOT CATHOLIC.
Welcome Theo Benedict!
Many congratulations to Laura, Andrew and Edward Taylor on their new son/brother Theo Benedict who arrived safely at 3.26 p.m. yesterday (8lb 2oz)! Congratulations from all of us here at St John's - and well done for choosing such wonderful names!
Sunday 24 October 2010
+John on BBC Radio 4 Sunday programme
Our bishop, John, was on this morning's Sunday with Ed Stourton, discussing his recent decision to leave the Church of England and to respond positively to Pope Benedict's generous offer of an Ordinariate, as soon as it is established. You can listen to the interview here, it comes at about 26 minutes 43 seconds.
Saturday 23 October 2010
William Oddie on the future for Anglo-Catholics
Readers of this blog may be interested in this article by Dr William Oddie, former editor of the Catholic Herald - and no, not the ornothologist, which debates the future of Anglo-Catholics. I found it very helpful. Dr Oddie is picture above with a certain former Vicar of the parish at the 125th anniversary of Pusey House, Oxford.
You may not have noticed it (I had hardly noticed it myself) but the C of E (having with deliberation decided not to make any “special provision” for those opposed to women bishops) is currently mounting a last-minute attempt to undermine the Ordinariate for Catholic Anglicans which is expected to be erected in the New Year. This scheme (which I have absolutely no doubt has the discreet backing of the Archbishop of Canterbury) would be laughable if there were not a real possibility that it might persuade some Catholic Anglicans who are seriously considering coming into communion with the Bishop of Rome to stay where they are. They should be warned: have nothing to do with this scheme. It seems to me to be dishonest, deceitful and both morally and intellectually bankrupt.Click here to read the rest of the article in full and do take time to read through the comments attached to it.
Thursday 21 October 2010
On Statements
And so the chairmen of Reform and the “Catholic” group in Synod have jointly issued two statements one on Monday 18 at 2.27pm and the other on Tuesday 19 at 9.00am.
The first statement tells us that the legislation of women to be admitted to the Anglican episcopate can be blocked in General Synod. The statement contains data of how this might be possible.
The second statement issued the following day is more assertive and declares that the legislation of women to be admitted to the Anglican episcopate will be blocked. This conclusion was arrived at after Reform and the “Catholic” group in Synod swapped lists of candidates. After giving some percentages of possible voting groups this joint statement moves on to say that the “Catholic” group have distanced themselves from the Bishop of Fulham and will remain in the CofE.
Isn’t the CofE lucky! It must be lucky indeed when declaring to remain in her are a group of people who try to threaten its legislative body that with one or two votes they will block something that the majority of that body, though wrongly, want to achieve. Is this what it has come to: “If you do not give me what I want I will block you on the strength of one or two votes”? Apart from the fact that the “Catholic” group in Synod never delivered, if this is what they are up to I want to publicly distance myself from this group.
I am also concerned about a possible merging philosophy in this group that the enemy of my enemy can be my partner. Strange bedfellows indeed. On the one hand, the “Catholic” group distanced themselves from bishop Broadhurst who celebrated the sacraments and ordained priests for their constituency whilst on the other they embed with those who do not believe in fundamentals like the Real Presence and the same sacraments. The mind boggles. Reform are not against the ordination of women, they do not believe the same things as Catholics do in sacramental theology. Reform are against the headship of women which is not necessarily Catholic doctrine. Reform are very strongly committed against people who are in active gay partnerships I wonder if the “Catholic” group shares the same views as Reform and the Catholic Church on this matter.
What really takes me back is the cold tone of these statements. The icy tone of glee as these new partners feel that they have some power to block any legislation. I ask my brothers and sisters in Reform and the “Catholic” group (I think for clarity it must now be renamed as the Society group in Synod) if they really understand the bitterness that the outcome they suggest will cause in the CofE. I think we need to respect the (mistaken) majority in the CofE who want women to be admitted into Anglican Holy Orders. The fact that General Synod has been disgraceful in not providing for some consciences does not give the right to anyone to threat or cause bitterness more then already exists. In this light the Ordinariate looks like the honourable and peaceable way to follow.
Wednesday 20 October 2010
Ordinariate Exploration in Sevenoaks
As mentioned on Sunday, and on this blog, we plan to have a time of prayerful reflection and consideration of - not to mention introduction to - the proposed Ordinariate. We can now confirm that this will be on Saturday 20 November from 10am to 1pm at St John the Baptist, Sevenoaks.
We are very fortunate to have Dr Geoffrey Kirk, Vicar of St Stephen's, Lewisham, and sometime Secretary of Forward in Faith, and Fr James Patrick, who has been serving at All Saints', Clifton, and who has also recently been appointed as a Circuit Judge, coming to speak to us.
With our bishop, John, making his intention to join the Ordinariate clear at the weekend, it is important that we consider and understnad what this is and how we respond to it. We will seek to address two main questions: "Where we are now." and "Where are we going?"
All are welcome.
We are very fortunate to have Dr Geoffrey Kirk, Vicar of St Stephen's, Lewisham, and sometime Secretary of Forward in Faith, and Fr James Patrick, who has been serving at All Saints', Clifton, and who has also recently been appointed as a Circuit Judge, coming to speak to us.
With our bishop, John, making his intention to join the Ordinariate clear at the weekend, it is important that we consider and understnad what this is and how we respond to it. We will seek to address two main questions: "Where we are now." and "Where are we going?"
All are welcome.
Tuesday 19 October 2010
Raise the song of harvest home!
This morning I had the wonderful opporutunity to address Walthamstow Hall Junior School as they celebrated their Harvest Festival. Mrs Austin, the Head of the Junior School, was very welcoming - it's clearly a lovely school with great staff and children. It was particularly good to hear such excellent singing! It'll be weeks until the Harvest Samba is out of my head!
Tomorrow sees Harvest Festival (Part the Second) at Walthamstow Hall Junior School, and I'm looking forward to seeing them all again.
Another sort of Harvest seems to be going on in the Church according to today's media. Fr Stephen Bould - a fellow member of the Bishop of Fulham's clergy, and Parish Priest of S. Peter's, Folkestone - is once more in the papers. His PCC have stood up to the Church of England authorities and asked to be allowed to join the Ordinariate once it is established. Fr Stephen and his people need much prayer at this time.
Some worthy articles can be found here:
As announced after Mass on Sunday, there will be a chance for us to hear about the Ordinariate at a meeting, one Saturday in November - further details to come shortly - with some visiting speakers to inform us about what is going on. In the meantime, as Fr Ivan reminds us, we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus.
Tomorrow sees Harvest Festival (Part the Second) at Walthamstow Hall Junior School, and I'm looking forward to seeing them all again.
Another sort of Harvest seems to be going on in the Church according to today's media. Fr Stephen Bould - a fellow member of the Bishop of Fulham's clergy, and Parish Priest of S. Peter's, Folkestone - is once more in the papers. His PCC have stood up to the Church of England authorities and asked to be allowed to join the Ordinariate once it is established. Fr Stephen and his people need much prayer at this time.
Some worthy articles can be found here:
- The Ordinariate has got Anglican and Catholic mediocrities seriously rattled.
- The cracks are now showing in the Church of England.
- Bishop of Fulham to take up Ordinariate.
- Kent parish makes first move towards Ordinariate.
- A new idea of the Ordinariate is emerging.
As announced after Mass on Sunday, there will be a chance for us to hear about the Ordinariate at a meeting, one Saturday in November - further details to come shortly - with some visiting speakers to inform us about what is going on. In the meantime, as Fr Ivan reminds us, we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus.
FiF National Assembly Sermon: Fr Geoffrey Kirk
Fr Geoffrey Kirk gave this excellent homily at the Solemn Mass at Christ the King, Gordon Square, on Saturday as part of the Forward in Faith National Assembly. An audio version can be heard here.
Of the many casualties in the culture wars of the last thirty years in the Church of England, the most significant and certainly the most tragic has been the sad demise of ecumenism. Such is the parochialism of English church life that the man and woman in the pew has even now not appreciated the enormity of what has happened. Its perpetrators, of course, have sought at every turn to minimize and deny it. But the truth is there for all to see. There have grown up new divisions within and between parishes, within and between dioceses, within and between Provinces of the Anglican Communion. And the hope of full visible unity with the ancient churches of East and West – once the Holy Grail of ecumenical endeavour – has receded into a future so distant that it cannot now be imagined.
We need to ask ourselves what has happened and why. Because, as events overtake us, even the unity of our own movement is at risk from internal dissension and antagonism. Two factors, it seems to me, have constituted the ecumenical disaster.
In the first place there was too much concentration on structures and institutions: top-down rather than bottom–up ecumenism, if you like. In those now distant, heady days, when it seemed that churches might come together in new and exciting ways, the emphasis was on negotiated settlements. The process produced theological documents of a sophistication and complexity way above the heads of most ordinary Christians. It was as though the ecumenists were crawling patiently across the pages of denominational history trying to unpack past disagreements. But what was really needed was the ecumenical equivalent of relationship counselling. Protestants and Catholics were suspicious of each other and separated from each other, not primarily because of theological disagreement, but as a result of an overarching mythological construct, which in this country at least, was rooted in the very sense of what it was to be English.
Tragically, while this archaeological ecumenism was still plodding on, it was overtaken by events. The issues were no longer those of the sixteenth century but of the European enlightenment. Equality, justice, human rights were the heady concerns of the day, and both as concepts, and in their practical out-workings, those notions divided Christians far more deeply than the religious divisions of the past. Cardinal Kasper told the Bishops of the Church of England that they must choose between the Protestant Reformation and the undivided Church of the first millennium. Dare I say that I think he got his analysis wrong? The choice for them – indeed for all if us – is not between different versions of the Christian past, but between Christianity itself and the post-Christian moralism which is seeking to replace it, which is equidistant from the religion both of the reformers and of the first millennium.
The second contributory factor to the demise of ecumenism was not unrelated. It was the growth of doctrinal indifferentism. Ordinary Christians came to think that the doctrines which had divided their forebears did not really matter that much. The problem, for them, was not individual dogmas, but dogmatism itself. They began to think that Truth – or more specifically the truth of theological propositions - simply did not matter.
This was partly a product of the ecumenical endeavour and partly something new. It stemmed from the ecumenical endeavour because there has always been a tendency among some ecumenists to attribute all disagreement to misunderstanding. If only each side could explain itself adequately to the other, both would discover that they’d been in agreement all the time! Such a view looks like optimism – everything, it says, can be sorted in the end. In fact, it turns out to be a species of cynicism. It can seem to deny that there could be mutually exclusive positions, and so to assert that all truth is relative. You have your truth, as the American Episcopalians say, and I have mine.
Relativism ultimately renders ecumenism itself irrelevant because it turns churches simply into clubs of those who like that sort of thing.
There will be a tendency in the months and years ahead – as ways forward from our present impasse in the Church of England become clearer – for members of Forward in Faith to be at each other’s throats. Atavistic anti-Romanism and accusations of cowardice and self-interest could tear us apart and make of us less than the faithful Christians we aspire to be. So it is as well now, overlooking the ruins of formal ecumenism, to ask ourselves: what is it that unites us? What is the source and cause of Christian fellowship?
In Paul’s phrase we are one ‘en Christo’, in Christ. And in all that happens to us and in all that we do, we must not loose sight, in the first place, of that foundational relationship. We are one in Christ because we are bought with his blood, chosen by him out of the world to be his witnesses, to be salt and light. To borrow one of Pope Benedict’s phrases, we are there to defend his truth in the public square. We are to be in the square, but not of it.
Granted all that, we need to ask ourselves: who is this Christ in whom we find both unity and salvation? The relativists will tell you that there are many Christs, perhaps as many as there are Christians. So we need to acknowledge who is the Christ who unites us. And I think we can be quite explicit. We are united by faith in the Jesus of the New Testament. By that I do not mean a ‘Jesus of History’, hand crafted by some diligent academic, using the scriptures in much the way in which archaeologists dig up a field, but the Jesus who speaks to us from the pages of the text. He is both a first century Galilean peasant and the eternal Son of the Almighty Father. He is both in history and beyond it. And in a radical sense, what he says goes for us.
And, as if we had any reason to doubt that magisterial identity, we find it reaffirmed for us in the teachings of the Fathers and the formularies of the Catholic Creeds. We can say with John Calvin: ‘we teach not an iota that we have not learned from the divine Oracles; and we assert nothing for which we cannot cite, as guarantors, the first teachers of the Church.’ And with Blessed John Henry Newman that we find in the teachings of the Fathers and of the undivided Church that ‘haven of rest’ from which we ‘look out upon the troubled surge of human opinion, and upon the crazy vessels which are labouring without chart or compass upon it.’
Brothers and sisters, it is much which unites us, beside which what may come to divide us is very little indeed. In these troubled times for Christian believing we may well find ourselves fighting from different trenches, and from different positions. But it will be the same battle, and for the same Lord.
Unity is ‘en Christo’: that is certain and it could not be otherwise. But there is more. It involves, not merely intellectual assent, though that is important. But affective commitment, and that is essential. To know Christ is to love him. It is to take him to the heart and to long for his presence and his company. Unity is not merely an act of the human will; it is an eschatological gift. It is consummated only in heaven, beyond judgement and with Him.
It is not sermons, but poetry which can best express that eschatological dimension of unity which we presently sense and will one day experience. Call me sentimental, but I like these words - Cistercian words undoubtedly, and I like to think that they were penned by St Bernard himself. Bernard, you will remember, was described by one chronicler as a great ‘lover of God and hater of the brethren’ – so in that respect he was not much unlike us. But his better nature compelled him to write Jesu, dulcis memoria.
Jesus the very thought of thee
with sweetness fills my breast
but sweeter far thy face to see
and in thy presence rest.
Jesu, our only joy be thou,
as thou our prize will be;
Jesus be thou our glory now,
and through eternity.men.
Of the many casualties in the culture wars of the last thirty years in the Church of England, the most significant and certainly the most tragic has been the sad demise of ecumenism. Such is the parochialism of English church life that the man and woman in the pew has even now not appreciated the enormity of what has happened. Its perpetrators, of course, have sought at every turn to minimize and deny it. But the truth is there for all to see. There have grown up new divisions within and between parishes, within and between dioceses, within and between Provinces of the Anglican Communion. And the hope of full visible unity with the ancient churches of East and West – once the Holy Grail of ecumenical endeavour – has receded into a future so distant that it cannot now be imagined.
We need to ask ourselves what has happened and why. Because, as events overtake us, even the unity of our own movement is at risk from internal dissension and antagonism. Two factors, it seems to me, have constituted the ecumenical disaster.
In the first place there was too much concentration on structures and institutions: top-down rather than bottom–up ecumenism, if you like. In those now distant, heady days, when it seemed that churches might come together in new and exciting ways, the emphasis was on negotiated settlements. The process produced theological documents of a sophistication and complexity way above the heads of most ordinary Christians. It was as though the ecumenists were crawling patiently across the pages of denominational history trying to unpack past disagreements. But what was really needed was the ecumenical equivalent of relationship counselling. Protestants and Catholics were suspicious of each other and separated from each other, not primarily because of theological disagreement, but as a result of an overarching mythological construct, which in this country at least, was rooted in the very sense of what it was to be English.
Tragically, while this archaeological ecumenism was still plodding on, it was overtaken by events. The issues were no longer those of the sixteenth century but of the European enlightenment. Equality, justice, human rights were the heady concerns of the day, and both as concepts, and in their practical out-workings, those notions divided Christians far more deeply than the religious divisions of the past. Cardinal Kasper told the Bishops of the Church of England that they must choose between the Protestant Reformation and the undivided Church of the first millennium. Dare I say that I think he got his analysis wrong? The choice for them – indeed for all if us – is not between different versions of the Christian past, but between Christianity itself and the post-Christian moralism which is seeking to replace it, which is equidistant from the religion both of the reformers and of the first millennium.
The second contributory factor to the demise of ecumenism was not unrelated. It was the growth of doctrinal indifferentism. Ordinary Christians came to think that the doctrines which had divided their forebears did not really matter that much. The problem, for them, was not individual dogmas, but dogmatism itself. They began to think that Truth – or more specifically the truth of theological propositions - simply did not matter.
This was partly a product of the ecumenical endeavour and partly something new. It stemmed from the ecumenical endeavour because there has always been a tendency among some ecumenists to attribute all disagreement to misunderstanding. If only each side could explain itself adequately to the other, both would discover that they’d been in agreement all the time! Such a view looks like optimism – everything, it says, can be sorted in the end. In fact, it turns out to be a species of cynicism. It can seem to deny that there could be mutually exclusive positions, and so to assert that all truth is relative. You have your truth, as the American Episcopalians say, and I have mine.
Relativism ultimately renders ecumenism itself irrelevant because it turns churches simply into clubs of those who like that sort of thing.
There will be a tendency in the months and years ahead – as ways forward from our present impasse in the Church of England become clearer – for members of Forward in Faith to be at each other’s throats. Atavistic anti-Romanism and accusations of cowardice and self-interest could tear us apart and make of us less than the faithful Christians we aspire to be. So it is as well now, overlooking the ruins of formal ecumenism, to ask ourselves: what is it that unites us? What is the source and cause of Christian fellowship?
In Paul’s phrase we are one ‘en Christo’, in Christ. And in all that happens to us and in all that we do, we must not loose sight, in the first place, of that foundational relationship. We are one in Christ because we are bought with his blood, chosen by him out of the world to be his witnesses, to be salt and light. To borrow one of Pope Benedict’s phrases, we are there to defend his truth in the public square. We are to be in the square, but not of it.
Granted all that, we need to ask ourselves: who is this Christ in whom we find both unity and salvation? The relativists will tell you that there are many Christs, perhaps as many as there are Christians. So we need to acknowledge who is the Christ who unites us. And I think we can be quite explicit. We are united by faith in the Jesus of the New Testament. By that I do not mean a ‘Jesus of History’, hand crafted by some diligent academic, using the scriptures in much the way in which archaeologists dig up a field, but the Jesus who speaks to us from the pages of the text. He is both a first century Galilean peasant and the eternal Son of the Almighty Father. He is both in history and beyond it. And in a radical sense, what he says goes for us.
And, as if we had any reason to doubt that magisterial identity, we find it reaffirmed for us in the teachings of the Fathers and the formularies of the Catholic Creeds. We can say with John Calvin: ‘we teach not an iota that we have not learned from the divine Oracles; and we assert nothing for which we cannot cite, as guarantors, the first teachers of the Church.’ And with Blessed John Henry Newman that we find in the teachings of the Fathers and of the undivided Church that ‘haven of rest’ from which we ‘look out upon the troubled surge of human opinion, and upon the crazy vessels which are labouring without chart or compass upon it.’
Brothers and sisters, it is much which unites us, beside which what may come to divide us is very little indeed. In these troubled times for Christian believing we may well find ourselves fighting from different trenches, and from different positions. But it will be the same battle, and for the same Lord.
Unity is ‘en Christo’: that is certain and it could not be otherwise. But there is more. It involves, not merely intellectual assent, though that is important. But affective commitment, and that is essential. To know Christ is to love him. It is to take him to the heart and to long for his presence and his company. Unity is not merely an act of the human will; it is an eschatological gift. It is consummated only in heaven, beyond judgement and with Him.
It is not sermons, but poetry which can best express that eschatological dimension of unity which we presently sense and will one day experience. Call me sentimental, but I like these words - Cistercian words undoubtedly, and I like to think that they were penned by St Bernard himself. Bernard, you will remember, was described by one chronicler as a great ‘lover of God and hater of the brethren’ – so in that respect he was not much unlike us. But his better nature compelled him to write Jesu, dulcis memoria.
Jesus the very thought of thee
with sweetness fills my breast
but sweeter far thy face to see
and in thy presence rest.
Jesu, our only joy be thou,
as thou our prize will be;
Jesus be thou our glory now,
and through eternity.men.
Monday 18 October 2010
Sharing the faith...
is always a great joy, today I was able to do it with different pupils from Sevenoaks Primary.
The morning was spent with sixty year 1 pupils in church. We looked at the church building and focused on baptism and marriage, with a pretend baptism and wedding.
This afternoon a session with Year 6 looking at the stories of Noah and Abraham.
What blessing it is to see the joy with which these pupils receive this teaching!
The morning was spent with sixty year 1 pupils in church. We looked at the church building and focused on baptism and marriage, with a pretend baptism and wedding.
This afternoon a session with Year 6 looking at the stories of Noah and Abraham.
What blessing it is to see the joy with which these pupils receive this teaching!
Will he find faith on earth?
Allegory of Faith by Moretto da Brescia (c.1530s)This homily was given on Sunday (XXIX per annum):
‘When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?’
This time last week, 33 men were trapped down a mineshaft in Chile. This week each of them was painstakingly lifted to safety to be reunited with their friends and families. After an astonishing length of time every single one of them has survived and is now recovering with nothing more than a few minor injuries.
In an interview following the rescue of the miners, a chaplain who had been involved with the pastoral care of the men said this:
Naturally the mainstream media have been somewhat sniffy about the role of God in the whole process. One certainly gets the sense that a good deal of Western, middle-class snobbery abounds in comments that couldn’t sound more patronizing if they tried. Any educated person from a proper country wouldn’t actually think that God could be involved – but isn’t it quaint?!
Well, dear friends, we know differently.
Christians believe that God is at work in each and every action, thought, word and deed. We believe that God is at the source and summit of every natural, supernatural and man-made act or event. We know this not through some sort of scientific experiment which produces a diagram to prove it but because we have been given the gift of Faith.
Faith is a twofold gift. It is, of course, a grace given by God so that we might more profoundly and deeply understand the unconditional love that the Father has for us, his children. But it is also an ‘obligation which flows from the first commandment of God’ to live in Charity (cf. CCC p. 879). This means that if we are to be people who profess our faith then we must be people who live by Faith.
It’s fairly obvious, I think you’ll agree, that a response to the gift of Faith is a fairly fundamental thing. If we have been given the ability to say ‘I believe’ with confidence, it makes sense for us to say ‘I believe’, just as the knowledge of God’s love for us forces us to thank him and to offer him worship: it’s the natural response.
The gift of Faith is given us at our baptism. But it is also at our baptism that we first receive the grace needed to respond to that gift.
In the sacraments—especially in baptism and the Eucharist—we are filled with the grace of God. At Confession, the absolution given through the priest renews that grace, just as at Ordination the grace of holy order is granted. Each of these sacramental actions portrays an outward and visible sign of an inward and invisible grace. These are actions of the Church.
Grace flows through the Church like a river, overflowing and spreading and flooding into every opening. Our communion with the Church ensures that grace is available to us and it is only through this that we are able to receive the gift of Faith and respond to it.
In other words: whilst our baptism is a guarantee of the gift of Faith, we need ongoing access to the sacraments—the ‘outlets’ of grace—in order to respond to it and to live out a full Christian life. We need the guarantee of the sacramental life of the Church to be Faith-full Christians.
What does this mean?
It means that we need an assurance that the sacraments we receive—the means of grace—are valid. This is what we call sacramental assurance. We need to know that when the priest says ‘The Body of Christ’, we can reply (in good conscience), ‘Amen’. That when the absolution is given in the confessional, we know that our sins are truly forgiven. That when the bishop lays hands on a candidate for holy orders, that the grace of God runs, unimpaired, into that man to 'consecrate him for his sacred duties'.
In the current mess in which the Church of England finds herself, it is vital that we continue to ask this question. Any compromise in the structure, the ecclesiology, the make-up of the Church is a compromise in the assurance that Christ communicates to us through the sacraments offered by it.
For us to know that we are receiving God’s grace in the sacraments of the Church is not a privilege or prize to be sought after, but an essential aspect of our faith as Christians.
Without the guarantee of the sacraments—without unimpaired access to the means of grace which flow through the Church—we cannot be truly people of Faith.
If our Faith is granted through the graces of sacramental actions, then it is through our participation in the sacraments that we must respond.
When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth? God willing, yes.
Will it be found amongst us as individuals and as a community? Let us continue to pray and work towards an unerring response by a faithful and determined resolution to seek out God’s grace and to cling to it as our life-blood and sustenance.
‘When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?’
This time last week, 33 men were trapped down a mineshaft in Chile. This week each of them was painstakingly lifted to safety to be reunited with their friends and families. After an astonishing length of time every single one of them has survived and is now recovering with nothing more than a few minor injuries.
In an interview following the rescue of the miners, a chaplain who had been involved with the pastoral care of the men said this:
“Many of the miners went down as atheists, unbelievers or semi-believers and they have come up to a man testifying that they were not 33 but that there were 34 down there - that Jesus was there with them and that they had a constant sense of his guidance and presence”.
Naturally the mainstream media have been somewhat sniffy about the role of God in the whole process. One certainly gets the sense that a good deal of Western, middle-class snobbery abounds in comments that couldn’t sound more patronizing if they tried. Any educated person from a proper country wouldn’t actually think that God could be involved – but isn’t it quaint?!
Well, dear friends, we know differently.
Christians believe that God is at work in each and every action, thought, word and deed. We believe that God is at the source and summit of every natural, supernatural and man-made act or event. We know this not through some sort of scientific experiment which produces a diagram to prove it but because we have been given the gift of Faith.
Faith is a twofold gift. It is, of course, a grace given by God so that we might more profoundly and deeply understand the unconditional love that the Father has for us, his children. But it is also an ‘obligation which flows from the first commandment of God’ to live in Charity (cf. CCC p. 879). This means that if we are to be people who profess our faith then we must be people who live by Faith.
It’s fairly obvious, I think you’ll agree, that a response to the gift of Faith is a fairly fundamental thing. If we have been given the ability to say ‘I believe’ with confidence, it makes sense for us to say ‘I believe’, just as the knowledge of God’s love for us forces us to thank him and to offer him worship: it’s the natural response.
The gift of Faith is given us at our baptism. But it is also at our baptism that we first receive the grace needed to respond to that gift.
In the sacraments—especially in baptism and the Eucharist—we are filled with the grace of God. At Confession, the absolution given through the priest renews that grace, just as at Ordination the grace of holy order is granted. Each of these sacramental actions portrays an outward and visible sign of an inward and invisible grace. These are actions of the Church.
Grace flows through the Church like a river, overflowing and spreading and flooding into every opening. Our communion with the Church ensures that grace is available to us and it is only through this that we are able to receive the gift of Faith and respond to it.
In other words: whilst our baptism is a guarantee of the gift of Faith, we need ongoing access to the sacraments—the ‘outlets’ of grace—in order to respond to it and to live out a full Christian life. We need the guarantee of the sacramental life of the Church to be Faith-full Christians.
What does this mean?
It means that we need an assurance that the sacraments we receive—the means of grace—are valid. This is what we call sacramental assurance. We need to know that when the priest says ‘The Body of Christ’, we can reply (in good conscience), ‘Amen’. That when the absolution is given in the confessional, we know that our sins are truly forgiven. That when the bishop lays hands on a candidate for holy orders, that the grace of God runs, unimpaired, into that man to 'consecrate him for his sacred duties'.
In the current mess in which the Church of England finds herself, it is vital that we continue to ask this question. Any compromise in the structure, the ecclesiology, the make-up of the Church is a compromise in the assurance that Christ communicates to us through the sacraments offered by it.
For us to know that we are receiving God’s grace in the sacraments of the Church is not a privilege or prize to be sought after, but an essential aspect of our faith as Christians.
Without the guarantee of the sacraments—without unimpaired access to the means of grace which flow through the Church—we cannot be truly people of Faith.
If our Faith is granted through the graces of sacramental actions, then it is through our participation in the sacraments that we must respond.
When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth? God willing, yes.
Will it be found amongst us as individuals and as a community? Let us continue to pray and work towards an unerring response by a faithful and determined resolution to seek out God’s grace and to cling to it as our life-blood and sustenance.
...and another Sunday
There is never a normal Sunday at St John’s. Yesterday we welcomed Fr Peter and his wife. Fr Peter is an ordinand of this Parish now retired in that wonderful Anglo-Catholic Parish of St Bede the Venerable in Blyth. It was great to have them both with us.
The homilist for the Mass was Fr James. He reflected on faith, our response to it and how faith is nourished through intimacy with the Lord which comes in the celebration of the Sacraments, and therefore the need of sacramental assurance. It was a fine homily; will he post it on this blog?
After the creed three new extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion received their blessing and administered the Precious Blood in the same Mass. Thank you Frances, Rob and John for your generosity.
We had a new family joining us yesterday, another family seeking baptism, Leighanne who will be married to Stephen here this week, an evangelical ordinand and his wife (DV he will make a fine priest) with well over a 120 attending the Sung Mass and a healthy number at the 8am – Laus Deo!
Obviously we spoke about the resignation of our excellent bishop and his intention of joining the Ordinariate. People are appalled about the way the CofE is behaving and are considering the best way in which they can remain faithful and loyal to the Catholic heritage in which their Church always stood. Watch this space!
Saturday 16 October 2010
FiF National Assembly - Day 2
The mass that opens the day is being celebrated by John our bishop at a packed Christ the King, Gordon Square. The preacher will be Fr Kirk and our own Fr James is deacon of the Mass.
More reactions to the resignation of Bishop John and his intention to join the Ordinariate
I hope to be able to comment myself on what I see is happening, but I need time to think about the events that are happening. I will shortly be on my way for the second day of the Forward in Faith UK National Assembly and will report as I will be able to. In the meantime, apart from the links of yesterday you might want to have a look at these:
Jeffrey Steel's blog
Damian Thompson (Telegraph)
Friday 15 October 2010
John our Bishop
Has just announced that he will resign by the end of the year and will join the Ordinariate as soon as it is established.
Wednesday 13 October 2010
Celebrating Harvest and transformation!
The school was not in a very good position; numbers were low and the future, for a very long time, uncertain. Just over a year ago Mrs Cooke and Mrs Quirke took up the challenge to take over the school. This was indeed great news; their vision was inspiring. They took over the school and worked hard persevering with their vision. In one academic year from a failing school it is now deemed to be good school with outstanding features! From a roll of 58 we have today a roll of 99; just one more to open the bubbly.
This is what happens when there is vision, when there is the courage to persevere in what is good and honourable. This is what Mrs Cooke and Mrs Quirke, their team and the Governors achieved, what an example!
So it was with sadness that as Chair of Governors I had to announce to parents the well deserved retirement of Mrs Cooke. We shall have the opportunity to thank her in due course, but many of us are in debt to her. Mrs Cooke feels it is time for her to move away from education, to which she dedicated her whole life; but she will never be far away from those many whose lives she has touched.
Saturday 9 October 2010
The first feast day of Blessed John Henry Newman
O God, who bestowed on the Priest Blessed John Henry Newman
the grace to follow your kindly light and find peace in your Church;
graciously grant that, through his intercession and example,
we may be led out of shadows and images
into the fullness of your truth.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ , your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.Amen.
Friday 8 October 2010
No room?
On the 5th October, the Church of England has announced (see here) the membership of the working group for preparation of a draft statutory code of practice regarding the innovation of admitting women to the Anglican episcopate. This group will advise the House of (CofE) Bishops on the statutory code of practice, yes that code of practice which will not do, not now or ever. It seems that the powers to be are not interested in what our constituency is saying and patronisingly are deciding what crumbs from the table they may offer, not as food to sustain but as crumbs that will prolong the misery of starvation.
I do not want to be tolerated by a code that my guess is will be honoured only for a very short time.
Anyway, for those who think that a Code of Practice might give them some security, yes they need to have their head examined, look at the composition of this team. Out of eight members only ONE from our constituency, is that representative? I believe not. I was encouraged to see that this last point is also the view of Prebendary David Houlding, you can see it here.
So if already at this time, when the goodwill of all is being sought, we are treated in this manner, what do you think it will look like when the legislation gets the Royal Assent?
Can we still be Anglican Catholics in the Church of England? Or should we be Anglican Catholics in full communion with the See of Peter, something which we have been praying for over a long period of time? Remember that this latter is granted us in the Apostolic Constitution “Anglicanorum Coetibus”. The more I think and pray about the Ordinariate the more I see what a grace and blessing it will be; and the more some people try to rubbish it the more I see and understand that good things are opposed, as the good Master himself has shown us.
What I know is that I am called to live my vocation in the freedom of the children of God, were my conscience and that of many others is, at the least, respected. I am called to live in integrity and that seems almost impossible to do where I am now.
Tomorrow is the first time ever that the feast day of Blessed John Henry Newman is kept. As Fr Hunwicke
Thursday 7 October 2010
New play area
Our school is thriving. It is such a happy and safe place where one can feel that there is serious learning happening.
The pupils are all smart and happy and they really love their school. Well done to all but especially to Mrs Quirke our inspirational Headteacher, she has really done miracles in one academic year! That says it all about people who have visions and are not afraid of working hard for what they believe in!
Our Lady of the Rosary
We wish now, venerable Brothers, to dwell for a moment on the renewal of the pious practice which has been called "the compendium of the entire Gospel": the Rosary. To this our predecessors have devoted close attention and care. On many occasions they have recommended its frequent recitation, encouraged its diffusion, explained its nature, recognized its suitability for fostering contemplative prayer-prayer of both praise and petition-and recalled its intrinsic effectiveness for promoting Christian life and apostolic commitment.
Thus, for instance, the Gospel inspiration of the Rosary has appeared more clearly: the Rosary draws from the Gospel the presentation of the mysteries and its main formulas. As it moves from the angel's joyful greeting and the Virgin's pious assent, the Rosary takes its inspiration from the Gospel to suggest the attitude with which the faithful should recite it. In the harmonious succession of Hail Mary's the Rosary puts before us once more a fundamental mystery of the Gospel-the Incarnation of the Word, contemplated at the decisive moment of the Annunciation to
The Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, according to the tradition accepted by our predecessor
a) Contemplation in communion with
b) The Lord's Prayer, or Our Father, which by reason of its immense value is at the basis of Christian prayer and ennobles that prayer in its various expressions.
c) The litany-like succession of the Hail Mary, which is made up of the angel's greeting to the Virgin (cf. Lk. 1;28), and of Elizabeth's greeting (cf. Lk. 1:42), followed by the ecclesial supplication, Holy Mary. The continued series of Hail Mary's is the special characteristic of the Rosary, and their number, in the full and typical number of one hundred and fifty, presents a certain analogy with the Psalter and is an element that goes back to the very origin of the exercise of piety. But this number, divided, according to a well-tried custom, into decades attached to the individual mysteries, is distributed in the three cycles already mentioned, thus giving rise to the Rosary of fifty Hail Mary's as we know it. This latter has entered into use as the normal measure of the pious exercise and as such has been adopted by popular piety and approved by papal authority, which also enriched it with numerous indulgences.
d) The doxology Glory be to the Father which, in conformity with an orientation common to Christian piety concludes the prayer with the glorifying of God who is one and three, from whom, through whom and in whom all things have their being (cf. Rom. 11:36).
These are the elements of the Rosary. Each has its own particular character which, wisely understood and appreciated, should be reflected in the recitation in order that the Rosary may express all its richness and variety. Thus the recitation will be grave and suppliant during the Lord's Prayer, lyrical and full of praise during the tranquil succession of Hail Mary's, contemplative in the recollected meditation on the mysteries and full of adoration during the doxology. This applies to all the ways in which the Rosary is usually recited: privately, in intimate recollection with the Lord; in community, in the family or in groups of the faithful gathered together to ensure the special presence of the Lord (
Wednesday 6 October 2010
More Harvest
All those present enjoyed giving thanks to God for all his blessings, may we all be made worthy to join in their praises!
Tuesday 5 October 2010
The John Downton Music Room
This new music room will assist in a splendid way the students of this fine school in developing their talents and in creating music.
The opening of the John Downton Music Room was introduced by the Chair of Governors, Mr Ian Philip, this was followed with the unveiling of a commemorative plaque by Mr John Mitchell, cousin of John Downton, who gave a moving speech. After the blessing of the Music Room all gathered were treated to a magnificent music interlude by the students which also had the premier of "Melody, O Melody" composed by the new director of Music of the school Dr Richard Peat for this occasion. The music is set to words of a poem written by John Downton himself.
It was a splendid occasion honoured by the presence of the Town Mayor.
It is moving to see the generosity of benefactors in leaving bequests that secure a future for the musicians of tomorrow.
This was the prayer used for the blessing:
Loving Father,we give you praise and glory for all your gifts:you have called us to follow your Son Jesus,you have invited us to be your people singing your praise.Father, we give you honour and glory for making the beauty of this world and for calling us to be your people.Your wonderful creation is the silent music of your great love.In the harmony of creation, we glimpse the beauty you wish to share with us.In music, you reach levels within our being that few words can ever penetrate.We thank you for all the gifts you give us,especially for the gift of music and musical ability.We humbly ask you to bless + this music room and all those who use it.Give them strength and wisdom to appreciate the beauty of harmony.Fill them with joy as they carry out their study of music.May all of us one day be gathered safely in that joyful and unending symphony of your presence in heaven.Heavenly Father, as we ask you to give eternal rest to John and Hilda, enable us to give you praise through Christ Your Son in the love of the Holy Spirit, now and for ever. Amen
Sunday 3 October 2010
Archdeacon of Tonbridge, the Venerable Clive Mansell, joined us today for Sung Mass. He preached the homily and licensed John Robinson as Reader in our Parish.
It was a great joy to have the Archdeacon with us and to support John as he we celebrated the vital evangelistic work he does in this Parish.
In the afternoon a good number of us met for the recitation of the Holy Rosary “coram Sanctissimo”.
Do consider taking up this most beautiful of prayers.
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