We'll miss you Holy Father (...erm, Emeritus)!

Well, in ten minutes the Universal Church will be sede vacante. It was very surreal watching Pope Benedict leave the Vatican, with the Swiss guards, curia, and various well-wishers there to send him off with their gratitude. There were even groups of people on the rooftops of Rome to catch a glimpse of the helicopter as it circled the city on its way to Castle Gandolfo.

I was struck by his words in his last audience yesterday:

I always knew that the Lord is in the barque [Peter's boat on the sea of Galilee], that the barque of the Church is not mine, not ours, but His – and He shall not let her sink. It is He, who steers her: to be sure, he does so also through men of His choosing, for He desired that it be so. This was and is a certainty that nothing can tarnish. It is for this reason, that today my heart is filled with gratitude to God, for never did He leave me or the Church without His consolation, His light, His love.

Thank you once again, Holy Father, for the burden you have carried in Christ's name, and which you still carry as you pray for your successor and our new pope!

Transitional deacon, in time of transition!

Well, it's my last half-term before priestly ordination, and therefore my last half-term ever! It certainly is a week of transitions. Not only are we awaiting a new shepherd in the diocese, not only is Pope Benedict on the verge of retirement to a life of prayer and quiet, but Fr Mark, the rector of Oscott, finished his 12 year stint in seminary on Saturday, and when I come back we will have a new rector. I am grateful to Fr Mark for his care of me in these last six years, his willingness to take on new initiatives like public Sunday Evening Prayer, Corpus Christi processions and 40 hours devotion, as well as the three successful Invocation festivals that have been held at the college over the last few summers. May he enjoy his brief respite and his new parish ministry in Wolverhampton! And we welcome Fr David Oakley as the new rector, a priest already known to - and liked by - many of the seminarians. Please pray for him that he will be given the grace to be a good father and companion to the seminary community.

Ash Wednesday Life Vigil with Archbishop

On Ash Wednesday, Birmingham saw the beginning of its Lenten 40 Days for Life campaign, when men and women, young and old, pray outside the city's abortion clinic during its opening hours of 8 am - 8 pm. The movement, which is happening simultaneously in other national and international cities, aims to address this sidelined issue in our society not through aggression or even primarily debate, but through i) prayer and fasting, ii) peaceful vigil, and iii) community outreach. Archbishop Bernard Longley came to lead the peaceful prayer and witness on Wednesday at 2.30-3.30 pm, and was supported by 30 or 40 others, including some of the seminarians, and some priests of the diocese. As it so happened there was driving snow at that time, and the group of us must have been quite a sight to the passing cars!

 

Please pray that though this grassroots initiative, our society will wake up to the sadness that abortion brings to women, men and children, and that families and relationships may be healed.

 

 

 

Thank God for Pope Benedict

Yesterday's news about the Pope resigning has astounded the seminary, and by the look of things, the world.

Once again, we have seen that Pope Benedict is a man of integrity, who cannot be predicted and labeled. Some say he is "theologically conservative", but his works are full of imagination and life, and he sees everything in relation to personal friendship with the Lord. Some say he is authoritarian, yet he has been loathe to lead by force, excercising his papal ministry rather through pointing us gently in the direction of Heaven. Some say he is too shy to be a charismatic leader, yet when he came to England, his obvious warmth and delight was infectious, and people of diverse creeds responded to him in kind.

I am sure many people were thinking the Pope had nothing left to say, and a predictable end could be followed by a predictable obituary. Now once again the Pope has shown his courage and independence of mind, doing something that has not been done by a pope in 600 years. But he has not done it ostentatiously or for show - rather, he is showing as he did when he was first elected that he is merely a humble worker in the Lord's vineyard, and he is pointed us away from himself, to the Lord who gives his gifts to the Church. Like John the Baptist, he is effectively saying, "I must grow less, and he must grow greater".

Perhaps people might be confused that he has done this immediately after the papacy of Blessed John Paul II, who made a point of leading until death. Has Pope Benedict's decision undone the significance of that? I don't think so. The two decisions are complementary rather than contradictory. Each has something to say in its own context. John Paul II's suffering and death united him to the Passion and the Cross, themes that marked his public and private (penitential) life as pope. He showed that the Pope is not just a celebrity or a politician. Pope Benedict, by following the dictates of his own conscience, has emphasised the eminently pastoral nature of the papacy. What matters ultimately is not the Church saving face, but the Church saving souls. In that respect, I think his action has a noble stength and poignant beauty.

May he find, in his prayerful retirement, the consolation of the face of Christ for which he has always sought. May the Lord be praised for all he has given to us through Pope Benedict. And may the Lord raise up a worthy successor to him, who will lead with the mind and the heart of the Church.

Oscott in the Snow

So today we celebrate Our Lady of Lourdes, who revealed herself to St Bernadette as the Immaculate Conception. She is the lady who came into existence free from taint of sin, and white in the burning and undimmed love of God her saviour.

How fitting then that the seminary has been prepared for the day by a flurry of snow!

Post-Retreat

Last week we had a retreat led by Fr Stephen Wang, the Dean of Studies at Allen Hall seminary in the Archdiocese of Westminster. He gave some excellent reflections. You can have a look at his blog, Bridges and Tangents, where he writes about faith and culture. He is also the chaplain to Youth 2000, which has a prayer festival in Walsingham every August bank holiday, as well as other such events in different locations throughout the year. There is a real emphasis on Adoration and Confession, and the days are well attended by lay movements, religious orders and diocesan priests, who help run workshops and give talks during the events for the young people that are present.

During the retreat I was rereading Pope Benedict's homilies on Priesthood when he was Cardinal Ratzinger. Here are a few things he said that I really liked:

On not procrastinating in vocational discernment:
"There is a moment of Jesus Christ which one cannot put off and calculate and say: 'Yes, I want to all right, but at the moment it is still too risky for me. At the moment I still want to do this and that.' One can miss the moment of one's life, and with prudence gamble away the real worth of one's life never again to be able to recover it."

On priests accepting their weakness:
"[The priest] learns how through him God does great things, through is very weakness, and is full of joy that God has found someone as mean as him worthy of such mercy."

On being a disciple of Christ, who Ratzinger compares to Elijah in his fiery chariot:
"...discipleship demands that we have the courage to stand by is fiery chariot; that we have the courage to be near the fire which he came to cast upon the earth that it might be kindled... we must be ready to be burnt by him, to let ourselves be set on fire, with our hearts burning with the power of his word."

On faith as the most realistic worldview:
"I think we should find this courage once again: to recognise faith as the real objectivity, as the understanding that accepts the world in its true language."

Funeral of Fr Ben

Yesterday was the Funeral Mass of Fr Ben Grist in St John's Cathedral, Norwich. Fr David Bagstaff, the diocesan administrator, presided. The day before, Fr Mark Hackeson presided at the reception of the body and Evening Prayer. It was wonderful that the whole of Oscott seminary, including the domestic staff, were able to get a coach from Birmingham to attend the funeral. And there were many other people there, who knew Ben from various places along his checkered journey. It was good to see his family there, especially his dad and his brothers. Please continue to keep the family in your prayers, as well as Fr Ben himself, that he enjoys now the fulness of the Trinity's glory.  

Requiesce in Pace, Fr Ben!

Many of you will know about the Ordination of Fr Ben Grist for the diocese on June 30th, after the discovery that he had advanced liver cancer in his third year at seminary. Some of you will also know that he passed away early this morning, peacefully and having been given the Anointing of the Sick. He will be greatly missed in the diocese and by the guys here at the seminary. As Ben himself would be the first to admit, he was always something of a "free spirit", and found it a challenge to adapt to the rules and routines of institutional life! But he was a person of deep piety, with a child-like heart, who knew how to appreciate small graces. He would often be found sitting out under the trees in the seminary grounds, reading a book and taking in the sunshine. With his outgoing personality he was also a great friend and evangeliser of the domestic staff at the college, as well as the doctors and nurses in the hospitals. I think these last months of his illness were a great blessing for him in many ways, as he came to terms with what God was doing in his life, and his new role as a priest in the diocese. When I spoke to him a fortnight ago, he said of his illness: "When you're not in control, God is, and that's a blessing. Everything is a gift".

Please pray for Fr Ben, that he go straight to God. I know I have no authority to presume his eternal state, but I have an unofficial hunch that he will be a great intercessor for our diocese, and I for one will be asking for his prayers in return.

Requiescat in Pace.

Happy Feast of the Confessor

Happy Feast of St Edward the Confessor!

When I say "Feast" I use that word as it is used in common parlance. Actually, in the English Church, today is a Memorial, which means liturgically-speaking that we don't sing the Gloria at Mass or the Te Deum at the Office of Readings as we would on a "Feast" technically so-called. We only use the prayers proper to him at Mass and the Divine Office.

Or so I thought... I've discovered (or possibly rediscovered since this time last year!) that at some point since the Breviary was published today's celebration appears to have been relegated to an Optional Memorial, meaning the priest can choose whether or not he acknowledges Edward by using his prayers in the liturgy.

Maybe it's just me, but it seems a shame that this national saint-king - the only King of England in fact to be canonised - is not observed with more ceremony! Along with our own East Anglian king St Edmund the Martyr, and Pope St Gregory the Great, St Edward was regarded as the official patron of England until St George was made so in 1351. There seems to be a lot of contention over the issue of whether St Edward was a successful monarch or not. Shortly after his death in 1066, England was conquered by the Normans. But he was apparently loved for his gentle and generous spirit. He avoided starting any wars. He did not enforce the Danegelt (a tax which Viking invaders had periodically demanded from England). He gave willingly to the poor. He loved participating in the liturgy. He built Westminster Abbey (though not as it appears today). Perhaps it was his gentleness that made him prone to pushy opportunitists like the Godwin family. Such was appropriate to his saintly gentleness, but let us not be meek on his behalf and allow him to go unnoticed!

I'm sure our historian confrere Simon could tell us more, and that more accurately, about St Edward. At any rate, let us invoke St Edward's intercession for those in government in our country, that they make decisions not based on superficial motives but out of a real love for what is true, good and beautiful. We can also pray to him, the Confessor, as a model for us in this Year of Faith. He can help us to live our faith in whatever circumstances we find ourselves, great or small.

The Year of Faith

So it begins! The Year of Faith which the Holy Father has inaugurated on the anniversary of the opening of Vatican II (1962) and the publishing of the subsequent Catechism (1992). It is a year in which he invites us to enter more deeply into the faith, as through a door into our true home:

"The door of faith" (Acts 14: 27) is always open for us, ushering us into the life of communion with God and offering entry into his Church. (Pope Benedict, Apostolic Letter "Porta Fidei", 1) 

Far from being something closed, then, faith is something that opens us to the full panorama of our human horizons, where earth and Heaven touch. For this reason, the Catechism dares to say that

faith is already the beginning of eternal life. (CCC 163)

 In this Year, we are encouraged to renew our faith in two ways:

i) we renew our fundamental act of faith, by which we place our trust in God alone, whose initiative of grace invites this response from us. In this way we imitate Mary, who offered her life to God in complete confidence, thereby loosening the knot of Eve's disobedience (see Lumen Gentium 56).

ii) We turn again to the content of our faith, the fidei depositum. What do we believe? What has God entrusted to us through his Word in Scripture and in the Church's Tradition? Who is Christ? How does God act in human history? How are we saved? What is the Church? What is the purpose of the sacraments? What is the role of the saints? We ponder these questions anew as we reflect on our Creed. Again, we imitate Mary, who pondered in her heart the mystery of her Son, who is the fulness of revelation (Lk 2: 51).

So during this year I for one will be thinking of ways I can renew my confidence in and dependence on God, as well as how I can internalise the mysteries of the faith which God reveals in the Church for our salvation.

There is a Mass in St John's cathedral Norwich today to celebrate the start of this year. Though I cannot be there, I am thinking of and praying for the diocese as we enter into this privileged time!