Happy Feast!

I know it's a bit late, but hope you've had a Happy Feast of Our Lady of Walsingham! I said her litany on behalf of the diocese today...

The Holy Land 2: Bethlehem

Bethlehem, as many of you will know, is one of the largest Palestinian territories, walled off from Jerusalem which it borders. I was surprised at how the suburbs of Jerusalem suddenly turned into the threshold of the town of the nativity as we drove along. The infamous wall is very imposing, and manned by young Israeli guards – all Israelis are required to do military service for a time. We usually got through the checkpoints without any fuss, though the Palestinians who have permission to come out of Bethlehem (for work, perhaps) are sometimes detained for hours before they are allowed to pass through. The Palestinian side of the wall is covered with graffiti recording the bitter tensions between Palestine and Israel. We should pray for an end to these tensions, and make an effort to support the Palestinian Christian population, which has been haemorrhaging in recent decades as many emigrate from their homeland. Most of the population seem to be Muslim, and I was awoken a few mornings by the imam’s call to prayer at 4.30 am...

As in Jerusalem, the Basilica of the Nativity is used by different ancient Christian traditions, with the Greek Orthodox once again appearing to have the biggest privileges in the original site. (The Church of St Catherine which adjoins the ancient basilica is where the Catholics worship, and it is the church in which Midnight Mass from Bethlehem is televised.) “Noble simplicity” doesn’t seem to be an architectural/ liturgical phenomenon with which the Orthodox are enamoured. I was amused at how there were gigantic Christmas baubles hanging all over the chapel! After all – unlike the White Witch’s Narnia – it’s always Christmas in Bethlehem! The site of the basilica dates back to the time of Constantine, who built a church over the cave which is believed to be the place of Jesus’ birth. This allegedly makes it the oldest continuous church in the world. But the present building is Byzantine in origin. The medieval Crusaders added to it, as they did many other churches in the Holy Land.



The interior, minus the Christmas baubles



One interesting change over time is the gradual reduction of the size of the front entrance. Originally a huge door, it got smaller and smaller as there was more need to defend the Church from invading horsemen. But this historical incident gives way to a spiritual interpretation. We can only enter into the mystery of Christ’s Incarnation by becoming small and humble ourselves, by becoming “poor in spirit”, like Mary and Joseph, or like St Therese in more recent times...

"The Little Way"



As well as venerating the cave of the Nativity beneath the sanctuary, we got to celebrate Mass in another cave under the church very near the old burial site of St Jerome, the Scripture scholar who translated the Bible into Latin in the 4th century. His body is now in St Maria Maggiore in Rome, as is the manger. So I prayed for all Scripture scholars, and for a new flourishing of the traditional four-fold sense of Scripture, not just the historical-critical method (more on that some other time).

The site of the Nativity

Here is a clip of an Armenian liturgy taking place in their side chapel in the basilica, very similar to one I witnessed there, only the one I saw was much more spendid, and the priest was wearing a blue crown while the cantors/ servers/ deacons (?) were wearing blue copes. Come to think of it, it might have been their celebration of the Assumption, which is later than ours.

More accounts of my adventures to follow!

The Holy Land: Jerusalem



If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand wither! Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, if I do not remember you, if I do not set Jerusalem above my highest joy!



There is an old saying about Jerusalem. When God created the earth, he distributed ten portions of beauty, nine of which were allotted to Jerusalem. And he also distributed 10 portions of sorrow, nine of which were allotted to Jerusalem.

Staying in Jerusalem was my favourite part of the pilgrimage. The city is such a melting pot of different traditions and cultures rubbing elbows together, composed as it is of the Jewish Quarter, the Palestinian Quarter, the Christian Quarter and the Armenian Quarter. In its ancient history it has seen numerous wars and is still a place full of underlying tensions. Christians reverence the place where Jesus preached, healed, worshipped, was crucified, was buried and rose again. For the Jews it is the Holy City of Zion, where Abraham was prepared to sacrifice Isaac, where David and Solomon reigned, where the Temple stood, and where according to rabbinic legend Adam and Eve and the whole world were created. And it is held holy by the Muslims, who believe that Mohammed ascended into Heaven from there. Yet somehow all these groups manage to live more or less together, though perhaps more by force of circumstances than by choice!

Every day I got to visit the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre. In the basilica there are three main Christian groups with the greatest privileges in terms of celebrating liturgies: the Latin rite Catholics, the Greek Orthodox and the Armenians. There are also three smaller Christians groups: the Copts, the Syriacs and the Ethiopians. One night I stayed up and observed the different liturgies that happened throughout the night, starting with the Greeks at midnight. Before that got underway though, a represenative from each of the groups went around the whole basilica incensing all the altars. I've never seen so many thuribles being swung at once, and so hastily - I had to make sure and keep out of their way!

The Holy Sepulchre

The next morning our group had our own Mass in the tomb of the Resurrection, which I had the privilege of deaconing. Golgotha, the site of the Crucifixion, is also within the Basilica, just near the Sepulchre as St John notes in his Gospel.

We saw so much of the city: the Western Wall, which is the last remaining wall of the Herodian Temple destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD; the Cenacle where the last Supper was celebrated (until recently a mosque!); the pool of Bethsaida where the crippled man was healed; the Mount of Olives where Jesus prayed to the Father before his Passion... For me being in Jerusalem was like being at the heart of life itself, in all its nobility and in all its ignominy, without pretence. I’m sure the Incarnate Word of God would have felt quite at home walking its streets! (I mean that in an idiomatic rather than a theological sense...)

Next time I’ll say something about Bethlehem.

The Prodigal Deacon Returns

Seeing as Simon has done an excellent job in saving this blog from extinction, and seeing as I am, after all, a seminarian for another 8 months, I've repented of my indolence and returned to posting!

As Simon said, I had a chance to go to the Holy Land in the summer, which was a very blessed opportunity. Our group of priests and deacons stayed in Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Galilee.

Tomorrow I will start to post about it, so stay tuned!

Parish fundraising concert

You may be interested in looking at the details of a concert at Down on the Farm for 22 September, to help raise money for that church.

Click on Mozart to connect
to Down on the Farm

There are many new church projects in East Anglia. St Felix in Haverhill has been recently completed, but money still needs to be raised to pay off the debt.

Pope's prayer intentions

Every month, the Pope's curia announces what his special prayer intention is every month. When we pray for the Pope, such as during the rosary, or in our acquisition of indulgences, we pray not only for his person and his well-being, but we also unite ourselves to his prayer intentions. Prayer, of course, is very powerful, and if we are adding our prayers to Peter's prayers, then they will be very effective prayers indeed.

This month, being the first day and all that, the Pope's prayer intention is:

That politicians may always act with honesty, integrity and love for the truth.

And his intention for the missions is:

That Christian communities may have a growing willingness to send missionaries, priests and lay people, along with concrete resources, to the poorest Churches.

A new section to our blog

As we heard in our last post, Simon is taking time out of seminary and is working in a parish in the diocese, undertaking his priestly formation in a pastoral context. Lest our readers feel bereft, you may now follow him on a new section of our blog, called Down on the Farm. You can click the link, or click the Down on the Farm icon on the pages bar just below this blog's title. He hopes to post regularly, though there might not be much on there for a few days; parish life is busy, it seems!

Henry will be going on pilgrimage to the Holy Land this week, with a group of clergy from the Archdiocese of Birmingham, as is his seminary's tradition for the diaconal year. We know that he will be taking the diocese's intentions with him in prayer to the holy places, and we wish him a safe, prayerful and unforgettable time. We look forward to hearing from him soon.

Of priests and deacons...

2012 cannot be said to be an uneventful year, and I hope that you can understand, therefore, why it has taken so long (nearly 4 months) to write another article for you.

First of all, Simon left the seminary on Palm Sunday for personal reasons. He is presently employed within the diocese, and hopes to use this time to gain more experience in the wider world and wider Church, and, after such a time that his personal situation has improved, the diocese and he may discuss whether it is prudent that he should return to priestly formation in the future. Please keep him in your prayers during this uncertain and difficult time.

Shortly after Simon left Oscott, Ben was taken seriously ill, and, after examination, was diagnosed with terminal cancer. It soon became clear that Ben's earthly sojourn was drawing to a close, and, as we are presently without a shepherd (it is at such times at these that we need especially the pastoral love of a bishop), our temportary ordinary, the diocesan administrator, Fr Bagstaff, granted permission for Ben to be ordained to the presbyteral order, so that he may enjoy this most precious of times as a priest, and that he and others may receive many graces.

Ben was ordained first to the diaconate and then to the priesthood at the same short Mass, by His Grace, the Archbishop of Birmingham, on the afternoon of 30th June. Several priests and faithful of the diocese were able to assist this Mass, which was a very moving and noble occasion.

Now that the seminary term has concluded, Ben has moved back home to East Anglia, where he may receive care and convalesce, and be close to his family and friends. He was able to concelebrate Sunday Mass at his home parish of Bungay this last weekend, and has written a letter to the faithful of the diocese. Parishioners in East Anglia may have received this letter in their parishes, otherwise they may request it of their parish priest. As you may appreciate, I don't really have the words to write more here, so if you are able, please read Fr Ben's message to you.

We are all praying for Fr Ben, and thank God for his ordination to the priesthood.

Also on 30th June, in the morning, Henry, our fifth year seminarian, was ordained to the diaconate by the Archbishop, an event that we may also give thanks for! Henry's first liturgical function after his ordination was to assist the Archbishop at Ben's ordination a few hours later.

Henry is now undertaking a placement in Cambridge before the summer holidays start, and then he shall return to Oscott in September to undertake his sixth and final year, wherein he shall complete his theology baccalaurate, and, God willing, be ordained to the priesthood in one year from now! We are also conscious that Henry is now our only seminarian. We keep him especially in our prayers, and we continue to pray for vocations to the priesthood.

Finally, we must thank all our readers, not only for reading our articles, but particularly for your prayerful, and sometimes, also practical, support during our formation! So, thank you, and God bless you.

Acolytate retreat

This weekend, third year will travel to the Abbey Church of St Michael and All Angels, or Belmont Abbey, in Hereford, for their annual 'weekend away'.

On Monday, St Joseph's day, they will be assessed for acolytate (the second of the instituted lay ministries which are received along the journey towards priesthood), so rightly, we can call this their acolytate retreat. This is the first time our new, expanded year have travelled away together; the original few know Belmont Abbey reasonably well, but, for the new members of our year, it will be a new experience.

Invocation 2012

Invocation 2012 March Podcast from Vocationcast on Vimeo.