Baseball player goes to seminary

Grant Desme, a minor league baseball player who was on the edge of joining the Big Leagues, has quit his successful stint on the field in order to become a priest. The Most Valuable Player of last year's Arizona Fall League, with numerous home runs and stolen bases, now wants to bat for the Church. He said that he could no longer fight the sense that God was calling him to a different life: "I felt that while baseball is a good thing, I thought it was selfish of me to be doing that when I really felt that God was calling me more." Though he enjoys the sport, as a lifelong Catholic with a strong faith his only desire is to do what God asks of him. "I love the game, but I aspire to higher things," he said. "I know I have no regrets."

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What I found even more amazing was that this was reported on the BBC!

O what a pilgrimage

Two of us East Anglians joined a Wonersh seminarian, 5 priests and many young men discerning their vocation on a pilgrimage to southern France this past week. The pilgrimage, nicknamed the ‘O Antiphon’ pilgrimage, was a wonderful way to prepare ourselves for Christmas, away from the busy corporate activity of the UK, meditating upon the life of the Curé of Ars, at whose shrine we were based for our 4 day visit.

Ars is a tiny village about an hour away from Lyon in the Rhone valley. There is a single main street, a small collection of houses and a few shops, surrounding a church. Thus St Jean-Marie Vianney found his parish in the mid-nineteenth century.

His first day as pastor was a cold, misty one, and the Curé was unable to find it. He came across a young shepherd, and asked him the way. He was told by the boy, after which the saint exclaimed: ‘you have shown me the way to Ars; I will show you the way to heaven.’

The site of this encounter is just on top of a windy hill, half a mile out of the village, and is commemorated by a famous statue of the scene.

Since then, Ars has become a centre of pilgrimage for those on their sojourn towards heaven, hoping the saint would show them in the right direction. During his lifetime, thousands came for confession and spiritual direction (including Birmingham’s Bishop Ullathorn), and until today, thousands more have walked in the same footsteps, seeking the will of God in their lives, to discover their vocation.

Now we are all home, from pilgrimages and our Oscott term, all the East Anglia Seminarians would like to wish you all a very blessed and peaceful Christmas, and a happy new year.

Revision breaks

There are only 4 days of exams left to go now at Oscott. There is an inkling of a festive spirit drifting through the corridors too. So far, I have counted 3 Christmas trees - although one suggests to the world it is in fact an 'Advent tree' - and one crib scene.

Last week, two of our East Anglian number were united with our Northampton brothers in traveling a mile down the road to Maryvale to hear the annual Francis Clark Memorial Lecture. Fr Julian Green, Oscott's own visiting lecturer, spoke of the Curé of Ars and his relevance as a model priests, and James Cardinal Stafford spoke of the priest of the 21st century and the new evangelisation. Speaking the previous day in Birmingham cathedral for the Maryvale graduation ceremony, his talk on Thursday morning was richly laced with grappling topics, such as the changing view of priesthood and the importance of understanding and appreciating the past. He spoke movingly of the manner many of his own beliefs have been recently reached over a lifetime of formation.

The Cardinal is Archbishop Emeritus of Denver, Major Penitentiary Emeritus and President Emeritus of the Pontifical Council for the Laity.

Franciscan Vocations Commercial

I found an amusing video on Fr Stephen Langridge's Southwark Vocations blog, which you can watch by clicking here.

...Ditto for diocesan priesthood!

Installation of the Archbishop

Well, Birmingham now has its new Archbishop, His Grace Bernard Longley, following the Installation in St Chad's cathedral yesterday. The service was very beautiful, and it was fitting that Archbishop Bernard chose the Immaculate Conception as the day of his installation, as it is also one of the patronal feasts of the diocese. He spoke eloquently of this Marian Solemnity in his homily:

[Mary's] closeness to God is the first fruit of redemption and it eventually enabled her to recognise and welcome the hand of God directing the course of her life. Yet the most important moment of grace in Mary’s life occurred when she was as yet incapable of sensing or recognising it, still less understanding its importance.

It is often the same with us. Most of us were baptised as babies: the pattern of and potential for our lives of faith was established when we could never have understood or appreciated it. Only later in life we become grateful for what our parents and god-parents did for us and actively live the life of faith we received through their commitment to Christ and to us. Moments of grace often catch us unawares and it is only when we stop and reflect that we can appreciate their significance in the pattern of our lives.

Mary was prayerful and reflected on life’s experiences: she pondered these things in her heart. No doubt, as the life of her Son unfolded before her, she looked back and understood the meaning of what she had seen and heard and felt. St Luke does not disguise the fact that our Lady, even though she was full of grace, was deeply disturbed by the angel’s words. The natural, human reaction of bewilderment and astonishment at something so powerful caused her to face it and accept it. Mary had two moments of amazement: first that she was chosen: Rejoice, so highly favoured one. And then, that her life was to be fruitful with the birth of Christ, that she was chosen to be a mother.

Mary’s experience awakens in us the recognition of an extraordinary grace: we too, each of us, have been chosen and are highly favoured. In the words of St Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians: In him we were claimed as God’s own, chosen from the beginning. We shall never fully understand the reason for God’s choosing until we come one day to see him face to face, yet we have been chosen, each in our own particular way and together as the Church, to bear Christ to others.

On Saturday the Archbishop will be coming to visit the seminary and celebrate Evening Prayer with us. We look forward to that as a welcome distraction from exam revision!

An Unexpected Model for Priests

Archbishop Mauro Piacenza, the secretary for the Congregation for Clergy, used Rambo as an analogy for the priestly life in an interview about the Year of the Priest. Zenit reports:

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ROME, NOV. 29, 2009 - A priest's soul should have "interior muscle" comparable to the physical strength of Rambo, which is nourished with "prayer, the interior life and true motivation," says the secretary for the Congregation for Clergy.

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But he is also quick to warn us that the priesthood is not about pelagian self-enhancement, becoming holy through impossible feats of daring. He points to the example of the Cure d'Ars, who did only what was needed in sanctifying his people:

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"What extraordinary thing did he do? Nothing. He centered everything in his vocation: pastoral works, the Eucharist and Confession."

The 65-year-old prelate noted that St. John Mary Vianney did "not have very particular gifts of intelligence," but he "was an exceptional pastor."

The archbishop added that the saint didn't "get a degree in pastoral care," and that the work of a priest is learned "with the love of God."

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I can't say I've ever watched the Rambo films, and am not inclined to, but I think the Archbishop's point is a good one, that we don't automatically become holy just by being in a seminary or a parish, but that we have to be open to the grace of God changing us, and we can only do that by living a life of regular prayer and reflection. To further the Rambo analogy, he only got as fit as he is by picking up the dumbell, rather than thinking about picking it up... we seminarians need to pick up our Bible and our breviary!

The Holy Cure comes through for us

Sorry to delay the football results for those of you who may have been anticipating them - we've had a silent day of recollection today, so I thought I'd wait to post about the game.

It was a fast and furious match, and the Dominicans kept us on our toes throughout. They had a number of quickfooted players among them (Br Nick and Fr David spring to mind), and Brs David and Mark went straight in for the challenges, but they all worked like - yes, you guessed it - dogz. We managed to slip through a goal before half time, and then got a lucky break in the last minute of the game, but their goalie Br Robert didn't reward us lightly! We were fortunate to have Robert and Michael from the permanent diaconate programme play with us - Michael really boosted our defense by literally using his head, and Robert was a sturdy winger. The Oscotians were happy to have won the battle, through the intercession of our no-nonsense Cure, but with this being the first time the Dominicans have played, their preparatory practices being the first time some of them have kicked a ball, I think they'll be carrying a blazing torch in the future!

Afterwards we had a nice time chatting in the bar, and then they had a quick tour of the chapel and museum before heading out. All of us here thoroughly enjoyed it, and hope that we'll be able to meet again, even if it's in a different pretext. Did somebody mention darts?

Have a look at the Dominicans' own post on their blog.. Oh, and below are the two mascotts for the teams, having a good laugh about the whole thing.

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Last hours (cue for 'Eye of the Tiber')

No, I'm not referring to the end of the Liturgical Year, but to something Much Bigger: the long-awaited match between Oscott and the Dominicans! On their blog the Dominicans have sounded the warcry: Bring it On!

Our last video seems to have put the pressure on Oscott but we are not going to resort to mind games and just keep up our regime of prayer, practice, training and tactics. We'll do our talking on the pitch ...

Indeed, it will be a conversation of sorts. Still, judging from their latest video, they look like they could do us some damage, plus they have those powerful Dominican novenas on their side - so we'll be out for one more practice this afternoon! Our inside 'plant' tells us we need to be especially aware of this guy...

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Paralysed man mistakenly thought to be in coma for 23 years

I meant to post about this story earlier in the week but didn't get round to it... Anyway, The Telegraph has an article about a man in Belgium who was midiagnosed as being in a coma, though in reality he was conscious the whole time and could not say anything to anyone. I wish the advocates of euthanasia would consider cases like this, when they presume to know when a life is no longer 'meaningful.' Here is the article:

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Rom Houbens was simply paralysed and had no way to let doctors caring for him what he was suffering.

"I dreamt myself away," says Houben, now 46, who was misdiagnosed as being in a persistent vegetative state after a car crash.

Doctors and nurses in Zolder deemed him a hopeless case whereby his consciousness was considered "extinct".

The former martial arts enthusiast and engineering student was paralysed after a car crash in 1983. He was finally correctly diagnosed three years ago and his case has just come to light in a scientific paper released by the man who "saved" him.

Doctors treating him regularly examined him using the worldwide Glasgow Coma Scale which judges a patient according to eye, verbal and motor responses.

During every examination he was graded incorrectly. And so he suffered in silence, unable to communicate to his parents, his carers or the friends who came to his bedside that he was awake and aware at all times what was happening in his room.

Only the re-evaluation of his case at the University of Liege brought to light that Houben was only paralysed all these years. Hi-tech scans showed his brain was still functioning almost completely normally.

Therapy has now enabled him to tap out messages on a computer screen and he has a special device above his bed enabling him to read books while lying down.

When he woke up after the accident he had lost control of his body, "I screamed, but there was nothing to hear," he says.

"I became a witness to my own suffering as doctors and nurses tried to speak with me until they gave up all hope.

"I shall never forget the day when they discovered what was truly wrong with me – it was my second birth. All that time I just literally dreamed of a better life. Frustration is too small a word to describe what I felt."

The neurologist Steven Laureys who led the re-examination of Houben, published a study two months ago claiming vegetative state diagnosed patients are often misdiagnosed.

"Anyone who bears the stamp of 'unconscious' just one time hardly ever gets rid of it again," he said.

Laureys, who leads the Coma Science Group and Department of Neurology at Liege University Hospital, discovered how Houbens' brain was still working using state-of-the-art imaging. He now intends to use the case of Houbens to highlight what he considers may be many more similar examples of misdiagnosis around the world.

He said: "In Germany alone each year some 100,000 people suffer from severe traumatic brain injury. About 20,000 are followed by a coma of three weeks or longer. Some of them die, others regain health. But an estimated 3000 to 5000 people a year, remain trapped in an intermediate stage: they go on living without ever come back again."

Houbens remains in constant care at a facility near Brussels.

The Sacred Made Real

I went to London yesterday on our free day, and went in the afternoon to see the Sacred Made Real exhibition of Spanish religious statues and paintings in the National Gallery. It was well worth the visit. The Guardian wrote this about it:

"This is the most powerful show the National Gallery is ever likely to hold. One can say that without overstatement. It is not common for people to weep at a press view, nor to fall silent with awe, but both happened this week at the National Gallery."

I recognised a few of the paintings, like Velasquez's famous 'The Immaculate Conception' and 'Christ after the flagellation,' but what impressed me most were the scenes of Christ's Passion, particularly the two Ecce Homo's (by Mena and Fernandez). The body of Christ was beatifully carved down to the veins in his arms, and the suggestion of the hairs on his legs, and the painters had applied layers on layers of paint in order to give the realistic effect of bruising on Christ's back due to scourging. The paint was removed from certain areas and painted over in such a way that it gave the effects of peeling skin and flesh wounds.

Pretty gruesome stuff. But I found that after a second, closer look I got over my natural repulsion and was transfixed by these little details that went to making up the whole statue. And of course, it is good for us as Catholics to recognise that sin is not just some human construct, but is a real evil with very real consequences, which Jesus came to defeat in His death. This would have been a wonderful exhibition for Lent, but unfortunately it finishes January 24th. Do go if you are able - you will not regret it! I think the National Gallery should also be thanked for not portraying this devotional art as a backward culture that is to be scoffed, but showing it as a beautiful tradition that is (in the words of the exhibition's short film) part of 'a living faith.'