Weekly messages

Fr Peter’s newsletter notes - July 2004

Posted on July 1st 2004 in Weekly messages

Fourteenth Week of Ordinary Time - Sunday 4th July 2004

The most memorable images for me this last week were the incredible pictures of a twelve-week-old foetus in his mother's womb that were published in the papers. They will far outdo in importance the pictures of Saddam Hussein in the dock, and will mark the beginning of a new stage in the current argument over abortion, and by extension the question of the type of sex education for children. These pictures will, I believe, have the same importance as the first pictures of the earth from outer space. Those early pictures of a fragile earth set in the deep blue of space marked a new stage in the ecological movement, that made it possible for environmental issues to become a mainstream issue in our society. It now seems incredible that these issues were not widely questioned before. The pictures of a fragile earth gave all the evidence needed for man to turn from domination of the earth to stewardship of the globe.

The newspaper pictures breathed life in all its beauty, and did not require any argument for life or against abortion. Already a number of newspaper columnists have said how these pictures have transformed their casual acceptance of abortion. The pictures might not have convinced these agnostics completely, but as they admitted, ignorance of what is entailed in abortion can no longer be hidden. It might seem strange for those of faith to admit, but the development of science, so often thought of in purely negative terms can come to aid of faith, by simply indicating that positions deeply held by believers are based on truth and not on prejudice.

The long term impact of these pictures, and all those that will be developed in the future, will forever temper the shrill voices raised about a woman's right to choose, as thought this was the only issue that mattered. They will also temper, I hope, the use by the more extreme groups of anti-abortionists of pictures of dead foetuses, that serve to disgust rather than inform. There could also be profound pastoral implications of such pictures. Many women were led astray to seek abortions in years past with disingenuous information about the medical and moral implications of such acts. Those who seek reconciliation should be able to look to the Church as the place where forgiveness, however tragic the sin, is offered. Above all these pictures give the Church the possibility on focusing on the beauty and mystery of life, and its obvious divinely created nature. Only God could be the author of such delicate and infinitely complex works of art.

This Sunday the Church in this country has designated as 'The Day for Life'. The pro-life stance of the Church embraces the totality of human existence, from conception to natural death. This year's focus is on the family, as the natural place for the flourishing and nurturing of human life. The problem is that we are only all too aware of marriage breakdown with its attendant miseries that permeate throughout society. The extent of marriage breakdown has made many 'good' people are wary of becoming married, lest their fragile relationship perishes with marriage's demands. This can develop into a vortex of decline, where serial monogamy, as typified by 'Four Weddings and a Funeral' makes entering any lasting commitment virtually impossible.

The solution to this is not to throw up our hands in horror, but to become living examples of committed life, a life that brings with it a deep joy. This is part of the lay married apostolate, to reveal to the world, that far from being a caricature, the love engendered in marriage is of lasting value as it mirrors the love of God to the world, and Christ to His Church. It is thus a faithful, reconciling and life giving love. This Sunday is dedicated to supporting and blessing this apostolate which is unique to lay people. It is also a tremendous witness to the world and to our benighted culture that seeks for meaning, but resists all serious attempts to discover it through self-renunciation and committed purpose.

Seventeenth Week of Ordinary Time - Sunday 25th July 2004

Some of you might have seen in the bookshop, a recent work by Francis Wheen, entitled 'How mumbo jumbo conquered the world'. It is an extended diatribe against all the forces of religious/spiritual reaction, which have been in the ascendancy since the early 1980s. He unites Mrs Thatcher's return to 'Victorian values', with the revolutionary government of Ayatollah Komeni, and the astrologers used by Nancy Reagan to determine the propitious moment to announce government policy. Much of the book is a witty romp through these events, and the comical outbursts of the new religiosity. His critique of alternative medicine is spot-on when he shows how alternative medicine always remains alternative unless it works, since then it becomes part of the mainstream. He argues that many well-intentioned 'alternative' medics cause much unnecessary pain to the terminally ill by suggesting these bogus forms of healing as an alternative to standard forms of palliative care. The author's great love is that of science, and the European enlightenment, which aimed to release humanity from the shackles of ignorance and superstition.

The trouble with such a broad analysis that relies on wit to pass on its message, is that the truth is lost both in the detail and in failing to establish the broad categories of thought. The author has a religious, an almost mystical belief, in the power of science and rationality to cure the world's ills and govern the peoples in fairness. His 'religious' fervour fails to grasp that most important distinction between 'religion' and 'faith'. The two are not the same.

The religious sense of man is constitutive of him. The worship of God is giving what is due to God as creator. This is not faith as such, but the expression of a natural desire that man has to worship the Creator for all that exists including himself. Faith is the acceptance of a revelation from God, over and beyond the human desire to praise and thank God. For the Christian, faith is expressed in accepting Jesus Christ as the Son of God, and with all that it entails, in the way of discipleship and final judgement.

This distinction allows the religious person to counter the danger of fundamentalism which collapses everything into God's sovereign will or its secular equivalent. The fundamentalist has no need of reason, and the worship of the lack of reason brings together strange bedfellows, devotees of new age spirituality and suicide bombers. Both are at the opposite extremes of the desire to detach themselves from reason and its concomitant responsibility. The liberal thinker's difficulty in distinguishing between religion and faith leaves him in the bizarre position of having to sanction religious practises which he would find intolerable in secular life. Hence fox hunting is out but the ritual slaughter of animals is in. The subtle relationship between faith and reason leaves him dumbfounded because he fails to see that reason far from being a closed system is animated a 'religious' desire to know. This desire to know opens the human heart to the possibility of the deepest wisdom. which the Christian finds in the person of Jesus Christ. The Christian can use their reason to understand their faith, and to question their faith. This is not a matter of believing or doing whatever one likes but is the only human way of appropriating the truths of faith to oneself, and to allow for grace to animate every part of life.

The modern insistence on the separation of religion from science has proved all too detrimental in trying to make distinctions between religions, and it has failed to grasp that it is the same human subject who desires both to know scientifically the workings of the world, and religiously the sheer wonder of creation and its purpose.

 

The Readings from the Prophet Hosea, Fourteenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year C, Cycle II

The Book of Hosea written in the 8th century BC uses his own unhappy and difficult life as the divinely inspired means to reflect on the relationship between God and His chosen people. The image of the covenant as marriage between God and People is at the heart of this prophetic book. The unfaithful marriage will be cleansed once God has withdrawn with His people into the wilderness to rediscover their common commitment. This reconciliation will bring forth the fruits of justice. (Monday)

The problematic institution of kingship in Israel formed 'a third party' between God and His people that allowed pagan cults to flourish with royal approval. These cultic practises are organised with vigour but are ultimately meaningless, and will lead to the destruction and exile of the people. (Tuesday)

Hosea describes beautifully God's call and His everlasting fidelity to His chosen people. 'Do good and avoid evil', is the foundation of the natural law. This law is not just theory but should be put into practise, and particularly in the establishment of justice. The worship of God is a necessary part of justice, but any merit due to sacrifice requires the appropriate interior disposition, revealed in public life through just dealings with others. (Wednesday)

The golden age for Hosea and the Prophets was the time of the wilderness, when God formed his recently liberated chosen people. The images used by Hosea are those of a caring parent, and it is this parental love that prevents God wreaking vengeance on His creation after their apostasy. (Thursday)

The last oracle of Hosea ends on a point of hope. The people will be restored. They will be infused with a new life, and be given protection once again by God. The prophet makes a plea to the wise person to discern the workings and judgment of God in his or her world. How do our practises at work, at home compare to the will of God, and where is God nurturing us day by day? . (Friday)

The Readings from the Prophet Jeremiah, Seventeenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year C, Cycle II

The public life of Jeremiah was interspersed with a number of symbolic actions that explain the flawed relationship that existed between God and his chosen people. The rightful place is literally 'around' God, and not stuffed into a dank hole along a foreign riverbank. This fate will await the people who have abandoned the ways of God. (Monday)

The tragic sights of judgement with the dead and hungry littering the countryside are met with lament and recognition of sinfulness. The call to remembrance addressed to God has not been met with a corresponding faithfulness from the people, and thus they are in a state of helplessness. (Tuesday)

Jeremiah is very conscious of his call, yet feels in the face of persecution a sense of foreboding in front of his enemies. His vocation has led to a painful separation from the company of men, but this isolation will not continue for ever, and will only end when the righteous return to him. (Wednesday)

The work of the potter is compared to that of God who does not simply cast aside a blemished pot but remoulds it till it becomes perfect. This continual work of God's will for the Christian reaches its climax with the coming of Christ, whose gift of the Spirit will transform fallible clay from the inside. (Thursday)

The sense of guilt can often arouse deep antagonism when it is confronted with the truth. Jeremiah draws out the unwarranted venom of the religious leadership as they see their livelihood at stake. It is a reaction that fails to grasp that true faith requires a dedicated following of God's law. Only this will bring that eternal safety prophesised by Jeremiah. (Friday)

Fr Peter’s newsletter notes - June 2004

Posted on June 1st 2004 in Weekly messages

Twelfth Week of Ordinary Time - Sunday 20th June 2004

Each week the lunchtime study group has been making its way through the sacraments of the Church. This week was the turn of 'Reconciliation'. So far each booklet has provided a succinct disposition on the sacrament and its place within the life of the believer. The pamphlet on Reconciliation began with two key observations, firstly we live a society which finds 'remorse' extremely difficult, secondly that the sacrament of reconciliation has been marginalized within the mission of the Church. We all find it difficult to admit to our mistakes. This maybe for many motives, but I think that pride is never far from the surface. However we have added in the light of psychological analysis a whole host of further reasons why we are not to blame. Some might be truly mitigating in assessing wrongdoing but most have become a convenient excuse to do as we want. The second is slightly more difficult to explain. Much of the 'modern' Church, especially in its misapplied post-Vatican II theology has taken forgiveness and reconciliation from the heart of the Gospel and put it to one side. The emphasis has been placed on 'resurrected life' as the quest for personal fulfilment. It has become too easy to forget that the death of Jesus on the Cross, was the supreme act of reconciliation that broke the culture of sin and death, and opened up the fountain of grace, and the possibility of resurrected life. This has most certainly been achieved by Jesus Christ but we are still in need of reconciliation both for ourselves in our relation with God, and in our relations with each other.

This mission of reconciliation has been passed onto the Church by Jesus Himself, both when Peter declared His true nature, and when the risen Lord breathed the Holy Spirit onto the apostles for the forgiveness of sins. The early Church quickly recognised that this donation included the possibility of further post-baptismal reconciliation for those who had sinned after their Baptism. The practise developed especially in relation to spiritual guidance. The early Irish monks would confess to a spiritual director, a Priest, as an essential part of their search for perfection. This practise has developed through the history of the Church. The sacrament of confession was seen within that larger frame of becoming in imitation of Jesus Christ 'an ambassador for reconciliation', and making penitence and forgiveness a way of life.

The booklet brings out the dramatic aspect of the practise of confession where two people assume the roles of Christ (the priest) and sinner (the penitent). The conversation between these two is the 'matter' of the sacrament while the form is the prayer of absolution. Both matter and form are required for a valid sacrament, and so the author concludes each 'actor' must be either a 'good' sinner or a 'good' priest. Amongst other things, the 'good' sinner has to remember well, not just his/her faults but also the great acts of mercy shown to us by God, essentially in the gift of His Son. This ground of hope allows us to remember ever more clearly and so remove those blind spots, as we experience the grace transform our lives.

The advice to become a 'good' confessor I found very timely. The prayer of absolution refashions us once again into the image of Christ and applies the fruits of Christ's Death and Resurrection to the life of the particular believer. The confessor, the author suggests, 'must show sensitivity to the penitent's complex developing and unfinished life, with its patterns of virtue and sinfulness being redeemed by grace'.

The power of good drama resides both in the script and in the actors, and so it is with the Sacrament of Confession. This drama is the individual believer's and priests privileged contact with that cosmic drama of Jesus Christ's conquest over sin and death. Consequently the refusal to use this sacrament will lead to the sin of presumption, the belief that I am already saved. Difficult as it can be going to Confession, such a belief does not make much sense judging by the state of the world, nor does it take seriously Christ's death on the Cross, nor his call to sanctity, and eventually to eternal life.

 

Thirteenth Week of Ordinary Time - Sunday 27th June 2004

The cooked breakfast is now no more on Eldon Street, and a phase of culinary history is over. No longer will workmen, bankers and secretaries, amongst others, be able to avail themselves of that masterpiece of English cuisine, the cooked breakfast. This is hardly going to effect the city, but the replacement of these innocuous Victorian buildings with more faceless office blocks will make our street just a little less user friendly. Eldon Street is already a rat run where a vehicle can pick up speed, and it will become only more so. These two cafes were in their way the only two places left where workers of all sorts could congregate and they were evidence of human life in the neighbourhood. Many arguments could be raised as to why the area must be redeveloped, but many would revolve around unlocking value from the land for the owner. The question remains though as to who unlocks the value and whether the proceeds belong solely to the owner or is there also a wider constituency who should benefit.

This little scenario is being played out countless times and in innumerable places, and is the battleground between the free market and collective responsibility. This will be an endless conflict between those who insist that the free market generates value, and those who believe everything must be controlled by the government. Even the most rampant free marketer must realise that money cannot buy anything, and the greatest control freak must realise that the government cannot know everything. The endless quality of this discourse can only be resolved through a higher good, that of the 'human person'. The Holy Father, in his Encyclical on work, emphasises that the world of work is established through relationships, not servitude. The dignity of the person must be paramount. This dignity is both a right of the worker, but also his or her duty. The recent accounting scandals both here and in America, are obviously classic cases of foolish greed. Such outcomes involve a large number of people, and point to something more than individual moral weakness, to a collapse in a sense of culture and of society. No longer do large numbers of us feel any duty towards our community local, national and international.

The heavy handed approach of the Financial Standards Agency is no way forward since it treats, so I am told, all financial transactions as inherently flawed, and so much time must be spent proving the reverse. Trust is an essential part of all human relationships whether in the home or in the world of work and when it is denied no possible human culture can flourish.

The free market, needs constraint but limits based on virtue, not excessive legislation. The fallen nature of man requires the imposition of law since human choice can be deeply flawed. However the spiritual dimension of man requires a personal goal, which is the cultivation of the virtues, that help shape the person and the organisation. A recent writer argued that the application of the four cardinal (hinge) virtues would be as follows: practise the virtue of justice by fostering an adherence to the law; practising the virtue of temperance by controlling the desire for immediate gratification and financial gain; practice the virtue of courage by sustaining long term worthwhile projects despite the difficulties; practise the virtue of prudence by cultivating the proper lifestyle and corporate history to do right here and now without losing sight of the end goal.

The Christian would wish to go further and conform his life to Jesus Christ, the embodiment of natural virtues transfigured with divine grace. However we should share with our religious and non-religious colleagues in the workplace the desire the see the human person at centre of all relationships that determine the world of work. This is the true third way.

 

The Elijah cycle from The Second Book of Kings, Twelfth Week of Ordinary Time, Year C, Cycle II

The last chapters of the Second Book of Kings describe the tragic events that led to the destruction of both kingdoms. Behind the flow of historical events lies the hidden hand of God guiding the course of history. The kingdoms fell owing to the sinfulness of the king and the people. The national apostasy began really with King Solomon and his pagan wives but reached its depths with King Jeroboam. The tragedy of the Northern kingdom's collapse is that the people were really the unwitting victims of regal syncretism. (Monday)

King Hezekiah, one of the better kings remembers to seek God's help in order to be delivered from Israel's enemies. The prophet Isaiah answers his prayer by promising that a remnant will survive. In the meantime the Assyrian army is routed by the angel of God, and Judah left in peace for the time being (Tuesday)

The Southern Kingdom of Judah did produce kings that followed the ways of God, and Josiah is probably the greatest. His religious reforms included restoring the Temple and instituting the laws of the recently rediscovered book of the Law. The king and people publicly renew their commitment to the covenant. (Wednesday)

The kingdom by now was only notionally independent and was a buffer state between Egypt and Babylon. The opportunistic changing of sides rather than trusting in God, led to Nebuchadnezzar's capture of Jerusalem and the deportation of the governing classes, and the imposition of a vassal king. (Thursday)

This vassal king, Zedekiah rebels against Babylon, and the city is finally destroyed in a second attack. All the religious utensils from the Temple are removed, an act that many years later will bring its own destruction on Babylon. Thus ends the line of kings that began with King Saul. (Friday)

The Readings from the Prophet Amos, Thirteenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year C, Cycle II

The prophet Amos was the first to attract a dedicated book, and he thus initiated a new period in God's revelation to His people. The backdrop of all prophecy is the covenant established by God with Moses, and the subsequent infidelity of the people. God is the ultimate author of history, and His hand can be glimpsed in all the events of history. The calamities to befall Israel were seen as His judgement on their misconduct, both economic and moral. (Monday)

Amos' was a harsh message. The duties expected from the covenant had been abandoned by the king and his people. Such actions are described as 'sin'; wrong doing in relation to the revelation of God's care. Sin out of justice demands punishment, and expectation of God's judgement. God's fidelity is constant, and He will send His Son, who will be both the judge, but also the means of salvation. (Tuesday, replaced by Sts Peter and Paul)

'Do good and avoid evil', is the foundation of the natural law. This law is not just theory but should be put into practise, and particularly in the establishment of justice. The worship of God is a necessary part of justice, but any merit due to sacrifice requires the appropriate interior disposition, revealed in public life through just dealings with others. (Wednesday)

The institution of kingship with its shrines would inevitably lead to a royal cult that would become anxious not to hear the truth. Amos cuts through this institutionalised hypocrisy, and reluctantly preaches the word, on the consequences of this deformed worship of God. (Thursday)

The corruption of the worlds of commerce and finance would not lead to any immediate punishment but to a progressive abandonment by God, and the collapse of meaning. This might not seem the greatest punishment, but is the prelude to eternal distance from God. (Friday)

Fr Peter’s newsletter notes - May 2004

Posted on May 1st 2004 in Weekly messages

Fourth Week of Easter - Sunday 2nd May 2004

Throughout my time in Oxford University there used to be various mutterings about the emphasis placed on hospitality. Whether these criticisms were out of jealousy or more intellectual reasons I do not know, but it does seem to me that extending hospitality is one of the fundamental tasks of the priest. The tradition of both divine and human hospitality stretches right through the Bible. Abraham is considered the model host when he welcomed the three men at the oak of Mamre. The heavenly reward at the end of time is described throughout the Bible as a banquet, with God as the divine Host, who prepares for His own a banquet of 'the best of meats and finest of wines'. The duty of care to the stranger and to act as a noble generous host is common to many different societies both past and present. The ancient Greeks set great store in the virtue of 'philoxenia' hospitality, and indeed the pagan deity Zeus was the god of hospitality.

The theme of divine hospitality lies at the heart of our Eucharistic worship. Jesus is both the Divine Host and the food and drink on which we nourish ourselves. The very words, 'Take, eat ...drink' emphasise this very role as divine Host. The Last Supper is a foretaste of that final heavenly banquet, and it inaugurated the last day of Jesus' life, (marking the day in the Jewish manner as passing from evening to evening) and the beginning of the definitive Passover. This supreme act of hospitality emphasised a particular way in which Jesus preached the Gospel, a manner that drew much comment in His lifetime, that of His table fellowship. Our Lord collected around Him those who knew their need of grace, and who found in Christ the host to give them back their dignity, and some become model guests. This table fellowship that reaches its conclusion in the Last Supper indicates that for Christians the legitimate aspiration should be for everlasting communion rather than 'natural' immortality. 'Natural' immortality is something very pagan, it requires a self-transcendence of ourselves. The Christian instead is invited to share in the deified humanity of Jesus through the sacramental system starting with Baptism, and in its continual reinforcement through the Eucharist. All this takes place through membership of the 'Body of Christ', the Church, where the risen Jesus is the divine Host and the Christian the willing guest.

This Sunday is the day when the Church particularly prays for vocations throughout the Church, and especially for Priest and Religious. I never quite know what this is all about because a vocation is something deeply personal that is either responded to or not as the case may be. It hardly seems right to pray that others my discern their vocation to the priesthood if I am not prepared to understand my own, whatever that may be in the Body of Christ. The Priest, I believe, stands in the person of Christ, the divine Host, who invites the faithful to begin to participate in the everlasting communion of the kingdom of God. At the centre is the celebration of Mass, but this also requires a more evangelistic hospitality that allows those on the outside for whatever reason to enter this place of life. The breaking down of the self-imposed barriers whether they are the consequences of sin, a lack of catechesis or personal tragedy, was the work of Christ, and will continue to remain the work of the priest, who acts in the person of Christ the loving host.

Sixth Week of Easter - Sunday 16th May 2004

Looking over the rocky slopes that surround Umm Qeis, the ancient Gadara of the Gospels, all is quite. The demoniac is awaiting the resurrection of the dead, the pigs have long perished and the demons are elsewhere. The ancient ruins of this town of the Decapolis region ring to the sounds of Jordanian children practising their english on the occasional passing tourist and pilgrim. Looking out from the top of the town, the Sea of Tiberais is just visible to the north, the edge of the desolate Golan Heights are across the lush valley with its well ordered reservoirs on the Israeli side of the border. There is little movement in the valley below or on the heights above. It is a land that has seen so much war, and the peace of the day is a bit like the kingdom of God, there but not quite there. This little corner encapsulates the key problem of the Middle East, the questions of land and truth.

It also demonstrates the dangers of turning 'my faith story' into a form of idolatry. The Middle East is a place of stories and of victims, and of victims absolved from the demands of conscience. Even after a few days the tales of victimhood loose the sense to shock since too much is based on untruths and couched in terms of bloody vengeance on the aggressor, whoever they may be. The continual demand on the tourist or pilgrim who engages in conversation is to take sides and to abandon truth and historical perspective. It is as if everyone is afraid to face the truth, and when that happens violence is never far away, and its justification becomes all the more easier. Many contemporary academics like to point out there is no such thing as objective truth, everything said masks some selfish desire. This might cut some ice with the incredulous, whether in the safety of the student hall or comfort of the TV studio, but in many flashpoints in the world such an attitude translates itself all too quickly into bloody violence. Of course our views of reality are nuanced and influenced by our upbringing and culture. We would only know this, however, if there were occasional glimpses or sentiments of absolute truth. This truth in itself is never always obvious, it can only be gradually uncovered through study, in the case of intellectual enquiry, prayer in the case of revealed truth, and work in the case of practical endeavour. This sinister celebration of the lack of absolute truth by those in the media and elsewhere throws into question the purpose of the above activities, as well as our immediate grasp of right and wrong.

The story of the healing of the demoniac is his 'faith story', of one benighted individual who encounters absolute truth in the person of Jesus Christ. It was this meeting with the incarnation of truth itself that set him free. The modern temptation, sadly adopted by so many modern catechists in this country, of emphasising 'my faith story' or 'my experience' over and above that of the story of Jesus Christ leads ultimately to deep disappointment or to an 'a-la-carte' mentality whereby the believer chooses which part of the Churches teaching appeals or conforms to an existing pattern of life or set of prejudices. Looking down from the terrace it seemed so obvious that in the Middle East such abandonment of truth leads on all sides to violence, but conversely highlights the role of the Christian in such places to be consciously search for peace through truth.

Seventh Week of Easter - Sunday 23rd May 2004

Probably one of the most important discoveries in the field of Biblical archaeology must be the discovery of the authentic site for Bethany beyond the Jordan. This is the place that Jesus Himself was baptised. All that remains today are the ruins of numerous 4th to 7th century Churches with special steps to take the neophytes into the water. The wooded creek where John baptised during the winter months still has a running stream, and he would retreat here when the Jordan waters were in flood. Now the Jordan is barely twenty feet across, owning to modern irrigation and flood control, but there is still a steady flow of water from the local springs in the valley bottom. What also struck me on visiting the site was the mysteriousness of the place and the close proximity of Elijah's hill where it is believed he was assumed into heaven in his fiery chariot. This closeness gives credence to comparing both figures and makes sense of the clothing John wore in conscious imitation of the Prophet Elijah. The return of the prophet Elijah would inaugurate the immanent arrival of the Messiah, a role which John the Baptist fulfilled.

The crossing of the river Jordan has a specific role in Christian thinking, as this action symbolises the passing from an old life to a new life in the promised land, a journey that we all make in faith, from dark to light, and from sin to grace. Contemplating the muddy water slowly passing by seemed to belie the importance of the decision of faith. The opposite bank was littered with crumbling concrete blocks of a former military lookout and baptismal station. The promised land did not make a very prepossessing image at this vital point in the river. In many ways though this might be a good image for an adult convert who does know there has been a change in himself but where the outward circumstances of life seem to be little changed. Beyond the immediate detritus along the other riverbank, I could glimpse the beauty of the promised land, and so just like the convert or Catholic who has rediscovered their faith, the journey into the truth and the good has only just begun and is in no way complete. There is still along way to travel but there has been change on a more profound level, that of oneness or unity. To be baptised, or to understand once again the implications of the Sacrament is to be joined together both with Christ but with all other believers. The consequence of original sin was not just personal fault but the fragmentation of humanity into mutually incomprehensible groupings, a fact symbolised by the story of the Tower of Babel. This mutual misunderstanding leads inevitably to violence and discord. The grace of baptism heals these wounds and strengthens the bonds of unity that exist between believers.

The search for unity and with it peace is a divinely initiated work, the particular work of the Holy Spirit. Jesus tells his disciples the Spirit of unity will be given to them after He has risen from the dead. The Gospel this Sunday is the final peace of this prayer that occupies c17 of St John's Gospel. The unity that Christ prays forms the bedrock of the ecumenical endeavours of the Church because the Church is ultimately the only place for unity, and so peace between God and ourselves.

 

Pentecost Week - Sunday 30th May 2004

Just lately I have read of various attempts by the London Tourist Board, and its attendant quangos, to encourage us to visit some of the hidden gems of London, and surrounding countryside. The same could be said of the architectural patrimony of the Westminster Diocese. It remains largely unknown and ignored. Recently I have been appointed as Chairman of the Art and Architecture Committee, and my task, along with other members, is to review proposed changes to made to the interior and exterior of Churches in the Diocese. So far the Committee has dealt with over ten Churches, and this is just a minuscule percentage for Westminster Diocese. What has become apparent is the great care that was put into building these places of faith, so unlike the modern office block with its intended lifespan of 25/30 years. The cost of these Churches was subsumed into the worship of God, and was all done with a hope for the future, that succeeding generations will find in them a worthy setting to celebrate Mass. They contain also the memories of previous generations, their prayers, their anxieties and their hopes.

When I was first appointed I had thought that this role might become a rather melancholic activity, as I witnessed the destruction of beautiful interiors, in the name of misunderstood Vatican II directives about the liturgy. The destruction that has been meted out on so many loved Churches has more psychological motives, in my opinion, than just the establishment of an appropriate setting to say Mass. However I could not have been more wrong about the present situation, and am pleased to report that instead of destruction there is restoration and renewal. Over the last few weeks the Committee has been given proposals to restore two fine Victorian Parish Churches. Both schemes aim to restore the interiors with the reintroduction of colour and the revealing of original stonework. These projects are not exercises in liturgical or architectural archaeology, as they will both address the particular requirements for the current liturgical rites of the Catholic Church. Such work has become 'the reordering of the reorderings'. Much of the interior changes of the 1960s and 1970s now look insipid and uninspiring, and lack any artistic merit at all. This is not true in all cases as my former home Parish Church in Swiss Cottage is a very fine 1960s building with a palpable sense of transcendence and prayer. The stripped down classical interior and exposed brick, gives it the feel of those spartan Romanesque Churches in France and Italy. The key to a 'successful' Church, and something that can be achieved in any 'style' is, does it raise the mind and heart to God? If the Church achieves this, then the celebration of Mass will become the most 'natural' to do in such a space, as this the Mass is the perfect worship of God.

The advertisement campaign about 'forgotten' London and the realities of this new post have brought home the truth that to discover places of peace, transcendence and interest one does not have to travel that far. Most of us rightly attend one Church or may be two Churches a week, but there is a whole diocese of remarkable buildings that testify to commitment of past generations to celebrate the Mass in their communities. They are testaments to the living flame of the Holy Spirit that descended onto the nascent Church in the Upper Room at that first Pentecost.

The Readings from the Acts of the Apostles, Fourth Week of Easter, Year C, Cycle II

The problem of integrating pagan converts into the body of believers caused many arguments about the nature of 'table-fellowship', and the equality of God's gift of the Holy Spirit. Peter had made the change from an exclusive to an inclusive vision of God's salvation, based on his experiences of the Holy Spirit and on the words spoken by the risen Lord. The full implication of God's revelation is still being revealed in the history of the Church. (Monday, replaced by Ss Philip and James)

The new community established in Antioch, one large enough to secure a nickname, 'Christian', is closely connected to the mother Church in Jerusalem through Barnabas. They can rejoice at the spirit filled activity of the newest community, and recognise in it the work of the Spirit thus authenticating the universal mission of the Church. Momentously Barnabas also brings Paul back from exile. (Tuesday, replaced by the Bl. Martyrs of England and Wales)

After a year Paul and Barnabas are set apart to begin missionary journeys. These journeys have the blessing of the mother Church, again through Barnabas' participation. This continual emphasis on Jerusalem and Barnabas shows the length that the Early Church wished to validate the Gentile mission as the logical outcome of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. (Wednesday)

Luke reveals the close parallels between Jesus and Paul. Both receive the Holy Spirit at the beginning of their ministry, both confront Satan, and both begin with a synagogue sermon after the readings of the Law and Prophets. Later both will be rejected. Jesus claims the Prophets are completed in Him, Paul will preach a short catechesis on salvation leading up to Jesus death and resurrection. These last events were achieved by the unwitting fulfilment by the religious authorities of the prophecies in the Scriptures but which will not lead necessarily to condemnation should they accept the risen Lord as the true Messiah. (Thursday and Friday)

The Readings from the Acts of the Apostles, Sixth Week of Easter, Year C, Cycle II

This passage initiates Paul's first European mission in Philippi. As always there are some to welcome him and his companions, and in Philippi the emphasis is on their social status. The Church has the widest possible appeal to all classes but for Lydia her spiritual disposition to hear the word is matched by her disposition to offer hospitality. (Monday)

Paul's adventures continue when he is placed in prison after being flogged. The immediate miraculous events bring about the conversion of the gaoler and his family as well as a public apology for his arrest. Many of the events maybe 'boys own' but through them God is faithful to His promises. The shame of the gaoler, a constituent part of pagan culture, has no place in the Christian life. (Tuesday)

The famous speech delivered by Paul at the Areopagus demonstrates that the Gospel can be in dialogue with the thinkers of the age. What unites both is the pursuit of truth. The unknown God to whom the Greeks give recognition is none other than Jesus Christ, who has initiated a new life for His believers. This new life will form a critique on every human culture which though open to the Gospel in some ways is never self-sufficient. (Wednesday)

The meeting in Corinth between Paul and roman Jewish exiles gives the mission of Paul an unexpected historical grounding as their presence was due to the edict of the Emperor Claudius. The city proves to be a fruitful place for mission, and is probably where Paul wrote his letter to the Romans. (Thursday, replaced by Ascension)

The initial success of Paul in Corinth arouses extreme jealousy and he is arrested again. His release by the pro-consul Gallio substantiates the message given by the Lord that Paul would not be abandoned, and in a backhanded way that Jesus is indeed the Christ. (Friday)

The Readings from the Acts of the Apostles, Seventh Week of Easter, Year C, Cycle II

The existence of John the Baptist's disciples in Ephesus demonstrates his influence throughout the Jewish diaspora. These disciples had submitted, like many in Israel to this baptism of repentance. Paul now completes the work in the name of Jesus Christ, and constitutes these twelve into the nascent Church of Ephesus, and gives them the gift of the Holy spirit to live the Christian life. (Monday)

Paul who founded the Church in Ephesus now takes leave of the elders after three years hard work. His farewell speech is both an encouragement to imitate his selfless service, and to be aware of future opposition. Paul's life was one of single-minded determination to complete the tasks set by Christ, including now travelling to Jerusalem to face possible torture. The evident dedication will mean him taking leave of them , Should the elders remain faithful the Holy Spirit will protect the Church in the truth, a task the Holy Spirit does throughout the ages. (Tuesday and Wednesday)

Paul's method of defence against the Jewish authorities is to stake his claim as a Pharisee and to seek to divide them from the Saddducess about the resurrection. This possible resurrection has now happened in Jesus Christ, so Paul is remaining faithful to his conscience. Jesus Christ is thus the realisation of the hope of Israel. (Thursday)

The comings and goings of minor royalty and the desire of the governor to be seen to be acting in the Emperor's interest allows Paul to have his case heard in Rome. The accidents of human history makes way for divine providence. Thus Paul's return to Jerusalem is not just a backward journey to the beginning but the springboard to head to the capital of the world thus bringing the Gospel to the centre of the pagan empire. (Friday)

The Readings from the 2nd Letter of Peter and 2nd Letter of Paul to Timothy, Pentecost Week, Year C, Cycle II

The Second Letter of Peter is one of the later writings of the New Testament. It gives evidence of an already existing tradition of faith. The recipients, like ourselves, are reminded of the consequences of our faith in Jesus, and that everything is given to us in order to live the godly life. There is thus a very close connection between ethics and doctrine. The chain that begins with faith and hope will end in love. (Monday replaced by the Visitation)

At the end of time all subterfuge will become impossible and everything in history will be laid bare. At that point the enormity of our actions will be revealed and all the unintended consequences of my own actions. Far from being a cause of despair, now is the time to change and to become more Christ like. (Tuesday)

St Paul writing to Timothy, the young man ordained to be leader of the Church in Ephesus is told that with this gift of grace comes the ability to preach the Gospel and to accept suffering. This grace will also preserve the tradition Paul has handed down, as well as the ability to authentically interpret the Scriptures. (Wednesday)

The life of an apostle, as well as that for their successors will be in conformity to the life of Jesus Christ. They will suffer to death, not just figuratively as in the sacrament of Baptism but in reality as the price of their vocation. The pains of discipleship are bearable only because through them the Church expands through this heroic preaching. (Thursday)

Paul continues the theme of apostolic suffering, and reminds Timothy that he was aware of this from the outset. He encourages Timothy to remain faithful to 'the tradition', and to the Scriptures, which are divinely inspired. This is the classic passage for the Church as to the divine authorship of the Bible. Paul also relates the foundational Scriptures with the tradition that he has handed down, and by implication the teaching authority of the Church that guards the deposit of faith. (Friday)