Lecture on Blessed John Henry Newman

The Plymouth Circle of the Catenians (a Catholic society) has invited members of the Ordinariate to a lecture at Plymouth Cathedral on Thursday 29th September at  7.30pm. It is entitled:

Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman and the Second Vatican Council

The lecturer is Fr Ian Ker, a priest in Oxford and in the Theology Faculty of Oxford University.  He is a renowned scholar of Newman.

It is a very great shame that the Ordinariate Clergy all have to be in London that day meeting Cardinal Levada but that is the way it is.  However it would be wonderful if lay members of the Ordinariate gave it their support. The Lecture will be for 40 mins followed by questions. There will be a retiring collection to defray costs.

23rd Sunday of the Year

Yesterday's Plainsong workshop
Members of the Buckfast Ordinariate Group were invited along to the plainsong workshop yesterday. It had been arranged principally for the voluntary choir, so it was a privilege to have been invited along to it. Perhaps it was unfortunate that three out of the four members of the ordinariate who turned up were perhaps the least musically gifted. However the day was a mixture of teaching and explanation together with much singing. It was incredible how infectious the singing in this ancient tradition became and how quickly we picked up the different notation. At one point the three of us were horrified when it became clear that we should have to sing a phrase of marian hymn (in latin) after teaching it to ourselves using only the notation! The Lord is merciful because our phrase was perhaps the easiest and one of the brethren of the community joined us and very gently built up our confidence. And we did it! It was an enjoyable day, and even provided an opportunity to educate members of the choir about the ordinariate. Thank you to the choir and the Abbey's director of music, Michael Vian Clark.

Sermon
Fr Colin was principal celebrant and preacher today. In his homily he reminded us that although we have a tendency to regard sin as a private matter, in fact sin was very much a matter for the whole community. Like an infectious illness can spread around families and communities if left untreated, so sin can cause similar effects. He reminded us very helpfully of how in the confiteor we confess sin in the mass not just to God but also to our brothers and sisters. Our thoughts were also drawn to the Lord's prayer when after asking for forgiveness we add the clause "as we forgive those who trespass against us".  In sacramental confession the priest is there also symbolising that sin is a matter for the community, as well as a matter for God.
  As I listened I recognised my own tendency to privatise my sin as if I could thereby deal with it better by hiding it.  The trouble is that we can all too easily think we can hide it away for ever.  However it is indeed a disease and unless we have it treated it will not just have negative effects on ourselves, but also those around us. How we should treasure the gift of the confessional in our churches to visibly remind us that we cannot hide away our sins and we do need to sort them out.

The Holy Father also drew on this theme in his address at the Sunday Angelus today:


 

New Translation of the Mass
Today we used the new English translation of the mass. At the moment we are not singing any setting of the mass and are gradually going to introduce the new simple chant of the mass. With the helpful cards we were able to make all the responses correctly.  It will take time for these to become our own.  For those of us who are familiar with the Anglican Book of Common Prayer or the English Missal, it was very tempting for us to respond "And with thy spirit" instead of "And with your spirit". I think the most difficult part was the gloria that we "clunked" through, but it didn't flow. However this early days and when begin singing it I am sure it will flow.. I received no adverse comments from the group or any of the visitors.

"Get Clean" Video

This video is called “Get clean,” it's the winning video from a contest held by different Catholic dioceses in New York. The contest asked for 1 minute videos to encourage youth to accept the sacrament of confession. The filmmakers were awarded a prize of $25,000.

22nd Sunday of the Year

Christ the King, Plymouth

We have moved!
My family and I have finally moved from St John's Vicarage in Bovey Tracey to Christ the King Presbytery in Plymouth.  Bishop Christopher very kindly invited us to live at the presbytery which had been used as student accomodation and the chaplain's flat. Over the summer the heating has been completely refurbished and we embarked on redecorating the place with much help from family and members of the ordinariate group. The presbytery is integrated into the church and hall and was designed by Sir Gilbert Scott and to be his final project before he died in 1960.  The church is a chapel of ease to the Cathedral and has a daily mass, as well as the vigil mass for Sundays. We are now positioned in the centre of Plymouth which is a big change for all the family having lived in rural Devon for the last decade.  After all the turmoil of the last six months we now have chance to settle down and adjust to our new surroundings.  We are fortunate to be positioned near the Hoe which means we can take a walk to see the sea in five minutes or so.  Please say a prayer for us that God may bless us in our new home.

A view from the nave

Sermon

1 I appeal to you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

23 But he turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me; for you are not on the side of God, but of men."

Saint Peter, by divine revelation, had declared Jesus' true nature, and then Jesus had given him the keys of the Kingdom of heaven, with the power to bind and loose. With regard to whom Jesus is, Peter had got it right. But, as we heard in the gospel today, with regard to the mission of Jesus, Peter did not have it right. It would take Peter time, in his journey of faith, to get to grips with Christ's mission. The mission of Jesus is of course a working out in Peter's life of who Jesus was. Peter had got the first bit right, but working it through would take longer. And this is not just Peter's problem; it is a problem for just about all disciples of Christ. Assenting to the Christian faith is one thing, working it through into daily life is a much longer project for most of us.

If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

The Lady Chapel

The difficulty for Peter then, and for most disciples of Christ, then and now, is the attachment we have for the things of this life. We feel more secure grasping the tangible things of this life for support and to find meaning and purpose. But Christ reveals to us that in fact we will not find what we are searching for. If we look for our ultimate security in tangible things we will not find any real security. If we search for meaning and purpose in this world we will find none. If we seek salvation by grasping at our lives and clinging on, we will in fact lose it. Peter saw things as the world saw things and acted upon this way of seeing as he remonstrates with Christ: “God forbid, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” Peter is thus getting in the way and obstructing the mission of Christ; and our Lord calls Him “Satan”, who is the one who always seeks to obstruct the mission of Christ. Peter does not realise that in conforming to the world he is actually doing the work of God's enemy.

St Paul in his letter to the Christians of Rome, sums this up brilliantly in the first two verses of chapter twelve. In the first eleven chapters he has shared the gospel, now he begins exhorting the Christian community to start living it out in their daily lives. For a number of years now these two verses have stayed with me and I have often thought about them, particularly the second verse. The very great danger for the Christian is to be conformed to the world. It is a very succinct way of describing it, but it happens in all sorts of ways – it creeps in; it is invidious. We must be vigilant and beware. Yet this has been one of the very great disasters of the modern period, for, in many and varied ways, members of the church in the West have fallen for the allure of the ways of the world. In lesser or greater ways most of us have been touched by this. This isn't a simplistic battle in the church between revisionists and traditionalists, or liberals and conservatives as it is so often portrayed. It is about discerning the will of God and rightly offering ourselves as a living sacrifice – our true spiritual worship as St Paul puts it. Our mission, the church's mission, is to do the will of God, whether or not it fits into one of our favoured categories – whether that be “conservative” or “progressive” or whatever.

Ultimately we will only give ourselves as a living sacrifice to the one whom we desire most, whom we love most. Jeremiah puts it very strikingly:

You have seduced me, Lord, and I have let myself be seduced;

you have overpowered me: you were the stronger.

It is only in a true relationship of love that holy self-sacrifice becomes a realistic possibility. And a relationship of love is cultivated through familiarity and repetition. It begins in our personal prayer life and culminates in the offering of the mass.

World Youth Day event 2011

Please pray for the World Youth Day event in Madrid (16-21 August). Young people from all over the world will be gathering before the Pope at the five day event. The average age of participants is 22. Let us pray that this event is a real and lasting inspiration to the young people of the church, and that their enthusiasm and missionary zeal may inspire the rest of us especially the church in Western Europe.

For more details click here.

Father Robin's Assumption Homily

  Sing the greatest joy of Mary, when on earth her work was done,
   And the Lord of all creation brought her to his heavenly home:
   Virgin Mother, Mary blessed, raised on high and crowned with grace,
   May your Son, the world's redeemer, grant us all to see his face.

               (final verse of "Sing we of the Blessed Mother" - today's opening

                 hymn sung to Abbots Leigh)

Today we celebrated the Mass of the Assumption of Our Lady

at the later time of 4.30pm. We moved to the later time to allow another celebration to take place at 3pm.  Our gracious Sacristan was very busy today.

In our Mass we were treated to a fine homily given by Fr Robin Ellis who, without any notes, reminded us that the celebration of today was very much grounded in the Ascension of our Lord.  Our Lord in His Ascension had taken His human nature, which had been given to Him by His mother, into heaven. Today we celebrated Blessed Mary, who was so united to her Son in life, that in death she was united body and soul with her Son in heaven. And so our hope is to follow our adopted Mother in her following of her Son.

One of the beautiful opportunites at feasts of our Lady is to sing familiar Marian hymns. Today we sang, Sing we of the blessed Mother (Abbots Leigh), Virgin-born we bow before thee (Quem Pastores),and Ye who own the faith of Jesus (Daily daily). By the time we had sung all three hymns we had covered the Marian doctrines of the Church. These doctrines of Mary are doctrines of hope for us all, for Mary has followed her Son in the way we too must follow to eternal life. We too must say "Be it unto me according to thy word". Christ too must be born in us. We too must unite our suffering hearts with our Saviour's on the cross. We too must unite our prayers with the whole Apostolic Church waiting for the Spirit of God. And by the grace of Christ alone we pray that one day we will be united with Christ in glory. Mary shows us the way of faith.


Every blessing on this great feast of Our Lady,
Fr Ian


PS Sometime later this week I shall start being resident at Christ the King Presbytery. My new address:
           Christ the King Presbytery
           Armada Way
           Plymouth
           PL1 2EN
Until at least 24th August the Presbytery telephone number is 01752 266523.

Nineteenth Sunday of Ordinary time

The good people of Our Lady and St George, Totnes, have had to put up with me these last two Sundays while their parish priest, Fr Paver, has been on holiday.. They have been very welcoming to me and it has been lovely for me to celebrate mass with them. Here is the sermon they bore patiently this morning:

How on earth can we say with any credibility that Jesus walked on water?

This could be a thought we entertain as we consider the gospel narrative tonight/today. How can we really believe that Jesus could disobey the laws of nature. Surely if God created the laws of nature He isn't going to disobey them?

Of course this is the train of thought that many follow in today's technological age. How can I, with training in science and engineering, possibly support this?

Well let us take a moment to think what this train of thought is actually saying: What it is saying is that the “laws of nature” have a higher power or authority than God Himself! There are in reality no laws of nature, they are simply convenient ways for scientists to understand and predict how things work etc. And any good scientist will tell you that all scientific laws are provisional – that is, they are temporary until better ones are formed to explain all the different things that happen to materials on earth.

All laws of nature are, if they are true, simply manifestations of the will of God. Everything happens in Creation because God wills it. Gravity happens because God wills it. There are negatively charged electrons that travel down metal and are what we call electricity because God wills it. And there is a lot more that scientists don't know about that nevertheless still happens in the world, because God wills it. And Jesus walked on water because God willed it. And Peter walked on water by faith because God willed it. We cannot explain how the cohesion of the water molecules could have supported the solid mass of our Lord, or Peter, but that does not mean it didn't happen! It was only recently that aeronautical engineers could explain how a bumblebee can fly, but it has flown for a long time without their understanding!

Walking on the sea, Jesus says, “Take heart, it is I; have no fear.”

The words “It is I” are full of meaning if we can hear them aright. In them Jesus is communicating His divinity. God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” In the midst of the chaos of the storm and the considerable fear of the disciples Jesus says “It is I”. Jesus is Immanuel, God with us; and if God is with us, of what should we fear? In their moment of terror, after having been dismissed by Jesus and bidden to travel in the boat without Him they are now beset with terrifying weather at sea, and Christ speaks in that moment to calm them with the reality of His being: it is I – I am.

The perilous position of the disciples was very great, yet we can all find ourselves in a position where everything seems to be going disastrously wrong and we can then fall into fear, even terror. We might not literally be in a small boat on a stormy sea, but we can be metaphorically speaking. And so St Matthew brings us these words of our Lord for those moments – “It is I”, “Take heart”, “Have no fear”.

Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus, but when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord save me.”

Even those who at times have great faith, can, in an instant, falter. Peter looked at the wind, and he allowed fear to grip him. How powerful faith is, yet how weak we are without it. Yet Peter said the right thing, “Lord save me”. Sometimes we feel we are drowning, then St Peter's words must be ours – for in the end that is what we depend upon ; we can be saved only by our Lord.

Faith it might seem is the antithesis of what science is all about. Science is about demonstrable and repeatable cause and effect. Yet there is in medicine an area where it seems to me that a person's faith comes into play. It is the phenomenon known as the placebo effect – that is, if a person believes they are getting something to cure them, then even if the person takes a dummy pill, or placebo, they experience an improvement or even a cure. It all depends on how much they believe in the remedy. The placebo effect seems to me to demonstrate the power of faith. And so if we can be healed because we believe in the power of a pill, how much more dramatic belief in God can be upon us! Yet we are, as our Lord put it, “O you of little faith.” This serves to remind us of how much further in the journey of faith we all have to go, yet it also reminds us of how much more we have to gain in that journey.

Let us make our own the words of the father of the epileptic boy, “Lord I believe, help thou my unbelief.”

Amen.