Monthly Blog by Parish Deacons

Believe what you read.  Teach what you believe.  Practice what you teach.

March 2024 - Deacon Warren - A way to encounter women saints

The National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., invites visitors to explore the lives of heroic women — saints in the Church — through art every day.  Instead of producing a photograph, art seeks to reveal underneath a likeness — a likeness that may or may not actually look like the person involved — that tries to expose something deeper.  One way to look at images and art, including that of the saints, is by examining the symbols included.  Art, opens up a new way of encountering women saints and drawing inspiration from them.  Here are 10 paintings from the National Gallery that shed light on revolutionary women who responded to God’s call to change the Church and the world — each in her own way.  

1. Mary, Mother of God The Alba Madonna” by Raphael (c. 1510)

2. St. Anne Saint Anne with the Christ Child, the Virgin, and Saint John the Baptist” by Hans Baldung Grien (c. 1511)

3. St. Mary Magdalene The Repentant Magdalen” by Georges de La Tour (c. 1635/1640)

4. St. Joan of Arc The Maid in Armor on Horseback” by Louis Maurice Boutet de Monvel (c. 1908-late 1909)

5. St. Catherine of Alexandria Saint Catherine” by Lorenzo Lotto (1522)

6. St. Lucy Saint Lucy” by Francesco del Cossa (c. 1473/1474)

7. St. Cecilia Saint Cecilia and an Angel” by Orazio Gentileschi and Giovanni Lanfranco (c. 1617/1618 and c. 1621/1627)

8. St. Veronica Saint Veronica” by Hans Memling (c. 1470/1475)

9. St. Helena Saint Helena” by Cima da Conegliano (c. 1495)

10. St. Barbara Saint Barbara” by Master of the Starck Triptych (c. 1480/1490)


Adapted from an article by Katie Yoder, a contributing editor for OSV. 

Reflection: First Sunday of Lent - “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.”

I do not know about you, but a temptation that I face every Lent, is to refuse to go into the desert with Christ.  To think that Lent can be complete if, for example, all I do is give up snacking, or listening to music in the car.  The first big hurdle that I need to get over, is to hear Christ’s voice from the desert, saying: “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while” (Mk 6:31), and respond to it.

Every Lent, the same Holy Spirit who drove Jesus into the desert, wants to drive us into the desert, to renew, and deepen, our relationship with God.  While God is not calling us all physically to go to the Sahara Desert, He is calling us to remove ourselves from the distractions of life, so that in doing so, we can clearly hear and see Him.

 

Let us now turn to the Gospel. The three temptations in the Gospel, are temptations that every one of us faces.  Learning how Jesus responds to them, we learn how to respond to them in our own lives.  In the first temptation, the devil disordered our relationship with God the Father.

In the second temptation, the devil disordered our relationships with others.  And in the final temptation, the devil disordered our relationship with ourselves.  In response to these three fundamental temptations, Jesus not only shows us how to resist, but also prescribes for us, on Ash Wednesday, the medicine we need through the traditional practices of prayer, almsgiving and fasting.

These three practices are the means, by which we enter Jesus’ prayer, fasting for 40 days in the desert, and His total self-giving, and resist the temptations of the devil.

Reflection: Second Sunday in Ordinary Time 

Last Sunday we celebrated the Epiphany, when the infant Jesus was visited by the Magi. Today, we enter Ordinary Time, and in the Gospel we are again presented with the adult Jesus.  The Sundays, and weeks, of Ordinary Time, lead us through the life of Christ, emphasizing His ministry and teachings, so that we can mature as His disciples.  With this in mind, it makes sense that we should begin Ordinary Time by returning to the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry, and His calling of the first disciples. In fact, our readings this Sunday, have a theme of vocation, of hearing the call of the Lord, and responding properly.

In our first reading, the prophet Samuel is only a boy, and is hearing the voice of God for the first time. This whole scene is rich with lessons on the spiritual life. Before we consider these lessons, we need to remember that, while perhaps most of us won’t receive the rare gift of hearing the audible voice of God, all of us can hear God speak to us in various ways, especially through Sacred Scripture, the teaching of the Church, our conscience, and in our own prayer, but we have to learn to distinguish His voice, from that of strangers.  

If we want to hear God’s voice, to know His will for our life, and receive His guidance, we need to place ourselves in His presence in concrete ways. As Catholics, of course, this ideally looks like spending time before the Eucharist, whether during exposition, or simply in the tabernacle.

While at first Samuel mistakes the voice of God, for the voice of the priest Eli, his response is revealing: “Here I am. You called me”.  This simple response implies humble obedience, and an eagerness to serve. In our Responsorial Psalm, we prayed to have this same disposition: “Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will”.

Samuel is persistent; he doesn’t become frustrated, or give up when he doesn’t understand what is happening. Sometimes we are quick to judge our prayer as fruitless, or ineffective. But we need to trust.  God wants us to form us in humility and obedience, so that we can receive what He wants to give us.

Samuel hears the Lord and responds, “Speak, for your servant is listening”.  His disposition of humility and openness, allows the Lord to use him as a great prophet. This applies also to us: if we spend time in the Lord’s presence, we will carry that presence in a powerful way.  People are supposed to experience God when they encounter us. 

Looking briefly at the Gospel reading, it has a very similar theme of responding to God’s call. John the Baptist points out Jesus. as the 'Lamb of God' to his disciples. None of us is alone as we seek to know God better, to hear His voice and follow His will. While personal prayer is extremely important, we should not seek the Lord in total isolation. God speaks to each of us, and He gives everyone a variety of gifts, so that we need to rely on each other. The Body of Christ is interdependent, with each member both serving and needing all the others. 


Jesus, Good Shepherd, help us to hear your voice clearly in the midst of so many other voices. Increase our desire for your presence, and your words. Give us the help we need in following you, and use us to bring others to you. Amen.



Adapted from an article by Fr. Christopher Trummer, a priest of the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois.

February 2024 - Deacon Warren - 7 tips for making a good Lent 

God wants to change our lives this Lent, but this will require a more serious response and commitment from us.


1. Do something every day - it will be hard to make progress if we don’t take on a consistent practice each day during Lent. 

2. Make sure it pushes you - we should aim at conversion of heart, and our sacrifices should reflect this turn away from the world, and to God,

3. Don’t forget regular fasting - consider eating less each day, giving up meat more than once a week, or fasting a few days a week. 

4. Prayer is essential - we need to do our part, but, even more so, we need to turn to God for help. 

5. Go to Mass more often - at Mass, we will encounter Christ in His tangible presence, who can dwell within us, making us His tabernacle in the world. 

6. Pick a spiritual book to read - this will help us to meditate during a daily holy hour, praying through the mysteries of the faith. 

7. Do something to help others - to love God, we must also love our neighbour, which expresses, and actualizes, this love. 


This Lent can be different.   We can lean into serious prayer, fasting, and almsgiving to turn our hearts to God.  

January 2024 - Deacon Warren - The feast of the Lord’s Epiphany, celebrates the fulfilment of God’s original purpose for His chosen people.

In modern English, we typically use the word ‘epiphany’, to mean a sudden insight or intuition. It is generally a personal and private phenomenon. But the original meaning of ‘epiphany’ is the public revelation or manifestation of something.

There are a few spiritual laws on display in Matthew’s account of the visit of the magi. We could summarize them as: 1) those who seek God, find Him; 2) those who find Him, worship Him; and 3) those who worship Him, share Him.

Seek

God had said to the prophet Jeremiah, “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart” (Jer 29:13). And Christ said, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you” (Lk 11:9). The Magi seek Christ using reason and faith. They ask, “Where is the new-born king of the Jews? We saw His star at its rising and have come to do Him homage”.  Like the magi who followed the star, we too experience God’s handiwork in nature. We can learn about Him indirectly through His creation. But nature is not God. Notice that the star did not lead the magi all the way to Jesus. They had to consult Sacred Scripture in order to find Him. And of course, it was only by coming into His presence, that they could worship Him.

Find

“They were overjoyed at seeing the star, and on entering the house they saw the child, with Mary, His mother”.  The magi had assumed that Jesus would be in Jerusalem with the king and other “important” people. Instead, they found him in the lowest place: a manger, a feeding trough for animals.

Worship

“They prostrated themselves and did Him homage. Then they opened their treasures and offered Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh”.  Today, all of us have been affected to some degree by consumerism. “What’s in it for me? What can I get out of this?” We do have real spiritual needs, but these questions miss the main point. The example of the magi, reminds us that the centre of worship is sacrifice — in other words, giving and not receiving.

Mission

“ . . . they departed for their country by another way”.  We don’t know what became of the Magi, or what they did to share about their experience. But we do know that they were changed by their encounter with Jesus, and that they followed God’s will, by protecting Jesus from Herod.

Every Mass is a Christmas: The incarnate Christ becomes present again in humble form. And every time we come to Mass, it is an Epiphany: The Lord is revealed to us. We are to be like the magi: we seek the Lord, we find him here, we worship him by offering our gifts, and we leave as changed people.



Adapted from an article by Fr. Christopher Trummer, a priest of the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois.  

The Announcement of Easter and the Moveable Feasts • 2024

On the Epiphany of the Lord, after the singing of the Gospel, a Deacon, in keeping with an ancient practice of Holy Church, 

announces from the ambo, the moveable feasts of the current year, according to this formula:

Know, dear brothers and sisters, that, as we have rejoiced at the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ 

so by leave of God's mercy we announce to you also the joy of his Resurrection, who is our Saviour. 

On the fourteenth day of February will fall Ash Wednesday, and the beginning of the fast of the most sacred Lenten season. 

On the thirty-first day of March you will celebrate with joy Easter Day, the Paschal feast of our Lord Jesus Christ.

On the ninth day of May will be the Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

On the nineteenth day of May the feast of Pentecost. 

On the second day of June, the feast of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. 

On the first day of December, the First Sunday of the Advent of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom is honour and glory for ever and ever.  Amen.

Reflection: Feast of the Holy Family

Of all the events during Jesus’ life, isn’t it interesting, that His presentation in the temple as an infant, is preserved, while so many others are not?  To make an analogy, if you were writing an autobiography, how many would include a story about your baptism?  Sure, perhaps a passing reference, but what about a page or two?  Not only is Christ’s presentation in the temple preserved, but the Church thinks that it is more important than many other events of Christ’s life.  We do not have a set day to remember when Christ raised the widow’s son, or expelled demons, both of which certainly seem like a bigger deal, than Him being brought to the temple.  And yet, the Church raises this celebration, above many others, where it acts as the bookend to Christmas.

 

So, what makes today so important? To understand this, we need to remember history, and how we got to this moment.  Christ’s presentation in the temple is set within the context of fulfilling the promises, the covenants between God and Israel.  Two thousand years previously, Abraham was promised a multitude of descendants, land, and that the world would be blessed.  This promise, though, was not fulfilled in his lifetime, for he would have a single son late in life.

 

Across these thousands of years, the people wrestled with the promises made to them by God.  They waited in expectation as to how He would fulfil them.

As with Abraham, they were called to have faith, that is trust in the Lord, that He would fulfil His promises.  Just as the Lord acted “at the set time that [He] had stated,” in giving Abraham Isaac, so too would the Lord do again with His other promises.  And so, in faith, they waited for the arrival of the Messiah.

 

At long last, He arrived, He is born unto us, but in a manger, without notice and fanfare.  His arrival is not yet known to the people. And so, the Lord prepared His prophet Simeon for this day.  The Lord had promised to Simeon, that he would not die before seeing the Messiah, the Christ.  And so, the Spirit then led him into the temple this day, filled with expectation: this is the set moment, this is the time, prepared by the Lord, across centuries.  As he lays his eyes upon this child, this infant, he breaks out in praise, proclaiming publicly the good news, the gospel of the Messiah’s arrival.  The Glory of God has arrived in the temple, the salvation of the people, and wisdom to all.  And how we ought to rejoice in this, too, on this seventh day of the Christmas octave.

 

The prophetess Anna, in hearing the joy of Simeon, comes over, and she too rejoices in the fulfilment of God’s promises.  She then goes throughout the temple bringing the good news to all, just as Mary Magdalene will do at the resurrection.

 

In these two prophets, we find an elderly man and woman, who stand in for the whole Old Testament, and give witness to the arrival of the New Testament.

Let us each go forth as Anna did and proclaim the good news of Christ’s arrival in the world.  Just as His birth, some two thousand years ago is often overlooked and forgotten, so too is it today, in the commemoration of His nativity itself.  But today we celebrate the public proclamation of said birth, the royal announcement that our Lord has arrived.  The Old proclaims the New, and the New is glorified in the Old. 



Adapted from an article by Fr. Timothy Eck, a priest of the Diocese of Metuchen. 

December 2023 - Deacon Warren - Advent is a favourable time to pray

As we enter the season of Advent, God calls us to embrace a sacred time of anticipation and reflection.  

Advent, derived from the Latin word meaning “coming,” is a time of special significance for Catholics.  It marks the beginning of the liturgical year, inviting us to prepare our hearts and minds to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

The symbolic lighting of the Advent candles, one by one each week, leads us closer to the celebration of Christ’s birth, and serves as a beacon of hope in a world that often feels dark and uncertain. The Advent wreath, adorned with evergreen branches, reminds us of the eternal life found in Christ, while the candles represent the increasing light that dispels the darkness — a tangible manifestation of our spiritual journey.

Moreover, Advent calls us to a profound examination of conscience and repentance. It is a time to acknowledge our shortcomings, seek reconciliation and make room in our hearts for the transformative power of Christ’s love. The Sacrament of Reconciliation becomes a pivotal aspect of our Advent journey, allowing us to approach the manger with hearts purified, and ready to receive the Prince of Peace.

Family traditions, such as the Advent calendar or the Jesse Tree, provide opportunities for shared prayer and reflection. These traditions deepen our understanding of salvation history, and foster a sense of unity, and faith, within our families. Advent becomes a time of building memories, forging bonds, and passing down the richness of our Catholic heritage, to the next generation.

Pope Francis explains that “Advent is thus a favourable time to pray, with greater intensity, to reserve to the spiritual life, the important place it deserves.” Time with God, intentionally responding to His invitation to share from the depths of our hearts, is the only thing strong enough to save us from the pre-Christmas chaos.

As we embark on this sacred journey of Advent, let us embrace the season with open hearts, and receptive spirits. Let the traditions, prayers, and reflections of this season, be a source of inspiration, drawing us closer to the heart of the Incarnation. By observing Advent with intentionality and devotion, we prepare for the celebration of Christ’s birth, and the ongoing transformation of our lives in His divine light.

November 2023 (2) - Deacon Warren - It’s never a bad time to begin a Litany of Thanksgiving

I want to take a moment to express my deepest gratitude to every one of you.  Your support, encouragement, and kindness have been the anchor of our journey together.  This special litany [with thanks to Gretchen R. Crowe  (Our Sunday Visitor)] reminds us of the importance of giving thanks to God, and recognizing the Blessings in our lives.  In his first letter to the Thessalonians, St. Paul tells the community of new believers: 

“In all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you, in Christ Jesus” (5:18).  

For the beauty of your creation, we thank you, O Lord.

For the gift of new life, we thank you, O Lord.

For creating us in your image and likeness, we thank you, O Lord.

For your Fatherly love, we thank you, O Lord.

For the gift of your only Son, we thank you, O Lord.

For the gifts of the Holy Spirit, we thank you, O Lord.

For revealing yourself to us, we thank you, O Lord.

For the sacraments that bring us closer to you, we thank you, O Lord.

For the Eucharist that sustains us, we thank you, O Lord.

For the love found in family, we thank you, O Lord.

For the friendships that nourish us, we thank you, O Lord.

For the Church that guides us, we thank you, O Lord.

For holy and wise clergy, we thank you, O Lord.

For the example of people of faith who inspire us, we thank you, O Lord.

For the peace that is found in you, we thank you, O Lord.

For the joy that comes from praising you, we thank you, O Lord.

For times of hardship, that help us to grow in virtue and holiness, we thank you, O Lord.

For the opportunity to work for good, we thank you, O Lord.

For the times we are inconvenienced, we thank you, O Lord.

For moments of sorrow, that helps us remember to turn to you, we thank you, O Lord.

For opportunities to do your will with joy, we thank you, O Lord. 

Reflection: Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time 

Our lives are not our own. This may be a unpleasant reality, but our difficulty in accepting it, makes it no less real.

Everything that we have has been given. In other words, everything we have — including our very lives — is a gift.

This is the logic the Lord invites us into, in the parable of the talents, the logic of the good things the Lord desires to share with us, and our response to His gifts.

 

The fact of our dependence, runs contrary to many of the cultural narratives of our day.  We are told that we should be independent, that we should live our truth, that we are the masters of our destiny.  Without diminishing the importance of free will, the evidence that much of our lives lies outside of our control - if we are willing to face it - at a certain point becomes overwhelming.

 

In the first place, I did not give myself life. I did not choose the family or the circumstances that I was born into.

I did not predetermine my various personality traits, or natural abilities.  What, then, are we to do with what has been given?

 

In the parable of the talents, we see that the three servants are given different amounts, “to each according to his ability” (Matthew 25:15).  Perhaps we may object to the fairness of the Master, but the rest of the parable makes sense of His logic.  The two servants who received more, didn’t cling to the talents possessively, but put them into work, in order to offer even more in return.  The servant who received less, on the other hand, buried what was given to him, as if he had received nothing at all.

 

It could be said that the two servants who received more, were generous to receive what had been given to them.

This generosity lies at the heart of what it means to be a Christian.  We are called to be open, to receive all that the Lord has given us, in order that it may bear fruit and multiply.  In this way, nothing is lost, but everything becomes a gift. 

Everything is grace — or a gift — as St. Thérèse would say, so long as we neither bury it, nor cling to it possessively.

 

Our life has been given to us, so that it may be shared.  This is what it means to live one’s life for Christ, for the work of Another, who makes me all that I am, and gives me all that I have.

 

The fact that our lives are not our own, that there are factors out of our control, is not a threat but a gift.  Like the servants who received the talents and put them into work, we are called to put our lives into play, all of the gifts that we have received — yes, even the challenging ones — so that our hearts would be open to receive even more.

 

Only in entering into this logic of gift, can we be given more, and grow rich (Matthew 25:29), and experience the hundredfold, for which we were made (Mark 10:30).

 

Read in light of last week’s parable of the wise and foolish bridesmaids, this parable teaches that God’s judgment will be based on the service we render to God and to one another in accordance with the gifts that God has given to us. Our gifts, or talents, are given to us for the service of others. If we fail to use these gifts, God’s judgment on us will be severe. On the other hand, if we make use of these gifts in service to the Kingdom of Heaven, we will be rewarded and entrusted with even more responsibilities.

 

This Gospel reminds us that Christian spirituality is not passive or inactive. Our life of prayer helps us to discern the gifts that have been given to us by God. This prayer and discernment ought to lead us to use our gifts in the service of God and our neighbour. God’s grace allows us to share in the work of serving the Kingdom of Heaven.



Adapted from an article by Fr. Ralph D’Elia, S.T.L., a priest of the Diocese of St. Petersburg.

Reflection: Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time 

In you, Lord, I have found my peace.

In the world in which we live, perhaps the search for peace can seem like a futile effort.  There is so much noise, so many distractions, so much chaos.  As hopeless as it may seem, however, we continue the search.  How much money is spent on self-help books, meditation apps, and therapy sessions?  Perhaps to some end, these tools may be helpful. But what happens when they fail?  How many people today, seek to numb themselves with alcohol and drugs, or even by throwing themselves into the alternate reality of social media?  In other words, our desire for peace cannot be extinguished.

 

In the readings the Church proposes to us today, we see an interesting contrast, one that can be summed up in St. John XXIII’s motto: obedience and peace.

This wise expression connects two concepts that perhaps, without the light of faith, would seem disconnected.  Obedience and peace.

When we understand the nature of our obedience to the Lord, we recognize the peace that can come from submitting ourselves to His will.

This is not an easy practice, though. It requires a great deal of humility.  “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted” (Matthew 23:12).

 

In seeking to create our own peace, we run the risk of elevating ourselves beyond that which we are.  We pray that the Lord may give us the grace today to humble ourselves.  It is only then that we can experience that peace for which our hearts yearn without ceasing.

“O Lord, my heart is not proud, nor are my eyes haughty; I busy not myself with great things, nor with things too sublime for me.

Nay rather, I have stilled and quieted my soul like a weaned child. Like a weaned child on its mother’s lap, so is my soul within me” (Psalm 131:1–2). In you, Lord, I have found my peace.



Adapted from an article by Fr. Ralph D’Elia, S.T.L., a priest of the Diocese of St. Petersburg.

November 2023 (1) - Deacon Warren - Prayer and Mission

Prayer is not one of a long list of things we need to do in order for our ministry to bear fruit, rather prayer itself is the source of all fruitfulness.  Prayer, at its core, is relationship with Jesus, who is the wellspring and the true source.  Jesus is the source who communicates His Divine life, love, and light to us, and we in turn, are able to communicate this to others.  Our fruitfulness in ministry, flows directly from this place of relationship with Jesus.  Jesus wants to communicate His Divine life to all people, but to share something, we first need to have it

Prayer is not something we can ask just others to do for us.  No matter how gifted or talented you are, if you are not rooted in that intimate relationship with Jesus, His Divine life can’t flow through you.  Our fruitfulness in ministry, can only come from an intimate relationship with Jesus, and that relationship comes from a life of personal prayer.  It's that simple.  God is using us, to be instruments of His love, and His fruitfulness.  Most of your fruit you will never see, this side of eternity.  But that fruit is present, more and more, in the measure that you are able to abide in Jesus’ love.
We must remain in Him, to be an instrument of His Divine life to others. Jesus is always present to us, but we are not always present to Him. That is what abiding means, to be oriented to Him. When we begin to desire to abide in Him, that’s when God’s grace flows, and we are able to be transfigured.  In prayer, we will see the fruit in our ministry begin to grow, not through our own efforts, good strategy, and vision, but through God’s grace flowing into us, transforming us, and then affecting everyone we encounter.


Adapted from interview by Sr. Mary Magdalen,  one of the contemplative sisters of Mary Morning Star at the Lynton Convent in Devon.

Reflection: Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time 

We often feel crushed, under the weight of the anxieties of our lives, and of the world — anxieties that come from personal struggles, family struggles, work struggles.  We might worry about a loved one who is sick. We might worry about elderly parents.  We worry about children, or other family members, going down the wrong road. We worry about paying all the bills, and providing for everything the family needs.

 

If we did not have enough to be anxious about in our own lives, when we turn on the television, or grab our phones, we are bombarded with the bad news of the day. There is no doubt that a huge segment of the population, nowadays, is worried, anxious, and suffering from depression.  Yet, amid the worries and anxieties of our lives, and the world, we come to Mass today, and God’s Word gives us another way.

 

St. Paul was no stranger to worry and anxiety, yet, the same man who experienced all of this, says to us today in the second reading: “There is no need to worry.”   Well, it is not as if he just says, “don’t worry,” and leaves it at that. St. Paul offers us a two-part alternative.

 

First, he says: “if there is anything you need, pray for it, asking God for it, with prayer and thanksgiving.”   St. Paul urges us to turn to prayer. Not only in good times and not only in bad times, but in everything.  St. Paul urges us not to hold anything back from God in prayer.  Whatever fear, whatever worry, whatever anxiety we experience, we must make the decision to pray always, and to pray without ceasing.

 

Pope Benedict XVI once said (4 March 2007): “Prayer is not an accessory or ‘optional’, but a question of life or death.   In fact, only those who pray, in other words, who entrust themselves to God, with filial love, can enter eternal life, which is God himself”.

 

Whether we are coming to God in a moment of joy, or suffering, we ought to do it with thanksgiving, because everything comes from God, or is permitted by God.  If we are rejoicing, we rejoice because the Lord has blessed us.  If we are suffering, we thank Him, because we have come to trust that God will transform that suffering for our good.  Jesus transformed the suffering of the cross. He can transform our sufferings and will indeed do so.  Then as St. Paul says: the peace of God, which is so much greater than we can understand, will guard your hearts and your thoughts, in Christ Jesus.”

 

The second part of St. Paul’s alternative, to living a life burdened by worry and anxiety is this: “Fill your minds with everything that is true, everything that is noble, everything that is good and pure, everything that we love and honour, and everything that can be thought virtuous or worthy of praise.”

 

We are so quick to share all the dreadful things that go on, and that other people do.  Instead, St. Paul urges us, think, and talk, about whatever is worthy of praise. These are the things that should flood our minds, and hearts.  How much less worried and anxious we would be, if we spent just a few minutes more each day, focusing on the good things that are happening, and most importantly, focusing on the only One Who Is Good — God Himself.

 

As we approach the True Presence of the Lord in the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Altar, we should follow St. Paul’s advice: “asking God for anything, with prayer and thanksgiving”Then, as we make our way out of this parish church and onto the streets, having been strengthened by the Lord’s own Body and Blood, we might be able to focus more intentionally on the true, the good, and the beautiful.  “Then the God of peace will be with us”.

October 2023 - Deacon Warren - Mass Count

A couple of weeks ago, CARA released a new study to better understand what Catholics believe, regarding the Church’s teaching on the Eucharist: 

Eucharistic Beliefs: A National Survey of Adult Catholics.  The study reports that 64% of respondents (all over 18) indicate that they believe in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, but only 17% go to Mass on a weekly basis. This is not good news.


Tim Glemkowski, Executive Director of the National Eucharistic Congress, said: “What the recent study shows is the deep need for a true Eucharistic Revival, one that pushes past mere notional assent and awareness of the Church’s teaching, but is about providing an encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist, leading to a lived relationship of discipleship. I read in this study, echoes of the mandate Pope St. John Paul II gave to the Church in America just before the new millennium, ‘It is more necessary than ever, for all the faithful to move from a faith of habit, sustained perhaps by social context alone, to a faith which is conscious, and personally lived'. (Ecclesia in America, 73). An invitation to all, to the joy of this relationship, is at the heart of the missionary conversion, to which the Church is being invited by the Holy Father.”  


We literally need a cloud of witnesses (Heb 12:1), to testify to the transformative power of a relationship with Jesus in the Eucharist.  When the going gets tough, the tough get on their knees before Jesus!  Are you going to Mass, and adoring Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament?  

Today, let’s pray that flames ignite a flicker of desire for Jesus, in our brothers and sisters who are so far from our Eucharistic Lord: especially the 83% of adult Catholics who do not go to Mass each Sunday.

September 2023 - Deacon Warren - The work of catechesis, that is the passing on of Faith, is every baptized Catholic’s responsibility, and duty. 

As stated in the third Directory of Catechesis (2020), “At the center of every process of catechesis, is the living encounter with Christ." (#75)

The three generally accepted roles of the priest are to teach, to sanctify, and to govern. Deacons most certainly have a particular role to play, as ministers of the Word and Sacraments. In the Directory for Catechesis, we read, “Catechesis has the task of making the heart of every Christian resound, with the call to live a new life, in keeping with the dignity of children of God, received in Baptism, and with the life of the Risen One, that is communicated through the sacraments” (#83)


Catechesis is not only an academic exercise, but also a formational one. Although knowing one’s faith is critical, a relationship with Christ, and his Church, cannot be considered any less important.  We need to both know the Faith, and relate to the Faith. While not ignoring the intellectual (academic) part of the formational process, we look to the three other foundations as well: human, spiritual, and pastoral. These four formational foundations, are part of every Ecclesial formation process, including the priestly and diaconal formation. They are essential in the formation of all people, no matter the age, or the circumstance. 


In early August 2023, Pope Francis arrived in Lisbon, Portugal to celebrate World Youth Day. Speaking to crowds, from throughout the world, Pope Francis encouraged the young, and not so young, to RISE UP, a new catechetical method, which challenges the youth to reflect on major themes such as the ecology, friendship, mercy, social concerns, and vocations.


How do we, as catechists, help young people discuss these issues, while making a connection to God, and His Church? For most of us, this is a new method of catechesis which might be foreign to us, but appealing to young people. It is fair to say, that things we have tried in the past, might have been useful in that time and place, and some catechetical methods used in the past can remain, but we must have courage, to try something that might appeal to our current audience.

(I was reminded that if things worked in the past, we would have very little to worry about now.)


A major challenge for the clergy, and laity, including the domestic or 'home' Church, is to make faith formation more relational, that is, attempting to reach not only the mind of those disciples in our classroom, whether they be in person or online, but also their heart. At World Youth Day, one could notice, even on the television accounts, that the young people responded well to all the experiences presented to them.  The music, venue, messages, liturgies, and community spirit, brought about a transformation, in the hearts and minds, of those who witnessed the gifts of the Holy Spirit, alive and well. 


At almost every level, from the universal Church to the family, and everyone in between, for most this has been a struggle. “One size does not fit all.” This is certainly the case when it comes to faith formation.  Again in the Directory for Catechesis, we gain greater insight, into the sense of belonging, and relationship. "Catechesis, in reference to preparation for community life, therefore has the task of developing the sense of belonging to the Church; teaching the sense of ecclesial communion, promoting the acceptance of the Magisterium, communion with pastors, fraternal dialogue; forming believers in the sense of ecclesial co-responsibility, contributing as active participants to building up the community and as missionary disciples to its growth” (#89). 


Evangelization, and catechesis, are often seen as things “to do,” activities, programs, processes, needed to achieve something. Perhaps we should ask, how does the work of evangelization and catechesis touch the heart of the faithful?


Adapted from an article “The Work of Catechesis for Priests and Deacons” by Dr. Theodore Musco

August 2023 - Deacon Warren - If the world cannot do without Christ, it also cannot do without priests. 

St. John Vianney is known as the patron of the parish priest. With his feast day quickly approaching (4 August) , it’s important to show the priests in our lives, that we appreciate their sacrifice and service to the Church.  

Money designated for specific needs – While Father has the power to forgive sins, and turn ordinary bread and wine into the Body and Blood of our Lord, he also has to worry about many of the things that laymen worry about, like saving for retirement, car payments, staying fit. So give your priest some money to put in his retirement account, pay down his car, or put it toward a gym membership. Father will appreciate your pragmatism.  A Gift Card to their favourite Bookstore – Priests often have more Catholic books than they know what to do with. So rather than giving your priest another copy, give them a gift card to the local bookstore. He’ll appreciate it all the same.  Invite him over for Dinner – Any meal that Father doesn’t have to make is a meal that he’ll love! Moreover, it’s a great way to introduce him to members of the family he hasn’t met yet.  Real food (not just sweets) – If Father can’t make it for dinner, drop some food off at the presbytery anyway; just try to go easy on the desserts. Priests are bombarded with sweets, especially during festive times of the year. As with everything, too much of a good thing can be bad. So the next time you want to treat your priest with a plate of cookies, consider the fact he might appreciate a nice pork chop instead.  Letters of Encouragement – As with any vocation, it’s nice to know you’re appreciated. The priesthood is no different. Take a few minutes to write Father a quick note, just to let them know that you appreciate his work and sacrifice. A few sincere words can go a long way.  Prayers – Above all, pray for your priest. The burdens borne by our priests are unique and specific to their vocation. As such, we must pray and fast for our priests. They need it. 


Cardinal Joseph Bernadin: “Priests are bridges to the very mystery of God, and healers of the soul … who also provide the Church, and our culture, with the sustenance we require”


Many challenges are emerging on our horizon, but, as we can count on the One who overcame the world, and assured us that He would be with us until the end of time (Mt 28:19-20), we have no reason to fear the unpredictable events of the future.  Rather, let us not be afraid of being the witness to Christ, that the times and circumstances require.  Jesus stands before us and asks, as He once did the Apostles: “Who do you say I am?!”  Today much confusion surrounds this question.  It is the fundamental question, because on its answer depends one’s entire vision of man, society, history, life, death and what lies beyond.  “You are the Christ, Son of the Living God!”  This is Christ’s identity, and this identity is behind our own.  You are ontologically configured to Christ the Priest, in this way, thanks to priests, Christ is always sacramentally present in His Church (Sacrosanctum Concilium 7).  You act ‘in the name and person of Christ’ (Lumen gentium 28).  You are the “stewards of the mysteries of God” (1 Cor 4:1).  Through Ordination, in and ontological sense, you are Christ’s witnesses in the service of the Word, and the Sacraments, you are likewise the real testimony of Christ, the Priest.  At the moment of ordination, you received a new mode of being.  You are marked by the priestly character, which is a real, indelible, spiritual sign.  This character does not separate you from humanity, on the contrary, it places you in its midst, so that you can devote yourselves to its service.  Indeed, the priestly character inserts you into the priesthood of Christ, who is the key, the centre, and the goal of all human history (Gaudium et spes 10), the ‘alpha and omega’ of visible and invisible realities.  The clarity and certainty of your identity, give rise to an awareness of your absolute indispensability, in the Church, and in the world.  Through you the Good Shepherd continues to teach, to sanctify, to guide, and to love all peoples of every culture, every continent, and every age.  If the world cannot do without Christ, it also cannot do without priests.  Proclaim to everyone who Jesus of Nazareth is, tell them that in Him we find total human fulfilment, in Him alone true progress, in Him alone the fullness of justice and peace, in Him alone joy without darkness.  Wherever priests are scarce, nothing can substitute for them, but rather the whole community should beg for them with greater insistence, by personal and community prayer.  Thank you for what you do and above all for what you are. Thank you for your toil, thank you for your efforts, thank you for your strength, thank you for your tears, thank you for your smile.  (Pope St John Paul II - ‘Take Holy Pride In Being ‘Other Christ’s’’ (2000)

July 2023 - Deacon Warren - God is Love

As our world becomes more divisive and despairing, it also opens the door to share the reason for our hope, with those around us.  The incredible love story, that unfolds through the gospel of Jesus Christ, offering humanity a renewed sense of hope, purpose, and meaning.


The gospel reveals that God's love for humanity, is boundless and unconditional. It unveils a story of redemption, forgiveness, and ultimate reconciliation between God and humanity. It tells the story of Jesus Christ, who came to earth as God's Son, lived a perfect life, and willingly sacrificed Himself, on the cross, for our sins. Through His sacrifice, we can find forgiveness, and be reconciled with God. This redemption, offers hope for a fresh start, freeing us from the burdens of guilt and shame.


Simply put, it’s too good to keep to ourselves. So in these distressing times, let’s share the gospel, with a culture desperately seeking answers, to the meaning of life.

"In Him, we live, we move, and have our being", Saint Paul writes.  


If there's no God, not only is there no story worth rejoicing in, there is no story.  Because there is no author if there is no maker, there is no meaning if there's no God, and you have no soul, and your just matter, you don't matter.  By active reason, we can know there is a God, but it is only by the act of Faith, and we know who He is, because He revealed it.  He showed us, God is love.



Adapted from an article by Chris Stefanick, Founder and President, Real Life Catholic 

June 2023 - Deacon Warren - Understanding The Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus 

A beautiful, Sacred Heart of Jesus, picture hangs in my in-laws sitting room. A warm, smiling Jesus, lovingly pointing to His heart, pierced and crowned with thorns, in an gesture of invitation. Whenever I look at that picture, I feel loved by His peaceful embrace.

Each June, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. The heart is a symbol of the human centre of our emotions, loves, passions, desires, and will.  In the Gospels, Jesus’ heart is moved with pity for the crowds (Mt 9:36), and He tells us that He is gentle and humble of heart (Mt 11:29).  In the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we experience the overwhelming mercy of God, and His infinite desire, to be in relationship with us.

Over the centuries, many Christians developed harsh images of God, as fearsome judge, distant from human affairs, ready to impose punishment. Jesus revealed His heart, to saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, burning with love for humanity, pierced and crucified, offering salvation and mercy. Jesus’ heart longs for us to offer our love, and devotion, in return.  If Jesus had seemed distant and unapproachable before, the Sacred Heart beckons us to enter into His mercy.

God is love (1 John 4), the One who empties Himself out for others, desiring our eternal salvation, seeking out the lost, and carrying the wandering sheep home.  Every word, action, gesture, and attitude of Jesus, manifests a perfect, pure, and selfless love, for each human person. If love means willing the good of the other, completely free of self-interest, we see the perfection of such charity, in the burning heart of Christ.

If we think that such a love is simplistic or easy, the Sacred Heart shines forth, crowned with thorns, pierced, and bleeding. The crucifixion of Jesus, shows that the unconditional, infinite, and divine love, of His heart, is the only force that can heal the world of its hatred, and rejection, of God. By taking upon Himself, the totality of human evil, committed by every person, of every time, Christ refracts this overwhelming darkness, into the light of the Resurrection.

In this radical act of redemption, the death and resurrection of Christ, is the gentle, yet powerful absorption, deflection, and transformation of violence into love, sin into grace, hatred into forgiveness, and death into life. The triumph of the Sacred Heart is the ultimate victory of love.

Formal consecration, a daily offering, celebration of the Eucharist, and reconciliation on consecutive First Fridays, displaying and honouring an image of the Sacred Heart, all comprise some of the specific practices linked to this profound devotion.  

Like any religious consecration, one made to the Sacred Heart is an extension of our baptismal commitment. We acknowledge Jesus’ presence, and protection, in our lives, pledging our love back to Him, who has so graciously loved us. That prayer inspired us to try to treat others, as we would treat Christ Himself. [If you have not already done so, consider consecrating your marriage, family, home, and life, to the Sacred Heart, in a formal way - It makes a big difference].  The daily offering, is a simple prayer, in which we give God our day: its prayer, work, joy, and sufferings. This oblation of the heart, renews our consecration, and reminds us to live in holy mindfulness, that what we do, say, value, and embrace, should be a worthy return to the Lord, who has done so much for us.

At a time when the faithful received the Eucharist infrequently, Jesus’ request that we confess our sins, and receive Communion every First Friday, points to the Eucharist, and the sacraments, as the fundamental way to encounter the love of the Lord. In the Eucharist, Jesus completely gives Himself to us, literally entering into our bodies, souls, and lives. In the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we experience the mercy, and forgiveness won for us on Calvary, and we receive the tender embrace, and healing power of the Lord. Through these sacraments, Jesus draws us into His heart, and allows us to experience, in this life, the love and joy of heaven.

In honouring and displaying images of the Sacred Heart, we invite others to experience Jesus’ love for themselves. We cannot contemplate such a holy, and merciful, image with indifference, or ingratitude. One look at Jesus’ heart, should melt us, convert us, and inspire us, to give our hearts in return.

Sacred Heart devotion is not some automatic ticket to heaven; it is a sacred way for us to encounter the fullness of the Gospel, the good news of God’s saving love, poured out for us in Jesus Christ. As we steadily progress in our knowledge, and communion with the Lord, we will fall ever more deeply in love with Jesus, and live out that transforming, and redemptive relationship, in every detail of our lives. This devotion unites our minds, hearts and wills, in one great act of oblation, a total gift of the self, to the One who has first offered Himself, completely to and for us.



Adapted from an Article (on www.simplycatholic.com ) by Bishop Donald J. Hying [Diocese of Madison, Wisconsin]

May 2023 - Deacon Warren - Is Adoration different than Prayer before a Tabernacle?

The Church does not assign an essential difference between praying before the tabernacle, and praying before the Lord, when displayed in the monstrance in Eucharistic Adoration. A Vatican document on the Eucharist says: “Exposition of the blessed sacrament, either in a ciborium or a monstrance, draws the faithful to an awareness of the sublime presence of Christ, and invites them to inner communion with Him. Therefore, it is a strong encouragement toward the worship owed to Christ in spirit, and in truth” (Eucharisticum Mysterium, No. 60).


So, both forms, of Adoration, are commended. But while there is not an essential difference, there can be a subjectively different experience. In Adoration before the Blessed Sacrament, exposed in a monstrance, there is a visual aspect, that helps many to stay more focused. In this sense one may argue that Eucharistic Adoration, before the monstrance is 'better'.  But, personal factors such as schedules, or a preference for quieter, briefer, or more solitary visits, can also influence what is 'better'.


The bottom line, is that the Church encourages devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. Such devotion, through visits, Adoration, signs of respect, through kneeling, genuflection, and making the Sign of the Cross, as one passes a Catholic Church, all acknowledge, the sublime presence of the Lord, in the Most Blessed Sacrament.

April 2023 - Deacon Warren - This prayer helps us to pray the Mass, from the depths of our hearts. 

Among the prayers at Mass, the texts of the Collect are often the most ancient. This is our great gathering prayer at the beginning of every Mass. The priest invites us into this prayer, with the familiar words: “Let us pray.” Then he pauses: this is very important. 

In those moments of silence, we are invited to call to mind our own intentions, and unite them to the intention of the Mass along with the priest. The words of this prayer, help our hearts be open to the proclamation of the Word of God, that soon follows, which leads us into the Liturgy of the Eucharist.

This prayer helps us to pray the Mass, from the depths of our hearts. 

Gospel Reflection for Palm Sunday - 9 April – The Drama begins…

There are certain moments of the Church’s calendar, that stand out for their symbolism: the manger at Christmas, ashes on the forehead to start Lent, and the branches of Palm Sunday.  

The story, which begins on Palm Sunday, is basically a drama.  As Jesus enters into His final week, we are not just remembering an historical event, that happened over two thousand years ago.  We celebrating, and taking part in the life, death, and resurrection, of Jesus, as it happens today, to us, and for us.  His entry in to the city, begins on a huge wave of optimism, joy, and hope.  The people line the streets, they wave palms, they put their cloaks, and garments, on the ground, and they shout out His name.  This was an ancient Roman tradition, used to welcome armies and soldiers, after their success in battle.


The crowd welcome Jesus, in a similar way, as they shout out, “Hosanna, Hosanna, blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord”.  Yet, how quickly the crowd changed, and turned on Jesus.  The same people, who were happy to welcome Him with shouts of joy, will soon begin to shout “Crucify Him, Crucify Him”.  Jesus is even betrayed, and denied, by His closet friends. He is left alone.


There is a real danger, that we can get lost, in getting the liturgy of Palm Sunday, and indeed the whole of Holy Week, just right.  If we are not careful, we can lose sight of what we remembering, celebrating, and taking part in.  As well as celebrating this great Holy Week, with dignity and reverence, we also need to ask ourselves, what it is all about, and what it means for each to us.  Where am I in the unfolding drama, that begins on Palm Sunday, plays out over Holy Week, and which culminates on Easter?


As we celebrate Palm Sunday, and begin our journey through Holy Week, we are called to ask ourselves, who, and where, we are in the crowd?  During this busy week of prayer, liturgies, and ceremonies, let us not lose sight of what we are remembering, celebrating, and talking part in.  As we begin, this most holy of weeks, may Jesus be our constant companion.  May we enter in the mystery of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, with faith and hope.

Reflection: First Sunday of Lent – Matthew 4:4

God is good.  In faith we know He gives us everything we need. With this sure hope, we begin this Lent pondering what we might learn from this Sunday’s Gospel (Matt 4:1-11).  There are two themes (among many) I would like to explore: the importance of Scripture, and what it means to enter a wilderness. 

In the wilderness, Jesus stands firm against the temptations of Satan, using scripture as a weapon. We too can arm ourselves with this living gift of scripture, to guide us every day to an encounter with Jesus Himself.  In this Sunday’s reading, we encounter the power of Jesus’ word – ‘man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God’ (Matt 4:4).

How, this Lent, will the words which come from God’s mouth, be the most essential part of your day, the thing from which you draw life, the place where you encounter Jesus Himself? 

When Jesus enters the wilderness, He does so to spend time in prayer with His Father – something He did repeatedly during His ministry.  As we enter our Lenten ‘wilderness’, I encourage you to do so, in order to seek an encounter with Jesus, the Word. What can we do, to still some of the busyness of our lives, in order to encounter the Lord every day?

Perhaps consider using this Lent, as a time of retreat into scripture – a time to build and nourish your inner spiritual life.  Although it is good and necessary to find time for quiet and solitude, it is important to remember that our faith is not a private journey.  It is meant for sharing with others. In doing so, those you encounter will help you become more aware of God’s endless, and generous, outpouring of grace into your life, to enable you to continue to answer His call.  We can all identify with moments in our lives where we enter a ‘wilderness’, a place where we lack spiritual consolation.

For because (CCC 164) ‘we walk by faith, not by sight’, we perceive God as ‘in a mirror, dimly’ and only ‘in part… our experiences of evil and suffering, injustice, and death, seem to contradict the Good News; they can shake our faith and become a temptation against it.’

When our faith is shaken, and we are vulnerable we can be tempted to begin to believe that we are alone, and that we are not loved.  As Christians, we know this can never be true, for we are never alone, and we are always loved.  When we are tempted in our ‘wilderness’, if we have developed a love for Scripture, we can be sure that we can turn to the word of God to be comforted, for (Psalm 119:105) ‘your word is a lamp for my feet, and a light for my path’. 

For we are an Easter people. As you ponder the image of Christ in the Wilderness, remind yourself of what comes next – baptism in the Jordan, with the appearance of the Holy Spirit, the calling of the disciples, many miracles and vast crowds, the triumphant entry into Jerusalem, and then the ‘wilderness’ of the cross, followed by the glory of the Resurrection, and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.  Jesus, who is love, was never alone in the wilderness. In your Lenten ‘wilderness’ you are never alone, and you are always loved.  

This Lent, I encourage you to spend time increasing your familiarity with Scripture, through prayer.  Most often Lectio Divina is without fail, a source of joy, hope, inspiration, and a place of encounter with Jesus.  It prepares us for the work that we are called to do.  The Word sustains us, inspires us, humbles us, and helps us see more clearly, what I need to do.  Our encounter with scripture, helps us to pray for wisdom, and the ability to do our job right, to strip back our own personal preferences, and learn to trust, as we seek after the Lord.   

Your time with scripture is an essential part of your Christian journey, for we do ‘not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God’ (Matt 4:4)

 

Reflection adapted from an Article  by Mrs Ingrid La Trobe, on The Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales website (Monday 13  February 2023)

Ash Wednesday 2023

Ash Wednesday, the first day of the liturgical season of Lent. In this season, we prepare ourselves to celebrate the high point of our Christian life, Easter. Each year, the readings for Ash Wednesday are the same. They call us to a change of heart, and teach us about the traditional Lenten practices of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. These disciplines are to be part of the Christian life during every season, but during the season of Lent, we renew our commitment to them.

The meaning behind tracing a cross on our foreheads with ashes (the liturgical sign of Ash Wednesday) is a summary of our Christian life. On one level, the ashes remind us of our origin and our death. (In the words of the prayer said when we receive ashes: “Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return”) The ashes are also the sign of our victory: the cross of Christ. In his death and resurrection, Christ conquered death. Our destiny as Christians is to receive the victory over death that Christ won for us. We acknowledge that victory when we “[t]urn away from sin and [are] faithful to the gospel,” words from the alternative prayer when we are signed with ashes.

Today’s reading is part of the Sermon on the Mount. In the sermon, Jesus warns his followers against acting for the sake of appearance. When Jesus’ disciples give alms, pray, and fast, they are to do so in such a way that only God, who sees the heart and knows what is hidden, will know. Although our Lectionary reading omits the Lord’s Prayer, we can recall that Matthew presents that prayer as a model for the disciples’ prayer (Matthew 6:9-15).

January 2023 - Deacon Warren

As I reflect on my gratitude for all of the experiences of this past year, I have also been thinking of the lessons I am continually learning in my diaconal ministry, and although I sometimes I fail at them, God never gives up on me!


Adapted from an article by Darcy Osby, Director of Faith Formation at St. Aidan Parish in Pittsburgh, PA.

Announcement of Easter and moveable Feasts 2023

On the Epiphany of the Lord, after the singing of the Gospel, the Deacon, in keeping with the ancient practice of Holy Church, announces from the Ambo, the the moveable feasts of the current year:

Know, dear brothers and sisters,  that, as we have rejoiced in the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ, so by leave of God's mercy, we announce to you also the joy of his Resurrection, who is our Saviour.  

On the twenty-second (22) day of February will fall Ash Wednesday, and the beginning of the fast of the most sacred Lenten season.

On the ninth (9) day of April, you will celebrate with joy Easter Day, the Paschal feast of our Lord Jesus Christ.

On the eighteenth (18) day of May will be the Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ.

On the twenty-eighth (28) day of May the feast of Pentecost.

On eleventh (11) day of June, the feast of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ.

On the third (3) day of December, the First Sunday of the Advent of the Lord Jesus Christ, to who is honour and glory forever and ever.  Amen.

Reflection: Today we celebrate ‘Gaudete Sunday’, the Third Sunday of Advent.

The opening antiphon for today’s liturgy, asks us to Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say rejoice”.  On this Third ‘Gaudete’ Sunday, we take a short pause from the mostly penitential, somewhat sombre nature of Advent, and 'Rejoice', in the nearness of the celebration of Christmas.

 

The first words that Mary hears when she is told that she is going to be the mother of Jesus are, “Rejoice, most highly favoured”.  Mary is to be filled with joy, because God has called her by her name, and her Son is the long awaited Messiah.  


When she goes to see Elizabeth, her cousin, she sings out, “My souls proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my savour”.  Mary does not keep her good news, or her joy, to herself, she freely shares them with Elizabeth, and the whole world.

 

When the angles appear to the shepherds, they heard this message, “Do not be afraid, I bring you news of great joy”.  The good news of Jesus’ birth, is meant not only for the shepherds, it continues to be good news for each of us today.

 

Rejoice and be glad, might seem to be a counter-cultural message.  Among the daily hustle and bustle, Christmas, is noisy, busy, and demanding.  Some might say it is naïve to 'Rejoice', when we look at the state of our world.  How can we be glad, when we see the violence, ignorance, racism, wars, poverty, divided families, addiction, abuses, the list goes on.

 

Don’t misunderstand this message, as an excuse to place our heads in the sand, pretending there is nothing we can do to help.  I am getting a little ‘grinchy’, but the invitation on this Sunday, is meant to perplex us a bit.  Christian joy goes beyond a mere emotion.

 

The joy we have in Christ, remains, regardless of what challenges we are facing in life, that is because we know God is in control of our circumstances.  As Scripture reminds us, He is “faithful”, therefore, we can “rejoice always”, and “in all circumstances give thanks”, because we have hope in God.

 

In order to experience the fullness of this joy, St. Paul suggests must listen to the Spirit of God, and “refrain from every kind of evil”.  We are called to be 'perfectly holy' - the true path to Joy is sanctity.  Following God’s Will, and allowing His grace to transform us, leads to true happiness.  Let us, therefore, seek Him, trust Him, and obey Him, to find the deep joy, that can only be found in God.

 

We are invited to remember this, to radiate joy, recalling God’s faithfulness.  We are called to wait for the birth of Jesus, and not to be afraid, anxious or worried.  Why? Because, as the opening antiphon tells us, “The Lord is very near”.

 

There are many people, some of whom we may even know, who have little reason to be joyful at this time of the year.  Today each of us is asked to be a person of joy, and following Mary’s example, share our joy with all those we meet during these last few days, and weeks of Advent.

 

“May we wait in joyful hope, for the coming of our Saviour, Jesus Christ”.

December 2022 - Deacon Warren - Mary proclaims the greatness of the Lord working in her

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my saviour. With these words Mary first acknowledges the special gifts she has been given. Then she recalls God’s universal favours, bestowed unceasingly on the human race.

When a man devotes all his thoughts to the praise and service of the Lord, he proclaims God’s greatness. His observance of God’s commands, moreover, shows that he has God’s power and greatness always at heart. His spirit rejoices in God his saviour and delights in the mere recollection of his creator who gives him hope for eternal salvation.

These words are often for all God’s creations, but especially for the Mother of God. She alone was chosen, and she burned with spiritual love for the son she so joyously conceived. Above all other saints, she alone could truly rejoice in Jesus, her saviour, for she knew that he who was the source of eternal salvation would be born in time in her body, in one person both her own son and her Lord.

For the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. Mary attributes nothing to her own merits. She refers all her greatness to the gift of the one whose essence is power and whose nature is greatness, for he fills with greatness and strength the small and the weak who believe in him.

She did well to add: and holy is his name, to warn those who heard, and indeed all who would receive his words, that they must believe and call upon his name. For they too could share in everlasting holiness and true salvation according to the words of the prophet: and it will come to pass, that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. This is the name she spoke of earlier: and my spirit rejoices in God my saviour.

Therefore it is an excellent and fruitful custom of holy Church that we should sing Mary’s hymn at the time of evening prayer. By meditating upon the incarnation, our devotion is kindled, and by remembering the example of God’s Mother, we are encouraged to lead a life of virtue. Such virtues are best achieved in the evening. We are weary after the day’s work and worn out by our distractions. The time for rest is near, and our minds are ready for contemplation.



From a homily by Saint Bede the Venerable

November 2022 - Deacon Warren - Finding Healing in Forgiveness

Forgiving someone who has hurt us, is a way of finding healing and peace, but does that mean that we have to forget the offence made against us? Does Jesus ask us to "forgive and forget"?

 

Because of original sin, we human beings make mistakes, fail, and love imperfectly.  In our imperfection, at times, we injure each other, leaving us wounded and in need of healing. Being wronged or hurt, gives rise to strong emotions of anger and disappointment which, if not acknowledged and addressed, can lead to depression and other mental health problems.

 

In the Gospels, forgiveness is a core teaching. Christians believe that, Jesus Christ was sent into the world by the Father to forgive sins, heal relationships and “bring everything together under Christ as head” (Ephesians 1:10). Throughout His ministry, Jesus reveals a merciful God, who desires to forgive sins, and reconcile relationships that have been damaged. With His Spirit, the Lord also empowers us to forgive ourselves, and each other, as we have been forgiven by God (cf. Matthew 18:21-35). We see this with the Apostles Peter and Paul, who both failed Christ, but who did not remain paralyzed by their failings. Rather they were transformed by Christ’s mercy, and by His renewed faith in them after they had fallen (cf. John 21:15-17; Galatians 1:11-24). This was the mercy and forgiveness that, they proclaimed to all as part of their preaching (cf. Acts [of the Apostles] 2:38; 13:38).

 

With this forgiveness that we receive from God, and extend to others, we are freed from anger, guilt, shame, bitterness, and other emotionally destructive feelings, such as hatred and revenge. Once the merciful love and power of Christ is invited into wounds of hurt, then the cycle is broken of inflicting hurt on those who have inflicted it on us. This is what Jesus did by his Passion and death – He filtered out hatred, violence, injustice, and cruelty by absorbing it into Himself, before giving back to the world the gifts of peace, blessing, and forgiveness. This is the cycle of violence He broke, and in doing so, He changed the course of history. By that same power at work in His disciples today, we too can break the cycle, by making sure we do not cause the same hurt to others, as we ourselves have endured.

 

In order to do this, we need to learn Jesus’ art of distinguishing between, the sin and the sinner. With His Spirit, we learn to forgive the wrong done to us, without denying the wrong that was committed. This is a crucially important distinction to make. Many think that the invitation to forgive another who wronged them, is beyond their ability, because to do so would mean to minimise or deny the hurt that was caused to them. This is not what Christian forgiveness asks of us. We often hear the catchphrase “forgive and forget” – a pithy phrase which we think, comes from the Gospel, or the lips of Jesus. This is not true. Jesus asks us to forgive as we ourselves have been forgiven, but He did not ask us to forget. What this means is that while we forgive, with the help of God’s grace, the process of healing is not about pretending that the hurt never happened. Rather it is about coming to the place where it no longer affects us.

 

Forgiveness of someone who has hurt us, does not come easy, and is one of the most challenging aspects of being a Christian. In the Gospels, Jesus asked us to forgive those who wrong us, and left us the supreme example of doing so Himself. As He was being crucified, He cried out, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). Jesus forgave His killers, and after His Resurrection, He offered peace to those who had denied and failed Him. How can we begin to forgive like this?

 

Again, Jesus shows us the way. He assures us that God is merciful, and forgives us when we ask. Then He asks us to forgive others, as we have been forgiven ourselves. This is challenging because, the ability to extend forgiveness to others, depends on our being in touch with our own sinfulness, and shadow side. It requires us to know that, we have no right to withhold the gift of mercy, that we ourselves have received: “Should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?” (cf. Matthew 18:33). This requires that we enter deeply within ourselves, and humbly acknowledge our own brokenness, darkness, and need for forgiveness. It means allowing the light of God’s grace, to touch our inner wounds.

 

Christianity is good news, for those who have been hurt, and who carry emotional scars. It gives us a way of dealing with negative baggage that leaves us free. Because of Jesus, we know that God is merciful, and forgives us joyfully. He showed heroic forgiveness Himself, to those who killed Him. He asks us to forgive others, as we have been forgiven ourselves, and “to think of ourselves as an army of the forgiven”. Our faith shows us how to distinguish between, the harm caused and the one who caused it. At all times, the healing Spirit of Christ, that restores and touches our knotted spirits, is offered to us. His infinite mercy, is the antidote to every form of anger and hurt; it is balm for the scars, that sear the soul.

 


This blog is extracted from Finding God: Faith and Mental Health. [Talking Points, Faith, On 9th October 2020 by Fr Billy Swan]

October 2022 - Deacon John Wilford - Date of Ordination: 29 November 1997 - Silver (25th) Jubilee 2022 

- Reflection on Twenty-five Years, and Farewell Blog

It is with great sadness that I must say farewell to the Parish of Our Lady of Lincoln. Unfortunately, my abrupt departure came just before I was to celebrate twenty-five years of ministry and renew my ordination promises to Bishop Patrick at our annual Deacons’ Mass. This year, for three of us older deacons, it was exceptionally moving as we reflected on our long ministry and all who inspired and helped us on our way to ordination.  It was a time to recall and compare just how we have spent these years.

In my case, I recalled with gratitude Mgr. Tom McGovern who served as a curate in St. Hugh’s Church in Lincoln ‘under’ Mgr. Hugh Atkinson before taking over as Parish Priest.  It was Fr. Tom who suggested I should become a Special Minister of the Eucharist and assist him taking Holy Communion into Lincoln Hospital.  He also introduced me to Churches Together in which he played a leading role.  I would later follow him in becoming Vice Chairman, Chairman, and then Treasurer with a strong ongoing commitment to ecumenism.  It was Fr. Tom, in 1993, who encouraged me to become a deacon and sent me to see Bishop McGuiness.  At the time, I was working for the Lincoln Archaeological Trust and was a part-time lecturer teaching Church History in Lincoln Theological College, our local ‘seminary’ for the Anglican diaconate and priesthood (male and latterly female).  Having access to the library I had all the books needed for my own studies until the College closed in late 1996.

At our 2022 Deacons’ Day the three remaining deacons of the ‘class of 1997’ still in ministry recalled with gratitude how Frs. Michael Tutcher and Philip O’Dowd had masterminded our studies, and how other clergy had shared their areas of expertise.  We remembered too, the Sisters at Rearsby Convent who offered us accommodation, library, refectory, chapel, and gardens.  And then there were five classmates who have died, Deacons Tony Brown, Raymond Faghy, Bernard Croft, Harry Tomkinson, and John Parker; plus, Paul Boshell who is still very alive (so he says) but now retired.  

After my ordination, my new diaconal ministry was in St Hugh’s parish, in its groups, activities and programmes, in the sanctuary, and in hospital chaplaincy.  However, in 1998 I was asked to assist Fr. James Kinane in the Catholic Chaplaincy in our new University in Lincoln. When the Bishop transferred him, in 1999, I was asked to take over in what was now a full-time job.  I had a large chaplaincy house with eight male and female residents to look after, regular chaplaincy meetings, talks and activities, a university office, and a growing ecumenical involvement in academic seminars and tutorials.  The essential requirement was my presence and availability on campus. My best strategy was to enrol as a mature post-graduate student myself.  I chose a part-time master’s thesis on the theology and works of Bishop Thomas Watson, the last Roman Catholic Bishop of Lincoln. It was ideal, providing full access to all University activities, lectures, seminars, and tutorials, and with some teaching.  While doing this, I also agreed to teach Church History to students in our own diocesan course for the diaconate, now moved to Ratcliffe College and later to Matlock. 

Unfortunately, this ministry was interrupted by my major heart surgery in 2002, and during my absence our residential chaplaincy had to be closed. After resuming my studies and a reduced part-time chaplaincy role on campus, I completed my master’s degree in 2009.  As it happened, Deacon Peter Allan in Our Lady’s Parish had died and a newly arrived Parish Priest, Fr. Colin Taylor, was seeking a replacement.  I offered to transfer from St Hugh’s to Our Lady’s, and he insisted we share in his induction ceremony.  We did, in a packed church on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception on the 8th of December 2009.  Although my inclusion in the ceremony had no legal precedent or basis, we were jointly addressed, made our own respective responses, promises, and commitments, and were equally welcomed.  The ceremony was deeply moving, and its emotional impact on me personally was second only to my ordination twelve years earlier.  It marked a very new parish ministry.

My thirteen years in Our Lady’s, getting to know so many lovely families and friends and being involved in so many groups and activities has been a real joy.  Our daily, weekly, and seasonal gatherings for Mass, the Divine Office, devotions, and so many special celebrations for Feast days and during Advent and Christmas, and Lent and Easter, have been wonderfully nourishing, inspiring, uplifting and fulfilling.  We made great strides in ecumenical relationships in Churches Together, and in our ‘Uphill Fraternal’ with local clergy from all denominations meeting regularly and working together.  Likewise, relations with Lincoln’s two Jewish communities, nurtured by Fr. Colin, have proved an education for all in our mutual understanding. Notable for Our Lady’s (however limited) has been our sharing in Rosh Hashana and Hanukah celebrations with Jewish friends, school children, parents, and parishioners.

The sudden tragic death of Fr. Colin, followed by Covid, changed everything, but parish work was somehow kept going.  There were still funerals, contacts to be kept-up, and people to be cared for as best we could.  The return towards normality has been slow but our liturgical coming-back-together and reunions have been healing and renewing.  Our next great challenge in coming years is how we cope with fewer and fewer priests. We thank God for all our remaining hard-working priests but must now pray for a speedy, urgently needed, copious influx of new vocations.  Above all, we must pray that our Holy Father Pope Francis together with all our bishops will find a way to provide what we most need; a rapid and growing flood of ordained priests to keep our parishes open, evangelical, and vibrant.  

I am saying farewell to Our Lady’s parishioners, but I hope to be seeing most of you from time to time in St Hugh’s where my ministry continues, and perhaps in our future single Parish of Lincoln, as long as God spares me and I manage to remain active.  I wish you all every blessing and my thanks for your friendship and support.

Yours very sincerely and faithfully,

Deacon John

October 2022 - Deacon Warren - Brief Introduction to the Nine Choirs of Angels

The Seraphim is said to be the highest order of Angels who guard God’s throne. 

They are often depicted as ‘burning angles’ to represent them on fire with love for God.

In the Bible, Isaiah saw them as six-winged beings.

These heavenly creatures praise God.

 

The word Cherubim is said to mean ‘fullness of knowledge’.

The Cherubim have the honour of observing and keeping records of God’s creative powers.

Cherubim’s are said to have four wings and four faces.

The Cherubim’s also act as heavenly counsellors, and are seekers of eternal truth.

 

Throne angels represent the divine majesty, and are associated with the power of judgement.

They carry out God’s justice according to spiritual and universal laws.

The Thrones also act as angels who are friends of all the planets.

It is the Thrones who will drive forward God’s chariot, often they are portrayed as angels who carry the scales of justice.

 

The Dominions are angels of leadership, and are said to ensure that God’s will is carried out by the other angels.

They help balance the force of creation, and of the material and spiritual worlds.

The Dominions represent the superiority of wisdom over intellect, and govern the natural world, and the elements.

 

Virtues are known as angels who watch over the heavenly bodies, and nature.

The Virtues are often associated with miracles performed on earth.

Shining bright, and often depicted with swords, shields or sceptres, these wonderful angels will assist you in your darkest hour.

 

Powers are warrior angels who maintain order around the planet Earth, and protect it from being overthrown by Satan, defending the cosmos, and human souls.

They fight against evil spirits who attempt to wreak chaos through human beings.

 

The Principalities are a realm of angels who keep a watchful eye of the nations of planet earth, and its leaders.

They are protectors of religion, giving strength in times of hardship.

 

Archangels are the most frequently mentioned throughout the Bible.

They are the leaders of the angelic armies, and are holy messengers of God.

There are only three archangels acknowledged by the Catholic faith: Michael, Gabriel and Raphael.

They also command God’s armies, and act as guardian angels to the leaders of world movements.

They may be of this or other hierarchies like St. Michael the Archangel.

 

These include guardian angels, who are assigned, by God, to every human being at the moment of conception.

Angels are closest to the material world, and human beings.

They deliver our prayers to God, and return with God’s answers.

Guardian angels have the capacity to access all the other angels at any time, their role is to watch over us during our lives.

They are also the most caring, and social of beings, who assist those who ask for help.

September 2022 - Deacon Warren - So, what is Lectio Divina?

Pope Francis defines Lectio Divina as "reading God's Word in a moment of prayer and allowing it to enlighten and renew us" (Evangelii Gaudium, 2014). In other words, it is a means of reading the Scriptures in a way that changes our lives, because Scripture, being the Word of God, has that capability. Pope Francis, addressing a delegation from the American Bible Society in 2018, said that "praying with the Scriptures, you will be able to experience anew the effectiveness of that word: it does not return empty but accomplishes the purpose for which it was given (cf. Is 55:10-11)."

Pope St John Paul II wrote in his encyclical Novo Millenio Inneunte (2001) that it is "especially necessary that listening to the word of God should become a life-giving encounter, in the ancient and ever valid tradition of Lectio Divina, which draws from the biblical text the living word which questions, directs and shapes our lives." That same saintly Pope, in his apostolic exhortation Ecclesia in America (1999), described Lectio Divina as a "practice to be encouraged among all Christians", and that for priests it must be a "basic feature of the preparation of their homilies, especially the Sunday homily." 

Pope emeritus Benedict XVI argues that if effectively promoted "this practice will bring to the Church - I am convinced of it - a new spiritual springtime." No doubt this conviction was the reason why, speaking at the inaugural session of the 2007 Aperecida Conference, he urged the Bishops to "train people to read and meditate on the word of God." He stressed that this must become "their staple diet, so that, through their own experience, the faithful will see that the words of Jesus are spirit and life (cf. Jn 6:63)." 

Just in case these Papal endorsements of Lectio Divina are not enough to convince you, the Church has considered it to be so important to the spiritual life, that it has seen fit to grant a plenary indulgence, subject to the usual conditions, to those of the faithful who spend at least one half-hour engaged in the practice (Enchiridion Indulgentiarum, no. 50).


So now that we have defined Lectio Divina, and dwelt a little on the benefits of putting it into practice, let us move on to its methodology. The methodology is very simple and effectively consists of reading the passage, and then meditating upon it. To help us meditate, Pope Francis, in his encyclical Evangelii Gaudium (2014), suggests prayerfully asking some of the following questions upon reading our chosen passage:

It will probably strike you how personal and intimate these questions are, and how far removed they are from the sorts of questions one might associate with usual Biblical study or discussion. But this is because our faith is ultimately built upon a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, whereby our heart communes with that of God. Remember the motto of St John Henry Newman: cor ad cor loquitor - heart speaks to heart. Lectio Divina is a means, along with the sacraments, by which we can foster that heart-to-heart relationship.

All that has been said by the Church Fathers, and the magisterium, on Lectio Divina has supposed the practice to be an individual one. However, it is now increasingly common for Lectio Divina to be practiced in a group setting, and in an age of increasing loneliness and isolation, there is much to be said for like-minded Catholics coming together to practice Lectio Divina communally. Indeed, great spiritual friendships have been created, and nurtured, from like-minded people coming together for communal prayer, centered around the Word of God, and then sharing with each other how the passage read has challenged, or consoled you (perhaps having considered the questions proposed by Pope Francis above). However, sharing personal insights in this way can also be daunting for some people, and it is by no means obligatory to share a reflection within a Lectio group, or indeed to practice Lectio Divina within a group setting at all.

There are a network of Lectio Divina groups, which are collectively known as the Weave of Manquehue. They have a Benedictine charism, and every year run workshops on how to practice , or start a Lectio group.  

Even if you eventually decide that Lectio Divina in a group setting is not for you, it is nevertheless a wonderful way to be introduced to the practice, in a supportive environment, and once learned, it can then be brought into one's own individual prayer life, with what I hope will be trans-formative effects.



Adapted from - Viewpoint Edward Kendall : Lectio Divina is for everyone.

August 2022 - Deacon Warren  - Recruiting and Retaining Catechists Who Evangelize with GIFTS

Many are familiar with the struggle of trying to find catechists (or begging parishioners for help).  If catechists are the backbone of our faith formation programs, then recruiting, and retaining, catechists needs to be a top priority. Finding catechists who are evangelizers, and see themselves as such, is the key to a faith formation process that forms disciples.

[Deacon Joe Paprocki @ Catechist’s Journey] shares five aspects of the process, using the word GIFTS:

G—Genuine

I—Inspiring

F—Formational

T—Trusting

S—Supporting


Genuine

Pope Paul VI in Evangelii Nuntiandi remarked that, “Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, or if he listens to teachers, he does so because they are witnesses.” 

Seek out catechists who are first disciples, and exhibit a genuine or authentic spirit about their faith.  A personal invitation to those who have gone through an evangelizing process would be a great place to begin looking for new catechists.


Inspiring

The 'who' of our faith (Jesus Christ) is the reason behind our faith formation classes. An evangelizing catechetical program inspires students to grow in relationship with Jesus Christ, and His body, the Church. 

“What we especially need in these times are credible witnesses, who make the Gospel visible by their lives, as well as by their words, and who reawaken the attraction for Jesus Christ, for the beauty of God,” remarked Pope Francis (Address to the Plenary of the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization, October 14, 2013)

There are a plethora of methodologies that can help us become better teachers, but catechists inspire, and form, their students through modelling, mentoring, and witness.


Formational

Forming catechists into disciples is tremendously important. Treat the team of catechists like a small Christian community, that helps them grow in faith together, so that they can pass along their faith to others. 

Formation can be both formal and informal; make a point of finding out the specific areas in which your catechists would like to grow, and tailor their formation accordingly. Compiling individualized resources for each catechist, in a specific area of the Church’s teaching, is a way to nurture, and encourage, each catechist, in their own gifts.


Trusting

There is an expression that all relationships move ‘at the speed of trust'.  Our efforts at forming disciples, will only be fruitful, if our catechists have trust and confidence in us, and in our approach. Build trust with catechists by listening attentively to them, (celebrate their birthdays, and joys and sorrows), seeking their input, and ensuring that they are a part of important conversations.  


Supporting

Provide ongoing support to catechists individually, and as a team. Be sure to show them your appreciation in word, and deed. Building relationships that last, is the key to catechists who are successful, and confident in the ‘classroom’. When catechists feel supported, they will model that support for their students.

July 2022 - Deacon John - The Lincoln Council for Christians and Jews

As many will know, meetings of the Lincoln Council for Christians and Jews have been held in our Church for many years.  (Watch the Bulletin).  What I find most revealing is all that Jews and Christians hold in common, and how our shared scriptures shape what we believe and profess.  One example brought this home to me when a speaker referred to the Prophet Zechariah describing a crisis in Jerusalem some 300 years before Christ.

 

Jerusalem, having been rebuilt after it’s destruction by the Babylonians, has fallen to Alexander the Great.  His occupation, and his sacrilegious treatment of the Temple, has prompted the question: where is our God?  How could our God allow this?  Far from reigning over heaven and earth from his Temple in Jerusalem, God seems to have abandoned his people.  But Zechariah looks to the future with unshaken faith, and he becomes as important in shaping the Jesus story in our Gospels as any other prophet.  In Zechariah the character and actions of the coming Messiah take shape.

 

For Zechariah, God is, and always was, the Good Shepherd of the Psalms.  He did not drive his flock.  He called it to follow him.  But his flock were no longer listening.  Some ignored him; some followed other shepherds; some ridiculed him.  No longer seeking his divine guidance, his flock was now distracted and indifferent, a prey to any prowling predators. But God, ever compassionate and concerned for his flock, far from abandoning it, is already preparing its change of heart and rescue. Zechariah has been called and commissioned to announce the coming of a Saviour; a Royal Messiah who will speak God’s word, gather, and unite his people, fill them with a spirit of remorse, shame, and love; and bring them back to their senses. When he comes, the Saviour will not arrive like Alexander the Great, at the head of a great army, but riding on ‘a donkey, a colt the foal of a donkey’ and everyone will be rejoicing and shouting for joy: ‘Hosanna’!  

 

In his chapter 10, Zechariah tells us that God, and his Messiah are one.  The humble Messiah will embody the presence of God amid his people.  In chapter 11, rogue shepherds oppose the Messiah and put a price on his head – 30 pieces of silver.  These bad shepherds do not care for the weak, lost or strayed in their flock, nor heal the injured and sickly.  And in chapter 12, Zechariah is specific about the lineage of the Saviour-Messiah.  He will be the ultimate Shepherd-Pastor and King, a royal son of David.

 

Again, and again Zechariah describes how the coming Messiah will embody God’s presence on earth; the two will be as one.  But just as God’s flock turned away and became indifferent to him, so too will it treat its Messiah.  Just as it pierced God to the heart, so too will it pierce its Saviour to the heart.  But their most terrible cruelty, putting their Messiah to death, will ultimately end in their good.  It will shame them, awaken sleeping consciences, and bring remorse.  An outpouring of the Holy Spirit will follow, with sorrow, lamentation and mourning as the horror sinks in.  Zechariah prophesies:  “Thus says the Lord: ‘Over the House of David and the citizens of Jerusalem I will pour out a spirit of kindness and prayer. They will look on the one whom they have pierced; they will mourn for him as for an only son, and weep for him as people weep for a first-born child. When that day comes, there will be great mourning in Judah, like the mourning of Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. When that day comes, a fountain will be opened for the House of David and the citizens of Jerusalem, to wash away sin and impurity.”

 

Emphasis here is on the remorse that Zechariah foretells after the sacrifice of their Messiah.  He likens it to the legendry sacrifices of Hadad-rimmon, reminding everyone of human sacrifice on the altar of the Canaanite God Hadad.  Hadad was a horned god who was only appeased by the sacrifice of pure first-born sons of kings and nobles.  Hadad-rimmon had become a byword for grief, lamentations, remorse, and mourning for young innocent victims and their bereaved mothers and families.  For Zechariah, this great awakening of conscience, remorse, and mourning will be life-changing, making sin and impurity no longer palatable or bearable, but repulsive! 

 

When Jesus asks his disciples ‘who do the crowds say I am’, he is asking what sort of Messiah they are expecting; a Messiah who comes on a war-horse or a donkey? We cannot help but reflect on our own take on this.  Jesus is asking us what sort of Messiah we follow and try to emulate. There is no doubt that Zechariah greatly influenced Jesus and his story- tellers the evangelists.  Jesus will enter Jerusalem on a donkey, be sold for 30 pieces of silver, and sacrificed like the innocents who died at Hadad-rimmon.  Jesus will be the reality of the Messiah the Jewish Prophet describes.  Zechariah’s God is our God.  His humble Saviour-Messiah is Our Saviour-Messiah.  There is much we and our Jewish brothers and sisters can learn from each other, including just where we agree to differ.

 

Very best wishes to all, Deacon John.

July 2022 - Deacon Warren 

But in order to see change, there must also be the practicality of setting new mindsets, to widen perspective, as we navigate forward with one objective.


History sweeps through cobbled streets,

 

as songs of old bellow amidst new life where past and present meet

 

Leaving behind trails of what once was,

 

The dawn of a new day brings about a season for change

 

And so begins the dismantling of broken systems, to turn away from the ills of oppression and injustice, homelessness and poverty, far too many to count

 

But we find ourselves in a position where we are able to cry out in action for the hope and liberty of this city

 

And yet more often than not, tension between the latter and former prove difficult to navigate beyond

 

And so we, grip firmly to what we’ve once known only to find it no longer corresponds with what there now is to know

 

But in order to see change, there must also be the practicality of setting new mindsets to widen perspective as we navigate forward with one objective

 

In partnering and coming together as one, we invest and sow into the future of Lincoln as a flourishing and thriving city

 

In unity, we create room for insight, deeper understanding, and in a call to action we find growth

 

You see to love a city, to deeply anticipate its growth and flourishing is to see the success of its inhabitants

 

It lies deeper than infrastructures and establishments

 

Because without the people, everything else ceases to be relevant

 

And it’s only when the city prospers, do the people also prosper

 

I believe this city is going to see change for the better, the question however, is not in the when but in how

 

And so when I close my eyes and think of the future

 

I might envision thoughts and plans beyond my wildest dreams

 

Or believe for goals beyond my abilities or current capacity

 

And sometimes, my hopes and fears it seems both fall directly into one category

 

Fear: an unpleasant often strong emotion caused by anticipation or awareness of danger

 

And so I anticipate what may appear to be impossibilities or difficulty surrounding what I wish to achieve

 

Yet Hope springs up a feeling of expectation and desire for a particular thing to take place

 

To embrace the ups and downs of the journey towards something better

 

And so when you close your eyes and envision the future of this city, what do you see

 

Is it dwelling in fear of what could be? To review current conditions, numbers and statistics and realising that maybe it all

just seems a little unrealistic

 

But I’ll be the first to speak life into this city as though it were

 

Together, we can seek and declare peace and prosperity over this city

 

Together, we can raise a new song

 

One that thrives in the awareness of safety, a city that presents opportunity, embraces diversity, celebrates equality, makes room

for innovative ideas and creativity and finds power in its unity

 

Our new song is found in building as one and Believing for greater to come

 

Lincoln, a city set on a hill that cannot be hidden

 

A city with a light that cannot be dimmed but carries light that extends into every home, space and the wider community

 

A city filled with people that aren’t simply moved by words but also by deed in serving and playing our parts to create a better

society

 

For the young and the old, the poor and the rich, for families and individuals, the vulnerable and the outcast

 

We sing a new song over Lincoln with long lasting words of a hope for the here and now but also for the future of generations to

come

Lincoln Civic Prayer Breakfast 2022 - Spoken Word by Eunice Walker

June 2022 - Deacon Warren - There’s Nothing Ordinary About Ordinary Time

One of the most misunderstood concepts regarding the Church’s liturgical year is Ordinary Time. We tend to think of certain seasons of the Church year as special: Advent, Christmas, Lent, and Easter. These seasons are indeed special. However, Ordinary Time is not referring to a season in which nothing special is happening.

In fact, the Scripture readings teach us that there is nothing ordinary about Ordinary Time. Aware of God’s presence and continuing love, the Church does not let a day go by, without counting it as belonging to God. Because we count our Sundays in this way, we call them Ordinary, as in the word ordinal, meaning 'numbered'.  Because we encounter, day by day and Sunday after Sunday, the deeds of the Lord proclaimed in Scripture, we are reminded regularly that this moment, and indeed every moment, belongs to God. In fact, at the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday, which is the centerpiece of the Church year, the priest prays these words as he blesses the Easter candle: “Christ yesterday and today, the beginning and the end, Alpha and Omega; all time belongs to Him, and all the ages; to Him be glory and power, through every age for ever.”

For Catholics, time takes on a unique sense in the context of liturgy and worship. When we enter liturgy, the time that we mark with clocks and watches, kronos, is suspended. At that point, kairos—eternal time or 'heaven’s time'—overshadows our time and invites us to enter God’s 'eternal now'. This eternal now is experienced by the Church, through the Church’s liturgical year. This means that, for Catholics, every day of the year has a connection to Jesus.

Because time is something that belongs to God, we are called to be stewards of God’s time. In fact, stewardship is the recognition of our responsibility to care for and share what God has entrusted to us: time, talent, and treasure. Ordinary Time reminds us that all time belongs to God, and we are stewards of this wonderfully generous gift.


Article by Deacon Joe Paprocki - https://catechistsjourney.loyolapress.com/ 

May 2022 - Deacon Warren - Confession is about much more than sin

The sacrament, which we now call 'Reconciliation', has undergone the most changes of all the sacraments over time. The different names for the sacraments in the Church's history, reflect something of the way our understanding has developed and evolved.

It was originally called the ‘sacrament of penance’, and was associated with severe public penances, imposed on people for public sins. Then, it was called ‘confession’ - after individual confession was introduced for private sins. It has also been called the ‘sacrament of conversion and forgiveness’. It is now called the ‘sacrament of reconciliation’. Together with the ‘sacrament of anointing’, it is now classified as one of two ‘sacraments of healing’.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains how this sacrament heals our relationship with the Christian community - wounded by our sins - and heals our relationship with God.

Though stated as one of the effects of the sacrament, healing is not mentioned in the ritual formula. It seems to focus exclusively on the forgiveness of sin. Often, when we speak about this sacrament, we too tend to focus on forgiveness and sin.

It is helpful to distinguish between the sinful actions we commit, and the disorder that gives rise to the actions that require healing.

Eric Jensen SJ suggests that sin cannot only be seen as a thought, word or deed that is morally disordered. It can also arise from a disorder - like toxic shame - that occurs out of a wounding experience. Many of our wounding experiences come from childhood and can be characterised perhaps by the phrase "the message I heard about myself vs the message I should have heard".

We need forgiveness for sin, but we also need healing for wounds. Sin can so often be cyclical (I do the same thing over and over and wonder why), because we have never dealt with the deeper genesis: the place where the wound is.

This means that, when preparing for the sacrament, we ask ourselves, with God's help, to look at what lies beneath the sin. 

Jesus knows the need for forgiveness and healing. He says, "You have been healed, go and sin no more" (John 5:14). 


Adapted from an article by Russell Pollitt SJ

April 2022 - Deacon Warren - God’s Love Conquers Fear

When we undergo trials, we fight the battle of fear. Fear of the current situation, fear of the future, fear of what will happen to us, our loved ones, our family, marriage, relationships, job, children, friends. It has been particularly true during this time of pandemic.  At times, life seems overwhelming, even to those we perceive as holy.

 

We are not alone; nearly every saint has had doubts, fear and dark moments of despair. Mother Teresa, now St. Teresa of Calcutta, in letters written in confidence to her confessors, had times of doubt. She wrote about having no faith, and about thoughts that gave her untold agony. She described putting on a cloak that covered her despair with a smile.

 

Fear is crippling and immobilizing. Fear is our enemy. What conquers fear? God’s love.

 

When we are open to God’s love, we are open to hope. Transformed by God’s love, we trust in Him. As in the Divine Mercy devotion, we say with confidence, 

“Jesus, I Trust In You.  Jesus I Trust In You.  Jesus, I Trust In You.”

 

When we hope and trust, God’s love showers on us the peace that passes all understanding. We do not tremble and fear.

  

One of the most important Scriptures for us to have rooted in our hearts: Romans 8:28 “We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to His purpose.”

 

When we believe God is real, and that He cares about us, and loves us more than we can ever imagine, everything changes. Our doubts, fears and anxieties melt away.

 

In the midst of trials, it is difficult to understand or accept that God has a purpose for everything in our lives. Many of us try to figure out His plan for us. We attempt to understand why things happen the way that they do.  


Do not try to figure out every aspect of what happens to you, or what may happen to you. We do not comprehend God’s ways.

 

Isaiah 55:9 “As high as the heavens are above the earth,  so high are my ways above your ways and my thoughts above your thoughts.”

 

We also see Jesus telling us not to worry or to try to figure out our lives.

 

Matthew 6:34 “Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil.”

 

Focusing on God’s goodness and love transforms us, leaving no room for fear in our lives! This is always true, but especially when we are in crisis.

 


 For more about Conquering Fear and related topics, read Deacon Steve Greco book - Overcoming Adversity Through Miracles. 

March 2022 - Deacon Warren  - Invitation to return to Mass

'Lent is the ideal time to become part of the journey through the life of our Catholic family, in the company and grace of our Blessed Lord, and strengthened by each other'.  

Cardinal Vincent Nichols has issued an invitation to all faithful to resume a regular pattern of worship, by attending Sunday Mass in person once more.   

He asks for our assistance 'to encourage everyone to make coming to Church an important part of their pattern of life'.  He asks those of us who have resumed the regular pattern of Sunday Mass attendance 'to be ready to approach those whom you know, and who are not present here today, with a word of invitation for them to join us'.   Acknowledging that 'taking the step across the threshold of the church can be daunting for someone who has been away for a long time,' he suggests that parishioners 'offer to accompany them on this return journey'.  As Lent, 'the traditional and powerful season of our renewal in faith', approaches, we are invited to 'respond to the Lord's invitation, to come forward and meet Him afresh'

Extract from the Pastoral Letter for the Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time 26/27 February 2022 

During these last two years there were times when our way of life was severely curtailed. We were in 'Lockdown'. At one time, for three months, even the doors of our churches were firmly closed. Being unable to enter the House of God, and to take part fully in the celebration of the Mass was, for many, an experience of real dismay and pain.

But that is no longer the case. We are again able to fashion the way of life that we choose. The doors of our churches can stay wide open. Yet, as you know, many have not resumed the pattern of coming to church, week by week. Other activities have filled that space. For some, the thirst for being at Mass, for celebrating life-giving sacraments, has diminished.

This is where I ask for your help. I would like you to be ready to approach those whom you know, and who are not present here today, with a word of invitation for them to join us. I know this is not easy. You may well feel it is an intrusive thing to do. Also, taking the step across the threshold of the church can be daunting for someone who has been away for a long time. So I ask you to exercise great deference and kindness when approaching them, perhaps offering to accompany them on this return journey.

I make this request now, not simply because fear and restrictions are eased, but because we are approaching Lent, the traditional and powerful season of our renewal in faith. Beginning on Ash Wednesday, we respond to the Lord's invitation, to come forward and meet Him afresh. He invites us to come through the doors of the church, to stand before Him, and receive His blessing, His mark of mercy.


Lent is the time to reset our patterns so that there is time for God in our hearts and in our weekly routines. You know well that the highest form of prayer is the celebration of the Eucharist. It is here, above all other places, that the Lord wishes to fill us with His gifts, so that we, in turn, can offer those gifts to others. And then, when we give that which we have received, we bring this precious light of Christ into our world. He is the best antidote to the darkness of the pandemic, to the loneliness it has brought, to the lack of clear hope for the future, to the deep weariness and unexpressed resentment that has entered into the souls of so many.

So, please, do what you can to invite those who are missing to come with you, to be part of this great family of faith at prayer. If each of you can give a word of encouragement to one other person, to one other family, then the reward will be great. Then we can journey together to Easter. There we proclaim again that Jesus alone has mastered death, that He alone is the Lord of life, that He is now among us, and calling us to come to meet Him here, in the House of God, in this Gate of Heaven.


'Keep on working at the Lord's work always, knowing that, in the Lord, you cannot be labouring in vain' (1Cor. 15:58).


February 2022 - Deacon Warren - Turning back to God 

Jesus speaks to our hearts in His Real Presence, in the celebration of the Mass, and in the silence of Eucharistic Adoration

“Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God”.  (Matthew. 5:8)


 Although the sixth Beatitude promises us that, the pure of heart will have the privilege of seeing God, we might be surprised to learn that not everyone has found this idea attractive.

In the Old Testament, tradition held that to gaze on the face of the Lord was tantamount to a death sentence; despite his intimate friendship with God, Moses himself was forced to hide in the cleft of the rock, and see only the Lord’s back as He passed by.

In the Gospels, however, Jesus turns this fear on its head by offering Himself as a perfect and merciful mediator, a new means to see and know the Lord.  He promises the apostles, “Whoever has seen me, has seen the Father” (John 14:9).  To see the Son is to see the Father who dwells in Him, and to be friends with one is to be friends with the other.

Our own journey with the Lord comes with its share of moments of both fear and intimacy, beginning with the fundamental task of noticing how He’s even active in our lives in the first place.

Sin, the Catechism of the Catholic Church warns us, inevitably clouds our judgement, and distorts our ability to perceive the good.  Sin, more than any other outside influence, makes it difficult to ‘see’ God in our lives, to recognise His invitations to friendship, and to discern His will.

The particular details of our encounters may differ, but as Catholics, we all have the privilege of seeing God moving in out lives first hand.  Of all the places we could look for His presence nothing can compare to the power of Jesus Christ present in the sacraments of His Church.

Jesus speaks to our hearts in His Real Presence, in the celebration of the Mass, and in the silence of Eucharistic Adoration.  He speaks His words of forgiveness and absolution to open the eyes of our souls in the sacrament of reconciliation.  I am sure many of you have experienced these graces.

It is not uncommon for our spiritual lives to go through phases and periods of great enthusiasm, alternating with times of dryness, or temptation to indifference.

Among the most difficult to endure, however, can be those times when we realise we have drifted away from our relationship with God, and allowed sin to lead us far from the path on which He was leading us.

Turning our eyes back to Him really can be as simple, and as humbling, as turning back to these founts of grace, that the Church has given us in the sacraments.

Still, it can be all to tempting to give in to the fear that, if and when we return to stand before the Lord, we’ll be the ones struck dead, if not by His wrath, then by the monumental shame of our failure.

The reality is quite the opposite: When we allow Jesus to remove the clouds from our vision, and restore us to the purity of heart, the only thing we will see before our eyes, is the gaze of His mercy, waiting right where He has always been, right in front of us.

 


Adapted from an Article - Universe Catholic Weekly | Friday 21st January 2022 | Fr. Cassidy Stinson | The sixth installment in a series that covers the Eight Beatitudes | Clean of Heart:Turning back to God  

January 2022 - Deacon Warren - Our Lady is calling us back to prayer, but is anybody listening? 

Mary, Mother of Grace, Mother of Mercy, shield us from the enemy, and receive us at the hour of our death.

1 January         Solemnity of Mary, Holy Mother of God

The Octave of Christmas ends on the first day of the New Year, which is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, venerated as the Mother of God.  The Gospel reminds us that she kept all these things, pondering them in hear heart” (Luke 2:19).  So, she did in Bethlehem, on Golgotha at the foot of the cross, and on the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descended on the Upper Room.  And so, she does today too.  The Mother of God, and of human beings keeps in her heart all of humanity’s problems, great and difficult, and meditates upon them.  The Alma Redemptoris Mater walks with us and guides us with the motherly tenderness towards the future.  Thus, she helps humanity cross all the ‘thresholds’ of the years, the centuries, the millenniums, by sustaining their hope in the One who is the Lord of history.  [Blessed Pope Saint John Paul II]

 

11 February    Our Lady of Lourdes

The message of Lourdes is a call to personal conversion, prayer, and charity.

 

13 May             Our Lady of Fatima

Mary brought a message of peace and reparation for sin, encouraging devotion to her Immaculate Heart, and the recitation of the Rosary.

 

31 May             the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Commemorates the meeting between Mary, and her cousin Elisabeth.  Following Elizabeth’s words of greeting, Our Lady proclaimed the Magnificat, a hymn praising the Lord for all that He had done for His handmaid and expressing her attitude of faith and humility.

 

6 June               Mary, Mother of the Church

 

25 June            the Immaculate Heart of Mary

Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, originated with Saint John Eudes, in the seventeenth century, and developed in parallel to the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  Whereas the Sacred Heart shows the infinite love of God for mankind, Mary’s Immaculate Heart presents us with a model for how we should love God.  Honouring the Immaculate Heart not only rightly acknowledges her unique privileges, but also leads us to her Son.

 

16 July              Our Lady of Mount Carmel

This feast honours the Blessed Virgin as patroness of the Carmelite Order.  It later came to be associated with a supposed vision of Saint Simon Stock, said to have taken place on 16 July 1251.  Wearing the ‘Brown Scapular’, a symbol of the Carmelite habit, is a sign of trust in Mary’s maternal help, especially at the hour of death.

 

*26 July                            Ss. Joachim & Anne (Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary)

The grandparents of the Lord remind us that, the Word truly became flesh in a particular family.  Our devotion to them, is an extension of our love of Mary, and her Divine Son.

 

15 August        the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The Solemnity of the Assumption is, in some ways, the paramount feast of Our Lady, since it commemorates her passing, body and soul, into the glory of heaven, where she stands beside her Son ‘in garments of gold’.  Though the dogma of the Assumption was only defined in 1950, it was widely believed by the earliest Christians.  The Blessed Virgin truly leads the way; she fulfilled her vocation in humility and, given her Immaculate Conception, the grave was no place for her body.  Where she is now, we one day hope to be.

 

22 August        the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Mary, Mother & Queen)

Pope Pius XII instituted this Feats in 1954, to conclude what was then the Octave of the Assumption.  We remember the Blessed Virgin reigns in Heaven, together with her Son; she reigns not because she is equal to God, but because she is the mother of Christ the King.  All her privileges come from her Motherhood of God, and the unique role she played in our redemption.

 

8 September  the Nativity (Birthday) of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Nothing is known for sure about the details of the Blessed Virgin’s birth.  Even her parents, traditionally known as Saint Joachim and Saint Anne, are not mentioned in Sacred Scripture.  Today’s feast originated in the East, probably during the sixth century, and was later introduced to the West.  (A French legend tells of a man hearing angels singing on the night of 8 September and being told the Virgin Mary has been born on that night).  Her earthly birth is celebrated (like that of Saint John the Baptist) because it announced to the world the coming of Jesus, the beginning of the New Covenant.

 

12 September   the Most Holy Name of Mary

The name of Mary is regarded as holy because it is the name of the Mother of God, her who brought the Saviour into the world.  The Feast of the Most Holy Name of Mary was added to the Universal Calendar in 1684 by Blessed Innocent XI.

 

15 September   Our Lady of Sorrows

This feast originated as a memorial of the Seven Sorrows of Mary, most of which were linked to the events of Good Friday, when she stood at the foot of the cross.  We remember that the Blessed Virgin had to live through the personal tragedy of seeing her Son die.  She had a unique share in our redemption, offering her Son’s life to the Lord, trusting that it was part of His plan.

 

24 September   Our Lady of Walsingham

England’s premier Marian shrine dates back to 1061, when a wealth widow, Richeldis de Faverches, was inspired by a vision to build a replica of the Holy House of Nazareth in Walsingham, Norfolk.  This remained a vibrant pilgrimage centre until its destruction in 1538, although the shrine was later revived by both Catholics (1897) and Anglicans (1922).  Formerly, 24 September was kept as the Memorial of Our Lady of Ransom, when prayers were offered for the ‘ransom’ of England, ‘Our Lady’s Dowry’.

 

7 October        Our Lady of the Rosary

This Memorial (originally Our Lady of Victories) commemorates the battle of Lepanto (7 October 1571).  The victory was attributed by Pope Saint Pius V to the recitation of the Holy Rosary.  This great Marian prayer is sometimes traced back to Saint Dominic and his confreres, preaching against the Albigensian heresy in the thirteenth century, although it seems more likely to have taken its familiar form in the fifteenth century.  Since then, it has spread all over the world, and has produced marvellous fruits, bringing countless Christians ‘to Jesus through Mary’.

 

21 November    the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The Presentation of Mary in the Temple as a young girl, is based not on the New Testament but an account in the apocryphal Gospel of James.  In being presented in this way, the Blessed Virgin dedicated herself to the service of God and kept herself open to God’s will.  The feast prepares us for Advent and Christmas, when we celebrate the coming of her Divine Sone into the world.

 

8 December   the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Today we celebrate the Blessed Virgin’s unique privilege of being preserved from the stain of sin at the very moment of conception.  This was fitting for she would one day carry the second person of the Trinity in her womb.  Blessed John Henry Newman wrote that ‘there is no difference n kind between her and us, though an inconceivable difference of degree.  She and we are both simply saved by the grace of Christ’.  But with Mary, the way she was saved was exceptional: from the moment of her existence, she was freed from the stain of Original Sin.  This dogma was solemnly defined by Blessed Pius IX on 8 December 1854 but had long been believed by Christians. 

 

10 December Our Lady of Loreto

 

12 December Our Lady of Guadalupe

On 9 December 1531, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to Saint Juan Diego, and left an image of herself imprinted upon his cloak.  The image was placed in a magnificent shrine at Guadalupe where it became an object of great devotion and encouraged the devotion of the Mexican nation towards the Mother of God.  Many miracles were attributed to her intercession, and Our Lady of Guadalupe was named ‘Queen of Mexico and Empress of the Americas’.

 

*30 December                         the Holy Family, of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph

If we aspire to a deeper understanding of Jesus’ life and mission, we must draw close to the mystery of the Holy Family of Nazareth to observe and listen.  Today’s liturgy offers us a providential opportunity to do so.  For every believer, and especially for Christian families, the humble dwelling place in Nazareth is an authentic school of the Gospel.  Here we admire, put in practice, the divine plan to make the family an intimate community of life and love; here we learn that every Christian family is called to be a small “domestic church” that must shine with the Gospel virtues.  Recollection and prayer, mutual understanding and respect, personal discipline and community asceticism and a spirit of sacrifice, work and solidarity are typical features that make the family of Nazareth a model for every home.   [Blessed Pope Saint John Paul II]


June 2022 [Pilgrimage / part 8] - Deacon John

I apologise for not contributing a monthly blog for a while, mainly due to forced ‘holidays’ with no internet during work in our house, and ongoing redecorations.
To resume: in my last blog I and my two pilgrim companions were about to enter Lincoln’s ancient Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  We began outside the West Front reflecting on the earlier Anglo-Saxon Minster also dedicated to Mary that stood here before Bishop Remigius rebuilt it as a fortified Norman Cathedral. Later, Bishop Alexander added the ornately sculptured frieze that now has only seventeen scenes, less than half the original.  Most of the destroyed sculptures had focused on Mary.  Only one remnant of these survives preserved in the Morning Chapel: a smashed fraction of her heavenly mandorla with a dove.

 

We entered the Cathedral to look for this remnant, and then set off to find more pre-Reformation vestiges of scenes from Luke’s Gospel of the Annunciation, Visitation, or Nativity.  But more, we would also search for belief in Mary’s transcendence, her Assumption, Coronation and Queenship.  Their scriptural basis was in John’s Book of Revelation.  We paused to read the relevant passage: “Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman robed with the sun, standing on the moon, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.  She was pregnant and in labour… Then a second sign appeared in the sky: there was a huge red dragon with seven heads and ten horns…  And the dragon stopped in front of the woman as she was on the point of giving birth, so that it could eat the child as soon as it was born.  The woman was to deliver of a boy, the son who was to rule all the nations with an iron sceptre, and the child was taken straight up to God and to his throne….  Now war broke out in heaven.  Michael with his angels attacked the great dragon, the primeval serpent known as the Devil or Satan, who had led all the world astray, and he was hurled down to the earth and his angels hurled down with him…”

 

My companions could quote second century Church Fathers who proclaimed without doubt that this mystical mother was and is Mary.  And later Fathers, they said, preached more boldly of Mary’s perpetual virginity and even immaculate conception.  In the catacombs of Rome, she was painted among stars in royal robes, crowned, enthroned, and honoured by angels and saints.  At the Council of Nicaea Mary’s virginity became a crucial factor.  If Jesus was and is ‘God from God, and consubstantial with the Father, then God himself became “Homo factus - ex Maria Virgine…”  The direct consequence of this doctrine on our cathedral was in its dedication.  When the proclamation went out from Nicaea that Mary was both Mother and Virgin, churches everywhere were dedicated to ‘Mary the Mother of God’ and the ‘Blessed Virgin Mary.’  The first Anglo-Saxon minster here, in the centre of the upper Roman Colonia, was dedicated to Sancta Maria.

 

As we entered St Hugh’s Choir, we recalled how Bishop Hugh found ‘Mary’s Cathedral’ in ruins, and was still rebuilding it when he died in 1200 AD.  Adam of Eynsham, his friend and biographer is explicit.  Hugh always called himself ‘Mary’s servant’ and, he says: ‘as her servant, the bishop’s devotion to her, and veneration of her, was second only to his devotion and veneration for her child.’   For Hugh, Lincoln Cathedral belonged to Mary.  It was the personal property of the Queen of Heaven.  When King Richard demanded a proportion of its assets to fund for his war against his French cousins, Hugh would have none of it. ‘God forbid,’ he said, ‘that any mortal should dare to make a decree by which he can deprive the Most Blessed Queen of Heaven of what belongs to her and to God!’

 

We don’t know how many stained-glass windows featuring Mary were destroyed following the Reformation, but two typically medieval ‘story-windows’ near St Hugh’s shrine escaped.  One shows the story of Theophilus, an Archdeacon who pledged his soul to the Devil for a bishopric but later relented and begged Mary for help.  She took pity on him and descended into Hell where she forced the Devil to return the repentant sinner’s soul.  The second tells the story of a little Jewish boy with Christian friends.  One Easter Mary appeared to him and told him to go with them to Mass and receive Holy Communion.  In a rage his father locked the boy in his glass-makers furnace and lit it.  But Mary again appeared and saved him from the hellish fire.  He emerged unscathed and was baptised. 

 

Having pondered these windows, we three pilgrims found two smaller stained-glass window-panels. One in The Dean’s Eye; an apocryphal ‘Choosing of Joseph as Mary’s Husband’, and the other in the Bishop’s Eye; the seated Virgin and Child.  In the Treasury we found the earliest Norman seal matrices featuring Mary as Seat of Wisdom and Queen of Heaven, crowned, enthroned, and hugging her child on her lap.  We would find the same but huge stone image outside, on the east wall high above the great east window (c.1280).  Back in St Hugh’s Choir we found my favourite sculpture, way up in the triforium at the entrance to the sanctuary.  She and her child look down from heaven upon the high altar and both are being incensed by an angel with a thurible.  We found two more images of the heavenly Coronation of the Blessed Virgin; one in a Boss in the South Aisle of the Angel Choir, and the other in a wooden Boss in the cloisters. 

 

Making our way into the Cathedral Library we sought a description of the famous processional image of ‘Our Lady’ destroyed by Henry VIII’s agents in 1539.  On feast days it was decorated with lights, gifts, and flowers, delighting generations of pilgrims as well as local worshippers.  The description is dated 1536.  ‘The great image of Our Lady, sitting in a chair of silver and gilt with four polls, two of them having arms in the front, having upon her head a crown, silver and gilt, set with stones and pearls; and one torque with stones and pearls about her neck, and a brooch depending thereby, having in her hand a sceptre with one flower, set with stones and pearls, and one bird in the top thereof; and her Child sitting upon her knee, with a crown on his head, with a diadem set with pearls and stones, holding a ball with a cross of silver and gilt in his left hand…

 

We left the library to gather at the statue of Bishop Edward King, resplendent in catholic vestments and mitre, where we reflected on his role in our pilgrimage. We recalled how, after the Reformation, prayers and devotions to Mary were forbidden in all churches and cathedrals. This ban remained until John Henry Newman’s study of the early Fathers and Councils during the Oxford Movement. Eventually he courageously declared their teaching and his conviction ‘that the Blessed Virgin prays efficaciously for the Church, and for individual souls in and out of it.  Nor can I deny that to be devout to her is a duty following on this doctrine...’  In Tract 54 Newman urged the English Church to restore Mary to her rightful place of honour, and later wrote a series of sermons for her feast days.  Finally, he voiced his belief that Mary had drawn him into the Catholic Church. 

 

And so we come to Bishop Edward King, who brought the ‘Catholic’ ideals of the Oxford Movement to Lincoln.  Arriving in 1885 and facing some opposition, he could not yet do all he would wish.  But ‘outside’ he could replace a missing statue in the Judgement Porch through which he daily passed - the very first new statue of Mary since the Reformation.  And this was facing (and challenging?) all who entered the cathedral by this way, as in times long past, bishops included.  We three pilgrims then made our way to the Judgement Porch and stood before that ‘new’ (c.1890) statue.  The new Mary and Jesus, along with old angels and saints, are welcoming the ‘blessed’ into the cathedral, the way to heaven, while a host of tormenting demons are dragging the ‘damned’ into the gaping gates of hell, the very jaws of Satan. 

 

Here, we said our concluding prayers; The Angelus, the Salve Regina, Hail Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, The Lord’s Prayer, a final prayer of thanksgiving, and the Glory Be.  Our long day’s pilgrimage was over.  While they made their way to the railway station and on to their monastery, I returned to a very welcome supper and an early bed.  Deo Gratias!  As a post-script, I would add that Bishop King paved the way to the Cathedral’s specially commisioned statue of Mary now standing in her own Lady Chapel in the Retro Choir, but more on this later.

 

Best wishes to all.  Deacon John.

February 2022 [Pilgrimage / part 7] - Deacon John

Having left the Stonebow, we three pilgrims made our way to Bank Street, to the site of the first locatable Catholic Chapel discretely established in Lincoln since the Reformation.  Hidden chapels had existed in the city throughout the penal days in the private homes of recusant families, and for long periods at a time often not troubled by the authorities. Only during Cromwell’s Commonwealth were they again systematically sought out and Catholic priests hunted down. But some relief would come with the Restoration of the monarchy and the Anglican Church in 1660, when a small chapel was built in a garden somewhere in the Bail. It would last until 1688 and the ‘Glorious Revolution’ when the ‘Papist’ King James II was deposed by a fiercely Protestant Government, his daughter Mary, and his son-in-law William of Orange. A Lincoln mob took to the streets and destroyed all things deemed ‘papist’ including their chapel.

When things became quieter another secret chapel was opened ‘somewhere in the Thornbridge area,’ where Mass was clandestinely celebrated by Jesuit missionaries until 1750. It was then that Fr. Richard Knight SJ was able to rent an ordinary town house in Bank Street owned by St Swithin’s Anglican Church in which he had permission to establish a ‘private upstairs chapel’. This was a truly ecumenical gesture by his Anglican landlords and the civic authorities who despite active penal laws turned a blind-eye to increasing numbers attending Mass. I showed a drawing of this ‘upper-room’ disguised chapel to my friends.

Strictly speaking ‘illegal’ until 1778 when the first ‘Papists Act’ allowed toleration of suchlike discrete chapels (as long as they did not pretend to look like churches), and granted limited emancipation to Catholics, it would continue to grow until the Second Emancipation Act in 1798 allowed the legal building of Catholic churches. Work began almost immediately, and the first legally permitted Catholic Church in Lincoln since the Reformation was built on Silver Street. It was dedicated to Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist and opened in 1799. In the census of 1851, there were 250 parishioners and 54 pupils in its adjoining school. With a growing congregation, and soon too small, it was replaced in 1893 by the present church on Monks Road dedicated to St Hugh of Lincoln.

It was into this church that we went, to ponder on the foundation stone laid on the feast of St. Hugh, 17 th November 1892, by Bishop Bagshaw. The new church was opened on 19th December 1893 by Cardinal Vaughan, Bishop Bagshaw and Canon Croft, with a host of parishioners, the Mayor and Mayoress of Lincoln, civic guests and dignitaries, clergy from throughout the diocese, and Anglican and other well-wishers. A pontifical high Mass was sung, the first to be celebrated in Lincoln since the Reformation, accompanied by an orchestra, organ, and choir. Afterwards a lunch for 200 people was held in the drill hall. During the speeches there was a reference to the church being ‘well warmed by hot water’; St. Hugh’s being one of the first large buildings in Lincoln to have central heating. In the evening there was a solemn Benediction, sung with a full choir, organ, and orchestra.

As we recalled this momentous episode in the history of Lincoln, we knelt at the side alters, one dedicated to The Blessed Virgin Mary, and the other to St Joseph. The Holy Family! We took in the painted mural scenes from the life of St Hugh of Lincoln, and the two big statues of St Hugh and St Catherine of Sienna on either side of the altar. We then did a slow tour of the church, pausing before all the sculptures, reliefs, artwork, and imagery for so long scorned and forbidden as ‘idolatry’ and ‘popery’, yet here once again restored, gloriously celebrated and treasured. Every image could invoke a prayer and praise.

Before we left, we knelt on the sanctuary step before the tabernacle and the altar recalling the real presence of Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, this too for so long denied to so many in our city. We said our prayers and thanksgiving for the restoration of so much that is central to our Faith and for the witness of so many martyrs in Lincoln like Thomas Hunt and Thomas Sprott, hung drawn and quartered here in 1600 just for being Catholic priests. And we recalled the Jesuits who risked their all here, and dying here during Cromwell’s time. We then left St Hugh’s to make our way to Lincoln Cathedral and the end of our pilgrimage.

January 2022 [Pilgrimage / part 6] - Deacon John

Dear Parishioners of Our Lady of Lincoln

Continuing November’s blog, having left the Anglo-Saxon Church of St Mary-le-Wigford, we three pilgrims crossed St Mary’s Road, passed the medieval Church of St Benedict, and continued towards the Stonebow. Buried beneath this, and of the same size and plan, are the foundations of the great monumental Roman gateway built soon after 200 AD. As the main entrance through the defensive walls into Lindum Colonia, it would have displayed prominent images or statues of protective gods to confront travelers as they arrived.

This old Roman gate, albeit in need of repair, was still there when the Vikings settled in the eighth century. They kept it, improved it, and called it the city ‘Steinn-bogi’, literally stone-arched gateway, the name we adopted and adapted to Stonebow. Like the Romans, the Scandinavians may well have etched images on their steinn-bogi, as for example of the popular Frigg, wife of Odin, mother of Baldyr, and goddess of home, security, kindness, and consolation. Our word Friday comes from her; Frigg’s-Day.

At what date pagan symbolism was changed to Christian is not known. But certainly, by the early 10th century there was a growing devotion to Mary, as witnessed elsewhere, and as in the Church of St Mary-le-Wigford. Mary’s image may well have replaced that of a goddess like Frigg long before the steinn-bogi fell into disrepair. The old was eventually replaced by the new and the present Stonebow was built in 1520, to be approved by Henry VIII as the home of the City Guildhall and Civic Centre. It is still used for some Council meetings and city events.

But more important for us pilgrims, my friends noticed that this arch was the ideal location for a scene in one of the Lincoln Mystery Plays, specifically the Annunciation. On the west side of the gateway is the image of a young, beautiful, long-haired, demure, and regal Virgin Mary, in a flowing gown with hands modestly crossed over her breasts, listening intently to an honoured messenger. She is standing at the gate of the city to which she is clearly the Patron and Protector, as she is too of the great Cathedral named after her, the Blessed Virgin Mary, towards which this gate gives access. On its east side the messenger is revealed as the Archangel Gabriel, holding a scroll in his left hand and a palm branch in his right. Beneath his feet are two two-winged beasts, while beneath Mary’s feet (crushed?) is a winged serpent with two human duplicitous faces. The two statues are flanked by symbols of the city, specifically by Mary’s once striking, and no doubt brightly painted, golden fleur-de-lys on a red cross in a silver shield. The angelic message is obvious: ‘Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you!’

For some time, we pilgrims pondered on the long history of the Stonebow, and what it had witnessed over the centuries. Clearly these statues dated from 1520 if not earlier when Marian Mystery Plays were still regularly performed, and well before the end of the Guilds or the devastation caused by Henry VIII’s break with Rome. Evidence of damage done to Gabriel may well have been due to Puritan zeal. Yet both statues had survived strangely intact for some 500 years to bear their witness to everyone passing through the gate, and to every new generation. Just a glance at these two statues is enough to summon a prayer. So, we prayed the Angelus, using Gabriel’s and Mary’s own words, and then the Hail Holy Queen, before finishing with the Our Father and Glory Be.

As we left the Stonebow to make our way to St Hugh’s Church, we passed and remembered the cells below ground in the Guildhall where some of Lincoln’s Catholic recusants awaited trial. In their prison, we recalled, was a strange engraving in one of the cells of an upside-down world, possibly etched by a Catholic prisoner lamenting the topsy-turvy changes in religion against which they could not help but protest. We said a prayer for those who suffered for the Faith, and one in thanksgiving for their belief and witness in spite of cruel deprivations and persecution. How lucky or blessed are we today?

All the very best, and for one and all may God bless our New Year.

Deacon John

Moveable Feasts 2022.pdf

November 2021 [Pilgrimage / part 5] - Deacon John

Dear Parishioners of Our Lady of Lincoln 


Continuing last month’s blog, having reached the Anglo-Saxon Church of St Mary-le-Wigford, we three pilgrims paused before the Roman tombstone embedded in the wall of its tower. I explained how excavations by the Lincoln Archaeological Trust in 1972, just across the road, had uncovered parts of an Iron-Age settlement with a large rectangular temple-like structure.  This was possibly the earliest sacred building in what is now Lincoln; a Celtic temple built long before the arrival of the Roman IX Legion.  The Romans called the settlement Lindum, literally the settlement by the ‘lin’ or lake, and established their colony here, Lindum Colonia, Lincoln.  The older Iron-Age dwellings were transformed into a port and trading centre with its own Roman Temple; later, with the arrival of missionaries like St Paulinus and those who followed him, to be converted into or replaced by a Church.  In front of us was clear evidence of ongoing prayer, ritual and liturgy stretching back for far more than two thousand years.

 

We pondered on what beliefs and prayers might have been uttered and heard here, by so many generations of our forebears, before the coming of Christianity.  These temples and burial practices witnessed to a belief in an after-life, with rituals, intercessions and a priesthood.  What we were gazing at was a re-used Roman tombstone with the still legible inscription ‘DIS MANIBVS NOMINI SACRI BRVSCI FILI CIVIS SENONI ET CARSSOVENAE CONIVCIS US ET QUINTI F’  (Dedicated to those now with the divine departed, namely Sacer son of Bruscus, a Senonian citizen, and Carssouna his wife and Quintus his son).  But above this was an added Anglo-Saxon inscription ‘MARIE OFE 7 SCE N CRISTE TE L A N 7 FIOS GODIA EIRTIG ME LET WIRCE’ (Dedicated to Saint Mary and the Glory of Christ, Eirtig had me built). 

 

Why Eirtig (a Viking name) who built this church, chose an old Roman tombstone for his new dedication, and not a fresh stone, is a mystery.  He may have recognised the name SACER as an abbreviated form of Sacerdos, Latin for priest.  Here, perhaps is an example of continuity; a recognition of earlier priestly missionaries and ongoing unity with Rome itself?  Whatever the reason, Eirtig chose to emphasise the memory of Sacer by squeezing his own dedication into the pointed top of Sacer’s stone.  He wrote upwards, in the Anglo-Danish language of his day, beginning just above Sacer’s name and ascending, as though inviting readers to continue their gaze upwards, up this exceptionally high tower, into the skies and beyond, into heaven itself.

 

It was with reflections like these that we entered the ancient church and saw how it had developed and changed over the centuries.  There was clear evidence of its Catholic origins and its primary purpose, the celebration of the Mass.  We reflected on how St Mary-le-Wigford had become possibly the second most important parish church in Lincoln, used for centuries by civic and council leaders for city ceremonies.  Two small brasses reminded us of this, one with the name William Horn, Mayor of Lincoln who died in 1469, and another with John Jobson, Sheriff of Lincoln who died in 1525.  How could they possibly have imagined that a few years later, under King Edward VI, their beautiful stone altar would be broken into pieces, their Rood Screen pulled down, their pyx or tabernacle torn out, their missals and vestments burnt, and their crucifixes, statues and holy pictures removed or obliterated?  It is recorded that by 1553 all traces of Catholicism (‘popery’) were systematically and totally stripped from the church.

 

This was not strictly true as it was still possible to see vestiges of a piscina, two aumbries, and a sedilia close to where the altar stood, so essential to the old Mass, along with earlier effigies.  Yet more radical change was to come.  The ‘reformed’ ritual had retained elements of ‘the old religion’ so when Lincoln fell to the Puritans during the Civil War even this was to end. Priest was replaced by minister, the wooden communion table was abolished, and the pulpit took pride of place!  After the Restoration, St Mary le Wigford was the only church in the Wigford suburbs to re-open with an Anglican priest-minister, and even as late as 1744 the Bishop of Lincoln lamented that it was still the only church ‘below hill’ in which a regular C of E Sunday Service was held, and it was only once a month that this was a ‘holy communion’ service.  

 

Little was to change until Bishop Edward King arrived in Lincoln in 1885.  Greatly influenced by the Oxford Movement and indeed by John Henry Newman, Bishop King began his first modest efforts to ‘re-catholicise’ the Anglican Church, but not without strong opposition from within. My two friends waxed elegantly and enthusiastically about Edward King, and how he managed to restore so much of the Old Faith, including the importance of the centrality of the altar and the Eucharist, to the Anglican Church.  We three pilgrims reverenced the restored altar and bowed before the tabernacle with its bright sanctuary light indicating the real presence of the reserved Eucharist, according to the restored rites and beliefs of the Church of England.

 

We said our prayers, thanking God for the obvious movement towards Christian Unity that we were witnessing, and for pastors like Cardinal Newman and Bishop King who had so much in common.  We remembered the ancient Roman (priest?) Sacer, and Eirtig the descendent of Vikings, and all that had witnessed in this place for so long.  Above all we thanked God for St Mary-le-Wigford and its place in so many peoples’ lives, and we ended with ‘Hail Holy Queen.  We then set off for the Stonebow, with its images of Mary and Gabriel, on our way to the Catholic Church of St Hugh of Lincoln.

 

All the very best, and may God bless us all, everyone.

Deacon John

October 2021 [Pilgrimage / part 4] - Deacon John

Dear Parishioners of Our Lady of Lincoln 

Continuing last month’s blog, we three pilgrims left Saint Mary’s Guildhall and crossed the High Street to where the old St Mark’s Railway Station stood, built over the site of Lincoln’s Carmelite Priory. When the Carmelites first came to Lincoln they were known as the ‘Striped Friars’ because their habits were still the common Palestinian robes they imagined Joseph and Jesus would have worn.  So, they retained something of the Holy Land and the life, spirit, and experience of the crusaders.  We remembered too how Elijah and Elisha formed a community of brethren on Mount Carmel from where they opposed the prophets of Baal.  We recalled too how the name ‘Carmel’ implied a vineyard and orchard, and how crusaders of every nationality went there as a place of respite and renewal, and why so many stayed-on.  Claiming Elijah and Elisha as their predecessors, these former crusaders and visiting pilgrims formed a monastic community with a distinctive Rule that was in use by 1185 and approved by Rome in 1210. 

As to spirituality, the Carmelites focused on Mary by calling themselves from the beginning: ‘The Order of the Brothers of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel.’  They preached that in the Gospels Jesus was always closely identified with Elijah; and they quoted an apocryphal tradition that Mary had once visited Mount Carmel.  Their earliest church was dedicated to the ‘Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God’ and they were among the first to routinely address Mary as ‘Our Lady.’  When in Lincoln it was ‘Our Lady of Lincoln.’  She was in every sense the Mother of their family, and they her devoted sons.  They made their religious vows to serve her, and they venerated her as their model of holiness, purity, motherly love and compassion and human perfection.  It was for this that they changed their striped Palestinian robes for an all-white habit (1287) to be universally known as the ‘White Friars’.  

My fellow pilgrims, the two Carmelite friars from Aylesford, reminded me that they still stressed the same Carmelite conviction that by taking Mary to their hearts as their Heavenly Mother they were carrying-out the express wishes of her Son.  In St John’s Gospel, when Jesus was on the cross, he looked down and “seeing his Mother and the disciple he loved standing near her, Jesus said to his Mother ‘Woman, this is your son’.  Then to the disciple he said, ‘This is your Mother’.  And from that moment the disciple made a place for her in his home” (Jn 19:26-27).   This summed up the Carmelite vocation: it was “to make a place for Mary in people’s hearts and in their homes”.  This was the essence of all their preaching.  What Jesus pronounced on the cross expressed far more than earthly concern for his mother’s welfare.  It was a command from her Son, the Incarnate God, that Mary was and always would be the spiritual Mother of all his brothers and sisters; all the faithful; represented at the Cross by the beloved disciple!  This was the revelation received on Mount Carmel and brought to England.

In the Holy Land, by 1238, the Saracens had regained the upper hand.  Facing certain massacre if they stayed, a considerable number of English Carmelites were evacuated by Henry the III’s brother, Richard of Cornwall, and brought back to England.  These divided into groups; the first going to Aylesford.  Joined by other returned crusaders and new vocations they quickly grew in numbers and spread to all major cities.  All their monasteries followed a conventional pattern, with a large Church, Cloisters, Chapter House, Refectory, Kitchens, Infirmary, gardens, cemetery, workshops and shops. They were in Lincoln by 1260, Stamford by 1268, and Boston by 1293.  Unlike the Franciscans, it was an important principle incorporated in their earliest Rule, that Carmelite Friars must be self-sufficient. No begging!  St Paul was proud to earn his own living, and more important, Joseph and Jesus were carpenters and worked hard to put food on Mary’s table!   Friars had to work for a living, earn money, and buy anything they could not produce themselves.  They needed and trained skilled workers and they built workshops.  Evidence for this in Lincoln was found during excavation of their site; a substantial business in pottery manufacture and kilns on friary-owned land just across the road. 

My two Carmelite friar-friends from Aylesford had come to see the excavations at an early stage, and at that time we could only see traces appearing of foundations, walls, floor levels, precinct ditches and possible burials.   The layout of the monastery was not yet clear.  Pottery and other finds were inconclusive; some from before the monastery, some contemporary, and mostly from afterwards.  It was only later that the layout of friary buildings could be discerned.  Remnants of a large church were visible, with cloisters, a substantial kitchen and probably a refectory. The monastery had stretched east to west from its High Street frontage to the river, and north to south from ‘St Mark's Churchyard’ to ‘St Edward the Martyr's Churchyard’. It appeared that the land behind the friary complex towards the river contained gardens, orchard and livestock.  There was also a barn or storage-warehouse associated with a river wharfage and water transport.  Some of these buildings survived the immediate Dissolution and were re-used when in private ownership or incorporated in later buildings into at least the 17th century.  But all visible above-ground buildings were to disappear with later developments and the building of the railway station.   The reconstruction drawing by David Vale is based on the archaeological evidence that emerged during the excavations and gives a good impression.

As we left the site, we three pilgrims recalled the events of February1539 when the last friars were evicted, and all the roofs were stripped of their lead.  All bronze bells, metals and valuables were carted off to London for the king’s use, and the roofless buildings were left to be plundered of their woodwork and whatever else was usable. The four-acre site with its sad remnants was eventually sold to a wealthy crown client to be auctioned off in smaller parcels.  

The only known surviving architectural fragments are those rescued from a rich chantry chapel that stood in the Friary Church until it closed.  It had been paid for by ‘Ranulph de Kyme’ for the friars to offer Mass and prayers for him and his family.  Its ornate stones were recycled to build the water conduit that still stands outside the Church of St Mary le Wigford.  We three made our way to this monument, as to a memorial to the old White-Friars Priory, to say our final prayers for those who had lived and died there, and for all to whom it had meant so much in their lifetimes.  We also prayed for the king’s agents and those who profited.  Next month’s blog will feature the Church of St Mary le Wigford and its unique history and role in our city.

All the very best, and may God bless us all, everyone.

Deacon John

September 2021 [Pilgrimage / part 3] - Deacon John

Dear Parishioners of Our Lady of Lincoln

Continuing last month’s blog, we three pilgrims left the site of St Catherine’s Priory reflecting on what the brothers and sisters had done for our city. They had provided a general hospital for the sick and injured, a leper hospital (for all skin diseases), an orphanage and school, an asylum, alms houses for the old and infirm, hospitality for travellers, and a welcome and alms for anyone or any family in need of help, food or clothing. A huge social and civic asset!

Making our way through the long-gone ‘Great Bargate’ into the lower suburbs of Lincoln, and past Saint Botolph’s Church, we made our way to the remains of St Mary’s Guildhall. This was built before 1157 for King Henry II to be his royal palace and headquarters when here, but after his death, while St Hugh was their Bishop, members of Lincoln’s foremost social and religious guild, the Great Guild of St Mary, acquired it and presented it as a gift to the Virgin Mary, the City’s Patroness. This Guildhall was now her palace and headquarters from which support and works of charity would be organised and extended to all neighbours.

The essential purpose of St Mary’s Guildhall was to be a place of gathering, social activities, fellowship, safety, advice, help and support. All members had to pay a subscription, usually 6/8d (a third of £1), but no local poor person in good standing would be turned away, and it was a godly act of charity for better-off members to contribute the whole or part of a poor neighbour’s fee. So it had a banking role, holding funds that could be distributed as alms, food and clothing to ‘family members’ or any social cause they agreed. Other income came from fund-raising activities, donations, specific appeals, endowments and bequests.

Primary benefits of guild membership came in sickness, injury, hard-times and death. During forced inactivity for any reason, the Guild’s corporate membership could provide immediate assistance. All its members could be called upon, following the example of the Good Samaritan, to contribute through the Guild towards all the necessities of life until health and fitness might be restored or a satisfactory ongoing arrangement made. As to death, the Guild would quickly arrange a decent funeral with a Requiem Mass, solemn burial, and all the added extras a family may not afford. All such funerals were crowded communal events, particularly as all members agreed to attend, and if able to, put a donation into the collection. The Guild could then pay the poorest members of the local community to act as torch bearers, walk in procession, or just to be vocal mourners. Their primary work was to pray adamantly and sincerely for the deceased, no doubt grateful for their reward of a farthing, an article of clothing, and the good meal. Ample food and drink were provided. After the funeral, the Guild would materially take care of widows, orphans and dependents left without an income.

But the Guild was most visible in its public performances on Feast and Saints’ Days. For a mostly illiterate society, with no access to a Bible anyway, the acting-out of Bible stories was hugely important. Guild members who loved acting, both entertained and informed their audience with all they needed to know about key Bible stories, the faith and Church doctrine.

St Mary’s Guild would have been specifically responsible for plays featuring events in the life of Mary; the Annunciation, the Nativity, the Finding of Jesus in the Temple, the Marriage Feast in Cana, Calvary and the Cross, and the Assumption and Crowning in Heaven. The many other Lincoln guilds had their own saints and feasts, and own dramatic presentations.

As throughout the country, all these Lincoln plays were suppressed at the Reformation, but a few written scripts were hidden away. Among these are forty-two plays within the ‘N-Cycle’ or ‘Lincoln Cycle’, that shared a common way they were advertised or announced: “On Sunday next if that we may, at six of the bell begin our play, in Lincoln Town.” All these plays cover a huge range from Creation, Adam and Eve, Moses, David and the prophets and all four Gospels, sometimes drawing on apocryphal gospels (e.g., for Mary’s parents Anne and Joachim).

Guilds like St Mary’s could draw on a reliable and committed body of actors in a fixed location, and St Mary’s Guildhall was perfect ‘scenery’ to be the Palace of Pontius Pilate, King David, King Herod, the Jerusalem Temple, or any other grand location in the Bible. Actors could portray any biblical character at all, and even God and the Devil, which they did. Processions like that representing Christ’s entry into Jerusalem could start at St Catherine’s Priory, enter the city through the Great Bargate with cries of Hosanna from the watching and following crowds before it arrived at the Guildhall as to the Temple of Jerusalem. All the time it would be followed by an enthusiastic, wildly participating, cheering and booing audience. Sometimes actors could be a bit too venturesome, as when Adam appeared stark naked. Bishop Grosseteste once had to issue a timely warning about excess crudity and vulgarity!

We have no description of a St. Mary’s Guildhall performance, but there is one by a similar Guild in York on the Feast of Corpus Christi. In short, it describes builders and artisans raising ‘stages’ along the route of the procession, getting ready for the thousands of spectators about to assemble for the full-day spectacle. The procession started at 9.00 a.m. from the gates of Holy Trinity Priory making its way to the Cathedral. On its way, actors paused on those prepared stages to re-enact episodes from the Bible, like ‘Cain Killing Able,’ and ‘Herod Ordering the Slaughter of the Innocents.’ It took many stops before they reached the Cathedral for their dramatic climax: ‘The Deliverance of the Souls from Hell.’

As we three pilgrims stood outside what is now a rather truncated St Mary’s Guildhall, we tried to imagine an enactment there as it might have been, say for the Nativity, with Joseph and Mary seeking a place to sleep, perhaps a nativity scene with a donkey, cow and sheep. Then perhaps the coming of the shepherds and three wise men with their gifts? How better could an illiterate audience have learned the Christmas Story, or any other key story in the Bible? A final sombre thought hit us. This place also brought to mind the horror of the Reformation here in Lincoln. The last spectacle enacted in front of this Guildhall, was the public beheading of Lord John Hussey for having had sympathy with Lincolnshire Catholics who had taken part in the Lincolnshire Rising in defence of their Faith. Lord Hussey had been charged by Henry VIII with looking after Princess Mary while she was growing up, and he obviously shared her faith too. He died (a holy martyr?) right here where we were standing. We prayed for him.

Perhaps, in our day we can still benefit from such live dramatizations? I told my friends of the Cycle of Lincoln Mystery Plays, based on the medieval N-Cycle, revived here through the Theatre Royal in 1969, and being performed again in the Cathedral at roughly four-year intervals. They resolved to try and come back to Lincoln from Aylesford to see for themselves. We said our final prayers here, before setting off for our next stop, the site of the Carmelite Priory now beneath what was St Mark’s Railway Station. That can be next month’s Blog.

Very best wishes to all

Deacon John.

August 2021 [Pilgrimage / part 2] - Deacon John

Dear Parishioners of Our Lady of Lincoln

Last month I recalled a pilgrimage I made some years ago with two Carmelite friars from St. Catherine’s Priory to Lincoln Cathedral. This month I would like to reflect on a story we shared about our first stop, St Gilbert’s Priory and its community of lepers. The story features a young fourteenth century Gilbertine canon, Robert de Navenby, who joined St Catherine’s Priory as a novice and was put to work in the Malandry. Robert was deeply disturbed by so many pitiful men and women, diseased, deformed, crippled, blinded and horribly repulsive.  Lepers were outcasts, shunned and despised; stripped of all dignity and humanity. Before long Robert felt he could stand it no longer. Torn between empathy and disgust, he began to rail against God, blaming and maligning him for inflicting such suffering on so many formerly good and healthy people and destroying their lives.

One night Robert, depressed and discouraged, was sitting outside the Malandry planning to leave the Priory and return home to Navenby. Then he heard a leper painfully dragging himself through the Malandry door. To Robert’s amazement this deformed leper was thanking and praising God. He couldn’t believe his ears. Why wasn’t he too cursing and railing against God? Robert greeted him and asked him outright. The leper explained 

‘If you had been treated as I have been, driven from my home and village with curses and stones; forced to leave everything and everyone I ever loved; forced to keep always on the move, begging for scraps, without a kind or friendly word, or a smile or embrace from anyone, then you too would thank God if you found a haven like this. Here in St Catherine’s, you and all the brothers and sisters have made me welcome. You bathed my sores and washed my decaying feet and hands. You gave me clothing, proper meals, and a bed to sleep on.  You were kind to me when the whole world was against me. You gave me a home. And you all show me every day that you care about me, and therefore I know God cares about me.’

‘So, I was praising God for St Gilbert, for St Catherine, for you Robert, and for everyone in the priory for making me feel human and wanted again. When I called on God, he heard me, and sent me to you. And through you, he is looking after me. That’s why I thank him. And that’s not all. You have given my suffering a purpose. Before I came to you, I had not heard about St Catherine offering all her suffering to God. I didn’t know her ‘Catherine wheel’ was her cross, and that suffering like hers could be transformed by prayer and put to such a wonderful purpose, or have any saving value, or could lead to any reward. After her death, she was raised up by angels into the presence of all the martyrs and saints, restored to health, hale and hearty once more, to live in God’s heavenly kingdom; her purgatory over and done.’

‘So that is why I now thank and praise God; and thank St Catherine and St Gilbert; and thank you Brother Robert. Before I came to St Catherine’s I was most wretched. When I begged Jesus for mercy and pity, he sent me to you. I am not cured in body, but because of you I know one day soon I shall be made whole again, because my soul is already washed clean.  You are his disciples, and you welcomed me and took me into your care. Through you I am saved; and that is why I thank God and sing His praises.’ Robert was moved to tears and resolved there and then to continue his studies for the priesthood and his work among lepers.

In coming months, I will share further stories about each place on that bygone pilgrimage to those ancient religious sites on the way up Lincoln’s High Street to Lincoln Cathedral.

May God Bless us all, everyone. Deacon John.

July 2021 {Pilgrimage / part 1] - Deacon John

Dear Parishioners of Our Lady of Lincoln

One of our parishioners has been telling me of her pilgrimages to the Shrine of Our Lady in Aylesford Priory. It reminded me of two Carmelite friars from that Priory I met here in Lincoln in 1994. I was working with an archaeological team excavating the site of Lincoln’s Carmelite Priory, and they came asking for a guided tour. But they also wanted to make their own pilgrimage while here; walking prayerfully from the Gilbertine Priory of St Catherine, past the site of the Carmelite Priory, and up to Lincoln Cathedral. They asked me to join them.

It was a memorable pilgrimage for me too. We started where St Gilbert of Sempringham founded his Priory Hospital with 20 nuns and 16 brothers in 1148. For 400 years it was Lincoln’s main hospital, orphanage and residential care-home. Devotion to Mary the Mother of Jesus, who had her own dedicated chapel in the Priory Church, was central to Gilbertine and Carmelite spirituality. Following personal prayer, we prayed together the Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be in the memory and honour of all who served there and were served.

Walking up the High Street, we paused at St Mary’s Guildhall. Here was the most important of Lincoln’s Guilds dedicated to Mary. We paused and quietly prayed the Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be in memory of countless priests, friars and members of the great St Mary’s Guild right up to the Reformation.

We lingered longer at the site of ‘The Priory of the Brothers of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel’ known as the ‘White Friars’, founded in 1269. Carmelites were the first to give Mary the title “Our Lady”. Once more we said the Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be, in their memory and honour.

We walked on to the Church of St Mary le Wigford, where stone taken from the dissolved priory was used to build the water conduit still standing there. This is the Civic Church of the City Lincoln, itself still dedicated to Mary. Our pilgrims marvelled at its Roman/Anglo-Saxon dedication stone. “Eirtig had me built and endowed to the glory of Christ and Saint Mary”. We said our prayers again.

Approaching the Stonebow, the ancient City Gate, our pilgrim friars were elated to see its images of Mary and Gabriel. Here Our Lady’s prayer is set in stone. The angel is addressing Mary. “Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with thee”. We prayed the Angelus, as so many pilgrims used to when entering our City.

We then made a detour to St Hugh’s Church. There we prayed at the side altars of St Mary and St Joseph, before climbing to the Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary. For them, this eclipsed all they had yet seen. In St Hugh’s Choir, we stood below the stone image of Mary being incensed by angels. When we left the Cathedral, we stood outside gazing up at ancient image of Mary, crowned and enthroned high up on the east end gable, with her son on her knee. There, we finished our pilgrimage with our three prayers and the Angelus: “Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.”

And blessed indeed are all modern pilgrims who still seek and find Mary and Jesus amongst the churches, buildings and sites of Lincoln’s ancient City!

Best wishes to all, Deacon John.

December 2021 - Deacon Warren

In 2019, Pope Francis visited Greccio, the mountain village where Saint Francis of Assisi, in 1223, created the first crib scene to commemorate the birth of Jesus. 

Pope Francis signed an Apostolic Letter on the meaning and importance of the Nativity scene, entitled, ‘Admirabile signum’.

 

An enchanting image

The Latin title of the Letter refers to the “enchanting image” of the Christmas crèche, one that “never ceases to arouse amazement and wonder”“The depiction of Jesus’ birth is itself a simple and joyful proclamation of the mystery of the Incarnation of the Son of God.”

 

A living Gospel

“The nativity scene is like a living Gospel rising up from the pages of sacred Scripture.”  Contemplating the Christmas story is like setting out on a spiritual journey, “drawn by the humility of the God who became man in order to encounter every man and woman.” So great is His love for us, “that He became one of us, so that we in turn might become one with Him.”

 

A family tradition

The Pope hoped this Letter would encourage the family tradition of preparing the Nativity scene, “but also the custom of setting it up in the workplace, in schools, hospitals, prisons and town squares.” Praising the imagination and creativity that goes into these small masterpieces, Pope Francis hoped this custom will never be lost “and that, wherever it has fallen into disuse, it can be rediscovered and revived.”

 

The Gospel origin of the crèche

Pope Francis recalled the origin of the Christmas crèche as related in the Gospels. “Coming into this world, the Son of God was laid in the place where animals feed. Hay became the first bed of the One who would reveal Himself as ‘the bread come down from heaven.’ … The nativity scene “evokes a number of the mysteries of Jesus’ life,  and brings them close to our own daily lives.”

 

Saint Francis’ crèche in Greccio

Pope Francis took us back to the Italian town of Greccio, which Saint Francis visited in the year 1223. The caves he saw there reminded him of the countryside of Bethlehem. On 25 December, friars and local people came together, bringing flowers and torches. “When Francis arrived, he found a manger full of hay, an ox and a donkey.”

 

 

The start of the tradition

This is how our tradition began, “with everyone gathered in joy around the cave, with no distance between the original event and those sharing in its mystery.” With the simplicity of that sign, Saint Francis carried out a great work of evangelization.  His teaching continues today “to offer a simple yet authentic means of portraying the beauty of our faith.”

 

A sign of God’ tender love

Pope Francis explained that the Christmas crèche moves us so deeply because it shows God’s tender love. From the time of its Franciscan origins, “the nativity scene has invited us to ‘feel’ and ‘touch’ the poverty that God’s Son took upon Himself in the Incarnation”“It asks us to meet Him and serve Him by showing mercy to those of our brothers and sisters in greatest need.”

 

The meaning of the crèche elements  

Pope Francis reflected on the meaning behind the elements that make up the Nativity scene. He begins with the background of “a starry sky wrapped in the darkness and silence of night.” We think of when we have experienced the darkness of night, yet even then, God does not abandon us. “His closeness brings light where there is darkness and shows the way to those dwelling in the shadow of suffering.”

 

The landscape

The Pope then wrote about the landscapes that often include ancient ruins or buildings. He explains how these ruins are “the visible sign of fallen humanity, of everything that inevitably falls into ruin, decays and disappoints.” This scenic setting tells us that Jesus has come “to heal and rebuild, to restore the world and our lives to their original splendour.”

 

The shepherds

Turning to the shepherds, Pope Francis wrote that, “unlike so many other people, busy about many things, the shepherds become the first to see the most essential thing of all: the gift of salvation. It is the humble and the poor who greet the event of the Incarnation.” The shepherds respond to God “who comes to meet us in the Infant Jesus by setting out to meet Him with love, gratitude and awe.”

 

The poor and the lowly

The presence of the poor and the lowly, is a reminder that “God became man for the sake of those who feel most in need of His love and who ask Him to draw near to them.” From the manger, “Jesus proclaims, in a meek yet powerful way, the need for sharing with the poor as the path to a more human and fraternal world in which no one is excluded or marginalized.”

 

Everyday holiness

Then there are the figures that have no apparent connection with the Gospel accounts. Yet, “from the shepherd to the blacksmith, from the baker to the musicians, from the women carrying jugs of water to the children at play: all this speaks of everyday holiness, the joy of doing ordinary things in an extraordinary way.”

 

Mary and Joseph

The Pope then focused on the figures of Mary and Joseph.

“Mary is a mother who contemplates her child and shows Him to every visitor”“In her, we see the Mother of God who does not keep her Son only to herself but invites everyone to obey His word and to put it into practice. Saint Joseph stands by her side, “protecting the Child and His Mother.” Joseph is the guardian, the just man, who “entrusted himself always to God’s will.”

 

The Infant Jesus

But it is when we place the statue of the Infant Jesus in the manger, that the nativity scene comes alive. “It seems impossible, yet it is true: in Jesus, God was a child, and in this way, He wished to reveal the greatness of His love: by smiling and opening His arms to all.” The crèche allows us to see and touch this unique and unparalleled event that changed the course of history, “but it also makes us reflect on how our life is part of God’s own life.” 

 

The Three Kings

As the Feast of Epiphany approaches, we add the Three Kings to the Christmas crèche. Their presence reminds us of every Christian’s responsibility to spread the Gospel, “The Magi teach us that people can come to Christ by a very long route”, but returning home, they tell others of this amazing encounter with the Messiah, “thus initiating the spread of the Gospel among the nations.”

 

Transmitting the faith

The memories of standing before the Christmas crèche, when we were children, should remind us “of our duty to share this same experience with our children and our grandchildren.”   It does not matter how the nativity scene is arranged, “what matters is that it speaks to our lives.”

The Christmas crèche is part of the precious yet demanding process of passing on the faith, concluded Pope Francis. “Beginning in childhood, and at every stage of our lives, it teaches us to contemplate Jesus, to experience God’s love for us, to feel and believe that God is with us, and that we are with Him.”


November 2021 - Deacon Warren

The saints are undoubtedly an incredible gift. Perhaps you remember what drew you to them - or they to you!

Since then, you've probably had quite a time together. They've helped you become closer to God through their prayers, you've been inspired by the witness of their life, and maybe you talk to them like you would an earthly friend.  

Who will be your next new saint friend? 

An Announcement by Congregation for Causes of Saints that Pope Francis will canonize seven new saints, during a Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, on 15 May 2022.

Blessed Charles de Foucauld, born in 1858, was a French aristocrat and religious, whose work and writings led to the founding of the Congregation of the Little Brothers of Jesus.  During his adventurous life, he was a Cavalry Officer in the French Army, and then an explorer and geographer before becoming a Catholic priest, and hermit who lived among the Tuareg in Algeria’s Sahara Desert. He lived a life of prayer, meditation, and adoration, in the incessant desire to be, for each person, a “universal brother”, a living image of the love of Jesus.  Considered to be one of the pioneers of interreligious dialogue.  On the evening of December 1, 1916, he was killed by bandits.

Blessed Lazarus (Devasahayam Pillai). Known as Devasahayam, the Blessed Lazarus was a Brahmin of the Nair caste in India. Converted to Catholicism by a Jesuit priest in 1745, Devasahayam Pillai took the name Lazarus when he became a Christian. In his preaching, he particularly insisted on the equality of all peoples, despite caste differences. This aroused the hatred of the higher classes and he was arrested in 1749. After enduring increasing hardships, he received the crown of martyrdom when he was shot on 14 January 1749.

Blessed César de Bus, was ordained in 1582 in Avignon. He was profoundly affected by the life and writings of Saint Charles Borromeo whom he held up as a model, especially his devotion to the catechesis. In fact, he worked as a catechist in Aix-en-Provence during times of turmoil following the French Wars of Religion. He founded the orders of the Ursulines of Province and the Fathers of Christian Doctrine (Doctrinarians). The Fathers were disbanded during the French Revolution, but an Italian branch of the Doctrinarian Fathers continues today with houses in Italy, France, and Brazil.

Blessed Luigi Maria Palazzolo, a northern Italian parish priest, dedicated his life to abandoned, orphaned, and neglected children. Together with the Venerable Maria Teresa Gabrieli, he founded the Sisters of the Poor, an Order that continues to care for and educate girls in Brazil, Burkina Faso, Congo, Italy, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Malawi, Peru, and Switzerland. He died of natural causes in 1886.

Blessed Giustino Maria Russolillo, a 20th-century Italian priest, is the founder of the Society of Divine Vocations (Vocationists) which encouraged and supported those discerning a call to the priesthood and religious life. They continue their work in many countries across the world.

Blessed Maria Francesca di Gesù entered a community of women religious at the beginning of the 20th century and became the superior and formation director of the group, giving life to the Institute of the Capuchin Sisters of Mother Rubatto. Together with some Sisters, she went as a missionary to Uruguay and to Argentina. During her work in Latin America, she was asked to begin a mission in the rain forest. She died in Uruguay in 1904.

Blessed Maria Domenica Mantovani is the co-founder and first Superior General of the order of the Little Sisters of the Holy Family who can be found in Italy, Switzerland, Albania as well as in African and Latin American nations. They are dedicated to serving children and youth, families, priests, the elderly, and the disabled in parishes.


September 2021 - Deacon Warren

"Come to me all you who labour, and are heavy-burdened, and I will give you rest. 

Take my yoke upon you, for I am gentle and lowly of heart, and you will find rest for your souls".

 

In the Christian tradition, there are different kinds of meditation.  Some methods use imagery or Scripture, as a way of reflecting on our Redemption.

Contemplative meditation is about spending time with God, without using mental images or active prayer.  

We sit in silence, aware of the present, and conscious, that this is where we can meet God.

In other words, we are not thinking about God, and we are not talking to God.  It is about giving loving attention to God, and allowing Him space to work in us.

We open our hearts with a trusting attitude, and stay in the present.  

We let go of our thoughts, plans or daydreams, and focus our attention on the present, remaining alert and aware of our surroundings.

 

In meditation, we are committing ourselves to the present moment.  Life is in the present.  This is where we meet God.

Our lives are frequently busy, and our minds are generally full of thoughts and plans.  We can be distracted by the surface features of our life.

There is sometimes little time left for the God, who is waiting for us at the center of our being.

Even when we pray, we are often making this or that request, for our own needs, or in order to change other people.  

Sometimes we think we know just how the world should be! 


By sitting in silence for a short time, we can turn our attention gently to the fact of God's presence, and be open to His Spirit.

And in meditation we open ourselves to change as we sit quietly before God.

By meditating, we can become more connected with the reality of our daily lives, and our communities. 

We begin to feel a greater sense of belonging, and connectedness. 

We live more compassionately, understanding others better.  We begin to feel free.

 

As Christians, we are not isolated individuals, but part of the Body of Christ, a believing community.

What we do is not just for ourselves, but for the whole Church, and for the world, too. 

By meditating as a group, we support and encourage each other, and enrich our communities.

Jesus invited us to gather in His name, and promised to be with us when we do.

Before Pentecost, the disciples, and Mary the mother of Jesus, spent time in prayer, as they waited for the coming of the Holy Spirit.

By meditating, we continue in that spirit of prayer and openness to God.

 

We live in a goal-driven society.  What we do is measured and evaluated constantly.   So for a person who meditates, what is the outcome?  What do we achieve?

Meditation is not about achieving anything ourselves.  It is about being open to the work of God's Spirit in us. 

In the encounter with God, we bring ourselves, as we are, with all our contradictions and failings, to be touched by His unifying Love.

Through meditation, we become more connected with our daily lives, and with the people around us.

The fruits of meditation are peace and joy.  We learn to accept ourselves and others for who we are.  We learn to love.

 

Because God is love, and we are made in His image and likeness, our relationships should reflect Him in the world.

This, perhaps, is the greatest form of Evangelization: to make an invisible God - visible to the world, through our love. – Jason Evert


August 2021 - Deacon Warren

There's an ancient legend, that tells the story of a jeweler, who had a precious pearl he wanted to sell. In order to place this pearl in the proper setting, he conceived the idea of building a special box, of the finest woods, to contain the pearl. He sought these woods, and had them brought to him, and they were polished to a high brilliance. He then reinforced the corners of this box with elegant brass hinges, and added a red velvet interior. As a final step, he scented that red velvet with perfume, then put in that setting, the precious Pearl.

The pearl was then placed in the store window, of the jeweler, and after a short period of time, a rich man came by. He was attracted by what he saw, and sat down with the jeweler to negotiate a purchase. After a while, the jeweler realised that the man was negotiating for the box, rather than the pearl. You see, the man was so overcome by the beauty of the exterior, that he failed to see the item of greatest value at the center - the Pearl.

And we too can, and do, make the same mistake with our faith.

The box is the Church, in all it's visible forms. Some of us love it for its architectural heritage, the amazing churches and cathedrals the world over. Some of us for its music, Gregorian chant, or more simply the popular folk music we hear in our churches today.  Or maybe, it is the philosophy for life that our faith gives us, a good ethic by which to live, clear guidelines for right or wrong.  For others it is the Mass in English, or the vernacular of whichever country you are in, or the traditional Mass in Latin. We all have our preferences, and that is okay as far as they go. But they are only the box.  It is what is in the box that is most important.   We have to look and see what is at its center. The Pearl of great value is ….Jesus.

Too many Catholics today, have never moved beyond the box. They not only express their preferences, but sit in judgement, with a sense of superiority, and condemn those who don't agree with them. The precious Jewel is forgotten, while they squabble, and cause division in the church, about the trimmings, the box.

The precious Jewel for which the Church exists, is The Lord Jesus …..and if you do not posses Him, the rest is all chaff, hot air, and is useless for your salvation.

A few years ago, while spending a weekend at the National Shrine at Walsingham, it was a great joy to witness the mid-morning Mass, with a beautiful choir singing in Latin; the midday Pilgrim Mass in English; the afternoon Syro-Malabar Mass, with incense and formality; and then that same day, Youth 2000 singing praise and worship, at the evening Mass.  Whatever helps people to pray, and puts them in touch with God is what matters.  And those Masses, said with dignity and prayerfulness, whether in the great Basilica, or under a tent, in a field in Norfolk, they link me to the greatest treasure of all, our Lord Jesus.  That is what it is all's about.

The language, the music, the formality (or lack of it) is simply the box. The jewel contained there inside it is Jesus, and that is whom we seek. He invites us today, to find Him through our worship. "I am the Bread of Life", He tells us, "whoever comes to Me, will never be hungry, and whoever believes in Me, will never thirst".

So let us focus on Him, and His message of love.  Take Him into our heart, and especially at that solemn moment of the consecration at Mass, when His Body and Blood is held up to us.  Look at it, and say something from your heart like: 'My Lord and My God', or simply, 'Jesus I love you, have mercy on me a sinner'.

When you enter the church, genuflect mindfully to Him in the tabernacle, as a real act of adoration and worship. It is for Him we come to Mass, wherever it is, whatever language it is in, whether it is said or sung.  In the Mass, He is giving me the gift of Himself. He is the Pearl of great price. The precious jewel in the box.


(This is adapted from a sermon given on Sunday 1 August 2021, by Canon Pat Browne [Parish Priest at Holy Apostles, Pimlico, and Roman Catholic Duty Priest to the Houses of Parliament].

July 2021 (2)- Deacon Warren

As restrictions on worship are lifted, our Bishops now face tough decisions, on how to be 'cautious and careful'.  

Both clergy & parishioners will need to act with "wisdom and grace".

For months now, people have been lamenting the restrictions we’ve faced because of Covid-19, and longing for them to come to an end. At times, we’ve all questioned the logic behind the restrictions, the seemingly haphazard or downright contradictory nature of some of them, and we’ve complained about choices being made for us, and enforced upon us.   But, come 19 July , many of the choices will be ours and, where we have been armchair politicians for so long, believing we could have made better choices… well, that’s going to be put to the test.   

Personal choice requires personal reasoning, and not everyone is going to agree with the decisions we make.  But personal choice is rarely ‘personal’ in the sense that it rarely affects only ourselves. Our choices have ramifications for others around us.  So it’s about to get messier. We’re all politicians now.  At least in the original sense of the word, where the Greek 'politeia' had to do with reflecting on how ‘the good’ should be worked out in society, our relationships, and communities. 

The question for our Bishop's,  is not just whether we should sing, it’s whether we should make mask-wearing optional or keep it mandatory, reduce social distancing or maintain it, receive communion with a shared Chalice… and so on. And with all of this, we have the challenge of knowing how much to speak about, justify, or enforce our decisions, so that people’s personal boundaries aren’t violated, and they don’t feel pressured into interactions with which they are not comfortable, or judged for avoiding them.  

As our Bishop's try to balance their own personal, theological and practical convictions with those of a diverse community, and a watching world, it’s not obvious what we should - or shouldn’t - do. Many parishioners  will complain that their priests are moving too fast, and creating an unsafe space that they are not comfortable being in. And their concerns may be valid and legitimate. Many others will complain that their priests are moving too slowly, and limiting the potential of what Church could, and should be.  And their concerns may be valid and legitimate.

These are difficult questions to which there are no easy answers but, because of the wisdom of Scripture, and the example of Christ, Christians should be better equipped to grapple with them than many. Our Bible tells us that the Church is a body, where the weaker parts are indispensable; if one part suffers, the whole suffers (1 Corinthians 12:12-31). It tells us that in a diverse community where people’s differing faith levels allow them to participate in different ways, we must not judge one another, and we must not put stumbling blocks before one another, but the stronger should restrain themselves for the good of the weaker (Romans 14). It tells us that for the sake of Mission, we might choose to adapt our approach in order to reach people unlike us, restricting our ‘freedom’ for the good of others – to the weak we become weak – becoming all things to all people, so that by all means we may save some (1 Corinthians 9:19-23). 

So, why would anyone do anything that they don’t have to do? Quite simply, out of love. Out of care for those around us, we should all, Christians especially, be willing to do things we don’t have to, and don’t even want to do. And we should also be willing to not do things we would like to, if self-imposed limitation will be best for the Kingdom. That is true freedom.

None of which answers the question of whether or not we should keep wearing masks beyond 19 July, or whether we should sing, or do many of the other things we long to do in Church. I don’t think there are universal answers to those questions.

But despite the trickiness, there is beauty in complex questions and grey areas, because it forces us to develop an ethical agility that observes, adapts and responds to the needs of others, and the prompts of the Spirit. We cannot treat these as hypothetical questions to be pondered in an abstract way. We have to look one another in the eyes, discover how people genuinely feel and learn to adapt our own preferences for the good of others.

David Foster Wallace wrote: “The really important kind of freedom involves attention, and awareness, and discipline, and effort, and being able truly to care about other people, and to sacrifice for them, over and over, in myriad petty little unsexy ways, every day.”

True freedom is harder work than being told what to do, and it wouldn’t surprise me if, some who had vocally longed for the days of restrictions to end, may look back to those days with wistfulness! True freedom, like love, is costly and complex, sometimes messy, but always worth the investment.

Adapted from an article which was first published on liamthatcher.com 

July 2021 (1) - Deacon Warren

"Then sings my soul, my Saviour God to Thee, how great Thou art, how great Thou art"

It’s ironic, isn’t it, that the hymns we listen to at church, often call upon us to sing our praises to God, but we can only sit in silence because of the latest government guidelines? It’s frustrating, because singing, in communion with others, is a form of prayer, and a much-valued part of the church service.

Churches have complied willingly with all the restrictions imposed throughout the covid-19 pandemic, and they have taken all the precautions necessary as they have tentatively re-opened their doors to worshippers again. It’s been the responsible thing to do.

We were right to be cautious about singing in front of others, because we couldn’t be fully sure of the risks. However, we now know more about the science than we did at the start of the pandemic. Singing poses no more risk than talking – especially when you consider that when we sing, we do so, mainly, in the same direction but when we talk, we are often facing each-other!

The Government is preparing to lift most of the remaining restrictions on movement and social distancing by 19th July. This is in large part because the NHS’s hugely successful vaccination programme has broken the link between the rate of infections and the rate of hospitalisation.

For many social and cultural activities, like big sport events and festivals, we will see some level of normality return. However, we can’t be sure yet that congregational singing will be allowed. So, while it could be fine for football fans to return to their terrace chants at Wembley – or even in small pubs around the country - we could still be banned from singing our favourite hymns in our own congregations. That can’t be right, can it?

We are calling for regulations to treat Christian church-goers fairly and equally, and for singing to be brought back into churches across the whole of the UK on 19th July at the very latest. 

UPDATE: Speaking in the House of Commons, Sajid Javid announced that people in England would be allowed to sing together in places of worship from the 19th July - news that has been welcomed by many across the Church - but will come with many challenges, as churches "navigate the next steps".

Father's Day - June 2021 - Deacon John

Dear Parishioners of Our Lady of Lincoln

The Church celebrates many ‘Special Days’; Ascension, Pentecost, Corpus Christi, Sacred Heart, and so on.  Father’s Day is not in the same league, and like ‘Mother’s Day’ is commercially inspired, and yet this day is celebrated by virtually every family in the land, as seen this year in record sales of Father’s Day cards. What is striking about Father’s Day is its real, actual, and significant meaning in people’s lives. All our focus is on our fathers, especially that of children, and we all give thanks for him in our own way.

On this day families respond more formally and appreciatively than on any other day. The Gospel for Father’s Day has the disciples looking at Jesus and asking, ‘Who can this be?’ It reminds us of Jesus pointedly asking his disciples, in so many words: ’Who am I to you?’  ‘Who should I be to you?’ ‘Who do you say I am?’  But more, ‘Father’s Day’ is a day of reappraisal; a day when we dads take stock of how we are doing and how it is working. It is a day for responding as well, and for giving and showing tokens of love and affection, not just receiving them. It is also a day for us to consider the example of our Heavenly Father. Prophets like Zechariah compared God to a father who suffers when his children turn away from him or treat each other badly. God’s pain is compared to a father mourning for a lost child, and God’s love compared to a father’s love in doing all he can to restore and nurture a spirit of loving kindness and wash away all stains of sin and dissension. St Paul too calls God our universal Father. You are all children of God through faith in Jesus Christ. There are no distinctions between Jew and Greek, slave and free, male and female. All of you are God’s children in one family.

Any father’s children should be, and almost invariably are, the most important thing in his life and sometimes sacrifices have to be made for them. Everywhere and always parents willingly ‘deny themselves’ and go without for the sake of their children. Sometimes a child (of any age) goes astray or gets into trouble. It is a time for more love, not less. Sometimes one falls ill, mentally or physically, and it becomes a burden or cross that has to be borne. But love lightens the burden, and it can be lighter still when others help. Sometimes troubles can be sudden and almost overwhelming. We may feel like being in a ship tossed in a storm, as in the ‘Father’s Day’ Gospel: ‘Then it began to blow a gale. The waves were breaking into the boat, so it was almost swamped. Jesus was in the stern, asleep. They woke him and said, ‘Master, do you not care? We are going down!’ He woke up, rebuked the wind and said to the sea, ‘Quiet now! Be calm!’ And the wind dropped, and all was calm again. Then he said to them, ‘Why are you so frightened? How is it that you have no faith?’ They were filled with  awe and said to one another, ‘Who can this be? Even the wind and the sea obey him.’

Mothers have their own special Day, so on Father’s Day we thank God for fathers. We pray that, like St Joseph, they fulfil their God-given vocations, and be true followers and disciples of Christ as loving guardians, carers and providers of their families, as peacemakers in times of strife, and as anchors in stormy weather. It is not surprising that one of the earliest symbols of Christian fatherhood, and of Christ and his Church, is the anchor. May all dads be anchors!

Best wishes to all, Deacon John

June 2021 - Deacon Warren

Take a moment to notice God's loving presence.


Genesis 1:1-2  

In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless wasteland, and darkness covered the abyss, while a mighty wind swept over the waters.


Each of us knows the chaos of searching, wondering, and waiting for direction.  In the Genesis story it is the Word of God that brings order, balance, and beauty to creation. 

We experience God's presence in the created world.


When we consider the beauty of the world and understand that "God saw how good it was" after each act of creation, we become increasingly aware that our special place in creation gives us unique dignity, and value.


Hebrews 11:3

By faith we understand that the universe was ordered by the word of God, so that what is visible came into being through the invisible.


The use of the word "ordered" is particularly appropriate in this verse.   The universe was not simply created by God and left alone, but was created and given order, a form and unity that, through God, continually stands against chaos.   


God's loving presence is evident in the beauty and balance of all creation. Through our faith, in the Word of God, we know that all existence is the manifestation of the Lord.


As people of faith, we do not need tangible proof to believe, and yet because we believe, we see tangible proof all around us.


In turn, we have both a responsibility to care for creation, and give God praise and thanks.


When I find myself under pressure or in a chaotic situation, how do I respond?

How can I look for the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit to bring order, balance, unity, and beauty to my life?


(Speak to your heavenly Father, using this prayer or one of your own) 

God, you bring beauty out of chaos. Form my life, through the Son and the Holy Spirit. Grant me the grace to reflect your love, and presence, through my words and deeds.


What in God's creation feeds my spiritual life the most?

Am I growing in relationship with the Lord by becoming more aware of God's everlasting love?


(Speak to your heavenly Father, using this prayer or one of your own) 

God of all that is and ever shall be, thank you for my gift of faith.

May 2021 - Deacon John

Dear Parishioners of Our Lady of Lincoln

 

May is drawing to an end, and among many Ecumenical events in Lincoln we have had our Annual Civic Prayer Breakfast – with our theme "Recovering our Hope; Renewing our City".  This took place via zoom on Friday 21 May starting at 7.30 am.  It was truly inspiring; thanks to ‘Transform Lincoln’ (formally ‘The Greater Lincoln Active Faith Network’) and participants from all local churches.

Among many guests were our new Mayor of Lincoln Jackie Kirk, and leaders from all walks of life addressing present questions, challenges and hopes as we emerge (please God) from Covid and all its effects.  Speakers included leaders in Government and Politics, Policing and Security, Community and Family, Business and Finance, Education and Learning, Arts, Media and Entertainment, Health and Well-being, and one hugely inspiring environmental project called ‘Planting seeds for the future – a wilderness project.’  Each talk ended in prayer.

 

This wilderness project is taking place now, on the Ermine Estate, in the churchyard of our neighbouring church of St John the Baptist.  And it is well worth a visit.  The Vicar, the Revd. Rachel Heskins, a member of our ‘Uphill Clergy Fraternal’ and good friend of our late Canon Colin, tells us that this is definitely God's plan not hers.  they had been thinking about what they could do to make St John’s environment a bit more colourful and inviting, and the answer emerged via the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust.   Over 97% of England’s wildflower-rich meadows have been lost since the 1930s, so why not turn the extensive churchyard into a new urban wildflower-rich meadow – a haven for wildlife, birds, invertebrates, insects, small mammals, reptiles and amphibians?

 

The work is being supervised by Mark Schofield from the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust, working with a band of keen local volunteers.  More help would be welcomed, with the added benefit to volunteers of learning all about wildflower and wildlife gardening, and indeed how to establish your own modest meadow?  Rachel has kindly provided a link to her video in which she and Mark fully explain what they are trying to achieve and how they are doing it.  What an asset for the Ermine and Lincoln!  You will enjoy it.  Food for thought – and prayer!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1m3EaeZhIyaTgb5Da0yiLBjFtHsNt4TYo/view?usp=sharing

 

Should you wish further information, or how to get involved, you may contact the Revd Rachel Heskins, vicar of Lincoln St John the Baptist, LN2 2EF.

Telephone  07813 617977 www.stjohnthebaptistparishchurch.org.uk 

Email <revd-rachel@stjohnthebaptistparishchurch.org.uk>

 

Best wishes to all.  Deacon John

May 2021 - Deacon Warren

Paragraph 2648 of the Catechism states: "Every joy and suffering, every event and need, can become the matter for thanksgiving which, sharing in that of Christ, should fill one's whole life: 'Give thanks in all circumstances" (1 Thess 5:18).' "

 

Last December, Pope Francis, in one of his weekly general audiences at the Vatican, focused on the importance of thanking God, and letting others see one's gratitude. He said that “Thanksgiving was a hallmark of an authentic Christian life, and that Catholics can change the world by being 'bearers of gratitude…The world needs hope.  And with gratitude, with this habit of saying thank you, we transmit a bit of hope...Everything is united, and everything is connected, and everyone needs to do his or her part, wherever we are...Let us thank the Lord for every grace received”.

 

Pope Francis reflected on Jesus' healing of 10 lepers as described in St. Luke's Gospel (17:11-19). He noted that only one of the lepers -- 'a Samaritan, a sort of 'heretic' for the Jews of that time' -- returned to thank Jesus for healing Him.  This narrative, so to speak, divides the world in two: those who do not give thanks, and those who do; those who take everything as if it is owed them, and those who welcome everything as a gift, as grace.

 

Too often we fail to express gratitude to others. Perhaps during this month, think about ways in which you can show your gratitude to those who love you, and those whom you love, those who serve you, those with whom you work.  Take an intentional moment to acknowledge them. Let them know they matter, and that you care.  Saying "Thank you" is often not enough - send a written note, an email or text expressing gratitude, give a gift, give a hug (not in this time of pandemic, though).

 

A quotation from (Theologian) Albert Schweitzer: "At times our own light goes out, and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think, with deep gratitude, of those who have lighted the flame within us".  And as the Dalai Lama suggests: "Every day, think as you wake up, 'Today I am fortunate to have woken up, I am alive, I have a precious human life, I am not going to waste it. I am going to use all my energies to develop myself, to expand my heart out to others, to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all beings, I am going to have kind thoughts towards others, I am not going to get angry, or think badly about others, I am going to benefit others as much as I can’".

 

Again, from Pope Francis: "To be able to offer thanks, to be able to praise the Lord for what He has done for us: this is important!  So we can ask ourselves: Are we capable of saying 'thank you'? How many times do we say 'thank you' in our family, our community, and in the church? How many times do we say 'thank you' to those who help us, to those close to us, to those who accompany us through life? Often we take everything for granted! This also happens with God. It is easy to approach the Lord to ask for something, but to return and give thanks..."

 

Simply take the time to express gratitude by thanking those who have impacted you, in big or small ways.  Most of all, thank God for life.   

April 2021 - Deacon John

Dear Parishioners of Our Lady of Lincoln

As April comes to an end, on the 29th , we celebrate a remarkable woman with Lincoln connections.  So much so that when the high altar in St Hugh’s Church was designed, the statue of St Hugh was equally matched by the statue of St Catherine of Siena.   Catherine praised St Hugh as the model bishop, learning all about him from a simple Lincoln Friar who became her friend and secretary.

The story begins in 1269 (in our parish) with the founding of an Augustinian Friary on the corner of Rasen Lane north of Newport Arch. One of its most renowned scholars was simply known as ‘William of Lincoln’ and it was to study under him that a young man called William of Flete (or Fleet) entered the monastery in 1350.  About ten years later, now ordained, he left Lincoln for Rome where he later met the very young Catherine of Siena. Somehow he was persuaded to stay at her side and become her English companion and secretary.  He was with her as she rose in influence and prominence in the 1370’s and he frequently celebrated Mass for her. 

One of her miracle stories involves him.  According to witnesses, as she approached for Holy Communion, the Host left his hand and floated miraculously into her mouth! William was still with her in 1380 when she died at the age of 33 years.

Soon after, he wrote three letters home to England. He described Catherine’s loyalty to Pope Urban VI and restoring the papacy from Avignon to Rome, and he urges a deeper veneration of St Anne, Mary’s mother, a cause so dear to Catherine’s heart. Lincoln soon became a national centre for devotions to St Anne, led by Lincoln’s Austin Friars. The ‘Lincoln Guild of St Anne’ was founded, and Lincoln City Council adopted her with Mary as city co-patrons. It was from William of Flete that Lincoln first learnt about Catherine of Siena, and it was he who helped to promote wider and deeper knowledge of St Hugh. In his letters he quotes freely from the Magna Vita or Life of St Hugh, the book he took with him to Italy and no doubt read so enthusiastically to St Catherine.

Finally, William of Flete’s witness played a part in Catherine’s canonisation. With St Francis, she was to become Co-Patron of Italy and Doctor of the Catholic Church. It was fitting then, that she should still be remembered and honoured in Lincoln, the home of St Hugh her ‘model’ bishop. Moreover, Hugh and Catherine have something else in common. They both ‘lost’ their heads! When St Hugh was translated to the Angel Choir in Lincoln Cathedral in 1280 his head was placed in a separate ‘head shrine’. When St Catherine died in 1380, her head too ended up in its own ‘head shrine’. Both shrines are still there, but only one now contains a head!

Very best wishes to all from Deacon John.

April 2021 - Deacon Warren

During Lent we walked the Stations of the Cross.  A lesser known devotion is the Stations of the Resurrection.  The Via Crucis and the Via Lucius are the Latin names for, the Way of the Cross, and the Way of the Light.  The Stations of the Cross, tell the story of Jesus's death - going up to the tomb, and the Stations of the Light, tell the story of Jesus's Resurrection - from the tomb to PENTECOST.  After Easter, it's recommended that we focus on the via Lucius, to balance in some ways, that focus on the suffering and death of Jesus, with the presence of the risen Jesus in our lives. 

 

The Salesian community in Battersea, has now produced a set of videos focusing on 14 resurrection stations, with scripture prayer and reflection. The script was written by Fr David O'Malley SDB.   Fr David says: "The overarching theme, is that the Paschal mystery is an ongoing and hoped filled process, that leads to life in Christ. It is an antidote to a tendency to stop at the cross, and not recognise that resurrection is happening all around us.  We hope that churches and groups, as well as individuals will use this devotion to deepen their faith in God, and their Christian optimism and resilience. Why? Because Jesus is truly risen.”

YouTube LINK: www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCHJGfG1yhh447Wgo232vozy6VsFyMYnT

 

We rejoice in the triumph of the Resurrection!  The Easter Season is an optimal time to contemplate the Divine Mercy of Jesus, and God’s love for us, as His sons and daughters.  Immerse yourself in Divine Mercy throughout these fifty days.  Immersing ourselves in mercy, has much to do with diving deeper into God’s design for us, as men and women made in His image. After all, Divine Mercy has everything to do with correcting our distorted image of God and His designs, and discovering how very infinitely good and merciful God is!  

 

Father Michael Gaitley says: “...the whole of the Bible can be summarized as one long “school of trust,” where, our good and merciful God is simply trying to get us skittish, fearful creatures, to give up our fear of Him, and trust in His love and goodness.”  Starting with the Fall of Adam and Eve, “...God continues to try to heal the false image we have of Him in our hearts, so we will trust Him” .

 

Since the thirteenth century, the Regina Cæli has been used as the seasonal antiphon in honour of the Blessed Virgin after Night Prayer, and since 1743 it has replaced the Angelus in the Easter Season.

 

English

Queen of heaven, rejoice. Alleluia:

For he whom you did merit to bear. Alleluia.

Has risen, as he said. Alleluia.

Pray for us to God. Alleluia.

Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary. Alleluia.

For the Lord has truly risen. Alleluia.

 

Let us pray:

O God, who gave joy to the world through the resurrection of your Son our Lord Jesus Christ, grant, we beseech you, that through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, his Mother, we may obtain the joys of everlasting life, though the same Christ our Lord. R. Amen.

 

Latin

Regína cæli, lætáre. Allelúia.

Quia quem meruísti portáre. Allelúia.

Resurréxit, sicut dixit. Allelúia.

Ora pro nobis, Deum. Allelúia.

Gaude et lætáre, Virgo María, Allelúia.

Quia surréxit Dominus vere. Allelúia.

 

Orémus:

Deus, qui per resurrectiónem Fílii tui, Dómini nostri Iesu Christi, mundum lætificáre dignátus es: præsta, quáesumus; ut, per eius Genitrícem Vírginem Maríam, pérpetuæ capiámus gáudia vitæ. Per eúndem Christum Dóminum nostrum. R. Amen.


March 2021 - Deacon John

Dear Parishioners of Our Lady of Lincoln

Let Us Dream!   During February I have been re-reading Pope Francis’ book ‘Let Us Dream’ about post-pandemic opportunities to re-new our society.  His vision of a more caring world where the poor, dis-advantaged, weak, elderly, forgotten, and vulnerable take center stage is truly inspiring.

But all he says is no more than the basic message of the Gospel and our Catholic Faith.   Austen Ivereigh, who penned the book in fluent English, refers to Francis as the Good Shepherd who sees inequality, greed, neglect and cruelty in all societies, but at the same time the resilience, generosity and creativity in so many who unselfishly do whatever they can to help out.

Politicians can be a force for good or harm. Francis reflects that: “Today, listening to some of the populist leaders we now have, I am reminded of the 1930s, when some democracies collapsed into dictatorships seemingly overnight. We see it happening again now in rallies where populist leaders excite and harangue crowds, channeling resentments and hatreds against imagined enemies [neighbours] to distract from their real problems.”

For the rest, Francis’ practical message is aimed at us ordinary Christians going about our every-day lives. Our basic vocation is to ‘serve’ i.e., to assist anyone we happen to come across who needs a helping hand. Every living soul is our neighbour.  A favourite story of Francis is The Good  Samaritan who happens to come across a needy stranger being ‘passed-by on the other side’.   He is moved with compassion and helps. Jesus ends His story with: ‘Go and do the same yourself’ (Luke 10:37).

The book contains only three short parts or chapters. They methodically follow the ‘See, Judge, Act’ process of conversion. Part one is ‘A Time to See’ which helps us to become aware, notice, see where help is needed, and then see what we (I) might, should or can do. The second part is ‘A Time to Choose’ which is about discernment, how to choose the best course of action, the one that ‘is of God’ and achieves the desired result. The third part is ‘A Time to Act’ in a way that, with our own modest contribution, is actually revolutionary in transforming not only the individual lives of those we help, but by extension the wider society in which we live. In even our own most humble way, we are actually repairing, renewing and rebuilding.

To see and hear Austen Ivereigh give his full analysis of Pope Francis’ invitation to Let Us Dream, go to ‘www.whatgoodnews.org’ and choose his talk (from among many others) in this excellent webcam offering.

Very best wishes to all from Deacon John.

March 2021 - Deacon Warren

Go to St Joseph This Lent

The Church dedicates the month of March to St Joseph (Feast day March 19), the man who humbly cared for God on earth. 

 

Pope Francis proclaimed a Year of St Joseph to run December 8, 2020, through December 8, 2021.

In conjunction with the announcement, the Pope released the apostolic letter, Patris Corde (With a Father’s Heart).

 

Why go to St Joseph?

This wonderful man, was given the tremendous responsibility of caring for both Jesus and Mary on earth. 

Devotion to the beloved foster father of Jesus, has become increasingly popular, and we can be sure that the prayers of St Joseph will have great power. 


As the saints and the Popes testify:


"Knowing by experience St Joseph’s astonishing influence with God, I would wish to persuade everyone to honour him with particular devotion. I have always seen those who honoured him in a special manner, make progress in virtue, for this heavenly protector favours, in a striking manner, the spiritual advancement of souls who commend themselves to him." (St Teresa of Avila)

 

"St Joseph can tell us many things about Jesus. Therefore, never neglect devotion to him - Ite ad Ioseph: “Go to Joseph” - as Christian tradition puts it in the words of the Old Testament [Gen 41:55]." (St Josemaria)


"When God wishes to raise a soul to greater heights, He unites it to St Joseph, by giving it a strong love for the good saint." (St Peter Julian Eymard)


"There are many saints to whom God has given the power to assist us in the necessities of life, but the power given to St Joseph is unlimited: it extends to all our needs, and all those who invoke him with confidence are sure to be heard." (St Thomas Aquinas)


"Saint Joseph reminds us that those who appear hidden, or in the shadows, can play an incomparable role in the history of salvation." (Pope Francis - Patris Corde)

 

St. Francis of Assisi is often attributed as saying, “Preach the Gospel at all times. If necessary, use words.”

This quote is very fitting for the life of St Joseph, whose actions spoke louder than his words.   

In fact, St. Joseph does not say one word in the Gospels. Yet he speaks volumes.

What three lessons can we learn from the life of this holy man?

 

Silence

We tend to fill up most of our time with words. But as the story of St Joseph shows us, we can communicate through our actions.  

Many mysteries of our faith cannot even be put into words. Rather they must be experienced, such as the Eucharist.

Trust

Joseph was a man who placed complete trust in what God was calling him to do.

His marriage to Mary risked causing a scandal. His flight to Egypt uprooted his family from their home to live as refugees.

God spoke, and Joseph acted.

Apprenticeship

While the Gospels do not state this explicitly, there is a general belief that since Joseph worked as a craftsman, Jesus probably learned this trade from him.

The General Directory of Catechesis states: “comprehensive [faith] formation includes more than instruction: it is an apprenticeship of the entire Christian life” (67).

Our Catechesis would look very different, if we approached them as apprenticeships?

 

To give workers a patron, the Church turned to St Joseph, who had been made the Patron of the Universal Church by Pope Pius IX in 1870, and the model for fathers of families.

St Joseph was named protector of workers by Pope Benedict XV, and in 1955, the feast of Saint Joseph the Worker on May 1 was proclaimed by Pius the XII.

Let us pray to Saint Joseph, for his help in all our work, and for those many people who want and need jobs, but cannot find them.

 

Pray for the intercession of St. Joseph, and trust in God’s guidance, to step outside of your comfort zone, and take a risk.  There has never been a better time, than the month of St Joseph, in the year of St Joseph, to "Go to St Joseph" with all our cares and worries. 

February 2021 - Deacon John

Dear Parishioners of Our Lady of Lincoln

Just a short blog this month, on a matter that has affected so many of us in our local Catholic community. I would like to pay a personal tribute to Deacon Peter Brogan who tragically died at the early age of 67 on the 26th of January. It is so reminiscent of the equally unexpected and tragic death of Deacon Peter Allen in 2008 at a similarly young age.

I first met Peter as a dynamic, very young, and ever-present altar server for Mgr. Hugh Atkinson and then Fr. Tom McGovern. Everyone was impressed with the way Peter devoted so much time and energy to his ministries in St. Hugh’s Church, training altar servers and even taking on the role of a parish catechist. Though working full-time as a fire-fighter, he would become one of the first and the very youngest ordained deacon in the diocese. He used to tell us how he had considered the priesthood before he met and fell so deeply in love with Mary. When he was accepted for the diaconate, he told Bishop McGuiness and his interviewers that now he had been doubly blessed by God.  He would receive both the sacraments he had desired: marriage with a wife and family, and ordination too!

During his studies for the diaconate, Peter kept me informed of his progress; his ‘trials and tribulations’ writing endless essays! And when Fr. Tom asked me to consider the diaconate too, he was enthusiastically supportive. I began my studies the year Peter and Mike Baker were ordained, and both gave me their backing and help. I was especially indebted to Deacon Mike Baker for his academic input. After my ordination, Peter and I not only worked together in St Hugh’s parish but in the wider Lincoln Deanery. I must admit that occasionally I found Peter could be uncompromising and uncomfortably forthright, but at the same time so full of geniality that differences of opinion soon melted away. His sense of vocation, energy, warm personality, and focused commitment to his  inistry were unsurpassed. I often stood in awe as he brought out the best in others in a charismatic way that won their longstanding respect and friendship.

Peter is going to leave a gaping hole in St Hugh’s Parish, Saint Peter and Saint Paul School, and in the lives of the many parishioners and others that he touched. He is in our prayers, but so too are Mary, and Bernadette, Stephen, Timothy and Sarah and their families. His totally unexpected death must have been the very worst shock and tragedy for them. He had been at Mass on the morning and died soon after returning home. We pray that they find solace in their confidence of his reception by His Lord, and the words ‘Well done, good and faithful servant!’ May he rest in peace and rise in glory!

Deacon John.

February 2021 - Deacon Warren

As Lent approaches, you may feel that Lent 2020 never ended.   This time last year, during the Season of Lent … we hoped to end working from home, closed schools, lockdowns, daily statistics, trashed holiday plans, supermarket queues, and online church services.  We celebrated family togetherness, birdsong, sunshine, gardening, hobbies, exercises in front of the TV, and our frontline heroes and heroines…

 

Tired of face masks, and social distancing, lonely for loved ones, we hoped for Christmas – and discovered another National Lockdown.  Globally, countless people lost loved ones to COVID-19.  Carrying the experiences, losses, and gains, of 2020, we hoped for the promised vaccine, and restored normality.

 

It may seem strange or even pointless to talk about Lent, a season of penance, when we have all had to give so much up for the past year.  The past year has been a challenge for everyone. What we need now is comfort, reassurance that this suffering will serve a greater purpose within God's master plan.

"It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed." (Deuteronomy 31:8)

 

Lent follows one man’s journey – through jealousy, misunderstanding, betrayal, rejection, abandonment, agony, despair, friendship, loyalty, compassion and courage – towards the new life, and Hope of Easter.  His journey is ours.  Perhaps Lent 2021 might help us to experience Jesus travelling with us towards Easter, filling us with Hope.  


Scripture offers many words of comfort.  "So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you." (John 16:22)  When we read Scripture, we are reminded that there is more than this life, that the best is yet to come.  "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." (Joshua 1:9)  The Lord promises that we are not alone. He is with us always, at every step of the way, supporting us and guiding us. He invites us to come closer, to find everything we need in Him.  "Come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28)


Verses like these offer us the courage we need to continue during challenging times. When we enter into dialogue with the Lord by reading His Word, we find that He isn't as far away from us as it might seem.   This Lent, all the words you need to hear from God are right there in your Bible. So why not commit yourself to reading it more this Lent? Open it every day throughout the Lenten season and find words of comfort, hope, courage, inspiration, and knowledge of the Lord.  May He be a friend, who offers encouragement, support, and Joy - on a road, which will have challenges, as well as Blessings.


January 2021 - Deacon John

Dear Parishioners of Our Lady of Lincoln

 Over Christmas Mary and I watched several versions of Charles Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol’ on television.  Who has not heard of Ebenezer Scrooge or Jacob Marley, or felt for Bob Cratchit and Tiny Tim, or been spell-bound by the three Spirits of Christmas Past, Present and to Come? 

The genius of ‘A Christmas Carol’ lies in its simplicity.  It has a story line and message with which we can all identify.  It is a Christmas Parable that carries us along.  One by one we experience all the self-revelations and emotions that Scrooge experiences.  Step by step we follow his conversion.

 What Scrooge discovers, through Marley’s ghost, is that his selfishness is his worst nightmare.  Unless he changes, it is destined to be his damnation.  Marley’s ghost describes it in terms of heavy chains weighing him down, entangling and binding him.  Worse!  They are of his own making!  Seeing these ghostly chains dragging behind Marley, it dawns on Scrooge that he has similar chains, greater and heavier still.  He had not realised it until now.  They were already dragging him down.  They were part of him, adding to his blindness and misery.  Christmas!  Bah!   Humbug!

 Perhaps Marley’s greatest gift to Scrooge is a brief vision of Purgatory.  Marley gives him a glimpse of the suffering souls who could have done so much more for others during their lives.  They could see now, but it was too late.  In his vision Scrooge saw the air “filled with phantoms wandering hither and thither in restless haste and moaning as they went”.  Dickens describes them: “Everyone wore chains, like Marley’s ghost; some few were linked together; none were free.  Many had been personally known to Scrooge in their lives.  He had been quite familiar with one old ghost, in a white waistcoat, with a monstrous iron safe attached to its ankle.   It cried piteously at being unable to assist a wretched woman with an infant, whom it saw below, upon a doorstep.  The misery with them all was, clearly, that they now sought to interfere for good in human matters but had lost the power for ever”.  But is it too late for Scrooge to escape this Purgatory? 

 The story of Scrooge’s release from chains and captivity to redemption, and from his selfishness and misery to a joyful generosity, centres around a child, Tiny Tim.  It is the stuff of all Christmas stories.   Dickens closes his ‘Christmas-to-New Year Parable’ with what are now the immortal words of Tiny Tim: “God bless us every one!”

 Wishing you all a happier and healthier New Year and all through 2021

 Deacon John.

January 2021 - Deacon Warren

Many of us can agree that 2020 was a year of a lot of uncertainties, challenges and even losses. But, last year was also a year to appreciate and give thanks, for even the smallest things that we may have taken for granted in the past.  

 We're off again into another new and uncertain year.  We've adapted to social distancing, hand washing, family bubbles, risk assessments, and isolating. And we did well.  But now we are faced with a more infectious variant coronavirus, and another period of uncertainty.

 Like any sports team faced with a change in opposition tactics, we have to adapt, be ready to change practices, adjust timetables, re-adjust expectations, and keep doing our best for our Parish.  But adapting takes energy, cooperation, creativity, and commitment. It draws on our deepest motivations, and our personal spirituality at the start of this year.

 I want to offer you the wisdom of St. Francis de Sales, Bishop, Doctor of the Church (whose memorial is 24 January).   St. Francis says: “When you encounter difficulties and contradictions, do not try to break them, but bend them with gentleness and time”.   He speaks about the trees that survive the storm, as the ones that can adapt by bending, rather than breaking with the pressure of the storm.  St. Francis suggests: “Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit. Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset”.

It is within that inner spiritual calm, that curiosity and creativity emerge, to help us adapt to new situations. Panic and discouragement, switch off our ability to bend and adapt to new situations.  All this is based on a deep conviction that we are loved.  It is that sense of being loved, that gives us all resilience through change.   St. Francis reminds us that: "The same everlasting Father who cares for you today, will care for you tomorrow, and every day. Either He will shield you from suffering, or give you unfailing strength to bear it. Be at peace then, and put aside all anxious thoughts and imaginings".

 So this year perhaps, we should follow this final advice from St. Francis: “Be patient with everyone, but above all with yourself ... do not be disheartened by your struggles, but always rise up again and again with fresh courage. We shall steer safely through every storm, so long as our heart is right, our intention generous, our courage steadfast, and our trust fixed on the mystery of a Loving God".  God is ever faithful, regardless of our circumstances, and He has Blessed each of us this last year.  Come let us start the New Year, with much anticipation of the many Blessings to come, and in offering thanks to the Lord, for all that we have already received.   

December 2020 - Deacon John

Dear Parishioners of Our Lady of Lincoln,

 We are now into Advent, with all the different things that means to each of us.  For me, this year, it means hope in a soon-to-come post-Covid New Year, and a brighter future for our children and grandchildren.  Christmas is for many about the coming of God as a baby, a child, and what that means.  I cannot help but feel that only those who have experienced the birth of one’s own baby, can fully appreciate Christmas as a liturgical celebration of that intimate miraculous experience.  The birth of our own child is directly linked to the birth of God, as we celebrate the Eternal Creator emerging from the womb of a young wife.  What does that birth say about our God?  

 Many prophets foretold the coming of God as a cosmic, apocalyptic event, with God appearing in all his glory, might and majesty, to judge, to punish and to purge away all evil and evil doers.  But no.  God actually revealed himself as a totally dependent and helpless baby.  As a baby he could hardly see or understand or judge anything.  He could not even speak, but only cry or gurgle, and was as vulnerable as any human baby to cold, discomfort, pain, hunger and want.  As a baby, God was as typical and as inconspicuous as any other baby born of any mother, anywhere and at any time.

 Perhaps equally important, God reveals himself as a baby incapable of doing any harm.  He threatens no one.  He cannot even survive without the nurturing of his mother Mary, with Joseph’s support and protection.   As in all babies, there is only innocence, dependence and the need for love and care.   With the love he receives he will learn to love his mother, father, sisters, and brothers, and all those who show their love for him.  All this baby needs is love; and he has nothing to give but love.

As a baby he is unaware of violence and hatred in the hearts of so many in the cruel world into which he is born.  He represents a time in life when hatred, violence and killing are unfathomable, with no tendencies towards prejudices, robbery, or murder.  He trusts everyone and is too little to protest against things he does not understand.

What does all this say to us?   Jesus tells us we are all called to live as little children; and I think that only means to love, to be innocent of deceit and wrong-doing, and be incapable of harming or hurting.  A tall order!  It takes a baby to remind us of all this; a new life beginning, seeking only to please and eventually to help, and fundamentally to be loved and to love.  Christmas is the best time to dream of a world at peace, and of the universal love that every baby so needs and symbolises.  Isaiah rather fancifully foretold that when the Messiah is born (11:5-9), the wolf will live in peace with the lamb, the panther with the kid, the lion with the calf, and the cow with the bear.  All their young will lay down peacefully together, and a human baby will happily play with adders and put his hand in a viper’s lair without fear of hurt or harm.  We can see what Isaiah was getting at in his own dream-like poetic way, but if we can see his animals as types of human predators and prey, he makes a great deal of sense. They were once harmless babies.   This is just one way that God’s birth as a baby, shows us how we, like all the newly born, should be able to live together in love and peace.  

 With all best wishes for a very happy and peaceful Christmas.  Shalom!  

Deacon John. 

June 2020 - Deacon John

Deacon Warren has asked me to contribute a ‘Blog’ for Our Lady’s website.  This is  the first ever for me, which says something about my age, and familiarity with 21st century Internet, and media technology.  So here goes.

November 2020 - Deacon John

Dear Parishioners of Our Lady of Lincoln,

The first week in November 2020 has been a roller-coaster! For us, back into ‘lock-down’.  For America and the world, a very different (and Catholic) President.  And for Judaism, the death of a remarkable Rabbi. After reading his book ‘Not in My Name’ so many of us had to re-evaluate the command ‘love thy neighbour’ and redefine ‘original sin’ as the  replacement of love with selfishness. The root cause of all sin is that ‘us and them’ mentality that pits us against all we see as ‘different and inferior’. Almost all that Rabbi Sacks so eloquently warned against in society, religion and politics was egotism, a superiority complex, and indifference to suffering of others.

Rabbi Sacks often focused on the biblical primacy of ‘love thy neighbour as thyself’.  In his last ‘Thought for the Day’ in May this year, he used the Book of Ruth to illustrate the essence of loving kindness, so essential during the pandemic, and in times of social, political and religious upheavals. I will let him speak for himself:

"When we read the biblical book of Ruth…. we realise what a contemporary text it is.. It begins with a couple and their two sons forced to leave home because of famine.  They go to a foreign country where their two sons marry local women. Then tragedy strikes. All three men die. The woman, whose name is Naomi, is left a childless widow, the most vulnerable of all positions in the ancient world because there was no one to look after you. She goes back home but is so changed that her former neighbours hardly recognise her. Can this be Naomi? They ask. Don’t call me Naomi, she replies – the word means pleasant. Call me Mara, bitter. 

That is how the book begins: with bereavement, isolation, and depression. Yet it ends in joy. Naomi now has a grandson. Her daughter-in-law Ruth and relative Boaz have married and had a child. This is no mere child. In the last line of the book, we discover that he is the grandfather of David, Israel’s greatest king and author of much of the book of Psalms.

What transforms Naomi’s life from bitterness to happiness is described by the Hebrew word chessed. When, in the early 1530s, William Tyndale was translating the Bible into English for the first time, he realised that there was no English equivalent for chessed, so he invented one, the word lovingkindness. Two people’s lovingkindness, Ruth and Boaz, rescued Naomi from depression and gave her back her joy. That is the power of chessed; love as deed.

One of the enduring memories of the coronavirus period will be the extraordinary acts of kindness it evoked, from friends, neighbours, and strangers, those who helped us, kept in touch with us, or simply smiled at us. When fate was cruel to us, we were kind to one another. Human goodness emerged when we needed it most. And [at this time] we are reminded that some need it more than most. Kindness redeems fate from tragedy and the wonderful thing is that it doesn’t matter whether we are the giver or the recipient. Lifting others, we ourselves are lifted.”

With all best wishes, Deacon John.

November 2020 - Deacon Warren

Memory is fundamental to our human experience. During the month of November, we remember those who have gone before us, our loved ones in particular. The month begins with the Solemnity of All Saints, reminding us that we were created for heaven. Our eternal destiny encourages us to persevere as pilgrims of faith, hope and love here in this life. This year, we remember the faithful departed at a particularly challenging time. We call to mind all those who have died in the COVID-19 pandemic throughout the world. As the Body of Christ, we intercede for them and their loved ones. May we be encouraged to visit our local cemetery and to pray with the conviction of hope for those who have died and rest there until Christ returns in glory.

St. Gertrude the Great is invoked often, for prayers for the poor souls in purgatory.  She had a deep empathy for those souls in purgatory, and would ask God, at each Mass, to have mercy on them. God would reply to St. Gertrude, that He would use whatever was offered to Him for the faithful departed, according to His inclination to show pardon and mercy. St. Gertrude was a Benedictine and mystic writer.  She had the gift of miracles and prophecy. Jesus revealed to her His infinite love, and asked her to spread it, with love, for the suffering and for sinners.   The Prayer of St. Gertrude:

Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the holy souls in purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal church, those in my own home and within my family.  Amen.

We believe in the Communion of Saints, the forgiveness of sins, the Resurrection of the body, and life everlasting.   Confident in that act of faith, let us reach out in prayer for all who have passed through death, especially those who need the charity of our intercessions: 

Lord of life, into Your care we commend the souls of those who wait to share in the glorious Resurrection of your Son, our Redeemer, who lives and reigns forever and ever.  Amen.

October 2020 - Deacon John

Dear Parishioners of Our Lady of Lincoln,

 We have now endured some eight months of Covid related restrictions, and things are not looking any better.  We missed the full liturgical celebrations of Easter, and now it looks likely that Christmas will be similarly constrained.  With winter coming-on, heating in our parishes may be our next hurdle.  Too many churches rely on fan heaters that waft re-circulated warm air around in a way that may not be allowed.   So, while we can offer a warm welcome to our new Parish Priest, Fr. John St John, we can also sympathise with him in taking-on our parish in this most difficult of times.  He will need all the support, consideration and sympathy we parishioners can muster.

 Over these months we have entered a ‘zoom’ era, with all meetings and conferences now converted into computerised ‘virtual’ gatherings.  This month our annual clergy conference and get-together was cancelled, to be replaced by a zoom conference.  Members ‘attended’ but in the comfort of their own homes, some in their armchairs or settees, and some at an office desk.  But it was a great success.   The focus was on ‘what comes next’ and what needs to be changed.  Everyone could participate and contribute, and many topics were explored, but for me, one stood out.  Confession!

 The steep decline in people availing themselves of the Sacrament of Confession was widely noted.   All had ideas about this, and why it should be.  The salient fact is, to a growing number of young and adult Catholics the practice is no longer relevant.   Some regard the experience as faintly childish, humiliating, embarrassing, or even demeaning.  As one elderly gentleman recently laughed: ‘I feel like a naughty child when I go to confession.  However sympathetic the priest is, he’s heard it all before’. 

 Three views were aired at the zoom conference.   First, a senior priest of the diocese recognised the decline, but also the need most Catholics still feel for some kind of authoritative or liturgical absolution.  While these people are no longer drawn to personal confession, they would be drawn to a public service of reconciliation.  In a liturgical setting they could, in private prayer but liturgically, make their own acts of confession and repentance.  Then, in the presence of Christ and the congregation they could receive a general absolution from the presiding priest.

 A second priestly view was that people do not only come for absolution, but for the help and guidance of a priest.  They should, individually and personally, confess each sin in a dialogue with their pastor, as has long-been the existing practice.   Guidance and personal assistance should always be a primary concern.  A third view was that these two are not exclusive.  For anyone with a serious or ‘pressing’ sin on their conscience, feeling the need for guidance and personal absolution, the traditional rite will always be available.  But for anyone with no feeling of need or inclination towards special priestly attention, a Service of Reconciliation would literally be a ‘God-send’.   

What do you think?  Please let us know.

With all best wishes, Deacon John

October 2020 - Deacon Warren

Memorial of the Holy Guardian Angels [2 October].   

I recall my parents telling me that, when I was a child, I had a deep friendship with an imaginary friend, but as I grew older, from youth into adulthood, my friend became some distant memory.  Looking back now, I am convinced that this was my probably my ‘guardian angel’.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC328) tells us that the existence of angels is a truth of faith.  St. Augustine says: ‘Angel’ is the name of their office, not of their nature (CCC329).  Angels can make themselves noticeable, as bearers of a message, or as helpful guides (YouCat55).  The faithful of most of the world’s major religions, believe in angels, as messengers of God.

The catechism goes further, saying that we are each assigned an angel to be our guardian, who stands as protector and shepherd, leading us to the eternal life.  From its beginning until death, human life is surrounded by their watchful care, and intercessions (CCC336).

Psalm 91:11-12 “For He will give His angels charge of you, to guard you in all your ways.  On their hands they will bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone”.

During our funeral liturgy, we hear these words of the Song of Farewell: ‘Saints of God, come to their aid!  Hasten to meet them, angels of the Lord!  Receive their soul and present them to God the Most High’.  Then as we process to the place of committal, the following is sung: ‘May the angels lead you into paradise…’   This beautiful song invites angels to accompany our beloved departed, into the presence of God.  As we are tackling our feelings of loss, grief, and sadness, we are given this beautiful image, of our beloved departed, being surrounded lovingly, by angels.  Isn’t that deeply comforting?  

This pandemic has brought an alarming increase in loneliness throughout the world.  Sure, people are finding new ways to connect in this era of social distancing, but loneliness continues to increase.  Loneliness impacts the physical, spiritual, and emotional, health of a human person.  

Could our feelings of loneliness, be where our guardian angel can assist, and support us?

As we reflect on today’s first reading (from the book of Exodus 23:20-23) we are reminded that the Lord says: “My angel will go before you”, and Psalm (Ps. 90:1-6, 10-11) with Responsorial “The Lord has commanded His angels to keep you in all your ways”.   In today’s Gospel reading (Matthew 18:1-5, 10), Jesus says: “their angels in heaven are continually in the presence of my Father in heaven”.   

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger / Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI wrote that: ‘An angel is, so to speak, the personal thought, with which God, is turned toward me’ (YouCat 54).  

Since our guardian angels have that deep connection to God, their reassuring presence, can offer great comfort and solace.  While we journey through the pandemic, our faith reminds us that we are never alone.  It seems therefore, that it is good and sensible, to pray to, and with one’s Guardian Angel, as today’s Communion Antiphon suggests: “In the presence of the Angels I will praise you, my God”  (Ps. 137:1).

September 2020 - Deacon John

Dear Parishioners of Our Lady of Lincoln,

 During the last six months or so, I have been finding the daily prayers of the Church in the ‘Divine Office’ both a valuable aid, and a challenge.   Reading these psalms and prayers together, Mary and I struggle to make them as gender inclusive as possible.  This means thinking carefully about the words we are using and constantly modifying exclusive male-orientated wording.   Our recited prayers are no longer as automatic or unthinking as they have been in the past.  Here are merely a few examples:

 ‘Only Son of the Father, you save your brothers from eternal death.’

‘Lord, fire the hearts of all men with your love.’

‘It is the Father’s will that men should see him in the face of his beloved son.’

‘We praise you Lord… you are the hope and joy of men of every age.’

‘May Christ’s coming transform the Church… in the service of men.’’

‘Lord, what is man that you care for him, mortal man who is merely a breath.’

 We find that being gender-conscious and critical is well worth while.  It in no way diminishes but enhances our prayer life.  We discover things that we have missed or not fully appreciated during mere recitation.     

 Our favourite psalms are those that express God’s compassion and love, not because they add to anything to what we know about God, but because they tell us that that is what we should be too.  An example is Psalm 145 where the psalmist proclaims: 

“The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love.  

The Lord is good to all (not just to men!); his compassion is over all he has made.”

 Verses like this are powerful reminders that we too must be gracious, forgiving, good to all, and above all compassionate.  And it’s not that hard.  We all have a ministry, and that is simply to do for (or to) others what we would like them to do for (or to) us.  Perhaps more important, it is to say to others only what we would like to hear them say to us.  This brings to mind that famous but anonymous quote: 

 A careless word may kindle strife; a cruel word may wreck a life. 

A bitter word may hate instil; a brutal word may smite and kill. 

A gracious word may smooth the way; a joyous word may light the day. 

A timely word may lessen stress; a loving word may heal and bless.

How many times have we had our days totally wrecked by harsh words said to us?   How many times have we said harsh, nasty, or careless things to others and totally wrecked their day?   Let’s keep all our words in the realm of love and compassion.  Well, that’s our prayer; and we pray for the help we need to see it through.

With best wishes and prayers

Deacon John

September 2020 - Deacon Warren

During August, I was a (virtual) participant in the 2020 Men’s Gathering, hosted by the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, where I listened to a commentary, by Rev. Deacon Peter Pellicaan - Executive Director of Evangelisation Brisbane, dealing with the theme: There are more atheists than Catholics, in Australia.  

Using a famous Psalm, he suggested that we think deeply about what being an atheist means.  What would it mean - there is no God? 

[The anti-psalm example]:  There is no shepherd, I shall want.  There is no one to lie me down in green pastures, or lead me beside still waters.   There is no one who restores my soul, or who can lead me in right paths, for anyone's sake.  I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, and I fear evil, for no one is with me.  There is no rod or staff, to comfort me, I am alone.  Nobody can prepare a table before me, in the presence of my enemies, or anoint my head with oil, my cup is empty.  Goodness and mercy cannot follow me all the days of my life, and I shall not dwell in any house forever.

Now that is a shocking reality of life without God, and in contrast, I now urge you to read Psalm 23:

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.  He makes me lie down in green pastures.  He leads me beside still waters.  He restores my soul.  He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake.  Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me, Your rod and Your staff - they comfort me.  You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.  You anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows.  Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord, forever.

Isn't it beautiful to know that God is with us, that God loves us, that He has not forsaken us?  

Isn't it a beautiful thing to know that even in this moment, wherever we are spread across this nation, that the Creator of this world, the God of this universe, is amongst us, and with us?  He loves us so much, that He would become man, through Mary, in the person of Jesus, and would give up His life, so that we could live.  

What we have is life changing.  It's beautiful. It's powerful.  It brings purpose.  It brings vision.  It brings intentionality to your life.  It brings hope, faith and charity, and it is worth sharing.   

August 2020  - Deacon John

Dear Parishioners of Our Lady of Lincoln,

Perhaps by coincidence over recent weeks, both Deacon Warren and I have been thinking about current attitudes to confession. Perhaps it has something to do with the lock-down and the way we now scrutinise all action and interaction? Personally, I have been recalling an eye-opening encounter I had with a parishioner’s infirm Anglican husband. For his wife’s sake he was considering becoming a Catholic, but was unable to attend our RCIA course, and asked me for personal instruction. Fr. Colin agreed. He was a life-long Anglican, familiar with all the common teaching of our churches, so we had few difficulties – until we came to Confession. His problem was the notion of obligation. For him, it had to be optional, so that he could opt-out.

I will try to outline his reasoning. He believed in the need for examination of conscience, awareness of guilt, and genuine resolve to do better. He also believed in the infinite benevolence of God who forgives all who turn to Him in faith. He pointed out that in the early Church confession to a bishop or priest was only required of one who had been socially excluded or ‘excommunicated’ from the Christian community for a serious crime. To be accepted back into social and religious communion, a procedural confession and absolution had to be undergone with a representative of that community, a bishop or priest. The crime had to be serious in terms of known damage to a member or members of the community.  But, the every-day peccadilloes of human frailty, later called venial sins, were left to be pointed out by family, friends, and neighbours to be resolved ‘at home’ by real amendment. Forgiveness came from the same family, friends, and neighbours and only through them ultimately from God. Also, he referred back, time and again, to Our Lord’s Prayer, stating we are already receiving God’s forgiveness in as far as we are forgiving one another.

Then came his final question: ‘To be a Catholic, will I be obliged to confess to a priest for anything less than a serious ‘shipwreck’ scale mortal sin?’ When I replied that this would be expected of him, he quoted our Catechism: “after having attained the age of discretion, each of the faithful is bound by an obligation faithfully to confess serious sins [only?] at least once a year (1455-57).” Therefore, no serious sin, no confession! He added he had never wilfully or knowingly committed any serious (i.e. mortal?) sin. Therefore, in good conscience, he could not promise something he could never be comfortable with. Although I continued to visit him weekly, he died a year or so later and never became a Catholic. His funeral was in Our Lady’s Church.

The important thing for us is simply to bring this question to mind, explore it, argue about it, and resolve it for ourselves. The Sacrament of Confession is there for all, but we must find a need for it, rather than just be told it is obligatory, or feel coerced, or even threatened with eternal damnation. I end by referring you back to Deacon Warren’s blog. Can confession really help us? Can it somehow set us free? Do we need the undoubted grace it offers? Let us all pray for guidance to the Holy Spirit.

With best wishes and prayers

Deacon John

August 2020 - Deacon Warren

Is it time to rethink the Sacrament of Reconciliation?

Last month, I read a catholic newspaper article entitled ‘Decline in Confession is damaging the Church’s Mission’, in which it suggested that a recent survey revealed that 89% people believe that sin exists, and yet the same survey also reveals that 75% go to confession only once or twice a year, and 30% of those, go less than once a year, or never.  These, it suggests, are regular Mass attenders, ministry leaders, Finance Council, and Pastoral Council members.

Traditional Saturday afternoons are terrible, as far as accessibility, especially for young families (and for this deacon).  The survey research suggests Sunday mornings and week nights, as being more viable?  

Lack of convenient times for confession, along with poor understanding of its significance, are leading to a decline in overall Mass attendance.  [The columnist suggests 'Sin is like a spiritual cholesterol, and the arteries (of the Church) are clogged.  This is a hidden spiritual reality, but may actually explain why there is so little life'].  

The Gospel is about conversion, being faithful to their teachings, and turning away from sin.  Jesus does not exist to make me feel good about myself.  This kind of individualism and self-affirmation, have profound social consequences.   If we ourselves aren’t dealing with our sin regularly, were not going to have a healthy responsiveness, to the evil that we are seeing around us.   

First we overlook evil.   Then we permit evil. Then we legalise evil. Then we promote evil.  Then we persecute those, who still call it evil.

Fear and shame often keep faithful away, and unnecessarily so, as conversion is not criticism.   We have to start talking about the call to conversion, as an experience of Christ’s love, that He wants our burdens taken off us, He wants the chains broken, and for us to walk away from sin.  

Address sin as an ‘unbinding of the heart’ - which is why the pivotal aspect of the sacrament is not the confessing, but the receiving of grace.  When the priest says “I absolve you …”, the word literally means, to break, so when he speaks those words, the chains are broken, and it doesn’t have anything to do with how we feel about it, it actually happens.  

A reawakening of the need for regular confession is crucial for the spread of the Gospel.  Encountering Christ, is a radical and beautiful call, that really fulfills the deepest desires of our hearts.  The Sacrament of Reconciliation is one of healing, and hope.  

Pope Francis reminds us how deep, and universal God’s mercy is [from his own experience of The Beauty of Confession With Pope Francis by Fr Donncha Ó hAodha].  The Sacrament of  Reconciliation should have a place in our lives, to taste, and live in this mercy. 

July 2020 - Deacon John

Dear Parishioners of Our Lady of Lincoln, 

A few personal reflections.  

After four months of ‘lock-down’, with no Mass, or Holy Communion, or community devotions in our church, it is good to be taking our first tentative steps towards what used to be our religious norm.  It is strange to reflect  that for so long most of us have been ‘lapsed’ Catholics.  Apart from priests, and virtual on-line Masses, we all physically stopped going to Mass.  As this has usually been seen as the criterion between lapsed and practicing, our return includes a real act of faith and renewal.  We are not out of the woods yet. The Coronavirus is still with us.  But we can now carry on the fight against it inside as well as outside our church.   And we do this as a community; together in prayer; as the united, assembled Body of Christ.

We carry on the fight by making sure we are looking after each other and keeping ourselves as safe as we possibly can be.  The Mass is the Mass, the Sacrifice of the New Testament, and in essence always the same.  But now, to keep safe and to feel more comfortable and secure in this tactical fight, we have had to vary some of the ways we have grown used to. For example, we sanitise our hands when we enter and leave church (instead of using holy water) but still ‘in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.’  We can wear masks and gloves if we wish, but our real goal is staying at least two meters from our neighbours.   We can cheerfully follow the instructions of our stewards about where to sit, and go and when, knowing that we do so in unity of spirit and purpose, for the sake of health and safety, and even life itself.

And in the same spirit, during Mass, we can positively accept that there can be no chatting, no singing, no kneeling, no long homilies, no bidding prayers, no offertory procession or collection at this point (but on the way out), no sign of peace, and no Holy Communion at the usual liturgical time.  Instead we receive Our Lord’s Body only as we ‘go forth’ on our way out of church, in silence, keeping two meters apart.  The new time for chatting and being neighbourly is when we are all safely outside, in the open air, continually mindful of observing that essential social distancing.

It is disappointing that attendances in church at any one time must be limited in compliance with the law and our bishops’ instructions.  Because of this, and mandatory strictly kept records of who attends each assembly (required by the Government/NHS), it may not be possible for everyone who wishes to attend a Sunday Mass every week.  Booking is required, and a Rota system is obligatory. But at this time the old ‘Sunday Obligation’ rule is suspended, and two weekday Masses are there for people who cannot or do not yet feel able to come to a Saturday Vigil or Sunday Mass. In charity we must all bear with these inconveniences in what has become a very real war of attrition against an unseen enemy ‘for the duration’. But we always have Our Lord’s weapons of faith, hope, and charity to carry us through.

May God be with each and every one of us as we ‘go forth’ and face so many uncertainties in coming months.

With best wishes and prayers

Deacon John

July 2020 - Deacon Warren

I expect that the current situation will be affecting many of us.  Whist we have been longing for this opportunity for Public Worship, now that we have permission to gather together for Mass, you may, quite reasonably, decide that you still unsure.  So I offer these thoughts, if they help in some way, as you consider your options.  

The government guidelines are comprehensive, and should be followed.  I think anything that we can do that reduces the dangers and the risks to other people, is a responsibility that we all have.  The Church has always advocated for that kind of approach.  I think as we shouldn't be afraid of wearing masks.   It's not a lack of faith to wear a mask.  It's actually a sign of consideration and concern for others.  I have the feeling that this is going to become part of the new normal for us, for a very long time to come.  Maybe not all the time, maybe not everywhere, but I think wearing a mask will have to become part of our way of life. 

As we gather once again, the sense how the current pandemic has affected us will have accumulated, and we will be perceptive of the empty chairs in our church, which will be a stark reminder of empty spaces in our lives: loved ones who have died; jobs that have been lost; dreams that have been broken.  This feels like a time when big issues of injustice, are being exposed on a global scale. For many, this has hopefully made our hearts softer, and represents a moment in time to deal with them as a church.  Worship and justice are inextricably linked, and the one thing we can’t do at the moment is ignore these big, often painful, and confusing issues.  The bishops write that “Covid-19 has also brought a new awareness of the limitations we face as a society, and the challenges of the conditions of those who are vulnerable".  In particular, they say, the pandemic has inflicted particular hardships on those in long-term institutional care, single-parent families, the unemployed, migrant workers, the homeless, indigenous communities, those who are imprisoned, and many who were already experiencing various illnesses of body and mind.  We must not forget the undue suffering experienced by the elderly members of our communities, because of loneliness, anxiety, depression, worry, and abandonment of different kinds.  These should weigh heavily upon our collective conscience as a church.  

Perhaps during this time of lockdown we have also gained a new appreciation for the basic human rights of health, social security, essential work and employment, education, health, and religion.  These all contribute to the authentic dignity of the human person, the inter-connectedness of our human experience, and are the necessary fabric that promotes the common good. 

Everyone speaks and thinks about worship differently.  I have heard it describes as: “The strategy by which we interrupt our pre-occupation with ourselves, and attend to the presence of God”.   Singing, is one way we can do this - the combination of poetry, melody, harmony, rhythm is a real gift.  Maybe during this period, where the emotive power of singing is not permitted, it can be a gift to the church that allows us - maybe even forces us - to focus more on lyrical content for a season.  

If you are ever tempted to judge success by numbers, this is not the time to do it.  It’s OK that this is not ‘business as usual’.  The old ‘normal’ may never return.    Maybe one of the things we should be doing is collectively listening to the Spirit that is starting to paint a different picture of the future.  As we slowly return to a more normal way of life, let us not forget, as the bishops suggest, the elderly among us who still have so much wisdom to impart, faith to share, stories to tell, and joys to offer.  Let us create space in our hearts, homes, families, and communities to honour them, and truly care for them, in their fragility, and their many needs.  If there was ever an opportunity to embrace the changes, engage with our priests, and our religious sisters and brothers, in a fresh bold way, this is it.   Let us welcome their unique giftedness, in building a world which is more human, loving, generous, forgiving, and radiant with God's grace.  

The presence of God does not revolve around our worship: our worship revolves around His presence.   As we say at the Eucharistic Prayer : "The Lord be with you – And with your spirit.  Lift up your hearts - We lift them to the Lord.  Let us give thanks to the Lord our God - It is right and just”.  “It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation, always and everywhere to give you thanks, Lord, holy Father, almighty and eternal God, through Christ our Lord”…

June 2020 - Deacon John

Deacon Warren has asked me to contribute a ‘Blog’ for Our Lady’s website.  This is  the first ever for me, which says something about my age, and familiarity with 21st century Internet, and media technology.  So here goes.

Firstly, I want to thank Warren, and express my appreciation for all he has been quietly doing for our parish since the lock-down began and our church was closed.   He is doing so much already behind the scenes and will be a huge asset to Fr. Matthew and all parishioners, particularly when limited services and later normality are resumed.   I view this with both eagerness and trepidation, and Deacon Warren’s professional expertise and practicality will be invaluable in making it all happen.

Secondly, I would like to share something of just one couple’s experience and thoughts during our long period of isolation. In mid-March, all our lives changed.  For me, after twenty-three years as a deacon, and having set off to church pretty well every morning for prayers and daily Mass, and so often making several journeys in any one day for meetings, consultations, and the numerous other activities that took place there, my immediate experience was a sense of loss. The change of routine was almost disorientating, as after breakfast a completely free day opened before me. There was almost a sense of ‘holiday’ and total lack of any pressure, duties, or obligations. It dawned on me that this was an opportunity to welcome. A change is as good as a holiday, and that is what it had become.

Mary and I are fortunate to have a large garden, rather neglected over recent years, crying out for renovation and renewal, and not a little landscaping. Most of all, it required prime-time and T.L.C. Weeks of mostly perfect weather made all this a great pleasure, combining relaxation with creativity, amid greenery, birdsong, and wildlife, not to forget frequent picnics by our pond. Nothing could be better than this for the soul; nothing better to sooth away the very worst of worries and anxieties; and yet the plight of others so less fortunate than ourselves was never far from our consciences and prayers.  This time also gave us a new sense of purpose-full leisure, and apart from jobs in and around the house, it gave us prime time for reading and other recreational activities. And we began to see more of our families, daughter, son, and grandchildren in a different and more frequent and convenient way – via Facetime.

And what about our prayer-life? Of course, we have missed the social gathering, our own Eucharistic liturgy, and above all Holy Communion, but this too has afforded an opportunity. Where Mary and I usually prayed the prayers of the Divine Office separately in our own respective churches, we began to pray them together in the comfort of our own armchairs, with a lighted candle to represent Our Lord’s real presence (Matt 18:20).  Morning Prayer (Lauds) takes place after breakfast at the time we would normally have been thinking of leaving home. Evening Prayer  (Vespers/Evensong) is now at about 6.00 p.m. before we have a supper. This is about the same time our fellow clergy, nuns and other friends choose, so we are somehow united with them in prayer. But more than this, we now usually combine evening prayer with a virtual Mass. This has given us the opportunity to ‘travel’ the country, if not the whole world, including the Santa Marta Chapel in Rome to join Pope Francis in the most intimate of ways; to get to feel we know him in a deeper sense from the way he celebrates the Eucharist and his sermons, homilies and reflections. Again, courtesy of YouTube, we frequently join Bishop Patrick and Fr. Jonathan Rose in the Bishop’s private chapel, or Canon Eddy in Saints Peter and Paul, or several other diocesan churches. Also enlightening have been our virtual visits to some of England’s most beautiful Catholic Cathedrals and the beautiful shrine and Slipper Chapel at Walsingham. They have all left lasting impressions.

Two things above all struck both of us. The first is the impression of courageous but solitary, lonely looking priests, alone in empty churches and chapels, doing their best, but hardly ‘celebrating’ in the full sense of that joyful word. Some bravely attempted to sing, but it never quite came off.   With no music or reader (except in our Bishop’s chapel) it too often fell flat, leaving us grateful for the full Eucharistic Prayer, but feeling sorry for the lonely celebrant. The lack of the shared meal element, Holy Communion, was somewhat compensated by ‘spiritual communion’ and the tangible shared meal that we follow-up with, our supper.

The second thing of which we have become ever more painfully aware, is the almost exclusive male orientation of the Divine Office. These prayers were written by men for men, probably celibate, with no thought given to women, religious or lay.  No wonder so many women feel alienated. The wording in so many of our morning and evening prayers, (lauds and vespers), is inaccurate, anachronistic, and offensive. Time and time again we either shudder and press ahead, or we try and change exclusive to inclusive as we battle on. It is not always easy. No wonder communities of nuns are seeking any other versions they can find which offer inclusive language. Let us hope and pray that our renewed Church, after lock-down, will find ways to improve all our experiences, and bring us to the spiritual fulfillment we all desire and seek. May God bless us all, everyone.

June 2020 - Deacon Warren

Normally in June there would be much to look forward to, not least our first Holy Communion celebrations.  

These are just some of the special dates, during this month:

 It looks certain that we will still be in ‘lockdown’ for all these feasts, so we will mark the dates as best we can, and look forward to a fuller celebration in due course. 

Divine Mercy Sunday - Deacon Warren

In the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, we hear about Jesus, through the journeys and events in His life. These stories paint a picture of miracles; healing the sick, reassuring the deprived, comforting the isolated, and raising the dead. Jesus calls us, and as we follow Him, we come to know Him in an individual and familiar way. We experience His truth, compassion, joy and grief, personally. The gospel of John is different. In it we hear many questions, and throughout, John points to signs, that give evidence to the Divinity of Jesus.

In today’s gospel (Week 2 Easter) we hear of Thomas’ struggle to believe, that Jesus has indeed risen from the dead - “Unless I see … I will not believe”.  For over a month, we have been experiencing the overwhelming coronavirus.   Many of us probably gave it little thought and attention, until it was on our doorstep.  We now know how a dreadful disease it is.  Many have died, and many more will die. Where is this God of ours?  What would Jesus answer, to our begging, our doubting?

I am the hope, the strength, and perseverance, in the doctors, nurses, first-responders, hospital chaplains, offering comfort to the sick and dying.  I am there in the grocery stores delivering food, and in the food banks feeding the sick and hungry.  I am there, in the children bringing joy, through their colourful rainbows.  I am there, in the ‘Tic-Tok’ videos and ‘Instagram’ posts.

Deep in the heart of every human being lies a longing for safety, a place where, regardless of our successes or failures, we know that we are loved.   “Heart of Mercy”, co-written by John Finch and Rita West, (available on: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyHaLRy7LqI , invites listeners on a journey to discover the place where this desire is ultimately fulfilled - The heart of mercy, the very heart of God.

Today’s Psalm (117:1) invites us to: "Give thanks to the Lord for He is good, for His love has no end".

Heart of Mercy LYRICS:  There is harbour, for those in need of safety - A place, a place where we can rest - There is a Father, who left His throne above - To find, to find this wayward soul - I'm drawing closer - Into the heart, into the heart of mercy - That bore my shame, and broke my chains, at Calvary - Thy love poured out, and saved by grace, You lead me home - Into the heart of God, into the heart of mercy - I run to You, Your arms are open wide - Forgiven, forgiven and set free - I follow You, You have made a way - To mend, to mend this broken heart - I'm falling deeper - Into the heart, into the heart of mercy - That bore my shame, and broke my chains, at Calvary - Thy love poured out, and saved by grace, You lead me home - Into the heart of God, into the heart of mercy - Into the heart of mercy - Blood and water, pouring from Your side - It floods my heart - it brings me back to life - Blood and water, pouring from Your side - It floods my heart - it brings me back to life - Into the heart, into the heart of mercy - That bore my shame, and broke my chains, at Calvary - Thy love poured out, and saved by grace, You lead me home - Into the heart of God, into the heart of mercy - Into the heart of God, into the heart of mercy - Into the heart of God, into the heart of mercy - Into the heart of God.

Deacon Warren Peachey

Date of Ordination: 11 June 2016

Serving God’s People Together: the Role of Deacons in Parish life.

The Diaconate is a specific vocation, a family vocation that requires service … This Word is the key to understanding your charism.  Service as one of the characteristic gifts of the people of God.  The Deacon is, so to say, the custodian of Service in the Church.

Every word must be carefully measured.  You are the guardians of service in the Church: service to the Word, service to the Altar, service to the poor.

 

Deacons are ordained Ministers, incardinated in a Diocese … They are collaborators of the Bishop, and the priests, in a singular mission of evangelisation, and with specific task, by virtue of the Sacrament, received to serve the People of God, in the ministries of the Liturgy, the Word, and Charity.

 

We must be careful not to see Deacons as half-priests, half-laymen.  Likewise, the image of a Deacon as a sort of intermediary between the faithful and pastors is inappropriate.  Neither halfway between priests and laypeople, nor halfway between pastors and faithful.

 

There are many Ecclesial tasks that can be entrusted to a Deacon, namely, all those that do not involve the full care of souls.  The Code of Canon Law, however, determines which offices are reserved to the Priest, and those that can also be entrusted to the lay faithful, while there is no indication of any particular office in which the Deacon’s ministry can find specific expression.

 

Given the Congregation for Clergy’s observations, there are two key areas of parish life, where Deacons can serve Christ, and the Church admirably:

 

As ministers of evangelisation, Deacons can break open God’s word of truth, to bring light in the darkness.  We can remind hurting parishioners, that if we are to truly walk in the footsteps of Christ, then we must live our faith with complete trust in God.  We must forgive, and we must love, and pray for those who hurt us.  Unlike the love of parents, friends, and even spouses that can disappoint us, the love of God the Father, will never forsake us.

 

How?  Three Tips:

When the Bible says: “Ask, and it will be given to you” (Matthew 7:7), this does not mean that God is a genie that will grant our every wishGod the Father, who knows the deepest desires and longings of our heart and who understands our pain, will not always give us what we want, apart from His holy will.  Yet He will always give us what we need when we need it.

The intercession of Abraham shows us that, when we pray with complete trust in the will of God, the Father will grant those, who are in covenant relationship with Him, ‘power’ over His own heart.

Take comfort in these words from Pope Benedict XVI in Spe Savli:

“When no one listens to me anymore, God still listens to me.  When I can no longer talk to anyone or call upon anyone, I can always talk to God.  When there is no longer anyone to help me deal with a need or expectation that goes beyond the human capacity for hope, He can help me.  When I have been plunged into complete solitude … if I pray, I am never totally alone”. 

 

In helping parishioners understand the reality of God’s strength in vulnerability, leading the lost sheep to the Shepherd, we can also share stories of saints who never lost hope in God, despite incredible challenges and difficulties.  (Saints Augustine, Maria Goretti, and Josephine Bakhita come to mind).  We can also share our personal testimonies, of losing, and finding, hope again.

 

Cultural diversity (that is, the possession by our brothers and sisters of rich and divers cultural heritages such as: African, Asian, Caribbean, Hispanic, and Native American) can be a source of contention and volatility in Parishes.  Sometimes we fear what we do not understand, or simply choose to ignore, people who are different to us.  This may cause us to put spiritual blinders on, creating a cultural tunnel vision.  This may cause us to believe, for example, that Mass in Spanish is only for Hispanics, or that the Creole Mass is only for Haitian Catholics.

 

 

Outside of the parish in the mission field, especially using social and Catholic media, Deacons can cultivate meaningful conversations with the goal of building integrity, sharing wisdom, and imparting knowledge that can lead to a reciprocity of love and change.

 

“For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit; for each tree is known by its own fruit”. (Luke 6:43-44; see also Matthew 7:18-20)

 

The good fruit of Diaconal formation parallels the fruits of the Spirit:

 

It is in the gift of the Diaconate, the ministry of sublime giftedness, where we offer ourselves in love to God, and neighbour, that we discover the true meaning of teaching, sanctifying, and leading as servants of Jesus Christ.

March 2023 (Lent) - Deacon Warren - 'A Short Road to Perfection' by Saint John Henry Cardinal Newman

It is the saying of holy men that, if we wish to be perfect, we have nothing more to do than to perform the ordinary duties of the day well.  A short road to perfection - short, not because easy, but because pertinent and intelligible.  There are no short ways to perfection, but there are sure ones.

I think this is an instruction which may be of great practical use to persons like ourselves.  It is easy to have vague ideas what perfection is, which serve well enough to talk about, when we do not intend to aim at it; but as soon as a person really desires and sets about seeking it himself, he is dissatisfied with anything but what is tangible and clear, and constitutes some sort of direction towards the practice of it.

We must bear in mind what is meant by perfection.  It does not mean any extraordinary service, anything out of the way, or especially heroic - not all have the opportunity of heroic acts, of sufferings - but it means what the word perfection ordinarily means.  By perfect we mean that which has no flaw in it, that which is complete, that which is consistent, that which is sound-we mean the opposite to imperfect.  As we know well what imperfection in religious service means, we know by the contrast what is meant by perfection.

He, then, is perfect who does the work of the day perfectly, and we need not go beyond this to seek for perfection.  You need not go out of the round of the day.  I insist on this, because I think it will simplify our views, and fix our exertions on a definite aim.  If you ask me what you are to do in order to be perfect, I say, first:

  • Do not lie in bed beyond the due time of rising; 
  • give your first thoughts to God;
  • make a good visit to the Blessed Sacrament;
  • say the Angelus devoutly;
  • eat and drink to God's glory;
  • say the Rosary well;
  • be recollected; keep out bad thoughts;
  • make your evening meditation well;
  • examine yourself daily;
  • go to bed in good time, and you are already perfect.
Acknowledgement: https://www.catholiceducation.org/en/religion-and-philosophy/spiritual-life/a-short-road-to-perfection.html 

September 2023 - Deacon Warren - "I thirst for you": chaplet with reflection by Deacon Ryan Sales

St. Teresa of Calcutta gifted the world with her witness, to Jesus Christ’s thirst for the salvation of souls. She wrote “We have these words in every chapel of the MCs, to remind us what an MC is here for: to quench the thirst of Jesus for souls, for love, for kindness, for compassion, for delicate love”. 

Co-founding the Missionaries of Charity Fathers, Fr. Joseph Langford, MC, was intimately familiar with Mother Teresa’s spirituality. In 1986, he wrote “I thirst for you”, a mediation on the thirst of Jesus, that is at the heart of the Missionaries of Charity.

The chaplet is an excellent prayer form to facilitate meditation. The repetition of parts of the prayer, allows the message to work its way from our head to our heart. 

Fr. Langford’s prayer challenges us to see ourselves through the eyes of Jesus Christ. In our woundedness, this is often difficult. By praying each decade, our Lord’s words become louder and louder, and it becomes more difficult to disregard His words. 

The contents of this chaplet are Fr. Lanford’s. Deacon Ryan has re-arranged them, grouping them into five decades, with only minor modifications to re-establish coherence in this new form. Written by Fr. Langford, inspired by Mother Teresa, arranged by Deacon Ryan Sales, one who prays this chaplet, will be certain the voice speaking is Jesus Himself.


00:00 Reflection by Dcn Ryan

05:22 Introduction

06:42 1st Half Decade

09:00 2nd Half Decade

12:49 3rd Half Decade

16:33 4th Half Decade

19:11 5th Half Decade

21:35 Conclusion