Deacon James Bradley has joined us here at Holy Ghost parish while he continued his studies. James is a deacon with the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, the new Ordinariate established by the Holy Father for Anglican parishes which have come into full communion with the Catholic Church. The Ordinariate is led by Monsignor Keith Newton and includes some 60 former Anglican clergy and 1,000 faithful. It was established by Pope Benedict with a special invitation Anglicanorum Coetibus, "To groups of Anglicans" so that they can bring with them their Anglican patrimony in customs and traditions and liturgy. Deacon James is no stranger to the congregation here at Balham and was with the QUO VADIS group led by Fr Stephen at World Youth Day in Madrid this summer. And more: he played a major role in the opening ceremony welcoming Pope Benedict to Madrid, chanting the Gospel. This was televised worldwide. Of course our parish here at Balham, while large, isn't quite as huge as that, but we are sure that James will be kept busy here and it is great to have him with us...
A great European city in the throbbing heat of August, a vast dusty airfield with two million people congregating on it, a dramatic thunderstorm, a night vigil of prayer led by the successor of St Peter – these are some of the ingredients that made the 2011 World Youth Day utterly unforgettable.
The group of young people led by Father Stephen of this parish was a large one: its core was the “Quo Vadis” group which meets regularly and includes young people who are discerning a vocation to the priesthood or religious life, and they were joined by a substantial number of others. Hospitality in Madrid was offered by a parish on the outskirts of the city – the magnificent church of St Mary of Cana where the priest had arranged that our group could camp out in the various parish rooms for the whole of the WYD events.
Divided into groups, the young people made themselves at home, making up beds on the floor and organising themselves for showers and meals. There was daily morning prayer and Mass, and then the whole range of WYD events – talks at the “Love and Life” centre (including a superb presentation on religious freedom and the mass media, led by America’s Archbishop Charles Chaput and with speakers including the head of the Knights of Columbus), confession at the Festival of Forgiveness in one of Madrid’s large and beautiful parks, an opportunity to explore some of the vast number of religious orders and new movements and charities and Catholic organisations at a Vocations Fair.
What many pilgrims perhaps most relished was the sheer exuberance and joy at being in a city teeming with a sense of Christian love and faith. Here were two million people surging around, from every nation on earth, a multitude of languages and flags and song and experiences. Groups gathered on street corners to sing and pray, to swap flags and badges and banter, to take photographs and to cheer the Pope. Cries of “Viva el Papa!” erupted from groups large and small all the time. People sang on buses and trains and in the streets and in cafes and restaurants. People prayed the Rosary in parks and while waiting in the (extremely hot) sunshine for the Pope to arrive.
And when he did come, what an outpouring of affection and enthusiasm! The crowds lining the streets and packing out the squares were huge – it was impossible to move, and the cheering and waving and rejoicing were on a massive scale. When the Holy Father spoke, however, his clear and rather gentle voice created its own sense of quiet calmness, and his words were straightforward, beautiful, and well worth hearing.
There was a magnificent welcoming ceremony for him – at which Deacon James Bradley of the new Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, who was part of our group, sang the Gospel. There was a poignant and moving Way of the Cross using some of Spain’s most magnificent works of art showing Christ’s walk to Calvary, brought from towns and cities across Spain where they have been venerated for centuries. And then, on the final two days, there was the gathering at the Cuantros Ventros airfield for the night vigil and the final Sunday morning Mass. Heat, ants, fierce sun, and then a thunderstorm gave way to immense peace when the night vigil began. We knelt together before the Blessed Sacrament, and gradually the silence spread out, from the front where the Holy Father was kneeling, through the crowds and crowds of people.
"As you return home, take back with you the good news of Christ’s love which we have experienced in these unforgettable days. Fix your eyes upon him, deepen your knowledge of the Gospel and bring forth abundant fruit!"- those were Pope Benedict’s words at the final gathering.
Several of our Ignition group arrived at the church this morning to help pack the backpacks into large white sacks which will then be collected and shipped off to the children in Africa
On Saturday 9th April 2011, 20 young adults from the parish who are involved in the Frassati Society, embarked on a 12 mile hike across the North Downs in Surrey.
We began our journey at Guildford stopping in Gomshall for a leisurely pub lunch. We had the pleasure of a visit from Fr Stephen who managed to squeeze us into his busy weekend at the seminary before continuing for the final 5 miles to Dorking. The day was enjoyed by all and the glorious weather made it all the more perfect!
On Friday 1st April the Mother and Toddler group organised the 'April Fool Quiz'. Participants were invited to 'leave your brains at the door' for the quiz with a difference! The event was held at the Oliver Plunkett Club on Nightingale Lane to to help raise funds for the Mother and Toddler group.
Last Saturday the Catholic Underground team returned once again to the parish, this time with a variety of entertainment including singer, Alena and stand up comedy, music and drama by Rise Theatre. The evening drew a good crowd of young people. As with every Catholic Underground event, the evening opens with a Holy Hour in the church with music led by the Fransiscan Friars of the Renewal. This part is always so beautiful, and for myself it's often the best part of the evening. Here, we are invited to spend time in prayer with our Lord before the Blessed Sacrament, join with the Church in Evening Prayer and receive the Sacrament of Reconcilation. The evening then continues in the school hall with live entertainment. A wide variety of young people attend, some who are active in their faith, and others not. Many of those who attend Catholic Underground for the first time and who might not be so active in the faith do so because they have been invited and encouraged by their Catholic friend. For most, this is probably their first experience before the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament and I have heard several different stories of how the Lord has moved very powerfully in the hearts of these people and for some it has even prompted a return to the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Please look up the Catholic Underground Website and think about inviting some of your friends to their next event. http://www.catholicunderground.co.uk/
...of the Great Egg Drop at last Friday's session. The idea was to create a container which would support an egg and prevent it from smashing when dropped from a height of 8ft. Limited materials were supplied and the groups did exceptionally well! No crack in sight...
On Sunday, a group of young adults from the parish and others involved in the Frassati Society visited the Missionaries of Charity to help serve Sunday lunch at their Soup Kitchen at Elephant and Castle.
Sunday evening saw the first meeting of the newly launched Frassati Society. This is a society for young adults, combining community, service of the poor and prayer. 25 young adults met for Adoration before the evening Mass, after which we hosted a (very packed!) dinner. Between courses, Fr. Agustin Conesa spoke to us on Jesus' teaching of the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-12). Bl Pier Giorgio Frassati is known as the "man of the beatitudes" - someone in whom the Beatitudes are radiantly personified. Each month, the speaker will be giving teaching on each of the Beatitudes. The next few monthly meetings are...
Heavenly Father,
Give me the courage to strive for the highest goals,
to flee every temptation to be mediocre.
Enable me to aspire to greatness, as Pier Giorgio did,
and to open my heart with joy to Your call to holiness.
Free me from the fear of failure.
I want to be, Lord, firmly and forever united to You.
Grant me the graces I ask You through Pier Giorgio's intercession,
by the merits of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Today, we are excitedly awaiting the arrival of the thirty young people from the Emmanuel School of Mission in Rome! They will be with us at Holy Ghost for ten days, until 5th December, leading our Mission - "Come to Me - let not your hearts be troubled". There has been a lot of work, preparation and build-up to the Mission and we will bring you regular updates on all the activities through the Blog.
On Sunday 18th May, Fr Behruz Rafat spoke to Forum Christi on "The Joyful Mysteries and the Gospel of Life". He gave a brief summary of John Paul II's teaching in the encyclical Evangelium Vitae, and then gave a meditation whilst we prayed the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary. He suggested that as a follow-up to his talk, we read the whole encyclical for ourselves (download from www.vatican.va)After the talk we went for supper in the Nightingale. The evening ended with Fr Marcus beating Gavin in boxing on the new Wii games console.
On Sunday 11th May, Fr Marcus spoke to Forum Christi on "The Church, Contraception and the Culture War". He explained a number of arguments that we can use to explain the Church's teaching, and gave examples of statistics that can be used to destroy the argument that the Catholic Church's ban on condoms has been responsible for the spread of AIDS in the developing world.
On Friday 9th May, the Keep the Faith groups met at the Royal Albert Hall. After games of football and rounders and a picnic in Hyde Park, they attended the Film Harmonic concert. Music from a number of film scores and television series were played, including Jurassic Park, Gladiator (Fr Marcus' favourite) and Chariots of Fire.
On Sunday 27th April, Gareth Thomas spoke to Forum Christi on "The Road to Compostela". The talk began with some images of the pilgrimage, which was followed by discussion of the historical background, and reasons for present-day pilgrims completing the journey.Gareth will be making his own pilgrimage over the next couple of months, walking all the way from Balham to Santiago de Campostela. To keep track of his progress you can log onto his blog http://whizz-kidz-pilgrim.blogspot.com which is already showing details of his preparations, and which he will keep up as much as possible on the journey.
On Sunday 20th April, Sr Camilla Oberding spoke to Forum Christi about discernment. She described discernment as "A process whereby a person grows in the self-awareness and freedom necessary in order to make choices according to God's spirit." She talked about some of her own experiences, and about the work her community does in helping young people discover their call in life.
For more information, see www.free2become.org
