The Ultimate Catholic Quiz Over the past month

Members of our Keep the Faith, Confirmation, Post-Confirmation and Faithform groups have been challenged with the Ultimate Catholic Quiz (prepared by Fr Marcus). They have had to identify events, people and places from pictures, work out the key phrases being defined, and then answer written questions. The results have shown that many of them have a good knowledge of their faith (although the majority did not recognise a picture of Westminster Cathedral). Could you write out the Creed, or the 20 mysteries of the Rosary, or the Ten Commandments in order?

Personhood and Personality

On Sunday 27th January, Forum Christi welcomed back Victoria Newman Seed. Victoria spoke on the topic of 'Personhood and Personality: on the virtues of being oneself .' Many ethical and social issues today, for example abortion, euthanasia, embryonic stem cell research, but also education, and law and order, depend on the idea of what it is to be human, especially on what makes a "person" different from an animal. In particular in Catholic ethics the phrase "dignity of the human person" is often used. Victoria said that in the modern world, particularly in the media, the idea of "personhood" has been replaced with the idea of "personality". She gave us two key philosophical definitions of personhood - Aristotle described a person as a "rational animal", and Karol Wojtyla (later Pope John Paul II) in his book Love and Responsibility said, "A person is an entity of the sort to which the only proper and adequate way to relate is love." The evening finished with a prayer and then supper in the Nightingale.

Heralds of the Gospel in Balham

On Sunday 20th January, Br Aldo Leone of the Heralds of the Gospel spoke to Forum Christi. The Heralds of the Gospel are a new community (they are not a religious order since they do not take vows) who gained official approval from Pope John Paul II in 2001. Their mother house is in Brazil, and they now have houses in almost 30 countries. For more information see their website http://www.heralds.ca/A key phrase that Br Aldo used in his talk was "Whatever God gave to the synagogue (in the Old Testament) he gave to the Catholic Church in higher degree". He specifically talked about prophets - we are familiar with the old testament prophets of Moses, Isaiah, etc. but generally don't think about there being prophets after the time of Jesus. However Br Aldo took us through a history of the Church, and showed that wherever there were problems in the world, God sent a new prophet through the founders of the religious orders: St Benedict founded the Benedictines, St Dominic founded the Fransiscans to combat the Albigensens, St Ignatius Loyola founded the Jesuits as a reaction to Protestantism, and in more recent times St Josemaria Escriva founded Opus Dei to show lay people that they too have a call to holiness. The Heralds of the Gospel are involved in evangelisation, particularly using the beauty of music and art as evangelisation tools. In London they have a statue of Our Lady of Fatima which they take into people's houses and this gives them a good opening to begin to talk about the Gospel.Br Aldo described the habit of the Heralds of the Gospel in great detail:

• boots - a reminder of discipline and the orders of chivalry
  
• brown scapula - reminder of the Carmelites
  
• St James' cross - the apostle James was always enthusiastic and the cross reminds them that they should be enthusiastic in their work
  
• the colours white, gold and red - these represent the purity of Mary, faith, and the blood of sacrifice
  
• white tunic - from the work monks do
  
• chain (instead of a belt) - they are slaves to Our Lady
  
• Rosary beads
  
• hood - when up this represents the isolation of prayer as we all need to spend time alone talking to Jesus
  
• badge containing the three pillars of their spirituality - keys of St Peter (representing the Pope), Our Lady, and the Blessed Sacrament

Fr Andrew Pinsent on Nature and Supernature

On Sunday 13th January Fr Andrew Pinsent from the diocese of Arundel and Brighton spoke to Forum Christi on the topic of "Nature and Supernature: Jesus Christ versus Friedrich Nietzsche and Clark Kent". He began by discussing how many aspects of the sacred in today's liturgy have become blurred with the secular - for example many churches no longer have a clearly defined altar area, and priests and religious do not always dress as such. Fr Andrew went on to give definitions of the "supernatural" as described both by Vatican I documents, and by St Thomas Aquinas. These definitions focussed on gifts given by God, rather than the popular ideas of the supernatural as seen in Buffy the vampire Slayer. He also showed us parallels between the natural life, and our supernatural life, for example natural birth has a parallel with baptism. The final part of the talk was about Nietzsche's ideas of an amoral world where there is no God, and any course of action can be justified. He linked Nietzsche's concept of an ubermensch (superman or superhuman) with the fictional superhero Superman (otherwise known as Clark Kent). It is now our job to go out into the world and regenerate the supernatural life to ensure that Nietzsche's ideal does not become a reality.

Priest in the Hot Seat

On Friday 11th January the Keep the Faith groups met for their first session of 2008. The main activity was "priest in the hot seat" where the youngsters had the opportunity to ask, anonymously, any questions they wanted of Fr Marcus. Questions ranged from the deeply spiritual and moral "What happens after death?", "Is it OK for a woman to have an abortion if she has been raped?" and "Can we go to an Anglican church?" to the more mundane "Can a priest wear a tracksuit?", "Do you get bored?" and "Were you well behaved as a teenager?"Each group also had prayer time in the church, and there was time for lively games of football and dodgeball.

Catholic Social Teaching

On Sunday 6th January, The Feast of the Epiphany, Dr Alan Fimister started off the new term for Forum Christi with a talk on 'How to Save the World' (or, as he explained in his talk, why this is not possible). He introduced us to the principles behind, and aspects of, Catholic Social Teaching, which Fr Marcus described as 'the Church's best kept secret'.Supper followed at a local restaurant - a change of venue being necessary as Fr Marcus was worried he'd get a bad reputation if he was seen in the Nightingale too many times over one weekend.

The picture above shows some of the participants at the Thomistic Philosophy Seminar held at the Holy Ghost parish over the weekend. Dr Alan Fimister is second from the right.

Archbishop Kevin at our Youth 2000 Retreat

Over the New Year 350 young people gathered for a retreat at the Holy Ghost parish. The event was called 'Redemption Balham' and the theme of the gathering was 'God is rich in Mercy'. The three day retreat involved Mass every day, perpetual adoration, many opportunites for confession, talks and workshops, a chance to meet new friends and time to celebrate the coming of 2008 AD. Thanks to all the parishioners who helped to make this event possible, especially to Maxine for her superb catering and organisation.

On Sunday Archbishop Kevin presided at Mass and gave the homily on the Feast of the Holy Family at the Holy Ghost Church, Balham during the Youth 2000 gathering. At the end of the Mass he presented four people from Youth 2000 with their Maryvale Diplomas.


Here is the text of his homily (taken from the Southwark Archdiocesan web-site):

We gather together this morning in the season of Christmas and the feast of the Holy Family is very much part of this season. It enables us to continue to ponder the mystery of Christmas and learn the lessons that this season has to teach us.

One of the most significant aspects of the Christian mystery is the relationship between the birth of Christ and peace in the world. It is clearly expressed in the song of the angels which has become part of the liturgy of the Church: “Glory to God in the highest and peace to his people on earth.” The realities of violence and war come into sharper focus when seen in the light of Christ, the saviour of the world, a child bearing the promise of peace among all peoples. The Pope’s message for the World Day of Peace is entitled, “The human family, a community of peace.” And he argues very strongly that the family is the primary source of peace in the world and that attacks on family life undermine peace in our society and our world. It’s a profound and crucial point that we would do well to ponder.

The question of the family recurs frequently in public discourse, usually in relation to problems of young people: drugs, teenage pregnancies or gun crime, and we hear calls from political leaders for the strengthening of the family life. But there is great diffidence, especially in British society about being too specific and clear about what family life is - what it means and what it costs. To understand family life we can’t simply look at present practice and the present reality. That needs to be challenged - we need to be engaged by the call to go beyond present reality to something greater and deeper, to the truth about marriage and family life. That truth is recalled for us in the scriptures, especially the readings for today’s feast and also in the teaching and tradition of the Church that has developed from the scriptural witness.

Our first reading gives practical instruction on relations within the family which are as directly relevant today as when they were first written. They are about how we treat elderly parents, about patience, about acceptance about concern. This year there have been disturbing reports about neglect and abuse of the elderly in institutions and, indeed, in the home – a development that is all the more disturbing with an increasingly elderly population. It puts before us the responsibilities of care for people with disabilities, whether age-related or not and reminds us that everyone matters, everyone’s life merits respect, everyone’s life is of value and is worth living. All of us are created in Christ, the child born in the manger, the one in whom all things are created and sustained in being.

Also in a very practical way the second reading details the kinds of attitudes that are necessary to support and sustain family life; compassion, humility, patience, forgiveness; obedience to parents by children and respect for children by parents.

Teaching about the family is at the heart of the Church’s message because the family lies at the heart of human life. We see it as central to God’s purpose for the flourishing of human life - a life-long bond between a man and a woman that is generously open to new life, open to children not as a choice or right but as a gift: a relationship that is faithful and exclusive and provides the basic structure and security in which young people can mature and develop. And it is this truth about our human reality that is under that is under attack by legislation such as the Human Fertilization and Embryology Bill which attacks the human reality of marriage and is also likely to be used to give less protection to the life of the unborn. The important thing is that these developments represent not only a moral crisis but a threat to social cohesion and to peace in the world.

In his Peace message Pope Benedict says, “The denial or even restriction of the rights of the family, by obscuring the truth about man, threatens the very foundation of peace.”

Let us learn the lessons taught by the Holy Family of Nazareth: let us pray for a rediscovery of the truth of family life so that the stability of our local communities may grow stronger and that this will lay firm foundations for peace in the world.

And finally I would relate these reflections to the theme of the weekend “God who is rich in mercy". One of the things that is little understood in our society is forgiveness. Sometimes I feel we live in a society that permits everything and forgives nothing. God calls us to great things: he asks a lot of us, but he is boundless in his mercy, and the possibility of a new start or new beginning is always there for us. Our world needs a new start devastated as it is by war, conflict and injustice. All we can do is make our own contribution by living in the integrity that God calls and enables us to live in. Let us be open and receptive to his mercy and to the unique contribution that each of us is called to make to goodness, to justice and to peace in the world.

Advent Carols

The Christmas Fayre

The Community of St John

On Sunday 16th December, Brother Daniel from the Community of St John (www.stjean.com) talked to Forum Christi about the subject of Joy. He discussed the concept of virtue, and the difference between moral and spiritual virtues, as well as the fruits of the spiritual virtues, including joy. Roberto taught us the Joy song (to the tune of Jingle Bells) "J.O.Y., J.O.Y., J.O.Y. we sing, Jesus first, Yourself last, Others in between."After the talk there was time for socialising at the end of term party. Forum Christi begins again in January.

The brothers of St John had been in the parish throughout the weekend. They had spoken to our Keep the Faith groups (11-13 year olds) and had led a intense retreat on Philosophy and Christ called 'Full Flight'. More than 30 young adults took part in this event.

Forum Christi on the C.A.S.E.

On Sunday 9th December Emily Davis (from the Catholic Agency for the Support of Evangelisation, CASE) spoke to the group about 'Living Faith' - A response to JPII's statement that a natural consequence of a real encounter with Christ is a desire to share him with others. She explained that there were three parts to evangelisation - living the faith, sharing your faith with others, and a chance to respond. She asked us to think about and share recent experiences of having been evangelised ourselves (easy for those of us who'd heard Kenny Thomas), and we also spoke about practical ways of sharing our faith with others.

Pop star pops into the parish

On Friday 7th December the pop singer Kenny Thomas visited the parish to speak to the Post-Confirmation and Faithform groups. Kenny had a string of hits in the early 1990s, and appeared on Top of the Pops nine times, and also made appearances on Wogan and The Big Breakfast. He was last seen on television on the ITV series Hit Me Baby One More Time a couple of years ago. (See www.kennythomasmusic.co.uk)Kenny talked to the groups about his life growing up on a council estate in Hackney, and about how his Catholic faith developed as a teenager, particularly after meeting some young Jehovah's Witnesses on holiday and becoming interested in finding out what "The Truth" was. He related stories about how there were times when he was performing on television, or shooting pop videos, when he had to stop and stand up for his faith, even though others may have considered him weird for doing so. He explained how important it is for all of us to do this, whatever career we may end up in. Kenny also discussed the importance of prayer, and particularly the Rosary, in his life. He helped lead a time of prayer in church, and there were also opportunities for confession, which is an important part of our Advent preparations.

The Spirit of Advent

On Sunday 2nd December Forum Christi celebrated the start of the new liturgical year with a talk on "The Spirit of Advent" by Fr Richard Whinder. He took us through general principles of how we should use Advent in a similar way to Lent - as time for spiritual preparation for the coming of Christ. He also talked about the readings used on the four Sundays of Advent, with the first two weeks focussing on the second coming of Christ, and then the last two weeks thinking more about his first coming as a baby. We finished the evening by praying a decade of the Rosary, and then went to the Nightingale to carry on the discussion.

SPUC at Forum Christi

On Sunday 25th November Anthony Ozimic, Political Officer for the Society for the Protection of Unborn children, spoke to Forum Christi on "Unborn children in danger: what you need to know about the Human Tissue and Embryos Bill". He told us about the major points of the Bill, in particular about potential changes being made to the rules for providing IVF, and the potential for creating animal-human hybrid embryos. For more information see www.spuc.org.uk

Interactive Advent Devotions

For an interactive Advent Calendar that opens up the wonders of preparing for Christmas just follow this link.

Servers' Winter Trip

This year our servers' trip was to the Brompton Oratory. We had Mass in the Little Oratory and then splitting into three groups there were tours of the sacristy, the side chapels, the nave and main altar. After lunch we went to see the new 3D IMAX film called 'Sea Monsters'. Many thanks to the Oratorian fathers for their hospitality, to Amanda Siravo for organising and sponsoring the trip and to Lu Slezak for his invaluable help in leading the servers.

Ten-Pin bowling

On Friday 23rd November a number of the youth groups enjoyed an evening ten-pin bowling in Raynes Park. The Keep the Faith I group (Year 7) played first, and Jared was among the highest scorers. Anya achieved a respectable score on her bowling debut. Then it was the turn of the Keep the Faith II, Post-Confirmation and Faithform groups. Competition at times was very fierce! In the adult competion, Fr Marcus's legendary bowling prowess proved to be merely a myth, as he was soundly beaten twice by Clare.

Forum Christi at Royal Albert Hall

On Sunday 18th November Forum Christi went to see Edward Elgar's "The Dream of Gerontius" at the Royal Albert Hall. After a worrying few minutes when we wondered if Sr Chiara would ever find a parking space within walking distance of the Hall, we eventually arrived with only a few minutes to curtain up. Elgar's setting of Cardinal Newman's poem was performed by soloists Ann Murray (Mezzo-Soprano), Andrew Kennedy (Tenor) and Matthew Best (Bass-Baritone) with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and a chorus of around 400 singers from Goldsmiths Choral Union, Guildford Choral Society and City of London choir. All three choirs are amateur, and the performance was absolutely superb. We had seats in the arena, and so had an excellent view of the orchestra and singers, as well as being able to appreciate the wonderful music and beautiful words. Father Marcus described how he found the first half, in particular, very moving. We were also pleased to gain a mention in the programme!
After the performance some of us went out for a meal at a Pizzeria close to South Kensington. After checking carefully for Irish Wolfhounds (see previous post) we carried on our discussions about the performance we had seen. Fr Marcus also regaled us with stories about his time in Rome, brought on no doubt by the excellent Italian food we were eating. All who attended enjoyed the evening, and we look forward to the next Forum Christi trip...

Newman, Elgar and the Dream of Gerontius

On Sunday 11th November Fr Marcus spoke to Forum Christi about "Newman, Elgar and the Dream of Gerontius". We had an introduction to the lives of Newman and Elgar, and then learned about the oratorio "The Dream of Gerontius". We listened to some of the music, and discussed the Catholic theology of the words. This should aid our appreciation of the piece when we attend the performance next week at the Royal Albert Hall.
The evening ended with a meal at the Nightingale - John Pontifex almost made a dog's dinner out of it. Whilst we were saying grace an Irish Wolfhound decided to join us and almost made a premature start on the bangers and mash! Who said animals don't respond to prayer!?

Keep the Faith with the Franciscans of the Renewal

On Friday 9th November two of the Fransiscan Friars of the Renewal came to the parish to talk to the Keep the Faith groups. Br John Bosco spoke about the life of St Francis, and Br Dominic talked about his own life, and how he came to join the Friars. They also led the groups in their evening prayers and helped teach them some Taize music. As well as the talk there was time for games, including the opportunity to turn a friar (or Fr Marcus) into a mummy.