Wednesday & Thursday this Week

On Wednesday this week I celebrated the 6.45am Mass and then got things together for a trip to St. Andrew's University in Scotland where I was to address the Catholic Scoiety on the topic of vocations. I had been given the rather cumbersome title of "Where have all the vocations gone and how do we get them back?"

I flew from Gatwick to Edinburgh coincidentally meeting a parishioner as we boarded. From Edinburgh I took the train to Leuchars where I was met by Jamie, the president of the Catholic Society and Chris, from Boston, who kindly gave me a lift into town in his car.

The chaplain of the Catholic Society is also the parish priest. He was away attending the deanery Lenten Station Mass so I was asked to celebrate the Wednesday evening 7.30pm Mass in the chaplaincy. It was good to see the chapel, which can take fifty people, pretty well full. There were people from the parish there but I'd say that the majority of those present were students.

After Mass we had the meeting of the Canmore Society. After the talk there were questions and then the chance for a cup of tea before we retired to a local watering house for something more refreshing.

It was a good trip and I enjoyed myself very much. I was pleased to meet such an impressive number of students and find that some of them are indeed thinking about priesthood and religious life.

Recent Publications

Vocations News
From time to time I produce a newsletter with information about what's been happening vocationswise in the Archdiocese. It began as a newsletter for priests to encourage them to be positive and pro-active about promoting vocations. After many requests we decided to produce it also for parishes. Currently we print about ten thousand which is roughly ten percent of our Mass going population in the diocese. We've not produced a Vocations News for a while and so our latest is a 'bumper edition' running to eight pages with all sorts of interesting news articles.
You may have seen some copies at the back of the Church.

Lenten Reading
Also at the back of the Church there are copies of Walk with Me and My Day by Day for sale. Walk with Me contains prayers and reflections for every day of the week during Lent. My Day by Day contains the daily scripture readings.

Catenians

Tomorrow, Monday, there will be another meeting of our fledgling Catenian Circle. The Catenians are a group of Catholic men who meet regularly to support each other with their friendship. We live in quite a hostile world and it's important for Catholic men to come together in this way.
Of course, it's important for Catholic women to come together too but as yet no one's come up with a female version of the Catenians. Traditionally we've had the UCM (Union of Catholic Mothers), the CWL (Catholic Women's League) and more recently the excellent ACW (Association of Catholic Women). Anyone wishing to start up one of these groups in the parish would be most welcome.
For more details about the Catenian Circle email us by clicking here.

EWTN

Parishioners will know that I spent Wednesday and Thursday last week being filmed by EWTN for a series of Holy Week reflections. It was a fascinating experience. First of all because it took so long. Lighting is, of course, very important. The Church lights weren't used because they create a flicker on screen, so much of the time was spent setting up special filming lights in order to look as natural as possible. With extra lights shadows become an issue so lots of things in the Church had to be moved to eliminate the shadows they might cast. Then, because it's Lent, there are no flowers in the Church and the Sanctuary looks penitentially bare. On camera, however, it just looks empty so other pieces of furniture had to be moved to break up the empty spaces a bit. Finally, the Sanctuary had to look like Holy Week which is when the meditations will be broadcast. For Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday it meant simply having the statues and Crucifixes covered. For Maundy Thursday, of course, the Altar Crucifix had to be veiled in white and the best vestments had to come out. For Friday everything had to be stripped bare.

We had a good group of people present to be filmed listening to the first meditation. They spent the whole morning in the Church and so we treated them to an Ash Wednesday lunch of soup and a roll. We filmed four meditations on Wednesday and one on Friday. By Wednesday evening I had a much clearer idea of what was required and more familiarity with speaking into a camera - so I re-wrote the next day's reflection: the one which will be broadcast on Maundy Thursday.

You no longer need a special satellite for EWTN, it can be obtained on the Sky network.

In the photo you see Paul the cameraman who had come over with Lesley and Niall - an ever patient and hard-working crew!

Lenten Resolutions

Last year on Palm Sunday we all picked up palm branches and waved them as we welcomed the Lord singing "Hosanna! to the Son of David". Those branches represented our desire to be united with Jesus, to receive him into our hearts and into our homes, to be his followers in the midst of the world.

We know that in Jerusalem two thousand years ago those shouts of welcome and joyful expectation were soon to change. The voices would be distorted into a clamour for him to be crucified. We can marvel at how fickle the people of the time were, how easily they let themselves be influenced by the subtle insinuations of a few powerful figures.

But with Lent round the corner we might ask ourselves what has happened to our own enthusiasm? How have we changed since last Palm Sunday? In our parish we carefully collect all the palms that are left over and we store them in the crypt of the Church. Before Lent we fetch them out and burn them in a special brazier then, using a pestle and mortar, we grind down the charred remains to make the ash for distribution on Ash Wednesday.

Our ash is blacker than that produced at ultra-high temperatures in industrial kilns and it is quite coarse. It is also an eloquent expression of the way in which our good intentions can so easily turn to ash and the need for us to begin again in Lent. I find that it is best to give some thought to Lenten Resolutions in the days before Ash Wednesday because if I leave it until the last minute I usually just rely on the typical fall-backs. Last year a priest friend of mine had a very effective resolution: not to check his emails until after breakfast. By keeping the computer off until later he found he had more time to focus on God in the morning. What will yours be?

The Great Silence

INTO GREAT SILENCE is the first ever film about life inside the Grande Chartreuse, the head monastery of the legendary Carthusian Order of monks based in the French Alps. A near-silent meditation on monastic life in a very pure form, the film contains no music except the chants in the monastery, no interviews or commentaries. The gentle rhythm of the monastic prayers and rituals give the film a beautiful cadence, and the passing of time and the change of seasons are captured by Groning’s stunning cinematography. A sublime experience that offers a welcome retreat from the frantic pace of contemporary life.

The film is showing locally at Richmond. Click here to get more details.

You can see a preview of The Great Silence here:




And here's a review of the film by Fr Tim Finigan who lectures at Parkminster, the Carthusian Abbey in southern England.

Evening of Recollection

Tonight I preached the monthly Evening of Recollection for men in the parish. We have two recollections each month, one for men the other for women. Sometimes I'm asked why we don't combine them. The answer I give usually is sufficient explanation: these monthly mini-retreats are meant to be challenging. We hear the points that are made and seek to apply them to our own life - not to that of our spouse. It would be awful to say something when giving a meditation that then became ammunition in an argument at home! I might remind the men, for example, that they should be considerate to their wives and express that consideration in practical details - by bringing a gift home on Valentine's Day. I wouldn't want a wife to complain, "See, even the priest said you should do such and such..."
Anyway, I didn't in fact venture into such dangerous waters tonight. The first meditation was about the Mass and the second looked at 'unity of life' or how we live our Christian faith with integrity. There was also a talk given by a lay man and some time for examination of conscience and spiritual reading while I heard Confessions. The evening ended with Benediction at 9.00pm.
Pope John Paul once said that our parishes should become 'schools of prayer'. It is very much at the heart of priestly ministry that we should teach people to pray. Our Evenings of Recollection are one of the ways we seek to do this in our parish.

Towards a Vision

At present we are inviting parishioners to reflect on the twin themes of Communion and Mission. This has been occasioned by the consultation initiated by the Archbishop concerning the future of the diocese. It is time for us all to take stock, to consider what we are about as a Church and to ask ourselves how we may improve given our limited resources.

It is a process that is much more than considering which Churches to close, which parishes to amalgamate, or where to create new ones. All the same, this photo represents a novel solution to the problems of demographic shift in a diocese!

The Missionaries of Charity

This morning I left early in order to get over to the Missionaries of Charity house near the Cathedral. Sr Amada, the Provincial, had asked me to celebrate Holy Mass and to give some talks on the Sacraments. The Superiors of all the Communities in this province are staying there for a study week, including one sister who has come over from Iceland.

There isn't a room large enough for a class so we have our talks in the Chapel. The photo shows a few of the sisters getting ready for the second talk on 'The Sacraments in General'. In the afternoon we have a talk on the Sacrament of Penance followed by one on the Eucharist. I'm always happy to help the sisters if I can. They do a wonderful work in whole-hearted and free service to the poorest of the poor.

I was only recently back in the diocese after my ordination when this house was opened. There was some consternation from the local authority and the Mayor of the time, who was a Catholic, tried to drum up support for the sisters at a public meeting. The sisters were asking to open a house in a run down part of London. One very pompous official peered over his glasses and asked the then Provincial in a condescending tone: "Could give an account to the assembly of precisely what research you've undertaken that suggests there may be a need for your 'work' in Southwark?" "I opened my eyes", was the immediate reply. Priceless!

The First Woodpecker?

I don't know when woodpeckers usually appear in England but I saw this fellow just a few feet from me on Saturday morning. I can't remember seeing one this early in the year and suppose his appearance must be due to the mild winter. I wonder how many Londoners can boast woodpeckers in their gardens? Saturday was a race against time to get the newsletter completed and ready for printing. After opening the Church and spending some time in prayer I came back to the house intending to get the computer on, but instead I found myself fetching the camera!

The morning Mass took longer than usual, On the first Saturday of the month we have a servers' practice. They all serve at the Mass which inevitably adds to the length. Afterwards we had the customary 'Blessing of St Blaise', a blessing of throats which is given on his Feast Day.

Then, unusually for a Saturday we had a baptism. Nicolas Maria, pictured here in the arms of his proud parents, today was reborn in the waters of baptism as a child of God.

After Mass we also welcomed the students currently on the Maryvale Catechists' Course. This is a two-year course that leads to a qualification as a catechist approved by the Congregation for Education.

In this photo we see some of the second year students, including two parishioners, who were having a class on the parables of St Luke.

And here we see some of the first year students at a class on Christology given by Lionel Gracey. Lionel specialises in using the traditions of Christian art to illustrate doctrinal points. Later Lionel met with one of our parishioners who is an artist and produces some very fine Christian art.

After the evening's Mass I popped round to check on the building where the new Vocations Office is going to be located. There's quite a lot of work to be done to make it fit for purpose but I'm sure we'll get there before too long. Finally I had a meeting with a parishioner who markets website management software. We want to update the Southwark Vocations site, so watch this space...

Keep the Faith with Bowling

Tonight the 'Keep the Faith' group (year 7) met at Raynes Park for an evening of ten-pin bowling. Great performances in particular from Nicholas, Katie, Alexander and Maxine! In two-weeks time we have our regular meeting with Benediction, games and an opportunity to ask questions to a 'the priest in the hot-seat' .

On-line Petition

To sign a petition asking the Government to delay the introduction of the Sexual Orientation Regulations click here.
You can contact your local MP at www.theyworkforyou.com. For example a parishioner has sent me this link for Keith Hill.

Apocalypto

Recently I went with some seminarians and young people of the parish to see Mel Gibson's new film Apocalypto. I hadn't read any of the reviews although, like everyone else, I'd heard it was violent. There was a strange atmosphere in Screen 13 at Cineworld, Wandsworth, before it began. People were talking much more loudly than we Brits usually do in public places. I got the impression many of the people there were a bit nervous about what they were going to see.

In the Anglo-Saxon world we've grown used to watching films for the spectacle rather than for any message the director might be seeking to transmit. I think that's a shame because if we reduce the screen to visual stimulation we deny its power as a language and so its relevance as an art. As we left I was disappointed that most of the comments we overheard reflected an incredibly superficial understanding of what had just watched.

I've now had a chance to read many of the reviews. The film is acclaimed for its spectacle but often slated for the violence and for its supposed 'anachronisms' - it is claimed for example that the murals in the temple reflect Mayan art of different periods and also Aztec images. I have to admit I didn't spot that!

It is certainly not a film for the squeamish but is it any more violent than 'Saving Private Ryan'? How is it that critics who rejoiced in the brutality of 'Kill Bill' are now suddenly repulsed by Apocalypto? The only answer I can come up with, given the tone of their reviews, is that they don't like Mel Gibson because they don't like what he is trying to say with the film.

Does it really matter that the art in the Temple is from different ages and cultures? Possibly it does but not because of historical inaccuracies. Rather perhaps Gibson is using the Mayans to represent something much wider: all those South American civilisations that went in for human sacrifice. It is not a film about the Mayans. It is a film about the death of civilisation.

The key to interpreting the film is given in the quotation from W. Durant words that first appear on the screen: "A great civilization is not conquered from without until it has destroyed itself from within." These days a revisionist reading of the Spanish Conquest of South America is very much in vogue. We have gone from Spanish Conquistadores taking the great benefits civilisation and Christianity to a reading of history that exalts the previous civilisations and associates Christianity with European imperialism imposed upon a noble people. This is now so widespread that recently we were even treated to the spectacle of a newly elected South American president sacrificing to the pagan gods before taking office!

In Apocalypto Gibson is challenging this romantic and fanciful reinterpretation. The Spanish when they appear seem to carry no weapons. There is only a friar bearing a Cross. The Mayans are the ones practising human sacrifice. Gibson juxtaposes two civilisations without comment leaving us to ask whether what is symbolised by the Cross is truly worse than the cult of the Sun?

But at another level the film isn't about the Mayans and the Spanish at all. Apart from the language there is something surprisingly modern about the dialogue in the film. When we are taken to the great Mayan city we see not an ancient civilisation but a modern one: we observe a 'culture of death'. Life is valued for what it can do, old age is despised. We see debauchery, greed, selfishness, dishonesty, abuse of power. Reading the faces of the men and women of that city we recognise in them the faces of the people of our time, faces that we see everyday. Durant's words become a warning to us: "A great civilisation is not conquered from without until it has destroyed itself from within".

At the end of the film the main protagonist heads back into the forest for a new beginning. Gibson's message is that our civilisation is decadent and dying. At the threshold of the new Millennium it needs to begin again, the culture of death has to give way to a culture of life.

It is a shame that when filming The Passion Gibson turned down the invitation to meet Pope John Paul. Had he done so he would have met a man with whom he has many things in common, but a man altogether more optimistic because he had taken to heart Christ's words: "Be not afraid!".

Like St Augustine, Pope John Paul was not simply a witness to a dying civilisation. He was a witness also to a new one being born. In his Letters to Young People he invited them to take part in constructing a new culture of life. That means also having the courage to respond if Christ is calling you to a specific vocation such as the priesthood or religious life.

New Year Retreat - Feedback

This week I received a couple of letters about the New Year Retreat which I thought it would be good to share with you. The first is from Sr Oneng FMDM, a religious from Sr Chiara's order, who is chaplain at Portsmouth university. She writes:

"Congratulations for the success of the youth retreat. I was so inspired by how so many young people turned up. My age group (35s-40s, mostly parents and chaperones of the youngest ones) were also so impressed at how organised the weekend was. All because of you and your team's hard work. Thank you for your hospitality. You also did a very excellent facilitation during the Vocations Forum. God bless."

The person in charge of Youth 2000 is Charlie Conner. He writes:

"I know that you said there is no need, but I wanted to to thank you and your parishioners once more for the great hospitality that you showed us over the New Year. We were all made to feel most welcome. The weekend was peaceful and ran smoothly and to a large degree that was down to you and your patience.
I have been involved in the organisation of many retreats around the country and the way in which your parishioners welcomed and helped us is second to none. It was most impressive to see all those who helped in the school with the catering, serving and cleaning. They all seemed so cheerful and I know that their presence and help was really appreciated by everyone who attended.
The food was excellent. You well know that the catering is normally a headache so Maxine and here team were a great remedy. Thank you also to al those who worked behind the scenes, especially Tom, Daniel & Valerie. There were others I am sure.

You are in our thoughts and prayers."

I wanted to pass these comments on because they show how important your help is. Thank you!

A Good Current Affairs Website

I've recently had my attention drawn to a new website called MercatorNet. It promises to offer "fresh insight into the news and issues that are shaping our world". The site certainly seems very good and comprehensive with commentary on current affairs, film and book reviews, information on bio-ethics and family issues, and even background information for preparing talks. I'm happy to recommend it to our parishioners. You can visit MercatorNet by clicking on this link.

Queen's Speech

The Government has set up a new 'online petition' website. In the Queen's Speech there was a promise to tighten the obscenity laws although it is now feared that the Government may drop it. There is a petition to support the proposed legislation. Click here for more details.

Urbi et Orbi

On Christmas Day the Holy Father gave the traditional Urbi er Orbi message. It is an address both to 'the City', his diocese of Rome, and to 'the world' and as such is addressed to each one of us. Pope Benedict is such a profound thinker that it is always worth dedicating some time to what he has to say. You can access the message by clicking on this link.

Help with Your Essay...

At this time of year lots of our young people are faced with having to do essays for school on abortion and other life issues. Typically, in our 'modern' education system opinion is valued over truth and, sadly, many young people are not equipped to defend a pro-life cause against the emotive arguments of the anti-lifers. Here's a link to an article by Peter Kreeft that you may find helpful.

New Year's Resolutions

This photo was taken by Brother Martin on New Year's Day at the last Mass of our New Year retreat. The young people were all set to go back to their homes and the theme of the sermon was the need for them to proclaim Christ to the people they will meet. The faith is never given to us as some sort of private treasure: we are always sent to pass it on to others.
It is important to recognise, however, that our enthusiasm for the faith will grow cold if we don't take steps to keep it alive. So the young people were encouraged to adopt some regular norms of piety to maintain their spiritual life: daily prayer, Rosary, examination of conscience, regular confessions, spiritual reading, Holy Mass during the week.
Any one of these norms of piety would be a good New Year's resolution for our parishioners. It's worth giving it a go!

Here's a little quotation from GK Chesterton about New Year:

"The object of a New Year is not that we should have a new year. It is that
we should have a new soul and a new nose; new feet, a new backbone, new ears,
and new eyes. Unless a particular man made New Year resolutions, he would make
no resolutions. Unless a man starts afresh about things, he will certainly do
nothing effective. Unless a man starts on the strange assumption that he has
never existed before, it is quite certain that he will never exist afterwards.
Unless a man be born again, he shall by no means enter into the Kingdom of
Heaven."
- G. K. Chesterton

What is Youth 2000?

We had a great retreat here this weekend. Lots of you commented on how good it was to see so many young people (over 350) taking part. You were also impressed by their participation at Mass, their enthusiasm and their singing.
Some people have asked what Youth 2000 is all about. Click here to download a one minute trailer.

Feeding Body & Soul

The New Year Retreat is going really well. We have nearly two hundred people sleeping in the school with many more coming during the day but sleeping at home or at friends' houses. The talks have been great: simple, practical and challenging. So far we've looked at the Eucharist, Confession, and prayer. Last night we had a reconciliation service with fourteen priests hearing Confessions. It began at 8.00pm and ended after 10!

Today is the Feast of the Holy Family and I'm grateful to the parish for everyone's readiness to adapt to accommodate the Retreat. For example there was no 10am Mass today and so people had to come to one of the other Masses. Although a few forgot and turned up for the 10am they realised their mistake and there were no complaints!

With all this attention paid to our souls it's important to mention that a large part of the success of this year's retreat is due to the attention that is also being paid to our bodies. Whether it's attempting to unblock loos at midnight or sorting out heating systems so no one freezes to death on a school floor there's always been a smiling parishioner ready to help.

I couldn't finish this post without mentioning the food - because everyone else is talking about it endlessly. The basic theme: "It's never been so good"! Youth 2000 has been around since 1990 and today someone commented: "We've never had a cooked breakfast before". Yesterday someone said, "There's never been a choice of menu before". And the best comment of all, "This year instead of thinking, 'Oh, it's lunch time', I'm saying 'Oh great - it's lunch!". So thanks to everyone whose involved with looking after our bodies - especially all the many people and families helping with the catering. Here's a photo of just some of them.

New Year Retreat - A Good Start

Since St John's day everything in the parish has been gearing up towards the New Year Retreat which started last night. This year our wonderful parishioners are doing the catering but since I am the one with the parish credit card I found myself spending the best part of the day in Bookers with a team of people to do the shopping. Catering for anything between three and five hundred people is no joke. Those who were thinking in terms of a big shop at Sainsbury's soon realised their mistake. Two trailer loads later we were back in the parish ready waiting for the arrival of the advance party - due at 10pm!
Yesterday the first people arrived at 9am (for 6pm registration) but were soon set to work. There's lots to be prepared for a retreat and the more people to help out the better, especially if they've had some previous experience. Seeing how confidently Maxine and her team were looking after the catering, we knew we had no worries there. Indeed, we were treated to some very tasty 'Shepherds Pie' yesterday evening. The choice of food reflected the fact that the Archbishop would be joining us for supper.
I picked up the Arch at 6.00pm and we made good time getting back here so he was able to meet lots of people before and during the evening meal. He enjoyed the first talk by Brother Martin CFR and then presided at Holy Mass.


This picture was taken in the sacristy after Mass. I've had to manipulate it a bit because there was so much incense in the sacristy that it originally came out as a milky haze. Smoke rises and, having done my best to clean it up, I'm amused that the floor area is fairly clear but there's still a lot at head height! We were fourteen concelebrants at the Mass. The Archbishop preached a lovely meditation on Christian Love.
There were over 160 people at Mass which was very good. I had been nervous that the New Year Retreat usually gets off to a slow start and didn't want the Arch preaching to an empty Church. As things were the Church looked full and we were all very happy we the whole occasion. I'm really grateful to all our parishioners who are involved in welcoming the young people to the parish and looking after them.

Day with the Archbishop

On Wednesday 27th Archbishop Kevin celebrated Mass in the Church for our vocations day. Later eighteen of us sat down for lunch together. We were a mixture of priests, seminarians and young men considering a call to the priesthood. In this photograph we see the Archbishop with some fo the forty servers who were at Mass for the occasion.
The Archbishop will be back in the parish tonight when he will celebrate the opening Mass of our New Year Retreat at 9.00pm.

Christmas Cribs

The parish Crib

Visual imagery is very important to us as Catholics. We men and women are body and soul. We might do bad things, but we are created 'very good' by God. What we perceive with our physical senses is an important aspect of our being and also, therefore, of our approach to God. In Catholic worship we make use of things like sight and sound, and even smell (think of incense).
So it's important that in our homes we make use of visual imagery that remind us of God's presence and of his love.

Children can be very proud of their Crib

At this time of year it's important to have a Nativity Scene or Crib in our home. We can encourage the children to pray before it. We can also get them to visit the Crib in our parish Churches and in the homes of our friends and neighbours.

Some Cribs are quite elaborate

Some Cribs can be quite simple. If we have small children it's probably a good idea to have fairly robust figures. Other Cribs can be quite elaborate and take several days to prepare. They're good to get older children involved.

Our image of the Baby Jesus

One tradition is not to put the Baby Jesus in the Crib until after Midnight Mass or Mass on Christmas Morning. It's good perhaps to lay the image of the Baby Jesus in the Manger as a family and then open our presents. Another tradition is to venerate the Baby Jesus with a kiss when we go to Mass during the Octave. We have a special image of the Baby Jesus for this. Another good family custom is to leave the Three Wise Men out of the Crib until the Feast of the Epiphany. Some families have them wandering all over the house so that the children have to spot where they've got to each morning.

Channel Four at it again...

I haven't checked, but one of my parishioners told me before the Vigil Mass this evening that Channel 4 is planning one of its usual attacks on Christianity tomorrow, Christmas Day. I seem to recall having read something about this on the Blogosphere although I forget which Blog it was. I did make a note of the link it offered for an explanation of the faith that would be quite useful to anyone who finds themselves having to argue against the programmes mistakes and distortions. It is Bad Aramaic Made Easy and can be accessed by simply clicking the link (i.e. on the different coloured text in this post).

International Fame at Last!

In case anyone thinks that the effects of the work we do at the Holy Ghost don't go beyond the confines of this parish here's a link to show you you're wrong! You'll need a bit of German to understand it, but basically it's a post commending our Catholicism for the Curious programme to a German audience.
Now I wonder if Pope Benedict has seen it...

Message from Bethlehem

We print here the Christmas message from the Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah of Jerusalem in which he speaks of that region's fundamental need for peace, justice and freedom.

1. I wish you all a Blessed Christmas.

Brothers and Sisters here in Palestine, Israel, Jordan, and Cyprus, I wish each and every one of you joy, serenity, tranquility and peace. This year again, Christmas is coming to Bethlehem amid the same circumstances of death and frustration, with the Wall and the checkpoints on the ground and in the hearts. The occupation and deprivation of freedom on one side, and fear and insecurity on the other, continue as before. Gaza remains a big prison, a place of death and of internal Palestinian dissension. Even children have been killed. And everyone, including the international community, remains powerless to find the right road to peace and justice. Fear of the future has engulfed the entire region: Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Egypt and Jordan. For everyone, the future is at stake. In this context, world terrorism is feeding on all of the open wounds.

2. That is the way Christmas is seen today from Bethlehem. And yet, the Christmas message is meant to be one of life, peace, and justice. The prophet Jeremiah said: "In those days, I will raise up for David a just shoot; he shall do what is right and just in the land … and Jerusalem shall dwell in security" (Jer 33, 15-16). And Isaiah extended his vision to include all nations: "So will the Lord God make justice and praise spring up before all the nations" (Is 61, 11). Saint Paul, for his part, in the second readings of the Advent Season, tells us that we enter into the ways of justice and peace through love of neighbor and through holiness: "May the Lord increase you and make you overflow with love for one another and for all … and may he strengthen your hearts, making them blameless and holy before God" (1 Thes 3, 11). Moreover, since the First Sunday of Advent, the Church has put before our eyes the person of John the Baptist, the Precursor of Christ. He preached repentance, and various categories of people came to listen to him and asked him questions about the ways of repentance and new life. Even soldiers asked him what they should do to save themselves: "Soldiers also asked him: 'Teacher, what is it that we should do?' He told them, 'Do not oppress anyone, do not extort anything, and be satisfied with your wages'" (Lk 3, 14).

3. Today, life in Bethlehem and its surrounding area has become very difficult to endure, in spite of the numerous initiatives of solidarity that have come from the outside. Yes, we are in need of solidarity, and we are grateful for all the messages of brotherhood we have received from around the world. But our fundamental need is for peace, justice, freedom, and an end to the occupation. Faced with this, the world seems powerless. However, we say: each and every person, even soldiers and political leaders, have the capacity to appreciate love, salvation, and life. But for that to happen, a conversion must take place, a conversion from death to life, from viewing the other as an enemy and a murderer to viewing him as a brother and a giver of life. Our political leaders also must ask the Baptist: "And what is it that we should do to find salvation for ourselves and for all those who have put their destiny into our hands?" They too must be prepared to receive the same answer: "Do not oppress anyone, do not extort anything, and be satisfied with your wages" (Lk 3, 14). They must listen to the voice of the oppressed in this Holy Land, to the voice of those who have died, of those who are still threatened by death and humiliation, those on whom they think they can impose death or humiliation in order to assure the security of the other party. Bethlehem is meant to be the city of peace. Unfortunately, it is now just the contrary, a city of conflict and death. Life and peace, however, would be easy and possible to come by if only those in positions of responsibility were sincerely determined to pursue them. Salvation will come from bringing the two peoples together, not from separating them. In that lies the salvation of the Palestinians and the Israelis, as well as of the entire region. The two peoples are capable of living together in peace and tranquility. When that comes about, murders, vengeance, rejection, and extremism will disappear little by little, as they progressively cease to feed on oppression, occupation, poverty, and humiliation.

4. Christmas brings joy to humanity. It announces salvation to everyone, especially to those who live in Bethlehem and its surrounding area, Palestinians and Israelis alike. "Let us go to Bethlehem" and see what has taken place and what continues to take place there (cf. Lk 2, 15). What is the Wall telling us today? What are the inhabitants of Bethlehem telling us today? Let us go to Bethlehem so that we too can hear the angels announce peace on earth, peace to all people of good will, peace to all who long for a sincere brotherhood that rejects all hatred and hostility, and find, in the coming together of the two peoples, both security and an end to the occupation which will bring freedom.

For all of you, Brothers and Sisters, I pray to God that you might hear and live the message of Christmas, a message of peace, joy, and new life.

+ Michel Sabbah, Patriarch Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem
Jerusalem, 20 December 2006

De-coding your Christmas Cards

Were you sent any Christian Christmas cards this year? Reports in the media suggest that they are pretty hard to come by, so if you've received one it's because someone has made a special effort. It's worth taking time to reflect on the significance of the different elements of the card. For help de-coding your cards click here for an excellent, illustrated article.

Christmas Lights

If any of you are missing the Christmas lights that used to go up on the house on Mayford Road this video is to console you. If you're glad they're not there any more, this video is to let you know that things could have been worse... much worse!

New Year Retreat - Timetable

We are all looking forward to welcoming young people from all over the country for the New Year Retreat here in Balham. We are already getting lots of questions about the Retreat we've decided to publish the basic outline of the talks here:

Friday 29th December
Feast of St Thomas a Becket
6.00pm Registration
7.00pm Evening Meal
8.15pm "Who do you say that I am?" - Talk by Br Martin de Porres CFR
9.00pm Holy Mass celebrated by Archbishop Kevin McDonald

Saturday 30th December
Christmas Octave
10.15am "He who abides in Love" - Talk by Fr Julian Green
12.00noon Holy Hour
4.00pm "Repent and believe the Good News" - Talk by Fr Stephen Wang
5.30pm Holy Mass
8.00pm Reconciliation Service

Sunday 31st December
Feast of the Holy Family
10.15am "Pray constantly" - Talk by Fr Sylvester CFR
12.15pm Holy Hour
4.00pm "Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect" - Talk by Niall Slattery
8.00pm Healing Service
11.00pm Holy Mass

Monday 1st January 2007
Feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God
12.00noon Holy Mass

It's worth bearing in mind that these are just the bear bones of the timetable. There is Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament day and night, there's also daily Rosary, workshops, Morning & Evening Prayer & much, much more....

Help Oppose Abortion

Each year BBC Radio 4's Today Programme invites listeners to send in some form of 'legislative wish-list'. When they first did it the idea was to nominate a law, they even had an MP who promised to introduce a private members Bill. He ended up with egg on his face because the public voted for the right of householders to shoot intruders and in the end he refused to support it.
This year's silly season vote, however, is more serious. This time Radio 4 is asking listeners to nominate a law that they would like to have REPEALED. The producers will select the top six nominations and put them to a listeners' vote. Please take part in this poll and nominate David Steel's 1967 Abortion Act as the one to be repealed. It won't actually change the legal status of abortion in this country, but it could be a very powerful PR coup!
You can vote by clicking here.
Feel free to link or copy this post to as many blogs as you can. The more votes the better!

Our Lady of Guadalupe

After the parish Mass today I headed off into central London to celebrate a second Mass for the Good Counsel Network. Today is the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of the pro-life movement and the Good Counsel Network had invited all mothers and their babies to come to the Mass. Most people contact the Good Counsel Network because they are looking to terminate a pregnancy. The Network offers pregnancy tests and counselling services. Through its tremendous work many mothers change their minds and decide to keep their babies.


These are some of the mothers the Good Counsel Network has helped in recent months. They are all with their beautiful babies. One mother is due to give birth next week. Please keep her in your prayers. Without the help and support of the Good Counsel Network these babies might never have been born and their mothers would have been left with a terrible emptiness. It was wonderful to see how happy they were today and how proud they are of their children.


The Good Counsel Network helps mums in all sort of different ways. Today there was a practical lesson in budgeting. Helpers were given £20 each and asked to see what they could get at various shops. Needless to say the corner shop was the most expensive. Marks & Spencers fared unexpectedly well. Asda was quite good but by universal consent the best value for money was Morrisons!

Apologies

Sorry if it's a bit noisy in the Church this week. Once again we have the workmen in to polish the marble. After a big restoration a couple of years ago, when it was as if a film of tracing paper had been lifted from the marble, I now get a company in every six months to bring it back to a full shine.
The Church stays open for prayer but it might be a little distracting.

Christmas Fayre

On Saturday we had our Christmas Fayre. Once again the weather was kind to us and, as you can see from the photo, we had a great turnout.

"Now, how do I explain to my wife I won them all on the bottle stall?"

"Lalage betrays her experience on the racecourse by signing to other vendors to fix the price of her plants"

"I'm not a sunflower. I'm a tiger"

As always a magnificent craft stall!

Father Christmas gets asked whether Rudolf's carrots are organic.

Sr Chiara just can't resist that glorious pink icing!

Holy Ghost Advent Party

This is Kathleen Ryan whom I first met in the early 1990s when she came to the parish I was in at the time to borrow some crockery for the Holy Ghost Old Folks' Party! Little did I think that one day I'd be at the Holy Ghost and Kathleen herself would be enjoying the fun at an elegantly re-branded Senior Citizens' knees up!

Now who else do we see? Ah, yes. Here's Alice who never fails to do her bit on a Friday morning and ensures that everything we have in the Church glistens and gleams at all times. Thanks, Alice!

And then there's Princess Norah of Balham, here seen displayed in all her regal splendour. It's good to see her on her feet again!

This year we have some special guests. Fr Marcus' parents have just celebrated their wedding anniversary and have come over for the weekend. Tomorrow Fr Marcus is taking them to France on the Eurostar. They'll be back Tuesday night. Meanwhile here they are picking up tips to take back to Tenby!

The Advent Party wouldn't take place at all without the hard work of Helen, Maxine and all the helpers. Yes, that's right - the same ones who worked so hard to put on yesterday's Christmas Fayre.

Now what's going on here...

"So let's work this out. 170 people needing to be fed, and all we've got is 4 Christmas puddings. Oh well, not to worry. I'm sure it will work out in the end"

"Listen lads, I hear there's a magician coming. He can cut one in half, and make another one disappear, but one of us is going to have to go home with his wife"

"The Fr Marcus fan-club just couldn't be kept under control..."

"Ahem. Sorry ladies, did you carry out a risk assessment before doing that?"

Is it Really for Young People?

Some people have asked for more information about the forthcoming Youth Retreat that will take place in the parish over New Year.
When is it? It starts on the evening of Friday 29th December and finishes after lunch on Monday 1st January.
Who will be there? Amongst others, the Friars of the Renewal (you remember Fr Benedict Groeschel who gave such an excellent evening of recollection recently?). Apart from them, other religious, and lots and lots of young adults.
Really? Are you just saying that? Check it out for yourself. This video was made using images from last year. You know, the one you missed!

Resolution@Balham

The theme for this year's New Year Youth Retreat at Balham is "Resolution". You can view more details about the retreat by clicking this link to the relevant page on the Youth 2000 website. The retreat is an annual event in the parish organised by Youth 2000. Last year we attracted 300 young people between the ages of 16 & 35. This year the organisers are hoping to hit five hundred!

The Retreat includes talks on concrete aspects of Christian life, Holy Mass, and lots of opportunities for Confession. The Blessed Sacrament is exposed in the Church throughout the Retreat and there is all-night Adoration (optional!).

Interested? Check out the link above then send us an email at the Holy Ghost. Too shy to come alone? Then bring a friend!!