The Canon's Stall

Women of God - videos of life 2

2012-02-01T23:49:00.004Z

It's the feast day of the patroness of the Church where I live, St Brigid. We always have an evening Mass, ending with a little procession to the statue of St Brigid which parishionersrs erected in memory of the late Canon Tom Dunne, parish priest here until 2001. After intercessions for the parish I give the final blessing under the statue, holding a St Brigid's Cross.

The first reading for St Brigid is St Paul talking about all of us making up the body of Christ. It struck me how the reeds that go to make up a real St Brigid's Cross are fragile, easily bent or even broken on their own. But together they are strong, and can make something beautiful and inspiring, like a Cross.

Talking of something beautiful, that reminds me of Malcolm Muggeridge's book on Mother Teresa, "Something Beautiful for God", which did so much to get her known. I recently came across this short video about one episode in her work. I'm not sure where it was filmed - in some war-torn part - but the last sequence, about a sister and a patient, I found very moving. Watch the expression on the boy's emaciated face slowly slowly change from fear, anxiety and aloneness, as he is warmed by the massage and, more importantly, the love being shown him, until he reaches for sister's arm at the end.

Can I live? Videos of life 1

2012-01-29T23:39:00.002Z

Another busy week... more bereavements than usual, so funerals to arrange... usual variety of pastoral problems in the parishes etc.

In our prayer group this evening we talked and prayed a while about pro-life issues. I remembered a song that I meant to put on here a while ago, but forgot. It's an American hiphop singer/TV personality called Nick Cannon, currently married to Mariah Carey, as an unborn baby singing to his mother. Song is called "Can I Live?" If you can handle rap, then give it a listen. It's hard to imagine this being produced in the UK - it would be soooo uncool. I know we may not always be comfortable with some American approaches to pro-life matters, but noone could say it's not on the agenda over there. Problem here is that by people staying sort of British low-key, well, the opposition is winning by default. Mums sometimes just don't know - that's a child. Somebody pointed out this evening that we often hear sad news about a mother "losing a child" through miscarriage or still birth. But we don't hear the same phrase used with regard to abortion...

You can catch the song with its accompanying video here, but the quality isn't very good, or here, with the words on screen. I like the last words, "Thanks for listening, thanks for listening... Mom."

To learn more, visit LIFE, SPUC or the Association of Priests for the Gospel of Life.

Communication and conversion

2012-01-24T12:03:00.005Z

Bit of a gap since my last post - we lost our BT phone and internet on Sunday afternoon and it stayed off all day yesterday. I called BT and went through the whole process of - well, you know the feeling if you have encountered BT or one of the other utilities call centres. This morning the phone line sprang back into life, though we're told it sounds crackly from outside. Meanwhile the internet is coming and going at will! Five years ago the same happened and it was the wire from the house to the pole rubbing against the ridge on the roof of the Hall until the insulation had gone. I'm thinking it's the same again, even though they were supposed to have raised it last time.. The engineers are coming this afternoon, so we shall see. Grrr...

One of the nuisances yesterday was that I'm doing my regular radio spot tomorrow, and the Monday before is when I communicate back and for with the BBC to choose my topic and send the script to the producer. Anyway, I've managed to get it all done this morning in the gaps when the internet is working. If you're interested, I'm talking about the Conversion of St Paul, tomorrow's feast, during Roy Noble's programme on Radio Wales, Wednesday at about 2.40pm.
The picture is Caravaggio's striking depiction of the Conversion, in the Church of Santa Maria del Popolo, Rome.
LIve update! 12.45 BT man has just been with amazing gadget. He stuck it into the socket - and, yes, phone line crackly, internet intermittent etc. Then he pressed a few more buttons to find where the problem is, and on his little screen up comes "40 metres" - exactly the distance to the roof of the hall. That process took a couple of hours last time, this time a few minutes. The wonders of modern science, eh? So he's coming back this afternoon with his buddy and his cherry-picker to put up a new line with extra special binding stuff. Watch this space...

Runny noses, shimmering lights, new possibilities

2012-01-17T19:43:00.002Z

Brrrr... cold snap as they say. I was up in Pontypool today for a Marriage Tribunal judging session. We three judges, ably managed by the adminstrator, concluded three cases. I'm always relieved when these sessions are over - so now I'm going to chill for the evening.

After a freezing few minutes' wait on Cwmbran Station, the train brought me back to Caaaardiff, joined by a bloke who got on at Newport who had a runny nose. He sniffed n snorted every 10 seconds to everyone's annoyance. Too much information, I suppose, but that's Newport for you (only kidding - a Cardiff joke!)

Coming back through Cardiff city centre, I had never noticed before the dancing lights display on the outside of the "helter skelter" ramp to the St David's multistorey car park. I know, I should get out more... Anyway, I though it was fascinating and even beautiful to watch, especially when you're caught in a rush hour traffic jam. Apparently it's called "The Shoal" and was installed last May. Catch 2 minutes of it in this video.

Lastly, a few little thoughts from Sunday's homily. Ponder, if you will, Jesus' brief words in the Gospel. First, "What do you want?", then "Come and see", then "You are Simon, you will be called Cephas." These three little phrases, so everyday sounding, can take us so far into faith. When Jesus asks you what you want, I think he's asking, or lets you ask yourself, a bit more than just "Why are you following me?" What do I really want - in life. His invitation to come and see is rather more than just asking if we want to see his house in Capernaum. Come and spend time with me, listen, watch, get to know me. And to change Simon's name to Peter-Rock is much more than simply giving him a new nickname. Come with me, be with me, learn from me, receive from me. I will lead you to where you could be, my Father's dream for you, that I can see, but you can't yet. You think that those hills across the Sea of Galilee are the limit of your vision. I can see Jerusalem, Antioch, Rome, the world...

So this year of 2012, what do we want? Do we have the courage to move, to come and see? Are we ready for the Lord to maybe change our agenda, broaden our sights, expand our horizon? Here, in an icon at the church of St Peter in Gallicantu ("at the cockcrow") in Jerusalem, is Pete getting his new job...

Ahhh, Santiago...

2012-01-11T23:35:00.004Z

Readers will know of my fascination with, and love for, pilgrimages. Admittedly, most of those that I have taken part in, and to varying degrees led, have travelled by plane. Santiago de Compostela, the shrine of St James in Spain - now there's a serious pilgrimage, if you're going to do it properly. I'm afraid the one time I went to Santiago - yes, you've guessed it - we flew there, direct to Santiago airport. The real pilgrimage is on foot, El Camino - The Way, and that is the title of an excellent film that came out last year, and that I watched on the newly out DVD last night.

I'm having a rather heavy canon law-filled week, interspered with meetings every evening so far. So last night I was in need of relaxation, and a kind parishioner shoved the DVD in my sweaty little palm, as we had been chatting about "The Way" a while before. The film is about the pilgrimage, which dates back to the Middle Ages. It was usually done on foot, starting from various points around Europe (such as the Rue St-Jacques or St James Street, in Paris). The routes came together at the Pyrenees between France and Spain, and then it wounds its way across to Santiago, which took about a month.

The movie stars Martin Sheen, a Catholic, as Tom, a father who goes out to bring back the body of his son who has died while making the pilgrimage. The son is played by Emilio Estevez, Sheen's real son, who also directs. Tom ends up making the pilgrimage himself, and the film, beautifully shot across some stunning landscapes in the real locations, follows his journey to the shrine. The soundtrack uses music of different sorts, including a Coldplay song and a David Gray track.

It turns out to be a journey in many senses of the word, as pilgrimage so often does, and Tom's story is interwoven with that of three principal other pilgrims, plus several lesser characters. It is a spiritual (or just human) rather than a Christian film, and I found it compelling, watching it until after midnight. At some points it is really intense and brought a tear to my eye, calling up all sorts of memories and reflections. It would have meaning for everyone, I think, and especially for those belonging to any group such as a church, where people journey together in life and faith.

If you haven't seen it, look out for it. We hope to show it at St Brigid's as our annual Palm Sunday evening film this year. Fr M approves very much.

Ahhh, Sicily...

2012-01-07T16:10:00.009Z

At last, a sunny day after weeks of greyness in the weather. My thoughts turned to sunnier climes last night as I relaxed and turned on the telly. After a little brain-training with "Mastermind" I came across a wonderful new series called "Sicily Unpacked". Brit culture-person Andrew Graham-Dixon has teamed up with Italian food-person Giorgio Locatelli to present a short series on this amazing island, its history, culture - and food. For an hour I was whisked away on a diet of Baroque stucco and sardine pasta. Mmm...

I visited Sicily I think it was in 1991, 20 years ago now. I couldn't find anyone who wanted to come with me (ahhh), so I took a sharp intake of breath and booked myself onto a coach tour, my first ever. Stunning. Palermo, Monreale, Erice, Agrigento, Catania, Siracusa, Messina, and unforgettable Taormina. Even their names are beautiful aren't they? The history of the island is one long catalogue of invaders who become settlers. Greeks, Romans, Moors, Normans, French, Spanish etc etc. The resulting architecture, culture (and not forgetting food!) carries this rich concoction through to today.

Our TV guides whisked us through some of the delights of Sicily, pausing for a few moments here and there, including the mosaic-covered Palatine Chapel in Palermo, certainly one of my candidates for Top Ten buildings in Europe. It was a beautiful programme in every sense, well made and presented, a delight. BBC2 Friday. Fr M approves.
Pics show the Palatine Chapel in Palermo and the pool at Fr M's Hotel in Taormina (I think - it's a long time!)

Passing it on, celebrating it together

2012-01-02T18:51:00.003Z

A very happy New Year to everybody. Like I said, Christmas went very well here in our 3 Churches, and then I had a few days off with my family. So, a few thoughts for the beginning of 2012...

While staying with my brother I popped in one day to the parish church for a quiet minute. A dad came in with his two young sons and his own father. I couldn't help hearing their chat, as I was looking at the fine crib alongside them. It seemd young dad was not a church goer (evidently a lapsed or as I prefer "resting" Catholic), and so his boys weren't either. Grandad was determined that the lads should have an experience of the crib. Their faces lit up as he gave them a guided tour of all the figures in the stable, and they bubbled over with questions. They seemed to roughly know who Jesus was, but not much more... Grandad told the story with faith and love as the boys drank it all in, and even dad slowly seemed to move from an impatient embarrassment to a, well, warm-ish enthusiasm. How sad, I thought that the boys needed it all explained to them, but good on you, grandad. What it says about where we are in Britain today, I'm not quite sure... Evangelization is going to be one of our main areas for 2012 in our parishes, and here it was.

On a more, um, stomach-centred level - a tale of meals. Christmas lunch was with parishioners of Scottish-Italian-Polish-Welsh influences and, as I said in my last post, scrummy. Then my visit to my brother and sister-in-law was punctuated, as always, with equally yummy food, such as a light but filling avocado and prawn salad or a tasty sardiney type of pasta. Then off to my sister's for our annual Christmas time family get-together with added new wife-of-nephew, around the cold ham and turkey, pickles, spuds etc.

Finally, back home and out to another parishioners' home for New Year's Day lunch with a French angle. Merveilleux! A little salmon and prawn on rice n salad hors d'oeuvre was followed by a new one to me, Moroccan tajine or tagine. This is a kind of slow-cooked lamb stew with all kinds of veg, fruits and spices in, that is usually cooked in a special pot. Mmmm. Then we moved on to "les treize desserts", which is Provencal custom for this time of year, where thirteen different fruits and nuts are served. Finally a scrumbotious egg-custard was served with whipped egg-white on top. I had to guess what the flavour of the custard was, and was mystified with a strong taste that I was sure I knew, but could not identify. Eventually our hostess revealed the secret ingredient to be... lavender! Apparently it's very fashionable at the moment. Provencal heaven.

All of these meals shared with family, friends and parishioners give me enormous pleasure (as those who know me would confirm by my waist-line!) What a wonderful way of celebrating this joyful season - with lovely people around a table with good food. The Lord sure knew a thing or two when He left the gift of Himself in the form of a meal. There is nothing like sharing a meal - however simple or elaborate, at a table or at an altar - for building up all that is good in being human. Or in being Christian.

PS Pics are off the net, not as eaten!!

Venite adoremus

2011-12-26T22:55:00.005Z

Phew - Christmas Day over, and chilling out on Boxing Day.

Good attendance at Christmas Masses, especially at the Christmas Eve vigil ones. We have to have three to accommodate the crowds - one in each church. As there are only two of us, we have to "import" a priest, and this year one of the Rosminian fathers obliged at St Brigid's. I was at Christ the King, where the welcomers counted over 700 on their clicker...

After our morning Masses, it was out to parishioners for a scrummy lunch and civilised chat, then home for an hour or two gentle repose in my favourite armchair, and phonecalls to family. I spent the evening with other parishioners, where we indulged in the full two hour glory of "Downton", where you had to wait until the closing minutes to see Matthew ask Mary to marry him. Thank the Lord!!

Today I celebrated Mass at St Brigid's, and was joined by altar servers on their feast of St Stephen. Two were enrolled in their Guild, and I ordered them to finish off a pack of "Celebrations" from among a gluttonous pile of chocs and cakes given to us. With my post-Mass coffee I caught up with the Christmas episode of "Doctor Who" - a great take on "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe".

So now i'm off for a few days with my family, which I'm looking forward to. Catch up soon!

In royal David's city...

2011-12-24T11:18:00.001Z

The annual Carol Service from King's College Cambridge is now a part of Christmas tradition. It always starts with a treble singing the first verse of "Once in Royal David's City". So here is that carol, sung in what I would describe as maybe the finest single building in Britain, the chapel of King's College, Cambridge. A very happy and holy, peaceful and joyful Christmas to all out there in the blogosphere!

In heavenly peace

2011-12-22T17:56:00.005Z

We celebrated a lovely 3 Churches Carol Service yesterday evening at St Brigid's. Each of six sections had four parts. First a child brought a lamp to place in front of the relevant crib figure, then after the Gospel reading there was a reflection. Finally, of course we sang a carol. Four of the reflections were specially written for the service, while the other two were musical. Our wonderful 3 Churches choir sang the Taize "Magnificat" and young Ami sang "What child is this?" as a solo. Beautiful. Afterwards we all repaired to the Hall for mince pies and mulled wine. The Christmas atmosphere has certainly begun...

Meanwhile, a little nostalgia. One of my 2011 highlights was our visit to Provence in September, and particularly to the Cistercian Abbey of Senanque, where we celebrated Mass. To see a beautifully edited video of Senanque accompanied by a piece written by Hildegard of Bingen (soon to be declared a Doctor of the Church apparently) please click here - and enjoy 9 minutes of peace...

Verbum caro hic factum est

2011-12-18T18:01:00.003Z

Nazareth the place is not up to much. The modern basilica sits near the middle of the, well, basically average town. The courtyard is lined with representations of Our Lady from many countries of the world, including Wales. On entering the huge church, you notice a large gap in front of the main altar, where you can look down to the level of the earlier churches that have stood on this spot. At a modern altar down there I have been privileged to celebrate Mass four times, just a few feet from the actual grotto which traditionally marks the place of the Annunciation. There you find a much smaller altar, and on the front a brief inscription in Latin:

VERBUM CARO HIC FACTUM EST

Word for word: "The Word flesh here became" = "The Word here became flesh". That all-important litte word "hic" telling you that here, or hereabouts, the eternal Word of God became united with one human life, that God the Creator entered his own creation. Here, in this quiet backwater, then as now, Mary gave her accord...

Just think... No Annunciation would mean no Christmas. Just like no Gethsemane would mean no Calvary or Easter Tomb. These are the Places of Decision, where the "No!" of Eve and of Adam are reversed by the "Yes!" of Mary and her Son. Yes, God, yes! Yes to your plan, your desire, your way, your Word. In one word : "Amen!"

God reached out his hand...

2011-12-14T22:50:00.003Z

Our Archbishop, George Stack, led a day of recollection for the priests of our diocese just before Advent. Among the handouts given were reflections for the Sundays of Advent. Here is an edited version of the one for the Third Sunday of Advent that I put on the front page of our newsletter this week. It seems to have touched people...

Someone is coming, a greater one than John the Baptist. If the 20^th century did anything it certainly tested our hope. Sometimes we forget to tell the Good news because we feel the mud of human sin is sinking us. Advent is a time of hope. Someone is coming. He is coming into the genocide and ethnic cleansing, into our hunger and thirst. We are waiting with Hope because we trust in the promise.

More than faith or even love, I believe that it is Hope that tests our idea of God. Hope asks “Do you trust God to be God? Am I confident about God? Am I sure about God’s promise? It is hope which asks me to put my hand in His hand and plunge into the night, to leave the shore, to put my face to the wind, to confront the waves and do battle with the tide... The darkness will never overcome. That is the hope of Advent.

For those who wait every hope is a great hope – we hope that the wounds of yesterday will close, that memories will heal, that the telephone will ring, that a son will come home...

Once we start hoping ourselves, we start bringing hope to others. Advent calls us out of the rut, to leave Nazareth and to follow the star to Bethlehem... God reached out his hand in the silence of the night and love entered the darkness. We put out into the silence of the night. The face of God is emerging. We feel the deep water around us. At this Advent moment we feel ourselves letting go to a higher power. This is a sacred space, an Advent space, a Hope space.

Pictures are from our 2009 Pilgrimage - sunrise ove the Sea of Galilee and Mass at the Grotto of the Annunciation, Nazareth

MML - Modern & Medieval Languages - The Movie?

2011-12-11T08:18:00.005Z

I saw a reference to this video in the newspaper yesterday. It's a kind of advert for the languages faculty at Cambridge, where I got my first degree. Produced by some students and staff, I thought at first it was a bit weird, playing up to the rather sentimentalised view of Oxbridge that lots of people have. Then, when I thought again, I remembered that in fact it was there that my vocation to the priesthood found its roots - not in the study of religion as such, but in Spanish literature, when I "discovered" St Teresa of Avila. So, yes, study, life, love and even life-long commitments can all happen among the lanes, courts and leafy Backs of Cambridge to the background of Baudelaire et al!

Wisdom and joy from across the Pond

2011-12-08T11:18:00.000Z

Today is the feast of the Immaculate Conception of Our Lady, who is patroness of our diocese under this title. Hot on the heels of "2 minute Advent" - 2 more videos that have come my way.

I explored bustedhalo.com a little, and found this one on today's feast. Go for it Fr Jack!

Then in my email today someone sent me this charming one all the way from Quinhagak, Alaska, where they are anxious to share their seasonal joy with us. Lovely.

A snappy Advent

2011-12-06T22:42:00.002Z

Mega busy these last few days. We're handling five funerals over these ten days, and four baptisms on Sunday. I had to prepare for my Advent Twilight Retreat this evening (which went well, I hope!) and for my next Wednesday Word tomorrow (Radio Wales approx 2.40pm). As well as, of course, all the usual stuff...

All of which sounds like the cue for something different. Here's a simple little video from somebody named bustedhalo.com, which turns out to be "a magazine for spiritual seekers" from American religious order the Paulists. It's called "Advent in 2 minutes", and I think it's pretty good. Enjoy.

Parish life fiction and fact

2011-12-01T23:13:00.008Z

As I mentioned a few postings ago, I have become a fan of "Rev." on BBC2. Last week's, I felt, was a bit weaker. This week, however, it came back with a vengeance. Plot lines involving ecumenism, sexism, pride, jealousy and other aspects of the human and pastoral predicament, after making you wonder where they are going, suddenly come together without warning in an amazing last scene that I couldn't help watching three or four times straight off. Great acting by Tom Hollander and the whole cast, great script. If you're not offended by a few swear words, then make sure to catch it on iPlayer, but don't skip straight to the end, it's worth the 30 minutes journey. Wonderful.
Meanwhile, a few people outside our 3 Churches have been enquiring about our "Vision" process that has been going on through this year. So over the next few postings I'll share stuff about it. Things started back in the New Year when I felt that it was time for a pastoral overhaul of things 3 Churches. We had redecorated the outside of St Brigid's and extended and refurbished Christ the King Parish Centre. Time for something more pastoral!

I recalled a "dream exercise" led by Fr Tony Nolan with our two Parish Councils some years ago. We were invited to dream our ideal parish and then note down how it would be different to the present. I tried this with our two Councils and then across all seven of our weekend Masses... This timetable takes up the story.,..
January My prayer and reflection on where our 3 churches “are at” suggest a major review of our pastoral life.

February I share these thoughts with our 2 Parish Councils, inviting them to share their “dream parishes”. This involves my leading a prayerful reflection: they fall asleep on Saturday, and dream that the parish has become their perfect one; they find that on Sunday this has become the reality, and then write down what is different from the present reality. This avoids too heady an approach, and hopefully catches a word from the Lord via his people! (acknowledgements to Tony Nolan for the exercise!) We also decide to move towards one 3 Churches Pastoral Council, supported by smaller bodies in each parish.

March I repeat the “dream exercise” during all Sunday Masses homilies, with a very large response. The councils collate and reduce all the responses down to one Statement (attached). We decide to set up the new Pastoral Council by Easter.

Maundy Thursday At joint 3 Churches Mass of the Lord’s Supper at Corpus Christi School I speak, in the context of service, about the Vision, and commission 8 members of the 2 Parish Councils as the new 3 Churches Pastoral council. Their first task is to continue and implement the Vision process.

June All parishioners invited to sign a book in each church containing the Vision statement, in order to continue their ownership of the project. The Pastoral Council reflects on how to move from vision to reality.

September All parishioners invited to express willingness to get involved in one of the 4 main areas that had emerged in the process. Then a Forum evening held at Corpus Christi with the 4 resulting groups produces practical ideas and targets. The Pastoral Council refines them into decisions and actions, with at least one from each group for implementation by Christmas.

November We publish and “sell” the decisions via newsletter and pulpit. First group of actions starts.

2012 Second group of decisions/actions happen, and work on “Big Ideas” begins.

From the "already" to the "not yet"

2011-11-27T18:39:00.000Z

And so, amazingly, another church year has passed, and we arrive at Advent again. It's been a bright sunny day to mark the Church's New Year - but remember late November last year? Brrrrr...

Anyway, the Church messes with time a little in Advent, especially here at the first Sunday. We start a journey towards Christmas, which is in the future, four weeks away. Christmas, however, celebrates something which happened over 2000 years ago - the birth of Christ. So we are looking forward to something which has already happened. Then - we are also reminded that we are moving toward the second coming of Christ. So we are living between the the two Comings, the "already" and the "not yet", and we are also about to celebrate the "already", but in the future. Hmmm....

I like the image of the spiral stairs that is sometimes used to illustrate religious education in Catholic schools - every year we revisit the same spot but on a higher level each time. Maybe it's the same with the Church's year. We revisit the seasons, ascending a little higher each time, celebrating the birth of Jesus and all the things from the "already", while we slowly reach for the heights of the "not yet", the future that is ours.

The new translation of the Missal is now in full use from today throughout most of the English-speaking world. Here in our 3 Churches we started using the new version of the priest's presidential prayers (the Collect, Prayer over the Gifts and Post-Communion) last week to mark the feast of Christ the King. I'm starting to get the hang of the new version. I read a lot of comments, negative and positive, about the translation, but find a lot of it actually quite prejudiced - literally pre-judged - rather than reflecting on the practical question of "Does it work?" Some seem to be saying it can't be right, because it's from the Benedict XVI world and had such a tortuous history, others say it can't be wrong - for the same reasons.

I'm finding much of it "works" fine. Sentences are longer, and therefore demand more expression and preparation from the clergy, but that's no bad thing. Words and phrases I still find difficult, but, well, you can't please everybody etc. A few balances have been restored, but run the risk of swinging to the other extreme. And so on. I'm just trying my best to pray it with faith and life, and most of the time, if it's not too everyday a phrase, the new translation "does its job".

Happy Advent!

Glimpses of the future

2011-11-22T23:01:00.001Z

And so the annual cycle of parish life continues...

This evening we held the parents' evening that precedes the First Reconciliation and Communion programme at Christ the King. A high proportion of "first timer" parents were there, and seemed eager to cooperate with our great team of catechists and us clergy in doing the best for their children.

Our plans for Advent are also rapidly taking shape (just as well, he says, as Advent starts on Sunday!) We will have a 3 Churches Penitential Service in week 3 and Carol Service in Week 4 - both now have their planning groups in place. Week 2 I am going to try to do something myself - yikes, that's only two weeks away!

Last night we had the reunion meeting for this year's September Pilgrimage, which also doubled, as usual, as the selling of next year's pilgrimage. 2012 will see us returning to one of our favourite haunts - Assisi, home, of course, of St Francis and St Clare. The group has visited it several times before, but not since 2002 when we twinned it with Venice. This time we will spend four nights in Spoleto, near Assisi, then four nights in Montecatini Terme in Tuscany, from where we will visit Florence, Pisa, Lucca and Viareggio. As always, we appear to have sold out. Amazing.

Picture shows the Porziuncola, the chapel built by St Francis for his first community.

Rev-erent relaxation

2011-11-18T18:13:00.003Z

A long, full day yesterday - Mass with Year 6 school kids at 9.45 at Christ the King, Requiem and cremation back at St Brigid's at 11 and 12.30. After lunch, do my parts of the weekly newsletter before zipping back up to Christ the King to receive the body for another Requiem today. Cup of tea, then meeting with our 3 Churches Pastoral Council to firm up the decisions and actions flowing from this year's Vision project. Great group to work with - committed, enthusiastic and well gelled together. But... I was ready to relax. Then I remembered a review or two of "Rev." on BBC2.

So I parked myself before my computer, went onto iPlayer and sat back to munch and watch both episodes, as it turned out, of series two. Fantastic. I did catch some of the first series and it didn't grab me, but I'm glad I gave it a second chance. In case you haven't seen it, Tom Hollander plays the vicar in a Hackney Anglican parish. It's a sitcom but a kind of gentle one. As another blogger puts it, "Rev. Smallbone is an ordinary person, an ordinary man. Not a comedy vicar like Dawn French, Ardal O’Hanlon or Derek Nimmo, but a kind and humorous man who is riddled with self doubt, who makes mistakes, and who truly cares about his parishioners and believes he can make a difference, however ill-judged some of his endeavours turn out to be" (hat-tip Wartime housewife). There's no canned laughter, very well crafted characters and great acting. And it's good to see a clergy man on the TV that doesn't conform to the usual caricatures, and who is, at the end of the day, treated sympathetically. Many of the scenes I can imagine all too well. There's a bit of "language" or what the BBC calls "adult humour", if you are offended by that.

One of my favourite scenes is in episode one - the visit to the vicar by the Bishop of London, played completely straight by Ralph Fiennes. The acting by both is superb, at the same time hilarious and cringe-making. A kind of ecclesiatical "Gavin and Stacey" in that way. Episode 1 is here and episode 2 here.

Tom Hollander (centre) with cast members

Art on ice

2011-11-14T12:26:00.002Z

Somebody asked me if I had any more "flash mob" videos for The Canon's Stall. Well, there have been quite a few made, it seems, but the, er, Americans turned the concept into a TV programme and, well, that's kinda the knell of doom isn't it? If you want to see the sort of thing, take a look at "The best proposal ever" starting with a stranger throwing water in the face of a chap who is out for a quiet drink with his girl-friend, and ending up with (sob.sob) their wedding. Another, rather more tasteful one I found is a symphony orchestra playing Ravel's "Bolero" in the station at Copenhagen. Very nice, but not a patch on the totally wonderful and one of the originals, "Doh, a deer" at Antwerp Station, that I have posted here before, and which has received over 24 million hits.

However, the "Bolero" one did remind me of Torville and Dean's ice-dancing performances back in the early 1980's. I think that their "Bolero" is simply one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. As sport and athleticism it is magnificent, but for me it takes those things into the realms of art. So, here is their "Bolero" from the 1984 Winter Olympics at Sarajevo, when they gained perfect 6's for artistic expression. Indeed, this is high art. Fr M joins the judges in giving a perfect 6.0. Video quality is not perfect - it is from 1984! Enjoy...

Can we have that every day?

2011-11-10T22:26:00.001Z

As the boy joined the queue for his lunch in the hall at Christ the King School on Thursday, he looked up at me and asked “Father, can we have that every day?” But “that” was nothing to do with the lunch that he was about to eat. “That” was a period of Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament that he had just experienced with his class as part of the School Mission this week.

Each of the Juniors classes came into one of the rooms in turn for just twenty minutes with Jesus. The Sion Community members who were giving the mission had prepared the space. They had pushed back and covered the tables and made an altar for the monstrance. Each group of 30 came in to gentle guitar music, and so entered a very special time and place. I was very impressed with the way the Sion Community were able to both explain what that white disc is, and establish the atmosphere so well that the children were soon fully engaged in this divine encounter.

During moments of quiet some opened their hands on their laps, some covered or rested their faces in their hands, some shut their eyes, some gazed at Jesus who was gazing at them. Afterwards, another child asked me whether when I had my eyes shut I was talking to Jesus. I said I was, and she said she was too... In one group the leader invited them to write with their finger on the palm of their other hand the name of someone for whom they were praying, and then to lift that hand up towards the monstrance, literally handing them over to the Lord. A few shed a tear, just a small, gentle one...

If ever I needed proof that children “understand” Jesus and his ways - as he does theirs - it was there in that room. When the subject of Adoration comes up with adults, we have so many questions, hesitations, and smoke-screens of sophistication. But Jesus said “Let the children come to me”. May I add gently after Thursday morning, “And let them teach the grown-ups too..”.

Talking and listening

2011-11-08T22:47:00.001Z

Lots going on - as usual! On Saturday I gave a Day of Recollection on "The Saints for Today - Heroes and Friends". It went well, and I devoted part of it to one of my favourite topics, namely tracing the relationship between Jesus and Peter through the Gospels.

At our parish primary school, Christ the King, there is a Mission this week led by the Sion Community, well-known in the UK and beyond for their parish and school work. I'm looking forward to being involved in the later stages of the mission on Thursday and Friday, though it means I will miss the annual Requiem for Deceased Clergy in the Cathedral on Thursday. As the saying goes, you can't do everything.

Many of the clergy are vexed by another of Archbishop George Stack's innovations. He has asked us all to suggest two priests for his consideration as Vicar General for our diocese. I suspect some of the brethren have been caught out. Having expressed the wish to be consulted over various matters in the past, now that they are being consulted they don't quite know what to do! Suggestions have to be in by this Friday - and, no, I'm not going to say who I have proposed!

Then, today I had two pastoral visits, one after a sudden death and one months after another sudden one. How important it in this priesthood life to be able to listen - to listen with empathy, patience and compassion. So often it take a while to come to the place where feelings are real, truths can be voiced, tears shed. I always maintain that two of the most important weeks in seminary all those years ago were those devoted to basic counselling skills, and especially how to listen. What else appears to be so simple, has so many pitfalls, but can lead to such grace-filled encounters.

Passing it on

2011-11-03T21:42:00.003Z

Sometimes I'll post here pieces or parts of pieces that I write for the front-page of our parish newsletter, when they seem to speak to people. So this is an extract from last week's...

"Whenever I celebrate a Requiem Mass, as I did this Wednesday, I am once again aware of the importance of symbols in our faith. As the coffin arrives at the altar, it is draped with the white pall. When we are baptised we too are wrapped in a white garment – new life, cleansing, Baptism – essentially God’s love poured out over us at our beginning and our end. On the pall are placed the Bible – the Word of God by which that person lived their life – and the Crucifix – Jesus gave his life not just for us all generally, but for each of us individually. And standing alongside the coffin burns the Paschal Candle – light in our darkness, the Light of Christ lit on Easter Night and relit at every Baptism and Funeral. As I observed at Tom Quinn’s funeral recently, our lives like candles are meant to give out light even as they slowly burn away.

Symbols are central to faith and worship as they can convey so many things that words cannot – and do it more simply. The sacraments themselves are a particular and unique kind of symbol which bring about what they symbolise. Water, oil, bread and wine, rings – these things and many others in our Catholic lives speak of the God-dimension of reality."

Meanwhile, I'm very grateful to those who are starting to send me links to videos that I might want to post here also. So, thanks Mike for sending me this rendering of "Amazing Grace" by Trinidad-born American singer and Seventh Day Adventist minister (it's OK - he has performed at the Vatican according to Wikipedia!) Wintley Phipps at Carnegie Hall. First he gives some interesting history of the hymn, suggesting that it was based on African melodies that John Newton, the composer and former slave-ship captain, heard on the horrific transatlantic voyages. Nice little line too "If the mountain were smooth, you couldn't climb it". Then Phipps sings over sounds reminiscent of ocean waves, and as the end of the hymn approaches, lifts the whole audience up with a powerful change of key and a great Alleluia and Amen. As the Americans have taught us to say "Awesome!"

Episcopal shoes, no shoes and new shoes

2011-10-31T11:06:00.001Z

Our new Archbishop, George Stack, is getting his episcopal feet under the table as it were. (picture shows, apparently, John Paul II's shoes...). We clergy had been invited to suggest nominations for the deans in our eight deaneries, and the new men were announced last week. Four are reappointees and four are new, like the scriptural "things old and new". Next, Archbishop George reconvened the Council of Priests on Friday, and asked me to chair it. Following clergy recommendation, he has opened membership to all priests, and so most of us were there on Friday. He shared with us his thoughts on a large number of issues ranging across life in our diocese. We got through the agenda in about two and a quarter hours, not bad going I thought, and our next meeting will be in February.

Meanwhile, another update on past postings here. A fortnight ago I posted about very distant relations of mine who lived in Halket Street, Canton, here in Cardiff, later renamed Avon Street. Halket Street seems to have been a tough place to live, and someone in Mass this morning recalls that its second incarnation as Avon Street was little better, as she was forbidden to walk there as a child! Another lady could remember one part of that related family who lived in Ely - and they did go to Mass, so that's something.
Tomorrow evening Fr T and I are attending the Baptism, Confirmation and First Eucharist of Ruby, a young Chinese lady, at the University Chaplaincy. Ruby has been lodging with a family in our parish and we have got to know here recently. She is very charming , and it should be a lovely occasion...

Behind the scenes in vocations

2011-10-25T23:09:00.003+01:00

During a spare gap today I caught up with a few other people's blogs, and found a couple of interesting videos on vocations.

First - what's it like inside a seminary? The BBC took photographs inside Allen Hall, the diocesan seminary of Westminster, situated off the Kings Road in Chelsea. Allen Hall has experienced a very encouraging increase of seminarians each year for the last five years. Rector Mgr Mark O'Toole and two seminarians talk over the slides. Come on Wales - catch up!

You'll find the video here; (acknowledgements to Fr Stephen Wang, who teaches at Allen Hall). The picture below shows Adoration in the seminary chapel

My second video is, er, different. It is of the profession of two enclosed Dominican nuns in the convent of St Catherine of Siena in Cusco, Peru. If you can take the soundtrack (if not, turn it down) this is a fascinating little insight into an age old and solemn ceremony, with a profuse - very profuse - use of flowers. The convent was founded in 1610 on the site of a kind of Inca religious house for women. The chapel itself looks beautiful and Baroque. In this one, click on the image below. (Acknowledgements to the Dominican novices of the English province at Godzdogz)

A hymn for Fr Bob

2011-10-24T22:55:00.003+01:00

A few weeks ago (7th October) I posted about the death of a priest friend whom I have admired tremendously since I worked with him in the 80s, Fr Bob Bedard of Ottawa in Canada. I was delighted to find that the religious congregation that he founded, the Companions of the Cross, have put a video of the whole of his Requiem on the internet. The principal celebrant was Archbishop Prendergast of Ottawa and there were hundreds of priests. Particularly indicative of Fr Bob's influence was the presence also of the Papal Nuncio to Canada.

If I'm not mistaken, the leader of the music ministry playing and singing up in the gallery is Marcel, who was a young newly-married when I was there. I must confess to a lump in my throat when they went into the final hymn as Bob's coffin was led out of the Cathedral. "The Victory" by Bob Filorama was one of my favourite hymns that I heard over in Canada. It's a simple but moving melody with strong words, full of a Pauline hope. Dare I say it is also in some way a man's hymn - and not just because it speaks of a man's arrival at heaven. On the Requiem video it does not come out too clearly, but I found it also as the soundtrack to a lovely short video tribute to Blessed Pope John Paul II.

Catch the Requiem here and the John Paul video here

A Tintern autumn

2011-10-19T17:26:00.001+01:00

Just got in from our fortnightly Fraternity of Priests meeting which was held at Chepstow this time with Fr Barry English (a very, very distant relation of mine) hosting. As we left, I asked Fr T if he fancied a diversion to see Tintern Abbey, so off we went up the Wye Valley.

It was about 3.30 when we got there on this, a coldish crisp October afternoon. There were very few visitors as I whisked us past the pay-desk with my lifetime Cadw card (ahem). The abbey was all the more beautiful for the autumnal colours and light, and the stillness. As we wandered over to the remains of the infirmary there was, in fact, nobody else in sight.

What a blessing to have such a place within easy reach of Cardiff. As I explained to Fr T that, no, the ruins were the result not of a fire but of the even more fiery Dissolution of the Monasteries, the pity of it all rose up once more in my mind. The loss of the religious houses was a great scar on our history, and although the wound is certainly softened by the beauty of sites like Tintern, somewhere. deep down, a Catholic heart must mourn.

Life in Halket Street

2011-10-17T19:01:00.004+01:00

While I was waiting for an appointment to turn up this morning, I was doodling around an obscure corner of my family tree when I came across a new connection. My great-uncle Patrick O'Brian had a sister-in-law, Margaret, with an, er, interesting history. In 1888 she was had up for selling beer illegally, and two years later charged again with selling beer illegally - this time on a Sunday! Finally a few years later she was "done" for not sending her children to school...

Fascinated by these lively details i looked for where she was living, which turned out to be Halket Street in Canton. You won't find it on a modern map, as it was later renamed Avon Street, which has in turn been reincarnated as the car-park behind the north side of Cowbridge Road East between Wyndham Crescent and Severn Road. Poor old Halket Street has well and truly been wiped off the map.

Along with parts of adjoining Wyndham Crescent, where Margaret and her sister's family had a grocer's, it was completely settled by Irish immigrants in the mid-nineteenth century, a kind of Canton Newtown. But I still wondered why Halket Street had been so thoroughly suppressed - until I found a photo from the Cardiff Library archives on the internet.

This was taken in 1892, exactly when Margaret was selling her beer and maybe trying her best with her children. Take a look at the pitiful little boy and girl on the left. Now I think I can begin to understand what life was like for that distant part of my family, and thousands like them...
p.s. (The next day) I see that a small street in the new development on the site of Lansdowne Hospital is called "Clos Halket" - a delayed resurrection? Meanwhile, things it seems got worse for Margaret, as by the 1911 census she is in Merthyr Tydfil Workhouse. However by the time she died in 1944 she was back living more comfortably in Cardiff

Rose-gardens and stethoscopes

2011-10-14T21:14:00.001+01:00

I've written this piece for this week's parish newsletter (www.3churches.org)... When Fr Tomy and I were driving Archbishop George around our 3 Churches area on his recent visit, from Cefn Onn to Colchester Avenue, he was of course delighted to see Roath Park, which was looking at its best that afternoon. Unfortunately, as we were only driving past, he did not have a chance to see one of the park’s highlights – the Rose Garden. Of course the roses have their season, but I was able to tell him about this beautiful feature, even though it was hidden from view.

There is another Rose Garden that seems to be hidden from many of us. We have heard about it, we know it’s there, we hear good things about it. But perhaps we don’t visit it ourselves. The word “Rosary” means “rose-garden” or “rose-garland”. Perhaps for many of us it’s an unknown feature of the landscape of our faith. We know about it, perhaps remember it from our childhood, but... but...

October is the month to pay a visit to Our Lady’s rose-garden, especially if you haven’t been there for a while. Take your time and relax. Don’t expect sudden or exciting things to happen – the attraction of a rose-garden is cumulative. Don’t worry about all the prayers or about distractions. Just join Our Blessed Mother as she takes you around, showing you the joys and sorrows, the lights and glories of her Garden – let her be your guide. Ask her to help you with the prayer. Pray a decade for somebody, such as the Annunciation for a sick person who needs good news to be announced to them. Ask the Divine Gardener to draw you into his garden, as He shows you the beauty of salvation.

As the TV advert used to say “Roses grow on you” – and so does the Rosary.

Meanwhile another video - you may have seen it already as Tomy had - very well made, and don't forget to watch until the end...

A moonlit night in October 1962

2011-10-12T23:38:00.007+01:00

When Fr M was a little lad in St Peter's Junior School here in Cardiff, we used to pray every day for something called the Second Vatican Council. We didn't know what it was, but we used to ask God to renew the Church "as by a new Pentecost" - because Pope John XXIII had asked us to.
Yesterday was the 49th anniversary of the opening of the first session of the Council (big year in 2012!) and 10th October was nominated by John Paul II as the feast of the now Blessed John XXIII. I'm grateful for blogger Rocco Palmo's drawing my attention to a totally impromptu little address that Pope John gave from his balcony on that night to a huge crowd with thousands of young people carrying lighted torches - flaming torches that is. I don't remember ever reading or hearing it before, although apparently it has become famous, especially in Italy, as "Il Discorso della Luna" - "The Moonlight Speech."

So here it is with a translation of some parts. It's not of the best, but you'll get the idea. It's hard to imagine the impact of a pope speaking this way almost fifty years ago. What a pope, what a saint...

"Dear children, I hear your voices. My voice is just one voice, but it represents the entire world. Please look at the moon in the sky! It rose earlier tonight to be with us
so that it might watch from above this spectacle that not even St Peter's Basilica, in its four centuries of history, has ever been seen before. This is a natural wonder...
With this speech you and I are going to conclude this day of peace - yes, a day of peace : "Glory to God and on earth peace to men of good will"...
I am not important. I am just your brother who has become a father, through the will of God...
And so, let us continue to love each other, to look out for each other along the way: to welcome whoever comes by, and set aside whatever difficulty might come along.
When you get home, find your children. Hug and kiss them, stroke their cheek and tell them:"This is the Pope's caress". Maybe at times you have to dry their tears. Please help and support them, tell them: "The Pope is with us, especially in times of sadness and bitterness."
And then, together, may we all become fully alive - to sing, to breathe, to cry - but always full of trust in Christ, who helps us and hears us. Let us then continue along our path."

Ah, Senanque...

2011-10-11T22:16:00.002+01:00

It seems an age ago that we visited the Cistercian Abbey of Senanque on our September Pilgrimage, but it is only just over a month. For many of our pilgrims this was their favourite location for Mass this year. The Abbey Church is open to visitors during the day outside the times of services, so we were invited to celebrate Mass in the private oratory of the 10 monks who live there, which is actually the former refectory of this beautiful twelfth century monastery.

What is it that makes places like Senanque so powerful in their presence? The Romanesque architecture, the Provencal sun, the changing colours of the stone, the surrounding hills and lavender fields. Or is it something much more intangible, something that has soaked into those stones and inspired that architecture... And might we call that vital ingredient holiness?

We were only there a few hours, but those hours will stay with me. Luckily I have a tangible reminder, as the gift I received from the pilgrims this year - a figure of the crucified Christ - was bought there. Here for your pleasure is one of many videos on Youtube showing Senanque - so turn on your speakers, relax, enjoy. Fr M approves mightily.

Fr Bob Bedard R.I.P.

2011-10-07T18:41:00.010+01:00

I write today's posting with a tear in my eye. I just received an email telling me that one of the best priests I have had the privilege to know died last night - Fr Bob Bedard, former parish priest of St Mary's Ottawa in Canada, and founder of the Companions of the Cross.

Although I only knew him closely for the two years I was studying in Ottawa, when I helped at St Mary's every weekend, his influence on me was enormous. He was Ottawa born and ordained for the diocese there. He taught in a local Catholic high school, becoming its principal, but then spent five years or so as a full-time evangelist, giving talks and retreats across Canada and beyond. When I met him he was two years into an appointment as parish priest in what had been a rather run-down city parish, St Mary's on Bayswater Avenue (very smart website here, where you can also hear some of Fr Bob's homilies). The attendance had rocketed, especially among the 20s and 30s, and the main Mass now attracted about 700 people.

When I was in Ottawa there were the very beginnings of a new community gathering around him, and through the 1990s this evolved into what is now a priests' Society of Apostolic Life (a type of order) called the Companions of the Cross. You can visit their website here where you will also find information about Fr Bob. Take a look at the young age of most of the 39 priest members! If you are on Facebook visit a group that has been praying for him called "Praying for Fr Bob Bedard" where you get a sense of the affection there has been for him.

I have stayed in touch with parishioners in Ottawa, and more loosely with Bob himself. He was a truly holy and inspirational pastor and human being and I am proud to put myself among the thousands he must have inspired. I am particularly proud to be able to say that I played a small part in the beginnings of the Companions when I was priest-in-residence at their first house of formation. Those who hear me speak and sometimes say nice things about what they hear - well, often you are really hearing Fr Bob Bedard...
His Requiem Mass will be celebrated next Wednesday at the Cathedral Basilica of Notre Dame in Ottawa.

Eternal rest grant to him, Lord.

Be graciously patient, Lord

2011-10-03T22:01:00.001+01:00

September 29th was the feast of the Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, so in Mass I used the Preface of the Holy Angels. Reading through it, I struck a roadblock. The preface uses the word "redounds", and while it stirred something way back in my memory, possibly back to literary studies in university, I had to admit I didn't know what it meant. The internet Oxford dictionary says "(formal) contributes greatly to (a person's credit or honour)". Fine, I have no problem with the accuracy and appropriateness of the word in its reference to God, but I'm just wondering about its use in the liturgy.

I have mixed feelings about the new translation. I'm getting used to the longer sentences, especially in the Eucharistic Prayers, and the greater expression that is therefore needed in praying them out loud. There are many fine turns of phrase - I love "from the rising of the sun to its setting" and "the supper of the Lamb", for example. But praying that the deceased be experiencing "the light of your face" sounds clumsy to me, "coheirs" is not a natural phrase. I have yet myself to experience the supposed benefits of "And with your spirit" or "consubstantial". And yes I know it's not all about feelings, and I know the arguments for these changes, but language is a living dynamic reality which needs a little more than justifying arguments for it to "work".

And now that I'm getting more familiar with the translation, I agree with one commentator I read, who observed that the word "graciously" occurs a lot... So I'll just say that I'm asking the Lord to graciously hear our prayers and graciously bear with us while we try our best - graciously, of course.

A Pastor's Visit

2011-09-30T23:11:00.006+01:00

And so the Archbishop came to visit us on Wednesday afternoon. The weather was perfect and, as he pulled up, St Brigid's was looking good in its white-washed splendour against the green lawns and trees, and blue, blue sky. After a great chat and cuppa with Fr T and myself, we took off for a tour around the territory of our parishes.

Fr T drove and I tried to give a running commentary, while the Archbishop popped his questions as and when he liked. We visited all three of our churches and considered calling in at Christ the King School but it was 3.30 at that point - not a good time. After a tour of Llanshen, Thornhill and Lisvane by the time we got to Corpus Christi High School it was 3.45ish and the kids had gone. Nothing like a surprise visit! Headteacher David Stone gave an excellent intro as we strolled through the grounds, looking their best in the bright sun. Back at the ranch, His Grace had intended to leave at 4.30, but didn't get away until some time later as he and I got into good discussion about all kinds of things.

The Archbishop paid great attention in our visits and discussion, and was really interested in all kinds of aspects of our 3 Churches, and I was very happy to be able to share with my Bishop some of the wonderful things we all get up to here, and of course some of our problems. It's a wonderful thing that he has given such priority to getting to know his parishes and especially his priests. It all bodes well - very well - for the future.
Pic shows some of Corpus Christi's "pavilions" and part of the "lagoons". Picture of the Archbishop is in the right column...

3 Churches, 1 Archbishop

2011-09-27T12:46:00.001+01:00

We held our 3 Churches Forum last night at Corpus Christi School, and I think it went well. About 70 people turned up, and there was lots of useful and lively discussion as we tried to lift the propositions of our vision statement off the page and translate them into reality and action. There was a great buzz at the wine-and-nibbles break, which is always a good sign, so we'll be watching where it all goes.

And so from yesterday to tomorrow, and the visit to us of Archbishop George Stack. He has been making his way through the diocese since July, visiting all his priests. He's almost finished now, so hopefully he's gained a good picture of his new diocese. One of the things he likes apparently is a drive round the area, so I'm working out an itinerary for him. We'll cover all the areas - Heath, Llanishen, Lisvane, Thornhill, Cyncoed, Penylan, Roath Park, show him the schools - Christ the King Primary, Corpus Christi High and St David's College, point out the homes for the elderly and so on... It's quite a list when you put it all down. Maybe I'll interview him a little too!

Picture : Fr M gives Archbishop G something to think about...

Rhiwbina, Relativity, R.E.M.

2011-09-23T23:15:00.028+01:00

Strange things you see considered as news in the papers. In the Times today it says that the speed camera on Rhiwbina Hill here in Cardiff only recorded one person speeding last year - it was the lowest in the South Wales Police area. This is a well-used cut-through to the M4. But was it the northbound camera on Rhiwbina Hill or the southbound one (right)? Hmmm...

Another weird thing... scientists have discovered a particle that goes faster than the speed of light. Nothing is supposed to do that according to Einstein.

Anyway, this pales into insignificance in a week when American band R.E.M decided to call it a day. For those asleep (or not born) in the early 1990s, this band from Georgia USA provided the soundtrack for life during those years. In "Out of Time" (1991) and "Automatic for the People" (1992) they put together two absolutely classic CDs, including such tracks as "Losing my Religion", "Shiny, Happy People", "Man on the Moon" and the classic "Everybody Hurts".

The BBC write "REM have often used their music and power as a band to carry a message. 'Everybody Hurts' .... started out as a song to comfort 'younger people'. Its 'don't give up' message has most often been associated with suicide prevention but the song has also been used to mark the Dunblane massacre, Princess Diana's death and more recently the earthquake in Haiti."

Some music takes me back to a particular occasion, but R.E.M. take me back to a whole period from 1991 on. Even now, my well-worn CDs transport me to my time at St Francis Presbytery. And it's very R.E.M that it seems they have disbanded not amid acrimony and bad-feeling but calmly and together. Great style, great band, thanks R.E.M.

Missal launched

2011-09-19T23:36:00.001+01:00

So we in the 3 Churches had to be different, and introduced the new translation of the Missal two weeks or more after everyone else. This weekend I was at St Paul's and St Brigid's, and so at homily time I took everybody through the "shiny card" as I called the material we bought for the pews. Actually, it all went fine - plenty of fumbling and "And with you"-ing, but all in good humour.

A lady who had come for a Baptism after Mass said she had heard several priests explaining the changes, and that I was the best. Then, after the Baptism she asked could she wrap me up and take me home as my celebration of Baptism was also better than what she was used to!

Anyway, enough modesty - you may have noticed the new format on the blog. I just thought that it could do with a makeover, and spent half an hour finding some alternatives. What do you think?

Fr Patrick left us on Friday afternoon, and within twelve hours Fr Tomy had returned, looking refreshed. He's been telling me that his family are fine, but were sad to see him leave again, especially his Mum. Priests' mums are indeed a special breed. Sometimes perhaps we forget that priests have families too - that's partly why I refer to mine from time to time in Church and here. And that's got implications for vocations promotion too. If we are going to get more priests then we have to have the families that are going to produce them. I read somewhere that one of the American dioceses that is doing well for vocations - they currently have 25 men in formation - is Madison, Wisconsin. You might want to see what can be done too here on their website. There's a dropdown menu to look through.

These are the Madison seminarians with their Bishop. The picture above is Van Gogh's "Night Cafe" painted in Arles. Unfortunately, this cafe, which still exists, is where my camera disappeared...

Aix and no pains as summer ebbs away

2011-09-15T19:23:00.006+01:00

We've had two lovely days weather-wise, but as my Dad used to say the evenings are drawing in. Summer is starting to drift away... Another sure sign is that our summer supply priest Fr Patrick is leaving tomorrow, and Fr Tomy is returning the next day.

Fr Patrick has brought a lively presence to the liturgy with his mixture of Nigerian and East London flavours. Fr Tomy has been back to his homeland of Kerala in India. Amazing that prior to coming here last September he had not lived or worked very far from his family home, other than for holidays. It'll be good to have him back, anyway, and our best wishes and prayers go with Patrick, who's taking a break at a retreat house and then hoping to pursue further studies in London.

Over the last years we have welcome priests from Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa/Lesotho in Africa, Poland and Ireland. All bring something different and help us to stay open to new perspectives, as well as providing them with parish experience here in the UK.

Pic shows the square in Aix-en-Provence where I had lunch last week...mmm...

A week in Provence

2011-09-12T23:03:00.002+01:00

Hello again! We're back from our September Pilgrimage to Provence, and I'm glad to say that it all went very well. What a beautiful part of the world... Unfortunately one of the few blackspots in the week was the fact that I lost my camera on our first day - so I haven't got any of my own pics here.

We stayed at Arles, with its Greek theatre, amphitheatre and memories of Van Gogh, and went on to visit other big towns like Avignon with its Palace of the Popes, Nimes with its amphitheatre, the Maison Carre, the best-preserved temple in the whole Roman Empire, and the famous nearby Pont du Gard aqueduct, and lovely Aix-en-Provence, home of Paul Cezanne, and one of my favourite places of all.

We also went to smaller places like St-Remy, where I tried ginger-flavoured ice-cream, Fontaine de Vaucluse, (blood orange-flavoured ice-cream), and the hilltop villages of Gordes and Roussillon. A day was devoted to the Camargue, famous for its gypies and flamingoes. We visited its towns of Les-Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, where I saw bulls being run through the streets by the local horsemen, and Aigues-Mortes, a lonely walled city founded by St Louis as port of departure for the Crusades.

Each day, of course, we celebrated Mass somewhere appropriate. Four of these were cathedrals or former cathedrals - Arles itself, Avignon, Aix and Nimes. At Les-Saintes-Maries the church and town celebrate the tradition that Martha, Mary, Lazarus and the two Marys from the crucifixion sailed across the Med and landed there. If it's true, that would make it the oldest Christian site in Europe! For many of our group their favourite celebration was at the Cistercian Abbey of Senanque, in a fold of the Luberon hills - just stunning.

It rained on our first day, but after that it got hotter each day until it was pretty scorching in Nimes on Friday. The company was great, as always, enlivened by the nightly ritual of Chase the Ace. On one of the nights that I played, I actually won a round - not to be sniffed at when 15-20 are putting in 1 euro each...

Anyway, more of the pilgrimage in future postings... as I get back to routine.

Pics show Senanque Abbey across its lavender-fields, Camargue horsemen and the village of Gordes.

Of Archbishops and Arles

2011-09-01T13:27:00.002+01:00

Everything's a bit frantic this week as we're getting ready for our annual September Pilgrimage which starts on Saturday.

For the first time in the seven years that I've been in these parishes, neither I nor the assistant priest will be here for one week. The parishes will be in the capable hands of Fr Patrick, our summer supply. So guess which Sunday Archbishop George chooses to want to come and celebrate Mass? Yes, you've guessed it, this Sunday. I suppose that's a bishop's idea of a joke.. He phoned yesterday and invited himself over.

Anyway, actually, I'm delighted he's coming. We've got nothing to hide! And it's a good sign to everyone of his wish to get to know the diocese. But then a further thought struck me. We decided long ago in our 3 Churches to not introduce the new translation of the missal until 18th September, when everybody else is doing it this weekend. That weekend will be the first that both I and Fr Tomy are back. And to make it worse, the archbishop has written a small pastoral letter about it - which he'll be able to read himself here - in a church that isn't introducing it this weekend! Well, as the kids say, "Whatever...."

So I'll be off the map again next week. We're going to visit Provence, staying at Arles, visiting all the famous sights, and celebrating Mass in all sorts of beautiful cathedrals and abbeys. Normal service at the Canon's Stall will be resumed from the 10th.

Street news

2011-08-26T11:34:00.001+01:00

Amazing how quickly the news moves on. At the moment papers, TV and radio are dominated by events in Tripoli. Yet it's only a very short time since they were all equally dominated by the disturbances on our streets. Already politicians are pulling back from knee-jerk reactions at the time.

The news often compared or contrasted these events on the streets with those of the 1980s, but I haven't heard any recollection of the problems on the streets of several cities, including Cardiff, that occurred in the summer of 1991. At the time I was parish priest of the area where the troubles were. In fact, the centre of the action was right outside our presbytery. I remember the atmosphere of tension and unpredictability as a few hundred young people roamed the streets, many of them from outside the area, and even from outside Cardiff.

When it all calmed down, I took part in some meetings of "community leaders" which tried to ask the question why it had all happened. There was some very useful discussion, but sadly money took over. A lot of cash was clearly going to be thrown at the area, and everybody wanted to catch some. Housing, education, social services... these and others were, and are, all deserving sectors. But those underlying questions somehow sank back into the murky depths under the floorboards of our society.

So when these troubles happened this summer I was not at all surprised to see and hear various spokesmen and women blaming this and that aspect of life in Britain. With so many interested parties, politicians and others involved, you're not going to get a consensus.

And into all this spoke bereaved father Tariq Jahan. "My son is dead. Step forward if you want to lose your sons. Otherwise, calm down and go home." Watch again his impassioned original plea here.

Oh happy day...

2011-08-22T21:42:00.002+01:00

Sorry folks, a longer gap between postings than I intended... but the Big Wedding came in meanwhile! Yes the long-awaited marriage of one of Fr M's nephews happened on Friday. And what a wonderful day it was. It took place in a large Catholic church in Cambridge, and Friday was chosen mainly to fit in with my timetable. Followers will know that my family is very important to me, and this was the first family wedding that I have celebrated.

The day was simply one of the happiest that I can remember. Everything went well - and after a few damp days even the weather perked up and we had nothing but sunshine. This was particularly important as the venue for the reception had outdoor terraces and grounds ideal for spilling out onto for the pre-reception drinks and evening party.

At the end of the service it was marvellous to hear the peal of real bells, rung by real ringers, instead of the more usual digital or pre-recorded bells that you usually get, if at all, in Catholic churches. The bride didn't stop smiling from the moment she arrived at the church, and my nephew had a proud beaming smile too. Even the priest - myself! - couldn't stop smiling.

It was great to see two young people radiating such love for each other, it just made you feel so good. I know I may be biased, but as a connoisseur of marrying couples - having married a few hundred - it really was an absolute cracker of a wedding, with a beautiful couple at the heart of it. It's going to keep me going, anyway, for a good while to come!

Pictures are a webpic showing the church from across the grounds of my college, Downing, at Cambridge, and two of my own, of the venue for the Reception - note the blue sky and the croquet lawn!

Swings, moves and unknown wives

2011-08-17T18:50:00.001+01:00

Amazing, isn't it, how quickly you get back into the swing of things? It's only Wednesday and it feels like I've never... well, you know the rest.

Fr Tomy has gone back home to Kerala for his holiday. He was really excited in a Fr Tomy kind of way, so nice to see. So now it's Fr Patrick and myself for a few weeks.

Parish-wise things are a little quieter in August. Time to ponder perhaps...

The arrival of Archbishop George is giving some clergy food for pondering. There is some talk of impending clergy moves following his episcopal progress through the diocese in July, a process he intends to conclude in September. Archbishop Peter only really seemed to move priests when necessary - retirement etc. It'll be interesting to see if +George takes a more, um, proactive approach.

Family tree-wise, I discovered that a cousin of my dad who we always thought was a bachelor, actually married while working in Athens. Not only that, but I've been in touch with his wife's half-brother, who is alive and very active as a ceramic artist in Cape Town. Her two siblings bring the number of people on my family tree to 2,700 precisely!

Back

2011-08-13T12:19:00.005+01:00

OK I'm back in harness, arrived back in the parish on Thursday. Buildings still standing, people still here!
I had a great break, spending one lovely half with my family and the other half off on my jaunt to Munich and Bavaria. Loved the places, but unfortunately I got hit by some very wet weather, especially on the day I decided to go into the mountains to visit the famous castles of King Ludwig II of Bavaria, the so-called "mad King Ludwig". We saw Linderhof in all its sunlit beauty, but during lunch the sky darkened, and the heavens opened for three hours non-stop torrential rain with added thunder and lightning for effect. And all my day-tour group were in t-shirts n stuff, including me.

I got absolutely soaked right through, in a way I can't remember since being at university 40 years ago... After the 40 minute walk down the steep hill back to the village everyone steamed in various cafes before the joys of an hour's coach ride back to the city. Never has a hot shower been so welcome...

Munich is a very fine city, sort of Germany with a southern European twist. Lots of Baroque and Rococo architecture, some of which I found really beautiful, some rather heavy and uninspiring. So my pics show the famous Neuschwanstein Castle at about 2pm, just as the heavens were about to burst open and dump their wet contents on me and hundreds of others. The second one is only a couple of hours before, showing the lower Alps with the Zugspitze in the distance. The last pic shows the Jesuit church of St Michael in Munich - one that I did like!
More pics later, plus some thoughts on what happened on our streets while I was away.

Time for a break...

2011-07-26T12:59:00.000+01:00

Today I have that sense of pleasant panic, if there is such a thing, that tells me I'm off on my hols. Yes, I've got loads to do before I take off tomorrow, first for time with my family, and then some time off away for myself. In the last few years I've gone back to a habit of the 1990s when I was also in a very busy parish, and took off for a week on my own. This year I'm going to Munich and Bavaria.

As priests we so often come across as a collar first and a person second. I know that's how it is, but it's good also to just be nobody, melt into the background and relax. Some priests go so far as to claim another profession if asked on holiday what they do. I don't go that far, but I don't offer the info unless directly asked. All clergy know that opening line "I know you're on holiday, but do you think I could just have a little word....?"

So I won't be around for a fortnight. Thanks to all readers for your support. Visits continue to rise - roughly 700 a month a year ago, and over 1,000 now. UK visitors far outnumber everyone else, but other top nationalities in descending order are USA, Germany, Netherlands, Canada, France, Russia, Italy, India, and the Philippines.

See you soon.

Re-laying and renewal

2011-07-22T21:41:00.000+01:00

Since I came to these churches seven years ago I've always felt that the carpet in my sitting-room is a lovely colour - but not in that particular room. We did a lot of decorating about three years ago, but didn't touch the carpets. But this week all that has changed.

It all started with redoing the kitchen in the Parish Hall, including the flooring. Then we realised that the tiles in the servers' sacristy and toilet were coming up, and so put the same flooring down there. Then, well, the little carpet in the presbytery downstairs loo was really grotty, so we put the same stuff there. And then... a brainwave. Take the carpet up in the sitting-room and re-lay it in my bedroom immediately above, where it looks much better, and of course is a great fit. Then bring the rug out of the parish office and put that in the middle of the very nice now exposed wood-block floor in the sitting-room. Finally, get some hard-wearing carpet for the office and reception room, and some bedroom carpet for two rooms upstairs..

So with some careful interior re-cycling we've managed to spruce the place up without spending a huge amount. And I should point out that one of the above-mentioned now gone bed-room carpets we believe to have been original to the house, ie 50 years old...

All a bit like renewal in the Church - some bits new, some bits recycled, a little inspiration, a little planning, and hope it's OK for a while!

The apple or the tree

2011-07-18T23:09:00.001+01:00

So I've been reading the so-called "Cloyne Report" today. This looked into the handling by the diocese of Cloyne in Ireland of allegations of child-abuse by priests. It strikes me that there is something in common between this report, the current phone-hacking scandal with its ever-widening implications, and other events such as the financial melt-down. Besides all being scandals, they all involve institutions or individuals who believe themselves to be safe from disaster, immune to the ills of the human race. Banks, politicians, journalists and publishers - and people in authority in the Church - can so easily see themselves at the best as "it'll never happen to me" and at worst as "it can't happen to me".

The apparent shocking lack of concern for victims in the handling of various abuse cases in different parts of the world, sometimes in favour of the protection of the good name of individual, diocese or the Church in general, is worthy of the condemnation it has received. It's akin to the fact that the very newspapers which have delighted in exposing the wrongs in society, now find themselves exposed.

I like the word "systemic" - in so many things in life, the Church included, we have to look at the system that produces the individuals or institutions. Mind you, we may have to - sometimes - be open to the possibility that somewhere along the line the system may include us.

Let's get organized

2011-07-15T22:52:00.001+01:00

And now it's time for some more music. This evening I watched one of my favourite modern classical pieces from the Proms, Janacek's "Glagolitic Mass". The Mass ends with an organ piece followed by a final orchestral piece. They have to be two of the most exciting moments in twentieth century music. Here is Andrew Davies conducting and Simon Preston on the organ at a previous Proms.

And secondly, also on an organ theme... At the end of the wedding I celebrated up at Belmont Abbey three weeks ago, the organist, Tony Hemson, a friend of mine let rip with Widor's "Toccata". Here it is, played on the organ at one of my favourite American churches, the Catholic cathedral in Newark, New Jersey.

Bridges

2011-07-11T23:04:00.002+01:00

Busy, busy, busy - a longer gap than usual between postings. So today a quirky one.

I do like a nice bridge. Today I went down to Pembroke Dock for the burial of parishioner Anne Bermingham. After the interment we went for a cup of coffee to a nearby hotel which overlooked the Cleddau Bridge. That's the high-level one that spans Milford Haven, joining the town of that name to Pembroke. It famously buckled or collapsed or something not long after it was originally built. Its high and gentle arc is elegant, if now a little stained. The first Severn Bridge, the Humber and both Forth Bridges, the Ponte Vecchio in Florence, the Rialto in Venice, the Golden Gate in San Francisco - there's something special about a good bridge. It joins together, it leaps into space, it unites the separated.
Bishop Edwin Regan of Wrexham has as the motto on his coat of arms "A fo ben bid bont" - "let him who would lead be a bridge". The ancient Roman title "Pontifex maximus" taken over by the Popes means "great bridge-builder".

A friend of mine in Canada, a great mixer of metaphors, when discussing a particular step on the way to the priesthood told me that he'd burn that bridge when he came to it.

But what do we make of the experience of anyone approaching us at St Brigid's along Crystal Glen from Heathwood Road. For, along our street you cross two bridges on branches of the Roath Brook - without even knowing it! "I'll cross those bridges without knowing it"....hmmm.... what does that mean?

The pictures show two of my favourites - the Skye Bridge in Scotland, joining the Isle to the mainland in a way which only adds to the beauty of the landscape, which I have seen, and the Millau Viaduct in France, 800 feet above the Tarn valley - which I haven't... yet.

Matters pastoral, family and priestly

2011-07-06T23:45:00.002+01:00

Friday evening we hosted the annual Mass for people from parishes where there is regular Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. This is always a lovely celebration even if numbers were a little down this year.

On Saturday I had an enquiry from a lady about becoming a Catholic. It looks like we may have at least five prospective converts for next Easter, which is great, and it's still only July.

Sunday was a scorching day weather-wise and we were invited to a parishioner's house for a lovely lunch. It was almost too hot to sit in the garden so we relaxed in the conservatory before and after. I always have thought to share a meal is just about the best way to get to know parishioners.

This weekend it was the turn of Christ the King parishioners to be urged by me in the homily to "sign up" to the Vision we have been developing this year. As at St P and St B last weekend, we passed the signature book around as I spoke, and most seemed to sign. I have a sense that this pastoral project is slowly gathering steam, and I hope that by the autumn we will be able to make real decisions and start action to put the vision into place. You can see the statement on the parish website.

Yesterday, Monday, my nephew and his fiancee came to visit along with my brother-in-law. I always like to see my family, and this visit was particularly to firm up the liturgy for their wedding next month which I am celebrating in Cambridge. That's the church, Our Lady and the English Martyrs or OLEM, in the picture. I'm really looking forward to it, and I'm sure I'll be posting more about it... Then in the evening I had a very interesting chat with someone in connection with another of the plans I've got bubbling under. I would love to have a small 3 Churches choir that could sing music from the great tradition of church music that we have. 3 or 4 part Masses, motets, anthems, whatever.... I'm sure we could muster maybe 16 folks from our churches (plus a few friends maybe) to sing on a small number of occasions in the year. We'll see...

Then today we had the first Fraternity of Priests meeting for quite a while, what with the new Archbishop's installation, Sts Peter and Paul and a clergy funeral. Eight of us met at Caerphilly and we had a good time with our usual hour prayer/hour lunch/hour sharing format. During the last part it was suggested that we pray with one of our number who's had a trying time pastorally speaking, and that was very special, as it always is on the occasions when we do it. A group of priests praying with and for a brother is a great blessing. Thank be to God.

Red hot June

2011-07-01T00:03:00.001+01:00

Just checked stats for June - hooray! Visits to this site passed 1,000 in June, 1,056 to be precise, a record for my little site. Pages viewed passed 1500, also a record, and pages viewed today passed 100, also a record I think. All these don't count unknown numbers of people who view the blog on the parish website. Seems to have been helped a lot by my Coldplay posting a few days ago, which got linked to on the Coldplay fan site. I don't suppose festivals like Glastonbury often get compared to pilgrimages. Good night - and thank you!

Faith in Russia and Oxford

2011-06-29T12:38:00.006+01:00

A happy St Peter and Paul feast day to everyone. In this week of feasts - Friday is the Sacred Heart, and we had Corpus Christi on Sunday - and further to the interesting Eucharistic video from Preston, more news of an Eucharistic nature comes from a rather unexpected place - Russia! Zenit.org today has an item about what is going on in St Petersburg.

"JUNE 28, 2011 The streets of St. Petersburg became witness to the Real Presence of Christ on Sunday, after 93 years in which there had not been a Corpus Christi procession. The Eucharist was processed along Nevski Avenue, carried under a canopy and followed by a series of banners with images of Our Lady and saints, and a group of Dominican religious and numerous priests, Vatican Radio reported. Archbishop Paolo Pezzi, of the Archdiocese of the Mother of God in Moscow, carried the Eucharist. That archdiocese includes St. Petersburg.

According to the organizers, the historic procession was viewed with satisfaction by leaders of the Russian Orthodox Church, as a manifestation of love for the Eucharistic God."

A Corpus Christi procession down the main street of St Petersburg, formerly Leningrad. My picture shows the same street during the Russian Revolution where Communism was born... Amazing!

I notice that the Dominicans seem to have organized or animated this beautiful event. I am a great admirer of the Order of Preachers, to give them their proper name. So here is their new British vocations video, featuring among others Fr Timothy Radcliffe, who was formerly the Master of the whole order. Much of the video is filmed at Blackfriars, their formation house in Oxford. And let's not forget that in past centuries they had a monastery in Cardiff, whose remains are in the Castle grounds (see picture right).
Lastly, folks, a little push today and tomorrow and this will be record month for visits to this blog-site. Previous record was this January - so come back tomorrow!

Belmont and Glastonbury

2011-06-26T23:30:00.001+01:00

Yesterday, Saturday, I dashed up to Hereford to conduct the wedding of the daughter of good friends of mine. Unlike here in Cardiff, the weather was beautiful and Belmont Abbey looked wonderful. However, the crashing tones of Widor's Toccata were hardly fading on the organ than I was back in a taxi to the station and home to get ready for evening Mass at St Paul's.

By late evening I was ready to relax, and turned on BBC2 to see Coldplay at Glastonbury. I've listened to Coldplay more than any other band in the first decade of this century. I wasn't disappointed last night - they were on top form, serving up all the favourites, mixed with new songs from their forthcoming album. Particularly wonderful was their sequence of three encores. "Clocks" got 'em going, then they moved into their anthem "Fix You" and finally a new song "Every Teardrop a Waterfall". Fantastic - and I couldn't help noticing the parallels with religious occasions like pilgrimages. Crowds with a common purpose, music full of feeling, an overwhelming sense of community. Chris Martin even repented at one point of having just made a mistake. I love many kinds of music - always have. This was sheer enjoyment for the thousands and thousands who were there - and for me. Fr M approves.

To catch highlights of Coldplay at Glastonbury follow this link to iPlayer. Put it on full screen - and turn up the volume. The three encores are at about 29:00.

The Body of Christ

2011-06-24T17:52:00.002+01:00

Corpus Christi - the Body of Christ. The one whom we receive to become more deeply who we are.

I celebrated Mass with the whole school (minus year 11) at Corpus Christi High School today. A congregation of 800 teenagers is not always the easiest to celebrate with, but it seemed to go OK this morning. A good sign was that the teachers felt it was the "easiest" feast-day Mass for a while. After Mass they have a free day with loads of different activities available, including Corpus Staff's Got Talent! It's a great school, and I told them all at the end that the whole Catholic community of north Cardiff is proud of them and loves them.

On the way home I called in to Waitrose to collect a cheque for just under £200 for St Brigid's. They have 3 charities each month who receive a donation in proportion to how many shoppers drop their little green tokens in the appropriate box. I don't know who nominated St B's - but thank you very much. And thank you Waitrose.

Now, we haven't had a flash mob video for a while, so here's one with a difference - what you might call a very Catholic one, specially for the Feast of Corpus Christi... enjoy. Fr M approves.

A new shepherd

2011-06-21T19:13:00.003+01:00

So, at long last Archbishop George has been installed as seventh Archbishop of Cardiff - my fourth boss since ordination. I tell you - I didn't wash my hand all evening after the Mass yesterday because I gave the sign of peace to one cardinal and three archbishops!

But seriously it was a beautiful celebration in my opinion.

Fr T and I took a taxi into town and joined the huge gang of clergy robing in the crypt of the chapel opposite the cathedral, where the (digital) bells were ringing out. At 11.20 the clergy started to process in, but we canons (ahem) loitered outside as we were to form part of the main procession, just before the bishops of England and Wales. And so I took my place in the Canon's Stalls (hooray!).

Eventually at the stroke of noon Archbishop George arrived at the doors and knocked hard on them. Soon the Bull of Appointment was being read and accepted, and he was being led to his cathedra or throne and receiving the crozier from Archbishop Peter, his predecessor. We canons were one of the groups to welcome him personally so I got to shake hands. He has a charming smiling face. And so the Mass progressed in a very dignified way. I was sat behind Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor and Archbishops Nichols, Longley and Smith - and grandstand view.

Afterwards we all strolled over to the Marriott for a hot buffet lunch, and we got home soon after 4.

When the archbishop was seated on his cathedra he was alone for a few moments, and I thought about how lonely a position it must be at times. The buck truly stops there in many aspects of church life. Then a little later the thought occurred to me that behind this wonderful ceremony, hidden as it were, lay scenes of some fishermen called by the lakeshore of Galilee, an intimate supper on a Thursday evening in Jerusalem, and another gathering in Jerusalem when a gale started to blow. I pray that the Holy Spirit will guide George, that the Father will shepherd him so that he can truly shepherd us, and that he will know that Jesus walks by his side through every moment of the times to come.

A 2 cappuccino morning

2011-06-18T10:41:00.001+01:00

So Thursday morning I paid one of my infrequent visits to "town" ie Cardiff city centre. First call, the CTS - Catholic Truth Society, to lash out on all the stuff needed for the new translation of the Roman Missal. 3 big missals, 3 temporary inexpensive ones for September-November, 1 medium size missal for school Masses etc and 1 small version for pilgrimages, study etc, plus several hundred pew-sized cards for the people's bits of the Mass. Total? Heading for £1,000. Canon Peter Collins, parish priest at the Cathedral next door popped into the shop. I must have looked a little pale, as he offered me a coffee, so we had a quick chat, mainly about our new boss and the Installation on Monday.

Then onwards to the Cardiff Story, the new museum installed in the Old Library. Followers may remember I recorded an interview for one of the video displays here back before Christmas. So I literally went in search of myself. Lad on duty at the door wasn't sure what I was on about when I said I was looking for the section concerning immigration. Another young attendant suggested I might be looking for the children's section downstairs... which indeed turned out to be correct. Yes - and there in a section called "Settling In", or something like that, is a video console on various religious aspects of Cardiff's history and life. I watched myself for a minute, then answered 3 questions on Irish immigration (correctly, thank goodness), and continued on to hear me talking about Corpus Christi, followed by another 3 questions. This leads to a section with Shelagh Maher, a former parishioner of mine from St Cuthbert's in the Docks. Sorry, the Bay.

The young attendant there stopped me and asked if I had been in a few days before, coz she knew me from somewhere. I pointed to the 6 or 8 photographs on the wall behind her, at which point she squealed "Oh it's you". Fame at last. Awash with celebrity and to recover for the second time that morning, I slipped across to Cafe Nero in House of Fraser for another coffee. Cardiff's fastest most efficient barista was on duty, a marvel to behold, serving three at a time politely and efficiently.

What's your order of preference for Nero, Costa and Starbucks? That's mine...

Through a glass darkly

2011-06-16T00:38:00.001+01:00

I just watched Terry Pratchett's TV film about assisted dying on iPlayer, and found myself crying at the screen, not a common thing.

The programme followed two men going to Switzerland to die. Pratchett was accompanied by his assistant, who seemed disturbed by the whole thing. When we went to view the actual death of one of the men, although the assistant was there, we didn't see his reaction. We did see the dying man gasping for water, quickly denied him by the Dignity helper. Sir Terry was asked his reaction within moments of the death, and replied "I'm fine" - with tears in his eyes. A few moments later he told the camera how he'd been at something so beautiful. And at the end of the programme he claimed that the man whose death we witnessed was the bravest he had ever met. Really.

As a priest I have been present at a good few deaths. I have to say that they are some of the most awesome moments in my ministry and life. Those moments, even though sometimes surrounded with such suffering by all, are filled with an aura, as if something is happening on a plane that is different to anything else we encounter in this world. I am deliberately trying not to use specifically Christian language here. Here we are dealing with something other, touched by a preciousness that surely all can appreciate.

Yet the euthanasia agenda elevates the so-called rights - actually the desires - of the person involved to a sacredness higher than any sacredness that Christians or anyone else for that matter would want to give to life itself.

I found this programme with its specially composed music and its strange Doctor Who-like background for Sir Terry's pieces to camera disturbing. I was very tempted to turn off my computer, but wanted to see how they handled that sacred moment of death.

Horrific.

The picture shows the tomb of the first person on my family tree, Jenkin Williams 1650-1728, my father's mother's father's father's father's father's father's father. It just seemed appropriate to remember nine generations who would not have doubted the sacredness of life. We must all be on our guard against the drip-drip of attacks on life, at its beginning and its end. I feel it is on these issues that we will be judged in years to come.

A new tongue?

2011-06-11T17:17:00.004+01:00

Preparing for Pentecost, reflecting on the gift of tongues or languages given to the apostles, I thought that maybe one of the tongues that would be given to the apostles today would be Twitter-language. So here's a video you may have seen, called "Follow" - the Gospel according to Twitter. I like the clever and poignant use of the "Unfollowed" button - and especially the end...

One up to Archbishop George

2011-06-09T23:05:00.001+01:00

Well, our clergy meeting with Archbishop-elect George went well in my opinion. We started with Mid-day Prayer and then the Archbishop introduced himself via the beautiful Philippians reading : "I want you to be happy in the Lord", and then shared with us his life story. After a lunch-break we continued with a question-and- answer session, in which he spoke at some length on vocations. Throughout the day I felt his approach was pastoral and scriptural, spiritual and solid. We ended with a "Holy Half-hour" in the church, with Archbishop George leading a meditation on the Road to Emmaus.

So, a new start, a new language and maybe atmosphere... we'll see. I greeted him pointing out I am his Judicial Vicar. He expressed a hope that I wouldn't report him to Rome. Well, not so far anyway!

George - the first

2011-06-06T22:47:00.002+01:00

So - big day tomorrow. Our new Archbishop, George Stack, is meeting with all the clergy of the diocese. We're gathering for 11am and starting with prayer. Two sessions will be separated by lunch, and then we finish with another period of prayer, this time in front of the exposed Blessed Sacrament.

I'm really looking forward to the day, as there are several good omens about it. First. that it's happening at all! Second, those two times for prayer. As I have posted before, I know little about Archbishop George, and have never met him, so I go with a clean sheet. What will get written on it - well come back in the next few days and find out... Meanwhile, pray for him and for all priests.

Mega mime

2011-06-03T18:41:00.003+01:00

After flash mobs comes mass lip-dubs. In a tea-break flit around other blogs, I came across this little gem from the American city of Grand Rapids. A cast of hundreds sing along to the classic "American Pie". The rehearsals needed boggle the mind, as it is all filmed in one long take, but I enjoyed this swoop through American city life and general "have-a-nice-day-ness". As usual, a double-click on the video will open it up to full width.

The wonders of Pontargothi

2011-06-01T23:44:00.003+01:00

Bank Holiday Monday was going to be wet, but drying up from the west. So, having accepted an invitation for a day-out somewhere, we headed west, and I did some quick homework in Simon Jenkins' "Churches, Castles and Houses of Wales". I thought we could combine a Place of Interest with maybe Llansteffan or Laugharne. My eye fell upon a church I'd never heard of before - Holy Trinity, Pontargothi (3 stars in Simon!), so off we went.

We turned off the A48 past the Botanical Gardens and crossed the Tywi to the little village of Pontargothi between Carmarthen and Llandeilo. A mile down a green narrow lane brought us to this Victorian wonder set in what looks like a field. A chap who'd made loads of cash from metalworking in Swansea built a big house and wanted his own English-speaking Anglican church as opposed to the Welsh-speaking parish one. So he built himself one, upsetting the local bishop who wouldn't consecrate it. So the neat field is actually an unused graveyard.

The plainish exterior hides an interior that can be called stunning. It's decorated with murals from floor to ceiling, in a tasteful monochrome reddish-brown on cream, They acquire some gilt and colouring as they get closer to the altar. Restored about 5 years ago, I found the church absolutely delightful. But that wasn't all.

We were greeted by Maldwyn, born and bred locally, who knew and loved every single thing about his church. He was charming and helpful, as was a lady who was serving tea, coffee, Welsh cakes and Scotch pancakes. You were invited to take your mug and wander around the church... So wander we did, mug in hand and Maldwyn at hand to answer all questions. He even said that there was a belief that the local Catholic bishop had stepped in to consecrate the church! I may look into that...

Umm, what else? Morning coffee at one local pub was OK, lunch at another - also OK. But what a wonderful church - building, welcome, everything. Holy Trinity, Pontargothi - Fr M really approves.

Surprise menus

2011-05-29T23:17:00.002+01:00

So yesterday I was at a lunch to celebrate a parishioner's 80th birthday. There were about 20 of us at one of South wales' best known hotels. The food and service were both excellent, and the company was very good too - half family members and half friends, many from the parish. But the star for me was the birthday lady herself.

Before we started to eat she got up and gave a speech, which I would put up with the best I have ever heard on a social occasion. She recounted a potted version of her life-story, but the brilliant thing was the way she wove into it a passage about each of the guests present. Her words were ones of gratefulness and friendship, emotional but not gushing. She had notes in front of her, but didn't refer to them once. We all felt part of not only the party but of her life itself, and she of ours too. May - you're a star!

This weekend all the parishes in England & Wales had to read a "National Pastoral Letter" from the Bishops on the new translation of the Missal. Actually, it was pretty good, especially the section on the principles behind the changes.
Shame, then, that at 6pm Mass at St B's someone had accidentally removed the copy of the Letter from the lectern where I had seen it earlier in the afternoon. So when I finished the Gospel and reached down for the text - nothing! Arrrghhh - speakers' nightmare! Anyway as I had already read it 3 times at earlier Masses, I could remember the gist, so gave my own version. One parishioner felt sure that it was better than the Bishops' original. Bless. Parishioners - doncha just love 'em...

Catholic in faith, catholic in taste

2011-05-25T16:39:00.005+01:00

Got a bit of a sore throat today, didn't sleep well, and feeling sorry for myself. So I thought it was time to post a couple of nice videos, from two very different aspects of the Church, both of which I love. The first was recorded on 12th May at Fatima, the shrine in Portugal. 13th May is the feast of Our Lady of Fatima, marking the first apparition there in 1917, when Our Lady appeared to three children, an apparition repeated each month until October. So the 13th of each month is the big day in Fatima.

Celebrations start the evening before, when the statue is processed from its shrine chapel across the huge piazza to an outdoor altar, where it remains all night during a vigil, through to a great Mass in the morning, at the end of which it is processed back to its chapel amid great emotion. The video shows the torchlight procession of the first evening. It's not "dramatic", just an image of the faith of 300,000 Catholics in God and Our Lady - with the singing of the Fatima hymn and thousands of candles held high, let it sort of wash over you. It's got a commentary in Portuguese, but don't let that put you off. If you haven't been to one of the great shrines, this will give you a taster... I found it on the blog of Cardinal Sean O'Malley of Boston, who leads the procession.

The second video is very different, and from the modern charismatic strand of the Church. It is a song written by someone called Paul Baloche, of whom I'd never heard before today. I found this song, called simply "Glorious" on a Salesian priest's blog.

Hello great Harrogate

2011-05-21T22:27:00.000+01:00

So here I am, back from my conference in Harrogate, and I'm glad to report that it went very well. Phew!

We travelled up on Monday and it took about five hours, with a stop somewhere in the middle of England. I think we notched up six motorways altogether - M50, M5, M42, M1, M18 and A1(M). Rather weary, we arrived at the very nice Old Swan Hotel which turns out to be an old nineteenth century Hydro establishment, but completely done up about five years ago. Its claim to fame is that it's where Agatha Christie turned up when she did her famous 11 days vanishing trick in 1926.

I soon met up with colleagues from all over the UK and Ireland, plus faces from Canada, USA, Australia. And India - yes a CMI from Kottayam in Kerala sat next to me in the talks - that's Fr T and Fr James' religious order and province. They are everywhere! I spotted Fr Frank Morrissey - my professor from Ottawa in the 1980s and Canon Law hero - if that is possible... Food was good, rooms were big and very comfy. I slept well, which I needed after Holy week etc. The conference organizers always get top speakers, and this year we welcomed Cardinal Burke, an American who is sort of minister for Justice at the Vatican.

Wednesday afterrnoon and evening were free, so we went for a drive in Wensleydale and discovered the lovely ruins of Jervaulx Abbey with accompanying tea-rooms. In the evening we were guests of the Southwark guys at a lovely restaurant in the town, William and Victoria. Unfortunately some of my gorgeous lamb shank fell in its scrummy gravy and splashed all over me - shades of another incident in the bar at our hotel in Krakow...

Thursday afternoon the five of us present involved in the National Tribunal for Wales held a summit to review our progress over almost four years. It all needed streamlining and I have taken my time in pressing for reform in our procedures. To my amazement everyone agreed to the proposed adaptations, and we were all done in 75 minutes. Alleluia! Seriously, it is a great relief to me...

And so the last day came, and some of us realized we had not ticked off the main site in lovely Harrogate. It's a beautiful town, hilly, green with trees, flowerbeds and lawns, strewn with fine hotels and residences, scattered with little shops and tearooms. But reigning supreme is Betty's Tearooms, so after our last session and having put our bags in the car, three of us repaired to Bettys' for some excellent coffee and cakes.

Another five hour journey brought us back after a high-scoring five days. Harrogate - Fr M approves, Old Swan - Fr M approves, William and Victoria - Fr M approves, new-look National Tribune Fr M approves (well he would). Last and not least, Betty's Tearooms - Fr M approves - defo.

"Celebrate" Part II

2011-05-14T13:49:00.000+01:00

So our "Celebrate Wales" just got better and better. On Sunday I stayed in the parish for our two morning Masses then shot up to Corpus Christi where they were just finishing the coffee break. The atmosphere was really good and we then all made our way into the Hall for an hour's Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. During this there was the opportunity to be prayed with or have Confession. There were some really good things happening.

At lunch-time stuffed rolls and crisps were provided for the workers and speakers etc on the two days, and that was a good opportunity to meet and chat with some of the best Catholic speakers and leaders in the UK. I think it's vital in the Church to widen our horizons, learn from others, share experiences - whatever you want to call it. I was hugely impressed with the commitment and energy of some of the younger leaders. Oh that our diocese will be able to produce and support similar young people here...

After lunch we had a special treat. The four or five age-groups of children and teenagers each put on something that they had worked on. Wow, were they well-prepared! "Celebrate" bring in some excellent leaders and it showed. Nothing "childish" - good, appropriate material exactly right for the age-group concerned.

Christian mime artist Steve Murray then performed for the last of three or four times during the weekend, and that led into the Final Mass, at which I was main concelebrant. Well, the whole congregation was by now ready to pick up the hall and carry it to St Peter's Square in Rome. The singing came close to blowing the roof off... it was great. I felt it a privilege to be presiding at such a true celebration of faith. From the priest's perspective, of course we can see how people are reacting, and I noticed that I seemed to be "connecting" with the young people, especially with the lads, one of the hardest age-groups, so that was reassuring!

One of my favourite aspects of a beautiful weekend was the music, led by Hanna Zafar from Leeds. Her choice of songs, her timing, her leading of the small group - as good as any I've seen and heard. And to end the whole thing we all sang "Bread of Heaven". It was a fantastic end to a fantastic conference.

And, guess what, we are about to decide the date for next year's!

Disappeared and disappearing

2011-05-13T18:24:00.003+01:00

Hey, I did a new posting on here on Wednesday and it has disappeared! It was a report on the second day of our "Celebrate Wales" event. It's gone. Ummmm.... where is it I wonder? In particular I wonder is it to do with the fact that I upgraded to Internet Explorer 9 that day? That shouldn't affect it, surely? It had 2 pictures etc - I'm baffled. Did I dream it? No - the two pics are still in "My Pictures". If you find a wandering post, let me know!

Meanwhile I'm off to Harrogate next week at the annual conference of the Canon Law Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Not as, er, heavy as you might think - all great people trying their best to help the People of God.
P.S.Later that night...
Oh, my Wednesday posting has reappeared after its flight around the blogosphere. Deo gratias.

"Celebrate" takes off

2011-05-07T22:17:00.000+01:00

Just got in from Day One of our "Celebrate Wales" weekend. What an amazing day! Everything went very well - music was great, Steve Murray's mimes were great, the organization and catering were great - everything was great! Well, you get the idea... Mgr Bob Reardon came to be main celebrant at the Mass in the morning. There were about 180-200 people around, I think, during the day.

I hope my talk was OK - it became more simple the more I prayed about it. The theme of the weekend is "Who do you say that I am?" I talked about the "you" to whom Jesus asks this question. Who am I? In the leaders' prayer at 7.45am before the day started, I had a new thought which I brought into the talk. If we are made by God, loved by the Father and the Son, then in our mother's womb we already know the answer to that question "Who do you say I am?" What happens is that we forget it! So our Christian journey becomes one of re-discovery of our deepest identity as children of the Father, loved by the Son.

Anyway, tomorrow I've got 9 o'clock at St Paul's and then 10.30 at St Brigid's, after which I'll be back at Corpus Christi. In the afternoon I'm chief concelebrant at the final Mass at 3pm, so I'll sign off now to do some preparation for that. Meanwhile - if you are within travelling distance of Corpus Christi and you read this tonight or in the morning - get up there, it's all happening at "Celebrate"!!

News and celebrations

2011-05-05T23:00:00.000+01:00

So voting has just closed, and once again our three sites have all been used as voting stations. Seems to me people aren't desperately bothered about the yes/no one... News also this week dominated by the death of Osama bin Laden. I'm hearing quite a lot of people not entirely comfortable with all the hoo-ha surounding this killing. I feel humble when I think of all his victims, but still a bit queasy about it all...

Meanwhile, I've recovered from Tuesday's arduous Marriage Tribunal judging session here, which went OK. I'm now preparing my talk and homily for our "Celebrate Wales" weekend at Corpus Christi High School. The other two speakers, Charles Whitehead and Jenny Baker are much better known than me, so I'm in exalted company! However, it would be wonderful if this event gives a boost to the Church here in Wales, which it so much needs.

I haven't posted a video for a while, so here's one I pinched from another priest's blog. It's a great combination of sound and vision. The music is an Easter piece of music with calm choral singing combined with glorious organ - turn it up loud for the full effect. At the same time you are watching stunning photography of mountains - the Alps and maybe others as well - beautiful.

Acknowledgements to Fr Ray Blake.

Branching out

2011-05-02T20:02:00.001+01:00

So the Royal Wedding came and went. Yes, I did watch it, and I thought it all went very well and looked beautiful (especially Pippa, but that's another matter!). The Abbey, the music - everything played its part magnificently. I just hope folks here in our 3 churches don't ask for trees down the aisle... Bishop Chartres had some good things to say too, I thought. And at the heart of it the couple looked very happy. Good luck to 'em! I wonder what the Benedictine monks who ran the Abbey for 500 years before the Reformation would have thought?

I read in "The Tablet" that our new Archbishop is concerned about the vocation situation in Wales. Good - so he should be, and I hope that this means some serious attention to the issue - watch this space.

Tomorrow I have a meeting of the Welsh National Tribunal here, in fact the biggest we have held, involving four of us judges resolving four cases. They're coming from North Wales and Swansea as well as here in Cardiff, so I'm hoping that ll will go well. Then next weekend we have our great "Celebrate" weekend at Corpus Christi High School. I'm giving the first talk on Saturday morning and presiding at the Mass on Sunday afternoon, so once tomorow's meeting is over that is the next thing on my agenda in addition to day-to-day stuff. Then there are weddings to think about, three lots of First Communions, preparing for the new Missal, etc etc. Yes, I know what you are saying, it keeps me young and beautiful... Hmmm...

Of sisters, monks and parishioners

2011-04-28T22:56:00.000+01:00

Just spent a lovely day in London. Fifteen of us from our 3 Churches went up to St Dunstan's Church in Gunnersbury, just off the Chiswick Flyover, for a Mass celebrating the Golden Jubilee of Sister Margaret Watson's profession as a sister in the Little Company of Mary. These are the sisters who had a convent in the St Paul's part of our parishes, from where they started what is now the George Thomnas Hospice Care, which does such splendid work in the city. Sr Margaret served here for twenty years, until the convent shut about five years ago, and she became Provincial, based in Gunnersbury. Now she is just finishing her term of office, but there will be no time to rest as she has been named to the Council of the Congregation, ie she will be an adviser to the boss of the whole order.

Sister was very popular here in Cardiff, so it was great to be able to help her celebrate fifty wonderful years. Concelebrated Mass was followed by a buffet lunch at a local cricket club, and a great time was had by all. Then we had a surprise - one of the sisters who had also worked in Cardiff, Sr Mary, suggested we call in to Ealing Abbey on our way out of London.

Well, what a surprise! Hidden away in this West London suburb is a huge and beautiful church, dedicated to St Benedict. Badly damaged in the war, it has been reconstructed and is one of the most tasteful Catholic churches I have seen in Britain. It is home not only to the monks, but also to one of the most populous parishes in Britain. We all thought it was magnificent, and were glad Sr Mary had encouraged us to visit. Fr M approves - defo!

Pictures show the view towards the altar and towards the entrance

The Lord and his people

2011-04-24T23:45:00.003+01:00

It's late on Easter Sunday evening. After a very busy and demanding Holy Week, I've been chilling this evening, watching any old nonsense on telly (I've been trying to feel enthusiastic about the royal wedding, but can't quite manage it) and having one of my favourites - smoked salmon. Mmmmm...

So the Vigil here at St Brigid's went very well, and smoothly too. The fire was good this year, and it was a joy to receive Nigel into the Church. Then it was up again at 7 this morning to set off for Mass at St Paul's, where I decorated and lit their Easter Candle, then back to St Brigid's for 10.30, where there was a lovely festive atmosphere. Tomy and I were invited to parishioners' for lunch, where I tried to refrain from too much wine as it was my turn to "do" the last shift - 6 o'clock at St Brigid's. In between, a chance for a quiet hour and a phone call to my brother-in-law who was also received into the Church last night.

So, all in all, Holy Week has gone well. I hope it has been a kind of returning to our roots of our faith for the parishioners, as it has been for me. As usual, there were particular moments I shall remember, but I think what I will carry with me this year in particular will be the joy of working with so many wonderful people of our 3 Churches to make this the best possible Holy Week. I am a very lucky parish priest.

Picture shows Michelangelo's "Risen Christ" at the Church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva in Rome

A divine unease

2011-04-23T14:15:00.002+01:00

It's now Saturday, Holy Saturday. Our Good Friday liturgies went well. We had a full house at Christ the King, and as always I was moved to watch our people slowly approach the Cross of Christ to kiss it - the elderly determined to get there despite their infirmities, the children showing their love for Jesus with such spontaneity.

Now, like yesterday, it is a day without Mass - until this evening. It is an awkward day in a way, neither here nor there. We are caught between the horror of Good Friday and the glory of Easter, suspended as it were. It seems we are forced to sit down, to do nothing, to wait.

This is hard for most people in their busy lives, but God knows what He's doing! By forcing us in this way we are made to recognise that the action, when it eventually comes, is God's action and not ours. Nothing prepares us for the sovereign act of God that we call the Resurrection. It is a divine intervention, a flash from the heavens if you like. So to really capture it, grasp it, you have to be composed - and even being a little disoriented is OK. So don't worry if you don't "get" Holy Saturday, it's meant to be awkward. We are to feel the unease of our humanity, in order the better to comprehend in some small way the overwhelming power and glory of God.

From Cathedral to Gethsemane

2011-04-22T10:26:00.001+01:00

It's the morning of Good Friday. Unusually for me, I am not celebrating Mass, which I do almost every morning of my life. It feels something is missing - which is appropriate for this precious day. But, to go back to yesterday...

In the morning Tomy and I splashed out on a taxi to go to the Chrism Mass, where Bishop David McGough presided. He had a lovely manner, and spoke very well I thought, to, and about, us priests. There was much clerical chat, of course, about our new Archbishop, George Stack, and people seem happy with the decision, Deo gratias. Then, after sharing a buffet lunch with many of the lads - and Bishop David as it happened - it was back to the ranch and on up to Corpus Christi School to see how preparations for our Mass of the Lord's Supper were going. The answer was - very well. Once again we had the altar in the middle of the hall with tables radiating out from it. Our wonderful parishioners had worked hard to get everything ready. Then, back home for a cup of tea and quiet hour to prepare for the Mass.

Our 3 Churches Masses are one of the biggest events in my year. So many hours go into their planning and also on the day. Involvement runs into many dozens of people, and, because we try to really express the themes that the Church asks us to, then when it works, it really works well. This year, I did a lot more "liturgical MCing" as we went through, enabling the congregation to understand what was happening and why. I think it helped a lot of people, where there was some confusion last year.

After starting with the Exodus reading we had a shared simple meal, leading to the Gloria. Then Fr Tomy read the Gospel of the foot-washing, and I preached, bringing us to the Vision statement, the document encapsulating the process a few weeks ago where we all shared our dreams for the parishes. We have produced one statement, and parishioners will be invited to sign up to it on Pentecost Sunday. Tomy and I then washed the parish councillors' feet, and they in turn washed the hands of the rest of the congregation. We all prayed a commitment to continue our service of one another, and then came what was a highpoint for some, when Tomy and I renewed our priestly commitment, as we had in the morning too. But, instead of the bishop asking us the questions, we had Rebecca, a teenager from St Brigid's. I must say I found it very moving. We then continued on to the Eucharist, where the people's tables become part of the altar, and the place where they receive Holy Communion.

Lastly, we processed out into the school courtyard garden, where the flower ladies had prepared a beautiful shrine for the Blessed Sacrament. All our Eucharistic Ministers made a candlelit path through the school where the lights were turned off, and on out into the candlelit garden. As I carried the Lord through this beautiful passage, I hope He didn't mind the pride I felt as parish priest of all these wonderful people doing their very best for Him on this night. We then stayed with Him for an hour and a half in silence until I led intercessions up to 10.30.

Eventually we all left the Garden, with that unique Maundy Thursday feeling - satisfaction that all had gone well, tinged with the profound unease of knowing what happened next in that first Gethsemane....

Welcome, Archbishop George

2011-04-20T22:47:00.005+01:00

The news about our new Archbishop has been sinking in slowly. When it eventually came, it caught some of us by surprise. Traditionally the appointment of British bishops has been announced on Thursday or Friday, so we had in our minds put it off until after Easter. People seem to be very happy with the news. Bishop George Stack has "come up through the ranks" as a curate and parish priest, so that will please many of the clergy, who hope he will therefore have a good handle on the realities of parish life. The fact that he has not, on the whole, graced the headlines ecclesiatical or otherwise, is also probably a good thing. Above all, we are just glad that someone has been appointed!

Meanwhile Holy Week is underway. After Palm Sunday and the wonderful "Of Gods and Men" we moved on to the Passover Meal at St Brigid's Hall last night. Once again, this was an extremely enjoyable and special evening, and we are enormously grateful to the St Brigid's and St Paul's Social Group for its planning.

Tomorrow is Maundy Thursday. I imagine the new Arch will be a main topic of clergy chat before and after Mass. I'll see if I can pick up any inside scoop! Then it's on to our 3 Churches Mass of the Lord's Supper in the evening at Corpus Christi High School. This will be very similar to last year's celebration, and will therefore be, once again, one of our more creative liturgies. However, any uncertainties people had last year about the earlier parts of the evening were lost in the beautiful experience of the Altar of Repose in the Courtyard Garden at the school, which was one of the high points of the year for many. And so we will be into the Sacred Triduum, carried along towards the high-point of Easter...

New Archbishop

2011-04-19T12:32:00.000+01:00

News is out this morning that the Pope has appointed Bishop George Stack as our new Archbishop in Cardiff. Aged 66, he is currently an auxiliary bishop in Westminster, having served all his ministry in that archdiocese. He was well-known in the 1990s as Administrator of Westminster Cathedral, and became an auxiliary bishop in 2001.

This brings to an end our long wait, and for that I'm very grateful! As for Archbishop-elect George, I'm afraid I don't know much about him other than the above. I would imagine he will be installed as archbishop in about 6 or 8 weeks, and then we can all get down to business again! Please pray for Archbishop George (how will that go down in Wales?!) as he prepares to take on this new responsibility.

See this film

2011-04-17T22:43:00.001+01:00

I've just come in from watching the film "Of Gods and Men" over at St Brigid's Hall. It's strong stuff, telling the story of seven monks at a monastery in Algeria in the 1990s, caught up in fighting between terrorists and government forces. It won the Golden Palm at the Cannes Fim Festival last year, and I can see why. The story is told slowly, building up our understanding of what it's like in a Cistercian monastery, and how well the monks related to the local inhabitants.

The acting is superb - several people said they thought it was real monks acting! There is no background music for a change, and the cinematography and editing is brilliant. Some moments will stay with me for a long time, I think. The monks together in the chapel when they expect to die any moment; their agonising over whether to go or stay; one monk's clinging to a painting of the suffering Christ for strength and help; their final ascent into the unknown; and above all their last supper together, with the music of "Swan Lake" on the cassette recorder, some good cheese, and a glass of red wine. Absolutely magnificent. Fr M can't approve enough.

Men good and true

2011-04-14T12:32:00.001+01:00

Busy, busy at this time of year. As well as extra services during Lent there is lots of planning to do for Holy Week itself. We're very blessed in our 3 Churches that many people are ready and willing to be involved in the liturgy - but it can mean a multiplication of meetings! Things are also pretty busy in the Tribunal department at the moment, with a lot of annulment cases reaching the judgement phase at the same time, where I am pretty heavily involved.

One of the great delights for me in recent years in the Church has been the introduction into our diocese of the permanent diaconate by Archbishop Peter. I've been involved in the formation of the men in various ways, one of which is being part of the selection panel which advises the Archbishop (or Diocesan Administreator at the moment) on who to accept for formation. We had oen such interview on Monday, and once again I was so impressed by the faith and dedication of these men who offer themselves. They have already been through a rigorous spiritual and psychological testing before reaching the panel, and our questions are quite challenging too. This man, like so many others over the years it has been running, answered with simplicity, honesty and faith. In particular I am always touched by their love for the Church - not a sentimental one, but a warm and realistic attachment to the Lord and his people. Very impressive - and Fr M really approves.

Free!

2011-04-09T21:27:00.002+01:00

"Lazarus, here! Come out" These are the amazing words with which Jesus brings Lazarus back to life in this Sunday's Gospel. On this last Sunday before Palm Sunday and Holy Week, the Church offers us Our Lord's most astonishing miracle or sign - the raising of a dead man, his friend Lazarus.

But I've always been taken with what Jesus says next. "Unbind him, let him go free" he says to the gathered people. It seems to me that these words are a command, a pleading from the heart of God to us - to unbind one another, to let one another go free.

Now we can apply this to ourselves first. What binds me, what constricts my spirit, what stops me being the person that God has made me to be? What kind of fears, anxieties, habits or addictions do I have that distort my spirit? Ever since the Exodus that lies behind the Passover and Maundy Thursday, and reappears in the Readings of the Easter Vigil, God has been anxious to reveal himself as one who frees.

Then I must go on to ask myself whether I have bound up other people. Has our country bound up other peoples. Who are those in our world who are most in need of setting free? Sometimes our tying up other people can masquerade as something more attractive. How many marriages and families are wrecked by manipulation masked as love, love whose true purpose should be to set us free. The shock and horror of clerical abuse of young people is compounded by its masquerading as priestly pastoral care, and cover-up of the same has been seen as doing the right thing.

"Lazarus, here. Come out!" A clarion call for Christianity. Jesus calls us forth from the darkness, but very often we have to do the unbinding - and sometimes the one who needs unbinding may be ourselves. "Unbind him. Let her go free."
The pictures show a statue of Lazarus unbound at an Addiction Rehab Centre in the southern USA.

Twilight Retreats

2011-04-06T23:17:00.000+01:00

During Lent I've been leading a series of "Twilight Retreats" each Wednesday. I saw this concept in Canada in the 80s. Many people feel they cannot get away for a retreat but would like something to help them in their spiritual life. Our retreats are from 7 - 9.30pm, and have been aimed principally at people involved in different ministries in our 3 Churches. This evening we had catechists, the fourth out of five groups.

The numbers have varied from seven to fifty, but the format has been the same each week. The first part looks at ministry through images from the Bible, then we look at the particular ministry of the evening. After a cup of tea or coffee we move on to reflect on how Jesus was and is the "first minister", and take a Lenten approach by thinking about Gethsemane as a place of decision. Lastly we go into the church to join those who are there for Adoration 8-9pm. After the adorers have left I give the last piece of input, and then we invite Jesus to minister to us in a very special way.

It's been a worthwhile Lenten project, as over 100 will have experienced it by the end of Lent. They have had a chance to reflect on their own spiritual life and service, and share a little with others. Hopefully, through the last part they will also have caught a glimpse of what Jesus wants for them. I hope so...

Brilliant

2011-04-02T22:25:00.000+01:00

So, this time last week I was having a great time here at the Presbytery hosting the annual Reunion. Reunion of who? Ten of us who have been friends for 30 to 45 years, some of us going back to the first year at St Illtyd's, our grammar-now-high school. We try to have this get-together every year in February or March, and in recent years when I have been in Cardiff, I have been the host. It was brilliant, and ten is the biggest number we have ever had.

I suppose it always makes me aware of the importance of friends, too. When you're younger, well, you just have them, and that's it. It's only later, I think, especially after a few of life's experiences when you "find out who your friends are", that you begin to understand the deep menaing of friendship. If you're single, without that unique "someone" in your life, then perhaps friends take on an even greater significance. And a great sign is if you don't only talk about the good ol' days, and don't sort of regress to the last period at which you were together, as happens sometimes in arranged reunions. It means that your friendships are still very much alive, now.

For myself, I find that most of my best friends are married. That might surprise people, who often think that priests are only friends with other priests. Of course I have priest friends, but there is something very "earthed", real or normal if you like, about married folks, and I like it a lot. Last Saturday was a mixture of couples and singles - including me, of course. Two meals-for-four from the Chinese, several bottles of wine, and ten friends together for four or five hours. Fr M approves. Bigtime.

The Fosse Ardeatine

2011-03-30T18:36:00.001+01:00

I noticed that on Sunday Pope Benedict paid a visit to the Fosse Ardeatine outside Rome, a place that we used to walk to from the Beda seminary when I was there in the 70s. It's a fascinating place marking the spot where over 300 Italians were murdered by the then retreating Nazis late on in World War II. The Resistance set off a bomb in the city killing over 30 soldiers, and reprisals were ordered, 10 Italians for every German killed. These were rounded up in a fairly random way, taken outside the city to the area where many of the catacombs are, and shot in a cave. The entrance was then blown up, but some locals spotted this happening.

After the war all the bodies were dug out and reburied under a massive symbolic concrete tambstone and the cave turned into a place of prayer and reflection. It has a powerful presence about it, and is a place of pilgrimage for Italians, though not so many foreign visitors are aware of it. To get a sense of the place visit this WWII Landmarks site and click on the panorama images.

On a lighter note I did the latest of my "Wednesday Word" broadcasts this afternoon - on the subject of April Fools' Day, which is also the anniversary of my priestly ordination. It seemed to go down OK. I managed to get in St Paul, Shakespeare, John Cleese, Ricky Gervais and Miranda Hart!

Tears of welcome, tears of joy

2011-03-24T21:49:00.001Z

A huge group of people gather in a valley in West Papua, Indonesia. They are the remote Kimyal tribe, and they are awaiting a celebrity arriving on a plane. When the celebrity lands they sing, shout - and cry, especially cry. They embrace and hug the celebrity, awith a heartfelt welcome. At last, at last, for the first time...

Who can it be? Please watch this 10 minute video, and maybe you'll find that you also need to appreciate more and open your heart to..... well take a look!

Acknowledgments F Tim Finegan

More children's Lenten wisdom

2011-03-21T19:55:00.000Z

So here's another example of the work of the inspired children of our 3 Churches. Yesterday's Gospel was the Transfiguration and this drawing was brought down in the Offertory procession with the gifts of bread and wine. The picture here is just the top slice of a very, very big mountain.

On the top you can see three figures in gold - Jesus (with a sort of halo), Moses and Elijah. Rather unconventionally Moses and Elijah are both to one side. Then further on the right side is a large figure who I'm thinking must be Peter. As the mountain is rather pointy in a children's way, there's no room for him, so he's hanging precariously off the edge!

Then I zoomed in on the peak, and saw that - maybe accidentally or maybe not - Peter's hand is actually being held by that of Jesus. So there you have it - as we stand in faith before the Lord revealed in all his glory, we may feel like we are truly being knocked off our little perches. But the Lord who is blowing us away is also the same one who is holding us tight, and stopping us from falling right off the whole great mountain of life itself. "Out of the felt-tips and crayons of children"... so to speak.

What we have to do

2011-03-19T01:21:00.003Z

GOD CAME DOWN FROM HEAVEN

AND HE CAME INTO THE CHURCH

AND THEN STARTED WHAT WE HAVE TO DO

I couldn’t have put it better myself. This was one of the many, many inspiring contributions that you, the people of our 3 Churches, made towards our dream of how the Church, and our churches, could be. And this response was written by a child! Incidentally, if she or he wants to come forward, there may be a little reward for such a stunning summary of what it’s all about.

Members of our two parish councils have been busy collating all your responses. They met this week to review how we are doing, and to plan the route towards a Pastoral Council for our 3 Churches. It will be the job of that body to oversee our growth towards the vision that God has given us. Our goal is to produce by Easter a neat vision of where we believe God would want us to be going, and to launch the new body with an interim group to run for six months. We hope to celebrate all this at the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Maundy Thursday. But let’s get back to that child’s vision.

“God came down from heaven” Our vision must be firmly rooted in Jesus, our Lord and Saviour – this is God’s Church, not ours. The Word came into the world and became flesh, and therefore we are to put flesh on that Word for our own time and place. “Love one another as I have loved you”.

“He came into the Church” Jesus and his Father breathed their Spirit into us at Pentecost, firing up those first followers to truly be the Church of Jesus Christ. St Paul teaches us that we are nothing less than the Body of Christ. Now we are that same Church for the twenty-first century in north Cardiff.

“He started what we have to do” Brilliant. We are to do what He did! Simple, but so profound. Our vision must be that of the Gospel. The risen Jesus said, “As the Father sent me, so am I sending you”. Our agenda is His agenda...

So let’s move on together into the next part of our journey together. It started with the man whose Death and Resurrection we will celebrate in a month’s time. It is still His journey and mission, carried out through and with us. That is our privilege, that is our challenge.

The front page from this week's newsletter

Young Church

2011-03-14T11:40:00.000Z

So young people are at the fore this week.

Yesterday and this coming Thursday we are having our annual celebrations of the sacrament of Confirmation. In the absence of an Archbishop (yes still) these are being celebrated by the local Deans in our diocese. Fr Allan Davies-Hale did an excellent job for St Brigid's and St Paul's yesterday. There were ten youngsters, and thanks to the dedicated catechists and parents, they were very well prepared. All went well, and now I'm looking forward to Christ the King on Thursday.

Also in St Brigid's church is the Corpus Christi Cross. This is a large bare cross that travels around our High School's partner parishes during Lent, spending three or four days at each church. It moves on to Christ the King and then St Paul's later this week. As a strong supporter of our Catholic schools, I'm very happy that we are reminded in this way of the bonds of faith that bind us to our schools.

Also in St Brigid's - as I write, there is 24 hour eucharistic adoration going on. This is organised by Jesus Youth, a movement that originated in Kerala, India. They have organised 100 days of adoration which started in Birmingham diocese a few weeks ago, and now passes to Cardiff. Young people are pledged to come for one, two or four hours throughout the next 24 hours from Mass this morning to Mass tomorrow morning. Very impressive.

60,000 ashes and 16 voices

2011-03-10T11:06:00.003Z

A brief p.s. to yesterday's post... Flicking through Whispers in the Loggia, one of the zillions of Catholic blogs out there, I noticed that St Patrick's Cathedral in New York, one of my favourite churches in the world, was expecting about 60,000 - yes 60,000 - people to receive the ashes yesterday. There would be 12 liturgies during the day, but the demand meant that ashes would also be continually available at different points in the cathedral.

I'm also grateful to Whispers for a link to a performance of Allegri's stunning setting of Psalm 51, the Miserere. I think I saw this on TV not long ago, in one of Simon Russell Beale's programmes, and it's The Sixteen singing under Harry Christophers at St Luke's in London. Music for starting Lent...

Ashes, barbs - and emails

2011-03-09T23:56:00.003Z

Although Easter is about as late as it can be this year, and therefore so also is Lent, nevertheless Ash Wednesday seems to have arrived very quickly. There were a lot of people at 9.30 Mass at St Paul's, after which Fr T and I went up to our parish primary school, Christ the King, for a liturgy with the juniors. As always with Christ the King, it was imaginative and thoughtful, centring on the three images of ashes, water and seeds. Then I also celebrated evening Mass at St Brigid's - not so full, but still a respectable number of folks.

For the season of Lent I've changed the header picture for this blog. I've used a close-up of barbed wire at Auschwitz, where I went on our September Pilgrimage six months ago. Auschwitz had an enormous effect on me, greater even than I expected in fact, and the wire there seems to stand for everything that traps us, from within and without, everything from which Jesus came to set us free. The wire at the camps was beautifully crafted, but hard and inpenetrable. It also, of course, bears a distinct resemblance to many images of the Crown of Thorns. Just something to contemplate this Lent... (acknowledgments to Paul for photos).

I have decided to give a series of so-called Twilight Retreats this Lent on Wednesday evenings for people involved in different ministries. These will replace the series of talks on various themes that I have given over previous Advents and Lents. It will be pretty demanding each week, but I am convinced that many people would enjoy and benefit from a little time apart, with some spiritual nourishment and challenge. We'll see how they go.

The use of email is great for a large organization like the Church, but it does, of course, have its drawbacks. One of them came back and bit me today when I discovered that a series of emails that I had sent over several months to a colleague, and which I had sort of concluded he was chosing to ignore, had, in fact, never reached him because he had changed his email address. So I had to repent of some evil-ish thoughts - and resend them!

Heavy week - light intervals

2011-03-06T23:44:00.000Z

Whoa - bit of a busy week folks, and sorry about longish gap without postings...

Several bereavements and funerals going on, inside the parish and elsewhere. These included the funeral of Rita, of the lovely couple who organise our September Pilgrimages. Bill asked me to celebrate her Requiem Mass on Friday, which I felt privileged to do, after being present at her death a while ago. Funerals, I find, take a lot of what I may call inner energy, especially of course when it is that of someone whom I would call not only a parishioner but also a dear friend. However all went well on Friday and also for the funeral of Tim on Wednesday, Tim being only 39 years old.

So with quite a lot of issues around at the moment on the Canon Law side of my work, and with Lent around the corner, it's been a little on the heavy side. Vital, then, to lighten up too. So I went out Friday evening with friends for a drink, and last night spent a lovely evening at Christ the King parish's Quiz Night. I got a Bible question wrong, and will take ages to live it down - ho hum!!

O great St David

2011-02-28T21:00:00.000Z

Daffodils are coming up all over the place, Wales won again (OK against Italy) it can mean only one thing - St David's Day tomorrow!

I gave Fr T a quick run-down on our saint today, so that he's all geared up for Mass in the morning. I was trying to describe the beautiful mini-city named after St David in West Wales. Its Latin name was Menevia, giving us the name of the modern diocese covering south-west Wales today, whose cathedral and bishop are in Swansea. The little town at the end of Pembrokeshire should have a special place in the heart of all Welsh people as the place where David eventually settled and was buried. The spot is now marked by the cathedral, now of course in Anglican hands. It's situated down in a little dell, like other Welsh Celtic churches at Llantwit Major and our own Llandaff here in Cardiff. Although often the medieval bishops lived away, at Carmarthen, there are the fine remains of the Bishop's Palace still there, with their beautiful arcading from the time of Bishop Gower.

David's mother was Non, also revered as a saint. A short walk south from St David's brings you to her chapel, perched on the top of the cliffs, and adjoining a retreat-house. St Non's lies on the wonderful Pembrokeshire Coast Path.

If you have never been to St David's, and especially if you call yourself a Welshman - or woman - get down there this year, and soak in the atmosphere of our patron. Listen and digest his famous last words - "Be joyful, keep the faith!"

Saints near and far

2011-02-23T10:42:00.002Z

It got very busy recently, especially in the bereavements part of ministry. We have three funerals coming up in the parishes, and also that of Rita, wife of Billy, my close friends who run our September Pilgrimages, that mean so much to me and to so many others. I've known them for thirty years. Rita passed away on Monday evening, and I was privileged to be present with Billy and some of his family. Lord grant her - and the others of course - eternal rest. And if you need any typing, Lord, I can recommend Rita.

I was reading the magazine of the Companions of the Cross, a religious congregation, friends of mine, based in Ottawa, Canada, and came across a link to an excellent site on saints. Now I know that the saints are not exactly the absolute centre of our faith, but I love them. The more "human" the better! And people ask questions about them surprisingly often - who's the patron of this, what do you know about Saint that? So I can recommend Saints at SQPN. SQPN seems to be a large site covering all kinds of Catholic stuff, much of it hosted for individuals, as is the case with this saints section. It seems to cover everything you want to know about them all! Another huge saints resource is at catholic.org

Some people seem to think that interest in, or devotion to the saints is somehow old-fashioned. Rubbish! They are our friends, part of the family. Just like we keep photos of our own family, so we have images, shrines etc of the Christian family. I've got a whole list of my special buddy-saints - Peter, John, Teresa of Avila, Matthew (of course!)... Many of our September pilgrimages have centred on shrines and places associated with saints - Francis and Clare (Assisi), Benedict (Subiaco and Monte Cassino), Teresa and John of the Cross (Avila, Segovia, Alba de Tormes), Therese (Lisieux), James (Santiago de Compostela), and so on. Love 'em all.

New Stanbrook Abbey

2011-02-18T11:40:00.000Z

While I was pp at Ledbury in Herefordshire during the 1980s, I came across one of the most impressive groups of Catholic women I'd ever met. I was taken by a parishioner to visit a friend of hers who was a nun at Stanbrook Abbey near Worcester. What an amazing lady! Intelligent, spiritual, inspiring, sensible etc etc.

The story of this enclosed community dates back centuries to recusant times, and a few years ago they took the momentous decision to leave their Victorian Gothic pile and build a new sustainable abbey in Yorkshire, not too far from the men's Ampleforth Abbey, where Cardinal Hume was abbot. Also close by are the beautiful ruins of the medieval Cistercian abbey of Rievaulx.

They are now installed there, and I found this 5 minute video giving a glimpse of their new place. Listen to the wisdom of the nuns, and I liked the compliment paid them by one of the architects too... Their website tells you a lot more about these two dozen women of faith.

An amazing young man

2011-02-14T22:32:00.000Z

Friday, 11th February, was the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, and Pope John Paul proclaimed it World Day of Prayer for the Sick. Ministry with the sick is a vital part of Christianity, parishes, and priests. I say "with" the sick, because almost always I end up receiving more than I give. From little ten year old Christopher whom I met on the HCPT pilgrimage in 1979, through hundreds and hundreds of people I have visited at home, to the Holm Tower cancer hospice in Penarth, to the extraordinary sensation I experienced last year during a Mass with the sick here at St Brigid's when I was aware that it was not only me that was anointing them, I know that in the sick we are very, very close to Jesus.

Over the last couple of years I have heard from time to time about Philip Johnson, a remarkable young man from North Carolina who is studying for the priesthood while suffering from an inoperable brain tumour. Today I came across a video of him recently giving a talk to high school students. If you have a spare half an hour, and want to be challenged and inspired by a young man's story, then listen to Stephen. It almost sounds redundant to say, Fr M approves.

Serious stuff

2011-02-12T12:10:00.000Z

Thursday was a very unusual day for me. After Mass at Christ the King, I was at the Law School in the University from 11 to 4. They have a project on at the moment on, er, social cohesion, religion and society. Basically my involvement is that they are studying the way that three faiths look at the role of law, and marriage and family law in particular. So as Judicial Vicar (ie boss) of the National Tribunal for Wales, I am representing Christianity (no pressure there!), while London Beth Din (the court of the Chief Rabbi) and the Shariah Court of the Central Mosque in Birmingham represent Judaism and Islam respectively.

We've already been interviewed, as have various of the other people who work with me on the Tribunal, and now the University was bringing reps together for a dialogue (should that be trialogue?). So we had two professors and two other academics from the Uni, myself for the Catholics, a woman from Birmingham for the Moslems and a very imposing chap from the Beth Din, who was unable to come down to Cardiff, and took part via Skype video-conference. Very hi-tech...

It was a hard day, but fascinating. We hear so much for example about shariah law, some of it negative, yet here was the opportunity to hear about it from the inside. What about all those laws about which Jesus got very agitated? Here was the top man in Britain, to explain how they see God Law operating. I too got griled about some of the more obscure aspects of canon law. While there was lots of questioning, by the university and by one another, the atmosphere was very good, and there can't be many canon lawyers like me who have the visiting card of a woman member of a shariah council!

I got home about 5, belatedly did my weekly task of my contribution to the newsletter and emailed it off to Luke the editor, and the day was rounded off with St Brigid's and St Paul's Finance Committee. They feel that Christ the King should be coughing up a bit more to the running costs of the presbytery and clergy - so that should test the warm relations of Tuesday's meeting (see last posting)!

Bright future, bright serving faces

2011-02-09T21:29:00.003Z

Yesterday evening I led a joint meeting of our Parish Councils. We were discussing nothing less than the future direction of our 3 Churches, and in particular the developing relationship between them. I'll be saying much more about that in coming weeks. I'll just say here that it went very well, and the atmosphere was very optimistic and practical. Our people are wonderful, and as I often say, I am sure that the future of the Church is safe. As long as it's not left to the clergy!

Meanwhile I had a few things to do in town today, so I took the opportunity to have a wander and see how things are doing in the city centre, something I don't do very often. Good ol' Queen Street rolls on as ever, but, oh dear, it seems to me that some other parts are sort of slipping. I cut through the Queens Arcade, for example, to find it, well, heading towards running down. Even the older part of St David's (Centre) to me doesn't look as good as it used to. I ask myself whether everything been sacrificed on the altar of the extension to St David's and devotion to the Blessed John Lewis?

I'm fascinated by customer service, spurred on by Mary what's-her-name on the telly. Treatment at the Queen Street branch of my bank, Barclays, was excellent, just the right balance of helpfulness without the gushing. St Davids eateries looked heaving, so I headed over to the Shop-formerly-known-as-Howells via Waterstones. I discovered some old book vouchers in a drawer, and bought something on Provence, goal of our September Pilgrimage this year, with helpful assistant making the experience a good one. The restaurant at the Shop-formerly-known-as is usually quietish, and I hadn't been there for ages. Food was, er, OK, but at least lots of smiles were in evidence. I was heading off to my next bit of business when I was distracted by the presence of an in-store Caffe Nero, whose cappuccino turned out to be the culinary highpoint of the day. The two serving were both very good - a young chap who called every male "man" in that sort of pretend-American which he pulled off well, and a girl of indeterminate European background who was also efficient and friendly. Caffe Nero also opens onto Trinity Street. Fr M approves.

Variations on a theme

2011-02-06T18:53:00.001Z

A good weekend, lots going on. Here in our 3 Churches we celebrate seven Masses between Saturday evening and Sunday. So, one weekend Fr Tomy and I do three, the next weekend four etc. I was in Christ the King this time, so I was on three... but all three were different. Now, of course, usually we preach more or less the same homily at all three (or four) Masses, but this time it had to be three very diferent versions around the same theme, the words of Jesus in the Gospel, "You are the light of the world".

Saturday evening the Confirmation candidates were with us after their day retreat at Porthcawl. For them, to be the light of the world is an amazing challenge, so amazing that we need the gift of the Holy Spirit to carry it out. At 8.30 this morning we were observing Poverty and Homelessness Week, so here we talked about specific ways that we can be a light in our world, noting that the first reading specifically mentioned those who are poor or without shelter. Then at 10.30 we had the First Holy Communion children with us, so we thought about torches lighting up the dark and how we can be like torches, bringing light into other children's and people's lives.

I found another feel-good video today, this time about bringing some fun into an otherwise tedious aspect of life.

Acknowledgements to Greg Stewart

Good ol' Google

2011-02-03T22:59:00.000Z

Hey folks, we didn't quite make it to the 1,000 visits last month! 993 - 7 short! Why couldn't a few have gone out 'n' come back in again... boo hoo.

Anyway, by way of consolation I paid a visit to Google's latest venture, Google Art Project. I like wandering around museums and galleries, I know not everybody does. I've hit lots of the greatest ones, like the Brera in Milan where I was in July. In this project, Google allow you to wander around various rooms in some of the world's greatest museums. Then, they have filmed some masterpieces of each collection in extraordinary detail, so that you can zoom in to an amazing degree. I happened to notice that one of these is Rembrandt's "Return of the Prodigal Son" in the Hermitage, St Petersburg. This has in recent years become one of the world's best-known religious paintings, especially after Henri Nouwen wrote a book based on it. If you want to study the detail of this wonderful work by the master of painting teh humanity of human beings, then go to the new site www.googleartproject.com . Click on the Hermitage, and you can then click on the image of the painting. Stunning. Fr M approves - bigtime.

The Big Push

2011-01-31T10:55:00.000Z

I was just checking how we're doing for visitors to this blog, and discovered that January has been a record month! Up until this morning there have been 962 visits during the month, beating the previous record of 820 in May. Now you may notice that 962 is not far off 1,000, and that this is the last day of the month. On normal rate we might get there by midnight, but if, by accident of course, some people actually popped in more than once today, then we would surely pass that landmark. Childish, moi? Go on, make Fr M happy!

Talking of being happy, it's time for a Fr M feel-good video. It's the birthday of Mukhtar, a bus-driver in Denmark who is very popular with his regular passengers... Enjoy.

A new year...

2011-01-28T23:50:00.001Z

There seems to be an air of newness in the Church in some ways. Christ the King have our extended and refurbished Parish Centre. St Brigid's has a refurbished kitchen. Even St Paul's has new altar cloths! The new translation of the Missal is on its way (more of that in later posts), the new Ordinariate is up and running. And, of course, in the not too distant future, we will hopefully have a new Archbishop.

In a few weeks, on February 8th, our two Parish Councils are meeting to discuss a new body to oversee the pastoral life of our 3 Churches. Christ the King is reviewing the adminstration aspect of parish life, with St B and St P to follow possibly later in the year. Several new people seem to have come forward in recent weeks to help in various ways in parish life. And so on. Maybe it's the beginning of a new year, 2011. An old Latin saying is ecclesia semper reformanda - the Church, always to-be-reformed or renewed.

Here is another of my favourite photos that I took during 2010. This was a simple bowl of summer flowers on a window sill in the church at Rhulen, hidden away in the hills of Radnorshire. The sun lit up the flowers - and the whole church, giving it this warm orangey glow. A lovely sight, a lovely moment - summer 2010.

Facing the past and the future

2011-01-23T20:15:00.000Z

Oops - bit of a gap since my last posting. Not an extraordinary week - just a busy one!

I just came back from the Service of Prayer for Christian Unity arranged by our local CYTUN Churches Together in Llanishen and District. It was held in the very cosy and intimate local United Reformed Church and led by their husband-and-wife lay pastors. I enjoyed it, and there were quite a few Catholics to fly the flag.

I always pick up some good idea, thought or practice from visits to other parishes and denominations. At the very end of this evening's service, before the blessing, we were invited to turn towards the door while the Apocalypse reading about a new heavenand a new earth was read. It was a lovely way of sending us out back into the world. Nice tea, coffee and variety of cakes to finish!

This week came the news that the first part of the introduction of a revised translation of our Missal is to be implemented this coming September. This will mainly cover the ordinary of the Mass - the parts that don't change from week to week. This will include the famous mutation from "And also with you" to "And with your spirit". I'm surprised that this is the timescale, because at our in-service day a while ago, I got the distinct impression that it would be after Advent at the earliest. Remembering that nothing much happens in the summer, and Lent and Easter have their own priorities, that does not leave much time! Ho hum...

The picture shows worship at the ecumenical Taize community in Burgundy France, which I visited back in 1993.