Celebrating

Great weekend at Celebrate Wales 2014 up at our local Corpus Christi High School. I particularly noticed a beautiful atmosphere - exciting yet calm. Speakers were excellent and

included Pastor Clyde Thomas (left) from the Victory Church in Cwmbran. He must have been good, because I'm going to get the CDs - which is very rare for me now, to want to listen to a talk again. I was a proud parish priest to see so many of our parishioners taking an active part in every aspect of the weekend, from making the tea to playing the cello to running the PA system to praying with people... Must be doing something right, folks!

I was asked to be main celebrant at the final Mass on Sunday afternoon, which is a great privilege. There were so many children and young people involved, it was wonderful. One of the most distinctive things about Celebrate is that it is very geared to families, with "streams" of activities for all age groups. It really shows up so many Church events where families are excluded because of time of day, lack of facilities etc. Fantastic. Loads of credit to all the organizers especially Mary and Simon on the local level, and Charles, Sue and Jenny on the national level. I nabbed Charles Whitehead - Mr Big in the charismatic world - to come and lead a Day of Renewal here at St Brigid's in November.

Well, today is Bank Holiday, and I've had a quiet day, though the phone rang all morning it

seemed, with little regard for it being a holiday. I was looking forward to a production of "Under Milk Wood" on BBC Wales this evening. This is part of the centenary celebrations of Dylan Thomas's birth in 1914. It was a radio play, so it's not easy to translate to TV. I thought they did well, with its "star-studded cast", but felt that some of the non-actors lacked a certain quality. Tom Jones can belt it out, but Captain Cat's poignant reminiscences are something different. Still, it's a great play. I visited Laugharne last year - and almost froze to death - and, rather like listening to "Myfanwy" sung by a male voice choir, if your heart isn't stirred by "Under Milk Wood" then you're not quite Welsh in my opinion.

Easter life

It's been a bit longer than usual since my last post. Which is actually a good sign - that I'm back to normal energy levels after my brush with the demon bacteria of cellulitis, and catching up with stuff that I just couldn't face during that period.

We had great Triduum services at our 3 Churches. People seemed to get a lot particularly from Good Friday at St Brigid's. What great wisdom the Church has in making sure we revisit these sacred events each year. It's much deeper than simply reminding us in case we forget...

Since Easter we have had several funerals into which to bring some of the light of the Resurrection. Also I have done some dashing around to give talks here and there - something I wouldn't have been able to do a month or two ago. This past Friday and Saturday I was at the High Leigh Christian Conference Centre in Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire, where people involved in leading the various Celebrate weeks and weekends were gathered to mark 20 years since the first Celebrate Conference in Ilfracombe. I was very honoured to be asked to give one of the three addresses. Then this Tuesday evening I shot up to Abergavenny to lead the first of the series of Life in the Spirit Seminars that are happening there.

On the subject of Celebrate and the seminars, we are all prepared now for the Celebrate Wales this coming weekend at our very own Corpus Christi High School. I'm celebrating the final Mass on Sunday afternoon and shall be popping in and out during Saturday and Sunday to fit in with parish duties. Then the following Sunday we start the Life in the Spirit seminars at our own prayer group in St Brigid's (Sundays 7.30pm May 11th). There's lots happening, and I'll try to give some flavour as we go along.

Since I have been feeling better, lots of parishioners have said how am looking better too, some adding, "Oh you looked terrible". I know what they mean, but somehow it doesn't help to know that I looked as bad as I felt!

Mass of the Lord's Supper

Here is a rough precis of my homily at the Mass of the Lord's Supper yesterday evening. I spoke briefly about the third theme of the evening - the priesthood - at the end of Mass.

The Collect or Opening Prayer of our Mass this evening used a beautiful phrase, calling the Eucharist "the banquet of love". What a wonderful description of the Sacrament whose institution we celebrate this evening. In fact, in preparing for the Triduum this week, and seeking the Lord's wisdom, I felt the Lord prompting me to simply "Tell them I love them". The Eucharist is an outpouring of that self-giving love that overwhelms us during these precious days.

As a priest - and a human being - I am so often aware of how love pursues us throughout our lives. Babies enthrall us because they exude love - and they draw love from us in return. Visiting a parishioner in Holme Tower hospice this afternoon with her husband, the love between them was quiet but unmistakably palpable. When with the bereaved, there are often tears and sometimes people apologise, but I like to remind them that those tears are a sign of love - so cry on...

So love flows through our humanity from cradle to grave - and beyond. We receive, we give - it is absolutely essential to humanity - and flows from God, who St John tells us IS love.

This evening we are also to reflect on Jesus' washing of the Apostles' feet. This astonishing scene - the Son of God washing the feet of his own creation challenges us about love. In Jesus' day everything was thrown onto the street, so people's feet were, um, rather unpleasant, so the washing of guests' feet was a job left to the lowest servant. What kind of love, then is this that our God-from -God, Light-from-Light, is on his knees before us? This scene, to be imprinted on the Apostles' memories, is firstly symbolic of Jesus' whole ministry as servant-king. Service is love-in-action, as Jesus is God-and-Man. secondly this love is an example. He is absolutely clear that we are to copy him, to wash one another's feet, in whatever way we can do that.

So - a banquet of love is what we gather for every time we come to Mass. We are fed for our own journey and the journey of the Church from the Upper Room to the Second Coming, and on that journey we are to love another as he has loved us, in humility and self-giving.

So we now proceed to the foot-washing. After I have washed twelve parishioners they will take up places around the church and you are invited to have your hands washed by them.

Pope Francis at Palm Sunday Mass

This was the unscripted homily of Pope Francis  at Mass on Sunday...

This week begins with the festive procession with olive branches: all the people welcome Jesus. The children, the young people sing, praising Jesus. But this week proceeds into the mystery of Jesus' death and his resurrection. We've heard the Passion of the Lord. So it'll do us well to ask ourselves one question: Who am I? Who am I before my Lord? Who am I before the Jesus who enters Jerusalem amid celebration? Am I able to express my joy, to praise him? Or do I keep a distance? Who am I before the Jesus who suffers?
We've heard many names, many names. The group of rulers, some priests, some Pharisees, the teachers of the law, who decided to kill him. They waited for the chance to apprehend him. Am I one of them?
We've likewise heard another name: Judas. Thirty pieces of silver. Am I like Judas? We've heard other names: the disciples who couldn't understand any of it, who fell asleep while Jesus suffered. Has my life fallen asleep? Or am I like the disciples, who didn't understand what betraying Jesus meant? Like that other disciple who wanted to settle everything with the sword: am I like them? Am I like Judas, who made a show of loving and kissing Jesus, only to hand him over, to betray him? Am I a traitor? Am I like those rulers who rushed to hold the tribunal and seek false witnesses: am I like them? And when I do these things, if I do them, do I believe that I save people with this?
Am I like Pilate? When I see that the situation's tough, I wash my hands and don't know to take my responsibility and I let them condemn – or do I condemn – people?

Am I like that crowd which didn't know whether it was taking part in a religious gathering, a trial or a circus, and chooses Barabbas? For them it's all the same: it was more fun to humiliate Jesus.
Am I like the soldiers who strike the Lord, spit on him, insult him, enjoying themselves by humiliating the Lord?
Am I like the Cyrenian who was coming home from work, was tired, but had the goodwill to help the Lord carry the cross?
Am I like those who went before the Cross and taunted Jesus: "If only he had more courage! Come down from the cross, and we'll believe in Him!" They taunted Jesus....
Am I like those courageous women, and like Jesus' Mamma, who were there, suffering in silence?
Am I like Joseph, the hidden disciple, who carries the body of Jesus with love to give it a tomb?
Am I like the two Marys who remain before the Tomb crying, praying?
Am I like those leaders who went to Pilate the following day to say: "Be on guard – this one said he would rise, so don't let them be fooled again!" and blocked his life, blocked the tomb to defend doctrine, so that life could not come out?
Where is my heart? Which of these people am I like? May this question accompany us all through this week.
[Acknowledgement to Rocco Palmo for translation]

Of a toe and a leg

Ho hum. I was just getting over the gradual removal of a callus under my little toe by the podiatrist's scalpel, when cellulitis struck further up the same leg! For those who don't know, this is a bacterial invasion of your body via a cut, bite, graze or similar. It goes for the limb, usually the lower leg in men, it seems. Then, if it gets the chance it heads for the blood stream to see what havoc it can cause there. I did have it once before, but this time it had bigger effect. 

As well as swollen and reddened lower leg I was really sort of out of it for a week or two. I could just about take one service in a day, and the rest of the time I had to sit in my chair. Of course, being bacterial the main weapon is antibiotics, which I was on for a fortnight, and, yes, it's sometimes difficult to distinguish the effects of the antibiotic from the symptoms of the original problem. I finished the antibiotics last Monday and am well on the way to recovery, but still have to be careful, as I am clearly not as well yet as I think/would like to be. 

Anyway, this week I'm feeling much better, and people say I'm smiling again, which they seem to think is one of my characteristics. "Oh, Father, you did look awful" they say in an encouraging voice! What has made me smile is this genuine concern from so many people, especially the first Sunday that I was ill. First I forgot to send the Children's Liturgy out to the Hall, then I had a Eucharistic Minister give out Holy Communion for me, then I went straight to the sacristy after Mass instead of taking up my usual place outside the church door. Oh my goodness, it was like the end of the world. "But you are always there to say hello, Father!!"  I quickly realised that this was a huge compliment, even if it's also a reminder of how we can take our priests for granted... So, thank you, everyone, for your kind thoughts and especially your prayers.

They didn't expect that!

When all four judges on "The Voice Italy" pressed their buttons and spun around, they did not expect Sister Christina, a 25 year old sister from Sicily. Regulars of The Voice UK will know that getting all four judges to turn is something. In the chat after, sister says she half expects a call from Pope Francis, but it's all to do with evangelization... Go for it Sister!!

The language of love - Pope Francis sends video message

It's not often I shed a tear in front of the computer screen, but I must own up, as this video

went on... Watch the fear and prejudices of centuries melt before your eyes. If you have yet to be convinced of the gift to the Church that is Pope Francis, and indeed his predecessors, if you do not understand the power of the Holy Spirit in our time, then giving 45 minutes to watch this conference of Pentecostal Evangelical leaders will be some of the most valuable minutes you have given this Lent - or maybe ever! While it is true that the first speaker seems to be an advocate of a Christianity that is far from the Church would accept, so you can skip four minutes over him, and I'm not sure what kind of Anglican the second speaker is, he make ssoem interesting points and, of course, you are not allowed to skip over the third speaker!

The priest, the Mass, and love

This is a piece I wrote for the newsletter this week, that some people found to be powerful.

Every so often you come across a thought or some words that remind you about what’s really going on and what’s important. We all need that grounding from time to time – to get things in perspective, and stop us taking things for granted. And that includes priests. Our most common “activity”, indeed the occasion when parishioners see us most often, is when we are celebrating the Mass. How easy it could be to think that we’ve “got it”, that we totally understand what it’s all about.

So here is the great Cistercian monk Thomas Merton offering an awesome and humbling thought about what is really going on each time we approach the altar... ...

If you are afraid to love,

never become a priest, never say Mass.

The Mass will draw down upon your soul

a torrent of interior suffering which has only one function:

to break you wide open

and let everybody in the world into your heart.

For when you begin to say Mass,

the Spirit of God awakens like a giant inside you

and bursts the locks of  your private sanctuary.

If you say Mass,

you condemn your soul to the torrent of a love

that is so vast and insatiable

that you will never be able to bear it alone.

That love is the love of the Heart of Jesus,

burning within your own heart

and bringing down upon you the huge weight

of His compassion for all the sinners of the world.

Rembrandt live in Amsterdam

Last summer I visited Amsterdam and had a great time. One of the highlights is the beautifully restored Rijksmuseum, and the highlight of the museum is their collection of Rembrandts, and the highlight of them is the great "The Night Watch". This large and beautiful painting dominates the central hall and is truly a masterpiece. 

So, how clever is this? A flash mob was organized in a shopping mall in the city to advertise the museum. Watch and enjoy...

Why sinners go to Mass

The wisdom of Pope Francis... from his talk at this Wednesday's General Audience in St Peter's Square.

Judge carefully and humbly...

Not all things are as they appear... a clever two minute video

Acknowledgements to Mgr George Pope

The Ear of God

January has been a  gloomy month hasn't it? The wet weather has set the tone. I've had a problem with my little toe - isn't it amazing how so small a bit of our body can cause such disruption? Thank goodness we have excellent nurses at our local surgery who are taking care of Father... 

Then we have had rather a large number of deaths in our 3 Churches too. Someone else who died recently was Monsignor Ralph Brown of Westminster archdiocese. He has been what you might call the godfather of canon law in Britain for several decades, the top man in the little world which I inhabit when wearing that particular one of my hats. He asked Archbishop Stack to preach at his Requiem at Westminster Cathedral, and specifically asked him to quote a well-known passage from Cardinal Hume's book "To Be A Pilgrim". As I find it an inspiring passage too, here it is.

“Judgment is whispering into the ear of a merciful and compassionate God the story of my life which I have never been able to tell. Many of us have a story, or part of one at any rate, about which we have never been able to speak to anyone. Fear of being misunderstood. Inability to understand ourselves. Ignorance of the darker side of our hidden lives, or just shame, make it very difficult for many people. The true story of our life is not told, or only half of it is. What a relief it will be to be able to whisper freely and fully into that merciful and compassionate ear. After all, that is what he has always wanted. He receives us, His prodigal children, now contrite and humble, with an embrace. In that embrace we start to tell him our story and He begins that process of healing and preparation which we call Purgatory”

I Surrender

I was talking about Blessed Charles de Foucauld to a parish group yesterday. He was a big influence on me when, as a seminarian in Rome, I met the religious congregation inspired by his spirituality, the Little Brothers of Jesus. You can read about de Foucauld (not to be confused with the famous scientist) and his spiritual legacy here. The site includes a brief video of his life. He explored the spirituality of the hidden years of Jesus at Nazareth, and reached depths of commitment that led him to write a prayer that has become well known, as the "Prayer of Abandonment". I call it a "dangerous" prayer, because if we mean the words, then the Lord will quite likely take us up on it! 

Father,
I abandon myself into your hands;
do with me what you will.
Whatever you may do, I thank you:
I am ready for all, I accept all.

Let only your will be done in me,
and in all your creatures -
I wish no more than this, O Lord.
Into your hands I commend my soul:
I offer it to you with all the love of my heart,
for I love you, Lord, and so need to give myself,
to surrender myself into your hands without reserve,
and with boundless confidence,
for you are my Father.

The words "I Surrender" tend to be taken as a sign of weakness, but for the Christian, surrender to God is a sign of strength. Here is a video from the well-known Hillsong people which puts some of this theme into a worship song.

Holy Water

Another great video from Outside da Box, this time on Baptism

A Baby Is Comin'

Another great video from Igniter...

Adios 2013

And so 2013 saunters out of view...

A good year, on the whole. Two important events on the personal and family side - my 60th birthday, and my sister and brother-in-law's 40th wedding anniversary. Both were very, very happy days. Two foreign trips - to Amsterdam for my solo and to Croatia, Medjugorje and Montenegro for our September pilgrimage. Again, both were very enjoyable indeed.  On the parish and spiritual side, interesting that in the middle of May's uncertainty regarding Fr T's position, our parish prayer group suddenly had  a boost through the "Celebrate" Conference. I've also discovered a whole lot of good modern Christian music as a result.  Since September we have been starting to crank up the parish engines for a serious look at evangelisation in the 3 Churches.  Not sure where that is going at the moment! Parish priests to east and west have changed - but I seem to still be here, and I'm happy about that. Some sad and/or difficult funerals in the parishes, but plenty of happy, happy occasions in the 3 Churches too...  The arrival of Pope Francis must be The Big Event on the worldwide church level. I think he is wonderful, though some of the media are getting him wrong, it seems to me. 

So, a busy and happy year - as it should be, I guess. Many thanks to all who support this blog. God bless you in 2014. Maybe I'll try to post a little more often - hmmm a possible resolution!

Pre-Christmas pauses and Panasonics

Every year about 4 or 5 days before Christmas, people say to us "Oooh, your busiest time, Father..."  Well, in fact the previous weeks get really full of pre-Christmas liturgical and social stuff, and, of course, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are indeed jam-packed. But this day or two before The Day are strangely quiet, except for kind people dropping in presents and the odd phone-call. People are scurrying around doing their Christmas stuff - and they leave us alone for a day or two! Added to this of course, in terms of the liturgy, Holy Week and Easter are more spread out. So we get a brief pause to prepare homilies, ask ourselves what we have forgotten, and do postings on blogs.

However, we will have eight Masses in the 24 hours from 6pm tomorrow, with help for one of them. Like many places, the Christmas Eve Masses have rather swept the board in attendance, so we need three of 'em, all at the same time, 6.00pm... I'm on Christ the King for the two Eve Masses and St Paul and St Brigid in the Morning. 6pm at Christ the King is probably the most popular of our eight, indeed the biggest Mass of the year. It's big, child-filled, family-oriented, a bit chaotic... and beautiful. I love it!

The last part of Advent this year has been tinged with sadness, as we have had several deaths, including two involving families with teenage children. At the funeral that I celebrated, I tried to tie it in with Advent, talking about the Lord coming to meet us at Bethlehem, but that we also, like the Shepherds and Kings, have to journey in order to meet Him.

Meanwhile, I eventually got round to buying a new TV with the money I received for my 60th birthday way back in June. My last one was for my 50th, so there's a kind of symmetry about it - well, that's my excuse anyway. There are so many to choose from!  I eventually plumped for a Panasonic Viera Smart TV with sound bar and sub-woofer - 'coz I like a good bass sound. So now I'm all set up to blast the neighbourhood, well Fr Tomy anyway!

I'm still amazed that this blog gets a good number of views, so to all who visit, thank you and have a very, very happy Christmas!!
ps My telly isn't quite as big as the one in the pic...

A very Christian Christmas mob

I haven't posted a flash mob for a while. I came across this today. The US Air Force Band are at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC. What's interesting is that they don't choose secular stuff for Christmas, but two explicitly Christian pieces. What would happen over here?...

Thanks to Mgr Charles Pope's blog "Archdiocese of Washington" 

Christmas - the Story

Christmas in Cardiff