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

A vocation

Popular speaker Fr Robert Barron talks about his calling. Simple, direct, challenging. Good stuff. Thanks, Cardiff Vocations.

Casualty case

Talk about signs of the times... Local priests have been hearing Confessions at our local Corpus Christi High School over the last days. So, one girl came to me was doing fine until she came to the Act of Contrition. She looked up from the words printed on laminated paper, hesitating to start. When I asked what the problem was, she asked whether she was supposed to say "O, My God..." or "OMG" or what?   Containing my annoyance/laughter/frustration I reminded her that on this occasion she really WAS talking to God, and so it was right to use the phrase. It was on other occasions that it was inappropriate. She looked bemused/surprised/amused and pressed on...

OMG/O my God has entered ordinary speech and especially email/Facebook speech and completely lost its literal meaning.  I saw in the newspaper not long ago that some pupils questioned a teacher about the use of "Jesus" in a hymn, as they were under the impression that it was a bad word to use.

Oh dear... I suppose I'm sounding like an elderly canon - Oh, I forgot I am indeed not-such-a-young canon - but where have we come to? Some have drifted so far from their faith roots that they don't even recognise God-language being used in the correct way. On the way out of the school I overheard a member of staff telling a pupil not to use blasphemous language in her presence.  Perhaps we should all be tightening up on this language business. Maybe it would be a good way of celebrating Advent. Let the Word that becomes flesh be a Word of beauty and of special respect, not one tossed so casually from lips that are uncaring or unknowing.

TARDIS moments

Yesterday morning I was leaving Christ the King Church for the cemetery after celebrating a Requiem Mass. As I made my way through the groups of people chatting outside the church, and as I passed two men in conversation, one of them was mentioning the name "Lynn Jones". I stopped in my tracks, as that was my father's name, and a rare name at that. I hovered for a moment a few feet from them, and established that they were, indeed talking about a teacher from their past. I presumed that they were mentioning him because they knew that I am his son, but instead they looked round at me quizzically, clearly wondering what on earth I wanted. "Excuse me", I explained, "I heard you talking about

Lynn Jones." "Oh yes", one said, "you wouldn't know him though, he was a teacher in Roath Park School years ago." I revealed who I was, and realised that in fact it was a complete coincidence that they were mentioning my dad at that exact moment. They were reminiscing about "the good old days" as we often do after funerals, don't we? Luckily they remembered him fondly, as a good teacher, very funny - but very free with the cane, too.

Moving on rapidly from that last detail, I was instantly filled with memories of my dad who died in 1992. It was so nice to discover that the men were - on the whole - speaking well of him. Strange how we can be taken back instantly, even by an extraordinary coincidence such as that one at a funeral.

Music can also do that. Here is a video of Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" being performed by Anne and Nancy Wilson from the band Heart with backing group, orchestra and choir. The three surviving members, Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones were receiving some award in the Kennedy Arts Center in Washington DC, and the son of John Bonham plays the drums. I'm not a fan usually of tribute performances, but this one is done very well. When the choir comes in, Plant fills up and Page quivers too...   Apparently the video went viral when it was released a year ago, but I never caught it. So enjoy - and turn it up!  Take a trip back in time to the 70s, and look out too for those time capsule moments in everyday life, that sometimes would be better called not coincidences but God-incidences.

Farewell to Fr Frederick

So our friend Father Frederick called in today to say goodbye. Frederick is a Franciscan from Bangla Desh who has spent two years studying at the Franciscan Study Centre in Canterbury. He spent the two last summers and last Christmas helping out, and was a great hit with everybody, including myself. His constant refrains when faced with anything he couldn't handle "I am a Franciscan!" for once did actually fit the reality. His loving gentleness did reflect, it seemed, the nature of the great founder of his congregation.

Frederick now returns to Bangla Desh, to a position of great responsibility in the formation of young seminarians. As such he will have influence over not just the individuals, but also over they people whom they will, in turn pastor. From what I have seen of him, he will do a great job. Say a prayer for Father Suzon Frederick Rozario, of the Third Order Regular Franciscans. 

A Road to Emmaus

Another good video from Inside Da Box - simple, short and well-made. This one is on the Eucharist.

Marriage and the Family II

My last posting has been viewed 107 times so far, which is pretty good going for an obscure li'l blog like mine. It seems to have touched the spot for a few people...  

Much like the new questionnaire issued in preparation for the Synod of Bishops next year - except for the opposite reason. One person who read my post said that it showed I grasped something of marriage. I take that as a compliment, as not being married of course myself, I do like to think I'm pretty observant, I listen a lot, and have been around for a while now. Hopefully what I put made some connection with people's real experience. 

Now I'm glad that the Bishops have made sure that the questionnaire is available to all in the Church, but I'm a bit worried about its style. You would think that a body like the Vatican that also listens a lot, observes a lot, and has been around for much, much longer, would know how to speak in language people could grasp. And it is no excuse really to say that the questions are intended really for the Bishops. That's just saying that they too are living on a different planet. The part that irks me about these kind of documents and exercises is that if I, as a parish priest, put out something like this to our parishioners, I'd get either laughter - or tears. So why is it OK in the upper, or inner, areas of the Church?

To lighten the tone, and for no reason other than it's eye-catching, funny and clever, here's a roadside Church ad from the USA

Sacrament moment

I make no apology for re-posting Rembrandt's "The Jewish Bride" from the Rijksmuseum. Something very special happened on Wednesday. Well, if I tell you that nine of my family flew by private plane to Paris to celebrate the Ruby wedding of my sister and brother-in-law in a restaurant facing Notre-Dame Cathedral, then something wonderful clearly did happen. But what I mean is something happened on a deeper level than this extravagant celebration of life. And not just forty years of married life, but, given the fact that both of them have suffered from cancer over the last few years, this was a celebration of life itself. The very extravagance of the moment seemed to point to something about love, and its dynamic energy that will not be contained. Such was the desire to celebrate that nothing ordinary would do.

As we relaxed back at my sister's house in the evening, I found myself wondering if it had all really happened. Had I really eaten beef tartare facing Notre Dame just a few hours before? For the trip contained that other ingredient that speaks of love - mystery. It was as if we were suddenly parachuted into Paris, ate, drank, enjoyed one another's company, toasted the couple - in a different world, lifted, for a moment, out of the ordinary.

I guess what I am trying to say is that this was for me - and maybe for others - really a spiritual event as well as an utterly enjoyable and very worldly one. It connected with sign and meaning, with love and mystery, with hope and thanksgiving, and a whole list of other deeply human realities. In the language of my world, it took on the garb of a liturgy of life and of love. It quite simply worked, and on so many levels.

So thank you to my family, and especially to Ju and Graham, for making this sacrament - the marriage and the day - work.

Leaving Croatia

During our September Pilgrimage we also spent a day going out to two of the many islands that dot the coast of Croatia. We set sail from the port of Dubrovnik and headed for the Elaphiti Islands, firstly that of Sipan, about 5 miles by two in size. We landed at a tiny port (left) and took a walk to a fortress-church dedicated to the Holy Spirit. 

The weather was excellent, and we were looking forward to our fish lunch that was to be served as we sailed on to Lopud. Well, the fish was excellent, with some white wine to help it down. Only problem was we were due to celebrate Mass in the afternoon on Lopud, so not too much wine, Father, in this sunshine!

Lopud I thought was very beautiful (right). The island itself was bigger than Sipan, as was the main town, of the same name as the island. It spread around a lovely bay with our church on a promontory at the end (below). The priest had good English and was most helpful and informative. We were reluctant to sail back after a wonderful and restful day.

On the Sunday we visited a village near to the hotel called Cilipi, where there is a display of folk-dancing after Mass each week. We joined the crowd, and enjoyed it a lot. On another day, the rainy last one, as it was too wet to visit the planned arboretum, we took a trip up the river estuary immediately to the west of the city of Dubrovnik.

All in all, we had a brilliant time. Although these postings may give the impression of being on the go all the time, it was actually one of our more relaxing pilgrimages. I'd certainly recommend the area it for its combination of town and coast, bustle and calm, weather and food, body and spirit. Fr M approves seriously.

3 Steps to sharing the Gospel

Making for Medjugorje

One of our aims in visiting Croatia was to visit Medjugorje, which is actually situated not far into neighbouring Bosnia and Herzegovina.  We allowed plenty of time to make the journey, but what with having to go back for someone's passport and a long delay at the border, we arrived at St James Church coach park at 9.57am for the English language daily Mass which is at 10 o'clock. Having shot across the car park and pushed open the nearest door, I found myself in the church where Mass was, of course, about to begin. Well, that was the first miracle - as I found my place among the 40 or so priests concelebrating, Mass started...

It was a very uplifting celebration, with up to 2,000 present. We felt a great wave of worship and prayer rising up. After a pause for refreshment, our group dispersed, some going to the Mount of Apparitions, some staying to explore the church area itself. I had been warned that the going was a bit rough on the Mount, and the only significant lasting effect of when I broke my ankle badly in 2000 is advice to avoid very uneven ground or pebble beaches (sorry Cold Knap!). I visited the various places of devotion around the church, including the very modern Risen Christ,which some claim is exuding a liquid akin to human tears (pic of me there left). 

So, what did I think about Medjugorje? Firstly, we weren't there for the evening Rosary/Mass/Adoration, which priests told me is the high point there. Having said that, I found it different to, for example, Lourdes, Fatima or Knock, particularly because it lacks a central grotto or chapel of apparitions. At Medjugorje it seemed to be more the whole place that has an aura. This is undoubtedly due first to the large number of pilgrims, the enormous amount of prayer and the depth of conversion and reconciliation. Regarding the alleged apparitions, I have to say I am not sure. I found myself wondering if, in fact what I was witnessing is a great concentration of what could happen anywhere. 

I didn't feel or experience anything out of the ordinary, not, that is, until two days later when I seemed to feel a greater closeness of Our Lady. Maybe, for me anyway, it is her shrine because she attracts people there and leaves it to the life of the Church - Mass, sacraments, devotions etc - to do its job and work the Lord's grace in a most effective way. On the other hand, Medjugorje is a work in progress. The Church will not pronounce on it until the apparitions end - and Our Lady probably has more work to do on me!

Making for Montenegro

Montenegro is a small country south of Croatia, with an area of about 5,000 square miles and a population of just over 600,000. As Dubrovnik is situated right at the bottom end of Croatia, it was only a short hop for us to visit Montenegro for a day.

One of its claims to fame is the Bay of Kotor. This is sometimes described as the Mediterranean's best fjord, and indeed it's characterised by steep mountain slopes dropping into inlets that go deep into the land. We wound our way around the beautiful scenery until we reached the small town of Perast, looking back at the entrance to the bay. From here you can gaze at two lovely islands in the middle of the bay. We had a trip booked on a boat out to one of them, called Our Lady of the Rocks (on the right in photo above).What a gorgeous spot! Tradition says that the island was built up over years by sailors bringing stones from their travels. There is a delightful small church and tiny museum of local life.

Back on the mainland we were soon at the furthest point into the bay, the town of Kotor itself (above). Like Dubrovnik, this has preserved its walls. I was a bit put off by a big cruise liner parked right outside the gate, but once inside the walls, we were all swallowed up in this old city. After lunch we were to celebrate Mass at a small church dedicated to Blessed Osanna, a local anchorite or hermit, rather similar to Dame Julian of Norwich. As we emerged the rains came. Some made a dash for the cathedral, others for the cafe. Having read a book about the cathedral... I dashed for the cafe!

We continued round the bay, through a tunnel and across the narrow entrance on a ferry, and we were soon back at the hotel.   My brother tells me that the former miniature capital of Cetinje is fascinating, if rather inaccessible. The modern capital is Podgorica. So we only had a taste of Montenegro - but it was a very tasty taste too.

Must-see Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik turned out to be a beautiful old city, encircled by its massive walls. These have served it proud, not least in the war of the 1990s, when it seemed that the Serbian/Montenegrin forces thought the city might be a push-over. The modern city spreads out alongside and behind the Old Town. An earthquake in the 1690s, a disaster for the people of the time, of course, meant that the rebuilding brought about a uniform feel to the old town, especially along the main street, Stradun, also known as Placa. The entrance through the Pile Gate leads you along this fine urban street towards its landmark tower, marking the Stradun's opening out into a fine square marked by St Blaise's Church. Here you can continue to the eastern gate of the city, but the feel of the town sweeps you round to the right, where another square opens out, marked by the twin centres of power - the Cathedral and the Rector's Palace. 

Above is the beautiful Paolo Veneziano Crucifixion under which we celebrated Mass at the Dominican Monastery at the eastern end of the town, which is balanced by the Franciscan Monastery at the western end. The Jesuits are in there too, with a big place on one of the highest spots, reached by a mini Spanish Steps. It's all a superb example of a compact old city that has evolved over the centuries from two communities, Roman and Slavic, separated by water along the course of present-day Stradun. The whole place is pedestrianised, and even in late September was thronged with visitors.

My only reservation about places like Dubrovnik is that if you look closely you will not find many locals in these historic areas. The famous bit becomes almost a living museum while the centre of the living city is elsewhere, in Dubrovnik's case further west. I've seen this in places as varied as Vilnius in Lithuania and some towns in Italy and Spain. While visitors admire beautiful old buildings and throng cafes and restaurants in one part, the real life of a town goes on elsewhere. There isn't an easy solution to this, but it is noticeable when a town or city is both a visitor attraction and a living centre. We saw several examples of this last year - Lucca being one and Florence being an outstanding example. Many of our own old towns in the UK also pull this off, like York or Salisbury.

But that's just being fussy. Don't let the tourists put you off - there's always room for one more!  Dubrovnik is beautiful. If you haven't been there, go - Fr M approves big-time.  

Set satnavs for Cavtat

So just over two weeks ago, 47 of us jetted off from Birmingham Airport to Dubrovnik, for this year's September Pilgrimage, or, as one pilgrim put it "holiday with a spiritual dimension". Frequent visitors will know that this group - whose membership changes every year - has been visiting places now since 1990. Recent destinations include Rome, the Holy Land, Krakow, Provence and Assisi/Tuscany.

We were based for our week at the Hotel Albatros in Cavtat, between Dubrovnik and the airport. It's pronounced "tsav-tat", but quickly became "satnav" for some of the group! The hotel is the two large buildings just left and below the centre of the photo above. Cavtat turned out to be a beautiful spot in its own right, situated on the neck of a headland between two bays, on one of which was situated our hotel. We were to celebrate the last two of our daily Masses - the heart of our pilgrimage - in its parish church, St Nicholas, and a smaller church Our Lady of the Snow.

I was really impressed by the local area - blue sea, striking cliffs, scattered islands. Croatia was of course a part of the former Yugoslavia until the fall of Communism/Socialism in 1989, which led to the violence of the wars in the early and mid-1990s.  It is mainly Catholic, and Dubrovnik is at the far bottom end of Croatia's strange boomerang shape. For much of its history the city was an independent republic, rather like Venice, under which it spent another large part of its history. I'll share some of what happened during the week over the next few postings...watch this space. Meanwhile here is a dramatic aerial view of the walled Old City of Dubrovnik, heavily damaged in the 1990s but now restored.

Giving

The full Vincent, and yikes, it's the Rijks

I'm back from our September Pilgrimage to Croatia and Medjugorje - but more of that later as I haven't finished Amsterdam yet! Blimey, you must be thinking, what a life!

Anyway...

On my last full day in A'dam I had a timed e-ticket to the Van Gogh Museum, so I decided to OD on culture and hit the Rijksmuseum in the afternoon too. So I got on one of the city's excellent trams and headed across the centre. All of Amsterdam's public transport functions only on an Oystercard type payment system, with no money changing hands at all - very impressive.

As at the Anne Frank, I was glad I had my e-ticket so I could walk past the ever-lengthening queue. To mark 150 years since his birth, the collection has been hung in one long continuous display through the floors, with excellent commentary on the audio guide including links to all the info you could possibly want on the great painter. I spent about 2 hours and found it fascinating to watch his development unfold in front of your eyes. The collection is based on the paintings owned by Theo, Vincent's brother. The last paintings I found very moving, including the famous "Wheatfield with Crows" (above) with its disappearing lane, and the disturbing "Treeroots"(below).

After a snack out on the leafy park between the two galleries, I made for the newly revamped Rijksmuseum. It's very impressive indeed. They have cleared away the galleries that had filled up two internal courtyards, glassed them over and formed a wonderful entrance area. Very thoughtfully they have put many of their "Greatest Hits" all in one place, the very grand central gallery. This is dominated by Rembrandt's "Night Watch" at the far end, like a kind of High Altar. But the "side chapels" had already caused me to sit several times, with a scattering of Frans Hals, no fewer than four wonderful Vermeers (right), and a very select group of other Rembrandts, including one of my all-time favourites, the so-called "Jewish Bride" (below). "The Night Watch" itself just sort of stuns you with its scale and skill and general brilliance, but this portrait of a couple drew me in. It was far better than even the best of reproductions. After this genius overload, I wandered around several other galleries, not even attempting to do the whole place, before staggering out into the Dutch sunlight, and a last evening dinner at the hotel.