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Celebrating Priesthood - Father Cormac Rigby

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Davoren OP) — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:01:00 +0000

When I was at school many of the boys served Mass at Sacred Heart in Ruislip. They spoke unanimously with respect and affection about Father Cormac. It is only since his death in 2007 that I realised who this much-loved priest was.

Born in Watford in 1939, the young Cormac showed great academic ability and went on the read History at St. John's, Oxford. He felt called to the priesthood and after graduating he entered the English College in Rome. However he did not enjoy the regime there and left after the rector reproached him for taking out a subscription to the Times Educational Supplement.

He returned to Oxford to work on a doctorate on Edward Thring, the Victorian preacher and headmaster of Uppingham, for whom Rigby entertained a lifelong admiration. In 1965 his grant ran out and to fund his research he began to look for a job. Leafing through the New Musical Express, he spotted two advertisements side by side, one seeking a disc-jockey for Radio Caroline and the other recruiting new BBC radio announcers. He applied and got the BBC job. Tony Blackburn took the post at Radio Caroline. "We're broadcasting twins", Father Cormac later noted, with some pride.

Rigby's first night on the Third Programme, as it then was, was typical of the funereal pace still called for in the mid-1960s. "I had to leave a full minute of silence between one programme and the next," Rigby recalled. "The idea was to discourage people from casual listening. They were expected to look at their Radio Times, choose what they want, listen to it, and then go away and do all the other interesting things that their lives were full of."

He remained at the BBC for 20 years, becoming the presentation editor of the new Radio 3 in 1971. His extraordinarily mellifluous voice had been evident at his audition, being described as gentle, velvety-brown and strangely familiar, but only experience revealed his level-headedness in a crisis. When Pope John Paul II was shot in Rome in 1981, the duty Radio 3 announcer found himself stuck in the lift, and Rigby was obliged to start reading the news still breathless from the sprint from his office.

The call to the priesthood however never left him and he resigned from the BBC in 1985 to seek ordination at the age of 46. He left on September 14, St Cormac's Day. Rigby's early ministry included postings to Ruislip and Stanmore as curate and later parish priest.

As with his presenting duties Rigby took his priestly responsibilities extremely seriously, especially when dealing with bereaved families, whom he always made a point of visiting at home in order to prepare for a funeral. Intolerant of other people's laxity, he believed that modern seminaries were producing many priests inadequately prepared for the ministry, and was particularly critical of what he regarded as laziness in some of his fellow priests, a malaise he felt affected the Catholic Church in Britain. He especially believed that this was true in the homilies saying: "If what you hear from the pulpit is muddle, confusion and waffle, then the Church is failing in its professional duty. And that is uncharitable, because people have given up their time to listen."

Father Cormac was forced to retire to Oxford in 2003 when he was diagnosed with incurable prostate cancer. This did not stop his ministry however: he published four volumes of his short sermons and began writing a weekly column for the Catholic Herald.

A priest has a public role in the community and Cormac Rigby realised this. He took the care and precision he had utilised so well at the BBC and applied to the most important and sacred of activities. As he said himself:

"So much liturgy is increasingly slipshod. People don't come to services to hear the sort of conversation you have in a doctor's waiting room or the music you put on in your car. And if you deliver the words of the Mass in a bleat or that awful ecclesiastical singsong, then we might as well go back to Latin."

Father Cormac Rigby

(1939-2007)

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord and let perpetual light shine upon him.

May his soul and all the souls of the faithful departed,

through the mercy of God,

rest in Peace.

Amen.

Preparing for the Oxford Derby

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Davoren OP) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 18:30:00 +0000

This Saturday the students of Blackfriars will be playing the Oxford University Catholic Chaplaincy. With local bragging rights at stake, both teams have been preparing hard for what should be a fiery and keenly fought local derby. Oxford has been awash with gossip of the Chaplaincy's line-up but the Friars seem unconcerned with such tittle-tattle and, as the video below shows, are looking on fine-form.

Coming Soon....

noreply@blogger.com (Students@EnglishOP) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:00:00 +0000

Celebrating Priesthood in Fiction - Father Sean

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Davoren OP) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 00:01:00 +0000

The Simpsons has been one of the most witty, entertaining and culturally significant television programmes of the last twenty years. Despite still being relatively one of the most observant and well-written series, the strain of 452 episodes, a film and countless merchandising spin-offs has resulted in a dip in standards since the golden first decade of the show. Nevertheless gems such as The Father, The Son and the Holy Guest-star, from the sixteenth series really stand out.

In this episode Bart's shenanigans lead to him being sent to the Catholic School in Springfield, St. Jerome's. Inspired by Father Sean, the school's chaplain, both Bart and Homer decide to leave the Western Branch of American Reform Presbylutheranism to which they belong, and begin instruction for reception into the Church. I will not spoil the rest of the episode but apart from being side-splittingly funny it is an interesting reflection on religious intolerance and schisms within the Church.

Father Sean, voiced by Liam Neeson, in many ways is a caricature of the American priest: Irish and dedicated to his flock and Church, with a kind word in the confessional and an excellent bingo-calling voice. The character however has much to offer as a model of priesthood. He is not just concerned with keeping his flock but enlarging it by preaching the Gospel. He does this because he has a devotion to the Truth (inspired by a vision of St. Peter), Truth that is most fully realised in the Catholic Church and he wants to share this because it sets people free from sin and death.

He also lives out his priestly vocation with great dedication. One of the most obvious examples of this is seen in his service in the confessional - even after hearing confessions all afternoon he is still happy to hear Homer's marathon confession (under the impression that he is a Catholic already). I think the most important example Father Sean can give priests is found in his presence. He is there for pupils and teachers in the school; he is there for his parishioners at bingo and pancake dinners; he is there in the confessional and at the altar; he is even there on a motorbike with a paintball gun, when Bart is kidnapped by Ned Flanders and Rev. Lovejoy to stop him making his first communion

Pope Dedicates Audience to St. Dominic

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Davoren OP) — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 00:01:00 +0000

Celebrating Priesthood - Monsignor Thomas Gavin

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Davoren OP) — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 00:01:00 +0000

The Right Reverend Monsignor Canon 'Tom' Gavin died on Christmas day after a short illness. At the time of his death he was the third longest serving priest in the Archdiocese of Birmingham. He is the only ordained Catholic priest to have played international rugby. He was born in Coventry on the 28th of March 1922. From an early age he desired to be a priest and so he embarked on his secondary education at Cotton College, situated in North Staffordshire, a Catholic boarding school in the Archdiocese of Birmingham. Here his passion for classics and for sport, especially rugby and cricket, began to develop.

In 1940 he began his studies for the priesthood at Oscott. During his time in Birmingham he began to play for Moseley RFC as a solid inside centre. He was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Humphrey Bright on 21 July 1946. He was then sent to read Classics at Christ's College, Cambridge. During these years he played rugby for the University and the mighty London Irish. In 1949 he was called up to the Irish national side, a team that had won the Grand Slam in the previous season and was the greatest Irish Rugby team until the Brian O'Driscoll led team of the early 21st century. His selection resulted in a debate among many bishops in England and Ireland over whether or not a Catholic priest should play international rugby. Nevertheless Archbishop Joseph Masterson approved and Father Tom received his first cap against France in Paris. The Irish lost but went on to retain the Championship and the Triple Crown, with Gavin playing in the 14-5 victory over England. So ended the international career of this "Toby-jug" priest.

Father Tom was then appointed Prefect of Studies at his Alma Mater, Cotton College, in 1950. He became headmaster in 1967, a position he held with distinction until he retired from teaching in 1978. Monsignor Tom made great strides in developing the curriculum, the school building, and the provision for sport. He used his abilities as a former rugby international to inspire the boys to develop their skills on the rugby pitch, and he had a high quality running track installed to enhance their opportunities for athletics. Nevertheless his priority was to school them in the Faith. Three of his former pupils Terence Brain, Kieran Conry and David McGeough are bishops (in Salford, Arundel and Brighton, and Birmingham respectively).

In 1978 he was appointed parish priest of St Thomas More, Coventry where he served the parish and worked tirelessly for 26 years. He organised the Mass for the Pope's visit to Coventry in 1982 and retired in 2004. The same determination and dedication he showed on the rugby pitch was shown throughout his priestly ministry. As a priest, he was completely loyal and devoted to the service of God and the Church. He was also loyal to the Exiles, despite playing for Nuneaton and Coventry in his later years, and received a standing ovation at the Madejski Stadium when he made an appearance at the pivotal game against Sale last season.

When asked what his greatest memory was, Monsignor Tom did not say playing in the Varsity Match, winning the Triple Crown, meeting John Paul II, or being appointed headmaster of Cotton. He always said it was the day he was ordained. His priesthood was central to his life and defined him whether he was teaching, preaching or tackling. A fellow priest in Coventry, Father Jonathan Veasey, said:

"Mgr Tom Gavin was truly an outstanding priest. A man of prayer, devoted to his priestly duties and wanting the people in his care to be people of faith and good citizens. He had an amazing capacity to reach out to all sorts of people through the gifts of his humanity and faith. His dedicated service to the Church has been a source of inspiration for so many priests and lay people."

The Right Reverend Monsignor Canon Thomas Gavin (1922-2008)

Eternal rest grant unto him O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him.

May his soul and all the souls of the faithful departed,

through the mercy of God,

rest in peace,

Amen.

Good News from Edinburgh

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Davoren OP) — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 00:01:00 +0000

Last week our brothers in Edinburgh received planning permission for the Chapel plans and for the works upon the building and gardens. This is a big leap forward in the Keeping the Door Open campaign but there is still a long way to go!

The Priory of St Albert the Great, located in the heart of Edinburgh, is one of the most vibrant and active houses in our province. Whilst on placement there last summer, I could not help but be impressed and inspired by the work and dedication of the community, especially in its mission as a non-territorial parish for the staff and students of the University of Edinburgh and other third level institutions in the city. The need for this project testifies to the success of the community. The student mass on Sunday evening is heaving, standing room only if you are running late.

A lively Christian community has grown up around the Dominicans in Edinburgh. For this to grow and flourish these works need to be done, and everyone can help in this endeavour. Please pray for the work of our friars in Edinburgh and the success of their Keeping the Doors Open campaign. Please visit the website and if you can, please donate. Every penny given will contribute to the preaching and living of the Gospel in Edinburgh.

Natural Law and the Government's Laws

lawrence.lew@english.op.org (Lawrence Lew OP) — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 17:00:00 +0000

"Your country is well known for its firm commitment to equality of opportunity for all members of society. Yet as you have rightly pointed out, the effect of some of the legislation designed to achieve this goal has been to impose unjust limitations on the freedom of religious communities to act in accordance with their beliefs. In some respects it actually violates the natural law upon which the equality of all human beings is grounded and by which it is guaranteed."

Background to the Pope's address

The above is just one paragraph of an address delivered by Pope Benedict XVI to the Bishops of England and Wales on 1 February 2010 at the close of their regular five-yearly visit to Rome. What the Pope says is in response to various reports that the bishops give him in which they outline the strengths and challenges facing the Church in England and Wales. But this paragraph has been highlighted by the media because it seems to comment quite directly on the Equality Bill currently going through Parliament. In addition, it also seems to be a comment on the Sexual Orientation Regulations that came into effect last month, which compels adoption agencies to facilitate the adoption of children by homosexual couples. According to Harriet Harman MP, the Minster for Women and Equality, the Equality Bill currently being debated aims to "tackle inequality and root out discrimination". The Church is not opposed to such goals and so the Bishops' Conference have said that they "welcomed the extension of protection to religious believers and measures to combat unjust discrimination against human beings, each of whom is made in the image of God."

Problems with the Equality Bill and the Ideology of Equality

However, some of the measures proposed by the Equality Bill would unjustly discriminate against the Church and threaten her freedom and integrity as a community living out the Catholic faith. The proposed law largely concerns the Church as an employer, and those classed as employees include Catholic school teachers, parish staff, diocesan youth officers and even priests. To be more precise, the job opportunities in question must be a public role of some significance, so we are not thinking of an atheist cook in a Church-run conference centre or a Buddhist gardener in a seminary. Much attention has been focused on Government proposals to extend equal opportunities under employment law to homosexuals, thus making it impossible for the Church to choose not to hire a homosexual who did not live according to the teachings which the Church proclaims in fidelity to Jesus Christ. In such a case, the issue is not that the person is a homosexual per se. After all, the Catechism states that "every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided." Rather, the problem is that the hypothetical homosexual person does not even try to live according to the Church's teaching regarding homosexuals, and indeed might have a scandalous disregard for the teachings of Christ in this area. Moreover, the same equality laws might also disallow the Church from excluding women from the Catholic priesthood, and militant atheists might well be employed as Heads of Catholic schools. The former would contravene Church law and Catholic belief, and the latter must at the very least present a conflict of interest, if not a downright contradiction that is tantamount to a breach of the Trade Description Act!

Every organization, including the Government, expects certain standards from their employees so that they are fit for their job. Presumably the Labour party would not admit an active Tory nor give the job of Chief Whip to a Liberal Democrat or member of the BNP. Neither would the BBC hire a blind man to operate a television camera nor drive its crew around town in a van. Would Marks & Spencer be expected to hire and retain a manager who publicly denounced the company's products and told customers to take their business to Primark? The Government proposal is thus poorly phrased, for in its obsession with an ideological equality it does not appear to show enough prudence, as the Catechism implicitly does, to distinguish between just and unjust discrimination. For the latter is rightly to be rooted out, but the former is sometimes necessary to maintain the integrity of an organization and to ensure fitness for the job, as the above cases illustrate. The hypothetical situations that might face the Church may be somewhat unlikely, but these potential problems are raised by the Church to test the feasibility of proposed legislation and to help Parliament to tighten and improve the Equality Bill so that those who need protection under the Law are rightly protected but without detriment to the common good, nor indeed, to common sense.

As the Bill proposed by Harriet Harman stood, there was a real risk of the Catholic Church being unjustly forced to act against her conscience and legitimate beliefs, but on 25 January, the House of Lords recognized this difficulty and voted to maintain the status quo. As Baroness O'Cathain said: "Organisations that are based on deeply held beliefs must be free to choose their staff on the basis of whether they share those beliefs". However, there is still a chance that the Government will subsequently overturn the Lords' decision. It is in the light of all this that the Pope (echoing Baroness O'Cathain) noted that the Equality Bill (and similar ideologically-charged legislation) imposed "unjust limitations on the freedom of religious communities to act in accordance with their beliefs". These laws are said to be unjust because they could effectively prevent religious communities from acting in a way that would safeguard their beliefs with integrity, thus violating a fundamental human right to religious freedom.

Human Rights and Equality are founded on Natural Law

In the eyes of the secular media, the Pope's address has been seen as an assault on what Western society holds dear - tolerance, non-discrimination and fairness. These values lie at the heart of the Equality Bill, and Harriet Harman argues that "equality is ... right in principle" and "fairness is the foundation for individual rights". But why is equality "right in principle"? What causes human beings to be equal in dignity? The 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights says that "all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood." Equality, liberty and fraternity: are these not the hallmarks of our enlightened Western society? But where do these ideas come from and who guarantees them? Is it the State? If so, then human rights are simply a kind of positive law which could change according to circumstance and political exigencies. There is already this risk of reducing human rights to what the State or democratic society is willing to grant. Thus, the unborn and the terminally ill and aged are defined as non-human and not protected by the law: they have no human rights since they are not considered human. Every tyrannical regime does the same thing: they de-humanize a group, strips them of human dignity and then consequently denies them fundamental human rights. Yet, the fact that we can say, for example, that the Nazis who enacted positive laws violated human rights, means that ultimately we recognize that human rights are not just a matter of positive law but transcend politics and the positive laws of the State.

Thus, human rights are founded on something in our very nature as human beings. As Raymond Plant put it, human rights are "rights which we bear in respect of our specific human capacities, rather than as a member of this nation or this culture rather than that". In other words, human rights are firmly rooted in natural law, i.e., the very nature of human beings as creatures endowed by God with reason and conscience. This idea is implicit in the UN's Declaration and it is evident in the UN’s Palais des Nations in Geneva which employs Biblical texts and Christian imagery in its architecture, thus underlining the link between Christianity and human rights, like the link of a mother to her child. This is not to say that the idea of natural law is intrinsically Christian. In fact, it goes back to the Greeks who distinguished between human laws (positive law) and a higher law of nature according to which we are made (natural law). Thus Aristotle said that "what is natural has the same validity everywhere alike", and Cicero said that "what is right and true is also eternal, and does not begin or end with written statutes".

So, the Church, in affirming the universal and innate nature of human rights, says that "the ultimate source of human rights is not found in the mere will of human beings, [nor] in the reality of the State, [nor] in public powers, but in man himself and in God his creator". Slurs are often made against Joseph Ratzinger for having lived under the Nazi regime but those who are sensible realize that this man knows first hand what it is to have lived under an atheistic government. He knows that human rights are "incomprehensible without the presupposition that Man [by the simple reason of his being human] is the subject of rights" that are "discovered but not invented" by the State.

An example from the history of jurisprudence may serve to illustrate this point. In the 16th century, the Spanish Dominican friar, Francisco de Vitoria, observed the injustice being done in Latin America. The indigenous were being enslaved and exploited on the basis that they were uncivilized or even non-human. As yet, there was no firm concept of international law, and States effectively did as they pleased and plundered the Americas. De Vitoria, who is often considered the founder of international law, held that "the law of nations was a direct derivation of natural law”, and his juridical genius was to place human rights on a universal, fundamentally human level that transcended states and cultures. Human rights thus acquired the force of moral law on an international scale and these took precedence over the positive law of the State. In effect, this notion of human rights is what we have inherited today, and it is rooted in the dignity of humankind as created in the image of God, and thus in our equality as children of God the Father. Therefore, St Thomas Aquinas saw natural law as a "participation" in eternal law. This is to say that human nature, because it has the powers of reason and conscience, shares or participates in God's being. So, when we encounter another human person, we encounter God and we ought to give him or her due respect and honour. Thus, Christ said that when we love our brothers and sisters, we are loving Him, God. Seen in the light of natural law and the Christian faith, then, Harriet Harman's Bill does not go far enough. We ought not just to tolerate the other, or just give the other legally-enforced fairness. No, the Christian Law is the Law of Love, which means that we actively seek the eternal good of the other, loving the neighbour as we love God and as we love ourselves.

Violating the Natural Law?

Therefore, it is in this tradition, and with these ideas of the natural law that Pope Benedict made his critique. As we have seen, natural law was seen as a higher law than positive law. Hence, Cicero stated that "in the very definition of the term 'law' there inheres the idea and principle of choosing what is just and true ... Therefore Law is the distinction between things just and unjust, made in agreement with that primal and most ancient of all things, Nature; and in conformity to Nature's standard are framed those human laws which inflict punishment upon the wicked but defend and protect the good."

We have noted how the Equality Bill does not know how to distinguish between the just and unjust, and although it has a concept of human rights and equality, it values these in isolation, divorced from any understanding of the natural law. And it does this because Western society, rather schizophrenically, has increasingly championed the notion of universal human rights, but has also increasingly rejected any notion of a universal human nature. On the other hand, the Church has a clear understanding of a universal human nature, perceiving the end for which we have been made, and the purpose of our powers of reason and conscience. So, the Second Vatican Council said that "since it has been entrusted to the Church to reveal the mystery of God, Who is the ultimate goal of man, she opens up to man at the same time the meaning of his own existence, that is, the innermost truth about himself. The Church truly knows that only God, Whom she serves, meets the deepest longings of the human heart, which is never fully satisfied by what this world has to offer". It is on this understanding of the human person, which is deeply purposive, that the Church is able to speak of the natural law, and thence of human rights. Humanity has these universal rights for a reason: so as to enable all human beings to flourish and ultimately, uplifted by grace, to reach the goal of their deepest longings.

What does the Pope mean when he says that the "in some respects [equal opportunity legislation] actually violates the natural law"? He most certainly does not mean that it is unnatural to strive for equality and fairness. Neither does he think it is good to discriminate unjustly against any people in society. However, he does seem concerned that the Government's championing of the ideology of equality, divorced from its philosophical foundation in natural law, means that some laws, do not actually promote the flourishing of humankind according to their universal human nature. And the Pope does not just have the Equality Bill in mind but also the Sexual Orientation Regulations which have affected the Church's adoption agencies.

The issue on which this coalesces, then, is one which excites the media and which Western society finds controversial, namely, homosexuality. More precisely, as we have seen above, the issue is not about homosexuality per se, but so-called practising homosexuality. For the Church actually distinguishes between the homosexual orientation and the sexual acts that one with such an orientation chooses to do. The media and our society often fail to make this kind of distinction, seeing sexual activity as an inevitable expression of one's sexuality. Therefore, society thinks that to discriminate against homosexuals would be to violate their fundamental human right to sexual expression and love.

Christians, who believe that God is love, would certainly agree that love is a fundamental human right, but it is less clear how sexual expression is a human right. For if that is so, then we religious and priests - including the Pope - would be denied a fundamental human right! But perhaps some people do think we are less-than-human ... Contrary to what our sex-obsessed world seems to think, sexual intercourse is not a fundamental human right, and although life may be poorer without it, one is no less human without it. For a celibate Christian, life is enriched by friendship and the love of God through love for our neighbour. Thus, St Teresa of Calcutta has been called a deeply erotic woman, for she expressed her sexuality through a life poured out for others. But that might sound strange when we have become so accustomed to think of sex as a means to our own pleasure rather than as a gift of oneself to another person, and the pleasure we receive as a result of this self donation.

We need to bear the above in mind if we are to even try to understand what the Pope has said and why natural law comes into the discussion on homosexuality. The Church does not unjustly discriminate against homosexuals nor does she treat them unfairly. However, she does want to help homosexuals to live according to their human nature so that they can flourish and grow as human beings. So, we are all free to love and to express that love in accordance with our human nature. But we are not free to express that love in a way that violates our human nature, or even human mores. We know the latter all too well in our generation as we are faced with the atrocity of paedophilia. But again, what we seem to have in Western society is a morality just founded on positive laws but the State has ignored the very law of nature. As such, the State posits that people of the same sex are free to marry (or form 'civil partnerships'), adopt and form a family, and engage in sexual intercourse. Indeed, the State equates the social and moral value of homosexual acts with heterosexual acts. By doing all this, the natural law is violated. This is what Pope Benedict had in mind when he said back in December 2008: "if the Church speaks of the nature of the human being as man and woman, and demands that this order of creation be respected, this is not some antiquated metaphysics. What is involved here is faith in the Creator and a readiness to listen to the “language” of creation. To disregard this would be the self-destruction of man himself, and hence the destruction of God’s own work". Then, as now, the media reacted intemperately, refusing to countenance a vision of the human person that differed from the common view of modern society.

Building a Just, Fair and Peaceful Society

Nevertheless, society is relentless in claiming more and more human rights, building a fortress of rights on a foundation of clouds because it denies the natural law. Blessed John XXIII was one of the first popes to use the language of human rights, but he balanced those rights with a careful "observance of the divinely established order", and of corresponding rights and responsibilities as the only way to attain global peace. Why? Because this balance is founded on the more fundamental and God-given notions of justice and the equal dignity of humankind. Thus John XXIII explains: "In human society one man's natural right gives rise to a corresponding duty in other men; the duty, that is, of recognizing and respecting that right. Every basic human right draws its authoritative force from the natural law, which confers it and attaches to it its respective duty. Hence, to claim one's rights and ignore one's duties, or only half fulfill them, is like building a house with one hand and tearing it down with the other." Harriet Harman rightly desires to create a "peaceful society" based on equality and fairness. She is joined by Christians in this desire, but not at the expense of our duty to uphold the natural law.

There is much talk of rights these days, but hardly anything is said of our responsibility to God, to creation, to society and the common good. We have become like teenagers who demand more freedom and rights but fail to do our chores and face our responsibilities! The Church does not like to be cast as the nagging mother, but someone has to do the job and remind us that rights come with responsibilities and that we cannot impugn the natural law as we please. Church men like the Dominican friars De Vitoria, De Soto and Las Casas once helped their nation to see that they could not ignore natural law and destroy the Americas as they pleased. So too today, the Pope has called on the Bishops of England & Wales and the people of our countries to heed the natural law and curb our desire to do as we please. We have been given rights as citizens. It is our corresponding duty to help our legislators to frame good law that is just and fair. Moreover, as Christians, citizens of God's kingdom, we have also been given the duty of transforming this world through God's Law of Love. And this Love alone is the ground and guarantee of a society in which, as Harriet Harman says, "everyone [has the] opportunity to fulfil their potential", and it is in God that we have true equality, fraternity and liberty.

The Presentation of the Lord

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Davoren OP) — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 10:00:00 +0000

Mass Readings: Malachi 3:1-4; Psalm 24:7-10; Hebrews 2:14-18; Luke 2:22-40

One of the most beautiful prayers of the Church is the Nunc Dimittis or Song of Simeon, which is said every night during Compline. The Holy Spirit revealed to Simeon that he would not see death until he had seen the promised Messiah. The name Simeon means "God has heard", and when he takes Jesus in his arms, he realises that he has set eyes upon God's response. In the infant Jesus he sees Salvation, and the Lord who will shine forth from Israel to enlighten the pagans and bring glory to Israel. In Our Lord's Presentation, we can see three principal elements of our Salvation: the Incarnation, the Crucifixion, and the Resurrection.

Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the Temple to fulfil the Mosaic Law. Both Mother and Son were required to take part in rituals that remind us of Jesus' birth. Mary was required to be ritually purified after giving birth, in accordance with the Law. Also offerings were required for both the birth and Pidyon haben or "the redemption of the first-born son".

However the shadow of the Cross, even at this early stage, casts itself across this feast. Simeon predicts Christ's rejection and the sorrows of Mary but there is also a foreshadowing in Christ's presence in the Temple. By adhering to Jewish practices, Christ perfects them. As the prophet Malachi says: when he enters the temple "he will take his seat as refiner and purifier". Only Christ can be the true High Priest, who can offer a sacrifice that will atone for sin. This pure and true sacrifice is Himself. He is presented by his Mother for service to the Lord and in His perfect obedience He will present Himself on the Cross to free all from the fear of death and the Devil.

In His victory, the Resurrection, He will perfect the Temple in His body, the Church, to which both Jew and Gentile alike may belong.

2010 Aquinas Lecture

noreply@blogger.com (Students@EnglishOP) — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 00:01:00 +0000

Saints This Month - 31 January: St John Bosco

noreply@blogger.com (Students@EnglishOP) — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 16:00:00 +0000

In the year for priests it is appropriate to recall the life and work of one of the greatest priests of the 19th century, St John Bosco (1815-1888). He founded the Salesian Order to work especially with young people and his feast is celebrated on 31st January. An account of Don Bosco's life may be found here.

Celebrating Priesthood in Fiction - Don Camillo

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Davoren OP) — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 16:00:00 +0000

In 1946 the journalist and humorist Giovanni Guareschi published a short story in the satirical magazine Candido. This tale (the first of many) of a small post-war Italian village and its hotheaded parish priest, Don Camillo Tarocci, is a charming and very human snapshot of the struggles between the Communist Party and the Church within Italy and it is no surprise that the works have resulted in numerous adaptations to TV, radio and film. Guareschi's writings however are much more than a clever piece of satire.

Don Camillo is a dedicated and faithful priest. He has a fiery temper and at times equally fiery fists! He is is constantly at odds with the communist mayor, Peppone, and their clashes are the driving force of the stories. Both were partisan fighters during the war and both want the best for the people of Ponteratto, though for different reasons. Nevertheless neither man is a clear-cut caricature: although he publicly opposes the Church as a Party duty, Peppone takes his gang to the church and baptizes his children there, which makes him part of Don Camillo's flock. If Peppone can be a Communist and a Catholic at the same time, Don Camillo, on the other side, gets labeled by local rich landowners and traditionalists as a "Bolshevik priest" because he is not afraid to decry the avarice of rich people.

The most interesting relationship Don Camillo has is with the Crucifix in the village church. Through the figure on the crucifix, Don Camillo often hears the voice of Our Lord and unsurprisingly this is the voice of reason! The figure of Christ often has far greater understanding than Don Camillo for the troubles of the people, and has to constantly but gently reprimand the priest for his impatience.

The character of Don Camillo has much to offer Christians, particularly priests. All Christians have to live in the real world. We have to deal with people who will not agree with us or who even oppose us. We have to work with people not just for a quiet life but so that they might hear the Gospel too. Whilst we should never give up our principles or beliefs, we should take care not to demonise and not to be aggressive in our zeal.

Don Camillo himself reminds us that priests are human and will have flaws but they have been entrusted with the care of souls and the only way this possible is by having a deep relationship with the crucified Christ. Not everyone will have a talking crucifix but Our Lord does speak to us in many ways: we just have to be prepared to listen.

Our brother, the Dumb Ox!

lawrence.lew@english.op.org (Lawrence Lew OP) — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:01:00 +0000

This statue of the great Dominican friar and Doctor of the Church, St Thomas Aquinas (1225 - 1274), surmounts the reredos of the former priory church of St Thomas in Hawkesyard, Staffordshire, which was once a study house of the English Dominicans. On his feast day (28 January) we are invited to look at this image of the saint, and pause to think of him as a person and a friar, and to thank God for enlightening him with the wisdom which he put at the service of the Church.

The first thing that strikes us when we look at someone is their appearance. The rounded face and large stature which the artist has given to St Thomas is one that is almost immediately recognizable, and it is similar to one of the earliest paintings of St Thomas. There is a certain verisimilitude in such depictions of the saint, for according to contemporary accounts, Thomas was noted for his height and bulk. So, his mentor, St Albert the Great, famously called him a 'dumb ox', on account of both his size, we suppose, and also of his quietness in class. Later in his life, a Cistercian priest commented that Thomas was "large and heavy and had a bald forehead", and indeed, Thomas' own student, Remigio of Florence, says that he was "very fat". St Thomas' biographer, Tocco, also mentions that he was "large in body" with a "large head", and adds that he had thin blonde hair. This physical characteristic and his height are both thought to be derived from his noble Norman ancestry.

The second thing we might notice is what the person is wearing. St Thomas, of course, is shown in the habit of the Order of Preachers. It is thought that St Thomas joined the Order perhaps as young as the age of 16, around 1242/3. Certainly, he had been clothed in the habit by April 1244. He was then a student in Naples, and he was soon sent to Rome to evade the grasp of his angry parents who had hoped that Thomas would become a Benedictine at Monte Cassino and rise to become abbot of that great monastery! Perhaps here we see another reason for his being called an 'ox'. For he showed great tenacity and refused to succumb to family pressure. Despite being kidnapped by his brother Rinaldo d'Aquino, and placed under house arrest, and locked in a room with a prostitute who failed to endanger his chastity, St Thomas refused to renounce the Order. A year later, his family gave up and delivered him back to his priory in Naples.

What attracted St Thomas to the Dominicans, which was then a new and untried kind of religious life in the Church? Was it just teenage rebelliousness? Many years later, in his well-known Summa Theologiae, St Thomas would write about the right of adolescents to enter religious life, even against the wishes of their parents because it is "better to obey the Father of spirits through whom we live than to obey our parents" (ST IIa IIae 189, 6). Of course, something of his own experience is reflected in this. Nevertheless, we see that St Thomas prioritized obedience to God, and so he must have felt very keenly a call from God to join the Dominicans.

Torrell thinks that St Thomas was particularly drawn to the Order because of his love and aptitude for study. Moreover, he later wrote that "if it is good to contemplate divine things, it is even better to contemplate and transmit them to others" (IIa IIae 188, 6). So, St Thomas was not just drawn to study but to the preaching and teaching of what he had studied. Hence, his formulation of the goodness of the Dominican's preaching charism became one of the mottos of the Order: to contemplate and to hand on the fruits of contemplation.

In addition, Chenu thinks that St Thomas was drawn to the Order's poverty, expressed in its mendicant lifestyle. This was then in sharp contrast with the landed wealth of the ancient monasteries, and so Chenu says that "the refusal of Monte Cassino is, for Thomas, the same gesture made by Francis of Assisi". Thus, St Thomas later defends mendicant poverty as "the prime example [of Christ] that we must imitate" and he says that "it is that nakedness on the Cross that those who embrace voluntary poverty wish to follow" (Contra Retrahentes 15).

The third thing we notice about a person is the things associated with him. In religious art, symbols placed around the image of a saint help us to identify the person being depicted. Three symbols can be seen around this statue of St Thomas, but they are common attributes in artistic depictions of the Angelic Doctor: a sun on his chest, the Chalice and Host in his hand, and a book at his feet.

Pope Pius XI said that the sun is St Thomas' symbol because "he both brings the light of learning into the minds of men and fires their hearts and wills with the virtues". More recently, Pope John Paul II noted the special place of St Thomas in the tradition of Christian thought, for St Thomas "had the great merit of giving pride of place to the harmony which exists between faith and reason. Both the light of reason and the light of faith come from God, he argued; hence there can be no contradiction between them". This truth stands at the heart of a Catholic approach to study and to the science of theology, and it is thus that the Dominican Constitutions (echoing the Church's Code of Canon Law) says that "the best teacher and model for the accomplishment of [study in the Order] is St Thomas whose teaching the Church particularly commends". Indeed, it is not only the Church who, in the words of Pope John Paul II, holds St Thomas up as "a master of thought and a model of the right way to do theology", but G. K. Chesterton has also said that "Thomas Aquinas was one of the great liberators of the human intellect ... a very great man who reconciled religion with reason". As Pope John XXII said that "he alone enlightened the Church more than all other doctors", so the sun is a symbol of this saint. Yet it is important to recall that the brilliance of St Thomas' teaching comes from Christ, the light of the world, who is the source of all wisdom. As St Thomas himself said in 1256 at his inaugural lecture in Paris: "the minds of teachers… are watered by the things that are above in the wisdom of God, and by their ministry the light of divine wisdom flows down into the minds of students".

The book, often shown as the Summa Theologiae is related to what we have already seen above. It is yet another sign of his learning and of his many writings which have illuminated the minds of so many. Indeed, his influence is so great that Pope Pius XI declared: "We consider that Thomas should be called not only the Angelic, but also the Common or Universal Doctor of the Church; for the Church has adopted his philosophy for her own". However, something should also be said about the way St Thomas wrote. Noteworthy is the sobriety of Thomas’ writing style and language. As Josef Pieper explains: “He avoids unusual and ostentatious phraseology … the firm rejection and avoidance of everything that might conceal, obscure, or distort reality.” This indicates his concern as a Friar Preacher to communicate the fruit of his contemplation as succinctly and simply but as precisely as possible.

Finally, the Eucharistic emblems which he holds in his hands are a symbol of his also being called the Doctor of the Eucharist. Although many might think of the Summa Theologiae as St Thomas' great masterpiece, his work for Corpus Christi is arguably his greatest legacy. As Simon Tugwell notes: “it is fitting that a theologian whose piety was so dominated by the Eucharist should have been the author of the liturgy for such a feast.” And it is the liturgical texts of this feast that have shaped the Eucharistic piety of generations of Catholics. St Thomas' sequence for Corpus Christi, the Lauda Sion is singled out by James Weisheipl as being “remarkable not only for its poetry, but also for its theological content; the individual stanzas can easily be aligned with the Eucharistic teaching of Thomas found in the third part of his Summa theologiae”. Thus, we see another side of his genius, which his shy demeanour may have kept latent: an affectivity and creativity that led him to compose such fine poetry. But this should not surprise us if, as Tugwell puts it, “the presence of Christ in the Eucharist was somehow the focal point and motivation of all his theology.”

Connected to this love for the Eucharist is a final point. For St Thomas, the 'dumb ox' was indeed struck dumb on 6 December 1273. Although some people think he had a stroke or even a nervous breakdown caused by overwork, Tugwell rightly says: “It looks as if Thomas had at last simply been overwhelmed by the Mass, to which he had so long been devoted and in which he had been so easily and deeply absorbed.” This suggests a mystical experience, and so William Hinnebusch writes: “Before every major occupation, whether debating, teaching, writing, or dictating, [Thomas] had recourse to prayer. His ardent love for God revealed itself in his fervent prayer before the Crucifix, in his intense love for the Sacrament of the Altar. His mystical intuition of divine things and his burning desire for union with God carried him at times into ecstasy. His mystical experiences reached such intensity towards the end of his life that all he had written seemed to him ‘so much straw’.” Therefore, towards the end of his life, having received a vision of God, St Thomas said: "Everything ... seems to me straw - compared to the vision I have had". Given all the praise that the Church has heaped upon St Thomas, this is a striking comment. It reminds us of just how great God is and how much his wisdom and truth and being surpass our human capacity to know and love Him. But even though the ox was struck dumb at the end, this did not jeopardize St Albert the Great's prediction concerning St Thomas Aquinas: "We call him the dumb ox, but one day he will emit such a bellowing in his teaching that it will be heard throughout the world".

Dandelion and Burdock

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Davoren OP) — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 00:01:00 +0000

Dandelion and burdock is a very British drink, thought to have been drunk within these isles since 1265. One of the apocryphal tales of the origins of this naturally fizzy concoction credit St Thomas Aquinas as its inventor. It is said that Thomas, during a bout of writers' block, had a sleepless night praying for inspiration from God. He was moved to get up and walked straight into the countryside. After a while he developed a thirst. Trusting in God to provide he made a drink from the first plants he came across and it was this drink that aided his concentration when seeking to formulate his theological arguments that ultimately culminated in the Summa Theologiae.

Now it is very possible that this story is the product of a salesman marketing D&B as a brain tonic but I think we can also understand it on a deeper level. We are constantly given situations, responsibilities, successes and failures. These are our ingredients. If we approach with God in mind, putting our trust in Him, we can face anything and deal with whatever comes along, confident that in the end, things will work out. God will and does provide, our spiritual thirst will always be satisfied by the Living Water, and when we drink of this water our minds will be focused on Truth itself.

Celebrating Priesthood- Father Edward J. Flanagan

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Davoren OP) — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 00:01:00 +0000

With young offender institutions overflowing, and "gangs of Hoodies" roaming the streets, youth crime is a hot button issue in Britain today. Despite the Daily Mail's protests this is not a new problem: there never was a golden age of juvenile civility. This was certainly the case in Omaha, Nebraska, in the early twentieth-century, where large gangs of homeless boys formed a significant part of the criminal community. In 1917 a young Irish priest saw this problem on the streets of this mid-western city and decided that something needed to be done.

Edward J. Flanagan was born in 1886 in Roscommon. From an early age he decided he was being called to the priesthood. When he turned 18 he, like so many of his fellow country-men, crossed the Atlantic to the United States of America. He graduated from Mount St. Mary's university in 1908 and then entered St. Joseph's Seminary in Dunwoodie, New York. He continued his studies in Italy, and at the University of Innsbruck in Austria, where he was ordained a priest in 1912. He was then sent as a curate to a parish in O'Neil, Nebraska and in 1915 to St. Patrick's, Omaha.

Father Flanagan became a familiar figure to many of the young homeless men and boys in the city, offering them food, shelter and support when they ran into trouble with the law. Father Flanagan developed an understanding for the boys and young men who were orphaned by society. He realized that children who were neglected often turned to crime. He realised that they had had so little love in their lives that they could not show love themselves. In 1917 he opened his first Boys’ Home in a run-down Victorian mansion in Omaha. He firmly believed that every child could be a productive member of society if given love, a home, an education, and a trade.He believed that this was true of everyone and he accepted boys of every race, colour, and creed. The home was soon full and the downtown facilities were inadequate. In 1921 he established Boys Town, ten miles west of Omaha. Under Father Flanagan's direction, Boys Town grew to be a large community with its own boy-mayor, schools, chapel, post office, cottages, gymnasium, and other facilities where boys between the ages of 10 and 16 could receive an education and learn a trade. The community was underpinned by Father Flanagan's belief that "there are no bad boys, there is only bad environment, bad training, bad example, bad thinking.”

The success of Boys Town gained it fame and in 1938 MGM made a film version about its founding, starring Spencer Tracy in an Oscar winning performance, as Father Flanagan. The film gave Father Flanagan and his Boys Town model an international reputation and he was called upon by the US government to help children both nationally and internationally. In 1948, President Truman asked him to travel to Europe to attend discussions about children left orphaned and displaced by World War II. During this tour, he fell ill and died of a heart attack in Berlin, Germany, on May 15, 1948. Funeral services for Father Flanagan were held in the Dowd Memorial Catholic Chapel, located at the heart of his beloved Boys Town, which is also the site of his final resting place.

Boys Town has grown into an organisation across the United States helping 404,679 children and families across America. Father Flanagan himself had predicted this: "The work will continue, you see, whether I am there or not, because it is God’s work, not mine.”

Digital Dogz

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Davoren OP) — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 00:01:00 +0000

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Film Review: A Serious Man

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Davoren OP) — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 00:01:00 +0000

Having been an admirer of the films of the Coen Brothers for most of my adult life I was, as might be expected, eager to see their new movie, A Serious Man. My anticipation was further fanned by the movie being seen by many in the press as a modern interpretation of the Book of Job. This is one of the most personal Coen films. It is set in 1967 Minneapolis where Jewish professor of physics and family man Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg) lives with his troubled family and this reflects the childhood of the Brothers Coen who grew up in a similar setting with their academic parents.

This dark comedy charts Larry’s attempts to make sense of the woes that befall him. He has health concerns and his wife is leaving him for his best friend. His son is listening to rock 'n' roll in Hebrew classes and smoking pot. His daughter is stealing money for a nose job. His brother-in-law is sleeping on the sofa and lurking in unsavoury bars. His gun-nut neighbour frightens him. A student tries to bribe him and blackmail him at the same time. The tenure committee is getting unsigned libelous letters about him. Whilst he can understand the laws of physics and the notion of cause and effect, Larry struggles to understand why he is the subject of such calamity. His constant refrain throughout the film is “I didn’t do anything!” In a more general sense this film is generally asking 'why'?

Larry’s quest for understanding - to bring rational though to seemingly mystical fate - leads him to seek the advice of three Rabbis, but he only receives peculiar analogies concerning parking lots and baffling fables. The most memorable is the tale of a Jewish dentist who discovers the Hebrew phrase "Help Me" engraved on the back of an unaware gentile patient's teeth. When the rabbi finishes his story, Larry asks if the dentist ever found out why the writing was there, and asks what became of the patient. The rabbi responds "who cares?"

After failing to meet the third Rabbi, things seem to level out for Larry. His son makes his bar mitzvah, his wife expresses regret over the recent strife, and he is granted tenure. Larry then decides that he will accept the bribe of his failing student and gives him a passing grade. This is the first immoral act Larry performs in the film. Just then Larry's doctor calls worried about the results of a chest X-ray he took at the start of the film. Meanwhile, a massive tornado is approaching Larry’s son’s school. The final scene shows the children looking at an enormous and destructive funnel cloud, whilst the teacher struggles to unlock the storm shelter.

Virginia Woolf said: “I read the Book of Job last night. God doesn’t come out very well in it”. This reflects a very narrow reading of Job, which seems to be the Coens’ mistake as well. There are obvious similarities on the surface between the film and Job but the film lacks the richness and depth of the biblical story. The directors are masters of twisting genre but setting up the Job narrative as a dark comedy - by turning the perceived lack of a rational answer to the central question of suffering into ‘the joke” - actually leaves a slightly nihilistic black hole, exemplified by the sudden and dramatic ending. There are no answers.

The intention of the Book of Job is not to lament an apparent absence of God; but to reaffirm his presence. The ending of A Serious Man could be seen as the only reference to the Divine but it is a reference to a vengeful and destructive deity. The Book of Job does show an angry God. The Lord makes a similarly dramatic appearance in Job. When He finally answers Job’s demands for an explanation, it is with a litany of examples of how nature reflects His omnipotent might and power. How dare man, God demands, question Me! How dare man, try and limit Me to a system! Nevertheless this is the same God who goes on to forgive Job for his impertinence, praises him for his steadfastness and eventually replenishes all that he had lost and more.

This is an enjoyable film but to see it as an authentic interpretation of Job is not really to understand what Job is about. The Book of Job is more devastating but also more hopeful. A Serious Man, its supposed counterpart, is lightweight and sadly empty in comparison.

Join us for Compline

noreply@blogger.com (Students@EnglishOP) — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 00:01:00 +0000

Pope Benedict on the Mendicant Orders

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Davoren OP) — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 15:00:00 +0000

During his General Audience address last week Pope Benedict reflected on the example of the mendicant orders, the Franciscans and Dominicans, in renewing the spiritual and intellectual life of the medieval Church. He called on Christians today also to read "the signs of the times" and to find new and radical ways to spread the Good News. The full text of his address has been translated into English at ZENIT and can be found here.

A Compass Weekend

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Verrill OP) — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 15:00:00 +0000

This weekend fr Robert Verrill OP visited Worth Abbey to speak to this year's Compass participants about Dominican life. Compass was set up in 2004 and was envisaged as a way of helping people discern whether or not they had a religious vocation. fr Robert was a Compass participant back in 2005 and found it an invaluable experience in helping him decide to join the Dominicans. He writes:

'It was lovely to come back to Worth and speak to the current Compass participants. This year there are six of them, three men and three women. All of them have full time jobs, but since last September, they've been coming to Worth Abbey once a month for a weekend retreat to learn about various aspects of religious life.

'When I first started thinking about becoming a religious, I also had a full time job. At the time I remember feeling at a total loss as to how I could go from being a software engineer to a religious. Religious life was just a thought - the prospect of actually doing anything about it was very daunting. There was a combination of fear of rejection as well as the fear I might get sucked into something I was totally unsuited to. Before I found out about Compass, I didn't feel there was anyone I could confide in, so when I stumbled across the Compass website, it was clear the programme was offering just what I needed: it was a safe supportive environment, one in which I could discuss my fears and anxieties about religious life and where I could obtain the information I needed in order to make an informed and free decision as to whether this life truly was for me. Starting Compass was like coming into the warmth from the cold. I no longer felt alone. I was able to continue working but at the same time I could remain fully focused on trying to understand God's plan for me.

'The process of going from having no religious aspirations at all to joining the Dominicans only took two years. Without Compass, I'm sure this process would have taken much longer. I would probably still be a software engineer who occasionally had fantasies about religious life. I will always be grateful to the people involved with Compass. They helped to give me confidence to take the plunge. Now I'm in the position where I can give the best years of my life to the Dominicans.

'The discernment process can be a very anxious time, a time of great confusion and fear. But it can also be a time of great excitement, a time when one discovers the richness and diversity of the Catholic Church, when one learns really to trust in God's love and let go of the things that prevent us from being what He wants us to be. Please pray for this year's Compass participants in their journey.'

Good Morning Riyadh!

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Davoren OP) — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 00:01:00 +0000

Our last 500 visitors came from:

An Interesting Gargoyle

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Davoren OP) — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 00:01:00 +0000

This gargoyle at the National Cathedral in Washington might find a lack of faith disturbing

Celebrating Priesthood - Father Patrick Peyton CSC

noreply@blogger.com (Students@EnglishOP) — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 00:01:00 +0000

One of the priests whose life has inspired me from a young age is Fr Patrick Peyton CSC (1909-1992). He came from the parish of Attymass in my home diocese of Achonry in County Mayo, Ireland. My grandmother’s family also lived there so they knew him and his family well. He was always spoken of with great affection and respect for his many qualities but especially his gentleness and kindness.

Fr Peyton was born into a large and deeply Catholic farming family. The praying of the family rosary was a daily feature of their lives. He wanted to become a priest from his early teens and thought about entering Maynooth seminary to train for his diocese but his family could not afford the costs. It was a difficult time economically so, like many other Irish people, he emigrated to America to find work. Sadly, he was never again to see either of his parents alive. But he was to remember always the last words he heard his mother say: “promise to be faithful to Our Lady. Be faithful”.

Once he arrived, Patrick took many odd jobs including coal mining and working as a janitor. While working as the sexton in the local cathedral thoughts of a vocation to the priesthood came back to him. Determined to follow the call, and since he needed more education, he went back to school. After a time the call to be a missionary priest led him to enter the Congregation of the Holy Cross at Notre Dame, Indiana in 1932.

However during his time in training he fell seriously ill with tuberculosis. Death was feared. However Patrick prayed his rosary intensely and left everything in the hands of the Blessed Virgin, to be used as she saw fit for the glory of God. Eventually his prayers were answered miraculously when the doctors found that the patches on his lungs had just disappeared. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1941. He wondered how he could pay back the debt he owed to the Lord, His Mother and his family. After much prayer he saw the answer - the family rosary crusade. He coined the phrases “the family that prays together stays together” and “a world at prayer is a world at peace”. He began with a radio programme on Mother’s Day 1945 and was so popular that he soon had both a radio and television show in which many famous personalities appeared to promote the rosary and family prayer. Prominent among them were Grace Kelly, James Cagney, and Bing Crosby. He soon earned the title ‘the rosary priest’ and through his famous rosary rallies held all over the world, preached to millions the importance of prayer, faith and the love of Jesus. Through it all he remained as gentle and humble as ever.

Fr Peyton died peacefully in 1992 holding his rosary. His cause for canonisation is before the Vatican. Fr Peyton is for me a wonderful example of deep faith in God and a humble trust in the love of Mary and her intercession before her Son which he experienced so powerfully in his life. He was a man deeply in love with Christ and constantly faithful to his life as a priest and to preaching the love and mercy of God. Through his life the Lord touched the hearts of millions with faith, hope and love. It reminds us all how much the Lord can do through us if we just have the faith to trust in Him.

- David Barrins OP

Province Day 2009

lawrence.lew@english.op.org (Lawrence Lew OP) — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 00:01:00 +0000

Christmas, it is said, is a time for family. It's not often that the brothers of the English Province manage to come together as one family, but each year we try to do so around Christmas at a Province Day. We last met on 16 December 2009 in St Dominic's Priory, London, for prayer, recreation and reflection.

Bishop Malcolm McMahon OP, Bishop of Nottingham, joined us for the day and talked to us about his life as a bishop and also as a Dominican. Other talks were given by various brothers about developments at Blackfriars Hall, the challenges of the credit crunch, and our involvement in the international community in Brussels. After a period of silent prayer together in the priory church, the day closed with solemn Vespers during which fr Nicholas Crowe OP was instituted as a Lector.

Below are photos from the day:

Bishop Malcolm McMahon sharing his reflection on the episcopal ministry with his Dominican brothers

fr Benjamin Earl OP, Provincial Bursar, gives the brethren an overview of the financial health of the Province

"The Cambridge Boys": some of the brothers of the Province who are graduates of Cambridge University. fr Alistair Jones OP (on the right) is currently serving as assistant chaplain to his Alma Mater

Lunch and coffee breaks are a time to catch up informally

The first snowfall of the season lent a festive mood to the day!

Brothers in choir during solemn Vespers

fr Nicholas Crowe OP is given a copy of the Scriptures as a symbol of the Word which he is instituted to proclaim in the Liturgy and to reflect in his life

The High Altar is reverenced with incense as the Magnificat is sung

Dominican Seminar 2010 - The Prodigal Son

lawrence.lew@english.op.org (Lawrence Lew OP) — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 00:01:00 +0000

This year's Dominican Seminar in Leeds looked at the writing and theology of St Luke. In the opening session, we considered the parables of Luke's gospel. Three parables were chosen for special consideration: Janet Wiltshire OP looked at the Good Samaritan and Patrick Doyle OP pondered the Parable of the Rich Fool. Below is the reflection offered by fr Lawrence Lew OP on the Parable of the Prodigal Son.

"I’d like to offer some thoughts on what is often called the parable of the prodigal son. I think I can only hope to sketch some ideas that will barely scratch the surface of this well-loved parable, but what I wish to do is briefly to consider some elements of this parable within the context of a theology of grace, and particularly of repentance.

The parable is one of three in Luke 15, and they all have in common the notion of repentance, and in this parable we are presented with two sons: one who repents and the other who doesn’t. In the time available to me, I wish to concentrate on the repentant son and indeed on just verses 20-24. Within its context, then, the parable would seem to offer us some insight into how God deals with repentant sinners. I think it is important that the God we consider is always the Triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. With this in mind, then, we avoid the easy identification of the father of the parable with just God the Father. Rather, the father of the parable stands for God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Something that strikes me is that in the parable, the father sees the son from a great way off, and he runs out towards him and kisses him. There are two aspects here that I wish to look at: the going out of the father and the kiss. To speak of God as going out seems to me to suggest procession, and the kiss signifies love. So, as St Thomas says, that “what proceeds in God by way of love, does not proceed as begotten, or as Son, but proceeds rather as Spirit”. And elsewhere, in the Fathers of the Church, the Spirit has been referred to as the kiss of the Father and the Son. Hence, I wish to link the figure of the father in the parable to the Spirit.

This is not because the grace of repentance is limited to the activity of the Spirit alone. Indeed, the whole Trinity acts in the economy of salvation, but I think we can say that the work of repentance is appropriated to the Spirit, such that the Church can say that “the Father of mercies … has sent the Holy Spirit among us for the forgiveness of sins”. Moreover, I think this emphasis on the person of the Holy Spirit in the work of repentance and reconciliation fits in well with the general Lucan narrative because, as I am hopeful we will see in these days, Luke-Acts is suffused with the Holy Spirit and with people who act under the Spirit’s prompting and inspiration. So, by linking the father of this parable with the Spirit, I hope to tie this parable more closely with a key Lucan feature: his pneumatology.

If I am permitted to make this kind of appropriation, then, let us proceed to consider what God does to the repentant sinner. First, note that the son in the parable says: “I am no longer worthy to be called your son”. And this is what happens when we fall into mortal sin, and so are cut off from the new life of divine sonship that is ours through our baptism into Jesus Christ; hence, the father in the parable says that the prodigal son was dead. In fact, we are never worthy of the grace of adoption as God’s children, which is why the prodigal son does not say, ‘I am no longer worthy to be your son’. No, he says, he is not worthy to be called his son. So too, the Christian who has sinned mortally after baptism cannot be worthy to be called daughter or son of God. And so repentance begins with a realization of the sorry state we are in, and how far we have put ourselves from the filial dignity to which we had been elevated by God’s grace. And we are moved to abhor sin and drawn to God’s goodness and mercy. Thus, the sinner moves by faith towards God, just as the son arose and went home.

But the father does not wait for the son to come to him but has compassion and runs out to him. This reminds me of the divine initiative, for it is God and God alone who stirs up faith in us, and who gives us the grace of repentance and who justifies the repentant sinner. For only God can restore the dead to life, just as only God can create out of nothing. And God does all this because of his love for us, and because he has compassion for us poor sinners.

Then, God does three things to the repentant sinner. He gives him a robe, a ring, and sandals for his feet. These indicate a restoration of the dignity of sonship, of course. But more specifically, I would suggest that the robe can be seen as a reference to being clothed in justifying grace, the grace of Christ which renders us pleasing to God. As clothing, it also calls to mind the restoration of the baptismal garment which we are charged to keep pure and spotless until Christ returns in glory. It is this same white garment that is worn by those who follow the Lamb of Revelations in heaven. So, St Thomas says, this white garment is given as a sign of the glorious resurrection, unto which men are born again by Baptism; and in order to designate the purity of life, to which he will be bound after being baptized, according to Rm. 6:4: ‘That we may walk in newness of life’.

The ring, a signet ring perhaps, bears the impression and seal of the father. So too the grace of baptism and repentance restores us in the image of God, an image which had been disfigured by sin. Since grace transforms us and fashions us in the image of the Son of God, so too the ring is a sign of our restoration to filial dignity as daughters and sons of God.

Thirdly, the shoes, I would suggest are an evocation of friendship with God. For it is Moses who was told to take off his shoes for he stood on holy ground, and the unshod state is symbolic of slavery and servitude. However, since Christ has called us his friends, a friendship which is ours when we are elevated by grace, so we no longer have to be unshod as slaves but are given shoes so that we can, as it were, stand on the same ground with God.

Finally, the father kills the fatted calf and feasts and makes merry with the prodigal son. The image of the banquet, which is given in honour of the sinner, is a sign of the Eucharistic feast. For in the Eucharist, all of us who are unworthy sinners, but who have been given the restorative grace of God through baptism and reconciliation, are called to rejoice and feast together. And this feast is itself a foretaste of the banquet of eternal life with God, which is the supernatural end of the life of grace. Does this mean that the fatted calf stands for Jesus Christ, who dies for our health and salvation, giving himself up so that we may make merry in the eternal feast of heaven? It does not require a terrible stretch of the imagination to move from calling him the Lamb of God, and of course, the calf would one day grow into an unblemished white heifer, which is precisely the Old Testament sacrifice offered to God, a sacrifice that is a prefigurement of the Cross.

So, I think it would not be unreasonable to read the text in this way, and indeed to look at this parable through this theological lens. And I ought to end here before I go too far or take up too much of your time!"