Multitude   And there in that place a great multitude gathered unto the Lord. The wind stilled, birds ceased their song, even the children fell silent in anticipation of a single healing Word. Jesus stood calmly at the very heart of His beleaguered flock, dawn-light glittering upon His brow, and verily opened his arms to speak. As He did so, one of His official representatives, stepping before Him, interjected that Mass attendance is down on average about 40%, yes, you heard that right, 40%, since the churches opened post-pandemic and that therefore it’s long past high-time that ev ..read more

The Story So Far…   Oh Dear! And it was all going so we… actually, it wasn’t going that well at all. We’ve been observing a tragic unfolding of destiny: a dividing of the ways. This cloven path started in the fork-tongued mouth of the serpent. The snake image masked a being who had already split his own self and, even as one of God’s good creatures, made a fundamental choice for wickedness – by rejecting his loving Creator.  This Adversary is, thus, the very definition of chaos, discord, anger, violence and destruction. Out of envy and spite, he tempts our archetypal couple. A touch ..read more

Paraphrasing St J H Newman, (regarding the laity), that the Church would look foolish without them, one might suggest something equivalent regarding the matriarchs in these genealogies. Yes, the patriarchs would look foolish without them. Yet, apart from the generic daughters, no mention is made of females; neither their specific names, (not even Eve’s!), nor wives in general. Significance is attached solely to the lineage of particular male heirs. At first sight, it makes for a strange family history. Male Genealogies   Yet, there appears to be an obvious reason for ..read more

Paraphrasing St J H Newman, (regarding the laity), that the Church would look foolish without them, one might suggest something equivalent regarding the matriarchs in these genealogies. Yes, the patriarchs would look foolish without them. Yet, apart from the generic daughters, no mention is made of females; neither their specific names, (not even Eve’s!), nor wives in general. Significance is attached solely to the lineage of particular male heirs. At first sight, it makes for a strange family history. Male Genealogies   Yet, there appears to be an obvious reason for ..read more

For the recent Solemnity of Christ the King, I passed a most blessed hour in the company of the King Himself and two sacred ladies, both professed religious.  There’s a Latin phrase New Testament scholars sometimes use to describe that feeling of unmediated encounter with Jesus’s words – Ipsissima Verba. It’s that sense, despite variations in the textual record and the vagaries of human memory, that you’re receiving, even in your own language, a raw encounter with the very words spoken by Our Lord. It’s a powerful argument from the gut.  If you’ve ever stood in the pews, mind roving ..read more

Mixed feelings settle in following my first diocesan Synod listening session. Context   As per the parish meeting previously discussed, the numbers delivered their own silent sermon. About twenty parishioners from a diocese of roughly 450,000 souls. Maybe the dinner time of day was inconvenient, but still. The other notable element was, once more, the presence of clergy: a priest and a deacon. Again, they didn’t take part in the discussions as far as I could tell but, rather, observed them. It wasn’t explained, at parish or diocesan level, why clerics were present at a lay discernment pr ..read more

When the way forward isn’t always clear or the destination certain, there’s much to recommend simply enjoying the journey itself. And if the path o’er crag and torrent gets a little treacherous maybe that’s the Lord calling on us to beseech, keep thou my feet! If enjoyment proves far too Herculean until the night is gone then, at least, fidelity to the kindly light illuminating each next step should be enough. Saintly advice for any Synodal pilgrim. The distant scene is, of course, ever in good hands, but one closer to home seems less so. It would appear letting go and letting God i ..read more

We had our first parish Synod meeting this week and there are two main personal takeaways.  It’s good to talk… and listen Firstly, as expressed by one of the group, it was great to sit down with fellow Catholics and simply discuss matters of heart and Church – especially after the intense isolation of recent times. It can be lonely enough merely being Catholic in the modern world! Another person voiced concern that many of our older parishioners are struggling to shake this enforced sense of isolation and venture out. Yes, it still is a long journey and not always one that can be taken t ..read more

Divine, Calling   Returning for a moment to the phrase began to call upon the name of the Lord (4:26), there’s textual ambiguity and some scholars have taken a negative interpretation. In the Classical Hebrew, there’s a hapax legomenon. I use this term not for its illuminating power but for the sheer pleasure of clanging an egregious Hellenism. If you’re not familiar, it means a one-off. This is relevant because meaning often has to be inferred from use in other written contexts.  Thus, began to call upon, (taken positively as prayer and invocation), can also be translated as pr ..read more

However one interprets the ultimate meaning of The Second Vatican Council, it’s hardly contentious to suggest the role of the laity as one of its key focuses. It’s spiritually noteworthy that the historic honour of canonising John Henry Newman fell to Pope Francis. He seems to have taken the great scholar’s sentiments directly to heart: that the Church would look foolish without them. Moreover, he’s applied these words in a uniquely challenging way: synods look foolish without them.  By definition synods are essentially episcopal processes, but opening them up to include a ..read more