The Cockney Call...

Today it was annouced publically both in Brighton and in Ilford that I have been appointed as Parish Priest of S. Mary the Virgin, Ilford. I shall leave Brighton early in the Easter season and take up office in Ilford early in May.

I shall be very sad indeed to leave Brighton and especicialy S. Michaels where I have been formed as a priest under the tutorage of Fr Robert Fayers. S. Michael's is a speacial place where I have a deep love and affection for the people there, and who in turn have supported and loved me over the past 4 years.

You can find out more about S. Mary's here: http://www.stmarysilford.org.uk

More anon, but for the time being please keep S. Mary's and S. Michael's in your prayers.

Fr Gareth

Mgr Graham Leonard RIP

Two great episcopal hero's of the faith in the space the same amount of months have been raised to glory and transcended the earthly bounds of the transient life. Eric Kemp, Bishop of Chichester, died last month and now Graham Leonard, sometime Bishop of London and latterly Monsignor of the Holy Roman Church has died after a period of illness.
Mgr Leonard was unflinching in his commitment to the catholic faith worked out within the Church of England, and likewise after his re-ordination (some say 'conditional') as a Roman priest he stood as a pillar of orthodoxy in an increasingly liberal English Roman Church. As a married Roman priest and later Monsignor, he cut a curious figure among his celibate brethren.

May he rest in peace, and rise in glory.

See here for further details: http://timescolumns.typepad.com/gledhill/2010/01/rip-father-graham-leonard.html

Pope John Paul II to be declared Venerable

Rumour has it that the late John Paul II will either tomorrow or (say some sources) Saturday, be declared as 'Venerable', the first step towards Beatification and ultimately Canonisation. John Paul has always been a great hero of mine and I was richly blessed as a seminarian to be in the Vatican the very day that he died amidst the crowds of thousands. The evening before he died I went to S. Peters Square to pray and keep vigil for the Holy Father as he drew near to the end of his earthly life. Though there were many thousands of people in the Piazza that night, there was a tangible silence and priests, deacons, religious, seminarians and people gazed on the single light burning in the Apostolic Palace, in the private apartment of the Holy Father. That night as I prayed for Pope John Paul, I made him a promise, that daily for the rest of my life I would pray for him, for inspired by his holy life, I made the decision to respond to the call to be a priest - I have tried to keep that promise.

It felt as if heaven was touching earth, the sense of being on holy ground was so powerful that the very thought of it still brings tears to my eyes, both of joy and of sorrow. The next morning he died, and just as many thousands were boarding planes to travel to Rome for the Pontiffs funeral, I boarded one to return home, lowering the flag to half mast on the tower of my seminary on my return.

For me, it has always been clear that John Paul II was and is a saint, this first step to the formal recognition of that is a wonderful Christmas gift from the current Holy Father, to the Church. I pray for the day when I can invoke the prayers of Pope Saint John Paul II in the Canon, until then I shall continue to pray for him, who was chief among the servants of the servants of God.

Jesu Mercy
Mary Pray

Christmas begins with Christ...

What has come to be known as the 'atheist bus campaign' can be seen up and down the country now. This years message shows the picture of some rather happy and healthy looking kids, with the tag line 'please don't label me, let me grow up and chose for myself'. The irony is not lost on the fact that the happy and healthy chidren portrayed are from a prominant Christian family!

Personally I like these campaigns, as they get people talking about God and religion in a new way. Last years campaign, 'there is PROBABLY no God, now stop worrying and enjoy yourself', was a rather infantile attempt to undermine monotheistic religion, but it had a counter effect. 'Probably; is hardly a definitive statement, and not one I would have thought a hardline atheist like Dawkins would want to put his name to... but he did! Saul, Saul why do you persecute me?

This years campaign is a little more clever and wickedly subtle as it utilises the innocent (a child) and uses a subconscious weapon of attack on ones deeply held morals and fears. The hidden message here is of course, that to give a child a religious 'label' is to somehow take away the dignity of the freedom he/she was born with, and to take away a childs dignity and freedom is of course an abuse. So in this campaingn we have the subtle notion of abuse, together with the image of an innocent child used in a public advertising campaign aimed at undermining religion, but particularly Christianity. This is a campaign which is aimed at breeding suspiscion and fear (though subconscioulsy) in the minds of the unsuspecting public.

I need say no more, but read between the lines, the message is not what it seems and is I think dangerously damaging. Of course labelling a child an 'atheist' or 'humanist', is perfectly okay, is'nt it?

Father Ray Blake has a helpful comment here: http://marymagdalen.blogspot.com/2009/11/valueless-children.html

Countering this campaign, Churchads.net is running a superb national scheme aimed at putting the Christmas message on bus shelters, radio and other media. Their resources are excellent and can be found here: http://www.churchads.net/.

O Come, O Come Emmanuel

A few weeks ago my microwave stopped working, it’s one of those built in ones so not easily or affordably replaced, so I decided to do without. What hardship this has caused me! Instead of zapping my ‘baked’ potato in 10 minutes, I have to really bake it for 90 minutes. Now, instead of ‘nuking’ my veggies for 3 minutes, I have steam them for 25 minutes. Now instead of sending millions of ‘micro-waves’ through my milk for my hot chocolate in 3 minutes, I have to simmer it on the hob for 10 minutes... What hardship indeed!

Don’t we live though, in a ‘microwave society’, where everything we want is available right now, where waiting is a great hardship and an unnecessary frustration, getting in the way of living and all the other things we could be getting on with? John Lennon said: ‘life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans’ – that wouldn’t sound out of place in the Wisdom of Solomon!

Advent is about recognising that life which so often passes us by due to our busyness, due to our desire to have things now, right this minute. Advent is about waiting, in silent expectation for the gift of the Christ-child at Christmas, who won’t be hurried, who will come in his own good time to make his home in our hearts once again.

As we wait for God and wait on God, we do so poised to hear the angelic salutation ‘Glory to God in the highest and peace to all people on earth’; we hear the excitement of the ragged band of shepherds; the lowing of the cattle and the gentle cries (or pitching screams!!) of the child in Mary’s arms; Emmanuel, the Prince of Peace born among us.

Advent is about the gentle simmering of our hope and expectation, fulfilled in the gift of God to the world. Will the ‘ping’ of our microwave lives make way during this holy season for a more authentic and gentle stirring of the Holy Spirit as we seek to greet the Son of Man who comes among us as the Babe of Bethlehem? O Come, O Come Emmanuel...