From my recent Pastoral Letter “An Invitation” on the Year of the Eucharist.

“When we come to Mass, the Holy Spirit unites us with Jesus in His self-offering to the Father, and just as, out of love for us, He lays down His life on the altar, so He sends us out to do the same for others. People often have vague, even wrong ideas about the Mass. The Mass is the sacrifice of Christ on Calvary in which He is the Victim. Jesus invites us to join ourselves to His sacrifice and to offer up to the Father our own lives, our thoughts, words and deeds, our sufferings, joys, hopes and fears. This is why the Mass is the source and centre of our Christian life. I hope that during the Year of the Eucharist, there will be many opportunities, online and in your parish, for catechesis and for sharing personal testimonies.
 
“Let me add a story. My parents died a little while ago: please pray for them. But occasionally during Eucharistic adoration I have had from the Lord a holy intuition that they are now with Him in that state of “refreshment, light and peace” the First Eucharistic Prayer speaks of. We are never closer to our departed loved ones than when we are with Jesus in the Eucharist: they are with Him and He is with us. Indeed, the Eucharist creates the Church across space and time; it makes us one body, one spirit in Christ; it generates our parish communities, the Lord uniting us with Himself and with one another in the bond of charity. It is sad that often in the Catholic Church, that within our Diocese, parishes, schools and families, there is a lack of love, a failure to practice the Lord’s command: “Love one another as I have loved you.” This leads to a culture of disunity, disaffection and fault-finding. Let us earnestly pray that this Year of the Eucharist will cause a new cascade of love across the Church, uniting us all in common purpose: bishop, clergy and laity, husbands, wives and children. In this way, the Church in our Diocese will be more like what she is meant to be: a light, a lumen gentium, a light to everyone around.”

This last week, the Diocese released the following press statement about the use and promotion of the Covid vaccine.
 
The Catholic Diocese of Portsmouth is very disappointed that one of the Family of Mary Immaculate and St Francis in Gosport has publicly expressed a personal view about the Covid vaccination programme that is contrary to the official position of the Catholic Church and the Diocese. The matter is being taken very seriously and an investigation is in progress. The Pope has encouraged the take up of the vaccination programme. The Vatican's doctrinal office issued a note last December reinforcing this position saying it is "morally acceptable" for Catholics to take vaccines against the coronavirus. While the Vatican note does not recommend that vaccination against the coronavirus be made mandatory it does say "the morality of vaccination depends not only on the duty to protect one's own health, but also on the duty to pursue the common good." In this Diocese, Bishop Philip Egan has reinforced that position through publications to the diocese over past months. We would encourage all our parishioners to benefit from the protection afforded by the vaccine.

Tomorrow, 11th August, is the Memorial of St. Clare of Assisi (d. 1253). Born into a noble family, Clare aged 18 was inspired by a Lenten sermon of Saint Francis to renounce all her possessions, to run away from home and to become a nun, following the way of St. Francis. She was soon joined by her younger sister, Agnes. Her father sent a dozen men forcibly to fetch both of them back, although to no avail. In 1215 St. Francis offered Clare a house next door to the church of Saint Damiano in Assisi and she became the abbess of the first community of women living according to the Franciscan rule. After the death of her father, Clare was joined by her mother, but another sister, Beatrice, and by others. She obtained a special dispensation from Pope Innocent III to ensure absolute poverty, without ownership of the land or buildings, living entirely by alms. The Poor Clare Order soon spread throughout Europe. Clare spent her entire life at the convent in Assisi, famous for her holiness, contemplation and wisdom. After St. Francis’s death in 1226, she perpetuated by many of his ideals and twice by her prayers saved the city from the armies of Emperor Frederick II. On one occasion, they fled at the sight of Clare, holding the Blessed Sacrament high above the city walls. Many representations show her holding the Monstrance. She died in 1253, and was canonised two years later. A legend that she once clearly saw a Christmas liturgy which she was unable to attend because of illness led to Pope Pius XII declaring her Patron of Television in 1958.

This Thursday, 12th August, is the (optional) Memorial of St. Jane Frances de Chantal (d. 1641). She was born in Burgundy and at the age of 20 married Baron de Chantal. She managed expertly her husband’s estate but in such a way as to provide for the care of the poor and needy. When the Baron died, she embraced an austere life, caring for her children and for her father-in-law. She met St. Francis de Sales in 1604 and recognised in him the spiritual director God had chosen for her. Together they founded the Visitation Order. She wrote many letters to her sisters full of profound spiritual teaching. In one of them, she says: “Look at God. Do this and nothing more. Remain in him in peace of mind and utter trust. Since you have confided to him and placed in his hands all that you are, let him now take charge, for you have handed over everything to his faithful love. Now you must work out your salvation on this cross. Let me assure you that he is sheltering you in his arms. So even though you feel nothing, remain content with your discontent. To hold oneself in patience when suffering is already a high state of prayer .. so do not force yourself to conscious acts. To gaze upon God while suffering with gentleness and submission is quite enough. Virtuous feelings do not lie within our power but virtuous contact does indeed lie within our power. This is what God requires of you at the moment, while he holds you on the cross. The way of generous suffering is the way to heaven. Stand fast and bear your cross without thinking about it.”

This Saturday, 14th August, is the Memorial of St. Maximilian Kolbe (d. 1941). He was born near Lodz in Poland in 1894. He consecrated himself to the Lord in the Franciscan Order. Filled with love for the Blessed Virgin, he founded the Militia of the Immaculate Mary and spread the message through modern media, magazines and newspapers. He spent some time in Japan where he founded a Franciscan community, before returning to Europe and an intense apostolic mission. Soon after the German invasion of Poland, Maximilian was arrested as a journalist, publisher and intellectual. He was interned in Auschwitz in 1941 where despite hard labour and great suffering he continued his priestly ministry, hearing confessions and smuggling in bread and wine for the Eucharist. He was known for his sympathy and compassion towards those less fortunate than himself. One day, the father of a large family was to be executed, but Maximilian offered himself in exchange: I am a Catholic priest. I wish to die for that man. I am old, but he has a wife and children. Aged 47, he was starved to death and given an injection of phenol to finish him off. St. John Paul II proclaimed him the patron of a suffering century. His life is a reminder of the many problems of our time: hunger, peace and reconciliation among people, and the need to give meaning to life and death. His feast this Saturday marks the 80th anniversary of his martyrdom and 17th October will be the 50th anniversary of his beatification.

Next Sunday, 15th August we celebrate the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. We hear in the Gospel (Luke 1:39-56) how after receiving the news that she is to be the Mother of God, Mary travels to the hill country to greet her cousin Elizabeth and praise God in a canticle prefiguring the exaltation of her Assumption. ‘He has exalted the lowly,’ says Mary to Elizabeth as the two women rejoice in their miraculous pregnancies. Drawing on the canticles of praise found in the Old Testament, Mary shows that she understands the divine blessing she has received as the fulfilment of God’s promises to Israel, and models the faithful and loving humility which frees all of us, by God’s grace, to follow her into Heaven.

You can find the Sunday readings here and read Scott Hahn's reflection here. You can register to watch our Diocesan Wednesday Webinar here, or join via Facebook live. If you can’t join on Wednesday, you can subscribe to the podcast here.

Next Monday, 16th August, is the (optional) Memorial of St. Stephen of Hungary (d. 1038). Born c. 975, Stephen was crowned King of Hungary in 1001 and set about establishing Christianity as the religion of his country. He established various episcopal seas and monasteries and sought to create a genuine Christian culture within the realm, founded on the laws to protect orphans, widows and the impoverished. He was an archetypical benign ruler who reduced the powers of nobles, abolished tribal divisions and set up a system of counties with local governors, whilst forming the Hungarians into a single kingdom. He justly treated the poor and oppressed and often used to distribute arms in disguise. In later life, he suffered ill-health as well as political intrigues for those who angled to take over the throne. In 1038, on the feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, Stephen delivered his final words to leaders of the Church and state, telling them to protect and spread the Catholic faith. To the Virgin Mary, the king directed one of his final prayers: To thee, O Queen of heaven, and to thy guardianship, I commend the holy Church, all the bishops and the clergy, the whole kingdom, its rulers and inhabitants; but before all, I commend my soul to thy care.” After his death, miracles were claimed at his tomb. His coronation is celebrated by Hungarians as the birth of their nation.

Pope Francis resumed his General Audiences last Wednesday, 4th August. Rather than being held in St. Peter’s Square, the audiences are currently being held in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall. The Pope took a break in July, during which he underwent colon surgery. This was, therefore, his first public appearance after the surgery. The Holy Father continued his catechesis on Saint Paul’s Letter to the Galatians, especially on St. Paul’s insistence on complete fidelity to the Gospel and how “the Gospel, entrusted to the apostles, offers to all – ourselves included – the assurance of new life and freedom flowing from the Cross of Christ and the gift of his Holy Spirit.” At the end of the audience, the Holy Father made a strong appeal and offered prayers for Lebanon on the anniversary of the explosion in Beirut a year ago. Pope Francis does not hold General Audiences during July as popes generally take that month off, except for the weekly address on Sundays for the Angelus. This Address is usually from a window overlooking St. Peter’s Square. However, Pope Francis has transferred his August General Audiences to indoors because of the intense Roman heat. Prior to the pandemic, General Audiences were held in either St. Peter’s Square or in the Paul VI Hall. Since the pandemic, they were often streamed from the Pope’s apostolic library, and at times, when the recommendations of the health authorities permitted gatherings, they were held with a few of the faithful present in the Courtyard of San Damaso.

Next Saturday 14th August is the 104th anniversary of the birth of St. Oscar Romero. To mark the occasion, there will be a special Mass celebrated in St George’s Cathedral, Southwark at 12 noon. The principal celebrant will be Bishop Nicholas Hudson, auxiliary bishop of Westminster and Trustee of the Romero Trust. The Mass will also be live-streamed at romerotrust.org.uk. Julian Filochowski, the Chair of the Archbishop Romero Trust, wrote to me recently to inform me and said: “We very much hope everyone might be able to join us either at the Cathedral or online.”
 
Oscar Romero was the Archbishop of San Salvador from 1977 until his assassination in 1980. He spoke out against violations of human rights in El Salvador, denouncing violence and supporting victims of the civil war. Given press censorship, his weekly radio broadcasts were often the only way people knew what was really happening in their country. On the day before his assassination, he urged soldiers and police not to follow orders to kill civilians: "The peasants you kill are your own brothers and sisters. When you hear a man telling you to kill, remember God's words, 'Thou shalt not kill’. In the name of God, and in the name of this suffering people, whose laments rise to heaven each day more tumultuous, I beg you, I beseech you, I order you in the name of God: stop the repression!” He was shot dead during Mass on 24th March 1980, aged 62. Let us ask the prayers of St. Oscar Romero for us and for all, especially for a resolution of the conflicts in Cameroon and in Afghanistan.

On Saturday 28th August you are invited to a meeting of the Association for Latin Liturgy. The ALL was founded in September 1969 to promote understanding of the theological, pastoral and spiritual qualities of the liturgy in Latin; to preserve the sacredness and dignity of the Roman rite; to secure, for the present and future generations, the Church’s unique inheritance of liturgical music. The Association believes that its objectives are most likely to be achieved by frequent celebrations of the Mass in Latin in the Ordinary Form of the Roman rite, to which the majority of the laity are accustomed. The Bishops of England and Wales recognized the Association in 1970 as an approved Catholic Society, and in 1975 Pope Paul VI conferred on it the Apostolic Benediction.

The Association for Latin Liturgy invites all members of the diocese and beyond to their 2021 open meeting which is being held in our diocese at St Joseph’s Church, Queens Road, Aldershot GU11 3JB on Saturday 28th August. The programme for the day is:

10.30 Arrival and Welcome followed by Chant rehearsal for the Mass 
12.00 Solemn Latin Mass (Ordinary Form) with Mass Propers from the Graduale Parvum for the Memorial of St Augustine and the Ordinary of the Mass sung to Missa Cum Iubilo
13.00 Lunch (Advance booking required by 14th August- see here for details.)
14.00 Talk by Monsignor Bruce Harbert, former Executive Director of ICEL
16.00 Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament
16.30 Tea and depart  

The Cry of Creation: Exploring the encyclical Laudato Si is a free live stream event taking place online on Saturday 4th September from11.00am to 12.30pm.

As the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 26), to be held in Glasgow in November, draws nearer, and at a time of unprecedented danger for the world, the 2015 encyclical of Pope Francis, Laudato Si, on Care for our ‘Common Home’, could not be more relevant. Fr Ashley Beck will explore its contents and explain its crucial relevance. For access to this free go to www.whatgoodnews.org and follow the instructions. No registration needed. Talks will subsequently be available on the same website. To join the What Good News mailing list please email gideapark@dioceseofbrentwood.org

Fr Ashley Beck is a priest of the Archdiocese of Southwark, based in the parish of Beckenham in South East London. He is Dean of Studies of the Diaconate formation programme which covers most of southern England, and Associate Professor at St Mary's University, Twickenham. He has degrees from Oxford University in Classics and Theology, and a PhD by publication from Surrey University in the Methodology of Catholic Social Teaching.

Our diocesan Living Laudato Si' Group invites you to join a Zoom retreat organised by Boarbank Hall, Cumbria, and The Ecological Conversion Group focussing on Your Parish and Your Planet. The same retreat is being offered over two weekends, so you can sign up for either Friday 3rd - Monday 6th September or Friday 15th - Monday 18th October...

WHY? Faith is the place to start.
WHAT? Understanding is the place to start.
HOW? Sharing experience is the place to start.
WHEN? Now is the place to start.
WHERE? Your parish is the place to start.
WHO? Are YOU the place to start?

Jo Lewry shares CAFOD’s resources for Climate Sunday …

The Climate Mass can take place on any Sunday before the beginning of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) to be held in Glasgow on 1st November 2021. The Season of Creation from 1st September– 4th October may also be a suitable time to hold a special Mass to celebrate and give thanks for our beautiful world. You can choose to dedicate the Mass as a celebration of any Livesimply or other actions your parish has taken to care for creation.

We reproduce here an item from the Bishops' Conference website an interview with Fr. Tony Chantry, the Director of Missio, about his recent visit to Cameroon.
 
Father Anthony Chantry, Director of the Church’s official charity for overseas mission, Missio, has been talking to us about the Anglophone Crisis in Cameroon – particularly the Catholic Church’s role in working for justice and peace. It’s a long-running conflict, with its roots in colonial times, that is often overlooked by the rest of the world. There’s no real end in sight and the human cost is severe. Almost one million people have been internally displaced; there are frequent reports of atrocities such as kidnappings and use of torture and more than 3,000 have been killed. The Church doesn’t take sides; it stands on the side of the people often found suffering in the middle. But the ‘middle’ is exactly where it should be according to Father Chantry: “The Church is the only institution that is trusted by the people. The Church has consistently preached a message of peace – no violence but peace with justice. The Church is very much caught in the middle because the Amba Boys, many of them will say ‘you’re telling us not to fight back, you must be on the side of the government. You’re telling us to put down our arms and to talk to the people in Francophone Cameroon – to the government’. And the government say, ‘you’re obviously on the side of the Amba Boys because you’re telling us not to take action against those who are causing trouble’. So [the Church] is caught in the middle, but happily in the middle because that’s where you can bring people together. But there is a cost to that and a price to pay. And in 2018, when I last visited Cameroon, I was there when one of our own missionaries, a 33-year-old Mill Hill Missionary from Kenya, who had only been in Cameroon for a couple of years. He was shot dead by the military as he was standing outside his church talking to a group of refugees. They came into the compound and they fired at people standing there, and he was hit and he died within hours.”

We continue our new series of videos to help us focus on our Diocesan Year of the Eucharist.

This week's video comes from Fr. Mike Schmitz who shares his experiences and the true intimacy that the Lord offers us in the Eucharist introducing us to "The Hour That Will Change Your Life". Fr. Mike Schmitz will be a familiar face to readers of e-News as from time to time we feature some of his thought-provoking videos from his series from Ascension Presents for whom he has also been presenting the excellent Bible in a Year Podcast, which is also well worth tuning in to if you haven't already done so.

David Burnett and Barbara Krajewska from Our Lady of Lourdes in Hungerford share news of their Pilgrimage from Hungerford to Portsmouth to visit one of the designated Shrine Churches for the Year of the Eucharist...
 
Our Pilgrimage was inspired and encouraged by Bishop Philip’s pastoral letter to the diocese on 6th June where he dedicated five Shrine churches. We planned the route  and set off at 1pm on Friday 16th July from OLOL - we arrived in time for 6pm Mass at St John’s on Sunday 18th. In the end we recorded 67 miles/108km - there were some interesting challenges along the way...

I’d like to express our gratitude to Fr. Peter Hart for his generous and loyal service these last years as the Director of the Diaconate Programme in our diocese. Thanks too to the expert team that assists him. Fr. Peter has been responsible for the promotion of vocations to the diaconate and for the care of vocations, ongoing assessment and diaconal ordination, plus support of deacons in ministry. Each year he has organised and run the annual Deacons’ Conference, which in recent times until the pandemic was held in Marwell. At the diaconate ordinations last weekend, he received a well-deserved round of applause. On all our behalf, I thank him for his work and commend him in prayer to the Lord in the days ahead, especially as he begins his new role as parish priest of Fleet and Church Crookham. Meanwhile, please pray for Fr. Dominic Adeiza who will take over in September as the new Director of the Diaconate Programme.

I wish to express great gratitude to Deacon Andrew Carter and his wife Nicola who have led our diocesan Marriage and Family Life team for the past seven years. They are now stepping back from the leadership role, although I am grateful that they will continue to play an active role in the Team. From their time, we have many happy memories of the Significant Wedding Anniversaries Masses held in Basingstoke, and the Engaged Couples Breakfasts here at the Cathedral. Andrew and Nicola also successfully developed and piloted a new marriage preparation programme for the Diocese that has had a good take up in our parishes and they have supported married and family life in many other ways, behind the scenes. Please pray for them as we express our gratitude to them for their selfless service of the Lord and His Church. Meanwhile, I am grateful to Deacon Peter Silsbury and his wife, Melinda, who will be taking over their responsibilities, in collaboration with Fr Rob Stewart, the Episcopal Vicar for Vocation.

I was very pleased the other day to meet Fr. Thom Amungwa. He has been on a short visit to the UK from Cameroon and besides seeing me, also came to see Fr. Elijah here at the Cathedral. Fr. Thom, a priest of the Archdiocese of Bamenda, was one-time parish priest of Bordon and Grayshott and is currently the parish priest of St. Thomas Aquinas parish in Batibo, about 27 miles west of Bamenda on the Trans-African Highway towards the border with Nigeria. He told me he has nine churches to look after. The local political situation is unsettled, so let us pray for him and his parishioners, and for a solution to the current problems in Cameroon. Meanwhile, God bless you, Fr. Thom – our prayers and best wishes!

Francis Ezeani has just finished his propaedeutic year at the Sacred Heart House in Fareham and is preparing to head off to Allen Hall Seminary in London in September. He writes...

I have always admired the life of the priesthood right from my infancy. I remember my first essay in primary school about my future aspiration and I wrote that I would like to be a priest! I was so attracted to the Church and the Sacraments that I received my first Holy Communion at the age of 8, became an altar boy at the same age and received the sacrament of confirmation at the age of 12. I believe my love for God and His Church was first nurtured by my family.
 
My parents are very devout Catholics who raised their children in the doctrines of the Church. Growing up, we never missed Sunday Masses and we said the Rosary every morning as a family. My parents encouraged my desire to the priesthood and so I was accepted in the minor seminary.

The Dominican Sisters of St Joseph share news that their last surviving community foundress, Sr Margarita Schwind, died at 6am on Wednesday, August 4th aged 86. It was a peaceful and expected death surrounded by her sisters...
 
Sr. Margarita was born in Ludwigshafen in Germany on 5th March 1935 and began her religious life in 1957 aged 22 as a postulant. After making Profession in 1959, she was sent to South Africa, where she worked for nine years as a schoolteacher until being posted to Chingford, England, to take up the post of Novice Mistress. After attending a course on the renewal of the religious life in Rome, she gained permission together with four other Dominican sisters to live a ten-year trial period of more authentic Dominican life. In 1994, this experiment became the Dominican Sisters of St Joseph. Four years later, the community moved to St Dominic's Priory, Sway, where we have lived ever since. Sr Margarita played a pivotal role in building up the common life and apostolate of the new community, both as Novice Mistress and Prioress. Unfortunately, in September 2003, she suffered a severe stroke. Though doctors predicted that her life expectancy would be shortened by the effects of the stroke, she lived for another 18 years - even managing to celebrate her Diamond Jubilee of Profession!