Loving God Above All Else

Those of you who have checked out my homily for the Sunday just gone, might well remember the quotation from Pope Francis’ Homily for the Extraordinary Urbi et Orbi (to the city & the world). In it, likening the current times to the storm faced by the disciples on the Sea of Galilee, he said:

“The storm exposes our vulnerability and uncovers those false and superfluous certainties around which we have constructed our daily schedules, our projects, our habits and priorities. It shows us how we have allowed to become dull and feeble the very things that nourish, sustain and strengthen our lives and our communities. The tempest lays bare all our pre-packaged ideas and forgetfulness of what nourishes our people’s souls.”

This has really gotten me thinking that actually this most unusual time, being thrown completely from our ordinary routines, might constitute a truly important, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to stop and re-examine our lives: our schedules, projects, habits and priorities. For those who wish to join me in this, I commend the 5 Steps to Renewal in your Relationship with God.

In writing that guide this week, I began with a very simply question for reflection: does God have first place in my life? Subsequently, however, I have found myself pondering whether this might be an entirely new thought for some people. Some might well be pondering - should God have first place in my life? Is is realistic to think of loving God more than one’s children? One’s spouse? One’s important work?

The very challenging answer which needs to come back, of course, is ‘yes’. God is the highest good, by definition; and so, if I find myself worshipping Him simply as one good among many in my life, then I’m not really worshipping God, at all. There can be an evident danger in a lot of religious practice - among believers of all religions - of simply practising faith as part of a balanced healthy lifestyle. It’s good the psyche and the emotions; keeps everything lined up. All things in moderation - diet, exercise, spirituality, but none of them to excess.

Yet this is not the language of Jesus Christ.

"If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." (Matthew 16.24-25)

“If any one comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14.26)

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.” (Matthew 13.45-46)

Jesus’ commitment to His Father was total - and in this He gave us the example. It is in giving ourselves totally to God, that we find the way to life.

Perhaps the paradigm Biblical story of what it is to love God above all is found in that of Abraham & Isaac. Abraham had longed for a son, but had never had one. Nevertheless, God promised him that he would, and after many years of waiting - in both his and his wife’s old age - they had a son, named Isaac. Isaac was obviously to become the apple of Abraham’s eye. But, when Isaac was a boy, God put Abraham to the test:

and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here am I.” He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Mori′ah, and offer him there as a burnt offering upon one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac; and he cut the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place afar off. Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the ass; I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.” And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together. And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here am I, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood; but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” Abraham said, “God will provide himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together.

When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. Then Abraham put forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here am I.” He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called the name of that place The Lord will provide; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”

And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven, and said, “By myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this, and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will indeed bless you, and I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore. And your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies, and by your descendants shall all the nations of the earth bless themselves, because you have obeyed my voice.” (Genesis 21.1-18)

Some modern commentators might ask the question - what sort of God asks this of someone? This, is perhaps missing the point that this ancient text is trying to communicate. God looks for us to love Him above all else. It is indicated that this event took place in the land of Mori’ah, traditionally held to be Mt. Moriah. This would be the place where 1,000 years later King David would buy the threshing floor from Araunah the Jebusite and where King Solomon would build the Temple. And it would be here that some 1,000 years later Jesus Christ would stretch out His arms on the Cross in the perfect act of self-giving, uniting Himself to the Father’s will for the Redemption of the whole world.

God’s love is total, and that’s the kind of love that He looks for from us. However, of course, He isn’t looking for us to kill our children, literally hate our families or walk out of healthy and productive jobs. What He will be looking for from us, though, is that we love our children, live our family lives and do our work out of love for Him as our final end; and, indeed, give ourselves totally to Him in those things, as He gives Himself to totally to us. And He asks it of us, because He knows that that is what we were made for; self-giving love. We are made in the image and likeness of God - Who is self-giving love. Until we learn to imitate Him in this gift which is total, He knows we will never really come to discover who we are.

So let us take Pope Francis’ invitation in this time to examine our lives for false and superfluous certainties, and have the courage to really examine our live to see: am I living mostly for myself, or, for God - and those to whom He sends me?

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Rule #4 For a Spritually Healthy Self Isolation - Be careful what you put into your mind

The news in the last 24 hours has been very full of  the ‘sudden realisation’ that the lockdown we are currently experiencing is going to go on for a long time. I must confess, this didn’t come to me as a surprise, at all; the only surprise was that people in the media seemed to be surprised. Yet it has, for me, seemed only logical, that if these measures succeed in suppressing the spread of Coronavirus, without actually curing the virus, it was always going to be something of a headache to try and lift them again in the future.

And so with this in mind, I return today to the series of posts: ‘5 Rules for a Spiritually Healthy Self-Isolation.’ I hope the reminder that this self-isolation may last for a while might cause us all to reflect, a little on just how we are living it. As I have written before - if we live it well, we will emerge from this having grown; live it badly, and we risk coming out as diminished people, psychologically and emotionally, as well as spiritually.

Thus far, in order to live a spiritually healthy self-isolation, we have discussed (1.) the importance of having a Rule of Life, (2.) Doing Something meaningful with your time and (3.) Listening to What God is Saying to you in your prayer. These three make a really good spiritual game plan for serious spiritual growth, during the next few weeks and months. Rule #4 is, by contrast, if you like, something of a health warning: Be careful what you put into your mind during these days.

We are very used to the idea that ‘you are what you eat.’ What we put into our bodies forms us very much, physically. As someone reasonably into health and fitness, I have had to learn the lesson that ‘you can’t outrun a bad diet’. The things we eat have a profound effect on bodily health, appearance, and even, to a certain extent our psychological and emotional health.

However, if this is true of food, I would say it is even truer of the media that we consume. Just as food goes into the body and shapes it, ideas go into minds and shape them. The ideas to which we expose ourselves, form the way that we think; and the way that we think determines how we understand our very selves. Thus, our sense of identity - who we are - is profoundly influenced by the ideas we consume. If we form our minds with good things, we will be profoundly shaped for the good; but let us be under no illusions - bad ideas have victims, and they are ordinary people, like you and me.

Loving the Lord with all your Heart

And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that [Jesus] answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the first of all?” Jesus answered, “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ (Mark 12.28-30)

Nowadays, we tend to think of the heart as the seat of the emotions. Therefore, when we are told to love God with all our heart, we can easily fall into thinking that we need to have strong, loving feelings towards Him. But, the problem is we cannot necessarily control our feelings; they come and go like the wind. For a first century Jew, however, the heart was much more like what we today would think of as the mind. For them the heart was not the seat of emotions (that was the gut), it was rather the place where they located the will - the power of knowing and choosing. Thus, when Jesus says the greatest commandment is to love God with all your heart it means knowing and choosing God’s will, rather than having an emotional ecstasy when you think of Him.

This is important, because it shows us that in order to love God, we need to furnish our minds/hearts with good and true ideas about Him. If we don’t allow our minds to come to know His will, we won’t choose to do it.

You are what you read

Everything you read, forms and shapes, a little bit, the person who you are. Indeed, everything you let into your heart/mind; every newspaper or magazine article, each book/audiobook/ebook, all the television programmes, podcasts and radio station you watch or listen to. All the things you look at on the internet or social media, all the music you listen to - all of it forms and shapes your mind/heart into someone who is more, or less, in tune with the Will of God. And indeed, every person whom you let into your life, into your mind/heart.

As Christians, therefore the obvious lesson, is that we need to keep a guard over our minds/hearts, ensuring that we keep within them the things of God: "Keep your heart with all vigilance; for from it flow the springs of life." (Proverbs 4.23)

This doesn’t mean that we that we have to shut out everything that the world has to offer. Much of the art and culture that surrounds us is good; and we can celebrate that it is good. But we must nevertheless be always on our guard to ensure that though we are in the world we are not becoming ‘of the world.’ A huge amount of otherwise very worthy media is today loaded with very subtle messages that run counter to the teachings of Jesus Christ and His Church. Moral relativism (the idea that nothing is really right or wrong) flows through films and television in a way that is just beneath the surface, such that we could easily miss it. As Christians, we have to be alert.

And in order to do this, I think it is pertinent to examine our consciences frequently, and to ask - what portion of the media that I consume is coming from good, holy sources? The kind of media that will foster within me a greater knowledge of and willingness to do God’s Will? If our media consumption isn’t being leavened by some good, Christ centred sources, then we really are in danger of slipping under the spell of the secular age.

The particular danger of the moment

In a time when many of us find ourselves confined - and perhaps even bored - we will be more apt than ever to seek easy entertainment; and that is not a problem in itself. However, be aware, nothing is neutral, and all that you turn to will form a little bit more, for better or for ill, the person who comes out of confinement in some days time. Choose wisely! Choose for Jesus!

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5 Steps to Renewal in your Relationship with God

Click here for a full guide to the 5 Steps to Renewal in your Relationship with God through this time in the desert.

You may find useful an Outline of Two Classic Methods of Praying with Scripture.

If desired, a good examination of conscience can be found here. A classic examination, together with a slightly alternative one can be found here.

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Sacred Corners

Archbishop John has encouraged the faithful to share with one another pictures of their home prayer corners. Here are a selection of those I've received so far. You can see the rest on the new 'People's BlogSpace'. 

It would be lovely to include in the People's BlogSpace also some spiritual testimonies of how you are keeping the Faith and finding God in this time. 

Do send any more pictures and any testimonies to peterlittleton@rcaos.org.uk

Don't forget to share these with your friends using the links below. Let's build each other up in faith!!

O Lord, "deliver Thy people from the terrors of Thy wrath"

Those of you who have followed this Blog, since its inception, may well remember a piece I wrote a week ago, entitle 'God, why are you punishing us?' Interestingly - at least, I thought so - it has proved to be the significantly most clicked on article that I have written. I'm not sure what this says about people's current frame of mind, but I hope what I wrote might have proved helpful to readers.

In the Blog-piece, I outlined the view that the current epidemic is not something sent by God to punish us, but rather, its genesis may be traced back to human sin. God, whilst not directly willing our current suffering, for very good reason is not simply going to intervene and make it all go away. He is, however, very much engaged with us at this time, and desires to be very close to us. More or less, the entire thrust of this Blog has been to try and help people find Him in the current time.

However, my piece from last week did raise an interesting question from someone, who commented on Facebook. He is a Catholic who attends the traditional Latin Liturgy, and he pointed my attention to the Latin Votive Mass and prayers for "for the deliverance from death in time of pestilence". I know many traditional priests are offering this Mass now, during the current pandemic. The texts for this Mass include a number of phrases that are interesting for us to consider.

• In the Introit it says "[b]e mindful, O Lord of Thy covenant and say to the destroying Angel: Now hold thy hand."
• In the Collect is prayed "O God... in thy clemency withdraw the scourge of Thy wrath."
• In the Secret Prayer the connection is made to release from sin and then deliverance from "all ruin and destruction."
• The Postcommunion then prays once more that God would "deliver Thy people from the terrors of Thy wrath".

These texts do raise interesting questions. The Liturgy is one of the sources through by which the faith of the Church is transmitted, and so it cannot simply be dismissed as out-of-date. The ancient maxim, lex orandi, lex credendi (roughly - as we pray, so we believe), holds true. The prayer of the Church reflects the Faith of the Church. Therefore, we do need to consider carefully what light this shine on the connection between God's will and the Covid-19 crisis.

The Contention

To begin our consideration of this, let us get the proposition clear in our mind, which we will then attempt to address.

(1) The Liturgy is an expression of our Faith. (2) The Liturgy is saying pestilence is a result of God's wrath against sin. (3) Therefore, our Faith tells us that this pestilence is a result of God's wrath against sin.

How might this be answered?

• Whilst it is true that the Liturgy is an expression of our Faith, we must be careful not to ascribe to it the precision of a dogmatic definition. The Liturgy expresses the Faith of the Church poetically, rather than in the form of logical syllogisms. Therefore, we cannot take Liturgical texts, and use them to overturn clear teaching, that evil is not a quid pro quo punishment for sin.
• "As he passed by, he saw a man blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be made manifest in him." (John 9.1-3)
• There were some present at that very time who told him of the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered thus? I tell you, No; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen upon whom the tower in Silo′am fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, No; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.” (Luke 13. 1-5)
• "God is in no way, directly or indirectly, the cause of moral evil." (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 311)
• "God did not make death, and he does not delight in the death of the living." (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 413)
• Furthermore, it must be understood that both the Liturgy and the Church's teaching cannot be frozen in time. There is authentic development.
• When we come to know another person it takes time to get to know the other better.
• This is partly because we tend only to see one side of the person. A man who is very stern and serious in his work, might be much more relaxed, jovial and warm when he is at home. His employees would, therefore, have a very different sense of who he is and what he is like, than would his family. In practice, of course, most people aren't as clearly divided as all that. The different sides of our characters come out when we are placed in different circumstances - stress, success, poverty etc. Only by knowing others over time, do we get a fuller sense of who they are.
• It is also because we are very apt to project onto others, things which we ourselves are carrying. If we have been hurt by someone in the past, for example, when we meet someone who bears a passing similarity to the one who hurt us, we can easily project that onto the new person. Or, someone who is feeling guilty is very likely to assume that someone else is judging them, even on very scant evidence. Since we all do this, to a certain extent (albeit often in smaller, very unconscious ways), our relationships with others will always be a little bit coloured by this. Therefore, our relationships with other grow, as we grow over time.
• If this is true of  personal relationships, it is also true of the Church. As the centuries go by, the Church grows in her relationship with God  and begins to see new aspects in Him. Likewise, as the Church grows and matures in her understanding of herself, the things that She projects onto God, change.
• This can lead to an authentic development in doctrine. "Theologians generally indicate that the development of doctrine must be looked at basically in four ways: The first is what is called the objective development of doctrine. This means that doctrine does not expand or contract in the absolute and ultimate sense, but what it does mean is that there is a way in which what is contained in the fonts of revelation, which is to say, Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition, is expressed in a way which is catechetical, affective, and unscientific or even pre-scientific, is re-expressed in formulas which are clear and more scientifically specific. Furthermore, these formulas are often stated in such a way that they constitute answers to entirely new questions. " (Address to the Church Teaches Forum, Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz, July 11 1998) 
• This texts from the Liturgy with which we began date from the reign of Pope Clement VI, at a time when Europe was being ravaged by plague. In a world which was very conscious of sin and God's righteous judgement and with very little understanding of the scientific causes of the pestilence, it is not really surprising that a Liturgical text with prayers such as these emerge. 
• However, having moved on to a world where we are, alas, a lot less conscious of our sins, but, very much advanced in our good scientific knowledge of the world, it would be slightly peculiar if we thought and prayed about the current epidemic in the same the way as the Black Death. The Church, over the last 1000 years, has grown and reflected, and now would not be hasty to imply that Covid-19 is sent by God.

Authentic Development of Doctrine

I want to be very clear, that I am not saying, by this, that the Church can simply change her mind about all sorts of teaching. Concrete things which have been revealed as true, cannot be simply reversed. Even if we get to know another person over time, and come to see different sides of that person, it doesn't mean that the definite things we learned about them or from them at the beginning can cease to be true - what their name is, where they come from, who their family are etc. In a similar way, just as today we might be more inclined to preach about God's tender, merciful love for sinners than at some other points in history, doesn't mean it ceases to be true that God is Trinity, that Jesus died for human sins or that adultery is always and everywhere wrong.

Authentic development of doctrine is always that - development, not change or reversal. There are some clear, accepted principles on what can be an authentic development, which are simply outlined here.

It is important to note, that while in the Liturgical texts we have considered there is an implication that the pestilence is a punishment more sin, it is not an explicit teaching. Nowhere has the Church taught officially - as far as I am aware - that the Black Death, the Bubonic Plague or the Coronavirus are punishments sent by God.

Family Treasures

If that is true, then wouldn't it be better simply to throw out these texts? Well, as a priest who celebrates the Latin Mass, and would quite happily pray these prayers, I'd say no. They have a value.

In Protestant communities, there can be a tendency for people to break away when they find something they do not like in their church. If they don't feel quite at home, the culture is often to go and find another. Each protestant denomination can then have the feel of a nice new home, where everything is swept and put in order, just as the new founder or new member likes it. The things have just been moved in, and he knows what everything is and where it should go.

The Catholic sensibility is different. In the Catholic Church the tendency is to emphasise the unity of the family, both around the world, and indeed backwards and forwards in time. We should think here of a big, old family house, that has been in the same family's hands for centuries. It is a bit untidy, and there is tons of stuff in the attic - some of which we're not really sure where it belongs. But, we never throw anything out, that belonged to the family. Why? Well, because it meant something to somebody once - and that makes it mean something to us.

So I will pray these prayers, uniting myself with the priests down through the centuries, who have prayed these self-same words. But, I'll pray them, asking my God to deliver me from His righteous anger, knowing that in His merciful love, that is just what He is yearning to do.

Rule #3 For a Holy Self-Isolation: Listen to what God is trying to say to you

Georg Friedrich Stettner, Christus im Hause der Martha (Christ in Martha's House)

Yesterday afternoon I ventured out of the house to 'somewhere' (apart from the Sainsbury's behind the presbytery), for the first time in what feels like quite a while. I walked from Tooting Bec down to Tooting, and then on to St. George's Hospital, where I had an appointment at the chaplaincy. They are, as you may imagine, looking for priests at the moment; and, it looks like I might be volunteering to help out the very energetic Catholic Chaplain there - Fr. Mark Higgins - with what may come during the next weeks. I was struck, on my walk, though, by how busy Tooting was - even with all the shops closed; and yet the hospital, which I have visited many times, was quieter than I have ever seen before. It felt, perhaps, like the calm before the storm.

Being confined to the presbytery has seemed to me, quite often, to be a lot like sheltering from a storm. Just as the wind can rage and yet we feel safe and secure under our roofs, so too, as I have heard so much in the news about the dreadful spread of the Coronavirus, I have felt, nevertheless fairly insulated, cosily confined at 9 Tooting Bec Rd. Yet, we are in a storm; and, like the disciples in the storm tossed boat on the sea of Galilee, now is the time to call upon Our Lord, with perhaps a greater urgency than before.

But, here is an important point, about the way in which Our Lord works: He never lets a good storm go to waste, without seeking to teach us something.

[H]e awoke and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you no faith?” And they were filled with awe, and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even wind and sea obey him?” (Mark.4.35-41)

When the disciples call upon Jesus, His first action is to bring peace. Once the calm has emerged, however, He then challenges them - have you no faith? The end result is that the disciples are left wondering in awe and amazement, at who this person in their lives is. You might say that they are drawn to contemplation.

Where is the storm for you?

It is very tempting for us to focus on the 'meta-storm' in our society - the big picture of what our nation is trying to handle. However, we must be careful not to lose sight of the fact that for each of us, our personal experience of this storm looks and feels at little different. For some it is the crisis of feeling cooped up and confined, for others the feeling of separation from loved ones. Some people are under massive pressure from important work, others are struggle with a sense of purpose now that they cannot work. Some tired and drained, others bored and listless. Fear will have come to dominate some people's interior worlds, cynicism may have invaded others. For each of us a totally unique combination of emotional, psychological and spiritual responses will shape the storm around us and within us.

And so in an individual and particular way we need to call on the Lord Jesus to be the voice of calm for us. And we need to be attentive to the particular lesson He wants to teach us, the particular challenge He wants to issue, or the word of peace He wants to impart to us, as individual disciples.

My great hope for this time in which the Church has had to disperse, is that it can be an occasion for us all to take greater responsibility for our own spiritual lives, by making sure that find and give time to God. Time to spend sat at the feet of Jesus, as did St. Mary Magdalen, the sister of St. Martha. As I said in rule #1, it is crucial to the spiritual life to have a structure of prayer throughout the day. However, the soul of the spiritual life is that part which I described as 'Meditation/Quiet Prayer'. This is time we give to sharing with Jesus of our inmost thoughts and feelings, but then also listen to what He would say to us. There are many ways to do this , but by far the most important, is to open our hearts to encounter Him in the Scriptures. In this way we allow the Word, who is God, into our minds and hearts.


Resources for Meditation/Quiet Prayer

A book my parishioners  have often heard me recommend on this topic is "The Better Part" by Fr. John Bartunek, which claims to be - and I think successfully manages to be - a complete 'one stop shop' resource for encountering Christ in the Gospels. The book starts with a concise, yet thorough guide to Scriptural meditation. It then proceeds to offer the complete Gospel texts, three meditations on each passage, some words to stimulate personal conversation with Christ, some questions for reflection (or perhaps group discussion) and then references to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, to show how Church teaching is rooted in the Scriptures.

This used to be available in one volume for around £25 - and there are still some copies floating around the internet at that price, and some used copies too. However, the print was quite small, and so now it has been produced in four volumes, although, of necessity I suppose this has increased the price. The good news for Kindle users is that you can buy the ebook for a bargain £6.52.

If you are looking for a free resource on personal prayer, I would, rather shamelessly, point you in the direction of a course a produced a few years ago - A Practical Introduction to Intimate Prayer. It is put up in a rather amateur way, but if you were to follow it over the course of six weeks, spending some time everyday in prayer, I believe it would give you a broad taster of a number of different ways of spending time silently with the Lord.

A time for Reflection, A Wake up Call

As I said in my sermon "A Wake up Call for the Church", this unprecedented period of pause in the ordinary life of the Christian community cannot be wasted. It would be a tragedy, if once it is over, we simply go back to doing everything exactly the same way as before, without having taken stock, reflected - and indeed listened deeply to what the Holy Spirit is trying to say to us. This isn't the job of the Archbishop, or your priests, alone. Each one of us, called, by name, as disciples and has a role to play, which no one else can. Let us use this once in a lifetime chance to go into the interior desert of our souls, and there hear what the Lord has to say...

You are going to die

Cemetery, Larkwind © Corbis. All Rights Reserved.

I'm sorry for the shocking title of this Blog-piece; but, then again, maybe I'm not, because you are reading it - and without the stark message, you may not have been. It is not my job to frighten you - that's Boris Johnson's job. Yet, as a priest, it is my job to encourage people to reflect on this universal and unassailable fact of human existence - you are going to die.

We live in a society, where we have managed, to a very great extent, to keep the fact of our coming encounter with mortality very much out of sight and out of mind. The advances of human medicine mean we have managed to push that moment of truth further and further back; and then, when it does come it happens, very often, in the very clinical, matter of fact setting of a hospital. Yet, the hour of death calls for poetry, rather than prose. This means that we have really forgotten what our forefathers knew: that there is such a thing as a 'good death'.

Catholics pray everyday for a good death ... "holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us now, and in the hour of our death. Amen. Those who pray the rosary, will throughout their lives have prayed millions of time for the assistance of our Lord's Mother in that last drama of our lives. Yet, how many of us have ever really pondered what we would like that to look like; how many planned for it?

“O death, where is thy victory?
O death, where is thy sting?”
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Cor. 15.55-57)

Death is something we associate with sadness, weakness, defeat. But a good death is none of those things. A good death is a victory, conquering the world and the forces of darkness in the power of Jesus Christ. One who dies united in love to God, and assured of the love of those he or she has known in this world has achieved the greatest thing that can be achieved. He or she has "fought the good fight, [has] finished the race, [has] kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for [them] the crown of righteousness." (2 Tim. 4.7-8)

The Covid-19 disaster has brought the fear of death closer to those of us living in western societies than any event, perhaps since the second world war or the Cuban missile crisis. We wouldn't be human if this didn't make us, at least a little anxious, if not actually frightened. However, when we are prepared to look our mortality square in the face, it begins to lose its power over us. And, in particular, if we are prepare ourselves for a good death by seeking to be reconciled in love with our God, who desires that we would come to Him in glory; and, if we do whatever it takes to be at peace with those we have loved in this world, then death loses its sting completely.

Many people, would, of course, ask me, how I can be so sure of this? The truth is, that God has left lots of evidence of his presence scattered around his creation, among the discoveries of the philosophers and the mystics and the theologians - even the scientists; and, perhaps on another occasion, if the readership is interested, we could explore some of those. But, in the end, my confidence in the eternal comes from my encounter with the person of Our Lord Jesus Christ, who came into this world from heaven above - lived, died and rose again - to show us the way .

Almost everything we 'know', we know on the strength of what someone has taught us, founded on our confidence in that person. If you are feeling anxious in these days, then I can only encourage you to draw closer to Jesus, praying to Him, spending more time with him, and also listening to His living and life-giving word in the Scriptures. His Word is Life; and when we allow His Life into souls, the power of death, slowly but tremblingly is forced to depart.

In these very strange days, one of the great tragedies is that the People of God have much less access to their priests. However, we are still here, and if anyone would like to talk - either by phone or video call - please don't be afraid to get in touch.

A Wake up Call for the Church

My Sermon for Tuesday 24th March 2020 - the day Catholic Churches were forced to close their doors to the faithful, because of the Coronavirus shutdown. This can be an important and necessary period for Christians to examine their relationship with Christ and His evangelising mission. We cannot simply gather in a few months time and be the same. We need to be changed by this experience and renewed in our commitment to Him.

Rule #2 For Staying Home - Do Something: Top tips for a fulfilling confinement

Accusing the anointers in the great plague of Milan in 1630, Wellcome Images - wellcome.ac.uk

Journalist and historian, Tim Stanley, has an interesting piece in the Telegraph today, in which he looks back to the 'Italian Plague' of 1629-31, which killed 62% of the population of Milan. Florence, meanwhile, lost only 1 in 10, because there they introduced a complete shutdown, confining the population to their homes.

As we find ourselves living amidst historic events, it is salutary to remember that they are nevertheless, not unprecedented. Any day now, however, it seems that there is going to be a 'lockdown' of British society, which legally enforces confinement to homes for all but necessary workers. We will await the Prime Minister's press conference, today, or perhaps tomorrow, to discover the terms. It is hard to avoid the growing thought, that this might last, on any measure, for quite a long time.

As we absorb the shock of this, it will be important to remember that we are absorbing the shock of it. Like someone going to prison or who has a debilitating accident, when our lifes changes and our freedom or ability to do what we did before disappears, we will need to to absorb the change - time to mourn a loss. But, we also need to keep in mind that we can and will get through this. In a little while, this will be the 'new normal'.

Monks farming stony ground at Mission Santa Barbara, ca.1901-1904, George Wharton James

Part of the process of adapting - psychologically, emotionally, spiritually - will entail working out what am I going to do now? A few days ago in Rule #1 we reflected on the importance of having a spiritual rule of life, now more than ever. Today, I want to introduce the next thing which is crucial: having something meaningful to do. If in three, six or twelve months time, the only thing we have really accomplished is to have crashed through 50 Netflix boxsets, we will emerge from it a diminished persons; and that would be a great pity.

If we were to go to a monastic house of Contemplation, where monks and nuns give themselves over to a life of prayer, we might be surprised to find how busy the brothers and sisters are. Prayer, solitude and contemplation are about anything other than being lazy. On a natural, psychological level, human beings generally need to have some meaningful work, some raison d'être, in order to grow and flourish. This matters for our spiritual lives, too, because the supernatural life is build on the foundation of our natural life - grace builds on nature. If the psychological foundation is flimsy, so will be the spiritual life; which is why, as Christians we always need to take care of our mental, as well as our physical health.

Discerning a new raison d'être

Whilst establishing a rule of life during this time of social distancing will be of cardinal spiritual importance, what we do in the times in between will also be very important. That will be very different, for different people. Some - key workers - will still be going out to their employment, and for these the workload may well be increasing. Others will be able to work from home - although they may have considerable extra time on their hands. Still others, however, will have a real gap in their lives, from the withdrawal of all their normal pursuits.

If you have been left with a lot of free time, then I really would urge you to consider taking on some sort of project, to give this stretch of your life shape, meaning and structure. What follows are some top tips.

1. Take on something life-giving, and to which you are drawn. By this, I don't mean something which requires nothing of you; but, I do mean something which excites you, a little bit, to think of accomplishing. Is there something - that you could do from your own home - that you have always wanted to do?
2. Find a project that you can do by yourself. Those of you living with others are going to have a lot of time together; perhaps even a very much more than you would choose, or, indeed, than is good for your relationship. Having a project that you can do by yourself and that will give you, and others, some space (at least psychologically) may be a life-saver over the next few months.
3. If in doubt, learn something. Education, study and learning are ends in themselves. Every good thing you put into your mind stimulates mental and psychological growth. If you have no obvious works to be getting on with, then choose something that interests you to study. Even if you are not a reader, there are huge amounts of things you can study today online without a great deal of reading being required. Have a good look on Google at things which interest you, and then think, about how you could learn more.
4. Do something creative: how marvellous would it be to look back on this difficult year, and be able to say, at least I used the time to make/learn/accomplish X? As human beings we share in the image of God the Creator, and in all of us, to a greater or lesser extent, exists a creative yearning. Now is a great time to give it expression.
5. Don't overdo it. The goal here is to achieve spiritual balance - not to find an obsession. Start with your rule of life, and see how many genuinely spare hours you are going to have in your days.

A final thought... be careful of television and computer games. These have their place in a balanced life to give ourselves a psychological rest after a good morning's or afternoon's work. However, in an unstructured working/living environment they can easily begin to absorb more than their fair share of our time; and if they do so, they can ruin the opportunity of this time before us.

It would be great to hear from you, of any ideas you may have to use the come well. You can leave a comment, or email me at peterlittleton@rcaos.org.uk. Also, Archbishop John Wilson is encouraging people to share pictures of their shrines/prayer corners from home. If you'd like to email yours to me, I'll see if I can find a way to share them on the blog.

Homily for Lætare Sunday

Homily for Lætare Sunday (22nd March 2020). How can we find Christian joy amidst troubled times created by the Coronavirus crisis? Only through entrusting our lives to Jesus Christ - who has a plan for us, both now and into eternity

Keeping Mums - All Three of them

I'd like to begin this Mothers' day post in the only way I really can, with a 'shout out' to Jenny, my most wonderful mother. I will be loving and thinking of you today, all the way down in Cornwall - where I hope you will be somewhat out of the way of this virus! [Can I echo the advice of the local Cornish politicians, imploring people not to go to Cornwall? It really doesn't have the infrastructure to cope.]

To be honest, I'm afraid my poor Mum is well used to not seeing me on Mothers' Days. As you can gather she and my dad are in the West Country, and I live and work in London. And, given that I am a priest, and Mothers' Day always falls on a Sunday in Lent [could you get a busier clerical day apart from Christmas or Easter?] it is pretty likely to stay that way.

I know for many, however, getting together with mums on this day is 'just what we do'; and not being able to it, this year, is going to be perhaps the first really poignant moment in this unfolding Coronavirus saga. Further, as this country sits on the edge of an expected surge in the number of cases, and a crisis greater than many of us have ever known in this country hangs over us, we experience the cruelty of this situation in the fact that we must repress that most natural, human instinct to draw those whom we love the most, close to us.

So many Catholics are feeling profoundly, also, at this time, the separation from Holy Mother Church. As Christians in a time of trial, our deepest impulse is to want to draw together in prayer; and yet we are not able to. Yesterday evening, a handful of people had gathered for Mass in our Church, forgetting or not realising that there would be no public Mass. It was heartbreaking to have to ask them to leave, especially as I was about to offer the Mass privately, myself. And yet it must be so.

With every forced changed in circumstance, there comes to the fore, however, the opportunity for human growth and development. We have seen people find more and more ingenious ways to keep in touch with one another - even real technophobes learning how to keep in touch using modern means. At the same time, when our normal means of being together is interrupted, it brings home the importance of it, and we find ourselves giving more priority to being with each other in the ways that we can. I have phoned home more in the last week than I had in the year, until now.

In this, perhaps we can see that these dark days might contain the seed of hope for the future. That in having now to make a real effort to ensure we can see or speak to our mothers on this, their day, we might learn its value. In a world that has begun to feel so global, and yet so disconnected, we might begin to see the importance of being connected, being rooted among the people we call home.

If it’s true of our relationship with our earthly mothers, then please God, it will be true also of our spiritual Mother, the Church. In many ways  the ecclesial experience has, in recent years, perhaps had little too much of an easy, consumer feel. We come to Church for the 'service', put some money in the basket  and we receive Communion, and then go on our way. Then all of a sudden, Catholics have been told to survive on 'spiritual communion', something of which they have no experience, at all.

Perhaps, not unlike with reaching out to our mothers on Skype or FaceTime, what is called for is innovation in maintaining our connection with Mother Church. This could be a time for families to form of new habit of gathering for prayer - the domestic Church. Though we cannot receive Holy Communion, this might be the occasion to learn to pray silently in our Lord's Eucharistic presence in the tabernacle, for our Churches are still very much open. Or, indeed, this might be the moment in your life, perhaps for the first time in a long while, to really sit and give yourself some time and space to reflect on your relationship with our Lord and His place in your life. Though we cannot offer you the Eucharist, priests are still available for Confession and spiritual counsel [whilst sat at a 2 metre distance, obviously].

By taking greater responsibility for our relationship with our earthly and spiritual mothers, we can be changed; and, though across distance, the relationships actually made deeper. And wouldn't it be marvellous if we could emerge from our hibernation with a stronger relationship with both mum and the Church?

In this effort, we can and must, of course, turn to the unfailing assistance of our third Mother - Our Blessed Lady, the mother of Jesus. She, who at the foot of the Cross, was made by her Son, Mother of us all - She knows how great good can come from great evil. And if we are willing to turn to Her, to learn from Her, She will teach us. She will teach us what it is hope in God and to be disciples of Her Son. She will show mothers how to be mothers, and sons and daughters how to be devoted children. And whilst amidst this vale of tears, she will surely show unto us the blessed fruit of her womb, Jesus, and where is He moving among us and within us, even now.

O Clement, O Loving, O Sweet Virgin Mary
Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ!

#1 Have a Rule (Part Two) - A necessity and an opportunity

On Thursday, I reflected a little on the topic of a Rule, or a rule of life; and, the importance of having one at this time. However, it is perhaps useful to set this suggestion in a wider context - namely, that for anyone interested in a serious spiritual life, a serious relationship with God, it is always and everywhere good advice to have a rule.

Any relationship of mutual love begins with a certain spark of attraction. Be it a romantic attraction where two people catch one another's eye and are drawn together; or, that feeling of satisfaction when two people find friendship in the experience of mutual understanding; or, even in the impulsion of the heart that the saint experiences, when catching sight of Christ in the soul of a person in need. True and deep relationships don't emerge spontaneously out of a vacuum, they have an important beginning - and often that beginning is very sweet for both people.

Yet anyone with any experience of relationships knows that they do not, and indeed they cannot, stay like this forever. At a certain point, really quite early on, the relationship has to begin to express itself in ways other than sweet feelings of contentment in each other's presence. If we were to terminate every association with every person who didn't always make us feel contented and happy, then we'd surely find ourselves living at even greater social distance from others than we are today!

Relationships progress by people choosing and committing, consciously or unconsciously, to spend time together, even when at times it may not make us wonderful. Deep relationships are formed when we commit to being together, in spite of each other's faults and failings, in spite of the fights that may sometimes happen, and because of the deeper love for the other that we are beginning to 'experience', but which may not always be 'felt'.

When it comes to relationships with other people, I think most of us have some apprehension of this. Yet, for some reason, we can have difficulty applying it to our relationship with God. We can be very tempted to relate to God as [a] conceptual Being, even though at the very foundation of our Christianity is the Revelation that God is very much personal - even tri-personal!

A Rule of Life, therefore, is nothing other than the spiritual equivalent of choosing to commit to spend time with the Holy Trinity for a certain amount of time everyday, out of a desire to grow into a deeper and more mature relationship with the Father, Son & Holy Spirit. The amount of time will depend on your state-of-life, just a retired married couple might spend more time together than a young working couple. But the important thing is to build the habit of spending that time no matter how it feels!

Just as the initial sparks of romance for young lovers eventually pass, so do the feelings of warmth in prayer for new Christians. This has to be the case - otherwise we would become completely attached to the feelings, and not to God. At this point, we need to rule of life to ensure that we continue to spend time with Him, even though we may not feel like it. The Good News here, though, it that we find ourselves at the threshold of a relationship with the Father, Son & Holy Spirit, that can begin to really, and not superficially, change our lives - and the lives of those around us - forever.

So what might a Rule of Life for a Layperson look like?

Good question, and one to which I cannot give a definitive, uniform answer. The general rule would be to be both generous and realistic. And also, be patient with yourself. As you try to live a rule of life you will begin to learn what works and what does not.

What follows are a suggestions for a busy person and for someone who has more time.

For a busy person

Upon rising (or after washing): Some set or regular prayers commending the day to God (5-10 mins).

Middle of the Day: A short prayer to recall God eg. the Angelus (3 mins).

At some point in the day (find what works for you regularly): Meditation/Quiet Prayer* (20 mins).

At some point in the day (find what works for you regularly): A Decade of the Rosary (5 mins).

End of the Day: Examination of conscience** (5 mins)

For someone with more time

Upon rising (or after washing): Morning Prayer of the Church*** (10 mins).

Middle of the Day: Midday Prayer of the Church*** (5 mins).

At some point in the day (find what works for you regularly): Meditation/Quiet Prayer* (30-60 mins).

At some point in the day (find what works for you regularly): Holy Rosary (20 mins).

Early Evening: Evening Prayer of the Church*** (10 mins)

End of the Day: Night Prayer of the Church*** & Examination of Conscience** (10 mins)

* I will go into this topic in more detail, another day. However, if you like more information, you could have a look at a course I put together some years ago - A Practical Introduction to Intimate Prayer.

** I good, simple examination of conscience would be to look back over the day and find three things for which to thank God, and three for which to say sorry. You may find it helpful to make notes, not least to guide you to a good confession next time.

*** The official prayer of the Church is available in printed form, but is perhaps more helpfully accessed online or through the Apps published by Universalis, since these are able to put the prayers in proper order for each day. In the alternative, Magnificat publish an excellent, shorter version, which is available each month, either as a magazine or as an app.

Image above: St. Benedict delivering his Rule to St. Maurus and other monks of his order France, Monastery of St. Gilles, Nimes, 1129

The Opportunity of the Moment

Very many of us today have had our normal routines completely upended, and if you're feeling a little 'at sea', then join the club. However, there is an opportunity here. Psychologically, emotionally and spiritually, it will be important to establish new routines for self-isolating, or working from home, or simply not going out as much as before. As you establish those new routines, there is an obvious chance to build in a little more time for God, than before - which means this could be a really spiritually useful time.

An important tip, however - get up in the morning! And indeed, if you can, try and get up at the same time, each day. This can be hard, if there is 'nothing to get up for'. Why not let the morning praise of God be your reason? Ancient wisdom suggests that praying the bulk of your prayer first thing gives your day a solid spiritual and psychological foundation... which normally necessitates getting up at a proper time... which really relies on going to bed at a proper time. The battle for a solid spiritual life, therefore, often begins the night before.



[Please feel free to get in touch with any more specific questions about this, or any other spiritual topics, you might like addressed, either individually or in a future post.]

God, why are you punishing us?

For my final year as a Deacon, before ordination to the sacred priesthood, I was sent to the parish of St. Mary Magdalen's, Wandsworth East Hill. There I completed my formation under the august tutelage of Canon Martin Edwards. It was in this parish that I offered my first Mass, and it will always have a special place in my heart.

I mention this, partly as an excuse to share some of the new professional photos of the occasion (the rest available here), which have recently been given to me, but also because an esteemed parishioner from St. Mary Magdalen's has recently written to me with some questions about a lecture given by Roberto de Mattei, the video and text of which can be found here.

The gist of Mattei's argument is that the Church is missing the fact that the current Coronavirus should be understood as a chastisement coming from God.

He quotes, critically, an unnamed Bishop as saying:

"One thing is certain: this virus was not sent by God to punish sinful humanity. It is an effect of nature, treating us as a stepmother. But God faces this phenomenon with us and probably will make us understand, in the end, that humanity is one single village."

Mattei takes issue with this, firstly with the idea of the world as a 'single village' and then the use of 'stepmother' to describe nature which he associates with the 'religion of nature', perhaps a la 'Greta Thurnberg' [sic].  But he goes further in contradicting the Bishop when he says:

"God, who is the first cause above all of all that exists always makes use of secondary causes in order to effect his plans. Whoever has a supernatural spirit does not stop at the superficial level of things, but seeks to understand the hidden design of God that is at work beneath the apparently blind force of nature."

It is important to think through, quite carefully the implications of what Mattei is saying, because the way in which we understand the current crisis, theologically, will profoundly shape our image of God, and consequently the way in which we relate to him.

The argument being advanced by Mattei is that God, secondarily wills Coronavirus as a collective punishment for human sin. It is not his primary will - He is not a God who takes pleasure in human suffering for its own sake. But, as a Father, God wills to punish us now, because our sins have warranted it and they demand, in justice, some form of correction.

The first major problem with is this is the injustice with which the punishment falls. Are the old more guilty for sin than the young? Are rich countries less culpable? Imran Khan, this week, said that in Pakistan they simply cannot do the things we are doing in the west to fight coronavirus, because they are too poor. What does it say about God, if in punishing humanity, he lays his hand most heavily on the weak and the poor?

The second concern would be the effectiveness of this punishment. Whilst Coronavirus may have some effect in causing some people to turn again to God, I don't think there is any evidence, yet, of a mass return (no pun intended). Covid-19 is unlikely to be the turning point for Christianity in Western Europe; and, contrary to the unnamed Bishop's hopes, I would be very surprised if the outcome of this year is that we all have a greater sense of humanity as a 'single village'. Rather, I suspect we will see a rise of nationalism, and states seeking to put their own interests ever more to the fore. If this crisis is willed by God as a punishment or a correction, it is likely to be a pretty ineffective one.

And so if we take this understanding of the crisis to heart, we will be left with an image of God as fairly reactionary figure, who lashes out in punishment and is impotent in His corrections.

So where is God in this Crisis?

When all is said and done, I am certain that we will find the fingerprints of mankind all over this terrible catastrophe. Most likely, this virus will have emerged from the production of food in unsanitary conditions, made for people who are too poor to afford better; living, as the do, at the sharp of the iniquitous economic systems, which we have built. It is, I think, probable, that an authoritarian and dictatorial regime will have chosen to keep the early spread of the disease covered up - rather than warn the rest of the world, or ask for help - in order to try and save face and security. And one suspects that a number of people at the beginning will have chosen to continue with travel plans, suppressing or ignoring feelings that they might well have the virus. In the end, like all the troubles of the world, Coronavirus is a result of the outworking of human sin.

And whilst God may not like it, He has far too much respect for human freedom, to interfere with the choices we have made.

But... that doesn't mean He is impassive, or that He does not care. As the Bishop says, God does face this phenomenon with us and alongside us. On the Cross, the Son of God chose to acquaint Himself with utter depths of the human experience, and in doing so sanctified that experience, making it holy and salvific. Such that, just as the Cross of our Lord became the instrument of salvation for the whole world, so too, the crises which we live through can become the means of our sanctification and salvation.

God waits for you and for me amidst this time of trial, brothers and sisters. If we are prepared to come to Him, to give Him our worries & fears, our unsteady hope and, yes, even our hearts, He will take them. He will take our hearts and through means of this time of worry and fear He will purify them a little more of our attachment to this fallen sinful world, and establish them in a firmer hope of His kingdom to come.

If we search for God in this time, we will find Him very close - a tender father and a loving friend. And while God has no desire for the suffering we are experiencing today, if even one more soul comes to know Him as such, now and forever, perhaps in ways only He can see, it will all have been worth it.

Rule #1 For Staying Home - Have a Rule (Part One)

One of the many 'little' privileges of being a priest is the unrivalled access one has to the Church - anytime of day or night, even when nobody else is there.

However, as I finished my prayers in the Church, yesterday evening, it was certainly a poignant thought to think that 'empty' is going to be the new normal for our places of worship.

We can all be extremely grateful, of course, that the Bishops are not only permitting, but encouraging us to keep the Churches open during this time. St. Anselm's (Tooting Bec) will be open for people (who are not self-isolating) to come and pray everyday from 10am - 6pm; and, knowing the people here, I am certain there will be many who take up the chance. It is well worth reflecting that Adoration of our Lord, truly present in the tabernacle, is an extension of the Mass and so a real participation in the sacred liturgy.

Nevertheless, the experience is not the same as coming together for the celebration of Mass, which is the foundation for most Catholics in their experience of prayer. I note that one priest in America seems to have gone to quite some length to create a 'community feel' for his private Masses, installing pictures of all his parishioners.

[I suspect I don't need to point out to too many of those who know me, that I won't be doing likewise - not least, because I will be enjoying the opportunity to say Mass on the rather splendid High Altar at St. Anselm's!]

Yet, this reflection on the shift which is now about to take place in the spiritual experience of the Catholic community is something which none of us should pass over. And the way in which we embrace or shun that shift will be quite important for our lives. When, please God, we gather together as a community again in 3, 6 or 12 months time, the ways in which we, as individuals, have used this time away will make an enormous difference to whether we will be collectively stronger or weaker than before. Each one of us therefore has a little part to play in the onward story of Catholic England.

It is important, therefore, I think, to offer some basic and practical rules for engaging in a more solitary spiritual life. For some of you, who are still able to go out to work, the shift will be finding space for God when that main fixed point in the week for focussing on Him is gone. But, for those who are suddenly confined to home - either self-isolating or working from home - the problem may be less finding the space, and more knowing how to use it.

For these changed circumstances, we might fruitfully look to the Church's monastic tradition, which can perhaps offer us something of a model. You might well think it odd to reach for a community life centred on public worship as a model for a time of greater isolation. And yet, there are many ways in which the monastic spiritual life - which is very much one of interior solitude - can be instructive to us.

Jesus Solana, Monk's Loneliness

In particular, today, I want to focus on the idea of having a rule, or a rule of life. The rule of life is central to the success of a monk in his quest to come closer to God, and it will be central to us as well. As modern people we can be instinctively distrustful of rules, but perhaps it is helpful to think of this kind of rule more as a measure or yardstick, which will help us to assess our progress in our goal. In this case the goal will be to use the time given us in these new circumstances in a spiritually fruitful way.

We will all of us have experienced days that were fulfilling, and very often those days were fulfilling because they were balanced. Approximately the right amount of prayer, work and relaxation. Likewise, we are familiar with days where any one of those has assumed a disproportionate role in our day, to the detriment of the others, and with this comes a sense of interior dissatisfaction.

The monastic rule of life tries to overcome this, simply by having a plan. By having a proper plan for each ordinary day, the monk has a clear idea of what he is aiming for. Surely sometimes it goes well, and perhaps others not so. Yet, in either case he is able to review and measure what went well or what went wrong.

In the changed circumstances in which many of us are now living, we will have lost the subconscious anchors that were holding our daily lives largely in balance - appointments, the expectations of others, the needs of those around us, or the adrenaline rush of trying to juggle a number of spinning plates in our lives. The danger is that when these are suddenly removed, we lose our balance completely.

My challenge to you, therefore, is to try and put together a rule for yourself for this new time. Start with times for prayer, and then plan your work or main focus of activity for the day, and then the times when you will rest. As people in the world, we do not need to be neurotic about following it exactly, and we surely need to have a rule with a certain flexibility. But having a rule to aim at, and against which we can measure our endeavours, which give us a much better chance.

I will circle back to this topic in a day, or two, but in the meantime, I'd be delighted to hear any thoughts, or see your first stab at a good rule of life for living in the Coronavirus lockdown!

A Lent Like No Other

 © Copyright Julian P Guffogg and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

Archbishop John Wilson's letter to his clergy, today, opens with the observation that "[t]his is a Lent like we have not experienced before". He is surely correct. Today it was announced that the public celebration of Catholic Mass in England & Wales will cease at the end of this week for the foreseeable future. This will be a decision, which the Bishops have surely not taken lightly; and, indeed, it is a decision which we must all have seen coming, given what we have seen in continental Europe.

Nevertheless, when it finally happens that public Mass ceases in England & Wales for the first time since 1829, it stills feels like something of a shock. Perhaps, I feel this especially, as a newly ordained priest, having settled for just a few months into the daily rhythm of offering the Holy Sacrifice. 

But, of course, for me, the Mass will continue to be very much part of my daily life. The laity can be assured that throughout this time of crisis, priests will continue to be praying for them in the most powerful way that they can - uniting themselves to the offering of Our Lord on Calvary. I am very, very conscious, however, that this cannot be the case for the multitude of faith-filled people, who will now - many for the first time in their lives - be completely deprived of access to the Mass, the bedrock of their spiritual lives. This, tragically, right at the moment when many people's faith is about to be severely tested.

In these trying times, we must turn to the example and witness of those who have gone before us in the fight of faith. We can look to those early desert fathers and mothers who went out into the wilderness, and there found God in solitude and isolation. We can think of the heroic witness of the ordinary Catholics of our own land who held on to the faith of the Church in secrecy, under so much persecution, following the English Reformation. And we can remember the very many of our brothers and sisters, in far flung communities around the world, for whom the chance to attend Mass, go to confession or celebrate the other sacraments really is a rare highpoint in their lives.

The witness of these, and many others, can and should inspire us to try, in this difficult period, to come even closer to God. Without the easy availability of Catholic worship, the onus now shifts to the believer to make the effort to come into God's presence. Over the coming weeks, I hope in this Blog to be able to share some thoughts and resources with anyone who would like to make that effort. This is also an opportunity for anyone who wishes to stay in touch. Feel free to contact me using the form on this page, and if I can be of any assistance to you, I will try to be.

And let us remember, that the Church has not gone away; Jesus has not gone away. Our Churches will remain open for you to come to our Lord, and to be with Him in the Blessed Sacrament. The doorway to His heart remains open. Will you still choose to enter?