National Bible Conference at Ushaw College

A national Bible conference held at the historic venue of Ushaw College, near Durham, has been affirmed as beginning a potential ‘sea change’ in Catholic Bible ministry and outreach in England and Wales.
Bishop Peter Brignall, Wrexham, a member of the Bishops’ Conference Department for Evangelisation and Catechesis, attended the Word of the Lord conference, 24 – 26 April, along with more than 70 delegates from across England and Wales. He said:
"This gathering is the first of its kind in a generation and as such marks a very significant moment, a potential sea change, in the profile and importance of the Bible in Catholic life in England and Wales. The Word of God lies at the heart of Catholic life and initiatives such as this conference are pivotal to encouraging others to read, study and pray with the Scriptures. The conference is one of a series of bible-focused initiatives that have been generated by a new working group established by the Bishops' Department for Evangelisation and Catechesis in partnership with Bible Society. It’s hoped that more and more people will receive the invitation to listen to and proclaim, through many different means, God’s Word, which is the Word of Life."
Among the keynote speakers at the conference was former Master of the Dominican Order worldwide, Fr Timothy Radcliffe OP, who highlighted the importance of listening, that entering into the conversation with God meanslistening to others, particularly to women and to the poor.
Meanwhile, Dom Henry Wansbrough of Ampleforth Abbey, one of the leading Catholic Scripturescholars in England and Wales, gave an overview of how the biblical apostolate was embraced by Catholics before and after Vatican II. Michelle Moran, President of Catholic Charismatic Renewal, invited those gathered to embrace the call of the Word to engage in the mission of the Church.
Group Chief Executive of Bible Society, James Catford, was also welcomed at the event and presented with an icon of Saint Mark in appreciation of the assistance provided by the Society to organise the conference. He said:
"This conference represents an exciting next step in our journey together with the Scriptures. The themes of the conference have challenged us to consider afresh how we pass on God's word in the written scriptures, through the Arts and through the witness of our lives. It has been a timely invitation to 'be the word' for others."
The Conference was initiated by the Department for Evangelisation and Catechesis of the Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, in partnership with the Centre for Catholic Studies at Durham University, and Bible Society. One of the highlights of the conference was the launch of a new study guide, entitled The Word of the Lord, produced by the Department and published by the Catholic Truth Society. The guide is designed to assist reading of Pope Benedict’s Apostolic Exhortation Verbum Domini which was issued in response to the Synod of Bishops on the Bible held in Rome in 2008. Delegates also visited Durham Cathedral and prayed at the tomb of the Venerable Bede, doctor of the Church, and patron of Scripture scholarship in these lands.
Fr Adrian Graffy, member of the Bishops' Scripture Working Group, said:
"The whole event was so energising. The delegates were so positive and the speakers excellent. In the Year of Faith it was an opportunity to deepen our appreciation of Scripture at the heart of the Church in this country and to make plans for the years ahead."
Ingelise McNulty, who attended as a member of the Hexham and Newcastle Diocesan Evangelisation Team said:
"I am lost for words. I really enjoyed the conference and it was so good to be there."
Bishop Seamus Cunningham (Hexham and Newcastle) and Bishop Edwin Regan (Emeritus Wrexham) were in attendance and a video message was played to delegates from Bishop Kieran Conry (Arundel and Brighton).

A Parable - shamelessly stolen from another blog (Field of Dreams)

There was once a Jewish restaurant, moderately successful, and one of the things that attracted at least some of its customers was that it advertised itself as strictly kosher. That means much more, you understand, than that it did not serve pork chops or prawn cocktails. The kitchens were regularly inspected by the local Rabbi, who gave it a certificate saying that all food was being prepared in accordance with the rules of Torah.
Many of the regular customers were, naturally, observant Jews for whom the keeping of the dietary rules was a matter of religious obligation. Others were Jews of a more liberal attitude, who did not necessarily always keep the rules for religious reasons, but because they were part of their Jewish cultural identity. They liked to meet their more observant friends there, too. And there were even  non-Jews who just liked the decor and the friendly atmosphere of the restaurant, and enjoyed Jewish cooking now and then.
One day, the old manager retired, and the new temporary acting-manager said, “We would get a lot more customers if we dropped all those silly kosher rules, and became a general restaurant like others in our area. Anyway, it is insulting that we have to have the Rabbi in to inspect our kitchens, as if we cannot be trusted to maintain hygiene. Surely the local council health inspectorate is enough?”
So the kosher rules were dropped. But of course, the strictly observant Jews now had to go elsewhere to be sure that their food was kosher (luckily there was another Jewish restaurant, not too far away but in a less posh area). Some of the chefs too felt they must move to the other establishment (where they already did some part time work). And even some of the less observant Jews began to feel that there was less point in going to this place, if the Jewish dimension was dropped. And (because this was a time of recession, and the other restaurants in the area were already struggling for customers) the expected new clientele failed to materialise.
Qui legit, intellegit.

Why am I not surprised?

The Church of England yesterday gave a green light to wedding-style services for couples in civil partnerships despite its official opposition to same-sex marriage.

A report from the Church’s doctrine watchdog urged priests to devise “pastoral accommodations” for gay couples” and to be “flexible”.

It said the aim was to enable them to enjoy a “closer approximation” to marriage.

The senior bishop who drafted the missive to priests insisted that it did not amount to a policy u-turn and that an official ban on formal "blessings" for civil partnerships remained in place.

But he said it was clear there was a need for committed same-sex couples to be given recognition and “compassionate attention” from the Church, including special prayers.

Liberal priests, who already conduct unofficial dedication and thanksgiving for gay couples who are not allowed to marry, said it amounted to the first official endorsement for what they do.

The Church of England leadership has been strongly opposed to David Cameron’s plan’s to redefine marriage which it maintains must be between a man and a woman.
But the new Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev Justin Welby, has spoken of having “no truck with homophobia” and described gay couples having a “stunning” level of commitment.
Church of England rules prevent priests conducting civil partnership ceremonies or performing formal “blessing” services afterwards, similar to those previously offered to divorcees when they could not remarry in church.
But scores of such services take place under the radar across the country every year, usually called services of thanksgiving or dedication to avoid falling foul of the rules.
They vary from small, informal prayers to full wedding-like services complete with a celebration of the eucharist.
High profile churches such as Southwark Cathedral and St Martin-in-the-Fields in London are among those in which some form of dedication for civil partnerships take place openly.
The report by the Church’s Faith and Order Commission, chaired by the Bishop of Coventry, the Rt Rev Christopher Cocksworth, a leading traditionalist, insisted that marriage should remain between a man and a woman and said that gay relationships fell short of God’s “ideal”.
But it also condemned “censorious judgment” and urged priests not to treat the issue of recognising civil partnerships as “simply closed”, urging them to approach the question on a case-by-case basis.
“In pastoral responses a degree of flexibility may be called for in finding ways to express the Church’s teaching practically,” it said.
“In affirming its belief in marriage as the form the creator has given us for intimate and permanent relationship of a man and a woman, the Church does not treat questions of what is possible in hard circumstances or exceptional conditions as simply closed. They require pastoral wisdom.”
It draws a direct parallel between civil partnerships and questions the Church faced in the past over whether to marry divorcees or even the approach taken by clerics in Africa when deciding how to deal with people in polygamous marriages who then convert to Christianity.
“What [the Church] can do is devise accommodations for specific conditions, bearing witness in special ways to the abiding importance of the norm,” it adds.
“Well-designed accommodations proclaim the form of life given by God’s creative goodness and bring those in difficult positions into closer approximation to it.”
Bishop Cocksworth insisted that there was no change in policy and that the Church was not calling for “public, formal blessing services”.
He said that marriage was the “designated relationship” for heterosexual couples but that the law had now created a special class of relationship for gay couples – civil partnerships.
“People within them deserve respect and compassionate attention from the Church, care and prayer," he said.
“The form of the prayer will depend upon the particular case in hand.”
He said the Church needed to accommodate those for whom “the ideal of marriage isn’t possible for all sorts of reasons.”
Rev Dr Giles Fraser, a leading liberal cleric, said that it was clear from the document that the Church’s stance had shifted even if the official policy had not.
“What this is saying is that you can bless civil partnerships as long as you don’t say that is what you are doing," he said.
“They are winking at people like me saying ‘be creative’ – it is a classic Anglican fudge.
“In effect what it is saying is you can do it as long as you don’t say that is what you are doing – call it something different, be as imaginative as you can.
“But the truth is this is how change happens in the Church of England.”
It came as the Archbishop of Wales signalled that the Church in Wales should reconsider its teaching on homosexuality.
He told the Church’s governing body that it should also debate cutting its last links to the state in response to gay marriage.

Holy Week in Soho!

This weekend the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham takes over the running of the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption and Saint Gregory, Warwick Street. 

RE Teachers need 'training in Biblical literacy' - Report,

Britain’s RE teachers need ‘training in biblical literacy’ if they’re to do their jobs effectively.

This is the key finding in a Bible Society report that has gone before the All Party Parliamentary Group on Religious Education. Bible Society was among several organisations that contributed to a consultation on the subject last month.

The All Party Group was set up in 2012 to safeguard the teaching of religious education in Britain’s schools. Bible Society’s report to the All Party Group said that there was a ‘gap’ between how students saw the Bible and how teachers felt about it. And it infers that teachers are not sufficiently trained to teach the subject. ‘Pupils consider the Bible to be important, relevant and worthy of respect,’ said Bible Society’s Canon Dr Ann Holt, a former government education adviser and teacher, ‘whereas teachers expect students to describe the Bible as boring, old-fashioned and irrelevant.’ Hear more from Ann on Premier Radio.

Ann added that it was vital that students ‘became more aware’ that the Bible’s relevance was not only for Christians. And she said that the ‘challenge inherent in teaching’ about the Bible ‘must be addressed’ particularly because there was a ‘worrying trend that biblical illiteracy is on the increase among young people’.

‘RE remains the place where pupils gain significant biblical knowledge, yet this biblical knowledge doesn’t always develop into its fullest potential,’ she said. ‘The most pressing needs of teachers of RE in both the primary and secondary sectors is for further training in biblical literacy,’ she added.

The Conversion of Saint Paul

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul, the event in which the ‘most ferocious enemy of the Church became its most zealous son and missionary’

A Modern Icon of the Nativity

Here is a beautiful modern icon of the Nativity. One figure who is portrayed somewhat differently here than in the West, St Joseph.

The standard interpretation is that by tradition in the East, St Joseph was a widower before he married Our Lady and so is always portrayed as an older man. He is hunched not just because of age, but also to reveal an inner turmoil. He is in doubt about whether or not he is witnessing a Virgin birth. The figure beside St Joseph, also as a hunched old man but in ragged clothing is the devil tempting him. All is resolved in the end for St Joseph loves his wife and through her prayers resolves this doubt. The distance between St Joseph and Our Lady emphasises also the fact the St Joseph had no part in the conception of Our Lord.

This does not diminish the stature of St Joseph at all, rather it serves to elevate that of Our Lady. St Joseph is a great saint. He is the protector of the Holy Family, foster father and guardian of Our Lord. This demonstrates by contrast with the figure of Our Lady how she is even greater. In this sense St Joseph might be seen as an examplar of all other saints and so Our Lady is greater than all the other saints and angels.