Christopher Howse writes about Walsingham

In his Sacred Mysteries column in todays Daily Telegraph newspaper, Christopher Howse has written about the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham, making reference to Fr Michael Rear’s book Walsingham, Pilgrims and Pilgrimage published by St Pauls.

His article can be read here
Details of the book can be seen here.

Concert for Japan

Cantores Missae, a consort group of singers comprising some of the UK's leading soloists, are pleased to announce a "CONCERT FOR JAPAN", presented in association with the Japan Society and the Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation, to raise money to help provide necessary aid for the victims of the recent earthquake and tidal wave in Japan.

The concert, on Wednesday 11th May at 7.30pm, is being hosted by Nazareth House, 169-175 Hammersmith Road, London W6 8DB.

In this concert Cantores Missae shall be marking the 400th anniversary of the death of Tomas Luis de Victoria, performing some of his best known motets and the Requiem Mass for 6 Voices. In addition the distinguished Japanese violinist, Yu Yasuraoka, will play solo works by J.S. Bach.

Only 200 seats are available for this concert and so early booking is recommended. For those unable to attend and who wish to make a donation, this can be done at this link - the Japan Society Tohoku Earthquake Relief Fund.

Royal Wedding Day

Their Royal Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge as they make their way in royal procession to Buckingham Palace following their wedding in Westminster Abbey.

In his sermon, The Rt Revd Richard Chartres, Bishop of London, said:

"Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire." So said St Catherine of Siena whose festival day it is today. Marriage is intended to be a way in which man and woman help each other to become what God meant each one to be, their deepest and truest selves.

Many are full of fear for the future of the prospects of our world but the message of the celebrations in this country and far beyond its shores is the right one – this is a joyful day!

It is good that people in every continent are able to share in these celebrations because this is, as every wedding day should be, a day of hope.

In a sense every wedding is a royal wedding with the bride and the groom as king and queen of creation, making a new life together so that life can flow through them into the future."

"William and Catherine, you have chosen to be married in the sight of a generous God who so loved the world that he gave himself to us in the person of Jesus Christ. And in the Spirit of this generous God, husband and wife are to give themselves to each another.

As we move towards our partner in love, following the example of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit is quickened within us and can increasingly fill our lives with light.

This leads to a family life which offers the best conditions in which the next generation can practise and exchange those gifts which can overcome fear and division and incubate the coming world of the Spirit, whose fruits are love and joy and peace.

I pray that all of us present and the many millions watching this ceremony and sharing in your joy today, will do everything in our power to support and uphold you in your new life.

And I pray that God will bless you in the way of life that you have chosen, that way which is expressed in the prayer that you have composed together in preparation for this day:

God our Father, we thank you for our families;

for the love that we share and for the joy of our marriage.

In the busyness of each day
keep our eyes fixed on what is real and important in life

and help us to be generous with our time and love and energy.

Strengthened by our union
help us to serve and comfort those who suffer.

We ask this in the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Amen."

You can read the full text here

The Royal Wedding

As HRH Prince William and Catherine Middleton prepare for their wedding on Friday, the Bishops' Conference of England and Wales has issued a prayer we would encourage you all to use.

Heavenly Father,

we ask your blessing

upon his Royal Highness, Prince William and Catherine

as they pledge their love for each other in marriage.

May your love unite them through their lives.

Grant them the strength to serve you,

our country and the Commonwealth

with integrity and faithfulness.

Through Christ our Lord.

Amen

Canon Reginald Cuthbert Fuller R.I.P.

The sad news has been announced of the death of Canon Reginald "Reggie" Cuthbert Fuller. Aged 102, Canon Fuller was the oldest priest of the Diocese of Westminster.

Born in 1908, Reggie was ordained by Cardinal Bourne in 1931. The son of the physician and medical author, Arthur William Fuller, he was born in London and brought up in St Johns Wood where his father practiced medicine. Initially he was sent to Ealing Priory School where he was to forge a life long friendship with John Bernard Orchard who subsequently became a monk of Ealing Abbey; they were both destined to make considerable advances in the study of Scripture. Reggie was a co-founder of the Catholic Biblical Association of Great Britain and a member of the Revised Standard Version Bible Committee and a Co-Editor of the first complete Bible translation in modern English for Catholics from the Hebrew and the Greek.

After Ealing he then went to Ampleforth College where he recalls with pleasure his involvement in the sporting life of the college, particularly rugby and cross country running. From there he went to Allen Hall Seminary, St Edmund’s College, Ware for five years. After Ordination in Westminster Cathedral he was sent to Rome to continue his academic studies where he gained a doctorate in sacred theology from the Angelicum University, a licence in scripture from the Biblical Institute and much later in life in the early 1960s he took up biblical research at Cambridge University where he earned his Ph.D.

Not surprisingly he was destined to lecture in Biblical Studies at Allen Hall, then at the teachers training college at St Mary’s, Strawberry Hill, and then spent three years at the University of Nairobi, in Kenya where he lectured in Old Testament studies. When one meets him it is clear that this was a much treasured period of his life. He got to know Africa really well and he told me that he has never really left Africa. There he indulged his passion as an intrepid mountain climber and came close on more than one occasion to losing his life.

No account of Reggie’s life could omit the deep friendship he was privileged to have with Group Captain Lord Leonard Cheshire, that great convert to the church whose powerful spirituality was evident to anyone who was lucky enough to meet him. His prayer life was so deep that when you were conscious of his presence at a Mass you were celebrating he made you celebrate with even greater devotion than was customary. Leonard Cheshire and his wife Sue Ryder were to achieve so much in their own life times and help so many people with the respective homes they set up; whatever part Reggie played in supporting and encouraging them must be part of his own legacy too.

Canon Reginald Fuller had the distinction of being the only Honorary Canon in the Diocese of Westminster, which was the result of a spontaneous act of kindness on the part of Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, who decided he wanted to honour Reggie on the occasion of his 70th anniversary of Ordination in 2001.

"When I asked him about his long life as a priest and what he would want to impart to his brethren he said that it “was difficult to enunciate principles now” but that it was important to get them right at the beginning of priestly life. If someone sets out to “achieve personal advancement – forget it!” He was adamant that “we should enjoy the life the Lord has given to us as priests.” He felt that for the most part his nigh on seventy-eight years of priesthood were happy ones, sometimes boring, but most importantly he valued the friendships he had made." Canon Daniel Cronin.

The above text is taken from the book

Priesthood: A Life Open to Christ

complied by Canon Daniel Cronin and published by ST PAULS (2009).

A meditation for Easter Day

They have taken the Lord out of the tomb,
and we do not know where they have laid him.

With an economy of words but with consummate skill, John the Evangelist evokes the dawn hours and the atmosphere of that first Easter morning. Mary Magdalene on reaching the tomb found it empty. In haste, she summons Peter and the Beloved disciple who hurry to the tomb. We are not given any information as to their emotions or state of mind, and can only infer how they must have felt. The Evangelist adds the curious detail that the other disciple outran Peter on the way to the tomb. Was he therefore much younger? He reached the tomb first but did not enter. Again, may we surmise that this was out of deference to Peter?

When the two apostles entered the tomb they found it empty and, intriguingly but without explanation, found the cloth which had covered the Lord’s face placed separately by itself. The Evangelist remarks that the Beloved Disciple on witnessing the scene of the empty tomb now came to realise the truth foretold in the Scriptures of Israel that the Messiah would rise from the dead. It was only in the light of the empty tomb that the Scriptures now made sense. The story that was Easter morning made all the difference.

Alleluia! Christ is risen. Alleluia!

Text from You Will Be My Witnesses by Bishop Michael Campbell OSA published by ST PAULS
Illustration: The Resurrection  - icon by Aidan Hart, featured on the cover of Bishop Campbell's book.

A meditation for Holy Saturday

Our Lady of Holy Saturday

On Holy Saturday the Church, spiritually united with Mary, remains in prayer at the tomb, where the body of the Son of God is lying inert, as it were in a condition of repose after the creative work of redemption brought about with his death (cf. Heb4:1-13).

Pope Benedict XVI
General Audience
12 April 2006

As quoted in Spiritual Thoughts Series V.5: Mary published by ST PAULS

A meditation for Good Friday

When Jesus had received the vinegar, he said, "It is finished"; and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

"He died for everyone. He awaits all of us in heaven." The Curé of Ars

The death of Jesus opens up the way for us not just to know God, which we cannot do of ourselves, but to be intimately united with him, which we cannot even conceive of without Jesus. This invitation is extended to every single person on the planet, but each must respond for themselves. It is above all by praying that we allow God to draw us into union with himself. This union is itself a kind of daily death to ourselves: our plans, our limitations, our own ego, since God is always greater than our heart.

"What a marvellous thing is this union of God with his little creature! In this intimate union God and the soul are like two pieces of wax melted together. I often think that I would really like to be able to lose myself and only find myself again in God. We must always have God in our sight, Jesus Christ in our daily life, and ourselves in sacrifice." The Curé of Ars

 
PRAYER

Jesus, in your saving death you break down the wall of division separating us from your Father by sin. Move us by your Holy Spirit to take full advantage of this priceless gift and grow every day closer to you, until we are completely united with the Most Holy Trinity in the glory of heaven, you who live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Amen.

Our Father…

Let me share with thee His pain,

Who for all our sins was slain,

Who for me in torments died.

Tui Nati vulnerati,

Tam dignati pro me pati,

Poenas mecum divide.



Text from The Stations of the Cross with the Curé of Ars by Mgr Keith Barltrop and published by ST PAULS.

Illustration from the same book - one of the set of Stations of the Cross in St Silas Church, Kentish Town, London. Photograph © John Salmon.

A meditation for Holy Thursday

Giving thanks with Mary

As we celebrate the Eucharist at so many altars throughout the world, let us give thanks to the Eternal Priest for the gift which he has bestowed on us in the Sacrament of the Priesthood. And in this thanksgiving may there be heard the words which the Evangelist puts on Mary’s lips on the occasion of her visit to her cousin Elizabeth: "The Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name" (Lk 1:49).

Let us also give thanks to Mary for the indescribable gift of the priesthood, whereby we are able to serve in the Church every human being. May gratitude also reawaken our zeal! Is it not through our priestly ministry that there is accomplished what the next verses of Mary’s Magnificat speak of? Behold, the Redeemer, the God of the cross and of the Eucharist, indeed "lifts up the lowly" and "fills the hungry with good things." He who was rich, yet for our sake became poor, so that by his poverty we might become rich (cf. 2 Cor 8:9), has entrusted to the humble Virgin of Nazareth the admirable mystery of his poverty which makes us rich. And he entrusts the same mystery to us too through the Sacrament of the Priesthood.

Let us unceasingly give thanks for this. Let us give thanks with the whole of our lives. Let us give thanks with all our strength. Let us give thanks together with Mary, the Mother of priests. "How can I repay the Lord for his goodness to me? The cup of salvation I will raise; I will call on the Lord’s name" (Ps 115/116:12-13).

Pope John Paul II

Holy Thursday Letter to Priests, 1988

As quoted in Vademecum - Meditations on the Priesthood Published by ST PAULS

Bishop George Stack to be the next Archbishop of Cardiff

It was announced today during the Chrism Mass in Westminster Cathedral that Pope Benedict has appointed the Right Reverend George Stack as the seventh Archbishop of Cardiff. Bishop Stack has served as an Auxiliary Bishop in Westminster for the past 10 years. Throughout his time in the diocese, as priest and Bishop, he has been a great supporter of the work of ST PAULS in Westminster.

Last year Bishop Stack gave an endorsement to the book Our Priests, which is a collection of prayers, prose, poems and artwork produced by students from schools within the diocese in appreciation of priests. The book was part of the contribution of ST PAULS to the Year for Priests. Bishop Stack is pictured here at the launch of the book in July at St Vincent de Paul School, Westminster.


All at ST PAULS offer their congratulations to Bishop Stack and the assurance of our prayers as he prepares for his move to Cardiff.

Auntie Joanna and her girls!

Joanna Bogle and other members of the Association of Catholic Women were outside Westminster Cathedral this morning, they were there to express thanks to the priests of the diocese who were attending the Chrism Mass.

Joanna was also to be found in St Pauls Bookshop handing out "thank you" cards to priests - a token of gratitude for all that our priests do for us.

A meditation for Holy Week from Sister Wendy Beckett

"... we preach Christ crucified."

We know very little about Pier Francesco Sacchi and very few works of his still exist. What surprises me here is that it is one of the very few paintings of St Paul that give prominence to the crucifix. The early church found it very hard to come to terms with the manner in which Jesus died. For us it has been sanitised by time. The cross is the Christian emblem. It crowns our churches, it adorns our altars, we wear it around our necks, we sign ourselves frequently.

We find it easy to forget that this death was so horrible that the Romans inflicted it only on slaves and the worst of evil doers. For centuries the church could barely bring itself to show a cross, let alone Jesus hanging on it. When the great breakthrough is made, Jesus triumphs over the cross, erect and victorious. But St Paul never allowed himself to forget the reality of his redemption: Jesus died for us and he died crucified. "I am not ashamed of the Gospel," he tells us, even though "the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." Then St Paul quotes Isaiah, "for it is written, ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the cleverness of the clever I will thwart.’ " St Paul understands to the full that "the wise and the clever" will never be able to understand the cross. "For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God." It was from this total sacrifice of Jesus, that made no sense except in the terms of radical love, that St Paul came to understand what love could be. Sacchi shows him gazing at the crucifix while he struggles to write about love to the Corinthians.

The words on the parchment before him read: "love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude." This is the best known passage in all the Epistles and we know how it ends: "so faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love." Through the window, we see a glimpse of the world and its people, quite indifferent to the sacrifice of Jesus and its redemptive power. But Paul is not indifferent. We can see how he yearns to bring home to us what this death means, and how he himself has his heart firmly fixed on "Jesus Christ, and Him crucified".

Sister Wendy Beckett Sister Wendy Contemplates Saint Paul in Art  Published by ST PAULS
Picture: St Paul Writing by Pier Francesco Sacchi. © The National Gallery

A thought for Palm Sunday

Giving oneself

"We do not find life by possessing it, but by giving it."

Pope Benedict. Homily at Palm Sunday Mass, World Youth Day 9 April 2006

Picture: iconstudio.jordanville.org

Text: Spiritual Thoughts Series V.3: Following Christ Published by ST PAULS

Review of Walsingham: Pilgrims and Pilgrimage

Fr Nicholas Schofield, the Archivist for the Diocese of Westminster, has written an excellent review of Fr Michael Rear's book Walsingham: Pilgrims and Pilgrimage which is published in this week's Catholic Times newspaper.

"The wide-ranging and scholarly book is a delight to read."
"Added to the quality of the text is the fine quality of production from St Pauls...."
"A 'must-read', it will remain an important reference work for all devotees of Our Lady of Walsingham."
Fr Nicholas Schofield

Holy Week and Easter opening times

Details of the opening times of our bookshops during Holy Week and Easter

London
21st April - Holy Thursday - close at 4 p.m.
22nd April - Good Friday - CLOSED
23rd April - Holy Saturday - close at 4 p.m.
25th April - Easter Monday - CLOSED
29th April CLOSED for the Royal Wedding holiday
2nd May CLOSED for the May Bank Holiday

Birmingham
21st April - Holy Thursday - close at 3 p.m.
22nd April - Good Friday - CLOSED
23rd April - Holy Saturday - close at 3 p.m.
25th April - Easter Monday - CLOSED
29th April CLOSED for the Royal Wedding holiday
2nd May CLOSED for the May Bank Holiday

York
21st April - Holy Thursday - close at 3 p.m.
22nd April - Good Friday - CLOSED
23rd April - Holy Saturday - close at 3 p.m.
25th April - Easter Monday - CLOSED
29th April CLOSED for the Royal Wedding holiday
2nd May CLOSED for the May Bank Holiday

Leeds
Hinsley Hall
22nd April - Good Friday - CLOSED
23rd April - Holy Saturday - open as usual
25th April - Easter Monday - CLOSED
29th April CLOSED for the Royal Wedding holiday
2nd May CLOSED for the May Bank Holiday

Cookridge Street
21st April - Holy Thursday - close at 3 p.m.
22nd April - Good Friday - CLOSED
23rd April - Holy Saturday - close at 3 p.m.
25th April - Easter Monday - CLOSED
29th April CLOSED for the Royal Wedding holiday
2nd May CLOSED for the May Bank Holiday

ST PAULS wishes all of their customers a very blessed Holy Week and the joy of the Risen Christ at Easter.

Don’t forget to purchase your copy of You Will Be My Witnesses - the perfect companion throughout Eastertide.
"When the two apostles entered the tomb they found it empty and, intriguingly but without explanation, found the cloth which had covered the Lord’s face placed separately by itself. The Evangelist remarks that the Beloved Disciple, on witnessing the scene of the empty tomb, now came to realise the truth foretold in the Scriptures of Israel that the Messiah would rise from the dead. It was only in the light of the empty tomb that the Scriptures now made sense. The story that was Easter morning made all the difference."
From Bishop Michael Campbell's meditation on the Mass readings for Easter Day.

Blessed John Paul II

Published to celebrate the Beatification of Pope John Paul II, this 16 page illustrated booklet provides a brief biography of Karol Jósef Wojtyła - the man who was to become one of the longest serving Popes in the Church's history.

Available from all of our bookshops from 20th April or online here.

Walsingham CD

The recently released CD Our Lady of Walsingham has proved to be our best-selling CD over recent weeks.

Archbishop Bernard Longley (Archbishop of Birmingham) narrates the history of the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham, complemented by music from Schola Cantamus.

The CD includes plainchant, hymns and original arrangements by Jeremy de Satgé to a number of the tracks, in particular The Walsingham Lament (words by St Philip Howard). This CD is a fitting celebration of the 950th anniversary of the foundation of the Shrine.

You can read more about Schola Cantores here.

Westminster Record Book of the Month

In association with the  Westminster Record (the monthly newspaper of the Archdiocese of Westminster) we are pleased to announce that the book for April is Bishop Campbell's latest book You Will Be My Witnesses.

Upon presentation of the voucher in the April edition of the Westminster Record, you can purchase the book from our Westminster shop at a discounted price.

This voucher offer can also be redeemed from our website.

Walsingham book presented to the Holy Father




© Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham

 
A copy of our book Walsingham: Pilgrims and Pilgrimage, written by Fr Michael Rear, has been presented to the Holy Father by Bishop Alan Hopes.

The presentation took place in the Vatican, when Monsignor Keith Newton, Ordinary of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, was received in a private audience on Friday by His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI. Bishop Hopes accompanied Monsignor Newton in his capacity as Episcopal Delegate of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England & Wales for the implementation of the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum coetibus.

Further details and pictures can be seen here.

Apostolic Nuncio visits ST PAULS

His Excellency Archbishop Antonio Mennini, the Apostolic Nuncio to Great Britain, visited our London bookshop on Thursday 31st March to celebrate the publication of You Will Be My Witnesses - the latest book by Bishop Michael Campbell OSA..

The book, a series of reflections on the scripture readings for the Mass during the Easter season, completes Bishop Campbell’s trilogy covering Advent, Lent and Easter.

Stephen Moseling, Operations Co-ordinator of St Pauls, pointed out that, after the Holy Father, Bishop Campbell is St Pauls’ most prolific author, with six books published in five years. He went on to say, "Like all of his books, this latest work is the result of a life spent studying Sacred Scripture. It is another example of the Bishop’s ability to interpret scripture in such a way that all who read it are enriched and encouraged on their journey with Christ through the liturgical year". He then read out a message of greeting from Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor who, due to a prior engagement, was unable to be present.

Bishop Campbell expressed his thanks to the Apostolic Nuncio for taking time to be present at the launch. He spoke of his delight in seeing the many friends from his time in the Diocese of Westminster who were present at the launch, especially those from St Augustine’s, Hammersmith.

Publication of the book coincided with the third anniversary of Bishop Campbell’s Episcopal Ordination. To mark the occasion, Bishop Campbell was presented with a copy of another recent publication from ST PAULS, Walsingham, Pilgrims and Pilgrimage.