Cardinal reflects on his nine years in Westminster

In a Pastoral Letter for the fifth Sunday of Lent, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor has reflected on his nine years as Archbishop of Westminster.

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The Pastoral Letter, the last he will deliver to parishes in the Diocese of Westminster as Archbishop of Westminster, was read out at the 216 parishes in the diocese over the weekend of 28– 29 March 2009.

Full text, and audio

Source: RCDOW

What Lent means to me

This occasional series of reflections written by residents and Alumni continues with this piece by Irma Kurniawan.

To me, Lent is a time to make the right choices and live them with courage and faith.
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Whenever I am faced with a dilemma, God does not spoon-feed me with the right decision to make, but He will give me all the collateral tools to be able to listen to my conscience and make a choice that will bring me closer to Him. And Lent is precisely the time to use these tools. It is the time to stop whenever I see myself doing things that do not glorify God, to seek help and advice from fellow Christians or Church authorities, and most important of all, to sit before God and pray, asking for hope.
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Lent, for me, is the time to make the right choices that will allow me in what I do, to glorify God, and live those choices. To me, it’s like a time to make some serious resolutions. I'm not referring to single resolutions such as waking up at 6.30am everyday, or doing more exercises. While these are good and real examples of how one might manifest their fundamental decisions into practical routines (and one should always aim to do this), I am referring to more holistic resolutions in shaping my daily life to place myself, my thoughts, my actions, and my desires before God, in order to worship and please Him. Of course in reality, this becomes manifested in making decisions in small things such as finishing that one last task that I have to do today rather than procrastinate.
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And most of all, Lent is the time to ask for His compassion and love, and strength to live out those resolutions.

Raising Lazarus

At first glance it might seem strange to look around the chapel today and then to hear this Gospel reading. We have covered the Crosses and images, and begin to commemorate what is traditionally known as ‘Passiontide’, yet we have this long passage describing the raising of Lazarus from the dead.
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We are still in the cycle of baptismal Gospels, the third Scrutiny of the Elect takes place, and the journey towards Baptism is nearing its culmination.
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In the Gospel today, we see that the Lord does not go to Lazarus immediately after his death. He is making a point: Lazarus is left long enough in the tomb so that when Jesus acts in this extraordinary way, it will be all the more powerful. No-one will be able to say ‘Very clever, but he wasn’t really dead.’ Jesus satisfies the Rabbinical authorities, fulfilling what the law demanded - but transforms its meaning.
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We have an incidence of what scholars call an ‘I am’ sayings in this Gospel. ‘I am the resurrection and the life.’ Again, this is an extraordinary claim. Even in first century Judaism it was fairly commonplace for people to talk of the resurrection of the dead (with the well-known exception of the Sadducees), but for Jesus to identify his own person, his own being, with this concept is startling.

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We might expect Jesus to lay his hands upon Lazarus, anoint him, maybe. He does nothing of the sort. Last week we saw how he took the earth (adama) and applies it to the man’s eyes in order to ‘complete’ the creation of the man born blind. Today we are looking to the creation narrative once again. God said ‘let there be…’, and so there was. Jesus said ‘Lazarus, here! Come out.’ Jesus himself is enough to raise Lazarus from the dead, because he is the very Word spoken by the Father.
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Jesus acts in extraordinary ways, with extraordinary deeds: in doing so, he raises our expectation of what is ‘ordinary’. It is a matter of course for us to say during the Creed ‘We look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.’ This is not just a metaphor for heaven. It is something more complete, more challenging, more transforming than simply ‘going to another place.’
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The raising of Lazarus takes place before the glorification of Jesus. To the eyes of those observing this event, it is Lazarus, as he was, who is raised. To the eyes of those who see from our side of the Paschal Mystery, it tells of a different hope: the body will be transformed. This is the promise of Baptism, because we are washed in the living water that flows from the side of the risen Christ.
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And so onwards, towards Jerusalem.
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CJC

Events for the week 15 to 22 March

All events take place in Newman House unless otherwise stated

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Tuesday, 17 March

• 6.00 pm - 9.00 pm - Eucharistic Adoration followed by Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament
• 7.oo pm - CathDocs

Dr Catherine Jackman will talk about her personal experience of working as a health professional on the Arundel and Brighton diocesan pilgrimage to Lourdes

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Wednesday, 18 March

• 3.00 pm - a visit to Westminster Cathedral

Meet at the Cathedral

Please contact Sr Mary

• 2.00 pm - at King's Strand Campus, Room: 332 (S3.32)

Unreasonable atheists or Unthinking theists: is there an alternative?

Session 4: Morality, Conscience and Free Will

• 3.30 pm - Tea with Chaplains
• 7.30 pm - OASIS:

"Principles of Moral Theology" by Fr Tim Finigan

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Thursday, 19 March

• 8.00 pm -

"The Old Testament through New Eyes" - Studying the Bible

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Friday, 20 March

• 6.00 pm - Stations of the Cross

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Sunday, 22 March

• 10.30 am - Holy Mass followed by Bar Lunch
• 7.30 pm - Holy Mass

Lent with St Benedict

Br Cedd Mannion OSB reflects upon the teaching of St Benedict on the keeping of Lent.

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Lent is an important time for all Christians. This is perhaps especially true for monks, as St Benedict dedicates a whole chapter of his Rule for Monasteries to the keeping of Lent (click here to read). Chapter 49 suggests that during Lent the whole community should try to ‘keep its manner of life most pure and to wash away in this holy season the negligences of other times.’ This might suggest three aspects of Lent which Benedict sees as crucial.
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Firstly, the emphasis in ‘washing away … the negligences of other times’ is not upon making life difficult through some unbelievably penitential practice, but upon trying to be honest with ourselves; trying to identify those areas of our lives which – if we are honest – often get in the way, and prevent us being fully alive to ourselves, to our neighbours and to God. For Benedict, this principally meant things like ‘indulging evil habits’ and ‘scurrility’, and he suggests that we take on some measure of fasting, for example, to learn self-control and to create some space for God.
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Secondly, in ‘keeping our manner of life most pure’, we try to draw closer to God – the one thing necessary – and invite him to take up the space we have found. The two most important methods suggested by St Benedict for this are prayer and lectio divina, when we speak to God of our needs, and allow him to speak to us. This ‘purity of heart’ is an important monastic (and Christian) goal.
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Finally, Benedict does not offer his advice to individual monks, but to ‘the whole community’, and this is important. If Lent is to draw us closer to God, it will be something that we undertake together. It is important, then, that we pray for the fruitfulness not only of our own Lent, but also that of the whole community to which we belong, so that (as Benedict says) we may all ‘look forward to holy Easter with joy and spiritual longing.’ (RB49:7)

from Ashes to Resurrection

Lenten preparation has taken on a whole new meaning for me this year. We were still in the midst of “Ordinary Time” when the Palms and Palm Crosses from Palm Sunday last year were gathered, roasted and ground to produce the Ashes.
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The burnt palm leaves, ground by David into ash.

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The Ashes epitomise what Lent means to me. Genesis reminds us that “For dust we are, and unto dust we shall return.” Job, in his final answer, retracts all that he said, and “in dust and ashes I repent”. His actions speak of conversion, an integral process of our Catholic faith.
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My own conversion took place over 6 years ago when I decided to become a Catholic and join the RCIA group. I was eventually baptised at the Easter Vigil 2003. Looking back on the 6 years that have passed since, I feel proud that I have come a long way in terms of spiritual growth. However, I do acknowledge that the journey is far from over. Conversion is an ongoing process in our Christian lives, and it certainly did not end for me the moment I was baptised.
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During this season, as the end-of-term fatigue sets in for many of us, we are taken out of our comfort zone and challenged to lead a life of simplicity through the penitential practices of prayer, almsgiving and fasting. We are called to follow the narrow path that leads to life, and not the broad way that leads to destruction. It will be tough, but let us not lose sight of our ultimate aim – the Paschal Vigil, where as we renew or, in the case of some, recite for the first time our baptismal promises; the old, sinful individuals in us die, and we experience a new birth.
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Finally, do pray for those preparing for the Easter Sacraments. As mentioned I have been on that part of the journey before, prayers from friends, family and fellow Catholics were invaluable indeed.

David Vera

Second Sunday of Lent: The Transfiguration

When Jesus was baptised by John the Spirit descended upon him and we hear the words: ‘this is my Son, the Beloved, my favour rests on him.’ On that day the heavens opened, and the Spirit descended upon him like a dove. Today he gathers Peter, James and John with him. As far as they understand, they are going off to be alone with him, for some peace, for some prayer. They got more than they were expecting!
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What would my reaction have been if I were on the mountain with Jesus? How would I respond when ‘he was transfigured; his face shone like the sun and his clothes became as white as the light’? I would probably respond with a mixture of awe, fear and confusion,
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The presence of Moses and Elijah is wonderful, however, and Peter wants to capture it: ‘I will make three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah’. Peter has missed the point—this is not a moment to linger. Symbolising the whole of the Law and the Prophets, their appearance underlines the importance of this event, that Jesus is central to God’s plan for creation, everything leads to him, and what he must do cannot be delayed for long.
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The disciples are given a glimpse of who Jesus really is: the power of God shining forth in his very body, a foretaste of the power that will raise him from the dead. His nature is being revealed in a way that is striking and sublime.
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We have in many ways forgotten how to speak about ‘nature’, about ‘being’. We have to some extent replaced it with talk of something being ‘in my genes’. To be technical for a moment, we tend to replace metaphysics with biology, among other things—partly because we can analyse them, and even control them. The Transfiguration reminds us to look more deeply. It is not Jesus’ genes that are revealed to Peter, James and John; not merely his psyche laid before them. His very essence, he is the Son of God, Light-from-Light: they are given a glimpse of eternity.
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This tells us something about how God works: he acts in the nature of things, creating, sustaining and renewing. He has raised Christ from the dead, and so we do not fall on our faces, overcome with fear: we know what the power of God can do and if we trust him, fix our gaze on the risen Christ and leave behind all the things that keep us from him, we will be transfigured and free—and Christ will be known. There will be no need for anyone to start building tents.

CJC

Events for the week of 1 to 8 March

All events take place in Newman House unless otherwise stated

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Tuesday, 3 March

• 5.30 pm - SOAS, Faber Building, room F403

"Called to make a change - a Peruvian experience among the poor"

• 6.00 pm - 9.00 pm - Eucharistic Adoration followed by Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament

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Wednesday, 4 March

• 3.00 pm (sharp) - a visit to St. Paul's Cathedral

To include a free tour and Evensong at 4 pm.

Meet st St. Paul's

Please contact Sr Mary to register

• 3.30 pm - Tea with Chaplains
• 7.30 pm - OASIS

"Dante and the Mediaval World" by Dr Brian Horne

Click here to let us know if you are coming.

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Thursday, 5 March

• 8.00 pm -

"The Old Testament through New Eyes" - Studying the Bible

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Friday, 6 March

• 6.00 pm - Stations of the Cross

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Saturday, 7 March

• 10.30 am - 4.30 pm; venue: Nazareth House, Hammersmith Road, W6 8DB

"Listen to Him" (Mk9: 2-10)

A one-day retreat organised by the Sister Chaplains.

Bring your lunch, and a donation of £2 to cover costs.

E-mail Sr Mary to register.

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Sunday, 8 March

• 10.30 am - Holy Mass
• 12.00 noon - Newman House Dining Room

International Banquet

All proceeds will be given to

the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development

• 7.30 pm - Holy Mass

Congratulations, Monsignor

Fr Jeremy Fairhead, Senior Chaplain from 1998-2002, has been named a Chaplain to His Holiness. Monsignor Fairhead, who was Chaplain to Oxford University until 2007, now works in the Roman Curia, at the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants & Itinerant People, with a specific brief for International Students.

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(For those of you interested in such things, it entitles him to wear the purple-trimmed. black cassock with purple sash)

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Many congratulations, Monsignor, and our prayers are with you.

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Release from the Diocese of Westminster