Generation Benedict

It was with great shock and sadness that I learned of the news of Pope Benedict’s abdication on Monday.  Pope Benedict has been responsible for the conversion, reversion, vocation and the deepening of faith of many young Catholics in this country. At the time of his visit to the UK, I was living a life at complete odds to the Church but his powerful homily at Bellahouston Park was the catalyst for my conversion. Through his eloquence, his love and genuine concern for the young Catholics of Scotland, the powerful Truth of the Gospel message crashed into my life. Looking back it was like a moment from Acts of the Apostles, for upon hearing his message, I too was cut to the heart. Like the crowds in Jerusalem, I asked the question, “What must I do?” Through the ministry of Peter’s successor and in the subsequent messages of his UK visit, I found the answer to this question and began an incredible journey back into a living relationship with Christ and His Holy Church. The Holy Father re-ignited the flame of faith in my heart and in a world marked by mediocrity; he challenged me to become a saint.



"I urge you to lead lives worth of our Lord and of yourselves...
...Put aside what is worthless and learn of your own dignity as children of God"

The Church in England will reap the fruits of his short pontificate for many years to come. We are already seeing the flourishing of new signs of life in the Church in the UK. I think of the many vibrant lay apostolates in the UK: Youth 2000, Take a Stand, Made for Glory, 2^nd Friday, Night Fever, 40 Days for Life and so on. These young apostolates are very much influenced by a pontificate which called us to enter into an intimate relationship with Christ, to find our home in the Catholic Church, to live our Catholicism without compromise and to give a bold and courageous witness to the Gospel Truths in a world that so desperately needs Christ. I know of many young men for whom the Papal Visit or WYD Madrid was the deciding factor in their entering seminary. Indeed the numbers in our seminaries continue to increase each year. Even more recently, the press coverage for the abdication saw many outstanding young Catholics from across the UK interviewed. Through their questioning, many presenters were seeking the “youth of the Church” to call for reform and the modernisation of the Church under a new Pope. What they got was a response from “Generation Benedict”. Paschal Uche put it rather splendidly when he spoke these words on behalf of all young Catholics in a Channel 4 interview: “We aren’t looking for a Pope who will change the Church’s teaching, what we desire is a Pope who is faithful to the teaching of the Church because we believe that is how God loves us.” These young people aren’t exceptional in any way at all, they are in fact typical of the countless young Catholics in the UK who are proud to be part of “Generation Benedict” and who are striving to be saints fuelled by a love of Christ and planted in the heart of the Catholic Church.

Pope Benedict will be greatly missed by my generation. He has been a father to us, a man who deeply loved his young people and placed his full confidence in us to spread the Gospel to the ends of the earth. Our continued response to his love will be our parting gift to him and the Church in England will be all the richer for it.

Over the next 40 days a group of young people will be publishing 40 different accounts, from 40 different young people whose lives have been touched by Pope Benedict. Follow us on:  www.generationbenedict.wordpress.com

ESTA ES LA JUVENTUD DEL PAPA

Pope Benedict with young people at Westminster Piazza, September 2010
 

Here are a few quotes spoken by Pope Benedict XVI to the young people of the UK during the Papal Visit in 2010. His visit had a profound impact on my life and I have him to thank for bringing me back to faith in Jesus Christ and helping me find my feet in the Catholic Church.  He has shaped the Catholic youth in this country and we are proud to be known as the "Benedict XVI generation".

BELLAHOUSTON PARK

I urge you to lead lives worthy of our Lord (cf. Eph 4:1) and of yourselves.

There is only one thing which lasts: the love of Jesus Christ personally for each one of you. Search for him, know him and love him, and he will set you free from slavery to the glittering but superficial existence frequently proposed by today’s society.

Put aside what is worthless and learn of your own dignity as children of God.

This is the challenge the Lord gives to you today: the Church now belongs to you!

THE BIG ASSEMBLY

I hope that among those of you listening to me today there are some of the future saints of the twenty-first century. What God wants most of all for each one of you is that you should become holy. He loves you much more than you could ever begin to imagine, and he wants the very best for you. And by far the best thing for you is to grow in holiness.

What kind of person would you really like to be?

When I invite you to become saints, I am asking you not to be content with second best.

True happiness is to be found in God. We need to have the courage to place our deepest hopes in God alone, not in money, in a career, in worldly success, or in our relationships with others, but in God. Only he can satisfy the deepest needs of our hearts.

WESTMINSTER PIAZZA

I ask each of you first and foremost to look into your own heart, think of all the love that your heart was made to receive, and also love it is meant to give, after all we were made for love.

We were also made to give love, to make the inspirational for all we do, and the most enduring thing in our lives.

The Blessed mother Theresa of Calcutta, the great missionary of charity reminded us that giving love, pure and generous love, is the fruit of a daily decision.

I ask you to look into your hearts, each day, to find the source of all true love. Jesus is always there. Quietly waiting for us to be still with him and to hear his voice. Deep within your heart, he is calling you to spend time with him in prayer, but this kind of prayer, real prayer, requires discipline.

HYDE PARK VIGIL

Dear young friends: only Jesus knows what “definite service” he has in mind for you. Be open to his voice resounding in the depths of your heart: even now his heart is speaking to your heart.

Ask our Lord what he has in mind for you! Ask him for the generosity to say “yes!” Do not be afraid to give yourself totally to Jesus. He will give you the grace you need to fulfil your vocation.

MARCH FOR LIFE UK- Birmingham 2013

Sunday 10th March 2.15pm Birmingham City Centre

Birmingham's 1st March for Life 2012

Inspired by the American March for Life and a rather colourful balloon release in Chicago, last year I organised a "March for Life" to mark the midway point of our 40 Days for Life Campaign here in Birmingham. Now I must admit it was a total gamble on my part.  I spent many weeks on my knees asking God if I was a fool for thinking any of this was possible and asking Him to help me out.  On the day of the March, I found myself filling 100s of balloons with helium and joking with friends that it would just be us 3 and with an excess of balloons we would be floating across the Birmingham skyline with a pro-life message. Talk about being a woman of little faith....God had the last laugh on this one!

I will never forget standing up on the Sanctuary of St Michael's to give the welcome and being blown away by how many people were in the Church.  It was packed out!! All I could do was praise the Lord for all He had done and His faithfulness.

So that's the background story and here is the start of this year's story:

Evangelisation and pro-life work are really important to the young adults at 2nd Friday so we knew that this event would become a fixture on our calendar.  With the date confirmed for 10th March, we decided to launch it on various social media on 25th January, entrusting the mission to St Paul.  The response has been immense! In less than 5 days we have young people mobilising from across the country and further afield to make a stand for Life.  Coaches are being organised and filled, some of the best pro-life speakers in Europe are coming into town for the day and I'm still trying to keep up with the enquiries and questions!

All of this and we haven't even spread the word properly, we are still waiting for financial support, promotional material and to finalise some of the logistics. Talk about God really teaching me to trust fully in Him!  What has inspired me most the last few days has been the response from young Catholics up and down the country.  So many enthusiastic and passionate young people who are willing to make a stand for life, to defend the weak and to celebrate and protect the beautiful gift of life from conception.  What an absolute gift to the Church and to our society! Rise up and speak out for the world is dying for our witness!

For more details check out: https://www.facebook.com/#!/events/454341897952512/?fref=ts

Please do think about joining us, organising transport or mobilising people from your area. Spread the word, pray for us and support us financially if you can!

Nothing we do to defend the human person, no matter how small, is ever unfruitful or forgotten. Our actions touch other lives and move other hearts in ways we can never fully understand in this world. Don’t ever underestimate the beauty and power of the witness you give in your pro-life work."

~ Archbishop Charles Chaput

HOT for Christ

Last year when we organised a NightFever event in our parish, there were a few organisational issues which really tried my patience.  Fr Stephen, the Soli House chaplain who was there with his team,  just said to me "you get graces for being obedient". It was a blessing on the evening and has really blessed some of my relationships the last few weeks.

I have been reflecting on this the last few days and so text Fr Stephen to thank him for this.  He currently has a girls school on retreat at Soli and text me back to say that he told them tonight to be HOT for Christ: humble, obedient and trusting.

I struggle massively with all 3 of these things in both my relationship with God and with other people.  I think this is simply because it involves an acknowledgement of my own weakness, my own littleness.  This can be painful but often because I forget to put it in its proper context.  I often lose sight or never fully grasp my immense dignity and value as a child of God.  I cannot even begin to imagine the love He has for me as His beloved daughter.  This is made visible and magnified tenfold, in my relationships with other people.  Admitting my weakness and having the grace to say I don't know it all and could do with some help is not the done thing in culture and is a real insult to my proud and stubborn nature.  To be obedient means to have humility to respond to what is being asked of you, it also means trusting that the other person knows best.  Being HOT for Christ and being HOT for other people are entwined.  To make strides in HOTness, a life rooted in prayer is essential.  I am learning this more and more.  To be HOT towards other people, you need to spend time with your Father in Heaven and come to know and believe whole-heartedly in your supreme worth as His beloved daughter.  This relationship with our Abba, our daddy, radically changes how we respond, interact and react with others.  When your peace and security comes from a deep relationship with the Lord, humility, obedience and trust comes alot more easily. I can this see this in my own life, particularly in the way my relationships suffer because I have neglected time spent with God.  I need to keep reminding myself that to be HOT, I need to learn from the Master and that means spending quality time with the Lord in prayer.

One thing I need to learn to recognise and respond to with more HOTness this year, is the divine touch on my life through the lives of the people the Lord has placed on my journey to keep my feet on the ground, my eyes toward heaven and my heart in His hands. Jesus, meek and humble of heart, hear my prayer!

"The true Christian obeys his parents, his teachers, [and] his superiors because he sees in them God Himself,

Whose place they take."

Don Bosco

Dates for Your Diary

Seeking the Heart of Jesus-Scripture Groups
Thursday 24th January 730pm Our Lady and St Chad's, Sedgely
The Call of the Disciples: Lectio, teaching and fellowship

Ordination to the Sacred Priesthood of Br Richard Duncan
Friday 1st February 630pm The Oratory Birmingham

Music Ministry Meeting
Tuesday 5th February 730-930pm Venue TBC
Initial meeting, prayer and practice for all those wishing to form a music team to help our mission work.

2nd Friday Mass February
Friday 8th February 7pm St Chad's Cathedral Birmingham
Fr David Oakley will be continuing our Vatican 2 series by talking on the Catholic Church's relationship with other faiths.
Confessions from 630pm Holy Mass at 7pm

40 Days for Life Launch
Saturday 9th February 2pm Central Birmingham (Venue TBC)
Eve Farran from the Alliance of Prolife Students will be giving at address at the 40 Days launch.  There will also be an opportunity to meet a mother and the baby she kept from one of our earlier campaigns.

40 Days for Life Campaign
Weds 13th Feb-Sunday 24th March 8am-8pm Calthorpe Clinic, Edgbaston
A prayer vigil to end abortion held outside the Calthorpe Clinic

2nd Friday Retreat to Belmont Abbey
Saturday 16th February 12-630pm Belmont Abbey, Hereford
A chance for us to spiritually prepare for Lent with Lectio Divina, Confessions, Holy Hour, Catechesis on the Extraordinary Form of the Mass, Holy Mass celebrated in the Extraordinary Form and time to socialise.

Seeking the Heart of Jesus- Scripture Groups
Thursday 28th February 730pm Our Lady and All Saints, Stourbridge
Jesus Heals: Lectio, Teaching and Fellowship

NIGHTFEVER
Saturday 2nd March 6pm Our Lady and All Saints, Stourbridge
Catechesis and prayer followed by an evening of adoration, music, confessions and street evangelisation.
Open Church Open Heart

2nd Friday Mass March
Friday 8th March 7pm St Chad's Cathedral
Mgr Timothy Menezes (Vicar General) will be celebrating Mass and giving a talk on Sacrosanctum Concilium
Confessions from 630pm, Holy Mass at 7pm followed by the talk an a shared table

MARCH FOR LIFE
Sunday 10th March 230pm Birmingham City Centre (exact assembly point tbc)
A pro-life rally and march through Birmingham City Centre, followed by a balloon release and prayer vigil outside the council house.

Seeking Beauty

The Extraordinary Form celebrated at the Birmingham Oratory. (Picture from LMS)

A reflection on the Extraodinary Form of the Roman Rite by Charles Bradshaw, 21, Archdiocese of Birmingham.

Throughout the centuries man has been on a quest to seek out perfect beauty. We are surrounded with a culture where the search for beauty was ever present: in art, in literature, in music, even in the objects of everyday life: it only takes a glimpse into an antique shop to understand what it is I mean. And if man was asked what the point of it all was, we would realise that he was ultimately searching for perfection: in fact for God!  We live in an age where beauty seems no longer to matter, not even in our churches and our Faith, even our Christian culture is in danger of being left behind. Sometimes you can ask yourself: is it really even a culture that kills off its future children!  I want to reflect on how we can find anew this beauty even in our Catholic Faith especially in this year of Faith and how we can keep our Christian culture alive.

It is rare for anyone these days to be able to say I was brought up with what we now call the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite. I am 21 and extremely grateful to have been brought up all my life with this culture. If we look at the word culture, we find its Latin root is “cultus” and as Catholic’s the “cultus” that we really know and understand is that of the Mass, of the Liturgy. That is at the heart of our culture for it to make sense. So, why the Latin Mass as perhaps most people would call it? Why would one go?

I will try to explain things a little: We are all called to enter into a relationship with our Lord and Saviour. The more we enter into a relationship with Him, the more we grow to know and love Him. Love is about giving; a relationship is about giving, if not then even in human terms it breaks down. The more we love, the more we give, our heart, our time, and our thoughts. Love then becomes a deep union, a union of the heart. The deeper the love, the deeper the union.  Our relationship with God then is about giving, but what exactly? The answer is simple: God wants our best!

The culture of the Latin Mass is the culture of relationship, the culture of giving. It only takes a moment to look at the great churches of our country and their architecture to understand the culture of the Latin Mass. Those beautiful altars, paintings, organs, windows, soaring structures and cathedrals, and their great spires, and the glorious peal of bells all point towards giving the best we have to God.  It doesn’t rely on noises and human fabrications but on silence. The silence of these places is enough to exude centuries of relationship with God, centuries of prayer and silence, of love! That sense of awe and mystery, that sense of the sacred, the beautiful, and the silent all converges in the Mass of ages even the detail of vestments point it out as does the deep symbolism of every gesture.

It is there that we can understand the meaning of beauty, in those places and in that spirit. It is only in uniting ourselves with centuries of worship that we will once again find the meaning of beauty, the meaning of giving. If we stop just for one moment breaking from the past then we will find the future, a future that stands together and alongside what has gone before us in harmony. Our Holy Father Pope Benedict points out that “What was sacred for prior generations remains sacred and great for us today!” That is why I love the Latin Mass, because it is our culture, the culture of the West, a culture that is SO valid it changes hearts and calls people out of themselves, to the point that they cannot turn back.

I believe we will find beauty if we give our hearts to Him in the Sacrament of the altar, the lamb that was slain, the child of Bethlehem. I challenge you to unite yourselves to the Sacrifice of Calvary made present on our altars, the Mass of ages and to give Him our hearts and our best, and I promise you there we will find beauty, love, union. How can we not but love Him! It is not you see just a Form of the Roman rite we are at risk of losing, but the whole of our culture as well!

Women of Virtue

About 18 months ago my spiritual director gave me a book by Jason Evert called "How to find your soulmate without losing your soul".  It was definitely not 21 steps to find the perfect man but 21 chapters steeped in wisdom from Holy Mother Church and tonnes of encouragement to become a woman of virtue.  It painted a vivid picture of God's vision for love, one which corresponded with the very depths of my heart.  As I closed the book, I did so with the resolve not to settle for anything less than the very best, to wait and trust in God's timing and plans.  It meant coming to know my great dignity and worth as a beloved daughter of the King and resolving to let nothing or no-one detract from this.

The more I spoke to various friends, the more I realised so many women are selling out to culture and popular opinion because no one has shown them an alternative.  They are overwhelmed by a culture which encourages them to sleep with as many men as possible, to flaunt their bodies in revealing clothes, to pick up sex tips from porn and to fix their relationships from magazines such as Cosmopolitan.  With everyone "doing it" and the fear of being "left on the shelf" many women feel it is better to jump on board then be left behind.  Most of these young women are barely out of their early 20s and this culture has completely trashed them with its empty promises of love and happiness.  When I meet them, they are hurting and in need of much healing and the only remedy the culture offers is the same one that got them into this situation.  It is the woman who has something wrong with her, not culture.  What a tragedy.

Even within my circles of Catholic friends, those women who have chosen God's vision for love and are prepared to wait, have a tough battle. In our places of work and study we are ridiculed and mocked for our choices.  We are clearly repressed by a bunch of old men in Rome who have no clue whatsoever and need to get with the times. Striving for holiness is hard work especially when everyone is encouraging you to sell out.

I think that is where good,holy friendships are so important.  To be able to come together with young women on the same path, to share your experiences and to encourage each other is a blessing.   I have two very close friends who hold me accountable in this area of my life!  We have shared many a "why is this so hard?" phone call!  But we are in it together, one family in the Church and this makes a world of difference.

Having encountered the beautiful Truth of love, we also have a duty to share this with our friends.  I cannot tell you how many times Theology of the Body has been the most wonderful healing balm for many of my hurting friends.  Even those that aren't Catholic can't deny Truth.  They want to be loved, cherished, honoured and respected.  They want a man to love them for who they are, not treat them as objects and they want a man to love them forever.  And here we as Catholics have an amazing gift to share with our friends.  This very vision of love, which comes from God and resonates with the very depths of our being is under heavy attack at the moment.  This makes the need to proclaim it all the more urgent! As Peter Kreeft commented, the sexual revolution is the greatest heresy of our time and God has given us the antidote in Theology of the Body.  So use it ladies! Do not be afraid to speak this Truth into your friends' lives. The world needs our witness to real, authentic love; even if we do sound like a voice in the wilderness at times!

Call me old fashioned but if you want a real man, a man of virtue and commitment, someone who treats women with the utmost respect and values their dignity then we as women need to be setting high standards not lowering them.   The Venerable Fulton Sheen put it this way:

“When a man loves a woman, he has to become worthy of her. The higher her virtue, the more noble her character, the more devoted she is to truth, justice, goodness, the more a man has to aspire to be worthy of her. The history of civilization could actually be written in terms of the level of its women.”