Godzdogz

Cardinal Kasper in Oxford

2008-05-08T13:05:00.002+01:00

Cardinal Walter Kasper, President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, was in Oxford recently for two days. The main reason for his visit was to deliver the inaugural lecture in a new series organised by the Catholic Halls of the University in honour of John Henry Newman. On Sunday 4 May, the Cardinal began his visit with dinner at Blackfriars hosted by the Dominican community.

The next day, Monday 5 May, Cardinal Kasper fielded a broad range of questions from the theology faculty and students of the University. Events took place at Christ Church College, at Greyfriars and at St Benet's. In the afternoon, he delivered the inaugural John Henry Newman Lecture to a full auditorium at St John's College. Entitled 'The timeliness of talking about God', the Cardinal expressed the need for good theological discourse as a response to secularisation and 'the new atheism'. We hope to have excerpts from his talk online in due course. The lecture was followed by a reception in Blackfriars.

Above, Cardinal Kasper with fr Richard Finn OP, who is Regent of Studies.

The Lord goes up with shouts of joy

2008-05-01T01:01:00.004+01:00

To celebrate the Ascension may seem strange. It is, after all, about an ending. Saying good-bye can be awkward, is sometimes difficult, and is often sad. His ascension means the disappearance of Jesus. Up to then he was visibly present with his disciples and now he is, it seems, to be absent. Why be joyful about this? Why think of it as something to celebrate?

At the mid-point of his gospel Luke writes: 'when the days drew near for him to be taken up, Jesus set his face to go to Jerusalem' (Luke 9:51). His ‘being taken up’ refers to his crucifixion, the moment in which he was ‘lifted up from the earth to draw all people to himself’ (John 12:32). It can also be taken to refer to his resurrection from the dead. And it is complete in his exaltation to the right hand of the Father. He has been taken up to the place of glory that is eternally his.

In the Temple at Jerusalem the High Priest went up into the Holy of Holies once a year, on the Day of Atonement, carrying the blood of sacrificed animals. Through him Israel asked forgiveness of the Lord and a renewal of the covenant. The only other person allowed to enter the Holy of Holies was a new King, on the day he was enthroned. The psalms and other texts of scripture speak about the king going up to a place of honour in the presence of the Lord, the God of Israel.

This is important background for understanding the Ascension of Jesus. He is our high priest who enters the Holy of Holies, not the earthly one in Jerusalem, but the great and perfect one in heaven. The blood he carries is not that of animals but his own blood, which is offered once and for all to gain ‘an eternal redemption’ (Hebrews 9:12). Seated at the right hand of the Father, enthroned as judge of all, Jesus is our king and our high priest.

Ascension Day is, then, the original feast of Christ the King. Because of his love and obedience the Father has exalted him and given him the name above all other names (Philippians 2:9). We celebrate his victory, and its meaning for us, the fact that he is become ‘the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him’ (Hebrews 5:9). As the prayers of today’s Mass put it, he has been ‘taken up to heaven to claim for us a share in his divine life’ and ‘where he has gone, we hope to follow’.

Although Jesus ‘withdrew from them and was carried up to heaven’ the disciples returned to Jerusalem ‘with great joy, and were continually in the temple blessing God’ (Luke 24:53). They understood, it seems, the meaning of his exaltation. They await the gift of the Spirit, the power from on high that Jesus will send. Jesus had said to his disciples, ‘if I do not go away he (the Advocate, the Holy Spirit) cannot come to you’ (John 16:7). Exalted to the right hand of the Father he sends the Holy Spirit as he had promised. This is why we rejoice at his departure, because his return to the Father establishes a new bond between heaven and earth. In sending the Spirit, Jesus fulfils his promise to remain with us always. We become his physical presence in the world, his body alive with his love. If he is with us in the Spirit, where can we be except with him in the same Spirit?

Our lives have been configured to this great paschal mystery of Jesus, to his death, resurrection, exaltation, and sending of the Spirit. Through baptism we enter sacramentally into the tomb with Jesus so that we may also rise with him as members of his body. Through confirmation we enter sacramentally into his promotion to the right hand of the Father to become temples of his Spirit and witnesses of his grace to the ends of the earth.

Blackfriars Spring Fayre

2008-04-29T11:00:00.000+01:00

On Sunday 27 April, as part of our on-going fund-raising efforts for the Oxford Priory Renewal Fund, we held our first Spring Fayre in Blackfriars. Organised by members of the 9:30 congregation, and with help and support from all those who come to Mass in Blackfriars, this was a wonderful opportunity for the whole community to come together and put on an enjoyable event. It raised over £2,500 for the project, and Godzdogz readers are warmly invited to help us in our fund-raising efforts and consider making a secure online donation at our fund-raising site.

Below are more photos from the Spring Fayre. Thanks to all who helped to make the event such a resounding success.

Celebrating 450 years of Dominican life

2008-04-27T22:00:00.003+01:00

Each year, near the feast of St Catherine of Siena, the Dominican Sisters of the Bushey Congregation celebrate the jubilees of their sisters. This year four sisters mark their golden jubilee of profession, three their diamond jubilee and one sister her platinum (70th!) anniversary of profession. This was a very joyful celebration of what Sr Anne, the Prioress General, called '450 years of fidelity'. She thanked the sisters for being themselves and for the generosity of their service over so many years in many different places. As well as sisters from England, members of the congregation from South Africa, Argentina and Rome were present, as were sisters from the Congregation's new foundations in Glasgow and Wales. Some of the friars were also present including Brothers Graham, Mark and Gregory, the novices from Cambridge.

This year's 'Golden Girls' were Srs Hyacinth, Aquinata, Elizabeth and Raymunda, pictured here (l. to r.) with Sr Anne, Prioress General of the Congregation (second from left).

Srs Maria Julia, Francesca and Letitia celebrate their diamond jubilees (1948-2008).

Sr Margaret Mary celebrates 70 years of profession (1938-2008). We wish her, and all the jubilarians, many congratulations and thank them for the witness of their lives.

Catherine of Siena: Prayer and Action

2008-04-25T11:51:00.006+01:00

Catherine of Siena was born Caterina di Giacomo di Benincasa in 1347 in the Fontebranda district of Siena, the twenty-fourth of twenty-five children. From a very early age, she had a great devotion to God and a passion for the truth. Her desire for the truth seems to have been greatly influenced by the preaching of the local Dominicans. Because of this desire for VERITAS, Catherine decided to take the habit of the Dominican Order at the age of eighteen while living a life of solitary prayer and penance in her family home only venturing outside to attend the celebration of Mass at the Dominican convento. It was during this time that she entered into contemplative union with God, which resulted in her mystical espousal to Christ.

Through her experiences of God in prayer, Catherine was able to realize the intimate connection between contemplation and service of her neighbors. Shortly after her mystical espousal, she joined the Mantellate, a group of women who were affiliated with the Order of Saint Dominic and wore the habit but lived in their own homes, serving the needs of the poor. The union of contemplation and action in the life of Catherine is important for our reflection on the Christian life. It demonstrates for us that prayer and action are not separate realities but are intimately woven together into the continuous activity of discipleship. In her Dialogue, she states that God told her “I ask you to love me the way I love you. I know that you cannot do this gratuitously but out of duty, this is why I place your neighbors in your path so that you may love them and so that you can do for them what you cannot do for me…”

The connection between mystical experience and involvement in the concerns and affairs of the world is very clear and very striking in Catherine's case. In 1363, at the age of 15 or so, she emerged from a period of intense solitude to get involved again in the affairs of her family. In 1366, at the age of 19, she experienced a spiritual espousal or 'marriage' to Christ after which she became involved in the life of her city, Siena. In 1370, at the age of 23, she experienced a mystical 'death' and we find her getting involved in the affairs of Tuscany and of Italy generally. Finally in 1375, at the age of 28, she received the stigmata and we see her becoming a figure on the European stage. She becomes the ambassador of Florence to the papal court at Avignon, entreats the Pope to return to Rome, and becomes in turn the ambassador of the Pope to Florence.

Rarely has any Christian, at one and the same time, been so completely immersed in political and pastoral activity while living a life of profound, mystical contemplation. Her mystical experiences are recorded in her Dialogue while her letters show her to be a pastoral theologian and spiritual director of exceptional wisdom and compassion. The eminent Irish Dominican, Archbishop William Barden (the centenary of whose birth we celebrate this year), regarded Catherine of Siena as the greatest of all Dominicans, women or men, perhaps, he suggested, even greater than Saint Dominic himself!

In essence, Catherine reveals to us that contemplation and action form the seamless garment of faith, which all the baptized receive in the Sacrament of Baptism and which we are called to exercise in our daily discipleship as Catherine did through her tireless prayer and work on behalf of peace in the Church and in society.

Quotation from Catherine's Dialogue is from the translation of Susanne Noffke OP, published at New York in 1980

Join us for Compline

2008-04-17T23:00:00.000+01:00

COMPLINE BEGINS AGAIN ON WEDNESDAY 23 APRIL 2008 ...

Virtue and Vice on the Blogosphere

2008-04-13T12:16:00.007+01:00

The Oxford University Newman Society hosted a 'Bloggers' Colloquium' in the Catholic Chaplaincy on 15 February 2008 to discuss the phenomenon of blogging and its impact on the Church and the world. Br Lawrence Lew OP was invited to give one of the talks; an abridged version follows:

That blogs can be a force for good but also for that which is less than good should not surprise us. For social communications through the media is just an expression of our flawed humanity, and indeed the anonymity which the internet affords sometimes exacerbates our flaws. Like everything we do, blogging does not always achieve the good it ought to although I believe that it is essentially ordered towards it. As such, we should treat it like the rest of life – as something with a potential for good, but which can be abused, and where that happens, it should be healed and redeemed. There is no place that the Gospel may not touch, and as a preaching friar, I passionately believe that it is essential that we bring the light of Christ’s truth and the teachings of his holy Church to the blogosphere. It is with this in mind that I have tentatively entitled my reflection: Virtue and Vice in the Blogosphere.

Those Catholics who blog and those who read such blogs are a select few, but they are united by love. At its best, I hope that we are united as Catholic and Christian bloggers in a love for Christ and his Gospel. As this is not a dis-interested love, so the passions and heated exchanges that are elicted online are in many ways understandable and, indeed, to be expected.

However, it is in the area of the passions, that is, the emotions, that we have to be most careful, for sometimes these can get out of control. St Thomas Aquinas, rightly saw that emotions were good and proper for us to possess because they are part of what it means to be a rational animal, to be human. However, they fall within our animal capabilities and so have to be integrated with our rational powers. Thus Aquinas says that passions are “good when they are controlled by reason; and evil when they are not controlled by reason”; the passions have to be moderated by reason. However, this does not mean that one can circumnavigate the emotions or employ the force of sheer ‘will-power’ to control one’s emotions. As the French Dominican Chenu said, one ought to resort to neither “dualistic Manichaeism nor Christian Stoicism”. Aquinas’ answer is that “both acts of the will and the emotions must be given direction, order and guidance; they do not automatically unfold in morally mature directions.” This guidance comes from the acquisition of virtues and the elimination of vices. Developing good habits and virtues will help a person to mature emotionally and grow morally so as to make the right choices in response to one’s feelings and desires; we grow from spoilt brats to mature right-thinking adults. I’m afraid that quite often one sees a lot of the former on display on the blogosphere’s comments boxes! Aquinas taught that “in affirming or rejecting opinions, we shouldn’t be influenced by our liking or dislike of those who propose the ideas, but rather by the certitude of truth”. Thus, we act rationally, guided by prudence and not by our passions. Aquinas’ position is that the passions can be regulated by reason such that “the passions of the wise man are an integral part of his moral life” and indeed, it is a person who delights (and so has an emotive attraction) in doing good who does more good. So, what I want to suggest is that the blogosphere can be a training ground for virtue, but also a temptation to vice.

There is little doubt that prudence is the chief virtue that we must develop in blogging and using the internet. Aquinas says that prudence “is reason itself rendered perfect in its judgments and in its choices.” Often it seems that when one decides what to blog or what to comment, one can take refuge in the truth. That is, something blogged or commented about is justified simply because it is true, or deemed to be quite simply what the Church teaches, and we have to say it no matter what the consequences. I would suggest that prudence, temperance and wisdom require us to judge how and when to act, not just that we are to act. Children may be expected to act without prudent judgment, but mature adults are expected to show some discernment. Otherwise, we can become like the secular press who report whatever they will on the basis that it is fair comment or truth that is in the public interest.

Pope Benedict has said: “The call for today's media to be responsible - to be the protagonist of truth and promoter of the peace that ensues - carries with it a number of challenges. While the various instruments of social communication facilitate the exchange of information, ideas, and mutual understanding among groups, they are also tainted by ambiguity. Alongside the provision of a ‘great round table’ for dialogue, certain tendencies within the media engender a kind of monoculture that dims creative genius, deflates the subtlety of complex thought and undervalues the specificity of cultural practices and the particularity of religious belief. These are distortions that occur when the media industry becomes self-serving or solely profit-driven, losing the sense of accountability to the common good.” I would suggest that the Holy Father’s warning applies not just to the secular media but also to us. For it is easy for us to become embroiled in our cause, our vision of the Church, our idolisation of those things an Aristotelian might call ‘accidents’. As such, I believe that we should hearken to Pope Benedict’s words. Moreover as he also said, albeit in a different context, “Let us generously open our hearts and make room for everything that the faith itself allows”, and so, not just what we would desire in an ideal world. To be sure, one might argue that we are doing this for the good of the Church and for Christ’s sake, but I also think that a certain humility requires us to ask if we are so sure that God has mandated us to do this work for him: for one of the dangers of the blogging phenomenon is that every person becomes his own editor and publisher, every blog becomes a pulpit and there is no accountability. One of the benefits of a group blog like Godzdogz and of writing as a religious friar is that I am accountable to my community, and this, I think, is no bad thing if we want to learn prudence and humility.

A particular vice that aggrieves me and that is not infrequently seen on the blogosphere is detraction, which in Aquinas' great Summa falls under the area of justice. Detraction “strictly speaking is taking away a person’s character by drawing attention to anything that detracts from that character”. Although the intention of admonition does take away the sinfulness of the act, Aquinas notes that “all the same, a man should pick his words carefully, since uttered incautiously they might take away a person’s character, and a fatal wrong might be done without even intending it.” I think this is even more serious if it is directed at our pastors and especially a bishop who is, by consecration, a successor of the apostles. I think the blogs have helped in some areas to fuel such discussions and they have certainly been a tempting place for people to comment and say such things. We may complain – as the flock has always done – about decisions made by our superiors, but to impugn their character, or to judge them guilty of heresy, or to speculate maliciously about their motivations is clearly not good for the Church or for us. The fact is that the blogosphere can be a forum for vicious activity and we should seek not to defend that but to guard our tongues and typing fingers. While our modern world defends free speech, and freedom of opinion, let us be on guard for these can lead to great vice. As the Scriptures say in many places, but here, I am quoting from the Wisdom of Ben Sira: “As you hedge round your vineyard with thorns, set barred doors over your mouth; as you seal up your silver and gold, so balance and weigh your words. Take care not to slip by your tongue and fall victim to your foe waiting in ambush.” Moreover, freedom is a gift that we have to exercise responsibly and this requires the exercise of virtues like courage and temperance, that is, not only the strength to say the truth but to do so wisely and in the right way and time.

So, what can we say in our blogs? St Paul says: “Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel”. And so, I believe that the blogosphere, and indeed, other instruments of the internet, can help us in the mission given to all the baptised. This is not surprising, for if we are preachers of the gospel, we will naturally use everything in our lives and in our world to give glory to him who has saved us and to preach his Word to all nations. Joseph Ratzinger once said: “The Church will have to develop a great deal of imagination to help the gospel remain a force in public life, so that it may shape the people and pervade their life and work among them like yeast.” The internet is just one such area of public life, and it will work for good if we write about the Gospel, seek to disseminate truth and balanced opinion, and help shape our readers in virtue. Perhaps we can take other pointers from Ratzinger. He noted that “nowadays, particularly among the most modern representatives of Catholicism, there is a tendency toward uniformity… I believe that a great deal of tolerance is required within the Church, that the diversity of paths is something in accordance with the breadth of Catholicity – and that one ought not simply to reject it, even when it is something contrary to one’s own taste.” So, there are blogs for every taste, and it is good that these flourish in the Church and work together for the common good and serve the mission of the Church.

In an aphorism commonly attributed to St Augustine, he is believed to have said, “in essentials, unity; in doubtful matters, liberty; in all things, charity.” This should be the creed of all our social communications. It is with care, study and prudence that we are able to distinguish between essentials and doubtful matters, and if we should fear anything in blogging, let us fear a failure in charity.

Gentle Thoughts

2008-04-09T11:06:00.005+01:00

The following reflection is by Brother Thomas Casey OP who tends the gardens at St Dominic's Retreat House, Montenotte, Cork

I was around the town of Youghal a few days after the Tour de France whizzed through. The street cleaners had done a fine job of cleaning up and the main street was as clean as a brass penny. I was in no hurry so I took it easy. It was a good time for a stroll and a look around.

As the sun was going down I was distracted by the long shadows thrown by high gables, and then my eye lit on a chimney pot of a derelict building. It wasn't so much the chimney pot, but the spray of pink flowers which stuck up out of it. They were catching the last light, moving and weaving, demanding attention. For those of you who work hard and have long hours, it's good to slow down and look at things like this. As a side benefit I can tell you it is good for the soul because it allows gentle thoughts to have their say.

The first curiosity was how did the flowers get there? Who planted them? Was it a bird or the wind? And of all the seeds which are scattered throughout the world why did this one land here? And how did it survive? But there they were, the fruit of chance, and proud they were, sitting on top of a building where the occupants who had lives to live had lived them and were long gone. If someone moved in now and renovated the building, the flowers would have to go, being a hindrance to the draught in the fireplace and considered nothing but weeds and a nuisance. For the moment, however, these flowers reigned supreme. Who knows, they might have preferred a plot in some lady's garden but it seemed to me that they were doing just fine and were happy to bloom where they were planted.

And I said to myself, 'there you go, sometimes wishing you were somewhere else, doing something else'. That's the way with a lot of people, always restless. I suppose one of the gifts of youth is to be on the move, seeing how best to make a life, and hoping for happiness. For those, like me, who are old, and have wandered down many a byroad unexpectedly, it is great to be able to say, 'well I did my best with the lot that fell my way'. And just like the flowers in the chimney pot of an old house, I now bloom where I am planted and with the help of the good Lord remain faithful to the end.

News and views from the Provincial Chapter

2008-04-03T22:30:00.005+01:00

The English Dominicans held their Provincial Chapter at Blackfriars, Oxford this week, opening with Solemn Mass of the Annunciation on 31 March. Fr Allan White, the out-going Provincial (his second four-year term of office coming to an end with this chapter), presided and Fr Mark Edney preached about our mission being like Our Lady's - one is sent to us so that we can be called and in receiving God's grace we may respond to this call by also being sent to bring Christ to the world.

At the end of Mass the Capitulars (those friars who are members of the chapter by reason of their office and those elected as delegates from various parts of the province) processed out of the church into the Chapter Room to elect a new Prior Provincial. Shortly afterwards, a bell rang to summon the other friars present in the priory to hear the outcome of the election.

Fr Allan announced the good news that Fr John Farrell had accepted his election as Prior Provincial of the English Province for the next four years. Later that day the election was confirmed by the Master of the Order.

The Chapter then proceeded with its business of electing those who are to be responsible for writing up the Acts (or decisions) of the Provincial Chapter as well as new provincial councillors. In the evening, the fathers of the Chapter assembled with the Oxford brethren for Solemn Vespers; this was the new Provincial's first liturgical celebration with the brethren and we were joined by our regular weekday congregation.

The Provincial specifically asked that "the ancestors" - the relics of the Order's saints - be brought out and placed on the High Altar and these were duly incensed and venerated during Vespers.

Following Vespers, the brethren gathered for a celebratory dinner in the Refectory.

From Tuesday to Thursday the Chapter was devoted to discussions and decisions about various aspects of the life and mission of the Order in Britain and in the Caribbean Vicariate (Grenada and Barbados). It also made further appointments of brethren to assist the Provincial in various capacities. The main business of the Chapter finished on Thursday, 3 April.

While the Acts of the Chapter are still being written up in Oxford by those elected to do so (these are called 'diffinitors'), the rest of the Capitulars have now returned to their respective priories.

Please pray for our new Prior Provincial, Fr John Farrell, and the brothers of the English Province, that we may respond with open hearts to the call given to us to continue St Dominic's mission of preaching for the salvation of souls.

Holy Week & Triduum photos from Blackfriars

2008-03-25T23:46:00.005Z

Below are some photos from this year's Holy Week and Triduum at Blackfriars, Oxford:

On Holy Monday, the community hosted an ecumenical Stations of the Cross. It was a chance for us to introduce the 14 Stations to other Christian communities in central Oxford and three Dominican students and members of other Christian communities gave brief reflections at each station.

This act of witness to our faith in Christ's saving death was expressed more publicly on Spy Wednesday as we walked through the busiest streets of Oxford, carrying a cross and giving out leaflets to shoppers and passers-by on the true meaning of Easter:

During the Triduum, the Office of Tenebrae was celebrated. A hearse of 15 unbleached candles is prepared and similarly unbleached candles are placed on the High Altar. In the Dominican custom, these are all gradually extinguished as the Office progresses.

The Office ends with a short litany at the foot of the Altar sung by four cantors alternating with the friars' choir and it ends, not with the loud banging some may remember in the Roman rite but with the words mortem autem crucis sung loudly and at a high pitch, after which the cantors prostrate themselves dramatically as the friars in choir kneel in prayer.

Above, the Altar of Repose on Maundy Thursday.

The Good Friday liturgy is very well-attended and many come, I suspect, for the distinctive Dominican way of performing the Veneration of the Cross. As has been posted here previously, the friars creep to the Cross by prostrating themselves three times. A relic of the True Cross is embedded in the cross which is held for veneration by the friars and the faithful, who come up, genuflecting thrice as they approach.

Finally the bleakness and austerity of Good Friday gives way to the light and richness of Easter Sunday. Below are photos from Solemn Vespers on Easter Sunday:

Easter Sunday - The Tomb is Empty

2008-03-23T00:01:00.002Z

The desolation of the previous few days was magnified when Mary of Magdala discovered the empty tomb. “They have taken away the Lord, and I do not know what they have done with him.” Insult was being added to injury, as it was unimaginable that any further ignominy could be done to him.

When Mary runs to tell the disciples, they come in haste. As soon as they arrive, they see what they had never understood. The scriptures had been telling them clearly, the Lord had tried to tell them. But the action spoke louder than the words, and when they saw, they believed: he must rise from the dead.

Before his death, Jesus seemed unconquerable – he made the lame to run, he gave the blind their sight. Now he seems invincible. He has shattered the greatest horror of all: the horror of death. That tomb was the place of desolation. He was laid there dead, a defeated man. He comes out alive, victorious over evil. Thus the tomb of death becomes the womb of new life.

The Lord is not in the tomb. The tomb is not his place. The disciples did not find him there. He is not to be found among the things of the world, but in the things of heaven. The empty tomb is good news for the disciples. In the depths of their horror, they are shown that their trust was not misplaced. We will not find him in the tomb. We will not find him if we search for worldly glory or riches. He has given us new life so that when his glory is revealed, it will also shine in us. Resurrexit sicut dixit! Alleluia!

The Easter Vigil

2008-03-22T00:10:00.002Z

The Readings may be found here.

We have come to Saturday evening at last. Those who have joined in the Triduum liturgies will, perhaps, be slightly worn out. The evening Mass of the Lord's Supper and the Solemn Liturgy of Our Lord's Passion, certainly as celebrated here at Blackfriars in Oxford, mean spending an impressive amount of time in Church - close to four hours in our case. We have celebrated our Lord's Passion and death by recalling and entering into the mysteries. Even though we all know the story, when we hear and see the Scriptures acted out for us, we cannot help but be left marked by the injustice and brutality of Jesus' death: all seems to be lost.

It is against this background that the joy of the resurrection breaks through at the Easter Vigil. We get a second wind despite our tiredness, because we know that death is not the end of the story, but the beginning. The austerity of Good Friday gives way to the light and life that the resurrection brings. What looked like defeat becomes the victory. In the liturgy of the Easter Vigil, we are given a survey of salvation history, where we see the unfolding of God's plan since the beginning of the world, a plan which reaches its high point in the death and resurrection of Christ.

What is enacted for us in the Triduum in such a careful and deliberate way should not only transform these few days and weeks, but our whole lives. We are shown what great love God has for us, and we are given a pattern for our lives. The death and resurrection of Christ effects an outpouring of grace that helps us to die to our pride, selfishness, anger, and greed, and rise to live lives that are joyful, peaceful, and useful in the service of God and neighbour. The message of the angel is that Christ is risen. Let us live each day as children of the risen Christ, rejoicing in the freedom won for us at so great a price.

Happy Easter!

Holy Saturday - Is nothing happening?

2008-03-22T00:01:00.002Z

'What is happening? Today there is a great silence over the earth, a great silence, and stillness, a great silence because the King sleeps; the earth was in terror and was still, because God slept in the flesh, and raised up those who were sleeping from the ages. God has died in the flesh, and the underworld has trembled. Truly he goes to seek out our first parent like a lost sheep; he wishes to visit those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death. He goes to free the prisoner Adam and his fellow-prisoner Eve from their pains, he who is God, and Adam's son.' - from an ancient homily for Holy Saturday

Good Friday

2008-03-21T20:33:00.004Z

Galatians 3:23, ' now before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until faith would be revealed' (NRSV).

Before faith came, as it were, we - being in the loins of Adam - were barred from partaking in the tree of life. We were cast out from the presence of Almighty God. 'He [God] drove out the man; and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim, and a sword flaming and turning to guard the way to the tree of life' (Genesis 3.24).

In Adam, and because of whom we are mortal, we lost our status as sons and daughters. We became bound to mortality - a kind of slavery. Our status became that of slaves.

But, thanks be to God, 'when the fullness of time had come, God sent his son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children' (Galatians 4.4-5).

The Son bore the name Jesus. He was/is the Son by nature, for, He is what the Father is. The Son enjoyed a naturalis aequalitas (natural equality) with the Father. Yet, for the sake of a lost world, for the sake of lost mankind, He did not scorn participation in humankind's nature. For our sake the Son of God, one who was/is equal with God, one who himself was/is God, was paraded as a common criminal before the eyes of the entire world. Then, He was raised up on a tree born-naked. He was made a curse. For, it is written, 'cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree'.

The devil and his little demons must have thought there is no way these human beings are going to get free now.

But, thanks be to God, the Father had something other in mind. When Jesus hung on that cross water and blood flowed from his side. As the Blood was flowing, the price for our redemption was being paid. 'He was handed over to death for our tresspasses ... ' (Romans 4. 25). That text from Romans goes on to say, and he 'was raised for our justification'. A justification that gives us access to the Father. Jesus' death swallowed up mortality and, in that death, we too can partake in that swallowing up of mortality. Thanks be to God.

John, the beloved disciple, said 'and just as Moses lifted up the serpeant in the wilderness, so must the Son of man be lifted up' (John 3.14). We know Moses lifted the serpeant as a sign for those who were going to die, that if they should have looked on the serpent they would be healed. In the same way, when we look at Jesus on the cross, freed from death, we are healed. Unlike the uplifted serpent, Christ uplifted is an enduring, eternal sign - ever-powerful.

Thus, Augustine was most right, when he said that if humankind were to forget that Christ died for humanity and it was effaced from the history of time then there would truly be dying.

Let us, therefore, look on Christ crucified.

Holy Week & Triduum at Blackfriars

2008-03-20T10:00:00.000Z

Maundy Thursday - The Institution of the most Holy Eucharist

2008-03-20T00:01:00.001Z

On this night Jesus enjoys a final meal with his disciples. But unlike any meal before this, Jesus does something extraordinary. Matthew’s Gospel tells us: “Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take and eat; this is my body.” And he took a chalice, and when he had given thanks ha gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins”. (Matt 26:26-29)

This happened during the ritual meal of the Passover, the deliverance of Israel from slavery. Yet, after the escape from Egypt, humanity remained bound to the slavery of sin. But Jesus doesn’t wish us to be slaves or servants. He wants to break our bonds and call us into the freedom of love that is his friendship. On the Cross he shows us the absolute depths of that love and mercy. In the Eucharist, “Jesus anticipates and makes present the sacrifice of the Cross and the victory of the resurrection”.1 In this miraculous gift, Jesus fulfils his promise given at his Ascension, “and behold, I am with you always, to the close of the age.” (Matt 28:20) In his sacred Body and Blood, Jesus gives his very self as our spiritual food, gives himself for the life of the world.

As Jesus prepares for the long and brutal journey towards death on Calvary, he leaves us this sign of his self-giving love. In washing his disciples feet, Jesus shows us that this love is always in the humble service of others. We are to imitate his self-giving. As brothers and sisters united in the one body, the Church and sharing in the one body, the Eucharist, Jesus calls us to love one another as he loved us, even unto death.

1. Pope Benedict XVI, Sacramentum Caritatis, Page 14.

The Sixth Station of the Cross

2008-03-19T00:05:00.002Z

Imagine the scene. It is a hot Friday, hours away from the great feast of the Passover Sabbath. You have come into the markets of Jerusalem, maybe for some last minute shopping. Perhaps you forgot something you need for the Passover meal; perhaps you are looking for a last minute bargain. The streets are thronged with people, all with the same idea as you. But added to this are the thousands of pilgrims who have come to the holy city to celebrate the feast, or to see the temple, perhaps for the first time. It is very hot, dusty and very, very full. There are so many people you cannot see the stalls of foot. All around you are strangers laughing, talking, sellers shouting. The air is full of excitement, confusion, rushing! You are pushing against the crowd, trying so hard to move forward, sometimes fearing that you will be trampled on. You hear the bleating of lambs in the background, being sold for the Passover meal. You know you are near the stalls. Soon you will get what you need, and return to the peace of your home, leaving all this madness behind. Soon you will be with your family, preparing for Passover.

You finally see what you need, and after some haggling with the stall owner, you are ready to leave. Finally, you can get out of the city centre, and get home to the cool of your home. You turn to face home, but really all you can see are thousands of faces, and the loud hum made up of many noises. Slowly you push your way against the crowd, nervously clutching your purchases, lest you lose them. The last thing you want is to have to go back to a stall. Suddenly you notice that the noise of the people in front of you changes from the usual drone, to something quite more excited. You hear men and women shouting “all right, all right”, with a sense of panic. You notice people darting away, as if push by something you cannot see. But suddenly you see what is causing the panic, what is causing the crowd to dart out the way. You see metal reflecting the sun, moving through the crowd. You now realise that a group of Roman soldiers are moving through the crowded street. You immediate fear is that there will be trouble, maybe the frightened crowd with surge forward at once, causing a crush. “Please God, not now” you say quietly to yourself. Suddenly you realise that the group of Romans are moving towards you. You decide the best thing to do is stand out of the way, against the wall, and pray you don’t attract their attention, just hope the pass by.

As they get closer you see in the middle of the soldiers three men, carrying large wooden beams. An execution, on today of all days, with the city thronged. Typical Romans, always causing problems for us. As they get closer, you can see the three wretches more clearly. The one in the middle has bad bruising to his face, a cut eye, bloody lips, and cuts on his head. His hair and beard are matted with blood. His tunic, also, has blood on it. He falls face down on the ground; the soldiers are kicking him, in the rips, in the head, ordering him to get up. You hear the crack of a whip, causing you to flinch with each crack. You don’t want to even think about it. Then you see a solider pull a man from the crowd, ordering him to help the man off the ground, and help him with the wooden beam. They move forward closer to you, by now their faces are visible, and the voices of the soldiers clearer. The soldiers are shouting like mad men; they seem to be more animal than human. You decide the best thing to do is keep your head down, not to attract attention. Look at the man pulled from the crowd, you don’t want the same the happen to you, do you? They pass by, you are so nervous, you shake, you turn your head away, still clutching you parcels. Just pass by, you thing, just leave. Your heart is pounding.

You still don’t know what possessed you, but for an instant you looked up. There, staring into you face was one of the condemned men, the one who had been on the ground. Through the blood you see his eyes, those piercing eyes. He sees everything inside you, your fear, your worry, your shame. In that instant it all disappears, you just see those beautiful eyes behind the bruised face. The noise around you has disappeared, in that moment there is only you and him. What happened to your parcel, who knows? Before you realised it you were moving towards him, you felt something, perhaps it was the soldiers pushing you, you don’t remember. Suddenly you were beside him, into whose eyes you were lost. You rip off part of your veil, and gently wipe his bloodied face. Those eyes continue to pierce you; this stranger knows everything about you. You want to weep, weep with pain at his pain, weep with joy because of his ..., because of his... - you don’t know. But he does. Before you realise it, you were thrown to one side, and the group have moved off. You run into the shade, between two buildings, shaking, clutching the rag you wiped his face with, holding it close to you. Who was that man, how did he know me, how did he know my fear, my shame, the darkness inside me. And how, by looking at me, did he take it all away. Those eyes saw more than my body, they saw my soul.

There will be times when we, like Veronica, will have to push against the crowd to witness to the face of Jesus in our world. There will be times when we will find it hard to recognise his face in those around us. But the face of Jesus is always there looking at us, but we have to be prepared to see it. And if necessary risk out anonymity to witness to it. Sometimes we will have to lift our faces up to others so that they can see the loving stare of Jesus. Let us pray that it will always be a face of mercy, not a face disfigured by hate.

Second Station of the Cross

2008-03-18T00:01:00.000Z

Br Daniel Jeffries, OP gives a reflection on the Second Station of the Cross - Jesus takes up the Cross - in a video specially pre-recorded for Godzdogz.

Ecumenical Stations of the Cross

2008-03-17T22:35:00.002Z

In association with Churches Together in Central Oxford, Blackfriars hosted an ecumenical Stations of the Cross which was led by Br Robert Verrill OP. Christian leaders and members of the different Christian communities in central Oxford, including three Dominican students, gave a short reflection at each station. Tonight's gathering was a more intimate witness to our common faith in the one Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ who gave His life on the Cross for our salvation; on Wednesday, we will take this faith into the streets of Oxford with an ecumenical Walk of Witness.

Below are some photos from tonight's event:

The Stations of the Cross

2008-03-17T00:05:00.000Z

In the Stations of the Cross, we contemplate Jesus’ last hours of suffering, as we join Him on His final journey to Calvary. When confronted with this suffering we have to face the fact that our redemption comes at a huge price – Jesus, true God and true man is put to death.

It might be tempting to close our minds to this fact. We might prefer just to enjoy Christ’s glorious resurrection without thinking about the intense agony He went through for our sake. However, we need to first come to terms with Jesus’ passion if we are to believe in His resurrection. Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Sometimes it is necessary to suffer. Jesus chose to suffer because of His great love for us. So whilst the Stations of the Cross may make us feel great sorrow for the terrible consequences of our sins, we should not forget that Jesus loves us so much that He takes these consequences on Himself.

Today we will be holding an ecumenical Stations of the Cross, where members of different churches around Oxford have been invited to meditate on Christ’s passion. Tomorrow and on Wednesday, two Dominican brethren will be leading our own Stations of the Cross, and videos of their reflections will be posted on Godzdogz.

Join us for Stations of the Cross

2008-03-17T00:02:00.000Z

Palm Sunday - Prophetic witness with Christ

2008-03-16T00:01:00.002Z

Readings: Mt 21:1-11; Is 50: 4-7; Phil 2:6-11; Mt 26:14-27:66.

Palm Sunday begins holy week, the ‘great week’ of our annual commemoration of God’s work for our redemption, the essential liturgical elements of which are attested as early as the fourth century. Jesus goes up to Jerusalem in triumph, accompanied by his disciples, acclaimed by the populace as a prophet and wonder-worker, even as the long-awaited Messiah. Yet, some days later, he will be led out of the city, abandoned by his disciples, to an ignominious execution accompanied by the jeers of the crowd. What had happened?

Familiarity might lead us to overlook a certain ambiguity or tension in the accounts of the Passion. Take the Gospel we read before our solemn and joyful entry into the church, bearing palms. The Evangelist cites this as being the fulfilment of Zechariah’s prophecy of the expected Messiah: “Look, your King comes to you; he is humble, he rides on a donkey, and on a colt…”(Zech 9:9). Matthew in his paraphrase omits the phrase “righteous and victorious is he”, so emphasising, some scholars think, Jesus’ humility. But Jesus rides into Jerusalem, which is an ostentatious action: people would normally approach a place of pilgrimage on foot. Jesus, then, is demonstrating his God-given authority, but that authority is not what people expect. The horse in ancient cultures was primarily a weapon of power, of war - the modern parallel might be a military tank: for example, Pharaoh’s chariots and horsemen in the Exodus, or the psalmist’s warning of trusting to human power rather than God “a vain hope for safety is the horse, despite its power, it cannot save”(Ps 33:17). But Jesus does not approach Jerusalem as a conquering ruler, but as a peaceful king, riding an ass, which also reflects the typology of the expected Messiah: like Moses, who places his wife and children upon an ass (Ex 4:19-20) and Solomon, riding his father David’s mule to be anointed king (1 Kings 1:38,44), perhaps recalled by the acclaim of the crowd: “Hosanna to the son of David”.

Immediately after the passage we have listened to, we have Matthew’s account of Jesus cleansing the Temple, driving out the moneychangers, those who have reduced his Father’s house to “a den of bandits” (Mt 21: 12-14). Jesus’ action is best seen as a symbolic action, typical of a prophet; further emphasised by his healing the blind and the lame, who, according to Jewish tradition, should not have been admitted into the Temple precincts. Jesus is challenging the order of worship in his own day, and in so doing winning no friends: Jerusalem’s economy depended largely on pilgrims spending money during major religious festivals. Not surprisingly, this draws criticism: the chief priests and elders ask “By what authority do you do these things?”(Mt 21:23).

Now for us, this side of Easter, our processing with palms is a symbol of our baptismal authority, of our having become members of the body of Christ. Will we exercise that authority, the authority of loving service, even to the cross? Because taking up our cross, taking up the burden of speaking truth to kings, principalities, and powers, is also our way to resurrection.

The Silence of Joseph

2008-03-15T00:01:00.001Z

Readings: 2 Samuel 7:4-5a, 12-14a, 16; Psalm 89; Romans 4:13, 16-18, 22; Matthew 1:16, 18-21, 24a

Joseph was told in the dream to accept Mary as his wife because the child that is going to be born of her will be born through the Holy Spirit. These words must have been difficult to hear for a young man who is about to start his own family. What was the guarantee that the words heard in a dream will come true? Was the dream just a dream?

Yet no word of Joseph is recorded in the Gospel. He is silent.

We do not know if he hesitated, we do not know what was his prayer before he accepted the angel’s words. What are we to make of it?
We have to look at his actions. Joseph followed Abraham, his ancestor, in the way he accepted God’s promise. He did it with the silence of faith. Joseph believed the angel and took Mary into his house. In this way he was not only privileged to be a parent to Jesus but he was also made a witness to God’s Word. Through his faith Joseph inherited the promise given to Abraham, that he ‘would become a father to many nations.’

It is in silence and faith that we meet the Word of God and Joseph is for us a model to imitate.

The Fifth Glorious Mystery - The Coronation of Our Lady

2008-03-14T00:01:00.003Z

In this final decade of the Glorious Mysteries, it is the turn of Our Blessed Mother to be rewarded for her “YES” to God. After the ascension into heaven, and as mother of Jesus her Son, she is entitled to share in the universal monarchy. What makes this more fitting is that her Son, Jesus, crowned her and they are united together once again for all eternity. Her “yes” to God was the most important word said since the creation. Here Our Blessed Mother shares in the Kingship of Heaven with God; she is the Queen of all creatures. She can be Queen in this sense by reason of her fullness of grace and the charity which raises her above all creatures. Now she reigns above all. As Queen of Heaven, Our Blessed Mother can be an intercessor for us to her Son Jesus Christ.

This decade of the rosary shows us not only the splendour of Our Blessed Mother but of the riches that await us in Heaven. As we finally reach our destination we pray in this decade that we all will be united with her in Heaven to share with her its glories for all eternity. Let that be our prayer as we meditate on this holy mystery.

Our Lady Queen of Heaven, pray for us.

The Fourth Glorious Mystery - The Assumption

2008-03-13T00:01:00.001Z

This mystery presents, perhaps most clearly, how concrete our hope in God is. It is as concrete as the fact that we are bodily creatures. What difference does it make for Christian hope? It is of revolutionary importance: we do not spend this present life trying to escape from the body, we do not believe that the body is evil. The Christian way of life is a witness to the fact that our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. It is in the body that we experience God and it is our hope and faith that we will rise again and live forever in our transfigured bodies. What it means exactly we still do not know, but we already know that Mary is the first disciple of Christ who is already with God body and soul. She is the one in whom the Holy Spirit lived most perfectly as she carried God’s Word in her body, and in her we see the model of the whole community of believers.

This obviously invites a deeper reflection on our attitude to ‘bodily matters’. Both our bodies and souls have been sanctified through Christ's death. If this is so then every act of violence, every suffering that we inflict on others, every help that we refuse to give to the hungry, is in a sense an act of desecration.

Perhaps awareness of the fact that our bodies are in such an intimate relationship with the Holy Spirit will help us understand the Christian stance on many ethical issues such as human-cell-engineering. Humanity is an ‘inspired’ race and Mary reminds us of it.