Receive the Power

Lately there has been a lot of media interest concerning our young people, their insecurities and fears, and the gangs and violence that are sometimes the result of their longing for love in a troubled world. Newspapers typically concentrate on the negative aspects of youth culture today, so they have largely ignored what the Australian government calls “the largest youth event in the world”. This past week hundreds of thousands of young people have been gathering in Sydney for the 23rd World Youth Day (WYD08), an event that has brought more people to Sydney than the 2000 Olympics did and which presents a positive and encouraging vision for young people today. For Pope Benedict said in his World Youth Day (WYD) message: “only Christ can fulfill the most intimate aspirations that are in the heart of each person. Only Christ can humanize humanity and lead it to its ‘divinization’.”

The young people who have gone to WYD will hopefully discover more profoundly the truth that God is the one for whom our peers long. For those whose humanity is shrunken by fear, Christ our light says: “Take heart, it is I; have no fear” (Mt 14:27), and he reaches out his hand in the darkness. For those who desire to be loved and to know the shelter of a home, Jesus says “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him” (John 14:23). For those who seek power and influence, the Lord promises a real power that will last, the Holy Spirit who is the power of divine love. Indeed, the theme for WYD08 is “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses” (Acts 1:8).

However, as Pope Benedict XVI said last week, WYD is “not just these three or four days, but the entire journey that precedes it and follows it.” It is a stopping point in the pilgrim journey of each of us, and also a gathering of the universal Church in which young people can see “from different points of view and different parts of the world [that] we’re moving forward towards Christ and towards communion.” Since this is what it means to be part of the Church, so, all of us, from anywhere in the world, can also participate in the essence of WYD. We too, through our participation in the sacraments and especially the Eucharist have received the power of the Holy Spirit, and because of God’s Spirit, we are rejuvenated and ever-young.

Therefore, we Christians who have received the Spirit are empowered to be witnesses to the love of God and his grace. This is precisely what troubled young people need today: role models who can inspire them by their witness to a good life that is happier and more fulfilling than anything the world offers. Through the witness of a joyful faith in Christ, hope in God’s promises and love inflamed by the Spirit, we can counteract the despair and violence presented by certain elements of the media, video games and popular culture.

One such role model is the lay Dominican, Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati (d.1925), whose incorrupt body has been taken to Sydney for the veneration of the youth, and he is the saintly patron of WYD08. Born in 1901 to an agnostic father who owned a liberal newspaper in Milan, Pier combined prayerful piety with an active love for the poor. Rooted in prayer, he also loved politics, sports and the outdoors and he was known for his humour and joie de vivre. His promising life was painfully cut short by polio and he died at the age of 24. As his sister said, “He represented the finest in Christian youth: pure, happy, enthusiastic about everything that is good and beautiful.” To the modern world burdened by cynicism and angst, his holy life offers a brilliant witness: a life rich in meaning, purpose, and peace because of the power of the Holy Spirit. The good life God promises is open to all of us if we are open to God’s free gift of grace and ask the Spirit to “help us in our weakness” (Romans 8:26).

fr John-Martin McGowan OP RIP

Please pray for the eternal repose of our brother John-Martin McGowan,

a member of the Edinburgh community, who died suddenly today

Born: 11 May 1949

Professed: 14 November 1981

Died: 16 June 2008

Requiescat in pace

Final Week of Term at Oxford

Eighth week of Trinity term in Oxford is normally very busy. Some of us have finished gruelling exams at the University Schools, others are preparing for oral exams in Blackfriars, or have final essays and tutorials to complete, and of course there are friends to say good bye to as the academic year draws to a close and people disperse for the summer. Many of the Dominican students will spend time away from the Oxford priory this summer doing pastoral work in various parishes and priories in England and Scotland.

Godzdogz will begin the summer with a series of posts to mark the inauguration of the Year of St Paul (28 June 2008 - 29 June 2009). We also hope to bring you reports from our parish assignments and from the annual Dominican pilgrimage to Lourdes.

Below are photos from some final week events that took place in the Oxford priory. On 11 June we had a dinner for those students who have completed their course of studies at Blackfriars. The Leavers' Dinner was a chance for the community to congratulate them and wish them well for the future.




Above, the Regent of Studies, fr Richard Finn OP with this year's Leavers: Mr Sean Hilscher, Mrs Katie Richardson, Mr Alexander Norman and fr Didier Croonenberghs OP.

Information about courses at Blackfriars Hall is available online.

Another annual event took place on 13 June: the Hall & Studium Garden Party. This is always a convivial and relaxed occasion which even the overcast British weather could not dampen. Students and tutors mingle and socialise together over a glass of wine and some strawberries, and they recollect the events of the past year.









Finally, on 14 June, the children of the 9.30am Mass congregation put on a fantastic performance of 'Joseph and his Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'. This was their contribution to our on-going attempts to raise money for the Priory Renewal Fund.






Above, fr David Rocks OP and fr Thomas Skeats OP lent their musical talents to the band who performed Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical.

Oxford's Corpus Christi Procession

This year's Oxford deanery Corpus Christi procession was held on 1 June, the Sunday after Corpus Christi. As usual, the Procession began at the Oxford Oratory and made its way through the streets to the Oxford University Catholic Chaplaincy, pausing at Blackfriars.





As the Blessed Sacrament was brought into Blackfriars church, a schola of friars sang the Sequence hymn 'Lauda Sion', written by their confrere St Thomas Aquinas. The Blessed Sacrament was then exposed on the High Altar and Bishop William Kenney CP, who was leading the procession, preached on the Eucharist.



The bishop reflected on the Old Testament figure of Melchisedech and saw in this enigmatic person an indication that the Eucharist called on us to welcome the stranger in our midst. We were also reminded that priests were ordained in the order of Melchisedech, this anonymous, humble and somewhat counter-cultural Biblical figure, and so were called in some sense to be like him.

Below are more photos from the day:









"What could be more wonderful than this? No other sacrament has greater healing power; through it sins are purged away, virtues are increased, and the soul is enriched with an abundance of every spiritual gift. It is offered in the Church for the living and the dead, so that what was instituted for the salvation of all may be for the benefit of all. Yet, in the end, no one can fully express the sweetness of this sacrament, in which spiritual delight is tasted at its very source, and in which we renew the memory of that surpassing love for us which Christ revealed in his passion."

- St Thomas Aquinas

fr Vincent's Diamond Jubilee

On the feast of the Visitation, the English Dominican Province celebrated the Diamond Jubilee of fr Vincent Cook OP who has been at Blackfriars, Oxford for the past 20 years. Many of those who have visited Blackfriars will have seen fr Vincent being helped by his younger brethren and led into church or around Oxford. Fewer realise that Vincent's example of humility, gentle humour and quiet fidelity has helped many a young Dominican to grow and has led them into a deeper appreciation of their vocation.


As the Prior Provincial, fr John Farrell OP, said in his homily, Vincent, like Our Lady and St Elizabeth at the Visitation, has been engaged in the most ordinary things of life - cleaning, washing, preparing food, 'home making' - but this ordinary living has been filled with grace and has led to an extraordinary witness. In Vincent's case, there is a palpable sense of holiness and the Provincial cited psalm 1: "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night." Vincent is noted for his unostentatious observance, his delight in quietly living the religious life, and his detachment from the worldly concerns of younger friars!


Characteristically, Vincent's celebration was simple but beautiful. His family travelled from Blackburn to be with him and after Mass there was a reception in the Refectory for his family and friends.




We wish fr Vincent many more happy years and thank God for gracing him - and us, through him - with 60 years of Dominican religious life.


Above, fr Vincent is watched by the Prior, fr Simon Gaine OP, as he picks out the message left in braille on his anniversary cake. Taken from Revelation 2:17, the Latin Vulgate text reads: "Vincenti dabo manna absconditum", "to the one who is victorious I will give a hidden manna".

The Dalai Lama at Blackfriars

Having already hosted Cardinal Walter Kasper this term, Blackfriars received another distinguished visitor in the person of the Dalai Lama who came to take part in a colloquium on 'Christian and Buddhist Contemplative Prayer'.

The proceedings were opened by Fr Paul Murray, an Irish Dominican who lectures at the Angelicum in Rome. He spoke about contemplative prayer in the Dominican tradition, drawing in particular on the writings of three of the Order's great spiritual teachers, John Tauler, Catherine of Siena and Meister Eckhart. The difficulties of the 14th century, in which these three lived, reflect our own difficulties in many ways, he said, and their experience of and teaching about contemplative prayer can lead us also to compassion and service.

Fr Eugene McCaffrey, an Irish Carmelite from Tabor Retreat House in Preston, spoke about contemplative prayer in the Carmelite tradition. He spoke particularly about St John of the Cross, and of the 'dark nights' that accompany the experience of prayer, times when the one who prays feels that they have lost everything, including, and especially, God. These experiences enabled John of the Cross to write the most beautiful of all spiritual poetry in which the soul's loss is made good beyond her expectations in her union with, and even transformation into, the beloved (amada en el amado trasformada): then everything becomes hers, even God.




The Dalai Lama spoke about his involvement in conversations with Christians, in the first place with Thomas Merton who spent three days with him at Dharamsala. He remembers the great boots Merton was wearing and also their discussion about the Buddhist belief in endless life compared with the Christian belief in one life alone. 'Only this life, created by God', His Holiness quoted Merton as saying, and repeated it ... 'only this life, created by God'. Which implies, he continued, an extraordinary intimacy between God and the one who is thus created. It seems as if Merton thus succeeded in communicating one of the central teachings of Christianity to the Dalai Lama and that he has pondered it ever since.

In speaking about Buddhist contemplation His Holiness said that he could agree with all that had been said by the Christian speakers if the term 'God' were substituted  with the phrase 'ultimate reality'. Buddhism also recognises three stages in seeking understanding and wisdom, the stage of knowledge when one learns about things from teachers, the stage of critical enquiry when one engages in study and reflection, and the stage of meditation or contemplation when one seeks to understand reality and illusion. In both Buddhism and Christianity there is the emphasis on compassion and on the fact that contemplative prayer must issue in service of others and a concern for peace.





There was then some discussion about various aspects of Buddhism and links with Christian traditions of prayer. The most fascinating question was whether the reality that is sought in prayer, whether it is called 'ultimate reality' or 'God', is a reality that seeks us.





It was a wonderful moment for Blackfriars. The Dalai Lama had joined the community for midday prayer before the colloquium: his prayerful reverence towards the altar, the tabernacle, and the brethren, was very deeply moving. He spoke as powerfully in the way he was present with us and to us as he did by his words.

Dominican Pilgrimage to Walsingham

It has become customary for the Dominican family and friends to go on pilgrimage to Our Lady's Shrine at Walsingham on the third Sunday of May. This year, our new Provincial, fr John Farrell OP, joined us and preached at the Shrine Mass for the feast of the Most Holy Trinity. Following the Mass, we had a convivial lunch in the grounds of the Shrine and then walked in procession to the village while praying the Rosary and singing hymns. One of our novices, following an ancient custom, removed his shoes outside the 14th-century Slipper Chapel, and walked the Holy Mile barefoot. When we arrived in the village, there was some time to explore the village and pay an ecumenical visit to the Anglican shrine. We ended with sung Vespers, exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and Benediction. 

Below are more photos from this event:



The brothers from Oxford outside the priory before the blessing of the pilgrims and coach that marked the start of the pilgrimage


Sr Miryam OP, who is chaplaincy assistant at the Cambridge University Catholic Chaplaincy, with students


The Provincial talking with Cambridge University students after the Mass


fr Martin OFM Cap with fr Thomas Skeats OP


fr Fabian Radcliffe OP and fr Leon Pereira OP, the new prior of Leicester, with students from the Leicester University chaplaincy


The novices lead the procession, bearing the statue of Our Lady of Walsingham to the village church






The Dominican 'Salve Regina' is sung outside the village church of the Annunciation


"The angel's greeting does not leave Mary at home ... She is propelled on a journey, which will take her to Elizabeth's home, to Bethlehem, to Egypt, to Jerusalem. It is a journey that will lead to her heart being pierced, and to the foot of the cross. It is a journey that will eventually carry her to heaven and glory ... So the Rosary is also the prayer for those who journey, of pilgrims ... it is a prayer of pilgrimage around the Order."

- fr Timothy Radcliffe OP

Cardinal Kasper in Oxford

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.

Blackfriars Spring Fayre

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

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.

Join us for Compline

COMPLINE BEGINS AGAIN ON WEDNESDAY 23 APRIL 2008 ...

News and views from the Provincial Chapter

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 at Blackfriars

Ecumenical Stations of the Cross

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:

Join us for Stations of the Cross

Quiz Night at Blackfriars

As part of our fund-raising for the Priory Renewal Fund, a Quiz Night was held in the refectory at Blackfriars, Oxford on 1 March. The quiz was organised by Br David Rocks OP with help from members of our 9.30am Mass congregation. As it was the eve of Laetare Sunday, the spirit of good fun and laughter seemed especially appropriate. Below are some photos from this event:

Please Help Us!

The Dominican community at Blackfriars Oxford, which is the Studentate house of the English Province, has recently launched a fund-raising campaign for the renewal of our Priory.

There is information, photos, and news at the new Priory Renewal Fund website. Click here to visit it.

We hope that Godzdogz readers will visit the site, learn about our needs, consider making a contribution and spread the word. Thank you for your support.

Blogging Colloquium at Oxford Chaplaincy

Recognising the recent upsurge in blogs and blog readers in the world, a special Colloquium has been organised by the Oxford University Newman Society, which will be held at the Catholic Chaplaincy on Friday, February 15, 2008 from 6-8:30 pm on the theme, ‘Blogging and the Church.’

This event will be quite informal and interactive and will discuss the nature of blogs: —What effect have blogs had on the Church? Who writes blog, who reads them? Are blogs an efficient way to disseminate information? What are the responsibilities of bloggers? Are blogs social forces?

The speakers are:

Rev’d Fr John T Zuhlsdorf, author of ‘What does the Prayer Really Say?’

Rev’d Fr John Hunwicke, author of ‘Fr Hunwicke’s Liturgical Notes’

Br Lawrence Lew OP, ‘contributor on ‘Godzdogz’

Matthew Doyle, author of ‘Lacrimarum Valle’

Directions to the Oxford University Catholic Chaplaincy can be found at:
http://www.catholic-chaplaincy.org.uk/how_to_find_us.html

For more information please contact, Yaqoob K Bangash, President, Oxford
University Newman Society: yaqoob.bangash@keble.ox.ac.uk

Recent Ordinations

On 15 December 2007, fr Didier Croonenberghs OP, was ordained a priest by Cardinal Daneels in Brussels. Fr Didier is a member of the Dominican General Vicariate of Southern Belgium, and is currently studying theology at Oxford University. Below are some photos from his ordination and also from his first Mass at which Fr Timothy Radcliffe OP preached. More photos from these occasions may be seen here.

We are also happy to report that fr David Rocks OP, a member of the Irish Dominican Province and studying in Blackfriars Studium, Oxford, was ordained a deacon in Dublin on 5 January 2008. Br David continues his studies in Oxford and writes for Godzdogz.

Aquinas Seminar, Hilary 2008

All are welcome to this term's series of seminars on aspects of the thought of St Thomas Aquinas. It takes place on Thursdays from 4.30pm - 6.00pm in the Aula at Blackfriars (64 St Giles', Oxford).

The list of speakers and topics is as follows:

24 January - Ralph McInerny on 'Ordinary Knowledge of God'

31 January - Aidan Nichols OP on 'St Thomas and the Sacramental Liturgy'

7 February - Joshua Hochschild on 'Analogy in Logic, Metaphysics & Theology: Did St Thomas change his mind about Proportionality?'

14 February - Hector Delbosco on 'The Convergence between Aristotelianism and Platonism in Aquinas' Metaphysics'

21 February - Lawrence Dewan OP on 'First Known Being and the Birth of Metaphysics'

28 February - Fran O'Rourke on 'Joyce and Aquinas'

The Dominican Seminar

The annual Dominican Seminar this year was held at Hinsley Hall, Leeds, from the 3rd to the 5th of January. The seminar is a chance for Dominican Friars, Sisters and Laity to meet, and have talks and discussions. This year's theme was 'Living the Good Life'. Proceedings were opened with a talk on virtue ethics by the Student Master, Fr. Vivian Boland. Other talks given were on the Transfiguration, on teaching ethics and the moral life, on being good in a world of 'spin', and on the representation of judgement and eternity in art.

The students of the English province were represented by Brs. Lawrence Lew, Romero Radix and Robert Gay. Br. Robert gave a talk entitled 'Creation, Ecology and Redemption: Seeing God in a blade of grass'. In his presentation he outlined something of the complex and intricate nature of interactions that exist in the natural world, and the dependence of human life on these interactions. He suggested how the findings of ecological study and the accounts of creation and redemption in Scripture help us to develop a sense of our stewardship of creation. He then offered some thoughts on how we might develop a more 'Catholic' understanding of environmental concerns that places them in the context of wider issues such as the sanctity of human life.

The seminar was not all work and no play. Much time was spent in informal discussion of the topics raised, and sharing time with fellow Dominicans, catching up on the latest news from around the country.

Scenes from the Provincial Assembly 2007

From 17 - 19 December, the brothers of the English Dominican province gathered for an assembly, several months ahead of the provincial chapter, to discuss various reports pertaining to the life and mission of the province. The meeting was characterised by good humour and fraternal charity coupled with a zeal for preaching the Gospel and for our religious life. As we came together to pray, listen, reflect and discuss aspects of our life and work today, one could appreciate anew the words of the psalm: 'Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity' (133:1).

Below are some photos from the assembly:









Two brothers were instituted as lectors, and another two brothers as acolytes in the Mass on 19 December celebrated by the Provincial. These are instituted ministries in service of the Word and the Altar, respectively.

Finally, below are sights and sounds from Vespers including a video of the O antiphon 'O Radix' sung at Vespers on 19 December together with the Magnificat in Latin.







'O Root of Jesse, set up as a sign for the peoples, before whom kings will stop their mouths, to whom the nations will pray: come to set us free, delay no more.'

Salve procession

A provincial assembly is being held in Oxford from 17 -19 December, and we shall be bringing you photos and videos from this event, which is a rare opportunity for the English Dominicans to come together and enjoy our fraternal life as a province. Below is a live video recording of the 'Salve Regina' sung to Dominican chant after Vespers on the first day of the Assembly.

November Days

Nature parades the last of her autumn splendour but will soon be completely stripped for the winter months ahead. It is a dead time, the fag-end of the year, short evenings and cold mornings, days neither wet nor dry, the sun trying to break through. ‘The end is nigh’, we might be tempted to cry, as nature retreats underground.

This dead month of November is the month of the dead. Remembrance Sunday comes with its quiet solemnity, its sad memories of young lives cut short, the tragic waste of human life that the last century saw (and that, sadly, continues). At Mass all this month we remember the dead, all those we have loved, young and old. Some died in the fullness of their years, others before their lives were fully underway. We remember all who have gone before us, parents, children and friends whom we continue to mourn and whom we continue to miss.

On the banks of the river Boyne in county Meath stands a structure older than the pyramids. The passage grave or tumulus at Newgrange was constructed some five thousand years ago. Its builders seem to have been preoccupied with winter and with death. Above the entrance to the passage there is a small opening through which the sun shines on the morning of 21 December, its rays penetrating some fifty feet to the inner chamber where the ashes of the dead were kept. It is an extraordinary construction that required painstaking and precise work and nobody knows for sure what it means.

At Newgrange the mid-winter sun reached — and still reaches — deep within the earth to illuminate the place of the dead. Because of this some think it is a very ancient expression of hope in an after life. In the moment when the northern hemisphere is at its lowest point these primitive but sophisticated people looked, it seems, to the return of the sun, to a light illuminating the winter darkness, to some way in which the life-giving rays of the sun might reach the place of the dead.

We stand on firmer ground when we read the Book of Daniel, written a century and a half before the birth of Christ. It contains the first clear enunciation in the Bible of belief in the resurrection of the dead. ‘Those who lie sleeping will awake’, it says, the just to receive the reward of ‘everlasting life’ (Daniel 12.2). It is also the first time that the phrase ‘everlasting life’ occurs in the Bible. Those who have taught others goodness and virtue will ‘shine like stars for all eternity’. This is quite a change from the grey and mouldy Hades of which the earlier Hebrews spoke, a place of ghosts, neither alive nor dead, an in-between place not reached by God’s light and from which God is not praised.

The firmest ground of all is the Christian hope in the resurrection of the dead founded on the resurrection of Jesus Christ. In one of the earliest New Testament texts to witness to this hope Saint Paul says ‘we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and that it will be the same for those who have died in Jesus: God will bring them with him’ (1 Thessalonians 4.14).

There is an end time to which we look forward which will not be a November end, nor a winter time of mourning and tears. Even in these dog days of the year’s decline we look forward to an eternal spring in which all that has been sown in tears will be reaped in joy. Much has been wasted, much has been left unfinished, much has already been surrendered to death. But nothing is lost because Jesus Christ ‘has offered one single sacrifice for sins and then taken his place forever at the right hand of God’ (Hebrews 10.12). When the Son of Man comes in power and glory he will send out his angels ‘to gather his chosen from the four winds’ (Mark 13.26-17).

For the present we wait as we protect ourselves from the wintry chill. In many churches a ‘Book of the Dead’ is placed on the altar and left there throughout November. We hope that all whose names are entered in such books — together with all our deceased relatives and friends — also have their names inscribed in the Lord’s ‘book of life’ (Daniel 12.1). We pray that their good deeds have gone with them and that when winter has passed they will shine like stars for ever and ever (Daniel 12.3).

Remember, remember...

On 2 November, the Master of Ceremonies at Blackfriars, Oxford puts up a notice saying: "Remember, remember the second of November". This, of course, is an allusion to the chant sung by English children in the run up to Guy Fawkes' day which falls on the fifth of November. But what are we friars asked to remember on the 2 November?

We are reminded to don the black cappa of the Order for Mass and the major offices:


November is a month for remembering, for calling to mind those holy souls who rejoice in heaven (All Saints' Day) and those who undergo purgation (All Souls' Day). In addition to these feasts of the universal Church, Dominicans also celebrate their own feasts, All Saints of the Order of Preachers on 7 November and Commemoration of our Deceased Brothers and Sisters on 8 November.


As this is a month for remembering the dead, Godzdogz will be recalling the lives of deceased English Dominicans. Watch this space.

Dominican Study Week in Dubrovnik

At the beginning of September three Dominican students from Blackfriars, Oxford travelled to the Croatian city of Dubrovnik to take part in the tenth Dominican Study Week. The theme this year was 'Dominican Spirituality in the modern world', and during the course of the week talks were given on topics relating to the way in which Dominicans live out their Christian vocation today. The Study Week is an important opportunity for Dominican students from different European countries to come together and share their experiences. This year students from England, Croatia, Poland and Spain took part.



To reflect the international character of the Study Week, we sang the Divine Office and the Mass in Latin each day, although the talks were given in English, Italian and Croatian, with a simultaneous translation service.

During the week we were guests of the community of friars at the beautiful 14th-century Dominican priory which clings to the walls of the old city. With its rich religious and cultural history, Dubrovnik is a true gem of a city nestled on the Adriatic coast in the extreme south of Croatia; the Dominican priory is just minutes from the beach and enjoys fantastic views of the sea. Although the city suffered heavy damage during the Balkan conflict some sixteen years ago today the city has been fully restored to its original splendour and tourists throng to the city. Bernard Shaw was surely right when he wrote that “those who seek paradise on earth should come to Dubrovnik and see Dubrovnik”.