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| Editorial Welcome to this the third issue of the New Beacon. In this issue we have, as usual, a very wide variety of articles and thoughts which we hope will inform, challenge and entertain! Longer Articles cover topics such as a very moving, positive and personal response to a cancer diagnosis, an up-to-date and relevant article from the Couple to Couple league, a challenge for our parish to respond to “The Common Good”, Peter Berners-Lee asking the question “Is it ever right to lie?” and a brief history of the SVP. Shorter pieces include a mini diary of one “At Your Word, Lord” group in the parish, a churchgoing nursery rhyme, a thought provoking world view from Billy Graham's daughter, Anne, a story about donkeys at Mass, a theory on the origins of the twelve days of Christmas, and some thoughts from Eric Harber on the direction (or otherwise) of the computer and electronic industries. Newsworthy events that we report on in this issue include the homily given at the 150th anniversary celebration at Knock, a passion play in Surrey, some inspiring words on the New Dawn Conference 2004, a story of a healing through the good offices of a Potta Evangelist Healing session, and an article about the profession, at Tyburn convent, of one of our own parishioners, There is our usual gossip column – do keep those titbits coming! We meet another parishioner. Then there is a crossword, which you are warned may be quite difficult. A book token is offered for the first correct solution! Finally a thought provoking image of Christ in our world today – how, when and where do we see the image of Christ? Click here to go back to the top |
| You have got cancer! Malcolm Smith The spirit is the true self Cicero De Republica THE FOUR WORDS that comprise my title must be one of the most devastating statements that anyone can hear. Mary was with me when an urologist said them to me and we immediately saw a future that was filled with pain and the threat of early death. In sunshine we did not even notice we sat outside the hospital on a wooden bench and cried on each other’s shoulders as the life we had built together with our family seemed to be at an end. That first day of knowing that some evil thing inside my body was threatening us was three years ago – and none of the things we feared then have happened. The treatment I have had, and am still having, has attacked the cancer head on and, if not quite neutralising it, has reduced its potency to a mere shadow of what it might have become if left untreated. The care, complete honesty and understanding I have received, and am receiving, from the dedicated medical professionals who care for cancer patients has been a huge strength and source of hope. They were the first ones who turned our thoughts away from our fears to positive hope instead. The support and prayers of friends have borne us up on a cushion of love and caring, and belief that God would not abandon us. Whether my present state of reasonably(!) robust health is due to prayer I do not know; it not something I would claim. My present state of spiritual well-being and experience of being loved I do think can be attributed to the prayers of all those who cared enough to remember me, and Mary, in their prayers. My family, led by Mary, have walked hand in hand every step of the way with me; most parents probably have times of doubt as to how much they are loved by their children. I have had those doubts in the past but not any more; I know they love me beyond anything in the world and know what my love means to them. As for Mary I have no words to express what her love has done, and will always do for me; I could never let any cancer beat me whilst I have her love. Cancer is not a single disease; it is a process shared by all those differently affected. None of us want to be told we have cancer but, if it happens, there is so much good that can come from it; it is only a physical thing and cannot damage the spirit or the way we are loved. Sunday, 10 October 2004 was a National Day of Prayer for all affected by cancer; the following is a memento of that day and a guide for the future. 
Cancer is so limited…It cannot cripple love It cannot shatter hope It cannot corrode faith It cannot eat away peace It cannot destroy confidence It cannot kill friendship It cannot shut out memories It cannot silence courage It cannot invade the soul It cannot reduce eternal life It cannot quench the spirit It cannot lessen the power of the Resurrection Click here to go back to the top |
Sex, Marriage, Contraception... and the Image of GodDavid and Louise Aldred, of the Couple to Couple League Marriage is a sacrament: sex is part of marriage. That much is obvious. But why is the link between the two so important, and why should our lives and faith as Christians have any relevance to what sex and marriage mean to us? One of the first messages of the Bible is that we are made in the image of God. That is the foundation of human dignity – but it is also the foundation of marriage, for as Genesis says: 'in his own image he created them, male and female': if our vocation is marriage, then we are made to join together in the image of God. Marriage has a dignity which is parallel to that of humanity itself. And sex within marriage – the physical act of joining together in unity in God's image – shares, indeed makes physically present, that dignity. This statement of male and female as the image of God has a very significant place in Scripture, too. God is in the act of creating the world, expressing his nature as the Creator and Father of all. In the midst of this, he makes it clear that the sexual imagery of male and female is linked to his act of creation: that the image of God expressed in our sexuality is that of the Creator. Sex and marriage have a meaning which lies beyond sensuality and desire: indeed sensuality and desire are just symptoms of the greater meaning, which is to be the image of the Creator God. Throughout Scripture we find this imagery fulfilled: marriage becomes a symbol of God's creative intervention in the lives of His people. It is a sign of unity, a sign of love, a sign of creation. Looking at marriage and at its sexual expression, we can see God. Later, when the covenant between God and mankind is renewed and recreated in Christ, a new depth of meaning is found in marriage. St Paul finds in it the sign of the love of Christ for his Church: the deep unity between God and His people. As though it were not enough to be the image of the Creator God, now marriage is also the image of the Son who gave himself for us. There can be no greater love: yet marriage is called to be the image of that great love. In marriage, and so in its sexual expression, we find these two great meanings together: expressing the creative power of God and expressing the depth of love which truly unites mankind and God. This is a Christian vocation indeed; in the words of St Paul a 'most excellent mystery'. So what has this to do with contraception? If we have identified these two great meanings of marriage and of married sexuality, then we have to look at what this means in our lives, and one way is how which we choose the size of a family. To be faithful to the sign of the Creator we cannot be closed to new life, to children: that is the most obvious physical sign of that creative nature: but more than this, we cannot change the act by which we so express our love so as to exclude its creative nature – it must remain truly natural, the way God made it in his image. To be faithful to the sign of unity, we cannot restrict in any way the self giving of sex; the nature of the unity between Christ and his people is that nothing is held back: there are no barriers, no denial of our nature. The problem is that contraceptives change the act of sex so that it is no longer natural, no longer a reflection of God's creative nature, and they change the meaning of sex so that something is held back from the unity it should express. They necessarily distort the image of God in marriage, and make it less than it can, should, indeed, must be. Being faithful to the creative nature of God doesn't mean having unlimited numbers of children, of course: because of the way God made us, for most of the month sex will not result in pregnancy, whilst remaining natural and unchanged, still expressing God's creative nature: indeed rejoicing in a creative nature which knows how not to create as well! That's how natural family planning works: by understanding both the creative plan of God in married sexuality, and the unitive nature of God in married sexuality, and using the knowledge to co-operate with God in planning family size, in love. So when the Church teaches on contraception, it is not old-fashioned, or anti-science, or anti-sex: it is pro-sex and pro-marriage in their fullest meanings. People who know natural family planning and make it truly part of their married sexuality know that, and live it: and rejoice in living most deeply in the image of God. The
Couple to Couple League teaches Natural Family Planning in the context of
Christian marriage. More details available on their website www.cclgb.org.uk
or by phone on 0115 877 8310. If a group of couples would be
interested in knowing more, an information evening and/or a natural family
planning course could be arranged.
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AYWL DiaryI have been chosen to lead an At Your Word Lord group. The core team must have recognised my theological wisdom, strong pastoral gifting and singular modesty. As it was our last meeting the other night, someone brought along a bottle of wine. It is Lent and he clearly hasn’t attained my ascetic heights of self-denial but I felt we should not turn down his generosity. However, I was concerned to limit my group’s alcoholic intake by carrying the burden on my own shoulders, so I filled a large glass for myself and half-filled rather smaller glasses for the others. I got our host to say an opening prayer. He got a bit carried away, and at the third “we beseech you”, the group with heads bowed in prayer, I took the opportunity to drain and refill my glass. The meeting went well but the group didn’t seem to share my sense of well-being. After all this is a “joyous season of Lent”. We read about the woman caught in adultery and I was filled with pastoral compassion. I shared how I felt led to advertise in the parish bulletin that all women tempted to adultery should see me for one to one counselling. I noticed that my wife was staring at me from across the room with an odd look in her eyes. I wonder if she needs to see the optician? I don’t understand how they choose the AYWL readings. What need do I have for teaching on hypocrisy? I’m not judgmental, unlike some people I know. However, my group thought the message was timely and helpful for dealing with difficult people. They all looked at me for some reason, with compassionate, almost pitying eyes. They are an odd lot, but I do love them. The group ended with further commitments to make a practical difference in the world. This season, we have committed to building a reservoir in Africa, clearing up Chernobyl and solving the Middle East problem. So far we have raised 45p and a 2p-off-a-litre petrol coupon. My wife insisted for some reason that she drive home, so I had a chance to think and reflect deeply. In fulfilment of the prophecy of Joel 2:28 that “old men shall dream dreams and young men shall have visions” I drifted into holy slumber. I dreamt I was the steward at the Wedding at Canna, just checking one more time that the water really had turned into wine. This account is, of course, fictional. No characters are based on
any persons living or dead. AYWL groups are confidential. Click here to go back to the top |
Celebration at Knock Shrine of the 150th Anniversary of the MSCs The following is the Homily given at Knock Shrine by Fr. Michael Screene during the MSCs Celebration of its 150th Anniversary Few of you know me. But I know you for a long time. I do not have your name or photo on my wall. But you are always Good News for me. I know you in the ways you helped me to become a priest. I know you in every mission station of our missions that I have visited. Your photo could be placed in the clinics that help AIDs victims in South Africa, in the poor barrios of Venezuela, in the struggles of new churches in Indonesia, Korea or New Guinea. I often felt you with me as I drove from village to village in Russia, often wondering at the strange providence that allowed me to work there after all the years of communism. Your photo could be on the bags of seeds we bought for poor people in spring that became their survival food in the next winter, or on the medicine that helped someone live, or on the schoolbook that 
gave a chance for a future for a poor child. You too, share in the joy of many coming to the faith.That is the way it has been in our MSC story for 150 years. You are really Missionaries of the Heart of Christ, missionaries of God's love, missionaries of hope with us. We simply could not exist without you. As we celebrate the anniversary of our congregation, started 150 years ago in very poor circumstances, we remember and give thanks. Its mission is to tell people the story of the love of our God for us, and how He wants to share our lot. We want to share his care about the value and dignity of every man and woman. We have Good News that has the power to transform and renew all of us, so we might live to the full quality of life and happiness God desires for us. Our work is about "God's plans for peace, not disaster, reserving a future full of hope for you". We bless God for our past, in our families and friends, in our church, in our country. Our past is precious. We remember the great story of our own faith, how blessed we are by generations of believers in our families, how we were called into new life in Baptism, grew in our faith, had it strengthened and made powerful by the Eucharist and Confirmation, healed by anointing, served by priesthood and especially blessed in marriage and family. This is a gift of indescribable value. Without that story, we will not find our destiny. “Ceal fise, meathann daoine" – “Without a dream, people rot away”. Like Sam in the story "Roots". Sam had no story of where he came from, so he could have no dream of where he was going. We are people of memory but also people of spirit, people who must always create anew. We realise today that this gift of faith is a dynamic one. Now, we cannot live on the capital of the past, even its miracles. The past has gone. We are now pilgrims of the future. We have an incredible privilege of being apostles of God's love in our world today and an incredible responsibility to let that love of God create hope and future for ourselves and for our children. The joys and hopes, the pain and problems of our world call out to us today as they always did. We must have an answer now that is real. Ours is a troubled time yet a great time to live. Do not be afraid. This is Resurrection time. We are Easter people. Christ is alive and with us. It is so easy to use these words, to repeat phrases of faith. But the hopes and fears of our world cry out for meaning and a vision of the future. Our great human experiences always demand a future. Nothing ends. All that has been great over 150 years is a gift and a challenge. Strengthened by our memories, can we now turn our eyes of hope towards the future? Can we become a stream of living water, a new heart for our aching, hungry world? You are the hope of that future. You are the chosen, the called. You are the body of Christ. You are the hands and feet, the eyes and the heart of Christ. That is the challenge of the church, the challenge of life as we turn into a new millennium. I have seen the blessings of 150 years of God's love. I see today the same God with us on our journey. I may not know everything that is around the comer of life for me but I do know enough about the heart of Christ to know that he will be there, blessing our future just as he blessed our past. Our future will grow from our past in hope. Hope and History will rhyme. May the history we celebrate and the hope we long for,
.rhyme in our lives and rhyme for our world. Amen Click here to go back to the top |
| Ten little churchgoers Ann Vollborth sent this adapted nursery rhyme
Crowds and crowds at every service cramming every pew, Why should this not be the case in our own parish too? Click here to go back to the top |
| The Common Good Jim Naisbitt “No religion or politics!” That’s the rule both in public places and in private gatherings – although football and home improvements are religions nowadays while employment and personal relations are serious politics. So, if we ban religion and politics, what else is there to discuss? We are told not to mix religion WITH politics but, if religion has no bearing on our daily lives, it can be no more than a façade. So what does the Gospel offer us? The ten commandments of Moses, together with the vast legal system which derived from them, were condensed into two simple instructions- “Fear God” and “Love your Neighbour”. These two rules would neatly sum up the implications of “Religion” and “Politics” respectively. Furthermore, they are intimately related; “Faith alone will not save us, we must also have good works”. What guidance and encouragement can the Church offer us? “The Common Good” was published (in 1996 by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference) in anticipation of an imminent General Election. First, the underlying principles of Christian Doctrine are set out and then applied to particular areas of social interaction such as the workplace, the marketplace, environmental issues and the sanctity of human life. Thereafter (within small groups like At Your Word Lord) specific topical issues may be examined in the light of the Church’s teaching. Unfortunately, this programme seems not to have been taken up in the parishes. Nevertheless, supplements to the Common Good have recently been published – one on Taxation and another on Voting – so it may be a good time to respond to the Bishops’ invitation. The application of Christian principles to the political arena is not new, although less marked in Britain than in mainland Europe. In the rehabilitation of Germany (after 1945), the combined efforts of Catholics and Protestants, in a joint Christian Democratic movement, was an important factor. More recently in Britain, political movements of an essentially Christian nature have arisen such as the Movement for Christian Democracy , the Christian Peoples Alliance Party (and the Pro-Life Party which opposes abortion. The Common Good includes provision for participation by all Christians (and others) and for the inclusion of social teaching from those groups. Concerning political (Party) affiliation, some people will argue that it is better to carry one’s Christian views into the secular political parties than to set up a movement which is specifically Christian but to what extent do Christian principles survive the expediency of politics? Perhaps it is time for a radical change in the political structure to transfer power from politicians to the general public? A study of the Common Good may resolve these issues. Perhaps we could adopt the slogan of Mikael Gobachov (now sympathetic to the Christian message, I believe); “Glasnost and Perestroika” – “Openness (Truth?) and a New Beginning (Rebirth?)”. Plater College (Oxford), a Catholic-maintained centre for mature students, has expressed interest in hosting a seminar based on “the Common Good” and may subsidise it such that the cost of a 2–3 day attendance may be nominal. So, if enough people were interested in a preliminary study of “the Common Good”, an agenda can be drawn up of points for further detailed discussion and this can be submitted to Plater College as a programme for the seminar – they would hope to provide tutors and to invite specialist speakers. Does anyone have any views to contribute or issues to debate? Finally Cardinal Hume in his Introduction to “the Common Good”; says “The future of humanity does not depend on political reform, social revolution or scientific advance. Something else is needed. It starts with a true conversion of heart and mind”. Would anyone like a copy of “The Common Good”? Contact Jim Naisbitt. 01727 853100, or jim_naisbitt@talk21.com or via New Beacon/Presbytery.
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| Telling the Truth Peter Berners-Lee In the light of the Hutton report, we should all, perhaps, take a good long look at the virtue of truthfulness. A virtue is a good habit, something we’ve got used to doing. But telling a white lie can easily become second nature. Would you ever lie? Truthfulness can be a confusing issue, and a particularly Catholic challenge. Augustine defined a lie as speaking a falsehood with intent to deceive. That means that, saying something that is untrue, but you believe to be accurate, is not lying. But what about keeping secrets? It is often right to withhold the truth from someone who doesn’t have a right to it. The Catechism, when it first came out, quoted Augustine’s definition of a lie, but in the next paragraph gave another definition with a clause added to the effect that a to lie was to knowingly deceive someone who has a right to the truth (para 2483). This might have given the impression that lying is sometimes in order. However, when the next edition came out, this clause was removed. So there is a discrepancy between the Catechism on my bookshelf and the one on the Internet. It seems that even the illustrious authors of the Catechism have found this a tricky area, and so it has been in the past, especially for English Catholics. The great issue is this: is it not right to lie in order to protect a fugitive from injustice and violence? After the Reformation, English Catholic priests had to go underground and were hunted down by the police state. What would you have said if men had come to your house seeking a priest whom you were harbouring? Some Catholics picked up a reputation for favouring equivocation: saying one thing whilst meaning another. They argued that a “mental reservation” meant that in their mind was the truth, and any deceit was in the mind of the hearer. For instance, one might say “no priest lyeth here” meaning that there is a priest here, but he is sitting down! Priest’s lives had been saved, but at the expense of the English Catholic’s reputation for truthfulness. John Henry Newman was later to remark that it was the Catholic reputation for equivocation that kept many of his friends from becoming Roman Catholics. It seems an unfair criticism, given the circumstances, but the principle of truthfulness is vital. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. It is the devil who is the “father of lies” and when we lie, we become liars. We are responsible for proclaiming the most important truth of all: Jesus Christ, risen from the dead for the forgiveness of sins. How can we do this with integrity if we lie under pressure, even for a good cause? Jesus refused to lie, even to escape torture and death. He declared at his trial that “all who are on the side of truth listen to my voice” Pilate famously answered “what is truth?” when truth personified stood before him. Jesus showed the way in his death and resurrection. But I’m still uneasy. I know our way is the way of the cross. I know that across the world Christians are facing persecution and death for the sake of truth, rather than compromising and equivocating over their beliefs. But I find it hard to insist on what for some is a very real matter of life and death. So I ask you, would you ever lir? A
hen and a pig approached a church and read the advertised sermon topic:
“What can we do to help the poor?” Immediately the hen suggested they
feed them bacon and eggs. The pig thought for a moment and said “There
is only one thing wrong with feeding bacon and eggs to the poor. For
you it requires only a contribution, but for me it requires total commitment”.
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| The Life of Christ - an Open Air Play in Surrey Mary Onn  Mention
Passion Plays and most people will have heard of Oberamageau in Germany,
where the inhabitants perform their Passion Play every ten years to give
thanks for their deliverance from the Black Death. Few are aware of a similar
open air play held each year in England to give thanks for Our Lord’s coming
over 2,000 years ago. This is held on the Wintershall Estate, near Godalming
in Surrey and is the home of Peter Hutley, a passionate Roman Catholic, who
also wrote and produced the play. The play was first performed in 1999 and
lasts about five and a half hours with a cast of over 200. Last year
over 15,000 people turned up over the six days it runs to witness the production.
The play is in three acts, starting with the Nativity and ending with the
Ascension. The grounds of Wintershall contain representations of such places
as the Inn in Bethlehem, Lazarus’s tomb and the Temple in Jerusalem. A lake
acts as the river Jordan and the Sea of Galilee. The audience moves with
the action and numerous loudspeakers and radio microphones are used to ensure
nothing is missed.A group of parishioners from ‘Churches Together in Marshalswick’ obtained tickets for this year’s play and we left St. Albans at 7:30 a.m. on a rainy Saturday morning, 26th June. We arrived in Godalming at about 9:15 a.m., in plenty of time for the 10 a.m. start. Our first impression of Wintershall was that it looked no different to any other large country estate. However as we drove through it we noticed there were stations of the cross spread out over the half mile drive, and two small chapels and a Rosary Way. Since all the action takes place in the open air there are no seats for the audience, and sitting on the grass on a rainy day is somewhat unpleasant. Fortunately my thoughtful friend had brought along a couple of camping stools, which was a great blessing. The play began with an introduction from Peter Hutley who asked us to imagine we were in Palestine 2,000 years ago. The play was narrated by St. Luke, who told us that he wrote the Gospel, and led us from one scene to the next, filling in any gaps in the story as it proceeded. Act 1 covered the birth of Jesus and his early life to when Mary and Joseph found him in the temple in deep conversation with the teachers there. 
Act 2 opened with the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist and led on to
his first miracle of turning water into wine at the wedding in Cana. This
was followed by more of his miracles and teachings, including the Sermon
on the Mount, the feeding of the Five Thousand (The Audience!), and the plotting
of the Jewish Priests and Elders who had become jealous of Jesus’ influence
over the people and their love for him.We had a break for lunch after Act 2, and action started again at 1pm. with Act 3, which showed the lengths that the Priests went to in capturing Jesus, and his willing acceptance of the crucifixion. It included his Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, the Last Supper, his Capture and his Crucifixion. We saw him leave the tomb and appear to his disciples and followers. He told them to go to Galilee where we saw them fishing and Jesus, resurrected, standing on the bank inviting them to join him to eat breakfast. It ended with the triumph of his Resurrection and Ascension. Although it rained for most of the day, we found this to be a truly uplifting experience. Perhaps the scene I found most memorable was when Jesus said “Let the little children come unto me” and scores of young children came running across the field screaming “Jesus! Jesus!”. Wintershall will be presenting their Nativity Play as usual in December. Although this was my first visit to Wintershall, I sincerely hope it will not be my last. Next year’s show is planned for 28th June to 3rd July 2005, and tickets cost £13.00 for Adults and £6.50 for Children. Any profits are donated to charity. Further details of all their productions may be found on their web site at www.wintershall-estate.com. Click here to go back to the top |
New Dawn Conference 2004Patricia Woodhead Walsingham, a Marian shrine, and a place of pilgrimage since the 11th Century, was destroyed in the reformation, but in the 20th Century the Catholic, Anglican and Orthodox pilgrims returned, and today Walsingham is seen as the key to the conversion of England. In l987, Myles Dempsey and the Prince of Peace community organised the first New Dawn Charismatic Conference in a field at Walsingham. Huge tents were erected, and speakers were invited from the UK and abroad. From a collection of £20 in a jam jar, and a vision founded on faith, the conference was born. Myles is quoted as saying “I am convinced that we are going to see the Lord acting in a much more remarkable way – something new is coming. . I felt God say ‘You will see the day when I bring people tumbling into my church’. We are going through a time of cleansing and purification, but this is so we will receive a much greater grace in time to come. …. I believe that God is going to act in ways that will cause people to realise they have nothing to rely on but Him” Again this year tents were erected in the fields around Walsingham, and for five days those fields in Norfolk illustrated the breadth of the Catholic Church. The theme of this year’s conference was “Come Lord Jesus” (Rev 22:20) About three thousand people gathered to sing “Come, O come and fill this temple with the glory of the Lord”. The great marquee became a place of unity and fellowship as we welcomed God’s spirit into our lives. There was something to appeal to all, from the contemplative silent adoration of the Blessed Sacrament to the exuberance of the charismatics, and the children had their own fun ministry. The under 25s had their own section, and there was a truly international feel, with people from the Czech Republic, Portugal, Poland, the United States and Africa. I won’t forget the people I met and the encouragement I received in my faith journey from them. Listening to the words of a Ugandan priest at confession was particularly moving for me. How lukewarm my faith seemed against his conviction. There is a lot to be learnt from Africa about Christianity. The healing mass was especially moving, bringing such peace. It culminated in a candlelit procession to the shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham. I thank the person who gave me details of last year’s conference, wondering whatever prompted me to think of a week camping in that Norfolk field. I feel that God was calling me to worship there. From New Dawn, people are returning to their parishes to share the good news, starting up initiatives like Mothers' Prayers, a north-east conference and prayer groups, making the conversion of England a little nearer. Click here to go back to the top |
| A Potta Evangelistic Healing Shelagh Lee I broke my ankle after a bad fall in August 2003 whilst on holiday in Cornwall. I was treated after X-rays with a plaster cast for 6 weeks, but I very much felt things were not right. I told my Consultant, but he decided it was too soon to remove the backslap cast which by now was far too loose as all the swelling had reduced. I was very concerned, and went to see a specialist at BUPA, who put my leg in a pneumatic walker boot which did not help. For 13 months I underwent regular X-rays, and after many more specialist visits and many varied reasons why my ankle was more painful now than when the accident happened, I booked an MRI scan for Monday the 6th of September 2004. I saw my Specialist the following Monday for my results, and he told me I needed to have an operation to repair the soft tissue injuries and also I now had osteoarthritis in the ankle. I said I would like some time to digest this information before surgery. During this time my friend, Pat, and a hands-on healer, Tom, came to my home for regular healing sessions, and this gave me spiritual help. I spoke to Tom over the phone, who was very positive, and said we would increase prayer/healing sessions, but he said he had a feeling that I would not have to have an operation. This was not like Tom, because we had visible evidence in the MRI scan showing an osteochondral lesion of the dome of the talus, and the operation had only a 60 percent success rate. My friend decided that I should attend the Potta Evangelist Healing session in London. This meant a long train/tube journey, never mind the pain I would be in for days after. But I went! The healing service, mass and testimonials were very calming invitations and one felt very much at peace. The list of healing included brain tumours, carpal tunnel, and many cancer cures. Also nine children were cured. There were two leg healings out of many leg mobility problems cured. I asked God if it could be me next time! Then, as I got up to leave and started to walk, I could even walk down the cement steps but did not realise I was doing so without my stick. I was the one who said I could walk to get a taxi as my friend did not want me to make the pain any worse. She had observed the excruciating pain I was in on the way there (I had wanted to stop as I felt I could not cope with this level of pain). I said I wanted to laugh aloud, and had she realised I was not using my walking stick? I was not limping and I had no pain! This was the first time in 14 months that I could walk without pain. I said "Thank you. God" and asked, why me? We came home and I did not have any pain whatsoever on the tubes or the train! I was so happy I wanted to let the world know, but I said I would wait as I found it hard to believe I had been chosen! I had my first night's sleep in 14 months without being woken by the pain in my ankle. When I woke up next morning I examined the ankle by twisting it every conceivable way. I put my full weight on it and I went up and down our stairs (every step was agony before this happened). Still there was no pain. My friend phoned, and I told her "Yes I am still laughing". I have phoned the Potta Evangelistic and Healing Centre, and Fr Augustine Vallooran was not at all surprised as they have had so much success. Well I am still pain free and finding I am getting back into the swing of normal life again. We are having a celebration session in the next few weeks where my friends will rejoice with me.
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| "So we said OK". This article is adapted from an interview with Anne Graham, Billy Graham’s daughter, shortly after 11 September, 2001, when she was asked “How could God let something like this happen?” It appeared recently in the CWL News. “I believe that God is deeply saddened by this, but for years we’ve been telling God to get out of our lives. How can we expect God to give us His blessing, guidance and protection if we demand that He leave us alone? I think it started when someone said we didn’t want prayers in our schools, and we said OK. Then someone said we’d better not read the Bible in school. The Bible that says “Thou shalt not kill, and thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbour as yourself”. And we said OK. Doctor Spock said we shouldn’t chastise our children when they misbehave because their little personalities would be warped, and we might damage their self-esteem. And we said the expert should know and said OK. Then we said the teachers had better not discipline our children when they misbehave because we don’t want the bad publicity and we don’t want to be sued. And we said OK. The entertainment industry said “Let’s make TV shows and movies that promote profanity, violence and illicit sex. Let’s record music that encourages rape, drugs, murder, suicide and satanic themes”. And we said OK, its just entertainment and nobody take it seriously anyway. Now we are asking why so many of our children have no conscience, why they don’t know right from wrong, why it doesn’t bother them to mug strangers and steal whatever they want. I think it has a great deal to do with “WE REAP WHAT WE SOW”.
Pass this on if you think it has merit. For those who discard it,
don’t complain about the bad shape the world is in. Click here to go back to the top |
St. Vincent de Paul SocietyTom Timmins In 1833, a young committed Catholic and student at the Sorbonne University in Paris decided he wanted to do something practical about the dire poverty and suffering that was taking place in France during the 19th century, so he gathered together some of his colleagues, and they dedicated themselves to helping God’s poor. This young man was Frederic Ozanam, now Blessed Frederic Ozanam, his beatification having taken place in 1997. This group did not look for glory for themselves, as they recognised that their work did not spring from their own efforts alone. This was a time when the Church was not too popular – the revolution had taken place a few decades before, and the people were looking for “liberation” and “progress”, and many considered religion rather old-fashioned. 
The group adopted St Vincent de Paul as their patron, a priest who 173 years
before had turned down a comfortable life as Chaplain to the Aristocracy
when he realised his true vocation was to go out into the streets to work
with the poor, helping them both spiritually and materially. Very soon
the Society grew and spread to many parts of the world, and the first SVP
meeting in England took place in 1844. The SVP has some 900,000 volunteer members in 130 countries, in 50,000 branches or conferences. In England and Wales there are about 1600 conferences and 16,000 members who, between them, make some one million visits to the needy each year. Our own SVP conference, formed on 3 October 1923, works closely with the priests who identify problems and situations where help is most needed. Although the terrible suffering and poverty that existed during the 19th Century when the Society was started no longer exists, there are still people and situations which slip through the system of the welfare state and its resources, including social workers and other professionals. There are many people in hospital or residential homes, hospitals, or housebound, where a visit, a friendly ear and a helping hand can often make them feel valued and respected, and help to lift their loneliness and isolation. SVP members perform many tasks, from shopping, helping with transport, decorating or gardening, to just changing a light bulb! In our parish the work includes all these, and we also give people lifts to Mass, and help in distributing food parcels and hampers provided by our Catholic schools. One of our members has been involved in setting up and running the Credit Union, and another is involved with the Hertfordshire Alcohol Problems Advisory Service. The SVP also raises funds to provide financial help where needed, runs furniture and clothing shops, and hostels for people on bail. It is a co-founder of the De Paul Trust, providing night shelter accommodation for young homeless people.There is a National Asylum Seeker Care programme and four children’s holiday camps. The SVP is committed to the relief of poverty world-wide, especially schemes designed to promote self-sufficiency. Our conference is twinned with one in Kerala, India. We also support to Sister Maria IBVM, who visits Rumania each year to help the poor. Funds are raised by donations, bequests, and also by the second collections on Holy Days of Obligation. The St Albans Knights of St. Columba help enormously by running regular bingo sessions in aid of the SVP. We have also received financial help from the Friends of Maryland and the Catholic Women’s League. So if there is anyone out there who would like to become a volunteer member – young or old, male or female, anyone with a few hours to spare each week, we should like to hear from you. There is no rigid commitment to a set period of time. Contact the presbytery to find out more about the SVP. Click here to go back to the top |
Donkeys Came to Mass (Fr. Frank Smith MHM)Submitted by Kathleen Roser It was Sunday morning, the rain was pouring down, and I had arrived in my new parish in a shanty town in Guayaquil, Ecuador, only the night before. Every parish priest must pray for his people, so I decided to say the Sunday morning Mass even though no one was there. I began the Mass by inviting the angels and the saints to join me, but as I was reading the Gospel aloud a noise made me look up. In the church porch were two sopping wet donkeys. On impulse I beckoned them in and they clippety-clopped to where I was finishing the Gospel with the appropriate theme, "Unless you become like little children you will not enter the kingdom of heaven." Mass continued with bidding prayers for the whole Church before my congregation of two donkeys. After Mass they returned to the sawdust factory at the end of the street, and I to bail out water from my half-built parish house. Click here to go back to the top |
The Twelve Days Of ChristmasJoyce Lang Have you ever wondered about this song? What in the world do leaping lords, French hens, swimming swans, and especially the partridge who won’t come out of the pear tree have to do with Christmas? Well, apparently from 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were not permitted to practice their faith openly, so someone wrote this carol as a catechism song, and each element has a code word for a religious reality which children could remember. The partridge was Jesus Christ. Two turtledoves were the Old and New Testaments. Three French hens stood for faith, hope and love. The four calling birds were the four gospels. The five golden rings recalled the Torah or Law - the first five books of the Old Testament. The six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation. Seven swans a-swimming represented the gifts of the Holy Spirit: Prophesy, Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership, and Mercy. The eight maids a-milking were the eight beatitudes. Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self control. The ten lords a-leaping were the Ten Commandments. The eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful disciples. The twelve drummers symbolized the twelve points of belief in The Apostles’ Creed. Now you know how that strange song became a Christmas Carol!
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  Cafod, Traidcraft and AwarenessEric Harber We hear nowadays about compassion fatigue. There are too many disasters involving third world countries for our sense of concern to be able to cope, but we can ensure that what we buy is properly paid for. Take computers. This industry is so fiercely competitive that even the minimum level of ethics is at risk. As t he quality quite nee dlessly continues to improve, they have become disposable. Way back in the mists of time I phoned Acorn to try to get something put right on my BBC computer. When they eventually allowed me to speak to a technician, he told me that my word-processor shouldn’t be working, it was too robust and wasn’t meant to last that long. The need to produce a slimmer faster macro-memoried article that can and must be thrown away puts enormous and unnecessary pressure on the producers, apart from the environmental hazard, with millions of the things clogging up the countryside. The PC industry is like a car travelling at 200 miles an hour, when you can only see out of the back and side windows. Developmental speed and market unpredictability “forces” the major companies to be flexible. This means relocation, not being tied to a production site, not having permanent staff contracts. This year 73 percent of work done to produce the well-known brands is done in the less developed world by cheap labour. High technology exports are their largest foreign exchange earners, but most of the benefit goes back to the foreign owners of capital, knowledge and management. The workers who do most of the work are as disposable as the produce. Wages earned in the US, where most of this capital is located, are 48 times higher than wages in China, which is the biggest pool of cheap labour in the world. The electronics industry has not been subjected to the scrutiny that the clothing industry received. There is a Code of Conduct based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights covering health, safety, a living wage, working hours and regular employment. The industry’s response has been mixed. They tend to comply with local standards in some instances. No major company allows “freedom of association” to its workers, and therefore the right to negotiate over conditions, and there are many stories of oppression as workers try to improve these. The personal fortune of a brandname founder advertised in Britain every day is US$ 16.50 billion. How much of that is his? Click here to go back to the top |
"Happy Profession Day, Dear Sister"David Edwards Tuesday 10th August 2004 was a special day for us in is Albans because a former parishioner and member of one of our Prayer Groups, Maria Mendiondo, now Sister Mariana, made her first profession as a member of the Order of the Adorers of the Sacred Heart of Jesus of Montmartre OSB at the Tyburn convent in Hyde Park Place, London. Maria, who comes from northern Spain moved to St Albans five years agao and worked here in various jobs including computer processing of accounts. She began paying visits to Tyburn in 1998, joining the community in February 2002. She took her name Mariana from Saint Mariana who died for the Faith in Ecuador in 1645 on the actual spot where the new convent -for the order is being built. Several parishioners attended Sister Mariana's profession, and it was for us a wonderful occasion. She took her vows (in the presence of the Mother General of the Order) and had her novice's white veil exchanged for a black one. The sisters wear the traditional black and white habits. The church was packed,(and three priests, led by Father Aelred Burrows OSB, concelebrated Mass.) After Mass, we joined the sisters for a reception in the crypt. (The community has a tradition of hospitality which was certainly lived up to!) We chatted with Sister .Mariana and the other nuns and took photos. She cut the celebratory cake and (on the instructions of Father Aelred), joined in singing "Happy Profession Day to you...."
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| Meet the Parishioners One of the aims of New Beacon is to help people know more about the people, groups and activities in the parish. We asked if you'd mind answering some questions about yourself. The idea being that we can have a page telling people about people in a light-hearted and readable way. The response was fantastic - here's another!
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| A saintly word search We asked How many saints' names you could find hidden in this square - here are the answers ------> <------ |
Photo courtesy of Sam Nash
Tyburn Convent,
it is at 8 Hyde Park Place, London W2 2LJ, is within ten minutes walking
distance from Marble Arch underground station, it is the Shrine of
the Sacred Heart and the Tyburn Martyrs, perpetuating the memory of the 105
Catholics who were executed at Tyburn during the Reformation period. Mass
is celebrated at 7.30 a.m. every day including Sundays and the church is
open daily between 6.15 a.m. and 8.30 p.m. There are guided tours of
the Shrine daily at 10.30 a.m., 3.30 p.m. and 5.30 p.m. On the first Sunday
of every month in the crypt there is a monastic, contemplative afternoon
between 2.00 p.m. and 5.00p.m. Anyone is welcome. The afternoon ends with tea followed by Vespers
Name: Kevin Doran