A new Pope – Francis I

Well, after five votes of the Papal Conclave, it was very exciting on Wednesday evening to hear that white smoke was billowing out of the Sistine Chapel, meaning that a new Pope had been chosen.

The man who will now lead the Catholic Church is Pope Francis I, previously known as Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is a very exciting time for the Church, which in many ways presents a new era; he is the first Pope from outside Europe for well over a thousand years, and his approach to his first speech in which he asked the assembled crowds to pray for him before he prayed for them showed a new humility at the head of the Church. His choice of the name Francis (after St Francis, who advocated for the poor) has led to some commentators saying that this could mean a new direction for the Church, at least in its approach to the poorest of our world. Of course, the Catholic Church is already responsible for helping those in poverty across the world, but having someone like Francis at its head could give this aspect of its work new profile and renewed vitality.

What we can be sure of is that this is a wonderful week for the Church. While those news agencies and critics outside the church focus on the more negative aspects of Catholicism, as is always the case when the Church is in the news, the thousands of people who thronged St Peter’s Square were only interested in their new Pope, God’s messenger on Earth. The next few weeks will be an exciting time when we will all learn more about who Pope Francis is and what direction his Papacy may take.

Let us know your thoughts by leaving a comment below.

PS. Antonisia is still in Basildon Hospital this week but we are hopeful of a transfer to the National Hospital for Neurology (in central London) next week. We’ll keep you posted.

A very special Holy Communion – at Basildon Hospital!

The UEL Cathsoc came on a trip to Essex last Sunday to visit Antonisia who has been in Basildon Hospital since 12 February. It was a lovely surprise for Antonisia, and it meant that she, and John, were able to receive Holy Communion which was wonderful.

It was made even more special by the fact that out of the four people in her bay, three (including Antonisia) were Catholic! We had a lovely Holy Communion outside of Mass, including readings from Tsetsei and Oge, and were even joined by one of the nurses. As Father Thomas said, Catholicism is probably the only religion which could attract people from all the different cultures and backgrounds represented on the day.

Antonisia is still unwell, unfortunately – for those of you that don’t know, she has been unable to stand up or walk since 10 February, following a migraine. She is being supported every day by John and the doctors are doing lots of tests, but it is still a very difficult time. We will share news with the rest of Cathsoc as soon as we have any.

Message from John and Antonisia – a MASSIVE thank you to all the members of Cathsoc who came down to the hospital last week. The fruit, cakes, flowers and beautiful card were all very thoughtful and it really made our weekend. Thank you again, so much, to all of you.

Below you can see some of the pictures of this very special Holy Communion.

Pope Benedict to resign

It was quite a shock today to hear that Pope Benedict has taken the decision to resign – an event which has not happened since 1415 when Gregory XII stepped down to end a civil war within the church.

I am sure that more information will come to light over the coming days and weeks about the decision but my first reaction is that he may have made the right decision for the church. There is no doubting that he has been a great and enlightened Pope but it is refreshing that he would rather hand over his duties to a younger man more able to lead the Catholic mission for Christ than he. I am sure the rest of the UEL Cathsoc will join me in wishing God’s blessings on the Holy Father and on whoever is chosen to take his place.

The pope following his election in 2005. Today (11 February 2013) he has announced plans to step down

More than words… Joanna Bogle speaks on the media – Catholic responsibilities and possibilities

Today, the UEL Catholic Society was fortunate enough to have the well known Catholic speaker Joanna Bogle visit for a post-Mass talk. Joanna is a journalist and author who has written widely on a whole range of issues relevant to the Church, Catholicism and modern life.

Cathsoc attendees enjoy some refreshments prior to Joanna’s talk

She was speaking to the society today about the power of words and the changing world of the media since the days that she qualified as a journalist. She touched on the importance of how we use words and the power of the media as well as our responsibilities as Catholics to ‘do something’ when we believe in a cause. This was actually the key theme of her talk; that it isn’t good enough to think ‘someone like Joanna will speak out so I don’t have to’; if we want real change and to see the world become less secular and more Godly, then we need to do something about it. Write to your MP, write articles, get involved in public speaking – but don’t just sit there internalising your thoughts and feelings.

The group settle down for Joanna’s talk

The example which she used for much of her talk was the very topical debate around gay marriage. The bill on allowing gay marriage in the UK is being considered by Parliament later this month and the Catholic teaching on the matter is clear; marriage should be a holy and sacred thing between a man and a woman. Joanna is already doing a lot to spread the word on this; meeting with MPs and writing in various places, including her own excellent blog, about the reasoning behind the Catholic position.

Joanna in full flow during her talk

It is notable that just today, the BBC has carried a story about a building rebellion within the Conservative party on the issue of gay marriage. The Catholic church is doing its part to inform the public of the issues and what should certainly be said is that the full ramifications of this change in the law do not appear to have been thought through in sufficient detail. It is however an interesting and vitally important debate and one that will doubtless continue no matter what the outcome of this month’s Parliamentary vote.

Two group shots taken following Joanna’s inspirational talk

A final word on today is a thank you to Father Thomas who presided over a beautiful mass prior to Joanna’s talk. I am sure everyone in attendance used this time to draw close to God. God’s blessings to you in Nigeria, Father – enjoy the next week.

Walking in a winter wonderland – Cathsoc Retreat picture special!

Wow, what a weekend! For those of you that didn’t make it, this weekend was the first ever Cathsoc retreat! It was a fantastic three days for those that attended, at St Antony’s Church in Forest Gate, the new base for Father Thomas and the other Brothers of St John. It was made even more beautiful and memorable by the fact that the whole stay was punctuated by falls of snow, covering the church and gardens in a wonderful white blanket.

We’ll now run through the whole weekend and put in a selection of pictures at each point we possibly can.

The weekend started on Friday evening with a dinner of soup, bread and cheese followed by Movie Night. The movie this week was Of Gods and Men, a French-language film set in the mountains of Algeria in 1996. Particularly relevant this week as several hostages including British people were killed by terrorists in the same country, the film follows a group of devout monks whose community live in fear of a group of Islamic extremist terrorists who are roaming the countryside killing anyone who doesn’t fit in with their particular view of the Koran. Obviously, this also puts the lives of the Catholic monks in danger. This excellent film, based on a true story, was really moving and made all of us reflect on how we might react in a life-threatening situation, in a Godly way.

Getting ready to watch the movie, including the Coke and cakes!

The next morning, for the hardy among us, saw early morning prayers with the brothers (ok, Antonisia and I didn’t make it for that!), followed by breakfast at 8am. This was followed at 8.30am by a session with Brother John Soosai who gave us an introduction to the Bible and then a Lectio Divina. The Lectio Divina on this day was focused on Mark 2: 13-17, when Jesus meets Levi on the road and then is criticised by the Pharisees for eating with ‘tax collectors and sinners’. We had several interesting debates on this, looking at the history and prejudices of the time, as well as the deeper meanings of why Jesus came to Earth (as he says, to help the sinners).

A busy morning continued with Mass in the church led by Father Thomas. Here is a selection of pictures from the service.

Following mass, we had our first spiritual conference at 11.30am. This was taken by Father Thomas and was on the subject of hope and faith. We talked particularly about God’s promises to us and our deepest hope which is for eternal life and to see the face of God. We had some great debate, followed at 12.45 by midday prayers with the brothers in the chapel. This was a nice, short reflective time.

Midday prayers

Lunch was at 1pm, and was a hearty meal of fish and chips! This went down very well and a good time was had by all. We then had a short period of free time afterwards, during which we played giant Jenga in the chapel room. This was great fun and a good way to get to know those who we didn’t know so well before.

Lunch time

Jenga begins

Working out the maths…

Careful!

How much higher…..?

Proud of our tower…

And there it goes!

Then, it was off to West Ham Memorial Park, a beautiful park run and maintained by the City of London Corporation. This park is just a few minutes walk from the church, and the covering of snow on the ground gave the whole place a serene and peaceful feeling. We were there, of course, for a Rosary Walk – another first for the UEL Cathsoc. This was a very prayerful and beautiful walk, in which we said the Rosary over a period of an hour as we walked around the park. At each decade we stopped and were given a short talk by either Father Thomas or Brother John Soosai. As the pictures show, this was one of the high points of the weekend.

Introducing the Rosary Walk

We’re not cold, honest…!

Antonisia at the back of the group

John (right), Christina (left)

A brief stop in the ornamental garden

Snowball time!

A group shot!

On our return, we warmed up with some afternoon tea (and cake!) before 5pm Vespers:

The Brothers of St John

Brother Mairesean

This was followed by a spiritual conference with Father Benedict, this time focused around hope and the role of Mary. Again, this was an important time of learning, which gave us the opportunity to talk to Father Benedict about various questions and reflections on the issue of hope. Next was dinner and then at 9pm an hour of Adoration during which we also had some acoustic guitar music played sensitively and wonderfully by Brother Mairesean. The period of Adoration was beautiful, quiet, reflective and a real time of God sharing his presence with us after a busy day of activities. We then went to bed in silent reflection.

Sunday morning brought more snow! (and this continued most of the day). The day began again with breakfast before we headed upstairs for a spiritual conference with Brother Mairesean. This was again on the subject of hope, which was the theme of the weekend, and we looked here at various issues related to human hope and divine hope, and the difference between the two.

A Lectio Divina followed this, with Brother John Soosai, and we looked here at the gospel reading for the day, which was the passage in John’s gospel, where Jesus turned water into wine at Cana. Some of the observations we made as a group were the fact that Jesus referred to Mary as ‘woman’ rather than ‘mother’ and that it was interesting that this was the first sign of his real mission on Earth. At 11.30am, the main event of the day arrived, of course, with the main Sunday Mass service. Of course, the weather had an impact on the number of people attending but it was still a lovely service.

All that remained for the retreat now was lunch, but we finished the day off in style with a great roast chicken dinner and DELICIOUS dessert. By the way, a MASSIVE thank you to Wendy, the brothers’ cook, who throughout the weekend made sure that we were all well fed. This was followed by coffee and chocolates! Following this, we bade each other farewell and headed off into the snow… I think I speak for everyone attending, though, when I say it was a fantastic three days and something that Cathsoc should definitely look at replicating or doing again in a different way (for instance, Father Thomas spoke about maybe having a retreat for men, and another retreat for women). I’m sure that any ideas will be gratefully received, either via comments here or by emailing Father Thomas.

So, to finish, I think I once again speak for everyone when I also say a big thank you to Father Thomas and the brothers for their super hospitality. What a great idea and what a great weekend! And thanks to all the rest of our Cathsoc-ers who made the weekend the success it was. Here are just a few more pictures to round off this post…

Most of the retreat team…

And alright then, some lovely ‘snow’ pictures (mostly), including the church’s very own resident fox!

Here comes the snow again…

Car starting to be covered (it got a lot worse)

I love the snow…

Breakfast time

Father Thomas and Antonisia

You looking at me?!

A fox on the prowl…

Blizzard conditions

Masses start again – later this month!

Yes, everyone, after the long Christmas break the next UEL masses are nearly back. Here are the dates, times and venues:

Wednesday 16th January, 1.00pm, Room NB1.01, Docklands

    Thursday 24th January, 1.00pm, Room RB2.29, Stratford
and

    Sunday 27th January, 12pm, Room NB1.01, Docklands

See you there!

Happy new year 2013! And don’t miss the Cathsoc Retreat

Happy new year to all Cathsoc-ers! We won’t be back at the UEL mass until Sunday 27 January, but good news – before that there is the opportunity to grow further in Christ together, by attending a Student Retreat at Father Thomas’s residence at the St Antony of Padua RC Church in Forest Gate. This sounds like it will be a really great weekend where we can all grow together in the Lord. Details below; let Father Thomas know if you are going to come…

• Student Retreat, 18th-20th January
  
• Friday evening to Sunday lunch (full participation in retreat expected)
  
• £££ Donation to be discussed (VERY CHEAP!) Residential + Food Included… money will not be an obstacle to your participation, we will overlook money if need be!
• Full Address:

St Antony of Padua RC Church,
56, St Antony’s Road,
Forest Gate
London E7 9QB

 

‘We are moving toward a dictatorship of relativism which does not recognize anything as definitive and has as its highest value one’s own ego and one’s own desires.
The Church needs to withstand the tides of trends and the latest novelties… We must become mature in this adult faith…’
Pope Benedict XVI

This short two-day retreat at Saint Antony’s will be as follows:

Friday, 18th January:
7.00pm: Dinner
Spiritual Conference
followed by Movie Night

Saturday, 19th January:
Breakfast
Spiritual Conference
10.00am: Holy Mass
Lunch
Quiet time
Rosary Walk
Spiritual Conference
Dinner
followed by Adoration

Sunday, 20th January:
Breakfast
Spiritual Conference
Lectio Divina
11.30am: Sunday Mass
Lunch