WYD in Britain??

I was reading an article from the Catholic News Agency about Brazil's desire to host World Youth Day 2010 and came across a sentence that surprised me:

'Brazil is competing with Spain, Great Britain and other countries to host the next WYD, said Bishop Geraldo Lyrio Rocha'.

Has anybody heard anything about a British bid for WYD? It would provide a great boost for the church here if it were to happen...

CofI parishes to become Catholic

From breakingnews.ie:

'Two Church of Ireland parishes in the North have reportedly asked to be received into the Catholic Church. According to the Irish Catholic newspaper, one parish from the Republic is also seeking admission. The parishes in question are in Down, Tyrone and Laois and are currently members of the 'traditional rite' of the Church of Ireland. The Irish Catholic newspaper says the parishes have asked the Vatican for "full, corporate, sacramental union" under the authority of the Pope. The 'traditional rite' group was set up in Ireland in 1991 by those unhappy with some of the more liberalising decisions taken by the Church of Ireland, such as the ordination of women ministers.'

Very interesting move... I hadn't realised that there was such a thing as the 'traditional rite' in the Church of Ireland. I wonder why they chose the Catholic Church though - on one of the parish websites, it mentions that there is an emphasis in the 'traditional rite' not only on liturgical conservatism, but also on 'the reformed tradition within Anglicanism'. I hope Rome is a happy home for them!

Published... on paper!

Sorry to self-promote, but I'm quite excited at my print debut in the current edition of FAITH magazine! It's only a book review, and pretty boring and technical, but if you want to read it, you can find it here.

The Beati

I'm reading a collection of writings of the early Irish monks edited and translated by Uinseann Ó Maiddín OCSO, a Cistercian monk of Mount Melleray. All the different rules included mention the recitation of the Beati, psalm 119, which seems to have been an immensely important text for the Celtic monks. When you read the following excerpts, and think of their life of wholehearted seeking after God, it kinda makes sense:

'... Blessed are they who keep his statutes
and seek him with all their heart...
I seek you with all my heart;
do not let me stray from your commands.
I have hidden your word in my heart
that I might not sin against you....
My soul is consumed with longing
for your laws at all times...
I am laid low in the dust;
preserve my life according to your word...
I have chosen the way of truth;
I have set my heart on your laws.
I hold fast to your statutes, O LORD;
do not let me be put to shame.
I run in the path of your commands,
for you have set my heart free...
I have sought your face with all my heart;
be gracious to me according to your promise...
Your word is a lamp to my feet
and a light for my path...'

The eighth-century Rule of Comghall stipulates that 'The monk should make one hundred genuflections/prostrations while chanting the Beati morning and evening'...!

Literature, Censorship and the Church

Much is made in the Catholic blogosphere of 'Catholic writers', people like GK Chesterton, Flannery O'Connor and Evelyn Waugh, whose Catholic faith was intrinsic to their literary output. The phrase 'the Catholic imagination' is often used, referring to the ability to see ordinary 'stuff' as potentially sacramental, pointing beyond itself. The relationship between the Catholic Church and the literary world has not always been a positive one, however, especially in Ireland. Few of our great literary geniuses escaped some form of persecution from the church, usually via state censorship bodies (their approach is typified by the name of the 1926 Committee on Evil Literature). I took a random sample of two books from my shelves: one of them, a collection of short stories by Frank O'Connor, mentioned the negative appraisal of the author by his parish priest (apparently, O'Connor was 'at the head of the pagan Dublin muses'), while the other, Joyce's Portrait mentions in the introduction that Joyce went to Paris in 1902 'to escape the narrow-mindedness of Irish Catholicism'. This type of interaction between Catholicism and literature is far from that found in England in the middle of the 20th century with its flood of 'literary converts', and strikes me as a tragically missed opportunity.

I'm writing all this because I recently read a very thought-provoking essay on the role of the Catholic writer by Georges Bernanos, author of Diary of a Country Priest. Bernanos seems to point out the folly of the Irish Church's attitude to literature in the 20th century by noting that 'Catholic writers cannot be part of the teaching Church'. Catholic writers rather, 'are brothers speaking to brothers, not doctors of the Church or stewards'.

In light of this then, the role of the Catholic writer seems not very different from that of other writers. 'The firest duty of a writer is to produce good books, in the light of his own ideas of his art and the resources at his disposal, without special consideration for anything or anyone, for every book bears witness, and hence must above all be sincere'. The extra dimension involved in the work of a Catholic is that he is concerned to 'work freely beneath the gaze of God' (this phrase reminded me of Tolkien's notion of 'sub-creation'). Catholic literature then, is not necessarily edifying, or encouraging, or full of piety (related to this point, Bernanos pens the neat bon mot: 'Mediocre art is a scandal, and even more of a scandal when it claims to be edifying').

Cardinal Newman seems to make a similar point:

'I say, from the nature of the case, if Literature is to be made a study of human nature, you cannot have a Christian Literature. It is a contradiction in terms to attempt a sinless Literature of sinful man. You may gather together something very great and high, something higher than Literature ever was; and when you have done so, you will find that it is not Literature at all.'

Perhaps then, we can speak of Catholic writers, but should be more circumspect when using the term 'Catholic literature'. The Irish bishops in the 20th century seemed to expect that a Catholic literature (i.e. literature which edifies) was possible, especially in newly-independent Catholic Ireland. I think Bernanos is right to say that it is 'absurd... to submit books to the judgment of illiterate ecclesiastics'. If we are to follow JPII in apologising for past failings, surely the Irish Church should mention this violence against art in their list...

Government in the Church

I've been reading a retreat book based on the characteristics of St Dominic recently. It's written by a Dominican preacher and spiritual director, Alain Quilici OP. Each chapter title has the format 'Man of ....'. I was particularly struck by the title 'Man of Government'. It's not often we think of government and organisation as a holy thing, a charism for the building up of the church. I found the following interesting:

'In order to be a man of government, one must combine knowledge with a good practice of the laws which are the guardians of the freedoms of both individuals and groups. But one must also know how to lead men and women so that they give the best of themselves. Saint Dominic had all of these qualities. He was the founder of his order which, by withstanding the passage of time, shows the solidity of his institution'.

The Dominicans are almost unique amongst the older orders in their stability - they never split into different orders, unlike the Franciscans, or the Benedictines. I'm convinced that young people in the church, especially those of us who are attached to the 'new movements' (like Youth 2000, Regnum Christi, Focolare etc.) can learn a lot about stability and organisation from these 'old movements'. Anybody got ideas on how this learning might take place?

Apologies!

Sorry it's been so long since I've posted on this blog! I've been mad busy with work at the school since term began, and it's only now that half-term has arrived that I've managed to draw breath and have a think about things. I'll be posting more musings over these few days...

Christina on Confession

News broke recently that Christina Aguilera is pro-life and part of a movement that has spoken out against Amnesty International's decision to renounce its neutrality on the issue of abortion. I thought some of you might be interested in the lyrics of one of her songs, which seems to me to be an excellent meditation on repentance and confession! [I tried, and failed, to find a non-obscene picture of Christina to illustrate this post :)]


'Lord have mercy on my soul
For I have walked a sinful road
That I'm down on my knees
Lord have mercy on me, please

Ohh yeah

Jesus, I must confess
That in all my loneliness
I've forsaken and I've sinned
Leaving fragments of a man so broken

I could tell you what I've done
Or should I tell you where I went wrong?

Well the more that I start to play
My deceitful, evil ways
Keep on growing stronger by the day

Oh lord have mercy on my soul
For I have walked a sinful road
So I'm gonna get down on my knees
Beg forgiveness to help set me free
Lord have mercy on me, please

Mother Mary full of grace
In my weakness, I've lost faith
I've been careless, and I have been warned
And the devil inside me is torn
God bless the men that I have scorned

Oh lord have mercy on my soul
For I have walked the sinful road
So I'm gonna get down on my knees
Beg forgiveness to help set me free
Lord have mercy on me, please

So don't let me fool around no more
Send your angels down to guide me through that door
Well I've gone and confessed my regrets
And I pray I'm not held in contempt
I'm so lost, and I need you to help me repent
Oh lord have mercy on my soul

Oh I'm begging, I'm pleading, I'm needing
I want you to know

So I'm down upon my knees
Oh lord, I need forgiveness
I need forgiveness from you.'