Quodlibet 20 - The Rosary

A Godzdogz reader asks -

What is the current practice that Dominicans have with the Rosary? Is there an official postion that the Dominican Order has taken on the Luminous Mysteries?

A Dominican Friar is required by the constitutions of the Order to say five decades of the rosary a day, either in common with the rest of his community, or alone. In addition, we are required to say five decades a week for the souls of our deceased brothers, sisters, friends of the Order, and benefactors. I tend to punctuate my day with a decade whenever I take a break from work, but other brothers have different routines.

As far as I am aware the Order has no official position on the Luminous Mysteries. These were introduced as a 'suggestion' by Pope John Paul II who hoped to renew the rosary and encourage more people to take up the devotion by emphasising the Christocentric nature of the prayer. Whether a community or individual Friar chooses to meditate on these mysteries is their own decision.

Trinity Sunday

Readings: Proverbs 8:22-31; Psalm 8; Romans 5:1-5; John 16:12-15

On the stone which guards the entrance to the passage grave at Newgrange, County Meath there is a triple spiral. It is a familiar Celtic design which is very popular as a symbol of threefoldness, a shadowy anticipation some might say of the Christian Trinity. Saint Patrick, legend has it, taught the Irish about the Trinity by using the shamrock. It’s not historical, of course, but even if it was I hope they did not fall for it, as the shamrock, or anything else which is simply made up of three parts, is not really a good image or symbol for the Trinity.

All the images we use to try to picture God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit are unsatisfactory. In practice I suppose we think of the Blessed Trinity as a kind of committee, three persons united on everything. A moment’s reflection shows that this too is quite inadequate.

Saint Augustine wrote a great work on the Trinity in which he scours creation for the best examples of threefoldness he can find. The best one, he thought, was the human mind. Here was something which was threefold not in the sense of having three parts but as having three moments or movements—understanding, willing and remembering—each of which involved the other two: no understanding without willing and remembering, no willing without understanding and remembering, no remembering without understanding and willing. Here, said Augustine, is a threefold intimacy and mutuality in an absolute and dynamic unity. It is ingenious although it may actually be more informative about human psychology than about the nature of God.

I believe the best sign of the Trinity, the one that teaches us most clearly what God is like, is the cross of Jesus Christ. What do we see when we gaze at the crucifix? We see Jesus. Who is this man dying on the cross? He is the Son. Whose Son is he? He is the Son of the Eternal Father whose wisdom finds its highest, paradoxical expression in this moment of self-sacrificing love. A wise love is working itself out here. Jesus said ‘it is consummated’ and breathed forth his Spirit. What Spirit is it which he breathed forth? It is the Holy Spirit, the love of God which has been poured into our hearts.

In the cross of Jesus we see the wisdom and love of the Father. God, as it were, breaks himself open for our sakes upon the cross. There we may gaze, as the bystanders gazed in wonder, and see the glory of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth, giving his human life that we might share his divine life.

The Hebrew Scriptures have much to say about the wisdom of God and about the spirit of God. In the Christian scriptures these attributes of God are spoken of in ways which are more and more personal.

Thus the Father is the one who has sent Jesus, the one who loves him, the one whose will he seeks to serve and the one who receives him back to the glory which he had with him before the world was made. Jesus is the wisdom of the Father who behaves as the Bible says Wisdom will behave: feeding the people with food and drink, nourishing their minds on wise teaching, calling them away from foolishness to serve God wisely.

Jesus re-assures the disciples that his departure will mean the sending of ‘the Spirit of truth’ who will lead them into all truth. ‘He will declare to you what is mine’, Jesus says, ‘because all the Father has is mine’. So all the Father has belongs to Jesus, all Jesus has belongs to the Father, and all the Spirit has belongs to Jesus (John 16.13-15). Saint Paul speaks of God, Jesus and the Spirit who, as it were, wrap their arms around the world and its people to establish them in grace and hope (Romans 5.1-5).

In texts like these the earliest followers of Jesus express a new revelation about the nature of God, which was to be developed later into full theologies of the Trinity.

The mystery of the Trinity is, in the end, the mystery of Jesus. If we wish to know who Jesus is we must speak of God as Father, Word and Spirit. This is why Jesus dying on the cross is the best place to look if we want to meditate on the mystery we honour this week-end. God’s nature is revealed in what happened in Jesus Christ. There is profound wisdom, then, in the simplest prayer and gesture which we learned at our parents’ knees, blessing ourselves with the sign of the cross as we said ‘in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit’. Amen.

Finales, Finishes and Theology

In the last week, two of the most intriguing, innovative and darn-right confusing series have drawn to an end. On Friday night Ashes to Ashes came to a close and on Tuesday morning, after 121 episodes of time-hopping, alternative universes, polar bears and a hydrogen bomb, Lost came to its conclusion. Despite being very different shows, one a British copper retro-fest and the other a U.S. network Goliath their endings shared the common theme of death and the afterlife.

Ashes to Ashes is the 1980s set successor to the 2006 series Life on Mars. In both series a modern-day Detective-Inspector is involved in a trauma (hit by a car or shot respectively) and wakes up in the past, working in the department of the brutal and politically incorrect DCI Gene Hunt. The final episode tried to explain that the world of Gene Hunt was a sort of Limbo or Purgatory for Police officers who had not accepted their death, giving the Bowie-inspired title a greater meaning. Hunt's role in this world has been described as that of 'an Archangel', who has to help the inhabitants of his department to accept their death in the real world and take them 'to the pub' - an implied 'heaven' beyond.

The most interesting aspect of this finale was the role of DCI Jim Keats. In the final episode it becomes apparent that he is some sort of Devil. Like the snake in the garden he tempts the officers. He tells them that the truth is being hidden from them and that they have every right to form their own afterlives in his department, based on the basement floor of Scotland Yard. This final episode gives the characters a choice: either they have faith, which will lead them to the truth and happiness, or they construct their own 'truth' which will always be false, which will be a lie, and can only lead to suffering.

I found the Lost finale slightly annoying. Many of the questions were left unanswered and many of the most interesting nuggets were conveniently forgotten. However it was a beautiful and enjoyable episode. From the start people have speculated that this mystical thriller about plane-crash survivors living on a very strange island was in fact about a sort of purgatory. It would seem this was not the case. The island and every thing that happened on it happened in our world. In the final series viewers were offered a glimpse of an alternative time-line, a dimension where the plane did not crash. It seems that this world actually is the the after-life, a timeless world where is there is no 'now' or 'then'. Whilst the castaways died at different times, once they passed they ended up in this world, due to their link to the island. Eventually reuniting in an LA church we see them embraced in light. This obviously has elements of the idea of the Church as the mystical body of Christ. Through Christ, our island, we are all united.

I was slightly annoyed by the slightly Pelagian undertones but this is only a geeky TV show so I will not get my tunic in a twist. Another point of interest was Jack Shepherd. In Lost, characters' names have much symbolism. Many share names with philosophers, religious figures and scientists. Jack dies on the island to save his friends. He lays down his life and the 'good shepherd' connotations, whilst unimaginative, are apparent. Likewise a figure who looks like Jack's dead father Christian, opens the doors of the Church to let in the all-absorbing light on the reunited castaways.

Whilst neither of these series was aiming to create a Christian analogy or parable, the fact that they address such central questions shows that such questions are not being answered by the nihilistic society and ideology that dominates the 21st century. Saying that, I would be surprised if the final episode of 24 shares their themes ...

Celebrating the May Solemnities

Pentecost weekend this year was sunny and warm. On Saturday we celebrated the Vigil of Pentecost and on Sunday the conventual Mass was followed by drinks in the garden and a special dinner. On Monday we celebrated the Translation of St Dominic which is kept as a solemnity in the English Province. Here are some photographs from this joyful weekend of celebrations.



This dinner, called the "Doorkeepers' Dinner" is held every year on our patronal feast to thank the women and men who help us in the priory as doorkeepers. They extend a welcome to friends and strangers who come calling at Blackfriars, as well as ensuring the security of the building. We were also joined on this happy occasion by the Dominican sisters from Tackley Place.


The following day, 24th May, we celebrated a solemn conventual Mass with the Capuchin friars from Greyfriars. It is a long-standing custom for a Franciscan friar to preach on the feast of St Dominic, and fr Adrian Curran OFMCap, novice master of the Capuchins of England, Ireland and Malta, did an excellent job. He reminded us that we are called as a religious community to be a 'school of love'. As the Prior said, fr Adrian's homily showed that you did not have to be a Friar Preacher to be a preaching friar! Mass was followed by recreation in the garden, and then a festal dinner in the refectory.

Quodlibet 19 - The Transfiguration and its Significance

During the Transfiguration, Jesus is joined by Moses and Elijah. I have always wondered if this tells us that God raised Moses and Elijah to new life before Jesus. Could this be the first resurrection?

St Paul, in his first letter to the Corinthians says that Christ is the "the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep", i.e., the dead, and what he teaches the Christians in Corinth is that any hope that we may have in the resurrection is founded on the fact of Christ's resurrection. So Christ's resurrection is the basis of there being any resurrection of the dead at all. As such, the question about whether Moses' and Elijah's are the 'first' resurrections, has to be answered in the negative. Here, I take it that 'first' refers not to time, as such, but to ontology. So, that which must come first in the order of the very existence of such a happening as resurrection, is Christ's rising from the dead.

However, even if we are to take 'first' to mean first in time, St Paul says: "For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ". Here, Paul seems to suggest that Christ's resurrection comes first, and then after him, at his Second Coming (or parousia), will rise the righteous, who would include, one supposes, Moses and Elijah. For some time, Scripture scholars thus held that the Transfiguration was an "anticipated Parousia".

However, the presence of Moses and Elijah at the Transfiguration is an intriguing feature, and it says something about what the event is about. Firstly, the Transfiguration is an orama, a vision. We must be careful not to think that this means something that occurs only in the mind, like an imaginary construct of the evangelists, or of Peter, James and John. Rather, the language of orama brings to mind an apocalyptic vision, such as the ones that John sees in the Book of Revelation. Or, more obviously for the Evangelists, they have in mind the visions of Daniel. These visions are revelations from God, his divine initiative to reveal to us something that is known only to him. So, through visions, we become privy to God's knowledge. As visions from heaven, then, they are not bound to the time, or even to the space, of this world. So, the issue of temporal priority with regard to Moses and Elijah would not arise.

It is interesting to note that some features from the apocalyptic of Daniel are also found in the Synoptic Gospel accounts of the Transfiguration. In Daniel we see this pattern: a voice/auditory revelation; response of fear and fall on their faces; reassured by touch. We see this pattern too in the Transfiguration, particularly in Matthew 17:1-8. At Daniel 12:3, the righteous and wise "shall awake ... to everlasting life" and they will shine like the sun and stars. Hence, Jesus, who is to be numbered among the righteous and wise, and indeed, who is the first of these, does shine like the sun and is clothed in star-like light. Indeed, Jesus' clothing and countenance brings to mind another great figure from Daniel: the Ancient of Days, i.e., God (see Daniel 7:9), and we recall too that in Psalm 104:2 it is God who is "clothed with light as in a robe". So, Jesus is depicted as God. And the Godhead of Christ, of course, is what the Transfiguration revealed. As St John Chrysostom said: "he opened a little of his deity and showed them the divinity within."

In the symbolic language of the Old Testament, which the New Testament picks up, mountains were places of encounter with God. This, of course, is not an idea that is restricted to the Judaeo-Christian tradition. The most notable of these is the revelation of God (theophany) on Sinai to Moses (see Exodus 19:16-25). In the Transfiguration, the high mountain, the cloud, and the voice which issues from it, are all features of the Sinai theophany also. In this connection it is interesting to note that Moses and Elijah both met God on Sinai, and to this day, one can walk from Moses' cave on the summit of Mount Sinai, down past Elijah's chapel on a lower plateau, to the monastery of St Catherine at the bottom of Sinai, where in the apse of the church is a mosaic image of the Transfiguration. So, the figures of Moses and Elijah remind the Gospel reader that the Transfiguration is a theophany: an appearance of God to mortal men, and it is Jesus who is revealed as God.

It is also suggested that the Transfiguration reveals Christ as king. In any case, in the tradition of Israel, the king was called God's son, and so the ascent to the high mountain and the declaration of sonship parallels the coronation verse in Psalm 2:6-7: "I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill." I will tell of the decree of the Lord: He said to me, "You are my son, today I have begotten you". If Christ is king on Mount Tabor, then Moses stands for the Law, and Elijah for the Prophets. This identification of Moses and Elijah is common among the Fathers of the Church, and alluded to in the Preface for the Second Sunday of Lent.

More significantly however, Moses and Elijah also point to the resurrection, or at least to everlasting life. For in the Jewish tradition, these men were among the so-called "deathless ones". Elijah was assumed into heaven, seemingly without having died (see 2 Kings 2:1-11), and Moses disappeared from Mount Nebo, and his burial place is "known to God alone" (see Deuteronomy 34:1-6). Later Jewish tradition, attested to by Josephus and others, thus held that Moses too was assumed into heaven. So, we have two Old Testament figures who stand for eternal life or a heavenly, glorified existence. One might argue that they did not need to be resurrected, since they never died! However, it is more likely that the evangelists wanted to portray Jesus as the Living One on whom these living ones of the Old Testament depend. One might ask, then, granted all the above, if Moses and Elijah are the first people with resurrected or glorified bodies to be mentioned in the Gospels? This seems to me to be the case, so theirs can be said to be the 'first resurrection' in this limited sense.

Hence, Moses and Elijah are also a reminder of the hopes of Israel for the end-time when God will fulfil his promise for the resurrection of the dead and the glorification of all Israel. As Edward Schweitzer says, the Transfiguration "united two expectations which were alive in Judaism: the coming of the prophet of the end-time who is like Moses, and the appearing of Elijah at the dawning of the end-time". That prophet who is like Moses is Jesus, who ascends the high mountain, as Moses ascended Sinai. Other parallels between Moses and Christ in Matthew's gospel have been identified by scholars. The point is that Jesus is thus revealed as the longed-for prophet of Jewish eschatological hopes.

Therefore, the Transfiguration is also revealed to us to give hope. In the first place, as the Preface for the Transfiguration, taking its cue from the Scriptures, says: Christ "revealed his glory to the disciples to strengthen them for the scandal of the cross". What this means for us today, is that we are those disciples who have seen the glory of the Transfiguration. So, we are also called as disciples of Christ to share in his suffering by taking up our cross and following him. But we do so confident that we will one day also share his resurrection and glory, just as Moses and Elijah do.

Pentecost - Jesus breathed on them

Readings: Acts 2:1-11; Psalm 103; 1 Corinthians 12:3-7, 12-13; John 20:19-23

It is common these days to hear people say that while they are not religious they are spiritual. A widespread interest in spirituality is clear from the ‘Body, Mind, Spirit’ sections of the bookshops as well as the number of courses, week-ends, seminars, magazines and groups dedicated to all kinds of spiritual things.

Often it seems that the term ‘spiritual’ is being used to refer to a certain kind of feeling or sensibility. Just as people appreciate music or art so to be spiritual seems to mean appreciating the deeper meaning in human culture expressed through music, poetry, symbols, rituals and stories. The wonder aroused in us by natural beauty, the effect on us of a piece of Mozart, the way in which we are moved at the sight of a new born infant: I have heard all of these described as ‘spiritual experiences’.

For the Bible the spirit is in the first place ‘breath’. A primitive but still useful way of telling the difference between what is alive and what is dead is that one breathes and the other does not. Adam, according to the book of Genesis, becomes a living creature when God breathes into his nostrils the breath of life — a share in God’s own life or spirit. Today’s psalm expresses it like this: ‘You take back your spirit, they die, returning to the dust from which they came. You send forth your spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the earth’ (Psalm 103).

It is not surprising, then, that the arrival of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost ‘sounded like a powerful wind from heaven’. Or that Jesus on the day of his resurrection ‘breathed on them and said “Receive the Holy Spirit”’. Or that earlier in the Gospel of John Jesus dies by ‘giving up his spirit’. On one level it means simply ‘he breathed his last’. On another level it means ‘he gave up his life’, ‘he gave his spirit (to the world)’. In the moment of re-creation through the death of Jesus the human being is brought to new life by the breathing into him of God’s Holy Spirit.

For the Bible, then, to be spiritual means to be alive. There are of course different kinds of life. The disciples of Jesus, gathered in a closed room for fear of the Jews, were biologically alive but in another way they were dead, paralysed with fear and frozen with dread. The effect of the coming of the spirit is to bring them to life, to animate and invigorate them, to set them on fire with courage and enthusiasm for preaching about the marvels of God. They became ‘spirited people’, alive in a new way, carried along by a fresh wind.

Breathing, of course, is something from which we cannot stand back in order to have a good look at it. We must continue to breathe while trying to look at our breathing. And the Holy Spirit remains faceless for a similar reason. Because the Spirit is the power which makes us alive as Christians we cannot stand back from the Spirit in order to have a good look at Him. He will still be behind or beneath or within us as we try to do it because the Spirit is the power by which we live and move and look at anything.

So we can only know the Spirit ‘sideways’, as it were, through the effects he brings about. The visitors in Jerusalem were bewildered to see the ragged bunch of Galileans preaching in all the different languages of the world. We cannot say that they ‘saw the Holy Spirit’ although they saw the effect he was having in the disciples. Some of them explained it by suggesting the disciples were under the influence of a different kind of spirit, ‘drunk on new wine’. We believe they were intoxicated with the Holy Spirit, the gift of the ascended Christ from the Father.

While we cannot put a name or a face on the Spirit himself (can we even say ‘himself’?) we identify him as the Spirit who bears witness to the Father and the Son. Saint Paul teaches us that we cannot say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except under the influence of the Holy Spirit. Likewise we cannot say ‘Abba, Father’ unless we are under the influence of the Holy Spirit. For Saint John only the Spirit which confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God.

A wonderful view, a piece of Mozart, a new born child: all can bring God’s love home to us in a moving and striking way. The Spirit working within us keeps us alive to the depth there is in things. We live in a world which is sophisticated, prosperous and busy but increasingly frantic, stressful and superficial. What is the meaning of it all? To what end the running around, the making of money, the pursuit of knowledge? It is easy to see why people long for spirituality, for something deeper, more meaningful, more satisfying. That longing needs to be acknowledged and respected as we try to point people to where we believe it is fulfilled: in the gift of the Spirit of Jesus who awakens this longing in us in the first place.

Pentecost Vigil at Blackfriars Oxford

Dominican Pilgrimage to Walsingham 2010

This year's Dominican pilgrimage to Walsingham took place on the third Sunday of May, as usual, which happened to be the feast of the Ascension. fr Simon Gaine OP preached the homily at the Shrine's Solemn Mass, and, after a picnic in glorious sunshine, we prayed the Rosary and walked the Pilgrims' Way into Walsingham. There was over an hour for looking around the village and spending time together before Vespers and Benediction in the parish church of the Annunciation. Here are some photos from the day:

Students from Blackfriars Oxford and Leicester's universities joined us for the pilgrimage.

Sr Valery Walker OP talks to a young pilgrim.

The procession turns off the main road on to the disused railway line, which is now called the 'Pilgrim Way'.

The Dominican Pilgrimage praying the Rosary on the Pilgrim Way.

fr John Farrell OP consults the map showing the length of the Pilgrim Way, which runs parallel to the main road, and ends up by the former railway station, which is now an Orthodox chapel.

The procession enters the main square of Walsingham village.

The Salve Regina is sung to Dominican chant outside the parish church of Walsingham.

Enjoying a pint and good company in the fine weather after the procession.

fr John Farrell OP incenses the Blessed Sacrament. He is assisted by fr David Rocks OP, who organised the pilgrimage.

This year's pilgrims gathered in the parish church for sung Vespers before the Blessed Sacrament.

Quodlibet 18 - Dominican Women

How Dominican are Dominican women, a Godzdogz reader asks.

Sr Winnie McGarry OP, secretary of Blackfriars Hall and Studium, responds with a reflection on her experience of Dominican life and ministry.

There are several branches in the Dominican Order, all adhering to the same major goal of preaching, all living in the spirit and charism of Saint Dominic. We Dominican Sisters live the apostolic life which is supported by the four pillars of Dominican life: prayer, study, community life, and ministry. Saint Dominic called this pattern of life the ‘holy preaching’. Our preaching finds expression in diverse ministries. In my case I taught in a school for a few years before becoming a Diocesan Youth Officer, then University Chaplain. I spent several years on the missions prior to returning to Oxford to join the administrative team in Blackfriars. In my various ministries I have taught, preached homilies, been a retreat-giving team member, been an active listener. On the missions I started and edited a small theological magazine, set up a clinic for those deprived proper access to medical care, and worked on the local Catholic newspaper. Contemplari et contemplata aliis tradere, ‘to contemplate and to give to others the fruits of contemplation’: what we contemplate, as Dominicans, is Truth, and it is that Truth which we have encountered in contemplation that we hand on to others through our preaching, teaching, and other ministry. I have tried, however feebly, to do that. The rest I leave to God.

In the photograph (l. to r.) Sr Monica, former prioress of the Sisters' community in Oxford, who died earlier this year (may eternal light shine on her) and Sr Laurentia, a member of the community in Glasgow.

To learn more about the Nuns and Sisters of the Order visit the websites of the Nuns at Siena Convent, Drogheda, and of the Sisters with headquarters in England at Stone, Bushey, Crawley, and Lymington.

Ascension

Readings: Acts 1:1-11; Psalm 46; Ephesians 1:17-23 or Hebrews 9:24-28; 10:19-23; Luke 24:46-53

There are two words that seem redundant in the first reading and those are the words ‘from Galilee’. Everything else is necessary there, even the angels’ question ‘why are you men standing here looking up into the sky?’ But it is difficult to see what ‘from Galilee’ adds at this point: ‘why are you men from Galilee standing here looking up into the sky?’ It is as if the angels said ‘why are you men of varying sizes standing here’ or ‘why are you men dressed in a range of styles standing here’, 'why are you men with Yorkshire accents standing here' … and so on. It seems accidental rather than significant.

But perhaps it is significant. We know from the gospels that the disciples had come with Jesus from Galilee. We know that he and they were sometimes identified as ‘Galileans’ as if that was the name of their movement. We know also that the gospels of Matthew and Mark conclude with Jesus taking leave of his disciples in Galilee or telling them to go and to meet him in Galilee. Perhaps the reference to Galilee has somehow insinuated itself into the account in the Acts of the Apostles because the tradition was so strong that Galilee was the place where they were to meet after the resurrection and that he took leave of them there. The story ended where it had begun.

Luke, of course, has the leave-taking in Jerusalem, or just outside the city. John 20 also seems to bring the gospel to an end with Jesus taking leave of his disciples in Jerusalem but then it starts up again in chapter 21 to tell us about an encounter they had with him on the shores of the Sea of Galilee.

So there are questions about the geography of the Ascension and room for reflection about the reasons why some of the New Testament authors place it in Galilee while others locate it at Jerusalem. And there are cosmological questions also about the Ascension. Whatever about the place from which he departed, where is the place at which he arrived? Where has he gone in this risen and glorified human body of his and where is he now?

Well we know that he is at the right hand of the Father. But he also tells us, in the final words of Matthew’s gospel, that he remains with us always, even to the end of time. In other words he has not gone away at all but is continually among us and alongside us and within us. In fact his return to the Father opens the way for the sending of their Spirit into us which makes it possible for Jesus to be present with us always.

On the one hand we will want to dismiss primitive pictures of a three story universe with regions below this earth and regions above it such that if we were to travel far enough out into this universe we might eventually stumble into heaven (or hell). On the other hand we cannot simply dismiss all this – references to Galilee, to Jerusalem, to the kingdom of heaven – as symbols of purely spiritual realities, things completely immaterial, because we believe that Jesus has 'risen from the dead in his human body', as the Easter liturgy puts it.

The angels may help us as they help the disciples. According to Jerome Murphy-O’Connor angels in the New Testament are well-dressed young men who usually travel around in pairs (a bit like Mormon preachers then). But they appear only at moments of transition or crisis, moments when poor human beings are confronted with the mystery of God at work in Christ, moments beyond our unaided capacity to understand, where interpretation is needed. They re-assure the men from Galilee that Jesus will return in the way they have seen him leave and that there is no further point in them standing looking up into the sky.

The High Priest has entered into the true tabernacle carrying not the blood of bulls and goats but his own blood. The King has entered into the Holy of Holies to be seated at the right hand of the Father. This priest and king is Jesus Christ, the Eternal Son of the Father, but also our brother, the son of Mary, the one who lived and taught and died amongst us.

It is not so much that he has gone to a different corner of the universe as that the universe has begun to be radically transformed, beginning in Him. It is not that there are two neighbouring realms, touching each other somewhere, one earthly and one heavenly but rather that this realm in which we live and move and have our being has been taken up completely into another realm. Embraced by the presence of Christ and the presence of the Spirit, the world is being transformed, even in its physical being: think of the blessings we say over the bread and the wine (fruit of the earth, work of human hands, taken to a 'place' where they become the bread of life and our spiritual drink). He has 'gone up' not to be in another place but so that he might fill and transform the entire universe.

Today’s feast is another moment in the one paschal event. It is about power and authority, the readings tell us today, it is about the one who has been appointed king of the universe and judge of all. God’s power not only raised him from the dead, it placed him at God’s right hand in heaven, far above every sovereignty, authority, power or domination. He has been made ruler of everything. The Church is the body of which he is the head and the Church is the fulness of him who fills the whole creation.

He cannot now be at a distance from us although we can be at a distance from him. This is what sin achieves. But grace ensures that those who have been baptised into his life and live by His Spirit, are already children of God. They belong to a new creation, these people from here, there and everywhere who do not spend their time looking up into the sky but who spend their time trying to observe all the commands he gave. Because he has returned to the Father He can be with us always, to the end of time, and we can be with Him.

St. Thomas and Limericks

The Limerick is the cheeky and often rude member of the poetry family. It was popularised in the nineteenth-century by Edward Lear. Enthusiasts of the five line poem have dedicated time and effort to finding "prelimericks" in the works of Aristophanes, Robert Herrick, and Shakespeare. Given the reputation of the limerick it might seem surprising that it would be found in the works of the Angelic Doctor. In 1925 Msgr. Ronald Knox identified a possible prelimerick in the priestly post-mass prayer of thanksgiving in the breviary:

Sit vitiorum meorum evacuatio

Concupiscentae et libidinis exterminatio,

Caritatis et patientiae,

Humilitatis et obedientiae,

Omniumque virtutum augmentatio

Despite featuring the words concupiscentiae and libidinis St. Thomas' halo is not tarnished. It may be translated as:

Let it be for the elimination of my sins,

For the expulsion of desire and lust,

[And] for the increase of charity and patience,

Humility and obedience,

As well as all the virtues.

It is impossible to say if St, Thomas set out write a limerick or if limerick lovers have imposed the strict meter of the form upon this section. With such a great body of work, including some remarkable poetry, it would not be surprising if five-lines of St. Thomas' work did fit the limerick structure. Nevertheless R.J. Winkler proposed the following rhymed translation:

Extinguish concupiscent fires,

Eliminate lustful desires;

Give patience and love,

A plenitude of

What humble obeying requires.

H/T to The Lion and the Cardinal & The Pentatette The newsletter of the Limerick Special Interest Group

Saints This Month - 13 May: Blessed Imelda Lambertini

In parishes up and down England we are entering the First Communion season. Over the past six months I have assisted in preparing a group in a parish in Oxford. One of the highlights this year was a session which concluded with exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. After a boisterous and noisy session, the group entered the church and for the next twenty minutes there was reverent and respectful silence. Afterwards the group had a brief discussion on how they found the period of adoration. One of the boys spoke up and said it was amazing to be able to look at Jesus and talk to him face to face and the feeling was so good that he couldn't wait until he made his communion.

It always amazes me how perceptive children can be. Imelda Lambertini is a fine example of this. Born into a Bolognese noble family in 1322, from an early age Imelda showed great piety. The young girl arranged a small oratory in her house, where she would pray frequently. Determined to enter religious life, her parents finally permitted her early entry into a Dominican convent at age 9. During her two years in the convent she developed a great devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. However she was too young to receive her first communion. She often commented: "How can anyone receive Jesus into his heart and not die of love?" So strong was her desire to receive the Sacrament that she constantly prayed that she might be allowed this great gift.

On the Feast of the Ascension, after the Conventual Mass she prayed that she might have a share in the Eucharist. The nuns were preparing to leave the church when some of them were startled to see what appeared to be a Sacred Host hovering in the air above Imelda, as she knelt before the closed tabernacle absorbed in prayer. Quickly they attracted the attention of the priest who hurried forward with a paten on which to receive It. In light of such a miracle the priest decided that she should make her first Communion there and then. The sisters left her to make her thanksgiving in private.

As time passed, they began to worry and they returned to the chapel and found that she had died. She is said to have "expired in an ecstasy of pure love." Her thanksgiving had been well completed, and she had nothing left to desire. Her uncorrupted body was interred in San Sigismondo, Bologna. She very quickly became the patron for First Communicants. Blessed Imelda understood instinctively what many of us have forgotten: that it is the single-hearted who are blessed and that unless we become like children we cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven. It is only when we become uncomplicated enough that we become intensely and truly Eucharistic.

Quodlibet 17 - Iron Seal/Coin Die of the Order

A Romanian collector of medieval coins has asked about the symbolism found on the item below. He believes it was used either for sealing documents or as a die, for striking tokens of the Order.

The symbolism used is quite common in the Order and is not really particular to one region or time. The field here is divided into three parts or "tierced in mantle". This is often referred to as chapé in heraldry circles. The lower charge is of a dog holding a torch. According to the Golden Legend St Dominic's mother, while pregnant, dreamed that she would give birth to a dog who would hold a torch in its mouth and would "burn the world." It has also been suggested that the dog represents a pun on Dominicanus, the word for a Dominican friar who is domini canis, "a dog of the Lord." At any rate, a dog is often shown, at the feet of St. Dominic, holding a torch in its mouth and the order (and this website!) have often used this image.

The top right sections seems to display a lily. St Dominic is often depicted holding a lily to represent his notable chastity. In our anthem to St. Dominic, traditionally sung during the Compline procession, one of the titles we give him is ebur castitatis, "ivory of chastity". I am not too sure what is in the top right section but I think it is a palm branch crossed with a torch. I think this represents the martyrs of the Order, who have died whilst preaching the Gospel but this is purely speculative.

The ordinary or border that divides the sections contains the initials C.M.O.P. I imagine that the OP stands for Ordo Praedicatorum , the Latin for Order of Preachers, but I am not too sure about the CM. The C might stand for Conventus but any suggestions would be welcome. The apex contains a star. This is another common Dominican symbol. Legend tells us that when St. Dominic was a baby his godmother saw a star on his forehead during the baptism, so another common attribute of his representations is a star either on his forehead or above his head. He is also the patron saint of astronomers and astronomy. Finally the rim of the seal contains one of the mottos of the Order: Laudare, Benedicere, Praedicare (to praise, to bless, to preach).

Within the Order we still use official seals for certain documents. In the English province these are generally impression seals rather than seals that need wax. Below is the seal used today by the Priory of the Holy Spirit in Oxford (popularly known as 'Blackfriars').

Confirmations at Blackfriars

As Pentecost approaches, the Sacrament of Confirmation is celebrated in many parishes. However, as the Priory of the Holy Spirit in Oxford is not a parish church, we seldom witness this wonderful sacrament in our community. This year on 8 May, we were happy to welcome 15 boys from Magdalen College School and their families and friends to our Conventual Mass, during which they were confirmed by Bishop William Kenney CP, the area bishop for Oxford.

The boys had been prepared for Confirmation for several months by fr Daniel Jeffries OP and Dr Paul Shrimpton who is a teacher at the school. The Dominican community has an on-going pastoral involvement with Magdalen College School, which is why they were confirmed in Blackfriars rather than in their own parish churches.

Please pray for all who have been confirmed recently and for all who will receive this sacrament during this season of Easter and Pentecost:

All-powerful God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

by water and the Holy Spirit
you freed your sons and daughters from sin
and gave them new life.
Send your Holy Spirit upon them
to be their helper and guide.
Give them the spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the spirit of right judgment and courage,
the spirit of knowledge and reverence.
Fill them with the spirit of wonder and awe in your presence.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Quodlibet 16 - The Harrowing of Hell

What happened during the Harrowing of Hell? Was it only the faithful Jews who were saved at that time or did Christ's work extend to gentiles as well?

The First letter of St. Peter tells us that Jesus 'went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison, who in former times did not obey, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah' (1 Pet 3:18-19) and that the Gospel was 'proclaimed even to the dead' (1 Pet 4:6). Over the centuries a rich tradition has built up around this belief. In Dante's Inferno the Latin poet Virgil describes Christ descending into Hell and rescuing the Hebrew forefathers but leaving him behind. Now this might suggest that it was only the Jews who were saved by Christ when he harrowed Hell but it is not that clear cut. In the English translation of the Apostles' Creed we state our belief that Jesus 'descended into Hell'. The Greek word used for Hell, κατώτατα and the Latin inferos are more precisely translated as "the lowest" or "those below". The Hell referred to is not only the realm of the damned but a general realm of the dead both wicked and just. This is important because it is an affirmation that when Jesus died on the cross it was not a trick or an illusion but a real death. Therefore it is appropriate that his soul, his human soul, united to his divine nature, entered the realm of the dead.

Due to the Fall and Original Sin, humanity is excluded from Heaven. It is deprived of the vision of God. Nevertheless there are holy souls who wait in the bosom of Abraham for their liberation. It is helpful to think of people waiting at a locked gate. Only Christ has the key to this gate. Christ's passion is the universal cause of salvation. It is the salvation of both the living and the dead. Christ's descent into Hades brings the Gospel message to fulfilment. The effects of the Gospel explode and reach throughout time. We must now ask who heard this Gospel in the underworld? There is much debate over whether Christ descended to the domain of the damned or to the "Hell of the Lost". The church teaches that our Lord's death was of "no avail to the damned". St. Thomas argues that Christ descended into all the levels of Hell but in different manners. His soul only descended into the Hell of the Just but through the effect of his death he descended into all parts of Hell. Hans Urs von Balthasar has suggested that Christ's descent into Hell was part of his suffering while others argue that His suffering was complete on the Cross, his descent merely a revelation to all parts of creation of what had been done on the Cross.

Tradition has maintained that faithful Jews were among the Just that Christ leads out of Hell. We can imagine the great Old Testament figures such as Adam and Eve, Abraham, King David and the Prophets waiting for the messiah to free them but I do not think membership of the bosom of Abraham is restricted to the Chosen People. Christ proclaimed the Gospel to Jews but he also brings the Good News to non-Jews such as the woman at the well. It seems to me that virtuous pagans would also be among the just. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that:

Those who through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or His Church, but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart, and, moved by grace, try in their actions to do his will as they know it through the dictates of their conscience — those too may achieve eternal salvation.

In Gaudium et Spes Vatican II declared:

Since Christ died for all men, and since the ultimate vocation of man is in fact one, and divine, we ought to believe that the Holy Spirit in a manner known only to God offers to every man the possibility of being associated with this paschal mystery.

When Christ descended into Hell it would seem that He offers this chance of association also to those who had not been born into the Chosen People but had sincerely sought God and, moved by grace, strove by their deeds to do His will.

6th Sunday of Easter - the Gift of Peace

One of the things we do in the course of our priestly formation is to learn to preach. The preaching class gives the young friar a chance to prepare a homily, and then deliver it in church to his classmates and an experienced friar preacher. They then discuss the sermon and give feedback to the student. Below is a sermon prepared for one of these classes, for today, the Sixth Sunday of Easter.

Readings: Acts 15:1-2. 22-29; Psalm 66; Apoc 21:10-14. 22-23; John 14:23-29.

Light is just one of those things that we take for granted. When it’s there we bask in it without a second thought, going about our tasks. But as soon as it’s gone and we’re left in darkness, we’re paralyzed, unable to do anything. Peace is rather like that too: we only notice when it’s gone … and like the English summer sun, there’s a certain fragility and unpredictability to it … It can be gone in a moment.

When peace is lost, we long for it, just as we long for light, or health, or love when it is absent. We feel its absence more than its presence because peace is undoubtedly good, it simply ought to be there. But in a world broken by sin, things that ought to be there sometimes aren’t. And so, we experience darkness, and suffering, and hatred.

Jesus’ death on the Cross, when he endured all these things, is God’s response to a broken world. In the absence of good, Jesus not only desired good like we do, but because He is good, He restored all that is good through his Resurrection.

But this is hard to believe! After all, aren’t we still sinners? Aren’t people still suffering and dying? And isn’t a sunny Bank Holiday still as elusive as ever? Things that simply ought not to be in a perfect world are still around. But then … no one ever said this world was perfect. Only in the heavenly Jerusalem, will there be no more sin, no more pain, no more sorrow or death, and no rained-out barbecues but unending light! Until we get there, we will still experience absences of good, such as fear and sin.

Indeed, it is fear that keeps us paralyzed in the darkness, and sin that blinds us from seeing the light of the risen Lord. But into this situation, Christ comes and says: “Peace be with you”. Just as in creating the world, God spoke his Word and there was light … so in creating the new world, a world that is coming into being because of Easter … God spoke his Word, “Peace be with you”, and there was peace. The peace the risen Christ gives is a “peace that the world cannot give”. It is the peace that comes from the world of the Resurrection, that world in which all good is restored. This peace, which the risen Lord speaks into being, is stronger than our petty quarrels, stronger than sin, stronger than death itself … for it is a peace that is born of love, the love of the Cross.

But sometimes, faith and hope, which ought to be there, simply isn’t. And so, we feel anxious and fearful. We have no peace. And so Jesus, knowing how hard it can be for us because he shares our humanity, left us His peace.

God also sends his Holy Spirit to remind us of Christ’s words. So, at every Mass, when we are gathered in the Spirit, we are reminded of His promise: “I leave you peace, my peace I give you”. We hear these familiar words every day and it’s a shame if we let them become so familiar that we take them for granted. Moments after these words are said, we ask the Lord to “grant us peace”. And He answers our request by giving us His Body and Blood. For the Eucharist is the great sign of the peace that He left us. The Eucharist is given to us to eat and to drink so that God can come and make His home with us. So, when we receive the Lamb of God, we become the holy city in which God dwells. And He lives in us as our light. And this light of the Eucharist scatters the darkness of sin, fear, and hatred. And we are filled with grace, hope, and love. This state of affairs, in which we are reconciled to God and one another, is rightly called peace, because it is good. This communion with God and neighbour simply ought to be. So … when it is absent because of sin or fear, our souls long for its restoration.

We need light to carry on with our daily tasks. So, too we need the peace that Christ gives us in this Sacrament. It is our food for the journey, that keeps us going on life’s pilgrimage, towards that final home with God, where the promise of this Sacrament becomes an eternal reality. We may take some things for granted, but let us not take this gift of peace for granted. For this sacrament, and this liturgy, is our eucharistia, our thanksgiving.

Polling Day

After a month long election circus, Britain finally goes to the polls today. If you have not yet put your cross on a ballot paper you have until 10.00pm tonight to do so. As Christians we have a duty to exercise our right to vote and to do so not by worldly standards but in the light of the truth of faith and human reason. Our choices can significantly affect many lives, especially the lives of the most vulnerable people in society, such as the poor, human embryos, children in the womb, and those who are terminally ill.

Catholic citizens have a serious moral obligation to exercise their right to vote. What is more we have a duty to vote guided by a well-formed conscience. The Bishops of England and Wales have published a document exploring these issues Choosing the Common Good. British Catholics should also remember the blood that has been spilt and the lives that have been lost in the name of Catholic emancipation.

Every morning in the House of Commons, the Speaker's chaplain reads this prayer. It is rather apt today as all voters are in a position of great responsibility:

Lord, the God of righteousness and truth,

grant to our Queen and her government, to Members of Parliament

and all in positions of responsibility,

the guidance of your Spirit.

May they never lead the nation wrongly

through love of power, desire to please, or unworthy ideals

but laying aside all private interests and prejudices keep in mind their responsibility to seek to improve the condition of all mankind;

so may your kingdom come and your name be hallowed.

Amen.

Quodlibet - [don't] ask us a question!

The following post was first published on 30th January 2007. Between then and 21st March 2009 we published fifteen 'quodlibets'. Then we had the year of St Paul, the year of the priest, and other things came along to fill the pages of Godzdogz. In the meantime a lot of questions came in and we want to turn now to answering those. Over the next few months we hope to publish a couple of quodlibets each week. Please don't send us any more questions for the moment - it may be that your question has already been tabled by someone else - we will let you know when we have cleared the backlog.

We would like to add a new feature to the 'study' section of Godzdogz: a virtual quodlibet. The quodlibet, roughly meaning whatever it pleases, was a form of teaching employed in the medieval university at which questions on any topic which pleased the audience were put to a teacher. These questions and answers were sometimes written up and published, most famously in the Quaestiones de quodlibet of Thomas Aquinas.

We hope that this will be a valuable, interactive element to add to our blog. We invite you therefore to propose questions which you feel we might be able to answer - whatever it pleases you to ask. From time to time we will research answers to your questions and post them here.

The Year of the Priest - Celebrating a Golden Jubilee

A Golden Jubilee is always an occasion of thanksgiving and celebration, and in this Year for Priests, it is especially significant. fr Austin Milner OP, who served for over thirty years in the Caribbean, now lives and teaches in Blackfriars. On 24 April 2010, he celebrated a Mass of Thanksgiving in Oxford on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of his priestly ordination. The liturgy, which is fr Austin's area of expertise, was marked by beautiful music and noble simplicity of celebration. The music was almost entirely composed by the late Anthony Milner, fr Austin's brother, and sung by musicians who take part each year in Spode Music Week.

fr David Sanders OP preached a sermon enlivened with anecdotes from fr Austin's experience of ministry: it was certainly a sermon that inspired us Dominicans students training for priestly ministry.

During the Mass, a collection was taken up for the victims of the recent Haiti earthquake. Afterwards fr Austin's friends and family gathered in the Priory for a simple reception hosted by the Dominican brethren. Below are more photos from the day, as well as a reflection by fr Austin himself.









The life of a Dominican priest is by necessity very different from that of a secular priest in so far as it does not usually consist in being a pastor. St Dominic decided that his followers should be clerics primarily so that they would have the authority to preach and to hear confessions. The fifty years of my life as a priest have been spent mainly in teaching in seminaries and preparing young men for ordination as diocesan priests and Dominican friars.

At the same time I have acted as pastor of many parishes, sometimes full time, sometimes being there only at weekends. I have enjoyed that work, especially the effort to reach people who did not often go to church, and helping those reduced to poverty or rendered homeless through hurricanes. The work of evangelization often begins by forming personal relations with individuals and showing them the love of God.

The task of preaching the gospel message in our time has been my main preoccupation, whether in my preaching or in my pastoral work. After fifty years I still feel that I know very little about it. I have always tried to preach solid sermons and worked hard at them, but often my most successful preaching has been on those occasions when I have had no time to prepare and have just prayed to the Holy Spirit for guidance, relying on the study and contemplation that has gone before. In fact I have always found that prayer was the most important element in preparing to preach.

Ordained in 1960 most of my priestly life has been dominated by the Second Vatican Council and the implication of its decrees. I have witnessed the tremendous effect on people of being able to take part actively in the celebration of the liturgy in their own language, the way they have grown spiritually through the new emphasis on reading the Bible, and seeing how many have been able through these means to form a close relationship with Christ. Particularly interesting has been participation in various lay movements and helping the laity to serve their church communities and minister in various ways. The training of mature Christian men for the diaconate has been for me a great privilege and a great learning experience. In my old age, returning to the narrowness and pettiness of the ecclesiastical disputes of England and Europe, I am greatly saddened by the neo-ultramontanism and all the various attempts to put the clock back and undo the wonderful work made possible by the Second Vatican Council.

I deeply regret that in my fifty years of priesthood I have wasted so much time and missed so many opportunities of allowing the Lord to mould me as he wishes. Many people may have been harmed by my blindness, indifference and sinfulness and whatever good may have come of my ministry has all been the Lord’s work.

Austin Milner OP

fr Austin with his sisters and niece, who came from Ireland and Spain for the celebration

The Perfect Gift