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