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').