Chesterton Answers Clifford Longley

Clifford Longley's reaction to our prayercard.

"Thou didst fill the life of Thy servant.." etc

Dost thou really thinkest of God as a 17th century English nobleman? Would GKC think so? This is beyond parody...!

Clifford Longley

Chesterton Answers Clifford Longley

"To the pagan ... the small things are as sweet as the small brooks breaking out of the mountain; but the broad things are as bitter as the sea. When the pagan looks at the very core of the cosmos he is struck cold. Behind the gods, who are merely despotic, sit the fates, who are deadly . . . It is profoundly true that the ancient world was more modern than the Christian. The common bond is in the fact that ancients and moderns have both been miserable about existence, about everything, while mediaevals were happy about that at least. I freely grant that the pagans, like the moderns, were only miserable about everything – they were quite jolly about everything else. I concede that the Christians of the Middle Ages were only at peace about everything – they were at war about everything else."

Deerstalker tip to The Catholic GK Chesterton Society for this post.

Don't forget the Anual GK Chesterton Pilgrimage 14th June.

Annual GK Chesterton Pilgrimage

The Annual GK Chesterton Pilgrimage will take place on Tuesday 14th June. I say 'annual', but I'm not sure there has been one before. I had the idea while reading Dr William Oddie's Introduction to the book, The Holiness of GK Chesterton. "Have we now, seventy-three (now 75) years after Chesterton's death, reached a kind of tipping point in his reputation, of the same kind that Newman's reputation reached, leading to the opening of his cause in 1959, seventy-eight years after his death?" Well, yes I think so. The 75th anniversary of Chesterton's death seems like a good day to start.

On my way to work today I started to doubt if it was a good idea, or even if it was a good idea, should I call it? Then at lunch time Peter a volunteer at Good Counsel gave me his GK Chesterton Society Tie! So on Tuesday 14th June me and my Family will travel to Beaconsfield (Local Parish) to say the Prayer for the Beatification of GK Chesterton and the Rosary at his graveside, have lunch and who knows what else. Final details will be posted here by Friday (10th June) evening (Much later than planned. But we will just do the above, 12noon at the grave. This is in part due to Deanery meetings stopping some Priests attending. Also Paul has gone for a stroll in France, so will not be leading a group from Harrow on bicycles after all. Oh well if a thing is worth doing it is worth doing badly! Next year......). If you are unable to join us please do say the Prayer.

The Pro-Life Talk On Wednesday

Monsignor Philip J Reilly, the founder of the Helpers of God's Precious Infants will be in London on Wednesday. He will be giving a talk at St James' Church, Spanish Place, 22 George Street, London, W1U 3QY, on Wednesday 18th May 2011 at 7.30pm.

The number of babies, as well as Mothers & Fathers saved from the horrors of abortion by God's Grace, through this Priest is amazing. Should we go to the abortuary and pray? What should we do when we are there? Do Bishops and Priests need to go? Will me going really make a dfference? Over years I've heard Monsingor answer all of this and much more besides.

Deerstalker tip to Maria Stops Abortion. Photo is of Bishop Hopes of Westminster praying at an abortuary just last month.

John Smeaton (SPUC) Added To My Blog Roll

I have added John Smeaton's blog to my blog roll (see below) as he does not come ahead of Maria Stops Abortion alphabetically! But also because I so often think to reprint his posts here, and have done so from time to time. While I do not agree with everything he says, I can say that you need to read his posts if you are Pro-Life.

His blog is also, I believe, one of only 4 blogs to support Bishop Hopes going to pray outside the abortuary in Twickenham. We read much criticism of Bishops here in blogland, and rightly so some of the time, but praise where praise is due. (Pray The Rosary for a Bishop)

You can read his Biography on his blog, but just to add to it, the photo of him here (on the right), is of him praying outside marie stopes abortuary in Central London, with Good Counsel as part of the daily vigil.

Eight Former Anglicans Ordained To Diaconate

At the request of Monsignor Keith Newton, the Ordinary of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, and in his presence, Bishop John Hine, Auxillary Bishop of Southwark, Ordained eight former Anglicans to the Diaconate on Saturday 7 May 2011. The Ordinations took place during a Mass in the Relic Chapel at The Friars, Aylesford.

The new Deacons Ordained for the Ordinariate are: Reverends Ivan Aquilina, Stephen Bould, Simon Heans, Nicholas Leviseur, Christopher Lindlar, Christopher Pearson and Edward Tomlinson who hope to be ordained to the Priesthood by Archbishop Peter Smith in Southwark Cathedral on Saturday, 4 June 2011, and James Bradley, who will minister as a Deacon for a year.

Further Ordinations to the Diaconate have taken place across the country. Further information can be found at the Ordinariate website here and the blog here.

Non Catholics reading this should also see How Old Is Your Church?

'Welsh' Catholic Perspective On Darwinism And Creation

Family Life International workshop on Creation vs. Darwinism. This will be held in the
Hinsley Rooms Near Westminster Cathedral, Morpeth Terrace London SW1P. Saturday 14th May 1.30-5.30pm.

The presenters will include Hugh Owen (his Father was born in Pontypool, South Wales) and Dr. Thomas. H. Seile from the Kolbe Centre.

The workshop team will be considering the topic from a Scriptural point of view, What the Early Fathers of the Church believed and from a scientific point of view.

This event will be of Special interest to RE and Science Teachers as well as Students, however all are invited, but places are limited.

There will be a large amount of resource available for those who have a serious interest in the subject.

If you are interested in attending please register as soon as possible to confirm your place or call us on 02088579950, conference@flionline.org, www.flionline.org.

Additional information

The idea of evolution suggests that all natural species have one common ancestor, or a few of them, and that over very many generations a continuous gradual change produced the diversity of all biological species observed today. It suggests a development from simple life forms to more complex ones, introducing a multitude of new organs and functional structures which did not exist in the beginning. According to this concept, purely natural processes, mainly mutation and natural selection, are the driving forces that bring about a gradual evolution towards more complex life.

However, the results of scientific examinations in different research areas delivered no proof for the theory of evolution. On the other hand, the most basic natural law, the absence of evolving organs and logical considerations deliver proof of the contrary and lead to the conclusion that evolution did not happen and can never happen. Natural species are not connected by common descent. Within the framework of their natural variability they have always been the same since their origin - an origin which cannot be attributed to any observable or reproducible natural process

Old Rite Mass This Friday For Good Counsel

There will be an Old Rite Mass organised by the Latin Mass Society, on Friday 13th May at 6.30pm at Corpus Christi Church, Maiden Lane, London. This Mass is offered for the work of the Good Counsel Network.

Six Former Anglicans Ordained To Diaconate

On Friday 6th May 2011 6 former Anglicans were Ordained as Transitional Deacons in the Catholic Church. Gordon Adam, Peter Andrews, Tim Bugby, Antony Homer, James Patrick and Mark Elliott Smith were Ordained by Bishop Hopes (a former Anglican himself) at Our Lady of Victories Church in Kensington.

They will be Ordianed as Priests at Pentecost. Each belongs to a group of clergy and lay people who aim to form personal parishes as part of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham. The three groups at the moment are from Hemel Hempstead, North London (Enfield) and Central London.

Further Ordinations to the Diaconate have taken place across the country. Further information can be found at the Ordinariate website here and the blog here.

This comes from here

I May Have To Stop Hitting Some Young Twits Now!

Having jumped joyfully (dragged kicking & screaming) into the 21st century, I must admit, I haven't a clue! Since I have a blog & a mobile phone, some youngsters seem to think that I may know what they are talking about, but for the last year or so I've been knocking out the teeth etc of many a young one who said, "You are a Twit dear!" Only my Wife can talk to me like that!

But it now transpires that they were in fact saying, "Are you on Twitter?", well, all except Declan no doubt. It was one day last week when a youngster asked me if you can get Twitter on my type of phone that it hit me and all started coming back to me. "Yes" I said slowly, "in fact I have it on my phone." I set it up months ago and have never looked at it and never put anything on it! So I've had a look now and I'm following Good Counsel and have now added my Wife & SPUC.

I shall now start using Twitter.......... to overthrow the next government that looks sideways at me or something! Worse than that, while typing this post, I got an email to inform me that, SPUC are now following me! Dash it all, I'll have to tweet or something now!

Please Pray For My Dead Nan

Today is the first anniversary of the death of Sarah Ward, my Grandmother (Nan). She was an Ulster (Northern Ireland) protestant, a methodist in fact. She had quite a hard life, moving a number of times as a small child, as her Father went in search of work.

I remember wondering how to tell her, at Christmas 1996, that I had just been Baptised as a Catholic the week before! I was not expecting it to go down too well, but while sitting in her flat in Cardiff thinking of what to say, she told me the most amazing thing. "I remember the Priest (Catholic) trying to come to our house in Kent when your Great Grandfather, my Dad, died. We told him to get back on his bike or we would throw a bucket of water at him!" I asked her why would the Catholic Priest come? And she told me that, "It was very sad, but Dad became a Catholic six months before he died, but he didn't have the chance to get the rest of us though!" I laughed, as I was so happy with the start of the story, and my Nan 'knew' then. She had spent 29 years telling me that I was just like my Great Grandfather! So I just said, "And me last week!" She replied, "I know, you're just like him".

She had mellowed over the years and was fine about it, to the point that when her Bible was stolen while in hospital, she asked me to get her a new one, knowing beyond doubt that it would be a Catholic Bible, and it was.

One of the last memories I have of my Nan, was arriving at the hospital a week or two before she died when no one else was there. Although she was 'totally out of it' I told her I was going to pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet for her, she said just two words after me at one point, 'Our Father'. Well I cried and carried on.

It is one of the hard things about being a convert, when someone dies on your side of the Family, very few Masses & prayers will be offered for the repose of their souls.

So do say a prayer for my Nan. Thanks.

"My Dad Ran International Planned Parenthood"

On Saturday 7th May, Hugh Owen the convert son of Sir David Owen, a former Secretary General of the International Planned Parenthood Federation will speak at the HLI Pro-Life Conference in London. Hugh directs the Kolbe Center for the Study of Creation which provides a forum for Catholic theologians, philosophers, and natural scientists throughout the world. The Kolbe Center is dedicated to make available to Church leaders and to the laity the evidence for and against the theory of evolution. His talk entitled Evolution and the Culture of Death should be of great interest to us all.

If you are unable to come to Westminster Cathedral Hall on Saturday 7th May, contact HLI for details of how to buy the talks on CD/DVD.

Deerstalker tip to Good Counsel

Blessed John Paul's Prayer For Life

O Mary,
bright dawn of the new world,
Mother of the living,
to you do we entrust the cause of life
Look down, O Mother,
upon the vast numbers
of babies not allowed to be born,
of the poor whose lives are made difficult,
of men and women
who are victims of brutal violence,
of the elderly and the sick killed
by indifference or out of misguided mercy.

Grant that all who believe in your Son
may proclaim the Gospel of life
with honesty and love
to the people of our time.

Obtain for them the grace
to accept that Gospel
as a gift ever new,
the joy of celebrating it with gratitude
throughout their lives
and the courage to bear witness to it
resolutely, in order to build,
together with all people of good will,
the civilization of truth and love,
to the praise and glory of God,
the Creator and lover of life.

Taken from Evangelium Vitae