Sermon For The 3rd Annual GK Chesterton Pilgrimage

The 3rd Annual GK Chesterton Pilgrimage has taken place! I hope to write a report shortly, until then here is Fr Schofield's Sermon from the Mass. (Photo shows, Father giving Pilgrims a Catholic history lesson on the way)

It gives me great pleasure to welcome you once again to Uxbridge as you make this third Annual Chesterton Pilgrimage.

Your final destination is Beaconsfield , G. K. Chesterton’s home from 1909 until his death in 1936. A year or so after his wedding he and Frances went on an excursion which he described as ‘a sort of second honeymoon’. He later recalled in his Autobiography:

I saw a passing omnibus labelled “Hanwell” and, feeling this to be an appropriate omen [for Hanwell was the location of a notorious lunatic asylum], we boarded it and left it somewhere at a stray station, which I entered and asked the man in the ticket-office where the next train went to. He uttered a pedantic reply, “Where do you want it to go?” And I uttered the profound and philosophical rejoinder, “Wherever the next train goes to.” It seemed that it went to Slough; which may seem to be singular taste, even in a train. However, we went to Slough, and from there set out walking with even less notion of where we were going.

Without intending to, he reached Beaconsfield and realised that ‘this is the sort of place where someday we will make our home’.

That passage is very telling. Chesterton spent his life searching for the Truth. It involved, if you like, catching trains without knowing exactly where they were going, trying different routes, until he was led through agnosticism, sceptisicism, spiritualism and Anglicanism to the bosom of the Catholic Church – in a humble room at the Railway Hotel in Beaconsfield, then serving as the town's mission.

It was in Beaconsfield that Chesterton lived, far away from Fleet Street; there that he wrote some of his most famous works, and eventually there he died and was laid to rest. Beaconsfield and Catholicism perhaps came to be closely-intertwined – they were simply ‘home’.

Chesterton is still admired today not only for his writings but his holiness of life. Many hope that one day he will be raised to the altars of the Church. Perhaps the most appealing aspects of Chesterton’s holiness were his wit and his humility. He was not just a ‘funny man’ but even developed a sort of theology of Christian humour. He thought it very telling that ‘alone among the animals, he [man] is shaken with the beautiful madness called laughter.’ Humour was linked to an appreciation of reality, of truth. ‘Honesty always laughs,’ he wrote, ‘because things are so laughable. Of course life is a serious business and we cannot shrug off important matters with a smirk or a laugh, but, on the other hand, to take everything seriously is to make everything into an idol.’ Chesterton thought that a common theme in comedy is ‘the primary paradox that man is superior to all the things around him and yet is at their mercy.’ Stand-up comedians are always observing the ridiculous side of human existence. And if we have the sense of the ridiculous in the things around us and, crucially, in ourselves then we are acknowledging that these things are not the centre of the universe, that (in most cases) these matters that consume so much of our time are passing away. Why can the angels fly?, Chesterton famously asked. Because they take themselves so lightly.  

Closely linked to this gift of joy, this lightness of being is the virtue of humility. One of my favourite stories with regard to this is told by Maisie Ward:

During the [1932 Dublin Eucharistic] Congress an Eastern priest accosted G. K. with praise of his writings. His own mind full of the great ideas of Christendom and the Faith, he felt a huge disproportion in the allusion to himself. And when later the priest asked to be photographed at his side it flashed through G.K.’s mind that he had heard in the East that an idiot was supposed to bring luck.

Chesterton was a gentle giant, a man with a sharp intellect but completely without guile, who gave his gifts freely for the service of the Lord and knew exactly his place in the order of things. Let us pray that we defend the Faith with the same wisdom and live our life with the same innocence:

God Our Father, Thou didst fill the life of Thy servant Gilbert Keith Chesterton with a sense of wonder and joy, and gave him a faith which was the foundation of his ceaseless work, a charity towards all men, particularly his opponents, and a hope which sprang from his lifelong gratitude for the gift of human life. May his innocence and his laughter, his constancy in fighting for the Christian faith in a world losing belief, his lifelong devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and his love for all men, especially for the poor, bring cheerfulness to those in despair, conviction and warmth to lukewarm believers and the knowledge of God to those without faith. We beg Thee to grant the favours we ask through his intercession, the end of abortion in this Country so that his holiness may be recognised by all and the Church may proclaim him Blessed. We ask this through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Fr Schofield 30^th July 2013

I Think We've Forgotten Something For Mass....

Organising an Old Right High Mass is not always easy. And as the monthly Good Counsel Mass (2nd Friday of the month 6.30pm at Corpus Christi, Maiden Lane, London) is normally a Low Mass that just adds to it! Many thanks to the PP, the Priests, Graham (MC), the Servers, John and the choir.

That's more like it!

Does The Holy Father Read This Blog?

Back in April, when I announced that, Pope Benedict XVI Reads This Blog and provided irrefutable proof, a number of people commented. One person gave me ideas of posts to put up which would be of interest to the Holy Father. A Priest later told me that when he read the headline he thought, "Stuart's finally flipped!", but he did not go on to read the post. What they both missed was that it was April Fools Day.

I do look at my site meter from time to time, just to check that my 3 readers are still reading! Sometimes the numbers go up, as it has at the moment, due to Chesterton and Fr Finigan (thanks Father). There I can also see the different Countries people are reading my blog in. And yes someone from the Vatican has looked at my blog again! So what wonderful piece of my writing did they log on to read? Nothing of mine, but Father Schofield's Sermon from the Mass on the 2nd Annual GK Chesterton Pilgrimage! (Please don't ask me how I got the screen shot above, the Wife did it for me!)

Prayer for the Beatification of GK Chesterton

God Our Father, Thou didst fill the life of Thy servant Gilbert Keith Chesterton with a sense of wonder and joy, and gave him a faith which was the foundation of his ceaseless work, a charity towards all men, particularly his opponents, and a hope which sprang from his lifelong gratitude for the gift of human life. May his innocence and his laughter, his constancy in fighting for the Christian faith in a world losing belief, his lifelong devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and his love for all men, especially for the poor, bring cheerfulness to those in despair, conviction and warmth to lukewarm believers and the knowledge of God to those without faith. We beg Thee to grant the favours we ask through his intercession, the end of abortion in this Country [and especially for……] so that his holiness may be recognized by all and the Church may proclaim him Blessed. We ask this through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

The 2nd Annual GK Chesterton Pilgrimage Has Finally Taken Place

After last year’s Chesterton Pilgrimage, I said, 'next year we'll walk'. The plan was simple, walk from St George's (c of E) Kensington, where GK Chesterton was Baptised in 1874, to Beaconsfield where this great man is buried. I planned to do this on 14th June the Anniversary of his death, this date had to be abandoned. And so we re-booked for 28th July, the nearest Saturday to the 90th Anniversary of GKC's Conversion to The Catholic Church. No doubt this was Chesterton's plan all along!

A few days before the Pilgrimage, I noticed that I had got the distances wrong! It was too late to change the start time, as 9am had gone out on posters, newsletters and blogs. So having allowed myself four and a half hours to walk nine miles from Kensington to Mass in Uxbridge, stopping for breakfast on the way, I now found that I had fourteen miles to do! So I started at 9am sharp, I read the first paragraph of GKC’s Autobiography out loud and said the GK Chesterton Prayer and 'we' were off.

I stopped to buy knee supports in Shepherd's Bush, as my knees have not been right since my Stroll on Rome 12 year's ago, Belloc's fault. Then I got a phone call from The Good Counsel office, "Stella, is outside Saint George's!" Stella was amazed to find that a Catholic event had started on time, as she was there by 9.10am. I called her with my location, she caught up and off we went. We walked in a straight line along the Uxbridge Road until we got Ealing where we turned into Mattock Lane to say the GKC Prayer outside that abortuary, and then on to Hanwell, where we joined the canal to Uxbridge. Fr Schofield kindly delayed the 1.30pm Mass, until 2pm and we arrived just after Mass had started! (You can read Father's excellent Sermon here)

My long suffering Wife had packed me a wonderful lunch. But as I had not announced a plan for lunch, we now headed back into Uxbribge to find a shop. I say 'we', for after Mass our Pilgrimage had doubled in size for the second time that day, as William and Lucy were joining us for the walk on to Beaconsfield. There were a number of others at the Mass (Old Rite) offered in thanksgiving for Chesterton's Conversion.

After we had eaten, we left Uxbridge following country foot paths, as many of these were overgrown, it was at times very slow going. William pointed out that, "All walk leaders are liars!" and then we lost the footpath! (Photo shows us re finding it). Each time we crossed a bridge we made William the walk leader, as he has a ritual for walking across bridges, which varied depending on what the bridge crossed. But I would remember that "All walk leaders are liars!" If you attend next year's Pilgrimage then you will learn these rituals as well as some of the songs from William's drinking songs book. We did say a Rosary at some point in the day.

And so finally we turned into Candlemas Lane in Beaconsfield, I put away my map, only to realise at the end of it, that we should have turned into the small lane on the left as entered Candlemas Lane. And so back we went! The gate to the cemetery was still open. I then remembered that Lucy had, a number of hours before, when I said my feet & knees were hurting, said something about getting to his graveside before me, so off I ran and won the race. 9.30pm! Next year we will start earlier and take a different route in the afternoon, all walkers cheer! But remember that, "All walk leaders are liars".

(On a 'silly' footnote, I've written this post over a number of days, but 'am finishing it at 4am while filling a hot water bottle for my Wife, who has toothache!)

So far I've raised £800 of my £1000 target from this walk, for Good Counsel.

Sermon For The 2nd Annual GK Chesterton Pilgrimage

"A pilgrimage like the one you’re making today is meant, in part, to be a symbol of the pilgrimage of life itself – the ups and downs, the twist and turns, the paths lined with flowers and trees and the paths lined with bramble and nettles, but all along the final destination kept firmly in view, spurring us on.

Today’s walk follows the life of Gilbert Keith Chesterton. You started at the place of his baptism: Campden Hill, Kensington. In his Autobiography he remembered how the church stood opposite a large Waterworks Tower : ‘I do not allege any significance in the relation of the two buildings; and I indignantly deny that the church was chosen because it needed the whole water-power of West London to turn me into a Christian.’ And he thought it symbolic in another way: the tower reminded him of some ‘colossal water-snake that might be the Great Sea Serpent’ while the church’s spire rose ‘like a spear; and I have always been pleased to remember that it was dedicated to St George.’ In the waters of baptism, the devil is defeated and the child receives the pledge of eternal life.

The walk through the sometimes grey suburbs of London to Uxbridge could be seen as representing his early years and his search for the truth, which took him down some strange byways – agnosticism, sceptisicism, spiritualism. A conversion experience returned him to the Church of England although, rather like Newman, his thought was essentially Catholic for some time before his reception into the Church and his books from this period can be fruitfully read.

As we offer this Mass, we think of Chesterton becoming a Catholic at last in 1922, ninety years ago almost exactly to the day, at the Railway Hotel in Beaconsfield (which was then being used as a temporary Mass centre for local Catholics). As Mgr Ronald Knox said shortly after his death, his conversion followed the law that ‘if you look at a thing nine hundred and ninety-nine times, you are perfectly safe; if you look at it the thousandth time, you are in frightful danger of seeing it for the first time. That was all that happened when Chesterton was converted. He had looked for the thousandth time at the Catholic faith and for the first time he saw it. Nothing in the Church was new to him, and yet everything was new to him; he was like the man in his own story who had wandered round the world in order to see, with fresh eyes, his own home.’

The next stage of the walk will take you to Beaconsfield ; depending on the route you’ve chosen, this should be greener and more pleasant, a reflection of Chesterton’s final years as a Catholic. We thank the Lord for the childlike wonder that he brought to the mystery of life, the unfamiliar perspectives he brought to familiar things, the joy and humour of his writings (essential Christian hallmarks) and his prophetic voice that is as relevant today (if not more so) as it was in his lifetime.

At Beaconsfield you will come to the end of your day pilgrimage at Chesterton’s grave. It was at Beaconsfield that he died on 14 June 1936, aged only 62. Shortly before he died, he was visited by his friend Fr Vincent McNabb, the famous Dominican preacher, who sang the Salve Regina at his bedside (as is the Dominican custom for dying friars) and kissed Chesterton’s pen that lay on a nearby table.

Chesterton ended his pilgrimage through this world with his eyes fixed on Heaven and left behind him a valuable legacy. So may it be for us. We pray that he is at peace, if he needs our prayers at all, and should he have a heavenly vantage point, as we believe he has, we ask for his prayers."

Given by Fr Nicholas Schofield, Archivist of the Archdiocese of Westminster and Parish Priest of Our Lady of Lourdes & St Michael, Uxbridge. Saturday 28th July 2012 in his Parish Church, at Mass offerred in thanksgiving for GK Chesterton Conversion. £750 has been raised for Good Counsel from the walk on the day.

A detailed report with photos, of the Pilgrimage can be seen here. In the meanwhile here is the prayer, for printables copies in English, Spanish, Italian and French see here. German to follow shortly.

God Our Father, Thou didst fill the life of Thy servant Gilbert Keith Chesterton with a sense of wonder and joy, and gave him a faith which was the foundation of his ceaseless work, a charity towards all men, particularly his opponents, and a hope which sprang from his lifelong gratitude for the gift of human life. May his innocence and his laughter, his constancy in fighting for the Christian faith in a world losing belief, his lifelong devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and his love for all men, especially for the poor, bring cheerfulness to those in despair, conviction and warmth to lukewarm believers and the knowledge of God to those without faith. We beg Thee to grant the favours we ask through his intercession, the end of abortion in this Country, so that his holiness may be recognised by all and the Church may proclaim him Blessed. We ask this through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

If A Chesterton Pilgrimage Is Worth Doing, It's Worth Doing Badly

After last year’s annual GK Chesterton Pilgrimage, I told the World that, “Next year we will walk to Beaconsfield from London!” Then on the 11th June I put up the details on my blog:

Fr Schofield joins the Chesterton Walking Pilgrimage June 14th - London.

Right, we're off! Well at least Fr Nicholas Schofield and myself are. After last year's Annual GK Chesterton Pilgrimage, some idiot (yes it was me) announced that next year we will be walking to Beaconsfield from Campden Hill, Kensington, London (where GKC was born & Baptised). Now I've looked it up, only 23 miles in a straight line!...................

So far so good, then my toothache came back with a vengeance! I saw the dentist on the 13th, started on antibiotics and lots of pain killers, at 1am on the 14th, unable to sleep my Wife said, “Have you asked Chesterton to sort it out”. I said the Chesterton Prayer and asked him to stop the pain and by 3am I was asleep. When I got up at 6am my tooth was fine, but I could not get out of bed due to sickness induced by the antibiotics! My Wife phoned and emailed Priests etc and the Pilgrimage was off!

The 30th July will be the 90th anniversary of GK Chesterton’s Conversion , therefore on the nearest Saturday (28th July) the delayed 2nd annual Chesterton Pilgrimage will take place. No doubt GKC wants us to remember his Coversion, as well as the many Converts who will tell you that they are Catholic today because of GKC.

The day will of course start at about 9am (when Stuart wakes up and realises he has slept through the alarm again - Wife) at St George's Church of England Church, Aubrey Walk, London, W8 7JG, where GK Chesterton was baptised. Here we will read the first paragraph of Chesterton's Autobiography, say the Chesterton Prayer and then march (stroll slowly) off in the direction of Uxbridge looking for a cafe where we can stop for breakfast.

Uxbridge parish seems to be about half way between Kensington and Beaconsfield. Fr Nicholas Schofield is quite happy to have an Old Rite Mass in his parish at 1.30pm on the day for those of us who have walked from Kensington that morning, but all are more than welcome to join us for the Mass. If we find one or two people who can sing it will be a Missa Cantata. The Church is Our Lady of Lourdes and St Michael, Osborn Rd, Uxbridge, UB8 1UE. (Father will not be able to join us on the walk this time)

And then onto Beaconsfield. Upon arrival in Beaconsfield, we will go to GK Chesterton's graveside and recite the prayer for his beatification. And that is all I’ve made up so far.

Let me know if you plan to attend, on Twitter @stuart1927 or email info@goodcounselnetwork.freeserve.co.uk or on Face Book, tell Good Counsel.

At the moment, The Good Counsel Network has no money, so I will do this as a sponsored walk. Good Counsel is having trouble supporting a number of Mothers who have chosen to keep their babies and not to abort them. You can post donations, payable to; The Giuld of Our Lady of Good Counsel, P.O. Box 46679, London, England, NW9 8ZT or online.

God Our Father, Thou didst fill the life of Thy servant Gilbert Keith Chesterton with a sense of wonder and joy, and gave him a faith which was the foundation of his ceaseless work, a charity towards all men, particularly his opponents, and a hope which sprang from his lifelong gratitude for the gift of human life. May his innocence and his laughter, his constancy in fighting for the Christian faith in a world losing belief, his lifelong devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and his love for all men, especially for the poor, bring cheerfulness to those in despair, conviction and warmth to lukewarm believers and the knowledge of God to those without faith. We beg Thee to grant the favours we ask through his intercession, the end of abortion in this Country [and especially for……] so that his holiness may be recognized by all and the Church may proclaim him Blessed. We ask this through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Fr Schofield joins the Chesterton Walking Pilgrimage June 14th - London

Right, we're off! Well at least Fr Nicholas Schofield and myself are. After last year's Annual GK Chesterton Pilgrimage, some idiot (yes it was me) announced that next year we will be walking to Beaconsfield from Campden Hill, Kensington, London (where GKC was born & Baptised). Now I've looked it up, only 23 miles in a straight line! Training got underway one day in January, and ended the same day.

Some people have, rather rudely, laughed at the idea of me walking 25 ish miles in a day! Ha! If we round-down my age to the nearest twenty-something, I'm only 29! Ok, I'll be 45 in October. "Wait", for what? Oh, 'weight', I jumped on the scales., well that is a bit over 12 stone, but not too bad. Then my Wife said, "put both feet on the scales". Wow! Who would have thought that my other foot would weigh five stone!

At the moment, The Good Counsel Network has no money, so I will do this as a sponsored walk. Good Counsel is having trouble supporting a number of Mothers who have chosen to keep their babies and not to abort them. You can post donations, payable to; The Giuld of Our Lady of Good Counsel, P.O. Box 46679, London, England, NW9 8ZT or donate online.

Uxbridge parish seems to be about half way between Kensington and Beaconsfield. Fr Nicholas Schofield is quite happy to have an Old Rite Mass in his parish at 1pm on the day for those of us who have walked from Kensington that morning, but all are more than welcome to join us for the Mass. If we find one or two people who can sing it will be a Missa Cantata. The Church is Our Lady of Lourdes and St Michael, Osborn Rd, Uxbridge, UB8 1UE. After Mass, and a quick cup of tea, Fr Nicholas Schofield will then walk on to Beaconsfield with us, I say with "us" but no-one has confirmed that they are coming yet. Please do confirm this.

Upon arrival in Beaconsfield, we will go to G.K. Chesterton's graveside and recite the prayer for his beatification. We will then walk on to St Teresa's Catholic Church, 40 Warwick Road Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire HP9 2PL where we will have a low Old Rite Mass at 7.30pm, to which you are all cordially invited.

Trains to Beaconsfield run regularly from Marylebone Station, so if you are unable to join us for the walk, please join us for Mass.

The day will of course start at about 8am (when Stuart wakes up and realises he has slept through the alarm again - Wife) at St George's Church of England Church, Aubrey Walk, London, W8 7JG, where GK Chesterton was baptised. Here we will read the first paragraph of Chesterton's Autobiography, say the Chesterton Prayer and then march (stroll slowly) off in the direction of Uxbridge looking for a cafe where we can stop for breakfast.

For regular updates on the day see my Twitter account @Stuart1927 . If you are planning to attend, please leave a comment with your email address and/or telephone number, below.

(Statue of Our Lady, given by GKC to the Parish in Beaconfield)