Say a Litany for Bishops on Easter Sunday, or whenever you see this.

A LITANY ON BEHALF OF BISHOPS

Lord have mercy on us.
Christ have mercy on us.
Lord have mercy on us.
Christ hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.

God, the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us.
God, the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.
God, the Holy Ghost, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on us.

Holy Mary, Queen of Heaven and earth, pray for us.
St. Joseph, Protector of Holy Mother Church, pray for us.
St Michael, all Archangels, special servants of Bishops, pray for us.
St John the Baptist, Herald of the Lord, pray for us.
St Peter, pray for us.
St Paul, pray for us.
St Andrew, pray for us.
St John, pray for us.
St Thomas, pray for us.
St James, pray for us.
St Philip, pray for us.
St Bartholomew, pray for us.
St Matthew, pray for us.
St James, pray for us.
St Simon, pray for us.
St Thaddeus, pray for us.
St Barnabas, pray for us.
St Matthias, pray for us.
O Holy Apostles, our first Bishops, we beg your intercession on behalf of your successors;

St Thomas Becket, pray for us.
St Blaise, pray for us.
St Boniface, pray for us.
St Cyprian, pray for us.
St. Ignatius of Antioch, pray for us.
St. Irenaeus, pray for us.
St John Fisher, pray for us.
St. Polycarp, pray for us.
All martyred Bishops; pray for us.

St Athanasius, pray for us.
St Alphosus Liguori, pray for us.
St Ambrose, pray for us.
St Anslem, pray for us.
St Augustine, pray for us.
St Basil and Gregory Nazianzen pray for us
St Bonaventure, pray for us.
St Cyril of Alexandria, pray for us.
St Cyril of Jerusalem, pray for us.
St Francis De Sales, pray for us.
St Hilary, pray for us.
St Isadore of Seville, pray for us.
St Peter Chrsologus, pray for us.
St Peter Damian, pray for us.
St Robert Bellarmine, pray for us.
All Bishops-Doctors of the Church, pray for us.

St Albert the Great, pray for us.
St Ansgar, pray for us.
St Charles Borromeo, pray for us.
St Ildephonsus, pray for us.
St Methodius, pray for us.
St Nicolas, pray for us.
St Norbert, pray for us.
St Patrick, pray for us.
St Richard, pray for us.
Sts. Timothy and Titus, pray for us.
St William, pray for us.
St Wulfran, pray for us.
All Bishops who have spread the light of Christ; pray for us.

St Leo the Great, pray for us.
St Pius V, pray for us.
St Thomas Aquinas, pray for us.
St Pius X, pray for us.
All Saints who have helped further the Faith through teaching, pray for us.

That all bishops will maintain complete obedience to the Holy Father, we beseech Thee, hear us.
That all bishops will remain faithful to the Magisterium of the Church, we beseech Thee, hear us.
That all bishops will defend the Faith and moral teachings of the Church, we beseech Thee, hear us.
That all bishops will uphold the true teachings of the Ecumenical Councils, we beseech Thee, hear us.
That all bishops will allow and defend all duly authorised Rites of the Mass, we beseech Thee, hear us.
That all bishops will staunchly defend the unborn, the elderly, the sick and all defenceless people, we beseech Thee, hear us.
That all bishops will provide for true and complete education of the Faith for all souls in their care, we beseech Thee, hear us.
That all bishops will exercise the powers of their office to defend the faithful against heretics, apostates, and false prophets and teachers, we beseech Thee, hear us.
That all bishops will use their authority and powers to correct errors and falsehoods, we beseech Thee, hear us.
That all bishops will stand up for the rights of the Church when infringed upon by the State, we beseech Thee, hear us.
That all bishops will develop a great devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, we beseech Thee, hear us.
That all bishops will be living examples of the virtues, we beseech Thee, hear us.
That all bishops will look to their saintly predecessors as examples of how they should carry out their vocations, we beseech Thee, hear us.
That all bishops will encourage true vocations to the priesthood and religious life, we beseech Thee, hear us.

That all bishops will boldly proclaim the message of Our Lady of Fatima, we beseech Thee, hear us.
That all bishops will concentrate their energies more on the spiritual than on the material needs of the faithful, we beseech Thee, hear us.
That all bishops will teach and preach the truth of Humanae Vitae and Familiaris Consortio.

O God, look with favour on Thy servants, Thy bishops, whom Thou hast appointed as teachers and defenders of Thy faithful here on earth. Grant that by word and example they may assist those over whom they have been placed, so that shepherds and flocks may together attain everlasting life, through Jesus Christ, Our Lord. Amen.

And share it on Facebook; https://www.facebook.com/events/210951693670250/

Leave, Remain, Con, Dem, Brexit Party, Commie, UKIP, Plaid Cymru, SNP, Who To Vote For Made Easy

Less tax, more tax, Leave, Remain, less immigrants, more immigrants, Scotland to rule England...and Wales, etc. It does not matter if you are dead, MPs have a free vote on moral issues, so you need to know where your local candidates stand on these issues.
The following article was taken from the Priests for Life website www.priestsforlife.org

You Wouldn’t Even Ask….
By Fr. Frank Pavone

If a candidate who supported terrorism asked for your vote, would you say, "I disagree with you on terrorism, but where do you stand on other issues?

"I doubt it.

In fact, if a terrorism sympathizer presented him/herself for your vote, you would immediately know that such a position disqualifies the candidate for public office -- no matter how good he or she may be on other issues. The horror of terrorism dwarfs whatever good might be found in the candidate's plan for housing, education, or health care. Regarding those plans, you wouldn't even ask.

So why do so many people say, "This candidate favors legal abortion. I disagree. But I'm voting for this person because she has good ideas about health care (or some other issue).

"Such a position makes no sense whatsoever, unless one is completely blind to the violence of abortion. That, of course, is the problem. But we need only see what abortion looks like, or read descriptions from the abortionists themselves, and the evidence is clear. (USA Today refused to sell me space for an ad that quoted abortionists describing their work because the readers would be traumatized just by the words!)

Abortion is no less violent than terrorism. Any candidate who says abortion should be kept legal disqualifies him/herself from public service. We need look no further, we need pay no attention to what that candidate says on other issues. Support for abortion is enough for us to decide not to vote for such a person.

Pope John Paul II put it this way: "Above all, the common outcry, which is justly made on behalf of human rights -- for example, the right to health, to home, to work, to family, to culture -- is false and illusory if the right to life, the most basic and fundamental right and the condition for all other personal rights, is not defended with maximum determination" (Christifideles Laici, 1988).

False and illusory. Those are strong and clear words that call for our further reflection.

"I stand for adequate and comprehensive health care." So far, so good. But as soon as you say that a procedure that tears the arms off of little babies is part of "health care," then your understanding of the term "health care" is obviously quite different from the actual meaning of the words. In short, you lose credibility. Your claim to health care is "illusory." It sounds good, but is in fact destructive, because it masks an act of violence.

"My plan for adequate housing will succeed." Fine. But what are houses for, if not for people to live in them? If you allow the killing of the children who would otherwise live in those houses, how am I supposed to get excited by your housing project?

It's easy to get confused by all the arguments in an election year. But if you start by asking where candidates stand on abortion, you can eliminate a lot of other questions you needn't even ask.

For more election related articles and information, visit www.priestsforlife.org/elections (US)

So it is no good just voting for this Party or that, you need to ask all your local Candidates where they stand on abortion and how they will vote if elected.
See how your MP has voted on Life Issues in the past and how your other local candidates would vote if elected;
https://www.spuc.org.uk/ (UK)

Monsignor Robert Hugh Benson on GK Chesterton

And Benson read much of Mr Chesterton, and liked him in a qualified way. 'Have you read,' he asks in this year [1905], 'a book by GK Chesterton called Heretics? If not, do see what you think of it. It seems to me that the spirit underneath it is splendid. He is not a Catholic, but he has the spirit. He is so joyful and confident and sensible! One gets rather annoyed by his extreme love of paradox; but there is a sort of alertness in his religion and in his whole point of view that is simply exhilarating. I have not been so much moved for a long time. He is a real mystic of an odd kind.'  

The Life of Robert Hugh Benson, quoted in The Tumbler of God; Chesterton As Mystic by Father Robert Wild.

GK Chesterton Prayercards; http://www.catholicgkchestertonsociety.co.uk/Printable-Prayercards.html

GK Chesterton, Our Lady of Walsingham and the Bishops on Northampton

My Wife spotted this in the information centre at the Angilican Shrine to Our Lady in Walsingham. Henry VIII suppressed the original Shrine, the Bishop of Northampton declined the chance to open part of it up again in the late 1800s, early 1900s. It is now the National Shrine to Our Lady in England. So Bishop Doyle declining to open the Cause for the Beatification of GKC, would seem to mean that St George will need to step aside, in due course, to let GK Chesterton become the Patron Saint of England. 😁

Happy Feast of Our Lady of Walsingham.

The American Chesterton Society where kind enough to find this quote of GKC which mentions Our Lady of Walsingham;

"The Dean of St. Paul's ... unveiled to his readers all the horrors of a quotation from Newman; a very shocking and shameful passage, in which that degraded apostate says that he is happy in his religion, and in being surrounded by the things of his religion; that he likes to have objects that have been blessed by the holy and beloved, that there is a sense of being protected by prayers, sacramentals and so on; and that happiness of this sort satisfies the soul. The Dean, having given us this one ghastly glimpse of the Cardinal's spiritual condition, drops the curtain with a groan and says it is Paganism. How different from the Christian orthodoxy of Plotinus!

Now it was exactly that little glimpse that interested me …  not so much a glimpse into the soul of the Cardinal as into the mind of the Dean. I suddenly seemed to see, in much simpler form than I had yet realized, the real issue between him and us. And the curious thing about the issue is this: that what he thinks about us is exactly what we think about him. What I for one feel most strongly, in considering a case like that of the Dean and his quotation from the Cardinal, is that the Dean is a man of distinguished intelligence and culture, that he is always interesting, that he is sometimes even just, or at least justified or justifiable; but that he is first and last the champion of a Superstition; the man who is really and truly defending a Superstition, as it would be understood by people who could define a Superstition...

Dean Inge is a superstitious person because he is worshipping a relic; a relic in the sense of a remnant. He is idolatrously adoring the broken fragment of something; simply because that something happens to have lingered out of the past in the place called England; in the rather battered form called Protestant Christianity. It is as if a local patriot were to venerate the statue of Our Lady of Walsingham only because she was in Walsingham, and without even remembering that she was in Heaven. It is still more as if he venerated a fragment clipped from the toe of the statue and forgot where it came from and ignored Our Lady altogether. I do not think it superstitious to respect the chip in relation to the statue, or the statue in relation to the saint, or the saint in relation to the scheme of theology and philosophy. But I do think it superstitious to venerate, or even to accept, the fragment because it happens to be there. And Dean Inge does accept the fragment called Protestantism because it happens to be there."

From the book The Thing in chapter “The Protestant Superstitions.”

Happy Birthday Gareth, I forgive you.

"It's been nineteen years, you've got to stop holding a grudge against your Best man." Says the Wife again. But then I point out that it's his fault as he never thanked me for the Birthday Loot I got him back in September 2000. I reminded her that, knowing that Gareth is John Major's biggest fan, I tracked John down to the ends of the earth, carrying his very heavy Autobiography with me and got him to sign it. 'To Gareth Happy Birthday John Major July 2000.'

So the Wife, trying to change the subject, asked me if I had got John to sign my copy of his book as well? "But I don't have a copy" replies myself, to which she asks me, "What's that on your bookshelf then?"

Well I meant to send it to him, so he should have thanked me for it!

Reminds me of Bilbo struggling to give up the One Ring at the start of the Lord of the Rings, but that was only a ring and not a book.

Well, today is Gareth's Birthday and I've sent him the book with a handy GK Chesterton Prayercard inside, which he can use as a bookmark 😎

Chesterton's Ultra Loyal Troop, Local Pilgrimage Report

“Oh Miss, our Mr Chesterton dying – he was a sorter saint Miss, wasn’t he – just to look at him when you handed him his hat made you feel sorter awesome.” Said a maid with tears in her eyes, of a house GKC used to visit in Beaconsfield. And so believing this maid to be correct we set off on the 9^th Annual GK Chesterton Walking Pilgrimage, on Saturday 27^th July in the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand and Nineteen. We departed from the local Anglican Church where GKC was Baptised in 1874, St Georges, Aubrey Walk, Notting Hill. We read the paragraph from theAutobiography about his Baptism and said the Chesterton Prayer, you should do both now.

Others joined us along the way in Acton and Ealing. In Hanwell we left the main road to walk to West Drayton along the canal, as this is a nicer and longer route. We left the canal near the Malt Shovel Public House, where we made a brief stop and were joined by yet more Pilgrims. Three impatient youngsters would not wait for the rest of us at this point, so we gave them a map and pointed out the short cut which meant missing a pub along the way and they were off. “As they did not want to be late for Mass!” The main group of Chesterton’s Ultra Loyal Troop, got to the Brigittine Convent in Iver ahead of them as they had missed the shortcut and the Pub! The two young Servers at the Low Old Rite Mass offered by Father O’Donahue FSSP in thanksgiving for the conversion of GK Chesterton, did a great job, particularly as this was the first time Rufus had served at Mass. Father’s sermon about Our Lady was truly inspired as one of the non-Catholics on the Pilgrimage had been chatting with one of the other Pilgrims about this very subject in the morning.

After a quick bite to eat we were off again. Father and others joined us for the last few miles across the fields to Beaconsfield, where in Shepherds Lane GKC is buried. Many Rosaries were said along the way, and we almost ended by saying the Chesterton prayer at his graveside, which we did, but that was not the end. For the day ended in the White Hart Public House which was Chesterton’s local pub for many years. Sitting there in pain and laughter I realised that forty Pilgrims had walked all or part of the 27 miles from the church to the grave and onto the pub. And in the spirituality of GKC we gave thanks to God for all of it, the pain, the rain, the friends, the Mass, our lives, the beer and even the singing and as the LOCAL members of Chesterton's Ultra Loyal Troop went home, I remembered Margaret in her 80’s walking next to a five year old across the fields, with devotion to GKC. And not to forget William age 12 who walked the full 27 miles!

Email your home address to CatholicGKCSociety@yahoo.co.uk (UK and Ireland only) and we will post you a GK Chesterton prayercard, or up to 20 copies, just let us know how many you would like.  Next year’s Pilgrimage, the tenth, will be on Saturday 25 July. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter @CatholicGKCSoc.

We are very pleased to say that this year's Pilgrimage has raised £3,327 so far for the Good Counsel Network's life-saving work and you can still donate here; https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/gkcwalk2019

When thinking of GKC’s Holiness it is interesting to read what Arthur Bryant (successor to GK as the author of the ‘Notebook') had to say about him in regard to the feasts on 1st and 2nd November. Here is what he wrote in the October 31st 1936 edition of the Illustrated London News, the year GK died.

"..there are many whose names appears on no Christian calendar, who by struggle and endeavour and conquest earned their right to be included among the saintly company. Of such was that very wise and good man who for 31 years prior to this summer contributed to this page. Gilbert Keith Chesterton spent his whole life in teaching others how to live. They very sound of his name is like a trumpet call. To him the world was like a strenuous field in which one went about doing battle with evil in order that good might endure. If from his generation one had to select one man who might have stood as type of Don Quixote or of St George who slew the dragon, it was he. If any literary name of our age becomes a legend it will be his…He was the kind of man of whom Bunyan was thinking when he drew the picture of Mr Greatheart. His sword was at the service of pilgrims. And what a sword it was!...his catholicism was an all-comprehending democracy...I never met a more generous man, and I never saw a happier. And I do not believe there is anyone who had the inestimable privilege to know GKC who would not say the same. It is right that he should be remembered on the day set apart for recollection of the saints of God.”

GK Chesterton Prayer

Please say the #Chesterton Prayer in English, #Igbo, Latin, #French, Hungarian, #Croatian, Portuguese, #Urdu, Lithuanian, #Irish, Welsh, #Maltese, Spanish, #Polish, Romanian, #German, Latvian, #Russian, Slovakian, #Catalan or Italian https://t.co/RVAPTsmjQ3 #GKCWalk

Read The Convert by GK Chesterton on his anniversary.

After one moment when I bowed my head
And the whole world turned over and came upright,
And I came out where the old road shone white.
I walked the ways and heard what all men said,
Forests of tongues, like autumn leaves unshed,
Being not unlovable but strange and light;
Old riddles and new creeds, not in despite
But softly, as men smile about the dead

The sages have a hundred maps to give
That trace their crawling cosmos like a tree,
They rattle reason out through many a sieve
That stores the sand and lets the gold go free:
And all these things are less than dust to me
Because my name is Lazarus and I live.

Today is the 97th Anniversary of GK Chesterton's reception into the Catholic Church, a good day to say his prayer for the Conversion of someone you know. The prayer is below, or you can print copies of in many languages here; https://www.catholicgkchestertonsociety.co.uk/Printable-Prayercards.html
And a good day to buy the book; https://www.chesterton.org/shop/my-name-is-lazarus/

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. Catholicgkchestertonsociety.co.uk

We received the following message just before Easter;

"Something wonderful happened 🙂 I went on GKC pilgrimage just once. It was hard and after 2 or 3 hours it felt like my toes will fall off. I thought I will not be able to continue walking nor finish, but I was very motivated as I had some really special intentions: I was praying for my sister-in-law, who is a Christian, to become a Catholic. Well, I saw her today and found out she will be received into the Catholic Church this Easter 😀! I am just so happy, grateful and overjoyed 😀🙏"

The 9th Annual GK Chesterton Pilgrimage will take place on Saturday 27th July. There are several ways you can join us, either in prayer, or by joining us in walking a short section of the pilgrimage or even in walking the whole 27 miles! To be involved and maybe help members of your Family into the Catholic Church you can;

A. Send prayer intentions for us to pray for along the way, we will not make the intentions public; catholicgkcsociety@yahoo.co.uk 

And/or

B. Join us on the day of the Pilgrimage, Saturday 27^th July, for a Low Old Rite Mass, 2.30pm at The Bridgettine Convent, Fulmer Common Road, Iver, SL0 0NR, email us if you need a lift from West Drayton or Uxbridge to get to the Convent. BRING A PACKED LUNCH.

C. And if you like you can walk 6 miles after Mass to GK Chesterton's Grave. If you leave your car at the Convent the minibus can take you back for it at the end of the day.

D. Or meet us at 9.15am outside Ealing Town Hall to walk on to Mass (approximately 12 miles).

E. Or, to do the whole 27 mile walk, meet us at 7.30am to walk 21 Miles to Mass. And 6 miles after Mass if you want. 

The minibus will drop Pilgrims back to Uxbridge Station, after popping to GKC's pub after the prayer at the graveside.

F. And say the GK Chesterton Prayer on the day wherever you are. Find the prayer in a number of languages here; https://www.catholicgkchestertonsociety.co.uk/Printable-Prayercards.html

G. Invite friends to join us. The best way to do this is to click, Going or Interested/Maybe on the Facebook event and them click on Share and on Invite Friends and select those you wish to invite to join us for any of the above. https://www.facebook.com/events/2293417357382659/

Self Publicists Really Can Annoy Me

Many years ago, I was very happy to see a tweet which said, "Self Publicists Really Can Annoy Me, I'm one of the speakers at the Latin Mass Society Conference, but come anyway" or something like that. I forget exactly how I phrased it. Then a couple of years ago I saw a chap interview a publisher of a very good children's book series, on television. No problem with that, except that the interviewer was the author of the books.

So here is me interviewing myself about a book which I wrote part of.

So Stuart could you tell the reader of your blog how this book came about?

Well Dale Ahlquist, President of The American Chesterton Society contacted me and said 'Stuart you're really famous and important, why don't you write your autobiography?' Or something like that. Being really humble I thought it best to agree with him.

But Stuart, it seems that some others have also written some of the book.

Well yes, when I'd finished, bearing in mind that I still cannot type, Dale said it's a little short for an autobiography. So I suggested he ask some totally unknown writer to do an introduction, which would no doubt help their career. Dale very kindly agreed to write it himself, I'm sure he will have a lot of success as a writer after this.

Sorry, I wasn't just thinking about the excellent introduction by Dale, I was also thinking of the other 33 Converts who contributed chapters about their Conversion stories.

Well it seems that Dale struggled to write a long enough introduction, so I helped out again with another idea. Which is very good of me as I'm sure most authors don't have to help out their publishers quite this much. I suggested that Dale find some other Converts, whose stories would never get published in their own right as they are not as famous and important as myself and use them to pad out my book.

But the book is called My Name is Lazarus, not 'Stuart's Autobiography'.

I remember that Chesterton had a simular problem with a publisher at least once, he had come up with a very good name for one of his books, only to have it turned down by the publisher. Something about 'too long', 'won't help sales'. I thought this book should be called "A bit of the life of the very important and famous Stuart, written by himself". No one has actually explained why we didn't end up using that, but there you go. Ruins the sequel and the prequel though, 'A Bit More...' and 'A Bit Earlier...."

So, any last points?

Buy yourself two or three copies of the book, one to keep nice, one for making notes and at least one to give as a gift. Order your copies here. And remember to stay away from self publicists, I'm just giving this interview to support Dale and the 33 unknowns who have written in this great book. As I saw on twitter earlier this year; 

"It's only January and we already have a winner of the Best, Most Important Book Published in the Whole of 2019 Award! Order your copy here."

8th Annual GK Chesterton Walking Pilgrimage Report

The last G.K. Chesterton Pilgrimage before Canon Udris hands in his report to Bishop Doyle of Northampton, on the feasibility of opening the cause for the Beatification of Gilbert Keith Chesterton, took place on Saturday 28^th July 2018.

The Pilgrimage started as always outside St George’s Anglican Church in Notting Hill, where Pilgrims

read the opening paragraph from Chesterton’s Autobiography and said the GKC prayer at 7.30am. We then walked along the Uxbridge Rd to Ealing, where we would normally stop and pray outside the abortion centre there. Because of the draconian PSPO (Buffer Zone) brought in by Ealing Council in April, which criminalises pro-life prayers, we can no longer do this, so we stopped briefly at Ealing Town Hall instead, where we were greeted by an elderly Polish woman who had come to wish us well. We then walked on to Hanwell, where we joined the canal. After walking for 5 hours, we stopped in the Malt Shovel Pub, for a quick drink and a packet of crisps, before leaving the canal to walk through the countryside and past Pinewood Studios to the Bridgettine Convent in Iver. Fr O’ Donohue was waiting there to say Mass in thanksgiving for Chesterton’s conversion. 

Mass ended with us singing Chesterton’s Hymn, “O God of Earth and Altar”. There were about 40 people in attendance for the Mass, which considering the lack of public transport, was very good. 23 of these were walking Pilgrims. After a brief lunch, we set off walking again, through Fulmer, where we stopped at the Black Horse pub and then on to Beaconsfield where GKC is buried. For the last few miles Malcolm, who has now walked the full Pilgrimage four times, and has thus clocked up over 100 miles, was leading the way. As we approached Beaconsfield, he stopped at the corner of Candlemas Lane to ensure that nobody missed the last turning into Shepherd’s Lane, where the cemetery is located (a turning that we did miss on the first walking pilgrimage!) After a few brief words at the graveside, those followers of the cult of G.K. Chesterton who were gathered, said the GKC prayer, before staggering into The White Hart Pub, which was Chesterton’s local public house.

As usual large numbers of people submitted hundreds of prayer intentions for the Pilgrims to pray for along their route.

One participant had attended previously and had walked the first half of the Pilgrimage 2 years ago with her husband. She returned with her son this year and completed the Pilgrimage in thanksgiving to Chesterton for his role in converting her husband.

The huge diversity of those taking part on this 8^th Annual G.K. Chesterton Pilgrimage was again in evidence. There were people aged from 7 to 70, a number of different races, more than a dozen nationalities, with people travelling to the Pilgrimage from Reading, Maidenhead, Berkhamsted, Northampton, Hertford, Bedford as well as from all over London.

Special thanks to Ken for driving the support minibus this year and arriving at the cemetery first, where he placed a note upon the gate (See photo) as a joke! It read “Notice to all Walkers, Sorry, closed today. Please come back another day.”

The Chesterton Library contacted us to inform us that Chesterton Manor, a new property development in Beaconsfield was having it’s Open Day on the same day as the Pilgrimage and that the property had been named in Chesterton’s honour.

Stuart walked the Pilgrimage in part to raise funds for The Good Counsel Network you can donate here; https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/gkchestertonpilgrimage18 

This report has been posted on the 96th Anniversary of GK Chesterton becoming a member of the Catholic Church.

Fr Brown Saves the Day, and the Baby?

A new Fr Brown Story, clearly not by GK Chesterton but thankfully not by the BBC

Fr Brown always liked to be outside the Church after Mass on Sunday to greet his parishioners, even if he was not the Celebrant. But twenty minutes after this evening’s Mass, the Curate, Fr Crowdy found Fr Brown in his study just ending a phone call with the police. It was a rather small study for the amount of papers and books that Father seemed to need. And why he insisted on using a dull desk lamp instead of the main light is anyone’s guess, as his eyesight was none too good.

Fr Crowdy had no time to consider any of this at the moment, as he had come to tell Fr Brown about a matter of Life and Death. “Quick Father” began Fr Crowdy, “we haven’t a moment to loose, we must act at once, or a new family in the parish will go for an abortion”.

Fr Brown glanced at his watch, opened the study door and said “follow me” as he went into the corridor. This was even quicker than Fr Crowdy had expected. But then Fr Brown passed the front door, went into the kitchen and put the kettle on. “Tea or coffee?” he asked.

“But..” started Fr Crowdy. “Sorry we don’t have any ‘but’ its tea or coffee” interrupted Fr Brown, “sorry, what am I talking about we do have hot chocolate as well” he finished.

Fr Crowdy just stood there totally dumbfounded. He could not believe that his brilliant, if somewhat clumsy Parish Priest could take this matter so lightly. He was very orthodox and quite prepared to have a hands-on approach. Yet here he was talking about tea and coffee. He should not dismiss the danger to the baby as he had not asked for any details yet. As if he had read his mind, or more than likely the look on his face, Fr Brown said “It is 7:30pm, you cannot get an abortion at that time on a Sunday in London, so would you like tea or coffee?”*

Ten minutes later, back in the study, with tea, coffee and a very nice piece of fruit cake Fr Crowdy told Fr Brown what had happened. “After everyone had left after Mass I noticed a chap praying by Our Lady’s side Altar, with what turned out to be his teenage daughter and ten year old son. I waited for them to leave and then spoke to them outside. He explained that they were new to London and were praying at a few parishes to see which Parish to make their own. He told me that his pregnant wife was at home sick. I told him about our mother and toddler group, the soup kitchen and Altar Serving for his son. He then asked if I knew how to get to Whitfield Street. I said “I really couldn’t tell you” and the conversation went on until he asked the way to Mattock Lane in Ealing. Quite worried now I said, “Sorry I cannot help you”. A little later we ended our chat when he asked me “Where is Rosslyn Road, Twickenham?”. I just said sorry I have to go and came straight in here to tell you about it. His wife is clearly going for an abortion. Fr Brown nibbled his cake, dropping crumbs everywhere. While spilling quite a bit of his tea into his saucer. “This would be a great loss to the Parish, we shall go and see them tomorrow”.

Fr Crowdy went to bed with his head reeling. The next evening, the two Priests found themselves sitting talking to the Smiths in their nice little living room. Father Crowdy was quite on edge, but when the couple went to make coffee, Fr Brown quietly said “No television Father” and smiled. Fr Crowdy glanced to the ‘natural’ spot in the room for a tv and found instead a statue of Our Lady of Penrhys, with fresh cut flowers and a well burnt down candle. Father looked over to the dinner table, where the Smith’s son Nathanael was reading what appeared to be a modern fantasy novel, Will Wilder, but the author’s name, Raymond Arroyo sounded familiar. On the coffee table was a book that Mrs Smith had put down as the Priests had entered the room, Frodo’s Journey by Joseph Pearce. ‘More fantasy’, tutted Father to himself. Once they were all seated Fr Brown said “My Curate has related to me the conversation he had with you last night Mr Smith”.

“Do call me Ron, Father” interrupted Mr Smith.

“Thank you Ron” went on Fr Brown “By the end of which I’m sure that you had wrongly decided that our Parish is not for your Family. Would you mind telling Fr Crowdy what you said to your children on the way home last night”.

“Of course Father” replied Ron, “My son and daughter both liked the look of the Parish. But nice Liturgy, a pleasant Priest and a soup kitchen are all very well, but there were over 42,000 abortions in London last year. Fr Crowdy doesn’t even know where any of the local abortion centres are, so he is clearly not going to them to pray and offer help to those desperate Mums-to-be. And so this is not the Parish for us.”

Fr Crowdy looked embarrassed while Fr Brown stared to laugh. “My Curate did not help you to find those three addresses, as he was worried that you were planning to take your pregnant wife to one of them for an abortion. You will find a poster in the Parish advertising the Good Counsel Network’s peaceful, prayerful, pro-life vigils at all three of those abortion centres. You will also see notices in the newsletter asking Parishioners to attend the vigils when Father or myself are there. This cake is very nice, welcome to the Parish”.

* There is unbelievably at least one abortion centre open on Sundays in London, but not until 7.30pm

For more information about The Good Counsel Network’s life-saving work see; www.GoodCounselNetwork.com
The Annual GK Chesterton Pilgrimage passes through Mattock Lane each year.

World Cup Without Wales, Northern and Republic of Ireland and Scotland

Who to support as Wales, Northern Ireland, The Republic of Ireland and Scotland failed to qualify? Well I've just picked three teams randomly, Belgium, Panama and Tunisia. You can support them as well if you like. "But that's only three teams not four", I hear you say. Don't worry in the very unlikely event that I need to support anybody in the 2nd round, I will 'randomly' pick another team then 😉

Jesus and Mary, Just Jesus or Mary Alone?

"When I was a boy a more Puritan generation objected to a statue upon my parish church representing the Virgin and Child. After much controversy, they compromised by taking away the Child. One would think that this was even more corrupted with Mariolatry, unless the mother was counted less dangerous when deprived of a sort of weapon. But the practical difficulty is also a parable. You cannot chip away the statue of a mother from all round that of a new-born child. You can not suspend the new-born child in mid-air; indeed you cannot really have a statue of a new-born child at all. Similarly, you cannot suspend the idea of a new-born child in the void or think of him without thinking of his mother. You cannot visit the child without visiting the mother; you cannot in common human life approach the child except through the mother. If we are to think of Christ in this aspect at all, the other idea follows as it is followed in history. We must either leave Christ out of Christmas, or Christmas out of Christ, or we must admit, if only as we admit it in an old picture, that those holy heads are too near together for the haloes not to mingle and cross."
The Everlasting Man by GK Chesterton

Meat eaters evangelize better that vegetarians

So having gone into a cafe on a Friday and explained, 'No, I won't have the English Breakfast today as it's Friday' Asked explain, I told the whole cafe about the Crucifixion etc.

Today I get to explain that I will have meat this Friday and get to explain The Immaculate Conception. Then a vegetarian goes into a cafe and says "Veggie Breakfast as usual please"

Say the GK Chesterton Prayer to close an abortion centre

Please start saying the GK Chesterton Prayer each day until Christmas Day, asking him to intercede with God to close down one or more of the five abortion centres in Ealing, Twickenham, Whitfield Street, Edgbaston or Cardiff, by the end of 2017. Feel free to add any local centres to your prayer.

You will find the prayer below or you can print a copy off in a number of languages here;

http://www.catholicgkchestertonsociety.co.uk/Printable-Prayercards.html

In September 2012 we asked Chestertonians to support 40 Days for Life by praying the Chesterton prayer each day, asking that an abortion centre in England would close down.  http://ecumenicaldiablog.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/gk-chesterton-supports-40-days-for-life.html
The abortion centre in Bedford Square London has since closed down. 

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 one or more of the five abortion centres in Ealing, Twickenham, Whitfield Street, Edgbaston or Cardiff to by the end of 2017 so that his holiness may be recognized by all and the
Church may proclaim him Blessed. We ask
this through Christ Our Lord. Amen

Photograph of Shawn Carney of 40 Days for Life with the leaflet for this year's GK Chesterton Pilgrimage 

Happy Feast of GK Chesterton?

Today we celebrate the Feast of All Saints. So if GKC is in Heaven, today is his Feast Day, until he is Canonised when the Church may move his Feast. Or will they? Today is the 81st Anniversary of the Conversion of his Wife Frances, if she is Canonised with him maybe today will be their joint Feast Day. 

So, say the Chesterton Prayer today and print a few copies off for friends. Buy 'The Women Who Was Chesterton' by Nancy Carpenter-Brown and do pick up a copy of the Catholic Truth Society 150th Birthday reprint No 1 'Where All Roads Lead' by GKC. Do share this.