A Talk with My Mother.

O Mother, I am weary now,                                                                                                              Please take away this task,
Just give me love and give me joy                                                                                                        And this one thing I ask                                                                                                                        There are so many ways to serve,                                                                                                             I want the easy way
I just can`t give you every hour                                                                                                                 And minute of my day.

I hear your voice, how soft you speak
And yet this isn`t fair,
You tell me that you love your Son,
But ask how much I care?,
You tell me there is much to do,
And I must play my part,
My foolish words are not enough
For I must give my heart.

But Mother, yes, tomorrow
I`ll take all your goodness sends
But today I`ll have my pleasures
And make merry with my friends
Surely one more day won`t matter
I`ll be ready, wait and see
If you want this land converted
Then you can depend on me.

I hear you voice, dear Mother
And I hear the words you say,
You tell me what I uttered
Is the same as yesterday,
And when you ask tomorrow
I will use these words again,
So worthless are my promises
So idle is my pen.

O Mother I am so afraid,
Of what a `Yes` will cost
Can what I gain in serving you
Be more than all I`ve lost?
But I will place my trust in you
And Him, the world adores
And not tomorrow but today
O Mother, I am yours.

Putting to death your former friends. Henry VIII, St Thomas More, and St John Fisher.

One thing stands out in the life of Henry VIII. As a young man he was devout. He was a constant visitor to the shrinees of Our Lady and even after his divorce he visited Walsingham to give thanks for the birth of a son. Thomas More and Bishop John Fisher were very close to him. He would listen to their advice and vist them often. It would have been unthinkable before his divorce that he would turn on two such friends and have them executed. Perhaps the guilt he felt was shown by the way he cut himself off from their executions. He could not face them and allowed others to do the wicked deeds. I am sure however their faces haunted him and on his deathbed he was heard praying to Our Lady of Walsingham. Perhaps in the beginning he did not want to be such a tyrant but having by his actions abandoned true friendship he was surrounded by people who had their own agenda for the Church and Henry just went along with it. Here is something I have never thought of before. Today let us pray to St John fisher and St Thomas More for the soul of King Henry. If he is in purgatory the prayers of former friends will be powerful.

GLASTONBURY - Where England became the Dowry of Mary..

The first church ever built in England was in Glastonbury. It seems to have been built about 431 AD but legend has it that Joseph of Arimathea brought the little Jesus here who blessed the Church much earler. "And did those feet in ancient times...." indeed. It is also said that Joseph returned about 61 AD and buried the Holy Grail, the cup used by Jesus at the last supper, in the stream at the foot of the Tor. Glastonbury is indeed the place of legends. In the 12th century it is said that the bodies of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere were found and reburied. There is no doubt however that Glastonbury from earliest times was a place of Pilgrimage. St Dunstan from the great monastery that once stood there insisted that his monastery and others throughout England observed strictly the Benedictin Rite St Dunstan made Glastonbury the mother house of all the BEnedictine monasteries in England and places of great learning. But the Monastery burned to the ground in the 12th century but as soon as it was rebuilt it became a place of pilgrimage again. Much of my information I take from the lovely book by Anne Vail `Shrines of Our Lady in England`and her words are so much better than mine.

"AS soon as the new building was complete the pilgrims returned All summer long the lanes of Somerset thronged with crowds, especially on Our Lady`s Birthday, 8th September when festivities were prolonged The gifts that were brought to the shrine on such occasions were recorded.
During the sixth century St David came from Wales and left a great sapphire which was a cause of wonder for a thousand years.In the fourteenth century Queen Philippa, wife of Edward III left a silver rosary with gold paternoster beads for Our Lady, and there were always bunches of wild flowers,gathered from the hedgerows, that were brought by the poorer pilgrimas.

This was the age of `Merrie Engfland`, pilgrimage was part of the English way of life when rich and poor, famous and infamous, journeyed together to visit the shrinse of the Virgin Mary and of the numerous saints whom they considered to be their friends; these were friends whose help and advice they enlisted in the turbulent events of their daily lives." ANNE VAIL



But the evil of Henry VIII fell upon the monastery and although there could be found no corruption it was nevertheless brought to the ground and the Abbot and two of his monks executed for nothing.

A new shrine has arisen in Glastonbury which now attracts pilgrims again. But alas, perhaps because of the legends of the Tor being the burial place for pagans and another story that it was once occupied by fairies, Glastonbury attracts all sorts of people, New Agers, people with spells and portions, etc., But worse of all is the evil that comes with the Glatonbury Rock Festival where drugs and promiscuity flourish leading to pregnancies and abortions. There is indeed a batlle between good and evil raging in Glastonbury. Let us pray to Our Lady of Glastonbury that she will triumph.

CONSECRATING ENGLAND TO THE HEARTS OF JESUS AND MARY

From Mr Diarmuid Collins

SIR - I read with interest the "10 challenges" that you have set for the new Archbishop of Westminster (Leading article, May 24). Few would disagree with any of these. Other Catholic /Christian concerns might be added by some.

I would simply make a suggestion which (I believe) covers all of these "challenges", as it were. It is that Archbishop Vincent Nichols (as the new head of the bishops' conference) solemnly consecrate our country to the United Hearts of Jesus and Mary.

In July 1948 Cardinal Griffin in Walsingham consecrated England and Wales to Our Lady. Many Catholics feel that it is now the right time to solemnly renew this Act of Consecration.

In June 1996 Bishop Nichols consecrated his "North London Area" here, to the United Hearts at the Shrine of Our Lady of Willesden. Our desire now is to continue and extend this Consecration. For this we pray.

Yours faithfully,
Diarmuid Collins
London N13

The above letter appeared in last weekend`s Catholic Herald. Thank you, Diarmiud. Many will dismiss him as a kind gentleman who does not understand where the Church is today. At the Vatican Council there were shouts of disagreement from the Germanf bishops when there was a decision to call Mary `Mother of the Church`. "It will put ecumenism back 10 years" they shouted so before the Council had even finished the Truths, and especially about Mary were being swept aside. it was Cardinal Heenan who gave this information to the preists of his diocese and he further warned that to drop devotion to Mary would lead to a lessening of devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. How true his words were!. The remedy is obvious. Greater devotion to Mary will lead to greater devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, and greater devotion to the Blessed Sacrament will lead to more priests from a renewed Church. The Catholic Herald reaches more people than this blog so let us pray that more people will be influenced. Immaculate Heart of Mary, Pray for us.

Pray with Mary for the gits of the Holy Spirit.

We are told in scripture that after the Ascension the disciples went to pray in the upper room with Mary the Mother of Jesus. It seemed important to the disciples that Mary was there. Yet this often gets little mention. Now that Jesus had ascended the disiples would pray , yes, but there were still many things they had not fully understood. But Mary was there to guide them since she already was filled with the Holy Spirit and had the gifts of Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Fortutude, Knowledge Pietey, and Fear of the Lord. She would have insights
into the teachings and would be able to guide them in their searching until they too were filled with the Holy Spirit. If there is one thing that infuriates me in the Church today it is the total ignorance of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Great preachers are ready to talk about the Fruits of the Spirit but unfortunately you cannot have the fruits unless you first have the gifts. The reason for this is of course that we are not totally committed these days to the Catholic Church. We are not committed to the truths of the Catholic Church. So we are not ready to go out and bring people to Christ and the Truths of the Church, we just hide behind ecumenism to justify our own shallowness. What are these gifts that Mary had and we should have. Wisdom - I remember once visiting a husband and wife and the husband was a non catholic although he often came to Church with her. I had come to ask him to become a catholic. I was only 24 but I am still working out what happened. I showed a wisdom in the situation beyond my years. When my partner afterwards said I was marvellous I honestly replied that was not me. Understanding is being able to read into the human heart in situations like I described and know immedately what the person is feeling and be able to reach them at a spiritual level. Counsel is being able to say the right things in a way that people understand and feel comforted by. Fortitude is persevering whatever the difficulties and staying in love with God and people. Knowledge is being aware in any situation that someone is hurting and helping him or her to express themselves. I remember at a small meeting being aware that someone had a problem and I knew what the problem was and that she wanted to speak about it. I facilitated her. Piety is the gift of hoiness and Fear of the Lord is about the respect we have for God. Mary had all these before Pentecost and she must have been a blessing to the apostles. So Confirmation is not just a Sacrament we should receive whether we want it or not. These gifts to be used in the service of the Church and if a young adult or older peson is not practicing the faith then these gifts are pointless. The more holy the Church is the more these gifts will be in evidence and alas vice versa. Most Confirmation programmes are bult around having fun. But to return to Mary. She can help parents realise the gifts of the Holy Spirit they received. They can help them show wisdom and understanding to their teenager friends. We just have to awaken the gifts marked on our soul.     Mary of England, Pray for us.

The Smiling Jesus.

I was speaking to a mother last week about the images of Jesus. She said her 3 year old did not like Jesus very much since he never smiled and was always sad. True, the smiling Jesus is rare since artists are pre-occupied ususally by stories from the Gospels and Jesus in teaching mode. I love the smiling Jesus in the above picture. How he loves little children and he once warned those who would hurt them that it would be better that a halter would be put around their neck and they were thrown into the sea I never was artistic but if I was what beautiful paintings are in my mind. Jesus dancing and singing at the Marriage Feast of Cana, for example. But more than this I would want to paint a picture of Our Mother Mary surrounded by her chldren. What a wonderful painting it would be.

Let us dedicate England to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Catholics in America have asked the Archbishop os Chicago to take steps to have America consecrated to The Immaculate Heart of Our Lady of Guadelupe. What a wonderful idea! In the history of Judaeo-Christianity it has always been the `stone that was rejected` that has become the `corner stone` The falsification of the teachings of Vatican II into the `Spirit of Vatican II` led to a great diminishing in the West of Our Lady`s role. Praising Mary was thought to be damaging to the Ecumenical movement so she had to go. As Cardinal Heenan once told his priests after Vaticzn II, the removal of Mary meant a diminishing in respect for the Blessed Sacrament. Just loook at the preparation programmes now called Eucharistic programmes which are given to our children. All ideas of devotion have been cast aside. This also means that all ideas of the love of God have been cast aside and children are bored to death with talk about their gifts. But it is time England too was dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Mary is one of us, yes. At Lourdes when she announced she was the `Immaculate Conception` she camde down to be on a level with the people and raised her hands to heaven. It was not her doing she was saying but a beautiful gift from God. She is truly human like us that is why we love her so much. She was raised to a level that no creation of God was ever lifted to. She became the Mother of God Incarnate and had a real son in Jesus Christ who esteemed her not just as a friend but as a mother. And such was his love for us that he told us she was so wonderful that she could be our mother also. So there is the idea. An England dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Pray that this will be.