cathpic aug 2014

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Fr Roy and FrJohn ordainedto thepriesthood

ArchbishopMalcolmreceives the Pallium

Issue 119AUGUST 2014

ARCHDIOCESE OF LIVERPOOL

CatholicPICis nowFREEof charge

Welcome to ournew priests

BishopMalone’sEpiscopalSilver Jubilee

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WelcomeWelcome to the August edition of the ‘Catholic Pic’ but farmore importantly welcome to our new priests, Father RoyCooper and Father John Poland who were ordained lastmonth. In our main feature they reflect on their journeys so far andas they begin their priestly ministry our thoughts and prayers go withthem.

During the Ordination Masses Archbishop Malcolm was wearing thepallium which was presented to him by Pope Francis in Rome on theFeast of St Peter and St Paul. The Mass was just too late forinclusion in the last edition and so we are able to cover it this month.There is also coverage of Archbishop Malcolm’s first ever visit to theIsle of Man.

Bishop Vincent Malone celebrated his Episcopal Silver Jubilee on 3July and we reflect on the Mass of Thanksgiving which he celebratedin the Metropolitan Cathedral the following Sunday. Our thoughts,prayers and good wishes go to him, as they do to all the Jubilarianswho had their Mass of Thanksgiving on the Feast of the Sacred Heart.

Finally news of a new altar frontal for the Cathedral to commemoratethe centenary of the First World War. 100 years after the outbreak ofthat war we remember those who died and all who have died inconflict.

Contents

4 Main FeatureAn awesome dayFr Roy and Fr John ordained to the priesthood

8 NewsFrom around the Archdiocese

14 Justice and PeaceLooking back 100 years

16 What’s OnWhats happening in the Archdiocese

18 ProfileJohn Fahey Lourdes Pilgrimages past and present

19 Sunday ReflectionsLiturgy and Life

20 Animate Youth MinistryClothes show preaches message of conversion

25 Cathedral RecordCommemorating the First World War

26 Pic ExtrasMums the wordNews from the KSC

28 Pic LifeHow we live with the pain of bereavement

29 Join InFamily FunMore Mullarkey

contents

From the Archbishop’s DeskAs I write this month’s reflection I am getting ready for theArchdiocesan pilgrimage to Lourdes. As a frequent pilgrim toLourdes I have met the Liverpool Pilgrimage to Lourdesbefore, and it was on one such pilgrimage over twenty yearsago that I met Archbishop Worlock. This was the only time Iever had a chat with him, and I was very moved by the affection heshowed for the young pilgrims accompanying him.

In a week we meet a lot of different people; our friends, fellow Catholics,people seeking God, the sick, the young, our bishops, priests anddeacons. In fact we meet people from every walk of life and from manycountries throughout the world. This gathering of people in one placereminds me of the focus of week that is always Jesus. He said that whenthe Son of Man is raised up he would draw all people to himself – andLourdes is a real foretaste of his words.

But there is one other person we meet on pilgrimage that we can easilymiss, and that is ‘ourself’. On pilgrimage we see ourselves more clearly,and it becomes an opportunity to straighten out our life and return homewith a renewed friendship with Jesus, as well as many new friends.

I hope that you and your families are having a happy and restful summer.

Most Rev Malcolm McMahon OPArchbishop of Liverpool

Editor Peter HeneghanEditorial Catholic Pictorial Magazine Liverpool ArchdiocesanCentre for Evangelisation, Croxteth Drive, Liverpool L17 1AATel: 0151 522 1007 Email: [email protected]: Cover and Main feature: Tom MurphyAdvertisingAndrew Rogers 0151 709 7567Publisher36 Henry Street, Liverpool L1 5BS

Copy deadline September issue18 August 2014

CPMM Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may bereproduced copied or transmitted in any form or by any means orstored in any information storage or retrieval system without thepublishers written permission. Although every effort is made toensure the accuracy and reliability of material published, CatholicPictorial Ltd. can accept no responsibility for the veracity of theclaims made by advertisers.

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An awesomeday‘Awesome’ was the word ArchbishopMalcolm used at two ordinations tothe priesthood last month. Firstly on12 July in Liverpool’s St John theEvangelist church he ordained RoyCooper and eight days later at AllSaints, Anfield, John Poland. On bothoccasions the Archbishop recalledCardinal Basil Hume’s description ofan ordination, used at his ownordination in 1982, ‘awesome’.

On both days the candidates forordination and their guests weregreeted by brilliant sunlight as theymade their way into church for theSolemn Mass. Choirs sang as theconcelebrants processed in; thecandidates lying before the altar duringthe haunting Litany of Saints, the layingon of hands and the prayer ofconsecration before the kiss of peaceand welcome into the Holy Order ofPriests.

Roy Cooper was ordained on 12 Julyand his journey began with a chancemeeting with Father Alan Devaney in aNorth Wales pub. They talked generallyabout religion, Roy recalls, ‘I wasconfused, because I had started goingto a Catholic church in Conway becauseI felt drawn to it , but I was confirmedChurch of England. Father Devaneysuggested I go to his church when Iwas in Liverpool, after going to Mass, Ithought, this is it, I am home I knewstraight away the Catholic Church wasfor me.’

He was confirmed and not longafterwards, felt called to thepriesthood. ‘I had this feeling inside meI should be a priest and no matter howmuch I tried I couldn’t put it to oneside,’ he explained. He studied for aFoundation Degree in PastoralLeadership at Liverpool Hope Universityand started work at Walton Prison as alay Chaplain.

In September 2009 he startedseminary formation at Ushaw College inDurham. Reflecting on this time Roysaid, ‘life in a seminary is very differentto the outside world, and it takes a bitof adjusting to, it is a time fordiscernment. At the beginning of mysecond year, all the students, theformation staff and the domestic staffwere informed of the closure of Ushaw,a very challenging experience. Most ofthe students, including myself weretransferred to Oscott College, inBirmingham, at the end of my secondacademic year. One of the good thingsabout moving to Oscott was the factthat there were many more of us in theseminary which enriched our formation.After five years in seminary, I left inJune. I would like to thank all thoseinvolved in my seminary formation, bothat Ushaw and Oscott, and I am gratefulto all the staff for their dedication andpatience and to all the manyseminarians with whom I have beenprivileged to share these precious yearsof priestly formation.’

So to the ordination day which Roydescribes as ‘a truly amazing andawesome event, an event that I willcertainly never forget’. There were,however, a few nerves, ‘I remembergetting a little nervous at the beginningof the ordination, whilst I was standingin the bench at the front by my Mumand thinking to myself, “just let go,trust in God, let God takeover and lead

you”. Which later reminded methat, an ordination is not for thepriest himself, he is ordained forGod and to serve and minister tothe people of God.’

At the end of the Mass thoughthere was joy, ‘I give humble andheartfelt thanks to the Lord for thisawesome gift of the priesthoodwhich He has given me, and I amextremely grateful to ArchbishopMalcolm for ordaining me. Therehave been many people who havebeen a part of my journey over theyears, and I would like to thankthem all for helping me with prayersand support.’

Just eight days later it was the turnof John Poland to be ordained at AllSaints in Anfield. John was anundergraduate at Nottingham andpostgraduate at Oxford where hestudied philosophy. He became aCatholic before starting universityand it was at Oxford that the thenchaplain, Monsignor JeremyFairhead, encouraged him to thinkabout vocation to the priesthood.John recalls, ‘Jeremy is a greatchampion of vocations and severalpeople at the English College wouldcount him as an influence on theirdecision to apply to seminary. Icontacted Vocations Director, FatherSteve Maloney, and the rest ishistory’.

John went on to spend eightmonths with Father Steve Maloneyin Standish, Wigan on a pastoralplacement before studying at theEnglish College, Rome for sevenyears where he recently completeda licence in canon law. Then herejoined Father Steve, this time inAnfield, where All Saints has beenhis base for the last couple ofyears. In John’s words, ‘I feel verymuch at home there, it has been afantastic place to have my firstexperiences of being both a deaconand now a priest.’

Reflecting on his years of studyJohn says, ‘the past eight yearshave been challenging butrewarding. People sometimes askabout what the best bits are oftraining to be a priest. One of thethings that I will take away fromthat experience are the many

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‘just let go, trust in God,let God takeover and

lead you’

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‘I was very moved bythe generosity of somany people incoming to supportme’

friends I’ve made and different peoplethat I’ve come into contact with fromall over the world, friendships that Ihope will continue into priesthood. Infact it was manifest to me in a greatway at my ordination. I was verymoved by the generosity of so manypeople in coming to support me onthat occasion, and in the amount ofhard work that went into organising notonly the ordination but also the Massof thanksgiving the next day.’

He has some memorable momentsfrom his Mass of Ordination, ‘It was avery surreal feeling being ordained,everything went by very quickly, butthere are some moments that standout for me: lying prostrate during thelitany of saints, the laying on of hands,being vested (including ArchbishopMalcolm attempting to guess whichshop my chasuble had come from!),the lovely comments from the priestsat the kiss of peace, and then readingpart of the Eucharistic prayer for thefirst time. Father Sean Riley was anexcellent MC and guided me through itseamlessly, not to mention a couple ofnudges from Archbishop Patrick at the

right moments once I was sat with theother priests on the sanctuary.’

The reception following the ordinationwas at Liverpool Football Club wherethere was a disco prompting someoneto comment to John, ‘I didn’t knowpriests could be so much fun!’

John will now return to Rome forfurther studies but will take with himspecial memories of his ordination day,‘It will be a day that I won’t forget and Ihope that I will be open minded enoughto face the challenges andopportunities that lie ahead.’

Roy is to be assistant priest in St Peterand St Paul’s parish, Crosby and says‘It feels like a chapter in my life iscoming to an end and I’m turning thepage, and the next chapter is slowlyunfolding in front of me. Who knowswhat lies in the next chapter? It’s allin God’s hands, trust in God.’

As our new priests embark on the nextstage of their journey let us rememberthem in prayer.

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If you’ve got any news from your parish that you’d like featurede-mail us with the details at: [email protected]

News diary

The children, staff and Governorsof St Aloysius Primary Schoolwelcomed Archbishop Malcolmwhen he visited the school, hisfirst visit to a Primary Schoolsince his installation which wasattended by Miss Wrigley theHeadteacher, and a small groupof children.Following tea and biscuits with theSchool Council the Archbishopwas taken on a tour of the schoolwhere he spoke to a number ofchildren and staff. Before leavinghe gave the school a personalblessing. Miss Sheryl Wrigleysaid ‘It was a great privilege tohave welcomed His Grace, and itis a day we will all remember for avery long time.’

Welcome Archbishop Malcolm

Archbishop Malcolm visited the Isleof Man where he Confirmed and gaveFirst Communion to fourteen young

people at Saint Columba in Port Erinduring Mass and then spent timemeeting parishioners afterwards,

Archbishop Malcolmvisits the Isle of Man which included a rousing chorus of ‘Happy

Birthday Dear Archbishop’ to celebrate hisbirthday the following day.Pastoral Area Dean, Canon Philip Gillespie,accompanied the Archbishop as he travelledaround the Island visiting the all the Catholic

parishes before lunch at SaintMary, Douglas, with the Clergyof the Pastoral Area.After an interview with ManxRadio Archbishop Malcolmreturned to Castletown wherehe celebrated the evening Masswith Father Leo Cooper, FatherBrian Dougherty and FatherBrian O’Mahony.Canon Gillespie said, ‘it was anextremely busy but enjoyableday and we were certainlydelighted to have theArchbishop with us; we lookforward to welcoming him backfor a longer visit when timeallows’.

Pictures: John Maddrell

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‘Over my head, I hear music in the air…’

Cafod Mass of Thanksgiving

The Cafod Annual Mass ofThanksgiving took place at StOswald’s Church, Old Swan withover 250 Cafod supporters in thecongregation. Archbishop MalcolmMcMahon celebrated the Masswith Father Mike Fitzsimmons,Father Mark Beattie, Father GrantMaddock and newly ordainedFather Roy Cooper. It wassomething of a double celebrationas Father Mark Beattie, ParishPriest of St Oswald’s, wascelebrating the 20th anniversary ofhis ordination. The music of theMass was led by Sister MoiraMeeghan.The children and staff from StOswald’s Catholic Junior Schoolmade a beautiful display at the back

of church especially for the eveningand have also written cards for thechildren living in the Connect2:Brazil and Connect2: Cambodiacommunities. Their cards will besent to the communities over thesummer.Tom O’Connor (Director of Cafod’sCommunities and SupportersDivision) thanked the people of theArchdiocese for their generosity overthe years and spoke about some ofthe people he has met around theworld who have been helped byCafod including in Albania, Peru andSierra Leone. After Mass, Agnes,Imelda and parishioners from StOswald’s provided the refreshmentsincluding a cake to celebrate FatherMark’s 20th anniversary.

Hannah’s 100thcelebrations

On Monday 14 July Our Lady of theAssumption Parish, Gateacre, celebratedthe 100th birthday of the firstheadteacher of the parish Infant School.Miss Hannah Coleman, who beganteaching at Holy Trinity school in Garstonbecame the Head at Our Lady’s just afterthe war. Her 100th birthday wascelebrated with a Mass, at which Hannahwas presented with a blessing from PopeFrancis, and a party in the Parish Club.

The children and the parishioners of StMargaret Mary’s, Liverpool celebratedtheir annual Family Fun Day last month.The day began with Mass with thechildren of the parish leading theliturgy in song and sharing the readingsof the day, then charging outside as theMass ended with balloons led by ParishPriest, Father Mark Moran. Theballoons were released and a prayer‘sent up’ by the children for someonewho might have forgotten how muchGod loves them.The fun continued on the parish fieldwhere there were bouncy castles,football games, face painting, picnicsand people simply being together. ‘I lovethe sense of community that this daybrings, children and adults of all ages, itreminds us all of the wonderfulcommunity spirit that we have here and

how working together we can build theKingdom of God in many different ways’said Father Mark, who went on to say,‘the day is focussed on the children ofthe parish, to thank and celebrate allthat they bring to our community. I hope

everyone enjoyed the Mass and the timetogether’.Also at the Mass Peter Ross receivedhis silver medal from the President ofthe Guild of St. Stephen, for ten years ofservice as an altar server.

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Archbishop Malcolmreceives the Pallium

news diary

The pallium is an ancient symbol ofthe office of MetropolitanArchbishops, who wear it over the

chasuble when they celebrate Mass intheir provinces as a symbol of theircommunion with the Church of Romewrites Father Andrew Cole.

Its origins are lost in the mists of time.The circle symbolises the eternal love ofGod. The wool reminds us that thesheep of Christ’s flock are gatheredtogether by the Good Shepherd, to becarried by him. The crosses speak to usof the Cross of Christ, and the pinsinserted into three of the crossesrepresent the nails which pierced OurLord’s hands and feet.

The pallium used to be given to the newArchbishop by the Papal Legate in theirdioceses, but these days most newArchbishops travel to Rome to receivethe pallium from the Pope himself on 29June, the Solemnity of St Peter and StPaul, the patrons of the Roman Church.

This year, Archbishop Malcolm travelledwith Bishop Tom Williams, AuxiliaryBishop of Liverpool, Monsignor TomMcGovern, the Diocesan Administrator ofthe Diocese of Nottingham, and a largecontingent of the Archbishop’s familyand friends, clergy and parishioners fromLiverpool and Nottingham, and theLiverpool Metropolitan Cathedral Choir,to receive his pallium from Pope Francisin St Peter’s Basilica.

The festivities began on Saturday 28June with Mass and a reception in thePontifical Irish College, which is near tothe Pope’s Cathedral, the Basilica of StJohn Lateran.

On Sunday 29 June, it was an early startfor everyone. Although the Papal Masswas due to start at 9.30 am, thecongregation began to queue foradmission well before St Peter’s Basilicaopened at 7.30 am. During the Mass,the Pope blessed the palliums, whichwere taken from the niche of the pallia,beneath the Altar and above the tomb ofSt Peter, and gave them to twenty-four

newly-appointed MetropolitanArchbishops. As their names were readout before Mass, Archbishop Malcolmeasily received the largest cheer fromthe congregation!

Mass was followed by a reception andlunch in the Venerable English College,one of the two seminaries for theCatholic Church in England and Wales,before the celebration of Vespers withthe Benedictine community at theBasilica of St Paul outside the Walls,where St Paul is buried, giving thosepresent the opportunity to pray beforethe tombs of both St Peter and St Paulon their feast day.

The weekend concluded with Mass in theChurch of the Most Holy Redeemer andSt Alphonsus, where the icon of OurLady of Perpetual Succour is venerated,and a reception in the residence of NigelBaker, Her Majesty’s Ambassador to theHoly See.

The Metropolitan Cathedral Choir sang atthe Pallium Mass in St Peter’s Basilica,

Vespers in St Paul’s Basilica, and thetwo Masses in the Irish College and StAlphonsus’ Church, lifting the mind andthe heart to God with their singing.

In his homily at the Pallium Mass, PopeFrancis encouraged everyone present tofollow Jesus: ‘Follow me by the witnessof a life shaped by the grace youreceived in Baptism and Holy Orders.Follow me by speaking of me to thosewith whom you live, day after day, in yourwork, your conversations and among yourfriends.

Follow me by proclaiming the Gospel toall, especially to the least among us, sothat no one will fail to hear the word oflife which sets us free from every fearand enables us to trust in thefaithfulness of God.’

It was a great honour for all thosepresent to hear Pope Francis give thatchallenge as he bestowed the pallium onArchbishop Malcolm.

Archbishop Malcolm said, ‘I was honoured

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news diary

and privileged to receive thepallium from the hands of our HolyFather Pope Francis, it was a veryhumbling moment when I kneltbefore the Holy Father and heplaced the pallium on myshoulders.

‘I hope and pray that, by theintercession of St Peter and StPaul, all of us in the Archdioceseand Province of Liverpool: Bishops,priests, deacons, religious and layfaithful alike will follow Christ moreclosely every day in our parishes,schools, chaplaincies andcommunities, proclaiming hisKingdom in our midst and giving

glory to God in all that we say anddo.’

Among the twenty-fourMetropolitan Archbishops fromthroughout the world to receive thepallium from Pope Francis wereArchbishop Leo Cushley from SaintAndrews and Edinburgh andArchbishops from as far afield asIndia, Costa Rica, Italy, Brazil,France, America, Nigeria, Pakistan,Austria, Malawi, Madagascar,Chile, the Philippines, Uganda,Uruguay, Tanzania, Vietnam,Poland and Indonesia. A true signof the universal Church incommunion with Rome.


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From Maria Des Landes

What makes a pilgrimage all themore enticing is the commondenominator that motivates an

individual to go on one: that of religionand faith. This cannot be overstated asfrom day one friendships start to formor are renewed from previouspilgrimages. The group forms a unity asthat of a choir – somethinginexplicable.

The purpose behind the pilgrimage is totake time away from your normal life toaffirm your beliefs whilst retracing thesteps of previous pilgrims and tourists.This means a visit through history, art,culture, life experiences and events fromour own lives. Once you incorporateyour faith into this mix, you cannot fail!

This was the first organised pilgrimage Ihad attended. It’s wonderful to brushoff the tedium of bookingaccommodation, travel arrangements,etc and let someone else steer theoverall path of your experience. Ofcourse, no one can legislate for everyeventuality. And if there is an issue, itisn’t yours to resolve. You are free toindulge yourself on all there is toexperience.

The reality of the pilgrimage is that, forthe duration of the trip, your life isordered and arrangements for theexcursions rely on the whole partymeeting the timescales set by theorganisers. This wasn’t a problem buteverything is finely tuned particularlywhen there are multiple sites to visit.The seasoned traveller requires thisorder and will be familiar with theenergy/stamina required for each stageof the journey. The rewards arenumerous and personal to eachindividual.

So what does Italy have in store? Ourpilgrimage was to Assisi and Rome.Everything was in place: our English touroperator accompanied us for most ofour travels. Our Italian tour guidesaccompanied us through the wholepilgrimage. We were also privileged to

have two experienced tour guides for theAssisi and Rome leg of our journey. So,there was no stone unturned, webenefitted from local knowledge andexpertise on the history, art and religionof this area. The guides providedanecdotal information, some whichtravel books may omit.

As a group we became accustomed tofollowing the tour guide’s flag. Itseemed in Rome, there were many flagsto follow as hoards of visitors followedflags tracing the steps to enhance theirknowledge and experience.

Assisi had a flavour of its own – nestledon the top of a hillside, its presencewas understated but very enchanting.To the left of the town was themonastery and Basilica of St Francis: tothe right the Basilica of St Clare. Theundulating single track roads were toughto climb but offered a rustic charm –stone clad buildings garnished withwrought ironwork, hanging baskets, oldeworlde wooden doors and shutters. Onclimbing the roads by foot every nowand then a wonderful vista would openup revealing the surrounding countrysideand lower levels of the town.

The jewel of our visit lay outside thewalls of Assisi, the chapel that StFrancis had rebuilt any centuries before.The church (the Portiuncula) still standsbut around it was built the Church of StMary of the Angels. It was anexperience not to be forgotten!

Rome was just as I remembered it tobe, whether from childhood memories orfrom Hollywood films over the years.Rome didn’t appear as hilly as Iremembered, at least nothing likeAssisi! From a coach it offered anabundance of history/artforms/churches/coaches (we were allon the trail!)/avenues and glimpses ofpoplar streets. Belissimo! By foot, theiconic buildings and sites such as theVatican, the Coliseum, the SpanishSteps, the fountains of Trevi, did notdisappoint. The marvel and miracle ofthe art, architecture, statues weretestament to the people who had carvedevery fine detail and theircraftsmanship.

The highlight as mentioned in CatholicPic, July issue was our audience withthe Pope, who in his Popemobilejourneyed through the crowd, stopping tolift up a child and giving his blessing toall. What excitement and privilege thiswas to be in the same square as PopeFrancis.

I have saved one very importantingredient to our journey, that of the twowonderful men who led our pilgrimage.Father Ron Johnson, parish priest of StCatherine and All Saints, Golborne andFather Dominic Curran, Chaplain toUniversity Hospital, Aintree. Thesupport and pastoral care given to thegroup, humour (‘Alora, Fr Ron’) and themasses we were able to attend, mustreceive our thanks.

And so I’ll try and answer a questionyou may be asking: ‘Why go on apilgrimage with the Catholic Pictorial?’The customer ethos and care is at thecentre of the trip. From the preparationbefore the pilgrimage (including ameeting and pre-pilgrimage ‘getting toknow you’ Mass), the updates on ourjourney, practicalities, and our post-pilgrimage 1:1 feedback of ourexperiences. In the coming month weshall also have a group reunion Mass toexpress our thanks for our safe andspiritually rewarding pilgrimage.

Catholic Pic Pilgrimageto Rome and Assisi

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news

On Thursday 3 July Bishop Vincent Malonecelebrated his Episcopal Silver Jubilee. He wasordained Bishop on that date in 1989 byArchbishop Derek Worlock in the MetropolitanCathedral of Christ the King, and it was to thesame Cathedral that he returned this year onSunday 6 July to celebrate a Mass ofThanksgiving.

Speaking of vocation Bishop Malone said, ‘Whyhas the Lord done us the honour of allowing us torepresent the whole Church community at SundayMass? I don’t know. Why has the Lord chosenme within the community of the Church to servethe Church as a Bishop? I don’t know. What I doknow is that each of us must co-operate as bestwe can with our calling, with our responsibility. Ihope that today is an occasion for everyonepresent to say, “Thanks be to God for thevocation he has given me.” Not just over aspecial period but every day since the day of ourbirth.’

Bishop Malone concluded the Mass by saying;‘...go home rejoicing with my thanks for yourbeing here today’.

Bishop Malone’s Silver Celebration

‘Amazing years of loving service’

On the Feast of the Sacred HeartArchbishop Malcolm celebrated Massin the Metropolitan Cathedral withpriests who are celebrating Jubileesthis year. Although not all were ableto be present there are in total sevenSilver Jubilee celebrations; one Ruby;two Golden; seven Diamond and onePlatinum. In addition Bishop Vincent

Malone was marking his EpiscopalSilver Jubilee, making a total of 830years of priestly ministry in theArchdiocese.Archbishop Malcolm welcomed thecongregation to the ‘joyous occasion’which he described as ‘an opportunityto celebrate the priesthood and givethanks to almighty God for that gift of

his love’. He concluded by payingtribute to those celebrating years offaithful service saying, ‘My brothers,jubilarians, those of you who haveserved so faithfully, so lovingly and forso long, I congratulate you and Ihonour you for the amazing years ofloving service you have given to theChurch’.

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On a liturgical note Canon Philip Gillespie

These are slightly quieter weeks inthe lives of our parishes – the schoolsare on summer break, theArchdiocesan pilgrimage to Lourdesis over, and many of the parish andpastoral area meetings are inabeyance until September.

Yet sacramentally, all is still busy, withmarriages to be celebrated, funerals ifcalled upon, and perhaps baptisms.Visits to the sick and to the hospitalcontinue, Sunday and weekdayMasses… the round of parishrequirements may reduce over thesenext weeks, but it never comes to acomplete standstill! So a word ofthanks to all those who will ensurethat in our Parishes the telephoneswill still be answered, the sick visitedand those seeking the sacraments willstill be catechised, prayed with andwelcomed.

In the middle of the month we keepthe Solemnity of the Assumption(Friday 15 August) and on this HolyDay our thoughts are centred not onlyon the singular privilege given to OurBlessed Lady of being Mother of theWord made Flesh (the Theotokos,Bearer of God) but also on the call toeach and every one of us to live outMary’s song of Praise, her Magnificat,

in our daily lives:‘The Almighty hasdone great thingsfor us and Holy isHis Name.’

The Preface of theEucharistic Prayeron this Feastspeaks clearly of the importantposition of Mary in our own spiritualjourney, our living-out of the Christianvocation we have all received inbaptism: ‘For today the virgin Motherof God was assumed into heaven asthe beginning and image of yourChurch’s coming to perfection, and asign of sure hope and comfort to yourpilgrim people.’

We are all members of that ‘pilgrimpeople’ and in our journeying andlearning each day we ask that theprayer and example of Mary, Mother ofthe Lord may assist us and that wemay always serve the Lord withgladness:

Beneath your compassion,We take refuge, O Mother of God:do not despise our petitions in time oftrouble:but rescue us from dangers,only pure, only blessed one.

sunday reflections

Everyday GodSaint Teresa of Avilaonce wrote a prayerwhich, since her death in1582, has beentranslated into hundredsof languages, put tomusic and used bycountless theologians and spiritualdirectors. It is a very simple prayer:

Christ has no body now but yours,No hands, no feet on earth but yours.Yours are the eyes through which he looks,Compassion on this world.Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good.Yours are the hands with which he blesses all the worldChrist has no body now but yours.

The Gospels were written years after thedeath of Jesus. What had happened tothose communities during those years wasthat they recognised in their midst thepresence of Jesus. He was acting withintheir community not in some vague spiritualsense but in the community of believers.

He was with them in so far as they werewilling to love one another, forgive oneanother, not judge or condemn oneanother. He was with them in so far asthey were able to be peace makers andhealers. In some senses we have lost thatawareness of the risen Jesus in our midst,touching and sanctifying humanity. Wewould rather look outside ourselves at holythings than within to discover the risenLord. We would rather look into the sky tofind Jesus than to look at our brother orsister.

I have often wondered why we spend somuch time looking outside of the ordinaryand I guess it is because to find Jesus inthe midst of the community is not an easytask. It calls for faithfulness to thosearound us when we least want to befaithful. It calls for a willingness to believein the goodness of another person. Itdemands that at times we be weak andvulnerable and willing to trust.

It is a difficult road to travel but it is whatspirituality is about. Anything that divorcesus from the human and stops us findingthe God in our midst is not a realspirituality. Look into your lives anddiscover God. Reflect on every encounterthat you have and you will see the face ofChrist and know his presence with youalways – yes, to the end of time

Fr Chris Thomas

Sunday thoughts Mgr John Devine OBE

We speak of the seven gifts of theHoly Spirit. Could I propose an eighthgift? It is when the Spirit intervenesto override my rash judgements. Ifrequently make assumptions about aperson’s lack of faith only to discoverthat they are closer to God than Iam. The Holy Spirit refuses to belimited by my petty prejudices.

I am in good company. Jesus changeshis mind about people in the Gospels.People make demands but his initialrefusal to help them is worn down bytheir persistence. Matthew’s Gospelfor 17 August is a good example.Jesus ignores the pleas of a womanwhose daughter is possessed. ‘Heanswered her not a word.’ Pressedfurther, he insists: ‘I was sent only tothe lost sheep of the House of Israel.’It is a response worthy of an officialat the Benefits Office but theCanaanite women gets under his radarby the confidence with which she givesas good as she gets.

In one of hisparables Jesusdescribes how ahouseholder whohas retired for thenight is reluctantto answer the doorto a neighbour inneed. Persistencerather than charity prompts him torespond. Is this storyautobiographical? Maybe it is a lessonlearnt from Jesus’s own experience.

Should I baptise the children of non-practising parents? I cave in to getpeople off my back. Is my inability tomaintain a firm line lazy orenlightened? Is it the work of the HolySpirit? Pope Francis says: ‘Frequentlywe act as arbiters of grace rather thanits facilitators. But the Church is not atollhouse; it is the house of theFather, where there is a place foreveryone, with all their problems.’(Evangelii Gaudium, 47)

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Saturday 2 August to Saturday 9 AugustThinking Faith: ‘Catholic Social Teaching’. A holiday, study week, prayer and community for Catholicsin their 20s-40s. Boarbank Hall, Allithwaite, Grange overSands, Cumbria, LA11 7NH. Details Tel: 01539 532288.Email: [email protected]. Web:www.boarbankhall.org.uk

Saturday 2 AugustOrgan Recital By David Hardie (RNCM 2013 Recital Prize winner). 2.30pm in the Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King.Admission free; retiring collection.

Sunday 3 AugustMass to mark the hundredth anniversary of the start ofthe First World War11.00 am in the Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ theKing. Celebrant: Archbishop Malcolm McMahon OP.

Saturday 9 AugustOrgan Recital By David Holroyd (Director of Music, Merchant Taylors’School, Crosby). 2.30 pm in the Metropolitan Cathedralof Christ the King. Admission free; retiring collection.

Saturday 23 AugustOrgan Recital By Gary Desmond (Deputy Organist Bath Abbey). 2.30pm in the Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King.Admission free; retiring collection.

Monday 25 AugustThe Annual Pilgrimage in honour of Blessed DominicBarberi, CPheld in The Church of St Anne and Blessed DominicSutton, St Helens WA9 3ZD. Mass at 12.00 noon. Chiefcelebrant: Bishop William Kenney CP. Refreshmentsafterwards in the parish centre.

Saturday 30 AugustOrgan Recital By Anthony Hammond (Cirencester). 2.30 pm in theMetropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King. Admissionfree; retiring collection.

Looking ahead:September 2014

Wednesday 3 SeptemberUCM Bi-monthly Mass7.30 pm at St Clare, Arundel Avenue, Liverpool, L17 2AU.

Saturday 6 SeptemberOrgan Recital By Charlotte Rowan (Organ Scholar) with Richard Lea andChristopher McElroy. 2.30 pm in the MetropolitanCathedral of Christ the King. Admission free; retiringcollection.

Saturday 13 September to Saturday 20 SeptemberThinking Scripture: ‘The Gospel of Matthew’.A holiday and study week at Boarbank Hall, Allithwaite,Grange over Sands, Cumbria, LA11 7NH. Details Tel:01539 532288. Email: [email protected]: www.boarbankhall.org.uk

Saturday 1 NovemberEmbrace Liverpool 2014 Youth Conference (16+)10.00 am to 6.00 pm in the Metropolitan Cathedral ofChrist the King. Youth Mass at 4.00 pm. Celebrant:Archbishop Malcolm McMahon OP. Speakers include:John Pridmore, Father Dermott Donnelly, Sister CatherineHolum, Lord David Alton, Sister Maria Natella, KenMcCabe and Father Duncan McVicar. Free admission,register at www.embrace-liverpool.org.ukFurther information Tel: 0151 440 2015

what’s on august

More details at :www.liverpoolcatholic.org.uk or

www.catholicpic.co.uk

World citizens offuture inspiredby LiverpoolHope congress‘Faith in action’ is how one impressed teacher summed up theimpact of the inaugural Young People’s Congress for WorldCitizenship which took place at Liverpool Hope University in July.

The three-day event, marking the30th anniversary of the CatholicAssociation for Racial Justice(CARJ), brought together over 70pupils from 11 schools fromMerseyside, Stoke-on-Trent,Leamington Spa and London withthe goal – according to ProfessorBill Chambers, the congress organiser – ‘to meet one another,learn from one another and support one another in their vocationas world citizens’.

The Congress opened with a keynote speech on 10 July byLiverpool writer Frank Cottrell Boyce on Justice, Equality and Co-operation – the first name on a list of speakers also including JohnBattle, the former MP; Andrea Hope, a black rap poet from theUnited States; and Ivana Gabolova, a visiting speaker from theAnne Frank House, Amsterdam.

The 14 and 15-year-olds present were encouraged not just to listenbut to participate by talking and expressing their opinions,according to Professor Chambers. ‘It was something quite new forthem, acting like adults at a conference rather than listening andgetting taught,’ he explained, and so ‘unbelievably successful’ wasthe congress that there is already talk of repeating the event in2015 when it is hoped more Liverpool schools will take part.

The local schools involved were Sacred Heart, Crosby; St Peter andPaul, Halton; St Peter’s, Orrell; St Vincent’s School for the Blind;and Broadgreen International. They took part in discussions onthemes including asylum seekers, cyber bullying, disability,freedom of speech, homelessness, teenage mental health,travelling people and conflict resolution.

Themes were explored through music, dance, art, poetry, drama,photography, film and other workshop activities supported byMerseyside arts organisations.

There were also visits to community projects which exemplified TheParable of the Sheep and Goats (Matthew 25: 35-36 ‘For I washungry and you gave me something to eat…’). These included ahomeless shelter, a nursing home, a food bank and a women’srefuge.

Another highlight of a memorable event, meanwhile, was a debateon whether 16-year-olds should be able to vote, which was held inthe council chamber at Liverpool Town Hall, introduced by LordMike Storey and concluded by Stephen Twigg MP.

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Support for Divorced and SeparatedPeople in the ArchdiocesePope Francis describes the Church as‘the house of the Father, where there isa place for everyone, with all theirproblems’. Many people whoexperience family breakdown express adeep seated sense of isolation andrejection and this can influence theirfeelings about their position in theChurch.

The Liverpool Archdiocese led the way inaddressing this issue. The then FatherVincent Nichols chaired a committeewhich prepared a report on the needs ofseparated and divorced Catholics for theNational Pastoral Congress held here in1980. Support groups opened in thearchdiocese in 1982.

Twice a year the Marriage and Family Lifesection of the Pastoral FormationDepartment offers a series of six weeklymeetings for people who are divorced, inthe middle of family breakdown, or at theend of a long term relationship. Here

they can meet in a confidential,structured and non-judgemental settingand talk, reflect and pray together. Ourhope is that the support and theaccurate information they receive willencourage them to continue going toMass and to confide in their parish priestas well as helping them through adifficult period. We still occasionallymeet people who have been misinformedby family members or other parishionersthat as soon as they are divorced theywill be unable to receive HolyCommunion.

Most who come to the groups arepractising Catholics; other Christians arewelcome to attend. Numbers are limitedto make it easy for people to talk. Thereis a large age range, from people in theirtwenties to those, sadly now increasingin number, who have been married forover thirty years. Some have not madea final decision about their relationshipwhile others have been alone for many

years but still feel they have not come toterms with their situation and theirposition in the Church.

Two whole day meetings take place onSaturdays for people who cannot attendin the evenings. Continued contact isavailable and there is one-to-one supportfor anyone who does not wish to attenda group. The meetings are run bytrained facilitators, some of whom arethemselves divorced.

The next series of meetings starts onMonday, 15 September in southLiverpool, and is preceded by a one daymeeting on Saturday 13 September.

For more information about thesemeetings contact Frances Trotman, Tel:0151 727 2195. For general informationcontact Maureen O’Brien, Coordinator forMarriage and Family Life, at LACE, Tel:0151 522 1044, [email protected]

Celebrating our work with childrenThe Annual Mass, celebrating thework done with and for children in theArchdiocese, changed venue from theMetropolitan Cathedral to St Mary’s,Lowe House in St Helens and gavemany families the opportunity to meetArchbishop Malcolm for the first time.The venue meant that children andtheir families could take part inpreparations before the Mass and apicnic afterwards in the beautifulgarden.The theme of the Mass was to ‘Trustin Jesus’ so children were asked todraw their faces on paper disks and onthe reverse to write one worry orconcern that they would like to ‘give toJesus’. The Gospel included ‘Come tome with your worries and troubles andI will take care of you.’ After hearingthis, the children were invited to pastetheir disks on an image of childrenapproaching Jesus, so that the worrieswere hidden and the faces were turnedto the congregation.Children also made ‘shakers’ fromempty bottles so they could join in thelively music provided by St Basil’s

Widnes. Servers came from St Basil,St Philomena and All Saints’ parishes,and readers from Christ the King andOur Lady’s parish in Liverpool.The lovely weather meant that familieswere able to stay and enjoy the picnicsthey had brought while Archbishop

Malcolm spent time meetingparishioners from across theArchdiocese.If you would like to be involved in thepreparation for next year’s Massplease contact the SafeguardingDepartment on 0151522 1043.

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profile

JOHN Fahey still remembers the sightthat greeted him at Lime Street Stationwhen, as a wide-eyed teenager, heprepared to depart on his first LiverpoolArchdiocesan pilgrimage to Lourdes.‘All the stretchers were lined up waitingto be put into ambulance coaches. Theywere green coaches which had beenused in World War One and there was abrass plaque on the carriage with themaximum number of horses or men.’It is a reminiscence which underlines thepassage of years since that first journeymade to the Marian shrine in the FrenchPyrenees by Liverpool Hospitalité’slongest-serving brancardier. Today Johnis 71 and this year’s pilgrimage – whichhe made along with his brother Paul anddaughter Jenny – was his 57th insuccession.‘It is like nothing on earth being there,’says the former deputy head teacher atOur Lady and St Swithin’s primary schoolin Gilmoss who – via his impressivelongevity – is maintaining an unbrokenfamily presence on Liverpool pilgrimagesdating back to the very first one in1923. After his grandfather, ChristopherMaguire, had visited Lourdes in 1913,his mother Margaret and, in particular,aunt Bonnie became stalwarts of thepilgrimage in its formative years. John, aparishioner at Our Lady and All Saints inParbold, explains: ‘My aunt was one ofthe founders of the pilgrimage in 1922.It was formed by Liverpool and Lancasteruniversity graduates and undergraduates– they were the nucleus that started theHandmaids and Brancardiers’Association that took people toLourdes.’So it was that John became enrolled in

the summer of 1958. He attended manypilgrimages as a young man with histhree brothers and stirring his memoriesis like opening a time capsule of theLourdes pilgrimage as it once was –starting with that epic overland journey.‘Today they cannot take the amount ofstretcher cases that we used to but thepeople we took were very sick. We usedto take up to 25 stretcher cases andthat was by train and boat. It was a hellof a job doing that on a long 27-hourjourney but everyone gelled on thoselong journeys and by the time you go toLourdes, you knew all the sick. ‘Imagine a pilgrimage without LiverpoolYouth helpers,’ he continues. ‘Therewere only about 50 brancardiers to doall the jobs in Lourdes and we wouldtake the stretchers and wheelchairsdown to the grotto. We’d be doing threetrips. It was tough. It is a doddle now

compared to what it was!’It was a different world in so manyrespects. ‘The chief branc was a guycalled Jim Seagraves and he wouldn’tallow anyone in the women’s ward whowasn’t married,’ he remembers, beforeone particularly striking anecdote evokesan era less preoccupied by health andsafety requirements. ‘If [sick pilgrims]died on the journey back, when we cameto Calais or Boulogne, we would putthem on a stretcher and rig up a drip,and doctors and nurses wouldaccompany the stretcher on board. If notthe train would be stopped.’Much has changed, for better or worse,but for John – who goes on his own‘another three times a year’ to volunteerwith the international Hospitalité – thelure of Lourdes is undiminished. ‘It is awonderful place,’ he says and his familyhistory tells you he really does mean it.

The link between Lourdes pilgrimages present and past by Simon Hart

JohnFahey

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youth ministry

By Father Simon Gore

AT the same time that the schoolswere finishing for the year andminds were wandering to thesummer holidays, at Animate wewere gearing up for the pilgrimageseason. Over 450 young peopletravelled to Lourdes this year tohelp serve the sick and you willhear more about the pilgrimage innext month’s edition.

Among that ministry of service, theyouth pilgrimage had its ownliturgies that we hope will havehelped focus the minds of the youngpeople present to what pilgrimage isabout. This year, in a slightly bizarretwist, our focus was on clothes.‘Why clothes?’ you may ask, so letme try to explain. I have clothesthat I like to wear. And I haveclothes that I prefer not to wear butat times have to. I have clothes thatI feel comfortable in, and I haveclothes I cannot wait to get out of.

I think most of us feel the same.Maybe we cannot wait to get out ofschool uniform, or to take our tie offat the end of a long day. Or perhapswe want to slip into slippers and outof those shoes that have cripplingour feet. Clothes, then, are anessential part of who we are. Our

clothes can reflect our mood, andthey can say something about ourpersonality.

Someone else may have exactly thesame T-shirt, but that T-shirt doesnot have the same memoriesimbued with it that yours does. Ithas not been to the same placesthat yours has. It might look thesame, but it is not your T-shirt. Weasked each youth pilgrim to bring toLourdes one such item: an item ofclothing that has been worn and hasmemories attached to it. We startedthis collection at the departureMass at Lowe House last month.

With this collection, all thoseindividual memories were broughttogether. They are no longer alone.They have come together, and incoming together they formed a newwhole. They formed a heart at thefront of the church.

We sang in our opening hymn of theMass that we wanted to have theeyes of our heart opened to bettersee the Lord. And similarly, at

Communion we sang that we wantedour heart opened to be able to lovelike the Lord.

By going on pilgrimage we want tobecome more like the Lord. We want tobe able to see and act as He would do.Yet it can be difficult to know how todo that. We might even feel alone andmight feel pressured by the worldaround us telling us to behave and actin a certain way that seems at oddswith what we think the Lord wouldwant. By bringing our clothes to Massand then taking them to Lourdes, weare reminded that we are not alone inour journey, our pilgrimage, to have ourhearts opened. We all brought a partof ourselves to Mass, and we took apart of ourselves to Lourdes. And wepray that the person that goes toLourdes is changed, just as our clothesare moulded into a new form.

In Lourdes we used the clothes ateach youth Mass and formed a newsymbol at each Mass, remindingourselves of the need to be constantlyre-formed by the grace of God:converted into what the Lord wants usto be (taking to heart the theme ofLourdes this year – ‘the joy ofconversion’).

The plan at the end of the pilgrimage isto pass on these clothes – formed andre-formed in their time in Lourdes – tovarious charities around the Diocese.We pray that our time in Lourdes willhave allowed us to be re-formed andconverted by the grace of God, sendingus back into the world in our owncommunities to act as servants to all.

www.animateyouth.orgFacebook: Ani MateTwitter: @animateyouth

Our clothes showpreaches message of conversion


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justice & peace

By Steve Atherton, Justice and Peace fieldworker

The centenary of the outbreak ofWorld War One falls on 4 August. Wehave already had massive mediacoverage of WWIon TV, the radioand in thenewspapers.

So much so thatwhen the Justiceand PeaceCommissiondevoted lastmonth’s AnnualAssembly to thequestion of howwe shouldcommemorate thisanniversary,several peoplegroaned: ‘Oh no!Not again! I’m fedup with hearingabout it.’ Iunderstand theirreaction.

When theCommissiondecided to make remembrance oneof the priorities for the year, we wereaware that the media would be inoverdrive about the subject and wewanted to provide some sort ofbalance to the ‘our brave boys’approach to commemoration.

One member had the great idea thatwe could hold events in parishesbased around the BBC programme‘Days that shook the world – TheChristmas truce’ about the informaltruce in the trenches during

Christmas 1914. This has been agreat success.

So far we have visited eight differentvenues, including the universitychaplaincy in Liverpool, a URC churchin Wigan, the Brothers of Charity inWavertree, and five different Catholicparishes across the diocese.

The film touches people’s emotions,which is important because we learnas much with our hearts as we dowith our heads. If we were morehorrified by war we would be lesslikely to get drawn into it.

People have told some veryinteresting stories in theconversations after the film show. InPortico we were told of a family who

sold their grandfather’s medalsawarded after WWI to fund a

maternity hospital inAfrica;

in Leigh we heard of a

woman’s Irish father who was sentfrom France to put down the Easterrising in Dublin;

in Warrington we learned that thewhole of the high altar in St

Benedict’s is a memorial to the fallenof WWI as well as being the secondlargest mosaic in the country. Thefoundation stone was laid only a fewdays after the assassination ofArchduke Ferdinand and a few daysbefore the declaration of war.

At the Assembly we were encouragedto see the point of view of all thecountries involved in WWI and toextend this awareness to thecomplexities of modern conflicts suchas are taking place in the MiddleEast and Ukraine. It gives me ashock when I suddenly realise thatthe way I look at the world dependsvery much on where I am standing.

No matter what we do, WWIhappened. It cannot be stopped.However, future conflicts can beavoided if we can learn somelessons. Let us hope it is not truethat the only thing we ever learn fromhistory is that we never learn fromhistory.

Looking back 100 years

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College help Fr Roycelebrate ordinationNotre Dame Catholic College was the venue for the receptionafter the ordination of Father Roy Cooper on Saturday 12thJuly 2014.The congregation at the ordination came back to the college forrefreshments and entertainment provided by the college choir.Mrs Frances Harrison, Headteacher at Notre Dame welcomedthe visitors who included Archbishop Malcolm McMahon, FatherMichael Fitzsimmons, Parish Priest of St John’s Catholic Churchand Father Roy.

LastNightof thePromsArchbishop Beck Catholic Sports College brought thecurtain down on the Cedar Road site when we presentedour annual summer concert, ‘Last Night of the Proms’.This was the last event at the present College beforethey move to their new campus on Long Lane.The Sports Hall came alive with flags of red, white andblue on Thursday 10 July. This was the eleventh ‘Last Nightof the Proms’ concert organised by Director of Music,Bruce Hicks.The College Concert Band were on top form, playing attheir best. They were joined by their partner primary schoolpupils, the award winning Chamber Choir, College DanceEnsemble and Training Band.All the favourites of the ‘Last Night of the Proms’ made up

Bellerive pays its respectsStudents and staff from Bellerive FCJ Catholic Collegevisited the World War One battlefields and cemeteries ofFrance and Belgium during a recent trip. Mr McVeigh, Head of Histroy picks up the story: “We leftBellerive on Saturday 28th June at 6am, arriving at ourhotel in Ypres in the early evening. We spent Sundayvisiting sites in Northern France. The girls were particularlytaken with the Thiepval memorial, listing the names of over50,000 soldiers missing as a result of the Battle of theSomme in 1916. We got a great insight into the harshrealities of trench warfare when we visited the excavatedtrenches at Vimy Ridge where thousands of Canadiansoldiers perished.“On Monday 30th June, we visited several museums nearYpres and in the afternoon, laid a wreath at Tyne Cotcemetery, where over 11,000 soldiers are buried with over60% of the identities of the soldiers in the graves unknown.We conducted a brief service and offered up our prayers forall the dead of all wars. As ever, our students wereexcellent ambassadors for Bellerive and the FCJ values."

part of the concert as well as theusual combination of comedy, funand fine music!An appropriate and emotionalfinale was the ‘Lowering of theFlag Ceremony’ when the collegeflag was lowered for the lasttime, meanwhile, the Collegeband and trumpeters sound the‘Evening Hymn and Last Post.’The College Piper, Mr KenBeamer and associates followedthis with the performance of the,‘Highland Cathedral’ and ‘AuldLang Syne’ bringing the curtaindown on an amazingly successfulperiod of service by the Collegeto the local community, and acelebration of yet another year ofoutstanding musical achievementat the College.The evening was compered byEllis Howard and Michael McNultywho added their own style to theevening.

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cathedral

As we commemorate one hundred yearssince the outbreak of the First WorldWar, the embroiderers are busy in theMetropolitan Cathedral Studioproducing a new altar frontal tocommemorate the centenary of thestart of the War.The Frontal was inspired by two poemsby the war poets, ‘In Flander's Fields’ byCanadian Lieutenant Colonel Jon McCraewritten in May 1915, the opening stanzaof which is:

‘In Flanders fields the poppies blowBetween the crosses, row on row,That mark our place; and in the skyThe larks, still bravely singing, flyScarce heard amid the guns below.’

The design ofthe frontalportrays a lonecross, setagainst a sea ofpoppies andcornflowers, inthe shadow of atree stuck bylightning. It issymbolic: theflowers, thepoppies ofremembrance ofthe UnitedKingdom, andthe cornflower,the flower ofremembrance ofFrance, total 55in number: oneflower for eachof the 10,000men who diedon FlandersField. They arein the shadow of the tree, struck down inits prime, what was once living, now dead,but still there as silent presence.‘Dulce et Decorum Est’ was written in1917 by Wilfred Owen, who lived inBirkenhead. It was publishedposthumously in 1920 following the poet’sdeath in action on 4 November 1918 justa week before the signing of theArmistice. Anti war in sentiment the poemdescribes the death of a soldier followinga gas attack and has the final stanza:‘If in some smothering dreams you toocould paceBehind the wagon that we flung him in,And watch the white eyes writhing in his

face,His hanging face, like a devil's sick ofsin;If you could hear, at every jolt, the bloodCome gargling from the froth-corruptedlungs,Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cudOf vile, incurable sores on innocenttongues,My friend, you would not tell with suchhigh zestTo children ardent for some desperateglory,The old Lie: Dulce et decorum estPro patria mori.’

The use of the phrase 'Dulce et Decorumest, pro patria mori’ is used on two levels.The literal translation ‘It is fine and noble

to die for one's country’, when read inconjunction with 'Lest We Forget' on thecross, reminds us that these men madethe ultimate sacrifice for their country. Tothose who know the Wilfred Owen poem,and it's anti-war message, when read inconjunction with the 'Lest We Forget' onthe cross, it reminds us that we shouldnever forget the carnage of the battlefieldand the horrors that an entire generationof young men endured.The design, when completed will be usedin the various World War Onecommemoration services over the nextfour years, and also on RemembranceSunday.

Lest we forget

At the time of writing I am justtrying to negotiate with the Councilhow we can get access for weddingcars to the Cathedral at the sametime that ‘The Giants’ are passingthe building with all the crowdsand subsequent road closures.

Not as simple a process as itsounds, nor am I looking forward toa bride in tears on her wedding dayif she has to fight through crowdson foot to make her procession intothe Cathedral. Anyway the ‘Giants’are one of the ways the City ismarking the hundredth anniversaryof the start of the First World War.

We mark the anniversary with theCelebration of Mass at 11.00 am onSunday 3rd August celebrated byArchbishop Malcolm. Not only doesit give us an opportunity toremember and recall the enormoussacrifice and loss of life associatedwith this war it provides us with anopportunity to pray for peaceparticularly in the light of thecurrent conflicts and tensions thatthere are in parts of the world atpresent.

You are welcome to join us for thismass. Indeed if you are not goingaway during August why not visit theCathedral for mass on one of theSundays during the holiday period.

The building is at its best in thesummer months and the liturgiesare much simpler and slightlyshorter during these few weeks.

Let’s hope we all have a quietertime during the month of August andin our different ways, an opportunityto recharge the batteries.

Cathedral RecordCanon Anthony O’Brien– Cathedral Dean


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Pic extras

Mums the WordThe theme of our July bi-monthly Massat All Saints, Anfield was world peace.The Mass was celebrated by FatherStephen Maloney in the absence of FrMark Madden, and Fr Stephen wasjoined by Mgr John Butchard and FrFrank Fearns.

Peace is a simple five-letter word with adepth of meaning. The dictionarydefinition of peace is ‘quiet tranquility,mental calm, serenity, the cessation ofwar, freedom from war and from civildisorder’. When we look at our worldtoday, peaceful is not a word we couldapply to many areas.

Our Lady has requested more thanonce that we say the rosary for worldpeace. I know that a number offoundations do include the rosary intheir foundation prayers as well assaying the prayer for peace that Iincluded in this column a few monthsago. Perhaps this is something wecould all do, even if it is only onedecade.

When we read about conflicts in otherparts of the world or see reports on thetelevision, we realise how lucky we arein this country and in our city. In themain we live peacefully with ourneighbours regardless of their race,creed or colour.

We, in the Union of Catholic Mothers,have friendly connections with theMothers Union in the Church of Englandand with Ladies of the JewishCommunity. They attended our Mass atthe Metropolitan Cathedral in June andwe attend the MU gathering and theJewish Civic Service, and there issocialising with their local groups atfoundation level.

I wish you all peace in your families andcommunities and look forward toseeing you all at our Mass at St Clare’son 3 September at 7.30pm. Bestwishes for a happy and peacefulsummer.

God Bless,Ann Hogg, Media Officer

Following in StColumba’s footsteps

News from the Liverpool Province of the Knights of St Columba

September will be a busy month forthe KSC in Liverpool.

In early September Liverpoolprovince members will be visitingScotland along with friends andfamily and a highlight of the trip willbe to spend some time on theisland of Iona, the place where ourpatron Saint Columba landed fromIreland in the sixth century to founda monastery and subsequently bringChristianity to Scotland. We will begiving a full account of the visit nextmonth.

Council 9 members, meanwhile, willbe undertaking their annual charitywalk on Sunday 28 September. Thisyear all contributions will be donatedto the Handicapped Children’sPilgrimage Trust (HCPT) andmembers of the council will beseeking donations by means ofspecial envelopes distributed atchurches in South Liverpool.

• Our Lady’s Star of the Sea inSeaforth was the location for theadmissions ceremony of three newmembers of the order on 13 July.Tom Connell, Philip Brougham andBernard Gajewski were installed asmembers during the 11am Mass by

the team of Father Tom Wood, JohnHamilton, Peter Kinsey, Pat Foley,Michael Nolan and John Church. Weare grateful once again to Fr Tom forletting us hold the ceremony at OurLady’s, and for the warm welcomewe always receive and the provisionof refreshments after Mass. Ourpicture shows the three newmembers with provincial officers.

• We are continuing our search fornew members and our nextrecruitment initiative will be at StColumba’s, Huyton this month. Wethank Fr Chris McCoy, the parishpriest, for providing us with theopportunity to conduct a pulpitappeal which will take place atMasses on the weekend of 27 and28 September.

• We extend our apologies toBirkenhead council 51 members forthe omission of their photo, whichshould have appeared in lastmonth’s edition in the articlefocused on the excellent work theydo in managing the Tuesday Club forthe Less Able in Wirral Area.

Websites: www.ksc.org.uk andwww.kscprov02.weebly.comEmail: [email protected]


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Worth a visit

As we prepare for the feast of theAssumption, plan a visit to a well-knownMarian shrine in Portugal, writes LucyOliver. It was in Fatima that threeshepherd children were visited by ‘theLady of the Rosary’. Lucia de Jesus dosSantos and her younger cousins, Franciscoand Jacinta Marto, were scrutinised by thelocal authorities for their claims about theapparitions and messages received butafter the Miracle of the Sun on 13 October1917 – witnessed by many – the Cova daIria became a major centre of pilgrimagewith two million people flocking there inthe next decade. Pilgrims continue to visitand pray for a true conversion of heart tofollow the teachings and example ofJesus. The site includes the Basilica and Chapelof the Apparitions and above the mainentrance is the statue of Our Lady ofFatima, as described to the sculptor byLucia, who joined first a convent in Spain,then a discalced Carmelite order inPortugal where she remained until herdeath in 2005. The simple family homesof Francisco and Jacinta in nearbyAljustrel, meanwhile, are largelyunchanged and serve as a reminder thatwherever we begin our journey, God isalready waiting for us.

By Moira Billinge

No matter how advanced our societymight be, when a loved one dies thereis no flick of a switch or key on acomputer which bypasses grief. Wemay be able to delay it a little whilewe are kept busy with all thenecessary preparations for burial etcbut, sooner or later, there is theinevitable sadness of knowing that wewill not see that person again – atleast in this life.

Grief is a normal reaction to the deathof a loved one. In reality, the gut-wrenching emotions feel anything but‘normal’. Nothing prepares us for theferocious pain of loss and the starkrealisation that nothing will ever againbe the same.

The fact that the person who has diedmay have been ill for a while and thatdeath is anticipated does not diminishour grief when it finally happens.Knowing that a person is living onborrowed time makes us savour moredeeply the moments that we have leftwith them.

When death happens suddenly, itbrings with it the additional burden ofour not having been able to saygoodbye or patch up an argument, andwe can feel cheated out of a final,precious opportunity to say, ‘I loveyou’.

A popular prayer begins with the words‘Death is nothing at all’. That is nottrue. It also shrugs off the significanceof death as if it were nothing more

than an inconvenient interruption tothe daily routine. Death is somethingwhich turns life upside down, insideout and back to front.

With the best will in the world, todescribe death as nothing at allstretches piety to its limits. The deathof someone we dearly love is amassive event for those who are leftbehind. Jesus wept at the death of hisgood friend Lazarus.

His compassionate understanding ofthe sorrow of Martha and Mary at theloss of their beloved brother was sogreat that, despite Lazarus havingbeen buried for four days, Jesusbrought him back to life.

Our Christian belief in life after deathdoes not spare us from the agony ofloss. Neither is grief a sign ofweakness. Instead, our faith gives ushope, which, in turn, helps to give ourlives some balance. We know andaccept that while we would like God tobring back a loved one from the dead,it is not going to happen.

That person has moved from the hereand now of this world into thetimelessness of eternity. As Christians,we trust that, enfolded by our prayers,the one we love has merely steppedacross the divide between the ups anddowns of this life into the life andhappiness with God which is beyondour imagining.

God will lead us through the sufferingof bereavement. The dead are only asfar away as God… who is so close.

PIC Life Favourite Prayerfor AugustHail MaryFull of grace, the Lord is with youBlessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb JesusHoly Mary Mother of GodPray for us sinners now andat the hour of our deathAmen

Please send your favourite prayer to:Barbara, Catholic Pictorial, 36 Henry Street,Liverpool L1 5BSHow we live with

the pain ofbereavement


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Children’s word searchWe celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of the Assumption on August 15 look atour word search to learn about this solemnity

N U D E S D Q D Y V A V

Y E U N L I E R E O D I

D A V X G M N X F K A C

A I R A U Z A L O Z L T

L Z V S E L O N E N E O

R W S Z T H L A R S C R

U A R E J O I C E K S Y

O X D L L Y P S H B T K

L X L U R B U K T X R F

A N Q O F P D S O E J I

H O L C N M L Y M N C F

G G D E S S E L B K L I

OUR LADY

SINLESS

ASSUMED

MOTHER

GLORY

VICTORY

HEAVEN

EXALTED

REJOICE

BLESSED

Eating OutRelax and enjoy the month of August. If youare having a drive out you might like to stopat one of our listed eating places.

Derby ArmsPrescot Road, Aughton, Ormskirk01695 422237

Farmers ArmsChorley Road, Bispham01257 464640

Yew TreeDill Hall Brow, Heath Charnock, Chorley01257 480344

Brook House InnBarmiskin Lane, Heskin01257 451314

The CrownPlatt Lane, Worthington, Standish0800 686678

Eagle & ChildSingleton Road, Weeton Village, Kirkham01253 836230

join in

Beautiful cards for:

First Holy Communion & Confirmation cards

and new range of Mass cards now available.

Ordination

Anniversary of Ordination

and all occasions are on sale at:

The Carmelite Monastery

Maryton Grange

Allerton Road

Liverpool L18 3NU

Please contact the Monastery card office on

0151 724 7102.

Email: [email protected]

Greeting Cardsfrom the CarmeliteMonastery

More Mullarkey

Audio copy of the Pic out nowAn audio version of the ‘Catholic Pictorial’ is available free ofcharge, compiled by students,technicians and Chaplain, HelenMolyneux, at All Hallows RC HighSchool, Penwortham

Anyone interested in receiving theaudio copy should contact KevinLonergan Tel: 01772 744148 or01772 655433 (home).

From Johnny Kennedy

Two of Father Mullarkey’s parishioners have twin boys, Tom and Stevie, who are high-spirited lads.If there is any mischief going on they are often the chief suspects.Last week a religious chap came to their school to talk to the assembledchildren. His opening gambit was ‘Where is God’, delivered in stern tones.And for good measure he repeated the question in equally stern tones:‘Where is God?’Tom looked at Stevie and whispered: ‘We’re in big trouble now... God’smissing and we’re gonna get the blame!’


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St. Julie s Catholic High SchoolSpeke Road

WooltonLiverpoolL25 7TN

t. 0151 428 6421email [email protected]

St. Julie sCatholic High School

Serve the good God well, with much liberty of Spirit

Open EveningThursday 25th September3.30pm - 6.00pm

www.stjulies.org.uk

I thoroughly enjoyed this visit and I am very impressed!

An excellent insight into the school. Our guide was brilliant!

Quotes from parents at ourOpen Evening, July 2014

Parents, carers and pupils haveoutstanding confidence in the school.

Archdiocesan Inspection, 2012

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cathpic aug 2014

Documents

liverpool pilgrimage

thearchdiocesan pilgrimage

mass of thanksgiving

lot of different people

world war26 pic extrasmums

metropolitan cathedral

archbishop worlock

father john poland