Raymond de Souza visiting St Simon's - 12th May

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At the Conclave that elected him Pope, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger affirmed that “Catholics cannot remain immature in the faith”, and highlighted the need for “a Faith that gives us the measure to discern between what is true and what is false, between deceit and truth”.

The most important belief that Catholics may find difficult to explain to non-Catholics (as well as to lapsed Catholics) is the Real Presence of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist.

The simple evidence of the senses tells us that it is only bread and wine: texture, colour, taste, everything appears to suggest to many that when Jesus said, "This is my Body; This is My Blood" He was speaking figuratively, not literally.

And yet hundreds of millions of Roman Catholics the world over for nearly two millennia affirm that it is Jesus Christ who is present under the species of bread and wine.

How many lay Catholics are able to explain that it is reasonable to believe in this singular Mystery of the Faith in a satisfactory manner to non-Catholics and lapsed Catholics?

Come to St Simon Stock Catholic Church, Brookfield Road, Ashford, Kent at 7:30 pm Tuesday, 12th May 2009 and find out how it makes perfect sense to believe that Jesus wanted His Apostles to take it literally, not figuratively, when He consecrated bread and wine at the Last Supper. That's Logic at the Service of Faith.

Speaker: Raymond de Souza - EWTN host, international lay apologist, founder and director of Saint Gabriel Communications (Australia), Program Director for Portuguese-Speaking countries for Human Life International (HLI) and Chairman of the Sacred Heart Legion (USA). www.RaymonddeSouza.com

Joanna Bogle visits

The well-known Catholic columnist and author, Joanna Bogle, joined us for Mass on Sunday 23rd December 2007 and spoke to the parents of our First Communion candidates about celebrating Catholic traditions in the home. This was very appropriate with the feast of Christmas just days away. Joanna painted a lovely picture of the Church's liturgical year, illustrating some customs that are very English but not much observed today since the Reformation, and others that are prevalent in other cultures, such as putting the initials CMB above door lintels at Epiphany, the initials signifying the supposed names of the Three Wise Men, Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar, who were guided to Bethlehem by a star.

A not particularly good photo of Joanna in full flight.

All parents said how much they enjoyed Joanna's entertaining talk.

Here Joanna poses with the Ebenebe and Horgan families

Joannal also promoted here book A Yearbook of Seasons and Celebrations, Gracewing (2007), ISBN 978 0 85244 129 9. The book goes through the Church's seasons of Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter, as well as saints days and seasons such as Midsummer and Autumn.

You can find it at Amazon. If you order it via my other blog, the parish can benefit from a referal fee.

Joanna has her own blog too. Why not visit it?

Thursday Talks at St Simon's - concluded

The last in our series of Thursday Talks was given by Father Roger Nesbitt last Thursday evening. Father Nesibitt is Dean of Dover and Parish Priest at St Aloysius and Our Lady Help of Christians, Folkestone. Thursday happened to be the feast of St Aloysius Gonzaga.

The talk was entitled: JESUS IS WITH US - The Meaning of the Tabernacle. Father Nesbitt drew comparisons between the Tent of Meeting which contained the Holy of Holies, and later the Temple, and concluded that Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament is the new Tabernacle, Tent of Meeting. He is truly amonst his people. As the Holy of Holies was central to the Tent of Meeting, so the rightful place for the tabernacle in our churches is in a central position, to be worshipped continuously. The Latin Church has experienced a development in its understanding of the Eucharist and, over the centuries, became more conscious of the Real Presence, leading to central reservation in churches.

Again, the talk was well received. (Sorry about the blurred picture - the camera was obviously focussed on the wall in the distant background.)

Thursday Talks at St Simon's

Since my last post on this subject we have had two talks.

On 7th June Father Stephen Dingley came to give a talk entitled Christ and the Church - Answer to the Modern World. In his talk, Father Dingley traced the decline of Christianity from the Reformation through Liberal Modernism and Materialistic Secularism. He then went through the principal world religions to examine their response, including Irrationalism (New Age, Superstitions etc.), Hinduism with it pluralistic and polytheistic theories, Buddhism (nihilistic), Islam (revelation of and obedience - submission as the word 'Islam' means - to the will of God, revelation being above the requirements of reason) and Christianity.

Fr Stephen enjoys a conversation with Suzy Gray after the talk.

In Christianity we have a religion that is both revealed and appeals to reason, as St Paul wrote:
Ever since God created the world, his everlasting power and deity — however invisible — have been there for the mind to see in the things he has made. (Rom 1:20)

Thus the world of science and of religion are interconnected, not opposed.

As St John wrote in his Gospel: The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth.

Yesterday (14th June) Anthony Ozimic, Policitical Secretary of SPUC, gave a talk entitled Being Pro-life - The Most Important Work on Earth. Rather than speaking about his work in lobbying and preparing briefings for MP's, he addressed the pro-life vocation that all of us have, drawing abundantly on documents of the Magisterium, notably Lumen Gentium (Second Vatican Council) on the role of the laity and Evangelium Vitae (Pope John Paul II). Pope John Paul apparently told Father Paul Marx, founder of Human Life International, that his work was the most important work on earth. The defence of life is the foundation for the defence of human rights.

Anthony (centre) with Mark and Margaret after the talk.

Next Thursday we shall welcome Father Roger Nesbitt, Parish Priest of Our Lady Help of Christians and St Aloysius, Folkestone, and co-founder of the Faith movement. His talk will be entitled:

JESUS IS WITH US - The Meaning of the Tabernacle.

Do come along! (7.30pm, Thursday 21st June, in the Church Hall).

Abbot Laurence O'Keefe

Last Thursday, Abbot Laurence came from Ramsgate Abbey to give his talk entitled Tota pulchra es Maria - Mary prefigured in the Old Testament.

He referred to three parts of the Old Testament in particular: Genesis chapter 3, Isaiah chapter 7, 2 Samuel chapter 6.

Abbot Laurence spoke also about the Rosary and said that he prays the Rosary every day. He did show it to us but promptly withdrew it from view when I tried to photograph him with it. Modest as he is, he didn't want to appear 'all pious'.

Those who attended expressed great satisfaction with the talk, two phoning me the next day to express their gratitude.

Why not come to the next talk at 7.30pm on Thursday 7th June on the subject Christ and the Church - Answer to the Modern World given by Father Stephen Dingley, a Lecturer in Theology at St John's Seminary Wonersh.

Thursday Talks at St Simon's

First of all, apologies for not keeping this blog up to date. A series of talks is taking place at St Simon's. The series is as follows and the talks take place in the Church Hall or Presbytery at 7.30pm (anyone - Catholic or not - is welcome to attend these talks):

19th April: Pope Benedict XVI - Truth and Tolerance
Rev. Timothy Finigan M.A., S.T.L.
Dean of Bexley, Parish Priest of Our Lady of the Rosary, Blackfen.
I have already referred to this on my personal blog.

24th May: Tota pulchra es Maria - Mary prefigured in the Old Testament
Rt Rev. Laurence O'Keefe L.S.S., O.S.B.
Abbot of St Augustine's Abbey, Ramsgate

7th June: Christ and the Church - Answer to the Modern World
Rev. Stephen Dingley M.A., Ph.D., S.T.L.
Lecturer in Theology, St John's Seminary, Wonersh

14th June: Being Pro-Life - The Most Important Work on Earth
Anthony Ozimic
Political Secretary, SPUC.

21st June: JESUS IS WITH US - The Meaning of the Tabernacle
Rev. Roger Nesbitt M.Sc., D.I.C., A.C.G.I.
Dean of Dover, Parish Priest of Our Lady Help of Christians and St Aloysius Church, Folkestone