The Catholic News Agency and other Catholic media are suggesting that Pope Francis words today during his homily at the Mass at St Martha’s, regarding ‘Christian identity’ and ‘believers’ who “chase novelties”, or who live as “modern Gnostics” and those “waiting” for the “latest message of Our lady at 4 pm” are possibly an unfavorable reference against the alleged apparitions of Our Lady in Medjugorje.

This is an interesting interpretation of the Pope’s words. Here is another.

Anything within the Christian community, be it an alleged private revelation, or a new ‘in crowd’ religious movement, or new intellectual cult can become a “novelty”, a or a gnostic substitute for the authentic Christian life. What I hear the Pope referencing here is an attitude towards a given phenomenon within Christian culture that robs us of a true Christian identity, that makes us religious exclusives rather followers of Jesus Christ the Eternal Word of the Father. I don’t see Pope Francis as one who makes ambiguous comments in an off the cuff manner to insinuate an agenda, but one who speaks of principles and attitudes that undermine faith.

There are indeed Medjugorje fanatics and exclusivists , as there are Fatima fanatics and exclusivists (for example, the Fatima Centre run by the late Fr Gruner is a prime example).  There are all kinds of exclusivists who see Christianity as coterminous with a cult. Medjugorje is susceptible to this as any religious movement. He is warning us against exclusivity, not against the visionaries of Medjugorje. Remember the core messages of Medjugorje have been about living the authentic Christian life and bringing peace into this troubled world. The messages are: be faithful in prayer, love the Eucharist, go to confession, be diligent in fasting, active in love, focused on forgiveness, knowing Jesus intimately and being faithful children of the Father. The message is fine, but the cult surrounding any phenomenon can be insane and gnostic. Lets ensure we don’t fall prey to this, and live the message of peace instead whatever private revelations be follow.

Fundamentalism and fanaticism can manifest themselves in various systems of belief. They are close first cousins and accompany one another as two sides of the same coin. Both can arise in religious, political and philosophical systems. There are scientists and so-called rationalists who are fundamentalists. With respect to religious fundamentalism it is often a substitute for a genuine interpersonal encounter with God.

Wherever there is a lack of genuine hopefulness and meaningfulness in communities a vacuum exists in which fundamentalism can take root. Its emergence happens both in affluent and economically deprived contexts. It can attract people of various backgrounds, abilities and life experiences. It can potentially direct people towards anti-social and destructive behaviours. It is often an attempt to fill the void within us which longs for genuine transcendent experience. St Augustine alludes to this void when he says “Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee.”  St Augustine alludes here to the restlessness within us that can only be filled by a genuine transcendent experience.

Fundamentalism often creates a victim mentality in its adherents  which is reactive to life rather than  engaging in dialogue with life. and culture.  In the Christian tradition, victimization has been transformed by the Cross of Christ. Christ remained silent during his trial. He did not retaliate against his accusers. He forgave his enemies whilst dying on the Cross. He did not engage in a victim dialogue during his passion but witnessed against it in his silence and exposed the malignancy of victimizing and victimhood.

‘Salvation’ means health and wholeness given to us by God. Fundamentalism cannot offer this holistic experience of Gods love. It presents on various degrees of intensity but can never satisfy. It influences how the scriptures and theology are apprehended turning it into a quest for certitude, to prove a point of understanding rather than to  change us. As Archbishop Rowan Williams once said, the scriptures and tradition needs to interrogate us and change us, rather than us interrogating them them to prove a point.

Jesus came into our world to bring humanity into an encounter with God who is a community of Love -Father, Son and Spirit. In this community each person is pouring out love upon the other in a reciprocation of dynamic, intense and passionate movement.  God is revealed to us by Jesus as a community of love. Jesus wants our encounter to be  interpersonal in which we experience generous love, filial affection, merciful salvation, deep friendship and co-creation.

Fundamentalism refuses to acknowledge that Scripture, the revealed ‘word of God’ uses the words of human men and women under the guidance of the Holy Spirit influenced by historical, social, political and economic contexts. The Spirit uses the ideas, images, concepts and metaphors of their culture to communicate divine truths. The imagery is meant to challenge us to stop and look at ourselves as individuals and as a community, and be willing to change and be transformed.

Within the Christian context forms of fundamentalism will often use either/or dualistic thinking about complex issues. It will perceive symbolic and metaphorical ideas from scripture, tradition or private revelation in a literal sense. Interestingly when the Vatican revealed the long awaited ‘Third Secret of Fatima’ – which was a symbolic presentation of a world which has rejected God – a number of Catholics remained dissatisfied with the explanation and created a conspiracy theory about the secret not being fully revealed. Conspiracy and fundamentalism often go hand in hand.

The antidote to fundamentalism is the living out of an authentic religious life, that allows God to be God within us and does not seek sensationalist responses to the world around us. The unbelieving world which often does not know the love of God is more likely to be challenged and changed by Christians who witness to the love of God in their lives in how they treat others and in how they sanely communicate the profound truths of faith in relation to the complex problems of the world. These can be the most convincing witnesses of God’s love. Paradoxically, often there are unbelievers who are kinder and more Christ-like towards others than Christians and this should make Christians pause think carefully. We can only testify to the insurmountable power and love of God if we allow God to change us, if we are willing to step into the ‘Cloud of Unknowing’ and be open to what God might want do through us. When we become vessels of the Divine Will though humble prayer and service, allowing the God of Surprises to work in us, we become signs and symbols of Christ  and conduits of His miraculous presence on Earth.  Fundamentalism on the other hand only gains applaud from like minded others. It will not change either ourselves or others for the better and is guaranteed to makes us deeply unhappy and at worst, very narcissistic.  Are we willing to step into the mystery and let it change us?

Christ the Eternal Word is both revealed in the life of Jesus of Nazareth and also as the Cosmic Christ in creation (John 1-1-18) in whom time, space and universal laws are encompassed. Christ permeates all creation and is Lord of history, but exists in fullness in the Sacraments.

All goodness that men or women do, of all faiths and none, comes from Christ because He exists in all. Christ’s mercy permeates the very depths of creation especially in its falleness calling us towards restoration in His redemption.

Pray that we allow his love to permeate into the very depth of our souls that we might be Christ to all whom we meet. In His Divine Mercy, immerse all humanity that they may be made cognizant of the grace that dwells within them.

May we, in Christ, heal what is broken world with prayer and deeds of love and mercy.

“Universal Man”, an illumination from a 13th-century copy of Hildegard von Bingen’s Liber Divinorum Operum (“Book of Divine Works”, c. 1165).

I have heard many descriptions of God from various belief systems. What I personally feel describes something of God most adequately, though limited by language, is that God is mystery, found in the Cloud of Unknowing.

God is not ‘energy’ because energy is creation and not the Uncreated Source of all that is. God is not a ‘force’ we can manipulate to get rich or have our own way. God is utterly other – perfect love, absolute power but completely unfathomable. God is also absolutely personal, totally knowable in an intimate sense, who loves us infinitely as a son or daughter, but is a mystery beyond comprehension.

The mystic Julian of Norwich was symbolically shown a vision of all that exists as a tiny hazelnut in the palm of God’s hand as a way of illustrating the otherness of God. But Julian also said “God made it and loves it”. Utterly other yet utterly personal.

2000 years ago Gods presence shone into this world in the human life of Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus absorbed into himself all our negativity and destructiveness that we call sin, and in himself, through a powerful act of loving self giving poured out on the Cross, drew us into the Divine embrace. He did this in vulnerability, extended embrace and total kindness. We, the created, are divinized in the paschal mystery. But this paschal mystery is not exclusive to Christians. Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, Pagans and atheists who follow the light of their conscience without explicit knowledge of, or faith in, Christ are embraced in this mystery of Divinization too.

Most unbelievers who in the last moments are offered the option of choosing the family of God or the emptiness of self without God, I personally believe, choose embracement into the community of God. We must pray for those hardened souls who reject all goodness and love. We are ALL called into the universal family of God, into the Divine life of the Trinity. There is no predestination – but we are all destined but free to choose.

We participate in the Divine life by bringing all creation to God, in prayer. In intercession and love before Our Father in the Mercy of Christ, we bring grace and mercy to the souls of those who stand against the Love of God. Our love for them in God is our gift to their embracement into the family of God.

Attachment psychology describes the way in which infants and parents form a powerful bond of love and trust so that the dependent infant can be protected, nourished, nurtured and prepared for life. It occurs right across all species on earth. If a child forms a secure attachment to his or her caregiver, the child will manage anxiety and fear in a much more mature and healthy way. A child with an insecure attachment to an unpredictable or chaotic caregiver, will struggle with anxiety during times of uncertainty and change. Another type of unhealthy attachment experience is where a child has received little in the way of nurturance and emotional warmth. For the purposes of this exposition I will focus on the “insecure and anxious” typology.

Spiritually, Christians in the Catholic Church can form an attachment to the Church as Mother. Indeed the narrative of the Church is one that encourages us to conceptualise the Church as Mother. The imagery of Our lady as a mother of the Church and nurturer of the infant Jesus invites the individual, and collective, into an experience of being held tenderly and guided by a good mother. Jesus also gives us the image of the prodigal son who is clasped close to the father heart of God despite his mistakes and waywardness. Like all attachment experiences – depending on how securely we have experienced attachment processes in our own upbringing and with the Church as Mother, the quality of the attachment will collour our experience of relationship to the Church and the world. Those Christians who have developed an insecure attachment to the Church, either through their own upbringing, or/and having insecure interactions with members of the Church, may project that insecurity onto the Church and the world.

The message to those who are afraid of the Synod at the moment is this: have no fear, the Mother will neither fragment, dissolve nor become disinterested in you; neither will she forget you and will always bring Christ’s love to you. The Church as a human institution is still heading towards its perfection in Christ until the end of time. We must hold onto the promise of Jesus who loves each and every one of us very much: “The gates of hell will not prevail against Peter and the Church”. Place your anxieties in the tender hearts of Jesus and Mary, and they will console and comfort you. Do not be afraid

(Image credit: “Pope Francis Korea Haemi Castle 19 (cropped)” by Korea.net / Korean Culture and Information Service (Photographer name). Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Commons – https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pope_Francis_Korea_Haemi_Castle_19_(cropped).jpg#/media/File:Pope_Francis_Korea_Haemi_Castle_19_(cropped).jpg)

Gratitude for the picture, but content of blog not attributable to: Ministru prezidenta Valda Dombrovska tikšanās ar Apvienotās Karalistes Ministru prezidentu Deividu Kameronu (8514463969).jpg

Dear Mr Cameron

Whilst I sit here in my warm, safe, comfortable home, in a country where planes flying over me are likely travelling to Spain or the Bahamas rather than about to drop bombs on my home, my town or my village, a drama is being celebrated at this time of year in many of our countries: the story of the birth of Christ, the Prince of Peace. I ask each one of us, and you especially at this time, Mr Cameron, to consider what role you are playing in the retelling of the Christmas story in the modern narratives of peoples of the world today, with respect to the current situation in Syria.

Archetypes in the Middle East

King Herod is a powerful archetype for certain players in the middle-east. He was a self interested monarch who reigned in Judea at the time when Christ was born in Bethlehem. He often used the brute force of a tyrant during his reign to keep social order for the power ruling Israel at that time, the Romans. He was a political man, firmly in bed with the Roman dynasty for his own self interest. Symbolically Herod could represent the tyranny of ISIL in Syria and Iraq by virtue of their cruelty and self aggrandisement. But Herod does not only represent a specific group like ISIL in the modern world. Anyone in the middle east who uses terror to subjugate people are archetypally like him.  A primary example is the Saudi’s with their horrendous human rights record, beheading and maiming people to keep their state system intact based upon a society of inequality and fear: “We cannot have the peasants disturbing our dynasty”. The violence of King Herod can also be seen in the brute force of western interests who perversely cosy around in the bedroom of Saudi oil interests at any cost, followed by the cry: “To war, we must go”. Its is at this later level, that Herod’s archetype operates perversely in British politic, Mr Cameron.

The archetype of vulnerability  

Now in the town of Bethlehem a stable within a cave, was the only shelter that Mary and Joseph could find for the birth of Jesus, the promised messiah, the Prince of Peace. His vulnerability and innocence can be recreated symbolically in the current plight of Syrian families who have fled the ongoing terror in their homeland, some sadly drowning in the Aegean and Mediterranean as they fled, and some being told by fearful westerners: “There is no room in the Inn”. The scenario of the stable and manger and the vulnerable baby Christ child can also be seen in the narrative of the people Raqqa, Syria, who now live in terror of Russian, US, UK and others, bombs. They know that a direct hit on their homes will mean death. They also know that being near an exploding bomb means possible death or horrendous maiming. Their narrative also relates to the story of the slaughter of the innocents under Herod: they are powerless before such violence. The refugees who leave Syria represents the Holy family fleeing Bethlehem and heading into Egypt seeking to escape Herod’s hatred: “There will be no King but I”.

Shepherds -a group of despised workers in Israel- represent the devastated and disenfranchised Syrians who have been tyrannised by both ISIL and the Westerner powers with bombs. They are disregarded to protect oil interests. The Magi represents the people of good will who seek the Prince of Peace guided by the illumination of a star and the light of their good will. These represent right minded people who find all the killing repugnant and who want to find a lasting solution to the devastation.

Mr Cameron, who do you represent in this drama?

Edward Clifford [Public domain-U.S], via Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%27Some_Have_Entertained_Angels_Unawares%27,_watercolor_painting_by_Edward_Clifford.jpg

This post was inspired by two events today: one was reading an article on the influence of St Benedict on Western civilization; the other, by an encounter that took place during an unplanned road trip.

Today, Terry and I visited Turvey Abbey in Bedfordshire. It is a monastery which has two separate houses: one house for a community of monks and another for a community of nuns. The male community has five members and is called ‘The Monastery of Christ our Saviour’. Turvey Abbey is in a rural setting. It was originally a Jacobean style country house.  The men’s monastery occupies many of the former out-buildings, but the main chapel is a modern building constructed of timber and glass. Both nuns and monks join together in prayer in this wonderful light filled space. There is also a separate Blessed Sacrament Chapel in the original manor house.

We were privileged to meet and speak with a 94 year old brother who showed us the chapels and talked to us about the community. It turned out that we knew many of the same people from Walsingham and he shared with us the story of his first visit to Walsingham, travelling by bicycle through Norfolk and sleeping outdoors.  The experience of talking to this brother was beautiful; there was a real sense of heartfelt familiarity and kinship between us. Interestingly enough, this is the same feeling I experienced on meeting two other Benedictine monks last month in Walsingham, who came to visit Subiaco from London. There was a genuine feeling of hospitality offered by this monk at Turvey Abbey, who stopped whatever he might have been doing in order to show two strangers around the Abbey and share its history with them. Similarly I was honoured that two strangers from the monastery in London felt it worth their while to visit Subiaco last month.

Pope Francis has often talked about the importance of a culture of encounter where hearts and minds meet in holy charity and hospitality. This idea of ‘encounter’ is central to the Benedictine ethos. In a society where individualism and the cult of ‘self’ above all else, is privileged, the Benedictine practice of heart felt hospitality is genuinely counter cultural. It demands that we place the needs of others, including strangers, above our own needs. In truth, humanity is interconnected and interrelated; however, the culture of “I” would almost seem to deny these fundamental principles of human survival.  A society which prizes “my needs, my stuff, my space” with the mantra of “I, I, I, I”, does not honour the dignity of human life, the common good, spiritual growth, ecological integrity nor economic justice. Fundamentally, rugged individualism does not make us happy, for our true sense of self-worth is more genuinely generated by the reciprocated love and esteem of others. Historically, rugged individualism has been seen as perhaps a temporary necessity, but never as the summit of human good. St Benedict captures this beautifully when he instructs us to remember that “All guests who present themselves are to be welcomed as Christ”.

Walsingham, England’s Nazareth, honours the Incarnation of Christ and inextricably links this to community and holy hospitality. Soon after Mary is told by the Angel Gabriel that she is to become the Mother of God and that her kinswoman is pregnant, she hastens to visit Elizabeth in service and solidarity, exemplifying the very notion of community and hospitality. In the Magnificat, Mary proclaims a fundamental reordering of society according the principles of the Kingdom of God: “He casts the mighty from their thrones and raises the lowly, he fills the starving with good things and sends the rich away empty” (Luke 1: 52-53). Mary links these ideas to the very merciful Father, who loves the poor and the outcast, the orphan and the widow, and who disdains the proud, the arrogant and the selfish.  These principles are expressed more fully in the Beatitudes, where the poor in spirit, the meek, the merciful, the peacemakers and those persecuted for the Gospel are explicitly blessed by Jesus. The strong message here is that the spirit of hospitality and community are inextricably linked to social justice by Jesus and Mary.

Today’s visit to Turvey Abbey reminded us of the true wealth of the Benedictine ethos of community living, charity within community and gracious hospitality. We were received as angels in disguise (Hebrews 13: 2) by the 94 year old brother. The energy of Christ-centred love emanated from all three hearts in today’s encounter and joined us in communion. This was in marked contrast to so many encounters in contemporary society, especially during the busy holiday season when people seldom have time to accommodate unexpected visitors.  It also made us both reflect very carefully about how we can cultivate a sense of preparedness for accommodating the needs of strangers and visitors, both those whom we personally encounter and those who, like the Syrian refugees, present as a national/international issue. Terry commented that during his long absence from the UK last summer, he felt like he was in exile. He has only just started to feel reintegrated in the past few weeks, and this is thanks largely to his community of friends in Walsingham and beyond.

May 2016 increase merciful love in the form of holy hospitality in our community of Walsingham and in the world and make us a more merciful people in this Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy.

Meditation is the journey into the soul where we meet with the mystery of Christ. Meditation changes and transforms us, individually, but it also changes and transforms the world around us. This is the reason why Our Lady has invited us to meditate on the mysteries of the Rosary to bring peace to the world.

This guided meditation is a journey into the mansions of our soul, to meet the tenderness, mercy and love of Christ and to radiate his love out into the world. I hope that it helps you to focus your mind, heart and soul in prayer for yourselves and for all humanity.

This has been a very strange weekend for me with events that seem a million miles apart from one another. Life has a strange habit of asking us to attend to many diverse things close together which often seem unrelated and disconnected. Nonetheless events are related to one another because all life is connected at the fundamental level of reality. Disparate events we attend to so often speak to the depth of our humanity and can help us to make sense of the larger context of our lives in the scheme of divine providence. The moving wings of the butterfly in Australia are not disconnected from the storms blowing in Europe, so the quantum scientists inform us.

On Friday I attended the funeral of our friend Sr Wendy Renate, a religious who lived in the village of Walsingham and served in the Basilica of Our Lady of Walsingham as sacristan. She died unexpectedly a few weeks ago much to everybody’s shock and disbelief. Sr Wendy was a palpable presence in Walsingham, a character larger than life, often making visits to local people, some of whom were housebound. She was renowned for telling jokes, sharing stories, and bringing joy to others in simple ways. She shared her humanity with all. The funeral Mass in the Basilica of Our Lady of Walsingham was completely filled with friends and family on Friday, including many religious and clergy. There was an immensity of fond and loving remembrance of her and the impact she had on so many lives throughout her 30 years in the village.  During the funeral Mass I found myself thinking about the fragility and impermanence of life, and how we are called to touch one another with the tenderness of God, now, at this very moment in time, and not tomorrow or in the future because tomorrow may never come. We touch the lives of others with God’s grace through our humanity and not through great works to gain the admiration of the world.  It is through our human personality, our presence, listening, sharing humour, patience, kindness and so forth that God’s grace shines through us powerfully onto the lives of others.

On Saturday we were in London, attending an anti-austerity march. Thousands were present from all over the country expressing anger at the government for its punishing austerity measures. These measures have impacted negatively on so many vulnerable people whilst tax exemptions are given to those who could pay more. Unlike the funeral Mass on Friday, which was attended by a gathering of people for loving remembrance, this gathering instead held a depth of anger, rage, and dare I say, hatred at times, towards the government, which was tangible. I understand the reasons why people are so angry about austerity. I too am angry about its effects on the vulnerable and was glad to march in solidarity with them. But it was incredibly hard to be present around such powerful anger and hatred. At 3pm, Terry and I prayed the Divine Mercy prayer on the march, both for everyone present, for those suffering as a result of austerity and for the government itself.

What did these very different events say to me? It said that people matter, whether you are a nun visiting the housebound and lonely or an advocate for the poorest and most vulnerable people in society. The heart is what matters. Our intention to help and touch others is what God needs the most and can use the the fullest. God can work through our willingness. My prayer for all of us who attended the march is that we undertake protest and advocacy with the same good heartedness that Sr Wendy had towards others in her visits to many people in Walsingham. Without Gods grace, without humility and without holding the tenderness of Divine kindness in our being, our protest or benevolence can easily turn into hubris and negativity. A good question to ask ourselves is, if today were my last day on earth, what would be most important things for me to do?

Fundamentalism and fanaticism can manifest themselves in various systems of belief. They are close first cousins and accompany one another as two sides of the same coin. Both can arise in religious, political and philosophical systems. There are scientists and so-called rationalists who are fundamentalists. With respect to religious fundamentalism it is often a substitute for a genuine interpersonal encounter with God.

Wherever there is a lack of genuine hopefulness and meaningfulness in communities a vacuum exists in which fundamentalism can take root. Its emergence happens both in affluent and economically deprived contexts. It can attract people of various backgrounds, abilities and life experiences. It can potentially direct people towards anti-social and destructive behaviours. It is often an attempt to fill the void within us which longs for genuine transcendent experience. St Augustine alludes to this void when he says “Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee.”  St Augustine alludes here to the restlessness within us that can only be filled by a genuine transcendent experience.

Fundamentalism often creates a victim mentality in its adherents  which is reactive to life rather than  engaging in dialogue with life. and culture.  In the Christian tradition, victimization has been transformed by the Cross of Christ. Christ remained silent during his trial. He did not retaliate against his accusers. He forgave his enemies whilst dying on the Cross. He did not engage in a victim dialogue during his passion but witnessed against it in his silence and exposed the malignancy of victimizing and victimhood.

‘Salvation’ means health and wholeness given to us by God. Fundamentalism cannot offer this holistic experience of Gods love. It presents on various degrees of intensity but can never satisfy. It influences how the scriptures and theology are apprehended turning it into a quest for certitude, to prove a point of understanding rather than to  change us. As Archbishop Rowan Williams once said, the scriptures and tradition needs to interrogate us and change us, rather than us interrogating them them to prove a point.

Jesus came into our world to bring humanity into an encounter with God who is a community of Love -Father, Son and Spirit. In this community each person is pouring out love upon the other in a reciprocation of dynamic, intense and passionate movement.  God is revealed to us by Jesus as a community of love. Jesus wants our encounter to be  interpersonal in which we experience generous love, filial affection, merciful salvation, deep friendship and co-creation.

Fundamentalism refuses to acknowledge that Scripture, the revealed ‘word of God’ uses the words of human men and women under the guidance of the Holy Spirit influenced by historical, social, political and economic contexts. The Spirit uses the ideas, images, concepts and metaphors of their culture to communicate divine truths. The imagery is meant to challenge us to stop and look at ourselves as individuals and as a community, and be willing to change and be transformed.

Within the Christian context forms of fundamentalism will often use either/or dualistic thinking about complex issues. It will perceive symbolic and metaphorical ideas from scripture, tradition or private revelation in a literal sense. Interestingly when the Vatican revealed the long awaited ‘Third Secret of Fatima’ – which was a symbolic presentation of a world which has rejected God – a number of Catholics remained dissatisfied with the explanation and created a conspiracy theory about the secret not being fully revealed. Conspiracy and fundamentalism often go hand in hand.

The antidote to fundamentalism is the living out of an authentic religious life, that allows God to be God within us and does not seek sensationalist responses to the world around us. The unbelieving world which often does not know the love of God is more likely to be challenged and changed by Christians who witness to the love of God in their lives in how they treat others and in how they sanely communicate the profound truths of faith in relation to the complex problems of the world. These can be the most convincing witnesses of God’s love. Paradoxically, often there are unbelievers who are kinder and more Christ-like towards others than Christians and this should make Christians pause think carefully. We can only testify to the insurmountable power and love of God if we allow God to change us, if we are willing to step into the ‘Cloud of Unknowing’ and be open to what God might want do through us. When we become vessels of the Divine Will though humble prayer and service, allowing the God of Surprises to work in us, we become signs and symbols of Christ  and conduits of His miraculous presence on Earth.  Fundamentalism on the other hand only gains applaud from like minded others. It will not change either ourselves or others for the better and is guaranteed to makes us deeply unhappy and at worst, very narcissistic.  Are we willing to step into the mystery and let it change us?

Christ the Eternal Word is both revealed in the life of Jesus of Nazareth and also as the Cosmic Christ in creation (John 1-1-18) in whom time, space and universal laws are encompassed. Christ permeates all creation and is Lord of history, but exists in fullness in the Sacraments.

All goodness that men or women do, of all faiths and none, comes from Christ because He exists in all. Christ’s mercy permeates the very depths of creation especially in its falleness calling us towards restoration in His redemption.

Pray that we allow his love to permeate into the very depth of our souls that we might be Christ to all whom we meet. In His Divine Mercy, immerse all humanity that they may be made cognizant of the grace that dwells within them.

May we, in Christ, heal what is broken world with prayer and deeds of love and mercy.

“Universal Man”, an illumination from a 13th-century copy of Hildegard von Bingen’s Liber Divinorum Operum (“Book of Divine Works”, c. 1165).

I have heard many descriptions of God from various belief systems. What I personally feel describes something of God most adequately, though limited by language, is that God is mystery, found in the Cloud of Unknowing.

God is not ‘energy’ because energy is creation and not the Uncreated Source of all that is. God is not a ‘force’ we can manipulate to get rich or have our own way. God is utterly other – perfect love, absolute power but completely unfathomable. God is also absolutely personal, totally knowable in an intimate sense, who loves us infinitely as a son or daughter, but is a mystery beyond comprehension.

The mystic Julian of Norwich was symbolically shown a vision of all that exists as a tiny hazelnut in the palm of God’s hand as a way of illustrating the otherness of God. But Julian also said “God made it and loves it”. Utterly other yet utterly personal.

2000 years ago Gods presence shone into this world in the human life of Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus absorbed into himself all our negativity and destructiveness that we call sin, and in himself, through a powerful act of loving self giving poured out on the Cross, drew us into the Divine embrace. He did this in vulnerability, extended embrace and total kindness. We, the created, are divinized in the paschal mystery. But this paschal mystery is not exclusive to Christians. Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, Pagans and atheists who follow the light of their conscience without explicit knowledge of, or faith in, Christ are embraced in this mystery of Divinization too.

Most unbelievers who in the last moments are offered the option of choosing the family of God or the emptiness of self without God, I personally believe, choose embracement into the community of God. We must pray for those hardened souls who reject all goodness and love. We are ALL called into the universal family of God, into the Divine life of the Trinity. There is no predestination – but we are all destined but free to choose.

We participate in the Divine life by bringing all creation to God, in prayer. In intercession and love before Our Father in the Mercy of Christ, we bring grace and mercy to the souls of those who stand against the Love of God. Our love for them in God is our gift to their embracement into the family of God.

Attachment psychology describes the way in which infants and parents form a powerful bond of love and trust so that the dependent infant can be protected, nourished, nurtured and prepared for life. It occurs right across all species on earth. If a child forms a secure attachment to his or her caregiver, the child will manage anxiety and fear in a much more mature and healthy way. A child with an insecure attachment to an unpredictable or chaotic caregiver, will struggle with anxiety during times of uncertainty and change. Another type of unhealthy attachment experience is where a child has received little in the way of nurturance and emotional warmth. For the purposes of this exposition I will focus on the “insecure and anxious” typology.

Spiritually, Christians in the Catholic Church can form an attachment to the Church as Mother. Indeed the narrative of the Church is one that encourages us to conceptualise the Church as Mother. The imagery of Our lady as a mother of the Church and nurturer of the infant Jesus invites the individual, and collective, into an experience of being held tenderly and guided by a good mother. Jesus also gives us the image of the prodigal son who is clasped close to the father heart of God despite his mistakes and waywardness. Like all attachment experiences – depending on how securely we have experienced attachment processes in our own upbringing and with the Church as Mother, the quality of the attachment will collour our experience of relationship to the Church and the world. Those Christians who have developed an insecure attachment to the Church, either through their own upbringing, or/and having insecure interactions with members of the Church, may project that insecurity onto the Church and the world.

The message to those who are afraid of the Synod at the moment is this: have no fear, the Mother will neither fragment, dissolve nor become disinterested in you; neither will she forget you and will always bring Christ’s love to you. The Church as a human institution is still heading towards its perfection in Christ until the end of time. We must hold onto the promise of Jesus who loves each and every one of us very much: “The gates of hell will not prevail against Peter and the Church”. Place your anxieties in the tender hearts of Jesus and Mary, and they will console and comfort you. Do not be afraid

(Image credit: “Pope Francis Korea Haemi Castle 19 (cropped)” by Korea.net / Korean Culture and Information Service (Photographer name). Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Commons – https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pope_Francis_Korea_Haemi_Castle_19_(cropped).jpg#/media/File:Pope_Francis_Korea_Haemi_Castle_19_(cropped).jpg)

Mirjana Soldo is a gifted writer and communicator. Her autobiography conveys this beautifully. She invites the reader not only to become an observer of her life narrative with Our Lady but to become a participant in these events; to live with Our Lady as she does. Mirjana possesses a kind and compassionate heart. This heart is formed by her exposure to many formative life influences, which includes, the intimacy of being raised in a loving family; growing up in a multifaith and multicultural society, thus appreciating the beauty of human diversity in her relationships with others; surviving life in a communist country including years of ruthless and relentless tyranny and persecution towards her and her family by the communist state; being forced to complete her secondary school education in an educational facility for young people who had been cast away by the society at that time (which becomes an opportunity for Mirjana to demonstrate unconditional love towards these peers); through witnessing the devastation of ethnic cleaning in the former Yugoslavia and her support to help the children who were impacted by it; in both creating a new family as both a wife and mother and importantly through her experiences of loss and grief (including a miscarriage and the deaths of her own father and Fr Slavko) …in all these experiences she speaks deeply to the depths of our human condition. Importantly however, we see how the formative power of her loving encounters with Our Lady, ongoingly transforms Mirjana life. She experiences the depths of God’s love for humanity in every meeting with Our Lady. Her experience of human suffering and also her spiritual joys during the time of her apparitions can speak to our own narratives of suffering and joy in which God can forge our hearts and minds into deeper qualities of love, empathy and merciful compassion.

I was deeply struck by Mirjana’s experience of God. God is all holy and utterly ‘other’ at one level but is also an intimate loving Father and friend to each person on earth. She is at pains to make us understand the absolute love and kindness of Our Father for each and every one of us. Her God speaks to the condition and messiness of each human life that can transform us in times of near hopelessness building within us resilience, joy, peace and clarity of mission. She roots her understanding of Gods immeasurable love for us in her reading of the scriptures. God is not distant but is deeply near to every human heart. The transformative power of encountering the maternal love of Our Lady becomes existentially imprinted on Mirjana’s psyche throughout the book, and this love imparts itself to the world through Mirjana’s life, especially in her kindness to others as documented in this autobiography, for example, comforting mothers who have lost their unborn children. She also allows others kindness to hold her in times of vulnerability, an important life lessons for us all.

The characters in the narrative of her life become utterly real and lovable to the reader, including her parents, her brother, her husband Marko, her children, Fr Slavko, the other visionaries, especially Ivanka and Jacov and many of her friends. The book is a journey of the heart rather just a good spiritual book. The reader will come closer to apprehending the tenderness of Our Lady towards all humanity, but most importantly, about trusting Our Lady’s guidance no matter what happens in the future, especially as it pertains to the ten secrets. In God there is no fear, only trust in his love.

“Universal Man”, an illumination from a 13th-century copy of Hildegard von Bingen’s Liber Divinorum Operum (“Book of Divine Works”, c. 1165).

Consciousness, prayer and the world

Over many years I have been studying various scientific investigations of human consciousness and its relationship to the world around us. The scientific studies describes consciousness as being intimately connected to the universal quantum laws which actually are influenced by consciousness.  Prayer, meditation and mindful intentionality effects and changes our world. Dr Larry Dossy MD and other researchers have verified this in robust and scientific work about consciousness and the environment. Our spiritual practice can potentially change the heart of humanity and the world around us. It changes our neurobiological wiring which we call neuroplasticity enhancing our humanity and consciousness. This is so much so, that mindfulness meditation is obtainable through the NHS as a treatment for depression.

God as creator and transformer of the cosmos, operates within our focused spiritual practices. The research suggests that especially when we ask for Divine Will to be done in our prayer intention (for example, in meditation , contemplative prayer, vocal prayer, chanting etc) the efficacy is more greatly realized. It is divine wisdom rather than human ego at work when we say “they will be done”.  Through  these spiritual activities Divine initiative influences universal laws to effect change in our world. In 1985 scientist Boguslaw Lipinski, PhD travelled to the holy place Medjugorje in Bosnia Herzegovina bringing with him a scientific instrument called a Biotech BT-400 Electroscope. This is a nuclear radiation detector. It measures electrically charged air ions and ionizing radiation. Boguslaw describes how, during community prayer time in St James Church (and especially at the time the visionaries experienced the apparition) the instrument detected radioactivity to such a massive level that the visionaries and people in St James Church should have been dead from radioactive poisoning. Of course the energy registered on his instrument detected a different form of energy from nuclear radiation. The intensely high readings were clearly linked to community prayer- and the energy this released- and then again when the apparition itself occurred. This was repeated on six different occasions with the same results.  Prayer and intention are linked to the laws of energy.

Near Death Experiences, human transformation and facing death 

I have also extensively studied the phenomena of ‘near death experiences’ (NDE’s) which come under the umbrella of consciousness studies. As a palliative care professional this has provided me with important insights into the dying process, and about unconditional love communicated to people in the experience of dying.  The research of experts such as Dr Raymond Moody (Psychiatrist), Dr Melvin Morse (Child Pediatrician), Dr Peter Fenwick (Neuropsychiatrist), Dr Pim Van Lommell (Cardiologist),  Dr Stuart Hameroff (anesthesiologist) and many others in this field of research has further helped advance my understanding of human consciousness, revolutionizing my own understanding of the human soul and its potential divinely given gifts. Science is now verifying the insights of prophets, spiritual teachers and sages throughout thousands of years of history from all traditions. Longitudinal studies by Dr Melvin Morse following children into adulthood who have had NDE’s have shown that those who  encountered the ‘light’ in the near-death experience have been positively changed and transformed, over many years following the experience, in all sorts of ways, actually rewiring their brains and releasing them gifts of the soul such as healing, precognitive abilities, deeper intuition, etc. Encountering unconditional love in the divine light has lead to individuals having greater levels of altruism, spirituality and greater energy for life and decreased fear of death.  The research however doesn’t end there. For those who have never had a near death experience our engagement with the Living Light of Divinity in meditation and prayer, can bring about these evolutionary changes of consciousness in us too. Hildegarde of Bingen, Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross and many others were transformed by this living light in mystical prayer.

Human Evolution

Julienne McLean Jungian psychologist and writer on spirituality references the idea that there is a sense in which we are embarking upon a new era of the Holy Spirit, that will integrate our spiritual and psychological depths in order to help change our experience of ourselves and others. The great Theologian Karl Rahner spoke about the spiritual person of the future needing to be a mystic or not spiritual at all, suggesting the sense of urgency for us to  experience Divinity and to not just know about God, to be divinised human beings, to transform humanity and the world. Fr Robert Faricy SJ emeritus professor of Spirituality from the Gregorian and Medjugorje author is also a writer on the work of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. Of him, he importantly references Teilhards  understanding that human evolution is directed towards Christ culminating in the second coming of Christ- Omega Point- which is the fulfillment point of time and creation. Teilhard refers to our consciousness being in an upward movement towards transformation in the Cosmic Christ (Jn 1). On the Cross Jesus not only destroyed the power of sin but also overcame the reluctance in matter to evolve towards Omega. The ecological crisis is a sign of that internalized reluctance in us to evolve, that would choose devolution rather than evolution.

Persevere in the spiritual life – It is more powerful than you can imagine

References:

Boguslaw Lipinski, PhD: http://www.medjugorjeusa.org/boguslawstudy07.htm

Dossey, Larry (1993) Healing Breakthrough: How Your Attitudes and Beliefs Can Affect Your Health

Hameroff, Stuart: http://www.quantumconsciousness.org

Faricy, Robert, Rooney, Lucy (1999) Knowing Jesus in the World: Praying with Teilhard De Chardin

Fenwick, Peter (2008) The Art of Dying 

McLean, Julienne (2003) Towards Mystical Union

Morse, Melvin (1994) Transformed by the Light

Savary & Berne (2015) Teilhard de Chardins Seven Stages of Suffering 

Rahner, Carl (1982) Foundations of Christian Faith

I have worked in the field of hospice and palliative care for almost 9 years, initially as a specialist social worker and latterly as a specialist psychological therapist. I work with patients with advanced terminal disease and their families and with people in bereavement. Many people who work with those near to the end of life will speak about the deeply spiritual nature of the work and how it impacts upon them. Caring for people who are traversing time and space into eternity has an impact on the psyche. It can take the carer part way along the journey of the dying person, empathetically. Carers with a strongly developed empathetic nature – often forged by working with the dying – will experience being caught between two realities. Occasionally, but rarely, that other reality can manifest in a visible form to the carer, who might possibly see light or spiritual presences in the room of the dying . But for most people working in the field, it is usually the sense of timelessness and synchronicity around the dying experience that touches the soul of the practitioner. The experience can sometimes even leave someone a little ungrounded for a time. Conversely dying people will often speak of deceased loved ones being in the room, or experience light or occasionally religious figures near to them. Caring for the dying  can be a deeply spiritually touching experience. I have experienced some profound transpersonal experiences myself in this work, which have changed me for the better.

A few years ago I worked with a Catholic patient who longed to go to Walsingham before she died. She asked me to pray for her at the bedside. The doctor and I, who were present, prayed with her. We were both deeply moved. It was a moment of deep profundity for the three of us. Sadly the patient didn’t make it to Walsingham. However, this experience often reminds me that Walsingham is a most perfect place for someone to visit who is near to the end of their life as well as for someone at the start. Often people who come to Walsingham speak of passing through a veil into a place where the fabric between this life and eternity is thin. This has always been my experience of Walsingham, both as a past pilgrim and now as a resident of the village.

For an individual, a couple or a family who needs healing of spirit and mind, Walsingham is a nurturing place. It is a sacred place to heal wounds, and to rest. It is the spiritual womb of Our Lady in which people can find strength, purpose and new courage to manage the challenges in their lives. It is filled with the presence of Jesus, Our Lady, the angels and the saints. It is without a doubt a spiritual home for all peoples who need to refresh their souls in the grace and mercy of God and in the nurturing womb of our mother, Mary.

Going back to my experience with the patient who wanted to come to Walsingham it has since made me wonder about how marvelous it would be if there were a palliative care hospice in the village of Walsingham that could provide respite or even end of life care to people with terminal illness. I am praying that one day such a foundation will exist, both for people nationally and for locals nearing the end of their earthly lives. If it is God’s will, it will happen.

Heaven is all around us and is right within us wherever we are. For me personally both my work in palliative care and my coming to Walsingham reminds me of this truth palpably. It reminds me that I am not a child of this world, but a babe of the heavenly kingdom.  Our Lady is a kind and loving mother who invites us all to hold and embrace her infant Son. Jesus is love incarnate; he is my God and my Lord for whom my heart longs and desires. In Walsingham – whether we are steeped in the peace of the Reconciliation Chapel, the warm enclosure of the Slipper Chapel, the womb like oasis of the Holy House of Nazareth or standing in the Abbey Grounds,  we will experience the healing graces of this sacred place and be touched by heaven itself. Come and find out for yourselves.

Photograph: Tomaz Silva: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pope_Francis_hugs_a_man_in_his_visit_to_a_rehab_hospital.jpg

Having recently seen some negative and unkind things being written about Pope Francis by some Catholics- including  clergy, religious media and laity – I am writing this article to declare my support for him. It is important to say that the vast majority of Catholics fully support and love Pope Francis recognizing the gifts he is bestowing upon the Church today. But with respect to those who struggle with him I think there are likely multiple reasons for this, too many for me to comment upon here. What I want to do here is to express my appreciation for Pope Francis and to honor him for taking forward the great vision of the Second Vatican Council in the Church today through his leadership and teaching.

The pontificates of Popes John Paul ll and Benedict were powerful pontificates. They steered the Church towards an authentic understanding of the vision, purposes and mission of the Second Vatican Council. In the years following the Council there had been much confusion. These two great Popes undertook the monumental and crucial task of ensuring that the vision of the Second Vatican Council was not lost in a cloud of confusion. Their paternal guidance would galvanize the process of actualizing the authentic teachings of the Council in the life of the Church.  The manifold purposes of the Council are ever unfolding in the Church and will continue to do so for generations to come. The Pope and Bishops, guided by the Holy Spirit in fraternity, are key to facilitating this unfolding process in light of Christ’s promise that the gates of hell will never prevail against the Church. The religious orders, clergy and laity, are core to the enfleshment of this unfolding process in the everyday life of the Church in the world.

Pope Francis is today calling Catholics to enter even more deeply into living an authentic Christian life in order to continue this unfolding of the gifts of Vatican Two. He is calling priests, religious and laity to become truly missionary in their efforts in all spheres of life in this world. In many ways, Evangelli Gaudium was the keynote to Pope Francis Papacy. This document places the Pascal Mystery at the core of the authentic Christian life. The mercy of God is core to the paschal mystery and Pope Francis wants mercy to saturate the Christian vocation. The document rejects worldliness, grasping and pride. It highlights the importance of priests helping the laity in living the authentic Christian life from the Word of God. It affirms the dignity of human life from conception to the grave. It challenges Catholics to be counter cultural against this throwaway culture which diminishes persons made in the image and likeness of God to mere commodities. Pope Francis references corrupt institutional power which oppresses and crushes the poor. In particular he references the fallacy of trickle down economics which serves the powerful and wealthy corporate systems in maintaining their privilege. Gaudium Evangelii calls for a renewal of thinking about what living the Christian life means, and in particular it speaks to the wealthy calling them to dutiful stewardship of their wealth. There are Christians who have made acquired massive amounts of wealth who rather than being generous stewards have sought to defend unjust systems and processes that keep a minority of people rich and leaves others struggling and buffeted by economic turns in the market. They have defended corporate systems that keep third world societies poor, suffering evils such as hunger, destitution, poor education, inadequate housing, poor health care and infected water.

Pope Francis has been particularly forthright in challenging Christians to become a witnessing Church. In particular he has called the clergy and bishops to lead this by example. He asks us to become active in living and witnessing to our faith; not by proselyting, but by becoming living signs of the joy of the Gospel. This is true evangelization. Pope Francis wants us to welcome people who might feel marginalized and rejected by the Church to show us a being a truly merciful and welcoming community that embraces rather than rejects.

Pope Francis has called us to a sincere and deep prayer life that leads us towards humility, virtue and hopefulness. He has called us to become humble recipients of the sacrament of confession and to become more like the tax collector in our attitude towards God rather than the pharisee. He asks us to emulate the merciful Father in the story of the prodigal son rather than like the older son, who was jealous of the fathers unconditional kindness towards the sinful younger son.

For many western ears the vigor of Pope Francis call has been a massive challenge. Those who love opulence, power and ambition will struggle with what Pope Francis has to say. Those who equate faithfulness to the Magesterium as being the right to judge others for not being as good a Catholic as they, will struggle with his message of mercy. Faithfulness to the Magesterium is a metanoia of the mind and heart in humility not a prideful position like the older brother of the prodigal.  Pope Francis has been crystal clear that worldliness and pride and have no place in authentic Christian living.

Pope Francis in a very particular manner, like his predecessors, in the true spirit of Vatican two, is calling Christians into an even deeper conversion of the heart to become Christs presence in the world. We are being asked to be protectors of human life: the unborn, peoples dying of hunger; peoples being driven from their homes; peoples being trafficked and abused; peoples being enslaved and objectified; peoples being murdered for their faith, ethnicity and identity and all suffering peoples. He is asking us to become advocates for those upon whom austerity is being implemented whilst those who give very little are rewarded for their greed. He is asking Catholics to become missionaries rooted in Divine Mercy, living emissaries of the Gospel of Christ. The forthcoming ‘Year of Mercy’ beginning on the 8th December 2015  is a call to enter deeply into the merciful heart of Christ in His Church. We are being called into the loving arms of the savior who wants to make us whole. This Holy Year is an invitation into the Merciful Heart of Jesus which is a burning fire of pure love, which beats with love for aching humanity. Jesus comes into this world through us. Pope Francis is calling us all into this radical mission of mercy.

If you feel angry about what he is doing, this is a call to look into your heart and ask yourself the question: why?

Fundamentalism and fanaticism can manifest themselves in various systems of belief. They are close first cousins and accompany one another as two sides of the same coin. Both can arise in religious, political and philosophical systems. There are scientists and so-called rationalists who are fundamentalists. With respect to religious fundamentalism it is often a substitute for a genuine interpersonal encounter with God.

Wherever there is a lack of genuine hopefulness and meaningfulness in communities a vacuum exists in which fundamentalism can take root. Its emergence happens both in affluent and economically deprived contexts. It can attract people of various backgrounds, abilities and life experiences. It can potentially direct people towards anti-social and destructive behaviours. It is often an attempt to fill the void within us which longs for genuine transcendent experience. St Augustine alludes to this void when he says “Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee.”  St Augustine alludes here to the restlessness within us that can only be filled by a genuine transcendent experience.

Fundamentalism often creates a victim mentality in its adherents  which is reactive to life rather than  engaging in dialogue with life. and culture.  In the Christian tradition, victimization has been transformed by the Cross of Christ. Christ remained silent during his trial. He did not retaliate against his accusers. He forgave his enemies whilst dying on the Cross. He did not engage in a victim dialogue during his passion but witnessed against it in his silence and exposed the malignancy of victimizing and victimhood.

‘Salvation’ means health and wholeness given to us by God. Fundamentalism cannot offer this holistic experience of Gods love. It presents on various degrees of intensity but can never satisfy. It influences how the scriptures and theology are apprehended turning it into a quest for certitude, to prove a point of understanding rather than to  change us. As Archbishop Rowan Williams once said, the scriptures and tradition needs to interrogate us and change us, rather than us interrogating them them to prove a point.

Jesus came into our world to bring humanity into an encounter with God who is a community of Love -Father, Son and Spirit. In this community each person is pouring out love upon the other in a reciprocation of dynamic, intense and passionate movement.  God is revealed to us by Jesus as a community of love. Jesus wants our encounter to be  interpersonal in which we experience generous love, filial affection, merciful salvation, deep friendship and co-creation.

Fundamentalism refuses to acknowledge that Scripture, the revealed ‘word of God’ uses the words of human men and women under the guidance of the Holy Spirit influenced by historical, social, political and economic contexts. The Spirit uses the ideas, images, concepts and metaphors of their culture to communicate divine truths. The imagery is meant to challenge us to stop and look at ourselves as individuals and as a community, and be willing to change and be transformed.

Within the Christian context forms of fundamentalism will often use either/or dualistic thinking about complex issues. It will perceive symbolic and metaphorical ideas from scripture, tradition or private revelation in a literal sense. Interestingly when the Vatican revealed the long awaited ‘Third Secret of Fatima’ – which was a symbolic presentation of a world which has rejected God – a number of Catholics remained dissatisfied with the explanation and created a conspiracy theory about the secret not being fully revealed. Conspiracy and fundamentalism often go hand in hand.

The antidote to fundamentalism is the living out of an authentic religious life, that allows God to be God within us and does not seek sensationalist responses to the world around us. The unbelieving world which often does not know the love of God is more likely to be challenged and changed by Christians who witness to the love of God in their lives in how they treat others and in how they sanely communicate the profound truths of faith in relation to the complex problems of the world. These can be the most convincing witnesses of God’s love. Paradoxically, often there are unbelievers who are kinder and more Christ-like towards others than Christians and this should make Christians pause think carefully. We can only testify to the insurmountable power and love of God if we allow God to change us, if we are willing to step into the ‘Cloud of Unknowing’ and be open to what God might want do through us. When we become vessels of the Divine Will though humble prayer and service, allowing the God of Surprises to work in us, we become signs and symbols of Christ  and conduits of His miraculous presence on Earth.  Fundamentalism on the other hand only gains applaud from like minded others. It will not change either ourselves or others for the better and is guaranteed to makes us deeply unhappy and at worst, very narcissistic.  Are we willing to step into the mystery and let it change us?