Once again surrounded by the lack of technology, and an abysmal goal-line decision that deprived England of an afterwards proven goal, our international team was ‘knocked out’ of the World Cup, in the first ‘knock-out’ stage of the competition, by our old soccer adversary – Germany.  Had the goal been allowed – as it rightly should – then that could have made a difference to the eventual outcome.  However, many would agree that England, in the four matches they played, never came ‘up to scratch’ and Germany’s victory was largely a forgone conclusion, once the second-half began, against a demoralised England team. 

Many would agree, also, that Germany were the far better side, and that England, playing as they did in the series, did not deserve to go through to the next round.  Obviously, this has resulted in massive disappointment – both in the team, and through the nation – but unfortunately, the end result was not totally unexpected.   Some experts are now willing to be truthful and say, from the start, they did not expect England to win, even though the expectations of the majority of the English people were high.

Having given all this some considerable thought, I now pose questions as to the people of Britain and their expectations, but in a different direction.  Are their expectations high?  Do they have dreams full of hope? How healthy is their outlook? Does it promise joy in their lives – together with a sense of purpose.  Do they look forward with optimism, or with a dread sense of pessimism concerning what the future holds? Interesting questions!  The difficulties begin when one starts to think that there may be no easy answers.  So where do we go from here?  With an ‘ear to the ground’ one hears statements such as: "I’m glad I’m not growing up today, I don’t know how I would cope with all the pressures that our young people face!"  Listening to such exclamations, I then start to wonder what young people might think of this way of thinking.  Most, I guess, would not take a ‘blind’ bit of notice! Yet, there is a significantly high number of suicides among young people, and the numbers appear to be on a rising trend.  In the past six months, alone, there have been three such regrettable deaths in our parish. Could it be that pessimistic talk, concerning present and future outlooks, depress them to some extent – perhaps putting even more pressure on young, already-stressed-out minds?

Leaving the England football team well aside, there are the others who feel that England – as a nation – has ‘gone to the dogs’, largely, they argue, because society has lost its traditions of respect, discipline and manners.  Everywhere, we are besieged by unruly ‘louts’ who have never learned, and do not know, how to behave. This shade of opinion would, no doubt, argue that discipline has been the greatest loss.  Often, in school, should a young person get ‘hauled over the coals’, then his or her parents lose no time in presenting themselves at the Headmaster’s door to complain – vociferously, and all too often with venom.  Without even hearing the other side of the story they take the view that their child has been unfairly treated. Against this, we often hear from an older generation that: ‘"When I did something bad in school, not only did I get a smack from the teacher but I got it twice as bad when I got home!"

Up to this point, we have been concentrating, mostly, on the young – but they are only a minority of the population. What about the more mature and the elderly?  Adults – some of them –, are no angels.  Among many sections of our society the observer would conclude that the behaviour of the adults leave much to be desired.  Here too, there is drunken, loutish language and conduct that falls far short of the exemplary.  The old fashioned neighbourliness has largely disappeared and it is not unknown for neighbour to take neighbour to court over the height of the intervening hedge, or because one has overstepped his boundary by an inch or two. No longer do they help each other as they once did – especially when there is someone in need.  Communities, people have become imbued with ‘self’, so much so, that even in traditional Lancashire settings, many people do not ‘know’ the people they live close to, do not know their names or anything about them, and this is something that never used to happen. A small discussion group in St. Mary’s proclaimed, recently, how they found few friendly Lancashire neighbours in their experience. I, myself, have seen old ladies throwing litter out of a car window – so it would be wrong to blame all society’s wrongs and failings on young people.

From the discussion so far, it is clear that all these factors – circulating and intertwining throughout the population, and involving the young and the not-so-young – dynamically affect the outlook and expectations of individuals, groups, communities, authorities and society as a whole.   The ‘model’ is extremely complex and, as I said a moment ago, dynamic, and so, although generalisations are dangerous, it would come as no surprise to me if the results of a national survey tended to show that, today, England manifests low levels of expectations, and that this is accompanied by a sense of depression and fear for the future, for many of its citizens.

That’s the bad news.  Now here comes the good!  On Tuesday, 29 June we celebrated the great feast of Saints Peter and Paul – a Holy Day of Obligation for we Catholics.  On such days – just like Sundays – we are expected to celebrate the feast by attending Mass, thereby becoming one with the Lord through the sacraments; at the same time we are rejoicing in these two ‘giants’ of men – the ‘foundation stones’ of our faith.

When you put your minds to it, the world has come to know the Resurrection of Jesus through the Church – the people who, from the beginning, have been the followers of Jesus. Jesus, before he died, proclaimed the Gospel in his words and deeds, but did not proclaim his own Resurrection. This supremely important event was proclaimed only after his death, by those who knew he had risen; they had seen him, and when the Holy Spirit came on the Apostles in the Upper Room, Jesus – raised from the dead – lived in them and among them. The people who have since, and who now, make up the Church, have to thank the Apostles.  Chief among this, Peter was the centre of their unity, and Paul, another Apostle, not among the original twelve, (thirteen including Matthias), but always ranked as one of them, for their faithful proclamation of the Resurrection. It is the Resurrection, which proclaims the message that Jesus is alive today, and lives among his people – and that gives the most important and singular ‘go-ahead’ for high expectations in peoples’ hearts and minds. Talk about ‘Good News’ – people today can speak about and know the risen Jesus – very like the first followers of the risen Lord.

Paul was the ‘chosen one’ of God who proclaimed the Gospel to the Gentiles, and by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, dug the ‘footings’ for the foundation ‘stones’ for the practical construction of the Church, albeit that, in a sense, through the members of the Church, the risen Jesus proclaims his own Resurrection, for if any human being does any "good" he or she does so by the power of God – by what we call – the grace of God. "Not to us Lord, not to us, but to your name give the glory" (Psalm 115).

The essential message of the Resurrection has to make sense, in a very practical way, in our world. If one follows that message – the message of Jesus and life – it leads, inevitably and inexorably, to a new way of life for ‘all the people’.  It leads to the "good ordering of life among peoples" with laws laid down for "the common good", with institutions set up "for the common good" and all based on the logical corollary of the best human values, being lived, in practice, for human beings, by human beings. Such a civilisation – a good civilisation – is built by ‘blood, sweat and tears’, and takes a long time to achieve.  From this high promontory, it is but a small stepping stone to, what in my mind, was the most famous speech of Abraham Lincoln.  Called the Gettysburg address, it was made on the spot of the famous battlefield, wherein between 46,000 and 51,000 Americans became casualties in the three-day battle. Although the speech was very short, indeed, its ending carries the ‘punch-line’:  "… that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

 The Battle of Gettysburg 1-3 July 1863

This battle marked the turning point in the American civil war.  Involving over one million casualties, it was fought to ensure the basic principle of the American constitution, that all men are created equal. Slavery, in principle, was defeated in America (and elsewhere), even if in practice it lives on to this day, in different forms.  Civilisation, with its laws, does not come cheap!

St. Augustine of Hippo (Died 330 A.D.) wrote the text of the reading we had on the feast of Saints Peter and Paul.  In the office of readings, it began:

"This day has been made holy by the martyrdom of the blessed apostles Peter and Paul. I am not here speaking of some unknown martyrs. ‘For their fame has penetrated every land and their message has reached the ends of the earth’ (from Psalm 19). These martyrs saw what they proclaimed. They followed the path of integrity, professed the truth, and died for it."

Augustine goes on to explain that although it was to Peter that God entrusted the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, he points out that it was the ‘whole Christ’ which received these keys. Peter, he says: "… stood for the one, universal Church when the Lord said to him, I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of heaven". The ‘whole Christ’ means the whole Christian body – all the people who are followers of Christ, Bishops, Priests and People. All have access to unlock the door to the kingdom, a kingdom that is very close to us and we do so in unity with the successors of the Apostles, the Bishops, and in unity with the successors of the one who represents Peter, the Bishop of Rome, who, of course, is His Holiness the Pope. The important point to underline, here, is that in the enterprise,

Saints Peter and Paul, Pray for Us

Finally, Augustine goes on in the reading to proclaim that "One day is assigned for the celebration of the martyrdom of two apostles. But those two are one….Let us love their faith, their life, their trials, their passion, their profession and their teaching". 

I have given this reading long and serious consideration.   From it, I believe, flow some important consequences for ourselves as a nation. If, one day, we are to become a people of ‘great expectations’ within a nation, and under God’s ordnance, taking us to a new birth of freedom (with deference to Abraham Lincoln), we will do so, not by going backwards to a past era and its way of living and behaving, but by forging ahead, to a new ideology, based on principles that come from the source of true hope, from where hope springs eternal, Jesus – Jesus,  raised from the dead, darkness and evil defeated, goodness and truth prevailing and all for the common good. If we are to progress along this road to new expectations, and the common good, there will be a costs to be paid, and in those we will find meanings, underlined by the Passion of Jesus. Following our Master, we will continue in the steps of Peter and Paul – and countless others, like St. John Rigby, whose feast we will celebrate, with our Archbishop, next Friday, 9th July at Harrock Hall. The future will witness us, a nation united in mutual giving and receiving of talents and gifts, with other nations, and other peoples, some of whom will be living with us, in this land of ours. As a nation, we have something unique to give, and share – One Commonwealth in a World of Peace – for there is a ‘genius’ in every nation uniquely contributing to the building of a New and United World.

Certainly, it will not be a newly-elected government (of whatever political persuasion) that will bring this about; rather, it will come from a movement among people, from the local to the universal, or as it has been called, from the ‘bottom up’ rather than the ‘top down’, but achieved by not ‘cutting itself off’ from any group. It will be a movement, among people, who have been convinced that there is a wonderful purpose and meaning to life; and it will come from a new knowledge, of the beauty and love, that is to be found in our greatest treasure – our Christian Life.

During the last week, a group of us held our monthly ‘Focolare/Word of Life’ meeting at one of the local prisons with about 25 prisoners present. We read as usual, on the computer ‘Power Point’ and text, the commentary on the Gospel extract, chosen for the ‘Word of Life’ for June, "Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it" (Mt 10: 39). All those present are free to comment and share their experience of what God’s Word means in our lives; the first to comment was a prisoner who had read the extract.  He said: "When Jesus said these words he was thinking of martyrdom", and then posed the question: "What does the Church think of martyrdom today?"

In using the word ‘martyrdom’, the prisoner was referring to the ‘modern martyrs’, most often identified as such, in today’s media – ‘suicide bombers’ in other words. Using the term, he had no idea that the modern era has seen more Christian (mostly Catholic) martyrs, than at any time in the Church’s history. These true, Christian martyrs, who never make the headlines, are the real ‘heroes’ of today’s world. I say ‘true’ because the true martyr – the real martyr never kills anyone else; there is no hate, only love in his or her heart, a heart full of love for God and neighbour.

On the other hand, ‘suicide bombers’ are, no doubt, ’courageous’ in giving away their own lives, but, we are then driven to question what kind of ‘radicalisation’ and ‘lack of human compassion’ has entered their hearts, for, together with their own deaths, they then want to kill as many others as possible – in some misguided furtherance of their cause, ideology, whatever? It is right, also, to question ‘what kind of injustice they, perhaps, suffer to make them want to act in this way?’ Possibly, they suffer such deep injustice, under some oppressive regime, that it leaves them –and people like them – feeling utterly helpless, with no acceptable alternative but a ‘murderous’ death. In his own time, Jesus, too, could well have been driven to the same conclusion – even acted in similar fashion! But, could he, in reality?  He was the Son of God, and so he couldn’t – he didn’t!  He gave away his life in meekness, love and compassion, thus accepting his fate for the salvation of all – a lonely and ignominious death – his reasons well hidden from the ‘madding crowd’ and known only to the ‘chosen’ few, and coming to life only because of the remarkable Church founded by them.   His followers, with faith, came to know he was raised from the dead and alive among them.

Here in Britain, a land of relative freedom, it is difficult for us to understand how ‘suicide bombers’ can believe they are contributing to our world, in any positive fashion. We should pray that God, in his infinite mercy, will forgive them the murders they commit, even though they may feel justified in their actions. I suspect they must be able to find some justification, somehow? Rumour has it some of these people are under the influence of drugs, though others say they can sometimes be at peace, smiling, cheerful and friendly, as they blow themselves up – together  with as many bystanders as possible. If I were the ‘angel of darkness’, I would be rejoicing at any ‘devilish’ method of domination, control, power, whether it comes from an oppressive regime – or a reaction to it – such as ‘suicide bombing’. ‘Suicide bombing’ seems to portray courage, but you can tell there is something very wrong, just by the ‘fruits’ it produces – fear, anger and the terrible sufferings of innocent people. The ‘real’ martyr who dies silently, giving his life for the God, in whom he or she believes, bears other fruits, including compassion, bravery, the strengthening of peoples’ convictions, and a great coherence in the community or society to which he or she belongs; and that greater coherence can be of ‘long term’ effect.  In saying this I point to Blessed Jerzy Popiełuszko, who was beatified on 6 June 2010, just two weeks ago in Poland, some 26 years after his assassination on October 19, 1984, by the communists. His death contributed to the end of the Communist regime in much of Eastern Europe.

Father Jerzy Popiełuszko

"The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church", wrote Tertullian (c. 160 – 220 A. D.), one of the early Fathers of the Church, and so we can look forward to a great "re-generation" of the Church, in the light of so much love, given by people who are the unknown, and unsung, heroes of our age. One group, among hundreds of thousands, were the seminarians in Rwanda, who belonged to both the Hutu and the Tutsi tribes – forty of them – wantonly slain by a murderous gang in 1994. They refused to separate themselves into the two ethnic groups, when ordered to do so, and forty died together, as a witness to their love of God and each other. On 11 June, in Rome, it was very moving to watch, on the internet, three who survived the ‘massacre’, all three now ordained priests and hear their testimony of forgiveness; one of them was shot several times, but lived; another, seven years after the killings, went to a parish, in Rwanda, to serve the people, and recognised, in the congregation, those who had been the murderers of his companions; in his testimony, he said that God gave him the grace to forgive them.

At this point, I want to perform a ‘leap of faith’ and take you to a completely different era – different in time – but related in terms of theme, as you will see. I love St. Thomas More and St. John Fisher and, very much connected with them, Katharine of Aragon. Often, in our houses, we see their portraits, and John Fisher looks dignified and noble, but also rather thin and emaciated. He was Bishop of Rochester, and the only Bishop, at the time of King Henry VIII, who was prepared to stand his ground, against the King, when Henry cut most of the Church, in England, away from its stock. John Fisher, was confessor to Katharine of Aragon, and their common friendship makes me wonder if Katharine’s steadfastness gave him courage. St. John Fisher gave his life, out of love for God, his neighbour and the Church on 22nd June 1535. St. Thomas More, was appointed Chancellor of England by the same King Henry VIII, and he gave his life for the same cause on 6th July 1535.

St. Thomas More              Katharine of Aragon             St. John Fisher

The positive part of the Word of Life "Those who find their life will lose it and those who lose their life for my sake will find it" is the second half: we are able to find Life – the Life that Jesus wanted us to know and to experience, by first losing our life. The actual commentary of Chiara Lubich referring to martyrdom is:

 "When Jesus said these words he was thinking of martyrdom. We, like every Christian, have to be ready in order to follow the Master and stay faithful to the Gospel, to lose our lives, dying if needs be, even a violent death. With that, by God’s grace, we will be given true life. Jesus was the first who ‘lost his life’, and he regained it glorified. He warned us not to be afraid of those who ‘kill the body but cannot kill the soul’ (Mt 10:28).

(Apropos martyrdom, there is another kind of martyrdom called a ‘White Martyrdom’, consisting not of a single violent death, but rather, the daily dying to self, that is part of a holy life. This could be illustrated by many saints who are confessors, rather than martyrs.  It is something that is ‘normal’ for any Christian life.)

Katharine of Aragon was the first wife of Henry VIII.  During her marriage, she had at least six pregnancies, but only one child – Mary – survived to become Queen, after Henry’s death. Largely because his 18 years marriage to Katharine had failed to produce a male heir to the throne, Henry decided to repudiate her in favour of Anne Boleyn.  The King maintained he should not have been allowed to marry Katharine as she was his elder brother, Arthur’s wife, and this was against Canon Law.  In order to marry,  Pope Julius granted Henry and Katharine a dispensation, on the grounds that her marriage to Arthur had never been consummated.  Katharine, never relinquishing her stance, was always to stand by her vow that this was the case,  but Henry – his assertions built on very shaky ground – continued his repudiation by taking Anne Boleyn as his wife.  In this dispute, Henry versus Katharine, all the evidence appears to support Katharine’s avowed position – the people certainly supported her and believed she had been truthful throughout.   However, her place usurped by Anne, Katharine became virtually removed from her place as Queen of England, from 1525 until her death in 1536, though she remained popular with the people of England, largely because of her ‘transparent’ goodness and integrity.

There is a second important aspect to her life.  Katharine always refused to accept Henry as Supreme Head of the Church of England and considered herself, as did most of England and Europe, the King's rightful wife and Queen until her death.  In proclaiming himself Supreme Head of the Church in England, Henry simply defied Pope Clement VII, who refused Henry his nullity. But, these were dangerous times, and any attempt to antagonize Henry was tantamount to courting disaster, as Thomas More and John Fisher found to their cost. Both were executed for High Treason; they did not agree with what the King was doing – and said so, in forthright terms.   Likewise, Katharine could well have met the same fate.  Putting herself against the King, she stood by the truth – displaying again stalwart courage and integrity –  and was banished for her stance.  She refused to go against the truth: she lost her life, but then found it.

Katharine was intelligent, attractively very pretty, and religious. Saint Thomas More was to reflect, later in her lifetime, that in regards to her appearance: "There were few women who could compete with the Queen [Katharine] in her prime." She learned to speak, read and write in Spanish and Latin, and spoke French and Greek, Spanish and English. She had domestic skills, such as needlepoint, lacemaking, embroidery, music and dancing. The great scholar Erasmus would later say that Katharine "loved good literature which she had studied with success since childhood". Education among women became fashionable, partly because of Catherine's influence.

She was loyal always to her husband. In 1513, Katharine fell pregnant yet again. Henry appointed her Regent when he went to France on a military campaign. When the Scots invaded, they were defeated at the Battle of Flodden Field, with Katherine addressing the army, and riding north in full armour with some of the troops, despite being heavily pregnant at the time. She sent a letter to Henry, along with the bloodied coat of the King of Scots, James IV, who died in the battle.

Katharine died, relatively, young – at just forty nine – after living a life of deprivation and isolation for years. A month before she died she wrote the following to her husband, Henry VIII.

My most dear lord, King and husband,

The hour of my death now drawing on, the tender love I owe thee forces me, my case being such, to commend myself to thee, and to put thou in remembrance with a few words of the health and safeguard of thy soul which thou ought to prefer before all worldly matters, and before the care and pampering of thy body, for the which thou hast cast me into many calamities and thyself into many troubles. For my part, I pardon thee everything, and I desire to devoutly pray God that He will pardon thee also. For the rest, I commend unto thee our daughter Mary, beseeching thee to be a good father unto her, as I have heretofore desired. I entreat thee also, on behalf of my maids, to give them marriage portions, which is not much, they being but three. For all mine other servants I solicit the wages due them, and a year more, lest they be un-provided for. Lastly, I make this vow, that mine eyes desire thou above all things.

Katharine the Quene.

This, I suggest, is the mark of a great lady, who had – by then – died a ‘thousand’ martyrdoms, at the actions of her wayward husband; he seemed bent on his own human ‘solutions’ to the difficulties he faced rather than relying on a loving trust in God, portrayed by his first wife, Katharine. Her destiny was closely linked to that of John Fisher and Thomas More, both of whom were put to death because of ‘The King’s Great Matter’, i.e. his repudiation of Katharine of Aragon, because he wanted a marriage annulment, from the Pope – and that he never got!

Katharine discovered the ‘Life’ that Jesus speaks of in the ‘Word of Life’, despite the sufferings caused by the politics and self-centredness of people around her. The letter above is witness to it, and so are the testimonies since her death. It is said that, at her funeral, when she was buried in Peterborough Cathedral, 70,000 people lined the route out of respect for her. Furthermore, to this day, there are always flowers at her tomb, and a constant stream of people to honour her memory.  She remains a kind of legend in our country. Should you ever have a chance to visit Peterborough and its cathedral, you can verify this for yourself. You will see, there, her place of rest, with the letters above her tomb, "Katharine Queen of England".

Never was there any hint of the mind of a ‘suicide bomber’ in her example; rather, her life was very much concentrated on the following of her Master and Lord, Jesus. Small wonder, it was, then, that after the break with Rome and the Church, King Henry feared that Katharine might be the centre of a popular uprising. She has not been declared a Saint, but in any study of her life, the reader may well be struck by the similarities with those who lead holy lives – who die to self, day by day – a loyal queen, a great lady – steadfast and true to her calling – imbued with inner strength and integrity – a lady who would not deviate from the path of life which lead her to suffering and death – and to the loss of her life, in order to find it.

Perhaps we too can face the challenges of life with a bit more peace and gentleness of heart, with the examples of Thomas More, John Fisher and Katharine of Aragon to encourage us, and be mindful of many of our fellow Christians, mostly Catholics, who are suffering severe persecution, in our own time, and losing their lives, only to find them.

I want to take you to a little house situated not far from the centre of a small rural community.  Nothing sets it out as anything special – nothing specific – its just like all the rest in the neighbourhood – functional but poor, simple, houses in that rather quiet part of the village.  As we enter, we see ‘mum’ going about her daily work – washing, cleaning and polishing, mending, cooking and baking ready for the evening meal.  She sets the table so that the family can sit and eat, then sits down – for the first time in the long day – and relaxes, rests, waiting for her men-folk to come in from work.  They will be hot and tired and hungry. 

But, this working ‘mum’, you can see, is uneasy.  She tries to relax, but relaxation does not come easy.  Her face shows the worry that is troubling her – unsettling her.  You feel for her – this hard-working, caring, loving matriarch of the family – and want to try to help.  But help you cannot – she cannot even help herself. You see, she does not know what is troubling her.  She cannot ‘put her finger’ on it. She just knows, with a mother’s intuition, instinct even, that there is ‘something in the wind’, something indefinable, not spoken, not visible, but turning her life ‘upside down’.  She utters a prayer – that things will be alright – and then the mood is broken, as her husband and son come in from their day’s work, from the workshop, nearby.  They are hot and dirty from their labours.  Her husband washes and then almost ‘collapses in a heap’ to wait for his ‘tea’.  He is old and rather weary – getting near to retirement – but retirement would bring further problems.  They have little money on which to live and his work keeps them surviving.  Once he finishes work, their income would suffer and life would be all the harder.  The son, grown up now, would then have to provide for the family and, with just one person working, the money coming in would be halved, almost.  Son follows father, washes, and gets ready for his meal.  Suddenly, he puts his arms around his mother and says: "Love you, mum!"

They sit to the table and ‘mum’ serves the simple meal.  They sit and eat – mostly in silence – each with their own thoughts on the day’s events, and wondering what tomorrow may bring.  The scene is outwardly peaceful – a small family, grouped round the table, eating their evening meal – but there is an undercurrent.  All is not right.  Each of them is aware of something deep – troubling – worrying. All is not quite at peace. 

All at once, the son breaks the silence and sets hearts blazing: "Sorry to have to say this, mum, dad, but I am going to have to leave home."  Mum and dad look at each other and turn, the unspoken question alight in their eyes.  Then Jesus answers their look and drops the rest of his ‘bombshell’: "Tomorrow – I have other work to do." 

Mary and Joseph – still speechless – cannot come to terms with what has just happened.  In shock, they ask with loving hearts and eyes – the unspoken question, "Why", and food has long since been forgotten.  Joseph, is beside himself with concern for the son – his life-long friend and help-mate – and what will happen to his family?  Mary, heart and eyes full of tears – remembers the words of the wise old man in the Temple, to the effect that a ‘sword should pierce her heart’ – and knows also that, for the future, there is much, much worse still to come, for she knows the scriptures and cannot forget those words of Jesus, spoken many years previously – also in the Temple – "Did you not know that I must be about my Father’s business?"  And Mary knows something about how God works!

Thus, from this most unsettling scene in Nazareth, with a ‘bombshell’ that near tore his family apart, Jesus begins his life’s vocation, to then go about his Father’s affairs and begin his public ministry.  On the morrow, he gathers his few personal things together, says his ‘Goodbyes’ to Joseph and Mary and walks away from his home – the home in which he has been happy for some 30 years, a home in which he has been subject to mum’s, and dad’s, love and controlling influence, a home in which he has repaid that love with perfect devotion to his earthly ‘parents’. 

It must have been a very sad parting – one tinged with deep regret, that the days of childhood and youth were now long-gone – with steps into a future, unknown.  Mary and Joseph must have been beside themselves with grief at the ‘loss’ of a ‘son’ they loved with all their hearts.  Yet in all this, and because of the people they were, they would be accepting all that was happening as the will of God.  They would be praying to Him that things would turn out well, knowing full well that God knows, far better than any of us, the ‘why’s’ and the ‘wherefores’, and what the future holds.  Even in deep sorrow, Mary and Joseph – I think – would still be aware of the immensity of the ‘job-in-hand’, the life-changing importance of the work Jesus was about to undertake, and so there may have been a sort of ‘acceptance’ – a sort of ‘not my will, but thy will be done’ – about it all.  I hope so, because, without that kind of assurance, the parting would then have been nothing short of disastrous – and what would have been the point?

Bishop Seamus Cunningham, Hexham & Newcastle, ordains Fr. Marc Lynden-Smith at St. Aloysius Church, Hebburn, 12 June 2010

I have been trying to reconcile the scene at Nazareth with some kind of parallel, within the realms of my own experience – difficult, I know – but there is one which, without too much imagination, has some common themes to commend it.   Many years ago, whilst still at Grammar School, I remember visiting priests coming to talk to the student body about vocations to the priesthood (and religious life).  I remember some of the heart-breaking, heart-rending decisions such visits brought about in some families, when sons and daughters decided they would choose to leave home and study for the priesthood.  Parents – invariably, they would have been loving parents, almost by definition – must then have been ‘pitch-forked’ into the ‘Mary and Joseph’ situation, only to find themselves between the proverbial ‘rock and a hard-place’ – torn between love for their children and their love of God, pride that their children should be choosing to give their lives to God, yet despair at the apparent ‘loss’ of ones held so dear.  I remember such thoughts crossing my mind whilst still at a rather tender age.  I remember my parents’ reactions when I voiced them, and though they would not have stood in my way, they would have been saddened, I know, should I have made the decision to take things further.  It was not to be! I think I would have made a rather poor job of it, in any case, – but the thoughts, the feelings, the concern and the worries the decision would have caused – are still part of my make-up.  

Fr. Marc Receives His Chalice at His Ordination, 12 June 2010

From the point of view of an ‘outsider’, I cannot begin to fully comprehend, fully understand, the feelings of separation – how could I?  However, it seems to me that in making the decision to follow one’s vocation to the Religious Life, this must inevitably involve mixed ‘blessings’.  I see great ‘sacrifices’ made  by parents, that sense of loss, those feelings of leaving behind home and family – something like tearing away an arm or a leg – to begin studies leading, eventually, to the giving of one’s life to God, but then there are the compensations – and very rewarding ones at that!  

Having come to know Father Jonathan and several other monk priests very well – with many years of learning on my part – I begin to realise something, I think, of the peace and harmony in their lives – lives devoted to the service of God and their fellow brothers and sisters.  This is not to say that priests, monks and nuns have it easy – surely, there are tribulations, distractions, along the way – but ultimately, they are following the example of Jesus, who left home and family behind at Nazareth.  And with just one driving motive – to serve; to serve God and do His will; to serve their fellow men and women and to help them on their way to paradise.    

And not just our friends, the Benedictines, but great ‘servants’ from the Jesuits, Redemptorists, Franciscans and many others, those who give their lives to the Missions, the many orders of nuns – Sisters Gabriel, Anna and Veronica, providing us with just three wonderful examples from the many other Religious Orders – all people, and religious, serving God and their communities – something magnified thousands of times throughout the Church.  What wonderful gifts from God – gifts to the men and women who make this ‘sacrifice’ –  to their parents, to their communities and the world, at large.  On  this note, and as this ‘Year of the Priest’ comes to an end, it would be as well to remember all this, and to thank God for his great love.  Without these men and women, our societies – and our lives – would be, so, so much more, the poorer.  We thank God for all this.  We thank all our priests, monks, brothers and sisters, who give their lives to serve us.

Jesus left home and family – to serve his community and world – in much the same way – then to make the ultimate sacrifice to His Father.  Parallels – yes, parallels there certainly are – across two thousand years – the service to mankind in between.

And, the answer to the rhetorical question in the title?  To serve – is to love – is to live!

Socius