Newspaper Interview

In this post you can read my response to the third question posed in a recent interview for The Priest. By following the link to St Patrick's you'll be able to read some of the talks given there by various speakers as part of the enormously successful Theology of the body series.

Q. You said that we can be too ‘teachy’. Do you mean that we put too much emphasis on the Catechism with young people?
R. Not at all. In fact I think the opposite is true. Recently I gave a talk on “Sex, Condoms and the Catholic Church” in St Patrick’s, Soho. I was amazed that over sixty young adults turned up. These are the John Paul Generation. They accept the Church’s teaching but they want to understand it. If they understand it they will assimilate it and express it in their lives. That way faith will become culture. We must teach the Truth but we must also respond to the questions and challenges young people face. Pope John Paul said we have to become ‘experts in humanity’. I think that also means that we have to listen to their questions and offer answers informed by the Church’s teaching. It is interesting that I meet more and more young people with a great interest in apologetics – something that after the Council an older generation regarded as somewhat passé. If they begin to feel their questions have answers they will start asking more profound ones and that will lead to a great generosity towards God in their lives.

Promoting Vocations

It's funny how easily we succumb to national caricatures. The English are supposed to be very punctual and pragmatic. In fact I once met a Spanish priest who said the very thought of an Englishman with a timetable made his skin creep.
Perhaps our tendency to programme everything and fill every spare moment with activity of one sort or another is not such a good thing after all - as Pope John Paul so often reminded us - being comes before action. I've just come across this video on Love to Be Catholic about 'Quo Vadis Days' - a vocations promotion week for teenagers in an American diocese. It takes place in a beautiful outdoor setting and includes plenty of hikes, swimming and general fun as well as the more serious reflection on priesthood and vocation. To me at least it seems like an ideal form of vocations promotion for that age group. Message to my fellow English Vocations Promoters: we should take note!

Camino de Santiago

After the 6.45am Mass this morning we were able to give the special Pilgrim's Blessing to Gareth Thomas, who was leaving for the next stage of his walk from Worcester to Santiago de Compostella along the ancient Way of St James. Yesterday he stopped at Westminster Cathedral for a photo opportunity with Whizz Kids. Although the purpose of the pilgrimage is primarily spiritual, Gareth is also hoping that it will raise some money for this charity which provides specially adapted wheelchairs for children with disabilities.

Gareth is something of an expert on the Way of St James and has walked it a number of times before, although never all the way from England. The Camino has grown in popularity in recent years and a number of books have been published giving it a New Age interpretation. Gareth is hoping that he will have lots of opportunities to help fellow pilgrims understand its profound Christian roots and to interpret it as a journey towards heaven.
The reason Gareth started from Worcester is that the grave of a medieval pilgrim was recently unearthed in the Cathedral. The Cathedral authorities have made an exact replica of the staff placed in the pilgrim's coffin and they have entrusted it to Gareth to be carried all the way to Santiago.
Gareth won't have regular access to the internet, but you will be able to follow his progress by clicking here to visit his pilgrim's blog.

A Priest's Retreat

Today I had a phone call from a friend of mine who isn't long ordained. He was assigned a busy parish in South London where he has been an enthusiastic supporter of vocations promotion. He is one of those priests who seem to be known an loved by everyone he meets and he exudes a wonderful enthusiasm for priestly ministry. He called today to ask my prayers for two things. First of all for a young lad who was tragically murdered on Saturday and whose family had come to the parish seeking a priest. He spoke of the great faith of the lads parents and the humbling experience of being called on to help a soul on its way home to God.
He also asked for prayers for himself as this evening he is beginning a retreat. Priests are encouraged to make a retreat each year. It is good to get away from the tumble of parish life in order to spend time more closely with the Lord. A retreat helps us examine our conscience in greater depth and be more open to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. It prompts us to greater generosity and a renewal of our initial 'Yes' to the Lord. It gives us time to put special effort and devotion into the celebration of Holy Mass each day as well as our norms of piety such as the daily Rosary.
My friend was looking forward to this opportunity. Please keep him, his fellow retreatants, as well as the retreat giver in your prayers.

How daunting can it be?

I feel for the candidates who have to go through the whole selection procedure. It's not that the process is bad. It's just daunting. Not as daunting perhaps as young Andrew's experience in this video clip. Enjoy.

Do they play football?

Today Bishop John interviewed our six candidates for the diocese this year. I was amused by a conversation during the week with one of the seminarians at Wonersh. St John's was beaten by the students at Scotus College in the inter-seminary football competition earlier this year, so his primary concern was that we should send a few lads to Wonersh with a certain prowess on the football field!
The Bishop's interview is the final stage in the selection process. All our candidates have spent a lot of time with me discerning their call to priesthood. They have also had a psychological assessment lasting a couple of days. We use the St Luke's Centre near Manchester for this. They've also attended a Selection Advisory Conference at the seminary. The formal interview with the Bishop comes at the end of this process. He receives all the documents a few weeks before meeting the candidates and has a chance to ask questions or clarifications from me. In this way he can develop some idea of what he would like to ask each candidate. Today the interviews seemed to go well and al the candidates came out looking happy and relaxed. They then headed off for a meal together before, if all goes according to plan, taking one of the boat trips from Westminster to Greenwich.
Meanwhile, at Archbishop's House the seminary Rector joined us for lunch which was followed by a discussion of each candidate. How did they do? That will have to wait for another post - after I've had a chance to meet with them all!
What I can say is that our selection procedure seems to be both thorough and fair. I don't think anyone could complain about it.

How do we respond to a post-modern culture?

Here's the second question and response for the interview published recently in the newspaper of the NCP:

Q. We often hear it said that commitment is very difficult for young people today. Do you think that the post-modern culture makes your work harder?
R. I do think our apostolate with young people is key not just for vocations but in many ways for the future of a Christian culture. I also think that sometimes we haven’t been as agile understanding the signs of the times as we may have believed. A hallmark of post-modernism is fragmentation and constant change. A typical modern ‘soap’ will run numerous story lines and cut from one to another sometimes within a few seconds. Think of how young people flick through television channels or surf the net. At school they are taught to be ‘independent learners’. This doesn’t necessarily mean that young people have a short attention span. It means they are now more active protagonists in the information they receive. For us the challenge is to acknowledge two things. Firstly we are often too prescriptive in what we offer: we want them to be interested in the causes that matter to us as adults; the liturgical experiences we offer can often be too wordy and ‘teachy’. The second thing is to recognise that we do have traditions in the Church that young people can access at different levels and that of their nature draw them into a greater participation. Part of the success of the New Movements is that they offer experiences of prayer and Adoration that everyone can access at their own level, whatever their starting point. Perhaps some of the growth of the traditionalist movement in the Church can also be put down to the fact that with the older liturgy young people can enter into the Mystery of God at a pace and a level appropriate to their own starting point. We have to face the fact that we cannot compete with the experiences of Clubs and other activities – nor do we want to – but we can offer something different: the opportunity to rediscover that inner dimension of life where God’s still small voice may be heard. Young people respond to this.

Posters

There was an interview in the paper on Saturday with a photographer who said he always liked returning to England. He found it a bit much abroad that people celebrated every little success and looked forward to coming home to good old British churlishness!
I thought of him when I came across an email asking for a new vocations poster. The more typical experience of my friends who are vocations directors is that when they mention the need for publicity material someone always come back that posters don't make a vocation. Of course they don't. But if someone has a vocation and is running away from it a strategically placed poster can remind them. If someone feels in their heart that God is calling them to something more but they are not sure what a vocations poster might just provide them with the key. And for the many thousands of people who go to Mass every week in our parishes an attractive poster might encourage them to keep asking the Lord of the harvest for those labourers he promised to send!

Here's a poster from the Archdiocese of Birmingham. It has an arresting strap-line.

The Importance of Prayer

I was recently interviewed for a publication called The Priest. It is the official paper of the National Conference of Priests and its editor is Greg Watts. Greg has written a lot on Catholic subjects and is the journalist who worked with John Pridmore on his autobiography.
To be honest, The Priest isn't the most widely read of Catholic publications but I've had a few calls from priests who have seen the interview and liked it.
It's too long to publish as a single post, but over the next week or so I'll publish the five questions and my responses to them. I'll start today with the first one.

Q. Father, one of the key elements for promoting vocations in your diocese has been the establishment of Eucharistic Adoration in the parishes. What would you say to those who question the value of praying for vocations?
R. I would say that prayer is a fundamental response to Christ’s command: ‘Ask the Lord of the harvest to send labourers into his harvest’. When I wrote this in a Catholic newspaper some months ago there was a follow up letter from a priest objecting that we have prayed for years without result. This, he argued, was evidence the Holy Spirit was calling for change and in particular he advocated married priests and the ordination of women. But I wouldn’t agree. Have we really offered up an insistent prayer for vocations to the priesthood? I wonder how many of us have satisfied ourselves with the occasional intercession for ‘vocations to the priesthood and religious life’? I firmly believe that our periods of Eucharistic Adoration in Southwark have born fruit in the significant increase in vocations we have seen since the campaign of prayer began.

The Catholic Priesthood Today

Many of you will have seen the video Fishers of Men. I know lots of Vocations Directors who have found it a fantastic resource in their work. If you are a priest or a teacher I'd certainly recommend getting a copy. Recently someone told me of another video on the Catholic Priesthood. It's well worth checking out. You can view the video by clicking this link.

Vocations Experience for Women

Southwark doesn't have many female monastic communities but an important one is the community of Benedictine nuns at Minster in Kent occupying the site of a seventh century monastic foundation. The sisters run a number of vocations activities including the forthcoming "Monastic Experience Retreat" which will take pace at the Abbey from 9th -14th July this year.
Although the Abbey has a website, the sisters don't allow the telephone or internet to become a distraction to their routine of work and prayer so to find out more information you need to contact them by letter.

The address is:
The Benedictine Nuns of St Mildred's Priory
Minster Abbey,
Minster-in-Thanet, Nr Ramsgate,
Kent, UK

As a taster of vocations discernment at St Mildred's Priory you may find this extract from the website helpful:

Monastic Vocation

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All people are called to love and serve God. Some people are called to serve their brothers and sisters by devoting their lives in service to the poor. Some are called to bring new life into the world through married love. A few people, however, are called in love to give themselves to God, in a life dedicated to prayer, through Benedictine monastic life.

"Discernment of a Vocation"

Discerning a vocation to the Benedictine life at Minster involves a process of prayer and dialogue and three parties are involved. God who calls, the person who is called, and the Church through the community, guided by the Holy Spirit, discerns if the call is genuine. This process will take some time.

There are however some important elements which are essential for a genuine vocation to our life. The young woman must be Roman Catholic, single, free from all obligations to her family and not be in debt.

Our life is joyful and rewarding, but it is also demanding. The young woman must be healthy both mentally and physically and have an ability to live with others in community. Usually she will be between 22 and 39 years of age. It is important to have the desire to spend time each day in spiritual reading (lectio divina) and be eager to participate fully in the Liturgical prayer, and life of the community.

"Is she truly seeking God?"

St Benedict wrote that "the concern must be whether the novice truly seeks God and shows eagerness for the Work of God (i.e. the Divine Office), for obedience and for trials" (Holy Rule chapter 58). These 'four aspects ' of a Benedictine vocation practically cover the whole of our spiritual life

In the Benedictine life the nun binds herself by solemn vows of obedience, stability in the community, and the monastic way of life. The monastic call is always to a specific monastery.

Seekers

If you feel drawn to a life of prayer with the Benedictine community at Minster Abbey the first step is to contact the Novice Mistress. You may then be invited to stay in the Guest House to experience something of our monastic hospitality and to meet the community. You may be asked to visit a number of times. During your visit it is wise to ask to see the Novice Mistress and discuss your feelings about your possible vocation. If both parties believe God is really calling you, you may be invited to live alongside the community for a month or so in order to experience life 'on the inside'. If you still feel a desire to pursue a monastic vocation and the community feels it is right to do so, you may request to enter the community as a postulant.

A Sacramental Sunday

Today we had our thirtieth baptism this year in the parish and there are plenty more on the way! We try to offer individual baptisms to our parishioners. I know there is some debate about this. Generally parents prefer the more familial nature of an individual baptism. For me it's a practical thing: in my first parish we had baptisms once a month and they were sometimes quite chaotic. It does, however, make for quite a busy day.

I celebrated the 9am and the 10am Masses and our assistant priest said the 11.30am Sung Mass. I was able to catch up with a number of our 'marriage preparation mentors' after the Masses and also encourage a new couple to become mentors. This is a really important and developing ministry in the parish.
Today we were particularly busy because the 11.30 was one of our three 'Presentation Masses' for the First Communion classes. At previous Masses the children have received a Bible and a Rosary. Today they received a Crucifix.
We also had quite a few Confessions today which is always gratifying. The Church now explicitly encourages making the sacrament available during Mass and we have found sitting in the confessional on Sundays a very effective way of promoting confessions.
There were two guests for lunch - one a young man considering his vocation and the other a retired Anglican vicar. Along with our parish sister and one of this year's candidates they formed quite a combination.
After the baptisms I had to collate the candidates' paperwork in order to drop it off this evening at Archbishop's House in time for the Bishop to digest it before the interviews on 10th May. Fortunately I'm not on the evening Mass but it does mean I won't be available for Confessions. Later we have a presentation on the Way of St James for our young adults' group.

Seminaries Need to Employ New Cooks?

The National Office of Vocations recently sent out a press release pointing out that England and Wales has enjoyed an annual increase in the number of men entering seminary for the last four years. Last year forty four men began training at one of our diocesan seminaries. We've just had the Selection Conference at Wonersh which was attended by twelve potential new candidates. They all seemed good men and there was a very good spirit among them.
It would be great if they were all to be accepted. But the increasing numbers of seminarians bring with it other questions of a more mundane nature. If any rectors out there are wondering if they should employ a new cook, I recommend getting in contact with the chap in the photograph Manuel Mucho Comida. He's a dab hand at rustling up a quick paella. This one's for five hundred!

What's been happening?

I may not have been posting much lately but it wouldn't be true to say that nothing has been happening on the vocations front. In Southwark we've continued with our monthly Seekers' Meetings and also with our termly Discovering Priesthood Days. These have been a tremendous success, enabling us to give young people a taste of priestly life and ministry in the context of a relaxed day of fun as well as reflection. Last term nine youngsters joined us at Lewisham where the parish pulled out the stops to make us welcome. It was my turn to be 'priest on the hot seat' and there were lots of thoughtful questions.
We try to have Discovering Priesthood Days in different parts of the diocese and my aim would be to organise one in every deanery. In this way we encourage young men to think about the vocation God has in mind for them. At the very least it reminds them, at a key moment in their lives, that as they grow up they have to begin to accept responsibility for their Christian life and faith. I'll post again on the DPDs but in the meantime please keep them in your prayers.

Back to Blogging

Those of you with long memories might recall the Southwark Vocations Blog started after a reception hosted by the Nuncio in honour of the Holy Father. In the time I was Blogging regularly I often received emails from men and women saying that the site helped them in their discernment process. I have to admit the Bloggap that started last summer was somewhat longer than I had anticipated and once you stop blogging it's hard to take it up again. In the last few months I've received messages from individuals asking me to keep the site going and it's hard to ignore those requests.
So what makes me write a post today? Last night I was at the Nuncio's reception once again and as I prepared to leave a complete stranger came up to me. "Are you Fr Stephen Langridge. We haven't met but I have to thank you" and he went on to describe how his fifteen year old son was so impressed by a time I showed 'Fishers of Men'that he reads 'Vocations News' and wants to be a priest.
He's not a Southwark lad and I doubt his father would let him apply anywhere but to his home diocese! But, as I said when I last posted, thin sowing means thin reaping - perhaps the time has come to start posting again!