Issue 03 - The Pilgrim - March 2012 - The newspaper of the Archdiocese of Southwark

Faith and the
facebook generation
Page 8
Lent: a time to
question God
Page 9
How the internet helps
busy people to pray
Page 12
March 2012
Dementia:
Families and
carers need
more help
What I learned on The Apprentice
Archbishop Peter has called for
more support for families caring
for a relative with dementia.
“Dementia is a terrible and
devastating illness. Those who
suffer from it become confused
and unable to communicate
properly.
“As a society, we need to ensure
that the NHS and other statutory
and voluntary services are given
adequate resources to provide the
quality of care that those suffering
from dementia need and have
a right to expect,” he said.
When someone develops dementia,
it can also be distressing
for their loved ones, he went on.
“Dementia can place a huge
strain on families as they struggle
to come to terms with the
changes the illness brings about in
a relative.
“Some people reluctantly decide
that the needs of their relative
can only be met by the
expert care offered in a residential
home. I can understand that
this must be an extremely hard
decision to make. And it is one
that can lead to feelings of guilt.”
Recent statistics indicate that
there are 820,000 people in the
UK with dementia.
Archbishop Peter said that many
relatives, and also staff in care
homes, through the love, patience
and dedication they show, are
wonderful examples of people living
out the values of Jesus.
“Care workers are often not
well paid, but they do incredibly
valuable work in attending to the
needs of some of the most vulnerable
in society.”
Ben Bano, who has made a DVD
about dementia, It’s still ME Lord,
and runs dementia awareness
sessions in the diocese, said over
the next 20 years there will be an
Winner of BBC 1’s The Apprentice 2010 Stella
English shared some of her insights into leadership
with students at Combe Bank School in
Sevenoaks.
The thirty-two-year-old, who grew up on a
council estate in Thamesmead, spoke about her
experience on The Apprentice and afterwards
working for Sir Alan Sugar.
When asked by one of the pupils what was the
most important thing she had learned from taking
part in the programme, she replied, “To
increasing number of people
with dementia as life expectancy
increases.
“There is a greater risk of developing
a dementia as we grow
older. But rather than seeing dementia
just as a burden we should
focus on the person as much as on
the dementia and see opportunities
as well as deficits.
“As dementia advances, familiar
prayers and hymns are often remembered.
“Our parishes need to be communities
of welcome and outreach,
so that those affected, as
well as carers, can be given the
opportunity to meet their spiritual
needs in practicing their faith.”
Jeremy Lamb, chief executive of
the Christian charity Field Lane,
which runs care homes for those
with dementia and also provides
support to religious orders who
have sisters with dementia, said,
“Caring for people with dementia
in a care home is an enormous
privilege; people remain individuals
and care has to focus on the
person, their story, their personality,
and the fact that they are precious
to God as an individual.
“For families the loss of someone
who is with them but not with
them is a tragedy – more and more
families are being faced with this.
We share the responsibility with
the family and the support of the
Church community is invaluable to
every one involved.”
A week devoted to prayer and
awareness about dementia begins
keep calm and not panic under pressure. You
need to sit back and think and not make kneejerk
decisions.”
She went on to explain that she is now setting
up her own company, making work wear clothes
for women, and plans only to buy materials in
the UK.
The event was part of the independent girls’
school’s leadership speakers programme for
sixth formers and business and economics
students.
on 12 March, leading up to the
National Day of Prayer for Dementia
on 19 March.
Archbishop Peter will celebrate
Mass for those suffering from dementia
and their carers at 12.30 in
St George’s Cathedral on March 14.

Editorial The Pilgrim March 2012
the
2012Pilgrim
50p
December 2011/ January The newspaper of the Catholic Archdiocese of Southwark, covering s
A bit of silence, please
The Archdiocese of Southwark
Archbishop Peter Smith
020 7928-2495
archbishop@rcsouthwark.co.uk
www.rcsouthwark.co.uk
Area bishops
Kent
Bishop John Hine
01732 845486
jhine@absouthwark.org
South-West London
Bishop Paul Hendricks
020 8643 8007
bishop.hendricks@gmail.com
South-East London
Bishop Patrick Lynch
020 8297 9219
bishoplynch7@btinternet.com
The Pilgrim,
Archbishop’s House
150 St George’s Road
London SE1 6HX
Editor: Greg Watts
020 7928-2495
pilgrim@rcsouthwark.co.uk
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0161 214-1233
chris.morley@totalcatholic.net
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Group Ltd
Thomas Merton once said that
some of us have to be alone to
be ourselves. “Call it privacy if
you like. But we have thinking
to do and work to do which demands
a certain silence and
aloneness.”
Most of us need to find some
corners of silence in our minds.
I certainly do. As a writer, it’s
only in the sound of silence that
I can discover ideas, sift
through them and then use
words to give them meaning.
I used to find bus and train
journeys conducive to letting
my mind freewheel. But sitting
on a bus or train nowadays is
like sitting in an office.
Everyone around you is either
on their mobile, iPod or laptop.
Wherever you go, it seems
you can’t escape unnecessary
noise. One of my local supermarkets
churns out pop songs
all day long, interspersed with
the bouncy voice of some
wannabe radio presenter trying
his hardest to make two for one
honey roast ham sound like the
deal of the century.
Once, a library was a place
where silence was sacrosanct.
Not any more. Many libraries
today are trying to be like a
branch of Starbucks.
And, let’s be honest, even
Mass can be quite noisy. I’m not
talking about babies crying. No.
I’m talking about the hymn
sandwich.
St Augustine of Hippo is often
quoted as saying that anyone
who sings prays twice.
Take it from me, he really
meant to say anyone who sings
well prays twice.
It seems that if you want to
find silence, then the only place
where you will definitely find it
is in a court. But that seems too
drastic a step to take.
Pope Benedict has made the
need for silence the theme of
this year’s World Communications
Day message, released on
the feast of St Francis de Sales,
patron saint of journalists.
He says that in the absence of
silence “words rich in content
cannot exist. In silence, we are
better able to listen to and understand
ourselves; ideas come
to birth and acquire depth…”
Perhaps our culture is beginning
to discover this.
When Into Great Silence,
Philip Groning’s almost wordless
documentary on the lives of the
Carthusians at Grand Chartreuse
in France, came out in 2005,
it was a surprise hit with the
Silent stars:
Jean Dujardin and
Bérénice Bejo in
The Artist
critics.
And now The Artist, a French
romantic comedy-drama about
a Hollywood silent movie star,
told almost without any dialogue,
has been nominated for
10 Oscars.
If you have ever watched any
of Mike Leigh’s films, you will
know how he uses silence as a
language. For he understands
that it’s often in the silences
that we speak most profoundly.
Film explores call to priesthood
“Father, what message do you want
to get across” I was sat in my
study with two young men who
wanted to put their talents at the
service of the Church. One had recently
graduated in music and the
other in film studies and we were
discussing the possibility of a video
to promote priestly vocations.
I found the question challenging
because I only really knew what I
didn’t want. We didn’t need a film
about priesthood; Grassroots had
already done that with “Fishers of
Men”, a groundbreaking film with
an upbeat pace and a contemporary
feel.
Nor did I want something portraying
priests as “ordinary men”
who just happened to do something
different on a Sunday.
My first thought that we should
try to address the sort of things
that might hold a young man back
from applying for the priesthood,
but we soon realised that would be
impossibly wide.
Eventually we settled on the idea
of trying to the express the need to
move from thinking about priesthood
to taking the plunge and actually
doing something about it.
The Calling is the story of
Michael, a young man trying to
work out what to do with his life.
His parents want him to settle
down and get a good job. His
friends think he should live for the
present without worrying about the
future.
But Michael senses that he’s
called to more than simply following
the crowd. He decides to step
back and consider things more
carefully. He embarks on a journey
that takes him on pilgrimage to
Rome and in the footsteps of St
Benedict and St Francis.
He meets priests and seminarians
and he hears the powerful call of
Pope Benedict in Hyde Park when
he encouraged young people not to
fear their vocation but to put their
trust in Christ.
He is impressed by the encouragement
he receives to pray, to
trust and to act and in an evocative
scene at the end of the film he finally
realises what he has to do.
Although The Calling took well
over a year to produce, the amazing
thing was how providentially
the pieces began to fall into place
after our initial discussion.
A donor very generously put up
the money for all our initial costs
and filming began soon after. We
were given permission to film in
the Vatican, and inside the monastic
buildings in both Assisi and
Subiaco.
We also got permission to film
during the Papal Vigil in Hyde Park
and at the beatification Mass of
Cardinal Newman.
Accompanying the film are lesson
plans prepared by teachers for use
in the classroom and in other settings
such as confirmation classes.
The film, which is twenty-three
minutes long, has three distinct
sections to facilitate a more flexible
use: looking at a vocation
within the context of the call to
holiness, the priest as a man of the
Church, and the importance of acting
upon one’s sense of being
called.
The Calling was first screened at
the Vocation Directors’ Conference
in November and was met with universal
acclaim.
Archbishop Bernard Longley
praised it for being “carefully conceived
and skillfully produced”.
Bishop Mark Davies welcomed it as
another “powerful contribution
from Southwark Vocations”.
While others have hailed it as “a
beautiful message, powerfully presented”
and “an imaginative reflection
which will appeal to young
people because of the style of its
presentation”. We’ve even had
some enquiries about making a
version with Spanish subtitles for
distribution in Spain and South
America.
Copies of The Calling can be
ordered from the Southwark
Vocations Office by emailing
info@southwarkvocations.com.
They cost £9.95 each with discounts
available for bulk orders.
The Calling is one of a number of
resources produced by the Southwark
Vocations Office.
Please contact us to see how you
can help us in our work.
Fr Stephen Langridge is the
diocesan vocations director
info@southwarkvocations.com
Page 2

The Pilgrim March 2012
Students told to believe to achieve
The Attorney-General
Dominic Grieve MP was
among a panel of high
profile guests who encouraged
students at
St Matthew Academy,
Blackheath, to aim high
in life.
Others who took part
in an evening of inspiration
entitled Believe 2
Achieve included American
media guru Bob
Schukai and award
winning entrepreneurs
Nathaniel Peat and Jordan
Kensington.
Nathaniel Peat, who
left school with four
GCSEs and now runs a
successful business,
told students: “Reach
as high as you can,
try as hard as you can,
knock on the door without
stopping, never
stop looking and eventually
you will break
through!”
The evening was organised
in association
with the Department of
Business, Innovation
and Skills.
Deputy Principal and
event organiser Martin
Nirsimloo said: “The
youngsters have been
given the opportunity
to see that the speakers
come from normal
backgrounds but have
invested their talents
and are now leaders
in their respective
fields.”
Course on Catholicism packs them in
A course for those wanting to
gain a deeper understanding of
Catholicism is proving a great
success.
Cafod tackles poverty
Cafod has launched a new campaign
called Thirst for Change.
The campaign urges David
Cameron to call on world leaders
to end water poverty at the G8
Summit in 2012.
Resources for use in schools
and youth groups are available
Nearly 100 people each week
attend the 11-week course at the
Centre for Catholic Education in
Tooting Bec.
South London nuns
on road to sainthood
Two nuns with links to St Gregory’s
parish in Earlsfield could be
canonised.
The Vatican’s Congregation for
the Causes of Saints has asked for
the files of two Bridgettine nuns,
Mother Riccarda Beauchamp Hambrough
and Sr Katherine Flanagan,
to be sent to Rome to be studied
by historians and theologians.
Father Benedict Williamson, the
parish priest of St Gregory’s, between
1909 and 1915, guided both
nuns in their vocation.
Mother Ricarda helped to hide
about s60 Italian Jews from the
Nazis during the Second World War
in her Rome convent.
Sister Katherine, who was also
baptised in St Gregory’s, spent
How to reach Catholics who don’t
go to church is the theme of a
day for parishes being held at the
Christian Education Centre in
Crawley, West Sussex.
Bishop Kieran Conry of Arundel
and Brighton, chair of the Bishops’
Conference department of
evangelisation and catechesis,
will be one of the main speakers.
Archbishop Peter will preach at
the Mass.
“It is estimated that at least
many years at the Bridgettine convent
in the Piazza Farnese, Rome,
and later became the Mother
Superior to various Bridgettine
communities.
Father John Henry, parish priest
of St Gregory’s, said: “To have a
possible saint from the parish is
wonderful.”
The Order of the Most Holy
Saviour – better known as the
Bridgettine Order – was founded in
the fourteenth century by the
Swedish Mystic, St Bridget.
Their famous pre-Reformation
monastery at Syon Abbey, Isleworth,
was established in 1415 by
King Henry V and dissolved by King
Henry VIII on his decision in 1534
to break with Rome.
online.
To mark its 50 th anniversary,
on January 28 Cafod opened its
offices at Romero House in the
precincts of St George’s Cathedral
to give supporters the opportunity
to visit.
cafod.org.uk/thirst
Reaching lapsed Catholics
two-thirds of the baptised
Catholic community in England
and Wales is non churchgoing
which equates to approximately
four to five million people,” said
Bishop Kieran.
“This makes for a significant
constituency of people who, in
most cases, self-identify as
Catholic but rarely attend Mass.”
The day is being held on 3
March and runs from 10 am –
4.30 pm.
UN award for
Gravesend school
St John’s Catholic Primary School in
Gravesend has been awarded the
Unicef Rights Respecting Schools
Award.
The honour recognises the way
that the school places children’s
rights from the United Nations Convention
at the heart of the school.
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St John’s is the first school in
Kent to receive the accolade.
Head Ann Marie Ratcliffe said:
“This is a tremendous accolade for
the school and I would like to congratulate
and thank the children
and staff who were involved with
the assessment.”
News
Lent booklet now
available in parishes
Walk With Me, a booklet
containing prayer and scripture
readings for Lent, is now available
in many parishes.
Southwark Catholic
Directory out now
Southwark Catholic Directory
2012 is now available: £3.00.
It contains information on all
the parishes, schools and organisations
in the diocese and also a
liturgical calendar.
Copies can be purchased from
parish repositories and Catholic
bookshops.
All-night vigil to be
held in Margate
An all-night vigil before the
Blessed Sacrament will be held
at St Augustine and St Gregory in
Margate. It begins after the 6.30
pm Mass on Friday 9 March and
ends with Mass at 9am on Saturday
10 March.
Bereavement
training course
Southwark Marriage & Family
Life team is running a training
course at Aylesford Priory from
23–25 March for laity and clergy
active or wishing to become
involved in ministering to the
bereaved. For more details call
01303 873835 or email
epartridge@hotmail.co.uk
Page 3

News The Pilgrim March 2012
Olympic theme for
Kent ecumenical
meeting
The ecumenical organization
Churches Together in Kent will
focus on the Olympics for its
inaugural annual forum
Bishop John Hine and Church
of England Olympic Executive
Co-ordinator, Canon Duncan
Green, will be among those
attending.
The event takes place on
Saturday 3 March from
9.45 am to 3.00 pm at Christ
Church University in
Canterbury.
Justice and Peace
training Day
A training day for those involved
in justice and peace
will be held on Saturday 10
March at Amigo Hall, St
George’s Cathedral.
The day runs from 10 am – 4
pm and includes workshops
on active Campaigning; putting
Catholic social teaching
into action; how to live simply
in your parish; and
poverty.
Rabbi to give talk
in Orpington
Orthodox rabbi David Katanka
will be giving a talk on justice
at the Church of the Holy Innocents
in Orpington at 8 pm on
Tuesday 13 March. Journalist
and broadcaster Clifford Longley
will introduce the evening.
Mass for those
with disabilities
Mass for the Greenwich
Fellowship for the Disabled
will take place on Sunday
February 12 at 3.00pm at St
Mary’s, Blackheath.
96 extraordinary
ministers are
commissioned
Ninety-six new extraordinary
ministers of Holy Communion
from twenty-eight parishes have
been commissioned at St
George’s Cathedral.
The commissioning took place
on 28 January during a Mass
celebrated by Bishop Patrick
and Mgr Matthew Dickens.
HRH Prince Charles meets the
Mizens at their Lewisham café
Prince Charles has visited
the café in Lewisham set
up by Barry and Margaret
Mizen in memory of their
teenage son Jimmy who
was murdered in 2008.
During his visit to the
Cafe of Good Hope in
Hither Green Lane, the
Mizens spoke to the Prince
about how troubled youngsters
need better opportunities
to avoid getting
drawn in to gangs.
He also met young people,
including scouts,
those who have been involved
with The Prince’s
Trust, and some who had
been to prison and turned
their lives around.
Barry Mizen said he was
overjoyed by the Prince’s
visit, “When we set up the
foundation we never even
thought we would be welcoming
royalty to our cafe.
“It was great having
Prince Charles here today.
There was a lot of excitement
and lots of people.
“He is a great person
and has a genuine heart
for the life of young people
and he is in the position
to be able to actually
do something.”
The café is run by the
Jimmy Mizen Foundation,
which was set up to help
young people find a purpose
in their life and play
a part in their community.
The Mayor of Lewisham
recently presented the
café with an award for
excellence in social
enterprise.
Student wins national award for helping others
A student with severe sickle cell
and arthritis has won a national
award for helping in the local
community.
Antonia Massaquoi, who studies
at Christ the King Sixth Form College
in Lewisham, received a
Champion Volunteer Diana Award
for her voluntary work.
Despite her illnesses, Antonia
helps at a hospital, in schools,
with Age Concern’s ‘Be a Friend’
programme in Eltham and in
fundraising with the college chaplaincy.
Following the awards ceremony
at Barclay’s Bank headquarters in
Canary Wharf, Antonia said: “At
first I was speechless. Words
couldn’t explain how it felt to win
something like that.
“Winning that award made me
believe that anything is possible.
I can achieve anything if I put my
mind to it. It was amazing. I have
to reach for the stars. I have to
focus on what I want to do.
“My volunteering gives me an
opportunity to talk to elderly people
and hear what they have
overcome.
“I would like to be a counsellor
in the future so this is very good
experience for me.
“Through these experiences I
learned how to be mature and
The Benedictine community
at Minster Abbey in Thanet
are inviting young women
interested in the contemplative
life to join them
over Palm Sunday weekend
taking place from March 30
to April 1.
The monastic experience
retreat will provide an opportunity
to talk to the
how to communicate with other
age groups. They help me to
understand people more and to
identify my own abilities.”
Antonia is currently studying for
A levels in religious studies and
health and social care.
The Diana Awards were established
in 1999 as a legacy to
Princess Diana’s belief that young
people have the power to change
the world.
Young women invited
to a monastic weekend
at Minster Abbey
sisters about discerning a
monastic vocation, join the
community for prayer and
Mass and spend time alone
in reflection.
For more information
contact:
Sr Aelred OSB Minster
Abbey, Minster, Near Ramsgate,
Kent, CT12 4HF.
Tel: 01843-821254
Lent talks
in Devon
The Carmel Centre at St Edmund’s
Catholic School in Dover
will be hosting a series of talks
throughout Lent on the topic of
forgiveness.
Speakers include Fr Roger Nesbitt,
Fr Marcus Holden and members
of the Taize community.
www.carmelcentredover.com
Meanwhile, Walk With Me, a
booklet containing prayer and
scripture readings for Lent, is
now available in many parishes
in the diocese.
Page 4
Children’s
Calendar
for Lent
Mission Together, the Catholic
Church’s official mission charity
for children, has produced
an activity calendar and other
materials to enable children
to find out more about Lent.
The resources are free of
charge and can be downloaded
from www.missiontogether.org.uk
or ordered
online.
Dutch paralympic
athlete tells of
her cancer battle
Dutch international
sitting
volleyball player
Sanne Bakker
shared her experience
of recovering
from
cancer with students
at The Holy
Cross School,
New Malden.
Twenty-yearold
Sanne, who
won a bronze
medal in the
2008 Beijing
Paralympic
Games, also led
workshops with
several classes
and taught the
students some
basic sitting
volleyball skills.
Being Catholic in a
multi-faith society
Archbishop Kevin
McDonald, Archbishop
Emeritus of
Southwark, is to
deliver a lecture
on how to be
Catholic in a multifaith
society.
Archbishop
Kevin is the chairman
of the
Catholic Bishops’
Committee for
Catholic-Jewish
Relations and Office
For Relations
with Other Religions.
His lecture is
part of the Diocese
of Westminster’s
Faith Matters series
and will take
part at Westminster
Cathedral
Hall, Ambrosden
Avenue, SW1, on
March 27 at 7 pm.
Life in
the Spirit
seminars in
Sydenham
Life in the Spirit seminars
will be taking place at
Our Lady and St Philip
Neri church, Sydenham,
each Wednesday during
Lent.
They begin at 8 pm and
are preceded by Mass at
7.30 pm.

The Pilgrim March 2012
Features
A week in the life of the SVP
The Society of St Vincent de Paul
(SVP) has over 10,000 volunteers
in parishes across England and
Wales, providing practical help to
those in need. Winston Waller,
a member of the SVP group at
Our Lady of Immaculate in
Whitstable, describes a week in
October.
Saturday
Several members took elderly
parishioners to Mass, as they do
every week.
Sunday
At the end of Mass the parish
priest appealed on our behalf for a
fridge-freezer. In the afternoon
someone phoned the president of
our group to offer us a nearly new
one.
Monday
Some members went to the church
and took away all the harvest festival
donations. The fresh food was
taken to the Whitstable Umbrella,
a drop-in centre in the town.
The tins and dry goods were boxed
up and put in storage to form part
of Christmas hampers for needy
families.
Tuesday
Three members helped out at the
parish lunch club, providing lifts to
housebound parishioners, chatting
to the diners and helping with the
washing up. Two other members
paid their regular visit to a younman
with psychiatric problems.
Wednesday
One of our members visited an
elderly lady referred by the Citizens’
Advice Bureau and painted
her ceiling, making good a damp
patch caused by a missing roof
tile. We had previously arranged
for the roof to be repaired.
Another member visited a young
single mother to give her a grant
towards the cost of a school trip
for her daughter. A few weeks earlier
we had helped pay for school
uniform for this family.
Thursday
Two members made their regular
visit to an elderly lady, crippled by
arthritis. They helped her to have
a bath and then spent time chatting
with her.
The fridge-freezer was collected
and delivered it to the young single
mum. She had been referred to
us by Social Services because she
had no cooker. We had bought her
a new one and had it installed,
and she was able to cook her first
hot meal in three months.
That evening, our group held its
weekly meeting in the presbytery.
As usual, members gave a report
of the work they had done and we
planned our work for the following
week.
Pilgrim Places –
St Jude’s Shrine, Faversham
St Jude is the patron saint of
hopeless cases, so it’s not
surprising that he is one of the
most popular saints.
And every year thousands of
pilgrims head down to Faversham
to visit his national shrine.
The shrine, built in 1955,
is situated beneath the small
church of Our Lady of Mount
Carmel in Tanner Street, run by
the Carmelites.
Suspended from the ceiling are
twelve large votive lamps in
silver, symbolising the 12
apostles.
On the walls are several striking
icons of Carmelite saints.
Many pilgrims light a candle or
leave petitions in a box in front
of the fifteenth century wooden
statue of St Jude.
His international appeal can
be seen from the notes and
photos pinned to a notice board.
On October 28, St Jude’s feast
day, several Masses are celebrated
throughout the day and
pilgrims blessed with holy oil.
So many people turn up that the
friars erect marquees in the
garden.
The shrine is open daily from
8 am-4 pm in the winter and
8 am-6 pm in the summer.
www.whitefriarsfaversham.org
Page 5

Behind the scenes The Pilgrim March 2012
Helping to
chang
Since it was set up 20 years ago by
Catholic charity Dawliffe Hall Educational
Foundation, Baytree Centre in Brixton has
provided training, education and skills to
over 8,000 women and girls. Eileen Cole
finds out how its PEACH programme is
helping to change lives.
Pic: Steve Cadman
Behind the doors of
Baytree Centre, set
amongst the takeaways
and late night grocery
shops on Brixton Road, an
innovative programme
using young professionals
is helping to change the
lives of girls and women.
PEACH - Parents, Education,
Achievement and
Character building starts
from the premise that
that parents are the first
and most important educators
of their children.
Baytree works with
families in and around
Brixton who unemployed,
on low income, benefits,
or are disengaged from
the community.
Forty per cent of mothers
on the PEACH programme
are lone parents.
They have regular group
and one-to-one sessions
with the parent co-ordinator,
with whom they
draw up their individual
character development
programme.
This includes personal
goals for their children to
achieve each month, in
terms of issues such as respect,
responsibility, and
persistence.
PEACH helps girls by
giving them personalized
study and character
building support each
week from trained volunteers
who act as mentors.
The mentors are
trained through bi-weekly
group workshops and
helped to build tailormade
action plans for the
children and their
families.
Most of the volunteers
are recruited through
university careers’ fairs or
web sites such as
The Guardian’s “Hands-on
London” and Gumtree.
Once trained, they give
one-on-one academic support
to the children and
monitor their progress
through the National
Foundation for Education
Research tests at the
beginning and end of the
programmes.
The mentors meet their
pupils on a weekly basis
at the centre and help
them with their learning
and also with character
development.
Page 6

The Pilgrim March 2012
Behind the scenes
e lives in Brixton
Isabelle Derobert, a
fund manager for a major
City bank, found Baytree
through the Lambeth
Council website.
She says that the freshness
and simplicity of
the young people is
energising. “There is
great merit in those
young people getting
themselves to Baytree by
10am on Saturday
mornings.
‘I work long hours all
week, and I find that
time with the young people
here gets my mind
completely off work”.
She likes the strong
community feel and diverse
cultural mix at the
centre. “Baytree brings
them all together. Everyone
feels at home there,
and they can hang out
with whoever.”
Fatimah Kelleher, an international
development
consultant whose clients
include the UN and the
Commonwealth Secretariat,
has been a PEACH
volunteer for two years.
“In PEACH, the emphasis
on the parents’ role is
so important. We can
work together in harmony
for the girls’ best interests,”
she says.
“We try to ensure that
the markers of success
are more than just in the
material or consumerist
spheres.
Ultimately we want to
help in the formation of
happy, aspirational young
women.”
Fatimah grew up in
Brixton Hill and says that
it was only when she
went to university that
she saw how many opportunities
were available.
“I met such different
sorts of people there and
discovered that there was
a different world outside
of Brixton Hill.”
She says many young
people coming from a
similar background to her
don’t know about scholarships,
or that every
university has a bursary
programme for students
who fall below a certain
income bracket.
Once a month the mentors
stay on for brunch
with the PEACH staff,
which provides an opportunity
to share their
experiences.
PEACH is making a difference
to the lives of
many families in the
Brixton area.
One parent said, “We
now eat together at the
table. Before, I would be
in the kitchen, my daughter
on the sofa, and the
little one was the only
one at the table. Now we
sit and talk while we are
eating.”
To keep up to date with the news in
the diocese visit www.rcsouthwark.co.uk
Page 7

Features The Pilgrim March 2012
Faith, Facebook and being fair
Catrina Hamilton, deputy
head of St Thomas More
Comprehensive in Eltham,
tells former pupil Alannah
Powell that it’s natural
for teenagers to begin to
question their faith.
What do you enjoy most
about your job
I think overall that would
have to be the interaction
with the young people and
knowing that you are making
a difference to them. Also,
giving them opportunities
they wouldn’t necessarily
have had before, and watching
them grow and develop
as people.
What do you find the most
challenging aspect of being
a deputy head teacher
Making sure that you are fair
to everyone as much as possible
is a challenging aspect
of my job, as you are faced
with very different personalities
within a school. I find it
challenging to make sure
everyone is on board and we
are all working together.
Facebook has now become
a big part of the lives
of teenagers today and
pupils can feel intimidated
by their peers. I am aware
that bullying goes on
through intimidation on sites
such as Facebook, and we
try to address the issue
within school, but it is hard
to control something that
goes on outside of school.
How do you deal with serious
discipline issues
We base our discipline policy
on gospel values and try not
to act off the cuff. Recently
we’ve introduced the,
“transforming conflict:
restorative conflict” strategy.
We originally got the
concept from another school
that also uses it.
Basically, the thought behind
it is that after two people
in the school have had a
conflict, they are given an
opportunity to sit down and
discuss their differences. It
works because the students
take responsibility for their
actions and move on.
Why is a Catholic
education important
I think it’s good to have a
religious aspect to education,
as it gives the qualifications
a purpose other than
academia. God told us to
utilise our talents and that’s
what the pupils are all doing
by working for their GCSEs
and everything in between.
When the pupils go on to
other institutions they often
notice the lack of religion
and comment that they miss
the faith element to their
education.
In a celebrity culture, how
hard is it to foster a Catholic
ethos in the school
It’s a challenge to fight
against young people’s materialistic
aspirations such as
the latest Blackberry, ipad
or iphone craze, but generally
I think most of the
pupils still see a value in education.
I find it worrying that they
look up to celebrities like
Joey Essex, but that’s part
of the celebrity culture
today.
Many teenagers lose interest
in religion. How do you
handle this
I think the students reach a
certain age and all of a sudden,
religion isn’t seen to be
cool anymore. Teenagers, by
nature, come to question
everything more.
They suddenly become
more self-centred and ask,
‘What’s in this for me’ It’s a
very natural stage of growing
into adulthood.
As a school, our teachers
allow them to question and
try to help them understand
that questioning is a natural
part of developing in faith.
We’re lucky in St Thomas
More, in the sense that it’s
not uncool to be a boffin, or
religious; it’s okay to be
that type of person. And
students can go to our chaplain
or counsellor and have a
confidential chat.
On a personal level, I
think it’s all about the student’s
exploration of their
relationship with God. I try
not to dictate anything to
them about Catholicism and,
most importantly, I don’t
make them feel guilty. I encourage
them to talk about
their lapse in faith and
subtly try to get them more
involved.
Oh no, it’s Spongebob Squarepants!
Nana Anto-Awuakye begins the
first in a series of articles about
being a working mum.
Do you remember that World in
Action documentary series Seven
Up! which followed a group of
seven-year-olds into adulthood
The premise of the programme
was based on St Francis Xavier
supposedly saying: ”Give me a
child until he is seven and I will
give you the man.”
This documentary came to mind
when I started to think about how
best to plan my son Matthew‘s
seventh birthday party.
Looking at this boisterous, sometimes
very funny little boy, full of
life, I pull him close to me, and
ask him to look into my eyes. He
tries to wriggle free but I hold him
close.
“So young man what you are
going to be like when you are all
grown up”
“I will be myself,” he replied
wisely.
Organising a seventh birthday
party is no easy feat, especially
for me, as I’ve generally thanked
the January snow (which came in
February this year) as my excuse
to avoid big parties for Matthew.
Instead I’ve kept things a family
affair with just his cousins. But
seven needed marking, snow or no
snow, as this is the start of his
journey into an adult world.
Having no previous party experience,
I dashed around looking for
party invites. I got told that my
great selection of green and pink
flowery ones was too girly.
I had to delve into the world of
the party bag, with my son insisting
that they should be filled with
“cool toys” plus balloons.
Of course I needed to have a
birthday cake, which I left to father
and son to purchase, I was
hoping for a nice Victoria Sandwich-type
cake (not too many artificial
colourings), but instead they
proudly produced a fluorescent
yellow Spongebob Squarepants
cake.
And all I could think of was the
party getting out of control with
boys running around super-hyper
on yellow icing, and the grown-up
pleadings as Mrs Health and Safety
to slow down falling on deaf ears.
I reminded Matthew that even
though it is his birthday he still
needed to be kind to everyone and
share his toys. My signal for him
understanding this request was
manic head nodding.
And then he reminded me that I
should be fair when I cut up his
party cake for the party bags, as
everyone needed to have the same
size piece of cake.
Have you tried cutting up fluorescent
Spongebob Squarepants
cake It’s no easy feat; I had to
call in the cavalry, my mum friend
Caz.
No stranger to SpongeBob, she
expertly wielded the knife and
carved it up into perfect little
squares with my beady-eyed son
watching to make sure that no-one
got more or less in their perfect
slice.
Ah! That fairness agenda, not
just the preserve of politicians,
clergy and social commentators,
It’s an all consuming agenda for a
seven year old navigating his adult
world and currently peppers our
everyday life.
“Mummy it’s not fair, why can’t
I have four biscuits”
“Because two is enough” is the
wise mummy response.
“But it would be fair if all the
children in the world got four
biscuits then I could have the
same as them”.
Think of a distraction; don’t
budge on the offer of two biscuits,
and smile to oneself at the wonderful
logic.
This is a bumper year for numbers.
Along with Matthew turning
seven, I also share the number
with him, as this is my seventh
year with Cafod. And both my best
friend and Cafod celebrate their
50th birthday.
It’s not easy judging how life
will turn out. Those first seven
years are just the vital steppingstones.
The founding women of Cafod
understood that calling for a more
justice and equal world, when
they started their fast days.
Yes, we are products of our
genetics and our environments but
I think this perennial Jesuit saying
is a simple reminder that each one
of us every now and again needs
to think back to the wonderment
of being seven.Matthew’s biscuit
question represents the first important
milestone in our lifelong
journey of faith.
Page 8

The Pilgrim March 2012
Features
Let’s talk about sex
In The controversial new film
Shame we see a man drifting from
one empty sexual encounter to another.
He thinks these sexual encounters
will bring him the happiness
and meaning he craves. Instead he
becomes more and more alienated
form the people in his life – and
from himself.
When I was a doorman at nightclubs
in London, I had no shortage
of women who wanted to have sex
with me.
I frequently gave into my lust
and woke up the following morning
in bed with a woman whose name I
could barely
remember.
Like the main character in
Shame, I couldn’t see then that
sleeping around never leads to fulfilment
in a relationship. I didn’t
realise that the more I acted on
We are not alone
in our suffering
There comes a time in life,
when each of us has to embrace
the hard reality of suffering
in whatever form it
comes. It might be illness, broken
relationships, the death of
a loved one, losing our job, or
financial problems.
As Christians, we are challenged
to look beyond suffering,
and to accept it as
our participation in the suffering
of Christ and our daily call
to embrace the cross. “Anyone
who wants to be a follower of
mine must take up his cross
and follow me”.
This truth is the emphasis of
the Lenten season. During the
forty-day period of Lent, we
reflect and meditate on the redemptive
suffering of Christ.
The suffering of Jesus, as we
know, was motivated by His
love for humanity. As he tells
us,
“a man can have no greater
love than to lay down his life
for his friends”.
Jesus truly becomes a model
for Christians in their suffering.
He knew suffering, he
struggled with suffering, he rejected
suffering in the agony in
the garden- “Father let this
cup of suffering pass me by,
but not according to my will
but your will be done”.
We see this same pattern in
the lament Psalms, where the
one who suffers complains to
God bitterly asking for a better
option. Just like Jesus in his
agony, the sufferer hangs on in
hope, and truly trusts in God
until the very end.
For example, in Psalm 102:
3-4, we read:
For my days pass away like
smoke, and my bones burn like
furnace.
My heart is smitten like
grass, and withered; I forget
to eat my bread.
In these verses, the sufferer
cries to Yahweh in desolation.
But underneath his desolation
and complaint is a strong faith
that God can do something
about the situation. Because of
his deep faith, he holds on in
hope to the very end:
This Lenten season, as we
reflect and participate in the
mystery of Christ’s suffering
let us equally accept our own
individual sufferings. Like the
psalmist in the lament psalms,
let us genuinely complain,
question God, lament to God,
and tell Him exactly the way
we feel.
The Serenity Prayer has
helped me a lot in the past to
cope with challenges and situations
beyond my control:
“Lord, grant me the serenity,
to accept the things I cannot
change, courage to change the
things I can, and wisdom to
know the difference”.
I have also drawn strength
from the popular poem
Footprints, which captures the
essence of God’s love for each
one of us
One night a man had a
dream. He dreamed he was
walking along the beach with
the lord.
Across the sky flashed scenes
from his life.
For each scene, he noticed
two sets of footprints in the
sand: one belonging to him,
and the other to the Lord.
When the last scene of his life
flashed before him, he looked
back at the footprints in the
sand.
He noticed that many times
along the path of his life there
was one set of footprints. He
also noticed that it happened
at the very lowest and saddest
times in his life. This really
bothered him and he questions
the Lord about it.
“Lord, you said that once I
decided to follow you, you’d
walk with me all the way. But I
have noticed that during the
most troublesome times in my
life, there is only one set of
footprints, I don’t understand
why when I needed you most
you would leave me”
The Lord replied, “My son,
my precious child, I love you
and I would never leave you.
During your times of trial and
suffering, when you see only
one set of footprints, it was
then that I
carried you”.
Fr Victor Darlington
my sexual desires the more I became
a prisoner.
I can see now that many girls
used sex to get love and many of
the guys used love to get sex. This
only led to hurt, not happiness.
When the fashion industry encourages
women to wear sexually
provocative clothes, it’s saying,
the only way you can be loved and
adored is to wear short skirts or
low cut tops.
We live in a society where lust
and sex are portrayed as the
norm. Sex is often portrayed as
just another recreation, like football
or going to the gym.
In this sort of culture,
teenagers, in particular, can find
themselves under pressure to go
with the flow. I know this from the
young people who talk to me at
retreats.
It was only when I learned to
control my sexual desire and not
act on them that I experienced
true freedom.
And the only way to control our
sexual urges is to pray each day
for grace each day to be pure in
heart, mind, body and soul. This
is how I learned to do it.
Sex is a gift from God, but it’s
meant for marriage. This is because
when we have sex with
someone we give our self – a part
of our soul.
Sex is often described as ‘making
love, but real love goes far
deeper than physical appearance.
Looks are superficial and tell you
nothing about what a person is like
on the inside.
Each of us wants to be loved for
who we are, not how attractive or
sexy we look. Wanting to be loved
is one of our deepest human
needs. We all want to be feel special
and that we matter.
In our relationships, we need to
be honest with ourselves and honest
with God. It’s easy to think
we’re in love when it is just strong
emotions or lust. Because it’s only
when we are truly honest that we
will start to grow spiritually.
But struggles with lust should
never keep us from prayer. No
matter how much we fail, we
should never hate ourselves, like
the character in Shame.
Each one of us is broken and
weak. And God understands this.
As St Paul says in the Bible, ‘For it
is when I am weak that I am
strong.’
John Pridmore
Page 9

Features The Pilgrim March 2012
Bookcase
My Favourite book
Bishop Paul Hendricks
detects a Christian dimension in
J.K.Rowling’s best-selling Harry
Potter series.
Cutting the fabric of her
faith to suit the Stations
I don’t know if I have a single favourite
book, but the Harry Potter series
would certainly be high up on my list.
There is a strong plot line, a range of
well-developed characters, humour —
and some moral and emotional depths,
which come through more strongly as
the series
continues.
Harry is a good person, but he is not
over-idealised. He is by nature a rebel,
not above breaking school rules. He
makes mistakes: for example in the
last book, he has a row with his friend
Ron that he could probably have
avoided, and which causes much pain.
He has a very strong sense of what is
right, and often sacrifices his own selfinterest
because of this, but he still
has to struggle with anger in various
situations.
Drama often arises from the shortcomings
of the adults.
Professor Snape hates Harry, whose father
was his boyhood enemy.
Different aspects of this history
emerge through the series, with Harry
at times forced to reconsider what he
thought he knew about his father. We
only get the full picture at the end,
when Snape himself has been killed.
Then we realise why he behaved as
he did and we’re left with the sadness
of knowing what might have been, if
only things had worked out a little bit
differently.
Though the books do not refer directly
to religion, there is an
intriguing parallel with Christianity in
the final book. Harry can only defeat
evil by allowing himself to be killed by
his enemy.
There is a scene towards the end,
where he faces up to the fact that he
must deliberately walk to his death — a
sort of Gethsemane scene, in fact.
As I read, I knew Harry must come
through somehow, but I admit I
couldn’t see how. With typical skill,
the author did solve the problem – and
in terms which fitted in perfectly with
what had already been revealed earlier
in the story.
This was an ending that, like the series
as a whole, was not only cleverly
done but genuinely moving as well.
Canadian textile artist Anne Kelly tells Greg
Watts how she went about illustrating Steps of
Pain, Steps of Hope; Reflections on the Way of
the Cross by Monsignor Matthew Dicken, vicar
general of Southwark diocese.
“I had collaborated previously with Monsignor
Dicken on the design and production of an embroidered
hanging for Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to London
in 2010,” she says.
“I started the research for the stations by looking
at traditional and modern interpretations. I
looked at Gill’s work in Westminster Cathedral,
but also less well-known examples, such as a Scottish
printmaker called Adrian Wiszniewski.
“I wanted the stations to have a unifying motif
so used the geometric layout reminiscent of
stained glass windows as a background. They were
to be reproduced (all but the cover) in black and
white, so I decided to use shades of white, grey
and black.
“The first station was hard to produce, as it
would set the tone for the images following it.
Once I had started the series, they developed organically
and it was easier to decide on their layout
and format.”
She says that two of the stations particularly
pleased her. ‘The first, as I love the pattern of the
water falling, and the sixth, where Veronica wipes
the face of Jesus. This was chosen as the cover
design and was produced as an embroidered
piece.’
Anne was born in Montreal and trained as a fine
artist and say that because of this much of her
work starts with drawing. “I draw in stitch and
keep sketchbooks, often painting as well. I started
to produce and exhibit multi-layered textiles
based on natural forms in 2004.
“They were very well received and developed
into larger narrative pieces and commissions. I use
a mixture of techniques, including machine and
hand stitching, collage and appliqué. I am currently
co-writing a book on collaborative textiles,
Connected Cloth, due out next year.”
She lives in Tunbridge Wells, where she has a
studio. She teaches art and textiles part-time at a
small independent school near Goudhurst.
“My studio is a repository for all kinds of fabric,
art and textile materials and working there is inspiring
and motivating. I collect old and forgotten
domestic textiles and clothing, which I like to
reuse and incorporate as whole pieces or in sections
of my work.
“I am often given pieces of fabric and whenever
I travel anywhere, whether at home or abroad. I
love collecting fabric and haberdashery.”
www.annekellytextiles.com
Dickens 200th celebration
This year is the 200th anniversary
of the birth of
Charles Dickens and there
are many events in London
and Kent to celebrate the
man who is arguably Britain’s
greatest ever novelist.
Until June 10 The Museum
of London is running an exhibition
entitled Dickens in
London. It includes original
and rarely seen manuscripts
of his most famous novels,
including Bleak House and
David Copperfield.
Excavated items from
Jacob’s Island in Bermondsey,
depicted by Dickens in
Oliver Twist, will also be on
show. The National Portrait
Gallery has a display of
prints, drawings and photographs
of Dickens’ life. It
runs until 22 April.
Author Lucinda Dickens
Hawksley will be giving a
talk called Why Dickens still
matters at 11 am on 7 March
at Gravesend Visitor Centre.
She will examine the man
behind the books, his journalism,
social campaigning
and how he made a difference
to the world in which
he lived and why his ideals
remain relevant today.
Elsewhere, The Brook Theatre
in Chatham will be
showing Adrian Preater’s
adaptation of Great Expectations
at 7.30pm on 17 March.
In May the Cuming Museum
in Walworth Road will stage
an exhibition about the
poverty and social injustice
in Southwark during the time
of Dickens’ childhood.
Artist Maggi Hambling has
been commissioned to design
a sculpture to illustrate
Dickens’ relationship with
the Borough area. It will be
erected in the Tabard Street
piazza between St George
the Martyr, which featured in
Little Dorrit, and the site of
the Marshalsea Prison.
Movie tells
story of Opus
Dei founder
There Be Dragons, a movie portraying the
life of Opus Dei founder Josemaria Escriva,
is now available on DVD.
The film tells the story of two childhood
friends, Josemaría and a fictional character
Manolo and how their lives take very
different paths in the midst of the Spanish
Civil War
It was directed by Roland Joffe, whose
credits include The Mission and The Killing
Fields, and shot in Spain and Argentina
A release date for cinemas in the UK has
yet to be set.
Page 10

The Pilgrim March 2012
Feature
School days: Hannah Vaughan-Spruce
Name Hannah Vaughan-Spruce.
Home Balham.
Job Coordinator of Catechesis at Holy
Ghost Parish, Balham.
School Pate’s Grammar School,
Cheltenham.
Favourite subject English Literature.
Worst subject Science and Maths.
Favourite teacher Mr Beal, my A Level
English Literature teacher. He was a
wonderfully inspiring and really pushed
us to think, write and discuss critically.
This class above any other helped
me develop academic skills.
Favourite school dinner The hot food
wasn’t so popular, but we had an excellent
salad bar. I guess I was like a lot of
teenage girls and never had more than a
salad for lunch.
Guilty secret Oh dear...too many...and
nothing I want to reveal here!
What lessons about life did you learn I
really learnt courage to turn my ideas
into reality. We had a lot of freedom at
school to start our own projects, raise
money for charities, and take part in expeditions.
This gave me the courage to
take the initiative and make things
happen.
What do you wish you had been told I
wish I’d had more confidence to know
my identity as a Catholic and defend it
to others, which was difficult in a secular
school.
What did you do immediately after
school I went on to study theology at
the University of Cambridge.
These were probably the best three
years of my life.
If you could study any subject, what
would it be History. A friend of mine
taught Elizabethan England to sixthformers.
It is a fascinating period of history,
especially for Catholics. I would love to
study it in depth.
Bethlehem –
behind the wall
So what’s blogging
all about
Paul Farmer of Tolworth
describes his experience in
Bethlehem as a volunteer with
the Ecumenical Accompaniment
Programme in Palestine
and Israel
From June to September last
year, I lived in Bethlehem as a
human rights observer for
EAPPI. I had some wonderful
encounters during this time,
but, with its refugee camps,
Bethlehem is a painful place to
live.
The bus from Jerusalem to
Bethlehem stops at the foreboding
Gilo military checkpoint.
As part of the Israeli
Government’s imposed military
occupation, Bethlehem is surrounded
by Israeli settlements
and a separation barrier, which
in places is a nine metres high
wall.
When I spoke to people,
many told me that living in
Bethlehem is like living in an
open prison. People need special
permits to travel to
Jerusalem (a five mile journey)
and on work days they often
queue at the checkpoint from
as early as 2 am to get to
Jerusalem and beyond.
As EAPPI volunteers, we
were present at the checkpoint
most mornings to provide a
presence to encourage fair
treatment of the Palestinians
passing through.
The Christian population of
9,000 or so, about half of
whom are Catholic, is dwindling
in the area. This is in part
because the future is bleak in
terms of work opportunities
and quality of life. Trying to
bring up a family is very difficult,
which forces many to
leave and emigrate.
As EAPPI volunteers, we
sought to accompany Palestinians
in peaceful protest against
land expropriation and house
demolitions.
A Palestinian Christian family
I met who owned a hilltop farm
Paul and EAPPI
colleague Sharon
known as the Tent of Nations
close to Bethlehem inspired
me. At the entrance to the
farm there is a stone with the
inscription “We refuse to be
Enemies”.
This commitment to peace is
particularly remarkable since,
despite owning the land from
the early 1900’s, the farm’s
electricity and water supply
has been cut off by the authorities.
The family is not allowed
to build on the land, and even
some of the animal shelters
have military demolition orders
pending.
I would often sit in the
shadow of Bethlehem’s wall
and reflect on Donald Nichols
statement, in his book The
Testing of Hearts, that, “The
attraction of goodness is the
only way to draw others out
of the world of injustice,
violence, conflict and
unhappiness”.
You can find out more about
the work of EAPPI, including
how to volunteer, at
www.eappi.org
Fr Tim Finigan, parish priest of Our
Lady of the Rosary, Blackfen, has
established himself as a leading
Catholic blogger. He says that blogging
is really just another way to
communicate faith – but watch out
for the trolls.
Catholic bloggers don’t have a good
reputation outside the blogosphere
itself. One wag recently referred to
us as the Pyjamahadeen. Typically,
the response was inventive. “The
Bones You Have Crushed May Thrill”
blogger composed a jaunty song
about the “lean, mean pyjamahadeen”
and posted it on YouTube.
Some might cite this kind of frivolity
as a reason for staying away from
blogs.
Yet the octogenarian Holy Father
has several times commended the use
of social networking on the internet
and urged young people, and priests
to use this means of communication
in the service of the Gospel.
Fr Robert Barron, whose Catholicism
DVD is being used by the Centre
for Catholic Formation in Tooting
Bec, shows what can be done. He
regularly posts short talks on YouTube
that have been a way for people to
hear good Catholic input in a new
way.
It is easy to set up a blog, and most
new bloggers are stunned that people
quickly pick up on them, read their
posts, comment and then link to
them.
Links are gold dust to the blogger;
if a high traffic blog posts a link to
your blog, you get a “hit spike” and
see that suddenly hundreds or even
thousands of people come over to see
what you are saying.
Incidentally, bloggers do tend to
watch their “stats” closely – ask a
blogger how many visitors they get
and they will say something like “Oh,
I don’t know really ... it’s about 529
a day.”
One important concern, indeed one
expressed by the Holy Father himself,
is that we must not become lost in an
online world where we replace real
human contact with virtual friends
and readers.
I have found that provided you do
not become too obsessed with the
online world, virtual social networking
leads to real, face-to-face interaction.
I have made many new real
friends from around the world thanks
to contact over the internet.
At most Catholic gatherings, someone
will come up to me and say, “I
read your blog.” I will always thank
them for taking the trouble to do so.
Catholic bloggers cover a vast spectrum
of interests. As well as reading
what priests (and a few bishops) have
to say, you can look in on doctors;
lawyers; politicians; journalists;
mums and dads of large families; prolife
campaigners; charity workers;
the young; the middle-aged; the elderly;
the angry; the peaceful; and the
fearsomely learned.
You can read news from the Church
around the world, incisive commentary
on every aspect of the Church’s
life, see photographs from Rome, Los
Angeles, and Singapore, and hear of
delightful homely stories which some
humble and faithful Catholic has chosen
to share.
The downside is that with instant
communication and the choice of
anonymity, rational debate can sometimes
descend to insults, and righteous
indignation can morph into
hatred and bile.
Many bloggers know the stomachchurning
experience of being targeted
by a “troll” who pours out
venom in a shockingly hurtful attack.
My advice is always to delete the
comment, try to forget it, and not to
write about it. We sometimes need to
be thick-skinned, pray for our enemies
and just get on with life.
Google’s introduction to “Blogger”
includes the advice “Whatever you
have to say, Blogger can help you say
it.” For many of us, what we want to
communicate is the love of God and
the truth of the Catholic faith.
When moveable type was invented,
the Church used it in the service of
the Gospel. It is not surprising that
the Church is now using new forms of
communication to bring that Gospel
to the ends of the earth.
the-hermeneuticofcontinuity.blogspot.com
Page 11

The Pilgrim March 2012
Focus on faith
Pray-as-you-go: Worshipping online
A prayerful commute: The initiative is designed to work on MP3 players
To advertise in this newspaper contact
Chris Morley on 0161 214 1733
email: chris.morley@thecatholicuniverse.net
Since Pray-as-you-go was
launched by Jesuit Media Initiatives
in 2006 more than 5.5 million
prayer sessions have been
downloaded. Producer Ruth Morris,
a member of Corpus Christi
parish, Brixton, explains the secret
of its phenomenal success.
A Jesuit priest called Peter
Scally conceived the idea of Prayas-you-go
in 2005. Many people
were getting fast broadband connections,
and MP3 players like the
iPod were becoming popular. This
meant it was suddenly possible to
give away sound at practically
zero cost, and for people to carry
this sound around with them.
Previously, if you wanted to
get any kind of recordings into the
hands of your listeners, you had to
make tapes, or, later, CDs – with
all the cost that involved – and
also find some way of distributing
these things around the country.
Now it was suddenly possible to
give it away free over the internet.
It was a huge apostolic opportunity
that had to be grasped.
Pray-as-you-go was launched on
a trial basis at the beginning of
Lent in 2006. By Easter 170,000
sessions had been downloaded, so
we decided to just keep going.
We eventually decided on a
format of introductory music, a
scripture reading, questions for
reflection, silence, a repeat of the
reading, and a final summing-up
reflection, closing with a Glory Be.
Pray-as-you-go is produced at
the Jesuit provincial offices in
Mount Street in the West End. The
process begins with choosing the
readings, one week at a time,
from the Lectionary, and sending
them by email to one of a team of
volunteer writers.
We have over 20 of these experienced
spiritual directors, both Jesuit
and lay, who take turns to
write the ‘reflection points’, the
two or three questions that are
posed to help listeners reflect on
the scripture passage of the day.
We have a set of guidelines,
which we give the writers. One of
the most important rules is not to
say too much, not to try and tell
the listener too much, but, as far
as possible, to prompt the listener
to discover their own answers with
the Lord in prayer.
We deliberately try to include as
many of the variety of regional accents
found in Britain. This rich
variety is something I take particular
delight in, and I find myself
now noticing the quality of people’s
voices everywhere I go, and
frequently approaching people
after meetings and asking them to
record for us.
The music helps enormously to
make prayer something to enjoy
and to look forward to, instead of
seeming like a chore or a dutiful
exercise.
It also helps the user to become
aware of the presence of God, to
notice how he or she is feeling and
to dispose the soul to listen to
God’s word in a spirit of openness.
We have over 200 tracks which
we have managed to get permission
to use. These include plain
chant; Bach; Taizé chants; South
African group Ladysmith Black
Mambazo; and contemporary liturgical
composers like Margaret
Rizza and Keith Duke.
We try to find music which
harmonises, as it were, with the
day’s reading and the theme that
the writer has drawn out from it.
Then we have to record all of
this.
This is also done one week at a
time, using one voice for the
scripture reading and a different
voice for everything else – always
one woman and one man.
During Easter 2010 we added an
extra prayer session for the weekend.
We often would get messages
from our users asking why
we didn’t provide any material
for the weekends, and thought it
was perhaps a good time to look
at addressing this.
We didn’t want to replace the
need to attend Mass on a Sunday,
which is why we decided to go for
one session instead of two. This
trial proved to be very popular so
we now have six files a week i
instead of five.
Currently, approximately
180,000 prayer sessions are downloaded
every week. That means
about 30,000 people listen to
each day's prayer.
As our audience has grown, we
have been approached by Jesuits
in other countries to either translate
or do something similar in
their own languages. The first
were the Portuguese, and since
then Pray-as-you-go has been
launched in Polish, Spanish,
Hungarian and Vietnamese.
In 2010 we conducted a survey
and the results suggested that,
rather than appealing mainly to
the young, with their iPods,
mobile phones and laptops, Prayas-you-go’s
users were aged from
16 to 80.
We get some sense of who all
these people are from the feedback
messages that arrive from
all over the world. One man in
the USA told us: “I was surprised.
My bus was turned into a cathedral
of prayer and meditation.
I can no longer imagine a commute
without it.”
www.pray-as-you-go.org
Producer Ruth Morris
Page 12