All posts by 3 churches

If all the good things in the world…

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St David Lewis was born in Abergavenny in 1616, the youngest of nine children of a Protestant father and Catholic mother. At 16, while visiting Paris, he converted to Catholicism, and went on to study in Rome, where in 1642 he was ordained priest. Three years later, he joined the Jesuits.

He was arrested on 17 November 1678, at St Michael’s Church, Llantarnam, and condemned at Monmouth in March 1679 on a charge of high treason – for having become a Catholic priest and then remaining in England, celebrating Catholic Masses. Like St John Kemble and other martyrs, he was then sent to London to be examined by Titus Oates (the originator of the so-called Popish Plot). In Newgate Prison he pleaded not guilty to the charge of being an accessory to the plot, and Oates and his fellow informers were unable to prove anything against him, but five or six witnesses claimed they had seen him say Mass and perform other priestly duties. For this Lewis was found guilty and sentenced to death. Lewis said in his dying speech, “discover the plot I could not, as I knew of none; and conform I would not, for it was against my conscience”.

He was brought back to Usk and hanged on 27 August 1679, and then posthumously disembowelled. It was a tribute to the great esteem in which he was held that the crowd, who were mainly Protestants, insisted that he be allowed to hang until he was dead, and that he receive a proper burial. The Sheriff too refused to attend the execution, which he had postponed for as long as he could.

After the Titus Oates affair, the remaining Welsh-speaking Catholic clergy were all either executed or exiled. David Lewis was canonized by Pope Paul VI in 1970 as one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales. In November 2007, a plaque was erected on the spot where Lewis was arrested near Llantarnam Abbey.

From his last words: “My religion is Roman Catholic; in it I have lived above these forty years; in it now I die, and so fixedly die, that if all the good things in the world were offered to me to renounce it, all should not remove me one hair’s breadth from the Roman Catholic faith. A Roman Catholic I am; a Roman Catholic priest I am; a Roman Catholic priest of that order known as the Society of Jesus, I am.”

Fr Matthew

Pope Francis prepares for the Synod

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The Synod that takes place in the autumn will be an important event. Here is the English summary of the teaching that Pope Francis gave at his weekly audience in Rome this Wednesday.

Dear Brothers and Sisters: We return now to our catechesis on the family, by reflecting on the situation of our brothers and sisters who have divorced and entered a second union. Though their unions are contrary to the Sacrament of marriage, the Church, as a Mother, seeks the good and salvation of all her children.

As these situations especially affect children, we are aware of a greater urgency to foster a true welcome for these families in our communities. For how can we encourage these parents to raise their children in the Christian life, to give them an example of Christian faith, if we keep them at arm’s length? I am especially grateful to the many pastors, guided by my Predecessors, who have worked diligently to let these families know they are still a part of the Church. There is no easy solution for these situations, but we can and must always encourage these families to participate in the Church’s life, through prayer, listening to the Word of God, the Christian education of their children, and service to the poor.

As the Good Shepherd gives his life for the sheep, so the Church as a Mother gives her life for all her children, by being always the “house of the Father, with doors wide open”. May everyone, especially Christian families, imitate the Good Shepherd, who knows all his sheep and excludes no one from his infinite love.

Fr Matthew

Summer Holy-Days

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If you look up the word “holiday” in a certain online source-of-all-knowledge you will find this: “The intention of a holiday was typically to allow individuals to tend to religious duties associated with important dates on the calendar.” Yes, the idea of a holiday has its origin in religion, as we can see from its two halves holi- and –day.

So as we get into the traditional summer holiday part of the year, we could pause a moment to remind ourselves that there is a spiritual dimension to the concept. I suppose we could connect the idea of an annual rest to that of a weekly one – a kind of yearly Sabbath – and that, of course is based on the Book of Genesis telling us that even God took a break after the mighty and somewhat exhausting task of creating everything.

Through most of history, the only type of holidays the average working person got was precisely religious ones. The idea of state, or Bank, holidays is a lot later. In some countries the link between state and church holidays is still much stronger than here in Britain where the Whitsun holiday got disconnected from Whitsun or Pentecost. We still have Christmas and Good Friday, though – at the moment…

So make sure this summer that you try to get some rest for your soul as well as your body. Don’t fill up your time with busy-ness. If possible, make sure you have time for just being as well as doing. Visit somewhere quiet and inspiring, maybe an old church or ruined abbey – we have plenty around.

Find a nice view or a quiet corner… give time for your soul to breath. Enjoy the summer – and may your holidays truly be holy-days!

Fr Matthew