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Lives poured out

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Each morning when I opened the shutters in my seminary room in Rome, I could look across the road to where generations have told us the great St Paul is buried. According to Church tradition, both St Peter and St Paul met their deaths in Rome, after spending some time there teaching together. Neither of these events is described in the Bible, though that of Peter was foretold by Jesus himself.

Very early records tell us that Peter was crucified upside down. Modern archaeology places this in a Roman stadium next to a road leading west out of Rome. Excavations in 1950 and the following years revealed bones of a man aged about 61 from the first century. Pope Paul VI declared that they would most likely be those of St Peter, and Pope Francis placed the casket containing these nine fragments on display for the first time during a Mass in St Peter’s Square.

Neither the Bible nor other sources say how or when Paul died, but St Ignatius of Antioch, probably around 110, writes that Paul was martyred too. Tradition holds that as a Roman citizen, he was beheaded in Rome during the reign of Nero around the mid-60s AD at the place known as Tre Fontane (Three Springs), a few miles outside the centre of Rome on the way out to the sea. A Cistercian Abbey, a beautiful spot to find peace in Rome, now occupies the area.

Equally ancient tradition talks of St Paul’s burial on the Via Ostiense, on the way back into the city, a spot now marked by the enormous Basilica of St Paul’s Outside the Walls. In June 2009, Pope Benedict announced excavation results concerning the tomb of Paul there. I used to notice this marble slab, just visible under the altar and inscribed in Latin “Paul apostle martyr”. This has now been found to be one part of a sarcophagus, which was not opened, but was examined by means of a probe. This revealed pieces of incense, purple and blue linen, and small bone fragments, which were radiocarbon dated to the 1st or 2nd century. According to the Vatican, these findings are consistent with the tradition that the tomb is Paul’s.

In the Mass today we hear of Peter’s great profession of faith and his escape from prison, and listen to Paul’s moving look back over his life. They are our two “Apostles and Martyrs” who ran the race – to the end.

Fr Matthew

Governing our Catholic schools

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Attending two important meetings of Christ the King School Governors this week, I was reminded of the dedication of those who volunteer for this service to our schools and the Church. Both Christ the King and Corpus Christi schools have made and are making vital decisions about their future at present, and will continue to do so, as they both hope to set out to seek new head teachers in September. Simply put, the Governors are responsible for deciding who is admitted to the school, who teaches them, making sure they are taught in the best way possible, and sharing out the cash to do it all. Pretty important stuff!

It’s a long time since being a Governor (or Manager in the old days) was a sort of reward for being a good parishioner. The responsibilities are tremendous, and so we should all be very grateful to those who volunteer to be appointed by the diocese. One of the healthiest signs in our 3 Churches that I have seen in recent time was the very good response I received when I invited people to put themselves forward to be a Foundation Governor of Christ the King. The Archbishop’s education office was amazed when I told them how many had stepped up…

In Church schools the majority of the Governing body represent the Church and are called the Foundation Governors. They are appointed by the Trustees of the diocese, and will outnumber the other governors (head, elected staff, elected parent(s), local authority rep etc), thereby protecting the Catholic nature of the school.

For me it’s an inspiration and pleasure to work alongside our dedicated school governors, and someone said to me recently that they get the least recognition for such great responsibility.

So – consider yourselves well and truly recognised and thanked, fellow Governors both past and present!

Fr Matthew

Pentecost

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Today we celebrate the great feast of Pentecost. After the Ascension, the disciples and Mary did as Jesus had told them – they stayed together in Jerusalem. On this day the Holy Spirit was poured out upon them, and the Church was born! The crowd could hear the apostles in their own languages and Peter went out and preached so powerfully that thousands were touched and converted. And so the journey of the People of God, the Church, began. We, of course, are writing the latest instalment of that history with our lives and words.

While the earliest stages of the Church had no need for special buildings, and was persecuted much of the time, soon greater acceptance and stability came. Numbers grew, requiring buildings to house them and especially the worshipping Church. So a tradition of church buildings began, from mighty cathedrals to simple parish churches.

Care for our 3 Churches buildings and contents is an ongoing responsibility for us all. The project to put a new roof on Christ the King Church was recently completed on schedule. We should be dry and secure for a good period now! We thank new chair of Christ the King Parish Council Chris Stevens for handling most of the responsibility for this project.

Meanwhile, St Brigid’s is gearing up to celebrate 50 years of the church building. We have four aspects to the celebration of this event. On Sunday September 21st, anniversary of the first Mass in 1964, there will be a Jubilee Lunch at the New House Hotel. Tickets for this event will be on sale from next Sunday, at £20 adults £10 children. There will be a choice of two starters, mains and desserts plus vegetarian option on the day. On Monday evening 1st December Archbishop Stack will celebrate a Thanksgiving Mass on the anniversary of the Blessing of the Church by Archbishop Murphy. Between September and November there will be competitions for the children and young people of the churches.

Lastly, new sanctuary furniture has been bought to mark the occasion. Specially commissioned for St Brigid’s, all the pieces have a St Brigid’s Cross carved into them. It will take a little while to find the best arrangement for the furniture, and the lectern will be fitted with a radio microphone, but I’m sure the environment for our worship of almighty God will be enhanced by a “matching set” to mark 50 very special years.

Fr Matthew