OremusMarch 2016 | Edition Number 212 | FREE

Westminster Cathedral Magazine

Can the human heart refrainFrom partaking in her pain,In that Mother’s pain untold?Bruised, derided, cursed, defiled,She beheld her tender Child,All with bloody scourges rent.

OremusCathedral Clergy House42 Francis StreetLondon SW1P 1QW

T 020 7798 9055F 020 7798 9090E oremus42@gmail.comW www.westminstercathedral.org.uk(Office opening: Mon-Weds 9.00am-5.00pm)

Oremus, the magazine of WestminsterCathedral, reflects the life of the Cathedral andthe lives of those who make it a place of faith incentral London. If you think that you would liketo contribute an article or an item of news,please contact one of the editorial team.

PatronThe Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster

ChairmanCanon Christopher Tuckwell

EditorDylan Parry

OOrreemmuuss Team

Tony Banks – DistributionZoe Goodway – MarketingSimon Marriott – IT & AdministrationManel Silva – SubscriptionsTim Ruocco – Sub-Editor/Writer

Cathedral HistorianPatrick Rogers

Design and Art DirectionJulian Game

Additional ProofreadingBerenice Roetheli, Charlotte McNerlin

Registered Charity Number 233699ISSN 1366-7203

Opinions expressed by contributors do notnecessarily represent the views of the Editor orthe Oremus Team. Neither are they the officialviews of Westminster Cathedral. The Editorreserves the right to edit all contributions.Publication of advertisements does not implyany form of recommendation or endorsement.Unless otherwise stated, photographs arepublished under a creative commons or similarlicence. Every effort is made to credit allimages. No part of this publication may bereproduced without permission.

Inside Oremus

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Printed by Splash Printing Ltd 020 8906 4847

Cathedral Life: Past & Present

Cathedral History: The Russian in the Crypt by Patrick Rogers 16 & 17

Monthly Album: Ash Wednesday; Mass for Religious; Fr Alexander Master; St Yves;Russian Ambassador; and more... 18 & 19

Cathedral History: A Photographic Record Palm Sunday – 1955 29

Features

London’s Stations of the Cross Exhibitionby Dr Aaron Rosen 4 & 5

The Last Supper Revisitedby Philip Bayliss Brown 6 & 7

Becket Pilgrimage to the Cathedralby HE Péter Szabadhegy 9

A Retreat for Bereaved Parents and Siblingsby Anthony McMahon 10

Welcoming Our New Bishops 11

Silence and Music: Holy Weekby Peter Stevens 12 & 13

Ingrediente Domino by Martin Baker 13

Oremus at Twenty: Two Former Editors by Natasha Stanic 14 & 15

Shakespeare: This Quintessence of Dustby Sharon Jennings 20 & 21

Falling in Love with Infinityby Mgr Vladimir Felzmann 22

Visiting Choirs: The Vaughan Scholaby Hannah Staff and Scott Price 27

Thirty Pieces of Silverby Colin Mawby 30 & 31

Fatima’s Message for Todayby Fr Gerard O’Brien 34

The Companions of Oremusby Zoe Goodway 35

Regulars

From the Chairman 4

Crossword 21

Poetry Corner & DVD Review 23

The Friends of Westminster Cathedral 24

Comment: Henri de Lubac, SJ 25

School: Holy Week and Easter 26

Film Review: Risen 28

Diary and Registers 32 & 33

Cover: The Cathedral’s Fourth Stationof the Cross (Detail) © Westminster Cathedral

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OremusMarch 2016

I am writing these few words on what must have been thecoldest day of the year. Brilliant sunshine but bitterly cold,and yet we are surrounded by daffodils, snowdrops and othersigns of spring. London has hardly experienced a winter thisyear so we cannot grumble, especially when we remember allthose who have been flooded out of their homes or who havehad to endure the effects of the various storms that havecome their way.

By the time this is being read we shall be half way throughLent, looking eagerly towards Easter. How faithful have webeen to our Lenten disciplines of prayer, fasting andalmsgiving? In my experience, by mid-Lent these have wornrather thin and we are grateful for Laetare Sunday and its giftof refreshment before settling down to the second stage.

I am hoping to have a short break in Walsingham soon andplan to use that as a time of prayer and reflection, as well asspending some time with Mgr Augustine Hoey who will wantto know all about the goings-on at the Cathedral.

This issue of Oremus tells us something of the many thingsthat are happening here over the next few weeks and months.It also announces the creation of The Companions of Oremus

– set up to help fund this importantCathedral publication. Since it becamefree, Oremus has seen a substantialincrease in readership, but the costs ofproduction remain relatively high. Ifyou are interested in becoming aCompanion, especially in this themagazine’s 20th year, I encourage youto read the article on page 35.

News of Fr Alexander’s appointmentas Private Secretary to the Cardinal hasbeen received with much pleasure and as a very proper moveafter his years of devoted service here as Sub-Administratorand Precentor, but his going will leave a big space to fill, and Ican only use this opportunity to thank him most sincerely forall that he has achieved during his time with us, and to praythat the right person will be found to take on his mantle.

May the Lord bless you in your Lenten pilgrimage and mayyou walk on steadily towards the light of the Resurrection.

priest, and religion was unsurprisingly a frequent topic atthe dinner table. In fact, even our shaggy Newfoundland gotdrafted into dinner debates. I, of course, insisted Ramseywas a Jew like me and would be celebrating Passover with alittle matzoh crumbled into his dog food. Carolyn had thestrong suspicion Ramsey (named after Archbishop MichaelRamsey) was actually a Christian. Out of this joking, we gotto discussing the opportunities and problems that Lent, andespecially Holy Week – dreaded by Jews for centuries as aperiod of anti-Semitic attacks – represented for interfaithdialogue. To me, with Barnett Newman rattling around inmy brain, the Stations seemed to offer an ideal opportunityto visualise and stimulate discussion.

Inspired by the layout of the original Stations inJerusalem – which I have visited several times – I settled onthe idea of placing 14 stations around London. The ideaimmediately clicked with associations of London as a newJerusalem. Medieval Londoners created Temple church, forinstance, in memory of the church of the Holy Sepulchre, inwhich Jesus was buried, literally mapping the Holy Land onto English soil. And much later, the poet William Blakefamously hoped to see ‘Jerusalem builded here.’

All of these ideas – a stations trail, London as newJerusalem, and the importance of inter-faith dialogue – hadjust started percolating when I received a serendipitousletter from the artist Terry Duffy. Terry shared with me anexciting project he already had underway, in which he wastouring his towering painting, Victim, no resurrection?(1981) around the world. It was exciting to hear about thedifferent reactions the work had received in places rangingfrom Cape Town to Dresden, and how the imagery of theCrucifixion had served as a successful tool for focusingdiscussions about social justice in the communities whichexhibited the work. As the refugee crisis deepened andspread from the Middle East to Europe, Terry and I began tosee the potential to use art as a way to contribute todiscussions about what it means to experience the shatteringtrauma of displacement.

It was clear that Terry and I had shared interests and thattogether we could draw on our areas of expertise to conjurea compelling exhibition. Of course, none of this would havecome together without fantastic artists who shared thiscreative drive. I was immediately encouraged by speaking toMichael Takeo Magruder and G Roland Biermann. In theirown way, each made it clear that the Stations representedan almost inexhaustible trove of inspiration for the rightgroup of contemporary artists, and in the ensuing monthswe approached many others. Amazingly, everyone weapproached said yes.

As we had discussions with artists, we also beganinvestigating sites. This was much more complicated,presenting a puzzle that was at times a fun adventure and atothers downright exhausting. The problem was how to makea trail through London that was entirely within walkingdistance, followed a logical and compelling route, andtouched important works and sites coinciding with thecorrect station. We began to draw up a list of possible sitesthat once numbered in the dozens, and started to try outeach one, often by pacing around London.

The more sites we examined the more we realised howimportant it was not just to incorporate new works of art

From the Chairman

responding to the Stations, but to find ways of activatingnew meanings in existing works, including the Stations inWestminster Cathedral. To tell the Stations of the Cross as aLondon story did not just involve placing that story on to thecity’s landscape, but finding ways in which that story wasalready being told in existing locations. We began to catchglimpses of the suffering Christ all around London – frompaintings in the National Gallery to church altarpieces andpublic statues. We felt our job was to connect these imageswith works by the artists we were meeting.

One of my great hopes for this exhibition is that visitorsexperience the same sense of delightful discovery that I hadlooking for the perfect place to situate each of the stations.London is a wonderfully illogical place, with far more nooksand crannies than most modern capitals. It has not beenshaped by the domineering presence of a BaronHaussmann, for instance, who ploughed out grand avenuesacross the face of nineteenth century Paris. London is a cityperfectly suited to eccentric wanderings, and I hope thisexhibition proves a new way to discover and experienceLondon. But above all, this exhibition wagers on the factthat those who dwell in and visit this city are not justseeking aesthetic diversion from works of art, they want artthat speaks to them of matters of ultimate significance. Theywant art which provokes their passions. And what could bea more fitting subject than the Passion itself?

Dr Aaron Rosen is the Lecturer in Sacred Traditions and theArts at King’s College London. He is the author of Art andReligion in the 21st Century (Thames & Hudson, 2015), oneof the best books of the year by The Times. The Cathedral’sFourth Station will form a major part of the exhibition untilEaster. More information here:www.coexisthouse.org.uk/stations2016.html

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Jerusalem Builded HereStations of the Cross for the Twenty-First CenturyThe Cathedral’s Fourth Station of the Cross (Jesus Meets His Mother) by Eric Gill is currently part of a London-wideart exhibition entitled Stations of the Cross. This exhibition also features works of art from other locations in thecapital, including the National Gallery, the Wallace Collection, the church of Notre Dame de France and St Paul’sCathedral. In this article, one of the exhibition’s co-curators explains the vision behind the project.

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Stations of the Cross

From the Chairman

Canon Christopher Tuckwell

The Stations of the Cross have been prayed by Christiansfor centuries and represent one of the most traditionalforms of religious art. And yet, the Stations have alsoexerted a tremendous pull on the imaginations of modernand contemporary artists. Westminster Cathedral possessesa strikingly austere series of relief sculptures of the Stationsproduced by Eric Gill between 1914-18, one of his earliestmasterpieces. Between 1947-51, Henri Matisse created hisown Stations for the chapel of the Rosary in Vence, France,producing a deceptively simple series, which reads like aschematic storyboard. Perhaps the greatest series ofmodern Stations belongs to Barnett Newman, a Jewishartist. For Newman, the Stations (1958-1966) were not somuch a narrative series as variations on a single moment:Jesus’ despairing cry from the cross, ‘My God, my God,why have you forsaken me?’ (Matthew 27:46).

As an art historian and a theologian, the Stations havealways intrigued me. But over Lent last year, those academicinterests started to take on a more personal significance. Mywife, Dr Carolyn Rosen, now an ordinand in Cambridge,was then in the discernment process to become an Anglican

Dr Aaron Rosen

Michael Takeo Magruder’s Lamentation for the Forsaken

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Last SupperArt

The Weight of BloodA modern painting of the Last Supper

AdvertisementIn February 2013, during a visit to Florence, I visited thechurch of San Michele a San Salvi and by chance wanderedinto the medieval refectory to be confronted by a LastSupper painting (Cenacolo) by Andrea del Sarto. It was anencounter that changed my life. I was transfixed – thecomposition, postures, faces, tone and colours weremesmerising. I had never before had such a strong reactionto the presence of an image and spent hours looking andabsorbing its wonder.

The encounter prompted me to consider the event of thesupper at which Christ had gathered together 12 of his mosttrusted friends, for a Passover meal. I started to speculate if Ieven had 12 trusted friends, and what a rare event it wouldbe (if ever) to assemble them for a meal. I acknowledged thedifficulty of arranging such a complex composition andunderstood why historical artists created so few Last Supperpaintings in a lifetime. I was fired up by the challenge butwondered if I was arrogant in even thinking I could attemptsuch a painting and nervous as to whether I could pull it off.However, the seed of the idea had germinated and I wascompelled to create my own Last Supper.

I contemplated my life and the men who had impactedupon it – some had already died. This urged me to initiatethe project as soon as possible. I recollected different phasesof my growing up from infancy, through school and in myprofessional and social life as I grew older, and 12influential friends emerged. These were distributed acrosstime and geography but united in the friendship that theyshared with me.

I contacted friends from the UK, Italy and the USA. InOctober 2013, I invited them to commit to growing a beard,

to attend photoshoots, individual sittings for portraits and an‘unveiling supper’. Fortunately, I received enthusiasticresponses from all and the project was initiated.

The Last Supper is a classical subject and as a multi-figured narrative painting was considered the premier genreof painting usually attempted only by artists at the pinnacleof their skills. Thus there are many truly spectacularinterpretations representing most of the great artistsincluding Duccio, de Champaigne, Titian, Spencer and Dali.Many contemporary depictions are based on da Vinci’sversion using its composition and substituting the characterswith celebrities, for example Morrison and Teare’s (2011)Actors’ Last Supper in the National Portrait Gallery, London.

The Last Supper subject is probably the only genre ofpainting in Western art that is specifically about malefriendship and belonging to a fraternity (other collectivefigure paintings depict association through politics, work orthe military). The theme highlights the strength of friendshipby juxtaposing its destruction by a betrayer; and mostinterpretations explicitly identify Judas by his position to theright hand side of Jesus, or by depicting the purse of silverpieces, devil association or even by explicit naming. Iwanted to avoid this predictability. Firstly, I wanted to avoidcasting any friend in the role of Judas; and, secondly, I wasparticularly intrigued to capture the moment when the act ofbetrayal was announced, but the perpetrator unknown. Thisinstance offers the opportunity for the viewer to beprompted to consider the position of both the victim(s) andthe villain – the anger of betrayed friendship and thehollowness of personal gain turning into tormented guilt, theweight of responsibility of the act leading to death, theweight of blood.

In order to capture this feeling I planned for eachdisciple to stare at another in an attempt to visuallyinterrogate whether the man in his gaze was the betrayer. Ialso arranged for two figures to look out of the picturetowards the viewer to examine the notion as to whether‘every man has his price’ and attempt to question theaudience if they might betray for personal gain?

The friends were invited for a half-day photoshoot and Irequested the participants wear period costume in order toget them out of their comfort zone and to focus onaccessing the emotion of betrayal of friendship. I usedantique props of the age, including a Roman oil vessel, oillamp, water cup and coins to further endorse the tableaux.The choice of food arranged on the table was informed byresearch into what would have been eaten during thatseason for the meal and included traditional unleavenedbread, dates and figs. The time of day was set when the lastrays of sun lit the scene before the swift darkening to night,heralded by the single lamp on the table.

A line and tone cartoon was developed over three monthsusing the photographs and personal studies. When satisfiedwith it I produced an abozzo (tonal painted sketch) on canvas(2 x 1.4 metres). The painting was then developed using alimited palette of: cremnitz white, ivory black, raw umber,burnt umber, burnt sienna, terre verde, yellow ochre, cadmiumyellow, Indian red, English red, vermilion and ultramarineblue. With so many figures, considerable effort was invested ingetting the tonal relationships correct between individuals asPhilip Bayliss Brown

well as within each model. The next step involved gettinglikenesses of each subject with reference to both the photo-shoot and the individual studies. The final stage of the paintinginvolved further harmonising the tone and colour balance andlastly adding highlights.

The painting took one year to complete; this wascelebrated at a supper in the same location as the photoshoot.Following the showing of a short film (available atwww.alastsupper.com), the painting was unveiled. Acommemorative meal using Roden’s (1999) Jewish recipescompleted the event, at which an archival print (limitededition of 13) of the painting was presented to each friend.

The evening was a fitting culmination of the project,eloquently articulated by feedback from one of the friends: ‘Asa participant in the process, the way the great unveilingpanned out got me thinking that the real power of the paintingwas in the emotions (spelled out in the film) of the wholeexperience rather than just in the finished work itself.’

When I had completed the painting I revisited del Sarto’smasterpiece and only at this time discovered it had taken himfive years to paint. Perhaps if I had known this initially I wouldhave not embarked upon the project. But now the painting iscompleted, unveiled and hung I look back at the exercise asone of my most unique and invigorating experiences.

The painting described in the above article was exhibited inthe Cathedral during February. For more information, pleasesee www.alastsupper.com or www.baylissbrown.com

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Pilgrimage

From Canterbury to Hungary to WestminsterRelics of St Thomas Becket to visit the CathedralPéter Szabadhegy

In a joint initiative with theChurch of England and theCatholic Church in Englandand Wales, the Embassy ofHungary will bring the relic ofSt Thomas Becket, which hasbeen kept in Esztergom,Hungary for centuries, to theUnited Kingdom. Thelaunching event of the ‘Becketweek’ will be a Holy Mass atWestminster Cathedral on 23May, celebrated by CardinalPéter Erdo, Primate ofHungary, Archbishop of

Esztergom-Budapest, and Cardinal Vincent Nichols,Archbishop of Westminster, in the presence of János Áder,President of the Republic of Hungary and Archbishop JustinWelby, Archbishop of Canterbury.

Later on during the ‘Becket week’, the relic fromEsztergom will be displayed and venerated together withother relics of St Thomas at Westminster Abbey, the Housesof Parliament, Lambeth Palace and the Mercer’s Chapel. Atthe end of the week, the relics will be transferred toRochester and to Canterbury Cathedrals.

This will be the first time for the British public to havethe opportunity to see the relic of St Thomas Becket afterhaving been kept with great reverence in Esztergom for 800 years. The relic represents the deep and manifoldhistorical and cultural links between Hungary and theUnited Kingdom. The series of events to be attended by the President of Hungary, together with the Cardinals ofWestminster and Esztergom and the Archbishop ofCanterbury will provide an opportunity for many people to contemplate the relevance of Thomas Becket for today’s society.

The devotion to St Thomas Becket was revitalised by theRoman Catholic Church in Hungary under the Communistregime when the Church suffered serious limitations to herliberty. Since 1977, a candle-lighting ceremony togetherwith a symposium has been held annually in Esztergom tohonour St Thomas Becket on his feast day.

Among the many historical and cultural links unitingEngland and Hungary, the friendship of the primatial sees ofCanterbury and Esztergom has particular significance. Thestory can be traced as far as the twelfth century, when twoholy and uncompromising archbishops, Thomas Becket inCanterbury and Lukács Bánfi in Esztergom, fought for theChurch’s liberty.

It is very likely that Archbishop Lukács adopted the cultof the martyred Archbishop of Canterbury immediately afterBecket’s canonisation. Written sources from 1191 suggestthat a church and provostship dedicated to St ThomasBecket was already functioning in Esztergom, on the hill

named after the holy martyr. The church, founded by eitherArchbishop Lukács or his successor, Archbishop Job, was thecentre of St Thomas’s cult with a chapter of six canons andproper liturgical texts.

Margaret of France, Queen of England and later spouseof Béla III of Hungary, was also instrumental in bringing theSaint’s devotion to Hungary. Queen Margaret had personallyknown Becket at the court of her father-in-law Henry II, andshe kept the martyr’s memory with great reverence in thecourt of her second husband, Béla.

We have no reliable information on how the relics of St Thomas arrived in Hungary. We know, however, that oneor two prelates from Hungary were present in Canterbury atthe 1220 translation (reburial) of his body. On that occasion,Becket’s tomb was opened and relics extracted. We knowthat Archbishop János of Esztergom (1205-23) would haveknown Archbishop Stephen Langton personally (they bothattended Lateran Council IV in 1215), and it is reasonable tosuppose that he might have asked for a relic for St Thomas’schurch in Esztergom. It is interesting to note that in Hungaryonly the Esztergom liturgical calendars celebrated the 7 Julyfeast of the translation of St Thomas Becket.

The first inventory of Esztergom Cathedral’s Treasury,dated 1528, reports the presence of Becket’s relics (a part ofhis arm) kept in a gold-plated silver reliquary. It proves thepresence of the relics in Esztergom before the destruction ofBecket’s bones in Canterbury by Henry VIII. Anotherinventory from 1687 proves the relics survived the Ottomanoccupation of Esztergom (1543-1683).The church of St Thomas was completely destroyed during the Ottomanrule, and the provostship became titular, held by one of thecanons of the Esztergom Metropolitan Chapter. On the siteof the former church on St Thomas Hill a small chapel ofOur Lady of Sorrows was built in 1823.

It is also significant that the devotion to the martyredbishop, who strenuously defended the Church’s rightsagainst the State, was revitalised in a period when theChurch in Hungary suffered serious limitations to her liberty.It was, in fact, Cardinal László Lékai, Archbishop ofEsztergom, who in the 1970s introduced a candle-lightingceremony on 29 December (the Saint’s feast day) and had afragment of the relics transferred to the chapel where, in1977, a Hungarian-English plaque was unveiled in St Thomas’s memory. Since then, every year on the feast ofSt Thomas Becket, the relics are displayed in the chapel anda commemorative symposium is addressed by high-rankingcivil and Church authorities as well as the Ambassador ofthe United Kingdom in Hungary.

HE Péter Szabadhegy is the Ambassador of Hungary to theCourt of St James’. The relics of St Thomas Becket will be ondisplay at Westminster Cathedral on 23-24 May.

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NewsBereavement

Rest and wholeness on the Isle of ButeRetreats for Bereaved Parents and Siblings

Anthony McMahon

Two New Bishops for the DioceseWelcome, Bishop Paul and Bishop John!

John Paul Retreat is a holiday to help parents and siblingswho are trying to come to terms with the death of abeloved child.

In 1984 my brother John Paulwas accidentally killed aged 16years. John Paul’s death resulted inmy parents (Edward and Elizabeth)suffering greatly – resulting in theirdeaths aged 49 and 57 respectively.John Paul Retreat has been set up inmemory of my beloved brother andparents.

I believe the sufferings and painsof this life are very real and, as the

people of God, we have opportunities to share in thesesufferings with our neighbours. In my life I read aboutpeople suffering for many different reasons and the death ofa child or sibling is heartbreaking and brings great sorrowand sadness. The vision of John Paul Retreat is to view thissuffering through the tragic loss of a child – sadness, sorrow,illness, both mental and physical – and journey with theparents and siblings in the problems of their everyday life,providing a place of comfort in tranquil surroundings at atragic time.

I saw at first-hand the sufferings of my parents after JohnPaul’s tragic death. Each of us, I believe, can do somethingand need to do something about the suffering of others. Oneof the most important things we can do is to come to thefoot of the altar and pray for others. Prayer changes thingsand people. In prayer we do not often get miracles, but Ialways find it brings hope. This hope then gives us a flameof light that one day we will be united with our beloved inour heavenly home.

I believe it is important that John Paul Retreat brings theexpression of faith and hope to people in a gentle way. If wedo this in a gentle way, parents and siblings will react well.It is important John Paul Retreat brings something notoverpowering (with rules and must dos) and the mostimportant thing is being there for bereaved parents andsiblings – saying to them ‘here is my hand to journeyalongside you in your grief as long as you need me’.

As the baptised people of God, I think each of us in ourown lives are called to be disciples, and called to help otherpeople. Before the Blessed Sacrament, I believe that Jesusinvited me to start John Paul Retreat and this is somethingthat I could not turn away from. John Paul Retreat is anopportunity to give assistance to people in their grief andthe pain that comes from losing a child. These tragiccircumstances often result in people moving away fromfaith, but John Paul Retreat still encourages the light to go on in the minds of the parents and siblings who havesuffered loss.

Grief is a normal and natural reaction to loss. Therefore,it can sometimes be unhelpful when others try to ‘fix’ aperson after the loss of a loved one. It is important tounderstand that grief usually has no time limits, and despiteall that people say, I think that time often does not heal –especially when a parent loses a child. The parents andsiblings who come to John Paul Retreat have broken heartsand it is important that John Paul Retreat is a place wherewe can journey alongside the parents and siblings at thegiven stage of their sadness and sorrow. In this way, Ibelieve the Retreat can help with big emotional problems inthe hearts of the bereaved.

John Paul Retreat is funded totally by myself (purchasingthe property and doing internal, external works) to provide afree holiday away for the bereaved parents and siblings.

If you would like to make a donation to the work of JohnPaul Retreat please contact the Compassionate Friends on0345 120 3785 or 0208 469 0022 (www.tcf.org.uk) andgive John Paul Retreat Isle of Bute as your reference.Alternatively you can go on to John Paul Retreat websitewww.johnpaulretreats.org and make a donation on the JustGiving page.

If you feel anyone would benefit from a stay at John PaulRetreat please contact the Compassionate Friends or JohnPaul Retreat website as noted above, through which abooking can be made.

Anthony McMahon is a Cathedral altar server.

Bishop Paul McAleenan and Bishop John Wilson wereordained into the episcopacy by Cardinal Vincent Nicholson the Feast of the Conversion of St Paul, 25 January, at Westminster Cathedral. They join Bishop JohnSherrington and Bishop Nicholas Hudson as auxiliarybishops for the Diocese.

Among the concelebrants present at the Mass wereCardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, Archbishop AntonioMennini (Apostolic Nuncio), as well as archbishops, bishopsand clergy from all over England and Wales.

Also present were ecumenical guests representing severalchurches and ecclesial communities, as well as the LordMayor of Westminster, mayors and members of parliament.Many of the faithful from the Diocese of Leeds, which washome to Bishop John Wilson until recently, travelled downto London for the occasion.

Bishop Paul has been assigned the titular see of Merciaand has pastoral responsibility for the deaneries inHertfordshire, replacing Bishop John Sherrington who hasassumed pastoral care of the deaneries of north London.Bishop John Wilson has been assigned the titular see ofLindisfarne and has pastoral responsibility for the parishes inthe western area of the Diocese.

In his homily, the Cardinal held St Paul as an examplefor all bishops. He explained that ‘every bishop is chosen by the Father and given to his Son to be his companion in aspecial way’ and that this is the ‘deepest identity of thebishop: to be a “companion, with the apostles, of the Lord Jesus.”’

After they were ordained and following holycommunion, the Cardinal led the two new bishops throughthe Cathedral where they gave their blessing to all present.

Afterwards, Archbishop Mennini addressed them onbehalf of the Holy Father, extending the Pope’scongratulations and exhorting them to ‘become builders ofbridges’, leading their people in a community of ‘love andmutual obedience to the will of God’.

Advertisement

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Music

Silence and music would seem at first glance to be twoopposites, having nothing in common with each other,mutually exclusive. However, the similarities are morestriking than you might expect. Both are capable ofcommunicating a great range of emotional expressions;both provoke reactions, sometimes considered andthoughtful, sometimes forceful; and there are times whenboth can communicate more articulately than words.

The modern world in which we livedislikes silence to such an extent thatto encounter it can be a shock. Iremember arriving at the Abbey ofSolesmes for the first time in 2013 andentering the church – the silence wasalmost deafening. The world savessilence for special occasions whenlanguage is insufficient: rememberingthe war dead, for example, or times ofnational mourning. It is interesting initself that even amongst the noise andbluster of today’s fast-moving world,there are moments when only silencecan convey what society wants, andneeds, to say.

Silence and music in the liturgy Silence and music have always

found an important place within theliturgy, but the Church makes specialuse of silence at key moments in herliturgical life. The laying on of handsduring Ordinations takes place insilence, as does the solemn moment of Confirmation.During this season of Lent, both silence and music areemployed to great effect. The idea of fasting takes on manyforms: the priest wears penitential purple vestments; the‘Alleluia’ is omitted; the choral music is of a darker, moreserious character; flowers are removed; the organ falls silent.With so much great organ music being suitable for Lent andPassiontide, it can seem a shame that it is left out of theliturgy. (It is worth noting, perhaps, that the Sunday recitalscontinue, giving an opportunity for some of these works tobe heard in a different context.) The silence left in its placedoesn’t just leave a feeling of emptiness, however; it is aneloquent silence, full of meaning, and an important part ofthe experience of Lent. Rather than being merely the lack ofsomething, it expresses something in its own right,something that cannot be expressed in any other way.

Silence grows louder in Holy WeekThis silence is at first rather startling. The lack of a

voluntary after the dismissal always comes as something asa surprise, even to the person sitting on the organ bench!Once the initial shock has subsided, however, the silence

Holy Week

Silence and MusicExpressing the Sacred in Holy WeekPeter Stevens

speaks more and more powerfully. The darkness of theliturgy becomes darker as we enter Holy Week; the silence,paradoxically, grows louder. The bells are silenced after theGloria on Maundy Thursday, signalling the start of aliturgical silence that lasts until the Gloria at the EasterVigil, a silence that nobody seems to want to break. Thegreat Liturgy of the Passion on Good Friday begins with themost profound silence of the year, the introductory rites

being replaced by the silent prostrationof all the clergy before the bare altar.Silence is the only possible response tothe Passion, and the liturgy gives us theimportant opportunity to be quiet in theshadow of the Cross.

The avant-garde eccentric, JohnCage, famously ‘composed’ his best-known work 4’33” – which consists offour and a half minutes of silence – todemonstrate the absence of true silencein the world. He described being in asoundproof room and being aware oftwo sounds, which a doctor later toldhim were the sounds of his bloodcirculation and his nervous system.Whilst 4’33” is often thought of asclichéd and dated, it proves that soundalways surrounds us. Even inWestminster Cathedral, it can seem thatsilence is difficult to find. A few yearsago, St Patrick’s Day fell on a Sunday ofLent. Following the blessing anddismissal of the Solemn Mass that

morning, the expected silence was broken by a manplaying the bagpipes outside the west door!

Silence is a vital ingredient in music, both in itscomposition and in its performance. Mozart is said to havebelieved that ‘music is not in the notes, but in the silencebetween’, while other composers appear to suggest silencethrough their music. Olivier Messiaen, one of the mostoriginal composers of the twentieth century, was a greatmystic with a profound Catholic faith, and used music as avehicle to communicate his religious beliefs. Throughout hislong compositional life, he used ecstatically slow tempi tocreate a mood of rapt contemplation, of music emergingfrom and returning to silent meditation. L’institution del’Eucharistie, which will be played before the Mass of theLord’s Supper on Maundy Thursday, comes from his lastgreat organ cycle, the Livre du Saint Sacrement. As well ashis trademark use of birdsong, Messiaen employs silencesof varying lengths in between repetitions of the same chord.The prayerful, hypnotic effect he creates is truly ‘in tune’with silence, which is itself the only natural response to the piece.

St John’s PassionAs well as composers including or suggesting silence in

their works, performers often use silence for dramatic effect.Bach’s St John Passion, which the Cathedral Choir willperform on 16 March, tells the story of Christ’s Passionthrough the use of recitative, in which the Gospel text issung syllabically by a solo voice and punctuated withchords. As the moment of Christ’s death approaches, thesilences become longer, suggesting the growing darkness,and expressing the gravity of that moment.

Music, as a natural thing, needs breathing space.Perhaps Lent provides us with a ‘breathing space’, a time tobe quiet. Without silence, there can be no music. Onlyafter the silence of Lent does the explosive joy of Easterbecome possible. The Easter Vigil begins in completedarkness as well as silence, before being transformed intoblinding light and the deafening, celebratory din of thestrepitus. Only then can we rejoice not just in music, but insound itself, as if all the tension of the previous six weekshas been released in an instant. Until then, we should try tonotice and truly appreciate the silence of Lent, and considerall that it has to say.

Peter Stevens is the Assistant Master of Music atWestminster Cathedral. The Cathedral Choir andWestminster Cathedral Baroque Orchestra will perform J S Bach’s St John Passion on Wednesday 16 March at7.30pm. Tickets available from Ticketmaster or from theCathedral Gift Shop.

Ingrediente Domino Martin Baker

It’s just before 10.30am on Palm Sunday morning. A worshipper standing in the near-empty Cathedral willhear the muffled sounds of Latin Gregorian chant, Englishmetrical hymnody, car traffic and aircraft noise. As thesinging grows nearer and louder it becomes distinguishableas ‘Ride on, ride on in majesty’ and eventually the purpleand white of the choristers at the front of the processionappears through the Great West Door.

The procession pauses briefly while the hymn draws to aclose, then after a short silence the Tuba (the loudest stop onthe Grand Organ) erupts, shaking the air with a four-barfanfare in B flat major. This is immediately taken up by thechoristers to the words ‘Ingrediente Domino in sanctamcivitatem.’ The procession moves again as the choircontinues to sing, lower voices entering, unison giving wayto four-part harmony, reaching a climax at the words ‘Cumramis palmarum Hosanna clamabant in excelsis!’

Ingrediente Domino is the prescribed text to be sung onPalm Sunday as the procession enters the church, and in theGraduale Romanum it takes the form of a calm, staticmelody in the minor tonality of ‘mode ii’. The setting usedby the choir today, however, and annually since the 1950s,is by George Malcolm (Master of Music 1947-59) and hasbecome an iconic piece associated with WestminsterCathedral and its Choir.

For many years I wondered what had inspired Malcolmto write this setting, so apt for the drama of the occasion,and yet so different from the Gregorian chant which itdisplaces. A few weeks ago while working in the choirlibrary archives I came across Malcolm’s original manuscriptfor Ingrediente (above). Nestled with it was another(unattributed) manuscript setting of the text (below), notdissimilar to the Malcolm – in the same key and with asimilar degree of chromaticism – but lacking its drama andélan. What was it? Was it an earlier attempt by Malcolm toset the text? I contacted Colin Mawby who, as a boy at theChoir School, predated the arrival of George Malcolm asMaster of Music. Colin identified the other version as thework of William Hyde. Hyde was appointed Sub-Organistand Master of the Probationers in 1923 and continued towork at the Cathedral until 1953, running the choir himselfduring the War and again during Malcolm’s enforcedabsence in the mid-1950s. So, in fact, it was Hyde whobroke with the tradition of a Gregorian Ingrediente (unless R R Terry also wrote something which is now lost) and inturn fired Malcolm’s imagination.

Apparently, Malcolm didn’t care too much for Hyde, anavid Fulham supporter who used to enjoy inflicting accountsof matches he’d attended on his football-phobic colleague,so it’s not hard to imagine Malcolm wanting to put his ownstamp on Holy Week once Hyde had departed. It’s likelythat Malcolm wrote and copied Ingrediente in haste for theoccasion on which it was first used and would have hadlittle or no inkling that 60 years on it would still be inannual use and, thanks to its eventual publication, not justhere but around the world.

Martin Baker is the Master of Music at WestminsterCathedral.

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Cardinal’s Homecoming

OremusMarch 201614 |

Oremus at TwentyPast Editors: Fr Tim Dean and Joseph Bonner

Prefect of the Sacristy. I also met John Browne, a younghousemaster at Westminster Cathedral Choir School,studying for a law degree and soon to be married. He wasediting Westminster Cathedral Bulletin, as it was called inthose days, and keen to pass on this monthly to someonenew. I was a soft target as the Administrator hadencouraged him to get me to take it on so that John couldconcentrate on his wedding day.

I am no journalist, although, as you pointed out in yourquestion, people thought I had been in ‘publishing orsomething.’ No, I spent 25 years in advertising and knowhow to write advertisements and produce commercials. Soediting a Cathedral magazine was really new to me,especially after four years studying for the priesthood at theBeda in Rome.

Do you remember Joseph’s arrival on the scene?TD: In the early ’90s we were assembling the magazine at

Clergy House and – for some reason – having the Bulletindesigned and printed in Rochdale. I was floundering a bit atfirst, because everything at the Cathedral needs to besupported by generous lay volunteering – so the Holy Spirit (Iam pretty sure it was Him) sent us the remarkable JosephBonner. Joseph, a Donegal man in his early 20s was fairlyfresh out of university in Scotland and toiling in a governmentdepartment in Smith Square. After work he would stroll overto Clergy House and do a regular evening stint as ManagingEditor of the Bulletin.

Joseph, what was the setting when you arrived?JB: It was a team of two when I joined. Fr Tim had

written a clever and funny plea for help in 1995. Itimpressed me and I met him a while later when working onone of the many events taking place that year to mark thecentenary of the laying of the foundation stone. I felt sorryfor him having to write and produce the thing more or lesson his own, while holding down several other duties. Thelate Ivan Kightley, a Cathedral stalwart, looked after thesubscriptions, doing as Fr Tim has previously said ‘a sterlingjob, while also accepting francs, lire, etc’.

The format was A4, as now, but only ever 12 pages,sometimes eight. Colour was limited to the cover on specialoccasions. It didn’t have so many regular features as it doesnow. News in Brief and the cartoon strip, ‘Charlie Chaplain’were popular elements. It had, as always, an impressiveline-up of contributors on a range of religious topics. WhenI came on board I was keen that we reflected more on allthe things happening at the Cathedral and the first full issueI worked on was a special edition, in full colour, markingthe historic visit of HM The Queen as part of the 1995

George Stack, now Archbishop of Cardiff, was Administratorand was, as now, a resolute supporter. He supplied regularmaterial and insights and gave us the confidence to take onother projects such as art competitions, posters, books andthe first Cathedral website. He also helped us in practicalways. For years the office was a dilapidated porta-cabin inthe courtyard. It was cold, damp and had a wooden floorwhich was rotting away. No one was sorry to see it cut-upand taken away. A garden now exists on the same spot. Imust mention Fr Michael O’Boy, too, who was also aneditor and great support during my time, as well as MgrMark Langham, of course!

Fr Tim, for how many more years did you continue withthe editorial duties of the publication?

TD: I left the Cathedral for parish life in 1998 and leftOremus in Joseph’s capable hands. But when I returned foranother 10 years at the Cathedral around 2002, Joseph waskeen to leave Oremus as his burgeoning career was makingmuch heavier demands than in earlier years. TheAdminstrator, Mgr Mark Langham appealed in the weeklynewsletter for someone to take on the burden. For any task,you only need one perfect person to apply, which is just aswell, because only one person did. Blandine Tugendhat – adelightful lady who lives nearby (which meant that theCathedral could make inordinate demands on her time –and I fear we soon did). Joseph showed Blandine hisapproach to magazine production, and swiftly – at ameeting she was unable to attend – made her ManagingEditor. He then gradually – albeit smoothly – phasedhimself out and I was back in the Oremus office! BothBlandine and I left around 2011 and Dylan Parry took overand has taken Oremus to a new level of relevance toCathedral life.

Joseph, when and why did you decide that it was time to leave?

JB: The schedule of doing a monthly magazine is prettyrelentless, especially as a volunteer, working evenings andweekends. While enjoyable and satisfying, especially aswhat we were doing was appreciated by most, it was quitea responsibility. Print can be an unforgiving medium. Isecretly dreaded that we would print an embarrassingmistake or a howler of a typo. Fortunately we avoided that,most of the time… Feeling that it was the right time for achange, I told the team. They persuaded me to stay on in areduced role. This I did for a year.

By this time we had also produced a new website forthe Cathedral and my final project was the publication oftwo new books about the Cathedral. When I agreed to helpFr Tim with the magazine I hadn’t the foggiest that I wouldbe involved for such a long time. Looking back now, morethan 10 years later, I only recall the fun moments. I am alsograteful for the many and varied experiences from being on‘the inside’ which it gave me: the various events in andaround the Cathedral which came my way but most of allthe people I met, many of whom became good friends. Andof course, it’s wonderful to see Oremus flourish andcontinue to grow.

Next month Natasha will be talking to Blandine Tugendhatand the current editor Dylan Parry.

Oremus March 2016

OremusInterview

Fr Tim, would you like to start by saying a few words about Oremus?

TD: When you pick up a copy of Oremus, you shouldbe aware that there has been a Cathedral magazine sincethe very beginning of this great church, more than a centuryago. Whatever the name on the masthead, there has always

been a monthlypublication for a verygood reason. No otherchurch in the country hasso much explaining to do.John Francis Bentley, whowas appointed architectby Cardinal Vaughan,worked up his proposalsfor a neo-Byzantineedifice that would bafflemost of London –Catholics and everyoneelse. All this had to beexplained to those mostinterested and the bestway to tell the story – as it

unfolded – was by publishing a regular magazine. Year byyear, decade by decade, the Cathedral has alwaysexplained its many developments and described its greatevents in a monthly magazine.

Joseph, when you first came to the Cathedral did youimmediately feel that you wanted to do something for thisgreat place?

JB: My first visit to the Cathedral was somewhat spur ofthe moment. It was a weekday morning and therehappened to be a funeral taking place for a Cathedralchaplain. It was celebrated by the late Cardinal Hume andthe choir was in full flow. I remember the light shiningthrough the incense and although it’s almost 25 years ago Iremember the moment quite vividly. Thereafter, I began toattend services regularly. Part of the attraction, other thanthe worship and music, was the sense of anonymity. I hadno initial desire to become further involved, so I’ve oftenthought it ironic that within a year or two I became so verymuch part of this place which Colin Amery in the FinancialTimes called ‘a very potent building.’

Fr Tim, I believe you had some experience in publishingbefore you were ordained. Were you appointed to the postof editor because of that experience?

TD: I was ordained in 1992 at the age of 50 and sent tojoin the chaplains at the Cathedral. Mgr Pat O’Donaghue –now bishop – was the Administrator and he appointed me

centenary. That had a larger print run than normal andorders came in thick and fast from around the world.

How did you become the editor? Where did you find andbring in that marvellous and hard-working team you had?

JB: When I joined Tim and Ivan there was much to bedone and I thought my most effective contribution would beof a practical nature, bringing some order, so went by thetitle of Production Manager. I went on to become ManagingEditor and finally Chairman when I took more of a back seatfrom the day to day in the last period of my involvement.

I knew we needed to build a team of people to help withthe myriad of tasks needed to produce the magazine. Wewere all volunteers and gave whatever time we could.Almost all of the people who joined were friends or existing

volunteers. While anumber were of mygeneration, others wereolder or retired and so wehad a balance of wisdom,caution, enthusiasm andfresh challenge. When wesecured funding for newcomputers (via a grantfrom the Friends and agenerous responsefollowing an appeal toreaders) we brought theproduction ‘in house.’ Thisrequired someone withexperience in graphicdesign. Through an

advertisement in the Guardian’s volunteer pages we weresent a creative angel in the form of a recently graduated artstudent, Julie Bennett, who helped transform the look of ourlittle publication.

Fr Tim, I understand that you were partly responsible forthe current name of the magazine?

TD: Yes, various people, primarily Joseph, wereconvinced a better name than Bulletin was needed and Icould see their point.

JB: I was never that keen on the use of Bulletin as itdidn’t quite capture the publication. In the history ofCathedral publishing there had been a Chronicle, Magazineand Newsletter so I advocated something different. Fr Timand I mulled over this and following a visit to an exhibitionin Olympia, found ourselves taking respite in a pub.

TD: Joe said, ‘We’ve got to change the name of theBulletin.’ ‘Hmmm,’ I said distantly. ‘What about a Latinname?’ said Joe. ‘Oremus’, I replied without even thinking.And so it was. We knew it was appropriate for a very clearreason: Westminster Cathedral is primarily a house of prayer– ask anyone. So a word that means ‘Let us pray’ reallyresonates.

Joseph, who were the priests, in addition to Fr Tim, withwhom you worked and how much support for Oremuswere you given by them?

JB: There were many, those from the Cathedral andelsewhere and all supportive. For much of my time Mgr

Although the Cathedral has had a monthly magazine since before the building itself existed, thecurrent title, Oremus, is marking its 20th anniversary this year. In two sets of interviews, starting thismonth, Natasha Stanic speaks with current and past editors of the magazine. This month sheinterviews Fr Tim Dean and Joseph Bonner.

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Communications between London and Rome had to passthrough several war-torn countries. Letters could take aweek to arrive and telegrams two days. Meanwhile in Russiathe Imperial Family was in turmoil, and communicationssubject to strike action. With these difficulties, together withthe fact that the Count had died at 10.00pm on a Thursday,The Times reported on Monday 15 January that ‘up to a latehour no reply has been received from Cardinal Bourne inRome to the request that the body might be interred in the Cathedral.’

On Saturday, 13 January 1917, a private memorialservice was held for members of the Count’s family and staffat the Russian Embassy. On Sunday the body was brought tothe Cathedral to lie overnight before the high altar under theRussian flag, prior to a Solemn Requiem Mass the followingday. Count Benckendorff’s Requiem Mass must have been

one of the mostunusual in theCathedral. On a cold,gloomy winter’s day, aGuard of Honour ofGrenadiers, togetherwith the band of theIrish Guards, wasdrawn up outside.Within the Cathedralthe coffin lay beforethe sanctuary stepscovered in black palland white clothembroided with theImperial arms ofRussia. On a cushion

at the foot lay Count Benckendorff’s medals and otherdecorations. On each side of the coffin stood three tallcandles. A few paces from each, a British soldier leaned on his reversed rifle while an officer stood at the foot of the coffin.

Despite the problems of arranging the Requiem Mass atshort notice during a weekend in wartime, members of boththe British and Russian Royal Families attended or wererepresented. King George V was represented by the Duke ofConnaught, Queen Alexandra by Earl Howe, the Tsar by hisbrother, the Grand Duke Michael. The Grand DuchessGeorge of Russia was present and the Prince of Wales andfive royal princesses sent representatives. Mrs Lloyd George(wife of the Prime Minister) was there and the Cabinetmembers included Mr and Mrs Asquith, Mr Balfour, MrAusten Chamberlain, Lord Robert Cecil, Lord Curzon, LordDerby and Lord Milner.

A week later, on Monday 22 January 1917, CountAlexander Benckendorff’s wish was granted. ‘By specialrequest of the Government and permission of His EminenceCardinal Bourne’ (to quote the Westminster CathedralChronicle), he was buried in St Peter’s crypt in WestminsterCathedral where he had been a constant worshipper duringthe last 14 years of his life. At this simple service his wife,Countess Sophie, too distressed to attend earlier ceremonies,was the chief mourner, together with his only daughter whohad played such a key role in bringing the Count to his last

16 | Oremus March 2016 | 17OremusMarch 2016

Cathedral History

resting place. It was the Count’s daughter who alsocommissioned Eric Gill (then working on the CathedralStations of the Cross) to produce the memorial slab whichlies above the ambassador’s tomb in the crypt. Made ofdark green Cumberland slate, it was finally installed early in1939. In Russian and Latin, the inscription reads, ‘CountAlexander Phillip Constantine Ludovic Benckendorff,Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary for Russia tothe Court of St James’. August 1 1849 – Jan 11 1917. RIP.’

Cardinal Bourne must have been under considerablegovernment pressure to agree to the interment in theCathedral. Russia was a military ally and its seeminglyimminent collapse would release many German divisions tofight Britain and France on the Western Front. It was a timeto show solidarity with Russia, not for a snub, real orimagined. The Count’s daughter knew what she was doingwhen she publicly declared her father’s wish to the BritishGovernment.

Soviet Russia has passed into history, as has the Russiaof the Tsars, and an era of religious and political freedomhas dawned in Eastern Europe. In 1991, the first post-SovietRussian Ambassador since Count Benckendorff wasappointed to the Court of St James’.

With many thanks to Mrs Humphrey Brooke, grand-daughter of Count Benckendorff, also to Count ConstantineBenckendorff and Sir Adam Riley, his great-grandsons, fortheir help with preparing this article.

Westminster Cathedral is not renowned for its tombs. Thereare only 10, one of which (Cardinal Vaughan’s) was, untilrecently, not a tomb at all but a monument with a sculptedeffigy of the man. The founder of Westminster Cathedralwished to be buried in another of his great foundations, theMissionary College at Mill Hill, and his body was onlytransferred to the Cathedral in 2003. Seven other CardinalArchbishops of Westminster and the great BishopChalloner, who led the Catholic Church in England for alarge part of the eighteenth century, are also interred in theCathedral. The tenth sepulchre is that of a layman who heldno position whatsoever in the Diocese of Westminster. Andthereby hangs a tale…

Count Alexander Benckendorff was born in 1849 inBerlin, his father being the Tsar’s roving ambassador forEurope, and he did not go to Russia until he was 18, twoyears before joining the diplomatic service. As a result ofthis, his Russian was always rather poor and his dispatcheswere written in French. Before becoming a diplomat he waseducated in France and Germany, and then represented his

Cathedral History

The Russian in the Crypt

Patrick Rogers

country in Rome, Vienna and in Copenhagen. Finally, from 1903 until his death, he was Russian Ambassador tothe Court of St James’. Regarded in Russia as a liberal andin UK as an anglophile, in 1911 his only daughter, Natalie,married the second son of Viscount Ridley, the Hon JasperRidley. Count Benckendorff was instrumental in arrangingthe Anglo-Russian Agreement of 1907 which, together with France, resulted in the Triple Entente. He encouragedthe teaching of Russian at British universities and wasHonorary President of the newly formed Russo-BritishChamber of Commerce. Unusually for a Russian, he was a Catholic.

With 1914, came the Great War. Russia allied, withBritain and France, suffered a series of crushing defeats. By early 1917 war-weariness, antagonism towards the Tsar’s family (the Tsarina in particular) and the allure ofrevolutionary socialism had brought Russia close tocollapse. By March, Tsar Nicholas II had offered toabdicate, intending to spend the rest of the war abroad andthen to settle quietly in Crimea where he would devote hislife to the education of Alexei, his haemophiliac son.Instead, he was placed under house arrest and in July 1918,on the orders of the Bolshevik Urals Soviet, he and hisfamily were shot.

Meanwhile asevere influenzaepidemic wassweeping acrossEurope. CountBenckendorff, theTsar’s ambassador tothe Court of St James’,was one of the first tobe struck down. On 8January 1917 he tookto his bed. Three dayslater the conditionhad congested hislungs and he died, ina month when thedisease caused morethan 300 deaths in

London alone. Before his death he told his daughter, bynow the Hon Mrs Jasper Ridley, of his earnest wish to beburied at Westminster Cathedral where he had worshippedregularly. This wish she conveyed not only to the Cathedralbut also to the British Government.

The only people buried in the Cathedral at the timewere the first two Archbishops of Westminster, CardinalsWiseman and Manning. After the completion of theCathedral in 1903, their remains had been transferred to thecrypt in 1907 from an initial place of rest in Kensal GreenCemetery. Cardinal Bourne, the Fourth Archbishop ofWestminster had left for Rome in December 1916 and didnot return until April 1917.

A cartoon of Count Benckendorff in 1903.

The Hon Mrs Jasper Ridley as a girl.

The Count as drawn by John Sargent in 1911.

Count Benckendorff’s resting place in the Cathedral.

18 | Oremus March 2016

Monthly AlbumMonthly Album

Rite of ElectionOver the weekend of 13 and14 February, the Cardinal andhis auxiliary bishops led theRCIA Rite of Election for over600 people who will bebaptised or received into thefull communion of theCatholic Church this Easter.Please keep them all in yourprayers.

| 19OremusMarch 2016

Russian AmbassadorVisits the CathedralCanon Tuckwell welcomed the RussianAmbassador to the Court of St James’, HE Alexander Yakovenko, to the Cathedralon Ash Wednesday (which happened to be‘Diplomats’ Day’ in Russia). TheAmbassador came to lay a wreath on thegrave of Count Alexander Benckendorff,who was the last Imperial RussianAmbassador to the Court of St James’ (see pages 16 & 17).

Fr Alexander Master During February it was announced that Fr Alexander Master, Cathedral Sub-Administrator and Precentor, wouldbecome the Cardinal’s Private Secretaryin April. We offer Fr Alexander ourwarmest congratulations and prayers ashe prepares to take on his newresponsibilities. This photo was taken byFr Gerard O’Brien on Monday 8 February,and shows Fr Alexander preparing thisyear’s Ash Wednesday ashes by burninglast year’s Palm Sunday palms.

Ash Wednesday This photo was taken during the 7.00amMass on Ash Wednesday, which wascelebrated by Cardinal Nichols. Asalways, the Cathedral was very wellattended on this day and ashes weredistributed at all Masses.

Lourdes Mass This photo was taken at this year’s LourdesMass for the sick and disabled, forhealthcare workers and those who care forthe sick. The Mass was celebrated onSaturday 6 February by Cardinal VincentNichols and the homily preached by BishopJohn Sherrington. The Sacrament of theAnointing of the Sick was also administeredduring the Mass.

Blessing of the Throats In the Diocese of Westminster, the memorial of three greatArchbishops of Canterbury, Sts Laurence, Dunstan, andTheodore, was kept on 3 February – also St Blaise’s Day.As such, the Blessing of the Throats of St Blaise was givenafter all Masses. This photo was taken after the 10.30amMass, celebrated by Fr John Ablewhite.

Stationers’ Company Canon Christopher Tuckwell was invited to preach at thisyear’s Worshipful Company of Stationers and NewspaperMakers’ annual Ash Wednesdayservice in St Faith’s chapel, St Paul’s Cathedral. The servicefollowed ‘Cakes and Ale’ inStationers’ Hall, which wereprovided at the bequest ofAlderman John Norton, Master ofthe Company in 1607, 1611 and1612. According the currentMaster’s blog: ‘Canon ChristopherTuckwell received his 10 shillingsfor his very good sermon whichkept us mindful of the challengesand rewards of Lent.’

St Yves Fraternity On Sunday 31 January, two representatives of the Saint YvesFraternity, Fr Philippe Roche and Fr Luiz Cheng, visited theCathedral. They sold copies of Fr Roche’s book on St Yves –with proceeds going to their work among the favelas of Brazil.

Mass for Religious On 2 February, the Cardinal celebrated aMass for Religious at the Cathedral, whichalso marked the closing of the Year ofConsecrated Life. Afterwards, he met withthose religious who are celebratingsignificant anniversaries of vows this year.Ad multos annos!

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20 | | 21

Crossword

OremusMarch 2016

‘What is this quintessence of dust?’ That is the question –what is the nature and purpose of human existence? – withwhich every piece of good drama should leave us. It isHamlet who asks it, and from his lips – like so much elsethat he says – it is rhetorical, expecting the answer‘nothing’. Before that though, he describes the ways inwhich man is far from nothing and, were he not himself,should excite his interest and delight.

‘What piece of work is a man – how noble in reason;how infinite in faculties, in form and moving; how expressand admirable in action; how like an angel inapprehension; how like a god; the beauty of the world; theparagon of animals.’

These are the virtues with which Shakespeare endowsmost of his heroes, and he invites us – at the beginning ofhis plays at least – to admire them and the positions ofworldly prominence they have achieved. Othello isenjoying a very successful military career and has justmarried a wife he loves, Macbeth is a war hero awardedwith prestigious promotion, Lear is so confident in his longkingship that he is preparing to divide the administrationand enjoy a restful retirement, and so on. By the end,though, they are all lying dead, often first among equals ina pile of corpses.

The smell of mortality Tragedy always reminds us of our common mortality.

For Hamlet, it is an obsession to which he gives clearestvoice in the ‘Graveyard Scene’. Turning over an old skull,he muses:

Aspects of Shakespeare‘What is this quintessence of dust?’Mindful of the Year of Mercy and of the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death, Sharon Jenningsreflects on the Christian themes in the Bard’s works.

‘Imperious Caesar, dead and turned to clay,Might stop a hole to keep the wind away.O, that the earth which kept the world in aweShould patch a wall t’expel the water’s flaw.’

But man’s godlike status is not only contradicted by hisultimate demise; everything he does ‘smells of mortality’ asLear says. And the great tragedies show us thedisintegration, gradual or sudden, understandable or not, ofthe ‘Eden fresh’ hero.

Trouble begins for Lear almost immediately, as hischildish egotism blights the division of his kingdom. Othellois slow to fall into Iago’s trap, but once caught, becomesconsumed with jealousy and ‘perplexed in the extreme’. Ittakes Macbeth a while before he can subsume his naturalconscience to the ambition which turns him into an‘abhorr’d tyrant’. Hamlet, who seems to lack one clear fatalflaw in favour of several small ones, almost begins his playat the middle stage of the others: here Shakespeare plungesus immediately into the real world of being rude, puttingthings off, thinking too much, pretending and playacting,choosing the wrong moment, and so on.

We are talking about Shakespeare, and the unravelling ofthe hero takes place not only within the world but alsowithin the mind. Othello, poisoned into believing his wife’sadultery, convinces himself that he is administering justiceby killing her, and that heaven is on his side. He says:

‘It is the cause, it is the cause, my soul – Let me not name it you, you chaste stars –It is the cause….Yet she must die, else she’ll betray more men.’

He in fact perverts his once noble reason so that he canfollow a much more brute reaction. Soaked in the blood ofkings, women, children and friends, Macbeth loses thefaculty to apprehend the significance of any event that doesnot immediately threaten him, and greets the news of hiswife’s death with the throwaway line: ‘She should have diedhereafter;/ There would have been a time for such a word.’Poor Lear loses everything that made him a wonderful‘piece of work’: cast homeless into the storm, he is mad,and unable to discern the identities of his companions andeven of himself. Far from being ‘the paragon of animals’, hetears off his clothes in imitation of Edgar, disguised as amadman, saying: ‘unaccommodated man is no more butsuch a poor, bare, forked animal as thou art.’ Starting fromthe low point it does, Hamlet is weighted down with suchdisgust at the human condition. ‘What should such fellowsas I do crawling between earth and heaven?’ Hamlet asksOphelia: ‘We are arrant knaves – believe none of us.’

Oremus March 2016

Shakespeare

But a walking shadowMost of Shakespeare’s great tragic heroes are plunged

into such despair. Othello’s is of himself, ‘One whose hand/Like the base Indian, threw a pearl away/ Richer than all histribe.’ But Macbeth gives us the most chilling description ofall human experience:

‘Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,Creeps in this petty pace from day to dayTo the last syllable of recorded time,And all our yesterdays have lighted foolsThe way to dusty death. Out, out brief candle! Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player,That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,And then is heard no more; it is a taleTold by an idiot, full of sound and fury,Signifying nothing. ’

At the end of most of the tragedies, when the hero liesdead, normality and order are restored by a new politicaladministration. Outwardly, the tragedy has been resolvedand things put right. The psychological and spiritual turmoilthough, is simply closed over by fairly banal posthumousspeeches. Who is able, from a cast of mortals, to restorebalance and beauty?

One of the reasons that Hamlet seems so reluctant to ‘setthings right’ as he has been called upon to do – apart fromnot being ‘express and admirable in action’ – is that he feelsunequal to the task. Indeed, when he denounces and killsClaudius at the end of the play, he makes a big mess of it:he is dying himself and does the deed almost by accident.

Then there is the problem that the way to set things right– revenge killing – has also been established by flawed man,and leaves a great deal to be desired, especially for astudent of the ‘new learning’. But Hamlet has no otherrecourse. Throughout the play (until perhaps the end), heshows himself to be unsure of the reality of any higherpower. Indeed the speech with which we began – althoughreminiscent of Psalm 8 – is a humanist declaration with nomention of a divine Creator.

The only one of the tragedies in which the mercy andredemption of God are to be found as part of the solution, isKing Lear. At the end of the play, even the outwardresolution is flawed, with a confusion over militarymessages leading to the execution of Lear’s blamelessdaughter Cordelia. He comes on stage carrying her lifelessbody, much like a reversed pieta, weeping and howling; butthen he holds a feather to her lips, saying: ‘This feather stirs;she lives. If it be so,It is a chance which does redeem allsorrows/ That ever I have felt.’ And in the desperate hope ofsuch a miracle, he dies.

Clues Across 1 Saint, Feast Day 4 Feb, giving name to English order

he founded (7)6 Colour of a cardinal’s hat (3)8 Colour of vestments for Easter Sunday Mass (5)9 Screen or panelling behind altar (7)10 Council to which the term ‘Tridentine’ pertains (5) 11 Not a monk or nun but affiliated to a monastery (6)13 Physical support (6) 15 One living life as a female religious (6) 17 Prophet with two books in the Bible (6) 20 Saint giving name to central European alphabet,

Feast Day 14 February (5)21 St Edmund, London-born Jesuit and convert martyred

at Tyburn 1581 (7)23 E W ….., designer of Cardinal Wiseman’s tomb in

Cathedral crypt (5)24 First note on Tonic Solfa scale (3)25 ‘Noli Me …….’, Our Lord telling Mary Magdalene not

to touch Him because ‘I am not yet risen’ (7)

Clues Down1 ‘Hail …….. St Patrick, dear Saint of our Isle’, hymn to

Saint with chapel in the Cathedral (8) 2 Hardy tree whose leaves used for crowns and wreaths (6)3 …. Blyton, famous children’s books writer (4)4 Dickens’ Oliver (5)5 Composer of religious music sharing name with nearby

railway station (8) 6 Princely London Street off Piccadilly Circus (6)7 ‘Remember man that thou art ….’, sombre words from

Ash Wednesday service (4) 12 Study of God, revelation and religion (8) 14 ‘Blessed be His …. ….’, The Divine Praises in

Benediction (4, 4)16 Celestial being high in the order of angels (6)18 Only one of a kind (6)19 Fragrant aroma or perfume (5)20 Early Bishop Saint to whom Birmingham Cathedral and

Manchester Oratory are dedicated (4)22 Celestial body (4)

Across:1 Gilbert 6 Red 8 White 9 Reredos 10 Trent 11 Oblate 13 Crutch 15 Sister 17 Samuel 20 Cyril 21 Campion 23 Pugin 24 Doh 25 Tangere

Down:1 Glorious 2 Laurel 3 Enid 4 Twist 5 Victoria 6 Regent 7 Dust 12 Theology 14 Holy Name 16 Seraph 18 Unique 19 Scent 20 Chad 22 Moon

ANSWERS

February 2016 Alan Frost

Hamlet and the Gravedigger by Pascal Adolphe JeanDagnan-Bouveret.

Soon after my mother and all four children arrived inPutney – where the Czechoslovak Government in Exile hadbeen based during the War – and a house was available tobuy, I was enrolled in Glengyle Prep School.

There, in after-school classes usually at home, I receivedextra tuition in the English language by an ex-officer wholoved walnuts from the tree in our garden. My Englishimproved rapidly. I could even present myself as a ‘non-BF’(bloody foreigner).

My parents – who never went to church on Sundays –wanted their children to have a Catholic education. Theyasked Canon Pritchard, the parish priest at St Simon Stockchurch, just round the corner where we lived in GwendolenAvenue, for guidance. He recommended St Peter’s,Guildford.

With so many priests on his hands – more than hisSouthwark parishes could cope with – Bishop Amigo hadfounded St Peter’s Prep School in Merrow, near Guildford.Apart from the cooks, cleaners and gym master, the schoolwas run entirely by priests. Archbishop-Bishop Amigo hadasked all his clergy to encourage potential pupils to gothere. So I went.

By train from Waterloo to Guildford – aged eight – Iremember being terrified of falling asleep and missing thestation. I kept myself busy, studying the countryside and theshapes made by the smoke billowing out of the SouthernRailways locomotive as it accelerated and slowed down atthe many stops on its way to Guildford.

The school – just opened – was pretty shambolic and,thus, fun. While picking potatoes we were able to catch arabbit which we held in a three bricks and slate pen for a

Memories

Falling in Love with InfinityThe birth of a priestly vocation

There’s no quick and easy way toproduce a documentary film – ittakes a lot of time, and a lot of hardwork, particularly if you are only asmall production team!

The presenters, Fr Marcus Holdenand Fr Nicholas Schofield, beganresearching for a documentary onpilgrimage to Canterbury a full yearbefore we even began filming. Takingtime out on their days off from busy

parish schedules, they visited all the sites along the pilgrimroute and researched the history and traditions of eachplace. Next was the task of obtaining permissions to film –from the cathedrals of Canterbury, Southwark and Rochester,to the small parish churches, ruined abbeys and pilgrimbarns. Thankfully, everyone along the way was very obligingand supportive of what we were trying to achieve.

We began filming To Be A Pilgrim: The Canterbury Wayin July 2015, allowing ourselves just six days to completethe work. Covering such a range of venues in a short spaceof time creates a lot of pressure – both for the presentersand for the camera team. It’s very difficult, but I like to thinkthat it brings a kind of creative tension! The situation forcesus to think and work fast, and all of us need to be on topform. On arriving at a venue, we need to decide upon theshots we wanted and how the pieces to camera would run.Most of the scenes in the film were recorded in just one ortwo takes! No sooner had we completed the shoot, wewould be packed up and moving to the next venue.

The aims of this documentary are to bring alive thisancient pilgrim route from London to Canterbury, drawingout the history and tradition of it and encouraging people tovisit and explore it for themselves. We also hope to bring tolight some ‘hidden gems’ not readily known to the widerpublic, such as Boxley Abbey near Maidstone and St John’sJerusalem, just outside Dartford. We also tried hard to makethis visually beautiful, and present it in a way that makes theviewer feel as if they are part of the journey.

On a personal note, most of the places we visited werenew to me, so it really was a journey of discovery. It’sdifficult to highlight a favourite along the way, as it was all afantastic experience with so many memorable moments.Canterbury Cathedral was, and is, simply spectacular inevery way! It was an absolute joy and privilege to have anopportunity to direct the filming in this place. RochesterCathedral, too, left a great impression on me.

Once the filming was complete, I had a further twomonths of editing and post-production before we wereready to launch. Our opening screening was at theGulbenkian Cinema in Canterbury last October.

The idea of making a pilgrimage is still popular today, asit was in medieval times – we need only look at thenumbers who traverse the ‘Camino de Santiago’ in northernSpain each year. We have a great tradition of pilgrimage in

DVD / Poetry

Hosanna

Tell me what you wrote in the sandAfter you didn’t cast that first stone.I didn’t care for you anywayAnd I still can’t say your name.I was just hungry with the mob when you whispered:Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna

For all the wind in your sailsThis is a cold and salty air.Your time has come to shine, my LoveYou have not wanted in vain.And do you cry too when you sing:Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna

Your lines continue to free meThough I struggle to thank you for that.I grudge the crown they put on youIt was not my style anyway.And yet I stood in the crowd and yelled with palms:Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna

For all your high harmoniesAnd all your vocal timbre.Each verse, each bridge I try to writeWill pass by daybreak.But you, you will outlive the sun.Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna

Somewhere in this jigsaw I belongLying right here next to you.You see so much better in the darkAnd though I always miss my stepsWe move in time when we close our eyes and breathe:Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna

22 | Oremus March 2016 March 2016 | 23Oremus

Mgr Vladimir Felzmann

Poetry Corner

week. Mind you, the food was grim. Semolina pudding withersatz-strawberry jam is etched into the memory of my tastebuds even now.

Discipline was tight. The cane was a favourite controllingtool. I managed to break the school record by getting –between just after breakfast to just before lights-out – 24whacks across my – by the end of the day – very red-hotcoloured bottom. As you can see, it ‘never done me no ‘armwhatever.’

I used to serve Mass and clean Fr Dennis’s motorbike.Priests could be fun.

Then in 1948, after the Communist take-over inCzechoslovakia, my father resigned. We became refugees.Our funds dwindled. I was taken out of St Peter’s and on toClapham College Grammar School – even though by thenwe were living in Dulwich, West Dulwich. At ClaphamCowsheds – as some called it – I became friends with John.

John was an orphan, looked after by two ‘aunts’ – whohappened to own a cottage on Eriskay, Outer Hebrides. So,in the summer of 1954, John and I went together – on ourown! – to spend a couple of weeks on that island. In thosedays there was no running water, no electricity, no flushingtoilets; but on the first night, vast silent-swathes of bed-bugs.

One day, when John was playing with his friends, Idecided to climb the hill, the highest point on Eriskay,passing on my way the skull and horns of a deceased sheep.At the top, I sat down, looked West across the AtlanticOcean when suddenly something utterly unexpectedhappened. The only way I can to put it, is ‘I fell in love withinfinity.’

That moment – no idea how long it was before I climbeddown that Beinn Sciathan peak of 185m – has stayedundiminished and fresh, glowing still within my heart.

Gradually, as the years went by, I realised that that‘Infinity’ was – and is – the One we tend to call ‘God’.

That experience altered my life 180 degrees. Instead oftrying to be naughty so as to be accepted as ‘a part of thegang’ I started to strive to be good – going to Mass everyday before school.

The following year I was awarded the RE Prize. I wasprompted – no idea why – to ask for a copy of The DarkNight of the Soul by St John of The Cross. The Hound ofHeaven was drawing ever closer.

Mgr Vladimir Felzmann is the Diocesan Chaplain for Sporthe is also the CEO of the John Paul II Foundation for Sport(jp2f4s). His reminiscences on his childhood and youngadulthood will conclude in the next edition.

The Canterbury Way: Behind the Scenes...

This poem was submitted by Dwight Pereira, a singersongwriter. It forms the lyrics to a song that may be found onDwight’s most recent album, Straw – the title of which is takenfrom a line by St Thomas Aquinas. The CD is available tobuy or download online. To submit a poem for publicationplease write to the Editor (contact details on page 3).

Christian Holden

our country and a rich Christian heritage. My hope is thatthis film will ‘whet the appetite’ for those interested in this part of our nation’s history and encourage them ‘To Be A Pilgrim.’

Christian Holden is Managing Director of St Anthony Media.To Be A Pilgrim: The Canterbury Way is available fromChristian bookshops and online. Having watched thedocumentary, I can highly recommend this fascinating, veryengaging and beautifully shot DVD – Editor.

The author (second from right) waiting to meet Lord Longford atthe Clapham College prize-giving 1955/56.

Signs of Spring

Oremus24 | March 2016March 2016 | 25Oremus

Opinion

God Weaves a Fascinating Tapestry The story of Henri de Lubac, SJ

Britain has a special and curious link with a Frenchtheologian whose work at the Second Vatican Council withthe future Pope St John Paul made a great impact on theChurch.

Henri de Lubac was born 120 years ago this year. Hemight not have become a priest at all had he not, with otheryoungsters at his Jesuit boarding school, been able to flee toBritain after anti-religious laws were passed in France in the1900s. Along with a number of other religious orders –including French Benedictine sisters who went on to foundthe Abbey of St Cecilia at Ryde on the Isle of Wight whichflourishes to this day – his school community found refugeon England’s south coast. Henri de Lubac’s formative yearswere thus spent in the unlikely surroundings of St Leonards-on-Sea in Sussex.

A brilliant scholar, de Lubac was also a patrioticFrenchman and at the outbreak of war in 1914 hevolunteered at once, serving with distinction in the FrenchArmy and suffering a severe head wound in 1917 which,although it in no way harmed his mental abilities, wouldcause him severe headaches throughout the rest of his life.

In the interwar years, de Lubac, now a Jesuit priest,taught at Lyon, and gained something of a reputation as atheologian. But after the capitulation of France in 1940 hewas forced underground because of his work for the FrenchResistance: travelling from place to place in hiding, heplayed a significant role in helping to save Jewish lives, andedited a newsletter Temoinages Chretienne, which becamethe voice of Christian resistance to the Nazis.

But he had made enemies within the Church. There werebishops and priests who passionately supported the Vichyregime and opposed all who supported de Gaulle and theAllies. At the war’s end, de Lubac was associated with afresh and vigorous Catholicism which seemed at variancewith an older style, linked to the Vichy regime. This seems tohave played a role in a decision by his ecclesiastical

Joanna Bogle

superiors to place a ban on his continuing to publish histheological work. Later, his orthodoxy would be admittedbut the unjust ban lasted for several years and caused himconsiderable distress, although he remained faithful andobedient.

At the Second Vatican Council de Lubac came into hisown. His work in emphasising the long centuries of theChurch’s tradition – as opposed to relying heavily on theneo-Thomism of the late nineteenth and early twentiethcenturies – meant that the works of the Church Fathers ofthe early centuries had come to be honoured, discussed,and studied in depth. He was a leading figure in theRessourcement school of theology – going back to thesources, especially the Scriptures and the Fathers, to seekrenewal and a strengthening of Catholic tradition.

During the years of the Council, de Lubac formed aclose friendship with the then Archbishop Karol Wojtyła,admiring his intellect, his capacity for hard work, and hiscombination of prayerfulness and deep commitment topastoral care. Wojtyła had, of course, also endured harshwartime conditions in an occupied country: the Frenchmanand the Pole had much in common. Archbishop Wojtyławould play a major formative role in the Vatican IIdocument on religious freedom – he spoke in the discussionand urged a message of freedom centred on the dignity of the human person and his relationship to God, a freedomalways to be grounded in a recognition of the primacy of truth.

Today, Henri de Lubac continues to have an impact onall studying for the priesthood and on the increasingnumbers of active lay Catholics who undertake studies intheology and ethics. His books gained a new popularitywhen published in paperback English editions by IgnatiusPress in San Francisco, the innovative publishing houselaunched by the Jesuit Fr Joseph Fessio in the 1980s.

Karol Wojtyła became Pope as John Paul II in 1978 andduring his pontificate he made de Lubac a Cardinal. St JohnPaul’s impact on the Church was massive, and not least inBritain, which he visited in 1982, the first Pope ever to visitthese islands. He and his successor Benedict XVI (who asthe young theologian Joseph Ratzinger was a peritus –expert – at the Council along with de Lubac) will beremembered as the primary interpreters of Vatican II. Welive and work in the era they fostered.

History weaves fascinating links: Henri de Lubac theschoolboy in Sussex in the early years of the twentiethcentury, and John Paul II arriving at Gatwick Airport sevendecades later: and you and me profoundly influenced byboth in today’s Church.

Friends

• Write to: Friends’ Office, 42 Francis Street, LondonSW1P 1QW

• Call: 020 7798 9059

• Email: friends@westminstercathedral.org.uk

Registered Charity number 272899How to contact us

As the Cathedral Christmas Fair inDecember came to a close, the rafflewas drawn. The prizes were allocatedin reverse order and there wasspontaneous applause as the finalprize-winning ticket was revealed: aweek’s pilgrimage to Sicily with CanonChristopher Tuckwell, won by DoraParsons. We were genuinely thrilledfor her.

I recalled this moment when weheard the news last month that Dorahad died. She knew how ill she wasand yet it was indicative of her loyaltyto and love of Westminster Cathedralthat she insisted on continuing to raisemoney for it, purchasing raffle ticketsand donating some wonderful gifts tothe Fair.

Dora was often to be found in theCathedral. As an experienced guide shewas regularly called on to ferry roundschool groups and she had a lovelymanner, eager and interested in allpeople. I will miss her dearly.

The weather may have been wintryin recent weeks but there are signs ofspring and the Friends have a varietyof events planned for the comingweeks to get you out and about.

On 12 March, Mary Maxwell andthe Parish Social Committee areorganising a St Patrick’s party in theHall, with toe-tapping tunes from The Black Velvet Band and a deliciousIrish supper. Tickets are just £15.00,available from the Friends’ Office orvia Clergy House Reception.

On 23 April, we are hosting a St George’s Day cocktail party inClergy House Library with a Red Rosecocktail and musical entertainmentwith a ‘garden theme’. Work is stillprogressing in St George’s chapel butif the hoarding is down we hope tohave some prayers in there before theparty and after the Saturday eveningMass. Numbers are strictly limited soplease do book early.

Christina White

On 17 May, we have a very specialtrip to the Royal Military AcademySandhurst – Canon ChristopherTuckwell’s alma mater. Our visit willinclude a guided tour of Sandhurst’shistoric buildings and Mass in theCatholic chapel. The event is beingorganised with Sandhurst and is strictlyfor members of the Friends only. Ourday will include lunch.

On 27 May, we visit Selborne,made famous by the naturalist GilbertWhite and in the afternoon, thebeautiful Vyne house with its exquisiteTudor stained glass.

This year marks the 400thanniversary of the death ofShakespeare so our Summer Party on12 July will see Allen Hall transportedback to the time of ‘Merrie England’.We have a minstrel, players and aBardic cocktail, plus the delicious hogroast and BBQ from Karl and hiscatering team.

Next year marks the 40thanniversary of the foundation of theSociety of Friends, and we are askingFriends to send in photographs andother memorabilia of trips and eventswhich they have attended over theyears. The Cathedral buildings bearwitness to the support of the Friendsover the last 39 years but we wantyour memories of the society and thefriendships which you have made.

The full programme of events forthe summer season is published in thecurrent Friends’ newsletter. For detailsor to make a donation to our on-goingTower Appeal, please call the office on0207 798 9059. All donations shouldbe made payable to: The Friends ofWestminster Cathedral.

| 2726 | Oremus March 2016March 2016

St Vincent de Paul School

Oremus

Music

Holy Week is themost importantweek in theChurch’s year.

Palm Sundayis the beginningof Holy Week. Itcelebrates Jesus’entry intoJerusalem on theback of a donkey.Great crowdssurrounded himwith palmbranches andwaved themaround whilesinging‘Hosanna!’ Thenthey laid theirbranches andcloaks, creating apath for him. The

Church calls this day Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion.Mass on that day unusually has two gospels. One is read atthe blessing of the palms and the other gospel that is read isabout the death of Jesus. For me Palm Sunday is a day ofcelebration, welcoming Jesus to Jerusalem, but also a day ofsorrow because we know what will happen to Jesus at theend of the week. At Mass, the priest wears red vestments toremind us of the blood of Jesus when he died on the crossfor us.

The next special day of Holy Week is Spy Wednesday.This day is called Spy Wednesday because Judas went to theleaders of the Temple to betray Jesus, and he did all of thisin secret. In my opinion spies are very sneaky andsometimes cause chaos. I think Judas was like this becausehe snuck off to the leaders of the temple and told themabout Jesus and also caused Jesus to die. I think Jesus wouldhave forgiven Judas because he forgave Peter who said hedidn’t know him.

The next day is Maundy Thursday. The word ‘maundy’comes from the Latin word ‘mandatum’ which means‘command.’ On that day Jesus gave his apostles a newcommand, ‘love one another as I have loved you.’ Jesusshowed his apostles how to do this by washing their feet. In Mass on Maundy Thursday after the readings and homily,the priest will wash the feet of 12 people from the Churchcommunity. The whole Maundy Thursday liturgy reminds usof the Last Supper because at that Jesus gave himself to usthrough bread and wine. Maundy Thursday marks thebeginning of the Easter Triduum: the most important days inthe Church year.

Preparing for Holy WeekLeading to the joy of Easter Rianna Randall (Year 6)

After Maundy Thursday comes Good Friday. Good Fridayis when Jesus died on the cross for us. There is no Massfrom Good Friday until the Easter Vigil. The death of Jesus isremembered at 3.00pm. During this service the whole ofthe Passion of Jesus is read again. There are two reallymoving parts in the service. Firstly, at the beginning thepriest makes a full prostration and lays in silence in front ofthe bare altar. This reminds us of the sorrow of the Churchat the death of Jesus. The other moving part is the Adorationof the Cross when the priest removes the cloth from thecrucifix to reveal Jesus’ wounds. The people then go up tokiss the crucifix to show their love for Jesus. In my opinionthis month is special because I know that Jesus died for meand that makes me sad, but I am joyful too because hesaves us.

Good Friday is followed by Holy Saturday. On HolySaturday there is no Mass and the Church is silent andbare. This reminds us of Jesus laying in the tomb. Later onthe Church prepares for the Easter Vigil. The Easter Vigil isthe climax of Holy Week and Easter Triduum. This is themoment when we celebrate that Jesus is risen! The EasterCandle is lit from the holy fire and the words, ‘LumenChristi’ are sung in the dark church, which is thengradually lit by smaller candles which are lit from theEaster Candle. I think Easter is a very important daybecause we remember that Jesus rose from the dead.Easter Day is a joyful day because Jesus destroyed deathand brought new life to everyone.

Easter day is joyful for my family because we rememberJesus bursting out of the tomb like a chick out of its egg. I really enjoy my chocolate eggs on Easter day!

I hope you have wonderful Easter too!

Rianna Randall is a Year 6 pupil at St Vincent de PaulPrimary School, Westminster.

Those who regularly attendthe 6.00pm Vigil Mass atWestminster Cathedral onSaturdays will be no strangers to the ScholaCantorum of The CardinalVaughan Memorial School –it frequently acts as that Mass’s visiting choir. ScottPrice, Director of Music at theCardinal Vaughan MemorialSchool and conductor of theSchola, recently spoke toHannah Staff.

Situated in Kensington, West London, Cardinal Vaughanis one of the most successful state schools in the countryand the school is well-known for, among other things, thehigh quality of its music-making. Pride of place among themany and varied musical activities at the Vaughan goes tothe school’s liturgical boys’ choir, the Schola Cantorum.

Founded in 1980 by the then headmaster AnthonyPellegrini (who is now a diocesan priest), the schola’sprincipal duty then as now is to sing for the school’sliturgies, and the choir sings each week at the Wednesdaymorning school Mass. The choir is conducted by theVaughan’s Director of Music, Scott Price, who describes the Wednesday morning Mass as ‘lying at the heart of whythe choir exists and providing the energy that drives thechoir forward.’

Singing within the school is just the start for the scholahowever, as it also has a busy schedule of externalengagements. In 2015, the choir sang at King’s College,Cambridge, Westminster Abbey, Sacred Heart, Wimbledon,St John’s, Smith Square, the Royal Festival Hall, theBarbican and the Royal Albert Hall. ‘The opportunities areconsiderable,’ says Scott Price, ‘although the boys have towork very hard and do earn them.’ These opportunities in2015 included a 12-day tour of the USA which saw theschola singing in Milwaukee, Cincinnati, Connecticut andNew York. They also sang at Westminster Cathedral on anumber of occasions during the past year: ‘It is alwayswonderful to be at the Cathedral – there is no greater placefor choral music and we never lose sight of how lucky weare to sing there.’

The Schola Cantorum’s rehearsal schedule is intensive,with the younger boys singing every day for an hour,mostly first thing in the morning before school starts. ‘Its anearly start for sure,’ says Price, ‘but the younger boys are attheir best at that time of day. The older boys less soperhaps!’ Being a member of the schola is a bigcommitment both for the pupils and also their parents whohave to ferry them around. ‘A lot is asked of the parents as

well as the boys certainly,’ says Price, ‘but the rewards arereal and the boys and their parents appear very happy tosupport the choir.’

One of the most exciting opportunities the choir offersis the chance to sing at the Royal Opera House, CoventGarden and with English National Opera at the Coliseum.The schola has provided chorus children at the operahouses for many years. ‘It is very exciting to be involved atthe opera houses and the boys learn so much from beingpart of professional music-making.’ Recent productions theboys have sung in include La bohème, CavalleriaRusticana & Pagliacci and Turandot. A highlight in 2015was singing in the Royal Opera’s acclaimed production ofKing Roger. ‘This opera by Szymanowski was beingperformed for the first time by the Royal Opera House. Itopens with a very tricky passage for the boys to sing, all inPolish. Fortunately we have several Polish speakers in thechoir who were able to help with the pronunciation!’ Thevoices of the boys also feature on numerous filmsincluding Paddington, Dark Shadows, Transcendence andon the Oscar-winning score for the movie Life of Pi. Thechoir has recorded several CDs of its own, the most recententitled In Honour of Our Lady, a collection of Marianmusic that was recorded in the beautiful setting of DouaiAbbey. A new CD, of the Fauré Requiem is alreadyrecorded and due for release later this year.

So what is the choir currently working on? ‘At themoment we working on JS Bach’s St John Passion forperformances in London and also at Douai Abbey – it’sbusy, but then it always is!’

You can hear the Schola sing Bach’s St John Passion atHoly Trinity, Sloane Street on Thursday 17 March and atDouai Abbey on Saturday 19 March. Both performancesstart at 7.30pm. Tickets are available from the VaughanSchool, Telephone: 020 7605 0046. There are furtherdetails about these concerts and the Schola generally onits website, www.scholacantorum.co.uk This is the first ina series of articles on the Cathedral’s visiting choirs.

Visiting ChoirsThe Vaughan School’s Schola Cantorum

© W

eens

on O

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Eight Thames Bridges Walk 2016The Bambang Sunshine Project is holding its annualsponsored walk in aid of Filipino children withdisabilities in Bambang, Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines, onSaturday 5 March. ‘Eric’s Walking Team’ will meet onthe Cathedral Piazza at 10.30am. The walk starts at11.00am. The walkers will walk across four bridgestwice. From Westminster Cathedral, they will walk toLambeth, Westminster, Waterloo, and HungerfordBridges. Participants are requested to find their sponsors.The walk should take about two and a half hours. Afterthe walk, ‘Eric’s Walking Team’ will get together forlunch in the Cathedral kitchen café .

For more information and for sponsorship forms, pleasephone Florencia on 07875867739.

© P

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Sm

ith

Palm Sunday 1955

| 29OremusMarch 201628 | Oremus March 2016

Films find it increasingly hard to tackle faith. Ever since thedemise of the sword and sandals blockbusters of Wyler,Koster and de Mille, biblical themes have been shunted outof Hollywood. With the exception, that is, of Mel Gibson’spowerful film, The Passion of the Christ (2004).

In his latest film, Risen, Kevin Reynolds (Robin Hood:Prince of Thieves, The Count of Monte Cristo) attempts tobreathe new life into the genre of the biblical epic. Althoughhe does not try to create a new Ten Commandments or TheGreatest Story Ever Told (imagine the cost of employing acast of thousands nowadays!), there are gentle reminders ofBen Hur and The Robe in his latest offering. He gives anoutsider’s view of a Gospel event – namely the Resurrection.Sadly, the resurrection narratives are sometimes accepted bybelievers as if there is nothing extraordinary about them atall, but imagine how weird the whole thing sounds to otherswho have not been granted the gift of faith, or even to thosedisciples who experienced the first Easter? Risen confrontsthe dazzling and overwhelming nature of ‘resurrection’.

Clavius, a Roman tribune played by Joseph Fiennes(Shakespeare in Love, Enemy at the Gates, Elizabeth), is aman of the world – a war weary soldier. He follows ordersand is loyal to Rome. He is also on friendly, if not at timestense, terms with Pontius Pilate (Peter Firth: BBC’s Spooks).Although what we would today term an agnostic, Clavius isattached, in a superstitious way, to the old gods – he is adevotee of Mars, the god of war. God – or the gods – merelyexist for him to be won over by bribes; unlike the God whochose to hang on a tree for the sake of love.

Despite his hard man image, Clavius obviously masks asensitive nature. He sometimes acts compassionately, withinlimits; ordering a soldier to pierce the side of Christ (CliffCurtis: The Dark Horse, Blow) as opposed to breaking hislegs, so as to spare his mother, Mary, any more grief. Pilateacts as a father figure to Clavius, and he in turn provides apaternal role for his men. His heart is not entirely closed,despite the bitterness of warfare. Being confronted withChrist’s face – lifeless on the cross, as well as visible on theempty shroud (yes, Turin style!) – seems to haunt him in away reminiscent of Marcellus Gallio (Richard Burton) in TheRobe. Both are tough men confronted by a tougher man inJesus – the man who is not scared to love, even unto death.

As reports file in of Jesus’ resurrection, and fearing aninsurrection, Pilate orders Clavius to find Christ’s body. Andso begins the tale in earnest… Joined by a younger officercalled Lucius (Tom Felton: Harry Potter), who is keen to be

Film Review

An Act of FaithEntering the mystery of the ResurrectionRisen

Kevin Reynolds

Columbia / Sony

UK release date: 18 March

Cert 12A, 107 min

Photographic Record

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In this photograph from Palm Sunday 1955,Cardinal Bernard Griffin is seen standing outsidethe West Door of the Cathedral during theprocession that followed an elaborate rite ofblessing and distribution of palms inside theCathedral. During the procession the choir sangvarious antiphons, proper to the day, but not thehymn Gloria Laus. Outside the West Door as wesee here, the procession halted whilst two orfour cantors would have been standing insidethe church facing the shut doors, singing the firststanza of this hymn which was then repeated byall outside. The cantors would sing all the versesof the hymn, those outside would repeat Gloria,laus et honor… etc. When the hymn hadfinished, the sub-deacon, who carried theprocessional cross, knocked the door with itsshaft and the doors were opened. Theprocession entered and the choir sangIngrediente Domino as nowadays (see page 13).

The colour of the vestments for both processionand High Mass that followed was purplethroughout and the Cardinal presided at, but didnot celebrate, the High Mass that followed.From the following year (1956) when the ritesfor the whole of Holy Week were simplified, redbecame the colour for the blessing andprocession and purple was the colour for theMass, thus contrasting the celebratory aspect ofOur Lord’s entry into Jerusalem and the eventsleading to his passion and death on the cross onGood Friday. Paul Tobin

Cathedral History A Photographic Record

taught the art of war and soldiery, Clavius sets off to solvethe mystery of the empty tomb. What happens during theremainder of the film is pleasantly unexpected. Suffice tosay that Clavius eventually finds the body of Christ; but healso discovers far more besides.

It could be argued that the film’s characters lack depth.We encounter only a few men (and not many women –except one or two, including a rather unfortunate MaryMagdalene). Given this sparse interaction, we don’t get toknow much about Clavius himself – is he married, where ishe from, does he have any close friends? Having said that,Joseph Fiennes plays him well and the acting in general issuperb throughout. Thankfully, the film also aviodsemulating clichéd representations of the Gospel characters.

While there are no epic battles or sweeping panoramasof ancient Jerusalem, and the crucifixion of Christ seemsrather drab (he is already dead by the time Clavius entersthe scene), this ordinariness lends credibility to a storyrooted in time. It is very incarnational, while alsoresembling a mystery play. The point of this film is not toprovide moments of exciting CGI, but an old fashionedstory. Having said that, there is one special effect towardsthe very end, which might surprise an audience brought upto believe that non-belief is the only acceptable creed.

Despite some imperfections and minor irritations (usingJesus’ Hebrew name or the sacred name for God – YHWH –throughout), as well as a slightly corny storyline towards thelatter half of the film, Risen is a must see Easter treat… evenif watched in Holy Week, when it is out in cinemas. DP

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Comment

Thirty Pieces of Silver‘Many powerful people... live off war’ (Pope Francis)

Colin Mawby

sales adding up to $26.2 billion and this only representsBritish sales. Each of these dollars causes hideous suffering:hundreds of thousands killed or maimed; familiesdestroyed, millions of refugees, women raped, childrencrippled and acute mental torment. I reiterate the HolyFather’s words that the motivation for arms sales is profit –‘blood drenched money’. This ghastly trade is anunacceptable blot on the face of humanity. Why does theworld stand by and allow it to happen?

I was recently reading a description written by KarlineKleijer, a co-ordinator of the charity Médecins SansFrontières of her visit to Taiz in the Yemen. She wrote:

‘The situation in Taiz city is devastating. It’s a large cityof 600,000 people with a front line running right down themiddle. There is active fighting and daily air strikes. Thesense of fear is palpable. People are terrified that theirchildren will get wounded or killed, and they have goodreason to be frightened.

‘A few weeks back a father was playing football with his three children when a shell fell. They weren’t brought to hospital. There was no point as all four were dead within seconds.

‘Taiz normally has 20 hospitals, but 14 have been forcedto close because they have been damaged by air strikes andshelling or have run out of medicines, fuel and medical staff.Visiting one of the still functioning hospitals I met four youngboys, aged nine or 10, two of them brothers. They had beenplaying with UXO – unexploded ordnance. They had throwna grenade against a wall and it had blown up leaving two ofthem with severe injuries.’

Horrific and obscene consequencesKarline Kleijer describes the horrific and obscene

consequences of arms sales. Viewed in the context of herreport, the Holy Father’s condemnation of the arms trade iseven starker. I recall the occasion in 1958 when the worldfamous entertainer Liberace was viciously attacked in theDaily Mirror. He sent a telegram to the writer saying: ‘Whatyou said hurt me very much. I cried all the way to the bank.’ I have no doubt that the crocodile tears of arms dealers keephim good company.

Little is written about the arms trade; the Pope refers to a‘shameful and culpable silence.’ Acts of terrorism aredescribed in copious detail but nothing is said about the toolsof death that allow them to happen. In 1946, MartinNiemöller, a theologian and Lutheran minister incarcerated bythe Nazis for seven years in various concentration camps,said: ‘First they came for the socialists, and I did not speakbecause I was not a socialist. Then they came for the tradeunionists and I did not speak out because I was not a tradeunionist. Then they came for the Jews and I did not speak outbecause I was not a Jew. Then they came for me and therewas no-one to speak for me.’

Comment

Much has been written about terrorism and there has beenwidespread condemnation of the terrible atrocitiescommitted by ISIS (Daesh). These have provoked a sense ofhysteria that may have unintentionally compromised thepossibility of a balanced response to the problem and alsosoured relations between British ethnic communities.However, is terrorism too narrowly defined?

The word may also be applied to those who makemoney out of selling arms on the black market, those whoexport to states with appalling records on human rightswhich then use them against their own citizens. To mymind, many arms dealers are terrorists in a similar mannerto ISIS who, however misguided, can at least claim religiousmotivation. Arms dealers are purely interested in makingmoney. Pope Francis, in his usually succinct manner, madethis clear in his recent address to the US Congress. Heasked: ‘Why are deadly weapons being sold to those whoplan to inflict untold suffering on individuals and society?Sadly, the answer is, we all know, simply for money; moneythat is drenched in blood, often innocent blood. It is ourduty to confront this problem and stop the arms trade.’

The amount of money spent on arms is staggering. In 2014,British arms sales totalled $4.2 billion. In the same year, Britisharms manufacturers had negotiated for the following 10 years

The evil of indifference

Elie Weisel, the 1986 Nobel Peace Prize winner andperhaps one of the foremost writers about the Holocaust,spoke at a gathering in his honour hosted at the WhiteHouse in 1999 by the then President and Hilary Clinton:‘To be indifferent to suffering is what makes the humanbeing inhuman. Indifference is more dangerous than angerand hatred. Anger can at times be creative. One writes agreat poem, a great symphony, one does something for thesake of humanity because one is angry at the injustice ofwhat one witnesses. Even hatred at times may elicit aresponse. You fight it. You denounce it. You disarm it.Indifference elicits no response. Indifference is not aresponse. Indifference is not a beginning, it is an end. Andtherefore, indifference is always the friend of the enemy forit benefits the aggressor – never the victim whose pain itmagnifies when he or she feels forgotten. The politicalprisoner in his cell, the hungry children, the homelessrefugees – not to respond to their plight, not to relieve theirsolitude by offering them a spark of hope is to exile themfrom human memory. In denying their humanity we betrayour own.’

One of the terrible scars defacing contemporary historyis genocide – Rwanda, Cambodia, Darfur just to mentionthree – but central to all of them is the availability ofmodern weapons. Many people echo the immediatereaction of the Archbishop of Canterbury to the recentterrorist attacks in Paris: ‘Where was God?’ One might welladd, ‘Where is He when dealers make billions out of armssales?’ Part of the answer is that He was on earth 2,000years ago when his Divine Son redeemed the world andoffered it a code of living that would prevent these terriblethings from happening. Unfortunately, most human powerstructures ignore Christ’s teaching, they don’t even considerit, and this wilful blindness causes the misery of war andthe worship of money at the expense of human suffering.

We must listen to and support the Pope

This is why the words of the Holy Father, the Vicar ofChrist, are of such importance. The world ignores them atits peril. He constantly underlines that there is much moreto evangelisation than preaching, it must, by example, leadthe world to a way of life that is built upon the teaching ofChrist, a world based on love and not hate; respect for ourneighbours and not their killing. If we lived Christ’s teachingthere would be no war, no genocide and also a well-policed system of arms control. However, as the HolyFather recently emphasised, ‘Many powerful people don’twant peace because they live off war.’ This is the problemthat Christians must overcome. How do we do it?

The Church should work through political channels andthe United Nations; it must generate deep anger at theactivities of arms traders and do all in its power to control

their malevolent activities. Its work must be founded onpersistent prayer and treated as a vital part ofevangelisation. Christians must consistently support theHoly Father in his determination to highlight the iniquitiesof arms trading. They must seek to establish treaties thatdeal with arms control. There are many ways in whichChristians can work towards solutions but ignoring theproblem is not one of them. The vast amount of money tobe made from arms dealing will always be a massivetemptation. Resolute political will is essential, without itthere can be no solution. The International Criminal Courtin the Hague is a great step forward in the control ofdictators; will we ever see black market arms tradersindicted before this body?

The Holy Father has spoken at length about indifference, ‘It is dangerous whether innocent or not.’ Elie Weisel, whenaccepting the Nobel Prize, swore ‘Never to be silent in theface of human suffering, always take sides and never beneutral.’ As Christians we must abhor indifference and fightall manifestations of evil of which one of the greatest is theabominable trade in arms.

Colin Mawby, KSG is an acclaimed composer, conductorand organist and a former Master of Music at the Cathedral.

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Diary and From the Registers/NoticesDiary and From the Registers

Oremus March 2016

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Tuesday 1 MarchST DAVID, Bishop, Patron of Wales5.30pm Chapter MassWednesday 2 March2.15pm Primary Schools’ Year of MercyMass: CardinalFriday 4 March (Friday abstinence) Lent feria orSt CasimirWomen’s World Day of Prayer3.00pm Stations of the Cross for the Deaf6.15pm Stations of the Cross (Follows Immediately after the 5.30pm Mass)Saturday 5 March6.00pmVisiting choir: Cardinal VaughanMemorial School Schola Cantorum (seepage 27)Sunday 6 March 4th SUNDAY OF LENT (Ps Week 4)Laetare Sunday 9.00am Mass celebrated by the Cardinal

10.30am Solemn Mass (Full Choir)Missa Bell’ Amfitrit’ altera Lassus Lætatus sumVictoriaOrgan: Toccata in F (BuxWV 157) Buxtehude

3.30pm Solemn Vespers and Benediction (Full Choir)Magnificat septimi toni BevanAspice Domine ByrdOrgan: Passacaglia (BWV 582) J S Bach

Monday 7 MarchLent feria orSts Perpetua and Felicity, Martyrs

Tuesday 8 MarchLent feria orSt John of God, ReligiousWednesday 9 MarchLent feria orSt Frances of Rome, ReligiousThursday 10 MarchSt Joseph’s chapel: Mill Hill MissionariesExhibition Friday 11 March (Friday Abstinence)Lent feria3.00pm Stations of the Cross for the Deaf6.15pm Stations of the Cross (Followsimmediately after the 5.30pm Mass)Saturday 12 March12.30pm Divine Mercy Picture pilgrimsattend Mass1.00pm Divine Mercy Picture prayers4.30pm Side chapel: Latin Mass SocietyMassSunday 13 March 5th SUNDAY OF LENT (Ps Week 1)Anniversary of the Election of Pope Francis9.00am Family Mass10.30am Solemn Mass (Full Choir)

Mass for four voices ByrdSuscipe quæso Domine Tallis Si enim iniquitates Tallis

3.30pm Solemn Vespers and Benediction (Full Choir)Magnificat tertii toni MundyAdoramus te Handl

Wednesday 16 MarchThe 12.30pm, 1.05pm and 5.30pm Masseswill be celebrated in the Hall7.30pm Westminster Cathedral ChoirConcert: J S Bach’s St John Passion (seeadvert on page 19)Thursday 17 MarchST PATRICK, Bishop, Patron of IrelandCardinal Hinsley’s anniversary7.00am, 8.00am and 10.30am Masses in St Patrick’s chapelFriday 18 March (Friday abstinence)Lent feria orSt Cyril of Jerusalem, Bishop & Doctor3.00pm Stations of the Cross for the Deaf6.15pm Stations of the Cross (Followsimmediately after the 5.30pm Mass)Saturday 19 MarchST JOSEPH, Spouse of the Blessed VirginMary, Patron of the DioceseSt Joseph’s chapel: Mill Hill MissionariesExhibition ends8.00am and 9.00am Masses in St Joseph’schapel12.30pm 150th anniversary Mass for MillHill Missionaries: Cardinal

HOLY WEEKIn Holy Week the Church celebrates themysteries of salvation accomplished byChrist in the last days of his earthly life, fromhis messianic entry into Jerusalem, until hisblessed Passion and glorious Resurrection.Lent continues until Maundy Thursday.Sunday 20 March PALM SUNDAY OF THE PASSION OF THELORD10.00am Solemn Procession and Mass

celebrated by the Cardinal (Full Choir)Ingrediente Domino MalcolmChristus factus est AnerioPassion according to Luke VictoriaImproperium exspectavit LassusMass in G minor Vaughan Williams Ave verum corpus Byrd

12.00pm Mass starts at 12.15pm3.30pm Solemn Vespers and Benediction

(Full Choir)Magnificat octavi toni Lassus Hosanna to the Son of David Weelkes

Monday 21 March MONDAY OF HOLY WEEKConfessions 10.30am-6.00pmTuesday 22 March TUESDAY OF HOLY WEEKConfessions 2.30pm-6.00pmThe 10.30am, 12.30pm, 1.05pm Masses arecancelled12.00pm Chrism Mass celebrated by theCardinalWednesday 23 March WEDNESDAY OF HOLY WEEKConfessions 10.30am-6.00pmThursday 24 MarchMAUNDY THURSDAYConfessions 10.30am-5.00pm6.00pm Mass of the Lord’s Suppercelebrated by Cardinal (Full Choir)

Mass for five voices ByrdUbi caritas et amor Duruflé Panis angelicus Rebelo

Friday 25 MarchGOOD FRIDAY (Fast & Abstinence)Confessions 10.30am-2.00pm10.00am Office of Readings: Cardinal

(Full Choir)Eram quasi agnus VictoriaIesum tradidit impius VictoriaCaligaverunt oculi mei VictoriaChristus factus est Anerio

3.00pm Solemn Liturgy of the Passion: Cardinal (Full Choir)Christus factus est BrucknerPassion according to John Byrd Improperia Victoria Crux fidelis King John IV of PortugalCivitas sancti tui Byrd O vos omnes CasalsLamentations of Jeremiah Tallis

6.30pm Stations of the CrossSaturday 26 MarchHOLY SATURDAY Fast as desired)Confessions 10.30am-5.00pm10.00am Office of Readings:

Cardinal (Full Choir)Recessit pastor noster VictoriaO vos omnes VictoriaSepulto Domino VictoriaChristus factus est Anerio

8.30pm Easter Vigil celebrated by the

October 2013March 2016

The Month of MarchFollowing the bleak, cold months ofwinter, March heralds the promise ofa brighter future. Summer lies ahead –with its particular light and warmth,which call forth the radiant colours ofcreation. But on the spiritual horizonlies Easter, with its unsurpassableradiance and glory. Easter calls eachperson to live the fullness of his or hervocation – to be one with the RisenLord and perfect as our HeavenlyFather is perfect.

As creatures of flesh and spirit, welong for the brightness of spring andsummer, but desire with greaterlonging that season of theResurrection. God has planted adesire in our hearts. He wishes us toknow life in its fullness, and we seekit with the longing of a lost childsearching for his parent. Come, saysthe Lord, I have conquered death andsin – rest your weary soul in the armsof my unending friendship. We givethanks to God for the mysteries of thislife, as well as the life to come: thejoy of the ending of winter and thewonder of the glorious unendingsummer of the Resurrection of Christ.

Holy Father’s Intentions for March Universal: That families in need mayreceive the necessary support and thatchildren may grow up in healthy andpeaceful environments.

Evangelisation: That those Christianswho, on account of their faith, arediscriminated against or are beingpersecuted, may remain strong andfaithful to the Gospel, thanks to theincessant prayer of the Church.

Key to the Diary: Saints days and holydays written in CAPITAL LETTERS denoteFeasts, those in BOLD CAPITAL LETTERSdenote Solemnities, those not in capitalsand where there is a choice denoteOptional Memoria, all others not in capitalletters are Memoria.

Oremus

St John of God – Feast, 8 March

‘The Son of Man came for sinners, and we are bound to seek their conversion.I am unfaithful to my vocation because I neglect this, but I confess that I knowof no bad person in my hospital except myself alone, who am indeed unworthyto eat the bread of the poor.’

Throughout the YearMondays11.30am: Prayer Group in the HinsleyRoom. 6.00pm: Scripture DiscussionGroup in Clergy House. 6.00pm:Christian Meditation Group in theHinsley Room. 6.30pm: Guild of theBlessed Sacrament in the CathedralTuesdays6.30pm: The Guild of St Anthony in theCathedral. 7.30pm: The CatholicEvidence Guild in Clergy House.Wednesdays12.00pm: First Wednesday Quiet Dayson the first Wednesday of every monthin the Hinsley Room.Thursdays6.30pm: The Legion of Mary in ClergyHouse. 6.45pm: Scripture DiscussionGroup in Clergy House.Fridays5.00pm: Charismatic Prayer Group inthe Cathedral Hall – please check inadvance for confirmation. 6.30pm: TheDiocesan Vocations Group in theHinsley Room on the last of each month.Saturdays10.00am: Centering Prayer Group in theHinsley Room. 2.00pm: Justice andPeace Group in the Hinsley Room onthe last of the month.

What Happens and WhenPublic ServicesThe Cathedral opens shortly before the firstMass of the day; doors close at 7.00pm,Monday to Saturday, with occasionalexceptions. On Sunday evenings, the Cathedralcloses after the 7.00pm Mass. On Public and Bank holidays the Cathedralcloses at 5.30pm in the afternoon.Monday to FridayMasses: 7.00am; 8.00am; 10.30am (said inLatin); 12.30pm; 1.05pm and 5.30pm. MorningPrayer (Lady Chapel): 7.40am. Evening Prayer(Latin Vespers* sung by the Lay Clerks in LadyChapel): 5.00pm (*except Tuesday when it issung in English). Solemn Mass (sung by theChoir): 5.30pm. Rosary will be prayed after the5.30pm Mass.Saturday Masses: 8.00am; 9.00am; 10.30am; and12.30pm. Morning Prayer (Lady Chapel):10.00am. Solemn Mass (sung by the Choir):10.30am. First Evening Prayer of Sunday (LadyChapel): 5.30pm. First Mass of Sunday: 6.00pm.Sunday Masses: 8.00am; 9.00am; 10.30am; 12.00noon; 5.30pm; and 7.00pm. Morning Prayer(Lady Chapel) 10.00am. Solemn Mass (sung bythe Choir) 10.30am. Solemn Vespers andBenediction 3.30pm. Organ Recital (whenscheduled): 4.45pm.Holidays of ObligationAs Monday-Friday, Vigil Mass (evening of theprevious day) at 5.30pm.Public HolidaysMasses: 10.30am, 12.30pm, 5.00pm. Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament This takes place in the Blessed SacramentChapel every Monday to Friday following the1.05pm Mass until 4.45pm.Confessions are heard at the following times:Saturday: 10.30am-6.30pm. Sunday: 11.00am-1.00pm; and 4.30-7.00pm. Monday-Friday:11.30am-6.00pm. Public Holidays: 11.00am-1.00pm.Funerals Enquiries about arranging a funeral atthe Cathedral or Sacred Heart Church,Horseferry Road, should be made to a priest at Cathedral Clergy House in the first instance.

Extraordinary Form: For the liturgicalcalendar of the Extraordinary Form(1962 Missal) of the Roman Rite, pleasevisit the Latin Mass Society website:www.lms.org.uk/

Westminster CathedralCathedral Clergy House42 Francis Street London SW1P 1QW

Telephone 020 7798 9055Service times 020 7798 9097www.westminstercathedral.org.uk

Cathedral ChaplainsCanon Christopher TuckwellAdministratorFr Alexander MasterSub-Administrator & PrecentorFr John Ablewhite, RegistrarFr Michael DonaghyFr Gerard O’BrienFr Brian O’MahonyFr Martin PlunkettFr Michael Quaicoe

Sub-Administrator’s InternFrancis Thomas

Also in residenceFranciscan Sisters of Our Lady of Victories

Music DepartmentMartin Baker, Master of MusicPeter Stevens, Assist Master of Music Alexander Pott, Organ Scholar

Cathedral Commercial ManagerJohn DalyCathedral Facilities ManagerSarah DorganEstates ManagerNeil Fairbairn

Chapel of EaseSacred Heart ChurchHorseferry Road SW1P 2EF

Cardinal (Full Choir)Iubilate Deo omnis terra LassusExodus canticle ReidSicut cervus PalestrinaMesse solennelle in C sharp minor (G, S) VierneEcce vicit Leo PhilipsO sacrum convivium HasslerOrgan: Prelude & Fugue in B major (Op. 7) Dupré

Sunday 27 MarchEASTER SUNDAY OF THE RESURRECTIONNo Confessions10.00am Solemn Morning Prayer and Mass

celebrated by the Cardinal (Full Choir)Krönungsmesse (K.317) MozartHallelujah Handel O filii et filiæ arr. BakerOrgan: Toccata (Symphonie improvisée) Cochereau tr. Filsell

12.00pm Mass starts at 12.15pm3.30pm Solemn Vespers and Benediction:

Cardinal (Full Choir)Magnificat primi toni PalestrinaLaudibus in sanctis Byrd Organ: Final (Symphonie I) Vierne

Monday 28 MarchMONDAY WITHIN THE OCTAVE OF EASTERBANK HOLIDAYConfessions 11.00am-1.00pm10.30am Mass12.30pm Mass5.00pm MassTuesday 29 MarchTUESDAY WITHIN THE OCTAVE OF EASTERConfessions 11.00am-1.00pm10.30am Mass12.30pm Mass5.00pm MassWednesday 30 March WEDNESDAY WITHIN THE OCTAVE OF EASTERConfessions 11.00am-1.00pm10.30am Mass12.30pm Mass5.00pm MassThursday 31 MarchTHURSDAY WITHIN THE OCTAVE OF EASTERConfessions 11.00am-1.00pm10.30am Mass12.30am Mass5.00pm Mass

From the RegistersBaptismsErin KelleherAriana Da SilvaXolani NgwenaFinley O’SheaWinston Shrubb

FuneralsSheila AmbroseOliver MitchellYvonne Haynes

Book Review / Advertisements

34 | Oremus March 2016

Chaplains

After a 25-year break, I returned to the Shrine of OurLady in Fatima in Portugal for a recent retreat. My previousvisit certainly made an impact on me, so I am surprised ittook me so long to return. However with God in chargeand Our Blessed Lady close by, the timing could not havebeen better. After a stressful few months, I set off on mypilgrimage to Fatima on 12 October last year. I was keen tobe there for the 13th of the month, which along with 13th May to September are days of special celebration.

After such a long wait I was not disappointed.Immediately after checking into theguesthouse I went to the sanctuary and theplace of Mary’s first apparition on 13 May1917. My previous memories cameflooding back. Strong and real faith in Godand trust in Our Lady’s help was clearlyevident in the many people walkingaround the sanctuary – praying the rosary,attending Mass in the chapel on the site ofthe apparitions or simply sitting in quietreflection.

Mary appeared six times on 13 May,June, July, August, September and Octoberto three children grazing their sheep –Lucia, aged 10; Francisco, aged nine; andJacinta, aged seven. They described a Ladywho appeared as so beautiful that shecould not possibly be of this earth. Sheseemed to be about 18 years old, her dresswas of light and the colour of snow. Awhite veil, laced with gold, covered herhead and shoulders and fell to her feet likea dress. From her fingers, which werejoined at the breast in prayer, hung abrilliant rosary to which was attached asilver cross.

After a while Lucia spoke to the Lady asking her whereshe came from. Mary’s response was: ‘Fear not. I shall doyou no harm. I come from heaven. I have come to ask youto come here for six months in succession on the 13th dayof each month at this same hour. On 13 October I shall tellyou who I am and what I want.’ The Lady went on to say,‘Would you like to offer yourselves to God to makesacrifices and to accept willingly all the sufferings it mayplease Him to send you in order to make reparation for somany sins, which offend the Divine Majesty, to obtain theconversion of sinners and to make amends for all theblasphemies and offences against the Immaculate Heart ofMary? You will soon have much to suffer but the grace ofGod will help you and give you the strength you need.’ Thiswas a tall order for three children age seven, nine and 10.But they accepted the request.

Called back to FatimaOur Lady’s message for today Fr Gerard O’Brien

The Lady appeared as she said she would. The childrendid suffer. Family, townspeople, church and the authoritiesdid not believe them. The situation worsened and thechildren were even held captive by the authorities. Theapparitions occurred while the world was in the midst ofthe First World War.

Three secrets or messages are associated with Fatima,revealed to the children. The first was a vision of hell andhow all the faithful can be saved if we consecrate ourselvesand the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The

children were asked to recite the rosaryevery day and establish devotion in theworld to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.The message for the faithful then and forus now, today, is to pray the rosary everyday, to amend our lives and ask pardonfor our sins.

The second secret involved a greatprophecy concerning a miraculous peacewhich God wished to grant the world toprevent further persecutions against theHoly Father and the Church. The messagealso called for the consecration of Russiato the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

The third secret, a little more difficultto interpret, seems concerned with greaterdangers that threaten the faith and the lifeof Christians if repentance is notforthcoming. The Cross is a significantsymbol, reminding us of history’s misery,but also as a promise of hope.

There is a lot more to the apparitionsof Our Lady in Fatima and it would bewell worth reading up on this significanthistorical event. It is, however, important

not to get drawn into the detail, bringing unnecessary worryupon ourselves. The main thing to concern ourselves with isan awareness that evil does exist and we always need to beon our guard. However, because of the death andresurrection of Our Lord there is hope and the possibility ofsalvation for all. So, in the meantime, let us take up Mary’sinvitation to pray the rosary daily – alone, with our spouses,with our children. It is a particular type of prayer thatpossibly many are not familiar with. So let us start gently,maybe just one decade a day. We can pray for ourselves,the world, for family life, the protection of life,governments, priests, religious and seminarians. The rosarywas the favourite prayer of St John Paul II.

Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us.

Fr Gerard O’Brien is a Cathedral chaplain.

| 35OremusMarch 2016

© Mazur/catholicnews.org.uk

Companions of OremusSupporting our magazineZoe Goodway

Just over two years ago, we took the decision to offerOremus as a free magazine. We wanted to reach a widerreadership, including both those who prefer to access ourcontent online and those who, for whatever reason, wereunable to afford the cover price which had been increasingsteadily to pay our production costs. We hoped that bygrowing our circulation, we would be able to attract moreadvertisers and increase our advertising rates.

Our aspirations have – to some extent – been achieved.Circulation has rocketed so we are now able to reach morereaders with news and articles about the Cathedral’s historyand music, events in the Cathedral and those Catholicorganisations with whom we have relationships, as well asthought-provoking writing from a wide variety ofcontributors. Meanwhile, continuing challenging economicconditions have seen production costs increase without abalancing uplift in advertising revenues.

Perhaps the most encouraging result of providingOremus free to everyone, is the strength of the positivefeedback we receive from those who clearly have a highregard for our content and the quality of the production.This appreciation has been demonstrated in a concrete waythrough generous donations which readers make regularlytowards Oremus’ expenses.

We believe that it is right to recognise these donors whomake it possible for Oremus to maintain its standards whilereaching out to all in our Cathedral community. In order todo so, Canon Christopher has approved the establishment ofThe Companions of Oremus. We would like to invite thosewho are able to do so to donate an annual sum specificallyfor the support of Oremus. Those joining the Companions ofOremus will be listed in the magazine each month and willalso be invited to a social event as a thank you. CanonChristopher has also kindly promised to offer Mass for theintentions of the Companions once a year.

If you feel able to contribute in this way (a minimumsum of £100 annually is suggested) please let us knoweither by writing to the Oremus office at Clergy House, 42 Francis Street, London SW1P 1QW or by emailing:companionsoforemus@gmail.com Please indicate how youwould like your name to appear in the printed list ofCompanions (eg. Joseph and Josephine Bloggs, Mr & Mrs JJBloggs, Joseph Bloggs, Mrs Josephine Bloggs etc). If you areable to Gift Aid your contribution, please mention this inyour letter or email and provide your name and address(including postcode). If you are not already a Cathedral GiftAid donor, we will send you a form to complete. Pleasemake any cheques payable to ‘Oremus’.

Membership of The Companions of Oremus is not asubscription so you will still need to collect your copy of themagazine in the usual way from the back of the Cathedral(unless you are already a postal subscriber).