If you have and photo's please contact me john@deaconjohn.co.uk
God Bless,
J
CWL ladies in uniform
Mobile Canteen Geldrop, Holland, WWII
Westminster Hut WWI
Wanted: Photos of CWL Wartime Recreation Huts and Canteens
If you have and photo's please contact me john@deaconjohn.co.uk
God Bless,
J
Homily for the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica and Remembrance Sunday
Readings for the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica Year A:
Ezekiel 47:1-2,8-9,12, Psalm 45, 1 Corinthians 3:9-11,16-17, John 2:13-22
[All these readings can be found at www.universalis.com for the next few weeks. Remember to scroll down for the readings of the day.]
The Church today is celebrating the dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome. The feast is one of unity towards the See of Peter and is celebrated across the world. The readings teach of Christ’s love for His father’s house and Paul describes how Christ built the foundation of the Church, the Church that each one of us is a part of.
We are called to build our Church, to continue to grow our Church. We are the stones, the bricks, the steel and glass, the beams and windows of our Church today. We are building our Church as we were instructed, we are building our Church from our love of God, we are building our Church to serve our world today. Our children will build on us and their children will build on them. The Church therefore always grows, always adapts, and is always ready to face the challenges of the current world.
We may think the world of 2014 has it problems. But 100 years ago the problems the world had were much worse. Since the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand on June 28th 1914 the world had been descending into war. The Great War started on August 1st, and Britain declared war on Germany on August 4th. One hundred years ago today British troops were dying at Ypres.
Today we remember the sacrifice of those who fought and those who died. The 888,246 British soldiers who lost their lives in The Great War. The 65 million people that were killed during that war. The 170 million who have died in war in the last 100 years.
But today we are directed by our scripture to look to our Church, we need to look at the stones we have been laid upon, the people who were the Church 100 years ago, we need to thank God for them and for their work. Then we need to challenge ourselves to build a Church to serve the world we see today. The smallest of things can make a surprising difference.
During the first world war the Catholic Woman League made a request for funds to build a recreation hut for the soldiers in Boulogne. Immediate and generous donation allowed the ladies to open this hut for the soldiers. More followed all across Europe, and all were staffed by the Catholic ladies of the CWL. By the end of The Great War there were 35 huts providing for practical and the spiritual needs of the soldiers. Meals were provided 24 hours a day, and Mass was said on Sundays. Some huts even had permanent alters. After the war these huts provided help in rebuilding the shattered towns and villages.
As the world descended into World War II the CWL restarted the huts and over the next few years opened and staffed over 180 canteens and huts around the world. These continued long after the war and again helped to rebuild.
There are now shrines in many of the places where these huts stood. A crucifix in Westminster cathedral is made from the Cross that stood next the Westminster Hut. Next time you are there I think you can see it on the wall in the gift shop.
The huts are now all gone and few people would remember or know of the work those ladies did during the two wars. But the work, like the work of the Church we are all called to do, didn’t stop with the last hut. No, as the huts were closed and the land sold, the money was put to good use and is still being used today. The CWL Service Committee works closely with the Catholic Bishop to the Forces to help anyone connected to the forces, who is in need. Beds, wheel chairs and school books have already been provided. During the most recent war in Afghanistan the committee was asked to provide flip-flops and shorts for injured soldiers who they heard only has combat boots to wear while recover from leg wounds.
As Ezekiel said in our first reading, there is a river that flows from our Church, and where that river passes there is life. The ladies who built and staffed that first hut almost 100 years ago, built the Church their world needed, and where they passed they brought life. The ladies who manage the Service Committee today are building the Church our world needs and their work brings life. You are a stone in that same Church. What are you building for the world today and where will you bring life to today’s world.
About the Author - Deacon John Scanlon
Homily Index
Praying with New Media
Diocesan Pastoral Council
Praying with New Media
http://www.universalis.com - Universalis, Catholic calendar
The prayer of the church, the Divine office. This is the most used app on my phone and iPad. I use it to easily access the divine office which is a lovely way to pray. I also use it as a missal for weekday and Sunday Mass. You can build iBooks for reading on kindle and other devices. Available on android, iOS, PC and Mac.
Pray as you go - pray-as-you-go.org
My current favourite app delivers Podcasts daily to your phone, 10mins of music, reflections and scripture to guide you in your prayer. Available on iOS and android, as well as a podcast and website.twitter.com
Twitter is a micro social medial site. It allows people to share 140 character messages and photos with the world. It's very ego centric as you collect followers. However it is a great source of news, inspiration and a way to profess your faith. You can follow parishioners, evangelists, bishops and the Pope. If you want you can follow me @JohnCScanlon If you follow me you can look at who I follow 50% are Christian tweeters you may want to follow.Facebook.com
Similar to twitter but you collect friends instead of followers and you are not limited to 140 characters. Facebook allows friends, families and communities to share things going on in their lives. Why not share your faith or be inspired by other sharing theirs. Many organisations have quality Facebook pages. Look at the CWL page.Pray traditional prayers in a different way
Just search the apps stores or google for the prayers you are looking for. I particularly like iRosary and StationsOfTheCross, but there are lots out there.iRosary: This rosary app allows you to pray with a beautiful app giving you all the words of each prayer so if you don't know this prayer forwards, backwards and sidewinders the app will lead you through it easily. It's a wonderful way to spend the train ride between Parkway and Swindon.
StationsOfTheCross: This app leads you through the Stations of the Cross with reflections and images.
Confession apps - iConfess
A few years ago every news station was carry news of confession apps. These are not tools to let you confess without a priest but are preparation tools. They give you a chance to reflect on what you want to talk about in confession and if you like they will remind you while you are in confession. You might get a strange look but then again you might not the priest I first used is app with was very interested and we had a good chat about it after the sacrament of reconciliation.Free candle app - Free Candle
I like the simplicity of this app. All it does is display a burning candle on the screen, but in an office you probably can light a candle and this can give you something to focus on.Blogs and websites
My blog can be found at www.deaconjohn.co.uk on it you will find homilies I have preached and articles on things I feel the need to write about. Many Christians, deacons, religious, priests and bishops blog or run web sites. Your parish probably has a web site. Visit them often if you like, the authors can see the numbers of people visiting and your visit encourages them to keep writing. Learn to comment on them if they allow it and encourage those authors proclaiming The Lord.Vatican.va is the Vatican website where you can follow news from the Vatican and get access to all the papal documents and council documents. A book of the documents from Vatican II would cost you £10 but they are all free on this site. There are also Vatican.va apps which enable access to all the same content.
A Bible
I have used pocketsword for a long time but there are lots of other. Pocket sword lets you have multiple translation and commentaries. Really useful if you are leading anything and get a difficult question as you can search the passage and then check several translation and several commentaries to help you answer. You have to download the different bibles separately, many are free but some have to be paid for.There are many bible apps out there find one that works for you.
Also consider a kindle or ebook, or the kindle app. That way you can buy an electronic copy of the bible to read. I would recommend a reading bible like The Message which is a little different in language terms to the bible readings you hear at church. Unfortunately I haven’t found a CTS bible electronically yet.
Also, consider an mp3 version of the bible. You can listen to this while sitting on the bus, driving to work or walking the dog. The bible has a verbal tradition; it's been written to be heard.
Homily 28th Sunday Ordinary Time Year A - The heavenly banquet.
The Heavenly Banquet
Readings for the twenty eighth Sunday of Ordinary Time Year A:
Isaiah 25:6-10, Psalm 22, Philippians 4:12-14,19-20, Matthew 22:1-14
[All these readings can be found at www.universalis.com for the next few weeks. Remember to scroll down for the readings of the day.]
We are invited today to banquet of rich food and fine wine. A banquet that will be held on God’s mountain. At this banquet death and shame will be lifted from us, our sadness turned to joy, our tears wiped away. We will live like Adam and Eve in paradise. We are today invited to share heaven with God.
Do you like the sound of that?
Do you think you will RSVP to that invitation?
Will you go to the banquet?
Jesus was very worried that we wouldn’t come, that we would lose our way and get distracted. That this world would get in the way, that we wouldn’t believe the invitation. So he told the priests and elders a couple of parables. In the first parable the king calls those invited to the banquet but they don’t come and even worse attack the kings messengers. That’s easy to interpret, it’s aimed at Gods chosen people Israel, as they turn their back on God and don’t accept his invitation. Then wonderfully God offers the invitation to everyone, to us the gentiles, we are now able to come to Gods heavenly banquet.
The second parable strikes me much harder, I don’t like it. It seems unfair. The people now come and enjoy the banquet, but one man isn’t wearing a wedding garment and just because of his clothes is thrown out. That scares me as I want to be at that banquet, I want to stay at that banquet, I don’t want to be thrown out. How do I ensure I wear the right clothes?
Well the clothes represent your life, or at least your life since accepting the invitation, your life since you accepted the gift of grace. Your clothes and your life are washed white at baptism, kept clean by the life you lead and the sacraments, particularly reconciliation and the Eucharist.
We all do wrong, we all sin, we all ruin the clothes we will wear to the banquet. God knows that, which is why he never stops forgiving, never stops showering us in grace. By accepting his grace we become responsible for our lives, we must try and live lives worthy of that grace, to be proud and grateful for the clothes God has given us. Clothes that through Grace, are so easy to clean so easy to repair.
The next question is then what should I be doing in my new clothes. Well today’s psalm can help, psalm 22, is one of my favourites. It’s often read at baptisms and speaks wonderfully of the lifelong protection God provides. Today the last verse has stood out for me, I have often drawn comfort from the line, “Surely goodness and kindness shall follow me all the days of my life.” But today I read it differently; today I found a challenge it that line. Maybe it means I am challenged to provided goodness and kindness all of my days, it follows me because I am supposed to leave a trail of goodness and kindness. If I dwell with the lord, my life is His, I have a responsibility to live a life filled with the grace he has given me. When I fail I can always turn back to Him and always be forgiven, but when I succeed what differences can I make to this damaged world, how can I do my bit to help Gods kingdom come, on earth as it is at the banquet on that mountain in heaven.
About the Author - Deacon John Scanlon
Homily Index
Homily 19th Sunday Ordinary Time Year A - Courage! It is I!
Courage! It is I!
The Readings for the Nineteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time Year A:
1 Kings 19:9, 11-13 - Psalm 84 - Romans 9:1-5 – Matthew 14:22-33
[All these readings can be found at www.universalis.com for the next few weeks. Remember to scroll down for the readings of the day.]
It is not easy to respond to or even hear the call of God. The call can get lost in all the noise and activity of our daily lives. Then if we do hear His call, will we have the courage to respond, the courage as Peter did, to step out of the boat.
As I said a few weeks ago I am proud of this community, I am proud of the changes I have seen over the last 3 years, I am proud of what you do and how you do it. I think you are an example in this diocese and in this country. You have embraced the challenges presented by parishes in communion and are thriving and growing. I love being here, I love serving here, I love being part of this parish. You should all be proud of what you have achieved these last few years.
Now as I look out at the faces I know and love I am excited to see what you will be called to do, and what, with Christ’s help you will do next.
I can think of a thousand challenges for you. You could read here at church, teach at our children’s liturgy, arrange flowers, clean, prepare for Mass, welcome, sing, lead bible study, join one of the committees and arrange social events or our liturgy, you could lobby parliament or large corporates for justice, you could invite your neighbours to church events, you could feed the homeless and support to poor, you could raise money and pay off the debts of this church, you could do so many things but what you should do first, is listen to God. He actually knows what he wants you to do, and I recommend you try and find out what that is and give it a go.
Elijah, spent a night alone in a cave waiting for God. In the morning Elijah listened not to the mighty wind, not to the earthquake, not to the fire, but to the gentle breeze. If you are too hear God in our big and noisy world you need to find quiet, you need to find time alone, you need to listen to the voice no louder than the breeze. The strange thing is once you start to listen that voice, the still and quiet voice has the power to be heard above the loudest of storms.
Take for example Peter and the disciples on the boat in the storm. They were able to hear His voice in the storm, “Courage! It is I! Do not be afraid.” Peter in response to our Lords call, stepped from the boat and walked upon the water.
Could you do that? Would you do that?
I have no idea what our Lord will ask of you, I don’t know if it will be easy or hard, I don’t know if you have the skills and abilities to do it, but I do know, I do believe, I do have absolute faith that if God asks you to do something, with his help you will be able to do it.
Peter soon got scared by the winds and started to slip below the water, and I wouldn’t be at all surprised if that started to happen to you when you start to do something new for the Lord. Few if any of us have the faith to move mountains by asking them to move. Few if any of us would feel we had the faith to step out on a lake and walk across it. And none of us could achieve even the smallest thing for God, if God wasn’t involved.
I want you to listen to God. Pray to Him and ask Him what He is asking you to do. Listen, listen and keep listening. He might not tell you immediately, you might not hear Him immediately. God shouted at me for 30 years before I heard the first whisper.
Once you start to hear, don’t panic. Once you start to think I should be doing something about this or that, I should be helping here or there. That’s when you start to pray for the strength, for the faith, for the gifts to do what’s being asked. That’s when you start to talk to your friends, the people in the pews next to you, Fr Frank and Fr Jim, even me. God may be telling us the same thing or just to help you. Once you start and things start going wrong cry out for help and I promise you, Jesus will reach down and pull you up, just as he puller Peter from the lake.
We are called to be a people of hope, a people of action, a people of God, a people who are called by God to serve. In three years’ time when you next hear these readings what will God have asked you to do and what will you being doing with God.
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