O what a glorious sight . . .

In one quite significant way I’m not a great one for the special ‘S. Andrew’s Dinner’, because I actively dislike any dishes based on sheep . . .

. . . which makes it particularly strange that, over the years, I have had to put my kilt on more than a few times in order to deliver that rather spectacular Address to the Haggis (yes, Robbie Burns again !) which is an essential element of the occasion.

However, with luck one manages to avoid all but the absolute minimum particle of the Haggis . . . and that can probably be concealed by the tot of Whisky which one gets to go with it : particularly if one gets the usual large one which one normally gets when one has done the duty of addressing it all in one’s best attempt at Burn’s version of Scottish.

Fascinating, I hear you say : but what, precisely, has it to do with anything relevant . . . to which the only answer I can provide is ‘Nothing at all; it’s purely one of those odd days when one concentrates on things which are not of great importance in the general scheme of things, but are nonetheless of personal relevance to many reasonable people’.

Of course, one of the drawbacks is that S. Andrew’s day comes in Advent almost as often as it comes outside it : but at least for the Scots that is hardly relevant; and even for the rest of us in the UK it is perhaps acceptable to remember it at least a bit . . . so I trust that you will at least recall S. Andrew’s Feast today, however you actually choose to celebrate it.

Happy S. Andrew's Day

A brief Welcome to all, and particularly to our Scottish friends, on this S. Andrew's Day . . . there will, of course, be a little more later on.

. . . and now today's Meditation

This morning’s second Reading in the Office of Readings was a very appropriate one to have at the beginning of Advent. Just consider this thought of S. Charles Borromeo’s :

In his infinite love for us, though we were sinners, he sent his only Son to free us from the tyranny of Satan, to summon us to heaven, to welcome us into its innermost recesses, to show us truth itself, to train us in right conduct, to plant within us the seeds of virtue, to enrich us with the treasures of his grace, and to make us children of God and heirs of eternal life.

As S. Charles says in the Reading, the Church uses Advent to urge us to renew our memory of the great love of God which Christ showed us in His life; and he also reminds us that His love was not only for those of His day, but also for us : and that His power has still to be communicated to us all.

It is for this that we should gladly accept the grace Christ earned for us, and live by that grace and in obedience to Christ; and we must keep that vital fact in our lives day by day : for as S. Charles said, when we remove all obstacles to His presence He will come, at any hour or moment, to dwell spirituality in our hearts - a change which will surely move us even closer to our Blessed Lord, as by His spiritual dwelling in our hearts He will also be bringing with Him the riches of His grace.

This, surely, will help us be ready to be with God not only spiritually during our lives, but also hereafter to be with Him practically in heaven : which is a very valuable thought to get firmly into one’s mind right at the beginning of Advent . . . and perhaps I’m not alone in thinking that it’s a particularly appropriate thought, also, as one for the beginning of the new life which fr Austin OP has begun today.

Please, as well as pondering these words of S. Charles from the Reading for yourself at the start of this Advent, give a moment or two of your time to pray for him.

Request for Prayers

When someone one knows and admires dies, there is in one sense only a single that one should say . . . ‘May he rest in peace, and rise in Glory’ : and that, today, I say for the repose of the soul of fr Austin Milner OP, whose photo from his Golden Jubilee Mass earlier this year is to the right, and who died at Blackfriars, Oxford, this morning.

At the same time I suspect all of us are prone to thinking, at least when we consider the prospect of our own deaths, the shortfall of our own failings and abilities as compared with what they ought to be : and yesterday’s Dominican sermon, by fr John Kenrick OP, reminds us very firmly of this when he says ‘If we truly long for God's reign our conversion to Christ cannot be half-hearted.’

For fr Austin, however, I don’t think that a concern such as this is something that needs to worry us too much : he was such an obvious loving and caring servant of Christ, whose conversion was not ‘half-hearted’, and I understand that the last hours of his earthly life were entirely as one would expect of a living member of God’s family, a child of S. Dominic, who knew that he was close to going home.

Let us pray for him, and remember him with affection.

UPDATE
I understand that fr Austin's funeral is to take place at Blackfriars at 11:30 this Friday, 3rd December; and I am quite sure that all who can come will be very welcome.

A New Year Prayer for you all

May God bless you all in this New Year :

may Our Holy Mother Mary

keep you always in her love and prayers :

and may S. Dominic and all the Saints constantly intercede for you.

A thought about Confession today . . .

S. Cyprian actually finished the passage which was quoted in yesterday’s Office of Readings by saying :

My dear brothers, let all our longing be to join them as soon as we may. May God see our desire, may Christ see this resolve that springs from faith, for he will give the rewards of his love more abundantly to those who have longed for him more fervently.

In other words, we should recognize that this world, and this life, is – however good it may be – still only a short-term, temporary, passage en route to (DV) joining God in His Heaven.

As I’ve already mentioned, it would be good for all of us to make our confessions either today or, at latest, before Mass tomorrow; and I suggest that remembering this fact will ensure that we take a proper view of our conduct through life, and gain the greatest benefit from our self-examination and confession.

Obviously rejoicing in the start of the Church’s New Year is both natural and proper; but let us also recognize that it is virtuous for all of us to acknowledge that every New Year we experience is also evidence that we are closer to our eternal life in Heaven (we hope and pray), and that we should therefore seek to be closer to God and His will now, at the end of this year, than we were at the beginning.

The Ultimate Aim is Going Home

We ought never to forget, beloved, that we have renounced the world. We are living here now as aliens and only for a time. When the day of our homecoming puts an end to our exile, frees us from the bonds of the world, and restores us to paradise and to a kingdom, we should welcome it.

Thus said S. Cyprian in this morning’s second reading of the Office of Readings : and it does seem to me to be quite valuable to recollect at this time of year (as it comes to an end) that, however easy it may be for us to forget that our primary purpose is to prepare for our ultimate Heavenly life, that is nevertheless our ultimate aim, and that we should therefore try to focus at least as much of our lives as possible on that important purpose.

Indeed, the Saint points out that :

What man, stationed in a foreign land, would not want to return to his own country as soon as possible?

For those of us who have even the slightest commitment to God, this should be true : and if it is, then we need to remind ourselves often that, however pleasant earthly life is, and however much of God’s will and purpose we are achieving during it, it is still only a temporary activity; and that His ultimate will for us is to recognize, and achieve, that His purpose for all of us is to ‘return to our own country’ in Heaven, where we can – and shall – spend eternity praising and rejoicing in Him.

I think there is a need for us all to recollect, even if only very quietly in the depths of our prayers, that this is the case : and it certainly seems to be this that S. Cyprian was focussing on in the last paragraph of that passage :

My dear brothers, let all our longing be to join them as soon as we may. May God see our desire, may Christ see this resolve that springs from faith, for he will give the rewards of his love more abundantly to those who have longed for him more fervently.

Let us, in these last days of this year, and as we prepare for the Church’s new year which starts tomorrow night, remind ourselves of this; and by reminding ourselves constantly of it come to increase, this year and every year, of His love and generous will until we eventually come to share it with Him for ever in Heaven.