HOPEFUL CATHOLICS

Pope Benedict’s wonderful insight into the Sermon on the Mount. He shows us that it was Jesus’ announcing of the New Covenant, which fulfils the Old Covenant. I have been reading Pope Benedict’s book, Jesus of Nazareth . It is wonderful and deep, and I want to try and share an important theme from it. He takes the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew (chapters 5 to 7) and puts it into context. Matthew is writing for Jewish Christians, who have been taught from their childhood about the Covenant God made with their nation at Mount Sinai. They understood that everything depended on keeping the Law which God gave them through Moses. It laid down a whole way of life which distinguished them from other nations and underpinned their identity as the chosen people of God. In Jesus’ day, the main teachers were the scribes and Pharisees, and in the Sermon, Jesus warns the people that the virtue taught by those teachers will not work in the Kingdom of Heaven which he is bringing into being. The teachers of his day had elaborated a complicated system of rules to be kept if you wanted to be sure you were keeping the Law. That made people follow it slavishly. In contrast, the New Covenant that Jesus brings is one of freedom. That does not mean people can do just what they want, which is such a popular philosophy today. It means that Jesus’ Spirit enters us and makes us lovers of the Father along with Jesus, and actually within Jesus. Then from our hearts will flow the power to keep the commandments. In the Sermon on the Mount he says that he has not come to destroy the Law, but to fulfil it, which means that his Spirit empowers us to act naturally the way God wants. The Jews, our ancestors in faith, call the Law, their way of life, the Torah . They had received it from God in the incredibly dramatic events at Mount Sinai, when Moses brought down the Ten Commandments inscribed on tablets of stone. Pope Benedict shows us that the Sermon on the Mount is Jesus going up another mountain to deliver the new Torah of the New Covenant. The Old Covenant was a model of how we should be, but it did not empower us to fulfil it. Our will power alone which the scribes and Pharisees exalted will always fall short. Jesus teaches us that it is only the beloved of God who will keep it. This is the very Jewish context of the Sermon on the Mount: Jesus is setting out the New Torah Jesus has, through his authenticity and charm, drawn people up to sit in the sunlight on the mountain top. He begins with the eight Beatitudes. Here the contrast is with the Ten Commandments brought down from God’s fearsome presence on the top of Mount Sinai. Those Ten Commandments have only two positive instructions, to keep the Sabbath holy and to honour parents. The rest are negative - prohibitions, which tells us what not to do. They are cold and rigid and full of implied threats of divine displeasure against those who break them. Fear was an essential attitude of the devout Jew. Jesus gives us the Beatitudes which are God’s prescription of how to be happy. It is a loving Father who educates his children towards true fulfilment that Jesus reveals, not a harsh demanding despot. As we prayerfully meditate on the Beatitudes, we catch a vision of the attitudes of the friends of Jesus who follow him on the way to the Father. They are certainly a challenge to those who strive for success and wealth in this world, but they are familiar to those who have discovered the wealth of God’s grace which alone makes life in this world joyful and brings peace to those we live among. Pope Benedict gives an inspiring picture of their deep meaning, but we can look at that another time. After the Beatitudes in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus instructs us on what it is like to be perfect. Again this is challenging, but these teachings give us a glimpse of how the world can become free as each individual grows towards their own potential. It means loving our enemies, speaking the truth without fear, practicing virtues as a secret act of love for our Father, not worrying, not judging others and humbly sharing with those in need. Moses followed up the Ten Commandments with one and half books of rules and regulations (the last half of Exodus and all of Leviticus). Jesus comes down the mountain and invites us to follow him as he leads us on the journey of our life. He himself is the Way and the Truth and the Life. He, the Son of God who has made the lovely journey to become the Son of Man, leads each of us on our personal journey into God. But it is not just personal: it is in a family of all the people he is gathering on the way. The word, ‘Church’ means ‘the gathering’.

Lourdes 2026 It was lovely to find myself back in Lourdes this summer, it is like coming home with Mary’s presence all around me. I try to spend some time in retreat in Lourdes each year. Lourdes has always been a very busy place particularly over the summer months when all the big pilgrimages from diocese and parishes worldwide are there. Often it is difficult to find a quiet place to pray, but Mary always sorts that out. Before Covid in 2020 I began to notice how the numbers were steadily decreasing in Mary’s shrine, maybe because there was a change in people’s priorities. Since Covid, the numbers seemed to drop even further, maybe this was due to people’s fear of travel and large gatherings or maybe people no longer valued this incredible place of prayer. I think the increased cost of hotels and other accommodation in Lourdes is also a huge factor, but people will always find the time and the money to do something they really want to do. This year, however, I really noticed a difference as the numbers of pilgrims seem to have vastly increased. For example, on an ordinary Tuesday evening we took part on the torchlight procession and the numbers of pilgrims who took part were vast. You may expect this at weekends or for special feast days but not midweek. Mary asked during the apparitions that people come in procession and it is always a special moment of connection with Our Lady, and on this night it was certainly a moment of deep prayer as we processed to honour Our Blessed Mother. There were people from every race and nationality present, also from every age group from tiny children in buggies or in their parents' arms, to the aged and infirm in wheelchairs or walking with the aid of sticks. As we walked I noticed in front of me a young man in his late 20’s looking extremely scruffy, as though he lived on the streets. As you are always warned of pickpockets in these gatherings I kept my eye on him whilst I prayed. What I noticed was the depth of his prayer as his fingers moved discreetly over a well-worn rosary ring on his finger. And when we sang he joined in with great enthusiasm and devotion. How wrong can your judgement of someone be!!!! As the procession took place, the numbers walking and watching grew, so much so that we completely filled the Rosary Square and people could be seen far back on the processional route unable to enter the square. I began to wonder if this increase in numbers of pilgrims was because Pope Leo had brought the place to people’s attention by his recent visit or was it because people have begun to return to the Church and their practise of faith. It’s hard to know the answer but I suspect the later. Why ? Because the number of receptions of adults into the faith is growing worldwide, the numbers of young men offering themselves to test out their vocation in seminaries is growing. Something is happening in our church – a new spring , an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. People are now looking for something of depth that is missing from their lives. They have been through the materialistic and relativism phases and are now seeking a deeper encounter with a higher power who totally loves them i.e. God. It was lovely to walk the streets on our way to and from our accommodation and hear folk sing the tunes they had heard in Mass, or say the rosary in small groups as they walked along. It was great to see so many nationalities mingling peacefully alongside one another. The restaurants that spill out onto the streets were full. The increased numbers have even meant that the local council have made the old bridge pedestrianised, so it is much safer for pilgrims to cross the river and not be mown down by the ever-larger coaches. One day I sat across the river, opposite the Grotto where Mary appeared to Bernadette, which tends to be quieter as people sit in silence and come before Mary in prayer. There was a youth mass just finishing in the Grotto with beautiful singing, and another in the St Bernadette’s hemisphere behind me and yet there was space for a quiet moment with Our Lady despite the hustle and bustle of life going on around. It was wonderful to have the opportunity to sit in this special shrine and just come before Our Lady and pour out my thoughts and then try to listen to her words to me. During the following weekend we noticed that hundreds of young people had arrived, all in their late teens, and all dressed in similar outfits and they were helping with the sick and disabled or carry candles or banners in the processions. They were engrossed during the times of prayer at Masses at the Grotto and in the basilicas or joined in the rosary in small groups dotted all over the domain. They also seemed to be having great fun as they moved around. When asked what the organisation was, they explained they were from Madrid and were members of confraternities which was passed down through families. At home they prayed together and had discussion evenings about their faith, and each year their role during their Lourdes pilgriamge was to help the sick, or help in the processions by carrying candles or banners. There were hundreds of them. I am sure not all are at Mass each week but what they experience through these confraternities, encouraged by families, keeps that tenuous thread to the Church intact. It is something they want to be part of, and who knows what God is saying to them though this. Their witness of the joy in their faith provides us all with hope for the future.

CHAPTER 13 - A PERSONAL UPDATE Recently, I have not written much about my personal journey along the path of the prayer of the heart. It is because I have found that my prayer of contemplation is frequently being drawn into intercession. In fact we have written a whole series of booklets about intercession which we shared with you last month. My prayer has gone like this. I find myself attempting to come before our Father with Jesus, and experiencing mostly distraction and blankness. I sometimes worry that he is withholding his love from me - knowing him through love is a gift. But that worry does not come often. Mostly I have a deep conviction that this distraction and blankness is his will; this is his gift. Facing this weakness and confusion is a work I have to do. I don’t think it is just my weakness and confusion. There is a dawning awareness that this is not just about me. I remember the times he showed me that I am not alone when I pray. As I stand before our Father with Jesus, seeking to know him through love, I am immersed into the whole human family. They are there with me, even though I usually have a very vague awareness of their presence. I am swimming in a vast ocean of need. I am convinced that all this weight of humanity, or some of it, is weighing on me. Yes, I have enough needs of my own, but this is a call for me to forget these, and offer my small sacrifice of prayer for others. Because I stay there before our Father with Jesus, I know that other people and situations are being freed and drawn into the Kingdom. This is intercession. It is not petition which focuses on one or several needs, consciously holding them before our Father to be covered by his merciful love. Intercession is very much without a specific focus. It is offering the emptiness and inadequacy in trust. Somehow others are benefiting. He has put into my heart a strong conviction that the exchange rate involved in this prayer is out of all proportion to my sacrifice. Archimedes, when he described the principle of the fulcrum, said that if he had a lever long enough he could lift the world. There is something like that at play here. Jesus is the fulcrum and the lever who empowers the prayer of intercession. How lovely it is that he has chosen to involve us! With enough intercessors, the whole world would be transformed. Intercession can be hard labour at times. I give myself an hour to pray and I keep looking at the clock. Sometimes I wonder if the clock has stopped. Then there are the days when I find other ‘essential’ work to do instead, but I know I am kidding myself. Recently Jesus reminded me of the time he was scourged at the pillar. I saw him struck to the ground by the brutal lashing, but he pulled himself to his feet each time, and more than that he looked his torturers straight in the eye. This disconcerted them; they had never faced such strength and dignity, especially when it shone through pain and exhaustion. Some began to see themselves for the first time and didn’t like what they saw. It caused some to give up, but others to double down even to the mockery of the crown of thorns, the sceptre of the reed, and the mock royal cloak. They hurt him, but they did not beat him. He stood up each time. When we are called into intercession, all we have to do is keep standing up. In our very faithfulness Jesus is staring Satan and his army in the eye, and they cannot stand that for long. They can’t stand the sight of such love. They have to let go their grip on someone somewhere.

Our new Booklet Series - The Maturing Church

Love first In the previous chapter, I spoke of the importance of our will in contemplative prayer. For some people, the two words ‘will’ and ‘contemplative’ can be overlaid with meanings that are not always helpful. ‘Will’ can have vibes of domination and power, which is out of place in the teaching of Jesus. He tells us that it is the poor in spirit who will possess the Kingdom of God, and the meek who will inherit the earth. ‘Contemplation’ can have overtones of mystical experiences which seem only possible to the great saints. That is why I prefer to use the phrase ‘prayer of the heart’; it stresses the radical centrality of love. This is our sharing in Jesus’ loving converse with our Father. He urges everybody to “go into that secret place” and “pray to your Father” (Matthew: 6, 6). It is not just for specially chosen souls. It is for everyone. If our service of God is not charged with love, it is hollow and will produce meagre fruit. A mother will delight in providing favourite foods for her family, she will go out of her way to do so. The lovers of God delight in doing the will of God – even when the cost is high. Hebrews: 10, 5-7 says this of Jesus: “He said, on coming into the world… "God, here I am! I am coming to obey your will" . Obedience can be hard when it is imposed by someone else, especially if it is against what we want. But lovers burn with the desire to carry out the will of their beloved. The prayer of the heart is the school of our love affair with God. It can be hard and we can find a wealth of obstacles within ourselves to prevent us starting it or continuing it, and, yes, it can require will power on our part, but it is the process by which our hearts are drawn into deeper love. Children learn to read by first recognising letters, then words, then they make sense of sentences. All of that is forgotten when they read a book spontaneously. Some children pick up reading quickly, others might have dyslexia and learn to read slowly, but it is a known fact that dyslexic children often penetrate more deeply into the meaning of what they read. We are all different. A busy mum might learn the prayer of the heart by faithfully responding the demands of family life. Most of these demands will be God’s will. A sick person might learn by accepting trustfully the limitations God has given them. A hermit might find that God calls them to persevere in prayer amidst distractions and the sense of futility. All are fulfilling the will of God, and each of them needs to seek space to enter into that ‘secret place’ to talk to the Father. Without entering into that prayer of love, their efforts will burn out, or be overlaid with resentment. Duty What dreadful fruits spring from duty when it does not flow from love! We can become numbed, or bitter, find self-affirmation in denigrating the work of other people, envy, or be filled with pride in our own achievements. Then the train of human progress is pulled by a hand cart. Whereas “those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint” (Isaiah: 40, 31). It is only by withdrawing into the heart, going to that ‘private place’, and there seeking the loving face of our Father, ‘waiting upon the Lord’, that we allow ourselves to be touched by his graceful love. Words fail then, and we are naked before him, but he is running towards us with ‘the best robe’ and a ‘ring’ for our finger’ like the father Jesus describes in his story of the Return of the Prodigal (Luke 15: 11-32). Consolation Only rarely do we find sweetness and light in contemplation. Our hearts are more feeble than we imagine, and in need of much nurturing. The journey to be fully maturity as children of God is long and arduous, but it is the adventure we are made for. The sea is so great and our boat is so small, but the one who built us is the master of storm and sea and the skilful boat builder. His has designed our whole life so as to bring us to fullness in his Kingdom. Jesus assures us: “Fear not little flock, it has delighted the Father to give you the Kingdom” (Luke 15: 11-32). The moments of sweetness and light are there to prepare us for the next steps in following Jesus. But what is growing beneath the barren times of prayer, are spiritual habits of conviction and determination. They are gifts of God planted in our very spirits, not the fruit of our muscular determination. They are the stuff of love.

Aware of a growing number of converts to Catholicism in the United States, the Archdiocese of Chicago set out to find out what was driving this renewed interest in the faith. In collaboration with 20 other dioceses, the Archdiocese administered a survey in English and Spanish to 2,127 U.S. residents who participated in OCIA in 2026. OCIA (Order of Christian Initiation of Adults) is the months-long program for adults who want to join the Church. In Britain we call it the RCIA. The intention of the survey was “to better understand what is driving that interest and how the Church should respond.” The report entitled “ Why are so many people becoming Catholic ” sheds light on who the men and women are who came into full Communion with the Church this year and what led them to seek out the Catholic faith. The link for this is: https://www.ncregister.com/commentaries/morse-welcome-to-the-church Chicago survey Why did they come? When it comes to conversions , one of the most foundational questions to ask is: What drew these individuals to the Catholic Church ? The survey found that responses about personal motivation fell in three basic categories: 1. personal hunger, 2. interest in the institutional Church, 3. and attraction to the community experienced in the Church. “Personal growth in goodness, inner peace and an understanding of truth emerged as some of the strongest motivations for exploring the Catholic faith,” the survey reveals, with 84% responding that they were “interested in exploring a deeper spirituality/relationship with God.” Sixty-eight percent responded affirmatively to the statement, “I was attracted to the Church’s sacred liturgy in Catholic prayer, ritual, and the sacraments,” with only slightly lower percentages responding that they were interested in the Church’s wisdom and tradition. The third tier of responses “centred heavily on Church community, positive examples of Catholics in their lives, a desire to connect with family heritage and the Church’s charitable efforts. These were cited less frequently than the other two groups of motivations.” Interestingly, while young respondents had similar responses on the whole to other generations, they responded more on “growing in goodness and virtue (81%), deeper understanding of truth (80%), exploring more about the existence of God and/or the person of Jesus Christ (77%), the liturgy (72%), longevity of the Church’s tradition (70%), belonging and more meaningful relationships (59%), and healing or redemption from a personal challenge (56%).” Who are they? The survey acknowledges a perception that more women than men have joined the Church. But the survey found that the numbers between the sexes are fairly balanced, with only a slight majority falling to women (54%) over men (46%). The survey report from the Archdiocese of Chicago notes that potentially those with lower education levels are an underrepresented population among those entering the Church. How did they get here? While each individual has their own journey of faith, the survey reported that participants became interested in the Church via two main pathways. The first is where respondents became interested in OCIA because of their family, dating or marriage relationships, or invitations to Mass by people they know. The second is through an attraction to Catholic liturgy or through books and online content. About 66% of respondents said they interacted with meaningful digital content on their path to becoming Catholic. Hope in a chaotic world One section of the report takes the data and recommends ways that dioceses and parishes can respond and “meet the moment.” This includes ways in which Church leaders can understand potential barriers reported from respondents such as being concerned about disapproval from family or friends or difficulties in attending OCIA because of their work commitments. In a space for open-ended responses, according to the report, many participants described the Church “as a source of both stability and hope within an increasingly uncertain world.” The organizers of the survey hope to respond to this hunger for what the Church offers by seeking ways of improving the initiation ministry of accompanying people through the OCIA stages of 1. Inquiry, people’s initial questions without commitment. 2. Mystagogy, the life of prayer 3. and invite them more deeply into the parish community’s life.

In Hopeful Catholics Ministry we publish articles on this website exploring the increase in numbers of people looking seriously to the Catholic Church which many are joining. It is a great paradox in our age that we have such spectacular developments in the sciences with vast potential for benefiting humanity, yet these very developments are shaking the basics of society itself. One example of this is the difficulty young people experience in finding employment appropriate to their qualifications, because Artificial Intelligence is taking over those activities. This is making it difficult for them to start families. Many of them are drifting. Pope Leo points to this in his recent highly important Encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas. (We quote him in the article, Young People Today .) This is only one of the stresses in our society today. There are many others like the Godless human pride which has producing a culture where the old vices of greed and insensitivity are rampant, while at the same time ways of monopolising wealth and developing weapons of mass destruction are racing ahead. These are not the first times of massive change bringing distress. It happened long ago when hunter-gatherers became restricted by land being converted to agriculture, also when the great swathes of tribes from the east like the Anglo Saxons, Franks and Germans descended on the Roman Empire. More recently it occurred with the industrial revolution, when people left the land and gathered in massive urban sprawls. All of this is part of the human race developing which God intends , even though for many it has brought great hardship. But his Holy Spirit broods over each development as he did over the chaos at the beginning of creation. Ultimately each development has been a way for humanity to progress. And that progress is designed by God to provide seed-ground for the Church to form humanity more and more after the pattern of Christ. Does that statement seem facile in the face of all the wrong which is coming up to meet us? We need to look deeply into the signs of the times. Why do you think the Holy Spirit, in the Vatican Council, inspired such huge changes in the Church before all the recent alarming developments became apparent? Was he preparing his people to meet and sanctify the modern age? Why is there a renewed turning to God and his Church in today’s young people? Did he plan that they would see through the hollow materialism of their parents' generation? Then again, why is the media increasingly mentioning the Pope and the Church, when they were recently so determined to dismiss them as irrelevant? Is it not possible that God who alone is in charge of human history is doing something special in our age? On this website, we publish articles seeking to illustrate what God is doing, as he is energetically working through and in his Church, shaping the foundations of a new and great age of world-wide Christianity. The Church is his programme for drawing the human race into the life of the Trinity.