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Spiritual notes from a small island...... The Cloud of Unknowing

The Cloud of Unknowing is a fourteenth century work by an anonymous English author. Over the years, there has been much speculation about the identity of the author, and it has often been said that he was a Carthusian monk. One thing that is clear from the text is that its author was certainly learned, well versed in scholastic theology. There is also a very clear influence of Pseudo-Dionysius, whom the author quotes directly in chapter seventy: 'The most Godlike knowledge of God is that which is known by unknowing’. Pseudo-Dionysius, who was then widely thought to be a follower of Paul (see Acts 17), is used as source and authority for the ideas that The Cloud proposes. The author asserts that we can know more about what God is not than about what God is. This theology informs his approach to the contemplative life, and in this he stands among many influential writers, including St John of Cross, who wrote some two centuries later.

Pseudo-Dionysius held that there were two ways of knowing God, through reason (logos) and through contemplation (mustikon theama). The former comes from investigation of what God has revealed, especially in the Scriptures. This knowledge can be negative - God is not x - as well as positive - God is x - but not in any way that we can comprehend - God is utterly other. The Dionysian contemplative way relies on negative theology as its basis. We are limited in what we can know about God, but we can enter into the mystery through contemplation, illuminated by God’s grace. Contemplative knowledge comes only when the senses are purified of reliance on the created order for ideas about God. 

It is this which concerns the author of The Cloud. Whilst the author is reliant on his Scholastic and Dionysian background for his theoretical framework, his work is concerned mainly with the practice of contemplation. The first sense we get from reading the book is that the call to the contemplative life is just that: a call. And this is a work for those who think that they have that call, and are willing to respond humbly, and desire to love God with their whole heart. To undertake this contemplative path involves ‘forgetting all created things’, and the contemplative will find ‘only darkness, as it were, a cloud of unknowing’. This is nothing more than the beginnings of a reaching towards God. This darkness is not a state of mind, something akin to depression, but rather a state of a lack of knowledge. The person is reaching out for the one who is unknown. To live in this cloud, there has to be a ‘cloud of forgetting’ between the person and the created order.

What then does the contemplative think of during meditation? How can one think of and strive for that which is unknown? The author’s answer is: ‘I do not know!’ Feeding the neophyte with images would immediately destroy the foundation of his or her striving for God. This is not to say, however, that the contemplative has no need of knowledge at all. Study of the Word of God is essential, since it is like a mirror, in which we see the face of our conscience. Any dirty marks on the face should be washed by confession. Later, when these aids have been used, the contemplative is better prepared to be still and silent in the presence of God, using a single word to help focus attention. Words such as ‘God’ or ‘Spirit’ can be clung to as a way of keeping all other thoughts about the created order at bay. During prayer many thoughts may come, but these can be harmful. Memories can have a negative effect, even become sources for the deadly sins of anger, pride, sloth, envy, avarice, gluttony and lust. Above all, the author of The Cloud makes it clear that the contemplative path requires humility. This requires self-knowledge, being realistic about who we are, both the good and bad aspects. It is imperfect to start with, because our motives for humility are mixed. We may be motivated by a curiosity about ourselves, rather than a desire to be humbled to receive from God. Only God himself can draw a person through grace to perfect humility, where God, and God alone, is sought.

The Cloud has much to say on the story of Martha and Mary. Mary is the example of the contemplative, who simply sat silent and still with the Lord, ready to drink in what he had to reveal to her. Martha’s activity was important and good, but she had not understood that Mary had a different calling, that of contemplation. The Cloud also makes the link between contemplation and relations with others. It seems strange that in contemplation we are to forget the created order. Does this not have a negative effect on relations with others? The answer seems to be no. When a contemplative has dealings with others, he does not make distinctions ‘between friend or foe’. The effect of the contemplation is that each person is seen as having equal value or dignity. The contemplative endeavour should feed back into the world.

Although not all of us will have the call to be a contemplative of the kind that The Cloud is written for, there are nevertheless many things in the work that are of value for us all. In particular we should remember that God is utterly other, and resist the temptation to think that we know and understand God's ways. A God that can be pinned down and domesticated is a 'god', an idol. We are to be humble in approaching God, opening our hearts and minds to what he reveals in the Scriptures, through the Church, and in prayer. Humility is not only something which concerns the contemplative religious, but is essential for all who wish to grow in their spiritual and moral life. We are also to bear in mind that contemplation is only genuine if it transforms us, making us more aware of the awesome love of God, and empowering us to love others as we should. Leaving behind all images and ideas in contemplation is not a form of escapism, a way of denying the goodness of creation, but rather a way of searching for God that will transform the lives we lead as part of that created order.

An online text of The Cloud of Unknowing may be found here.

Spiritual notes from a small island..... Mother Julian of Norwich: Showings of God's Love

Very little is known about Mother Julian of Norwich (d.1442). Not even her name is left to us, and she is called after the church of St Julian in Norwich, where she lived as an 'anchoress' walled up in a small room attached to the church. She belongs to a great flowering of medieval English mysticism but unlike the Rhineland mystics, Julian and the other English mystics did not live in a religious community, and Julian lived a hermit's life (albeit with a cat).

From her little cell in Norwich, she journeyed into the heart of God, and over many years she received visions - "by bodily sight, and by word formed in my understanding, and by spiritual sight" - of God's passionate love for all humankind. And these 'Showings' were intended for a greater audience, and thus she wrote them down and preached from her anchorite's cell, and to many people, what she had contemplated of God's grace and love. The collection of her writings, 'The Sixteen Revelations of Divine Love' (c.1393), is thought to be the first book written by a woman in English, and has been likened to a traveller's first-hand description of what she had seen and experienced.

As with most Christian mystics down the ages, what they learn through contemplation is meant to be preached and given to others, so that all may benefit from their gift of spiritual insight. For such is the direction of Love: that it flows outwards and seeks the good of the other. So, Julian says at the end of her work: "Would you know Your Lord's meaning in this thing? Know it well. Love was His meaning. Who showed it to you? Love. Why did He show it to you? For Love."

Mother Julian is rightly popular today for her 'optimism', notably her teaching that we are loved into existence and held in being by God's love, and that at the end of all things, "all will be well" for "all that is done is well done, since our Lord God does all". This expression of God's wise providential care is coupled with her famous image of God's love. She saw that all creation is being held in God's hand, as small and insignificant as a hazelnut, and all this God held in being because of his eternal and unchanging love. Of course, her doctrine of being and providence is not by any means new; her revelations are an assimilation of the Scriptures and the wisdom of the Fathers and Catholic theologians. For example, St Thomas Aquinas certainly taught that God, who is Love, is the reason that creation exists - that there is something rather than nothing - and the continuation of created being is evidence of God's undying love which is holding all things, including us, in being. Julian, however, sees these metaphysical doctrines with child-like clarity and we can be grateful to her for popularising this Catholic doctrine of creation. Indeed, it is all too easy to forget that all of creation is good, and its very existence is a sign of God's on-going love and care; Julian reminds us of this. Similarly, she reminds us of the promise given in the Biblical book of Revelation that Christ has conquered all evil, so that at the end of time, all things will be made new in Christ and so indeed, all will be made good again. Thus, Julian emphasises the eternal embrace of divine love, in which we have been "loved and known in his endless purpose from without-beginning". Wrapped up in the clothing of God's love that "embraces us... so that he can never leave us", so Julian also emphasises the confidence that we ought to have in God's goodness, for in his providence and love "he has made all things profitable to us".

Nevertheless, Julian is also aware of sin and the need for conversion through love and humility. Like the best Catholic theologians, she says: "I saw truly that sin is no-deed" for there is no goodness in sin, and only the good has being, for it is held in being by God's love. Sin, then, is a falling short of good and sinfulness describes the lack of good in a deed; its no-deed, so to speak. Julian says that "because of our changeability we fall often into sin". Only God is constant and true; we, however, are "affected by the promptings of our enemy, and by our own folly and blindness". Hence Julian does not fear sin. Indeed she considers it to be an inevitable part of the human condition. However, what she does fear is the sort of dread that paralyses us from approaching God after we have sinned. How many still avoid receiving God's forgiveness in the sacrament of confession because of fear, or how many deny they have sinned because they fear admitting failure and imperfection?

For Julian, then, what is to be feared is the lack of contrition, and indeed, the fear that may arise from sin and lead to despair. St John tells us that perfect love casts out fear, and so Julian emphasises that we have to be founded in God's love and confident of his mercy so that when we sin, we should not run away "with this false dread of our wretchedness and the pain that [the Devil] threatens us with" but we should rather be "aware of our wretchedness, and flee to our Lord" and then, "meekly and patiently bear the penance that God gives us", suffering alongside our beloved Lord Jesus who endured the Passion for our salvation. So, she says, "the remedy is that our Lord is with us, keeping us, and leading us to fullness of joy". Again, she says, "He is the ground of all our life in love; and furthermore... he is our everlasting Keeper, and mightily defends us against those enemies of ours who fiercely attack us", and our need of Christ is greater, the more we fall into sin. The admission of our sinfulness and our need for a Saviour requires humility on our part, and it would actually be spiritual pride to deny this and avoid the embrace of the Divine Physician.

So much more can be gleaned from her writings, but we can see three elements played out in what has been mentioned thus far. At the beginning of the Revelations, Julian says that she asked for three wounds in her life: "the wound of true contrition, the wound of kind compassion, and the wound of earnest longing for God". The first wound is essentially about ourselves: it is the wound that we all bear as sinful creatures, and once we are at peace with our sinful condition, we can accept our need for Jesus Christ, our Saviour and "flee to him". The second wound concerns our relationship with other people, whom we should treat with kindness, and this is evident in Julian's writing, her gentleness, and the fact that she was a well-known spiritual counsellor in her time. The third wound concerns our relationship with God, and it is this that she says "dwelt [in her heart] continually". This desire for God, which is written into every human heart, and grows in love, the more we know and experience God's love, providence and mercy, is that which directs us to our final end in God and leads us home to him. And it is this divine love for God and from God that oversees the other two 'wounds'. Hence she says: "As his love for us is never broken for our sins, even so it is his will that our love should not be broken either for ourselves or for others. But he wills that we should hate the sin in itself, and endlessly love the soul of the sinner, as God loves it; then we would hate sin as God hates it." So, the soul which longs for God, longs for goodness and being, and so shuns sin which is no-deed, absence of good and of being.

With these wounds imprinted on the heart, Julian has given us the core of the Christian faith; the Christian's confidence in God and hope in salvation through a loving God who is the cause of our good and being. Thus, fr Jordan Aumann OP has said that Julian is of "considerable importance in the history of spirituality and precisely because she gives testimony to the workings and manifestation of grace in the mystical life." That mystical life is not restricted to the few but is promised to all of us who, like her, would have Jesus Christ as Friend.

An online text of The Revelations of Divine Love can be found here.

Spiritual notes from a small island..... St. Aelred of Rievaulx - 'Spiritual Friendship'

St. Aelred was born in Hexham in the North East of England in 1110. He came from a family whose members were noted for their learning, and had noble ties. Aelred was educated at the court of King David I of Scotland, and served as steward of the king’s table. During this time, he read Cicero’s On Friendship, which had a lasting influence. At the age of twenty four, he entered the Cistercian Abbey at Rievaulx, and was elected as its Abbot in 1147. His most notable works include The Mirror of Charity, Dialogue on the Soul, and The Pastoral Prayer. Not surprisingly, Aelred's outlook is a synthesis of his classical education and the Cistercian tradition. We find in his writings a strong influence of the thought of St. Bernard of Clairvaux, in particular, the emphasis on love. His theology was formed in the crucible of monastic life, and it is in living this life that he developed a sense of the importance of experience in developing theological ideas, and for progress in the spiritual life.

Monastic life has at its heart a tension, between the eremitical dimension and community life. Each monk is in some sense a loner, a solitary. But nevertheless, he lives in community, in relation to others. This reality has important lessons for all of us. We are all unique individuals, but we must also relate to others. So often, modern 'spirituality' emphasises the individual and his or her lone quest for God. But the search for God is one which requires relations with others. Aelred's Spiritual Friendship is about this very thing - the role of friendship in the search for God.

The dialogue structure of Spiritual Friendship immediately shows the importance of others in the spiritual life. Modeled on Cicero's De Amicitia, Aelred presents a dialogue between himself and other monks, whom he considers his friends. It starts as a dialogue between Aelred and Ivo, with a third, Christ, present with them. They aim to learn about friendship from a friend, and in the presence of Christ, who calls us friends. The dialogue shows a process of mutual discovery. The two friends identify that there are different levels of friendship. There are friendships based solely on sense pleasure, which is the lowest kind. There are also friendships based on temporal advantage and possessions. The highest level of friendship is based on Christ's New Commandment of love, a 'spiritual friendship' attained through conforming to Christ by wholesome interaction, without thought of gain. This kind of friendship is important because it is humanising, and raises the two friends to love of God through their love for each other

So we can see that in Aelred's thought, the moral life is central to the life with God and others. True friendship must involve a mutual striving for perfection, for harmony with each other and for union with God. The two friends selflessly support each other. This means that we must discern carefully who should be our friend. The growth in friendship is gradual, and we should be prudent in deciding who will be given access to our innermost thoughts. Vicious tendencies in either party will always be an obstacle to true friendship.

The five vices Aelred thinks are most destructive are slander, reproach, pride, betrayal of confidence and detraction. Unless both parties are perfect, these vices will inevitably show themselves. However, they can be overcome if there is repentance and a purpose of amendment. Those who are quick to anger, the fickle, and those who are overly suspicious of others will struggle to find true friendship unless they are able to amend their ways. True friends treat each other with a Christ-like gentleness and sympathy. They are constant in their love, frank, and congenial. When the friendship has these characteristics, it can be said to be a true friendship, a 'spiritual friendship', one which builds up both parties and helps them journey towards God.

Aelred's ideas are a challenge to many modern concepts of the spiritual life. If we are to grow towards being united with God, we must grow and develop in our relationships with others. It is not simply about 'me and God', to the exclusion of the other. The spiritual and the moral are intertwined, and we cannot have spiritual growth if we do not develop in the way that we relate to others. We need constantly to examine our relationships with others, and if necessary, be prepared to modify them so that they really are paths towards union with God.

Coming soon - Spritual Notes from a Small Island

Although these days there seems to be a decline in the number of people going to Church, there are many people who would claim to be 'spiritual'. There is a great thirst for the spiritual, but this so often takes the form of an interest in the New Age spiritualities, or in meditation practices influenced by the oriental religious traditions. People who are at least culturally Christian find in these spiritualities something exotic, exciting and new. Many people seem under the impression that Christianity has little to offer.

As Christians we would wish to challenge this notion. In our own Catholic tradition, there is a wealth of material on the spiritual life, and some of the spiritual writers are amongst the most revered saints of the Church. Over the centuries, Britain has been blessed by a wealth of writers who were concerned with the spiritual life. Yet how many of us can say that we know anything about this rich heritage? Recovering our Christian spiritual heritage in Britain is perhaps an important way of revitalising our faith, and of offering something inspiring to those who are seeking to experience the Divine in their own lives.

Over the coming months, we shall attempt to offer summaries of some of the most influential spiritual writings that have come from people in Britain over the centuries. We hope to show that their teachings have a perennial freshness and a relevance that make them enriching for us now in the twenty-first century.

Blessed Francesco Coll y Guitart O.P.

On Tuesday the 9^th of December, the Holy Father approved several miracles and declarations of heroic virtue, moving nine people closer to canonization. One of the miracles was attributed to the intercession of Blessed Francesco Coll y Guitart O.P.

Francesco was born in Spain in 1812. He received his early education in the Diocesan Seminary of Vic and received the Dominican habit in Genoa in 1830. The Order was expelled from Genoa in 1835 by a hostile government. He was ordained the following year and would spend the next forty years preaching across Catalonia and living a life of exceptional austerity. He was named Director of the Secular Order of Dominican Tertiaries in 1850.

In 1856 he founded the Congregation of the Dominican Nuns of the Annunciation, for the care of the poor and the marginalised. In his final years his health and eyesight began to fail and he was cared for by the nuns of his congregation. He died in 1875 at the age of 62. His remains lie in the chapel of the Motherhouse of the congregation he founded. He was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1979.

What the Rosary Means to Me ... 14

For me the rosary is an allegory of hearing and responding to the message of Our Lord and living the Christian life, as exemplified by Our Lady. With the Joyful Mysteries, we accept and welcome Christ into our hearts. With the Mysteries of Light we hear and acknowledge his message. With the Sorrowful Mysteries we join Christ and take up our cross. And through His glory, we, like Mary, are raised to be with him.

What the Rosary means to me ... 13

In a very beautiful poem Gerard Manley Hopkins SJ says that Mary had this one work to do: let all God's glory through. The mysteries of the rosary are moments in the lives of Jesus and Mary when the divine glory shines powerfully through. God is the artist or composer who created these mysteries. He composes or paints them in different hues and tones, with different shades and contrasts. In some of them the note of joy predominates, in others the note of sorrow. In others it is the clear light of revelation that helps us see who Jesus is and what His mission is about. In the last five mysteries we are held by the golden light of glory, overwhelmed by the mighty trumpets that herald the new creation.

It is possible to 'press' each mystery against our lives, or rather to press our lives against the shape of each mystery, to see how what it contains is being fulfilled in our journey of faith. What is God asking of me? Who needs me to turn towards them today? How am I helping the Word come to birth in the world? Where do I find the Lord's presence? Do I not know that I should be occupied with my Father's affairs? And so on for the rest ... humanity is greatly exalted through these mysteries of the Word made flesh, which embrace and transform all joy and sorrow, all understanding and desire for love.

Mary, says Hopkins, not only 'gave God's infinity, dwindled to infancy, welcome in womb and breast, birth, milk, and all the rest' but 'mothers each new grace that does now reach our race' ... countless such new graces reach our race through the rosary and very many people, clever and simple, have become great contemplatives through meditating on its mysteries.

What the Rosary means to me ... 12

Thinking back, I can remember saying the rosary with my family as a young boy. The attempt of my mother to get us all to settle down, concentrate and pray was heroic if not always successful. Yet the love for Our Lady and the rosary had its seeds in those early memories. The rosary, like the Eucharist, has been a constant strength in my spiritual life since I was young. Through it I have prayed at the times of my greatest need and for the needs of others. Often when I could not find the words to pray, the familiar and comforting lines of the rosary were my rock. For me the constant repetition of Hail Mary’s draws me into a relaxed state of meditation on the various mysteries of Christ’s life and ministry. It is also a way of greeting and expressing words of love an affection for a mother who has always guided me closer to her Son. I love the fact that it is such a scriptural prayer and yet so easy for all people to use and pray. Often I find it difficult to settle down and begin to say the rosary. But I can honestly say that afterwards I have always been grateful that I did. And so in whatever place you may be in life or faith, whether in family or single life, I think the rosary is a powerful help in drawing closer to the love of God through the hands of his loving Mother.

All Souls - 2/3 November

In November, more than ever, we remember the dead, holding in our hearts those we have known and loved, and praying for the salvation of all.


We pray especially this year for our Dominican brothers who died in the past year:

Gordian Marshall and John Martin McGowan
of the English Province

Brendan O'Rourke, Henry Peel, Bernard Casserly
Stephen Doyle, John Cahill and Austin Flannery
of the Irish Province

Each Wednesday in November, from 9.30pm to 10.15pm we will pray for these and for those you would like us to remember.

What the Rosary means to me ... 11

As a young child I was taken, by family living in the west of Ireland, to Our Lady’s Shrine at Knock. It was there, having been presented with a rosary and the obligatory bottle of holy water, that I first came to some early appreciation of the enormous affection and reverence with which Our Lady is held and of the vital role she plays in our lives as followers of Christ.

I knew there was something special about those beads and the prayers which accompanied them in that steady, comforting rhythm; something difficult to put into words, and twenty or so years later that sense of awe has not been diminished through repetition. It has in fact been deepened, as I find now that whatever the day has thrown at me, those mysteries still catch me and draw me out of myself and into the channels of grace whereby Mary Mediatrix takes our prayers, makes them hers, and blessed and approved by Christ, we again receive their fruitful graces by her hand.

Mostly I pray the rosary alone but have through the years prayed it in many places and situations, joyful and sad, and I have never failed to be calmed or moved in some way by it or ever doubted the efficacy of our most powerful intercessor.

Last year I returned to Knock just before entering the Order, again received a gift of a rosary, and as I prayed before her statue pondered, as I often do, on just how much through Christ she has made possible in my life.

What the Rosary means to me ... 10

What I love most about the Rosary is the depth contained in such a simple structure. Those three simple prayers at its heart - Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be - can say so much by themselves about God and our utter dependence on him, and remind us of our need for the prayers of other Christians, and most especially the Mother of God, both in our daily life and at the hour of our death. But then on top of that we have the twenty mysteries to meditate on, twenty "highlights" of the working-out of our salvation, each of which can give us some particular insight into our faith.

Now, that's not to say that it's always terribly easy to say the Rosary well. Personally, I often find myself thinking about the essay I'm meant to be writing, or what to make when it's my turn to cook for the brethren on Sunday. But that's not a reason to give up and say the Rosary is just not really for me. Rather, that difficulty reminds me that 'we do not know how to pray as we ought' (Rom. 8:26), and makes it even more important to ask Mary our Mother to pray for me: if we pray the Rosary even when it's difficult and ask persistently for our Lady's prayers, she will and does help us to grow in our love of God, and also of the Rosary, by which we particularly honour her.

What the Rosary means to me ... 9

When I was growing up in the south of Ireland the rosary, as a form of private and communal prayer, was a part of everyday life. It was still common to see elderly people on buses or trains praying the rosary. In churches it was also common to see people praying the rosary on their own, or in groups. As a child I would have learned this prayer from my grandmother, for whom it was her main devotion. This was the way I first learned about the main events in Jesus' earthly life, from his birth to his resurrection. I was taught to pray over these events with Mary, his mother and mine.

During funerals in Ireland the rosary is a prominent prayer. It is prayed at the wake, when the dead person is brought to the church, and finally at the graveside. At these moments of sadness and heartbreak we remembered that Jesus went through the pain of death, and Mary wept over him, just as the mourners are weeping at that moment. Before my grandmother died, two years ago, I was with her in her final hours, and I got the chance to pray the rosary with her for the last time. Fighting back the tears, we prayed the five sorrowful mysteries. I am very grateful that I had the chance to pray for the last time with the woman who had taught me how to pray, and in the following months it was a very consoling memory.

Whenever I pray this beautiful prayer I recall the life, death and resurrection of Jesus and also my loved one who has died, and who I hope to see again. In this prayer we learn that in our lives we will have sorrowful moments as well as joyful ones. We hope that by following Christ as faithfully as we can we will come to the glory he has promised us.

What the Rosary means to me ... 8

As someone who was preparing to be received into the Church, the Rosary fascinated me. I grew up in a Protestant environment, so I had little idea about the Rosary, other than that it was the most Catholic of things. I arrived early at a weekday Mass one evening, and saw a whole group of people praying the Rosary together ... there was something rhythmical, almost hypnotic about it. And what about the mysteries, and the prayers which I didn't know? It was clearly something that needed further investigation.

The following Saturday, I went into the local Catholic bookshop, and purchased a Catholic Truth Society Rosary Book, and a set of black Rosary beads. The book explained about how to pray it, and offered reflections on the mysteries. It seemed simple in some ways, and yet ... fifty Hail Marys seemed like an awful lot! Sitting down to pray for the first time, I was struck by how the Rosary seemed to engage more of the senses than any other prayer I had been used to. Later I came to see how truly Dominican this idea is! The rhythm and flow of the prayer made it easy to pray. I found it suited me to pray it whilst walking, or on a train, a bus or a plane. I find the Rosary important because of the way in which it helps bring the mysteries of our salvation to mind, and keeps them there for us to think and pray about, allowing them to transform us. It is a great encouragement that we do this with Mary as our companion, the one who guides us in our contemplation of her Son, and intercedes for us as we attempt to live in the light of the mysteries.

The mysteries are certainly what make the Rosary. One of my greatest joys in recent times has been to introduce someone to praying the mysteries of the Rosary, rather than simply repeating the 'Hail Mary'. I now get very excited, animated accounts of thoughts and prayers that have been inspired by the message of the Gospel as presented to us in the mysteries! And this is not surprising - the Rosary opens our eyes to the Gospel, the message of the Good News of Jesus Christ, which is a source of joy for us all. The Rosary has a great value to me personally, as it accompanies me on my journey, but has also proved valuable as a way of preaching the Gospel to others.

What the Rosary means to me ... 7

When I think about the Rosary I am taken back to my childhood. My mother taught me how to say it and I can remember her teaching myself and my sisters the Hail Holy Queen. Later I would go with her to the Rosary group in a friend of the family’s house; it was such a social occasion. Friends would meet after sometimes a week apart and greet each other warmly. Then there was the Rosary of course and also the Divine Mercy chaplet. There was always tea and biscuits and in the cold weather a little sherry. In the maternal embrace of Our Lady we learned to be brothers and sisters to one another, united by our devotion to her, learning from her how to love her Son more dearly. In my early teens, however, I failed to grow in love for God and never really learnt how to pray as a young man. It wasn’t until I was 16 that I was given the gift of a fervent faith and my return to the Rosary was very much a part of that. At the age of 19 I came across St. Louis Marie de Montfort and The Secret of the Rosary and it was such an inspiration to me. His spirituality of "Through Mary to Jesus" made perfect sense to me because it was the way that I had come. I was even happier when later I found out that he was a Dominican tertiary!

What the Rosary means to me ... 6

I’ve always found it difficult to pray the Rosary well. Often my mind wanders and I find that I need to pray the Rosary in a group if I am to avoid falling asleep. Still, it was only when I stopped worrying about how badly I pray the Rosary that I started to reap the benefits. It’s a prayer I’ve come to love very much.

I didn’t use to have a particularly strong devotion to Our Lady, but praying the Rosary has really helped me get to know her and to love her. She is our mother who is always inviting us to meet her Son. It doesn’t matter that I’ve never prayed a Hail Mary perfectly, because her prayers are perfect and she carries on praying for us even when our prayers stop.

What the Rosary means to me ... 5

I close my eyes and I reach for the beads. I squeeze the sharp edges of the Crucifix in the palm of my hands, as I try to remember once again what that means for me. The love that was poured out on that day was for me, and that love fills me. I kiss that symbol, I unite myself to that love, and I begin my journey with the Sign of the Cross.

I make this journey very frequently, and I pass by the same way. Sometimes it is joyful, other times it is sorrowful. It is always illumined by the light of His love, and it always radiates a particular glory. And through times of joy and of sorrow, through times of glory and of pain, the gentle fragrance of His love, the love of the Cross embraces all that I am and all that I will be.

I follow the circle of beads, and the chain that binds these simple beads to the simple crucifix binds me firmer and deeper in that which completes me, that which redeems me.

What the Rosary means to me ... 4

Praying the rosary is somewhat like walking into a (pre-Reformation) cathedral covered with bright images depicting the culmination of the story of God’s shaping our salvation in the life, death and resurrection of his Son; whose abiding presence with us in Word and Sacrament has been recently embellished by John Paul II’s ‘Mysteries of Light’.

So, a bit like appreciating artworks, then: to let the images speak to us necessitates a certain attentive stillness, a willingness to be caught by one particular shard that illuminates especially a given time (why I favour private over communal recital).

The images, ideally, serve as icons, not idols, drawing us further into the Holy Mystery that we seek.

No accident, maybe, that it’s name derives from a garland of roses: the scent, symbolising the beauty of Holiness; the thorns, goading us out of our complacency and reminding us that our salvation has been bought by the blood of the Lamb.

Join us for Adoration and Compline

What the Rosary means to me... 3

Some years ago, at a Youth 2000 retreat in Walsingham, someone described the action of praying the Rosary with it wrapped around one's hand as holding the hand of our Mother as she leads us home. This image struck me with some force because until then I had often seen the Rosary as a mental prayer, and it was unattractive to me because there was too much to think about - the mystery, the intention, the words of the prayers etc - and characteristically, I worried that I was not doing each part well enough!

However, that simple image, full of childlike confidence appealed to me immediately and I began to appreciate the Rosary much more. Soon, I began to keep one beside my bed, so that if I was awoken by bad dreams, I would be able to reach out for Our Lady's hand. I also began to carry the Rosary in my pocket and discovered that I enjoyed saying the Rosary as I travelled. It became a way of talking to "Mama Mary" during my journeys, invoking her presence and intercession for the people, places and incidents I saw on the way, and contemplating the saving presence of God in our human history and lives, which is what the Mysteries reveal. 

The Rosary still has this intimate character for me: I prefer to pray it alone, whispering to my Mother and asking her to show me the face of Christ. Oftentimes, the Rosary has been a comfort to me, and in those moments, the words of Psalm 131:2 come to mind: "Truly I have set my soul in silence and peace. A weaned child on its mother's breast, even so is my soul."

What the Rosary means to me ... 2

In the last couple of years Rosary beads have become something of a fashion accessory. Leading fashion houses have started to produce them and celebrities such as David Beckham are seen wearing them at film premieres and night clubs. It is shame that such an obvious symbol has been lowered to the level of a trinket.

However a set of rosary beads does have a beauty to it. The shape of a traditional set of rosary beads show us how to lead our lives. Christ must be the focal point, just as the crucifix is the focal point of the rosary. This does not of course devalue the Marian character of the rosary. Our Lady is our greatest example; as John Paul II says in his apostolic letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae “With the Rosary, the Christian people sits at the school of Mary and is led to contemplate the beauty on the face of Christ and to experience the depths of his love. “

Let us pray this October that the true message of the Rosary is heard and this marvellous sign is not trivialised.

What the Rosary means to me ... 1

October is the month of the Rosary and Dominicans continue to mark a 'year of the rosary', the first in a novena of years leading up to celebrating the 8th centenary of the Order's establishment in 2016. Godzdogz has already offered reflections on each of the mysteries of the Rosary (follow the links below for these). In addition each member of the Godzdogz team will now offer a short reflection on what the Rosary means to him.

The Joyful Mysteries
The Annunciation
The Visitation
The Nativity
The Presentation in the Temple
The Finding in the Temple

The Mysteries of Light
The Baptism of the Lord
The Wedding at Cana
The Proclamation of the Kingdom and the Call to Repentance
The Transfiguration
The Institution of the Eucharist

The Sorrowful Mysteries
The Agony in the Garden
The Scourging at the Pillar
Crowning with Thorns
Jesus Carries his Cross
The Crucifixion and Death of our Lord

The Glorious Mysteries
The Resurrection
The Ascension
The Descent of the Holy Spirit
The Assumption
The Coronation of our Lady

Dominican Pilgrimage to Lourdes (Part 4)

A pilgrimage is a time for prayer, preaching and study, but it is also a time for recreation and building community. The Dominican Pilgrimage brings together Dominican friars, sisters and laity, parishioners of Dominican parishes throughout the country, as well as students and friends of the Order. The pilgrimage is an opportunity for us to become acquainted, to grow in friendship, to exchange ideas and to have fun.










On the penultimate night, a very enjoyable social evening with music and singing was organized by fr Dermot.










fr John Farrell also blessed an enormous votive candle which burns in Lourdes for the intentions of the entire Dominican Pilgrimage.

Finally, small tokens of thanks were given to our helpers who contribute so much to making the pilgrimage possible, and to those who help organize it, including nurse Bridget (below) with fr John Farrell OP:




As usual, the pilgrims gave a very warm thanks to the friars who took part in the pilgrimage:

"For the many graces received here,

for all the conversions,

all the forgiveness,

all the healings,

for the vocations and promises

which you have witnessed or engendered,

for the love of serving others, which you have let us experience,

Our Lady of Lourdes

we thank you!

With all our brothers and sisters of the human race,

with all people in need of peace and justice,

with young people in search of a way,

you who appeared so young to little Bernadette,

with all those who are in mourning, who are ill,

handicapped, or facing a setback,

with those who may have a reason for despair:

Our Lady of Lourdes

We pray to you!

Because you are the smile of God,

the reflection of the light of Christ,

the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit,

because you chose Bernadette in her misery,

because you are the star of the morning, the gate of Heaven,

and the first resurrected creature

we praise you,

we acclaim you

and with you we sing the wonders of God

Magnificat!"

Dominican Pilgrimage to Lourdes (Part 3)

A distinctive aspect of the Dominican Pilgrimage is the attention to study and preaching. Every morning, the pilgrims gathered after Lauds in the cinema to listen to a talk given by the Prior Provincial, fr John Farrell OP.

In addition to the homily preached each day at Mass by a different preacher, there were also daily talks on a range of topics given by Dominican friars.

This year, Lectio Divina was introduced to the daily schedule as well as Rosary and Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament each evening. Both of these took place in the hotel for those pilgrims who were unable to get down to the Lourdes Sanctuary with ease. 

Below is a photo of Adoration in the underground basilica.

In our Dominican tradition, preaching and giving talks is a handing on of the fruits of our contemplation, of prayer and a contemplative study of the Scriptures. Lourdes offered time for this vital element of our spiritual lives.

"Holy Spirit, you are the Spirit of love and unity.

Here in Lourdes, through Bernadette, Mary asked

for a Chapel, and for people to come in procession.

Inspire the Church which Christ is building on Peter’s faith:

that it may be one.

Guide the pilgrimage of the Church:

that it may be faithful and daring!

Mary, you are filled with the Holy Spirit,

you are the spouse and the servant.

You are the model for Christians, and the maternal face of the Church. 

We pray to you.

Hail Mary..."