De La Mennais Brothers: Making Jesus Christ better known and loved by young people

via Instagram http://instagram.com/p/YV-q9dDzrO/ The graveyard at Owslebury Church, just next to the old school house. This property was owned by the people for whom Br. Francis' father worked. The latter's family lived in a lodge house elsewhere on the property. Longwood estate, heading for the house where Br. Francis' house spent the early years of his life. Posted with Blogsy

via Instagram http://instagram.com/p/YV96d2DzqF/ A couple of weeks ago, just after Easter, I offered to take Br. Francis on a drive around some old haunts of his childhood that I frequently pass when out cycling in the countryside to the northeast of Southampton: Longwood (nr. Owslebury), Longwood estate (his father was at one point a groundsman on Longwood estate and the family lived in a lodge house on the edge of the estate), Owslebury Primary School, Kingsworthy (nr. Winchester, where his family moved to while he was still quite young)... Francis hadn't been back around those parts since he was a boy. It was nice to give him this opportunity to reconnect with his childhood before we (the Brothers' community in Southampton) leave to return to Liverpool in the summer. Some more Instagram-ed photos to follow...

Myself and Br. Francis here in Southampton are gradually clearing out unwanted stuff from our 4-storey, 22 bedroom community house - and its cellar - in preparation for closing the community and moving back to our Liverpool community in August (another 2 skips filled during the Easter holidays). There's a lot of history here for the congregation as well as for each of us personally: we are both former pupils and Francis is also a former Head... not easy. The house will be given over to our school here (St. Mary's College) for them to make use of.  As a result of having so many jobs to do relating to the move, I'm not undertaking my usual multi-day sponsored cycle this year. I am, however, doing the national Swimathon sponsored swim for Marie Curie Cancer Care on the evening of  Sat. Apr. 27th (next Sat.).  I'll be doing the maximum 5km distance and, to add an extra challenge, a 100 mile (160 km) cycle from Southampton to Fleet and back that same morning. If you...

I rediscovered this gem of a song today, composed by the great John Barry (music) + Hal David (lyrics) and performed by the inimitable Louis Armstrong (his last recorded performance). I hadn't realised that it was written for and used in the George Lazenby Bond film "On Her Majesty's Secret Service". It makes me want to see this film for the first time. I knew the song from a tv advertising campaign from some years ago, but didn't know where it originated. Just listen to that trumpet of Armstrong's. Absolute class. The song itself is sublime; a laid back, evocative and beautiful love song, with subtle harmonic shifts and dreamy strings. Can't stop listening to it right now. 

I’m sitting here this afternoon after having come back from the Good Friday celebration in our parish, for which I was asked to carry the cross during the Veneration of the Cross section. The Choir there is conducted by one of my old Maths teachers from nearly 30 yrs. ago so if I’m around over Easter I always join his Choir for the Triduum (as I am generally cycling with my club Sunday mornings I normally go to evening Mass in the Southampton parish where I grew up, or another neighbouring one, and so don’t normally sing with this Choir).   Never more than during these days of the Triduum am I struck by the idea of simultaneously living a reality that is both present in the here-and-now and yet is somehow still to come.   It’s the reality of a life standing before the empty tomb and it is the life of our everyday existence: a life torn by the reality of pain and suffering, but where the empty tomb acts as a sign of hope, that there is joy and peace waiting for us if we would b...

Thank you, Lord! I have had the pleasure and the privilege to have studied at a Jesuit University faculty as part of my training to be a De La Mennais Brother and was delighted - as were many, it seems - that we now have a Jesuit Pope. But what about the man himself, his character, his background? In our modern media-savvy world it only took seconds for news agencies and people sitting in front of their TVs everywhere to bring up websites and images from the internet giving us a pen picture of this surprise choice... and those important first impressions were undeniably  and reassuringly positive. A collective sigh of relief could be heard like a gentle wave breaking over Catholics throughout the world, after which was a growing sense of optimism and excitement as Pope Francis asked those in St. Peter's Square to pray for him, as he smiled and joked, all with the calm serenity of someone who has accepted God's will in his life in total trust that "all will be well and all ...

I had this ready to post before the recent Conclave. I'll still put it out there because I think it summarises so well the whole idea of calling + vocation: "Ask our Lord what he has in mind for you! Ask him for the generosity to say “yes!” Do not be afraid to give yourself totally to Jesus. He will give you the grace you need to fulfill your vocation." Pope (Emeritus) Benedict XVI Vocation here is to be understood in the context of a general culture of vocation in which  each person  is called to a particular way of life (whatever that may be) which will give the individual the deepest fulfilment, happiness and joy and allow them to share their talents/gifts with others for the development of God's Kingdom. P.S. Very excited about what the future holds for us with Pope Francis as Shepherd of the Church. Posted with Blogsy