Patrick is a priest in the Church of Ireland (Anglican), Director of Spiritual Formation at the Church of Ireland Theological Institute, and a Canon of Christ Church Cathedral Dublin.

If you are interested in things Franciscan it is well worth a read.

PATRICK’S BLOG

Politically Correct Nativity

Like me, some of your will be preparing for your Church or School Nativity Play. It’s a time for excited children and proud parents. Sometimes it is hard to find enough characters for those wanting to talk part. One school I know introduced Personal Assistants for the wise men. Still short each PA had a secretary.  Traditionally it is the time for tea towels to come out of the cupboard, along with dressing gowns, fluffy stuffed toys and dolls.

Some would say that we should do away with such “Chocolate Box” ideas of the Nativity because the reality was so different. That may be true but here in the UK that ‘Nativity Play’ could well be the only story the children hear from the Bible all year! However, I do think that as we grow into adulthood we should come to terms with that reality – if we don’t we miss so much of the meaning of Christmas.

Jesus came to a people who were suffering, who were under the yoke of corrupt leaders and an army of occupation – I can think of  more than a few places where that is true today. Jesus too was born in the worst of conditions. My daughter recently gave birth to twins, she was in a nice warm hospital and had teams of health workers on hand as well as all the latest medical equipment. I can’t imagine what that would like in a drafty, dirty stable with none of those facilities; not even a midwife.

So Jesus identifies with the poor and the oppressed and as his disciples we need to do the same. The meaning of Christmas is God With Us in our poverty and our oppression whether that is physically or spiritually true.

One of my favourite hymns during the advent season is O Come, O Come Emmanuel. This version is slightly different but I think the mournfulness and context of the video perhaps gives a truer perspective of the meaning of this Advent season.

It seems to have more in sympathy with King Herod than that of the shepherd and angels.

Blessing of the Gifts

The inspiration for the modern day Father Christmas – St Nicholas of Myra, was turned away at the gate of the Yarl’s Wood Immigration Removal Centre in Bedfordshire when he tried to deliver gifts to the children locked up inside.

Jolly Old St Nick brought with him £300 worth of gifts donated by several London churches for the estimated 35 children currently detained. Dressed in a red robe, long white beard, and a bishop’s mitre and crook, and accompanied by Rev’d Professor Nicholas Sagovsky, Canon Theologian at Westminster Abbey, they hoped to spread some St Nicholastide cheer among the children of migrants detained for administrative purposes at Yarl’s Wood.

The atmosphere became rather less jolly when the Home Office authorities who run Yarl’s Wood refused permission for St Nicholas to enter the Centre to distribute the gifts to the children. Despite the authorities having agreed to accept the gifts, St Nicholas was met at the gates by a group of unidentified security guards who barred his entry and ordered him to leave the area. They later called the police as St Nicholas blessed the gifts. The gifts were loaded into an unmarked van by staff who refused to provide a name, number or receipt for the gifts. St Nicholas asked one “guard” his name and the man said “write down ‘Father Christmas’”.

St Nick said, “If this is how visitors are treated, I just shudder to imagine what else transpires inside Yarl’s Wood.” While police questioned the St Nicholas team, taxis and delivery lorries made their way in and out of the place with many smiling and stopping to greet the Saint and his companions.

In the afternoon, when St Nicholas returned to make a pre-arranged and approved social visit to two families currently detained, they were informed at the gates that their visit had been cancelled. They were handed letters from Dawn Elaine, the Contracts Manager at Yarl’s Wood, informing them that permission had been revoked because of “concerns about your conduct” when the gifts had been deposited that morning.

The action was organised by the St Nicholas Society and CITIZENS for Sanctuary. The St Nicholas Society exists to increase interest, learning, and appreciation of the tradition of St Nicholas, whose festival falls on December 6th. St Nicholas has previously brought joy to children across the world, including in the USA and Palestine. CITIZENS for Sanctuary is a campaign by CITIZENS UK to implement the recommendations of the Independent Asylum Commission – one of which was to end the detention of children.

CITIZENS for Sanctuary has formed a coalition of 13 national faith organisations representing 7 million people to promote a Sanctuary Pledge at the 2010 General Election. Prospective Parliamentary Candidates across the country will be asked to back the Sanctuary Pledge, which includes a commitment to end the detention of children and families for immigration purposes.

St Nicholas said:
“St Nick has never been turned away from anywhere before. So I was extremely disappointed not be able to hand deliver the gifts to the children detained at Yarl’s Wood today. I hope the kids realize that they will be firmly in my prayers on St Nicholas Day when I preach at the Royal Naval College chapel in Greenwich.”

Canon Professor Nicholas Sagovsky said:
“This was about bringing a moment of joy to kids locked up in a deplorable situation. I can’t help but contrast the smiles and wonderment on the faces of the children that St Nicholas visited at a local primary school this afternoon, with the sad fate of those kids who will be locked up in Yarl’s Wood over Christmas. People of goodwill must make sure that their prospective MPs sign the Sanctuary Pledge at the next election so that next St Nicholas’s Day there will no longer be innocent children detained here at Yarl’s Wood.”

You can watch videos of the event here and here.

The details may from the U.S. but we in the U.K. are no different when it comes to Advent and Christmas.

From my Franciscan perspective it ticks all the right boxes.

Advent Conspiracy Website

Tau Cross

A few people have asked me for more information about Anglican Franciscans.

I can do no better that direct people to this site below which shows our presence throughout the world and contains links to other more local sites

Anglican Franciscans throughout the World

The Society of St Francis is a worldwide religious community in the Anglican Communion.

Although this is from our First Order most still applies to our Third Order here in the UK and Worldwide.

Enjoy

Picture of St Clare

Clare’s father was a count, her mother the countess Blessed Orsolana. Her father died when the girl was very young. After hearing Saint Francis of Assisi preach in the streets, Clare confided to him her desire to live for God, and the two became close friends. On Palm Sunday in 1212, her bishop presented Clare with a palm, which she apparently took as a sign. With her cousin Pacifica, Clare ran away from her mother’s palace during the night to enter religious life. She eventually took the veil from Saint Francis at the Church of Our Lady of the Angels in Assisi, Italy.

Clare founded the Order of Poor Ladies (Poor Clares) at San Damiano, and led it for 40 years. Everywhere the Franciscans established themselves throughout Europe, there also went the Poor Clares, depending solely on alms, forced to have complete faith on God to provide through people; this lack of land-based revenues was a new idea at the time. Clare’s mother and sisters later joined the order, and there are still thousands of members living lives of silence and prayer.

What many of the Catholic commentaries on Clare forget to mention is that she had to fight to allow her Order to live in the poverty she and her sisters so desired. It simply was not the done thing to allow women to live by faith alone, they had to be supported in some way by the (male) dominated Church. This was the biggest battle Clare had to face, but one she finally won when the permission she so desired was granted whilst she was on he death bed.

I admire Clare, she was a woman who knew what she wanted and was willing to give herself wholeheartedly to bring it about. She fought to enter the monastic way of life and then she fought  to make sure that way of life of her sisters followed the Franciscan ideal of poverty.

Some excellent pictures of St Damiamo, Clare’s Monestary

In 1373, when she was 30 years old, Julian had a visionary experience during a serious illness.

After she had thought about it — perhaps soon after the experience, perhaps as much as fifteen years later — she wrote a relatively brief account of the visions and what they meant to her. But in 1393, she was still meditating on her experience and perhaps had begun to write a longer, more theologically-centered analysis. By 1394 she had become an anchorite, living in a cell attached to the parish church of St. Julian in Norwich (which may be the reason for the name we know her by); she was visited there by Margery Kempe (a particular heroine of mine) in about 1413, and she was still living there in 1416.

Julian’s writing as still in print and well worth reading – this extract is one of my favourites.

Because of the great, infinite love which God has for all humankind, he makes no distinction in love between the blessed soul of Christ and the lowliest of the souls that are to be saved . . . .

We should highly rejoice that God dwells in our soul and still more highly should we rejoice that our soul dwells in God.

Our soul is made to be God’s dwelling place, and the dwelling place of our soul is God who was never made.

(Matthew 18:23-35)

“For this reason the kingdom of heaven cannot be compared to a Government who wished to settle accounts with the Banks . When they began the reckoning, one who owed  hundreds  of billions of pounds was brought to forward; and, as they  could not pay, the Government ordered them to be sold, together with all their possessions, and payment to be made. So the Bank bosses fell on their knees before them, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ And out of pity for them, Government  released them and forgave them the debt. But that same Bank as they went out, came upon a poor pensioners who needed a cheque for £11; and seizing him by the throat, they said, ‘Pay me another £20 for the privilege. ‘ Then pensioner fell down and pleaded with them  ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ But they refused and debited his account . When others saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to the Government all that had taken place. Then the Government summoned the bank and said , ‘You have to be commercially viable!  You have done nothing wrong

True Story.

In the words of Cromwell “I was not angry until now.”