Saints, Doctors, and Battles - The Week Ahead

One name dominates the calendar of saints on the homepage this coming week, and that's John Henry Newman. It isn't the only we will see the spotlight on him this year because on 28th September, Pope Leo announced that Newman would be declared a Doctor of the Church on 1st November. You can read more about it at the Catholic Sun here. 

It is interesting that Newman is being declared a Doctor on a day given over to the world of education. He was a teacher by trade, being an Oxford don before his conversation to the Faith. After becoming a Catholic, Newman continued to teach through his writings. He also founded the Catholic University of Ireland, which still functions today as University College Dublin. Indeed, one of his most famous books is The Idea of a University. If you read the Catholic Sun article, you'll see the pope highlighting the way in which Newman,

“contributed decisively to the renewal of theology and to the understanding of the development of Christian doctrine.”

Nothing here about education. But as Fr. Ian Ker wrote, Newman once said, "from first to last, education... has been my line." Perhaps we might say that education was the seed bed for Newman's ideas

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This week, we also celebrate the the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, which has its origin in the Battle of Lepanto, fought between the navies of the Holy League and Ottoman Empire on 7th October 1571. The Holy League inflicted a decisive defeat upon the Ottoman fleet. In thanksgiving, Pope Pius V instituted the Feast of Our Lady of Victory, which is now celebrated as Our Lady of the Rosary. Lepanto was fought because of the Ottomans' desire to expand its empire west. Had their navy won the day, Europe today might look very different to how it turned out with Islam being the dominant religion. 

If you enjoy reading poetry, I highly recommend G. K. Chesterton's The Battle of Lepanto here. It is every bit as exciting as you would expect it to be!

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Finally - I almost forgot; today (4th October) is the feast of St. Francis of Assisi! He has a special place in my heart, for which reason this blog is named after the opening line of Francis' Admonitions. It is only in the last year or two that I have felt a calling to learn more about this incredible man. As a result, I learnt about the phrase not from reading the Admonitions, which I haven't yet, but thanks to Pope Francis' encyclical. You'll notice I have linked to an online copy of the Admonitions. That is actually the first time I have seen them, so I know what I'll be reading in the week to come!

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There we are. Wherever you are, I hope you have a good week ahead. I shall pray for you. Please pray for me, a sinner. As I write these words, it is very windy outside (here in London UK, I think we are getting the edge of Storm Amy). Rather than think about storms, I am imagining the wind as the Holy Spirit rushing to where He needs to be. I'll keep my window open for as long as I can.

St. John Henry Newman - pray for us

St. Francis of Assisi - pray for us

image

The Battle of Lepanto - Wikipedia

Bourne: From Death to Life

Over the years, I have watched the Jason Bourne trilogy - Identity, Supremacy, and Ultimatum - more times than I can say. God willing I will do so again. Last night, however, I rounded off my latest viewing of the the series with The Bourne Ultimatum, and once more, smiled wryly to see Jason Bourne's dog tags. Ah, the greatest assassin in the world is a Catholic; how cool is that!

Of course, 'not really' is the answer. Being an assassin is decidedly uncool: that's the whole point of the Bourne films. 

If you haven't seen the films, you might be a little confused. After all, the dog tags belong to someone called David Webb. This is Bourne's real name. As we learn in The Bourne Ultimatum, he is renamed Jason Bourne after joining Treadstone, the CIA's black ops programme. As part of his training, he is effectively brainwashed. His renaming marks the effective death of David Webb the Catholic and the birth of Jason Bourne, the machine-like killer.

We only see the machine-like version of Bourne in flashback for the trilogy is about the third phase of his life: his search for himself. The Bourne Identity opens with Bourne afloat in the sea. When he is rescued by fisherman he wakes up to discover that he has lost his memory. The film covers his quest to work out what caused this to happen (1).

It is hard not to see the shot of Bourne in the water as a kind of baptism. For while this one doesn't wash away his sins, it does wash away his memory, giving him the mental space he needs to find out who he really is. 

Bourne's search reminds me in part of the Prodigal Son. As you'll recall, the Prodigal takes his inheritance and fritters it away on drink, girls, etc. When a famine comes, he loses everything and is forced to feed pigs for a living. Realising how far he has fallen, the Prodigal returns home to his father, who welcomes him with open arms.  

How does this relate to Jason Bourne? David Webb is a Catholic. By joining the Treadstone programme he implicitly or explicitly rejects his faith (and embraces in a very literal way a culture of death). From now on, Conklin et al will be his God. In time, however, famine will strike: Treadstone lets him down: it will demand that he kill a man in front of his children, something that even the ice cold Bourne isn't prepared to do. Bourne, of course, doesn't know who he really is, so can't leave Treadstone and return home. After being rescued from the sea, however, he does the next best thing: once he discovers his profession, he rejects it and sets up a new home with Marie. He loves her deeply. You could say that despite not knowing who he is, Bourne still has a Marian devotion. 

Now, here, I should acknowledge that I am making some big assumptions about David Webb. He is a Catholic but does he practice his faith? We don't know. We are never told. I am just choosing to believe that he does. 

I mentioned above Bourne's 'baptism' at the start of The Bourne Identity. The scene of him in the water is repeated at the end of The Bourne Ultimatum. After finding out the full truth about himself in New York. Bourne flees the CIA operatives and jumps into the Hudson river. He is shot at but this time escapes unharmed. Unharmed and, you could say, regenerated. Very Catholic. The man who will emerge from he water in a few minutes is not Jason Bourne but David Webb.

Finally, the image of Matt Damon as Jason Bourne below is one of my favourite. The use of black and white and shadow with Bourne being lit by a shaft of light makes it look as though he is wearing a dog collar. The gun, however, is probably less common for men of the cloth - though maybe that is not the case in countries where gun ownership is allowed?

(2) Bourne discovers more information about himself in The Bourne Supremacy and then, as indicated above, the full story in The Bourne Ultimatum

St. Carlo Acutis

The following was my Contemplative Art post for 31st August 2025

St. Carlo Acutis
The older we get, the further away our childhood's recede until we no longer understand the young. They become objects of fear to us, fear and resentment. We want to be young again, to live again with their carefree nature. We forget that when we were young, we wanted to be grown up, to own our lives so that we could act as we pleased.

Tomorrow (7th September 2025), Carlo Acutis, who died in 2006 at the age of just 15, will be canonised in Rome. He is undoubtedly the Thérèse of Lisieux of the twenty-first century, a young saint who appeals to all ages. For the young he is one of them. His piety either is or can be theirs in a way that his age helps them to understand. For the old, he makes us young again in the one way that matters: our faith.

I have included this photograph of Acutis, in which he is the coolest looking saint since Karol Wojtyła was photographed in a cassock and sunglasses, firstly in honour of his canonisation and secondly so that we might ponder how he transcends his age to help draw all of us to God. It is a wonderful thing.

St. Carlo - Pray for Us

31st August 2025
photo: communion and liberation

Saints and Angels - The Week Ahead

With Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, St. Jerome, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, and St. Francis of Assisi we have some of the biggest names on the Calendar of Saints greeting us this week! 

Our Guardian Angels also have their day next week, and if they aren't counted among the 'heavy hitters' mentioned above it is only because we don't know their names. I'd love to know my guardian angel's name - so that I could apologise to him personally for all the hard work I must have caused him over the years. In the meantime, I of course remain more grateful than I can say for his help. I hope at the end (and, please God, beginning), I will get to at least say thank you before we head off into the light to give praise to the Lord for eternity.

In the middle of all these famous angels and saints is a very obscure one - St. Agostina of the Assumption. Catholic Saints tells us only a little about her and, surprisingly, perhaps, Google nothing. Sometimes, I think that I should only include saints about whom we know at least a little, but then I say to myself, no; this person - whoever they are - is recognised as a saint and that's enough. I don't need to know their background in order to talk to them or ask for their prayers.

This week's home page image comes from a blog titled Beyond These Stone Walls. The accompanying post on the blog is well worth reading. The story of the priest who wrote it, Fr. Gordon McCrae, appears to be a deeply tragic one and is worth reading about.  

The End of the Affair - Graham Greene

This week, I'm attending a talk by William Cash, author of a book titled The Third Woman, an account of Graham Greene's affair with Catherine Walston, which inspired his novel The End of the Affair, so thought I would read the latter in advance as preparation.

Not surprisingly for a Graham Greene book (at least, the few I've read), there is much sadness. I wish I had started it weeks earlier so that I could have read a little at a time. As it was, I left it late and yesterday had to read 70 or so pages in one day. I don't recommend it. The sadness gets into your bones.

In case you don't know the book, it is set at the start of the 1950s and is about what happens to a writer named Maurice Bendrix and Sarah Miles after the end of their adulterous affair. The story is told in the first person by Bendrix until we get Sarah's side of the story through her diary.

Bendrix is not really a likeable person but although he talks about hate and hating people a lot he is more of a booby than a hateful person: someone who has got himself into a bad spot and is to be pitied rather than disliked. He'd hate that (as well), but that's tough on him.

Sarah is a really intriguing character. She is an adulteress but becomes also something of a Saint. Note the upper case S. She dies during the course of the book and what seems like miracles follow. 

The End of the Affair is a very Catholic novel. Bendrix and Sarah talk to God as much as to each other. Even though they either don't believe in Him or don't want to do so. In terms of character arc, Sarah's story is definitely more interesting as she goes from atheistic lover to someone fighting in search of faith. The possibility of her redemption and miracle working adds a new and rather wonderful layer to her story. Bendrix, by contrast, moans and complains his way through the book. Right at the end, however, he seems to come to belief in God inspire of himself. It is a moment that, while not the same as, reminded me of Lord Marchmain's return to faith in Brideshead Revisited.

All in all, I would absolutely recommend The End of the Affair. Greene is great at getting under the skin of his characters. To be fair, I'm sure he poured a lot of himself into Bendrix but that just gives you a beginning. The book isn't easy-going but it is very rewarding and thought provoking. 

A Carmelite Tour

I'm very fond of the Discalced Carmelites. Recently, I watched this lovely video tour of a Carmelite church in America. It made me want to jump into the laptop screen and join Fr. Matthias and his guests!

The Name's Bond...

While updating the blog at the weekend, I discovered that yesterday (15th Sept.) was the feast of a St. Bond of Sens. He is a rather obscure Spanish saint of the late sixth early seventh century who appears to have committed a crime of some sort (maybe even fratricide) and become a public penitent, moving to Sens, a town south-east of Paris, and coming under the guidance of St. Artemius, a bishop.

Of course, Bond stood out to me because of his name! Notwithstanding M’s ‘desire’ to make Bond a ‘half-monk, half hitman’ it is probably as close to sainthood as 007 will ever get. Or is it. He is constantly prepared to die for the safekeeping and peace of the world (and in No Time To Die, Daniel Craig’s Bond does exactly that), which is rather more than most people would do. Where his cause for sainthood would falter is in the methods he chooses to achieve this aim.

James Bond methods are those of a broken man, but one who is broken in the manner of the Japanese art of kintsugi. In his brokenness Bond kills and uses people. The gold lacquer that mends him is the cause for which he fights. And it not only holds Bond together but heals him, enabling him to fight again another day. 

By and by, Saints are kintsugi people also. The correct definition of a saint is not someone who is perfect but one who realises that they are not and turns to God for help. They are broken in their sinfulness and their gold lacquer is God’s grace. J. Bond and St. Bond, therefore, are two sides – sacred and profane - of the same coin.

Amazingly, or perhaps not, St. Bond is not the patron saint of spies. Yes, there is one, and it is Joshua who reconnoitred /spied on Canaan for Moses. The Saint as well as the spy remains in the shadows. There are advantages to this: good work is easier to achieve when no-one is looking.

taken from my instagram page @sehnsuchtandwine

From the Shadows into the Light

Vatican Spies: from the Second World War to Pope Francis
Yvonnick Dendël

Vatican Spies is an engaging history of espionage committed by and against the Vatican since the 1930s. It actually begins during the reign of Pius XI but with a focus on Eugenio Pacelli who, in 1939, became Pope Pius XII. It is at this point that the book gets into its stride.

Pius, John XXIII, Paul VI, and John Paul II all have their own dedicated sections. John Paul I, whose one month papacy means that in terms of intelligence nothing of note happened during his papacy, is treated at the start of the section on John Paul II, while Benedict XVI and Francis are placed together. The recency of their papacies means that many of the files relating to their deeds vis-à-vis espionage are still classified. With that said, as Vatican Spies was only published in 2024, it may be said to provide as good an overview of Francis' papacy in terms of intelligence as will be possible for some years to come.

If the focus of the book is on spies, its scope is definitely broader. For example, Dendël also covers various controversies involving that perennial black sheep of the Holy See: the Institute for the Works of Religion (Istituto per le Opere di Religione - IOR) aka The Vatican Bank. Thus, as well as learning about how the Vatican fought against Nazism and Communism, Dendël also lifts the lid on how the IOR has been used by various financiers and prelates for nefarious purposes. We meet shady people like Roberto Calvi and Archbishop Paul Marcinkus and groups such as the Mafia and the infamous P2 lodge. The presence of Pope Francis means that even the still active and disgraced cardinal Angelo Becciu makes an appearance. 

Before reading Vatican Spies I thought I knew a fair bit about the inner workings of the Vatican. This book, however, showed me that I was wrong. I learnt a lot. Not just about the past but even Francis' reign. For example, his relationship with rich American Catholic right wingers who were determined to undermine him. Sadly, they tended to be traditionalists. I have a strong suspicion now that when Francis restricted access to the Extraordinary Form of the Mass he was acting against his American enemies more than against the EF Mass, but who knows.

Something I did know before reading Vatican Spies but which the book has reinforced is that to speak about the Vatican as if it is a monolithic unit is wrong. The Holy See is so compartmentalised and secretive that it is truly the case that the right hand may not know what the left is doing. This applies all the way up to the pope. With that in mind, it is hard to see how Dendël's suggestion that the Vatican create its own intelligence department could ever be made a reality. Half its time would be spent spying on the various dicastieries who refused to give it information. 

All in all, if Church politics, controversies and espionage are of interest to you, Vatican Spies is definitely worth your time. Dendël has his opinions but it is a book written with a desire to unearth the truth in mind rather than score points or take sides and is to be applauded for that. A really good read.

Dom Bede Jarrett O.P.

The following was my Contemplative Art post for 31st August 2025 

Dom Bede Jarrett O.P.

Have you ever been in a situation when you were going about your day as per normal when upon a moment you read about someone that caused your pulse to race and your heart to thump against your ribcage? You have to find out more about them! Or, you have a need, an urgent need, to tell others about them.

I'm dramatising the situation a little but from time to time that happens to me. The person who gets me going like this is Alexander the Great. I always know beforehand that if he gets mentioned, there'll be no stopping me. Yesterday, though, it was, a little unexpectedly, Dom Bede Jarrett, the Dominican who brought the Order of Preachers back to Oxford University four hundred years after the Reformation (or Deformation as we should call it) forced them out.

I've actually known about Bede Jarrett for over twenty years. At the turn of the century I was discerning my vocation and visited Blackfriars, the Dominican house at Oxford that Bede founded. I didn't, however, do anything with this knowledge. Yesterday, I was reading the politics channel on The Rest is History podcast Discord and there of all places someone mentioned him. I never contribute to the politics channel: it is a madhouse of political opinion so I steer clear of active involvement with it. This time, however, I had - just had - to say something!

But why? What it is about Bede Jarrett that excited me so? I only wish I knew! I have read a little about him before; after reading the post, I started doing so again. Maybe an answer will present itself. I will be praying for it. In the meantime, I thought I would present his portrait here because he is worth contemplating on two grounds: Bede Jarrett was a wise leader and an example of an obedient one. He deserves to be a patron saint of leaders. 

We live in a world today where some of the leaders of the world's most powerful and aggressive countries lack leadership ability: they lack wisdom, humility, and compassion. I am still young in my knowledge of Bede but I already know that these were gifts that he had, I should think in abundance. As often as I pray for our leaders, I will be asking for Bede's intercession in my prayer.

I commend to you this article on Bede from he Dominican website, which discusses his obedience. 

Dear Bede Jarrett - Pray for Us

31st August 2025

Sts. Dominic and Francis in London

This was my Contemplative Art post for 23rd August 2025

St. Dominic and St. Francis of Assisi in London

This majolica dates to the Victorian age and depicts St. Dominic (L) greeting St. Francis of Assisi (R). it can be found just outside the grotto of St. Francis at All Hallows by the Tower church in London.

St. Dominic and St. Francis are coeval but it is not known that they ever met. What a meeting it would have been had they done so! The two represent two very different strands of the Faith - intellectual and love of creation - but are completely united by their love for Jesus. That alone would have given them much to talk and pray about together. The thought of it is very pleasing. But I wonder, which two (or more) saints would you have liked to see together? What might they have talked about? As well as Dominic and Francis, and following on from my previous post, I would have loved to see John Henry Newman and Thérèse of Lisieux together, and to see them discuss the different ideas of community that they learnt from being an Oratorian and Discalced Carmelite.

St. Dominic - Pray for Us

St. Francis - Pray for Us

23rd August 2025

Newman and Thérèse

This was my Contemplative Art post for 2nd August 2025

This page is dedicated to Catholic content of a different kind: art. The internet is a wonderful tool but browsing and scrolling isn't always the best thing to do. Sometimes, it is being still and contemplating God through sacred art. Let's do it together:

Sts. John Henry Newman and Thérèse of Lisieux

This week, we received the wonderful news that John Henry Newman would soon be declared a Doctor of the Church. Did you know that St. Thérèse of Lisieux is also a Doctor? It seems incredible that she should be since the only thing she ever wrote was her short autobiography The Story of a Soul. However, that is the beautiful thing. Doctors of the Church are Saints who not only lived close to God but are people who in their writings, however many or few, have made a significant contribution to the spiritual life of the Church. Usually, this comes through their theology; as Thérèse shows, however, it can also come through no more or less than the example of their lives. This week, let's contemplate that and give thanks: we are members of a Church that celebrates intellectuals like John Henry Newman who wrote reams and reams of works and 'simple' souls like Térèse who 'just' lived the faith as best they could. In doing so, both have given us a rich spiritual medicine. Well do they deserve their title of Doctor. Praise be!

John Henry Newman - Pray for Us

Thérèse of Lisieux - Pray for Us

2nd August 2025

Newman's Image

I have a few pictures of John Henry Newman in my room, this being one of them. I've had it a while but only noticed for the first time the other day how the artist (W.W. Ouless) uses a real or imaginary light source in front of Newman to light his face up. The effect helps give the cardinal a warm, venerable. What it does, in my view, is speak to Newman's inner life, the faith that enabled him to achieve so much. We are seeing the truth of Newman's life as much as, or rather than, the facts of his physical appearance, and that is not just a good thing but a needful thing also.

A Private Prayer

I usually go to Westminster Cathedral for confession and as I wait in the queue, I say the following to myself, "Grace is coming; grace is here."

Judith Beheading Holofernes by Caravaggio

This was my Contemplative Art post for 31st May 2025

This page is dedicated to Catholic content of a different kind: art. The internet is a wonderful tool but browsing and scrolling isn't always the best thing to do. Sometimes, it is being still and contemplating God through sacred art. Let's do it together:

Judith Beheading Holofernes

by Caravaggio

This painting is certainly not for the faint hearted. It depicts the moment that Judith assassinates the Assyrian general Holofernes during his siege of the Israelite city of Bethulia. In order to accomplish her mission, Judith seduces Holofernes and gets him drunk. After decapitating him, she escapes the camp with his head, which she then shows to the Israelites. This inspires them to route Holofernes' panicking army.

What can we take from this painting today? How can it bring us closer to God?

I'll be honest, I'm not sure of the answer. It certainly shows that God's deliverance doesn't always come in ways that are heroic (according to our modern understanding of the term): Judith is forced to use her body in order to kill Holofernes. The Assyrian general is not brought to justice for his crimes but murdered in cold blood.

Perhaps the painting is reminding us that we have to be prepared to put our bodies - literally - on the line for Him, do things that in any normal condition would be unacceptable. The former is certainly true; we have to pick up our cross and carry it. The latter - actually, it kind of makes sense. For example, although a lie is always a lie and therefore is always sinful, there may well be times when it is necessary to lie in order to help a person or protect them from harm. In that case, though we have sinned, the circumstances mean that our culpability is reduced, maybe is zero. Murder is of its nature sinful, but the threat that Holofernes posed to Israel reduces Judith's culpability in the act. Given that the Assyrian army were on Bethulia's doorstep and in the process of starving the Israelites out, she had no choice but to do what she did in order to help her people.

Quite honestly, I think I need a theologian to help me on this one. How does Caravaggio's art work speak to you?