Fr. Ronald Walls Kirkwall

Bishop Peter Moran pays tribute to the late Fr Ronnie Walls By Bishop Peter Moran, Aberdeen WITH the death of Fr Ronnie Walls in Kirkwall . on Saturday January 2, the Catholic Church in Scotland has lost one of its most ven­erable and well-loved priests. Ronald James Walls (right) was born on June 23 1920 in Edinburgh, son of Thomas John Walls, optician, and Jane Ross Walls (nee Kernp). His paternal grandfather was from Orkney, and that link made Father Walls specially pleased to return in December 2006 to Kirkwall to spend his closing years. Ronnie Walls grew up in a practising Presbyterian family in Corstorphine, Edinburgh. He attended George Heriot's School in the city from 1928 to 1937. Even in those early years, religious discussion interested him and was encouraged. He also looked back ‘to the German class as the foundation of much of my true education. Not only did we learn the language thoroughly, but through the language we were introduced to Europe.' Indeed during his Edinburgh University days (he graduated MA [Hons.Phil.] in 1941) he spent a summer-vacation en famille on a farm in Hungary. He married Helen in the final months of theological studies at New College, and after temporary assistantships, and by now with two young children, was inducted as Minister of Logie Easter, in Ross-shire. He has vividly portrayed that early ministry in his book The One True Kirk. Following years of self-searching and intellectual enquiry he resigned his charge. He and his wife were received as members of the Catholic Church at Nunraw Abbey near Haddington in 1948. He then found employment as Scottish organiser of the Converts' Aid Society and also devoted himself to writing. In 1974 he and his wife were seriously injured in a road accident: he survived but sadly Helen died two weeks later. Some months passed before he applied for training for ordination as a Catholic priest for Aberdeen Diocese. He enrolled from 1975 to 1977 at the Beda College, in Rome, where staff comments reveal an outstanding student. On June 30, 1977 he was ordained priest in St Peter's Church, Morningside, Edinburgh, the first candidate to be ordained by the then recently nominated Bishop Mario Conti of Aberdeen. He served in Banchory and Aboyne (1977-82), in Wick and Thurso (1982-89) and at St Josepli's, Woodside, Aberdeen (1989-95) before taking retirement. However, he was hardly less active in retirement, helping colleagues with 'supply' work while living in Portsoy (1995-2000), in Buckie (2000- 2004), in Inverness (2004- 2006) and finally moving, to his own great satisfaction, to Kirkwall in Orkney where he spent his final three years, active to the last. Fr Ronnie Walls was appreciated within and outwith the Catholic communities wherever he lived, and will be remembered for his clarity of mind, his affable personality, his readable articles and books, his pawky humour and numerous anecdotes, and above all for his singleness of purpose in communicating his staunch Faith. With his passing, an era has ended. To his sons David and Christopher, his sister Margaret, and other members of his family we offer our sympathy and our thanks for this splendid and long-lived colleague. May he rest in peace. • A Mass, led by Bishop Peter Moran of Aberdeen was cele­brated in Kirkwall in St Magnus Cathedral on Friday January 8. Fr Walls' body was brought to St Peter's in Morningside, Edinburgh on Sunday evening. The funeral proper with Archbishop Mario Conti of Glasgow was held on Monday at 11 am at St Peter's, followed by burial at Mount Vernon. • Fr Ronald Walls inspiring autobiography, “Love Strong as Death”, and two volumes of daily meditations on the Gospel readings at Mass, Stairway to the Upper Room, are published by Gracewing. • Additional material from Father Donald at Nunraw Abbey Scottish Catholic Observer Jan 15. 2010

Enormous Blessing

This morning Mass Gospel is is a periscope of two sentences of Mark. and it must the most beautiful Eucharistic commentary selected from St. Thomas Aquinas From: DGO DAILY GOSPEL «Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.» John 6,68 Saturday, 23 January 2010 Saturday of the Second week in Ordinary Time Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 3:20-21. He came home. Again (the) crowd gathered, making it impossible for them even to eat. When his relatives heard of this they set out to seize him, for they said, "He is out of his mind." Commentary of the day : Saint Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274), Dominican theologian, Doctor of the Church Instructions for the feast of the Body and Blood of Christ Jesus gives himself wholly, even to his body and blood The enormous blessings with which our Lord has lavishly gifted his christian people raise them to an immeasurable dignity. Indeed, there is not, and never has been, a nation whose gods were so close as our God is to us (cf. Dt 4,7). God's only Son, intending to make us participators in his divinity, assumed our nature and became man to make us divine. All that he borrowed from us he placed at the service of our salvation. For he offered his body to God the Father on the altar of the cross for our reconciliation, and he shed his blood as a ransom to reclaim us from our condition of slavery and purify us from all our sins through the washing of regeneration. To believers he has left his body as food and blood as drink under the species of bread and wine, so that the remembrance of such great blessing might remain continually amongst us. O wonderful and precious feast that conveys salvation and contains sweetness in its all its fullness! What could there be more precious than this meal where, not the flesh of calves and bulls, but Christ, true God, is offered us?

Cyprian TANSI Cistercian Monk

BLESSED CYPRIAN TANSI 1903 -1964 Beatified March 22nd 1998 Feast Day: January 20 Cyprian Tansi had three names. Iwene was the name given by his father at his birth in 1903, Michael was his baptismal name, and Cyprian his monastic name. Born into a pagan family, he was sent to a Catholic school where at the age of eight he was baptised. On completing his education he became a teacher, and in 1925 entered the seminary. As a catechist, Michael saw to it that no child died without Baptism when he was there. Pagan and Christian alike came to him to settle their disputes. In 1937 he was ordained priest. He was an admirable pastor. There were no bounds to his zeal, his self-giving, his generosity and his good humour. Sister Magdalen, an Irish Holy Rosary Sister, gave him a copy of Dom Marmion's Christ the Ideal of the Monk. This book sowed the seeds of a monastic vocation, which lead him to join Mount Saint Bernard Abbey in England, where he was known as Fr Cyprian. The remaining thirteen years of his life were passed unnoticed by those who knew him only as a monk. It was said of him that he was "almost overpoweringly humble," and yet was habitually cheerful with an impish sense of humour. One of his brethren described him as "just an ordinary monk, monking about." Yet Cyprian had total faith in the value of the contemplative life, believing that in his monastery he was able to contribute even more to the mission in his beloved Iboland and to the world at large. He died unexpectedly 20 January 1964 aged 60, and was buried at Mount Saint Bernard. However, his old parishioners in his native Iboland pressed his cause. In September 1986 his remains were exhumed and brought back to Nigeria to be re-interred at Onitsha Cathedral, there to become a centre of devotion for the local people. Pope John Paul II travelled to Oba, Nigeria, where on 22 March 1998 he beatified Blessed Cyprian Tansi in the presence of two million people. Cyprian was a man of tiny stature and so he appears in this Window, with his impish smile, dressed in his Cistercian cowl, with his beloved Iboland huts and hills in the background. A companion said of him that as a young teacher "he would talk with Our Lady as a child talks to his mother" As pastor he was deeply committed to promoting the Legion of Mary and the Children of Mary, and strongly recommended the Rosary At Mount Saint Bernard it was noted that: "his love of the Lady Chapel speaks for itself." In the bottom panel there are symbols of the three basic elements of monastic life: Opus Dei (liturgical life), Opus Manuum (manual labour), and Lectio Divina (God-centred reading). The African drum and vessels symbolise the Liturgy; for work, Cyprian at the book-sewing press; and for Lectio, the book, Christ the Ideal of the Monk. Fr. Laurence Walsh ocso Lumen Christi The Stained Glass Windows Mount Saint Joseph Abbey Roscrea 2009 (Online Shop at www.msjroscrea.ie)

Christian Unity Week

WEEK OF PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY -- JANUARY 18-25 It is over 100 years since Fr. Paul Watson, founder of the Franciscan Society of the Atonement, proposed these dates in 1908, to cover the days between the feasts of St. Peter and of St. Paul. But I am stumped. Where is Peter? There is no sight of Peter – we will need to look it up. Each year, a scripture verse is selected to set the theme for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. The theme for 2010 is: "You are witness of these things" (Luke 24:48). As a Holy Ghost Father said, “Only the Spirit can be the ‘Glue’ that will reassemble a fractured Body.” The Christian Churches in Scotland Today It is even generally held that the 1910 World Mission Conference in Edinburgh marked the beginnings of the modern ecumenical movement. . . . To honour this important stage in the history of the ecumenical movement it was natural for the promoters of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity - The Faith and Order Commission and the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity - to invite the Scottish churches to prepare the 2010 Week of Prayer at the same time as they were actively involved in preparing to celebrate the anniversary of the 1910 Conference on the theme "Witnessing to Christ today". In response these churches suggested as the theme "You are witnesses of these things". (Luke 24.48) The Biblical Theme: You are Witnesses of These Things In the ecumenical movement we have often meditated on Jesus' final discourse before his death. In this final testament the importance of the unity of Christ's disciples is emphasized: "That all may be one ... so that the world may believe." (John 17.21) This year the churches of Scotland have made the original choice of inviting us to listen to Christ's final discourse before his ascension, "Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things." (Luke 24.46-48). It is on these final words of Christ that we shall reflect each day. During the 2010 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity we are invited to follow the whole of chapter 24 of Luke's gospel. Whether it be the terrified women at the tomb, the two discouraged disciples on the road to Emmaus or the eleven disciples overtaken by doubt and fear, all who together encounter the Risen Christ are sent on mission: "You are witness of these things". This mission of the Church is given by Christ and cannot be appropriated by anyone. It is the community of those who have been reconciled with God and in God, and who can witness to the truth of the power of salvation in Jesus Christ. We sense that Mary Magdalene, Peter or the two Emmaus disciples will not witness in the same way. Yet it will be the victory of Jesus over death that all will place at the heart of their witness. The personal encounter with the risen One has radically changed their lives and in its uniqueness for each one of them one thing becomes imperative: "You are witnesses of these things." Their story will accentuate different things, sometimes dissent may arise between them about what faithfulness to Christ requires, and yet all will work to announce the Good News.

The First Benedictine Oblates

Best Reading for Maurus & Placid.

On the Feast of Saints Maurus and Placid, the selected reading for the Night Office raised questions.

The subsequent Posts have been on the SEARCH for answers. Answers brought critical responses of historical and hagiographical kind.

The latest book may be, “Life and Miracles Saint Maurus (Cistercian Studies): Disciple of Benedict-Apostle to France, by John b. Wickstrom”).

In the monastic context, the critical approach can be the same as curious, i.e. the CURIOSITAS (as understood by Cassian and Bernard of Clairvaux -- and by Augustine, when he worries that he spends to much time watching lizards catch flies).

By good chance, there is something I am pleased to name as the BEST Reading on MAUR & Placid. By contrast to the critical is the contemplative Vultus Christi Blog of Fr. Mark January 14, 2009. His Homily, “Become Like a Consuming Fire”, is so contemplative in his centre on St. Benedict and St Gregory the Great, and the deep grounding in the Eucharist. Fr. Mark writes perfectly in the spirit of Lectio Divine. I trust he will allow us to share his enlightening and moving introduction to Maur and Placid. http://vultus.stblogs.org/2009/01/become-like-a-consuming-fire.html The First Benedictine Oblates In the Benedictine tradition, January 15th is the feast of the young disciples of Our Father Saint Benedict, Maur and Placid. Who are Maur and Placid and how do we know them? Saint Gregory the Great introduces them in his Life of Saint Benedict. He explains that after the holy Benedict had established his twelve monasteries at Subiaco, noble Christians came from Rome, presenting their sons to be raised and educated among the monks. These boys, offered by their parents to God, were the first "Oblates." Among them were Maur, an adolescent, the son of Euthicus, and Placid -- practically a toddler -- son of the patrician Tertullus. Maur quickly became Abbot Benedict's helper whereas Saint Gregory specifies that Placid was in "early childhood." A Little Hand Wrapped in the Corporal Picture for a moment the rite of their Oblation. It is intimately tied into the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. We know exactly what was done from Chapter 59 of the Rule. If it happens that a nobleman offers his son to God as a monk, and the child is still of tender age, the parents should make out the petition. . . . They should wrap this petition and the boy's hand together with the Mass offering in the altar cloth (the corporal) and offer him in that way" (RB 59:1). I see Maur, a serious lad, conscious of what is happening when his hand is wrapped together with the offerings of bread and wine in the altar cloth. And I see, little Placid; his father probably had to lift him up in his arms to reach the altar. The poor little fellow must have been in awe of the solemn fuss being made of him. A Eucharistic Vocation The vocation of the Benedictine Oblate is essentially Eucharistic. The very word "oblate" is used to refer to the bread and wine placed upon the altar, the oblata, as well as to those who are ritually identified with the offering, the Oblates themselves. The Benedictine Oblate lives from the altar, and returns to the altar. Like the bread and wine destined to become the Body and Blood of Christ, the Oblate is offered at the altar and then given from the altar to live out his mystical identification with Christ, the hostia perpetua, by a life of conversion and obedience. When Saint Benedict Prayed By Night Saint Benedict obviously recognized the potential in Placid and Maur. Saint Gregory tells us that he chose the boy Placid to accompany him in a long nocturnal prayer on the mountain. "Accompanied by the little Placid," he says, "Benedict climbed the mountain. Once at the summit, he prayed for a long time." The solitary prayer of Saint Benedict imitates that of Jesus. "Jesus, rising early before dawn, went off to a deserted place where he prayed" (Mk 1:35). It is worth pondering how Placid's experience of seeing Saint Benedict pray by night must have marked him for life. Little boys are sensitive to such things. Placid Rescued From the Water The most famous story of Maur and Placid has to do with the little fellow going to fetch water in the lake. He falls into the water. Saint Benedict is made aware of the situation by a kind of charismatic clairvoyance. He sends Brother Maur to rescue the child Placid. Maur, having received his abbot's blessing, runs over the surface of the water, grabs Placid by the hair, pulls him out, and then runs back over the water to dry land, carrying the little one in his arms. Saint Benedict attributes the miracle to Maur's obedience. Maur says it was due to the virtue of Saint Benedict. Then the little Placid pipes up and settles the debate. "When you pulled me out of the water, he says, I saw over my head Father Abbot's hood, and I saw that it was he who pulled me from the water." They Persevered What is most significant, I think, in the story of Maur and Placid is that these two lads persevered in seeking God. If Maur and Placid persevered over a lifetime in seeking God, they surely suffered temptation and darkness, never despairing of the mercy of God. Maur and Placid, tested by suffering, became able to help those who are being tested. Perhaps this is why they became patrons of Benedictine novitiates everywhere. Two Wise Old Nonni The sign of the mature monk -- the nonnus, to use Saint Benedict's word for a senior in the monastery -- or of the mature nun -- the nonna -- is in their capacity for compassion, in their ability to identify with weakness, to sympathize with suffering, and above all in their refusal to judge. We know nothing of the old age of Saints Maur and Placid but I see them as two wise old nonni. I see their youthful faces grown wrinkled and their beards white but in their eyes dances the flame of their first love, the interior fire kindled from the altar, set ablaze by the mystery of the Most Holy Eucharist on the day of their Oblation. It is the fire of the Eucharist that, burning in us, will consume all that is harsh, unbending, and ready to judge, leaving only the pure flame of a mercy that gives warmth and light. The Eucharistic vocation of Saints Placid and Maur bears witness to what Abba Joseph said to Abba Lot: "You cannot be a monk unless you become like a consuming fire."

St Placid and Maurus

St. Placid and His Companions Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch. St. Placid was born in Rome, in the year 515, of a patrician family. When he was seven years old he was brought to St. Benedict by his father, to be trained in monastic life. He became the most illustrious member in the circle of Benedict's first followers. Alongside the awe-inspiring figure of the holy patriarch stands little Placid, and with the innocent simplicity of a child he does much to soften the austerity emanating from the patriarch of monks. Pope St. Gregory devotes several chapters to Placid in his second book of Dialogues. "Once while blessed Benedict was in his room, one of his monks, the boy Placid, went down to get some water. In letting the bucket fill too rapidly, he lost his balance and was pulled into the lake, where the current quickly seized him and carried him about a stone's throw from the shore. Though inside the monastery at the time, the man of God was instantly aware of what had happened and called out to Maurus: 'Hurry, Brother Maurus! The boy who just went down for water has fallen into the lake, and the current is carrying him away.' "What followed was remarkable indeed, and unheard of since the time of Peter the apostle! Maurus asked for the blessing and on receiving it hurried out to fulfill his abbot's command. He kept on running even over the water till he reached the place where Placid was drifting along helplessly. Pulling him up by the hair, Maurus rushed back to shore, still under the impression that he was on dry land. It was only when he set foot on the ground that he came to himself and looking back realized that he had been running on the surface of the water. Overcome with fear and amazement at a deed he would never have thought possible, he returned to his abbot and told him what had taken place. "The holy man would not take any personal credit for the deed but attributed it to the obedience of his disciple. Maurus on the contrary claimed that it was due entirely to his abbot's command. He could not have been responsible for the miracle himself, he said, since he had not even known he was performing it. While they were carrying on this friendly contest of humility, the question was settled by the boy who had been rescued. 'When I was being drawn out of the water,' he told them, 'I saw the abbot's cloak over my head; he is the one I thought was bringing me to shore.'" (From The Life and Miracles of St. Benedict by Pope Gregory the Great, translated by Odo Zimmermann, O.S.B. and Benedict Avery, O.S.B.)

Maurists Benedictine Congregation

Note to the previous Post on Saints Maurus & Placid

Confusion with Saint Maurus Abbot of Glanfeuil A long Life of St. Maurus appeared in the late 9th century, supposedly composed by one of St. Maurus's contemporaries. According to this account, the bishop of Le Mans, in western France, sent a delegation asking Benedict for a group of monks to travel from Benedict's new abbey of Monte Cassino to establish monastic life in France according to the Rule of St. Benedict. The Life recounts the long journey of St. Maurus and his companions from Italy to France, accompanied by many adventures and miracles as St. Maurus is transformed from the obedient disciple of Benedict into a powerful, miracle-working holy man in his own right. According to this account, after the great trek, St. Maurus founded Glanfeuil Abbey as the first Benedictine monastery in France. It was located on the south bank of the Loire river, a few miles east of Angers. The nave of its thirteenth-century church and some vineyards remain today (according to tradition, the chenin grape was first cultivated at this monastery.) Scholars now believe that this Life of Maurus is a forgery by the 9th-century abbot, Odo of Glanfeuil. It was composed, as were many such saints' lives in Carolingian France, to popularize local saints' cults. The bones of St. Maurus had supposedly been found at Glanfeuil by one of Odo's immediate predecessors. By the mid-9th century, the abbey had become a local pilgrimage site supplementing (or rivalling) the nearby abbeys of Fleury, which claimed to have the bones of St. Benedict himself, and Le Mans, which had supposedly obtained the bones of St. Benedict's sister, St. Scholastica. The study that accompanied the revision in 1969 of the Roman Catholic calendar of saints[1] states: "Saint Maurus, the disciple of Saint Benedict, who is mentioned in the Dialogues of Saint Gregory the Great, is now universally distinguished from Maurus of Glanfeuil in the region of Angers in France, who is mentioned in the Roman Martyrology[2] on 15 January." Odo and the monks of Glanfeuil had been obliged to flee to Paris in the face of Vikings maurauding along the Loire. There Odo reestablished the cult of St. Maurus at the suburban Parisian abbey of Saint-Pierre-des-Fossés, later renamed Saint-Maur-des-Fossés. The cult of St. Maurus slowly spread to monasteries throughout France and by the 12th century had been adopted by Monte Cassino in Italy, along with a revived cult of St. Placidus. By the late Middle Ages, the cult of St. Maurus, often associated with St. Placidus, had spread to all Benedictine monasteries. He was sometimes identified with the semi-legendary Saint Amaro, who is said to have travelled to the Earthly Paradise. The Congregation of St. Maur took its name from him. (Wikipedia)

Maurus & Placid OSB

Saint Maurus & Placid 15 January Our Reading for the Night Office was contributed from osb.org. of Order of Saint Benedict. After the reading I felt the need to do some home work, at first check. found enough questions raised by: (Oxford Dictionary of Saints) MAURUS (6th century), monk. A nobleman's son who was entrusted to "Benedict by his father to be educated and to become a monk at Monte Cassino, Maurus, according to Gregory the Great, was notable for obedience, and once at Benedict's command rescued the boy *Placid from drowning by walking, without realizing it, on the water. Nothing more is known of him afterwards. Later he was identified by pseudo- Faustus (Odo, abbot of Glanfeuil) with another Maurus, founder of the abbey of Glanfeuil, who was supposed to have died in 584 on 15 January. This identification is almost universally rejected nowadays. Its uncritical acceptance in the 17th century led to the adoption of Maurus as the patron of the famous learned French Benedictine Congregation of Saint-Maur. In their reformed calendar the Benedictines now celebrate the feast of Maurus and Placid together on 5 October (formerly is January). AA.SS. lan. I (1643), 1038-62; AA.SS. O.S.B., I (1668), 275-98; J. McCann, St. Benedict (1938), pp. 274-8,; II. Bloch in Traditio, viii (1950), 182-221. David Hugh Farmer 1987 The research can continue on the subject of “Maurus as the patron of the famous learned French Benedictine Congregation of Saint-Maur”.

Kentigern Glasgow symbols

Saint Kentigern (Jan. 13, 1981).

St Kentigern (or St Mungo) was born at the beginning of the sixth century. He is said to be a native of East Lothian. Kentigern was brought up by St. Serf in a monastic school at Culross on the Firth of Forth. He became a missionary to the people in Strathclyde and was consecrated their bishop. When he was driven out by persecution, he preached in Cumberland and even in Wales where he is said to have founded the monastery of St Asaph. St Kentigern eventually returned to Scotland where he was active in planting or restoring Christianity in the area around Glasgow where he is now patron of the city. His body is believed to be buried in Glasgow Cathedral.

A Reading about the Bishop in History.

The bishop has been interwoven with all the centuries and races of men in the development of Christian morals from the dawn of Christianity to our present day.

The divine presence of Christ moves up and down the shores of the Sea of Galilee in the early days when charity and good will among men were unknown. Bishops like Peter and Andrew, John and Philip, and the other apostles, dedicating their lives to the service of Christ, formed the first Christian parishes in the adjacent nations, even sealing their lessons with their blood.

Time passes; history widens; the unseen presence of Christ moves up and down a larger sea - the Mediterranean. Another succession of bishops, like Gregory, Augustine, Ambrose and Athanasius, rise up among the millions, to preach Christ and him crucified. to reform an ugly and beastly social order with the law and charity of Christ.

The races multiply; governments shape their millions of subjects around a larger sea the Atlantic Ocean. An unseen presence walks up and down the se expansive shores, while another group of holy bishops ~ Boniface, Patrick, Augustine, Kentigern, Borromeo, Francis de Sales - appear out of the ranks like patriarchs and prophets of old to remind the pioneers of modern nations and civilisation that Jesus Christ is the Cornerstone of the Temple and that they build in vain who do not build on God.

Occasional Sermons and Addresses, Erie, Pa 1952, 78f. (Bishop John Cannon)

St Mungo's Tomb, Glasgow

Glasgow’s Coat of Arms includes a bird, a fish, a bell and a tree, the symbols of Kentigern.

The Bird commemorates the pet robin owned by Saint Serf, which was accidentally killed by monks who blamed it on Saint Kentigern. Saint Kentigern took the bird in his hands and prayed over it, restoring it to life.

The Fish was one caught by Saint Kentigern in the Clyde River.

When it was slit open, a ring belonging to the Queen of Cadzow was miraculously found inside it. The Queen was suspected of intrigue by her husband, and that she had left with his ring. She has asked Saint Kentigern for help, and he found and restored the ring in this way to clear her name.

The Bell may have been given to Saint Kentigern by the Pope. The originalbell, which was tolled at funerals, no longer exists and was replaced by the magistrates of Glasgow in 1641. The bell of 1641 is preserved in the People’s Palace.

The Tree is symbol of an incident in Saint Kentigern’s childhood. Left in charge of the holy fire in Saint Serf’s monastery, he fell asleep and the fire went out. However he broke off some frozen branches from a hazel tree and miraculously re-kindled the fire.

Saints SQPN com