Epiphany Fr Ronald Walls

Sunday Epiphany.

We learned of the death of Fr. Ronald Walls and remembered him in the intercessions for his soul in the Mass.

Fr. Ronald Walls "The family announced with sorrow the death, in his 90th year, on Saturday, January 2, 2010, of Father Ronald J. Walls, priest at Our Lady and St. Joseph's, Kirkwall and formerly Parish Priest in Caithness, Banchory and at Woodside, Aberdeen." + _________________________________________________________________ Fr. Ronnie Walls was a very dear friend of, and greatly regarded by the monks at Nunraw Abbey. Our Notes below, reflect some of the enriching interests of his blessed life. Ronald Walls was born in Edinburgh in 1920. He began adult life as a minister in the Presbyterian Church of Scotland. In 1948, with his wife and three sons, he was received into the Catholic Church. In a road accident in 1974 he was badly injured and his wife Helen was killed. In 1977 he was ordained priest by Mario Conti. now Archbishop of Glasgow. His inspiring autobiography, Love Strong as Death, and two volumes of daily meditations on the Gospel readings at Mass, Stairway to the Upper Room, are also published by Gracewing. Ronald Walls (Bibliography) The One True Kirk by Ronald Walls Burns & Oats, London 1960 From the manse to the Mass is a long step. Ronald Walls, once a Presbyterian minister in the Highlands of Scotland, tells in this book how and why he finally came to take it. From an early age, long before a Hungarian policeman described him as a "Knoxist", Ronald wails felt himself called to serve in the ministry of the Scottish Church. The One True Kirk is the story of how he became a minister, of the joys, sorrows and problems he encountered in his first and last parish and of how he finally left the ministry to face an uncertain future as a Catholic. Told with a natural gift for writing, a quiet humour and constant charity, this is a story that will appeal to Scottish readers because of its deep seriousness and its affectionate fidelity to the realities of life in rural Scotland, while English readers will find in it a fascinating and timely insight into what unites as well as what separates them from their fellow-Christians who this year celebrate the four hundredth anniversary of the Scottish Reformation. (Jacket Cover) · · Christ Who Lives in Me: Rosary Meditations by Ronald Walls (ISBN 0879738537 (0-87973-853-7) · · Commentary on the Documents of Vatican II by Herbert Vorgrimler, Hilda Graef, W.J. O'Hara, Ronald Walls Hardcover, Continuum International Publishing Group, Limited, ISBN 0223294314 (0-223-29431-4) · The Glory of Israel: Scriptural Background on the Mysteries of the Rosary by Ronald Walls (ISBN 0879738138 (0-87973-813-8) · Love Strong As Death by Ronald Walls ( ISBN 187900741X (1-879007-41-X) 'To all who read it, this autobiography of Father Ronnie Walls will stand out as a sign of contradiction to the mood of the age. In an era of doubt this is a story of faith. In an era of flux this is a story of commitment. Most of all it is a very moving and inspiring story of love. Father Ronnie’s fascinating description of his extended family's lifestyle and genuine religious attachment to the beliefs and practices of the Church of Scotland is the prelude. There's something intensely moving about the kilted youngster making his own way in the world, full of enterprise and goodwill, eager to encounter fellow pilgrims, motivated by a deep awareness of God in his life. These pages offer a valuable insight into many "nooks and crannies" of Scottish life during the 20th century. From the middleclass respectability of Edinburgh's suburbs to the idyll of Highland rural life in Logic Easter. From the friendly banter of the Glasgow tram to the evocative calm of Nunraw Abbey. Father Ronnie's writing skill is such that the reader will soon feel quite at home in these and many other locations, and will follow with increasing interest the boy becoming a man, finding happiness in an exemplary marriage to Helen , his soul-mate, and settling down to parish ministry. Outwardly, the young minister had it all, but inside the burning desire for truth would not be extinguished. The pursuit of truth meant running the risk of losing everything. In many ways the title of the book sums up everything. Love, to Ronnie Walls, is indeed as strong as death, perhaps even stronger. I have no hesitation in declaring that this inspirational, funny, fascinating and moving book is one of the best of fruits produced in recent years.' (Thomas J Cardinal Winning · The Reformation in Germany by Joseph Lortz, Ronald Walls Hardcover, Darton, Longman & Todd, Limited, ISBN 0232483868 (0-232-48386-8) · · This Is Your Mother : The Scriptural Roots of the Rosary by Ronald Walls Softcover, Gracewing, Limited, ISBN 0852444036 (0-85244-403-6) · · Stairway to the Upper Room: Salvation History and Sundays by Ronald Walls Gracewing Limited, (Vol 1 Oct 2002, Vol 2 Mar 2003) From Loneliness to Solitude BBC talks Thoughts for Today and other Studies and Article.. . .

Mother of God

OCTAVE DAY OF CHRISTMAS;

SOLEMNITY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, MOTHER OF GOD

(Numbers 6:22-27; Psalm 67; Galatians 4:4-7)

SOLEMNITY OF MOTHERHOOD OF MARY The Two Angel Choruses At the Birth of the Saviour a Heavenly Choir of Angels sang the refrain: “Glory to God in the highest and peace to his people on earth”. That is a lovely refrain and very meaningful for all who know and love the Saviour and understand the truth of the promise of peace it brings. But at the death of that saviour another choir of angels, this time earthly angels, sang another song; a song somewhat similar and yet very different. It was as Jesus was being led, at the beginning of Holy Week, into the city that was to put him to death that this choir of earthly angels sang their song. Now who were these earthly angels? They were the closest to angels we can find on earth: a band of children; a band of children whose song was inspired, indeed we might say, commanded, by God Himself. “If they do not sing this song, the very stones will shout it out: “Glory to God in the highest”, they sang, and “Peace in the Highest Heavens”. Here we must note the difference between the words of the heavenly Choir at Christ’s birth and those of the earthly choir at his death. Whereas the heavenly choir sang of “peace on earth”, the earthly choir sang of peace in heaven. What is the meaning of this difference between the two songs? Perhaps we might interpret it thus: The Choir of angels were singing of a blessing of peace for the earth where there was so much of strife and tension, whereas the earthly choir was singing of a blessing of peace for the heavens where we would surely expect there was already nothing but peace and tranquillity. But there is a way in which our poor human minds and human language can consider a certain lack of perfect peace, even in heaven; a kind of “unease” a kind of anxiety and fear. If the Communion of Saints means anything; if love itself means anything, then those in heaven who love us and who see us living amid so many perils; who see us walking blindly along such dangerous paths; who see our blindness and foolishness, not to mention our downright malice at times; then those who love us from above must have many an anxious moment on our account. This is true for the whole body of the Saints in heaven, but it is most specially true for those who were nearest and dearest to us on earth; their love and concern for us has, of course, only increased by their passing into eternal life. But of all those who have a special love and concern for us in heaven, who can be more loving and concerned for us than our heavenly Mother Herself? We call her the mother of sorrows and that sorrow did not pass with the resurrection of her First-Born, it remains there with all the other sentiments of anguish and fear and anxiety carried in her heart as she accompanies each one of us on our perilous journey home. HAPPY NEW YEAR Fr Raymond

Snow Scenery

Nunraw Christmas & New Year
Looking north east to the Lammermuir Hills and north west Fife

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End of the Year and Beginning of 2010

At the Office of Compline, after the final Salve Regina of the Old Year, we sang the Te Deum in thanksgiving.

Abbot Mark concluded with the appropriate prayer.

God, Our Father,

we thank you for the gifts and graces you have given us in this year just ending.

We ask pardon for our failings and negligences during it.

As we celebrate your new coming on earth at Christmas

may it raise us up to a better and fuller life in you.

And may this coming new year be one of much grace, peace and joy

for us and for all our families and friends

to the glory of your name.

We ask this through Christ, Our Lord

Amen.

Hogmanay New Year

On the eve of New Year some friends braved the drive through snow to the Shrine of Schoenstatt.

A-M writes,

Well today I was still taking photos in the snow but at the Scheonstatt

shrine in Milton of Campsie.

A true sanctuary in the midst of the biting cold.

The grounds are usually great for exploring and enjoying the peace and

quiet- but not today.

Last day of the year..............

CHRISTMASTIDE Octave of Christmas 1 January MARY, MOTHER OF GOD The most famous Marian homily of antiquity From a homily by Saint Cyril of Alexandria (Hom. 4: PG 77, 991.995-996) This is the most famous Marian homily of antiquity. It was delivered in the Church of Saint Mary at Ephesus between 23 and 27 June 431, while the third Ecumenical Council was in session there. This Council, at which Cyril presided as papal delegate, condemned Nestorius, and solemnly recognized Mary's title of Theotokos, Mother of God. Mary, Mother of God, we salute you. Precious vessel, worthy of the whole world's reverence, you are an ever-shining light, the crown of virginity, the symbol of orthodoxy, an indestructible temple, the place that held him whom no place can contain, mother and virgin. Because of you the holy gospels could say: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. We salute you, for in your holy womb he, who is beyond all limitation, was confined. Because of you the holy Trinity is glorified and adored; the cross is called precious and is venerated throughout the world; the heavens exult; the angels and archangels make merry; demons are put to flight; the devil, that tempter, is thrust down from heaven; the fallen race of man is taken up on high; all creatures possessed by the madness of idolatry have attained knowledge of the truth; believers receive holy baptism; the oil of gladness is poured out; the Church is established throughout the world; pagans are brought to repentance. What more is there to say? Because of you the light of the only-begotten Son of God has shone upon those who sat in darkness and in the shadow of death; prophets pronounced the word of God; the apostles preached salvation to the Gentiles; the dead are raised to life, and kings rule by the power of the holy Trinity. Who can put Mary's high honor into words? She is both mother and virgin. I am overwhelmed by the wonder of this miracle. Of course no one could be prevented from living in the house he had built for himself, yet who would invite mockery by asking his own servant to become his mother? Behold then the joy of the whole universe. Let the union of God and man in the Son of the Virgin Mary fill us with awe and adoration. Let us fear and worship the undivided Trinity as we sing the praise of the ever-virgin Mary, the holy temple of God, and of God himself, her Son and spotless Bridegroom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

New Year - Hogmanay

Our Lady of the Southern Cross On this Eve of New Year, this beautiful picture reminds us that wherever Jesus is present His Blessed Mother is also close by and whenever Mary is, there is a sense of community, of friendship and fraternity. Our gaze fixed at this time on our Infant Saviour may His peace be with you and all your families this Christmas and throughout the coming year. Artist Paul Newton said that the oil painting was commissioned by Cardinal Pell for World Youth Day in Sydney 2009. Paul’s words are moving and deeply theological. He says ``I was approached by Cardinal Pell about six months ago. ``Over two months I worked up designs, exploring a number of different compositions before finally settling on this one.'' His aim was to capture the intimate relationship between Mary and her son. ``She is totally focused upon him and holds him affectionately to herself,'' Mr Newton said. ``At the same time she holds him so as to face us, the viewers, as if presenting or giving him to us. ``I wanted to suggest in Mary's demeanour serenity and great humility, not drawing attention to herself but rather to her son. ``While the painting features Mary it is really Christo-centric. He is the only one making eye contact with us. In his gaze I attempted to suggest not only the innocence of a baby but also the wisdom of ages, present in the one who would become our saviour.'' The painting features symbols of Australia, such as a wattle garland on Mary's head, the Southern Cross in the night sky, a background landscape with gum trees and a broad meandering river, inspired by the paintings of Arthur Streeton and Tom Roberts. There's also the NSW floral emblem, the waratah, sculpted into the corners of the frame. ``The cardinal also asked me to include a Broome pearl, which Mary wears as an earring. The pearl is a traditional Christian symbol... the `pearl of great price'.''

Holy Child laughs . . .

Mass The Fifth Day in the Octave of Christmas God loved the world so much . . . . Jn. 3:16 At the Carols Service for the Knights at the Guesthouse – at the Christmas refreshments there was a very small child looking very happy. She smiled and beamed her benign gaze on each one, looking into our eyes with wonder. This morning, the Gospel (Lk. 2:22 . . .) speaks of Simeon In the Temple and the widow Anna. Both speak the body language of their aging years and speak the words of prophesy. The body language of the Child Jesus expresses the infant’s contentment and smiling with embrace of love. We have just been singing of the ‘laughing eyes’ in the opening Hymn: The Holy Child of Bethlehem beholds his Mother’s face, And laughs to see reflected there His own dear gift of grace His gift of grace. And that brightens our morning in celebrating the Mass, asking the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts.

Holy Family

27 December [Holy Family] Lk 2:41-52 Homily - Fr. Aelred After the visit of the shepherds to the manger St. Luke tells us that ‘Mary treasured all these things and pondered them in her heart’. And at the end of today’s Gospel Luke again says, ‘Mary stored up all these things in her heart’. Mary kept the memory of these events in her heart with a view of discerning the hidden meaning behind the marvellous happenings that she was caught up in. Mary didn’t immediately fully understand the meaning of what was happening to her and what God was asking of her. But that’s how it always is. Profound lived experience always begins with some perplexity. We don’t know at the time what is happening to us. It’s only afterwards, perhaps long afterwards, that our eyes are opened and we begin to understand. Hence, the importance of reflection. More than once we read the Gospels that Mary was perplexed. So what did she do? She pondered, reflected and prayed, seeking to understand what was happening to her and her Son. Mary comes across in the Gospels as a silent, reflective person who all her life pondered and prayed over how God dealt with her. It sometimes happens with us that we have an experience but miss the meaning of it because we don’t reflect on it. But with reflection, we can derive precious insights from our experiences. It’s easy to recall pleasant experiences, but not so easy to recall painful ones. We are tempted to suppress our painful memories. Even so, they can still influence us, lying beneath the surface. In fact, they can be the root cause of a lot of poison in our lives. So we need to recall our painful experiences too: it’s how we recall them that matters. They can provide the raw material from which we derive understanding, compassion and wisdom. When Jesus got lost in Jerusalem it was a painful and anxious time for Mary. Yet she stored the memory in her heart, and by so doing, learned from it. There are unreflective people who seem to learn little from experience. But for others experience is the real fruit of much pondering. Parents need a lot of wisdom. What Mary learned from her praying and pondering she passed on to her child, who St. Luke tells us, ‘increased in wisdom, in stature, and in favour with God and men’. Jesus was taught, nourished, and formed by a wise woman who loved God with all her heart and soul.

Ida of Nivelles

Bl. Ida of Nivelles, 1198-1231, Cistercian nun of Ramage

The Life of Ida of Nivelles, “Send Me God” translated Martin Cawley ocso, pp. 62-63. 21. The Christ Child at the Christmas Masses (21a) Once on that most sacred night when the Lord of majesty (Ps. 28.3) deigned to be born of the Virgin (Antiphon: Christmas), bodily illness confined Ida to the infirmary regime.[i] When vigils were over she sat out in the cloister, waiting expectantly for the Lord to send her a grace-filled blessing.[ii] Then, at the first mass, when the celebrant was elevating the host, she saw in his hand a little boy, newborn it seemed and truly fair beyond the beauty of little ones anywhere. (21 b) But on seeing him, there came over her a fear and a trembling (Ps. 54.6), because never had she had any longing to see him in that human guise. She was concerned lest her faith prove incomplete and fall short of believing in the wondrous mystery of this sacrament and thus lessen her merit with God, inasmuch as human reason, or rather human sight, would be providing experiential evidence. But the Lord knew full well the firmness of her faith and he did not let her be upset for long, for at that very moment he inwardly bade her rid her mind of all such scruples. Reassured thus by the Lord, her attention went to the priest who was singing the mass and to the status of his soul, as she watched his manner of dividing that little boy into the three parts (EO 53.100), and to his trembling reverence as he consumed that delightful and salutary banquet-fare. She lingered on in the cloister,"[iii] seated again at the same spot, until the end of lauds, inwardly relishing the sweetness of that wondrous vision, and ever jubilantly joyous of mind. (21 c) After lauds had been sung, Ida washed her hands and rinsed the inside of her mouth,"[iv] and so entered the church with the other infirm nuns (EO 4.10), and sat down in a corner to the rear of the choir. Then, while the second mass was being sung, she again beheld in the priest's hands that little boy, so refined and so gracious of countenance, whose inner joyousness showed outwardly like an overflow of honey. (2Id) When the other infirm sisters were going in procession up to the altar to communicate (EO 57 and 58), Ida was somewhat terrified and withdrew her foot (Gregory, Dial n Prol. 1), lest she be caught within the procession still unable to ingest that living babe."[v] Hence with ardent yearning she begged her Beloved to show the goodwill of his mercy by tempering these wondrous visions of his sacramental body and enabling her to partake of it unimpaired and to welcome his whole self into her entrails and into the very marrow of her soul.[vi] She lingered at the same spot until high mass. Even then, just as in the earlier masses, she again beheld the little boy, slightly taller this time in stature. He was coming down from the altar to offer her his embrace and his kiss, and in his sweet warm mercy he was delightfully surrendering himself to be embraced and kissed by her in return. And then in a gracious whisper he told her: 'Oh, sweet friend, I have been showing you my humanity such as it underlies the form of the bread. This I have done, not from any doubt about your faith or your readiness to believe, but from my own wish to let you know with what love, what concern, what zeal I regard yourself!' Hearing this, Ida answered in the silence of her thoughts: 'But oh, my sweetest one, what gratitude, what joyous exultation would fill my inmost heart if you would instead show me how praiseworthy, how love worthy you are in your divinity.' The sweet boy replied to her thought saying: 'Do not ask such things of me, daughter, since no mortal can, in this life, come to know what I am like in my divinity. For the present, peace to you, oh friend of peace; have peace in me; for when I make all things new and gather you to myself (Apoc. 21.5), then can you come to know the glory of my divinity face to face (Gen. 32.30).' (21 e) Then, lest her sisters be scandalized that on a day of such solemnity she not receive Christ's sacrament, she asked her beloved Jesus"[vii] to deign to allow her the possibility of receiving his body without difficulty. Accordingly, the vision came to an end and she approached the altar with the rest of her sisters and received with all peace the very author of peace. And the wondrously abundant and agreeable savour (Ps. 144.7) which divinely inebriated her that day, was to persevere in her soul up until Candlemas.

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[i] In infirmitorio cogebat detineri: for participation in the liturgy by those in the infirmary, see EO 91 and 92. Ida was attending the Christmas hours in church, seated behind the choir.

[ii] In infirmitorio cogebat detineri: for participation in the liturgy by those in the infirmary, see EO 91 and 92. Ida was attending the Christmas hours in church, seated behind the choir.

[iii] In eadem autern loco claustri in quo residebat. [. . .} usque adfinem laudum permansit: a chilly spot on Christmas night for someone sick, but the community as a whole was expected to sit there for the intervals between the Christmas offices and masses. Individually, however, they also had the option of warming up in the calefactory, though not that of going back to bed (EO 4).

[iv] I do not find this personal oral ablution mentioned elsewhere.

[v] The nuns' embarrassment over this elaborate ritual is illustrated in Lew 19.

[vi] Et totum totis animae suae medullis inviscerare posset. Literally: 'be able to inviscerate the whole him with the total marrows of her soul', See Arn I.3b, n. 21

[vii] Rogavit dilectum suum Jesum: for Goswins rather rare uses of the name Jesus, see Niv 2e, n. 16: Niv 29b--3: Arn II.5b: Ab l l e. The less emotionally-charged name, 'Christ', can come without supportive terms of reverence or endearment, and can be written as a simple 'x', imitating the Greek monogram. The grammatical ending is then added as a superscript. But not so here, as Ida invokes Jesus in prayer, she embellishes the name with a term of affection (beloved). In B fol. 19vb Jesus is spelt out in full, and its Greek monogram worked in: ihesum. In A fo1. 164r there is simply monogram ihm (the 'm' being for the grammatical case) but an extra term of affection is slipped in: the adjective pium, (her loving, kind, beloved, Jesus).

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See Christmas 2008 Post -

Thursday, 25 December 2008
The Infant Resting on the Cross.