Unexpected Interview...

After the Christmas break, Bishop John Sherrington invited me along to a talk he was to give at the Carmelite Monastery in Ware, Hertfordshire. ‘Great,’ I thought, ‘A nice train journey out into the depths of the diocese, record a talk, take a few photos, job done.’

On arrival I was not, therefore, prepared for the Mother Superior to tell me she would send down the sisters she thought would be good to interview after the Bishop had given his talk – which I was not allowed to attend. Cue major panic over lack total ignorance about the Carmelite order and the fact that I would be returning to the office empty handed – as far the speech was concerned.

Not for the first time, a couple of the other interns came to my rescue with insightful questions and information about the enclosed order. I needn’t have worried though as Sisters Zoe and Mary who came in to be interviewed were absolutely lovely – young, funny, image conscious and with inspiring stories of how they came to be a part of the Carmel community.

Solitude

One of the ‘settings for learning of hope’ talked of by the Bishop was prayer, something the Carmel sisters are extremely practiced in. As an enclosed and contemplative order, an ‘outsider’ could be excused for thinking the Carmel way of life as lonely; Sister Mary was quick to dispel this image she said that she rarely got time to be completely alone.

Choice

Both Sister Mary and Zoe acknowledged that there is a general perception about nuns in enclosed orders having shunned the ‘real world’ and chosen to deliberately live in ignorance of many of life’s great complexities, and opportunities. This is a view the sisters reject however, as they believe that they need the peace and quiet of the monastery to be able to fully focus on reflecting on God’s will and to be able to pray effectively. “Some people don’t need this environment to be able to live extraordinarily prayerful lives,” say Srs. Zoe and Mary, “...but we feel we need to be here to be able to concentrate and focus on our vocation.”

Prayer

One of the ‘settings for learning of hope’ talked of by the Bishop was prayer, something the Carmel sisters are extremely practiced in. Speaking with two sisters after Bishop John’s talk, they said that it is not always easy to give your time so fully to God. During busy periods, they said, it can be easy to become resentful of having to take time to pray but ultimately they believe in the value of their continuous reflection on God’s will and praying for its fruition, for the Church and the world.

Community

The Carmel’s live ‘in solitude in community’, meaning that they do not often leave the grounds of the monastery and must learn to get along with the other 14 women with whom they spend practically all their time.  Sister Mary admits, “This can be a challenge,” but the wide variety of ages, ranging from 36 to 85, and backgrounds of the sisters contributes to a rich and welcoming community. All the sisters take turns at doing the necessary household jobs, and are reluctant to say which they enjoy the most as they recognise the value of each job in helping the community as a whole.

Vocation

Sisters Zoe and Mary confirm that often people do not choose their vocation – rather it chooses them. When asked ‘Why choose Carmel’, both sisters say that providence played a key part in their discernment to join this particular order. Every time they tried to hide from it or find another explanation, they were drawn back to this order and knew it had to be more than sheer coincidence. For this reason, they would not be inclined to give general advice to young women considering the religious life as it is such a profoundly personal journey.

Their traditional habits and enclosed lifestyle belie the reality of techno-savvy, independent, women who show a level of commitment to their chosen lifestyle that few people will ever experience.

Great Expectations (or Hard Times)?

As the winter’s biting chill braces the Big Smoke, the Catholic Parliamentary and Public Policy interns continue on their merry journeys towards fulfilment (which we are told will occur on 31^st July 2012).

The applications having been flooding in from aspiring students hopeful to visit 39 Eccleston Square on the 28^th  or 29^th March, with the opportunity to join an elite club, a people set apart, a coterie of excellence.

What next year’s applicants will not be doing is applying for an internship in the European Parliament, as this has unfortunately been omitted from the programme. However this has led to an exciting development; 5 interns will be placed in the Houses of Parliament, 2 with CAFOD/Caritas and another one that I can’t quite remember, something to do with press I think? Nevertheless, good luck to those applying and remember ‘fail to prepare, prepare to fail’ (oh and ‘image is everything’)!

After a somewhat baron few weeks in terms of post-work events, the social calendar is hotting up for the current crop. After a delightful meal out for Daniel’s birthday, Stephen’s quarter century is almost upon us I’m sure the celebrations will match the unrelenting enthusiasm that Stephen has for all things Labour.

In an academic sense interesting debates held by Catholic Voices, as well as the Margaret Beaufort lecture series, and Catholic Social Teaching Seminars promise to make the next few weeks both informative and engaging.

On a lighter note, CAFOD began their 50^th anniversary celebrations on Saturday with a hugely well attended Mass in Westminster Cathedral. Marie and Dominic were up until the early hours celebrating their employers’ anniversary with a bottle of bucks fizz and a game of Jenga.

It is approaching the time when interns start looking towards next year and what jobs they could/should be applying for. It gives me great satisfaction to offer wholehearted congratulations to Matthew Carson who has secured a job with a Management Consultancy firm, starting at the end of the internship – it should be noted that Alpen and fruit smoothies do not constitute as celebrating this achievement (see above for an alternative). To everyone else there is indeed light at the end of the tunnel - as the old Chinese proverb goes, “if Matthew can get a job………!”

And so to conclude these ramblings, let us take inspiration from our supreme leader Kim Il-Davies; “VERY GOOD, VERY GOOD.”

Olympic Park

One of the first things I see every morning when I wake up is the BT Tower. The 177 meter tall structure has displayed various messages since I moved into the top floor of Newman House – one morning I woke up to see Pudsy the Children In Need mascot peering in, the week before Remembrance Sunday the tower looked as though it was adorned with poppies and fireworks kept exploding around New Year.  Apart from these special occasions the screens on the tower display a countdown to the Olympic Games, which happens to coincide with end of my internship.

So, the Olympics is always on my mind – well once a day anyway – and it was therefore a fantastic opportunity for me to have a tour of the Olympic park today. Such is the nature of this internship that I thought nothing of jumping on the DLR with the Archbishop of Westminster and trundling off to East London to meet a group of priests from the neighbouring diocese of Brentwood.

Plenty of the priests were reminiscing about past sporting achievements at school or uni and challenging each other to 100m sprints as we set off on a bus around the Olympic park.

Velodrome

Less than 200 days to go and the park’s resemblance to a building site is still uncanny. Hundreds of men in high-vis jackets waved as we went past.  The shells of all the major buildings on site are nearly complete. The Velodrom is a beautiful structure and stands in stark contrast to the ‘Copper Box’ which will house the handball tournament and be raized to the ground after the Games due to a lack of interest in the sport in the UK.

The Olympic Village looks like a new university halls complex and is the first of its kind as all athletes regardless of when their event is will be able to stay on site.  The 2012 London Olympics will also be the ‘greenest’ Games yet as the site will be powered by gas and wood-chip burnt as biomass. 800, 000 spectators will travel to the park by public transport and the only car park there is for media trucks and disabled visitors.

Olympic Village

Faith will literally be at the heart of the Olympic park in the Faith Centre that will accommodate five of the world’s main religions. The Christian section has been split in two and as Catholic’s we get our very own space. Twenty-four chaplains will be assigned to work at the Games, providing 24/7 pastoral care to visitors, staff and athletes alike.

Archbishop Vincent Nichols in front of Olympic Stadium

As the park will go into ‘lock-down’ in May until the day before the Opening Ceremony, this was a great time to see it all coming together. Check out the links below to see related Catholic initiatives.

More Than Gold: http://www.morethangold.org.uk/

100 Days of Peace: http://www.peacelegacy.org.uk/

John Paul 2 Foundation for Sport: http://www.johnpaul2foundation4sport.org/

Moules et Frites

A visit to the European Parliament kicked off the events calendar for 2012, as the interns found themselves in Brussels last week.

After checking in at a very well located hotel near the Place du Luxembourg we took a deep breath and dived into the first meeting of thirteen that would take place before we departed for London the following evening. Although the schedule of meetings was intense everyone we met was extremely accommodating and pleased to talk to us about their work.

The list of people we met with is as long as it is diverse and each one gave us a different insight into the ‘Brussels bubble’.  The institutions of the European Union are often portrayed as vast monoliths, unintelligible to anyone who has not worked there since their inception and who doesn’t speak ten languages. But the reality of working in or with the European Parliament and all of the associated bodies and agencies is quite different, we discovered.

Interns with Gay Mitchell MEP

Gay Mitchell MEP was especially compelling, talking to us about how he reconciles his faith and political work. Mr Jorge Nuno-Mayer, Secretary General of Caritas Europa, gave us a unique insight into the work of a major NGO working with the EU and Fr Frank Turner SJ shared some radical views about clericalism. Hans-Gert Poettering MEP, who was President of the European Parliament 2007-2009, was one of the most charismatic men we met, his passion for the EU and all he believed it could achieve clearly coming through in the way he spoke about the challenges it both faces and has those it has managed to overcome.

Stephen with Hans-Gert Pottering MEP

Love it or hate it, the EU is here to stay. The people we met showed us that it is the individuals who make up the institutions of the regional body that keep the momentum of positive change going, most of whom are determined to better the lives of those living within the member states.

After a couple of weeks apart it was fantastic to spend some time together as a group. We are very fortunate that visits such as this are included in our internship and can’t wait until the next overseas trip –to Rome in May!

Festive Fun

As Christmas is upon us and (most of) the interns have finished work for the festive period, September and our first nights at Newman House, all the induction days, meetings and nerves feel like a long time ago. Since then we have celebrated three birthdays (or twenty six – if you include all of Edward’s impromptu birthday cakes), attended twelve receptions and ten lectures, visited a mosque, been to Oxford and completed one retreat. 

Ice skating at the Natural History Museum
(Matthew, Michaela, Fiona, Dom, Lucy, Catherine and Stephen)

2012 doesn’t look as though it will be any less busy. Having properly settled into our jobs and routines, it is safe to say we are embracing the London lifestyle and trying to make the most of all the opportunities that come our way.

As the applications for the 2012/13 internship are now open, with our ‘testimonies’ on the Bishops Conference Website, it has made us think about how the actual experience of the internship compares with our expectations of it. For many the responsibilities and range of work we’ve been given has far surpassed what we had imagined out day to day work may involve. Others have found that they have developed knowledge and skills in areas they had previously not engaged with.

As Daniel has said (much more succinctly), “I have realised that no name or description could take in the multitude of opportunities and experiences which we have already enjoyed.”

We have all learnt from mistakes and been given credit for achievements in the workplace and have plenty of stories to tell as we head back home this Christmas.

Our next adventure is to Brussels in the new year, where we will be meeting with an array of MEP’s and the director of Caritas Europe. 

Faith in action

Yesterday I went on another ‘visit’ with Bishop Alan Hopes - who’s stalking who is as yet unclear!

This time we were at Whittington Hospital in North London. Bishop Alan met with the Board of Trustees before celebrating Mass in the hospital’s chapel. The Mass included a special blessing of the new Tabernacle and was attended by around thirty people, including staff, a few patients, volunteers and local people who had heard the Bishop would be presiding.

Fr Mark Smith, who is the full time chaplain to Whittington hospital, invited everyone to stay for a buffet lunch that had been put on in honour of the Bishop’s visit. Over a plate of picnic food I chatted to Fr Mark about his day to day responsibilities at the hospital and how he manages to stay so positive when a lot of the time he is ministering to people who are terminally ill. It is clear that Fr Mark is sustained by his faith, which motivates him to comfort the sick and lonely every day.

Bishop Alan and I then accompanied Fr Mark, Fr Peter Scott (who co-ordinates all the healthcare chaplains for the diocese) and Sr Aideen on their daily ward rounds. Fr Mark and Sr Aideen visit the intensive care unit every day but take it in turns to visit other wards, along with the Anglican chaplain. The Bishop seemed to have taken on celebrity status in the hospital and people’s faces visibly lit up on seeing him. He spoke with junior doctors, ward sisters and volunteers, congratulating them on their hard work as well as speaking with patients, many of whom were emotionally overwhelmed by the genuine interest he took in their suffering.

Fr Mark with patient Michael, Bishop Alan, Sr Aideen and Fr  Peter

The hospital had a wonderfully festive feel to it, with fierce competition between the staff to win the ‘best dressed ward’ prize of a box of biscuits and bottle of Champagne. Fr Mark, Fr Peter and Sr Aideen are obviously very highly respected and well liked around the hospital, but told me of the difficulty in having a purposeful presence on the wards whilst not getting in the way of the staff.

Hospital chaplains, they said, have worked hard to improve the image of priests on the wards over the last ten or twenty years as people use to be quite fearful of them – assuming someone was about to pass away. Now, however, people recognise the priest as someone there to offer pastoral care, to have a friendly chat with or confide in.

On the drive back to Archbishop’s House, Bishop Alan said that the visit had left him energised – a feeling that I’m sure was shared by everyone who met him throughout the afternoon. I feel very privileged to witness the churches faith in action and to have experienced its positive effects. 

Acts of Random Kindness

On Wednesday night the interns turned out in force to charm donors to Catholic schemes and programmes, such as this internship. We met with a wide variety of people, from retired bankers to journalists, theatre fund-raisers and doctors, all of whom expressed a keen interest in the internship.

The quality of the invitations was reflected in the canapés, which were circulated by some of the most enthusiastic waiters we’ve encountered. The Archbishop of Westminster chatted with us about how all of our internships are going.  He later addressed the room, thanking everyone for their on-going support and asking for their prayers that the good work carried out as a result of their contributions may long continue.

In his address, the Most Rev Vincent Nichols, spoke of a recent visit to a primary school where the children told him they were building the ark. Presuming the children were referring to Noah’s Ark, the Archbishop asked what they were building the ark from. However he had misunderstood as the children went on to explain that the ARK they were building was one of love and respect through ‘Acts of Random Kindness’. This had touched the Archbishop and struck a chord with those listening too, as it is the same altruistic spirit the children were engaged in promoting that had led many of the people at the reception to be there.

The Archbishop called for us all to embrace this spirit of love and generosity by performing more ‘random acts of kindness’ this Advent.

Not 24 hours had passed until we were gathered together again experiencing – and not performing – an act of random kindness as we were treated to a delicious dinner by a friend of the scheme, whom we had met on the retreat back in October.

We all had a lovely evening at a beautiful Italian restaurant where we were thoroughly spoiled. The same lady has been extremely generous with her professional expertise these past few months too.

It is amazing to meet people who are so supportive of what we are all doing this year and to know we are being given countless unique opportunities because of their selfless acts of  random kindness.