0:00:04 > 0:00:06If you cross the River Thames at Battersea Bridge
0:00:06 > 0:00:09and continue towards Chelsea's King's Road,
0:00:09 > 0:00:13you'd be forgiven for not noticing a building on the right-hand side,
0:00:13 > 0:00:16hidden by a privet hedge.
0:00:16 > 0:00:19Over its entrance is a cross,
0:00:19 > 0:00:24and to one side a rather austere concrete facade.
0:00:24 > 0:00:26This is Allen Hall,
0:00:26 > 0:00:29one of England's only three remaining Roman Catholic seminaries,
0:00:29 > 0:00:34home to some 45 men intent on becoming Catholic priests.
0:00:46 > 0:00:48Priests play a central part
0:00:48 > 0:00:52in shaping the identity of Britain's five million Catholics.
0:00:52 > 0:00:56Administering its sacraments, passing on its teachings,
0:00:56 > 0:00:59priests are a bridge between man and God,
0:00:59 > 0:01:02and each and every one of Allen Hall's seminarians
0:01:02 > 0:01:06believes he has been called by God to fulfil this priestly role.
0:01:11 > 0:01:13BELL RINGS
0:01:19 > 0:01:22In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit...
0:01:22 > 0:01:24Amen.
0:01:24 > 0:01:26I offer this Mass for each one of you.
0:01:26 > 0:01:30It's a votive Mass for an increase in vocations to the priesthood.
0:01:30 > 0:01:33We give thanks to God
0:01:33 > 0:01:36for the mystery of this vocation in the life of the Church.
0:01:36 > 0:01:41And we pray that He may send many more men into His harvest.
0:01:44 > 0:01:47# Sanctus...
0:01:47 > 0:01:51# Sanctus
0:01:51 > 0:01:57# Sanctus Dominus Deus Sabaoth
0:01:57 > 0:02:03# Pleni sunt caeli et terra gloria tua... #
0:02:03 > 0:02:06CHATTER
0:02:10 > 0:02:15The seminarians at Allen Hall have signed up to a minimum of six years.
0:02:15 > 0:02:17The first two take place in house
0:02:17 > 0:02:21in a range of subjects from biblical Greek to philosophy.
0:02:21 > 0:02:24Then there's one year's practical placement in a parish
0:02:24 > 0:02:29before a three-year theology degree taken with undergraduates
0:02:29 > 0:02:31at London University's Heythrop College.
0:02:35 > 0:02:39Pono... Posui, OK?
0:02:39 > 0:02:41Posui, and then it would be irregular.
0:02:41 > 0:02:43Posuisti, posuit,
0:02:43 > 0:02:46posuimus, posuistis, posuerunt.
0:02:46 > 0:02:49OK? It's another irregular verb.
0:02:49 > 0:02:51Er...
0:02:51 > 0:02:56Er... "For verily I ascend to my Father."
0:02:57 > 0:02:59Erm...
0:02:59 > 0:03:01Will they download onto a Mac?
0:03:01 > 0:03:06- I think he uses a normal... - OK. Thanks very much, thanks.
0:03:06 > 0:03:09Anyway... OK, John, I'm just going to, erm...
0:03:09 > 0:03:12I'm just going to put a chair. I know there should be two.
0:03:12 > 0:03:15- You're doing a wedding homily, aren't you?- Yes.
0:03:15 > 0:03:17I'm just going to put a chair
0:03:17 > 0:03:20where there would normally be two for the happy couple.
0:03:20 > 0:03:23So pretend you've got them there. OK.
0:03:26 > 0:03:30What God has united man must not divide.
0:03:30 > 0:03:34Today, Jack and Magdalena, I want to extend our warmest wishes
0:03:34 > 0:03:38and our congratulations to you on your wedding day.
0:03:38 > 0:03:44This is the day when you have come to church to make public your love
0:03:44 > 0:03:46in front of God and in front of his people.
0:03:49 > 0:03:52Have you had this room all the time?
0:03:52 > 0:03:55No, I haven't, I've just had this for two years.
0:03:55 > 0:03:58You sort of move round the house as you're going on,
0:03:58 > 0:04:00so you start off with just one room,
0:04:00 > 0:04:04then you might get a second room, erm...
0:04:04 > 0:04:07and then you move up here eventually to get the en suite,
0:04:07 > 0:04:09which was rather nice.
0:04:09 > 0:04:12When did you realise you wanted to come here? What age?
0:04:12 > 0:04:15I started thinking about it, really, after I was confirmed,
0:04:15 > 0:04:17so when I was about 14.
0:04:17 > 0:04:20And then from there I went to speak to my parish priest,
0:04:20 > 0:04:23and then with the support of my parish priest
0:04:23 > 0:04:27and his curate at the time, and the help of Bishop O'Donoghue,
0:04:27 > 0:04:30I sort of started exploring the idea of a vocation
0:04:30 > 0:04:34and God's call in my life and when it would be appropriate
0:04:34 > 0:04:38for me to explore it in a deeper way by coming to seminary.
0:04:38 > 0:04:41So...between the Bishop and my family and myself
0:04:41 > 0:04:44and the priests who have supported me,
0:04:44 > 0:04:48I decided that after sixth form was the best time,
0:04:48 > 0:04:51that I wanted to give everything to God, my whole life,
0:04:51 > 0:04:56and see what he would do with me in those years, so give it a go.
0:04:56 > 0:05:00And I ask each one here gathered today
0:05:00 > 0:05:02to pray for Jack and Magdalena,
0:05:02 > 0:05:07that the Holy Spirit will continue to guide them in their relationship
0:05:07 > 0:05:09and remain faithful
0:05:09 > 0:05:14and live throughout their lives in a happy and fruitful union.
0:05:15 > 0:05:17OK. Thanks, John.
0:05:17 > 0:05:20I lost my place again slightly.
0:05:20 > 0:05:23I realise you slightly lost yourself there a bit. But good.
0:05:23 > 0:05:26I mean, very good.
0:05:26 > 0:05:29Just two small things, really.
0:05:29 > 0:05:32The Gospel still sounded a bit like bad news.
0:05:32 > 0:05:36So, you know, just a lighter kind of tone maybe
0:05:36 > 0:05:38about how you proclaim the Gospel.
0:05:38 > 0:05:42Using the microphone gives your voice a sonorous effect.
0:05:42 > 0:05:44It does. You've got a very sonorous voice.
0:05:44 > 0:05:48You've got that kind of dark brown voice as it were,
0:05:48 > 0:05:52which is fantastic. And it's going to be really good for you -
0:05:52 > 0:05:54it's going to be a real asset in ministry.
0:05:54 > 0:05:58But just remember this is good news we're preaching.
0:05:58 > 0:06:00Just a little thing there.
0:06:09 > 0:06:15We do have a common view of what is a good, virtuous person...
0:06:15 > 0:06:18- today.- To an extent.
0:06:18 > 0:06:22Just to take you as an example as a group, you're all here, I think,
0:06:22 > 0:06:24because there's been one or two people
0:06:24 > 0:06:27that have really made an impression on you over the years.
0:06:27 > 0:06:30You're not just here because you read a book about the priesthood.
0:06:30 > 0:06:34You're here because someone's example
0:06:34 > 0:06:36and love and support and friendship
0:06:36 > 0:06:39made a really powerful impression on you somewhere.
0:06:39 > 0:06:41And helped you grow in your own faith
0:06:41 > 0:06:43and ultimately think about priesthood.
0:06:47 > 0:06:50I never really thought of myself as being a priest.
0:06:50 > 0:06:54I thought of priesthood, but I thought ME being a priest
0:06:54 > 0:06:57there's about as much chance as becoming an astronaut.
0:06:57 > 0:06:59You know, I just didn't...
0:06:59 > 0:07:04I thought I'd just done it wrong and that I'm the last person
0:07:04 > 0:07:07they needed to go and join the priesthood,
0:07:07 > 0:07:11- and yet I kept saying that. - You put priesthood on a pedestal
0:07:11 > 0:07:15- and you didn't think you could live up to that?- I did. I really did.
0:07:15 > 0:07:20I was just too wrong. I was just going to ruin it.
0:07:20 > 0:07:24They're not going to have my music tastes in seminaries.
0:07:24 > 0:07:28I just didn't think I had the personality to go with it.
0:07:28 > 0:07:31Is this fair, Christian, that you do need a horizon of
0:07:31 > 0:07:36what's going to happen to us after death to make ultimate sense of life?
0:07:36 > 0:07:41- Is that fair?- Well, yes, these things work in the abstract
0:07:41 > 0:07:47and they would work if the world was a fair and decent and good place.
0:07:47 > 0:07:51But that isn't the case. The world is a fallen place
0:07:51 > 0:07:56and there's a great deal of suffering and wickedness around.
0:07:56 > 0:08:01And there's nothing that can be done almost by any human being
0:08:01 > 0:08:03to really take that away entirely.
0:08:03 > 0:08:07You can help reduce it by having a virtuous society,
0:08:07 > 0:08:10but even if you've got that...
0:08:10 > 0:08:13- It's going to be one aspect of life. - There's always the next tsunami
0:08:13 > 0:08:16that's going to destroy everything and make everyone suffer again.
0:08:16 > 0:08:19We're never going to be in complete control.
0:08:19 > 0:08:22I felt as though I needed to bring a lot of comedy.
0:08:22 > 0:08:25You know, I needed to be cheered up a lot.
0:08:25 > 0:08:28What was the most essential of the essentials?
0:08:28 > 0:08:30I've got The Sweeney box-set, Harold Lloyd
0:08:30 > 0:08:33and a couple of other films. I've got some music.
0:08:33 > 0:08:36I've got a lot of it on my laptop as well, so...
0:08:36 > 0:08:39Do you listen to a lot of music?
0:08:39 > 0:08:41I do. This is where I plug in and escape.
0:08:41 > 0:08:45Tune in, drop out, when I'm not doing the lectures,
0:08:45 > 0:08:47so it's very important to me, actually.
0:08:47 > 0:08:51- Always has been.- Music?- Mmm.
0:08:51 > 0:08:54- You worked in music for a while? - A little bit.
0:08:54 > 0:08:58I was kind of like a roadie with a band
0:08:58 > 0:09:02and hung out with them for about 10 years.
0:09:02 > 0:09:06- That obviously sounds like a long way from here.- Yeah, different life.
0:09:06 > 0:09:10That's a party lifestyle, as you can imagine, so...
0:09:10 > 0:09:13- Did you have the same posters on the walls?- No.
0:09:13 > 0:09:18Slightly different women you would have found on my wall.
0:09:18 > 0:09:24A few have not changed, but it's one of those things.
0:09:24 > 0:09:28I've always said I've got pictures of women all over my wall
0:09:28 > 0:09:30just to wind people up. They go, "Ah! Oh, my God!"
0:09:30 > 0:09:35And then I say I've got St Therese and Our Lady. They go, "Daarrgh!"
0:10:01 > 0:10:04Dear friends, this fourth Sunday in Easter
0:10:04 > 0:10:06is known as Good Shepherd Sunday.
0:10:06 > 0:10:10And it's always been a day of prayer for vocations to the priesthood
0:10:10 > 0:10:13and of religious life.
0:10:13 > 0:10:17Today, we'll be hearing from John, a seminarian training at Allen Hall,
0:10:17 > 0:10:19which is our seminary here in London.
0:10:22 > 0:10:25Today, I'm here to ask you for three things.
0:10:25 > 0:10:29Firstly, to ask you to pray
0:10:29 > 0:10:33for myself as I prepare for the priesthood,
0:10:33 > 0:10:35for the other students of the priesthood
0:10:35 > 0:10:39for our priests, for our bishops and for the Pope.
0:10:39 > 0:10:43That we'll be faithful to God's call in our lives.
0:10:43 > 0:10:46Secondly, I'd ask you
0:10:46 > 0:10:51to see if you know anyone you think might be called to the priesthood.
0:10:52 > 0:10:56A young man might be here tonight or in the parish.
0:10:56 > 0:10:59If you are thinking of the priesthood,
0:10:59 > 0:11:01I would say don't be afraid.
0:11:01 > 0:11:04Speak to someone. It's the first step.
0:11:04 > 0:11:08And finally, and perhaps most awkwardly,
0:11:08 > 0:11:12I'd like to ask you to be generous with your money as well.
0:11:12 > 0:11:17It takes about £20,000 a year to train a priest, per seminarian.
0:11:17 > 0:11:21And there's 45 of us training for the priesthood at Allen Hall.
0:11:21 > 0:11:24So, we really do need your support.
0:11:24 > 0:11:27And I'd like to thank you for your generosity
0:11:27 > 0:11:31in the past, and now and hopefully in the future
0:11:31 > 0:11:34and promise that I will pray for this parish as well.
0:11:38 > 0:11:41- Congratulations. God bless you. - Thank you.
0:11:41 > 0:11:43Thank you very much.
0:11:43 > 0:11:45Two years philosophy, then usually a year in a parish
0:11:45 > 0:11:50- then three years of theology.- Oh, three years.- Yeah. Which is just...
0:11:57 > 0:11:59Today, we're looking at war
0:11:59 > 0:12:02and obviously this is a very topical subject.
0:12:02 > 0:12:07So it's important at this point that we reflect on what is
0:12:07 > 0:12:11the Christian attitude to war, to military intervention.
0:12:11 > 0:12:17The central claim of feminist ethics is that
0:12:17 > 0:12:22ethics in the western moral tradition has been a very male endeavour.
0:12:22 > 0:12:25It's obviously true in the Catholic Church
0:12:25 > 0:12:27where most moral theologians have been priests.
0:12:37 > 0:12:40Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee;
0:12:40 > 0:12:42blessed art thou among women,
0:12:42 > 0:12:44and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
0:12:44 > 0:12:47- ALL:- Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners,
0:12:47 > 0:12:49now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
0:12:49 > 0:12:52Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee;
0:12:52 > 0:12:54blessed art thou among women,
0:12:54 > 0:12:57and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
0:12:57 > 0:13:00- ALL:- Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners,
0:13:00 > 0:13:02now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
0:13:02 > 0:13:05Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners,
0:13:05 > 0:13:07now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
0:13:07 > 0:13:10- ALL:- Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee;
0:13:10 > 0:13:12blessed art thou among women,
0:13:12 > 0:13:15and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
0:13:15 > 0:13:17Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee;
0:13:17 > 0:13:19blessed art thou among women,
0:13:19 > 0:13:21and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
0:13:21 > 0:13:24- ALL:- Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners,
0:13:24 > 0:13:26now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
0:13:26 > 0:13:31- In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.- Amen.
0:14:10 > 0:14:12Yeah, the main reason I have it, I suppose,
0:14:12 > 0:14:16is for sentimental reasons because it belonged to my Irish grandmother.
0:14:16 > 0:14:19I suppose it's from her family that the faith was passed on.
0:14:19 > 0:14:24And by Irish grandmother died quite a while ago now.
0:14:24 > 0:14:28And so we've always had that around about the house.
0:14:28 > 0:14:31So when I came to the seminary I brought it with me.
0:14:31 > 0:14:35And, of course, the statue itself is of the Sacred Heart of Jesus,
0:14:35 > 0:14:39which is sort of, I suppose, one of the biggest
0:14:39 > 0:14:44and most popular Catholic devotions, we'd call them. So it's...
0:14:44 > 0:14:48It reflects the love in the heart of Jesus,
0:14:48 > 0:14:50Jesus' divine love,
0:14:50 > 0:14:55and, if you look closely, Jesus is showing us his heart.
0:14:55 > 0:14:59Obviously the seat of his love with a crown of thorns round it.
0:14:59 > 0:15:04It's obviously his wounded heart reflecting his passion and death.
0:15:04 > 0:15:08on the cross, for us, which shows the extent of his love for us.
0:15:08 > 0:15:11Can you remember what it meant to you, as a child,
0:15:11 > 0:15:12visiting that and seeing it?
0:15:12 > 0:15:15Yeah, it was just reassuring...
0:15:16 > 0:15:24..because it makes Christ's presence in your home environment.
0:15:24 > 0:15:29In one sense, you get used to having Christ present to you,
0:15:29 > 0:15:30erm, through these images.
0:15:30 > 0:15:34It is one of these, again, very Catholic things, this use of images -
0:15:34 > 0:15:37statues, portraits - which, of course, historically,
0:15:37 > 0:15:39Catholicism has been criticised for,
0:15:39 > 0:15:44as being a, kind of, idolatry - that you're praying to idols.
0:15:56 > 0:15:59Allen Hall is known as "a house of formation".
0:15:59 > 0:16:01The staff and students consider it,
0:16:01 > 0:16:04not as a training centre for the priesthood,
0:16:04 > 0:16:06but as a sort of testing ground,
0:16:06 > 0:16:09in which, as well as being taught the tricks of the trade,
0:16:09 > 0:16:11they can explore their calling
0:16:11 > 0:16:14living together, to discern what they believe God is asking of them.
0:16:17 > 0:16:20Did you three all start on the same day?
0:16:20 > 0:16:21ALL: Yes.
0:16:21 > 0:16:23We did, a long time ago now!
0:16:23 > 0:16:29I definitely had overly-romanticised notions
0:16:29 > 0:16:32of what seminary was going to be like, I think.
0:16:32 > 0:16:38I think the reality... Quite quickly, you get into the reality of it -
0:16:38 > 0:16:42studies, having to write essays and all of the normal things that go on.
0:16:42 > 0:16:47I imagined it would be more... monastic. It is intense,
0:16:47 > 0:16:51but it's a different kind of intensity than I imagined.
0:16:51 > 0:16:55I think I thought it would be a, sort of, an intensity of silence
0:16:55 > 0:17:02and...prayer 24 hours a day and...
0:17:02 > 0:17:05I don't know... And it's not quite...
0:17:05 > 0:17:07Were you pleased to find it wasn't that way?
0:17:07 > 0:17:09Yeah. It's much more of a home, I think.
0:17:09 > 0:17:12We've all learnt a lot about ourselves during the whole time,
0:17:12 > 0:17:18the years we've been there...certainly.
0:17:18 > 0:17:22I've certainly even become a lot more confident in my own abilities.
0:17:22 > 0:17:26I can look back and see I've changed a lot in that way, really.
0:17:26 > 0:17:29I wasn't very confident when I came.
0:17:29 > 0:17:33I've found so many things that I've grown in, over the years.
0:17:33 > 0:17:38And now in a parish, I know now what I'm capable of doing
0:17:38 > 0:17:40and I know what I'm going to find harder,
0:17:40 > 0:17:43so that is a lot more relying on...relying on God, really,
0:17:43 > 0:17:45to get me through those moments.
0:17:45 > 0:17:48Where was it you worked?
0:17:48 > 0:17:52Erm...before here, I was working for a company called Pax Travel,
0:17:52 > 0:17:55organising pilgrimages. It was based in Kentish Town,
0:17:55 > 0:18:00so it was about a 40-minute journey from Harpenden, on the train, so...
0:18:00 > 0:18:02And you'd worked in the City before that?
0:18:02 > 0:18:05I'd worked in the City before that, for a law firm.
0:18:05 > 0:18:08One of the big law firms in the City, near Moorgate,
0:18:08 > 0:18:11as a researcher, as a research assistant.
0:18:11 > 0:18:15So, again, that was quite a long commute in the mornings.
0:18:15 > 0:18:17It's about... I used to walk to the station,
0:18:17 > 0:18:19which was half an hour walk,
0:18:19 > 0:18:22and then there'd be a 40-minute train journey,
0:18:22 > 0:18:23in a crammed train.
0:18:23 > 0:18:26So it's nice now to just be able to walk down the stairs to work!
0:18:26 > 0:18:29Quite looking forward to that, as well.
0:18:31 > 0:18:33How long did you do the law firm work for?
0:18:33 > 0:18:37Only a year. I was a trainee and had a year's contract.
0:18:37 > 0:18:41By the end of that, I realised it wasn't really what I wanted to do.
0:18:41 > 0:18:45It, kind of, pushed me towards thinking about priesthood more.
0:18:45 > 0:18:47So, yeah... It was a good experience,
0:18:47 > 0:18:50in terms of I got to know the real world, if you know what I mean.
0:18:50 > 0:18:57Quite a ruthless environment, in that level of law firms,
0:18:57 > 0:19:02so, yeah, it was.. I think I can hopefully,
0:19:02 > 0:19:05understand where people are coming from in the parishes
0:19:05 > 0:19:08and things like that. So it was a very valuable experience.
0:19:08 > 0:19:11I enjoyed working with the people there. A good place to work.
0:19:11 > 0:19:13But it was just a bit too much, I think.
0:19:13 > 0:19:15It really did point me back to the priesthood,
0:19:15 > 0:19:17which I'd been thinking about for so many years before, anyway.
0:19:22 > 0:19:24Cheers, thank you very much.
0:19:27 > 0:19:31CHORAL SINGING
0:19:31 > 0:19:35If we've been bad, they send us to this room, to sing,
0:19:35 > 0:19:37as a punishment.
0:19:41 > 0:19:43I come here every Monday.
0:19:43 > 0:19:46CHORAL SINGING
0:19:50 > 0:19:55# Eleison... #
0:19:55 > 0:19:58- And I'd like to hear the... - BOTH: # ..leison #
0:19:58 > 0:20:00Right.
0:20:00 > 0:20:03# Eleison #
0:20:03 > 0:20:05Let's do the As on that last rung.
0:20:05 > 0:20:10# BOTH: E-e-e-e-e
0:20:10 > 0:20:12# Eleison. #
0:20:12 > 0:20:14You were a cradle Catholic?
0:20:14 > 0:20:17Cradle Catholic and, like a lot of cradle Catholics,
0:20:17 > 0:20:20I remembered to watch Quo Vadis, when it was on.
0:20:20 > 0:20:24I'd go to church at Easter and Christmas, you know?
0:20:24 > 0:20:27And that was it. I was brought up very well,
0:20:27 > 0:20:32actually - praying on your knees, saying the Hail Mary, etc,
0:20:32 > 0:20:37but, you know, the way of the world will get to you and you just stop.
0:20:37 > 0:20:40- You stopped completely? - More or... It got to a point
0:20:40 > 0:20:43where, yeah, I stopped going. It just didn't happen for me.
0:20:43 > 0:20:47- Very beautiful. You're actually singing to Our Blessed Lady.- OK.
0:20:47 > 0:20:50Deep breath before you begin.
0:20:50 > 0:20:55BOTH: # ?? #
0:20:55 > 0:21:01BOTH SING IN LATIN
0:21:01 > 0:21:02Deep breath.
0:21:02 > 0:21:06- Relationships? - Yeah, there was a few.
0:21:06 > 0:21:09And it never crossed... It...
0:21:09 > 0:21:11The last one I was in, it did cross my mind
0:21:11 > 0:21:14that I probably should think about what I'm doing...
0:21:14 > 0:21:17because the last person I went out with was married
0:21:17 > 0:21:20and it... As soon as I found out, I, kind of, halted it,
0:21:20 > 0:21:23because something deep within me, again, just thought,
0:21:23 > 0:21:25"This ain't right", you know?
0:21:25 > 0:21:28So much for the rock and roll lifestyle. It really bothered me.
0:21:28 > 0:21:32I was supposed to have met up with her one night
0:21:32 > 0:21:35and I paced around the place, agonising over it.
0:21:35 > 0:21:40I really imagined myself - this isn't just the problem
0:21:40 > 0:21:44of her and her husband and me, it's really deeper than that.
0:21:44 > 0:21:48It's like, me, as a person, even as far as my soul,
0:21:48 > 0:21:50as I can imagine what that was,
0:21:50 > 0:21:55I thought there is something really fundamentally wrong with this.
0:21:55 > 0:21:57You can't do this. And I didn't.
0:21:57 > 0:22:05So it was as if I was stung back into belief, in a way.
0:22:05 > 0:22:09It was almost as if someone had, sort of, prodded me and said,
0:22:09 > 0:22:11"You can't live like this.
0:22:11 > 0:22:14You've got to think about how you're living your life."
0:22:31 > 0:22:34In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
0:22:34 > 0:22:36ALL: Amen.
0:22:36 > 0:22:40Oh, Lord, may the beginning and end of all that we do and say
0:22:40 > 0:22:44prompt our actions with your grace and complete them
0:22:44 > 0:22:47with your powerful help, through Christ, Our Lord.
0:22:47 > 0:22:48ALL: Amen.
0:22:48 > 0:22:50- Mary, Seat of Wisdom... - ALL: Pray for us.
0:22:50 > 0:22:53..in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
0:22:53 > 0:22:54ALL: Amen.
0:22:54 > 0:23:01What about the idea that what is right and wrong has to agree with
0:23:01 > 0:23:05what our elected representatives agree in Parliament?
0:23:05 > 0:23:07What do you think of that idea?
0:23:07 > 0:23:12We might take, for example, the whole issue of abortion.
0:23:12 > 0:23:16Another writing that is very important from Luther in this period
0:23:16 > 0:23:21is the so-called "threefold Babylonian captivity of the Church".
0:23:21 > 0:23:26It is clearly a polemic writing, regarding the liturgy.
0:23:26 > 0:23:28We don't actually think that
0:23:28 > 0:23:32the question of right and wrong of abortion is actually
0:23:32 > 0:23:35to do with... It's not because Jesus said it, is it?
0:23:35 > 0:23:40It's about the reality of that. It's about fundamental principles -
0:23:40 > 0:23:43the value of life and an innocent life, in particular.
0:23:50 > 0:23:54Today, we're going to talk a little bit about anointing.
0:23:54 > 0:23:57I don't know if there are any other areas of ministry -
0:23:57 > 0:24:00practical ministry - that you're, kind of,
0:24:00 > 0:24:03not quite sure about, still, that we can look at after Easter,
0:24:03 > 0:24:05if necessary. Maybe lots, I don't know!
0:24:05 > 0:24:09There are obviously two main types. One is the relatively
0:24:09 > 0:24:12straightforward anointing of somebody ill in the parish who needs
0:24:12 > 0:24:16continuing help and support. And then there are those where
0:24:16 > 0:24:19perhaps somebody is either moving towards death
0:24:19 > 0:24:22or perhaps somebody is in danger of death. Have you seen... Have you
0:24:22 > 0:24:25been in contact with dead bodies? Have you seen dead people?
0:24:25 > 0:24:29The most profound experience I had in hospital
0:24:29 > 0:24:35was with an elderly lady, who died while I was there.
0:24:35 > 0:24:39It was an absolutely profound experience.
0:24:39 > 0:24:42I felt really humbled, actually,
0:24:42 > 0:24:45to have been there. It was a real blessing, actually.
0:24:45 > 0:24:47I think it is a blessing and it's a very...
0:24:47 > 0:24:50It's a pretty important moment in all our lives!
0:24:50 > 0:24:55You'll find that, as individuals, it will affect you in different ways.
0:24:55 > 0:24:59And some of them are very hard, indeed. Really very hard, indeed.
0:24:59 > 0:25:01And I think these moments,
0:25:01 > 0:25:05if you've experienced it, help us to have a great peace about death
0:25:05 > 0:25:08and a great peace about our own deaths, too -
0:25:08 > 0:25:10that, actually, death can be beautiful,
0:25:10 > 0:25:17that death is a wonderful moment of transition and it can help us.
0:25:17 > 0:25:20It can be very confirming, I think, in our own faith,
0:25:20 > 0:25:23to spend time with the dying.
0:25:23 > 0:25:26My faith has always been incredibly important to me,
0:25:26 > 0:25:29but extremely private.
0:25:29 > 0:25:34I think one of the reasons it was so private is that I was at...
0:25:34 > 0:25:38I didn't go to a Catholic school and I have lots of good friends,
0:25:38 > 0:25:43but very few of them, erm, very few of them would have been Catholics.
0:25:43 > 0:25:48And so, I didn't speak about my faith. I think there was...
0:25:48 > 0:25:52I think, naturally, like most teenagers, I was embarrassed about
0:25:52 > 0:25:56having this, erm, having this thing of faith.
0:25:56 > 0:26:02Going to university, erm, helped me break out of that.
0:26:02 > 0:26:06Was Catholicism a big, big part of your childhood?
0:26:06 > 0:26:10It really wasn't, actually. My family are Catholic.
0:26:10 > 0:26:13My mum's a convert. She didn't convert till I was 17.
0:26:13 > 0:26:18My Irish grandparents, are very serious about their faith.
0:26:18 > 0:26:21But in the family, we said prayers and things,
0:26:21 > 0:26:26but it wasn't a major part of our lives. We went to Mass on Sundays.
0:26:26 > 0:26:30But it wasn't till I started serving, around the age of seven or eight,
0:26:30 > 0:26:33that I started getting really involved in the parish.
0:26:33 > 0:26:36It was something I just found really...
0:26:36 > 0:26:41I felt at home, altar serving in the parish.
0:26:41 > 0:26:44And just kind of grew more and more in confidence
0:26:44 > 0:26:47and made lots of friends there and just kept going, really.
0:26:47 > 0:26:50Did you think... Were you quite a holy person, as it were?
0:26:50 > 0:26:53I don't think so. I've never thought of myself as holy!
0:26:53 > 0:26:55People would say that I was different.
0:26:55 > 0:26:58My nickname at secondary, which wasn't Catholic,
0:26:58 > 0:27:01was actually The Priest. People obviously saw something in me.
0:27:01 > 0:27:04I think the chaplain at university was rather surprised
0:27:04 > 0:27:10when I went to see him towards the end of my time at university,
0:27:10 > 0:27:14to ask him about the priesthood.
0:27:14 > 0:27:17Because I didn't really get... I went to Mass, obviously,
0:27:17 > 0:27:19but I didn't really get involved, at all.
0:27:19 > 0:27:23I was enjoying myself too much, in some ways, for that!
0:27:23 > 0:27:30Erm...and that journey, being able to...going to speak to him about it
0:27:30 > 0:27:34was very difficult for me. It took a real... It took me ages
0:27:34 > 0:27:38to get to the point when I was able to broach the subject.
0:27:38 > 0:27:41Did you go through the agonies on our own?
0:27:41 > 0:27:45Yeah. Oh, yeah, completely. I didn't speak to anyone about it.
0:27:45 > 0:27:48I think I decided, in my last year at university...
0:27:51 > 0:27:57I suppose - it's easy to say in hindsight - I'd always known
0:27:57 > 0:28:00that there was something there and hadn't accepted it.
0:28:00 > 0:28:05You will need various bits of kit, from a practical point of view.
0:28:05 > 0:28:07I don't know if you've got already,
0:28:07 > 0:28:09but you'll need something for your oil,
0:28:09 > 0:28:12for the oil to stick. You'll need to get hold of one of those.
0:28:12 > 0:28:16Very handy little gadget. But the most important thing, I suppose,
0:28:16 > 0:28:20is how you actually place the oil on the forehead and on the hands.
0:28:20 > 0:28:23You do not, under any circumstances,
0:28:23 > 0:28:29anoint somebody on the forehead and put your thumb back into the oil
0:28:29 > 0:28:31and then do the hands,
0:28:31 > 0:28:35because, potentially, there is an infection in there now.
0:28:35 > 0:28:39This is also fantastically useful, which is a holy water sprinkler.
0:28:39 > 0:28:42You go into a house, you want to bless the house,
0:28:42 > 0:28:45you don't have to take an enormous sized sprinkler.
0:28:45 > 0:28:46This is a very handy cup.
0:28:46 > 0:28:49This isn't full of woe, it's full of holy water.
0:28:49 > 0:28:53Erm, so that's a useful thing to have.
0:28:53 > 0:28:55In fact, you'll need it. Then, obviously,
0:28:55 > 0:29:01a small confessional stole of some sort. Make sure you have those.
0:29:01 > 0:29:02And just on a practical level,
0:29:02 > 0:29:06I would suggest keeping all this somewhere near the front door,
0:29:06 > 0:29:09because, you know, a lot of your visits will be nicely planned
0:29:09 > 0:29:14and whatever, but when you get the call at 3am to go to casualty
0:29:14 > 0:29:16or whatever it happens to be,
0:29:16 > 0:29:19you don't want to be rushing around, "I wonder where the oil is?"
0:29:19 > 0:29:21That's why I say, be prepared.
0:29:21 > 0:29:26You know, have a pair of trousers to jump into and all of that
0:29:26 > 0:29:28and everything you need nearby.
0:29:29 > 0:29:34So this is what I'll be wearing in the future.
0:29:35 > 0:29:37Lots of black shirts and suits.
0:29:37 > 0:29:41And my chasuble, which I bought for my first Mass.
0:29:41 > 0:29:44- Where did you get that? - I bought this in Rome.
0:29:47 > 0:29:50So that will be my first Mass. I'll be wearing that and then,
0:29:50 > 0:29:52hopefully, for any celebration afterwards.
0:29:52 > 0:29:55So, yes, we went across to Rome for a little trip.
0:29:57 > 0:30:00Did you choose that one specifically,
0:30:00 > 0:30:03or is there a whole range of styles you can choose from?
0:30:03 > 0:30:04No, there are different styles.
0:30:04 > 0:30:07So, that's a Gothic style, and there are Roman styles,
0:30:07 > 0:30:10which are a lot more... more like bibs, really.
0:30:10 > 0:30:12And you've probably seen in Mass,
0:30:12 > 0:30:15there's different styles you can wear.
0:30:15 > 0:30:20I wanted something fairly simple, but with a nice pattern on the front.
0:30:20 > 0:30:23It's one of those, I walked into the shop and went, "That's it."
0:30:23 > 0:30:27After seeing many shops. So I was really pleased to get it.
0:30:35 > 0:30:38What's your CV?
0:30:38 > 0:30:40The whole of my CV, well,
0:30:40 > 0:30:42trained originally as a barrister
0:30:42 > 0:30:45and practised at the bar for a few years.
0:30:45 > 0:30:48But it was one of those things that I just kind of fell into,
0:30:48 > 0:30:51I didn't know what to do when I went to university,
0:30:51 > 0:30:53so when I went to Oxford I ended up reading law,
0:30:53 > 0:30:57then I didn't know what to do again, so I had to do something,
0:30:57 > 0:31:00and so I read for the bar and so on.
0:31:00 > 0:31:02But what I always wanted to do
0:31:02 > 0:31:05was work in classical music and opera in particular.
0:31:05 > 0:31:10And so I was very fortunate that I spent most of my life
0:31:10 > 0:31:13being part of or running opera companies or ballet companies
0:31:13 > 0:31:18and so that's what I was doing before.
0:31:19 > 0:31:22Well I suppose if there was a Damascus moment
0:31:22 > 0:31:25it was when I was working up to Leeds for Opera North.
0:31:25 > 0:31:28And one day I pottered into the cathedral in Leeds
0:31:28 > 0:31:30which is a Catholic cathedral,
0:31:30 > 0:31:34and something was going on which I didn't at that stage understand.
0:31:34 > 0:31:38And it was something called the 40 Hours Celebration.
0:31:38 > 0:31:42And that's 40 hours of devotion to the Blessed Sacrament.
0:31:42 > 0:31:45And there was the monstrance,
0:31:45 > 0:31:49I'd never seen a monstrance before, didn't really know what it was.
0:31:49 > 0:31:52There was the monstrance in the centre of the sanctuary,
0:31:52 > 0:31:56and there were literally hundreds and hundreds of candles.
0:31:56 > 0:31:58The monstrance being?
0:31:58 > 0:32:01The monstrance is what contains the Blessed Sacrament
0:32:01 > 0:32:05when it is being put on the altar for adoration.
0:32:05 > 0:32:10And surrounded by hundreds of candles and lots of people.
0:32:10 > 0:32:15And I saw, and there was something there
0:32:15 > 0:32:18which was very different from what I had experienced ever before,
0:32:18 > 0:32:21certainly in the tradition that I had grown up with.
0:32:21 > 0:32:24And so the centrality of the Eucharist,
0:32:24 > 0:32:27the centrality of the presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament
0:32:27 > 0:32:30is something which is very powerful and very new,
0:32:30 > 0:32:33and I suppose if there was a Damascus moment that was it
0:32:33 > 0:32:36and I really wanted to know more about this.
0:32:47 > 0:32:49BELL RINGS
0:33:16 > 0:33:20In every society there are people from whom we require
0:33:20 > 0:33:22the highest moral standards.
0:33:22 > 0:33:26Politicians, bankers, police, the media and priests.
0:33:26 > 0:33:30In recent years all have fallen from grace
0:33:30 > 0:33:32and trust has lost its currency.
0:33:32 > 0:33:35Today, the long shadow of abuse scandals
0:33:35 > 0:33:39hangs over the Catholic priesthood.
0:33:39 > 0:33:42Numbers of men applying to seminary have fallen.
0:33:42 > 0:33:47In 2010 just 19 men were ordained in the whole of England and Wales.
0:33:47 > 0:33:52The application process for seminary is now like a long courtship
0:33:52 > 0:33:56in which both the church and the prospective candidate feel their way
0:33:56 > 0:33:59towards a marriage, trying to be certain that each is
0:33:59 > 0:34:02not only fit for the other, but fit for purpose.
0:34:02 > 0:34:05It includes a weekend of psychological profiling
0:34:05 > 0:34:09at the centre run by the Catholic Church itself.
0:34:11 > 0:34:14Tell us about that, what happens on that?
0:34:14 > 0:34:17They give you another form. It's a book, really,
0:34:17 > 0:34:20you have to fill in with all the information about your past,
0:34:20 > 0:34:24your background, what you think of this, what you think of that, family.
0:34:24 > 0:34:26And I did a lot of it on the train on the way down.
0:34:26 > 0:34:30It was endless questions. A lot of repetition as well.
0:34:30 > 0:34:34- Is that sort of screening?- Yes. It's all part of the screening process.
0:34:34 > 0:34:37It's to make sure, considering what's happened in the church
0:34:37 > 0:34:40they really don't want that mistake to happen again.
0:34:40 > 0:34:43They just want to make sure the people joining aren't crazy
0:34:43 > 0:34:44and in this culture we live in,
0:34:44 > 0:34:46the first question you have got to ask
0:34:46 > 0:34:50is why would anybody want to become a priest in today's world?
0:34:50 > 0:34:51You've got to be nuts.
0:34:51 > 0:34:55So they just assume you're crazy from the start and see if you're sane.
0:35:05 > 0:35:09- Do you get much hostility? - Not really, actually.
0:35:09 > 0:35:12Not from any of the things people have been asking me.
0:35:12 > 0:35:15No-one's really brought up in a question to me
0:35:15 > 0:35:18the topic of the abuse scandal in the church, for example.
0:35:20 > 0:35:21No.
0:35:24 > 0:35:27And for me, the main thing
0:35:27 > 0:35:31in terms of my vocation is I don't think the abuse scandal
0:35:31 > 0:35:34has really affected how I think of my vocation.
0:35:34 > 0:35:38As far as I'm concerned, I think God is calling me to be a priest.
0:35:38 > 0:35:44And I'm aware of how frail every priest is, I think.
0:35:44 > 0:35:46That's something you learn in seminary.
0:35:46 > 0:35:48Because there is a tendency sometimes
0:35:48 > 0:35:51to try and put a priest on a pedestal which is natural,
0:35:51 > 0:35:54because you want priests to be holy, and that's right,
0:35:54 > 0:35:58but equally I think from getting to know more priests
0:35:58 > 0:36:01you get to realise the humility there in priests,
0:36:01 > 0:36:04that priests themselves would describe themselves
0:36:04 > 0:36:08as flawed people, sinful people, just like everyone.
0:36:11 > 0:36:15And so that's the way I look at it, I think that I'm like that as well.
0:36:18 > 0:36:22And I will try my best to be a holy priest
0:36:22 > 0:36:25whilst with the limitations that I have in my life.
0:36:27 > 0:36:28Yeah.
0:36:37 > 0:36:43Let me just quote you from Pope Paul VI, one of our recent popes.
0:36:43 > 0:36:48He called priestly celibacy a brilliant jewel,
0:36:48 > 0:36:54a sweet and heavy burden, and a grave, ennobling obligation.
0:36:54 > 0:36:58We have to take on this tradition,
0:36:58 > 0:37:02not as a burden that has been laid on our shoulders
0:37:02 > 0:37:05by a cold and distant hierarchy
0:37:05 > 0:37:09that just wants to make our life complicated,
0:37:09 > 0:37:13and stop us having fun, or having intimate relationships,
0:37:13 > 0:37:20it's something that we have to see as being part of the tradition
0:37:20 > 0:37:24and something that we have to own ourselves, and make ourselves own.
0:37:24 > 0:37:28Now let me take you back to the Dark Ages.
0:37:28 > 0:37:34When I was in seminary nobody really talked about celibacy.
0:37:34 > 0:37:39It was seen as something, I want to be a priest,
0:37:39 > 0:37:44therefore I have to, I suppose, take on this burden of celibacy.
0:37:44 > 0:37:49That's because it was something we felt in those days
0:37:49 > 0:37:53was imposed on us, and wasn't fully explained
0:37:53 > 0:37:57and we didn't have a chance to make it our own and own it.
0:37:57 > 0:38:00I think it might explain why some people
0:38:00 > 0:38:04have got themselves into trouble in the past,
0:38:04 > 0:38:07to the shame and to the scandal of people
0:38:07 > 0:38:10both inside the church and outside the church.
0:38:10 > 0:38:14But if our sexuality is a large part of our humanity,
0:38:14 > 0:38:17is this an easy thing for you to give up?
0:38:17 > 0:38:19Switch it off?
0:38:19 > 0:38:23You don't switch it off, you're still a guy, still a man.
0:38:23 > 0:38:27The thing is, it's an energy, it's how you channel that energy really.
0:38:27 > 0:38:32It's like you say, sexuality is a major part, very powerful force.
0:38:32 > 0:38:36And if you don't deal with it, it will get you.
0:38:36 > 0:38:38But it's something you have to live with.
0:38:38 > 0:38:41Anybody else feels, why celibacy?
0:38:41 > 0:38:46Surely total self-sacrifice is the most basic point,
0:38:46 > 0:38:51it's a matter of putting oneself entirely upon God
0:38:51 > 0:38:54and upon his, the eternal life which he promises,
0:38:54 > 0:38:58and that seems to be the absolute face of it,
0:38:58 > 0:39:00are you giving all for Christ?
0:39:00 > 0:39:07Right, we, as celibates, our lives lived in an atypical way,
0:39:07 > 0:39:10not of the norm of most people,
0:39:10 > 0:39:14speak to something, speak of our very image, very presence,
0:39:14 > 0:39:19sometime communicates the presence of God in the world.
0:39:19 > 0:39:22I think we need to be available to everybody.
0:39:22 > 0:39:24It's like the marriage thing.
0:39:24 > 0:39:27Everyone asks me why aren't you married? Why can't you get married?
0:39:27 > 0:39:31Anglicans get married, why can't Catholics?
0:39:31 > 0:39:35But I think it's just practical. We're available, we're ministers,
0:39:35 > 0:39:38we're servants. We don't own our own lives any more,
0:39:38 > 0:39:42we don't live for ourselves, we live for the people, men for others.
0:39:42 > 0:39:48Romantic life is an imperfect relationship, sometimes.
0:39:48 > 0:39:52But with this you're dealing with God who is ultimately perfect,
0:39:52 > 0:39:57absolute perfection on one side. You're imperfect, but He is not.
0:39:57 > 0:40:00So the more you engage with that perfection,
0:40:00 > 0:40:03the less troubled you are, the less complicated you become.
0:40:03 > 0:40:06It all becomes quite simple
0:40:06 > 0:40:10because I think romantic love can be endlessly complicated.
0:40:10 > 0:40:13So that's what I mean by that.
0:40:13 > 0:40:17- In experience. - That's how you found it?
0:40:17 > 0:40:20I think so. That could be just...
0:40:20 > 0:40:22It could prove to be that's just my thought
0:40:22 > 0:40:26because I've been with people or been in love with people
0:40:26 > 0:40:29and then later on I wonder why?
0:40:29 > 0:40:32There are a couple of people I've just looked back on recently
0:40:32 > 0:40:36and think, "Why did I ever give time to that?"
0:40:36 > 0:40:38That whole relationship was just abusive,
0:40:38 > 0:40:42it wasn't a relationship, it was just nonsense.
0:40:42 > 0:40:44But with this you will never have that.
0:40:44 > 0:40:46I don't think I'll ever regret this.
0:40:46 > 0:40:49I might have told you this story before.
0:40:49 > 0:40:53I was ordained...years ago
0:40:53 > 0:40:57and on the day of my ordination,
0:40:57 > 0:41:00and I was fortunate enough to be ordained
0:41:00 > 0:41:04by now blessed John Paul II in St Peter's in Rome.
0:41:04 > 0:41:06Imagine what that was like.
0:41:06 > 0:41:12And I specifically remember feeling a mark on my forehead.
0:41:12 > 0:41:15And that stayed with me.
0:41:15 > 0:41:19I'm not anybody, believe me, who believes in that kind of stuff.
0:41:19 > 0:41:24You know, that kind of, oooh! But there was a kind of a mark that,
0:41:24 > 0:41:31and I've learned subsequently that that is not a strange experience.
0:41:31 > 0:41:33Because I believe that
0:41:33 > 0:41:37when we go through this process we are marked men.
0:41:37 > 0:41:41We have been chosen for this.
0:41:41 > 0:41:47Because we are marked, we are given the help we need, the grace,
0:41:47 > 0:41:50in order to live this life if we are authentic.
0:41:50 > 0:41:55We can deny that, we can reject that,
0:41:55 > 0:41:57but that is there, available to us.
0:41:57 > 0:42:04It's not just us doing it by ourselves. Does that make sense? OK.
0:42:09 > 0:42:13The road to priesthood is long. Some decide it's not for them.
0:42:13 > 0:42:18Others have that decision made for them and are shown the door.
0:42:18 > 0:42:19For those who do stay the course
0:42:19 > 0:42:22their progress towards priesthood is marked
0:42:22 > 0:42:25at various stages in their formation.
0:42:25 > 0:42:29The first big public shift is known as candidacy.
0:42:29 > 0:42:33It's a significant moment marking a mutual decision
0:42:33 > 0:42:35between the church and the seminarian
0:42:35 > 0:42:39that priesthood is indeed a viable and desirable outcome.
0:42:39 > 0:42:41It comes at the end of the fourth year,
0:42:41 > 0:42:45and from then on, a seminarian can wear clerical clothes,
0:42:45 > 0:42:49publicly identifying himself as a man of the church.
0:42:51 > 0:42:55- What's this?- This is what I'll be wearing on candidacy.
0:42:57 > 0:43:03It's just a normal waistcoat that you wear with a shirt
0:43:03 > 0:43:06and then a collar, a full collar.
0:43:06 > 0:43:11Then obviously that just wraps around the top.
0:43:11 > 0:43:13If you can imagine,
0:43:13 > 0:43:16with a collar in there produces the kind of white window.
0:43:16 > 0:43:20- So you'll be able to start wearing that after next Saturday week.- Yes.
0:43:20 > 0:43:25Is that something you look forward to, that public statement?
0:43:25 > 0:43:31I think it's just something you realise is going to happen
0:43:31 > 0:43:33and you can see it a long way off,
0:43:33 > 0:43:36you've been in seminary for four years now,
0:43:36 > 0:43:40you kind of feel you're ready to take this next step, really,
0:43:40 > 0:43:43of taking on a public role.
0:43:50 > 0:43:56HE SINGS
0:44:10 > 0:44:13Great. I'd much rather inspire people
0:44:13 > 0:44:15through the singing you do in the parish
0:44:15 > 0:44:18with your personality coming through the voice,
0:44:18 > 0:44:21than just be the same, old, boring person
0:44:21 > 0:44:24that turns them off as soon as they come in, yeah?
0:44:24 > 0:44:27- Do you want to continue with this one?- Yeah, could do.
0:44:27 > 0:44:31PIANO MUSIC PLAYS
0:44:43 > 0:44:48- All right, Sister Bernadette? - How nice to see you.
0:44:48 > 0:44:52- Hello, Sister. How are you? - How does it feel to be dressed up?
0:44:52 > 0:44:56- It feels odd.- Oh, it's lovely. It's lovely. Many congratulations.
0:44:56 > 0:44:58- Thank you very much. - I'm delighted for you
0:44:58 > 0:45:02and delighted for the diocese, as well.
0:45:02 > 0:45:04- It's nice.- It's a nice style.
0:45:04 > 0:45:08They all look fantastic when they're dressed up, don't they?
0:45:08 > 0:45:11Lovely, congratulations. Are your parents here yet?
0:45:11 > 0:45:14Not yet. No. They should be here in a little while.
0:45:39 > 0:45:44- I have to breathe in these days. I have to breathe in these days.- Yes.
0:45:56 > 0:45:59In response to the Lord's call,
0:45:59 > 0:46:03are you resolved to complete your preparation
0:46:03 > 0:46:07so that in due time, you will be ready to be ordained
0:46:07 > 0:46:09for the ministry of the Church.
0:46:09 > 0:46:11ALL: I am.
0:46:11 > 0:46:16Are you resolved to prepare yourself in mind and spirit
0:46:16 > 0:46:21to give faithful service to Christ the Lord and his body, the Church?
0:46:21 > 0:46:23ALL: I am.
0:46:23 > 0:46:27The Church receives your declaration with joy.
0:46:27 > 0:46:30May God who has begun the good work in you
0:46:30 > 0:46:33- bring it to fulfilment. - ALL: Amen.
0:46:33 > 0:46:37ORGAN PLAYS
0:46:43 > 0:46:47CHOIR SINGS: "Soli Deo Gloria"
0:47:39 > 0:47:42APPLAUSE
0:47:48 > 0:47:50Fantastic. Were you nervous?
0:47:50 > 0:47:54PIANO MUSIC PLAYS
0:48:26 > 0:48:29We'll just take one here. Take these.
0:48:38 > 0:48:43So, here they are, right before us, freshly turned out.
0:48:43 > 0:48:47Men in black, very nice to see.
0:48:47 > 0:48:50It reminds me of one of the first times
0:48:50 > 0:48:53I was walking back down the Kings Road from Sloane Square
0:48:53 > 0:48:57in my clerical collar and this young woman came up to me
0:48:57 > 0:49:01and she had earrings in every possible place you could imagine
0:49:01 > 0:49:04and she said, "Sir, sir, tell me, where did you get your clothes?"
0:49:04 > 0:49:09- LAUGHTER - Which fashion shop did you go to?
0:49:09 > 0:49:14So, well, anyway, they've obviously been to the fashion shops,
0:49:14 > 0:49:16the clerical fashion shops.
0:49:16 > 0:49:19God knows what she'd say to me if I walked down this evening.
0:49:19 > 0:49:21LAUGHTER
0:49:21 > 0:49:28Anyway, my last task is just to be thankful
0:49:28 > 0:49:31for the fact that we're Catholics and that we belong to the church
0:49:31 > 0:49:36and therefore, to offer a toast on this evening to the Holy Father.
0:49:38 > 0:49:42- The Holy Father. - ALL: The Holy Father
0:49:49 > 0:49:53HOOVER WHIRS
0:50:08 > 0:50:11So I, the undersigned, Andrew Patrick Connick,
0:50:11 > 0:50:13having petitioned Archbishop Nichols
0:50:13 > 0:50:19to be admitted to the order of the priesthood,
0:50:19 > 0:50:23make the following oath. It's the oath of freedom and knowledge.
0:50:23 > 0:50:25This one basically says that
0:50:25 > 0:50:29I understand what's going to happen to me in a few weeks time
0:50:29 > 0:50:35and I accept those responsibilities and choose them for myself.
0:50:39 > 0:50:42So, really, it means that I can't turn around afterwards
0:50:42 > 0:50:45and say that what happened at my ordination
0:50:45 > 0:50:47wasn't something that I was fully aware of
0:50:47 > 0:50:51and fully willing to participate in and willing to give my life to.
0:50:51 > 0:50:56But I think, as well, this thing that you're promising
0:50:56 > 0:51:01is bigger than you are and it's bigger than you
0:51:01 > 0:51:07and your vocation and it's about the Church and the Church's mission.
0:51:07 > 0:51:12And from that point of view, it really reinforces this thing that...
0:51:14 > 0:51:16..the priesthood is not...
0:51:18 > 0:51:20Priesthood is not all about you.
0:51:23 > 0:51:24Erm...
0:51:26 > 0:51:33That it's a life given to the Church for the good of other people...
0:51:35 > 0:51:38..and a life just given to Christ.
0:51:50 > 0:51:54At the very heart of all religions are leaps into the unknown.
0:51:54 > 0:51:57The acceptance of fundamental mysteries
0:51:57 > 0:52:01that come to define faith itself. In Catholic life,
0:52:01 > 0:52:04it's the Eucharist, the focus of every Mass,
0:52:04 > 0:52:07at which bread and wine actually become
0:52:07 > 0:52:10the body and blood of Jesus Christ.
0:52:10 > 0:52:14This mystery is what Catholic priests exist for.
0:52:14 > 0:52:17To make Christ present in the world.
0:52:17 > 0:52:20And when the Archbishop finally lays hands
0:52:20 > 0:52:23on the heads of seminarians at their ordination,
0:52:23 > 0:52:25this gift will be theirs.
0:52:26 > 0:52:29Accept this offering for your whole family.
0:52:29 > 0:52:33Grant us your peace in this life. Save us from final damnation
0:52:33 > 0:52:36and count us among those you have chosen.
0:52:37 > 0:52:40Bless and approve our offering.
0:52:40 > 0:52:45Make it acceptable to you and offering in spirit and truth,
0:52:45 > 0:52:49let it become for us the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ,
0:52:49 > 0:52:52your only son, our Lord.
0:52:52 > 0:52:57The day before he suffered, he took bread in His sacred hands
0:52:57 > 0:53:00and looking up to heaven, to you his Almighty Father,
0:53:00 > 0:53:03He gave thanks and praise.
0:53:03 > 0:53:07He broke the bread, gave it to his disciples and said,
0:53:07 > 0:53:10"Take this, all of you, and eat it.
0:53:10 > 0:53:14"This is my body which will be given up for you".
0:53:20 > 0:53:26Is it the centrepiece of priesthood, being able to celebrate mass,
0:53:26 > 0:53:30do you think, as opposed to the many other pastoral functions
0:53:30 > 0:53:32that you'll end up fulfilling?
0:53:33 > 0:53:37Yes. Definitely. Because...
0:53:38 > 0:53:40Because it means everything.
0:53:44 > 0:53:48It's the fact of salvation for the world.
0:53:50 > 0:53:53And we talk about there being a source and a summit
0:53:53 > 0:53:54of the Christian life.
0:53:59 > 0:54:02And, like, some theologians talk about the mass
0:54:02 > 0:54:05as being the heartbeat of the church,
0:54:05 > 0:54:09you know, the very life of the church through that regular...
0:54:09 > 0:54:11That daily celebration of Holy Mass.
0:54:11 > 0:54:16You say, not doing it for real, but when you do it for real,
0:54:16 > 0:54:19wondering how that will feel, in what way will it be different?
0:54:19 > 0:54:23The Catholic understanding is that there's a fundamental change
0:54:23 > 0:54:29to the man who is ordained and that...
0:54:31 > 0:54:35So, the priesthood is not just a ministry that you carry out,
0:54:35 > 0:54:40but something on the very deepest level of who you are,
0:54:40 > 0:54:44so, it's that that allows you to stand at the altar
0:54:44 > 0:54:48and say the words of Christ
0:54:48 > 0:54:52so that the bread and wine really are transformed
0:54:52 > 0:54:55into the body and blood of Christ.
0:54:55 > 0:54:58At the deepest level, you're a priest
0:54:58 > 0:55:01so Christ uses you as his instrument
0:55:01 > 0:55:04and you say those words of consecration and...
0:55:06 > 0:55:08And it's the Mass.
0:55:37 > 0:55:42Those of you who are going to be priests, please come forward.
0:56:47 > 0:56:52APPLAUSE
0:57:17 > 0:57:21Father, accept this offering for your whole family.
0:57:21 > 0:57:24Grant us your peace in this life.
0:57:24 > 0:57:26Save us from final damnation
0:57:26 > 0:57:30and count as among those you have chosen.
0:57:30 > 0:57:33Bless and approve our offering.
0:57:33 > 0:57:38Make it acceptable to you, an offering in spirit and in truth.
0:57:38 > 0:57:42Let it become for us the body and blood of Jesus Christ,
0:57:42 > 0:57:45your only son, our Lord.
0:57:47 > 0:57:52The day before He suffered, He took bread in his sacred hands
0:57:52 > 0:57:54and looking up to heaven
0:57:54 > 0:57:59to you, his Almighty Father, He gave you thanks and praise.
0:57:59 > 0:58:00He broke the bread,
0:58:00 > 0:58:04gave it to his disciples and said...
0:58:06 > 0:58:10"Take this, all of you, and eat it.
0:58:10 > 0:58:15"This is my body, which will be given up for you".
0:58:15 > 0:58:20BELLS RING
0:58:30 > 0:58:31The body of Christ.
0:58:32 > 0:58:34The body of Christ.
0:58:36 > 0:58:38The body of Christ.
0:58:41 > 0:58:43The body of Christ.
0:58:45 > 0:58:47The body of Christ.
0:58:48 > 0:58:49The body of Christ.
0:59:13 > 0:59:16Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd