Recently the Shrine was given an
extraordinary stone sculpture of the Annunciation which we
think was originally from a French Cathedral.
What is so interesting and thought
provoking is that the space one associates with Mary’s womb
is carved in stone rings, as one imagines a pond when a
stone has disturbed the waters, or perhaps even more so of
an explosion as its consequences radiate beyond the point of
impact.
Of course in this case it is above all an
explosion of love and mercy, a continual echoing of God’s
yes to our best, if fitful, pleas for forgiveness and
restoration. Even Mary’s yes is small in comparison to God’s
most positive of responses to my wayward heart.
Like all good art it draws more from us
than perhaps the artist intended. In this carving, the
fingers of Mary’s right hand are drawn together and placed
right in the centre of the place of divine impact, the place
of the implanting of the One whom we believe to be both God
and man. As I write this, the closeness of Holy Week makes
me think of another who was invited to put his fingers into
a place of glorious impact. Jesus invited Thomas to touch
his wounds and they became for him the place of recognition.
It truly was the risen Lord!
Did he dare to be obedient? Did he
actually do what Jesus asked and touch the wounds caused by
his and all our sins? Scholars and preachers have disagreed.
Some say the sight of them was enough to elicit the
acclamation of faith.
I hope so much that he did! For those
wounds are first a gift from the Son to the Father, and then
a gift to Thomas and to us, given, as the much beloved Anima
Christi prayer reminds us, to hide in, to shelter in. Those
glorious scars invite us to touch and to trust in their
efficacy.
It seems to me that we find a clue to
what is happening through the Church’s ministry of healing
by reflecting on this resurrection encounter. Whether it is
the laying on of hands or the Sacraments of Anointing and
Confession, these various ways are given by the
Lord to us who cannot see him physically
‘because’, as Newman says in a sermon ‘historically
speaking, time has gone on, and the Holy One is away’. They
‘bring us again under His shadow’. In these sacred
encounters we entrust our own wounded selves into those
risen ‘yet visible above’ wounds, with the hope of
transformation and renewal. We do not tell him what to do,
but ask ‘our Lord and God’ for mercy and grace hoping for a
touch now of the resurrection that is to come.
I am convinced that Mary wants this place
to be known increasingly as a place of healing and
reconciliation. Our Saturday and Tuesday evening liturgies
when these ministries are particularly offered seem alive
with a sense of God’s desire to reach out to a bruised and
hurting world, and to those with secret burdens of
unforgiveness. On such occasions, Mary, who has her moments
in the pilgrimage routine, seems content to leave centre
stage as her Son gives that which only he can give. Many of
you will know what I mean when I say that there is a
palpable sense of the Spirit at work, sometimes wrestling
with a fearful heart, sometimes bringing the unsure forward
for anointing, sometimes gently drawing a pilgrim from their
seat to an unplanned encounter in the confessional. I have
lost count of the number of times I have had to find more
priests and discreet corners in the Church because there are
so many wanting to be unburdened of their sins.
These days Sisters from the Convent share
in the ministry of laying on of hands and their ministry is
clearly appreciated as pilgrims patiently queue at the side
chapels to ask for prayer for themselves or another. The
gentle murmuring of needs, the entrusting ‘Amen’ following
the silence of the laying on of hands, the quiet anointing
prayers spoken with assurance by the priest, pilgrims
courteously making their way around an often crowded
building to find the gift they need.
Walsingham truly becomes a House of
Glory, the Church is at its most beautiful, and there is no
better place to be.
+Lindsay OGS Administrator
There have inevitably been many responses to the
announcement on Tuesday 20 October of the forthcoming
publication of an Apostolic Constitution that would provide
for some a possible and appropriate way to full communion
with the Roman Catholic Church. The details of the
Constitution will require careful study and consideration in
due course.
We appreciate this initiative from the Holy Father; as
Guardians of the Anglican Shrine we remain committed to
searching for the paths that lead to unity and wish to
identify with the statement by the Archbishops of Canterbury
and Westminster:
The Apostolic Constitution is further recognition
of the substantial overlap in faith, doctrine and
spirituality between the Catholic Church and the
Anglican tradition. Without the dialogues of the past
forty years, this recognition would not have been
possible, nor would hopes for full visible unity have
been nurtured. In this sense, this Apostolic
Constitution is one consequence of ecumenical dialogue
between the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion.
The on-going official dialogue between the
Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion provides the
basis for our continuing cooperation. The Anglican Roman
Catholic International Commission (ARCIC) and
International Anglican Roman Catholic Commission for
Unity and Mission (IARCCUM) agreements make clear the
path we will follow together.
In Walsingham we speak of two Shrines but one domain. We
live daily with the knowledge and joys of our common faith,
as well as the reality and diminishment caused by our sad
divisions. Our daily prayer is for the unity that Christ
wills. Until that gift is realised between our two
communions we remain committed to the pattern of
discipleship outlined by the Archbishops, in which “we
grow together in unity and mission, in witness to the Gospel
in our country, and in the Church at large”.
