Inspiring catechesis

We had a great evening yesterday. It was our monthly discernment group for men who are considering the priesthood. After the usual Holy Hour, during which a good number of the lads went to confession, and which finished with Vespers, Fr Michael Hall, one of our diocesan priests, gave a masterly half-hour presentation on Gaudium et Spes, the Vatican II Constitution on the Church in the Modern World. He set it in its historical context and related how the initial euphoria with which it had been greeted had led to deep disillusionment. We have now reached a third stage, he said, when each of us is charged with the responsibility of really integrating into our own lives the document’s insights into such matters as marriage, politics and economic and social life. It was a great catechetical event – Fr Michael made Church teaching appear vital, exciting and personally challenging. The only complaint from the six young men present was that he finished too soon! The talk is one of nine we’ve organised to prepare for the Council’s 50^th anniversary celebrations later this year. It was smashing to have Fr Massie, my counterpart in Middlesbrough Diocese, with us too. The picture shows Fr Hall with two of Leeds’ finest, just before we all went out for a bite to eat.