SUNDAY 17th July – Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time

I go to the 150th Anniversary Mass of the Catholic Church in Gainsborough. A lovely occasion. They have done a history of the parish. Such quiet dedication over so many years: often with a very small parish.

Ps 15
“The just will live in the presence of the Lord”.

MONDAY 18th July

We go to a magnificent funeral Mass for Anthea Craigmyle.

Later I have a DCLG question in the House. I manage to get opposition to the Mayor of Lincolnshire into it and I speak French in the Chamber following Nice: “Nous sommes avec vous maintenant et pour toujours”. The new Home Secretary does not reply in kind.

Show favour O Lord to your servants and increase the gifts of your grace.

TUESDAY 19th July

It is the hottest day of the year. A broiling 30’C. I cool off in the lido and at the Chelsea Physic Garden.
The Cathedral in the evening is a tiny bit cooler. The difficult Gospel from Matthew 12:46
“Jesus replied: who is my Mother, who are my brothers?”

I am left alone in the Downing Street garden with Theresa May as everyone else goes off to vote on the Higher Education Bill. She likes serious discussion and is not really interested in pleasantries. I like her.

WEDNESDAY 20th July

My birthday. By chance I have a PMQ for the first time in years. I start by saying I agree with the PM and everyone laughs. She congratulates me on my birthday. A good day with all the family on the terrace for supper. Our last Mass in the crypt before Recess. From Jeremiah:
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you”.

THURSDAY 21st July

A quiet day. Our last day of the Commons before the Summer Recess. Momentous times. Great Britain leaving the EU after 43 years.

A little adjournment debate on the through train to Market Rasen.

Another difficult reading from Matthew 25:29
“Anyone who has will be given more. He will have more than enough”.
So we have to keep trying harder.

I read Cranmer’s life in the library and joke to John McDonnell that I am trying to keep up with modern politics by reading the life of Cranmer.

FRIDAY 22nd July – St Mary Magdalene

I take the train to Lincolnshire – much delayed and walk home over the Wolds.

“The Lord said to Mary Magdalene: go to my brothers and tell them: I am going to my Father and to your Father, to my God and your God.”

Theodore is put safely on the bus to his first OMV pilgrimage to Lourdes.

SATURDAY 23rd July – St Bridget of Sweden

I do a surgery and walk to Kirmond le Mire with Monty.

I read a psalm in our church: Psalm 89 King James Version
“I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations”.

I am reading but by bit and slowly; the Art of Happiness by the Dalai Lama. It seems that we ought to try to be happy; to be content with one’s lot.

SUNDAY 10th July – Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time

We go to Mass in Market Rasen.

We hear the passage from Luke 10:25-37 on the Good Samaritan. A new insight, the priest that passed by on the other side may have been banned by his priestly profession from handling blood. Just goes to show how fatuous rules are.

MONDAY 11th July – St Benedict

It is set to be a quiet day.

I speak to Our Lady of Victories’ school in Committee Room 10 but as I go to the tearoom I am told Andrea Leadsom is standing down. I walk over to her HQ to try and stop her but it is too late. There are masses of press and TV outside the house. It is all shades of previous leadership campaigners: IDS, John Redwood etc. Sad that the members are to be given no choice.
Earlier at Mass I am pleased to see it is St Benedict’s feast day. It gives me new inspiration for my book.

It is strange to hear a potted revision of his life at Mass when you already know so much about it. At a difficult time in politics it has been a help picking up an excellent guide to the Rule, simply and well explained.

TUESDAY 12th July

We go to the Russian Embassy for lunch. This is a quieter occasion than last time. They seem perplexed by the Brexit vote and without a clear line on where to take it from here.

Ps 119
“Train me Lord to observe your law”

WEDNESDAY 13th July – St Henry

It is David Cameron’s last PMQs. I have a Welsh question which is not reached. Later I speak in the Iraq debate. I can think of nothing better to do than repeat my speech of 2002 and its warnings even down to possible rifts between Sunni and Shia.

Today’s reading from Isiah:
“The Lord of Hosts says this:
Woe to Assyria, the rod of my anger, the club brandished by me in my fury! I sent him against a godless nation; I gave him commission against a people that provokes me”.

In the evening Theresa May starts to appoint her Government. Some immediate good choices: Liam Fox, David Davis and Boris Johnson.

THURSDAY 14th July

We were supposed to have a summer lunch with Chancellor George Osborne. Now it is ex-Chancellor George Osborne. I don’t wait for ministerial appointment. I take the train to Lincolnshire and walk over the Wolds home via the Ramblers Church.

In the evening I go to a lovely service of induction for the new Vicar of Middle Rasen. I had not realised the Church of England service was so formal.

Isiah 26:7-9
“The path of the upright man is straight
You smooth the way of the upright
Following the path of your judgements”.

FRIDAY 15th July – St Bonaventure

A surgery in Market Rasen.

The Psalm for today, The Canticle of Hezekiah:
“You have held back my life O Lord, from the pit of doom”.

I am reading the Dalai Lama on the ‘Art of Happiness’.

Happiness does not come from wanting more or from position. It comes from the state of one’s own mind, and being content with what we have: in deliberately schooling oneself to be happy with things as they are.

SATURDAY 16th July – Our Lady of Mount Carmel

We have an afternoon event at Stainton on Stow. Ben is here at the cottage and we start to clear out one tiny little outhouse crammed with cottage junk that we don’t need. Our main problem is an excess of junk: old clothes, books, pieces of correspondence from 40 years ago and an inability to throw things away. Really one should keep nothing but it is a link with the past, an affirmation that one’s life has not been wasted.

“On that day they will make a satire of you, sing a dirge and say ‘we are stripped of everything’”.
Micah 2:1-5

SUNDAY 3rd July – Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time

We go to the 5.30 Mass in the Catholic chapel at Osgodby. How beautiful in this one of the first Catholic chapels in the country, began in 1793, to hear Father Robert sing the Angus Dei and Sanctus in Latin – a link with the Faith of our Fathers entrance antiphon.

Your merciful love, O God, we have received in the midst of your temple.

MONDAY 4th July – St Elizabeth of Portugal

“When Jesus reached the official’s house and saw the flute players, with the crowd making a commotion, he said ‘get out of here; the little is not dead, she is asleep’, and they laughed at him”

Matthew 9:18-26

At the hustings I ask Theresa May if she will pledge to leave the EU and reinstate border controls. A firm pledge on the first, slightly equivocal on the second.

TUESDAY 5th July

I ask a question about John Coupland hospital in Gainsborough and the first round of voting happens in the Tory leadership. My candidate Liam Fox is eliminated.

Meanwhile, every day I peddle off to the 10.30 Latin Mass in the Cathedral

Hosea 8:4-7

“Thus says the Lord: they have set up Kings, but not with my consent, and appointed Princes but without my knowledge …”
Nothing changes.

WEDNESDAY 6th July – St Maria Goretti (1890-1902)

As we are reminded at Mass Maria Goretti is the patron saint of victims of child abuse. She forgave her abuser who in repentant old age attended her canonisation.

Ps 104

“Constantly seek the Face of the Lord”

In the evening we have our summer party for colleagues. The weather is good, the house and carpet cleaned, all the junk moved into Theo’s room. About 40 colleagues turn up, including two leadership challengers Andrea Leadsom and Michael Gove, in his white tie fresh from the Mansion House Banquet, sitting musing in our little yard with candles burning on his likely fate next day.

THURSDAY 7th July

Steve Baker asks me to give permission for our home to be used as Andrea HQ. I give it but luckily they receive a better offer. A relief. The last ballot takes place and May and Leadsom are through.

A great relief that the party is over – a day spent cleaning up. Whatever happens I tell myself I must not forget to vote

Ps 80

“O Shepherd of Israel, hear us, shine forth from your Cherubim throne”

FRIDAY 8th July

Ps 50

“My mouth shall declare your praise. Have mercy on me God in your kindness.
In your compassion blot out my offence”

We travel to Lincolnshire.

SATURDAY 9th July – St Augustine Zhao

A quiet day of surgeries in Lincolnshire.

I let Monty off the lead in the fields behind our cottage and he vanishes for 7 hours. Finally we hear a plaintive bark at about 10pm in the dark from beyond the hedge. As usual I read a psalm in our village church

Ps 93

“The Lord is King with majesty enrobed, the Lord has robed himself with might, He has girded himself with power”.

SUNDAY

I decided to write something down as a checklist for the new PM. No doubt anyone reading it would feel it a bit radical.

The second reading is taken from Galatians 5:

“When Christ freed us, he meant us to remain free. Stand firm therefore and do not submit to the yoke of slaveyr.”

At the moment I am reading the Dalai Lama on the art of happiness. Of course for him happiness doesn’t come from having and wanting more and more money, position, power but from one’s own state of mind, a contentment with one’s lot. That is what frees one from the yoke of slavery to unhappiness. If you do not rely on your own state of mind you will never be happy.

MONDAY – St Cyril of Alexandria

Everyone is I presume rushing around seeing who can be nominated by whom, no doubt calculating how to get early onto the winning bandwagon. I concentrate on writing my policy piece which I have to self-publish anyway; no doubt a mistake.

“Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” (Matthew 8:18)

TUESDAY – St Irenaeus

I chair Westminster Hall – a pleasant side water. During these sort of days no one is very interested in the chamber or in issues.

I too can’t sleep, wondering what will be the outcome of all this. We all feel somewhere that we would like to have a go but we know, or most of us are sensible enough to know, that we do not have the support.

“Why are you so frightened, you men of little faith.” (Matthew 8:23)

WEDNESDAY – Sts Peter & Paul

The day before close of nominations for the leadership. One friend kindly says he will nominate me but one is not enough. I ring Liam Fox with whom I agree with on everything and will support him. He ends up the following Tuesday with just sixteen votes.

We pay our last visit to St Olave’s School for their Leavers’ Eucharist. Although there are no leavers, it is Theodore’s last exam, last day at school, and last day of any of our six children at school – a thirty-year stretch.

“On the night before Herod was to try him, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, fastened with double chains.” (Acts 12:1-11)

THURSDAY

I sit glued to the television as nominations close and with three minutes to spare Boris withdraws.

Today’s reading from Amos 7:10-17:

“Amos is plotting against you in the heart of the house of Israel.”

FRIDAY – St Oliver Plunkett

I am up at 5:00 to get the special train to Thiepval for the memorial service for the Somme battle, one hundred years ago. A truly moving and memorable experience. Lord Guthrie is clutching his field marshal’s baton, standing next to Cardinal Murphy O’Connor.

50,000 dead and wounded in one day.

Psalm 118: “Man does not live by bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

SATURDAY – 2 July

I dipped into a life of Cranmer in the library, awaiting a delayed vote. His last hours and his courage in the end were truly extraordinary.

“That day I will re-erect the tottering hut of David, make good the gaps in it, restore its ruins, and rebuilt it as it was in the days of old.” (Amos 9:11)

The reading comes from today’s Mass. What does it matter when one reads Amos. Cranmer would not have agreed. An heroic age.

In the evening we have the village hog roast. At the end we all help clear up. I get more satisfaction working together with the other villagers than from weeks at Westminster.