BILLY HEWETT'S "NEWS-?-LETTER" 2010

I fondly imagined that with the, probably, accompanying yellow postcard size “please KEEP …” card, I had finally reached the ultimate all purpose, universal & semi-personal communication! But on reflection I fear I may typically have merely moved from idiosyncratically intrusive wordiness to an excess of succinctness. So here is an A4 newsletter commenting on the three small pictures & three line haiku – & probably the card itself & possibly the original Christmas card. This is primarily for the benefit of those who are uncomfortable with computers; but everybody can in fact, with help, find this and much much more on my personal website: www.inigonet.org. Whoever so desires, can continually check this, morning, noon & night, this day, this year and forever. Apart from giving basic contact addresses and detailed advertisements of all my works & pomps & many personal facts & experiences – elements of which, or all or none of which, you are as free as you want to be, to see or not to see. Thus since I’ll probably die before Cristina/Potty Connolly (60ish) - the actual Inigo Centre/Place’s owner, manager & administrator who has expressed willingness to continue, hand over, or if need be eventually close – it will probably also serve as my obituary card!

But not I hope before I have celebrated my 60 years, December 1st 1950 – 2010, as a Jesuit and if I keep going for the next three years also celebrating my 80th birthday in 2012 as one continuous wave of surging delight.

All of which indicates the need for change in my newsletter style: external events are fewer & less energetic; interior “events” have paradoxically more space & time to be reflected, prayed & even, in new ways, acted on.

So here goes: the three plain illustrations below can be linked to the three enigmatic “haiku” lines thus:

“Affectionate smiles” goes with the left hand face which is reproduced from the statue of the smiling virgin & child which stands welcoming all at the door of the Campion Hall chapel. “Affectionate” can mean much more than the superficial sentiment to which it has degenerated in modern usage – it has its roots in the Latin word “affectus” originally expressing strong, deep, outward, all embracing, felt, loving desire for the good of all. I could continue into volumes but leave it to you & the Holy Spirit to discover many more layers of meaning for yourselves - & others.

“Effecting loving actions” – I’ve always had difficulty distinguishing affect & effect: the second line & the second illustration help me, at least, to clarify: the house in the boat moving through deep waters speaks to me of three paradoxical elements: homely stability AND continuing movement AND living response in, on, & sometimes almost under, the always present surging waves – the Living Waters of the always loving relating in God The Trinity. This is always “a place for us – somewhere a place for us” as the great song from West Side Story sings out.

“Excluding no-one” – the genius of the Irish sculptors of the 6th – 9th century created eight foot high Celtic Crosses that combine so positively both the painful crucifying experience & the rising central “sun”/”son” empowering shared reality of Christ: arms outstretched in the once suffering & always loving embrace – till God be all in all.

Meanwhile I cannot too highly recommend “Pray as you Go” & allied programmes which you can find on www.jesuit.org.uk. Amongst the programmes there available you will find, anonymously, my “Ways of Awareness” edited & adapted – using my voice anonymously and other music. Join the 12 million participants in this amazingly successful enterprise. The original CD is also available from Inigo Enterprises, cf “Resources” on www.inigonet.org

Finally, two books have in the past two years enormously enlightened & moved me & I shall continue to use them to revitalise my own presentations which I hope to continue this coming & subsequent remaining years:

Violence Unveiled by Robert Daly SJ – it really does provide reliable, renewing, practical perspectives for all.

Clericalism: the Death of Priesthood – by George Wilson SJ – much more profound, well researched & judged than its provocative title might suggest. Short, cheap & very accessible.

and - of course! - my forthcoming - after 12 years’ gestation - practical little book on: “Girardry: some ‘Implications of Imitation’ for all to Exercise” – a user friendly, really practical way to appropriate the insights of René Girard. For progress reports & perhaps even publication date - watch this space: www.inigonet.org

Affectionate smiles	Effecting loving actions	Excluding no-one