The prayer group in Soho was very special. It was in a building in the heart of London’s ‘West End’ amid all the theatres, expensive restaurants and a district unfortunately known for its highly visible sex trade. The Newman Centre was an island of God’s Kingdom in Soho Square, amidst all of this worldly activity.
This was in the very early days of the Catholic Charismatic Movement and the fire of the Spirit was burning brightly in this group of about 15 people who met every Wednesday.
It was here that Ursula and I met in 1972.
It seemed God had plans for both of us and apparently, those plans included a shared life.
A year before meeting me, Ursula was still in Glasgow and desperately trying to get back to her faith after a five-year struggle culminating in a visit to an altar dedicated to St. Joseph, telling him quite seriously that it was unlikely that she would be coming to church anymore since ‘holding on’ was becoming too difficult. The prayer lasted only a few seconds and she added “Please find me a good husband and, so I will know that you sent him, let his name be Joseph.”
Her life changed dramatically after that, and she found herself in London and a member of the Legion of Mary.
When we met at the prayer group her faith had already been reignited, so she was open to following the promptings of the Spirit.
The first time Ursula attended the meeting, she was sitting quietly at the side of the room when Lalage and I walked in and strode past her. She insists that at that moment the Lord told her very clearly that I was the one she should marry. Later, during the break, she felt herself actually being physically ’pushed’ to go over and speak to me.
We went out for a coffee after the meeting that evening, but it was not till early in 1974 that we actually started going out together.
Over the previous years, we had lots of time to get to know each other at a distance during the prayer groups, on various retreats and in casual conversations. I had also gone back to Malta for several months during that time.
When we did finally get together, we were in each other’s company every day and were both concerned about making the right decision.
Our outlook on life was very similar since we were both trying our best to live by Christian principals, but our backgrounds and aspirations appeared to be providing a setback as did our very different personalities. There were moments of tension as neither of us was too keen on ignoring the difficulties. I for one, analysed my motives deeply whenever I felt drawn to someone of the opposite sex as I had made too many mistakes and tended to mistrust my own feelings. It was only God’s grace and intervention that began to heal this division.