.
Fr Longenecker's article in the Times about the Pope's visit to America includes a descrption of the Church in the US, which has certainly made me stop and think.
If his description of AmChurch, between the RadTraddies and the RadTrendies is accurate, my thought is that an E&W analogy would be a bit frightening: mainly because the RadTrendies are in charge of the asylum^w organisation on this side of the pond.
Hmmmm.
16 April 2008
14 April 2008
For 18-35 Year-Old Catholics
.
A Young Person got in touch asking if I would publicise a retreat at Douai Abbey for 18-35 year-olds of a more tradtional persuasion. Look here if you are. You might look around the site and associated links to see just how much Young Catholic Adults is trying to do.
You might also care to offer a prayer or two for all of those under-50s who never even had the chance to turn something like this down.
A Young Person got in touch asking if I would publicise a retreat at Douai Abbey for 18-35 year-olds of a more tradtional persuasion. Look here if you are. You might look around the site and associated links to see just how much Young Catholic Adults is trying to do.
You might also care to offer a prayer or two for all of those under-50s who never even had the chance to turn something like this down.
13 April 2008
Mr Pastry Doing The Lancers
.
Either you are my age, and will remember this, or you aren't and you won't. A window into a vanished world.
Either you are my age, and will remember this, or you aren't and you won't. A window into a vanished world.
11 April 2008
Jerusalem
.
In the middle of a piece about the folly of the Dean of Southweark Cathedral, who has banned the singing of Jerusalem in his Cathedral, Damian Thompson casually mentions that he has "actually never heard an explanation of “Jerusalem” that made much sense to me".
The first verse (of the two that are sung) questions the legend that Jesus visited England before the start of His public life. The second says basically that it doesn't matter whether He did or didn't, because it is up to us to build Jerusalem in England's green and pleasant land.
I thought this was something that every schoolboy knew: apparently not.
In the middle of a piece about the folly of the Dean of Southweark Cathedral, who has banned the singing of Jerusalem in his Cathedral, Damian Thompson casually mentions that he has "actually never heard an explanation of “Jerusalem” that made much sense to me".
The first verse (of the two that are sung) questions the legend that Jesus visited England before the start of His public life. The second says basically that it doesn't matter whether He did or didn't, because it is up to us to build Jerusalem in England's green and pleasant land.
I thought this was something that every schoolboy knew: apparently not.
10 April 2008
The Westminster Succession And Sydney
.
While our hearts beat louder whenever Cardinal Pell speaks, we might care to find out whether the Archdiocese of which he heads is (at least) doubly blessed.
I happened onto the website of one of his Auxilaries, Bishop Anthony Fisher OP, and was entranced to find another Sydney Bishop who, apart from being organiser of World Youth Day, seems to have as unruptured an understanding of what the Catholic hermeneutic should be as his boss. And he can preach like a Dominican. These two links show him preaching at an ordination and a wedding: it's easy to find him preaching, at the Homilies website, at other celebrations.
There's an English connection: he studied for his Doctorate at Blackfriars in Oxford. And his subject was bioethics - how relevant! And from 2000 to 2003 he was the foundation director of the John Paul II Institute for Marriage and Family.
You begin to get my drift.
Australia seems to have Bishops to spare who could revitalise the Church in England and Wales...
While our hearts beat louder whenever Cardinal Pell speaks, we might care to find out whether the Archdiocese of which he heads is (at least) doubly blessed.
I happened onto the website of one of his Auxilaries, Bishop Anthony Fisher OP, and was entranced to find another Sydney Bishop who, apart from being organiser of World Youth Day, seems to have as unruptured an understanding of what the Catholic hermeneutic should be as his boss. And he can preach like a Dominican. These two links show him preaching at an ordination and a wedding: it's easy to find him preaching, at the Homilies website, at other celebrations.
There's an English connection: he studied for his Doctorate at Blackfriars in Oxford. And his subject was bioethics - how relevant! And from 2000 to 2003 he was the foundation director of the John Paul II Institute for Marriage and Family.
You begin to get my drift.
Australia seems to have Bishops to spare who could revitalise the Church in England and Wales...
Liturgical Orientation - A 1949 Explanation For Children
.
In 1949, Fr Hayward, a Chaplain to the deaf and dumb of the Salford Diocese, was asked to publish as a book for children in mainstream schools the instruction he had used for the handicapped. Bishop Marshall commended the clarity of what had been write.
As Fr Longenecker begins to celebrate ad orientem regularly, he might like to reflect on Fr Hayward's words on liturgical orientation.
"He turns round to the people and says "The Lord be with you", and the server answers for himself and the people "And with Thy Spirit".
(This happens many times during Mass. It is like a small good-bye, as the priest is not going to pay any attention to the people for a time. He is going to speak to God for them. It also helps us to understand that the people are sharing the offering of the Mass with the priest.)"
In 1949, Fr Hayward, a Chaplain to the deaf and dumb of the Salford Diocese, was asked to publish as a book for children in mainstream schools the instruction he had used for the handicapped. Bishop Marshall commended the clarity of what had been write.
As Fr Longenecker begins to celebrate ad orientem regularly, he might like to reflect on Fr Hayward's words on liturgical orientation.
"He turns round to the people and says "The Lord be with you", and the server answers for himself and the people "And with Thy Spirit".
(This happens many times during Mass. It is like a small good-bye, as the priest is not going to pay any attention to the people for a time. He is going to speak to God for them. It also helps us to understand that the people are sharing the offering of the Mass with the priest.)"
08 April 2008
07 April 2008
Horticultural Help Sought!
.
What on earth is this?
It has sprung up in the middle of the garden. It's a shade pinker than the photo suggests. It wasn't there 10 days ago, honest!
What on earth is this?
It has sprung up in the middle of the garden. It's a shade pinker than the photo suggests. It wasn't there 10 days ago, honest!
03 April 2008
Mac's Meme and the White Stone Name Seeker's too
.
Mac's: Write 7 non-important things/habit/quirks about yourself.
1. I spend enough on books that the postman thinks that all of the packages sent by Mr Amazon to the close in which I live (nine houses) are for me.
2. I hate: driving; pop music; soap operas (including The Archers: Burn, Ambridge, Burn!); the Underground; walking through Metroland (they're 1920s houses, not Eden); the Guardian and all its associated lesbian, lentil-weaving, finger-in-the-ear folk singing, post-modern inanity (don't start me on the Independent, which I really dislike); the Great Wen; the West Riding; South Yorkshire; religious practices which ape the Church of Rome's; coffee without caffeine; and reading History backwards. The last is the thing I hate most of all (at least at present).
3. I have met six senior members of the Royal Family; one Prime Minister; six Secretaries of State; four: Chiefs of the Defence Staff, First Sea Lords, Chiefs of the General Staff and Chiefs of the Air Staff; and a lot of foreign dignataries as well; never mind slightly less V VIPs and when people ask what they were like, I nearly always answer "really nice", because they nearly always really are.
4. The older I get, the more I realise how right my father was; and when my sister says that I'm turning into my father, I thank her for the compliment.
5. I haven't been abroad for nearly 18 months since I returned from New Zealand dosed up on Immodium.
6. I don't look as English as I am.
7. I have had a beard for two thirds of my life.
WSNS's:
1. What was I doing 10 years ago?
Working lunatic hours and missing episodes of my children growing up, at the country's behest.
2. Five things on my to do list.
Open the mail. Check on new books. Keep all of the different Novenas going. Don't do anything which will put a penny in Rupert Murdoch or Richard Branson's pockets. Pray for a friend who has made a wrong decision.
3. Snacks I enjoy
Anything to do with sausages. Tortilla de patatas. Cold veal in breadcrumbs. Pies. Anything included in Ratty's idea of a picnic.
4. Things I would do if I were a billionaire.
I genuinely can't imagine. "Give it all away" sounds a bit pathetic.
5. Three of my bad habits. (only 3?)
I drink too much. I eat too much. I swear too much. (Is it three Hail Marys again, Father?)
6. Five places I have lived.
Manchester
Coimbra
Madrid
Asturias
Here
6. Five jobs I have had.
Orderly on Psychiatric Ward
Ice Cream Van man
Teacher
Crown Servant
Lawn Mower salesman
Mac's: Write 7 non-important things/habit/quirks about yourself.
1. I spend enough on books that the postman thinks that all of the packages sent by Mr Amazon to the close in which I live (nine houses) are for me.
2. I hate: driving; pop music; soap operas (including The Archers: Burn, Ambridge, Burn!); the Underground; walking through Metroland (they're 1920s houses, not Eden); the Guardian and all its associated lesbian, lentil-weaving, finger-in-the-ear folk singing, post-modern inanity (don't start me on the Independent, which I really dislike); the Great Wen; the West Riding; South Yorkshire; religious practices which ape the Church of Rome's; coffee without caffeine; and reading History backwards. The last is the thing I hate most of all (at least at present).
3. I have met six senior members of the Royal Family; one Prime Minister; six Secretaries of State; four: Chiefs of the Defence Staff, First Sea Lords, Chiefs of the General Staff and Chiefs of the Air Staff; and a lot of foreign dignataries as well; never mind slightly less V VIPs and when people ask what they were like, I nearly always answer "really nice", because they nearly always really are.
4. The older I get, the more I realise how right my father was; and when my sister says that I'm turning into my father, I thank her for the compliment.
5. I haven't been abroad for nearly 18 months since I returned from New Zealand dosed up on Immodium.
6. I don't look as English as I am.
7. I have had a beard for two thirds of my life.
WSNS's:
1. What was I doing 10 years ago?
Working lunatic hours and missing episodes of my children growing up, at the country's behest.
2. Five things on my to do list.
Open the mail. Check on new books. Keep all of the different Novenas going. Don't do anything which will put a penny in Rupert Murdoch or Richard Branson's pockets. Pray for a friend who has made a wrong decision.
3. Snacks I enjoy
Anything to do with sausages. Tortilla de patatas. Cold veal in breadcrumbs. Pies. Anything included in Ratty's idea of a picnic.
4. Things I would do if I were a billionaire.
I genuinely can't imagine. "Give it all away" sounds a bit pathetic.
5. Three of my bad habits. (only 3?)
I drink too much. I eat too much. I swear too much. (Is it three Hail Marys again, Father?)
6. Five places I have lived.
Manchester
Coimbra
Madrid
Asturias
Here
6. Five jobs I have had.
Orderly on Psychiatric Ward
Ice Cream Van man
Teacher
Crown Servant
Lawn Mower salesman
02 April 2008
31 March 2008
The Passion On BBC
.
I seem to be spending most of my time on Catholic forums and websites at the moment apologising for my ignorance, so my own site might as well be the same; and so I'll confess to enjoying something which, from the resounding silence I have noted elsewhere, everybody else has consigned to the "pretty bad" category.
I watched all four episodes of The Passion during Holy Week and on Easter Sunday and thought it was pretty good. It was telling that, when the character who had walked with the disciples to Emmaus broke the bread and the actor changed to the actor who had played Jesus, my daughter said "Oh! 'They recognised Him in the breaking of the bread.'" No messing about with the main part of the story; a fairly literal following of the order of things; lots of familiar words and expressions. Some flesh put on something we normally only experience in the imagination.
I tried watching the Mel Gibson version but was put off by the SSPXness of it all: Latin, in a country and at a time when everybody would have used Greek as the lingua franca; the emphasis on the blood and gore; what I might think of as a sort of post-Irish-neo-Jansenism: none of us are worthy of the Man who suffers like this, and we can but try to suffer like this to show that we recognise our unworthiness; and we'll still go to Hell, which we deserve to do, unless we confess with our last breath - but at least we recognise what sinners we are. (OK, maybe a bit unfair, but only a bit.)
This wasn't a production for Catholics, but it ended up as though, somewhere along the line, somebody in the production team decided that he didn't want to annoy anybody who was Catholic. So while the earlier part of the narrative went a bit wild about who did what, when, the Passion narrative showed Jesus and the Apostles from the Last Supper to the Resurrection and the road to Emmaus. It didn't try to suggest, for example, that there was a third thief crucified along with Jesus, or that Mary Magdalene wasn't a prostitute, or that Jesus commended Our Lady and John not to each other, but to some hypothetical counsellor who would make everybody feel comfortable with what had happened. It wasn't a Life of Brian for believers.
It wasn't wonderful: it was much better than Robert Powell's 1977 Jesus of Nazareth, and miles better than The Greatest Story Ever Told. It felt like a sincere attempt to tell the greatest story ever told without resorting to capital letters. At the end Christ had died, and Christ had risen, and that was a miracle that nobody in Judaea could understand, even Jesus' followers. That was worth my licence fee for the week.
30 March 2008
The First Day Of Spring
.
It's mild, the may flower is bursting out, there are buds on the hazel, the magnolia has flowered, the sparrow chicks are being taught how to forage. Crocus and snowdrop are a memory, and the daffodils are just about finished. It's spring!
The same "force that drives the green fuse" has hit the children: all the local boys are out on the green playing cricket.
It's still March!
It's mild, the may flower is bursting out, there are buds on the hazel, the magnolia has flowered, the sparrow chicks are being taught how to forage. Crocus and snowdrop are a memory, and the daffodils are just about finished. It's spring!
The same "force that drives the green fuse" has hit the children: all the local boys are out on the green playing cricket.
It's still March!
29 March 2008
Sailing To Byzantium - For A Friend
A friend, after years of struggle, has abandoned Catholicsm for Orthodoxy, Rome for Byzantium (although he'd probably call it Constantinople). It would be inhuman not to be pleased by the happiness and calm which have come to him after the resolution of years of mental struggle, but I find the direction in which he's travelled incomprehensible and the destination a cul-de-sac.
Here's another view of such a journey.
THAT is no country for old men. The young
In one another's arms, birds in the trees-
Those dying generations - at their song,
The salmon-falls, the mackerel-crowded seas,
Fish, flesh, or fowl, commend all summer long
Whatever is begotten, born, and dies.
Caught in that sensual music all neglect
Monuments of unageing intellect.
An aged man is but a paltry thing,
A tattered coat upon a stick, unless
Soul clap its hands and sing, and louder sing
For every tatter in its mortal dress,
Nor is there singing school but studying
Monuments of its own magnificence;
And therefore I have sailed the seas and come
To the holy city of Byzantium.
O sages standing in God's holy fire
As in the gold mosaic of a wall,
Come from the holy fire, perne in a gyre,
And be the singing-masters of my soul.
Consume my heart away; sick with desire
And fastened to a dying animal
It knows not what it is; and gather me
Into the artifice of eternity.
Once out of nature I shall never take
My bodily form from any natural thing,
But such a form as Grecian goldsmiths make
Of hammered gold and gold enamelling
To keep a drowsy Emperor awake;
Or set upon a golden bough to sing
To lords and ladies of Byzantium
Of what is past, or passing, or to come.
24 March 2008
O Si Sic Omnes!
.
.
You have to look hard to work out that this is Pope John XXIII. You would have to spend ages to try to work out who anybody else was. But you wouldn't bother because this isn't a photo of people: it's a photo of the Consecration during a Papal Mass.
.
You have to look hard to work out that this is Pope John XXIII. You would have to spend ages to try to work out who anybody else was. But you wouldn't bother because this isn't a photo of people: it's a photo of the Consecration during a Papal Mass.
23 March 2008
One Way To To Celebrate Easter
.
Put a ringtone of the Christus Vincit (Radio Vaticana-like, cheapo organ version) on your mobile.
Set it as your alarm tone, as well as your incoming call tone.
Set yourself alarms for, say, every ten minutes that you'll be out in public.
Make sure the volume is set to very loud.
Go out for a longish walk where there are lots of people.
WARNING: this really embarrasses 17 and 14 year olds. Make sure they understand "Be a fool for Christ's sake" and let them go and buy the paper and some milk, and don't worry when they try to pretend not to be with you. Then tell them they can go by themselves to the funfair this evening.
My ringtone has verses, never mind just the chorus!
Happy Easter, everybody!
Put a ringtone of the Christus Vincit (Radio Vaticana-like, cheapo organ version) on your mobile.
Set it as your alarm tone, as well as your incoming call tone.
Set yourself alarms for, say, every ten minutes that you'll be out in public.
Make sure the volume is set to very loud.
Go out for a longish walk where there are lots of people.
WARNING: this really embarrasses 17 and 14 year olds. Make sure they understand "Be a fool for Christ's sake" and let them go and buy the paper and some milk, and don't worry when they try to pretend not to be with you. Then tell them they can go by themselves to the funfair this evening.
My ringtone has verses, never mind just the chorus!
Happy Easter, everybody!
16 March 2008
Herbs!
.
Mac was garlic, OTSOTA was coriander, but I ... well, I hope this isn't faulty.
Mac was garlic, OTSOTA was coriander, but I ... well, I hope this isn't faulty.
You Are Basil |
 You are quite popular and loved by post people. You have a mild temperament, but your style is definitely distinctive. You are sweet, attractive, and you often smell good. |
On Being Forced To Think
.
I get my news about the Church from the Catholic Herald and Zenit, and I get my understanding of what it means from the blogging prests I have listed in my combox. I cast rather more widely both for secular news and for a better understanding of theology, but for ecclesiastical current affairs, I have Zenit for the world, and the Herald for the UK.
I rather passed over Anna Arco's article about the SSPX Bishop Williamson last week: I said a couple of months ago (here) that a post I had read about him on a blog had alerted me to the fact that there was more to him that his views on trousered women and Julie Andrews, and I thought that the article was just covering old ground, and pointlessly at that!
The Sensible Bond has a couple of posts which have made me think a bit harder. Was the Herald's article a (vain and foolish) attempt to split the SSPX-supporting community in the UK, and might the result have been to drive them even further from reconciliation with Rome?
(And the author of the post's treatment at Damian Thompson's Telegraph blog showed the Editor in Chief of the Herald off at his cattiest "best".)
I must say that I know little of the SSPX, or the FSSP, or any of the societies which more or less licitly maintain the liturgical narrative which links the Church today directly with the Church of always in a way that the mainstream Chruch in England and Wales seems incapable of (I was told at Church today that "Mass on Good Friday" would be at three o'clock). But these articles, and a piece I read in the Universe's forum, have led me to think more than I might have wanted to about traditionalism and neo-traditionalism, traditionalism and Vatican II-traditionalism, traditionalism and John Paul II-traditionalism: in fact traditionalism and any sort of adjective-qualified traditionalism.
There are two letters side by side in the Herald this weekend: one, by Archbishop Conti, about the desireability of mass versus populum has been more than adequately fisked by Fr Z (whom God preserve) already; the other reports a reaction from (looking at the sender's address) the Bishop of Wrexham to a request for the TLM: he is quoted as saying that the Motu Proprio imposes no obligation on Bishops to extend provision of the Mass in its Extraordinary Rite.
I find myself coming closer to a point at which the decision about whom to follow: the Pope, or the Hierarchy in England and Wales (and Scotland, by the look of it): is becoming binary; either/or, rather than both/and.
The piece I read in the Universe's forum contained a paragraph which said:
"At the other end of the Catholic episcopal continuum, although the 99 Names of Allah (or whatever it was called) was the work of a composer claiming the Orthodox allegiance, it's certain that any Orthodox bishop prostituting his cathedral for the performance of such a work would be canonically deposed within the week."
What sort of Church do we have, in which such a statement should be in any way surprising?
I get my news about the Church from the Catholic Herald and Zenit, and I get my understanding of what it means from the blogging prests I have listed in my combox. I cast rather more widely both for secular news and for a better understanding of theology, but for ecclesiastical current affairs, I have Zenit for the world, and the Herald for the UK.
I rather passed over Anna Arco's article about the SSPX Bishop Williamson last week: I said a couple of months ago (here) that a post I had read about him on a blog had alerted me to the fact that there was more to him that his views on trousered women and Julie Andrews, and I thought that the article was just covering old ground, and pointlessly at that!
The Sensible Bond has a couple of posts which have made me think a bit harder. Was the Herald's article a (vain and foolish) attempt to split the SSPX-supporting community in the UK, and might the result have been to drive them even further from reconciliation with Rome?
(And the author of the post's treatment at Damian Thompson's Telegraph blog showed the Editor in Chief of the Herald off at his cattiest "best".)
I must say that I know little of the SSPX, or the FSSP, or any of the societies which more or less licitly maintain the liturgical narrative which links the Church today directly with the Church of always in a way that the mainstream Chruch in England and Wales seems incapable of (I was told at Church today that "Mass on Good Friday" would be at three o'clock). But these articles, and a piece I read in the Universe's forum, have led me to think more than I might have wanted to about traditionalism and neo-traditionalism, traditionalism and Vatican II-traditionalism, traditionalism and John Paul II-traditionalism: in fact traditionalism and any sort of adjective-qualified traditionalism.
There are two letters side by side in the Herald this weekend: one, by Archbishop Conti, about the desireability of mass versus populum has been more than adequately fisked by Fr Z (whom God preserve) already; the other reports a reaction from (looking at the sender's address) the Bishop of Wrexham to a request for the TLM: he is quoted as saying that the Motu Proprio imposes no obligation on Bishops to extend provision of the Mass in its Extraordinary Rite.
I find myself coming closer to a point at which the decision about whom to follow: the Pope, or the Hierarchy in England and Wales (and Scotland, by the look of it): is becoming binary; either/or, rather than both/and.
The piece I read in the Universe's forum contained a paragraph which said:
"At the other end of the Catholic episcopal continuum, although the 99 Names of Allah (or whatever it was called) was the work of a composer claiming the Orthodox allegiance, it's certain that any Orthodox bishop prostituting his cathedral for the performance of such a work would be canonically deposed within the week."
What sort of Church do we have, in which such a statement should be in any way surprising?
15 March 2008
Suffered Under Pontius Pilate ...
.
Ecclesiologically, this has been a pretty hard week. A close friend has given up attending SSPX Mass and has reconciled with ... Constantinople; the Catholic Herald has had a disastrously misaimed pop at the SSPX; and Archbishop Conti has discovered that the orientation of the priest at Mass is a richness discovered by Vatican II.
But I have one thing to give great thanks for: a new insight.
It is not surprising that the average practising Catholic hears little about what went on during the Passion which will stop him in his tracks. He knows the narrative inside out; he has learned that he was the one shouting "Crucify Him!" by the simple expedient of having to take the part of the ignorant people every year during the congregational Passion. He can time what time he will be out of each of the Holy Week ceremonies.
So it's very rare that anybody can make us stop and start at a new insight into what happened. But Fr Ray Blake has: look at this.
Ecclesiologically, this has been a pretty hard week. A close friend has given up attending SSPX Mass and has reconciled with ... Constantinople; the Catholic Herald has had a disastrously misaimed pop at the SSPX; and Archbishop Conti has discovered that the orientation of the priest at Mass is a richness discovered by Vatican II.
But I have one thing to give great thanks for: a new insight.
It is not surprising that the average practising Catholic hears little about what went on during the Passion which will stop him in his tracks. He knows the narrative inside out; he has learned that he was the one shouting "Crucify Him!" by the simple expedient of having to take the part of the ignorant people every year during the congregational Passion. He can time what time he will be out of each of the Holy Week ceremonies.
So it's very rare that anybody can make us stop and start at a new insight into what happened. But Fr Ray Blake has: look at this.
10 March 2008
Father And Son
We woke up this morning to find that the wind had lifted one of the fence panels separating us from next door and had deposited it on the grass. These panels are about 6 foot by 6 foot, and given the torrential rain, which had thoroughly soaked it through, I could barely lift it off the grass.
I left work early to see what I could do and quickly realised that the only thing I could do was ring my son on his mobile and ask him to leave school early (he has a free period last on Monday of Week 2) to help me. He came straight back and bounded into the task with enthusiasm. However, we failed. The concrete pillars into which we have to slide the panel are also six foot high, and trying to support a sodden fence panel in gusts of 35 mph proved beyond us: it was like a very heavy sail. As another squall came in, we decided to put the panel at the side of the house and leave it for a few days.
.
My son reflected on this after we had cleaned ourselves up and said we should wait until the weekend: he could his bring two of his friends around and if two of them raised and the other guided, the panel would slot back in without a problem.
.
I asked what my role would be in this plan: "you can open us a can of cider each after we've sorted it out" he answered, with a grin. "You're not really tall enough to do this." He and his friends, all of them 17, are all pushing six foot and haven't stopped growing, so he has a point when talking (down) to his 5' 8" father. Then he added: "And I don't want you hurting yourself, either."
.
The torch has been taken: I don't remember passing it. But the idle, slovenly, unthinking, uncaring, incurious, ungrateful, teenager who grunts at us across the breakfast table showed himself to be the considerate, thoughtful, strong, resourceful, young man his teachers tell us about on Parents' Night; one who has thought how he and his friends will accomplish the task that he and his father won't manage; one who doesn't count the cost in advance but sets to with a will; one who is happy to take on a brutally hard bit of manual work without complaining, before, during, or after.
.
My son, and I'm proud to be his father.
04 March 2008
Worsted By A Catholic Editor, Again!
I got the online version of a tongue-lashing a few months ago when I suggested on his blog that the Editor-in-Chief of the Catholic Herald might not be right about something.
I tried to defend a friend against some glib comments by the Editor of The Universe on his forum and have come off even worse: he accuses me of being a tabloid journalist..
The moral is obvious: don't tangle with these people as you aren't going to best them.
.
Get your mate onto it instead.
03 March 2008
What Say Computers That I Am?
.
What are my politics?
One of those quizzes that Jeffrey finds all over the place.
What are my politics?
One of those quizzes that Jeffrey finds all over the place.
| You are a Social Conservative (25% permissive) and an... Economic Liberal (33% permissive) You are best described as a:
Link: The Politics Test on OkCupid.com: Free Online Dating Also : The OkCupid Dating Persona Test |
02 March 2008
Hexham And Newcastle
.
Seeing various posts about the death of the Bishop, I visited the website, and found, on a link to the Cathedral parish the following:
"Pupils at Our Lady & St. Anne's School are automatically included in the annual preparation for First Communion celebrations, usually held in June. This normally involves Year 5 pupils. Catechists hold preparation sessions at the school during normal school hours and the children also attend a number of Saturday morning classes at the Cathedral, which last 45 minutes."
The month of June in Year 5 means you have to be 10 years old before you can make First Holy Communion.
A fat lot Pope St Pius X knew!
Seeing various posts about the death of the Bishop, I visited the website, and found, on a link to the Cathedral parish the following:
"Pupils at Our Lady & St. Anne's School are automatically included in the annual preparation for First Communion celebrations, usually held in June. This normally involves Year 5 pupils. Catechists hold preparation sessions at the school during normal school hours and the children also attend a number of Saturday morning classes at the Cathedral, which last 45 minutes."
The month of June in Year 5 means you have to be 10 years old before you can make First Holy Communion.
A fat lot Pope St Pius X knew!
Surprised By Jeffrey And Opus Dei
.How can a bloke keep so many blogs up?
.
Anyway, here he posted about the Shrine of Torreciudad about which I knew nothing. How is this for a building from the 1970s?
.How is this for an altar from a building from the 1970s?
Carved from alabaster, this altarpiece was completely unknown to me until Jeffrey posted a link. Reading the explanation of the artist (Juan Mayné Torras) gave me a clue as to why I knew nothing about it:
"I read what the founder of Opus Dei had written and this helped me, while I was still designing, to get what he wanted: images which would inspire devotion and prayer; and that the whole altarpiece would be a piece of catachesis in alabaster, like the other altarpieces of Aragón".
This is an Opus Dei shrine to Our Lady of Torreciudad, before whose image the mother of St Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer gave thanks after her two year old son had recovered from an illness thought to be mortal.
Opus Dei: two words which are supposed to chill our blood. But, be objective: go to the shrine and find, for example, that the confessionals are in the crypt because they are the foundation on which everything else is built. And there are always priests available for the Sacrament of Confession.
Read all about it here.
01 March 2008
Tradition And Modernism In The Church
The very essence of the Church demands continuity between Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour, and our times. So those who call themselves “Christians”, but who have broken this continuity, cannot be part of the Church. Neither Lutherans, nor Calvinists, nor Methodists, nor members of any Protestant sect, are part of the Church, however much they might claim to be.
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The Catholic Church doesn’t just have a 2000 year history of real and effective existence: it actually has a 6000 year history, because the Old Testament Prophecies are fulfilled in Christ. All of Judaism pours out into Christ, however little the Jewish people see it. In fact Judaism, in order to survive into modern times, has to drink deeper from the Talmud than from the Old Testament, and the Talmud was compiled after the time of Christ. As many theologians have noted throughout history, the new Israel – the chosen people – is the Catholic Church. A marvellous book called “How Jesus Christ Said the First Mass” explains how the institution of the Eucharist and the Mass at the Last Supper thrusts its roots deeply into the Sacred History of the Old Testament. Many of the things which take place prefigure the third and definitive Revelation which is of God himself: Christ.
The Catholic Church doesn’t just have a 2000 year history of real and effective existence: it actually has a 6000 year history, because the Old Testament Prophecies are fulfilled in Christ. All of Judaism pours out into Christ, however little the Jewish people see it. In fact Judaism, in order to survive into modern times, has to drink deeper from the Talmud than from the Old Testament, and the Talmud was compiled after the time of Christ. As many theologians have noted throughout history, the new Israel – the chosen people – is the Catholic Church. A marvellous book called “How Jesus Christ Said the First Mass” explains how the institution of the Eucharist and the Mass at the Last Supper thrusts its roots deeply into the Sacred History of the Old Testament. Many of the things which take place prefigure the third and definitive Revelation which is of God himself: Christ.
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Of course none of this is possible without the existence of Tradition, a deposit of Faith, Doctrine and Liturgy which is passed from generation to generation and which is changeless. The Faith requires some basic assumptions, which we call Dogmas, and which Catholics have to believe if they are going to continue to be Catholics. Dogmas are immutable, as is the Faith. Of course it is possible to make clearer something which is implicit in Doctrine: for example, the proclamation of the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception happened in the nineteenth century, but there is evidence that this feast was celebrated as early as the third. One of the authors who writes most clearly about this is Fr Juan González Arintero OP, who in the three volumes of “Development and Vitality of the Church”, and in his “Mystical Evolution” explains how the development of doctrine is organic, yet does not introduce novelties or, even less, contradictions.
Of course none of this is possible without the existence of Tradition, a deposit of Faith, Doctrine and Liturgy which is passed from generation to generation and which is changeless. The Faith requires some basic assumptions, which we call Dogmas, and which Catholics have to believe if they are going to continue to be Catholics. Dogmas are immutable, as is the Faith. Of course it is possible to make clearer something which is implicit in Doctrine: for example, the proclamation of the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception happened in the nineteenth century, but there is evidence that this feast was celebrated as early as the third. One of the authors who writes most clearly about this is Fr Juan González Arintero OP, who in the three volumes of “Development and Vitality of the Church”, and in his “Mystical Evolution” explains how the development of doctrine is organic, yet does not introduce novelties or, even less, contradictions.
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The best expression of the biblical saying “one Faith and one Shepherd” is the Mass codified by Pope St Pius V. There are several Catholic rites, but they have always shared three nuclear aspects which come from Tradition: the Canon, the Offertory and the Consecration. Various additions were made to this foundation through the centuries, because Tradition is not about stagnation, but about sensible, accurate, thought-through, organic progress. The Roman Canon codified this one Faith – while respecting venerable Rites such as the Hispano-Visigothic (often referred to inaccurately as the Mozarabic Rite), the Rite of Braga, or the several eastern Catholic Rites. Pope St Pius V accepted that the Mass could be added to in the future, as happened with the Leonine prayers to St Michael at the foot of the altar. But “Anathema Sit” was hurled at those who would change what was codified: modification of the Canon of the Mass, which had been sealed by the Holy Pope at a time when the enemies of God and His Church moved towards their high tide, could not be accepted.
The best expression of the biblical saying “one Faith and one Shepherd” is the Mass codified by Pope St Pius V. There are several Catholic rites, but they have always shared three nuclear aspects which come from Tradition: the Canon, the Offertory and the Consecration. Various additions were made to this foundation through the centuries, because Tradition is not about stagnation, but about sensible, accurate, thought-through, organic progress. The Roman Canon codified this one Faith – while respecting venerable Rites such as the Hispano-Visigothic (often referred to inaccurately as the Mozarabic Rite), the Rite of Braga, or the several eastern Catholic Rites. Pope St Pius V accepted that the Mass could be added to in the future, as happened with the Leonine prayers to St Michael at the foot of the altar. But “Anathema Sit” was hurled at those who would change what was codified: modification of the Canon of the Mass, which had been sealed by the Holy Pope at a time when the enemies of God and His Church moved towards their high tide, could not be accepted.
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It is Tradition which links us directly to the time of the Apostles and to Our Lord himself. Because if Christ instituted One Church, the Catholic Church, it is no less certain that He gave it the power to bind in Heaven: Tradition means respect for the past, the impossibility of a rupture with the past. Pope St Pius V codified the Mass, and there is no human nor angelic power able to change this dogmatic statement. Nobody, not even the Holy Father himself, can change a dogma which has been proclaimed. As Chesterton said: “Tradition is the democracy of the dead”. And as the Church has three parts (the Militant, the Suffering and the Triumphant) we have no right to attack the link which, across time, unites those of us who are alive on Earth with those who live in the hereafter. The democracy of the dead has one of its axes in Christ, and is therefore theocentic.
It is Tradition which links us directly to the time of the Apostles and to Our Lord himself. Because if Christ instituted One Church, the Catholic Church, it is no less certain that He gave it the power to bind in Heaven: Tradition means respect for the past, the impossibility of a rupture with the past. Pope St Pius V codified the Mass, and there is no human nor angelic power able to change this dogmatic statement. Nobody, not even the Holy Father himself, can change a dogma which has been proclaimed. As Chesterton said: “Tradition is the democracy of the dead”. And as the Church has three parts (the Militant, the Suffering and the Triumphant) we have no right to attack the link which, across time, unites those of us who are alive on Earth with those who live in the hereafter. The democracy of the dead has one of its axes in Christ, and is therefore theocentic.
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The modernist proposes that all our principles and our dogmas should be adapted to the spirit of the times, the Zeitgeist. Modernism, which Pope St Pius XII called “the sewer of all heresies” empties the Faith of content because it empties dogmas of content. Although there has to be an intimate connection between Faith and Liturgy, modernism has managed to make of the Catholic Liturgy of today a multiple, chaotic, changeable and ugly thing, which reflects the philosophy which inspires it.
The modernist proposes that all our principles and our dogmas should be adapted to the spirit of the times, the Zeitgeist. Modernism, which Pope St Pius XII called “the sewer of all heresies” empties the Faith of content because it empties dogmas of content. Although there has to be an intimate connection between Faith and Liturgy, modernism has managed to make of the Catholic Liturgy of today a multiple, chaotic, changeable and ugly thing, which reflects the philosophy which inspires it.
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Grass doesn’t grow beneath the feet of the modernist, because he might cut it at any moment. In modernism, the axis is no longer centred in Christ: it has become anthropocentric. Modernism is, therefore, immanentism.
Grass doesn’t grow beneath the feet of the modernist, because he might cut it at any moment. In modernism, the axis is no longer centred in Christ: it has become anthropocentric. Modernism is, therefore, immanentism.
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And a word about that weak creature that can be seen here and there: the Vatican II conservative. He is not a defender of Tradition. He is somebody who has accepted some of the precepts of the Revolution while rejecting others. He wants to freeze the Revolution at point that suits his interest or his convenience. He wants to preserve odd remnants of the Traditional order of things, even though they may already have been emptied of content or meaning. Unlike the Traditionalist, the Vatican II conservative is stagnant, even though, much to his discomfiture, he is permanently surfing the waves of Revolution. He is disguised as a chameleon.
If the liberals are high speed anthropocentrists, the Vatican II conservative is a low profile anthropocentric: but they are still both anthropocentrists.
And a word about that weak creature that can be seen here and there: the Vatican II conservative. He is not a defender of Tradition. He is somebody who has accepted some of the precepts of the Revolution while rejecting others. He wants to freeze the Revolution at point that suits his interest or his convenience. He wants to preserve odd remnants of the Traditional order of things, even though they may already have been emptied of content or meaning. Unlike the Traditionalist, the Vatican II conservative is stagnant, even though, much to his discomfiture, he is permanently surfing the waves of Revolution. He is disguised as a chameleon.
If the liberals are high speed anthropocentrists, the Vatican II conservative is a low profile anthropocentric: but they are still both anthropocentrists.
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Neither those who openly favour rupture with the past: the modernists; nor those who tacitly allow it to happen: the Vatican II conservatives; belong in Christ’s Church. The Mystical Spouse of Our Lord admits neither circumlocution nor compromise. The Mystical Spouse is outside time, and even at Her foundation She sinks her roots deep into the first Revelation to our first parents. The Mystical Spouse can only be understood and loved through Tradition.
The Catechism says that there are three pillars of authority: the Holy Scriptures, the Fathers, and Tradition. And isn’t it Tradition which connects and holds everything together?
Juan Vázquez de Mella says that the difference between men and animals is traditionalism.
Neither those who openly favour rupture with the past: the modernists; nor those who tacitly allow it to happen: the Vatican II conservatives; belong in Christ’s Church. The Mystical Spouse of Our Lord admits neither circumlocution nor compromise. The Mystical Spouse is outside time, and even at Her foundation She sinks her roots deep into the first Revelation to our first parents. The Mystical Spouse can only be understood and loved through Tradition.
The Catechism says that there are three pillars of authority: the Holy Scriptures, the Fathers, and Tradition. And isn’t it Tradition which connects and holds everything together?
Juan Vázquez de Mella says that the difference between men and animals is traditionalism.
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He is spot on.
He is spot on.
27 February 2008
Training In The Extraordinary Form for Spanish Priests
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Details here. What a wonderful present for a Valladolid-trained (or otherwise Spanish-sepaking) priest. Only €160 (about £100) per priest, including full board at the Carmelite Monastery in Toledo, plus transport.
Tuesday 25 March 2008
1000-1330 Registration
1330 Welcome
1400 Lunch
1600 Liturgical gestures and liturgical vestments
1715 Gregorian Chant
1830 Training for Mass: from the beginning to the Introit
1930 Time for prayer or celebration of Mass
2100 Dinner and free discussion
2230 Compline
Wednesday 26 March
Private celebrations of Mass
0900 Breakfast
0930 Lecture "The Precedents of the Motu Proprio" by Mgr Juan Miguel Ferrer (Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Toledo)
1045 From the Introit to the Gospel
1215 Gregorian Chant
1245 The Offertory
1400 Lunch
1600 Latin pronunciation
1630 Guided tour of Toledo Cathedral
1800 Lecture: "Content and Application of the Motu Proprio" by Mgr Juan Miguel Ferrer (Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Toledo)
1900 Time for prayer or celebration of Mass
2100 Dinner
2130 Video of Solemn Mass
2245 Compline
Thursday 27 March
Private celebrations of Mass
0900 Breakfast
0930 From the Preface to the end of the Canon
1100 Gregorian Chant
1200 From the Pater Noster to the end
1400 Lunch
1600 Introduction to the use of the Breviary
1700 Differences in Masses for the Dead
1815 The Ministry of Altar Servers
1900 Time for prayer or celebration of Mass
2100 Dinner
2130 Presentation of course materials and books
2230 Compline
Friday 28 March
Private celebrations of Mass
0900 Breakfast
0930 Private consultations
1130 Gregorian Chant
1230 Concluding ceremony.
Details here. What a wonderful present for a Valladolid-trained (or otherwise Spanish-sepaking) priest. Only €160 (about £100) per priest, including full board at the Carmelite Monastery in Toledo, plus transport.
Tuesday 25 March 2008
1000-1330 Registration
1330 Welcome
1400 Lunch
1600 Liturgical gestures and liturgical vestments
1715 Gregorian Chant
1830 Training for Mass: from the beginning to the Introit
1930 Time for prayer or celebration of Mass
2100 Dinner and free discussion
2230 Compline
Wednesday 26 March
Private celebrations of Mass
0900 Breakfast
0930 Lecture "The Precedents of the Motu Proprio" by Mgr Juan Miguel Ferrer (Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Toledo)
1045 From the Introit to the Gospel
1215 Gregorian Chant
1245 The Offertory
1400 Lunch
1600 Latin pronunciation
1630 Guided tour of Toledo Cathedral
1800 Lecture: "Content and Application of the Motu Proprio" by Mgr Juan Miguel Ferrer (Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Toledo)
1900 Time for prayer or celebration of Mass
2100 Dinner
2130 Video of Solemn Mass
2245 Compline
Thursday 27 March
Private celebrations of Mass
0900 Breakfast
0930 From the Preface to the end of the Canon
1100 Gregorian Chant
1200 From the Pater Noster to the end
1400 Lunch
1600 Introduction to the use of the Breviary
1700 Differences in Masses for the Dead
1815 The Ministry of Altar Servers
1900 Time for prayer or celebration of Mass
2100 Dinner
2130 Presentation of course materials and books
2230 Compline
Friday 28 March
Private celebrations of Mass
0900 Breakfast
0930 Private consultations
1130 Gregorian Chant
1230 Concluding ceremony.
24 February 2008
Fr Aidan Nichol's Manifesto
.This is the most stimulating book I have read for ages. It might also be the most important.
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"The Realm", subtitled "An Unfashionable Essay on the Conversion of England" is not really about the conversion of England as those of us who still say the Prayer for England might think of it: it is much deeper. It is about rebuilding the polity which existed in England from Saxon times and which, while severely damaged by the Reformation, survived to provide an underpinning to English national life which has made this country so different to the countries of continetal Europe.
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It is a manifesto for how the Church in England might shape politics and society for the future: how the values of England might be reconnected with their deep roots.
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It isn't - obviously it isn't - a manifesto by somebody seeking higher office. But it is blatantly obvious that while a tendentious work of faction can be launched from the Archbishop's Residence, Fr Nichol's work will receive no publicity, no approbation, no support from the Hierarchy in England. The reason that he describes his essay as "unfashionable" is as much a commentary on the Hierarchy as it is on England.
23 February 2008
The Westminster Stakes - The Book Reopens
Paddy Power has reopened his book on the next Archbishop of Westminster. One big surprise is Dom Hugh Gilbert entering the race as second favourite at 4-1. Nearly everybody else's odds lengthen, though, inexplicably to me at least, Fr Timothy Radcliffe stays at 6-1, and is now joint third favourite: surely nobody is putting money on him!
Rumours about Fr Aidan Nichols' health may have lengthened his odds, though his new book could be seen as a manifesto for what he would do as Archbishop.
Three of the top six, and four of the top ten are members of religious orders.
Cardinal Pell's star seems to be fading.
Anyway: here's the list.
Rt Rev Vincent Nichols 2-1 (7-2)
Dom Hugh Gilbert 4-1
Rt Rev Kevin McDonald 6-1 (5-1) (7-2)
Rt Rev Alan Hopes 6-1 (11-2)
Fr Timothy Radcliffe 6-1 (10-1) (6-1)
Bishop William Kenney 8-1 (15-2) (6-1)
Cardinal Pell 12-1 (10-1)
Fr Aidan Nichols 12-1 (11-1) (5-1) (6-1)
Rt Rev Arthur Roche 12-1 (10-1) (12-1)
Rt Rev Peter Smith 12-1
Archbishop Michael Louis Fitzgerald 14-1 (12-1) (10-1) (12-1)
Rt Rev Patrick Kelly 14-1 (12-1) (10-1) (12-1)
Rt Rev Bernard Longley 14-1 (12-1)
Rt Rev Michael Evans 20-1 (16-1)
Bishop Patrick O’Donoghue 20-1 (16-1)
Bishop George Stack 20-1 (16-1)
Fr Christopher Jamison 20-1
Bishop John Rawsthorne 25-1 (20-1)
Bishop John Patrick Crowley Non-runner (33-1)
Rumours about Fr Aidan Nichols' health may have lengthened his odds, though his new book could be seen as a manifesto for what he would do as Archbishop.
Three of the top six, and four of the top ten are members of religious orders.
Cardinal Pell's star seems to be fading.
Anyway: here's the list.
Rt Rev Vincent Nichols 2-1 (7-2)
Dom Hugh Gilbert 4-1
Rt Rev Kevin McDonald 6-1 (5-1) (7-2)
Rt Rev Alan Hopes 6-1 (11-2)
Fr Timothy Radcliffe 6-1 (10-1) (6-1)
Bishop William Kenney 8-1 (15-2) (6-1)
Cardinal Pell 12-1 (10-1)
Fr Aidan Nichols 12-1 (11-1) (5-1) (6-1)
Rt Rev Arthur Roche 12-1 (10-1) (12-1)
Rt Rev Peter Smith 12-1
Archbishop Michael Louis Fitzgerald 14-1 (12-1) (10-1) (12-1)
Rt Rev Patrick Kelly 14-1 (12-1) (10-1) (12-1)
Rt Rev Bernard Longley 14-1 (12-1)
Rt Rev Michael Evans 20-1 (16-1)
Bishop Patrick O’Donoghue 20-1 (16-1)
Bishop George Stack 20-1 (16-1)
Fr Christopher Jamison 20-1
Bishop John Rawsthorne 25-1 (20-1)
Bishop John Patrick Crowley Non-runner (33-1)
21 February 2008
Missing Picture
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If you are the sort of person who notices that sort of thing, you'll have noticed that the sign which has proudly topped the list of "things down the left hand column" of this blog has gone.
I gave up smoking for Lent. I was 50 last year and decided then that, after 35 years, smoking would have to stop.
I worked out my own "how to": I had to as a bit of mild research showed that anything to do with the NHS would involve lots of sessions talking to people, and sharing. The thought of lots of people like me telling each other what they were going through would be enough to turn me back towards tobacco!
Why am I telling you this now? Well: partly because I want as many people as possible to pray for me that I persevere and offer this up for the three intentions I have dedicated it to; partly because the more people I tell, the more embarrassing it would be if I slip up and have to confess to being a failure; partly because it takes away the excuse to be curt or grumpy (because I'm offering it up); and partly because I want to share an insight that this has given me: that Lent is really something to be enjoyed. Giving something up for ever, rather than for six and a half weeks, hard though it is, has given me - pathetic though this might sound! - an insight into eternity that I have never known before.
So please pray for me, and for my three intentions, but think about and thank God for Lent.
19 February 2008
What A Postchristian Country Is Really About
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The perilous stuff which weighs upon the heart ...
This makes me think, quite seriously, for a little while, about advocating violence for Christ's sake. I won't, of course, because I'm English, and we don't do that sort of thing.
Read this, and the first two comments.
So what should we do?
The perilous stuff which weighs upon the heart ...
This makes me think, quite seriously, for a little while, about advocating violence for Christ's sake. I won't, of course, because I'm English, and we don't do that sort of thing.
Read this, and the first two comments.
So what should we do?
17 February 2008
Early Easter In A Postchristian Country
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When the County Council "consulted" interested parties about going to the six term system, those of us who saw immediately what the result might be were not shy about coming forward. But the consultation was as bogus as a Public Enquiry in France about the siting of the next nuclear power station: the powers-that-be had decided.
So this year, the week following the second Sunday in Lent is half term (or the end of Term Three, as nobody says). There follow six weeks of the next half term. This means that schools don't break up for the "Easter" holiday until the week following the THIRD Sunday of Easter, on 7 April.
Good Friday is still a Bank Holiday, and some Catholic schools have made "arrangements" to ensure that Holy Thursday is not a school day either: but according to the rules it should be. And everyone returns on Easter Tuesday for the penultimate week of term.
How many Catholic teachers attend - or rather, attended - the Chrism Mass?
When the County Council "consulted" interested parties about going to the six term system, those of us who saw immediately what the result might be were not shy about coming forward. But the consultation was as bogus as a Public Enquiry in France about the siting of the next nuclear power station: the powers-that-be had decided.
So this year, the week following the second Sunday in Lent is half term (or the end of Term Three, as nobody says). There follow six weeks of the next half term. This means that schools don't break up for the "Easter" holiday until the week following the THIRD Sunday of Easter, on 7 April.
Good Friday is still a Bank Holiday, and some Catholic schools have made "arrangements" to ensure that Holy Thursday is not a school day either: but according to the rules it should be. And everyone returns on Easter Tuesday for the penultimate week of term.
How many Catholic teachers attend - or rather, attended - the Chrism Mass?
15 February 2008
1 + 1 + 1 = 3
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First, the Pope changed the Good Friday Extraordinary Form of the Prayer for the Jews. (This shows that the Mass in its Extraordinary is as subject to organic development as it ever has been.)
Then we saw Alcuin Reid's thoughts about Archbishop Lefebvre. (He concludes that perhaps the Archbishop kept something alive which might have perished without him.)
Then we saw the 2003 letter from Cardinal Ratzinger which gave an idea of what a non-Bugninite student of liturgical reform might have thought the Vatican Council had been thinking of.
As though a strobe light has flashed across a dark world, a proto-plan for Benedictine reform, a necessary demand for loyalty, and a bridge to those who, like the IBP did, positively want union and not separation, have all flashed before us.
This is an activist Pope: his enemies are grouping around Cardinal Marini's book. They haven't a chance!
Why do people assume that the Pope is an innocent when everything we know about him suggests that he is a masterful tactician, who knows exactly what he wants to do?
First, the Pope changed the Good Friday Extraordinary Form of the Prayer for the Jews. (This shows that the Mass in its Extraordinary is as subject to organic development as it ever has been.)
Then we saw Alcuin Reid's thoughts about Archbishop Lefebvre. (He concludes that perhaps the Archbishop kept something alive which might have perished without him.)
Then we saw the 2003 letter from Cardinal Ratzinger which gave an idea of what a non-Bugninite student of liturgical reform might have thought the Vatican Council had been thinking of.
As though a strobe light has flashed across a dark world, a proto-plan for Benedictine reform, a necessary demand for loyalty, and a bridge to those who, like the IBP did, positively want union and not separation, have all flashed before us.
This is an activist Pope: his enemies are grouping around Cardinal Marini's book. They haven't a chance!
Why do people assume that the Pope is an innocent when everything we know about him suggests that he is a masterful tactician, who knows exactly what he wants to do?
14 February 2008
Funeral Of An Archduke - Something Strange
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Hat tip to Andrew Cusack for the YouTube videos he posted of the funeral of HIRH Archduke Karl-Ludwig, son of the Emperor Bl Charles of Austria.
One thing surprised me: I can understand why everybody would want the the old Imperial Anthem to be played; but I can't understand why they'd choose the Tantum Ergo as a hymn to be sung to that tune, especially as everybody standing up is exactly the opposite reaction that the words should produce.
If the link doesn't seem to be working, just go here:
Hat tip to Andrew Cusack for the YouTube videos he posted of the funeral of HIRH Archduke Karl-Ludwig, son of the Emperor Bl Charles of Austria.
One thing surprised me: I can understand why everybody would want the the old Imperial Anthem to be played; but I can't understand why they'd choose the Tantum Ergo as a hymn to be sung to that tune, especially as everybody standing up is exactly the opposite reaction that the words should produce.
If the link doesn't seem to be working, just go here:
10 February 2008
Measuring For Curtains? Cardinal Pell, Again
There was an odd story in this week's Catholic Herald. Cardinal Pell had popped over to ordain a brother of Quarr Abbey to the priesthood. The nearest suggestion of reasons why it should be the Australian Cardinal rather than anybody else who should carry out the ordination was that a) the new priest has relatives in New Zealand and that b) the Cardinal likes to express his gratitude to the English Benedictines for the support they gave in the early years of the Archdiocese of Sydney.
.Surely neither of these suggestions is anywhere near the mark: New Zealand and Australia are separate countries with separate hierarchies (and the priest is himself an Irishman anyway). And the monks at Quarr belong to the Solesmes Congregation, not the English Benedictines.
. In the same issue was a report of the trip by Cardinal Murphy O'Connor and Bishop Hollis of Portsmouth to South Africa and Zimbabwe (and all praise to them for carrying such a trip out). It is an interesting coincidence that the Australian Cardinal should have been celebrating an ordination within the Portsmouth Diocese while its Bishop was away. Did he have to produce a criminal record check certificate, one wonders!
.Where else was Cardinal Pell during this visit to the UK? Does anybody know?
08 February 2008
Fra' Andrew Bertie RIP
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I have just learned of the death of Fra' Andrew Bertie. May he rest in peace, and may God Bless and Console the Order of Malta.
07 February 2008
The Archbishop Of Canterbury And Sharia
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Reading what the Archbishop said here, and on linked pages, I tried desparately to find some let out, some indication that this most learned of men, and, according to friends who know him well, this most loving and friendliest of men, had been misquoted.
I have a healthy relationship with the CofE: I write the "News from Rome" column for my local (high) Anglican parish magazine and never darken the door of the Parish Church except for funerals and when taking visitors to see what the building of a monastic foundation of the 12th Century might look like: mutatis mutandis, my Anglican friends do the same (though there is no letter from Canterbury in our parish magazine). The politics of the Anglican Communion are beyond me: I don't comment on them because it feels like trying to comment on Jeux Sans Frontieres if you are neither Stewart Hall nor Eddie Waring (and you'll either get that or you won't).
But what on earth was the Welshman saying today? Was it some sort of desire to give up the job? Was it a way of saying that he wants to be a purely local Archbishop and give up on the worldwide Anglican Communion?
Let's pray for Anglicans, that they regain their sense, and that they decide, once and for all, to be Catholics or Protestants.
As a Spaniard might say: ¡Quién te ha visto y quién te ve!
Reading what the Archbishop said here, and on linked pages, I tried desparately to find some let out, some indication that this most learned of men, and, according to friends who know him well, this most loving and friendliest of men, had been misquoted.
I have a healthy relationship with the CofE: I write the "News from Rome" column for my local (high) Anglican parish magazine and never darken the door of the Parish Church except for funerals and when taking visitors to see what the building of a monastic foundation of the 12th Century might look like: mutatis mutandis, my Anglican friends do the same (though there is no letter from Canterbury in our parish magazine). The politics of the Anglican Communion are beyond me: I don't comment on them because it feels like trying to comment on Jeux Sans Frontieres if you are neither Stewart Hall nor Eddie Waring (and you'll either get that or you won't).
But what on earth was the Welshman saying today? Was it some sort of desire to give up the job? Was it a way of saying that he wants to be a purely local Archbishop and give up on the worldwide Anglican Communion?
Let's pray for Anglicans, that they regain their sense, and that they decide, once and for all, to be Catholics or Protestants.
As a Spaniard might say: ¡Quién te ha visto y quién te ve!
04 February 2008
We Are Being Watched ...
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... well, some of us are.
If, like me, you like looking at the logs produced by the free sitemeter available from (for example) here, you will get a good idea about where in the world your readers come from. I've noticed something interesting recently; at least one visitor is coming in on a fairly regular basis whose domain is vatican.va, and who, therefore, is surfing from one of the Dicasteries.
What has been more of a surprise is that the referrer (ie the site from which he comes to mine) is usually one of the über-blogger English priests who has my blog in his blogroll; I checked with him and he has noticed him too. A couple of e-mails shows that there is a definite trend: a range of Catholic blogs are being visited regularly from the Vatican.
Now, it is distinctly possible - even likely - that an English Monsignor who has finished his day's work is using the office facilities because he doesn't have access to the Internet at home.
It makes you think, though, doesn't it?
... well, some of us are.
If, like me, you like looking at the logs produced by the free sitemeter available from (for example) here, you will get a good idea about where in the world your readers come from. I've noticed something interesting recently; at least one visitor is coming in on a fairly regular basis whose domain is vatican.va, and who, therefore, is surfing from one of the Dicasteries.
What has been more of a surprise is that the referrer (ie the site from which he comes to mine) is usually one of the über-blogger English priests who has my blog in his blogroll; I checked with him and he has noticed him too. A couple of e-mails shows that there is a definite trend: a range of Catholic blogs are being visited regularly from the Vatican.
Now, it is distinctly possible - even likely - that an English Monsignor who has finished his day's work is using the office facilities because he doesn't have access to the Internet at home.
It makes you think, though, doesn't it?
03 February 2008
Reception Of Holy Communion: The GIRM Speaks
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My emboldening. 284b suggests that Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion who administer the chalice may not consume the Blood of Christ which remains, but should give what remains to the priest or deacon for them to consume.
160. The priest then takes the paten or ciborium and goes to the communicants, who, as a rule, approach in a procession. The faithful are not permitted to take the consecrated Bread or the sacred chalice by themselves and, still less, to hand them from one to another. The faithful communicate either kneeling or standing, as determined by the Conference of Bishops. When they communicate standing, however, it is recommended that they make an appropriate sign of reverence, as determined in the same norms, before receiving the Sacrament.
161. If Communion is given only under the species of bread, the priest raises the host slightly and shows it to each, saying: Corpus Christi (The Body of Christ). The communicant replies: Amen, and receives the Sacrament either on the tongue or, where this is allowed and if the communicant so chooses, in the hand. As soon as the communicant receives the host, he or she consumes it entirely. If, however, Communion is given under both kinds, the rite prescribed in nos. 284-287 is followed.
162. The priest may be assisted in the distribution of Communion by other priests who happen to be present. If such priests are not present and there is a very large number of communicants, the priest may call upon extraordinary ministers to assist him, i.e., duly instituted acolytes or even other faithful who have been deputed for this purpose. In case of necessity, the priest may depute suitable faithful for this single occasion. These ministers should not approach the altar before the priest has received Communion, and they are always to receive from the hands of the priest celebrant the vessel containing either species of the Most Holy Eucharist for distribution to the faithful.
284. When Communion is distributed under both kinds:
a. the chalice is usually administered by a deacon or, when no deacon is present, by a priest, or even by a duly instituted acolyte or another extraordinary minister of Holy Communion, or by a member of the faithful who, in case of necessity, has been entrusted with this duty for a
single occasion;
b. whatever may remain of the Blood of Christ is consumed at the altar by the priest or the deacon or the duly instituted acolyte who ministered the chalice. The same then purifies, wipes, and arranges the sacred vessels in the usual way.
Any of the faithful who wish to receive Holy Communion under the species of bread alone should be granted their wish.
285. For Communion under both kinds the following should be prepared:
a. If Communion from the chalice is carried out by communicants’ drinking directly from the chalice, a chalice of a sufficiently large size or several chalices are prepared. Care should, however, be taken in planning lest beyond what is needed of the Blood of Christ remains to be consumed at the end of the celebration.
b. If Communion is carried out by intinction, the hosts should be neither too thin nor too small, but rather a little thicker than usual, so that after being dipped partly into the Blood of Christ they can still easily be distributed to each communicant.
286. If Communion of the Blood of Christ is carried out by communicants’ drinking from the chalice, each communicant, after receiving the Body of Christ, moves and stands facing the minister of the chalice. The minister says: Sanguis Christi (The Blood of Christ), the communicant responds: Amen, and the minister hands over the chalice, which the communicant raises to his or her mouth. Each communicant drinks a little from the chalice, hands it back to the minister, and then withdraws; the minister wipes the rim of the chalice with the purificator.
My emboldening. 284b suggests that Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion who administer the chalice may not consume the Blood of Christ which remains, but should give what remains to the priest or deacon for them to consume.
160. The priest then takes the paten or ciborium and goes to the communicants, who, as a rule, approach in a procession. The faithful are not permitted to take the consecrated Bread or the sacred chalice by themselves and, still less, to hand them from one to another. The faithful communicate either kneeling or standing, as determined by the Conference of Bishops. When they communicate standing, however, it is recommended that they make an appropriate sign of reverence, as determined in the same norms, before receiving the Sacrament.
161. If Communion is given only under the species of bread, the priest raises the host slightly and shows it to each, saying: Corpus Christi (The Body of Christ). The communicant replies: Amen, and receives the Sacrament either on the tongue or, where this is allowed and if the communicant so chooses, in the hand. As soon as the communicant receives the host, he or she consumes it entirely. If, however, Communion is given under both kinds, the rite prescribed in nos. 284-287 is followed.
162. The priest may be assisted in the distribution of Communion by other priests who happen to be present. If such priests are not present and there is a very large number of communicants, the priest may call upon extraordinary ministers to assist him, i.e., duly instituted acolytes or even other faithful who have been deputed for this purpose. In case of necessity, the priest may depute suitable faithful for this single occasion. These ministers should not approach the altar before the priest has received Communion, and they are always to receive from the hands of the priest celebrant the vessel containing either species of the Most Holy Eucharist for distribution to the faithful.
284. When Communion is distributed under both kinds:
a. the chalice is usually administered by a deacon or, when no deacon is present, by a priest, or even by a duly instituted acolyte or another extraordinary minister of Holy Communion, or by a member of the faithful who, in case of necessity, has been entrusted with this duty for a
single occasion;
b. whatever may remain of the Blood of Christ is consumed at the altar by the priest or the deacon or the duly instituted acolyte who ministered the chalice. The same then purifies, wipes, and arranges the sacred vessels in the usual way.
Any of the faithful who wish to receive Holy Communion under the species of bread alone should be granted their wish.
285. For Communion under both kinds the following should be prepared:
a. If Communion from the chalice is carried out by communicants’ drinking directly from the chalice, a chalice of a sufficiently large size or several chalices are prepared. Care should, however, be taken in planning lest beyond what is needed of the Blood of Christ remains to be consumed at the end of the celebration.
b. If Communion is carried out by intinction, the hosts should be neither too thin nor too small, but rather a little thicker than usual, so that after being dipped partly into the Blood of Christ they can still easily be distributed to each communicant.
286. If Communion of the Blood of Christ is carried out by communicants’ drinking from the chalice, each communicant, after receiving the Body of Christ, moves and stands facing the minister of the chalice. The minister says: Sanguis Christi (The Blood of Christ), the communicant responds: Amen, and the minister hands over the chalice, which the communicant raises to his or her mouth. Each communicant drinks a little from the chalice, hands it back to the minister, and then withdraws; the minister wipes the rim of the chalice with the purificator.
02 February 2008
01 February 2008
The Westminster Stakes - An Intriguing Update
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The last time I posted the latest odds from Paddy Power (which I copy below) was on 5 November. I checked again during the Christmas break and the prices had not changed. After seeing the result of Damian Thompson's recent poll of readers of his blog, I went back to Paddy Power to see if the odds had changed and - hey presto! - the book on Westminster has disappeared.
It could be that the world has lost interest; it could be that Paddy Power has "lost" the webpage; or it could be that the book has been closed. I have no idea.
Rt Rev Vincent Nichols 2-1 (7-2)
Rt Rev Kevin McDonald 5-1 (7-2)
Rt Rev Alan Hopes 11-2
Fr Timothy Radcliffe 6-1 (10-1) (6-1)
Bishop William Kenney 15-2 (6-1)
Cardinal Pell 10-1
Fr Aidan Nichols 11-1 (5-1) (6-1)
Archbishop Michael Louis Fitzgerald 12-1 (10-1) (12-1)
Rt Rev Patrick Kelly 12-1 (10-1) (12-1)
Rt Rev Arthur Roche 12-1 (10-1) (12-1)
Rt Rev Bernard Longley 12-1
Rt Rev Peter Smith 12-1
Rt Rev Michael Evans 16-1
Bishop Patrick O’Donoghue 16-1
Bishop George Stack 16-1
Fr Christopher Jamison 20-1
Bishop John Rawsthorne 20-1
Bishop John Patrick Crowley Non-runner (33-1)
The last time I posted the latest odds from Paddy Power (which I copy below) was on 5 November. I checked again during the Christmas break and the prices had not changed. After seeing the result of Damian Thompson's recent poll of readers of his blog, I went back to Paddy Power to see if the odds had changed and - hey presto! - the book on Westminster has disappeared.
It could be that the world has lost interest; it could be that Paddy Power has "lost" the webpage; or it could be that the book has been closed. I have no idea.
Rt Rev Vincent Nichols 2-1 (7-2)
Rt Rev Kevin McDonald 5-1 (7-2)
Rt Rev Alan Hopes 11-2
Fr Timothy Radcliffe 6-1 (10-1) (6-1)
Bishop William Kenney 15-2 (6-1)
Cardinal Pell 10-1
Fr Aidan Nichols 11-1 (5-1) (6-1)
Archbishop Michael Louis Fitzgerald 12-1 (10-1) (12-1)
Rt Rev Patrick Kelly 12-1 (10-1) (12-1)
Rt Rev Arthur Roche 12-1 (10-1) (12-1)
Rt Rev Bernard Longley 12-1
Rt Rev Peter Smith 12-1
Rt Rev Michael Evans 16-1
Bishop Patrick O’Donoghue 16-1
Bishop George Stack 16-1
Fr Christopher Jamison 20-1
Bishop John Rawsthorne 20-1
Bishop John Patrick Crowley Non-runner (33-1)
27 January 2008
Books And Village Churches
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January is the main month for new books. Christmas brings money and book tokens, and these are turned into books.
I have had a few good ones this month: "Sweet Songs of Zion", a series of essays on hymns by John Betjeman; "About the Size of It" by Warwick Cairns, a surprisingly interesting book about weights and measures - anti-metric without being pro-Imperial; and "Spoken Here" by Mark Abley, a book in praise of dying languages everywhere.
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But the best has certainly been Sir Roy Strong's "A Little History of the English Country Church". The first part retells (with acknowledgements) the story told in "The Stripping of the Altars" but in a style aimed at the general reader rather than in the magisterially scholarly style of Professor Duffy; and the second part continues the story to the nineteenth century.
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These are churches under threat: they are largely abandoned by the people they were built to serve; the CofE seems determined to split into a series of squabbling sects; and the cost of upkeep of more than 16,000 country churches, many of them Grade 1 listed buildings, is getting beyond anything that the CofE's finances can cope with.
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I know one large village where the Catholic Mass Centre has been closed and sold, and Mass is said once again in the mediaeval church. That might be part of the solution: Catholics built these churches so that the (seven) sacraments could be celebrated with due dignity. Any place in which God has been made truly present, any place in which a holy relic may still be encased in the altar, has a legitimate call on Catholics; and we have a legitimate call on them.
26 January 2008
Which Eucharistic Prayer?
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More help for our priests from the GIRM.
You can always use Eucharistic Prayer I, and you should use it when there is a proper text for the Comunicantes or the Hanc Igitur, or when it is the feast of one of the Apostles, or a saint mentioned in it. Eucharistic Prayer II is only for weekdays. Eucharistic Prayers III and IV are for Sundays only, and IV should only be used when there is no Preface for the particular Mass and on Sundays in Ordinary time.
This summarises paragraph 365.
More help for our priests from the GIRM.
You can always use Eucharistic Prayer I, and you should use it when there is a proper text for the Comunicantes or the Hanc Igitur, or when it is the feast of one of the Apostles, or a saint mentioned in it. Eucharistic Prayer II is only for weekdays. Eucharistic Prayers III and IV are for Sundays only, and IV should only be used when there is no Preface for the particular Mass and on Sundays in Ordinary time.
This summarises paragraph 365.
23 January 2008
Tagged for a Meme
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It's Mac's fault.
Rules:
1. Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages).
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people.
"Had you made it to be understood, that in the delusion of this amiable error you had gone further than your wise ancestors; that you were resolved to resume your ancient privileges, whilst you preserved the spirit of your ancient and your recent loyalty and honour; or, if diffident of yourselves, and not clearly discerning the almost obliterated constitution of your ancestors, you had looked to your neighbours in this land, who had kept alive the ancient principles and models of the old common law of Europe meliorated and adapted to its present state - by following wise examples you would have given new examples of wisdom to the world. You would have rendered the cause of liberty venerable in the eyes of every worthy mind in every nation. You would have shamed despotism from the earth, by shewing that freedom was not only reconcileable, but as, when well disciplined it is, auxiliary to law."
Burke - Reflections on the Revolution in France - Penguin Edition 1982
So now you see where I get my punctuation from, and my love of long involved sentences.
It has never struck me before, but this could be a Roman Catholic talking to a Gallican Catholic (at any time after 1789 and before, say, the coronation of Napoleon, or the Congress of Vienna if you'd rather), rather than an Englishman talking to a Frenchman. Same result, same admonition. If anyone wants to pursue this to a Doctorate, then it's all yours: there's no copyright in ideas!
It's Mac's fault.
Rules:
1. Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages).
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people.
"Had you made it to be understood, that in the delusion of this amiable error you had gone further than your wise ancestors; that you were resolved to resume your ancient privileges, whilst you preserved the spirit of your ancient and your recent loyalty and honour; or, if diffident of yourselves, and not clearly discerning the almost obliterated constitution of your ancestors, you had looked to your neighbours in this land, who had kept alive the ancient principles and models of the old common law of Europe meliorated and adapted to its present state - by following wise examples you would have given new examples of wisdom to the world. You would have rendered the cause of liberty venerable in the eyes of every worthy mind in every nation. You would have shamed despotism from the earth, by shewing that freedom was not only reconcileable, but as, when well disciplined it is, auxiliary to law."
Burke - Reflections on the Revolution in France - Penguin Edition 1982
So now you see where I get my punctuation from, and my love of long involved sentences.
It has never struck me before, but this could be a Roman Catholic talking to a Gallican Catholic (at any time after 1789 and before, say, the coronation of Napoleon, or the Congress of Vienna if you'd rather), rather than an Englishman talking to a Frenchman. Same result, same admonition. If anyone wants to pursue this to a Doctorate, then it's all yours: there's no copyright in ideas!
20 January 2008
How Will I Face Death?
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This isn't a question I devote enough time to, and, when I do, it tends to drift off into a fantasy of the death of a Victorian paterfamilias surrounded by his loved ones. And then I read two articles yesterday which stopped me in my tracks: Christopher Howse in the Telegraph and Pastor Iuventus in the Catholic Herald, to which I can't find a link.
Christopher Howse talks about finding himself, as he thought on the brink of death; the young priest talks about being with the dying.
The very last question in the Penny Catechism asks what you should do after your night prayers.
"After my night prayers I should observe due modesty in going to bed; occupy myself with thoughts of death; and endeavour to compose myself to rest at the foot of the cross, and give my last thoughts to my crucified Saviour."
I remember as a seven year old learning a new hymn at school: all I remember now is the first line "Dear St Joseph, Spouse of Mary" and the repeated last line "Teach, O teach us how to die!". As seven year olds we sang it with gusto: it has a memorable lively tune; but that's all I remember.
Learning how to die has gone out of fashion. But a couple of weeks before my father died, he told me that he remembered his lessons: he had been taught as a boy how a good Catholic should die, and had seen good Catholics die according to the teaching he had received. And so he embraced death as a gift from God, and God gave him a gift of being in his own home, having family around him saying the Rosary, and a priest to say the Commendation as he died; and God gave an Indian doctor who was present the gift of seeing that even the English sometimes know how to "do death".
(My father was the sort of literal-minded man whose examination of Conscience was based on the Ten Commandments and on "Have I clothed anyone who was naked?" "Have I visited anybody in prison?" etc. He thought the SVP was God's gift to him to allow him to do what Jesus wanted him to do.)
My death might not be imminent: but it might be. So might yours. Are we prepared?
This isn't a question I devote enough time to, and, when I do, it tends to drift off into a fantasy of the death of a Victorian paterfamilias surrounded by his loved ones. And then I read two articles yesterday which stopped me in my tracks: Christopher Howse in the Telegraph and Pastor Iuventus in the Catholic Herald, to which I can't find a link.
Christopher Howse talks about finding himself, as he thought on the brink of death; the young priest talks about being with the dying.
The very last question in the Penny Catechism asks what you should do after your night prayers.
"After my night prayers I should observe due modesty in going to bed; occupy myself with thoughts of death; and endeavour to compose myself to rest at the foot of the cross, and give my last thoughts to my crucified Saviour."
I remember as a seven year old learning a new hymn at school: all I remember now is the first line "Dear St Joseph, Spouse of Mary" and the repeated last line "Teach, O teach us how to die!". As seven year olds we sang it with gusto: it has a memorable lively tune; but that's all I remember.
Learning how to die has gone out of fashion. But a couple of weeks before my father died, he told me that he remembered his lessons: he had been taught as a boy how a good Catholic should die, and had seen good Catholics die according to the teaching he had received. And so he embraced death as a gift from God, and God gave him a gift of being in his own home, having family around him saying the Rosary, and a priest to say the Commendation as he died; and God gave an Indian doctor who was present the gift of seeing that even the English sometimes know how to "do death".
(My father was the sort of literal-minded man whose examination of Conscience was based on the Ten Commandments and on "Have I clothed anyone who was naked?" "Have I visited anybody in prison?" etc. He thought the SVP was God's gift to him to allow him to do what Jesus wanted him to do.)
My death might not be imminent: but it might be. So might yours. Are we prepared?
19 January 2008
Bishop Williamson, the SSPX, and a New (to me) Blog
I have mixed feelings about the SSPX. Part of me wants to applaud them for their fidelity to the Truth; part of me wants to take issue with, what seems to me, their wilful refusal to contrast Vatican II with the "spirit of Vatican II"; part of me recoils at outright refusal to obey Rome; part of me is glad that they have the momentum to maintain a structure in which the Mass as always celebrated continues to be celebrated; part of me feels sorry that a consequence of this Pontificate is that the SSPX will be superseded, and will become a footnote. The SSPX has been part of a debate that has informed my religious life ever since the day I served my first Novus Ordo Mass aged about 10 and asked the priest in the sacristy how many times I should ring the bell at the Consecration: "How the bloody hell does anyone know any more?" was the irreverent but accurate reply.
One part of me has always been convinced that the SSPX's chief problem is Bishop Williamson: he has never been a Catholic other than as part of the SSPX,
Update: I got this wrong. See the combox.
and, while his risible views on everything from women wearing trousers to "The Sound of Music" reflect on him personally, his views on Rome, his close to sedevacantist views on "the Two Churches" (the Church and the SSPX), reflect on the Society itself.
I came across a new (to me) blog here and, for the first time got a better idea about what Bishop Williamson might be about, a better idea about what the man behind the daft soundbites might actually believe and be like, and an idea that a bit of Charity towards the man, if not the soundbites, might be in order.
So: until the next time he says something daft, I promise not to post anything about Bishop Williamson here, or anywhere, and will dedicate effort, instead, into praying for the formal reconciliation of the SSPX with Rome.
One part of me has always been convinced that the SSPX's chief problem is Bishop Williamson: he has never been a Catholic other than as part of the SSPX,
Update: I got this wrong. See the combox.
and, while his risible views on everything from women wearing trousers to "The Sound of Music" reflect on him personally, his views on Rome, his close to sedevacantist views on "the Two Churches" (the Church and the SSPX), reflect on the Society itself.
I came across a new (to me) blog here and, for the first time got a better idea about what Bishop Williamson might be about, a better idea about what the man behind the daft soundbites might actually believe and be like, and an idea that a bit of Charity towards the man, if not the soundbites, might be in order.
So: until the next time he says something daft, I promise not to post anything about Bishop Williamson here, or anywhere, and will dedicate effort, instead, into praying for the formal reconciliation of the SSPX with Rome.
13 January 2008
The GIRM Is Our Friend
I suggested, a few weeks ago, that we ought to use the GIRM to "help" our priests ensure that our Masses were celebrated worthily. David Schütz, whose blog, Sentire Cum Ecclesia, features in my blogroll, is a former Lutheran Pastor in Melbourne who now works for the local Archdiocese. He runs another blog, Sing Lustily And With Good Courage, about hymnody, and it was there that I came across an interesting point.
David said: "In fact, it is prohibited to replace the responsorial psalm used in the liturgy with a paraphrase."
I e-mailed him to ask about this and he has pointed me to the GIRM. In the edition for England and Wales it says:
"57. In the readings, the table of God’s word is prepared for the faithful, and the riches
of the Bible are opened to them. Hence, it is preferable to maintain the arrangement
of the biblical readings, by which light is shed on the unity of both Testaments
and of salvation history. Moreover, it is unlawful to substitute other, non-biblical
texts for the readings and responsorial Psalm, which contain the word of God."
and
"61. After the First Reading comes the responsorial Psalm, which is an integral
part of the Liturgy of the Word and holds great liturgical and pastoral importance,
because it fosters meditation on the word of God.
The responsorial Psalm should correspond to each reading and should, as a
rule, be taken from the Lectionary.
It is preferable that the responsorial Psalm be sung, at least as far as the
people’s response is concerned. Hence, the psalmist, or the cantor of the Psalm,
sings the verses of the Psalm from the ambo or another suitable place. The entire
congregation remains seated and listens but, as a rule, takes part by singing the
response, except when the Psalm is sung straight through without a response. In
order, however, that the people may be able to sing the Psalm response more
readily, texts of some responses and psalms have been chosen for the various
seasons of the year or for the various categories of Saints. These may be used in
place of the text corresponding to the reading whenever the Psalm is sung. If the
Psalm cannot be sung, then it should be recited in such a way that it is
particularly suited to fostering meditation on the word of God.
The following may also be sung in place of the Psalm assigned in the Lectionary:
either the responsorial gradual from the Graduale Romanum, or the responsorial psalm
or the Alleluia psalm from the Graduale Simplex, in the form described in these books."
What these two paragraphs mean is that there is a limit to the amount of choice the Priest or (more likely) the parish Musikmeister has at Responsorial Psalm time. It's either the Psalm as printed in the Lectionary, the Psalm for the season of the year or for the category of Saints, or the alternatives from the Graduales.
What is implicit in the Australian and E&W translations, and explicit in the US translation is this:
"Songs or hymns may not be used in place of the responsorial Psalm."
What is also implicit throughout is that the only alternative to the Responsorial Psalm exactly as printed are the official alternatives, also exactly as printed. There is no scope for paraphrase, no scope for creativity.
I might also argue that this means that responses that can't be learned simply and easily by the congregation are not licit either, for how does the congregation "take part by singing the response" if those who are responsible for music have chosen something they really like, but which the congregation can't catch first time round (or, more ominously, second, third, or fourth time round).
Now, I know that this will raise various hackles about actuosa participatio and more, but one step at a time. These are the rules for celebration of the Ordinary Form in England and Wales at present, and it is our duty to make sure that they are observed.
David said: "In fact, it is prohibited to replace the responsorial psalm used in the liturgy with a paraphrase."
I e-mailed him to ask about this and he has pointed me to the GIRM. In the edition for England and Wales it says:
"57. In the readings, the table of God’s word is prepared for the faithful, and the riches
of the Bible are opened to them. Hence, it is preferable to maintain the arrangement
of the biblical readings, by which light is shed on the unity of both Testaments
and of salvation history. Moreover, it is unlawful to substitute other, non-biblical
texts for the readings and responsorial Psalm, which contain the word of God."
and
"61. After the First Reading comes the responsorial Psalm, which is an integral
part of the Liturgy of the Word and holds great liturgical and pastoral importance,
because it fosters meditation on the word of God.
The responsorial Psalm should correspond to each reading and should, as a
rule, be taken from the Lectionary.
It is preferable that the responsorial Psalm be sung, at least as far as the
people’s response is concerned. Hence, the psalmist, or the cantor of the Psalm,
sings the verses of the Psalm from the ambo or another suitable place. The entire
congregation remains seated and listens but, as a rule, takes part by singing the
response, except when the Psalm is sung straight through without a response. In
order, however, that the people may be able to sing the Psalm response more
readily, texts of some responses and psalms have been chosen for the various
seasons of the year or for the various categories of Saints. These may be used in
place of the text corresponding to the reading whenever the Psalm is sung. If the
Psalm cannot be sung, then it should be recited in such a way that it is
particularly suited to fostering meditation on the word of God.
The following may also be sung in place of the Psalm assigned in the Lectionary:
either the responsorial gradual from the Graduale Romanum, or the responsorial psalm
or the Alleluia psalm from the Graduale Simplex, in the form described in these books."
What these two paragraphs mean is that there is a limit to the amount of choice the Priest or (more likely) the parish Musikmeister has at Responsorial Psalm time. It's either the Psalm as printed in the Lectionary, the Psalm for the season of the year or for the category of Saints, or the alternatives from the Graduales.
What is implicit in the Australian and E&W translations, and explicit in the US translation is this:
"Songs or hymns may not be used in place of the responsorial Psalm."
What is also implicit throughout is that the only alternative to the Responsorial Psalm exactly as printed are the official alternatives, also exactly as printed. There is no scope for paraphrase, no scope for creativity.
I might also argue that this means that responses that can't be learned simply and easily by the congregation are not licit either, for how does the congregation "take part by singing the response" if those who are responsible for music have chosen something they really like, but which the congregation can't catch first time round (or, more ominously, second, third, or fourth time round).
Now, I know that this will raise various hackles about actuosa participatio and more, but one step at a time. These are the rules for celebration of the Ordinary Form in England and Wales at present, and it is our duty to make sure that they are observed.
11 January 2008
Who Is Behind Cardinal Pell For Westminster?
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Some analysis from the Times.
If this were right, then it would mean that the Cardinal's candidacy was floating around for a while before Paddy Power heard about it - which was around the time that Cardinal Murphy O'Connor's resignation was not accepted. That would add weight to a theory that MO'C was asked to stay on so that Cardinal Pell could enjoy, and make a success of, World Youth Day in Sydney before moving on.
(In fact, imagine if the Pope announced this on World Youth Day!)
This beast has legs!
Some analysis from the Times.
If this were right, then it would mean that the Cardinal's candidacy was floating around for a while before Paddy Power heard about it - which was around the time that Cardinal Murphy O'Connor's resignation was not accepted. That would add weight to a theory that MO'C was asked to stay on so that Cardinal Pell could enjoy, and make a success of, World Youth Day in Sydney before moving on.
(In fact, imagine if the Pope announced this on World Youth Day!)
This beast has legs!
Spain - The Problems Deepen
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A hard week for the church in Spain. The socialist Prime Minister, Zapatero, has accused the opposition party of being “acquiescent” during the demonstration two Sunday’s ago of two million Spanish Catholics in defence of the family. He had wanted them to condemn the Bishops’ “retreat from Human Rights” , but instead accused them of supporting the condemnation of homosexual marriage and quick divorce. He also accused them of spoiling the spirit of the season “half way between the Nativity of the Lord and the Epiphany”.
A former Prime minister, Felipe Gonzalez, and a well known socialist journalist, Iñaki Gabilondo, have added to the attacks: according to the journalist “the Spanish Bishops’ Conference makes it much more difficult to be Spanish than to be British, and more difficult to be a Spanish Catholic than a Belgian Catholic”; while the former PM thinks that the the Bishops “believe themsel
ves to possess an absolute truth, and want to save Spaniards from their errors. Well – we’re sick of being saved.”
A former Prime minister, Felipe Gonzalez, and a well known socialist journalist, Iñaki Gabilondo, have added to the attacks: according to the journalist “the Spanish Bishops’ Conference makes it much more difficult to be Spanish than to be British, and more difficult to be a Spanish Catholic than a Belgian Catholic”; while the former PM thinks that the the Bishops “believe themsel
ves to possess an absolute truth, and want to save Spaniards from their errors. Well – we’re sick of being saved.”There is a sort of hysterical adolescent cheek in the way these people attack the Spanish Episcopate and try to portray it as a branch of the PP, the opposition party. But this is another nail in the coffin of the post-Franco settlement in Spain.
Our Lady of the Pillar - pray for Spain.
07 January 2008
The New Church At Fatima
JSarto posted an interesting comment on the new building at Fatima, which he found at Manuel Azinhal's excellent website.
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My translation:
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"Looking at the new and old churches at Fatima, the difference between their profiles really stands out. One lifts itself up to Heaven, while the other anchors itself to earth. It struck me that this could explain the difference between the religion of the men who built Cathedrals, and the religiosity of the men who are responsible for these modern buildings. The former did everything thinking about Heaven; the latter have no place in their spirit for anything which transcends the things of the earth. The builders of the former, who worked on the great cathedrals, used to leave marks in the stone of the buildings which could never be seen from the ground: when asked why, they answered, very simply, that it was enough for them that their work could be seen from Heaven.
The difference between the religious attitude which dominates western Christianity today, and the attitude which made the age of glorious Christianity is worrying. Before, men though about God to turn themselves to His Will; now, often, those who turn to God want Him to do their will."
The difference between the religious attitude which dominates western Christianity today, and the attitude which made the age of glorious Christianity is worrying. Before, men though about God to turn themselves to His Will; now, often, those who turn to God want Him to do their will."
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Incidentally, Manuel Azinhal has a wonderful post on the significance of the 100th Anniversary of the Portuguese regicide: does anybody know how to copy a PowerPoint on YouTube so that it can be translated into English?
03 January 2008
Another Thought-Provoking Book
"The Just War tradition ... was not framed in the abstract. It represents a careful attempt, gradually and pragmatically developed over many centuries, to put some moral discipline, some humanity, into the business of armed conflict without imposing a straitjacket so rigid as completely to preclude effective action against grave wrong."
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General Sir Charles Guthrie was Chief of the Defence Staff from 1997-2001. Sir Michael Quinlan was PUS at the MOD from 1988-1992. They know whereof they speak.
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I know that the people involved at the sharp end of conflict do tend to think about what they do and why they do it. What is really good about this book is having a couple of practitioners explaining how the Thomist principles of the Just War apply today.
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Add to that a beautifully produced book, a hardback that lies flat without the spine cracking. £10 for 50 pages might seem a bit steep (only £7 from Amazon), but if you can't afford it, ask the library to obtain a copy. This is an important book.
02 January 2008
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