(Yes, I also read the comment, somewhere or other, that central heating is installed, but bishops are enthroned, but the Westminster diocesan blog refers to the installation of the Archbishop, so I shall do the same...)
The Friends of Westminster Cathedral decided to present the new Archbishop with a set of new vestments. When I first read the announcement, it did occur to me that this could be ghastly - visions of "fuzzy-felt" bunches of grapes kept floating before my eyes, and mention of griffins just brought the old Barclays Bank logo to mind. The Installation Blog, however, put up some pictures of the vestments being made, along with a description, and there's not a grape, felt or otherwise, in sight! The griffin design mentioned is presumably woven into the fabric itself. The overall effect is one of elegant simplicity. This is not, by the way, the same as the "simplicity" claimed by the awful fuzzy-felt vestments of the 1970s - that was a stripping out of all that was beautiful, of all that was perceived as "not relevant" or "not modern."
There is an excellent article by Christina White in the Catholic Herald on the creation of the new vestments.
I was extremely interested to note that the ceremony of the Reception and Installation of the Archbishop of Westminster will be carried out according to the ancient Catholic rite used in similar circumstances for the Reception and Installation of the Archbishops of Canterbury prior to the Reformation... one in the eye for all those trendies who decry the usus antiquior as dragging the Church backwards, perhaps?
Taken together, this suggests that the winds of liturgical change (or a bit of a breeze, at least) might be blowing through the halls of Westminster Cathedral. Watch this space.
2 comments:
Mac, I know I'm the impatient sort, but when you talk about a wind of change or ...'a bit of a breeze, at least'... blowing through Westminster, I kind of have a picture of something more along the lines of Hurricane Katrina or Andrew, perhaps a Cyclone or at the very least a Twister of a Tornado!
To blow out the accumulated dust of ages (well at least 50 odd years!) together with all the cobwebs that have put progress on the backburner in so many areas of Catholic LIFE in E&W will need a good deal of focused energy.
Please may Archbishop Vincent Nichols rise to the challenge and inspire and drive the winds (hurricanes!) of change and focus on nothing less than the re-Christianisation of our once great nation and culture. The Catholic Church must lead from the front, as everyone else has thrown in the towel and embraced secular relativism.
Yes a mammoth task, but I keep dwelling on Raymond DeSouza's closing comments during last weeks evening lecture at Blackfen, "something is happening and England, though she is engulfed in a dark cloud at the present time, will lead Europe back to her Christian heritage and roots". Wow!!!
If the great Saints John Vianney and Don Bosco saw this forthcoming event during their spiritual meditations then we must hope all the more.
We must redouble our prayer efforts, especially with with the Prayer for England and the Holy Rosary.
George, every hurricane starts off as a gentle breeze. Hang on in there, and keep praying...
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