On The Horns Of A Dilemma...

The Bishops of England & Wales have declared that Catholics should abstain from meat on all Fridays of the year. This is a very commendable thing for them to have done.

Does the Friday within the Octave of the Nativity count as a "normal" Friday, or, like the Friday within the Easter Octave, is it exempt from the no-meat rule?

This is rather crucial, as I'm going to a party tomorrow night, and I don't like vegetables... or fish... and I suspect that most of the nibbles will be meat-based...

*sigh*

Does anyone know the Canon Law regarding this stuff...?

Blessing Of Wine...

Last year I found out about the Epiphany blessing of chalk for use on the doorframes... but only after the Feast of the Epiphany.

This year, the PP has put a note about it in the parish newsletter, and on the website. This is "A Good Thing" - as Leutgeb would say (with capital letters) - as I do believe we should get as many blessings as possible through the year. They were, after all, put there for a reason. Life revolved around the Church, and the Church, in her turn, reflected life in the cycle of the liturgical year.

I just read, courtesy of the inimitable Fr. Z, that there is a blessing of wine which is traditionally carried out after Mass on the Feast of St. John.

Unfortunately, Mass was this morning at 10am. I was there, but, not knowing about the blessing of wine, I didn't have any with me. I shall add it to my little list for next year...

Liturgical Abuses...

We had Mass for the feast of St. Stephen today, and two of our altar servers were enrolled into the Guild of St. Stephen.

I was on sacristy duty after Mass, and His Hermeneuticalness asked after the health of Monsignors Miaowrini and Furretti. He isn't normally so solicitous of their well-being, and I was instantly suspicious. Sure enough, he pointed out that as the enrolment happened after the sermon, he had forgotten to pick up his maniple when he returned to the altar.

Everyone knows that, when you celebrate Mass without a maniple, God kills a kitten.*

After all, last year Fr. Tim said Mass in Rome without a maniple, and Cardinal Catzinger (Miaowrini's predecessor) died. I did happen to mention that, as both cats were now well over a year old, they technically didn't qualify as "kittens."**

However, I decided to make a bit of an extra fuss of the kitty cats when I got home, and cracked open the packet of smoked salmon I had bought.

Monsignor Furretti was very impressed by the tidbit, and, in her eagerness not to miss a single morsel, she went cross-eyed...

I tried to take another photo, but she wasn't going to pose for any camera. Not when smoked salmon was being proffered. Furretti just moved too quickly, and the photos were just very blurry...

Miaowrini was a little more relaxed, though equally ecstatic with the offering of salmon. She just closed her eyes and nibbled enthusiastically... so enthusiastically that I nearly lost fingers...

And, when I put down a plate of the salmon slivers, the cats decided to tolerate each other - neither wishing to cede her place to the other. Normally they wouldn't be seen dead eating from the same bowl...

*Yes, I know God doesn't really kill kittens...

**His Hermeneuticalness will be getting the vet's bill if anything does happen...

Midnight Mass At Blackfen...

Thanks to Fr. Bernard McNally and Rev. Michael Baldry, we were able to celebrate a Solemn High Mass for Christmas, actually at midnight. Mass was preceded by favourite carols, and a printed sheet ensured that we didn't have to endure any of the politically correct shenanigans introduced by music publishers.

Mass itself was wonderful. I know, I know... Mass is always wonderful, and totally awesome (yes, God became physically present on the altar yet again, like He does at every Mass...) but Midnight Mass is that bit extra-special. After all, there is that whole "entering our world in the silent watches of the night" thing going on...

...the sacred ministers kneeling during "et homo factus est" in the Creed just sends goosebumps down my spine in a very special way at Midnight Mass...

Imagine... Our Lord and God actually consenting to become a baby. To become so vulnerable for our sakes. To rely on fallible human beings for everything. Now, if you wanted to make up a religion, would you ever come up with an idea as preposterous as that?

...and then, to crown it all, our God appears under the form of bread and wine, called down (almost ordered to become present) by the words and actions of more fallible human beings, namely His priests...

What more is there to say...?

Finally Ditching The iPhone...

Yes, it really has been two years since I last upgraded my phone. Well, ok, I'm short by a few weeks, but my upgrade was due early, according to O2, and who am I to disagree?

I had only two ideas when I went phone shopping. The first was that I never ever want to see another iPhone. I like the phone, and I'm (almost) certain that the latest one is streets ahead of the 3GS model I have had for the past two years. The deal-breaker is, quite simply, iTunes. It is clunky, and slow, and a real pain in the posterior. Yes, I'm running it on a PC and not on a Mac... but iTunes is supposed to be designed to run on both.

Unfortunately, syncing my iPhone depended on the use of iTunes. It became such a hassle that I avoided syncing, which meant that, on more than one occasion, I didn't have the latest addresses and phone numbers on my phone. I also found that, if I had updated a couple of addresses on my phone and a couple on my computer, the system couldn't cope, and it went with the most recent update - thus losing important contact information.

On more than one occasion iTunes froze my phone completely, necessitating a trip to the Apple shop in Bluewater. The last time it happened, the staff had problems re-booting my phone back to factory settings...

The other idea I had when looking for a new phone was that I didn't want a Blackberry. Not after the whole Blackberry system went down for three days. Blackberry Messenger is, IMHO, the Betamax of the text messaging world...

After having a little look in the O2 shop, I realised that there really wasn't any choice. I wanted Android as an operating system. There were many more phones running Android than the last time I was in the upgrade market, but the latest version, Android 4.0 (the famous "ice-cream sandwich") only runs on the Samsung Galaxy Nexus at the moment. Given that this upgrade was going to involve another 24-month contract, I wanted the most recent version available.

The Galaxy Nexus is larger than the iPhone - of course, I'm talking about my old iPhone - but the Nexus is thinner and lighter. The home button is "missing" on the front - it appears as a touch-screen button once the phone is switched on - this is taking me a bit of time to get used to, as is not having the power switch at the top.

I'm still getting used to the minimalist feel of the Nexus - the main touch-screen buttons, always available when the phone is on, are home (goes to the home screen), back (goes to your last viewed item) and recently viewed. The last option means that you can have lots of apps open at one time, but I haven't found any real use for it, partly because the only apps I've been using so far are the internet, Tweetdeck, Gmail and my contacts. As I get more apps, I suspect this will get to be more useful...

I've had lots of fun updating my contacts. First I had to export all my contacts over from Microsoft Outlook - another clunky program I will be more than happy to see the back of. Then I weeded out the obvious duplicates - Google does most of the hard work, but there were still items which I had to check and confirm manually. I spent far more time than I should playing with photos - I allowed my geeky nature to indulge itself to the fullest by hunting out photos of people who haven't assigned themselves a photo - basically it makes my phone's address book look much prettier.

There are one or two apps which I shall miss from my iPhone - iPieta being the main one (though I see that there is a variant coming out for Android) - but I mainly used my phone for messaging and checking the internet... and phoning, of course - so hadn't downloaded many apps anyway.

There are lots of features I haven't had time to explore yet - such as the voice-activated search option - and I think that I shall have a great deal of fun exploring... so, if you'll excuse me, I have a phone to go and play with...

A Blessed Christmas To You All...

 

The photo is from last year's crib at Our Lady of the Rosary, Blackfen. I hope to get some photos for this year's crib after Midnight Mass...

New Technology...

I have just treated myself to a new phone. More about that in another post. While gloating over my acquisition, I discovered that Annie Elizabeth is even more geeky than me - and she is considerably better informed. After an enjoyable discussion of technological advances (both of us remember the time when computers had green screens) I asked if she had seen the Medieval Helpdesk sketch. She said she hadn't, so I thought it deserved another airing...

On A Guilt Trip... (Just A Small One)

I have been a very baaaaad girl.

I gave the kitties some catnip mice as an early Christmas present (mostly to distract them from the small packet of smoked salmon which is supposed to be my Christmas present...

Those kitties got seriously high... Miaowrini went into ecstasies, not realising that she had dropped her mouse, and stopped with one back leg up in the air, totally fascinated by her own toes...

Furretti rolled around on the bed so much that I thought she would fall off...

I'm afraid that I found this all very amusing.

Does this mean that I'm a (kitty) drug pusher?

Bones Needs A Hand...

Poor Bones has had some very bad luck - his van has failed its MOT. The repairs it will need are likely to cost between £550 and £700.

It's not a huge amount, unless you are on a low wage, when it becomes an almost impossible amount to stump up. So Bones is running a Christmas Van Appeal, and I'm sure that a few blog readers have appreciated his songs enough to want to help out. He's a little wary of putting his home address out on the internet (sensible chap) and so is asking for donations to be sent c/o St Mary Magdalen Church, 55 Upper North Street, Brighton BN1 3FH.

Remember that he's not called "Bones" by the bank - make any cheques payable to Laurence England.

Campaign To Stop Smoking In Church...

It seems that we shall have to ration our use of frankincense during Mass. Servers will have to be given instruction in how to get maximum smoke from minimum grains of the precious stuff.

According to a report in the Telegraph, the number of boswellia trees is expected to drop by half in the next 15 years or so, and the trees are expected to disappear by 2060.

Just for once, global warming hasn't been identified as a cause - it's all due to cattle grazing, fire and insect attacks. Mind you, someone will no doubt point out that all of those causes can be traced back to global warming...

In the meantime, get ready to change the lyrics of that Christmas carol...

Starting To Feel Christmassy...

Twitch of the mantilla to Blondpidge...

Making Christmas Letters That Bit More Special...

Yup. My two seem to like the taste of paper... if I'm writing on it.

The Bishops Are Reassured... So Why Does That Ring Alarm Bells?

I see that the Bishops of England & Wales have welcomed Government assurances on protecting freedom of conscience with regard to civil unions.

The Government have promised not to put anyone into a difficult position... so that's alright then, because, after all, the Government is unchanging and eternal, just like its policies...

Why does it make me think about the Mental Capacity Act, and how welcoming the Bishops were about the assurances they were given then?

A Busy Sunday...

I seem to be on a bit of a "go-slow" this week... my body appears to have shut down early for Christmas, aided and abetted by some repair work on my car which is both necessary and taking longer than anticipated.

Sunday saw the Carol Service at Our Lady of the Rosary Church... in contrast to previous years, we didn't have a separate children's crib service, so it was a bit of an unknown quantity, but in actual fact it worked out pretty well.

I was sitting with the choir, which, on reflection, wasn't the best place from which to take photos, but I'll know better for next year. Thee are a few more photos on my Flickr page for the Carol Service.

After the Carol Service I went off to St. Bede's, Clapham Park, for Sung Vespers. This is a regular feature at St. Bede's, I understand. At one point it looked as if there would be more bodies on the Sanctuary than in the congregation, but more people arrived to redress the balance.

The service was a real treat, though the church was almost colder inside than outside, Fortunately I had had the foresight to wear a very thick coat. I often forget to bring a coat because I go nearly everywhere by car, and most places are well-heated.

Fr. Andrew Southwell officiated at Vespers, and the parish priest of St. Bede's, Fr. Christopher Basden, was present in choir (though I don't seem to have caught him on camera) along with an unidentified Monsignor who exposed and reposed the Blessed Sacrament (the purple cassock buttons gave him away.)

The photos aren't as good as I'd like - the back of the Sanctuary was so brightly lit that my little camera couldn't quite adjust, despite me playing around with various settings. Still, there are a few more photos over at the Flickr page for this set.

Poaching On My Territory...

For someone who grouses (albeit with a slight smirk) each time I post another kitty update, it seems His Hermeneuticalness has, nevertheless, had to acknowledge the sheer power of cat posts.

Cats are, obviously, the latest big thing in the advertising world...

So, all I have to do is get my two felines their own equity cards, and we'll be set up for life. Smoked salmon and cheese-flavour crisps all the way!

In the meantime, I still have a monopoly on hair and nail posts...

Gaudete !

I have failed (yet again) to keep to my New (Church) Year's resolution to post more regularly on the blog. Of late, I find that, by the time I get home, feed the cats, check I have something to wear for the next day and feed myself (not necessarily in that order), all I really want to do is crawl under the duvet.

However, I felt that I ought to make an effort with the photos from last Sunday. Being Gaudete Sunday, the famous rose vestments got another airing. His Hermeneuticalness reminded us in the notices before the sermon that Fr. Z and Damian Thompson had spearheaded the fundraising efforts for the vestments... and that we should all pray for the conversion of The Tablet...

In order to ensure that the whole High Mass set was shown off in full, we had a superb Solemn High Mass. Fr. Finigan was celebrant, Fr. Bernard McNally was deacon and Rev. John Harrison, (on loan from Chislehurst), was subdeacon.

I think this has to be one of my favourite shots...

Happy Feast Day...

Today is one of my favourite Feast Days. I've said it before - it's the day that, theologically speaking, really sorts out the men from the boys (to coin a phrase.) CINOs (Catholics-in-name-only) hate it, because it means that we are less than perfect, which then brings up the idea of sin and not "everyone going to heaven no matter what they do."

Our Lady was preserved from all stain of sin from the first moment of her conception. If you were God, and had the power to make your mother, what would you do? You'd want to preserve her from Original Sin and all the stuff that goes with that, (death, disease, concupiscence) wouldn't you?

Oh, and there's a big pro-life message in there - life begins AT conception.

Am I One Of The Pyjamahadeen...?

Does blogging in a nightie and dressing gown count?

Laurence succumbed to the temptation of writing a song dedicated to all of us Catholic bloggers. The first performance was at Blackfen last Saturday, and Fr. Tim caught it on camera. I heartily approve of the special effects employed which render me unrecognisable even without a mantilla...

Mass For The Immaculate Conception...

For those of you fortunate enough to be able to get to St. George's Cathedral on Thursday morning, there will be a Low Mass according to the usus antiquior in honour of the Immaculate Conception, which is the patronal feast of our diocese.

I was going to say that I was jealous - but then I realised that there's going to be a Missa Cantata at Our Lady of the Rosary, Blackfen at 8pm...

Not that I'm into one-upmanship or anything...

This Is The Ecclesia Dei...

I had a wonderful day yesterday.

First of all, there was our monthly Missa Cantata at Blackfen, which is a cause for great joy anyway. This was added to by the fact that, after Mass, I renewed my vows. I don't make the vows just for a year, they are permanent, but it's a great excuse for a party... it also helps to remind me what I'm doing with my life, and why!

Lunch followed - cooked to perfection by Trisha and her team of helpers - and we all tucked into eggs, bacon, sausages, fried bread, mushrooms, baked beans (I didn't have any of those) and tomatoes (I didn't have those either!)

I was really pleased that Blondpidge was able to make it to Blackfen, and I got to meet Robin (aka Mr. Pidge) and all the little Pidges (I met the youngest - Little Miss Pidge - at Michael Voris' talk back in August!)

It was almost another blognic, what with His Hermeneuticalness, Leutgeb, Zephyrinus (who arrived in time for a late lunch sitting and Vespers) Annie Elizabeth, Blondpidge, Bones and me...

The star of the show had to be Laurence England (aka Bones) who gave us a live performance of many of the songs featured on his own blog, including the first ever performance of Ecclesia Dei... (Click on the link if you want to sign the open "letter" to Archbishop Nichols!)

The children were absolutely entranced, and sat down to listen... and that was just as he was tuning his guitar!

Fr. Tim was also recording, and he was using a much better camera, so my video will probably lose out in the ratings war... but maybe he'll put up one of the other songs instead, and let me have my "blogging exclusive!"

Annie Elizabeth later tweeted that her children were singing "Some more, some more, Summorum Pontificum" all afternoon...

And then the day finished with sung Vespers and Benediction...

A really wonderful day!

Latin Is Sooooooo Hard To Learn...

Tom sings in the visiting schola at Blackfen, and usually brings his family along for the Missa Cantata. His children love to join in the Marian anthem after Benediction, and really belt it out with gusto. I meant to record them at Benediction, when they would have been totally natural and unconcerned, but of course, it being Advent, we've started to sing the Alma redemptoris mater, and they aren't quite as confident with that one...

So, I persuaded Edward to sing the Salve regina in the parish club afterwards. He and his brother became a little self-conscious and shy, but he certainly knows his stuff... I forget how old the children are...

No Sudden Deaths Due To Use of Corrected Translation...

That's right. I understand that many places only got to use the corrected ICEL translations last Sunday. I haven't noticed any blog reports of parishioners fainting, having palpitations, or any other adverse effects. There have been a very few hissy fits, but really these bear the tones of petulant toddlers, and seem to be making last-ditch attempts to persuade everyone that things will be really baaaaad if we use such big words.

In Britain we have had the corrected translation since September. No-one died here, either.

I was asked to write about the introduction of the new texts from a layperson's perspective for the Catholic Herald, which included a special Advent Magazine last Sunday. I was tremendously chuffed to see that my name appeared on the front cover along with Monsignor Andrew Wadsworth and James MacMillan (Wow! Exalted company for me indeed!) Unfortunately, the Magazine isn't available online, so I can't just give you a simple link, but I thought I'd share what I wrote anyway...

Liturgy: A golden age of worship.

I never learned Latin at school. As an adult, I would take great delight in reminding people that, for years, the only Latin in the Mass which I knew was the Kyrie eleison, and the rest was all Greek to me. And then I’d sit back and smirk as someone pointed out that the Kyrie actually was Greek. But not knowing any Latin meant that I had to rely on the International Commission on English in the Liturgy (ICEL) translation of the Mass.

To begin with, this wasn’t a problem. But once I started to pray the Divine Office I became more and more aware that something wasn’t quite right. The collect at Sunday Mass and the concluding prayer for Morning and Evening Prayer bore a striking resemblance to each other. On looking at things more closely, I discovered that the prayers were actually supposed to be the same – they were the same in the Latin original – and so there was a difference in translation between the prayers for the Mass and for the Office.

I began to attend Mass in the Extraordinary Form and also to sing various parts of the Mass in Latin and, looking at the English translation, I became more and more aware that the language had been over-simplified, and words and phrases had been cut out. The Mass had been impoverished and it had lost the sense of the sacred. I also became aware that this was mostly a problem with the English translation. Most other languages seemed to stick much more closely to the Latin original, most noticeably with the "And with your Spirit" response. The English translation had rendered the phrase as "And also with you", turning it from a recognition of the sacerdotal character imprinted on the soul of the priest at Ordination to the equivalent of "And to you, too!"

Around this time, the news that a corrected translation was in the pipeline was being discussed, particularly on the internet. Fr John Zuhlsdorf, who writes for this newspaper, had a whole blog dedicated to accurate translation of the Latin texts at Mass in which the inaccuracies of the "lame-duck" ICEL translation were laid bare for everyone to see. A more accurate translation could only be a good thing, I thought, but I didn’t actually expect it to have much impact. After all, why should changing one or two words be that noticeable?

It also seemed to take such a long time to get under way. I couldn’t understand why translating the Mass should take so long, though I gathered from reading various reports that there were objections to the use of unfamiliar words. There was talk of the need for training courses to explain the new translation, especially for words such as "ineffable," "wrought" and "gibbet". I found this to be rather patronising. As a teacher, I am well aware that difficult words are only difficult until they are explained. After all, photosynthesis, chloroplasts and cytoplasm are quite difficult words too, but they are taught to every 11-year-old in their Science lessons.

As more and more people, especially on the internet, made fun of the objections and pointed out how spurious they were, I noticed that a real sense of excitement was starting to build. When the Bishops of England and Wales announced that, although the new translation would officially be mandated from the first Sunday of Advent this year, they wanted parishes to start using it from September to allow the laity to become familiar with the responses, it suddenly began to feel as though the change would really happen.

On the last Sunday in August, I attended Mass with a sense of an era coming to an end. The old ICEL translation was, after all, the only one I had ever known. Although I could hardly wait for the new version, it felt very strange indeed to realise that I would never again say "We believe…" I was almost nostalgic – but only almost.

At Mass the following week we had leaflets with the new responses typed out neatly. It was quite funny because our parish priest announced before Mass that the new responses would be used, and that sheets were available at the back of the church. A few people, having forgotten that this was the big day, shuffled out of their pews to collect a sheet. Mass began, and a few people stumbled over the automatic response "And also with you," and there was a little more shuffling as more people collected a sheet. Then the "I confess" provoked another bout of shuffling. By the time we got to the Gloria, the message appeared to have gotten through.

I felt a real thrill of excitement when making the new responses. At the "I confess" I was able to make the traditional threefold striking of the breast. Then, while reciting the Gloria, I saw how a whole section had been replaced, in which we give glory and praise to God, echoing the cry of the angels when they announced the birth of Christ. Why the words were ever left out in the old translation is a complete mystery – is it really possible to praise God too much?

It was very hard not to lapse into recitation of the Apostles’ Creed – the main indicator of which has always been "I believe," instead of the "We believe" of the Nicene Creed. There had been a great deal of fuss made of the proposed use of "consubstantial" in the Creed rather than "of one being", but actually I have always found the latter expression to be rather vague and woolly, whereas consubstantial quite simply means "of the same substance", and therefore it resonates more fully for me, expressing the divine nature of Christ.

But the most moving part of the new translation of the Mass for me was definitely in the Eucharistic Prayer. The words were unfamiliar, but at the same time they struck a chord. Suddenly it seemed clear that what was happening at the altar was the action of God, that the use of sacred language marked out the numinous for us: the priest, in persona Christi, was interceding on our behalf to the Father, and the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is something done for us by God, not something we do for him.

It will take a while before I learn the new responses off by heart, and I am sure that I will make the occasional mistake. After all, I have been making the old responses for nearly 20 years. Nevertheless, it will be well worth the effort. The new translation has restored the sense of the sacred to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

Calling A Spade A Shovel...

Back in the mid 1990s, when I was involved in scientific research, I wrote an article on foetal tissue transplantation for Faith Magazine (archived by EWTN) in which I happened to comment on how the medical profession liked to use highly specialised scientific language in order to obscure the true nature of the work being done.

The mothers of the aborted babies used were referred to in very oblique terms in the papers I reviewed - one study even went so far as to call them "donors." Aborted babies were reduced to "embryonic tissue" or "neural tissue." Everyone knew what it all meant, but it was just a "nicer" way to say it.

It seems, however, that we have now reached the stage where scientific papers are being much more up-front about what is involved. The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists have published advice on performing late abortions:

"Feticide should be performed before medical abortion after 21 weeks and 6 days of gestation to ensure that there is no risk of a live birth."

Patricide, matricide, fratricide, regicide aren't used so often these days - but most people can identify the words as meaning that someone is killed. Homicide is much more widely understood (mostly due to American cops-and-robbers films and programmes) as the killing of one human being by another. There can be no doubt in people's minds that feticide is the killing of a foetus, an unborn baby. Forget "products of conception" - that works earlier on, but not after 21 weeks.

This bluntness is rather surprising, and begs the question: have we, as a society, become so desensitised that the RCOG feels it can give clear advice on killing babies without having to dress it up in fancy language?

Twitch of the mantilla to Fr. Tim, who goes into much more detail (not to be read on a full stomach, trust me!)

World Blogging Exclusive...!

Laurence England (affectionately known in these parts as "Bones") is due to fulfil His Hermeneuticalness' prediction (quoted on the front page of this week's Catholic Herald, no less) that ' "Gimme some more, some more Summorum Pontificum" will be sung in pubs and clubs up and down the land after traditional Masses and other traddie events' !

Bones is planning to visit Blackfen this Saturday, 3rd December 2011 (which, in case I haven't mentioned it, happens to be the day I renew my vows!) and he'll be bringing his guitar, to serenade us all between the Missa Cantata, my vows and Sung Vespers...

Sad News...

I regret to pass on the sad news that Dominic Mary of Libera Me passed away last month. Karen (Gem of the Ocean) has more details, as the two of them started a wonderful blogging romance. Do go over to give your condolences to Karen.

Happy Thanksgiving !

Happy Thanksgiving to all my American friends!

Photos From The LMS Requiem...

Joseph Shaw has put up his photos from the Requiem Mass at Westminster Cathedral. He complains that he hasn't been able to do any editing, but they look pretty good anyway.

The whole set can be seen at his Flickr page.

Those Polls...

The polls about Mass preferences have finished. Not very surprisingly, given the slant on this blog towards Mass celebrated according to the usus antiquior, the majority of people who responded to the blog would prefer to attend Mass in the Extraordinary Form.

More surprisingly, it seems that, of the people who bothered to vote, the majority were male. It was roughly a 60/40 split on both polls.

The most surprising finding, for me, was the discovery that there weren't any significant differences between the percentage of men and women who preferred to attend the Extraordinary Form.

Just eyeballing the figures, it seems that those who prefer the Ordinary Form of Mass would rather attend it celebrated ad orientem than in Latin. That seems to bear out the gut feeling that, if one is going to celebrate the Liturgy in Latin, one might as well go "the whole hog."

Of course, this is purely based on the people who actually bothered to vote.

Prayers For The Bishop...

Bishops have an unenviable task, that of leading the flock entrusted to them by Christ. Not a job I'd care for - I have enough problems shepherding my own soul.

So please, of your charity, pray for the repose of the soul of John Jukes, OFM Conv., Auxiliary Bishop of Southwark, who died earlier today.

Requiescat in Pace.

Bones Brings Out The B-Side...

Bones has much to answer for...

His Hermeneuticalness has been singing "Some more, some more, Summorum Pontificum" over and over. I now can't get the refrain out of my head. If ever I came close to throttling a cleric, today was the day.

As he promised, Bones has released the follow-up - "Across Universae Ecclesiae," which, IMHO is much better...



"Save the the Liturgy and save the World!"

Food For Thought...

At this time of year His Hermeneuticalness treats us to our annual reminder about the Four Last Things. We had Death at the beginning of November, followed by Judgement. Today it was time for Hell.

As often happens, one thing resonated for me. This week it was the fact that God has given us time. We get this stretch of time given to us in which we can repent of our sins and bad decisions and poor judgements.

Mulling this over, I was struck by a sudden thought: Time only affects the physical universe - it's measured in terms of the Earth spinning on its axis and orbiting the Sun... or, if you're more up-to-date, by atoms decaying. All physical stuff.

The angels didn't get given the luxury of time.

We really shouldn't waste such a unique and precious gift. We need to make the best use of it - for our eternal salvation - that we can.

Just a thought.

Calendar Clash...

Today happened to see the Towards Advent Festival and the Annual Requiem for deceased LMS members. Both were due to happen at Westminster Cathedral, and I had high hopes of once more scooting along to the Festival for a bit before toddling along to the Requiem Mass.

Alas, I'm still feeling rather grim. I decided that I was too ill to get to the Low Mass at Blackfen, and that sitting in a cold church for the period of Adoration wouldn't do me any good at all, and so I stayed in bed all morning. I had considered journeying to London by public transport for the events in London, but it looked jolly cold outside, and I decided that it wasn't a good idea...

I opted to do the politically incorrect thing and drive all the way. Naturally, it being Saturday, my journey was seriously impeded by roadworks, but I understand from Annie (we chatted briefly after Mass) that there were quite a lot of engineering works on the trains as well, so I wouldn't have been any better off. Sadly, the delay meant that I didn't have time to go to the Towards Advent Festival (though I did bump into Fiorella afterwards - she had apparently been signing books) and I was a little late for the Mass itself. I met quite a few friends there afterwards, including Seán from Juventutem London who stopped to chat briefly, and I spotted Paul Smeaton there too.

The Mass was beautiful - every Mass is beautiful, really, but this was Mass "with all the trimmings." There was a point after Communion where all the sacred ministers and servers were moving around the sanctuary in total silence in what appeared to be an exquisitely choreographed manner, and I was quite overwhelmed by it all - the majesty and, at the same time, the simplicity (it was, after all, a Requiem.) Stunning.

I wasn't allowed to take photos (the one above is actually from last year), so I shall link to Joseph Shaw's collection as soon as he overcomes his computer glitches and puts them online...

Another Blogging Cleric...

It seems that Fr. Bede Rowe has been blogging on the Q.T.

Do go over to read his very entertaining blog - A Chaplain Abroad - which details some of the things he's encountered in his role as chaplain of Chavagnes International College.

I had no idea he was blogging... I do wish people would tell me stuff like that, or leave a comment or something...

*grumble, grumble... rhubarb... mutter*

Feline Fellowship...

Monsignors Furretti and Miaowrini are pleased to announce that Pushkin the Oratory cat has published a book of his exploits, including the time he met the Holy Father..

The book launch is to be held on Monday 21st November (just in time for the Christmas market) and all proceeds from the sale of the book will go towards providing a more snug, warm and dry Oratory for Pushkin to dwell in more comfortably. Apparently there was flood damage last year, and no cat should be expected to have to put up with damp conditions.

The Monsignori  have asked me to pass on their best wishes, though they were just a little miffed that, despite senior clerical rank, they were not invited to the press launch. I shall probably have to placate them with morsels of smoked salmon...

A Neat Bit Of Evangelisation...

"On the Cross, Jesus said, 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?' Why would he say that if he knew he was God?"

That question is quite a common one, in my experience. Most people in Catholic schools know enough of the Gospels to throw something similar at you, triumphantly, as if it would completely undermine the faith as taught for two thousand years. After all, people in the past were just dumb, weren't they?

Even the devil can quote Scripture.

I think that what we have lost is the idea of Tradition. Tradition now tends to be associated with stuffiness, and harking back to the bad old days, and being against progress. However, the living Tradition of the Catholic Church is very different. It is the knowledge, passed down through the centuries, (NOT "old wives' tales") which fleshes out the accounts in the Gospels - the things which St. John records as being too numerous to write down.

Stuff that people just used to know.

Of course, with modern teaching methods, one can never "just know" anything - one has to be able to give chapter and verse - reasons for one's knowledge. Not just so-and-so said, and I trust them to tell me the truth, but actual reasons, and anyway one must always recognise that this is just one opinion among many...

I think that, since the sort of biblical exegesis we've seen with the New Jerusalem Bible and its ilk - exegesis which depends on treating the Scriptures as dead documents to be translated as "accurately" as possible - we have lost the idea of the Scriptures as the living Word of God, interpreted through the Church's Tradition. I said this once before, when I noticed that the writings of the saints about Scripture passages didn't appear to correspond to the meanings given to those same passages today... which is why I tend to prefer the Douay-Rheims version of the Bible when looking stuff up. That's the version the Church used for most of her history.

Anyway, Pat Archbold has obviously found a brilliantly inspired way to answer the question about Jesus' cry from the Cross. He managed to identify the modern-day equivalent of common knowledge and tradition and apply it. I have to admit that I didn't get the cannoli reference - not being an American male brought up on the Godfather films - but I'm sure there are other frames of reference which could be substituted...

Kitty Conundrum...

I've been stuck at home this week, curled up under the duvet. I've gotten out of bed to feed the cats, and that's about it. I've mostly been asleep.

This afternoon I started to take a bit more interest in my surroundings. I heard the catflap bang, followed by a high-pitched squeak, and some scampering from two excitable kitties.

I decided to go and rescue the mouse rather than listen to it being tortured... or even to hear it escaping somewhere in the flat.

The cats heard me coming, one of them grabbed mousie and both shot back out through the catflap, presumably to continue elsewhere.

I guess that's a live mouse for the Kitty Kill Count. But my two Monsignori are certainly doing better than Larry, Number 10's (rather inefficient) Rodent Removal Operative. Three mice since February?? Is that all?? Mine have only had hunting licences since April, and even if you divide their spoils by two...

(BTW, the cats just came back with another mouse... or possibly the same one. I managed to rescue it this time...)

A Minor Victory...

After all the hype and media interest, and all the millions of pounds invested in research which would, apparently, be the answer to prayer for thousands of patients, it has finally dawned on one major research company that human embryonic stem cell therapies don't work, while adult stem cell research is producing the goods.

Of course, that's not quite the way the spin is playing.

Officially, Geron, a California-based company responsible for carrying out the world's first official trial using embryonic stem cells, has decided to pull the plug on the research because of the "current environment of capital scarcity and uncertain economic conditions."

Medical research companies don't "just stop" following particular avenues of research after ploughing millions into it. Not when they get as far as human patient trials.

In other words, despite all the money being poured in, the results aren't forthcoming.

Twitch of the mantilla to Luke Coppen (Editor of the Catholic Herald) who tweeted this one earlier.

Calling All Pregnant Women...

The Good Counsel Network does wonderful work in helping to support women through crisis pregnancies, many of whom might have gone on to have an abortion without the support GCN gives.

The workers at GCN have noted that many women really do change their views on abortion when they get to see the reality of their unborn baby through an ultrasound scan. It's much harder to kid yourself that it's just a blob of tissue, or just a ball of cells when you can see fingers, toes, a heartbeat...

Anyway, GCN have an ultrasound machine. But they need help in training people to operate it. So they're asking for women who are between 5 and 13 weeks pregnant to volunteer for a scan. No cost, a free scan and a picture of the baby to keep, and travel expenses can be refunded. The scan is supervised by a qualified consultant. The only snag is that the GCN need women to phone to book a scan on 020 7723 1740.

This is a very easy way in which you can support the work of the Good Counsel Network, so please consider helping if at all possible.

Gender Differences...

Someone once told me that a priest (or possibly a bishop, I can't remember) declared that the implementation of the Novus Ordo would result in a Mass attendance comprised of women and children.

On a purely subjective level, I have noticed that there seems to be a much more balanced attendance at the Extraordinary Form Mass than at the Ordinary Form, and far more men at the former than at the latter...

Now there are many more options in the Ordinary Form - and I'm rather interested if it is the ad orientem worship which causes the difference, or the use of Latin, or just the fact that the usus antiquior hasn't been denuded of all the extras, such as the preparatory prayers, and that there aren't any "options."

The polls are in the sidebar - do go across and vote. I'm interested in your preferences, not what you actually attend.

Too Many Cat Posts...!

Well, I don't care, because I seem to be in good company...

I wonder if the kitty gets to put the im-paw-matur on all documents? Or should that be the im-purr-matur? I shall have to go back and check with Fr. Z on his blog - What Does the Purr Really Say? Fr. Tim might also wish to express an opinion over at The Purrmeneutic of Continuity...

Twitch of the mantilla to Terry Nelson for the photo.

Time For Another Cage Match...?

First of all came the epic Trial-by-Kitty of The Remnant versus the Catholic Times. Monsignor Furretti, despite her youth, showed great discernment, and the Remnant survived. Then the Inquisition moved on to consider the case of The Catholic Herald versus The Suppository. A two-kitten panel of Monsignori decided very firmly in favour of shredding the latter... if cats had thumbs they'd probably have arranged an auto da fe, but one works with the tools God has provided.

It has been suggested that perhaps it is time for some further suitable test of orthodoxy for my two hooligans as they enter the cat equivalent of teenagerdom. Any suggestions?

Help Prevent Abortion Provision Being Imposed As A Duty...

John Smeaton has alerted people to plans, under the Health & Social Care Bill, to introduce statutory regulations forcing Local Authorities to provide abortions as part of the new NHS arrangements. This will create a conflict for any councillor who objects to abortion. Regulations forcing Councils to set up contracts with abortion providers (NHS or private) would also create the false idea that there is a legal right to abortion.

Please write to your local councillors asking them to write to their chief executive requesting clarification of what the regulations will require. It is important that no statutory duty to commission abortions should be imposed on Local Authorities under the NHS reforms.

Renewing My Vows...

I made private vows nine years ago. Some of my friends at the time were horrified - "What if Mr. Right turns up tomorrow?" I pointed out that he'd be Mr. Wrong, because he was too late: God got there first! I can honestly say that I haven't regretted my decision.

I'm renewing my vows next month (I don't need to renew my vows, they are permanent as far as I'm concerned) which makes an excellent excuse for a party. It'll be on 3rd December, which is the first Saturday, so that means that we have our monthly Missa Cantata and visiting schola. The Mass starts at 10:30am, and is finished about 11:30am, and I will renew my vows after Mass. There will be a bit of a party in the large hall, and then solemn sung Vespers at 2:30pm to finish up.

You are all most welcome. It would be helpful to know numbers (for catering purposes) but don't let that put you off if you suddenly find you're free...

Praying For The Dead...

Each year we have a ceremony for blessing graves in the parish. It's a very moving occasion, and, after praying for all the dead, Fr. Tim walks around, blessing any graves that people ask him to bless. The visit to a cemetery in the first week of November has a plenary indulgence attached, so, although there is a feeling of sadness, there is also some joy in the knowledge that, just by going to the cemetery and saying a prayer for the faithful departed, souls are freed from Purgatory.

Do remember to pray for the forgotten souls in Purgatory as well as for your loved ones...

November Kicks Off...

First of all a Missa Cantata at Our Lady of the Rosary Blackfen for the Feast of All Saints. Stirring stuff as Leutgeb would probably say - she's good at penning short, succinct phrases to capture the moment. I realise that it's probably very unfashionable of me, but I really do like the Missa de Angelis... though I'm not quite as keen on Credo III.

And then, this evening we had another Missa Cantata for the Commemoration of all the Faithful Departed, better known as All Souls' Day. Also stirring - but in a very different way: the propers are plaintive, mournful and very moving, while the Dies Irae thunders out, warning of the fate which, but for the mercy of God, awaits each of us.

The cherry on top of this wonderful treat consists of the opportunities for obtaining a Plenary Indulgence at the start of November, either for oneself (which always strikes me as a little bit of a waste in my case, unless I was fortunate enough to get in there just before I went to meet my Maker, as all the merits would, no doubt, disappear within the first five minutes as I succumbed to one or other of my besetting sins) or, more usefully, for one of the Holy Souls... perhaps for the most forgotten soul who has no-one to pray for him.

If you weren't lucky enough to get an EF Mass with all the trimmings ("Ablutions* at the Catafalque" as Zephy is wont to say!) then you can always get your fix by looking at the YouTube video I made with last year's photos...

*Yes, I know it's absolutions at the Catafalque, as does Zephyrinus, when he's sober...

The Advent Of... Well... Advent...!

Joanna Bogle sent an email round to remind us that, along with Advent itself, the Towards Advent Festival is rapidly approaching. It's on Saturday 19th November at Westminster Cathedral Hall.

The Festival opens at 10 am, and there will be a formal opening at 10:30 am with the Gallery Choir of the Cathedral Choir School. The Hall will be packed with stalls and displays from lots and lots of Catholic groups and organisations, and there will be books, DVDs, holy cards, Christmas stuff, statues, rosaries, and more on sale. I wrote about last year's Festival (and posted some pics too!)

This year the main speaker will be Mgr. Keith Newton of the Ordinariate - he's on at 1:30pm. I suspect that a lot of people will want to go and hear him.

Although admission to the Festival is free, there is a charge of £2 to attend the talks.

That Extra Hour...

I hate the changing of the clocks. It irritates me - I honestly can't see the point. London is on the Prime Meridian, zero degrees longitude... all time zones throughout the world use Greenwich Mean Time as the baseline.

Monkeying about with the clocks each year so that we can have British Summer Time is pretty pointless. The guff about the changing of the clocks giving us an extra hour's daylight is complete rubbish - we have exactly the same amount of daylight as we would get without changing the clocks...

Another excuse is that the number of road accidents with children on their way to school in the early morning darkness is reduced. I wonder why the accident rate for children going home in the dark evenings doesn't matter?

It annoys me because, just as my body is adjusting to light levels in the summer mornings, I suddenly have my body rhythms interrupted by the jump forward. My body tells me it's 6am... but the alarm clock says 7am. Somehow or other the extra hour "gained" in the autumn doesn't seem to register in the same way.

As for moving the clocks so as to be on the same time zone as Europe, well, that's just crazy!

Ok, rant over. I just had to get that off my chest.

BTW, we return to GMT tonight, so the clocks go back an hour. I wonder if the kitties will try to wake me up for breakfast...

Better Late Than Never...

Having been ridiculously busy of late, and unusually disinclined to go anywhere near my computer during my week off, I have suddenly realised that I never did get around to publishing my photos from the recent LMS pilgrimage to Aylesford.

Very remiss of me.

The music was a real treat - and there was a thrill associated with the thought that it had been composed by a contemporary of St. Simon Stock, the founder of the shrine at Aylesford. The Kyrie has to be the longest I have ever encountered: I have never been at a Mass where the celebrant gets to sit down while waiting to get to the Gloria!

The Mass was in the Relic Chapel. During the sermon, Fr. Tim reminded us that St. Simon's skull was kept in the reliquary behind the altar...

I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with Aylesford. I am astonished by how little is made of the fact that this is the place where St. Simon Stock had a vision of Our Lady, and then started the devotion of the Brown Scapular. The place is relatively close to where I live, only 45 minutes down the motorway, but I don't go there as often as I could - mostly because I associate the place with dreadful diocesan liturgy and horrible school trips... and damp (which makes my joints ache.) However, none of these factors were in evidence for the LMS pilgrimage!

Part of the fun of pilgrimages is getting to meet up with friends - I discovered that Paul Smeaton had apparently let the side down by turning up without a tie. His punishment was to be forced to model the proposed new Juventutem London tie by Seán... I sincerely hope that was a joke, as the tie has got to be one of the most ghastly items I have ever encountered...

After the Mass I had a lovely chat with the Reluctant Sinner, though we had to make a mad dash back so as to make it back for Fr. Tim's talk.

After the talk, we finished the pilgrimage with Benediction...

I didn't take many photos on this occasion, but Joseph Shaw took lots, and they can be found on his excellent Flickr site. I even found a photo of me which I consider acceptable...

(I'm the blonde wearing black, on the right-hand side, with a mantilla...)