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.