Having Fun...

I'm still incredibly busy, but I do like to try and liven up my Science lessons with a little light entertainment. A few years ago - in the era before YouTube - Tom Lehrer's Periodic Table Song was a rarity, because very few teachers could sing it right through (I did have one colleague who went from class to class as a favour to all of us!) Now everyone knows it, and it's rather dated, not least because 15 new elements have been disc-aaar-vared (and details duly sent to Haaar-vard.)

I found a catchy (aka irritating) song which goes through the first ten elements, and one of my Year 9 classes has started to join in (and even ask for it as a "treat" at the end of lessons!) However, I think that the following video trumps the lot, if only because of the animations. I'm tempted to try and learn it myself...

Blackfen's Newest MC...

Jonathan, Blackfen's Senior MC, believes in training up the young altar servers to carry out all the different roles on the Sanctuary. There is no protracted period as junior torchbearer for the first few years to get settled in before being promoted to senior torchbearer. I believe that Thurifer is a much sought-after role (something about boys and matches), and it's first-come, first-served when the duties are being assigned in the Sacristy before Mass.

The job of MC is, of course, a much more tricky one which requires much more in the way of preparation. There are certain responses to make (in Latin) and it must be rather daunting to have to tell Father which bits he needs to chant next (and point to the right spot in the Missal.) Nevertheless, Jonathan is keen to get the young boys doing this job too. I suspect he wants to retire early and spend Sunday mornings sailing instead.

One of our altar servers acted as MC today at Mass for the first time, at the tender age of 11. I only got a few pictures (his justifiably proud mama has promised to put up a few more in due course), and they're up on Flickr if you want to have a look.

Faith Of Our Fathers...

St. Anthony Communications has brought out a new DVD about the English Martyrs. Featuring Fr. Marcus Holden and Fr. Nicolas Schofield, the film is rather like an account of a personal pilgrimage made by the two priests... it reminds me of the pilgrimage I made with Joanna Bogle a few years ago, to find out more about my patron saint, St. Anne Line.

It was a fascinating film, though I have to confess to being a little disappointed in not being treated to more stories of the martyrs themselves - however, the constraints of time probably prevented much being done. Maybe we will be treated to more in-depth analyses of the saints in future.

Christian Holden, brother to Fr. Marcus Holden, directed the documentary, and wrote an article about it for the Catholic Herald. In it, he explained that the stories of the martyrs were more important than ever in the current climate of increasing hostility to the Faith.

I must confess a vested interest in the success of this DVD - not that I get royalties - but some of my photos from the Chapel of the Venerable English College, Rome, were actually used in the DVD: the mosaics of the deaths of the martyrs at Tyburn and a couple of the maps used by the newly-ordained priests when planning their return to England featured in the film. I even got a mention in the credits (along with very many others!) I feel incredibly proud that my photos were good enough to be used in the DVD, especially since I'm not a professional photographer, and it has encouraged me to continue to snap away and make the photos available on Flickr.

If you want to have a better look at some of the mosaics, they are over on my Flickr page. To whet your appetite, I thought I'd include two trailers...

And if they have sparked your interest, you can buy the whole DVD from St. Anthony Communications.

Feast Of The Most Holy Rosary...

With a slight sense of horror, I realised that it has been nearly two weeks since I last posted anything. It didn't feel as long as that, and I'm very tempted to remove the dates from my blog posts so that I can't be made to feel quite so guilty of neglect... In my defense, I've been busy, but only with boring, everyday "stuff" which doesn't provide any useful blogging material, however it helps to keep the kitty cats and myself fed, and so is of paramount importance.

One little ray of sunshine broke through the mundane gloom - we had the opportunity to have a Solemn High Mass to celebrate the occasion of our parish's Patronal Feast.

The group Cantores Missae sang Victoria's Missa Ave Maris Stella for the Ordinary of the Mass, then Guerrero's Ave Maria at the Offertory, Victoria's Pange Lingua at Communion, and they finished up with Schubert's beautiful Salve Regina. It was a real treat, though I felt terribly decadent being out late on a weekday evening.

I did manage to get a few photos and they are now up on my Flickr page.

Thoughts On The Latin Mass...

A friend of mine sent me a link to the following YouTube video by Catherine, a Catholic student, explaining why the "Latin Mass" was worth the effort involved.

By "Latin Mass" I am assuming that she meant the TLM rather than the Novus Ordo Mass in Latin.

Personally, I felt instinctively drawn to the Extraordinary Form: the silence and stillness of Low Mass exerted a real pull for me, and I still love Low Mass for that reason. High Mass and the Missa Canata are attractive for different reasons. But at all forms of the TLM, I am most drawn to the fact that it is all about God, and that I am free to participate by following every word in the Missal or just immersing myself in the sights, smells and sounds, raising my heart and mind to God.

The TLM can take some getting used to, and I blogged about this a while ago with my Laywoman's Guide. The laywoman referred to is me, I hasten to add, so the guide is aimed at men too, and I realise that  not everyone will have the same thoughts and experiences, so it is only a pointer.

"The Mass should change us, not us change the Mass." So very true...

New Liturgy For The Ordinariate...

A new text has been devised for use by the Personal Ordinariates – the structures established by Pope Benedict XVI which allow former Anglicans who wish to enter the full communion of the Catholic Church to do so whilst retaining aspects of their spiritual and liturgical traditions, described as “precious gifts” and “treasures to be shared.”

The liturgy – the work of a special commission established by Rome and now approved by the Holy See – includes material from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer as well as the Roman Rite. It will be unveiled with a Mass on Thursday, 10 October at 6:30 pm, to be followed by a media launch organised by the Friends of the Ordinariate charity, at the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption and St Gregory, Warwick Street, Soho.

The Mass will be celebrated by the Ordinary of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, Monsignor Keith Newton, and the preacher will be Monsignor Andrew Burnham, Assistant to the Ordinary and a member of the commission which devised the liturgy, known as the Ordinariate Use. Music, drawn from the English tradition, will include Howells’ Collegium Regale.

Mgr Burnham said: “For some time, the Ordinariate has had its own liturgy, approved by the Holy See, for marriages and funerals and the Customary of Our Lady of Walsingham already provides a daily office in the Anglican tradition. But the introduction of this new Ordinariate Use is very important because it means that we now have our own distinctive liturgy for the Mass which brings to the Roman rite beautiful Anglican words which have been hallowed for generations. It gives the Ordinariate unity and a corporate identity.”

The Roman Rite in both its ordinary and extraordinary forms remains available for use by Ordinariate priests and there will be no requirement for them to adopt the Ordinariate Use. However, all Ordinariate clergy will be expected to familiarise themselves with it. Some priests are expected to use it regularly, while others – especially in parishes with a large concentration of “cradle” Catholics in the congregation – may only wish to use it from time to time.

Congratulations to the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham on completing this great work.

Cardinal Furretti Is Unwell...

Unlike Jeffrey Bernard, Furretti was not intoxicated. She has, in common with most cats (especially longhairs), a tendency to hairballs. However, throwing up hairballs is quite a neat operation, and the results tend to come out in a long, neat tube of matted fur...

This was very different.

The poor puss jumped onto my chest of drawers last night, opened her mouth and promptly released a stream of fluid - not quite projectile vomiting, but pretty close! It landed all over my old iPhone (which I use as a sort of iPod for playing audiobooks.) Fortunately, it doesn't appear to have suffered any ill effects... the cat, on the other hand, was looking very woebegone...

Today she appears to be feeling much better...

Urrghhhh...

Pretty much sums it up, really... (except that I didn't get to hide under the duvet all week!)

Young Catholic Adults' Retreat...

I was asked to advertise the following event for young Catholics, something I am delighted to be able to do, despite no longer qualifying...

Book now for the Young Catholic Adults weekend event at Cold Ash Retreat Centre (a couple of miles from Douai Abbey, which was booked up this year).

 * It will include the following speakers:- Fr Gregory Person OP, Fr Matthew
Goddard FSSP, Fr Armand de Malleray FSSP, and Br. Gabriel Wilson O.S.B.

* There will be a Marian Procession, Rosaries, Sung/High Masses, Confession and socials.

* Gregorian Chant Workshops will also be running, this year led by the Schola
Gregoriana of Cambridge.

How to Book for the retreat

Prices start at £35 per night. For more details/options,  please see:- http://www.youngcatholicadults.co.uk/events.htm for the online booking service, or see the booking form on the events page.

If you have any queries, please ring Margaret on 07515 805 015 or Damian on 07908 105 787.

Exaltation of the Holy Cross...

We were very blessed at Blackfen for the sixth anniversary of Summorum Pontificum. First we had a Missa Cantata organised by the Sodality of the Five Holy Wounds.

This was (as is the custom at Blackfen after a Saturday Missa Cantata) followed by a short service of Benediction. But the icing on the cake was that, for the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, we were privileged to have the opportunity to venerate Blackfen's Relic of the True Cross...

More photos over at my Flickr page.

The Forest Has Stopped Murmuring...

I'm still trying to catch up with my blogging backlog, but Flickr has decided it's on a go-slow at the moment. However, I did manage to sneak in one photo I took last Sunday.

Fr. Michael Brown, of Forest Murmurs fame, popped down to see Fr. Briggs in Chislehurst, and Fr. Finigan was invited for lunch. As chauffeur, I got to join them for coffee, and, with an eye to my paucity of blog activity and resultant drop in readers, I promptly demanded a blogging scoop - the three priests together in a photo. Trying to decide where a good place for a photo might be, we plumped for a group around Michael Davies' grave. Michael Davies was a stalwart defender of the TLM in the days before Summorum Pontificum...

Fr. Brown has moved parish, and so has stopped blogging on Forest Murmurs. Readers will be delighted to hear that he is continuing to blog at Gateshead Revisited.

Continuing Professional Development...

I have been attending to gaps in my subject knowledge, ably instructed by Blackfen's senior MC.

Yes, I finally got to see my first real cricket match - at the Oval, no less! To my shame, I see that this was actually two whole weeks ago, but the start of term is always hectic and I just haven't had the time or energy for any blogging.

Surrey were playing Derbyshire, and since Surrey hadn't won a single match all season, they were facing relegation - much to the chagrin of the MC, who likes Kent and Surrey to be in different leagues so as to maximise his available venues.

As a member of Surrey's Cricket Club, Jonathan was able to watch from the Pavilion. Our arrival was later than planned due to the closure of the Northern Line tube for the ubiquitous "engineering works" and so we arrived just after the players had returned from lunch. We went to the restaurant for our own lunch (having hot-footed it from Blackfen's Saturday morning devotions), and found ourselves at a table right behind the bowler's arm - a spectacularly good position.

With the MC at my elbow to explain some of the tactics (calling for a new ball after 80 overs... or not), conventions (not moving from your seat until the end of an over) and gestures (lifting one's thigh and slapping it means a leg bye) I found myself completely hooked, and almost forgot to eat... but only almost, because lunch was excellent.

During tea, there was a pitch invasion as spectators went for a walk around... this is, apparently, quite normal.

Jonathan took me on a tour of the Pavilion, and I had a look in the museum and the library. I was told that a cricket pitch is one chain in length... and a chain is 22 yards or 1/80th of a mile - just over 20 metres.

One particular cricket ball in the museum had a very amusing inscription beside it...

"This ball in the Bridegroom's hands obtained 4 wickets in 1 over. May the happiness of Mr. & Mrs. Richardson's married life abound in the same degree."

When the day's play ended, things were looking pretty dicey for Surrey, but they were still in with a chance. On the Sunday morning the situation became very grave indeed. Fortunately, Surrey managed to pull themselves together and ended up winning the County Championship Match by four wickets...

You can see a selection of photos on my Flickr page...

Support For Fr. Blake...

The poster says it all, I think. You can read the background in a previous post I wrote last week.

Twitch of the mantilla to Bones for the poster!

Praying For Peace...

At Benediction this morning in Blackfen, we had a prayer for peace in Syria. At the Missa Cantata which preceded it, Fr. Finigan reminded us that the title of Our Lady Queen of Peace was a very old one, despite only (relatively) recently being added to the Litany of Loreto, and that we should pray to her for a miracle. Given the tangled knot of Middle Eastern politics, it occurred to me that we might also pray to Mary under her unofficial title of Our Lady, Untier of Knots.

There was also a Votive Mass for Peace in the parish this evening. I get the distinct impression that Catholics all over the world have responded to the Holy Father's call for a day of prayer and fasting. I have seen reports that 100,000 people gathered in St. Peter's Square for a Peace Vigil.

It doesn't appear to have been deemed important enough to feature on the BBC's website...

A Shoddy Piece Of Journalism...

A cheap and nasty distortion of one of Fr. Ray Blake's blogposts has been doing the rounds of the mainstream media - obviously some people think the traditional media "Silly Season" is still up and running, and can't find anything better to do than rehash a poorly-written and even more poorly-researched blurb (I hesitate to call it an article) from a local rag.

As the piece has been picked up by a few different sources, I am reposting Fr. Blake's response (as he asked on his blog.)

"I was saying that the poor, the really poor, turn our lives upside down. I know the local paper pays peanuts and expects its journalists to create stories in order to get onto the news networks but this is just a malicious and deliberate misrepresentation.

"It is very interesting to see what a disreputable journalist can do with a few carefully chosen adjectives. I didn't 'condemn', 'complain', 'blast' etc, and I am pretty certain that some of his other quotes are not my words, especially not, 'test my holiness', I don't speak like that, 'only God is Holy'. Though I admit in an informal moment I might question the marriage of the parents of someone who disrupts the worship of an entire congregation, especially if they consistently steal from the church or other poor people.

"It is interesting to see how an unscrupulous journalist can so easily put an entirely different slant on a simple theological reflection, presumably even basic Christian concepts are beyond the comprehension of some.

"Well, journalists are obviously as messy as the poor; except unscrupulous journalists can do more damage. Perhaps Mr Gardner might like to help on our soup run, it doesn't have to be 365 day a year, once a week would be fine, providing he treats our clients with respect, or maybe he could take Jason or Daryl or Pawel or Dawn out for a cup of coffee or a meal, or just come a clear up the next time someone comes in and vomits or bleeds all over my kitchen because he is drug or has been beaten up.

"Maybe next time I run out of money I could tap him for a few quid when some vulnerable 17 year old girl needs to top up her phone to speak to her mum because her boyfriend has beaten her up or she needs a roof over head because she is sleeping in a tent and it is just few degrees above zero and she is vulnerable, or maybe the next time I am arranging a child's funeral and someone comes to the door in need of someone to talk because they are suicidal I can send them round to Bill's place so he can spend a couple of hours listening to them.Here, to, I am neither complaining, blasting, lambasting or anything else, just asking.

"I understand Mr Gardner's little piece has been syndicated internationally, perhaps kind readers might, if possible post my response."

Fr. Blake is charitable enough to ask his readers to pray for the journalist who was attacking him, and for all in the media.

An excellent critique of the shoddy item in the Argus has already been written by Caroline Farrow. I really cannot improve upon it, so I recommend you go and read it for yourselves.

How Long Before It Happens Here...?

To say this is disturbing is a massive understatement.

I thought Germany, in view of its history, would be one place where the rights of parents to educate their own children would be sacrosanct. Hitler was, after all, very keen on youth camps and indoctrination of the young.

The Obama administration stopped one German family, the Romeikes, from seeking asylum in the US so that they could homeschool. The US administration argued in court that parents essentially have no right to determine how and what their children are taught, leaving the authority with the government.

And now we see the heavy-handed methods used by the German authorities to enforce the homeschooling ban on another family, the Wunderlichs. 20 social workers, special agents and police with a battering ram stormed into the family home in a quiet village at 8am. The children were frogmarched out and their mother was not even allowed to kiss them and reassure them as they were taken away. The youngest child is 7 years old.

So, if the rights of parents to educate their children are not being acknowledged in the US or Germany, how long before the government in the UK decides that it wants the same sort of control?

Happy Feast Day!

Today is the Feast of St. Anne Line. I know, it's also that of St. Margaret Ward and St. Margaret Clitherow, but I have a particular devotion to St. Anne (she was the patron I chose when I made my vows) and I feel that the other two are better known. I also tend to think of her more in February (she was arrested on the Feast of Candlemas, and martyred on 27 February 1601) but I quite like the idea of celebrating three significant feast days... besides which, the date of her death is usually in Lent.

I wrote a chapter about St. Anne for a book, English Catholic Heroines and I also went on a mini-pilgrimage with Joanna Bogle to find out more about "my" saint.

On that cheerful note, I am off for a celebratory lunch...

Housekeeping...

I'm going through one of my mad housekeeping phases - everything has to be tidy and sorted before the start of the new school year.

The room I originally designated as my study ceased to be a study when I got broadband - the connection was in the sitting room, and so the computer moved there too. Much of my work involved the computer, and thus the study gradually became that useful thing known to most single people - a large, scary cupboard where items which don't have any immediate use (but which might prove useful at some indeterminate point in the future) are dumped placed.

As the computer was in the sitting room, that is where I worked. Then the computer died, and, after much anguished consideration, I opted for a laptop. At about the same time, my ISP provided me with a nice new modem and I found that I had a WiFi connection. I was therefore no longer tied to the sitting room, and the acquisition of a tray table meant that I was able to work in my bedroom. The sitting room was in serious danger of suffering the same fate as the study...

However, today I have been tidying up and rearranging things. The computer monitor has been delivered to the Council's Re-use & Recycling Centre (a very nice chap came and helped me lift it from my car when he heard that it was fully functional.) The printer has been moved to the place where the computer monitor used to be. The shredder has taken the place of the printer. My scanner, laminator and guillotine have all found new homes within easy reach.

One day I shall reclaim the study, but it is much too scary right now.

A Holiday Of Sorts...

I usually visit Eastbourne in the Summer Holidays in order to look after my parents' two dogs while my parents go away on holiday. The dogs are quite sweet, but also more than a little irritating. Yorkshire terriers are not what I consider to be "real" dogs... they are small, yappy, and very needy. I do feel a little sorry for them - they are missing my parents dreadfully, and are moping around the house in a very forlorn manner. I thought a biscuit might cheer them up.

I am, of course, missing my own two hooligans dreadfully.

One consolation has been the opportunity to attend the TLM each morning. Fr. Charles Briggs and Fr. Tim Finigan are both in the area for a short break, and have been celebrating Mass at Our Lady of Ransom each morning - one priest at the High Altar and one at the Lady Altar (an agreeable form of concelebration, perhaps!)

After Mass today I met up with Annie who blogs for the Arundel & Brighton branch of the LMS and we had a lovely afternoon chatting over tea and scones at the Dickens Tea Cottage. Her husband, who had served one of the Masses, joined us for a while, but left after the first pot of tea. We ladies were made of sterner stuff and demonstrated real staying-power. I can heartily recommend the scones, by the way... and the tea... and the bacon sandwiches were rather good too...

Not sure what I'll do tomorrow... if it is sunny I shall try and get a few scenic photos for my collection...

A Wedding To Rejoice At...

On Saturday I was privileged to attend the wedding of friends of mine - two wonderful young people, and I wish them every possible happiness as they start their life together. I took a few photos which you can see on my Flickr page.

Quite apart from the solemnity of the occasion a couple of moments really made the day memorable for me personally.

The first was my (only partially successful) attempt to prevent the mother of the groom garotting the bride as they processed out at the end... to be fair, the bride had turned the corner of the aisle; unfortunately, her veil had not...

Next was my attempt to be helpful, taking His Hermeneuticalness' bag and Missal to the car while he had a brief word with Fr. Briggs. Halfway to the M25, I asked if he wanted the Missal brought back to Blackfen in time for the evening Mass...

"What Missal?" came a confused reply.

Alas, the Altar Missal that I had picked up was the one belonging to Chislehurst. I was soundly berated by my Parish Priest for making such a basic error...

Apparently next time I should accidentally pick up something worth keeping... like vestments, relics or candlesticks. Novus Ordo Missals are of no interest, it seems.