First Holy Communions...

Last week we had one child make his First Holy Communion at the Missa Cantata - for some reason I don't seem to have uploaded the photos I took... I shall get that done shortly.

Today it was the first of our dedicated First Holy Communion Masses. I was taking photos for the Parish website, but, because the children were right at the front, and their families were sitting behind, I sat myself right at the back where I wouldn't be a distraction.

I shall try and zoom in on some of the photos later, but I just wanted to get the set up as quickly as possible on Flickr. The set is open access, and on a Creative Commons license, so anyone can download it and use it, as long as they credit me for it and don't use it for commercial purposes.

It was interesting to see the recently instituted "Benedictine Arrangement" for Mass - the donation of a set of very nice silver-plated candlesticks for the Lady Altar means that the brass candlesticks can stay on the High Altar...

And of course, my favourite moments...

In Case You Hadn't Heard...

...the result was a hung parliament.

When I suggested, to my fellow drinkers in the parish club last night, that Gordon Brown might be prepared to do a bit of horse-trading in order to keep his hands on the keys of Number 10, I was told that Her Majesty wouldn't ask the leader of the losing party to remain as Prime Minister.

However, it seems that I was actually correct in assuming that Mr. & Mrs. Brown might not be ready to call in the removal firms just yet...

We shall just have to wait and see... In the meantime, it seems that Evan (Dr. Death) Harris has lost his seat - good news for all pro-lifers. One of my Facebook friends reported that he took his defeat with Dignitas...

More Voting To Be Done...

...only this time it's important!

The 2010 Cannonball Catholic Blog Awards are up and running. I had nominated a few blogs, but hadn't expected to be nominated myself, but it seems that His Holiness Pope Zephyrinus (who comments, but doesn't have his own blog) thought I should be up for Best Potpourri of Popery and Terry (Idle Speculations) nominated me for Best Church Militant blog.

I don't deserve either nomination, but would like you to vote for me anyway. Otherwise I shall sulk...

Voting Time...

If you want to know about your own constituency, there is a useful site which gives information on all of the candidates, as well as a description of the constituencies - twitch of the mantilla to James Preece, who has a thoughtful post on how to choose where to put one's mark. The lovely Bones has a breakdown of the policies of the main parties - and ends up with a heartfelt prayer to St. Thomas More. SPUC has a very useful archive of MPs' voting records, though, for this election they encourage voters to contact their office directly to find out about MPs and candidates.

We have a duty to vote - something pointed out in the Catechism of the Catholic Church and Gaudium et Spes. If it truly impossible to vote for any of the candidates in all conscience, then there is always the option of spoiling the ballot paper - at least it shows that it's not apathy or sloth which prevents us from voting.

Off you go, if you haven't done so already...

Another Blog Worth A Mention...

Keeping up with the Blogosphere can be a time-consuming process. I find that Google Reader is the best way of finding out which blogs are being updated without the hassle of having to check them all individually.

This has the disadvantage that I miss out on many blogs, because I'm only checking the ones I already know. Occasionally I will stumble upon a blog which is new to me when the blogger comments on one of my posts, and sometimes it happens if I follow up an interesting-looking link on other blogs. Every now and then, however, I go out hunting: I will scour my SiteMeter stats and Google Blog Search in order to discover where people are coming from and who is linking back to me.

I'm not a major blogger by any means, but I do like to spread the linky love... so I have decided to start a regular blog feature - probably weekly - where I mention either blogs I've just discovered or blogs which have just caught my eye for some reason. Obviously I will continue to give credit to bloggers whose posts inspire me to write my own stuff...

So, to start off, we have Gregory the Eremite and his blog From the Desert. Enjoy!

Our Lady of Guadalupe On Tour...

John Smeaton has a post on his blog alerting us to the nine-month tour of England & Wales of a replica of the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of the unborn.

Edmund Adamus, Director of the Department of Pastoral Affairs in the Diocese of Westminster, is co-ordinating the nine-month novena tour which will conclude on 12th December 2010, the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

The image is one of 220 digitally reproduced images which were commissioned in 2004 by Cardinal Rivera Carrera. This Saturday, 8th May, the image is going to St. John's Cathedral, Portsmouth.

I've had a devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe ever since reading about the apparitions and the miraculous image on the tilma. I sincerely hope that the image will come to Southwark at some time during the tour... and that there will be better publicity for it. I'd have loved to see it at Westminster Cathedral if I'd known about it.

Video Clips...

These two video clips are from the Society of St. Catherine of Siena's Solemn High Mass at the Conventual Chapel of the Knights of Malta.

I was pretty impressed by the video quality - taken just on my little Canon IXUS 100, the same camera I use for my photos. The Oratory School Choir were singing the Byrd Three Part Mass (according to His Hermeneuticalness...) I'd never heard it before, and it sent shivers down my spine!

In the Extraordinary Form, if the parts of the Mass are being sung by a choir (as opposed to being simply chanted) the Sanctus is split before and after the Consecration (which is in silence... more goosebumps time.)

I didn't want to video the Consecration - I wanted still shots for that - but I did manage to get the Sanctus before and after... Enjoy!

Patience Is A Virtue...

You may have gathered, by now, that I love taking photos. I seem to take quite good ones - more by luck than judgement. It helps that I love going to churches and the traditional Latin Mass - the Extraordinary Form is just so photogenic!

Editing photos so that they are the correct size for the web is a bit time-consuming. If I put the photos up without editing, the blog takes forever to load. So, I have to cut them down to size... which means that I don't always get the photos up on the blog as quickly as I would like...

I have been told that the best way to share photos is via a Flickr account. I have been told this on several occasions... and I have finally gotten around to setting one up.

I'm still trying to figure out the difference between galleries, sets, collections and whatnots... I suspect I'll get there eventually. In the meantime, you can see my photos HERE.

Reality Check...

It appears that Oona Stannard is a little unhappy with the criticism she has received over the latest CES blunder. She says

"...At a time when as Catholics we particularly need to pull together, the undermining of Mr Pope saddens me."

What saddens me is that she appears to have no concept of the damage caused by the appointment of Greg Pope as Deputy Director of the CES.

Mr. Pope is not being undermined.

The ones who have been undermined are the parents who are attempting to explain to their children why the Church's teaching is beautiful and true, in the teeth of tremendous opposition from those who, because they choose to ignore that teaching, seek to ridicule it.

The ones who are undermined are the Catholic teachers and school governors who want to present the Church's teaching, but are told that it is unrealistic.

The ones who are undermined are those who go and stand outside abortion clinics, in all kinds of weather, quietly praying the rosary in the hope that maybe one life will be spared.

The ones who are undermined are the ordinary Catholics who try to follow Church teaching in their everyday lives.

The ones who are really undermined are the children who, because the CES has caved in to the government agenda, will never be taught the truth, and will be encouraged to surrender to the spirit of the age... and then, when the inevitable happens, these children will be told to "solve" their problems by killing other human beings, something which will scar them for life.

Yes, Catholics should pull together. But they should pull together in order to defend Catholic teaching in its entirety.

The CES has failed to do that - it is the Catholic Education Service which is doing the undermining.

Another New Blog To Check...

Time to spread a little more linky love around the blogosphere - I found Ronan's blog, Alrite, Watson? while checking out my SiteMeter stats and referrals. Pop over and say hallo.

Awards Time!

Yes, bet you hadn't realised that it's that time of year again. Carolina Cannonball has opened the 2010 Cannonball Catholic Blog Awards to nominations.

Be careful: Carolina doesn't want duplicate entries, and she does want links, and she is threatening to hunt down all transgressors and rend them limb from limb.

Categories are:

Best Blog by a Religious... not Fr. Z

Best Political Blog... not the American Papist

More Catholic Than the Pope
Best Blog by a Heretic
Best Armchair Theologian
Best Under Appreciated Blog
Best Visual Treat
Best Spiritual Treat
Most Bat Shit Crazy
Most Church Militant
Best Potpourri of Popery
Snarkiest Catholic Blog
Best Hifreakinlarious Blog
Best New Kid on the Block
Best Blog That Needs to be Updated More Often

Feel free to nominate all your favourites...

I Appear To Have Struck A Nerve...

Following my last post, Austen Ivereigh (of Catholic Voices) felt obliged to set the matter straight. He posted the following in the com-box.

"I'm astonished that you should publish private correspondence between myself and James Preece; and that you should do so partially and incompletely. The fact that his email ends up on your site is precisely why he wasn't invited.

Among your private vows, where there any that included respect, confidentiality, privacy or charity?"

You can check it out HERE if you want (underneath the actual post)... just in case I have published the comment partially and incompletely.

Now, let's examine Mr. Ivereigh's comment a little more closely.

Yes, the email was correspondence between Austen Ivereigh and James Preece. However, I had permission from James to publish it... and since it was evidence for my statement that James had been told he was not welcome at the training because the Archbishop was to be present, it seemed rather important to include it. Emails are not always as private as one might like to think... as the Foreign Office mandarins have discovered. I haven't heard Austen Ivereigh condemning the leak of that email.

That I should do so partially and incompletely... hmmm. Interesting. I didn't want to publish James' original request, simply because I had already recounted it, and was merely providing the reply... which, by the way, I considered to be extremely rude.

However, in the interests of fairness, I now provide a screenshot of the two emails together. Have a little look. The pink bits are where I have removed email addresses and a mobile phone number.

Have a very good look... The only parts of Austen Ivereigh's email which I didn't quote in the post were, I think you'll find, the sender, subject and recipient headers and the automatic signature (including the mobile number) at the end. Oh... and the "A" to sign off.

Saying that the email ending up on my site is the precise reason James wasn't invited is pretty much given the lie by examination of James' email. He was writing to confirm that he would be attending the training. And Austen writes back saying he doesn't think, after all, that James should come... giving the meeting with Archbishop Nichols as the only reason for this change of heart.

Mr. Ivereigh then tries to make a snide personal attack on me.

It's a shame that he didn't feel constrained by those same demands of charity and respect when he was telling James he was being given the brush off.

Given that he appears to have a rather selective memory (I'm being charitable) of what was in his email to James, and that, when he finds an opinion he doesn't like, he resorts to personal abuse, I have serious doubts as to his suitability for the role of co-ordinator for Catholic Voices...

(Real) Catholic Voices Being Silenced...

As I mentioned in my previous post, James Preece who has written some excellent stuff on his blog, had arranged to come to London this weekend for training associated with the Catholic Voices project.

When I first heard about Catholic Voices, I was very encouraged: they seemed to be looking for young Catholics who are enthusiastic about their faith and who are willing to stand up and be counted in the face of the media onslaught.

Sadly, it seems that, once again, the voice of faithful Catholics is being sidelined. If you happen to speak the truth a little too freely, your views are not wanted, in case you upset someone.

Having arranged to take time off to get to London for the training session, James became a little concerned when he realised that he hadn't received the details of time or venue. So, he emailed Austen Ivereigh (one of the co-ordinators) to check. At 6:32pm on Wednesday, he received the following reply:

"James, I’m sorry – I don’t think, after all, it would be right for you to come. We have a meeting with +Vincent, etc. Sorry."

We are in a pretty bad state if Archbishops are so sensitive that they have to be shielded from any of the faithful who might tell them a few home truths. Heck, even St. Teresa of Avila and St. Catherine of Siena got to tell the Bishops (and even a Pope or two) that something was rotten in the State of Denmark (so to speak.) And it's not as if James is a raving lunatic who will harangue the Archbishop... if anything, he is far too nice... which is why I'm the one frothing at the mouth at the blatant rudeness of Austen Ivereigh's reply.

Which leads me on to the next concern. If Catholic Voices can't allow any criticisms or awkward questions from within the ranks, how will they cope in the face of open hostility, ridicule and vituperation from those opposed to the Catholic Church?

Once again, John Smeaton has summed up the situation pretty clearly... Referring to the response of Jack Valero (the other co-ordinator for Catholic Voices) to the leaked Foreign Office document, he said:

"Sorry Jack, that's really not good enough... I would say to Jack Valero: ' ... a period of silence on your part would be welcome.' "

A Parish Visitation...

James Preece (of Catholic and Loving It! fame) visited the parish this morning, along with his wife Ella (who also blogs) and two gorgeous children. James arranged his visit to coincide with a training session for Catholic Voices (more on that in another post!) Hearing that James and Ella were going to be visiting, a couple of parish families got together and decided to have a shared lunch and Family Day... and, as (unofficial) parish photographer, I had to get a few snaps...

I had met Ella on a few Faith Movement events, but hadn't ever had the chance to talk to James, so it was a really great chance to meet up.

Sadly, I couldn't stay for the talk, but if it was half as good as the lunch, it would have been a roaring success! The clearing up was still going on when I arrived back to set up for the evening Mass. Congratulations to all those involved.

The Extra Parts Of The (Novus Ordo) Mass...

This snippet from Gloria TV News had me laughing out loud... and I just had to go and check out the whole blog-post Doina Buzut mentioned (at 1:23)



The excellent blog, by Larry D, is Acts of the Apostasy, and you can find the full description of the various extra Liturgies HERE.

Solemn High Mass For The Feast Of St. George

On Friday night there was a Solemn High Mass at St. Mary's, Chislehurst. There is usually a Mass in the Extraordinary Form each Friday evening, but as last Friday was the Solemnity of St. George in England, it was decided to make a bit of an effort.

It was also a Mass to celebrate the 30th. Wedding Anniversary of Greg and Aghi Clovis, a lovely couple who work tirelessly for the pro-life cause, and so there was a bit of a bash in the parish room afterwards. The younger servers were some of Greg and Aghi's children - I don't know them so well, and haven't quite figured out who is who. Sadly, Greg's brother was originally going to be one of the sacred ministers, but, due to that pesky Icelandic volcano, he couldn't make it back in time.

The church is beautiful - Napoleon III was buried there for a time before the Empress Eugenie took him off to Farnborough Abbey. The High Mass set of red vestments was borrowed from Blackfen - they are 19th. Century French. I had to keep a very sharp lookout after Mass to ensure that the entire set made its way back to the Blackfen sacristy. I also had the opportunity to admire the reliquary of St. John Bosco which had been on the altar during Mass. Sadly, Chislehurst's sacristan was keeping a beady eye on me, so it stayed in Chislehurst...

The background music is taken from Chants of the Ordinary, by Cantus Angeli, directed by Nick Gale. If you want to get a copy of the CD, you can visit the website.

Anyway, here's the slideshow: feast your eyes!

Is It Just Crass Stupidity?

Yesterday's news on the car-crash-in-slow-mo which is the Catholic Education Service of England & Wales (twitch of the mantilla to Leutgeb for that description) has been hurtling round my brain.

I can hardly credit that anyone with a modicum of intelligence, on appointing someone to such an important post, wouldn't think to check the candidate's Catholic credentials. Given that the voting records of MPs are easily available, one would have assumed that the easiest options available to any appointment panel for the CESEW would be either to do a Google Search on that person's name, or to phone up SPUC and ask them to check their records (which are pretty comprehensive, as John Smeaton demonstrated yesterday!)

I am reluctant to believe that everyone working at the CES is several sandwiches short of a picnic.

I am even more reluctant to believe that Bishop Malcolm McMahon, as Chairman of the CES, is a blithering idiot.

And I am totally unable to believe that Archbishop Vincent Nichols, as President of the Bishops' Conference, is a half-wit.

So, there must be some other reason why these people did not, in what was described as "a rigorous selection process" do the blindingly obvious check on Mr. Pope's voting behaviour on matters concerning Catholics.

The only alternative reason I can think of is even more disturbing than that of sheer incompetence and stupidity. It is quite simply that the Bishops of England & Wales, and hence the CES, do not consider the teachings of the Catholic Church to be important. They might not even believe them to be true.

Once you accept that, then it all makes sense.

If the teachings of the Catholic Church on human sexuality, the family, and the sanctity of human life from conception to natural death are important, then how a person has actually voted on these issues would have been an essential part of any selection process. The only reason such teachings would be considered important is that they are the truth. Therefore, the only way one can justify ignoring such a voting record is if one does not believe the teachings of the Church on such issues to be true.

And if the Bishops of England & Wales do not believe what the Church teaches, then the whole lot of them should be retired, and fast. We need shepherds who will proclaim the truths of the Faith courageously... and they won't do that if they don't believe it themselves.

The Holy Father made a rather pointed remark during the recent ad limina visit of the Bishops of England & Wales. He said,

"I urge you as Pastors to ensure that the Church’s moral teaching be always presented in its entirety and convincingly defended."

The message doesn't appear to have been heeded.

Please, Holy Father, give us some good Bishops: the sheep of your flock are under attack, and it seems that the shepherds have joined forces with the wolves.

"Catholic-In-Name-Only" Education Service?

I am just so taken aback by the news, highlighted by John Smeaton and Damian Thompson, that the soon to be renamed "So-Called-Catholic" Education Service has appointed a Deputy Director with an anti-life, anti-Catholic voting record to make Tony Blair look like a candidate for sainthood.

Oona Stannard apparently welcomed the appointment, according to the Press Release. I'm sure she did... it'll take the heat off her after the shameful debacle over the Children, Schools and Families Bill...

The CES colluded with the Government in drawing up the Bill, and claimed that Catholic schools could continue to teach according to the tenets of the Church, despite statements from the Government stating the exact opposite. The only reason that the final version of the Bill omitted contentious clauses was because of the fuss made by ordinary Catholics - in the blogosphere and by letter - which made the Conservatives realise that there might be votes in opposing them, and the lack of parliamentary time available before the election meant that the clauses were quietly dropped because there wasn't time to get them through if there was any opposition.

Greg Pope's statement that "The CESEW is widely respected for the work that it is doing under Oona Stannard’s leadership and I am very proud to be joining this successful team" reveals that he is just as successful in demonstrating ostrich-like tendencies as the CES (how can anyone say that the CESEW is widely respected and keep a straight face?) which, come to think of it, is most likely the reason why he was appointed in the first place.

This is a truly appalling gaffe, and only serves to confirm that the Bishops of England & Wales need to get rid of the CESEW as soon as humanly possible.

Famous !!! ...Well, Ok, Maybe Not Yet...

I was watching the latest clip on Gloria TV News, and, on a piece about Terry Nelson's excellent blog, I saw a picture which seemed vaguely familiar. I checked back on my own blog, and, sure enough, discovered it was one of my early photoshopping attempts.

Sadly, I didn't get a mention on Gloria TV News...

(The relevant bit is at 1:47)

Keeping Up With The Joneses...

My mobile phone contract generally comes up for renewal a month or two before that of His Hermeneuticalness. I proudly demonstrate my latest phone, he has a look, makes admiring noises, and then promptly goes one better, as newer models have generally come out by then.

This time, I thought I had everything trumped: I had the latest iPhone, with the newest OS, and the largest memory... and all for free. Ok, not actually free, but I hadn't paid any actual cash over and above my usual contract. As far as I'm concerned, that counts as free.

It looked as if I was going to win this one hands down. Fr. Tim looked at the iPhone and decided that he simply had to have one for his next upgrade. And, as far as I could work out, there wasn't anything better on the market, so I really had out-gadgetted Father Gadget (as some of the youngsters in the Parish had taken to calling him.)

Unfortunately, it appears that I may have gloated a little too soon. An engineer from Apple seems to have dropped a prototype in a bar. I find that highly suspicious, as does at least one other source, but it seems that the iPhone 4G is due out in June. Speculation that this was a hoax has been pretty much squashed by the news that, when Apple found out that a technology website, Gizmodo, had paid for the prototype, they wrote and asked for it back.

The thing that has me chewing the table in frustration is that the new iPhone has two cameras (front for chat and back) and that it has a bigger camera lens than the previous iPhone, as well as a flash. I pointed out that the camera was the main thing to let the iPhone down. Alas, I am not due for an upgrade for about 22 months...