A Lovely Day...

I had a wonderful day today. Both the deacon and subdeacon made it to Blackfen without mishap, and so we were able to celebrate a Solemn High Mass. One of the families in the parish had done stirling work the evening before, clearing paths through the snow between the main road, the church and the halls. The UCM ensured that there was plenty of hot food for the party afterwards. The inclement weather earlier in the week meant that quite a few people who had intended to be there had to cancel at the last minute; however, there were plenty of people to help me celebrate another year in my vocation...

Thanks to everyone who helped make this such a special day!

I Just Couldn't Resist...

Checking out some of my latest kitty-related photos, I could almost imagine a conversation being held, LOLcat style between Furretti and Miaowrini...

Another Video Which Should Go Viral...

I have just finished writing an article for the Catholic Herald - with many caveats to the Chief Feature Writer about feeling free to dump it if it doesn't come up to scratch. I'm fine writing for the blog, because it's a very informal medium, and people can choose to read it or not. Writing for a newspaper, where people are actually paying to read stuff, seems much more daunting...

Before saying Compline, I thought I'd check out a couple of the blogs. I want to finish a little earlier tonight so that I'm up bright and early in time for my Renewal of Vows tomorrow. Although the snow has stopped here, the temperatures overnight are set to drop quite a bit, and I sincerely hope that everyone makes it to Blackfen without mishap - especially since it is to be a Solemn High Mass, which is an experience not to be missed!

Anyway, I spotted this video over at His Hermeneuticalness' blog... it definitely deserves to go viral. It is great to see people having so much fun. As a teacher, I get a little tired of hearing why snowball fights are so dangerous...

Remember The Manhattan Declaration...?

Just a year ago, the Manhattan Declaration, a call from Orthodox, Catholic and Evangelical Christians to defend three basic truths, was drawn up. I posted on it, and encouraged people to sign in support.

The three basic truths were, well, pretty basic...
1. the sanctity of human life
2. the dignity of marriage as the conjugal union of husband and wife
3. the rights of conscience and religious liberty.

Someone went so far as to create a Manhattan Declaration app for the iPhone.

It seems that this upset a few people. Michael Rogers created a petition declaring that the application was offensive, being an "anti-LGBT, anti-women application" and asking for it to be removed from the iTunes Store. It managed to gather 7,727 signatures.

Apple is a commercial company. It might want to note that anyone who signs an application which defends the sanctity of human life and marriage between a man and a woman is rather likely to be helping in the production of future customers... I mean, just think of all those families with children who need iPods, iPads, Apple Macs...

Anyway, there is now a petition out to restore the Manhattan Declaration application to the iTunes Store. It currently has 28,992 signatures... which also might help to focus Apple's policymakers.

You can find (and sign) the petition, and you can email Steve Jobs to let him know what you think.

Twitch of the mantilla to the Curt Jester.

You Remember That "Blob Of Tissue"...?

Many people who want to justify abortion and make it more "palatable" refer to the baby as "just a blob of tissue." I don't know how many weeks along this baby is, but it's one heck of a blob...


EMBED-Squirming Alien Baby - Watch more free videos

Just remember that, in our oh-so-caring "big society," abortion is allowed up to birth if there is some disability... and something as minor as a cleft palate counts as a disability...

Mantilla-twitch to Catholic Minority Report.

My Latest Blonde Moment...

I went to Bexleyheath for lunch today, literally risking life and limb - the roads are clear, but, once again, pedestrians are being expected to slither and slide over pavements where snow, slush and compacted ice are left totally untreated.

Returning to my car in the untreated car park with difficulty after lunch (I'm on crutches, remember) I discovered that I had left it unlocked...

Luckily, all the potential car thieves were busy helping themselves to the big pile of salt at the entrance to the car park...

A Blast From The Past...

I was discussing weather with a friend of mine over the phone this evening - she was watching some very sorry-looking reporters out and about around the country. It reminded me of this clip with the news reporter, Colin Baker, when he'd been having a bad day.

So, naturally, having found it on YouTube, I just had to share...

Turning Into A Bi-Annual Rant...

I realise that it doesn't snow in the UK that often. Ok, maybe it does up in the wilds of Scotland, but not that much in South-East England... and especially not that much in Greater London (that's the 'Burbs to all my readers from over the pond!)

However...

I've checked my blog. According to the posts I've put up, we have had snow in Greater London (enough to settle properly) in April 2008, early January 2009, early February 2009, late December 2009 and early January 2010 (I mentioned it in passing but didn't actually post on it!) But, you think that we'd be getting the hang of things by now...

The Met Office were warning of severe snow at the beginning of last week. First they said it would snow in London on Thursday. Then Friday. Then Saturday... meanwhile, much of the rest of the country actually did get snow.

Finally, on Tuesday morning, we got snow...

And the entire road system went into gridlock! A journey which would normally take me 15 minutes (20 minutes if I was really unlucky) took me two and three-quarter hours. I was travelling on main roads, not side roads, and there weren't any accidents or roadworks to slow things up. It wasn't as if the traffic was even crawling along slowly... it was completely stationary.

Why is it that we cannot cope with a little bit of snow?

(We can't cope with rain, Autumn leaves, fog, or sunshine either, but snow appears to be a speciality!)

Saturday's Getting Closer...

I'm renewing my vows on Saturday... Although (as I've said before) I consider the vows permanent, it's good to remind myself that I've chosen the single state for a specific reason (and I do seem to need reminding!) as well as providing a good excuse for a party.

This year is shaping up to be quite a celebration - the Mass beforehand is going to be a Solemn High Mass (unless the subdeacon gets snowed in) and quite a few people have indicated that they're in the partying mood. So, if you are in the vicinity of Blackfen, feel free to come along. Mass is at 10:30am.  The renewal of vows will be at midday, and the bunfight will be at 12:30pm.

If you're not in the vicinity of Blackfen, well, why not???

Shocked By The Latest Wikileaks...!

Larry D, over at Acts of the Apostasy, is the first blogger to examine the Wikileaks collection of Vatican secrets. Apparently there was a delay in releasing them because they were written in Latin and downloaded onto 8" floppy disks...

I think the most shocking statements have to be that:

Vatican agents had tailed and bugged author Dan Brown, citing reports that he "was getting uncomfortably close to the truth" with the Angel and Demons and The Da Vinci Code novels.

There are several pages devoted to the recent dust-up concerning the new English translation; one Vatican official is quoted as saying "Whoever came up with 'Fishperson' for Bishop Trautman deserves a plenary indulgence! Very funny!"

and

The Vatican operates a covert blog operation, which underwrites such sites as Curt Jester, Creative Minority Report, The Hermeneutic of Continuity and LOLCats.

From this you can see that my own blog is free from Vatican interference...

Finally, most shocking of all, it seems that the Vatican actually does have:

...a list of who's in Hell, they just aren't telling people about it so that no one gets upset should they discover their loved ones are on the list.

A New Catholic News Round-Up Service...

The Pulpit aims to provide a round-up of Catholic blog posts and news articles. I suppose it's a useful summary, in its way, but it merely gives a list of posts, without any comment - as such, I don't think it will be any more useful than Traditional Latin Mass in Maryland (which does much the same thing, with the occasional comment) or Google Reader, which allows me to see at least the beginning of a post. However, I think I shall keep an eye on it, if only because I might discover a few new blogs that way...

Now THAT Is How To Welcome A Cardinal...!

I remember getting terribly excited a while back, when, visiting Westminster Cathedral for a Pontifical High Mass, I spotted a snazzy car with a Papal flag.

However, I think that this demonstrates more impressive transport for cardinals... I guess that Sri Lankan Catholics like to make it clear where they're coming from...

Twitch of the mantilla to the New Liturgical Movement.

Kitty Capers...

I won't cut the kitty-posts out completely, especially as so many people ask me how they're getting on... (Yes, I realise they could just be being polite, but it suits me to take the requests at face value... especially as I've got a stinking cold and so don't feel like putting up anything more serious!)

I'm on the Ground Floor, so, once it gets dark, I prefer to have the curtains drawn. This has provided extra entertainment for the Dynamic Duo, as they can play hide and seek. One kitten each side of the curtains, and then they have to try and pounce on the other.

I've taken four short video clips of their antics...









By the way, I have decided that the black and white kitten is to be called Monsignor Miaowrini in honour of the Papal Master of Ceremonies, Monsignor Guido Marini... it is rather appropriate because she is a sweet, unassuming little kitten, cute as a button, but she can get extremely vocal when she wants something!

Advent Candles...

Being unwilling to trust the kittens with an Advent wreath, I was delighted to see that the Curt Jester has once again provided us with a virtual one for our blogs. You can get your own copy HERE, and it'll even light up another candle each week...

The New Church Year Begins...

And so, we begin the Season of Advent.

Vigil For Nascent Human Life...

 

This morning, after Mass at Our Lady of the Rosary, Blackfen, the time of Exposition was dedicated to all nascent human life, as requested by the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI...

The Holy Souls In Purgatory...

I do love the way that the Church reminds us to pray for the Holy Souls during the month of November. We start off with the members of the Church rejoicing in the Beatific Vision on the Feast of All Saints, and then, starting with the Commemoration of All Souls, we get down to praying for all those who, through human frailty, haven't quite made it... since most of us are likely to fall into the latter category, it behoves us to observe the duty of praying for the dead.

We can get numerous plenary indulgences, and partial ones too, applicable to the Holy Souls. I am always particularly moved by the practice of mentioning those forgotten souls in Purgatory who have no-one to pray for them - this group is, I fear, increasing, due to the pernicious tendency to "canonise" the deceased at his or her funeral, instead of praying for him to be released from Purgatory. There is also the problem that many people do not have relatives who believe in God, let alone in Purgatory.

This year I have created a short slideshow of photos from the Requiem Mass celebrated on All Souls' Day along with photos taken when we had our parish's annual Blessing of Graves ceremony at Sidcup Cemetery. I have set the pictures to music - a track by the vocal group Cantores Missae, from their CD, Praise to the Holiest. The Choir Director, Charles Finch, has given me permission to use the track... you can obtain the CD by emailing him, or from the website.

A Cure At Any Price...?

A week ago, I spotted a post on my Google Reader feeds... I starred it for further comment later on, but then didn't go back - well, I've been a little busy of late.

Robert Colquhoun, of Love Undefiled, spotted the story - largely buried beneath reports of a Royal engagement - that stem cells from the brains of aborted fetuses were being injected into the brains of patients who have suffered strokes, in the hope of a cure, both in Britain and California.

Sadly, this is far from being "news." Back in July 1996 I wrote an article for Faith Magazine explaining the research into foetal tissue transplantation and my fears that the use of aborted foetuses would become routine. My background in neuropsychopharmacology meant that I had access to many of the reports on this research well before the widespread use of Google to check out what was being done in the name of scientific progress and the search for a cure. The past issues of Faith Magazine available online only go back as far as 2002, but my article was copied and stored in the EWTN archives.

As more and more "cures" (as yet there have been no successful therapies involving the use of foetal stem cells, although there have been plenty of successes using adult stem cells) are sought, we must become ever more vigilant and protest against the use of aborted babies as medical material.

Confirmations At Spanish Place...

I made it to the Latin Mass Society's Confirmation service at St. James' Church, Spanish Place, but, due to the closure of the Blackfriars' underpass, I was rather late. Still, I got to see a good bit of it, and was able to get some photos, though not many.

Bishop George Stack administered the Sacrament of Confirmation according to the usus antiquior... I have to say that I find St. James' to be a very appropriate setting - lots of altars around the church, and gilded statues and votive candle stands... a feast for the senses! The interior is rather dark - they could probably do with more candles - but it just adds to the atmosphere. I did wonder whether any of my photos would come out - I don't use a flash during Masses or other church services, as I feel it is too intrusive. However, my trusty little camera didn't let me down, and, although I had to run the photos through Photoshop to lighten them a bit, the results were quite beautiful IMHO!

The music at the service was beautiful... once again, I found myself wishing that I'd had singing lessons when I was younger. The acoustics in the church are really spine-tinglingly good...

Having spotted the post by His Hermeneuticalness yesterday, I was aware that the Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer (previously known as the Transalpine Redemptorists) were bringing a postulant along to be confirmed, and that Fr. Anthony Mary was planning to say Mass after the service. I spotted one of the brothers among the congregation - he had a very snazzy camera - and promptly went over at the end of the service to find out where the Mass was going to be held.

The Mass quite took my breath away. I had been warned that Communion might not be given out - it was a private Mass - but I was keen to hear Mass anyway, and, as it happened, Communion was given out after all. The Lady Chapel was beautiful and the whole atmosphere intensely prayerful.

There were only a few people present for Mass - maybe because people didn't know about it (sadly, not everyone reads blogs!) I was interested to discover that the Reluctant Sinner had been among those present - but I can't figure out which one! After Mass I went down to the Crypt for a cup of tea - I hadn't planned to go down, but I was chatting to a couple of the brothers, and I figured that the vast majority of people would have left already (I'm not that good in crowds while on the crutches.) It also gave me the opportunity to take a photo of the brothers and Fr. Anthony Mary, FSSR. I was flattered to find out that they knew of my blog, and even got round to reading it on occasion! I was presented with a copy of the Calendar - and it really is beautiful. Advance copies can be obtained for £7 on Ebay, or via their blog.

I can heartily recommend subscribing to their paper - The Catholic Newspaper - which is an excellent read! The subscription button (it's a PayPal link) is in the sidebar on the left hand side of the blog, just above the live traffic feed. The brothers were truly wonderful men, full of joy and faith, and it was a real privilege to be able to meet them (after all, my chances of going over to Papa Stronsay for a retreat weekend are pretty slim...!)

As I left, I encountered Moira (whose blog I plugged in a previous post) and then I bumped into Fr. Armand de Malleray, FSSP... I'd never met him before, despite hearing so much about him, so it was fun to put a face to the name. It's also quite handy, as I shall be going to visit my sister over Christmas, and, since she lives in Pangbourne, I shall have to sort out a Mass to attend for the Sunday. It'll be a treat to go to the FSSP church (and means that I don't need to worry about encountering any happy-clappy liturgy to sour my Christmas spirit...) After I had bemoaned the fact that my sister isn't practicing the Faith, Fr. de Malleray advised me to pray to Blessed Dominic Barberi... as well as receiving Blessed Cardinal Newman into the Church, he also died in a train at Pangbourne Station...

All in all, a wonderful day...

Before The Spin Goes Global...

No, the Holy Father did not say that using condoms was ok in the case of HIV infection. His comments really do need to be read in context. The Curt Jester has an excellent analysis of what has been published in an excerpt from the book interview... and he has also explained why it's not being reported properly...

Interestingly, Jeff refers to this as the Ginger Factor: no, not a variant on blonde jokes, but a reference to Ginger the dog (in the Far Side cartoon by Gary Larson) who only hears his own name... it's the ratio of words said to words heard and understood...