Kitten Capers...

My two kittens have very different temperaments. Monsignor Miaowrini loves to go out - at the moment, with the gorgeous weather we're having, she's out almost all day. Yesterday she was entranced by a squirrel (according to one of my neighbours, whose flat looks out onto the garden) and, not yet able to climb the fence (Miaowrini is just the clumsiest kitten I've ever encountered) she followed it along the bottom of the fence right the way to the back of the garden until the squirrel escaped over the garages.

I was tired after the Good Friday liturgy, and fell asleep on the sofa at about 7pm. I awoke at midnight, and realised that Miaowrini was still out gallivanting. I called her a few times, but there was no reply. I did some washing up, steeling myself to go out hunting for her mangled corpse if she didn't return by the time I finished...

She came in through the cat flap just as I put the last plate away. She did her best to look nonchalant and innocent of all wrong-doing, but the smudge of what looked suspiciously like oil on her nose suggested that she had been up to no good...

Monsignor Furretti, on the other hand, really doesn't seem to like going out. I think she has had a run-in with a neighbouring cat - the same one that knocked Sylvester off the top-cat perch. Of course, it could just be that it is really very hot out, and Furretti is a black, long-haired cat. I pushed her out through the cat flap this morning to encourage her to go outside (she was eyeing the litter tray in a speculative way) but, after two minutes of her looking plaintive on the ledge, I relented and let her back in. I stroked her fur as she passed me, and was shocked at how hot her coat had become.

She much prefers lounging around inside, preferably on the table next to the computer (when I'm on  the computer) or on top of the computer monitor. Occasionally I wonder if she's worried I'll leave her - she was a rescue kitten, and was abandoned at the age of 4 months.

Anyway, I went out just before lunchtime, and, on my return, I thought I'd have a look in the garden to see if the kittens were out. They were both in the bushes round the side of the block. I stood at the garden end and called them down, and the two kittens came to see what I was up to...

They seem contented enough. I'll post more soon...

Good Friday...

I thought I'd try a photo of the High Altar in a sepia tone, because it looked so stark and bare. I like the sepia tone - black and white seems less effective (although I think black and white works better for portrait shots - one of the only pictures of myself that I like is a black and white photo!)

I found myself in tears during the veneration of the Cross. The choir sang O sacred head ill-used, which is one of my favourite hymns. Fr. Tim Finigan is seen here, creeping to the Cross in stockinged feet, along with Michael Baldry, our deacon...

A few more photos can be seen on my Flickr page.

Maundy Thursday...

The Maundy Thursday services at Blackfen yesterday were awesome. We had Mass in the Extraordinary Form, followed by Vespers, and then there was watching until midnight at the Altar of Repose...

My memory appears to be going AWOL... I was sure that last year we didn't celebrate Vespers, but Jonathan Hague, Blackfen's Senior MC, assured me that we did exactly the same last year!

The altar servers appear to have had great fun ringing the bells at the Gloria...

The Mandatum...

The choir were in good voice, though sadly our Choir Mistress, Brenda, was in hospital...

And the Altar of Repose was truly beautiful, thanks to the work of Hilda, our Sacristan...

You can see more Maundy Thursday photos on Flickr.

UPDATE: I have just looked at last year's post about Holy Week, and realised that Jonathan was absolutely correct in his assertion that we had Vespers as well... In my defence, there was a lot going on that week (like my car breaking down in a pretty catastrophic manner!) and so I've probably blotted the entire week from my memory as a way of preserving my sanity...

Something Strange...

For some reason I am getting an influx of hits from different people searching for images of chickens...

Hmmm. Must be nearly Easter.

Holy Week Continues Apace...

We have been really blessed at Blackfen to be able to have Mass in both forms during Holy Week. I prefer to attend Mass in the Extraordinary Form if I am given a choice, so, after the marathon of Palm Sunday, I had a luxurious lie-in on Monday morning (much to the disgust of the kittens, who wanted the cat-flap (and the cat food) to be opened at silly o'clock) and I went to Low Mass on Monday evening. Tuesday provided me with another opportunity for a lie-in, but I figured that it would be needed, as the Missa Cantata held in the evening included an extra Lesson and the singing of St. Mark's Passion.

Given that it was an evening Mass, the thirty minutes needed to chant the Passion proved a little too much for one young parishioner - his gentle (but penetrating) snores were most poignant when Jesus was upbraiding the disciples in the garden of Gethsemane...

The next morning was less relaxing: we had Low Mass at 7am. This meant I had to get up at 5:30am so I could feed the kittens, wash, dress and drive to the church early enough to help set up. The children present were full of the joys of Spring, the adults, on the other hand, were looking somewhat the worse for wear.

I wanted to go to Tenebrae at St. Mary Moorfield's in the evening, but I hadn't ever been to that church, and was a little doubtful about driving in. I considered going on public transport, but my knee and ankle have been playing up a lot, and I didn't relish the hassle which would be involved, especially for coming back afterwards. I printed off the route (via Google Maps) and set off.

I almost turned around again because of the traffic queues on the A2 - the Blackwall Tunnel was backed up right the way to the Sun-in-the-Sands roundabout. However, I was hopeful that the traffic would clear once I got across the river, and this proved to be the case. I got close and estimated that I'd be about 15 minutes late...

Somehow or other I took a wrong turn, and got hopelessly lost. After driving for another 45 minutes, confused by one-way systems and massive roadworks, I finally found the church. I suddenly realised that I'd driven past it about half an hour before... possibly twice...

I crept in at the back, an hour late. Fortunately, this being Tenebrae, we were only somewhere in the Second Nocturn! (Ok, I probably got that wrong, but the service did continue for another hour and twenty minutes!) The music was a mixture of plainchant where the congregation got to join in and heavenly polyphony sung by Charles Finch's music group.

At the end, I asked if it would be ok to put my photos up on the blog, and permission was granted - I like to ask when I go somewhere new.

The journey home was even more fraught than the journey in. Jonathan (Blackfen's Senior MC) offered to act as navigator, so it was straightforward enough (although traffic was unusually heavy) but, despite warnings that the southbound Blackwall tunnel would be closed from 21 April, we found that it was closed a day early... it took two hours to get back to Blackfen! I was a little concerned that the kittens would be out gallivanting (I hadn't closed the cat-flap before I left) and might have become fox food, but they were both waiting to greet me as I opened the door.

You can see more photos of Tenebrae at St Mary Moorfield's on my Flickr page.

Addicted To Blogging...?

No. Not a bit. I could give it up tomorrow...

Well, ok, I'll admit that I probably couldn't... not really. I mean, at the very least, I need somewhere to showcase my photos. It's no fun if no-one looks at them. I was really chuffed last night when a parishioner told me that he has a copy of Miaowrini's "mouser" photo as his desktop.

Admittedly I go through dry phases where I just don't seem to have anything much to say. The rest of the time, I blog about having nothing to say instead!

Seeing the quiz about blog addiction, I just couldn't resist. And 78% isn't bad. It could have been much, much worse...

78%How Addicted to Blogging Are You?
Created by OnePlusYou

Twitch of the mantilla to Fr. Stephen Wang.

Six Years Already... Ad Multos Annos!

"Isn't time fun when you're having flies?" as one frog said to the other!

I wasn't blogging back then - I started just under a year later, on 13 May 2006. The day of the Holy Father's election will, I hope, be one I remember forever... I have posted much of this before, but it was such a wonderful event that I don't mind repeating myself. You don't have to read it!

I remember it well. I was teaching RE in a Catholic School and had been talking about the conclave all day to my students. At lunchtime, Fr. James Clark (our priest chaplain) had popped into the staffroom, and the two of us tried to see what was happening on various internet sites, hampered by painfully slow internet connections - there was a bit of a scare when the report of "white smoke" was mentioned, but it soon became clear that the smoke was a definite black.

Immediately school was over, I drove back to the parish... I didn't have cable or satellite TV at home, I didn't trust the BBC's coverage of Catholic news even then, and Fr. Tim had said that, as nothing was booked for the evening, I could go in and watch the TV in the large hall for a bit... he was at the seminary at Wonersh, I think, but I met the parish secretary, Bridget, at the door, and she gave me the key to the hall.

I was pretty sure nothing would happen for a while, but it was a luxury to be able to hear what the different TV stations had to say about the whole process... so I arranged my books for marking, turned on the TV and went to the kitchen to make a cup of tea. As I was fishing out the teabag, I heard the announcer state that black smoke had gone up. I was disappointed, but not terribly surprised - it was only the second day of the conclave, after all - and I decided that I'd just drink my tea, do some marking while listening to the news in the background and then go home.

As I sat down, consternation seemed to be breaking out among the announcers. They were absolutely sure that the smoke was black... but it did look just a little bit grey. The crowds were cheering wildly... so the presenters were explaining that the crowds had to be wrong, because the smoke was black... well, ok, grey... but it was meant to be black... and anyway, to prevent any mistake the presenters had been told that bells would ring as well as white smoke, and there were no bells... but that smoke did look a bit pale... no, it was grey... but the cheering crowds had definitely gotten it wrong because there were no bells... but... oh, look, white smoke... but what about the promised bells...?

...and then the bells started up!

As you can imagine, I abandoned the marking...

A group of people suddenly appeared in the hall - they had assumed that the hall would be empty, and they wanted to set up the tables for refreshments after a funeral on the next day... did I mind? I explained that I was just watching the TV, so I didn't mind, as long as I wasn't in their way.

I had jokingly commented the day before that it would be great if Cardinal Ratzinger was elected, but had been told firmly that this just wasn't possible, though he might turn out to be influential as "kingmaker." I continued to watch, determined to see the moment when the name of the new Pope would be announced...



That wily old Cardinal Estevez was milking it for all it was worth... When I heard "Josephum" I screamed and jumped up and down... I didn't know that there was another Cardinal called Joseph, but the "Ratzinger" which followed after the pause confirmed the good news.

Phone calls and furious texting to friends ensued. The other people in the hall seemed a little bemused by my behaviour. "Errm... it's good news then?" they asked, a little hesitantly. "Very good indeed!" was my delighted response.

I stayed until the new Pope had appeared on the balcony, and then went home, deliriously happy. After an evening phoning friends and being phoned, I heard that Fr. Patrick Burke (whom I know well through the Faith Movement) was to be on Newsnight...



A wonderful day. I also remember the disgruntled comment made to me in the school car park the following morning as I clambered out of my car clutching several laminated posters of the newly elected Pope ready to be plastered all over my classroom. "See the result of the election last night? I suppose you're happy then?"

To which the reply was "Yes. Very!"

So, where were you, and what were you doing when you heard the good news?

Happy Anniversary, Holy Father. Ad multos annos!

Palm Sunday...

Yesterday was really hectic, as I explained in my previous post, and I didn't have a chance to edit and upload my photos - adding the titles and stuff to Flickr is a slow process for me! However, the Easter Holidays are upon us, so I had time this morning to attend to photostream housekeeping.

Yesterday's Mass was absolutely amazing. It took 53 minutes before we got to the Introit, and then, after the preliminaries, the chanting of the Passion took another 40 minutes. Although the Passion seems to go on forever (especially if one is standing - though I decided to avoid straining my knee and wimped out) the Mass as a whole really doesn't seem long. I was really surprised to discover that the whole celebration had lasted two and a half hours. The only reason I'm sure about the timings is that I'd been asked to make a note of them, for future reference!

The deacon and subdeacon both wore folded chasubles, and the deacon also wore the broad stole (which is also a folded chasuble) at various points. The New Liturgical Movement site has an excellent article on the use and development of the folded chasuble if you want to read more about it.

Do pop over to my Flickr account and have a look at all the photos I took yesterday. I'm really pleased with them - my little Canon IXUS camera was one of the best purchases I've made, and it's given me a tremendous amount of pleasure. I am contemplating investing in a "proper" camera, so that I can take up photography as a serious hobby. Then again, maybe I don't need to!

A Busy Day...

Today has been very hectic.

I overslept, then I had to make a mad dash down to North Greenwich to collect Dr. Laurence Hemming who was to be deacon at the Solemn High Mass celebrated for Palm Sunday at Blackfen. I started to panic as I suddenly noticed that a lot of the slip roads onto and off the A2 were closed due to the London Marathon. However, all was well, if later than I'd have liked. The Palm Sunday celebrations went on for two and a half hours. I then drove the deacon back to North Greenwich, met up with friends for lunch, drove to Chislehurst to collect a supply priest and brought him to Blackfen, attended the evening Palm Sunday Mass and then drove the supply priest down to Ebbsfleet International so he could catch a train.

Hectic. And tiring.

So, I thought a little light relief would be in order...

(Suddenly I realise that Miaowrini is not alone in her accident-prone-ness and general nosiness!)

I don't like the bit where the person throws the cat up to the ceiling. That's not nice. The rest is very funny...

I'm Not Jealous, Really I'm Not...

...Well, ok, maybe I am a bit jealous, just a teensy-weensy bit.

The invitations to the official Vatican Blogmeet (it doesn't qualify as a "Blognic" IMHO, because there's no food or drink involved... unlike the *Other* Catholic Rome Blognic) have been published for all to see. It seems that, after selecting a few bloggers as representative of certain areas, they just picked the names out of a hat.

And quite a few of the bloggers are on my own blogroll! Ok, I'm not a teensy-weensy bit jealous, I am very, very jealous...

Congratulations must go to Anna Arco (the Catholic Herald's chief feature writer), the Reluctant Sinner, the Crescat (who really does deserve to go - she was due to go to Rome last year only that unpronounceable volcano went and put the kybosh on it by erupting... and it pretty much closed Europe!), Mary O'Regan (The Path Less Taken), the Ironic Catholic (that's sooooo unfair - she stopped blogging for Lent!) Jane Mossendew (Thoughts from a Catholic Oasis) and James Bradley (Ordinariate Portal).

Hilary White also seems to have snuck in under the wire, much to her surprise... just as well the *Other* Catholic Rome Blognic is the day after!!

I'm really, really, very jealous indeed...

Happy Birthday, Holy Father!

Pope Benedict XVI is 84 today. Ad multos annos!

I was looking through a few of my previous posts about the Holy Father when I found this video, and I think it bears watching again. Enjoy!

Confession

Thanks to Fr. Ray Blake for drawing attention to this very moving video clip about Confession. I was watching it and thinking that the lack of sound made a very powerful statement... and then I realised that my computer was on mute! Nevertheless, it really hits home...

A Fantastic Film And An Even Better True Story...

The film, The Scarlet and the Black, is a gripping tale of heroic action and intrigue set in the Second World War, when the Nazis occupied Rome. Gregory Peck plays Monsignor Hugh O'Flaherty, a priest in the Holy Office, who helps hundreds of allied servicemen and Jewish civilians escape.



The film is stirring enough, but it's even more so when you realise that it's based on a true story. Check out Stephen Walker's fascinating article in the Catholic Herald.

Guild Of Catholic Bloggers - Planning Meeting

The Reluctant Sinner is really getting up a head of steam. A meeting is being organised for Saturday May 7th, from 2:00-4:00pm - the Sinner will be providing tea and coffee from 1pm if people want to bring their sandwiches.

The meeting will be held in the Hinsley Room next to Westminster Cathedral - it's a stand-alone building behind St Paul's Bookshop and St Vincent's School, on Morpeth Terrace.

Sadly, I'll be busy that day, but if you can attend, then do leave a comment in the Reluctant Sinner's combox.

One Mantilla Does Not A Traddy Make...

...Heheheheh... It seems that one has to have a spare in the glove compartment. I have two. Does that make me an uber-trad?

"The women have an extra mantilla in the van - just in case. The men have an opinion on the best type of pipe tobacco for any occasion. The boys have their own cassock and surplice hanging in the closet. The girls know how to play Dies Irae on the organ. They wear a t-shirt while they go swimming so their brown scapular doesen't float away. They're willing to drive an hour to go to Mass... every Sunday. 

They know the confession times of at least 4 churches. They invite priests over to play cards and smoke cigars. They pray to saints that you think may not really exist. They ask you to finish the sentence when you say "John Paul the Great"... the great what? They might own a live chicken. When they're at a Novus Ordo Mass, everyone watches them to figure out why they're hitting themselves during the "Lamb of God"."

Clifford, over at Ecce Homo has scored himself an "A" on the Trad Scale found by The Rockin Traddy and drawn up by The Reluctant Traditionalist and Wholly Roamin Catholic.

Do you get the impression that I've been having a little holiday fun checking out some new (to me) blogs?

Just one question: What's a tinfoil hat joke?

A Bloggers' Guild...?

It seems that the two Rome Blognics are bearing fruit already. The Reluctant Sinner thought that it might be a good idea to have a Guild for Catholic Bloggers, under the patronage of Blessed Titus Brandsma.

I don't agree that one should limit membership to Britain, however. After all, the Blogosphere is not bound by geographical limits - and, if one is planning to have a Bloggers' Guild, then presumably we can make use of technology to overcome the need for an actual corporeal presence at meetings (heheheheheh!) The *Other* Catholic Rome Blognic will put virtual attendance to the test. It is certainly getting plenty of attention.

Perhaps there can be local branches of the Guild...

Anyway, pop on over to register your interest in the Guild!

UPDATE: It seems as if the news of a Guild for Bloggers has hit the Catholic Herald - check out William Oddie's excellent article.

Feline Foibles...

My cat posts appear to be quite popular, so I shall continue with the occasional update...

Miaowrini really likes the great outdoors. More specifically, she likes going out and coming back in... and then going back out again. I haven't been able to work out whether she's busy playing tag with some of the neighbouring cats or if she's being chicken... Either way, the catflap is clattering almost constantly.

I occasionally call her in, just to see if she's ok, and she'll shoot in at high speed, possibly acknowledge my existence, check to see if there's anything new going on (such as food) and then depart at equally high speed. I occasionally hear a bit of a thump and some scrabbling which indicates that Miaowrini hasn't quite managed to jump up as cleanly as she'd like - she really is the clumsiest kitten I've ever encountered.

Furretti, on the other hand, is much more laid back. She doesn't go back and forth quite as much as Miaowrini. The sound of me opening the front door to go out usually results in her returning through the flap - almost as if she's only comfortable exploring if she knows I'm around. She does go out on her own (she was out when I came home yesterday afternoon) but she also likes to snooze inside. Preferably on top of any paperwork I'm trying to do.

I had a bit of a panic this morning. Furretti had used the litter-tray and had a bit of stuff sticking to her fur. I grabbed some paper to clean her up, and found traces of blood on the paper. She was lively enough - purring and happy to be given the extra attention, and then not so happy when I attempted to wash her bottom, she'd been eating well (but not excessively) and didn't appear to be in any discomfort, but...

I phoned the vet. It seems that it might be the change in diet (I had to switch to a different brand of cat biscuits because the brand I usually use was out of stock), or it could be worms. I have to get some worming stuff. Fortunately for my fingers there's a type in drop form that can be squeezed onto the back of the cat's neck. And I have to keep Furretti under observation.

Fingers crossed it's nothing serious...

A Coffee-Spluttering Moment...

The Catholic Herald is great. One of the bloggers for the online edition is Francis Philips, and while reading her article today on the corrected translation, one bit made me splutter coffee over my keyboard:

"I am dispirited by his peddling the dreary phrase, "the spirit of the Second Vatican Council", as if that dubious and elusive spectre has anything to do with the workings of the Holy Spirit. It doesn’t; the sooner it is buried with a stake through its heart and garlic round the doorposts, the better."

I Wasn't Going To Blog About Blognics, But...

Bones has put up the Rome Reports video clip about the Vatican's conference for bloggers, and Fr. Tim posted his translation of the notice which went out inviting bloggers to the event. I share Jane's frustration about the short notice: it seems that the Vatican officials figured that, since many bloggers would possibly be in Rome for the beatification of Pope John Paul II, it would be a good time to hold the conference. Actually, I think that many bloggers will be blogging on the beatification from the comfort of their own homes... the bunfight for flights and hotel rooms around the time of the beatification doesn't bear thinking about.

In addition, there's no guarantee that you'll get a ticket. They've limited the event to 150 seats. Fr. Z has pointed out that the rules for selection of the lucky attendees appear to be a little unclear...

Hilary White wondered whether the application process might be being carried out with a view to excluding the more outspoken bloggers. She decided to hold an alternative event: the *other* Catholic Blogger Rome Blognic. You can find out more on the Facebook Event Page. It seems that there will be a couple of talks, and Michael Voris (who does The Vortex on Real Catholic TV) has agreed to speak. THAT is a definite coup. Beer and pizza will also feature. That already marks the event out as streets ahead of the official Vatican one.This has provoked thoughts of bank robbery to flit enticingly through my mind (because that is the only way I would be able to get to Rome.) Through heroic effort, I have rejected such temptations, and am now weeping and wailing and generally bemoaning my misfortune.

A glimmer of hope has been waved in my general direction. Hilary has promised that there might be Skype or some such techno-wizardry which will enable those of us not corporeally present to be present in a bit more than spirit.

Passiontide Begins...

When I first came back to the Church and took an interest in things liturgical, I was vaguely aware that there was an option to veil statues in the week before Holy Week. I understood that the statues and crucifixes were veiled because Christ hid himself (John 8: 59) before finally entering Jerusalem for his Passion, but I wasn't aware of any reason for having this done a week before Holy Week rather than, say, the beginning of Lent.

I'd never heard the term "Passiontide" and, in any case, I would have thought it referred to Holy Week, because, in the Novus Ordo, Palm Sunday is also called Passion Sunday. I thought that "Passion Sunday" referred to the reading of the Passion at Mass from one of the Synoptic Gospels.

Of course, when one attends the Extraordinary Form of Mass, all becomes clear. Passion Sunday is actually the week before Palm Sunday, and the Gospel reading is the one ending "Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple."

Clifford Carvalho put things very well:

"...we begin the season of Passiontide. It is when our Lenten practices get even more intense. We started light during Septuagesima. We got more intense during Lent. Now we get even more intense during Passiontide."

The gradual heightening of awareness as one approaches the Triduum is something to treasure. I would often get quite annoyed because Ash Wednesday would catch me unprepared - especially if Easter was early - but, in the Extraordinary calendar there's a countdown - we start with Septuagesima Sunday and work our way up to Lent, which is plenty of time to consider how we can mark the penitential season. And then, after the brief respite offered by Laetare Sunday, we plunge into Passiontide, aware that this is the final push before the intensity of the Triduum and Easter Sunday, and it allows us to recoup our flagging enthusiasm for our Lenten efforts.

Of course, it's only if one is involved in veiling the statues, crucifixes and images of saints that one realises how many of them there actually are...

A happy and holy Passiontide to you all!

UPDATE: The inimitable Fr. Z has an excellent post on the gradual intensification of the penitential season, along with a poll about whether you have veiling at your parish.

A Bit Of A Flutter...

Tomorrow sees the Grand National at Aintree. This is an annual race which seems to get the whole country going to the bookmakers to place a bet. It's the only race on which I remember my father ever placing a bet - though, to be strictly accurate, he actually joined the sweepstake at his workplace and picked out Red Rum, the favourite. The poor man kept having to leave the living room where we were watching the race as he couldn't stand the tension. Red Rum went on to win.

I was in the parish club this evening after Stations of the Cross when it was announced that there would be a sweepstake for tomorrow's race. Obviously I had to have a go. I picked an envelope and found that my horse is Golden Kite, a complete outsider. So much of an outsider, in fact, that he only snuck in at the last minute because some other horses were withdrawn...

I don't think I need to hold my breath.

Baronius Press Breviary...

It seems that Baronius Press has finally managed to get a little closer to publication of the Roman Breviary in Latin and English.

I'm very, very interested, but can't quite afford the £230 asking price at the moment... I shall have to start saving, or hope that someone tries to sell a discount version on ebay.

However, Baronius is not quite ready for pre-orders yet. They're actually asking for people to indicate interest in being given the pre-order date. Pre-ordering the pre-order, so to speak.

Twitch of the mantilla to Shawn Tribe for the heads-up!

A Tale Of Two Musicians...

Well, ok... one musician and one hymn-composer. I'm being generous with the term "hymn."

Joseph Shaw has an excellent rebuttal of the rather mean-spirited (and rather skewed) comments from Paul Inwood on how there are dreadful priests who should be taken to task by their bishops when they do things to the liturgy which the people don't like.

The problem lies in one's idea of what liturgy actually is, of course.

If one believes liturgy to be people coming together to have a good time and a bit of a sing-along to praise God, then yes, the views of the people would matter. But, if (as happens to be the case) the liturgy is the official worship of God by the Church, then the personal likes and dislikes of the people don't actually come into play.

The Ordinary Form and the Extraordinary Form are two valid forms of the one Roman Rite. Both forms should be available for the people of God. Naturally, in the average parish, this means that one Mass is likely to have to be changed: it's up to the Parish Priest to decide which one that should be.

Of course, Mr. Inwood is probably still smarting because the corrected translation of the Mass means that pieces such as his Alleluia-ch-ch ditty and Gathering Mass settings can no longer be used, even in the Novus Ordo. And, in his heart of hearts, he possibly blames the Extraordinary Form and its adherents, because, after all, there is a certain gravitational pull from the usus antiquior. Something to do with the idea that this isn't just a celebratory meal, but it's a sacrifice, and we're at the foot of the cross on Calvary not a community get-together.

The gravitational pull is demonstrated in this excellent article by the musician I mentioned: James MacMillan has only attended three Extraordinary Form Masses so far, but he's been very positively inspired by what he's seen...

Pro-Choice...??

Groups such as Marie Stopes insist that they are "pro-choice." So why are they not loudly condemning China's one-child policy which uses forced abortions and sterilisations?

Instead, Marie Stopes International welcomed China's Minister of National Population and Family Planning Commission, Lin Bin, to its London offices.

The one-child policy is being carried out with the cooperation of groups such as Marie Stopes International, the United Nations Family Planning Association (UNFPA) and the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) - these are listed as abortion providers operating in China. In 2008, the U.S. Secretary of State identified the UNFPA as being complicit in coercive family planning.

Back in 1991, the UNFPA representative in China stated that the reports of coercion were exaggerated. Well, it seems that the coercion is so exaggerated that family members are being murdered by the Family Planning officials, and nothing is done about it.

Marie Stopes, the UNFPA and IPPF and their ilk aren't pro-choice. They're anti-life.

Kitty Explorers...

The kittens have finally conquered the catflap. I realised that both kittens were a little wary of the height of the jump to the ledge, so I put out a wooden chair to make things a little easier while they're getting the hang of it all. Today I taped open the catflap and settled down to watch as both kittens ventured outside without any coaxing...

After watching them both have a good old sniff around the bushes, I pushed both kittens back through the flap and removed the tape holding the flap open. I then walked back home (I don't have a back door, so I have to go right around the block.) By the time I got back inside, the inevitable had happened (as I'd hoped) and both kittens had pushed their way out through the flap so that they could explore some more.

Just to check that they knew how to get back in, I rattled their food bowls and gave them some biscuits. Both cats came tearing back through the catflap without any problems. Furretti then settled down to munch her biscuits, while Miaowrini decided that she wasn't quite ready for biscuits and went back outside.

Now I'm sure they know how to get back in, I can let them out on their own.

Next step - encouraging them to use the bushes rather than the litter tray...

A Hair-Raising Effort...

You might remember my mentioning a little girl called Beatrix who wanted to donate her hair to help make wigs for children who'd lost their own hair through illness, and she had the wonderful idea of getting sponsorship to support her favourite charity.

Well, all went according to plan. Her hair was chopped off into a very fetching bob, and so far she has raised £1202 - more than her initial target of £1000. The charity page is still open for donations, if any of you are so inclined.

More About The Ordinariate...

Copyright Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham 

I posted a report of Monsignor Keith Newton's audience with the Holy Father on Friday. I'm delighted to see that the Ordinariate blog has actually got a Flickr account, and the photos from the audience have been put up.

The Holy Father was given a collection of the photographs of the Ordinariate groups and the first ordinations, along with a copy of Fr Michael Rear's new book about pilgrimage to Walsingham, and an image of Our Lady of Walsingham.

Copyright Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham

For a more personal view of what it means to be a member of the Ordinariate preparing to be received into the Catholic Church at Easter, I heartily recommend reading Mark Greaves' excellent article in the Catholic Herald Online.

A Little Encouragement For Pro-Lifers...

A twitch of the mantilla to Fr. Ray Blake for this encouraging video. Does anyone know what the soundtrack is?

A Glimpse Of The New CTS Missal...

Things are certainly moving apace... the CTS have now got together a prototype of the new Altar Missal which will be on sale in November, and a price list.

It is beautiful. I particularly like the ribbons (which seems to be the way ribbons were arranged in the past, rather than the rather clunky ribbons in the current versions of Altar Missals... I speak as someone who has had to arrange said ribbons when setting everything up for Mass, and trying to make them lie flat is a real pain!) and the beautiful artwork. No doubt some will complain that there's no point to such illustrations because the only person to see the Missal will be the priest. Personally I think that it's even more important to remind the priest that what he's reading from is a sacred liturgical book, which should be treated with reverence and honour.

It is reminiscent of illuminated manuscripts...

The price will be £230 - but pre-publication discounts have been promised, to be announced after Easter. It sounds expensive, but, in reality, it's not that much. In a medium-sized parish it works out at about 50 pence per parishioner... maybe £1 each in a smaller parish...

Anyway, have a look at what you get for your money...

Help A Hermit...

I first met Fr. George Byers when he was a chaplain at Lourdes and I was helping to organise the Parish Pilgrimage, back in 2008 (I think.) In 2009, just before he left Lourdes, Fr. George arranged for our group to have Mass at the parish church in Lourdes - a wonderful experience.

After a period of teaching in seminary, Fr. George has decided to follow his vocation as a hermit. This was a bit of a shock, as I'd always assumed that a hermit would tend to be of a rather solitary, almost anti-social frame of mind... and I can't quite picture Fr. George as anti-social and solitary. However, it seems that this has been a long-cherished dream of his. You can find out more about his work via his blog, Holy Souls Hermitage.

Anyway, Fr. George is setting up his hermitage on the Blue Ridge Mountains - of North Carolina. No, I didn't think they were in North Carolina either. But my geography is pretty dire.*

He intends to offer up his prayers and penances for the sanctification of priests and bishops, living and dead. The Holy Souls Hermitage needs quite a bit of support as it's starting out, so any donations will be gratefully received. The Benefactors Page gives details of how you can donate money, and the sidebar has links to pages giving specific details of items which are needed, like altar breads, candles and so on. I believe that the chainsaw shown in the photo above is lacking a chain, for example. Fr. George will pray daily for benefactors and offer Mass for them about once a month.

Those of us who can't afford to support the Hermitage financially are asked to pray for Fr. George and his work. Prayers are always welcome!

* For anyone wondering where I thought those mountains actually are...

Lost In Translation...?

I don't speak Latin. I know little bits and pieces from the Mass (for many years the only Latin I knew was "Kyrie, eleison!" ...the rest was all Greek to me...) and from singing stuff like Mozart's Ave verum. I've come to recognise quite a bit from the Psalms because I typed out the Rossini Propers for the choir to use at the Extraordinary Form Mass.

But I don't really know any Latin.

I do know several people who do know Latin, and know it extremely well. And they have assured me that the current ICEL translations we use at Mass are dreadful. In addition, through my reading of the writings of many of the saints of the Church, I had come to the conclusion that even the translation of the Scriptures left much to be desired. I also picked up the discrepancies in translation through praying the Divine Office, first using the standard English texts (ICEL again) and then looking at the English translations given in the Benedictine Monastic Diurnal.

I wrote a post on it way back in 2007, explaining how some of the differences in translation had really major effects on the meaning.

Today, at Mass, the discrepancies in translation hit me like a thunderbolt. Like most Catholics who attend Mass regularly, I am very familiar with the account of the feeding of the five thousand as recorded in St. John's Gospel. So familiar, in fact, that occasionally I don't listen to it all that carefully any more. However, the translation used at the Extraordinary Form Mass is rather different to the Jerusalem Bible translation used in the Novus Ordo lectionary.

Fr. Tim read the Gospel in English before his sermon, as usual. All of a sudden, one verse jumped out at me: "And when they were filled, he said to his disciples: Gather up the fragments that remain, lest they be lost." (John 6:12) But this is currently translated as "When they had eaten enough he said to the disciples, 'Pick up the pieces left over, so that nothing gets wasted.'"

The thought which hit me so suddenly was that the ICEL translation in the Jerusalem Bible has completely twisted the meaning of the text, separating it from the Eucharistic overtones and making it into little more than a picnic meal, where you don't want to let food go to waste. The Douay-Rheims translation, on the other hand, with its use of the words "fragments" and "lost" brings out the parallel with the Sacrifice of the Mass - reflecting the care the priest takes when ensuring that no fragment of the Host is allowed to fall from the paten, and the care with which the corporal should be treated, being placed for protection in a burse, and being rinsed in water which is poured into the ground before being washed with other items. "Fragment" implies tiny particles as well as bigger ones, "pieces" makes you think of chunks of bread.

This is probably not news at all to the majority of my readers, but, as I said, I haven't had the luxury of reading and translating the original Latin for myself. It makes me even more keen to see the introduction of the new, corrected translation of the Mass.

Laetare Sunday...

Today being Laetare Sunday, the famous rose vestments were out. Not only that, but, to make sure that the full set got a thorough airing, our regular 10:30am Mass in the Extraordinary Form was celebrated as a Solemn High Mass.

Wonderful stuff.

Fr. Timothy Finigan, as Parish Priest, was celebrant, Rev. John Harrison was deacon ("on loan" from Chislehurst) and Fr. Bernard McNally was subdeacon.

This year, thanks to the kindness of various parishioners and some pretty nifty needlework by Maria and Hilda (and maybe some others in the team), we saw the debut of a new rose antependium.

In the past, I mistakenly understood the use of an antependium to be a way of covering up a visually unedifying altar, and I thought that it was unnecessary if one had a beautiful altar. Reading through various quotes (courtesy of that wonderful resource on all things liturgical, the New Liturgical Movement blog)on the use of the antependium shows how wrong this idea is - far from being a way of covering up an eyesore, it is because the altar represents Christ himself (indicated by the five crosses carved into the upper surface of the altar, for the five wounds) and it is therefore adorned "as with precious vestments." The stripping of the altar on Maundy Thursday, completely exposing the marble beneath the altar cloths, is made much more clearly symbolic of the stripping of Our Lord before his crucifixion.

I love how the Catholic faith pulls together the spiritual and the physical elements of worship - a reminder that we are both body and soul, and that Christ became incarnate for us, so the physical does matter.

As a further bit of symbolism, we had yellow roses on the altar and the sanctuary - it is traditional for golden roses to be given as a mark of the esteem and affection of the Roman Pontiff, and they are blessed on Laetare Sunday. Yellow ones (beautifully arranged by our sacristan, Hilda) were the best we could do, sadly, but it did make me wonder whether the vestiges of this tradition are seen in the preponderance of yellow flowers on sale in time for Mothering Sunday...

More photos can be seen over on my Flickr page.