Lourdes Water...

The Grotto at Lourdes, the site where Our Lady appeared to St. Bernadette, is currently under about 3 feet of water.

After days of torrential rain, the River Gave burst its banks, and pilgrims were evacuated from nearby hotels along with about 40 people who were forced to leave their homes.

The basilica itself is still accessible, according to the report on CNA. I assume they mean the Immaculate Conception basilica and Crypt, at the top of the ramps, rather than the Rosary Basilica itself, which is on the lower level, though, as the entrance to the Rosary basilica is up some steps, it's just possible that this is above the level of the flooding.

I love Lourdes, and have been there on pilgrimage several times. Being in a mountainous region, it does get rather a lot of rain. When I went there in 2009, it was pretty wet... it rained so hard one afternoon that my mascara was washed down my cheeks. I made sure I wore waterproof mascara after that. The locals were speculating then on whether the Gave would burst its banks, and we were told that Brancardiers had been piling up sandbags along the banks on the opposite side to the Grotto. I took a photo of the bridge across the Gave near the Grotto...

And, for comparison, here's a photo of the bridge in 2010:

You can see how much more space there is under the bridge. You can also see how high the wall is on the Grotto side of the river. The current downpour is said to be the worst in 25 years.

The photo below is a shot of the Grotto, taken from the point at which St. Bernadette had been kneeling when she saw Our Lady (if I recall correctly) - and I've included this one because of the altar and the candle stand. Admittedly, the stand does change in height depending on which candles are placed in it...

And now, for comparison, have a look at the following pictures of the Grotto yesterday... Check out the top of the altar in the first picture...

Twitch of the mantilla to Fr. Ray Blake for those last two photos.

CNA had the following video clips from Friday, showing the rising water levels. It's heartbreaking to watch.

Fortunately, there don't seem to have been any deaths, and at least this happened at the end of the pilgrimage season, so those affected will have some time to get things sorted out before next year.

The webcams in Lourdes are down at the moment, due to the flooding. Pray for all the pilgrims, and all those who live and work in Lourdes.

More About Cats...

Photo: Steve Back, Daily Telegraph

Maybe it is something to do with the weather...

It seems as though my two Monsignori are not the only kitties with relationship problems. Larry, the Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office at Number 10 Downing Street, had a spat with his next-door neighbour, Freya, the First Moggy of the Treasury.

Police were called to break it up. No-one, other than the two protagonists, knows whether "Hiss. Spit. Snarl. Miaow" translates as "You don't run this government, you plebs" and Google Translate doesn't have "Cat" as an option (yet) which is possibly why there have been no calls for the resignation of either Larry or Freya.

Larry does have form. His first major photocall was marked (literally) by him scratching a reporter. He also doesn't seem to be particularly effective at his job. I have only heard of one dead mouse being presented to David Cameron during the whole of Larry's time in office. A simple glance at the sidebar tally (Kitty Kill Count) will demonstrate what really keen kitties can achieve. The Opposition appears to be woefully negligent in not calling for a full enquiry...

In other news, my Monsignori appear to have called a truce. They actually rubbed heads and noses yesterday, and Furretti licked Miaowrini's tail. At the time of writing, Miaowrini is curled up on the sofa and Furretti is sprawled out above the computer monitor. It won't last...

LMS Pilgrimage To Aylesford

Last Saturday saw the annual Latin Mass Society pilgrimage to Aylesford. Joseph Shaw, the LMS Chairman, was there with his snazzy camera - the camera which was so snazzy it meant that he had to buy a new computer to cope with it - and he has written a brief report of the events, and included some rather snazzy photos.

Unfortunately, I think his snazzy camera is too snazzy for my computer. I've tried to load his blog four times, and my computer crashed each time - it seemed to get stuck trying to load the pictures. As a result, I can't put in a direct link. You'll find his blog on the sidebar blogroll, under British Bloggers. If you're wondering how I was able to tell that Joe had written a report including snazzy photos given that I can't access his blog, well, actually I use Google Reader to check my favourite blogs. I only visit real blogs when I want to comment, read comments or link to posts on my blog.

Dylan, the Reluctant Sinner, made a very brief report on the day as well. His blog doesn't cause my computer to crash, so I can happily direct you to the relevant post. Unfortunately he doesn't have snazzy pictures, but perhaps, in view of the age of my computer, that is just as well!

Fr. Tim Finigan was the celebrant and preacher at the Missa Cantata, and he also gave the talk during the afternoon. He has a much fuller report of the day, which was excellent. His blog also doesn't pose any problems for my computer...

I took some more photos which you can see on the Flickr set page.

Light Entertainment...

The caption reads "What house cats lust after."

My two hooligans don't seem to read, unfortunately...

Rosary Sunday...

Yes, I know it was over a week ago. No, I haven't blogged for a whole week. Yes, I know I said that I'd try harder to blog more regularly...

Would you lot believe me if I told you that the Monsignori are to blame? They're chasing each other round in circles, squabbling like teenagers, and I want to stay out of their way. This morning, I actually caught Furretti kicking all the dry catfood out of Miaowrini's bowl. Just because I'd stopped to stroke Miaowrini first. Boy, can that cat throw a strop.

At the moment, the two cats are chasing each other around my computer chair, each taking it in turns to hide beneath my skirts before launching an attack on the other. I'm not sure if they're playing, or if this is the next stage in the dominance stakes...

Anyway, for those of you who are interested, the photos I took last week for Rosary Sunday, (the Patronal Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, Blackfen) are finally up on Flickr. Most of them were up halfway through the week, to be honest, but I then discovered that, due to a glitch with a wifi connection, I'd only loaded half of them, so I didn't bother alerting anyone!

Fr. James Bradley of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham was the celebrant and preacher for the Solemn High Mass...

There are lots of photos in the set - and I haven't actually labelled them yet - so do go over to have a look.

Right. It's gone awfully quiet. I think that means trouble. I'll be back again soon...

A Little Snippet...

I managed to record a snippet from First Vespers of the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, held at Blackfen on Saturday.

I didn't record any of the music from Sunday's High Mass because that was sung by professional singers and recording rights would have come into play. The singers on Saturday, on the other hand, were enthusiastic, talented volunteers. They did get given a rather good lunch...

With such heavenly music as this available, one wonders who in their right minds would opt for such guff as "Alleluia ch-ch" or the clap-clap Gloria...

Photos will be forthcoming... but not tonight.  I need a bit more beauty sleep.

That Difficult Language Again...

We have had a wonderful weekend at Blackfen. It was the first Saturday of the month, so we had our regular Missa Cantata, and, to see in the Patronal Feast Day, we also celebrated First Vespers. Then, on  Sunday, we had a High Mass, with Fr. James Bradley of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham as celebrant.

More about Sunday's activities later... well, ok, probably tomorrow. I need my beauty sleep. The children at school have already commented on how they think I look like Darth Vadar...

After Vespers on Saturday, we sang the Marian Anthem... to the solemn tone. Fr. Tim thought that the children, in their enthusiasm, might not realise this, and might continue with the regular Salve Regina...

Nope.

These little ones are not only happy to sing in Latin, they can sing the same words to different chant tones (or whatever they're called... Leutgeb will probably tell me off for using the wrong term, which is slightly disconcerting because she makes Darth Vadar look like a pushover when she gets going. Scary? Even Fr. Tim won't mess with her!!)

The video picture is ghastly because the light from the windows messed up the phone camera - but you can just about see the children... and hear them singing...

Time Limits...

There is much excitement at the moment about a few politicians who are calling for the time limit for abortion to be limited to 20 weeks instead of the current 24 weeks.

At first sight, it might appear that to campaign for a reduction is a good thing - some lives might be saved, and softly, softly catchee monkey, winning hearts and minds... maybe a total ban can be worked towards, eventually...

SPUC has explained why this is wishful thinking - any pro-life amendment would be voted down in the current parliamentary climate, and the opportunity to add anti-life amendments would be given, and those would probably get through.

To those who think that we need to work slowly towards getting rid of abortion, I just want to point out the blindingly obvious:

Either abortion is wrong because it is the killing of a human being, or it is not. Life begins at conception. There is no "acceptable" time at which to kill a baby. To call for a reduction in the time limit ignores this basic point.

There is currently a poll on the Telegraph's website which asks when people think the limit should be - and just for once, "total ban" is actually an option...

BTW, the photo at the top of the post is what the politicians are saying can be aborted - a baby at 20 weeks' gestation.

Open Season...

I had high hopes that the Monsignori were getting tired of me rescuing their prey and throwing it out of the bedroom window (before you protest, I'm on the ground floor and there is a large patch of grass outside the window, and the kitties can't get to it very quickly from inside the flat!) There hadn't been any presents for ages.

The cats just about tolerate each other. When it gets very cold, they cease hostilities and both curl up on the duvet. The rest of the time they put up with each other - sulking if I appear to give the other a bit more attention.

However, it seems as though they are happy to cooperate when there is fun to be had...

Miaowrini came in with a mouse. I realised she had a mouse because Furretti immediately woke from her position at the end of the bed (where she had been deaf to all my blandishments, apparently fast asleep) and shot into the hall to see what was up. The two cats proceeded to play... well, cat-and-mouse !

Yesterday I came home to find a large pigeon by my armchair. Thankfully it was dead. I didn't clear it up immediately, as I had to go and powder my nose. When I did go back, I found that the bird had been dragged to a more prominent position... and both cats were waiting for my response...

Stuff...

I realise that no sooner did I get my blogging mojo back up and running than it ran out on me again.

Hopefully, internet connection problems allowing, I should be blogging regularly again soon. Or possibly not. I've decided to avoid making promises, especially if, like Nick Clegg, keeping them is not going to be within my control.

I was pretty miffed to miss out on the Guild of Blessed Titus Brandsma blognic, and so was rather pleased that the indomitable Fr. Z turned up at Maiden Lane a few days later for an impromptu blognic down in the Coal Hole. He also visited Blackfen for Sunday Mass - and gave a storming sermon on the reality of the devil and his malice. Good stuff.

And then I got to go for lunch...

We have some more good stuff happening in Blackfen this week as well. Today we had an extra Missa Cantata for the Feast of the Dedication of St. Michael. On Tuesday evening at 8pm there will be a Missa Cantata for the anniversary of the dedication of the church. Next Saturday we have our regular Missa Cantata for the first Saturday of the month, and we also are celebrating First Vespers of the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary - our patronal Feast Day.

And then, on the Feast Day itself, we are having a Solemn High Mass. Fr. James Bradley of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham will be preaching...

I will try and get pictures and stuff.

No promises...

Time For A Reality Check...?

After Professor Tina Beattie signed a letter in The Times which was at variance with Catholic teaching, her invitation to speak at Clifton Cathedral was withdrawn. Given that Prof. Beattie has never made any secret of her opinions, one might wonder why she was asked to speak in the first place.

Be that as it may, it was encouraging that Clifton diocese had seen how untenable it would be to have such a speaker scheduled. Prof. Beattie explained to the Catholic Herald that she was saddened by the cancellation, but that, after discussion, she understood it and accepted the reasons for it.

The Pill editorial has allowed itself an interesting slip in its haste to rush to Prof. Beattie's defense.

After noting that the letter to The Times distorted the words of Cardinal Hume in order to make it appear that SSM was not incompatible with Catholic teaching, and suggesting that the Bishop of Clifton might have thought this indicated a lack of good faith, the editor goes on to state that, "...apart from that consideration... the cancellation of the lecture was indefensible."

Sorry? Run that by me again...

A letter, signed by Prof. Beattie, deliberately uses a selective quote from Cardinal Hume to bolster the idea that it is possible to accept same-sex marriage as not being contrary to Catholic teaching, (because it's all about love, really...) and Professor Beattie says that she stands by the contents of the letter... and then The Pill tries to suggest that the Bishop's decision is indefensible???

I don't think so. As Leutgeb has pointed out, no other organisation would accept this level of dissent from an employee or member.

What is indefensible is the fact that The Pill can write this tripe and still claim to be Catholic.

Exaltation Of The Holy Cross...

The Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross was marked in fitting style at Blackfen. The Sodality of the Five Holy Wounds had arranged to have a Missa Cantata, and there was a bit of a social event afterwards...

It's hard to believe that five years have passed since Summorum Pontificum. In one respect, it feels as if no time at all has elapsed. As the incomparable Fr. Z keeps reminding us, there is much still to do, particularly with regard to the training of priests and seminarians in the Extraordinary Form. But, brick by brick, progress is being made.

In another way, the five years seems so long - it is hard to remember what it was like before Summorum Pontificum... though, on reflection, that might not be the case for anyone battling to get the Extraordinary Form introduced into their parish. But don't stop battling... it really is worth it.

Anyway, to celebrate the anniversary in the approved manner, we had a little champagne...

A few of us couldn't resist teasing Tom, whose youngest baby is being baptised tomorrow. Fr. Tim asked if he'd sorted out who would do the first reading, and whether someone had written the bidding prayers...

...Tom was rendered totally speechless at the thought, and I had to take a photo! (The baptism will be in the Extraordinary Form, and so there aren't any readings or bidding prayers!)

Sodality Mass

The Sodality of the Five Holy Wounds is having a Missa Cantata at Our Lady of the Rosary church, Blackfen for the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, followed by a shared supper. Everyone is welcome. In case you need a further excuse to celebrate, it's five years since Summorum Pontificum...

I was planning on bringing sausage rolls until I realised that it was Friday, so that had me stumped for a moment. Not being a good cook, I'm not really up to doing anything clever with fish. I might try to get some smoked salmon and cream cheese, but please don't tell the Monsignori, or I'll not be able to leave the house...

The dates for the Sodality meetings and Masses for the next year are now published on the Sodality blog's sidebar, so do check it out.

A Picture Speaks A Thousand Words...

So, 'nuff said!  Twitch of the mantilla to the wonderful Sisters of the Gospel of Life.

Happy Birthday To Our Blessed Mother...!

Yesterday was the Feast of the Nativity of Our Lady. To celebrate, one of our parishioners and her sister made a new cape for the statue of Our Lady...

"Jog On, Kitties..."

Having observed Monsignor Miaowrini successfully manoeuvre a large, live pigeon from my kitchen to my sitting room without the benefit of opposable thumbs, I rather dread to think what she and Monsignor Furretti would be like if they did have them...

A Spiritual Work Of Mercy...

I was rather scandalised by reports that the Archdiocese of Liverpool has commissioned Lay Funeral Ministers. It seems a little hard to believe that the people of Liverpool are dropping dead in such numbers as to make it impossible to find Catholic priests and deacons to carry out the funeral rites.

In my humble opinion, the idea of lay-led funeral services makes it even more imperative that practicing Catholics pray for the dead and arrange to have Masses said for the repose of their souls. In Blackfen we are blessed to be able to have sung Requiem Masses, with absolutions at the catafalque, on the anniversaries of previous parish priests, and there is something very consoling in praying for the deceased in this way. St. Bernadette was concerned that her family and friends, being convinced she was already in heaven, would not offer Masses for the repose of her soul. With the modern emphasis at many funerals being a celebration of the life of the deceased rather than praying for the forgiveness of any sins committed through human frailty, those of us who have not lived such saintly lives as St. Bernadette should be even more concerned by the thought that we might be left languishing in Purgatory.

Even if it isn't possible to have an actual Requiem Mass, we can still arrange to have Masses said. Every Mass celebrated has a specific intention offered by the priest - one Mass on Sundays (and possibly Holy Days of Obligation) is offered for the people of the parish, and no stipend can be accepted for that Mass, but that leaves plenty of other Masses. We don't limit praying for the dead to the month of November!

To pray for the dead is one of the spiritual works of mercy, and Mass is the supreme prayer. We need to encourage Mass intentions for the repose of the souls of those who have died - especially if, due to having been assigned a Lay Funeral Minister, they're being denied the opportunity of a proper funeral Mass.

Time To Put Our House In Order...

Before the Catholic blogosphere took off, the only sources of information for ordinary Catholics were papers such as The Pill. Unfortunately, The Pill has, for quite some time, been giving rather a lot of publishing space to individuals who are actually opposed to Church teaching. One such individual is Prof. Tina Beattie, who, as director of the Digby Stuart Research Centre for Catholic Studies at the University of Roehampton, certainly should not be writing against the Church's position on subjects such as abortion and same-sex "marriage."

If The Pill wishes to campaign against the teachings of the Church, then it should not be sold as a Catholic publication, and definitely not be made available for sale in Catholic parishes and cathedrals.

Twitch of the mantilla to Deacon Nick Donnelly at Protect the Pope.

Bored...!

I don't know when the USA hold their presidential elections. Not soon enough... I'm bored with it already. (Actually I got bored with it some time ago...)

The Fruits Of Ecumenism...?

Lunch, after today's first Saturday Missa Cantata, was a very jolly affair.

Leutgeb, presented His Hermeneuticalness with a home-grown tomato, so that he could slice it through the transverse plane and enjoy a truly Christian fruit in his sandwiches, rather than slicing it through the sagittal or coronal planes to reveal a crescent. Zephyrinus asked if crescent-shaped fruits were to be declared anathema...

Absolutely not, I countered. Any fruit or vegetable which revealed a crescent shape would merely have to have a statue of Our Lady plonked on top of it for it to become totally acceptable...

The "Gay Marriage" Thing...

Let's be absolutely clear about one thing. It's nothing to do with equal rights for homosexuals. There is already full equality in law through civil partnerships.

Michelle Therese, who lives up in the Orkneys, has written two really clear and excellent posts on the topic. The first post was written as she prepared to attend an open discussion forum with the Scottish Cabinet. The second post was written once she got back home. Both posts (and the blog itself) are well worth reading.

A Favourite Feast Day!

Today was the feast of one of my patron saints - St. Anne Line. I wrote a chapter about her which was published in English Catholic Heroines - my only claim to fame as a "proper" author... though I have written a couple of small pieces for the Catholic Herald (they must have been short on copy!)

I chose St. Anne as a patron saint because I liked her acerbic tone, first at her trial and also at her execution by hanging at Tyburn. On being asked whether she repented of her "crime" of harbouring a Catholic priest, she retorted that, "...so far am I from repenting that I would I could have sheltered a thousand!"

That feisty attitude in defence of the Catholic Faith, her clear understanding that, without priests, there would be no sacraments and therefore no Church, plus the fact that she taught children and showed hospitality to priests, really struck a chord within me. St. Margaret Clitherow and St. Margaret Ward, who share St. Anne's feast day, never captured my heart in the same way, although they, too, lived and died heroically.

About 8 or 9 years ago I went with Joanna Bogle on a mini-pilgrimage to find out more about St. Anne - at the time there were only three articles on the web about her life, and details were extremely sketchy. You can read more about my pilgrimage there.

And So It Starts Again...

The first question most teachers get asked as soon as the summer holiday starts is "So, when do you start school again?"

I have never quite worked out the reason for this question... though I have speculated that it is either from jealousy (let's be honest, six weeks' holiday every year in the summer is quite a perk!) or desperation (usually from parents who are very keen to send their offspring back to the classroom... though, to be fair, they tend to wait for a week before they ask.)

The shops are always keen to remind us that school is lurking - "Back to School" stuff has been there since the start of August. One of Leutgeb's Facebook friends appears to have spotted one shop with a particularly negative view of the local schoolchildren...

Cat Stuff...

My cri de coeur as to whether I should keep putting up news of the Monsignori drew a pretty large response from my readers, confirming my suspicion that the majority of you are really interested in the cat posts and the Catholicism bit is a bonus.

When I returned from Eastbourne, I knew that Monsignor Furretti would be all over me like a rash. She was pretty clingy as a kitten, and has grown up to be rather attention-seeking. I expected Monsignor Miaowrini to be more sulky, but she was quite pleased to see me too. Both of them have been spending quite a bit of time in the sitting room with me while I blog. They take turns to sleep above the computer...

Until today, that is.

Somehow or other they realise that I want to give them some worming medicine. I'm not stupid enough to try and give it in pill form. I've bought some drops to go on the back of the neck... the packet was in the midst of my online grocery delivery, but somehow or other the kitties know something's up, and they've gone out.

Watch this space...

How Not To Do A Picture Restoration...

This lunchtime, after Mass, His Hermeneuticalness was showing some young parishioners images of the restored fresco which hit the news a few days ago. Jacinta remarked that it reminded her of the Mr. Bean sketch... and then, on seeing all our blank faces, she apologised for being "too young."

I hadn't seen the sketch, but thought I would probably find it on YouTube. Sure enough...

The Mantilla Quotient...

Annie Elizabeth and I have gleefully noted that the number of women wearing mantillas at Mass is going up. Of course, under "mantilla" I also include scarves and shawls used as head coverings. Hats are quite good too, but one doesn't tend to see so many of them, except at weddings - and then they are, more often than not, just little scraps of feather and net.

The reason I wear a mantilla in church is that it is a way to show reverence and humility in the presence of God. A woman's hair was traditionally considered to be her crowning glory, and it was considered an act of humility to cover it before God. I also find the act of putting on my mantilla before I enter the church to be a useful moment of reflection.

It didn't take long to get used to it, and now it's second-nature. This was brought home to me when I found myself in Victoria a couple of weeks ago without a mantilla in my handbag. I had four of them in my car, but since it was one of the rare occasions when I was using public transport, they weren't much use! I felt positively undressed, and incredibly self-conscious, despite the fact that no-one would have batted an eyelid if I hadn't worn one.

I then had a brainwave - I shot into the St. Paul's bookshop next door. Yes, they sold mantillas - one size, one style, rather ghastly... and overpriced as well. June Wood, the lady who makes mine, uses much nicer materials, beautifully finished and for half the price. However, I wanted a mantilla in a hurry, and I figured that it would teach me not to leave home without one again!

When I recounted my experiences to Annie Elizabeth, she told me about the church at Ecône, where the church porch has a rack with a variety of scarves and shawls available to borrow... thinking about the amount of money I had to pay for my scrap of material, I rather wish I had been more creative in my thinking, and had bought a nice scarf instead.

Now Annie Elizabeth and I have formed the Blackfen branch of the Mantilla Mafia. First challenge: to figure out how to get Leutgeb to wear one...

Happy Feast Day...

Tomorrow sees the feast of St. Zephyrinus, Pope & Martyr. I would encourage you to celebrate the feast with a visit to his namesake's blog. There you will find a veritable treasure-trove of photos and information about saints, churches and devotions. There's even a post on St. Zephyrinus himself...

Do go along and wish him a happy feast day. Anyone who orders his socks from Gammarelli's is a thoroughly good chap.

Birthday Celebrations...

Here at Blackfen, we like to celebrate events the way the Holy Father does - with champagne and chocolate cake. The promulgation of Summorum Pontificum was one such event, and Fr. Tim's blog reaching 3 million hits was another. Today we decided to celebrate Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor's 80th birthday...

Before anyone panics, the children were waiting for the cake, not the champagne...

Cathedral Challenge Meme...

I have decided to start another meme. This one has a slight twist, but it should be fun to see the results.

It's a photo challenge, so, if you are a blogger, you have to give a link in my com-box so that I can collate the results. If you don't have your own blog, you have to load the photo to Flickr or Twitter or something.

The challenge is to find any Cathedrals which don't sell The Pill (aka The Tablet.)

The idea is that you pop along to your diocesan Cathedral, and, if The Pill is on sale, you put up a photo which shows a recent copy in an identifiable Cathedral interior. If The Pill is not on sale, you prove it by showing a photo of the papers which *are* on sale in a recognisable shot of the Cathedral interior... You then state when the photo was taken and where.

There aren't any tags as such, because it isn't always clear which dioceses bloggers (or commenters) are in.

Obviously this doesn't really apply to dioceses outside the UK. Photoshopped entries are definitely not allowed...

To start us off, here is Westminster Cathedral, with The Pill very much in evidence, on Wednesday 15 August 2012...

Spread the word. Get those photos coming in...

In The Doghouse...

I'm feeling rather aggrieved at the moment. I have had to abandon the Monsignori to the tender care of my next-door neighbour (fortunately, she really likes cats) while I scoot over to Eastbourne in order to look after my parents' two yorkshire terriers and cat.

I don't really dislike dogs. I just prefer dogs to be proper dogs... and not, as a friend described them, a pair of slippers. Yappy slippers. The cat, on the other hand, is really cute.

To add insult to injury, I had to grit my teeth when I noticed Eucharistic Ministers purifying chalices at Mass. Apparently this is a very common liturgical abuse in Arundel & Brighton diocese.

It has highlighted how very, very fortunate I am to be a parishioner in Blackfen!

I do hope that the Monsignori will have forgiven me by the time I get back home on Friday. I might have to invest in some smoked salmon by way of apology...

Compare & Contrast...

In view of the much-reported outrage over the sentencing of members of a punk rock band who desecrated a church in Russia, I wonder why the mainstream media have failed to protest the arrest, in Pakistan, of an 11 year-old girl with Downs Syndrome for blasphemy.

I haven't followed the Pussy Riot story very closely, but I have noticed one rather important point... the members of the band were sentenced to two years' imprisonment for their publicity stunt/political protest and the mainstream media think this is rather harsh. I believe that the punishment for blasphemy in Pakistan is death... yet that doesn't appear to be harsh enough to attract the attention of the same media.

Interesting....

Twitch of the mantilla to Fr. Tim Finigan.

Putting The Genie Back In The Bottle...?

It has been interesting to read the responses to the excellent FIUV position paper on the restoration of the three-hour Eucharistic fast, summarised on Rorate Caeli.

As pointed out by Joseph Shaw, many people only read other blog posts on the paper (such as the one by Australia Incognita), and then made all sorts of objections to the three-hour fast which had already been dealt with in the original paper.

Quite a few of the comments on Fr. Ray Blake's post seem to suggest that, since the rules have been relaxed, it would be impossible to reimpose them.

I disagree.

For many years, I observed Friday abstinence as a voluntary penance. Nevertheless, I frequently found myself in situations where I was tempted to ignore it; it would be pointed out that "One can always do the abstinence on another day, or do something else instead." Once the Bishops of England & Wales reintroduced Friday abstinence as part of Church law, it actually became much easier to observe the rule. To put it simply, my friends and colleagues accept that, as a Catholic, I do not eat meat on Fridays. In the "real world" it has become acceptable - it's not just a personal idiosyncrasy, it's Church Law.

True, not everyone will observe the rule. However, this should not be an argument for not having the rule at all.  After all, the majority of people are quite happy with the idea that there are observant, devout Jews who keep the Sabbath and Jewish dietary laws very strictly, and there are other Jews who do not. It is also understood that there are devout Muslims who will not drink alcohol and who pray five times a day... and there are Muslims who aren't so devout. It should come as no surprise, therefore, that there will be some Catholics who choose to ignore the laws of the Church on Friday abstinence - especially as plenty of Catholics currently ignore Church teaching on moral matters. This does not mean that one should not have these teachings. As the Holy Father has pointed out, Truth is not subject to a majority vote.

I seriously believe that reintroducing the three-hour fast would have many advantages.

Firstly, it would help people to prepare for the reception of Holy Communion in an active way - one would have to decide that one was going to receive, and to make the effort to avoid food. Three hours isn't an onerous time to go without food, and one can even survive without water for that time - we are constantly producing water through the process of respiration. Since the three hours is counted from the time one actually receives Communion, the time without food would be closer to two hours before Mass. Even in the morning, this isn't a huge difficulty.

Secondly, it would make it easier for those who could not receive Communion. The obvious assumption to make would be that a person had not kept the fast, and so was not going to communicate. At the moment, with practically everyone going to Communion as a matter of course, there is huge pressure on those who are not in a state of grace to go up anyway.

Thirdly, I think it would encourage those of the Faithful who do currently try to do more than the bare minimum to prepare for the reception of Communion. They will no longer have to fear being considered odd for observing a fast, it will just become accepted as what practising Catholics do.

So, is bringing back the old rule attempting to put the genie back into the bottle? I do not think so. But waiting for everyone to agree that it's a good idea isn't going to help anyone.

Minor Basilicas...

His Hermeneuticalness had a brush with the green-eyed monster on hearing that the church of St. John the Baptist, Canton, Ohio is to become a minor basilica.

Escaping the monster's clutches necessitated an emergency meeting after Rosary & Benediction to do a little blue-sky thinking. Unfortunately, there wasn't any blue sky to be found at 9pm. So, instead, Fr. Finigan explained (and, for the visual learners present, demonstrated) how we were guilty of too much thinking "within the box"...

...and then he modelled the sort of "thinking outside the box" which would be required in future...

However, he completely failed to illustrate how we could get the basilica question "on the table". No doubt this was due to the lack of a facilitator - but the MC was off somewhere watching cricket.

Zephyrinus assured us all that this week's lottery tickets had already been purchased. He then proceeded to spend some of last week's winnings on the purchase of a round of drinks. Since Leutgeb was on lemonade and I was drinking coca cola, that should leave plenty to invest in a few more bricks...

Dissent In The Cathedral?

"It is important to recognize dissent for what it is, and not to mistake it for a mature contribution to a balanced and wide-ranging debate."

As Leutgeb has pointed out, the Olympics are over and the Paralympics are yet to start, and since no-one is in the mood to grouse about the Eurozone or the economic crisis, the Mainstream Media's Silly Season is upon us once more. So let's have a bit of Vatican-bashing in the Guardian from the editor of that well-known organ of dissent, The Suppository, (aka The Bitter Pill) and a bit more from the usual suspects in The Times.

Catholic-bashing from the MSM is hardly a surprise. However, The Suppository is supposed to be Catholic and therefore should seek to explain the Truths of the Catholic faith to others. Why, given its consistent opposition to Catholic teaching, the paper is still allowed to be sold in Catholic churches and cathedrals is totally beyond my comprehension...

...one might almost suppose that the Bishops' Conference of England & Wales agree with the sentiments expressed and find it useful to allow the paper to say what they themselves cannot.

But no, that would be unthinkable...

Prayers For Syria

Picture courtesy of Fr. Ed Tomlinson's Blog

I received the following information about the proposed Act of Consecration to Our Lady from Fr. Simon Heans, a priest of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, and I'm very happy to publicise it.

Archbishop Samir Nassar of Damascus will make an Act of Consecration in his Cathedral before the Shrine of Our Lady and the holy martyrs of Damascus to plead for Our Lady to bring peace, stability and faith in God to Syria.

He will make it on behalf of the bishops, priests and peoples of Syria in these time of great trial and suffering for all Syria.

Archbishop Nassar has constantly said that he so appreciates our spiritual support in prayer which gives him strength and encouragement. He also is reported as saying that Catholics in Syria are so fearful of losing their lives that they say farewell to each other at the end of every Mass. The Archbishop has elected to stay put, despite fighting going on within 25 metres of his Cathedral.

The prayer will be offered at 6pm (Syrian time) which is 4pm BST.

Act of Consecration of Syria to the Immaculate Heart of Mary

The Shepherds chosen by Your Son to watch over and feed in His name the sheep He has acquired at the price of His blood – in this “Land of Holy Mary”, whose name cannot be pronounced without pronouncing Your own – come today – as the official and consecrated representatives of their flocks, and in an act of filial “homage” (vassalagem) of faith, love and trust – to solemnly consecrate the Syrian nation to your Immaculate Heart. Take it from our fragile hands into Your own; defend it and guard it as Your own property; make Jesus reign, conquer and rule in it. Outside of Him there is no salvation.

We, the bishops of your people, feel a terrible storm raging round us, threatening to disperse and destroy the faithful flock of those who bless You because You are the Mother of Jesus. Afflicted, we stretch out our suppliant hands towards Your Son, as we cry out “save us, O Lord, for we perish!”… Intercede for Syria, O Our Lady, in this grave hour when from all around blow furious winds, bringing cries of death against Your Son and against civilization founded on His teachings, deceiving minds, perverting hearts and lighting the fires of hatred and revolution in the world. Help of Christians, pray for us!

Intercede for Syria, Our Lady, in this troubled hour when the unclean waves of an open immorality, which has even lost the notion of sin, exalt the rehabilitation of the flesh in the face of the very Cross of Your Son, threatening to choke in this world the lily of virtue nourished by the Eucharistic blood of Jesus. Virgin most powerful, pray for us!...

Intercede for Syria, Our Lady, in this hour of passions and doubts when even the good run the risk of being lost…Unite all the Syrian peoples around Your Son in the love of the Church and the cultivation of virtue, in respect for order and fraternal charity. Queen of Peace, pray for us!

Remember finally, Patroness of our country and Mother of Jesus that we now only have recourse to Your Immaculate Heart and Divine Mercy. O Blessed Virgin Mary through the powerful intercession of your Immaculate Heart, save Syria, by giving it Jesus, in Whom it will find Truth, Life and Peace. Amen.

Immaculate Heart of Mary, Pray for us

Immaculate Heart of Mary, Pray for us

Immaculate Heat of Mary, Pray for us

St. Joseph, patron and protector of the Universal Church, Pray for us

Martyrs of Syria and the Middle East, Pray for us

Saints of Syria and the Middle East, Pray for us

St. Charbel, Pray for us

Obviously It's All The Fault Of Religion...

Religious beliefs are so awkward, aren't they? Without them, life would be so much simpler... or should that be "death"?

An article in the Journal of Medical Ethics (reported in the Daily Telegraph) is calling for parents' religious views to be "given less weight" ("ignored" is probably a more accurate term, though less politically correct) when courts are considering whether or not medical treatment should be terminated.

The authors of the article (one of whom, rather bizarrely, was the main hospital chaplain) proposed that, since the child would be too young to subscribe to its parents' religious beliefs, these beliefs should not be respected. And in case you think I'm paraphrasing a little harshly, here's the quote taken from the Daily Telegraph article:

"'While it is vital to support families in such difficult times, we are increasingly concerned that deeply held belief in religion can lead to children being potentially subjected to burdensome care in expectation of 'miraculous’ intervention,' the authors warned. 'In many cases, the children about whom the decisions are being made are too young to subscribe to the religious beliefs held by their parents, yet we continue to respect the parents’ beliefs.'"

Am I the only one to wonder how long it will be before all people of a religious belief will be considered as unfit to care for their children in case they indoctrinate them into those beliefs?

As it so happens, the Catholic Faith does not impose a requirement to have burdensome medical treatment. However, it is worth noting that doctors are not infallible, and mistakes in prognosis are not unknown. It is also rather important to note that, since the case of Tony Bland, in the UK the administration of food and water is considered to be "medical treatment."

An Anniversary To Celebrate...

Back in June I had the privilege of getting to know Fr. Michael Mary, the superior of the Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer on Papa Stronsay - better known to many of you as the Transalpine Redemptorists.

From left to right: Br. Martin, Fr. Michael Mary and Tom

It is Fr. Michael Mary's 34th anniversary of Ordination today - a wonderful witness, and a great and generous response to God's call to serve His Church as a priest. Do go on over to their blog and offer him your congratulations.

While you're there, sign up for the absolutely brilliant Catholic newspaper - there's also a direct link to the shop just above the "donate" button in the left-hand sidebar

Pondering The Purpose Of Blogging...

Why do you read this blog? Having had a break from blogging for the best part of a month, I have been pondering why I bother to blog at all. His Hermeneuticalness kindly assured me that it was a good thing for me to continue, as it was an apostolate - bringing the Catholic Faith into the wider arena of the blogosphere.

I understood the need for priests (such as Fr. Zuhlsdorf, Fr. Ray Blake and Fr. Michael Brown) and religious to blog about the Faith, but have often felt that I, as a lay woman without any real theological training, was less "necessary" as a Catholic blogger. Necessary is the wrong word, of course, because no Catholic blogger is "necessary," but indulge me.

I am genuinely puzzled - it appears that people still check my blog regularly to see whether I have written anything new. I am an ordinary, middle-aged (*sobs*) lay Catholic woman with traditional leanings. I have taught RE in the past and have been a catechist for many years, but I don't have any formal training in theology, though I have studied it informally. I love the Holy Father, and I want to help to promote the truths of the Catholic Faith. I really am intrigued... why do people bother to check this blog?

This isn't just idle introspection and navel-gazing. Honestly!

Please, tell me why you read this blog...

...Is it the cat posts?

I really need to know, because I am wondering whether I should continue to have cat posts on this blog, mixed in with everything else, or whether I should ditch the cat posts (and possibly start up a dedicated cat-themed blog for the exploits of the Monsignori.) Personally I think the cat posts are part of the whole Mulier Fortis ensemble... and, after all, my kittes are definitely traddy Cat-holics. They proved this beyond any shadow of doubt when they shredded The Tablet and left the Catholic Herald unscathed...

UPDATE: I see that I need to be more explicit. I am very humbled by the supportive comments, but I am NOT going to give up blogging! I want to know whether the cat posts intrude into what is, presumably, a catholic apologetics blog... or whether my readers view the blog as a bit of a mish-mash, with cats and Catholicism intertwined...

Saint Philomena...

I was delighted to hear from Fr. Tim that we will have a votive Mass in honour of St. Philomena tomorrow, her feast day.

I have a devotion to St. Philomena because there is something contrary about her which appeals to me - it's the same quirk in my nature which makes me prefer St. Teresa of Avila's slightly ascerbic style to the more sugary-sweet approach of St. Thérèse of Lisieux. I imagine St. Philomena to be thumbing her nose at the modernists and sceptics as she works miracles for those who turn to her, despite the cries of those who claim that she never existed.

If you want to find out more about the discovery of her relics and the establishing of devotion to the saint, check out the Living Rosary page about her.

But Latin Is So Hard To Learn...

More proof that Latin isn't just for intellectual types. I have it on good authority that altar servers of 8 years old were able to make the responses for the Preparatory Prayers at the foot of the altar (the Introibo ad altare Dei - ad Deum qui laetificat juventutem meam bit) and here is a clip of one young chap belting out the Marian anthem after his elder sister's First Holy Communion.

Yes, you read that correctly... his elder sister's First Holy Communion.

His Hermeneuticalness (leading the chant from in front of the Lady Altar) is hidden by a pillar. The little chap singing the chant with such gusto is the one sitting down - the lighting was a bit difficult for my little mobile phone camera, and I don't have any video-editing software, but you can just see him. His elder brother (I think it's his elder brother) seems to be a little under the weather and is leaning on the front of the pew, but I've heard him singing the anthems on other occasions...

If he can do it, so can the rest of us. Check out the Our Lady of the Rosary Church Choir blog to get details of the chants coming up and to hear recordings of the music so that you can get practising...

From The Oldie-But-Goody Files...

Today's the Feast of St. Dominic, and so I felt it was an opportune moment to bring out one of my favourite jokes.

Which Religious Order has been the most successful, the Society of Jesus (aka the Jesuits, founded by St. Ignatius of Loyola) or the Order of Preachers (aka the Dominicans, founded by St. Dominic)?

Well... consider this: the Dominicans were founded to combat the Albigensian heresy, the Jesuits were founded to combat the Protestant heresy.

Now when was the last time you saw an Albigensian? Boom Boom!

(I offer that little jest in memory of a dear friend, Dominic Mary, who was a Third Order Dominican. Requiescat in pace.)

Keeping Tabs On Us All...

The idea of microchipping people is pretty high on the "Ewww!" scale for me. My pets are microchipped. That seems like a good idea - my cats can't tell anyone where they live. But my gut instinct jibs at having people chipped.

This isn't science fiction any more. It appears that a Florida company has been approved by the FDA to chip people so that their health details can be accessed quickly. This sounds like a good idea (in theory) as occasionally health records are needed pretty quickly and a patient isn't always in a position to give details. However, the instances where medical details are needed that urgently are quite rare (I've spent lots of time in hospitals, both as a patient and as a member of staff) and the fact that these chips are also designed for security and financial applications (listen very carefully to the spiel from the Chairman/CEO on the video clip) is ringing several alarm bells.

Yes, the powers-that-be probably already know where I am due to debit cards, my driving license, council tax, national insurance number, car registration etc. etc. But actually being chipped is, IMHO a step too far.

Twitch of the mantilla to Bones.

Sensing A Pattern...

I'm beginning to worry about the impression people have of me.

Over the weekend, I was bewailing my lack of internet access, and had mentioned that it followed my installation of a new cable modem. The response from several different sources was the same:

"Hmmm. Did you check that it was switched on?"

On reflection, I might have to cut down on the blonde jokes and cat posts...

(And before anyone else asks, yes, it was switched on.)

Reviving Old Traditions...

I am keen to clock up as many of the old traditions as I can. Plenary and partial indulgences. Fasts and feasts. And, of course, blessings.

Fr. Z is great on this sort of stuff. He posts oodles of stuff about prayers and blessings, along with why they were instituted and the deeper meanings ascribed by the Church to little rituals. My mobile phone isn't really the best way to read blogs, though it is better than being totally without internet access, but I did happen to spot this little snippet from Fr. Z about the blessing of grapes on the Feast of the Transfiguration.

Mass was in the evening, so I had time to go shopping. Two bunches of grapes were duly purchased and delivered to the Sacristy. And so, after Mass, Fr. Tim went and got his little Rituale and then blessed the grapes...

I've eaten about 25 of them. That's more grapes than I usually eat in a year... 

Papal Nuncio Visits Faith Summer Session...

Just when I thought I was regaining the inspiration to return to blogging, my home internet connection decided to die on me. Serves me right for trying to upgrade. Still,  hopefully the engineer will fix it on Monday. I won't hold my breath... of late, things have had a tendency to go pear-shaped at the worst possible moment.

Blogging from my mobile phone just isn't as practical, even though I do have the ultra-snazzy Samsung Galaxy Nexus phone which runs Google Android's Jelly Bean operating system. But I'm slow at texting, so it's a painful process. I'd love an iPad, but it's way outside my budget. Never mind...

Despite the difficulty of blogging from my mobile, I just wanted to get a few photos out there. Archbishop Antonio Mennini, the Papal Nuncio, came along to the Faith Summer Session, which took place at Woldingham School this week. He celebrated Mass and gave a cracking sermon - on St. Ignatius Loyola among other things. I have a copy and will put it up as soon as my internet connection gets back up.

His Excellency stayed for lunch and chatted happily with many of us. He was very friendly and charmingly enthusiastic about seeing so many young people gathered to learn more about their faith. He also was delighted to allow photos for the blogosphere... and I was quick to make the most of my opportunity...

Here you can see the Nuncio sharing a joke with Fr. Tim Finigan about blogging...

I also managed to snap one of the Archbishop with author, journalist and blogger, Joanna Bogle...

More to follow soon...

Friday 13th - Lucky For Some...

This Friday there will be a meeting of the Sodality of the Five Holy Wounds at Our Lady of the Rosary Church, Blackfen.

The meeting will start at 7:30pm in the church itself, and there will be some prayers, a litany and an allocution by Fr. Tim Finigan. Then we'll all get together for a more informal discussion over tea and biscuits in the small hall. After that, some of us might find our way to the parish club for a different kind of spiritual input, but that bit isn't compulsory...

The allocution is a spiritual reflection. If you want to read the last one we had, it's over on the Sodality's blog, and is all about the four last things.

Can You Break The Internet...?

It always amuses me when people tell me they are afraid to explore their computers because they might delete something vital. I try to explain that you can't do any real damage - things can always be reinstalled. You cannot "break the internet..."

However, it seems that the internet might be broken for several people tomorrow. Something to do with a criminal gang who created a virus which makes computers go through a false address when visiting websites. The only thing users will have noticed is that their computers run a bit slowly. The FBI apparently cracked the internet ring, but decided to route infected machines through a special server. No idea why. Now it seems that the server is proving too expensive, and it's going to be switched off on Monday 9 July 2012.

Infected computers will then be unable to access the internet...

There are some websites you can visit to check if your computer is affected, and some more sites to tell you what to do if it turns out you have the virus.

The whole thing has a whiff of the Domesday conspiracy theory about it... one of those urban myths which keep doing the rounds... after all, why didn't the FBI sort this out straight away rather than paying for servers to re-route computers?

However, I didn't get a slew of emails from people warning me that I would lose the internet on Monday (as has happened with all the other urban myths) and so I thought I'd visit the recommended website, just out of curiosity. It seems that my computer is "clean!" That said, it did occur to me that if I was a criminal wanting to get people to visit a particular website, this is exactly the sort of rumour I'd use to get it going...

Anyway, if any of you want to check for yourselves, you can click here. More information is available here.

Of course, if you're checking this post on Monday morning, you can save yourself the hassle, as your internet is obviously still working...

A Very Old One...

I'm going to have to add Higgs-Boson to the parish mailing list after today's news from CERN. After all, we can't have Mass without it...

Sorry. Couldn't resist...

If It Annoys The Liberals...

The new Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has been announced. Bishop Gerhard Müller appears to be a controversial choice, and quite a lot of trad-minded folk seem to view his appointment with suspicion and hostility.

Both the inimitable Fr. Z and His Hermeneuticalness have greeted the news with cautious optimism...

I don't know the ins and outs of the Church politics here. All I know is that Bishop Müller's appointment has upset the "Wir Sind Kirche" lot. That, IMHO can only be A Good Thing...