"Truly, it is the indescribable sweetness of contemplation which you give to those who love you. In this you have shown the tenderness of your charity, that when I had no being you made me; and when I strayed away from you, you brought me back again to serve you and commanded me to love you." The Imitation of Christ
Our Sacristan is on a well-deserved holiday for two weeks, and, as her assistant, I have stepped into the breach.
At the end of Mass, I started clearing a few things away in the Sacristy. Suddenly, I became aware of a loud buzzing noise coming from the little room where the torches, candle snuffers and thuribles are kept. I glanced in... and saw the most enormous bee - about three and a half inches in length.
I have never seen a bee that size. It sounded rather annoyed.
Now, many years ago, I had a really bad bee and wasp phobia. Just how bad can be judged by the fact that, at its height, I used to walk in the road so as not to go near any gardens where a bee might be lurking... A course of systematic desensitisation has sorted the phobic behaviour, but I still don't like bees and wasps. They're fine outside. I am just much happier for them to remain outside.
Anyway, this was one very large bee. I decided that discretion was the better part of valour, and shut the thurible room door. I could still hear loud buzzing...
At this point, His Hermeneuticalness returned to the Sacristy. Rather sheepishly, I explained that there was a very large and angry bee behind the door.
"That's ok," he said, reassuringly, "Leave the door shut."
"But I can't!" I wailed... "I need the candle snuffer... and I have to get the torches for the Mass at Chislehurst..."
He smiled indulgently (ok, ok... he laughed at me for being such a wuss) and he opened the door to have a look.
He then promptly shut the door again.
It was a very, very large bee...
Off he strode, in search of some sort of implement. On his return, he was brandishing a large broom. He opened the back door of the Sacristy, and then opened the door to the thurible room... I think he squished the bee on the bristles... I wasn't able to see, as I was preparing to flee the Sacristy if it all went horribly wrong. Fr. Tim then disposed of the body via the back door...
The British Government will omit their PSHE clauses from the CSF Bill when it is placed before the House of Lords tomorrow evening.
Some bargaining has taken place in order to get the CSF Bill through in the pre-election "wash up" - effectively, the offensive clauses regarding sex education in PSHE will be omitted.
John Smeaton has more details. SPUC has played a vital part in the campaign against the PSHE provisions in the CSF Bill, and John Smeaton's blog in particular has been an invaluable resource for everyone concerned about the moral education of children.
There is a new website which is dedicated to supporting the Holy Father amidst the media feeding frenzy.
Quite simply it says:
Dear Holy Father,
We, the undersigned, want you to know that you are not alone in your pledge to fight injustice and the ailments in the Church. We want you to know that we trust you in your role as the leader of the Church. We want you to know that we forgive the sins of other members of the Church as we are forgiven. We are praying for you; for your courage, conviction, perseverance, and resolve.
This afternoon, I was given a very unexpected early Easter gift... I left my house to buy some last-minute Easter eggs, and was surprised to see my own little car sitting in the courtyard.
On contacting the garage owner who was fixing my car, he told me that he'd been able to locate a gearbox from Sheffield... and it had been delivered miraculously quickly, against all his expectations... and the fitting had taken less time than anticipated...
So, I have my car back. Deo gratias...
Of course, tomorrow I shall be car-less because I intend to have a drink or two in the parish club after Mass...
This year, Lent (and especially Holy Week) has hit hard. The news has been particularly depressing... more on that later, as it needs a separate post (or several posts) in order to address the media storm. Things have been tricky on a personal level as well... but, as everyone was so quick to point out, a lot of people seem to be having a hard time of it, and I should just offer it up.
Not having a car (and, it being the end of the month, not having the dosh to splash out on minicabs) was particularly difficult. Having problems with both my left knee (from a road-traffic accident I had as a teenager, followed by botched surgery and misdiagnoses) and my right ankle (from a more recent accident when I fell down the sacristy steps) means that I am not the most agile person around, and public transport is not kind to the less able-bodied.
By leaving the house at 5:30am on the Monday of Holy Week, I was able to attend the 7am Low Mass at Blackfen before heading off to school... not having had time to work out the various bus timetables meant that I felt rather rushed, but it worked out surprisingly well. On the Tuesday, we had a Missa Cantata in the evening. I just went to church straight from school, having stopped off to buy some chips for dinner. Because the Passion (St. Mark's) was being sung, it was rather longer than a usual Mass... it was extremely moving, however, and the extra time taken didn't register until I checked my watch at the end!
Members of the regular visiting schola came to help with the singing, and one of our very talented servers sang the part of the Synagoga (he also sang the part of the Chronista for the St. Matthew Passion on Palm Sunday) which was pretty amazing. Sadly, I forgot my camera. I did have my little iPhone with me, but the picture quality isn't brilliant, and the sound on the video leaves much to be desired
After helping to clear away, it was time to make my way home. Fortunately, some very kind friends had lent me the use of their second car. It's much, much bigger than my little Hyundai, and was a bit of a shock. The car is equipped with all sorts of buttons, dials and extra electronic controls... and I haven't the slightest idea what they're for. Yesterday, I finally discovered where the control for adjusting the wing mirrors is... I have also discovered that wearing one high-heeled shoe makes the pedals easier to operate.
On Wednesday morning I made my way to church for another early-morning Low Mass. The Passion of St. Luke was read, so Mass was about 10-15 minutes longer than usual. This was rather interesting for me - one of the more common accusations levelled at the usus antiquior is that the faithful didn't get to hear the Bible. However, in the novus ordo, one only gets to hear one Passion account from the Synoptic Gospels (on Palm Sunday) and the one from St. John on Good Friday... whereas in the usus antiquior, all three Synoptic Passions are read during the course of Holy Week.
The journey to school after Mass was a lot easier than the one on Monday morning. The whole thing was, however, catching up with me, and I didn't have the energy to go to Tenebrae in the centre of town later in the evening.
The Maundy Thursday Mass of the Lord's Supper was also in the usus antiquior. This was another "first" for me. It was beautiful, and the joyful contrast with the mournful nature of the rest of the Holy Week services was striking. We also had Vespers as part of the evening celebrations, as well as a more formal stripping of the altars.
Afterwards, there was watching at the altar of repose until midnight.
Sadly, once again, I had forgotten my camera. Still, I just had to take a photo of the altar of repose...
I didn't make it to Stations in the morning. I really regret that, as it feels as if I've played truant...
The Good Friday Liturgy nearly always reduces me to tears. I keep wondering what would have happened if Judas hadn't betrayed Jesus... or if Pilate had put his foot down and ignored the Chief Priests... or if the rabble had called for Jesus to be freed instead of Barabbas...
The young man who sang the Synagoga and Chronista parts earlier in the week also got to read the Synagoga part in the novus ordo, as well as acting as the MC. This time I did have my camera. I took a few pictures, but, of course, there wasn't a proper Mass, so the photo opportunities were rather more limited...
I got a better shot of the altar of repose...
Tonight's Easter Vigil promises to be good. Hopefully the rain will hold off this evening, so we can have a good Easter fire. I will also do my best to remember the camera...
I made several crosses from my palm leaf, following a method my father once showed me. It's not a very good method, and, as the palm dries out, the cross can disintegrate somewhat.
I knew there was a better method, but never knew what it was, until I spotted this on Miss Ellen's blog. I wish I'd seen it sooner, but I shall remember it for next year.
This new blog has hit the blogosphere, and deserves to attract plenty of attention. That's Why I'm Pro-Life aims to include videos of people giving their personal testimonies to their pro-life views. Check it out.
Sadly, I suspect that some of the "trendies" in the Church have read the same liturgical notes, and tried to incorporate them into the Mass, in the name of ecumenism...
For anyone who remembers Beaker from the Muppets, here he is with Dr. Bunsen.
Like I said, my car broke down yesterday. In the middle of a traffic junction. In the middle of the rush hour.
Not good.
I won't know if it's fixable before Monday afternoon. When I say "fixable," I actually mean fixable without having to pay more than twice what the car is worth...
This morning I got up extra early because I needed to catch two buses to get to Mass.
I saw one bus whizz past just as I left my house. Checking the timetable, I discovered that it was actually running early. I then waited for the next bus... which arrived just over half an hour afterwards, as it was running late.
The bus then broke down...
Obviously, this is nothing compared to what the Holy Father is going through. And yes, I have offered it up...
I still get the feeling that someone, somewhere, is out to get me...
... this morning was not a good one. I got up early, went to collect my car from where I'd left it last night (I had allowed myself a festal drink after the Confirmation Mass) and drove off.
I pulled up at traffic lights, and, as they changed, put my foot down to drive away. No movement. Lots of horrible whirring, grinding noises. And there I was, stuck at the traffic lights, being honked at and sworn at by rather a lot of irate motorists.
I called my breakdown service, and a very nice chap said that it was probably the gearbox... which, on an automatic, isn't good. I rang a local garage, told them the car would be on its way, and then continued on my way to work... by bus.
I was not a happy bunny. I might have to go and look at cars this weekend...
Apparently, Bill Gates gave a speech at a school, in which he recounted the following 11 things that students wouldn't learn in school. If it isn't true (I seriously doubt its veracity) it ought to be. Rule 8 caused great mirth among my colleagues...
Rule 1: Life is not fair - get used to it!
Rule 2: The world doesn't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.
Rule 3: You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.
Rule 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.
Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity.
Rule 6: If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.
Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.
Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.
Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time..
Rule 10: Television is NOT real life.. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs..
Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.
It is worth noting that the majority of parents are unaware of the sort of thing that passes for sex education in this country.
Less than five years ago, during a sex education lesson, I heard the school nurse tell the class that the age of consent ought to be brought down to 12 or even lower...
And this is what is going to be taught to our five year-olds?
Paulinus has a hard-hitting post on some of the abuse scandals to hit the Church.
As he says:
What is it that non-Catholics don't get? The teaching of the catholic Church is explicit and stern:
2389 Connected to incest is any sexual abuse perpetrated by adults on children or adolescents entrusted to their care. The offense is compounded by the scandalous harm done to the physical and moral integrity of the young, who will remain scarred by it all their lives; and the violation of responsibility for their upbringing.
Her Master was sterner still:
It were better for him, that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should scandalize one of these little ones. Luke 17:2
And then comes the hard-hitting bit. What are we doing to combat the mess? Before we can demand holiness from our priests, we must demand it of ourselves. We need to turn back to lives of prayer and penance... to mortify ourselves.
But we as lay people should also demand a little more of ourselves. Do we pray the Rosary for priests? Do we pray for good vocations. Do we fast and do penance? Do we pray for the victims of abuse. Are we faithful in our own lives? Do we hold the teaching of the Church in public and in private. Do we support priests and appreciate them? Are we willing to stand up for the Holy Father when the sneers come at work or at dinner parties or in the pub?
It's time to clear up the mess. And it starts with all of us.
...to His Hermeneuticalness, on achieving 2,000,000 visits earlier this month.
I believe that he gets around 2500 hits each day, and that's not counting all the people who read the blog via blog aggregates (some of these don't appear on the SiteMeter stats.)
That is seriously impressive for a busy Parish Priest.
Alas, I have yet to hit even my first half million...
I've had a very busy week, and I've been feeling under the weather and out of sorts all week, culminating in a very unpleasant day today.
Just how under the weather and out of sorts can be calculated (if you know me well) by the fact that I had a lovely chocolate bar with which to celebrate the Feast of St. Joseph, and I was unable and unwilling to do anything more than stare at it.
Another indicator of my physical state (but only for those who know me really well) is that I actually drove home on Friday night with my car windows open because I felt too hot. Those who don't know me well might understand that last statement a little when I explain that I wore rollneck jumpers all through the summer last year, with a jacket on top, and my one concession on really warm days (there were not many) was not to wear a t-shirt under the jumper as well.
What made today so very unpleasant is not suitable blogging material, so I shall draw a discreet veil over it...
Those infamous rose vestments (courtesy of The Tablet) made another appearance today. They really are rather splendid! Many, many thanks to Fr. Z and Damian Thompson for their campaigns to raise the funds!!
Anyhow, I decided that I wanted some more photos, especially as we were once again privileged to have a Solemn High Mass...
We are extremely fortunate, at Blackfen, to have a senior MC who is very hot on the rubrics of Mass in the Extraordinary Form, and sundry other liturgical events. He isn't infallible, but I would tend to assume he was right until someone could prove otherwise.
In my post about Fr. Koch's Requiem Mass, Dominic Mary (of Libera Me fame) questioned the arrangement of the biretta and stole on the catafalque, pointing out that the "head" end should have been nearest the altar, as is usual for a priest's coffin.
Well, the MC has spoken: a priest's coffin is placed with the head nearest the altar, but not when the body of the priest is absent (as for the Mass at Blackfen) ... and what's more, Jonathan was able to substantiate his claim with chapter and verse from O'Connell... (The Celebration of Mass Volume III, Chapter XVII, High Mass For The Dead: Appendix, The Absolution For The Dead, p178...)
I have to say that I am a little puzzled by what is meant by a body being "morally present"...
Our Sacristan is on a well-deserved holiday for two weeks, and, as her assistant, I have stepped into the breach.
