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.

Ordinary Of Ordinariate Has Extraordinary Meeting...

Sorry about the post title... I couldn't resist!

Monsignor Keith Newton, the Ordinary of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, was granted an audience with the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI. This is, according to those in the know, a great privilege, and quite a rarity (compared to the number of audiences granted by Pope John Paul II) demonstrating that our Holy Father is taking a keen personal interest in the former Anglicans who are swimming the Tiber!

This is very positive news for them, and I'm sure that it must be encouraging for all those former Anglicans who might have wondered what sort of a reception they'd get from the rest of us. It must take an incredible amount of courage to leave the faith in which one has been brought up, perhaps having to face opposition from those nearest and dearest, especially if one is unsure how much of a welcome one will get.

Just over halfway through Lent, I would like to offer my encouragement to the members of the Ordinariate who are preparing to be received this Easter.

A mantilla-twitch in the direction of Fr. Tim.

Does God Exist...?

I spotted this video over on Facebook, courtesy of Christian Holden who runs St. Anthony Communications. It's a bit fuzzy, and I wouldn't completely agree with the definition of evil given, but the name of the speaker was certainly an eye-opener!

An Arachnophobe's Nightmare...

This report from Wired is seriously high in the "Yuck!" factor. I'm not an arachnophobe, but, in addition to preferring spiders to be outside of my living space, I also prefer spiders to be out of sight and out of mind.

The flooding in Pakistan last year led the country's spider population to take refuge in the trees. Millions of spiders. And, with the flood waters taking rather a long time to go down, the spiders made themselves at home. A while back, I posted a photo or two of a spider in the church here which had managed to build itself a web from the church roof down to the pew in just a few hours. Imagine what millions of the blighters can do over a few months...

Ok, don't imagine. Here's what they actually did...

There is a silver lining in this cloud: the number of malaria-spreading mosquitos is much lower than usual, especially given the larger amount of stagnant water around.

Latest Pro-Life Video...

I saw this over at Ecce Homo, and I agree with Clifford: it's too cool not to watch!

Starvation Diet...?

Anita Moore has summed up, perfectly, my reaction when I first discovered the Extraordinary Form of Mass - I felt as if I had been being fed dry bread and water when, all the time, there was a fabulous feast available, if only I'd known about it. I was pretty angry when I realised that the Mass had been stripped of all the little "extras" which made it Catholic - this was when I first understood my father's outraged comment after he'd attended a Novus Ordo Mass: "It's all turned Protestant!"

Anyway, go on over and read Anita's excellent post.

The Latest Cure At Lourdes...

Serge François has been reported as experiencing a "remarkable" healing of his herniated leg when he was praying at the Grotto at Lourdes in 2002. He said that he felt a warm glow in his leg, and all of his suffering suddenly disappeared. Now he has walked the pilgrimage route between France and Spain, the Camino de Santiago de Compostela.

I'm not quite sure why no-one has called it a miraculous cure. I thought that it might be something to do with the condition - a Google search of herniated legs brought up lots of references to sciatica and herniated discs leading to back and leg pain, but not much on what a herniated leg actually is.

Nevertheless, the 20 doctors who have examined his case have concluded that the healing was certainly remarkable - they haven't said "Oh, it just got better spontaneously!" or come up with any explanation. Contrary to popular belief, the Catholic Church doesn't go round calling just anything a miracle, and the Medical Bureau at Lourdes is particularly careful - of more than 7000 unexplained healings at Lourdes, only 67 have been recognised as miracles.

I'm sure that Serge François isn't too worried about whether his healing is officially recognised as a miracle... and it sounds pretty miraculous to me too!

The New Missal...

The Catholic Truth Society is well on track to have the new Missal ready for Advent 2011. The new Missal is needed simply because the previous English translation of the Latin was pretty dire, there is no change to the Mass itself.

To allow us all to get used to the corrected translation, there will be interim Altar Missals available to cover the period from September to Advent. In addition, the current publications produced by the CTS which have the order of Mass, such as The Simple Prayer Book will have the corrected translation from June.

I'm delighted to hear that the CTS are planning to bid for the rights to publish  the hand Missals in time for Advent as well - the previous hand Missals had horrible artwork and the paper was so thin you could see the type on the other side as well. The bindings were terrible as well, and fell apart at the drop of a hat.

The CTS has a wonderful attitude towards liturgical books:

Since the new Missal is to have a more accurate and beautiful translation of the sacred texts, CTS felt that the volume ought also to reflect that beauty in its design and materials. We felt it important that this book of the altar be more than functional. The nature of the liturgy requires that it have a beauty and a presence which assists priests and faithful to worship within a sacred environment. The Congregation for Divine Worship’s own instruction on the Missal states that it “should be marked by such a dignity that the exterior appearance of the book itself will lead the faithful to a greater reverence for the word of God and for sacred realities” [Liturgiam Authenticam, 120]

It's incredibly encouraging. I realise that many people are of the opinion that, if the Mass would just be said in Latin there wouldn't be the need for the arguments over a "corrected" translation, but, since Mass is available in the vernacular, and the majority of people attend the Novus Ordo in the vernacular, it is important that the translation is accurate... as well as not sounding like a conversation one might hear anywhere on the street - Liturgy is supposed to be sacred!

Details about the timetable for producing the Altar Missals and People's Missals can be read on the CTS website.

Relics & Reliquaries...

Fr. Tim was given some reliquaries a while back...

Stephen (in the middle) then got some dark blue felt to act as backing, and we just have to wait for the relics to be mounted and labelled. I'm hoping that the reliquaries will make an appearance on the High Altar for Laetare Sunday, when we have a new antependium (I hope I spelled that correctly) to match the rose High Mass set of vestments. I shall, of course, bring my camera...

Kittens & Catflaps...

As the title of the post suggests, this is going to be another post about the exploits of my two kittens. If you're uninterested in kittens, and usually read this blog for the Catholic bits or the blonde jokes, then try again another day - this post will not interest you in the slightest.

Since Wednesday, I have been trying to encourage my kittens to use the catflap. It's more complicated than you'd think, mostly because the catflap is actually in the kitchen window, and so there's a bit more involved than just sticking a bowl of food one side of the flap and letting nature take its course...

My next door neighbour (the one who cat-sits for me) has been helping me, shoving the kittens out one way and acting as "fielder" to prevent straying kittens from discovering the hole in the fence.

Yesterday's weather was horrible - very cold and windy - so I didn't go out with the kittens.

Today my neighbour was unavailable, but it was sunny this afternoon, so, using a chopstick as a prop, I wedged the catflap open and proceeded to walk round the garden to the kitchen window. By the time I got there, Furretti was looking out at me...

Without my neighbour to prod her in the behind, Furretti took her time to study the outside world from the safety of the window sill. I stood outside in the cold (this section is in shadow, and there was quite a breeze blowing!), calling her name and trying to encourage her to step over the threshold. In retrospect, I think that the cat had more sense than me...

Of course, the younger kitten, being far more inquisitive than Furretti, (so far, Miaowrini's fallen in the toilet, the bath and the swing bin because of her general nosiness) just had to have a look to see what was going on...

Eventually, Furretti made it through the flap. She knocked the chopstick over, but was far enough out for it not to matter...

I waited for Furretti to jump down on her own, and let her explore the bushes...

Meanwhile, I propped open the catflap again, and allowed Miaowrini to have a look through. At one point I thought she was going to take the plunge...

...but she decided against it, and shot back inside.

After a short while, I called Furretti and she ran back to me, allowing me to pick her up and put her back on the ledge below the window. She seemed pretty happy to be going back inside, though I had to open the catflap for her. On Friday afternoon I'd started to walk away, thinking I could return to the flat and call her in from inside the kitchen, but she got very anxious and ran after me, so I guess she's not quite ready to be alone outside.

A week or so more, and I think the two kittens will be able to go out, at least during the day (they're a bit small to be let out at night, as we have lots of foxes in the area) and I'm definitely looking forward to them using the garden rather than the litter box!