Bishops Contemplate A Bit Of Blogger...

Finally, I get to post something original... and I haven't caught even a smidgeon of this in the blogosphere, so this could even be a Mulier Fortis exclusive. Please remember this little fact when you see it later on more famous (and more interesting) blogs... it would be nice to have a busy com-box for a change...
;-)

I have heard a rumour or two (no names, no pack-drill) that the Bishops of England and Wales discussed the blogging phenomenon during their Low Week meeting this year.

Nothing too surprising (or noteworthy) in that, you might think. Practically everything on the planet, if it possesses a pulse, has heard of blogging. It's even been mentioned on BBC Radio 4.

The interest arises from the further rumour that their Lordships discussed the "reining in" of several priestly bloggers in their dioceses... allegedly. I think there may even have been mention of some sort of "imprimatur" being required...

This is hugely entertaining, in view of the fact that almost no publications bother with the imprimatur these days, not even RE textbooks produced for use in Catholic schools... and, in reality, it is possible to be promoted in Catholic Cathedrals while publicly dissenting from Catholic teaching...

For some strange reason, the phrase "Come and have a go, if you think you're hard enough!" keeps flitting through my consciousness... I have a sneaking suspicion that one or two priestly bloggers of my acquaintance would smile seraphically at whoever attempted to deliver the gagging order and boot the whole issue straight "upstairs" ! I don't know which Vatican Department deals with such appeals, but I have little doubt that the priests in question would get a favourable hearing.

Out Of The Mouths Of Babes...

Sometimes the kids I teach really kill me!

Picture the scene: the end of the school day. Everything's packed up, and the chairs are up on the tables, but the bell hasn't actually gone. Woe betide any teacher who lets her class out early. So, to fill up the time, I say a few sentences to sum up the lesson. Most of the youngsters are listening. One is mucking about with a chair, scraping it along the table top. These are Science Lab tables, so the effect is a bit like nails on a blackboard. I get a bit tetchy, and tell him to stop making that awful racket when I'm talking...

...out of the corner of my eye, I see him grin, and very quietly lift the chair up by the legs, and then put it down again. This is, actually, quite funny, as he hasn't really disobeyed me. Of course, I'm not going to admit it...

So, I inform him that he now will have a detention... His face fell, until I added "on Thursday" when he brightened up, and cheerfully accepted his fate.

"Hang on," I said, "Are you out on a school trip on Thursday?"

"Yes, Miss!" he replied, grinning.

"Fine. We'll make the detention Friday instead!"

I could almost see him kicking himself...

(And no, I didn't actually give him a detention. I kept him back for a minute after the bell under the pretext of writing the detention in his planner, and then told him he would be flayed alive if he put so much as a toenail out of line next lesson... We both were unable to keep straight faces!)

"To Let - Vacant..."

THAT is what should be tattooed on the foreheads of those in charge at Westminster Cathedral.

We have had inappropriate films being shot inside the Cathedral, inappropriate concerts being played inside the Cathedral, and inappropriate books being launched...

Now, it seems, the authorities have given the go-ahead for a charity that supports destructive research on human embryos and the creation of human-animal hybrids to hold an event in the Cathedral's hall. It was held last Friday, 4th July.

The Parkinson’s Disease Society’s website states: "We have been lobbying Parliamentarians to ensure they support human/animal research in any votes on this issue in the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill."

Mantilla-twitch to Richard Marsden of Bashing Secularism.

I'd Forgotten This One...

...the celebrations after the release of Summorum Pontificum... I think I was the body behind the camera (Fr. Tim's) for this one...

Twitch of the mantilla to the NLM for putting up a whole lot of memories!

Novus Ordo 2.0

The new, improved marketing campaign for the new, improved Mass...

I laughed like a drain. My favourite bit has to be "Now with 50% less Bugnini" !

Twitch of the mantilla to the Curt Jester.

"Happy Birthday, Motu Proprio...!"

...well, "Happy Birthday, Summorum Pontificum" doesn't scan as well.

It is hard to believe that it's already a whole year after the feverish expectation of the release of the Holy Father's Motu Proprio, Summorum Pontificum.

From my side of the pew, it has been interesting to observe the increase in enthusiasm for the TLM, and to note that more and more parishes seem to be making provision for it.

I am not "against" the Novus Ordo Mass, and have seen it celebrated with great reverence, dignity and devotion. But I have also seen it celebrated badly, with scant regard for its sacrificial nature, and little recognition that liturgy is something given by God for our benefit, and not something which we do for God, and which can be changed to fit in with what suits us.

Fr. Z has the first part of an interview he gave to Zenit posted HERE. Fr. Tim has given the first of two talks in the parish on the traditional liturgy, and I will post a link to the texts as soon as he gets around to publishing them (which he has promised to do... eventually!)

In the meantime, I thought I would sneak in a re-post of Fr. Tim's celebration video, released on the morning of the publication of Summorum Pontificum.

Ebbsfleet...

I drove down to Ebbsfleet this afternoon. The place is seriously spooky. There was hardly any evidence of life.

I couldn't resist taking a few photos, which caught the attention of one or two security types. They sauntered over, keeping a wary eye on me, and then decided that I was just some ditsy blonde, and left me to it.

Finally, some evidence that life exists in Ebbsfleet... cars!

Strangest Things You Find In London Pubs (2)...

Following the success of my last "Strangest Things" post, I thought I'd add this to the collection. Of course, technically this is not a London Pub (it's the Parish Club) and there was no biretta in evidence, but I'm not sure when the next photo opportunity will present itself...

So, here we have the "Blessing of Beer" according to the Roman Ritual... (Fr. Tim was blessing the Master Brew Real Ale, not the Novus Ordo Eurofizz, just in case you were wondering...)

... let's just hope that none of the Holy Water actually fell into anyone's pint...

UPDATE: Fr. Tim has very kindly posted the prayers.

Entertainment For Friday Night...

A friend emailed me the following video clip, which I then located on You Tube... I was pretty sure it would be there...

Anyway, this clip basically shows how a teensy, weensy little butterfly can put a crimp in your day!

Still Fighting...

After the shameful passage of the Human Fertilisation & Embryology Bill, the Report Stage and 3rd Reading of the Bill has been announced for 14th July.

We mustn't stop campaigning against this truly vile legislation.

The pro-abortion lobby, emboldened by its success so far, has tabled amendments to the Bill which would allow abortion on request up to 24 weeks' gestation, remove the requirement for two doctors to give their consent, and allow nurses and midwives to carry out abortions.

John Smeaton, director of SPUC, has an excellent summary of the issues, as well as a post of Cardinal O'Brien's letter to all MPs, urging them to reject the pro-abortion amendments.

The Cardinal ends by describing how he will question his actions at the end of his life, and whether he could have done more to defend the rights of the unborn.

It is a salutary reminder that we will also have to look back and consider our actions, when we face Our Lord on Judgement Day.

Prophetic Statements...

I teach both boys and girls. There is a definite difference in the way they approach any task or problem: not necessarily better, just different.

It's often a subtle difference. Sometimes not so subtle.

It can be tricky, in a classroom situation, to cope with the different needs of boys and girls, to allow them the freedom to express themselves and to explore their talents and interests. I am becoming more and more convinced that single-sex education is actually better: not necessarily single-sex schools, just the actual lessons.

We've had single-sex Confirmation classes for two years, last year by accident, this year by design (as last year was so successful.) I've also noticed that the boys are more keen to serve on the sanctuary when there aren't any girls in evidence. They also really don't like to dress in the same way as the girls if there is any hint of a choice...

So I was very interested to read the following quote on Fr. Ray's blog...

John, Cardinal Heenan apparently said this after attending the first demonstration of the Novus Ordo.

"At home it is not only women and children but also fathers of families and young men who come regularly to mass. If we were to offer them the kind of ceremony we saw yesterday in the Sistine Chapel we would soon be left with a congregation mostly of women and children."

How very prophetic.

Things You Hear...

...I was on my way to a restaurant this evening: one of my (few) planned car-less excursions. The taxi driver was a chatty soul. "Here," he said, "I had to drive this chap to Farnborough airfield. Do you know, we were waved right through onto the runway, because he had one of those private Leotard jets..."

Crunch Time...

It's that time of year again... the exam results for the KS3 SATs exams are due. Maths have already been returned (although not analysed) as their papers are the simplest to mark. English papers always seem to come in last, and have occasionally not been ready until September. The rumour round the Science department is that the Science results have arrived, and we're just waiting for the information to be passed down from the exams office.

The information comes as a long, long handwritten list. The teachers then get to go through the list and identify the students they teach and make a note of their results, and then tell the students during lessons...

This means that the Year 9 students are getting very twitchy...

... but not half as twitchy as all the teachers whose performance management reviews depend on the students' results...

Time To Redress The Balance...

Ok. Nearly half a day with a dog poster in the top spot of the blog. Time to remedy that...

...despite having gone to bed rather later than intended, and then being struck with a case of insomnia (I was afraid I'd oversleep!) I somehow managed to get to church at 6:40am for Mass at 7am. I was very, very tired. If Fr. Tim had been even slightly more cheerful than he was, I might have strangled him with his own maniple... I hate people who are cheerful first thing in the morning...

I am now even more tired, and figure that it's late enough for me to go to bed and not wake up at 2am thinking I've overslept...

See you all tomorrow.

I Loved This Poster...

I am not a dog-person. I'm very keen on cats, and, although I don't actively dislike dogs, I just am not particularly fussed.

This poster was, however, just too cute to resist (even though I don't actually have a day off just yet!)

Twitch of the mantilla to Adrienne.

Ever Been Bothered By Cold-Callers...?

I was sent this by email, and it was so good that I was considering loading it up onto You Tube... and then I wondered whether anyone else had beaten me to it. They had, and it's well worth listening to. It's a clip from a radio show where the presenters are discussing a prank played on a telemarketer by the previous week's guest, Tom Mabe...

Lesnes Abbey Blessed Sacrament Procession

Every year, some time towards the end of June, the Deaneries of Bexley and Greenwich get together for a Blessed Sacrament Procession in the grounds of Lesnes Abbey.

I only discovered about 5 years ago that it was Lesnes Abbey which gave rise to the name of the area on the outskirts of London "Abbey Wood"... I knew that there must have been an abbey around sometime, but I didn't know that the ruins were still visible... I'd assumed that the whole lot would have been built over in the intervening years.

The Abbey was founded by Richard de Lucy as reparation for his indirect involvement in the murder of St. Thomas of Canterbury in 1170. It was one of six houses of Augustinian Canons in Kent, and offered hospitality to travellers passing from London to the Continent, as well as ministering to the local inhabitants.

The Abbey was closed by Cardinal Wolsey on behalf of Henry VIII, for financial gain.

I'd been on the procession several times before, but mobility problems usually meant that, by the end of the procession, all I wanted to do was get home as quickly as possible. This year I decided that I would skip the procession itself and just wait by the area where Benediction was to be given. This meant that I was able to have a good look at the ruins beforehand.

It's incredibly moving. There is so little left, but what there is speaks volumes. You can see the basic plan of the monastery and the Abbey church, and little plaques have been put up to indicate where things would have been.

The temporary altar for Benediction was set up roughly where the High Altar of the Abbey Church would have been (ie. facing Eastwards) so this photo was taken from the West Door of the church:

Walking "in" through the door and up the nave, there are steps going up, into another area which has a tomb-like structure inset into the floor... I assume that this would then be where the monks would have sat in choir. Perhaps someone can confirm this (or correct me) in the com-box... I took this photo standing in what I assume was the monks' choir stalls looking at three more steps going up into what I thought was the Sanctuary.

And then this photo shows the East wall - you can see the temporary altar set up in front of more stone steps, and I assumed that the High Altar would be right at the back. I didn't want to go and walk up any further while things were all set up for Benediction.

This photo was taken in the area to the right of the High Altar. There was a plaque on the back wall proclaiming it to be the Lady Chapel.

Because of the dodgy knee and ankle, I have to be quite careful where I walk. As I walked over a threshold, I realised that I wasn't looking at more ruined stone walls and foundations but some properly tiled steps... somehow that really brought a lump to my throat.

These two photos were taken from the entrance to the Chapter House, to the left of the North Transept of the Abbey Church...










And this was an intriguing area, at the northernmost end of the Abbey, which was some sort of cellar... You can't see it well (and I was having a bit of trouble negotiating my way round the ruins, as the grassy slope made it difficult for me to walk) but from this angle, looking west, you can see the door, which is barred, at the end...

And this photo is taken from the westernmost end of the cellar area. The grilles over the top are probably a later addition to stop anyone falling in, because there is quite a drop... The previous photo is quite deceptive, because the ground level is really high - the walls are about thigh-high this side, but the previous photo shows that there is enough of a drop for a full-sized door. I did wonder if it was some sort of punishment cell...

This photo shows what remains of the steps going up to the dormitory, to the left (north) of the Chapter House...

Finally, some pictures of the procession as it made its way from the Abbey grounds round to the West door of the church...

The music was dire, and there was a pretty deafening silence from the majority of those present, except when "Sweet Sacrament divine" was sung, and also for the Latin response after the incensing of the Blessed Sacrament (which, strangely, wasn't actually in the booklet... but most people were able to respond anyway... so much for "Oh, but Latin is a barrier to participation..."!) There were far too many readings, and having a "reflective narrative" from Harvest for the World (whatever the heck that is... the booklet didn't say) seemed totally unnecessary, and was probably there to indicate some sort of Justice & Peace theme. Yawn. I think the time could have been more profitably spent by praying a rosary or two... or three... (well, I did say that there were too many readings!) Also, walking round in procession makes it hard to listen to readings over outdoor loudspeakers, and following them in booklets while walking is just impossible. The regular cadence of the prayers in the Rosary actually makes walking in procession easier... just look at how well the Lourdes torchlight procession goes...

The homily, which had some interesting points in it, was waaaaaay too long, especially given the number of little children, and the fact that, having walked round the grounds for the best part of 45 minutes, most people didn't want to stand still for another 20 while waiting for Benediction itself... there wasn't much in the way of seating available, unless you brought your own, and the ruined stone walls were just a trifle uncomfortable, even when they were about the right height to sit on!

Still, it was an important witness to our belief in the Real Presence, and probably quite an eye-opener for the usual Sunday-strollers! So, despite the teeth-achingly awful choice of hymns and readings, I think I shall make the effort to go again next year... Hmmmnnn. I wonder how one gets onto the Organising Committee...

Happy Birthday To Me...

No blogging today (well, yesterday, actually, as it is now Sunday morning!) on account of it being my birthday and I was nowhere near a computer.

I did have a lovely day.

Since it is now way past my bedtime, I shan't go into details... as a last birthday "treat" I shall check my facebook messages, and then go to bed.

And, no. I have no intention of telling anyone how old I am.

Fly In The Ointment...

This made me chuckle. It pretty much ranks up there with "Face it, hippies, it's over..." as one of my all-time favourite quotes.

Twitch of the mantilla to the Pastor in Valle who spotted it first.

One-ape-manship?

The UK has sunk pretty low in the morality stakes after passing laws to allow human-animal hybrids and "saviour" siblings.

But Spain has, I think, just trumped the UK in the crazy stakes. They now want to introduce legislation giving rights to apes.

John Smeaton has a very clear exposition of why this is completely illogical - especially in view of the fact that Spain allows unborn human babies no rights at all.