Forest Murmurs

Bishop Seamus Cunningham at the Extraordinary Form

2012-01-18T16:59:00.004Z

Last Sunday our bishop, Seamus Cunningham, went to St Wilfrid`s and St Joseph`s parishes in Gateshead on visitation. These were my former parishes until 2005. The Sunday Extraordinary Form Mass continues under the current parish priest, Fr Dixon. The bishop attended the EF Mass and sat in choir. I am no expert on pontifical ceremonies as I thought the prospect of my ever having to be involved in such were very slim although I have now been assistant priest at two Pontifical High Masses at the faldstool, the first being when bishop Rifan visited St Joseph`s, Gateshead in 2004.

I believe the Mass was attended by a congregation sixty strong. I hope these pictures or others from the event will maybe appear in the Northern Cross.

I still miss very much not having a Sunday Mass in the Extraordinary Form

Many thanks to Frank for the photos.

Pugin: God`s own architect

2012-01-12T17:42:00.014Z

I have just received information that this programme will be shown on BBC4 on January 19th. Readers may be interested to know that the programe will include the offertory from Solemn High Mass filmed in St Mary`s cathedral, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, a Pugin building, at the end of last year.

From the photos above you will see the usual suspects were involved. Thanks to Pat for the photos.

Dr Hall, the Tablet and the new translation

2012-01-11T11:37:00.009Z

I see this week`s letter page in the Tablet carries a letter from one of our priests. It reads:

I propose a competition to find the worst translation of a prayer in the New Missal over the Christmas period. The 23 December Prayer Over the Gifts might take some beating: “May this oblation, by which divine worship in its fullness has been inaugurated for us, be our perfect reconciliation with you, O Lord, that we may celebrate with minds made pure the Nativity of our Redeemer.”
There is no doubt that this is not the language of the barbecue so despised by Cardinal Pell for our liturgy, but then I wonder whatlanguage it is at all. Herewith the proposed translation of the 1998 Missal. “Lord God, let the sacrifice you have given as the full expression of the Church’s worship establish us firmly in your peace, that we may celebrate with untroubled hearts the coming birth of our Saviour.” No “barbie language” this, just simple and elegant English!

(The Rev. Dr) Sean E. Hall Washington, Tyne and Wear

I read this and smiled. I smiled even more when I read the offertory prayer yesterday:

May your people`s oblation, O Lord,
find favour with you, we pray,
that it may restore them to holiness
and obtain what they devoutly entreat.

Not too bad I suppose and not eligible for Fr Hall`s competition as it is outside Christmas time, but I`m struggling with the frequent use of `oblation`. It`s not as easy a word to pronounce as `offering`. I got distracted by this and had so lost the train of thought by the end of the prayer as I wondered what the subject of `obtain` was. I also smile at `therefore` at the minute as one priest said to me his impresssion of the new translation is that everything is `therefore`. I have heard priests say that this at times somewhat stilted English is maybe meant to make people think that we may as well just have Mass in Latin but this tends to come from those not in favour of Latin. Anyway I`m not really interetsed in the Ordinary Form in Latin: I believe it was conceived as a vernacular liturgy and hearing for example Eucharistic Prayer 4 in Latin is just very distracting.

I`ve not studied the 1998 proposed translation at all but am still very glad we have got rid of the old ICEL translation which irritated me much more than this new one ever has.

While on the subject of the Catholic press, I picked up the diocesan paper at the weekend and as usual went first to the inside back page to see if there was maybe a black and white photo of an Extraordinary Form Mass, such as the November cathedral Mass, stuck among the adverts. Finding there wasn`t I started at the beginning to see what this month`s news was and to find out what fresh triumphs of this golden age of Catholic life had occurred in the last month only to be cheered to see that not only were there two small colour pictures of the cathedral Mass with an article but also the midnight Mass here had merited a mention. In all (The Rev. Dr) Michael P. Brown got a few mentions this month. Thanks to the Northern Cross for mentioning EF activities in the diocese and our LMS rep David O`Neill who writes these reports. It`s an uphill struggle to get Summorum Pontificum seen as a regular part of diocesan life but all publicity helps.

360 degree view of the Sistine Chapel

2012-01-09T20:38:00.000Z

This is rather fun.

And even more about Ushaw

2012-01-09T14:16:00.002Z

Just as I was wondering what was happening regrdaing Ushaw college I see that today there has been an announcement about the temporary arrangement with Durham University Business School. The whole story can be read here.

Since it is always interetsing to know what bishop Mark Davies has to say here is his comment from the story today:

Bishop Mark Davies of Shrewsbury said: "This announcement by Durham University is very much to be welcomed and there are solid grounds to be confident that this temporary re-location of staff and students will prove to be successful.”

"It is securely based on the ever stronger working relationship between Durham University and Ushaw College as the future of the whole Ushaw Estate is addressed."

Even more from Lancaster!

2012-01-09T12:11:00.002Z

The initiatives keep coming from Lancaster! Now we have `The Light is On For You`. This involves all churches in the diocese being open from 7pm-8pm every Wednesday of Lent for confessions and quiet prayer. You can read all about it here.

Epiphany Mass

2012-01-05T16:28:00.002Z

There will be a Mass of the Epiphany in the Extraordinary Form at St Mary`s, Forest Hall at 7pm on January 6th. The Mass will be a Low Mass. Nibbles and drinks in the hall afterwards. All welcome.

More from Lancaster

2012-01-04T10:42:00.003Z

I see the bishop of Lancaster issued a Pastoral Letter for New Year`s Day which asked:

Is it right or sustainable to expect our Mass-going population of 21,000 to support our schools and colleges in which often the majority of pupils, and sometimes teachers, are not practising Catholics? Is it time for us to admit that we can no longer maintain schools that are Catholic in name only?

A good question.

Ushaw again

2012-01-04T10:28:00.003Z

We`ve not heard much about what is happening with Ushaw of late but at least it seems to look in good repair as these recent photos show. It may be the camera but the colours of the chapel roof and screen look brighter than I remember.

We are...

2012-01-03T12:15:00.004Z

Many thanks to Fr Simon Henry for pointing out this video on the Diocese of Lancaster`s home page. I almost fell off my chair when I saw the picture of an EF High Mass with the caption `we are extraordinary`. The video sems to originate from the USA but it must have the approval of the Lancaster webmaster. If you`ve not seen it then do have a look. Quite amazing and encouraging.

Online Icon Course

2012-01-02T16:30:00.001Z

Sr Petra Clare who has painted the icons we now have at SS Peter and Paul`s and St Mary`s ( although there are stil a couple to come for SS Peter and Paul`s and a couple of bits to finish at St Mary`s) has started an online icon course which may be of interest. Ssister gives the following description of what it is about:

The Online Icon Course is a four part study of the history of iconography showing how the iconography of the Church developed in parallel with the growth of the early Church and it’s doctrinal history. Part theoretical and part practical, it is designed as a ‘toolbox’ to give iconographers, teachers, priests, architects and anyone involved with the design and decoration of churches a sound basis in the design and placing of icons, in context of the liturgical interior.

The cost is £10 a month and full details can be found here.

Midnight Mass photos

2011-12-28T10:33:00.004Z

Thanks to Frank for the following photos from Midnight Mass. Mass went very well thanks to the the Jarrow schola and the altar team. There were sixty-three in the congregation. Mass was followed by mulled wine and mince pies. The 5.30pm Vigil Mass was as usual the best attended Mass of the year with not a spare seat to be had and an overflow of the congregation into the hall.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T09:49:00.002Z

`Out of love for us, he took upon himself our human condition, our fragility, our vulnerability and he opened up for us the path that leads to the fullness of life to a share in the life of God himself.
As we ponder this great mystery in our hearts this Christmas, let us give thanks to God for his goodness to us and let us joyfully proclaim to those around us the good news that God offers us freedom from whatever weighs us down: he gives us hope, he brings us life.`

Pope Benedict XVI on Thought for the Day 24.12.10

Christmas Masses

2011-12-21T17:01:00.003Z

The phone never stops at this time of year with people asking what time the Christmas Masses are so here they are!

Christmas Mass Times:

St Mary`s, Forest Hall: Christmas Eve 5.30 and Midnight (Missa Cantata, Extraordinary Form) ( carols before both) and Christmas Day 10.30am.

SS Peter and Paul`s, Longbenton Christmas Eve 7.30pm and Christmas Day 9.15am

I have been fortunate in being able to celebrate a sung Midnight Mass in the Extraordinary Form since every year since 1997. I`m glad we once again have the musicians and servers available to make it possible.

UPDATE 24.12.11 ok so it didn`t make much difference. The phone is ringing every five minutes. I have left a message on the answerphone with Mass times but the last caller rang three times so i answered. Some callers refuse to believe me when I tell them the Mass times!

Cathedral Sermon

2011-12-21T12:17:00.012Z

I have been meaning to put my sermon from the EF Mass at the cathedral, held on November 5th on the log for a while. It`s not really very festive but I`d better not leave it any longer. I`ve tried to tidy up my notes into real English but there may still be parts I`ve missed.

Many thanks to first of all to the cathedral dean, Fr Leighton for his permission for this Mass today. Thanks to singers and servers. Mass celebrated under the legislation Summorum Pontificum and Universae Ecclesiae. Please note the word universae: this is for the whole CHurch and not just a small group of disaffected Catholics who struggle with `the changes`. These have been major initiatives of our Holy Father who wants the Church to rediscover the beauty of her traditional worship. In many places in the world Catholics are becoming familiar again with these ancients forms of worship which sustained the church for so many centuries and which were the inspiration of the lives of so many saints.

Yet in quite a lot of the Catholic world Summorum Pontificum remains a bit of a dead letter with little provision being made on a diocesan level. In some places you can read the diocesan newspaper and never know that SP exists and what does happen remains the initiative of individual priests who never receive any encouragement from their diocesan superiors. Yet time is surely on the side of Summorum Pontificum. Universae Ecclesiae says:

Ordinaries are asked to offer their clergy the possibility of acquiring adequate preparation for celebrations in the forma extraordinaria. This applies also to Seminaries, where future priests should be given proper formation, including study of Latin and, where pastoral needs suggest it, the opportunity to learn the forma extraordinaria of the Roman Rite.

Ridiculous that men should spend 6 years in seminary and only learn half of the Roman Rite. Are there not more important things? Not really. It is the Mass that matters and a priest`s whole life is bound up with knowing and loving the Mass so it is important that he is well-grounded in its tradition. One day….

You may not have heard of it before of today`s feast. Nov 5^th? Isn`t that Guy Fawkes night? Well in England & Wales, in the Extraordinary Form, in many dioceses it is Feast of Holy Relics of the diocese. What are they? If bishop Ambrose`s projection is correct then by 2028 all we will have is a few holy relics of the diocese! No, the idea is that all the relics of the saints kept in the diocese are honoured this day. Relics of saints? You mean bits of bones and things?

Subject can`t be raised nowadays especially among many Catholics without a shaking of the head and then stories of how there are three heads of St John the Baptist and enough fragments of the true cross to build a battleship and what about the empty bottle claming to contain the breath of the Holy Spirit or the feather that is meant to be from the wing of the angel Gabriel? Isn`t it all just fraudulent nonsense and nothing to do with our living the faith (same people often say same thing about Summorum Pontificum).

Yet if we look at Christian and especially our Catholic history we can see it was not always so. To an outside observer in the early church it often seemed that Christians were people whose only interest was bones. Julian the Apostate `You have filled the whole world with tombs and sepulchres`

The Romans like many Mediterranean societies, regarded the bodies of the dead as polluting. During Rome's classical period, the body was most often cremated, and the ashes placed in a tomb outside the city walls. Much of the month of February was devoted to purifications, propitiation, and veneration of the dead, especially at the nine-day festival of the Parentilia during which a family honoured its ancestors. The family visited the cemetery and shared cake and wine, both in the form of offerings to the dead and as a meal among themselves.

4th century pagan writer Eunapius:

For they collected the bones and skulls of criminals who had been put to death for numerous crimes…. Made them out to be gods and thought that they became better by defiling themselves at their graves. `Martyrs` the dead men were called and ministers of a sort and ambassadors with the gods to carry men`s prayers`

Christians changed the landscape with their feasting at tombs of martyrs. Shrines were constructed which became large churches and to keep on top of things bishops moved to live there. The most famous example is the Vatican: a cemetery where Peter was buried and now the centre of the Catholic world.

Julian pointed out that none of this is mentioned in Gospels. But tombs of prophets were holy places in Judaism and reflected belief in the resurrection of the dead. The martyr`s body remained on earth awaiting the last day when it would be reunited with his or her soul. A place of the presence of the saint and of his or her power. Saints work miracles at their tombs and mirackes are still a requirement for canonisation.

But isn`t this all vulgar superstition? Surely this was for the uneducated masses and the serious Christian theologians had none of it. Not so. One of the books that had a major influence on me was Peter Brown`s Cult of the Saints published in 1981. He shows how the cult of the saints permeated all levels of the church. For example Augustine`s great work The City of God explained how God had not abandoned his people after the sack of Rome in 410 and yet the last book was a long catalogue of the miracles worked at he shrines of St Stephen at Hippo and Uzalis.

Some see this as the decline of the times. AHM Jones in later Roman Empire `a sign of the times that man of the intellectual eminence of Augustine should attach importance to them`

Not just Augustine. Ambrose in 385 discovery of the relics of SS Gervasius and Protasius. Huge excitement an placed in Ambrose`s new basilica under the altar where his own tomb was to be.

And so on. Body of Cuthbert carried around. Durham cathedral built as shrine which became a magnet for pilgrims.

As Christians we say we believe in resurrection of the body. Our bodies are ours forever whatever their final destination. We achieve holiness or we reject God in the body. Our bodies have an eternal significance. The bodies of the canonised saint is a window into heaven. St Therese on tour in his country drew large crowds. Bishop of Shrewsbury has just announced that the heart of the Cure of Ars will be on loan to his diocese soon. Here is something that will live forever in God`s presence. As Catholics the relics of the saints are a pledge of eternal glory. Today we honour their presence in the diocese as pledges of eternal life and so feel closer to the things of heaven and the life of God`s saints

More on silence

2011-12-21T12:11:00.001Z

Since my last few posts I have had an email from Nancy Parker who recommends this link on why silence is good for children. You can find it here.

Thanks for the comments

2011-12-19T20:52:00.002Z

I`ve decided to re-instate the ringing of a bell five minutes before the start of Mass again to indicate the start of silent preparation for Mass. I suppose we can`t do anything about the end of Mass. We used to ring this bell but sometimes people thought it was the bell for the start of Mass and even the hymns would start on occasion. It is so hard to try to make a difference in a parish and this isn`t about Latin or ad orientem but simply giving space to let people pray before and after Mass.

I read the pastoral letter on silence and .......

2011-12-18T11:56:00.001Z

talking continued at full throttle in church as usual after Mass. I might as well have just done some juggling or stood on my head.

This weekend we will have a pastoral letter

2011-12-17T10:47:00.003Z

The bishop of Aberdeeen`s Advent pastoral letter has already been mentioned on the blogosphere. If you`ve not read it I reproduce it below. I liked it so much that I have decided to read it out at Mass this weekend instead of a sermon. Thank God for bishop Hugh Gilbert!

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

We live in a noisy world. Our towns and cities are full of noise. There is noise in the skies and on the roads. There is noise in our homes, and even in our churches. And most of all there is noise in our minds and hearts.

The Danish philosopher Kierkegaard once wrote: ‘The present state of the world and the whole of life is diseased. If I were a doctor and I were asked for my advice, I should reply: “Create silence! Bring people to silence!” The Word of God cannot be heard in the noisy world of today. And even if it were trumpeted forth with all the panoply of noise so that it could be heard in the midst of all the other noise, then it would no longer be the Word of God. Therefore, create silence!’

‘Create silence!’ There’s a challenge here. Surely speaking is a good and healthy thing? Yes indeed. Surely there are bad kinds of silence? Yes again. But still Kierkegaard is on to something.

There is a simple truth at stake. There can be no real relationship with God, there can be no real meeting with God, without silence. Silence prepares for that meeting and silence follows it. An early Christian wrote, ‘To someone who has experienced Christ himself, silence is more precious than anything else.’ For us God has the first word, and our silence opens our hearts to hear him. Only then will our own words really be words, echoes of God’s, and not just more litter on the rubbish dump of noise.

‘How silently, how silently, the wondrous gift is given.’ So the carol goes. For all the noise, rush and rowdiness of contemporary Christmasses, we all know there is a link between Advent and silence, Christmas and silence. Our cribs are silent places. Who can imagine Mary as a noisy person? In the Gospels, St Joseph never says a word; he simply obeys the words brought him by angels. And when John the Baptist later comes out with words of fire, it is after years of silence in the desert. Add to this the silence of our long northern nights, and the silence that follows the snow. Isn’t all this asking us to still ourselves?

A passage from the Old Testament Book of Wisdom describes the night of Israel’s Exodus from Egypt as a night full of silence. It is used by the liturgy of the night of Jesus’ birth:

‘When a deep silence covered all things and night was in the middle of its course, your all-powerful Word, O Lord, leapt from heaven’s royal throne’ (Wis 18:14-15).

‘Holy night, silent night!’ So we sing. The outward silence of Christmas night invites us to make silence within us. Then the Word can leap into us as well, as a wise man wrote: ‘If deep silence has a hold on what is inside us, then into us too the all-powerful Word will slip quietly from the Father’s throne.’

This is the Word who proceeds from the silence of the Father. He became an infant, and ‘infant’ means literally ‘one who doesn’t speak.’ The child Jesus would have cried – for air and drink and food – but he didn’t speak. ‘Let him who has ears to hear, hear what this loving and mysterious silence of the eternal Word says to us.’ We need to listen to this quietness of Jesus, and allow it to make its home in our minds and hearts.

‘Create silence!’ How much we need this! The world needs places, oases, sanctuaries, of silence.

And here comes a difficult question: what has happened to silence in our churches? Many people ask this. When the late Canon Duncan Stone, as a young priest in the 1940s, visited a parish in the Highlands, he was struck to often find thirty or forty people kneeling there in silent prayer. Now often there is talking up to the very beginning of Mass, and it starts again immediately afterwards. But what is a church for, and why do we go there? We go to meet the Lord and the Lord comes to meet us. ‘The Lord is in his holy temple. Let all the earth keep silence before him!’ said the prophet Habakkuk. Surely the silent sacramental presence of the Lord in the tabernacle should lead us to silence? We need to focus ourselves and put aside distractions before the Mass begins. We want to prepare to hear the word of the Lord in the readings and homily. Surely we need a quiet mind to connect to the great Eucharistic Prayer? And when we receive Holy Communion, surely we want to listen to what the Lord God has to say, ‘the voice that speaks of peace’? Being together in this way can make us one – the Body of Christ – quite as effectively as words.

A wise elderly priest of the diocese said recently, ‘Two people talking stop forty people praying.’

‘Create silence!’ I don’t want to be misunderstood. We all understand about babies. Nor are we meant to come and go from church as cold isolated individuals, uninterested in one another. We want our parishes to be warm and welcoming places. We want to meet and greet and speak with one another. There are arrangements to be made, items of news to be shared, messages to be passed. A good word is above the best gift, says the Bible. But it is a question of where and when. Better in the porch than at the back of the church. Better after the Mass in a hall or a room. There is a time and place for speaking and a time and place for silence. In the church itself, so far as possible, silence should prevail. It should be the norm before and after Mass, and at other times as well. When there is a real need to say something, let it be done as quietly as can be. At the very least, such silence is a courtesy towards those who want to pray. It signals our reverence for the Blessed Sacrament. It respects the longing of the Holy Spirit to prepare us to celebrate the sacred mysteries. And then the Mass, with its words and music and movement and its own moments of silence, will become more real. It will unite us at a deeper level, and those who visit our churches will sense the Holy One amongst us.

‘Create silence!’ It is an imperative. May the Word coming forth from silence find our silence waiting for him like a crib! ‘The devil’, said St Ambrose, ‘loves noise; Christ looks for silence.’

Yours sincerely in Him,
+ Hugh, O. S. B.
Bishop of Aberdeen

7 December 2011

Priest, Pastor and Leader?

2011-12-04T17:48:00.003Z

Last week at a funeral reception I got talking to two rather agitated laymen. They wanted to tell me about what was happening in their parishes. They both had the same complaint. A new parish priest had come in and, they said, closed down everything. Parish councils had been dismissed and many other committees. Not even social events were allowed any more. I found it hard to believe a parish priest would not want parishioners to enjoy social activities. For my part, I have always had a parish council as I find it on the whole a useful sounding board for ideas. I, of course, said that a parish council is optional unless the bishop, having listened to his Council of Priests, considers it opportune to mandate their creation in every parish which to my knowledge, has not happened in this diocese. I also pointed out that a Parish Council is essentially consultative and that while it may offer advice a parish priest is not bound to follow it although one would hope he would be able to give good reasons for not doing so.

However this did little to calm the rage. They had heard of a parish where the new parish priest on his first Sunday had told the congregation that he was in charge and he made the decisions so as to get things clear from the start. They said the Church needs to be brought up to date and that it is still in the nineteenth century. I`d never thought of the modern day Church as having anything remotely nineteenth century about it! I did mention Vatican Two and that bishops seem very keen nowadays to involve the laity at all levels of church life and how at priests` meetings the answer to problems always seems to be to hand things over to the laity. However this did nothing to restore peace. `Why do priests insist on looking after the finances when there are laity in a parish who have professional experience which the clergy lack?` So too with looking after buildings and grounds. Priests should hand all that over to the laity and thus be able to concentrate on being a spiritual leader. I have never looked after the parish book keep keeping so I don`t know if that wins me any gold stars.

While I can appreciate the point of this sometimes it is not unusual to find laity who think they should be allowed to preach as well. No doubt they would also want a liturgy commitee to oversee every aspect of worship. At this point it seems to me, as I mentioned to a senior cleric recently, the only job left for the priest to do is to be the caretaker, making sure the doors are open, unless of course, as often happens, they have keys to the building already.

Of course there are documents. There was the 1997 document, Ecclesiae de mysterio, a rare collaboration between eight Vatican dicasteries, which said that lay people should not have the title chaplain amongst other things. Also relevant is the Congregation for Clergy`s document `The Priest, Pastor and Leader of the Parish Community` which talks among other things about parish councils and erroneous thinking about them. I think it fair to say I never hear these documents referred to much in local discussions on the matter of the role of the laity. My laymen complained that decisions were made by a lot of old men in Rome and therefore were, I presume, self-evidently ridiculous.

However the issue is important as priests are unsure what they are meant to be doing. A priest may feel he is doing the right thing if he hands over the running of his parish to committees of parishioners who then give the pastoral lead. On the other hand a priest is a pastor with a role of guiding the flock and as such has the duty to mould his parish life according to the mind of the Church and have the resources to achieve this. While seeking to avoid a stifling clericalism, which treats the laity like children and which even clergy of a `progressive ` bent can fall into, it seems we have a new problem these days in a certain type of laity who can regard the very existence of the priest as an affront to their participation in the life of the Church.

Whatever happened to the Ordinariate in Hexham and Newcastle?

2011-11-24T13:07:00.003Z

For anyone who might be wondering what happened to the Anglican parish of St James in Darlington which was said to be interested in Pope Benedict`s offer of an Ordinariate to Anglicans unable to stay in the Church of England you can now find out directly as they have their own website. You can find it here. They are still on their way into full communion with the Holy See!

News from the FSSP

2011-11-15T08:11:00.001Z

Fr de Malleray recently sent me information about forthcoming FSSP events in England which I am happy to pass on here.

Vocation discernment weekend, at St John Fisher House in Reading on 16-17-18 December 2011:

For Catholic men between 18 and 35 years of age (under 18 please contact us).

Starts on Friday 16^th December 2011 at 6pm – ends on Sunday 18^th December 2011 mid-afternoon. Led by Fr Armand de Malleray, FSSP.

Location: St John Fisher House is the residence of the Priestly Fraternity of St Peter in England & Wales.

Address: 17, Eastern Avenue, Reading, RG1 5RU, England.

Access: 27mn from London Paddington by direct trains up to every 10mn, and from London Waterloo. Direct trains from Oxford, Bournemouth, Bristol, Newcastle, York, Birmingham, Gatwick Airport, Southampton Airport, etc. Direct ‘RailAir’ buses from Heathrow to Reading train station every 20mn. Motorway: M4.

Limited overnight accommodation: please book now.

Programme: Spiritual conferences, socials, Holy Mass each of the three days (Extraordinary Form of the Roman rite) including polyphonic Sunday Mass, silent prayer, private talk with Fr de Malleray, FSSP. Fr de Malleray will explain what a vocation is in general and to the priesthood in particular. Read here the Holy Father’s recent Letter to seminarians. Extract: “The proper celebration of the Eucharist involves knowing, understanding and loving the Church’s liturgy in its concrete form. In the liturgy we pray with the faithful of every age – the past, the present and the future are joined in one great chorus of prayer. As I can state from personal experience, it is inspiring to learn how it all developed, what a great experience of faith is reflected in the structure of the Mass, and how it has been shaped by the prayer of many generations.”

Cost: no set price for students or unemployed – any donation welcome; others: £50 suggested.

New: our special Vocations flyer and videos on www.fssp.org.uk/england/pages/vocations.

Altar servers’ weekend (residential): at St John Fisher House in Reading on 18-19-20 November 2011:

For single Catholic men between 18 and 35 years of age (under 18 please contact us).

Starts on Friday 18^th November 2011 at 6pm – ends on Sunday 20^th November 2011 mid-afternoon. Led by Fr Armand de Malleray, FSSP.

In a convivial atmosphere, come and learn (or improve) how to set the vestments and sacred items before Mass and to serve Low Mass and Benediction. EF Mass on the Friday evening, Saturday morning and Sunday morning. Fr de Malleray will give explanations on the liturgy.

Limited overnight accommodation: please book now. Non residential participants welcome.

Clergy retreat. Starts Monday 5^th March 2012 at 2pm – ends Friday 9^th March 2012 at 2pm (4 nights).

Theme: ‘Our priestly identity as shaped by the traditions of Holy Mother Church: from Tonsure and the four Minor Orders to the four Major Orders, a gradual participation to the priesthood of Christ’.

Schedule: Silent retreat; meals with table reading on the theme of the retreat; includes one conference in the morning and another one in the afternoon; possibility of private meeting with the Retreat Master and of confession; Possibility of attending Eucharistic Adoration with the local contemplative religious community. Common recitation of Compline (EF Breviary) and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament will also take place.

Location: Cold Ash pastoral centre, run by the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary: The Ridge, Thatcham, RG18 9HU, England. We will have the guests’ wing available for us, with access to the 19^th century chapel (with four eastward facing altars); there are also nice grounds and woodlands.

Extras: Possibility of staying one more day at the Centre or at St John Fisher House before or after our retreat for those who wish. Optional convivial meal among clergy at nearby pub at 12 noon, before retreat begins.

Cost per person: £250 (includes: £230 for Cold Ash Centre for single room full board, and £20 for FSSP).

Booking: Please send us the £250 cheque made payable to FSSP ENGLAND (includes a non refundable £50 deposit).

N.B. Private Masses in the Ordinary or Extraordinary Form at each priest’s discretion.

Please kindly book now.

Advent Weekend of silent recollection: 2-4 December 2011. Led by Fr Armand de Malleray, FSSP. From 5pm on Friday to about 5pm on Sunday.

Location: Between Newbury and Reading: Cold Ash Pastoral Centre, The Ridge, Thatcham, RG18 9HU, England.

Cost per person full board single room: £120 (discount rate for full time students: £100).

Theme: ‘The Church, fulfilling the Incarnation.’

Programme: Spiritual conferences, Eucharistic adoration and Holy Mass in the EF each of the three days (i.e. Friday evening, Saturday and Sunday morning).

Booking: Please send us the £120 cheque made payable to FSSP ENGLAND (includes a non refundable £30 deposit).

Conference of Catholic Clergy: Northern chapter

2011-11-11T14:35:00.002Z

Readers ( if I still have any) will no doubt have seen reports elsewhere of the first national Colloquium organised by the Conference of Catholic Clergy in Reading on October 28th. I was sorry that I could not attend. However I am delighted to see that the first meeting of the northern chapter has been organised and is taking place on Friday 9th December at St. Austin’s Wakefield starting at 11.30am and ending by 4pm.

Any priests who are interested who may not yet be members are encouraged to go to the CCC website to download an application form.

Success at the cathedral! Fr Brown cheers up a bit.

2011-11-06T16:39:00.007Z

Yesterday morning as mentioned here in the last post, we had what has become an annual extraordinary form Solemn High Mass at the cathedral. It is impossible to know how many people will attend. I was somewhat anxious about the Mass being as early as 10am for people who may have been travelling a distance. Brinkburn had been disappointing this year and the Low Mass on November 1st had been attended by a congregation of eight. ( I really thought there were more Extraordinary Form devotees on Tyneside than that who would have wanted to go to what was the only EF Mass in the area for the Holy Day.)

In the event the cathedral Mass was very well attended with a congregation estimated at being between 150-200 strong. Certainly the central aisles were respectably full. Most of the congregation were not people I knew and after Mass I was asked one or two questions about the Mass from people for whom this was clearly a new experience. So hurrah! I preached and may put the sermon up here.

Many thanks to Fr Leighton, the cathedral dean for his permission for the Mass. Many thanks to all who helped make it possible. The schola were on fine form and the choir led by Shaun Turnbull gave us Viadana`s L`Hora Passa Mass and the Bruckner motet Locus iste and it all sounded very good. Thanks to Frank for the pictures above. More can be seen on Mike Forbester`s Flickr account.

Cathedral Mass

2011-11-02T11:03:00.002Z

Just a reminder that there will be a Solemn High Mass in the Extraordinary Form at St Mary`s cathedral this Saturday morning at 10am. Many thanks to the dean, Fr Leighton, for giving his permission. The feast is that of the Holy Relics of the diocese. All welcome.

All Saints

2011-10-31T19:08:00.002Z

Apologies for the lack of posting here in the last few weeks. I hope things will pick up again soon. Just a quick note to say that Mass times for All Saints are as follows: at St Mary`s, Forest Hall, 11am and 7pm and at SS Peter and Paul`s, Longbenton, 9.30am and 7pm (Extraordinary Form, Low Mass)

Sermon from the Golden Jubilee Mass

2011-10-16T12:18:00.009+01:00

I`ve never posted a sermon on the blog before but here is what I said at the jubilee Mass on October 4th: the Feast of St Francis with the readings of the day.

In tonight`s first reading we come across Jonah. God is offering a new start for the people of Nineveh. Jonah was afraid: he didn`t want to go. However eventually he got there, preached and it worked. I always take comfort from that as a preacher: that God`s word does its work. Jonah was indignant about it and God taught him a lesson with the castor-oil plant which grows and then withers. God wants to show that even the well-being of the non-Israelites of Nineveh is crucial to Him. What he wants is for them to know him and the new start he offers.

A new start is what St Francis brought. What do we think of when we think of him? Maybe we have been to Assisi and seen the places he lived. Maybe we`ve seen the film, Brother Sun and Sister Moon and get our ideas from there. Francis acceptance of the Gospel was so captivating he showed his world a new way to live which immediately spoke to the people of his day and continues to inspire men and women to follow his way to Christ. He enjoyed freedom, the freedom that comes in living only for God. He spoke of beauty and love of communion with all creation as we`ll sing at the offertory hymn: a freedom from material obsession in the journey to God. And a radical and joyful way of life. A man who didn`t set out to start a movement, let alone one which would change the society of his day and even change western art as he preached about the real humanity of Christ and that was taken up by artists such as Giotto.

Francis` conversion was first tested when he reached out to kiss a leper and give him money. But he first got an idea of his mission when praying in the dilapidated church of San Damiano. Lying prostrate in front of the crucifix ( which you can still see in Assisi today) he heard a voice coming from the cross, telling him three times `Francis, go and repair my house, which as you see, is falling completely into ruin`. So he sold his horse and some of his father`s cloth and presented the money to the parish priest for repairs. The parish priest wouldn`t take the money because he knew it came from sale of father`s cloth. Eventually set too repairing the church begging for the materials. Once he`d finished San Damiano he started repairing the nearby church of St Peter.

It was St Francis and the repairing of churches which led to him gaining papal approval for the friars. Pope Innocent III, one of the most prestigious of popes, had a vision of the Lateran basilica, the cathedral of Rome, appearing to fall down. However in the dream the church was saved by the little poor man from Assisi who he saw holding up the structure. A guide in Assisi one time when I was there was drew our attention to the way St Francis was painted holding up the church from the inside. He saw this as important as there were this in Francis time who claimed to want to save the church but were doing it from the outside. Francis always worked from the inside because of his love of the Church. He urged people not to abandon their parishes because their priests were not up to par, because they still administered Christ`s sacraments.

So for Francis church buildings played an important role in his life. He wasn`t always running around the fields praising Brother Sun but also knew the importance of the sacraments and the importance of their worthy celebration in a dignified setting.

So we are celebrating tonight 50 years of this church building of St Mary of the Rosary. An unusual dedication but I like it. Many churches dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary but St Mary is an older dedication and not sure how the parish got it but I`m very happy with it.

Many of you will remember the church as it opened in 1961. We have pictures to help you in the display in the hall if you don`t known what it was like then. I think it`s fair to say St Mary`s has never been considered an architectural masterpiece but it has served its purpose well as the heart of the parish. I`m told it was known as `the Hangar because… well it looked like a hangar! Ideas styles and fashions in church architecture change. Ideas in terms of what a church should be that dominated the large part of the 20^th century are coming up for review.

In an article by Fr Aidan Nichols in New Blackfriars in 2008 about church architecture quotes the early 20^th century church architect Ninian Comper:

The note of a church should be, not that of novelty, but of eternity. Like the Liturgy celebrated within it, the measure of its greatness will be the measure in which it succeeds in eliminating time and producing the atmosphere of heavenly worship. This is the characteristic of the earliest art of the Church, in liturgy, in architecture and in plastic decoration, and it is the tradition of all subsequent ages.

The Church is made of the living stones of the people of God. The church building has traditionally been cared for by its community and made beautiful. Great ascetics such as the Cure of Ars have lavished attention on making the church building beautiful. Why? The trend in recent decades has been towards utility and a distrust of beauty: the building only as a meeting place for the People of God but the beauty of the church and the sense of the sacred that it should engender is meant to help us in our quest to seek holiness of life. It is a place where like Mary in the Gospel we should stop worrying and fretting over so many things like Martha and instead concentrate on meeting Christ who takes all our worries and cares and offers them to the Father in his perfect sacrifice offered on the altar

So tonight we give thanks to God for 50 years of worship in this building. In the bidding prayers we will remember all those who have worshipped here and celebrated key events in their lives here. We pray for God`s blessing on this parish over the next 50 years and that it will be a place where we may always find a new start, like the people of Nineveh and be fired with love of God like St Francis, a love that is stronger than death, a love which brings new life and opens the gates to eternity.

Pictures from Golden Jubilee Celebrations.

2011-10-10T15:11:00.006+01:00

Golden Jubilee of St Mary`s church, Forest Hall

2011-10-04T16:01:00.003+01:00

This is a very busy week here in St Mary`s as we prepare this week to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of the opening of the church. We have a Mass tonight with clergy who have served in the parish, clergy ordained from the parish and clergy from the deanery. On Friday night the bishop will come to confirm twenty young people from this parish and from SS Peter and Paul`s, Longbenton and on Saturday night we round off the celebrations with a Ceilidh in the Forest Hall club.

I`m delighted to say that the new icons arrived from Sr Petra Clare on Friday and today our joiner Davy and his son, using some ingenuity, managed to get them in position for tonight`s Mass. So now we have the first and last mysteries of the Rosary depicted behind the altar.

Work has been going on the last two days with a small and dedicated group of parishioners preparing the hall for the buffet and a display of photographs from the last fifty years. Our music group were still rehearsing at 10pm last night too.

So let`s hope all goes well. I`ve spent yesterday producing a booklet and this morning putting a homily together. Everything is ready now so I`m going for a rest.

Dilston demise denied

2011-09-25T17:46:00.004+01:00

The Hexham Courant had a story on September 12th saying that following government cutbacks the North Pennines Heritage Trust has had to go into administration. As this is the body which looks after the upkeeep of Dilston Castle visitor centre, the centre had been forced to close.

However a letter from the Friends of Historic Dilston says that members of the Friend`s Commitee have been acting as volunteer custodians and will do so until the end of the season on September 30th. The volunteers still kept things going so that over 200 people were able to visit the site on the English Heritage Open Days (8-11 September).

The Friends` Committee is looking into ways of securing the future for the Dilston site. Let`s hope they find one so that this site of such importance for Catholic history in the North East can remain open.

Brinkburn Flop

2011-09-12T11:09:00.003+01:00

Well we had the annual Brinkburn Mass on Saturday. This event has been going for sixteen years now. I was always intrigued by the large congregation we used to get on a regular basis. In the early years over a hundred people was the norm. More recently this has become about sixty but that was still a good number. Maybe it was the mixed weather forecast but for whatever reason we only drew a congregation of about twenty on Saturday In the past this was always a good family event but this time we saw no young people.

This can`t be put down to a lack of publicity because our LMS reps sent out posters far and wide and informed members of the date.

So while I ponder whether it is worth continuing with this Mass here are some pictures from this year thanks to Frank.

Brinkburn Mass

2011-09-07T08:49:00.002+01:00

This Saturday at 12 noon the annual Extraordinary Form Mass will be held at Brinkburn Priory, in Northumberland with kind permission of English Heritage. The Rudgate Singers will be singing Hassler`s Mass no.2 and the schola Sancti Bedae will sing the proper. The celebrant will be Fr Swales, with Fr Phillips as deacon and me as subdeacon. The above picture is from 2009 when the sacred ministers were all members of the FSSP.

Telegraph Obituary for bishop Ambrose Griffiths

2011-09-05T13:02:00.004+01:00

This was forwarded to me today from Thursday`s Telegraph and I share it here. There are some interesting points.

Ambrose Griffiths

Ambrose Griffiths, who died on June 14 aged 82, was Abbot of Ampleforth and later named the Roman Catholic bishop of Hexham and Newcastle.

The nomination so surprised him that the day after being interviewed for the post in 1992, he called Archbishop Worlock in Liverpool to check that the offer was not just a dream. The efficient archbishop, who had occasionally encountered vagueness among monks before, assured him that his memory was correct and the Pope did indeed want him to accept the appointment.

Some speculated that he owed his preferment in part to the fact that Worlock, Cardinal Basil Hume and Archbishop Couve de Murville of Birmingham were determined to prevent the post going to an Opus Dei priest or a conservative old Ushaw seminarian.

Griffiths arrived in his diocese like a gust of fresh air, aware that statistics suggested the diocese might not exist by 2038 if the rate of decline continued. He urged parishioners to be more friendly and non-judgmental with outsiders, and established a “youth village” near Consett from which volunteers would give missions in schools and parishes. In his playful way he liked to urge young people seeking suitable spouses to pray to the Archangel Raphael, the saint of happy meetings.

While remaining within the bounds of Church discipline, Griffiths wondered out loud whether the dwindling number of priests might eventually force a relaxation of the rule on clerical celibacy, and he apologised to divorcees for the Church’s failure to integrate them more into parish life.

Much loved, he encountered widespread grumbling only once, when he proposed that a piece of land in his grounds (which he regarded as an eyesore, though his neighbours claimed it was ancient woodland) should be sold to become a pub and restaurant. The project was dropped because the sum offered for it was too small.

: John Michael Martin Griffiths was born on December 4 1928 and went to Ampleforth before going up to Balliol, Oxford, where he obtained a First in Natural Sciences. He planned to become a research fellow in Chemistry, but changed direction when a chemist in the college had a mental breakdown and destroyed all Griffiths’s notes. Taking the name Ambrose on entering the Ampleforth novitiate, he was sent to the Benedictine house of Sant’ Anselmo in Rome to study Theology, then was summoned home after ordination although on course to win a double First.

For the next 14 years Griffiths taught science in the school, coping with occasional explosions in the laboratory and helping with woodwork. He rose to head of science and also taught dogmatic theology to novices.

As the procurator responsible for building the sports hall and new houses, his safe pair of hands made him a suitable choice to become abbot when Hume was appointed Archbishop of Westminster in 1976. But while Griffiths’s brethren appreciated his spiritual and practical qualities, not all shared his enthusiasm for charismatic prayer, and the pace of change which he set eventually led to his being refused a second term.

Although without pastoral experience he happily became parish priest of St Mary’s at Leyland in Lancashire. There was some concern that his lisp and Ampleforth accent might not be easily comprehensible, but he talked to everyone, always answered letters and threw himself into every aspect of parochial life from 6am to 11pm. He was so shaken at first by the poverty in the area that he declined to take a holiday in the Holy Land, when such a trip was clearly beyond the means of so many of his parishioners. Instead he delighted in doing anything to help locals, including shopping and washing up, though he was sometimes a little too keen for Lancastrian tastes.

Griffiths retired at 75. He then returned to Leyland as a curate.

May he rest in peace.

Prie Dieu Continued

2011-08-28T20:59:00.002+01:00

I have mentioned that the new altar missals will contain a rubric requested by the bishops of England and Wales which says that standing in a queue is the normal way here to receive Communion but that some individuals may wish to kneel and if people don`t kneel they should bow before receiving. We`ve not made much progress with the bowing but I have provided a prie dieu for the benefit of individuals who may wish to kneel. This has been placed by my side when distributing the host. So far at the Saturday vigil only one or two have availed themselves of the opportunity of using it but about five people use it at the Sunday Mass. Last week one of these people suggested it might be easier to use if I stood behind it. So we tried this today and I`m happy to say about another four people availed themselves of the prieu dieu.

At the parish council tonight I heard that there are others who would like to kneel but feel conspicuous using the prie dieu. The parish council is looking into ways to accommodate them and yes some of the commentators here will be pleased to hear we are going to look into some form of rail.

Sad

2011-08-27T11:38:00.014+01:00

Reports reach the Forest now and again about bishops and vocations directors quizzing seminarians about their interest in the Extraordinary Form. This could be a good thing: they might be ensuring that seminarians are at one with the mind of the Church about the Extraordinary Form regarding which Universae Ecclesiae told us a few months ago:

6. The Roman Missal promulgated by Pope Paul VI and the last edition prepared under Pope John XXIII, are two forms of the Roman Liturgy, defined respectively as ordinaria and extraordinaria: they are two usages of the one Roman Rite, one alongside the other. Both are the expression of the same lex orandi of the Church. On account of its venerable and ancient use, the forma extraordinaria is to be maintained with appropriate honour.

Thus if bishops and vocations directors are expressing any concern regarding the Extraordinary Form and seminarians it would, one would think, be to ensure that all seminarians are at home in both forms of the Roman Rite and most importantly are taught how to celebrate and to love the EF.

Sadly this is not what one hears. Instead seminarians are quizzed about their interest in the Extraordinary Form in such a way as to make clear to them that any interest would be considered a problem and as they used to say in my time, `a formation issue`. This is outrageous given developments in recent years. Eventually this will change but until then it is sad that people who are only following the directives of the Holy See are made to suffer.

28.08.11 UPDATE. I see that the reaction button can be pressed as often as you like. I thought each computer only got one vote. I suspect someone has a problem with Summorum Pontificum and is trying to cause trouble. If I could I would disable the reaction panel for this post but it can`t be done for individual posts as far as I can see. I also suspect supporters are registering multple votes as I`ve never had so many votes for any post before. If this continues I will remove the reaction panel altogether.

Evangelical Catholics and WYD

2011-08-20T08:47:00.005+01:00

John Allen has an interesting piece on WYD and what he calls `Evangelical Catholicism`. It may be of interest to those who are puzzled by why younger Catholics and especially seminarians appear to be what they call `conservative`. He defines it thus

Evangelical Catholicism” is a term being used to capture the Catholic version of a 21st century politics of identity, reflecting the long-term historical transition in the West from Christianity as a culture-shaping majority to Christianity as a subculture, albeit a large and influential one. I define Evangelical Catholicism in terms of three pillars:

A strong defense of traditional Catholic identity, meaning attachment to classic markers of Catholic thought (doctrinal orthodoxy) and Catholic practice (liturgical tradition, devotional life, and authority).
Robust public proclamation of Catholic teaching, with the accent on Catholicism’s mission ad extra, transforming the culture in light of the Gospel, rather than ad intra, on internal church reform.
Faith seen as a matter of personal choice rather than cultural inheritance, which among other things implies that in a highly secular culture, Catholic identity can never be taken for granted. It always has to be proven, defended, and made manifest.

On the other hand I don`t see much evidence of the `Evangelical Catholicism` here among the young in Hexham and Newcastle. The older cultural model seems to be what we do. This was what I found dispiriting about the recent Come Home Sunday we had: the emphasis was on getting Catholics to come back to church simply because it was their cultural inheritance without emphasis on having to believe anything in particular. I remember we used to have an active Youth 2000 group but I`ve not heard much about them in recent years. I hope we do have some Evangelical Catholics among our young but this part of the world has not really been at the cutting edge of Catholic life since the death of Bede in 735.

WYD

2011-08-19T21:17:00.004+01:00

Thanks to Michael Voris for this report from World Youth Day.

Even the Guardian has noticed

2011-08-18T21:30:00.011+01:00

I woke this morning to hear a story on the Today programme about a few thousand protestors complaining about the Pope`s visit to Spain. Nothing much was said about the 1.5 milllion young people who had turned up to welcome the Pope.

Andrew Brown on his Guardian blog has this to say:

If I were a Catholic, I would be feeling rather pissed off with the BBC. The news bulletin in this morning's Today programme carried a report of the pope's visit to Madrid that concentrated entirely on the "thousands" of protestors against the visit. It did not once mention World Youth Day, the extraordinary global Catholic gathering that the pope is also visiting. That has brought something like 1.5 million young people from around the world to the Spanish capital to greet him. Whether or not you approve of this, it is important and – above all – newsworthy simply because it is unexpected and goes against the grain of what the media tell us. So why is it not reported?

You can read the rest here.

UPDATE 19.08.11 Today has just had a feature on WYD again. It did mention `hundreds of thousands` of young people being there and interviewed pilgrims as well as the protestors.

UPDATE. Ex Expecto suggests complaints can be left at www.bbc.co.uk/complaints/

The Coronation of the Virgin icons

2011-08-15T12:24:00.006+01:00

The next stage of the icons for St Mary`s are nearly ready. Sr Petra Clare has sent me these pictures which show something of the work and stages of preparation. We were hoping that they would be here for the Feast of the Assumption. Sadly that didn`t happen but we are promised that they will be here for the end of the month.

Drawing Christ:
Drawing Our Lady:

Drawing the Seraphim:

Image transfer:

First colour layer

London

2011-08-15T11:04:00.007+01:00

Two weeks ago I travelled down to London. (I`m so glad I didn`t go last week!) This time I was going there to join the celebrations for Fr Charles Briggs` Silver Jubilee of ordination. Seeing that Mac has written a report and even mentioned me I finally stirred myself out my lethargy and have crawled to the computer to write it up.

On Monday night I was glad to be able to meet up with our former schola director and also with Rubricarius for a meal. While Rubricarius and I disagree about a number of things we were able to agree on our favourite pope of recent times: Benedict XIV. (Although in my own case Benedict XVI is a serious rival for the title.)

On Tuesday I made the trip to Chislehurst for Fr Briggs Extraordinary Form celebration. As you will have read elsewhere, there were about twenty priests in choir (and a few others in the congregation) : the sermon was given by the former archbishop of Southwark, archbishop Kevin MacDonald. Fortunately as he is the archbishop emeritus the sacred ministers did not have the additional task of the extra ceremonies that arise when the ordinary is in choir. However Fr Finigan did remark in his speech afterwards at the Golf Club that they were celebrating High Mass before one of the more knowledgeable group of priests in the country and who would be able to spot the mistakes. Fr Finigan put it more succinctly than that

So it was good to see some familiar faces again: Fr Martin Edwards of Wandsworth, Fr Andrew Southwell of Clapham with Fr Basden. Also it was good to met Fr Ray Blake at last as well as Fr Nicholas Schofield who used to have the Roman Miscellany blog. It was a pleasure to meet Mac, the Mulier Fortis and Kathleen from Catholicism Pure and Simple. Here is Fr Finigan making his speech at the Golf Club after the Mass.

I did think more pictures would emerge of the Mass itself but only a few have surfaced so far.

The next day I went to see the altarpieces exhibition at the National Gallery which was very enjoyable. In fact I enjoyed it more than the relics exhibition at the British Museum which is not what I expected. Well worth seeing if you get the chance. My next post will be on the progress of our own altarpiece here at St Marys!

Mgr Whitmore on Messiaen

2011-08-08T18:52:00.003+01:00

A little late for the feast of the Transfiguration but I`ve just come across this tonight on the Vatican News website. I thought it was rather good and hope we hear more from Mgr Whitmore.

Rate Your Priest

2011-08-05T15:45:00.002+01:00

A friend pointed out this site to me today which seems fun. It is only available in German but with the help of Google Translate all will be revealed!

Kneeling for Holy Communion

2011-07-30T11:20:00.010+01:00

Last Sunday as promised a prie dieu was put out after the sign of peace for anyone who wished to to kneel for Communion as requested by the bishops in the new instruction for England and Wales. Only one brave soul took up the opportunity but others made inquiries and we`ll see how it goes this weekend. Such is the nature of the re-ordering at St Mary`s that an altar rail is an impossibilty.

Imagine my joy when this week it was reported that Cardinal Cañizares de Llovera, Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship) said that all Catholics should kneel for Communion. (In jest he is known in these Geordie parts as Wor Canny Zares. Or should that be Jordi parts? We also joke about the great Catalan viola da gamba player Jordi Savall as Wor Geordie Saville but I digress- and I know how `J` is pronounced in Spanish.)

The Cardinal`s remarks have no canonical value but they give encouragement to those of us who don`t naturally find queuing to be a natural way of showing reverence. (Cf. CCFather`s take on this if you`ve not already read it.) We now will have it in the General Instruction courtesy of our bishops that if a person does not kneel they should bow. I have yet to see to it that we introduce bowing and I don`t understand bowing to mean a nod of the head. But for now we will be making the prie dieu familiar (as well as gradually introducing the new translation over the Sundays of August).
UPDATE 4.08.11 Just to say I`ve been away this week ( more to follow on that). Three more people used the kneeler on Sunday gone. Brick by brick!

Another good idea.

2011-07-26T08:12:00.006+01:00

Encouraging older parishioners to take an interest in liturgical reform is very difficult. However I have found it is easier to make progress with the young. Here is an example from where this is happening in the USA. H/T to Paul Smeaton for this. The answers of the children are not scripted. For more on St Theresa`s, Sugarland, Texas see here.

The end of civilisation continued..

2011-07-23T11:43:00.005+01:00

On 11th July Michael Gove, Education Secretary, said the following:

`It is a source of considerable pride to me that the number of students studying Latin in comprehensives is the highest ever. We are presiding over the greatest renaissance in Latin learning since Julius Caesar invaded. [ Interruption. ] Those who are about to answer should be saluted, as we say in Latin. The critical thing is that we have to ensure that our examinations in every subject are up there with the best in the world. It is striking that before he went to university, one of the iconic figures of the 21st century—Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook—studied Latin, Greek and classical Hebrew.`

While this is good news on the other hand one of the country`s leading classics departments, Royal Holloway University College in London, is facing closure. According to the proposals from September 2012 student numbers will be reduced to 40 a year for BA`s in Classical Studies and Ancient History as well as Joint Honours. The classics degree will be discontinued. Ancient Historians on the staff will join the History department in 2014. A revival of Latin teaching can`t happen without trained teachers.There is an online petition here and a campaign blog to follow here.

Pictures from Dilston

2011-07-23T11:20:00.006+01:00

Thanks to 1569 Rising for these pictures from Dilston. The chapel was packed to standing-room only (i.e there were about thirty in the congregation). Fra Matthew Festing was there and among the servers was James Mawdsley, who is returning to Wigratzbad in September for his third year at the FSSP seminary and Leo Darroch, president of Una Voce International. I was chatting afterwards with a gentleman who told me he had unearthed a letter which showed that James Radcliffe, the third Earl, executed after the 1715 Jacobite rebellion, was undoubtedly executed for his faith and not his politics and so should be on the road to beatification if anyone were to take up the cause.

Next year the feast of St Mary Magdalene (to whom the chapel is dedicated) will be on a Sunday so Mass will be on Monday 23rd.

Dilston Mass

2011-07-19T16:28:00.004+01:00

Tomorrow night at 7.30pm there will be a Missa Cantata at Dilston, near Corbridge, the site of the homes of the Earls of Derwentwater until the execution of the third earl for his part in the 1715 Jacobite rebellion. I have written about the history of Dilston before here.

We normally have a lovely summer`s evening for the Mass so I hope the current monsoon season abates long enough to let this happen again.

More good news

2011-07-18T15:56:00.008+01:00

I would like to say this is the sanctuary at St Mary`s, Forest Hall after the recent re-ordering but alas it is not. It is instead the site of the new apostolate for the Institute of the Good Shepherd in Bogota. According to the source ` outside of Campos this is the first official TLM at a major Church/Basilica in South America in the last 30-40 years or so`. (UPDATE 5.25pm `Brazilian` has noted in his comment below that this is something of an exaggeration.) So more good news as the EF slowly continues to spread. It`s even billed, for the first time, at the next Italian National Eucharistic Congress in Ancona so chances are it will have a place next year at the International Eucharistic Congress in Dublin. There was also the news that a Polish archbishop is thinking of setting up a priestly institute for the Extraordinary Form.

If you look at the IBP website you will see that, like us, they have a problem with their seminary. Theirs is somewhat different to the one here as they have too many seminarians for the size of the building (33 seminarians and five priests but only 28 rooms).

Ushaw again

2011-07-18T12:29:00.005+01:00

As everyone will know on June 9th `a proposal [was] put forward by the University to create a Centre for Catholic Scholarship and Cultural Heritage at Ushaw under the auspices of the University’s existing internationally regarded Centre for Catholic Studies.` (Quotation from website of Centre for Catholic Studies at Durham) It`s good to hear that Ushaw will remain as a Catholic presence in the North East.

Readers who live outside the diocese of Hexham and Newcastle will probably not have the opportunity to see the articles in the Northern Cross. The CfCC has links to three pdfs from the latest edition with articles about the future of Ushaw. They are here, here and here. If this all works out then in a way things have come full circle as Douai began as a kind of Centre for Catholic Studies in 1568.

Rubrics and change

2011-07-14T19:38:00.010+01:00

Readers will have seen elsewhere that there have been some difficulties over the rubrics printed on the CTS Mass cards for the new translation. The main concern is regarding the rubric for the reception of Holy Communion by the laity. Another priest has told me he is unhappy because the CTS card indicates that the sign of peace is always to be included and the offertory prayers are to be always said aloud (unless there is singing of course). I like the CTS and think they are doing a great job and hope these difficulties are sorted out.

Fr Finigan mentions the Redemptorist and McCrimmon cards don`t have these problems. I ordered the McCrimmon cards when they first came out precisely because they fairly rubric free. In fact it only has two. One is an instruction to bow during the Creed during the Et incarnatus est and the other is at the end where it usefully says `Then the deacon, or the Priest himself, with hands joined and facing the people says` and the dismissal follows. ( It is strange that priest is gets a capital `P` and deacon is in lower case.) I always enjoy reminding people of the rubrics in the OF Mass which instruct the priest to face the people. I wonder what people make of them who cannot conceive that an ad orientem Mass would be intended? In such a case what else would the priest be doing but facing the people? Do they think it is there because there is a danger that the celebrant might be tempted all of a sudden to face the back of the sanctuary for the dismissal after facing the people for the rest of the Mass?!

We gave the new translation a go on Tuesday morning at St Mary`s. I intend using it on Tuesdays of July and then all the weekdays of August to get at least a core of parishioners familiar with the responses. In fact the reaction I got was could we have it twice a week to increase familiarity? I struggled greatly with the paperback interim missal which won`t lie open of course and so kept closing on me during the Mass. That will need sorting out.

Give that this is a time of change for the whole Catholic Church in this country what with the translation and the re-introduction of abstinence on Fridays I intend doing something more about ad orientem. A week past Sunday we had the First Holy Communion Mass at Ss Peter and Paul`s, Longbenton. As the children are now used to school Masses being ad orientem I weighed up the options. It may confuse the children to celebrate facing the people after having carfeully explained the advantages of ad orientem a while ago. On the other hand the parish aren`t used to it as yet and can get angry at this as they feel `excluded`. However the church was packed with the families of the communicandi many of whom had probably not been to Mass for a long time so I decided to stick to ad orientem for the offertory up to the distribution of Holy Communion. No-one made any comments and no-one appeared to be angry but I hope to talk about it this Sunday which will be the first time I`ve said the Sunday Mass in Longbenton since the First Holy Communion Mass. (At St Mary`s, Forest Hall the children are not used to regular school Masses but that will change in the new school year from September.)

Another change to which attention will have to be drawn is the new instruction for the laity`s reception of Holy Communion. For anyone who is not aware the English bishops have had an instruction included in or missals which will read:

"In the Dioceses of England and Wales Holy Communion is to be received standing, though individual members of the faithful may choose to receive Communion while kneeling. However, when they communicate standing, it is recommended that the faithful bow in reverence before receiving the sacrament."

We`ll have to look into bowing so as to be faithful to the recommendation and even it seems provide a prie dieu or something like that for those individuals who may choose to kneel as the instruction says.

Anchor

2011-07-12T17:38:00.011+01:00

This year I began looking for new material to use with out confirmation class. The last two times we have used the DVDs prepared by CAFE. I thought they were rather good and especially enjoy anything that involves Fr Stan Fortuna but the candidates and catechists were not as positive so I decided to find something else.

Thanks to a comment I left on another blog I was told about the Anchor course prepared by the Dominican Sisters of St Joseph based in the New Forest. So I ordered copies and we set to work. I`m glad to say the catechists this year have repeatedly told me how much more they have enjoyed the session this time. I wasn`t really sure how the Anchor course would work as it is not specifically geared to conformation preparation. What it does give is a general catechesis on the basics of the faith using the structure of the Mass. The Anchor part of our sessions have lasted about forty-five minutes and the first fifteen minutes were tailored to the needs of confirmation candidates. Thus we first asked the children to give us a short account of the life of the saint whose name they had chosen and then used that section to talk about the gifts of the Holy Spirit. What has been a great improvement on previous attempts was the last ten minutes of each session where the candidates came into church where the Blessed Sacrament was exposed and they knelt and followed the suggested prayer format. (In previous years they had stood or sat in a circle with a candle in the middle:something I was eager to change.)

However Anchor has many uses. The website says:

ANCHOR is especially written for parents:

- parents of children undergoing a sacramental preparation

(Baptism, First Holy Communion, Confirmation)

- parents of children attending Catholic schools.

Yet it may be used with any adult who desires to understand the Catholic Faith.

ANCHOR can be used as a complement to:

- RCIA programmes

- Confirmation programmes

- Marriage preparation programmes

- baptism preparation for parents.

ANCHOR can be used as a Lenten course, as a Faith through Art course, or as a refresher course on the Eucharist.

ANCHOR can also be used as an introduction to the new translation of the Roman Missal in the Parish.

ANCHOR is accessible to anyone above the age of 15.

Our confirmation candidates are younger than 15 but they have responded well. The attractive artwork helps and the first part involves the candidates thinking through the reproduced paintings which illustrate each topic.

Our diocese is currently unveiling a new catechetical programme. I have seen some of the material for First Holy Communions and have been impressed that at last we have something with solid content to use. [UPDATE 20.07.11 see the comments box: English Pastor has read more of the course than me and points to some problems. 21.07.11 I`ve just got a copy today and will be reading thruogh tomorrow.] I believe we will also be getting something on confirmation. I look forward to seeing it. However I`m sure there will always be a place for the Anchor course in parish life given its flexibility and would strongly recommend it to anyone looking for sound material for catechesis.

Retreat

2011-07-09T11:16:00.013+01:00

This week I have been on retreat in Berkshire. I mentioned it before here. It was led by Fr de Malleray of the FSSP and there were fourteen of us altogether. Sadly I had to leave a day early to come back for a wedding in the parish. On the other hand I arrived the night before the retreat started to save a rush on Monday trying to get to Cold Ash, near Newbury from Newcastle for a 2pm start. So I was grateful for Fr de Malleray`s offer of staying a night at the FSSP house in Reading which I was looking forward to seeing anyway.

When I arrived I was invited in for tea. Around the table apart from Father himself (who is French) there was Christopher who has just completed his first year at the FSSP seminary in the USA and is Polish, Fr Grega, a young French Canadian priest who joined the FSSP in January from his diocese and an American FSSP seminarian whose name sadly escapes me. Not only was I the only British person I was the oldest by more than ten years. This was a strange experience as belonging to the diocesan priesthood I`m used to being part of a structure which is top heavy age-wise. I had a tour of the house and was able to see the wonderful conversion job that has been done into making it a religious house complete with a (quite small) chapel. After dinner and clearing up the evening ended with Compline.

Next morning we went to the local parish church of St William of York for Mass. I was interested to see it having seen pictures on the internet. The altar looked splendid with its gradines and `big six` but all this has to be removed a few times each week so that the parish can have the OF Mass there too. The FSSP have still to acquire a church of their own in the UK. Surely that will happen soon given that they have about five native priests (none of whom at present work in the UK) about the same number in formation and four new seminarians starting this year. All this is quite remarkable when you consider that this is for an institute which only has this small house in Reading as a presence in England ( as well as a somewhat larger house in Edinburgh).

The next day we drove to Cold Ash where lunch was arranged for 12 noon for the retreat participants so that we might have a chance to socialise before beginning the silent retreat. Again I was the senior priest by over ten years and as such was invited to say grace. There were about eight of us at lunch eventually and the arrival of Fr Leworthy of the FSSP at last meant I wasn`t the only priest in his 50`s! The rest of the fathers were waiting at Cold Ash pastoral centre when we arrived.

The theme of the retreat was the prayers of the Roman missal so Fr de Malleray took us through the Mass giving a commentary on the spiritual significance of the prayers and rituals of the Extraordinary Form. All I can say was that I had heard nothing like this in my spiritual formation at Ushaw. (John Saward may have taught these things but I onnly had one brief course with him.) Hearing Father speak, the logic of the traditional Mass was made clear and its spiritual purpose revealed. There are lots of phrases from the retreat buzzing round my head as I write. There were things which I might have missed if I had read them in a book such as: the primary purpose of the Mass is the glory of God. I can be quite certain no-one ever told me that at Ushaw. Father drew our attention to this as the word `glory` kept appearing. It applies to the reading of the Gospel whose prime purpose is not instruction but the glory of God (which is why the response of the people or server is `Gloria tibi Domine`). Father also spoke of how today Catholics feel insulted if the priest says Mass `with his back to the people` as they feel they are excluded somehow but they have failed to realise that they are not the focus of the Mass but God and that the priest`s job is to lead them to God. I can`t give a synopsis of the whole retreat here but this gives a small taste. I also can`t give a synopsis because of the eight talks I only heard five as I had to leave a day early to come back for a wedding in the parish on Friday. There was a Holy Hour with Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament each day and readings at all the meals. I particularly enjoyed those from Archbishop Dolan`s book `Priests for the third millenium`.

We had four altars in the rather attractive and largely unspoiled 19th century chapel so the first slot for saying Mass was the 5.40am! I`m afraid I don`t operate very well on ess that eight hours sleep so I took at 7.10am slot each morning which meant being asleep by 10pm. It was lovely to walk into the chapel each morning and see all the altars in use.

At times I must admit the retreat was hard going but now I`m back it all seems wonderful and I`d look forward to another. (This is quite like the experience of the Chartres pilgrimage.) It was a long way from the north but I was surprised some of those I know from nearer cities and towns never seem to come to these FSSP events for priests. It would be good to see more priests come next time.

So thank you again Fr de Malleray and thank God for the FSSP.

St Robert`s Morpeth blog

2011-07-02T15:04:00.008+01:00

I was back at Morpeth (which I had left in 1995 to become a parish priest) last month for Fr Lawrence Jones` silver jubilee of ordination celebrations and had a very good night catching up with people. I have mentioned it before but St Robert`s has a blog which I will put in my blogroll. I`m going back again this month for the 60th anniversary Mass of the resident retired priest, Fr Jim Doherty.

Random thoughts on Bishop Ambrose`s Requiem

2011-07-02T11:05:00.012+01:00

Yesterday I went to the cathedral to take part in a Requiem Mass for Bishop Ambrose Griffiths. This was the third such Mass as there had been one in Leyland in the parish where he lived, one the night before at the cathedral here in Newcastle, yesterday's and then he was off to Ampleforth for the final one with burial. This may have accounted for the somewhat low turnout of bishops as they had so much choice. However we still managed to have the Apostolic Nuncio and Archbishop Nichols present and about eight or nine others. Canon Barrass preached and neatly caught the enthusiasm and unpredictability of bishop Ambrose. However the microphone for our bishop needs some attention. I remember when the portable microphone worn by bishop Ambrose was had major problems at a catherdal function. Yesterday whatever was wrong with it, the bishop`s voice was unfortunately very distorted by it. However I learnt this morning that at least two other Catholic cathedrals seem to have microphone problems too! How on earth did the Church manage before the invention of the microphone? When I vest for the OF Mass I sometimes wear the maniple and sometimes don`t. According to the Vatican website the maniple has never been abolished, so is optional and when I wear it I say the vesting prayer. The portable microphone appears to be compulsory however but there is nothing in the vesting prayers for putting it on! After yesterday`s Mass maybe there should be a prayer that it will work.

There were two pieces of Latin chant in the Mass. The Introit was sung before the clergy entered the cathedral so I missed that but the In Paradisum was sung but sadly to a tune that was not well known. One priest told me it was the solemn tone, someone else told me it was the Ushaw tone. No-one seemed very certain about it including the schola. The rest of the music was fairly dignified. The Kyrie interested me: it was an English setting of the Orbis Factor Mass which was rather nice (although I would have preferred the Requiem Kyrie) and thought it could be used in the parish. I was surprised that the cantor sang the prayer `May almighty God have mercy on us and forgive us our sins` etc as that part is reserved to the priest but apart from that I thought it was rather good.

A final thought. I imagine they have been at other functions and I`ve not noticed, but this time I was aware of a group of Knights of the Holy Sepulchre maybe because our LMS rep. David O`Neill, was making his first appearance in knightly garb. In turn I saw there was a Dame of the Holy Sepulchre present too. She was sporting a mantilla the like of which I`ve not seen outside of Spain: one of those that trails down the back. The knights wear a beret that looks rather like a biretta but the use of which does not follow the rules for the biretta it seems.

That was our third episcopal funeral in four years. May they rest in peace.

Ss Peter and Paul`s Day

2011-07-01T15:22:00.011+01:00

I was very glad to see a better attendance at Mass on Wednesday than I had feared since the virtual abolition of Holydays. At both my parishes, the primary school children came as a body but there was a respectable number of parishioners. At St Mary`s one half of the church was filled with the children and the other with parishioners. I don`t know what it was like at the 7pm Mass at St Mary`s )said by our retired priest, Fr Milburn) as I had to leave for the 7.30 EF Mass at SS Peter and Paul`s. Attendance at this was better than I feared. I have in the past advertised the Mass at the cathedral and got a good response but this year I didn`t get round to it. As we were not inundated in the diocese with Masses specifically celebrating Pope Benedict`s 6oth anniversary of ordination I had thought to see if I could get a poster sent out to all parishes from bishop`s house but didn`t get round to that either. Nonetheless I was very pleased to see quite a lot of new faces from my parishes. The travelling Latini are not so much in evidence these days but there were still a good number. Also we had two members of the diocesan clergy taking part in the liturgical action who I`d not known be involved before. I won`t say who they are as I`ve not asked them if I can. Sadly there were no photos taken of the Mass but it went very well and the music from the schola, the organ and the choir of St George`s, Cullercoats, was very good indeed. I remarked in the homily about how apt it was to have a Mozart Mass setting given the Holy Father`s enthusiasm for his music.

After the morning Mass at St Mary`s an elderly lady walking with a stick asked if it was true that the bishops are considering restoring some of the Holydays. I said it was and she thought this was a move backwards and when are we going to get some young bishops with more modern ideas? I smiled. Other people said how glad they were to have a Holyday celebrated and they hoped the others return.

I had had an invitation to a Mass in the afternoon at the local Catholic comprehensive but I felt that after two school Masses in the morning and a High Mass to take place that night that I could be justified in skipping that one. I heard last night about the liturgical dance and can only say my guardian angel must have been looking after me that day.

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina - Tu es Petrus

2011-06-29T15:00:00.001+01:00

James MacMillan - Tu es Petrus

2011-06-29T12:43:00.003+01:00

Patriarchs making the news

2011-06-28T10:59:00.010+01:00

I`m always somewhat surprised when an archbishop is transfered to another archbishopric. It just seems odd to me. Maybe I`ve not been paying sufficient attention and it is perfectly normal. We had archbishop Peter Smith move from Cardiff to Southwark recently. Today I read that Cardinal Scola, the Patriarch (no less) of Venice has become the new archbishop of Milan. I only mention this because the incumbent Scola is succeeding, Tettamanzi, has apparently not been very sympathetic to Summorum Pontificum and MiL sees this move as cause for hope for the Catholics of Milan attached to the ancient form of the Ambrosian Rite. The above picture from Venice helps confirm this.

The other Patriarch making the news is that of Lisbon who appears not to have understood Bl John Paul`s document on the reservation of priestly ordination to men, Ordinatio Sacerdotalis. However he is 75 so will be retiring soon.

UPDATE 08.07.11 The Patriarch of Lisbon has issued a clarification and expressed his allegience to the Magisterium!

The Curious History of the bishops of Hexham and Newcastle.

2011-06-27T10:53:00.009+01:00

The death of bishop Ambrose Griffiths gave me cause to put on my North East Catholic History Society hat and to check up on the time in office of the previous bishops of Hexham and Newcastle. For this the Catholic Hierarchy site is invaluable.

We started off in 1850 quite well. William Hogarth had been appointed Vicar Apostolic in 1848 for the Northern District and in 1850 at the restoration of the hierarchy became the first bishop of the restored Hexham diocese which in 1861 adopted its present title of Hexham and Newcastle. He stayed in office until his death in 1866 at the age of 79.8 years.

He was succeeded by James Chadwick who became bishop at the age of 53.5 and lasted until 1882 and his death at the age of 69.1 which is perhaps a little premature. Things got worse with bishop James Bewick who died at the age of only 62.5 in October 1886. He was succeeded by bishop O`Callaghan who resigned in 1889 at the age of 62.5 (which seems to have been a dangerous age) although he went on to live until 1904 when he died at the age of 77.5. Bishop Wilkinson was more fortunate in that he became bishop in 1889 and lasted until 1909 when he died at the age of 84.

Bishop Collins died at the age of 66.8 in 1924. His successor, bishop Thorman died at the age of 65.2 in 1936. Bishop McCormack died at the age of 70.8 in 1958. Bishop James Cunningham died in 1974 at the age of only 63.9 having resigned a couple of months previously and was succeeded by bishop Lindsay who retired through ill-health at the age of 64.6 in 1992. (He lived to be 81.6.} Then came bishop Ambrose Griffiths, our only bishop not to be a secular priest, who did his full-term, retiring in 2004. He was followed by the unfortunate bishop Kevin Dunn who died in 2008 at the age of 57.8 and was succeeded by the present bishop, Seamus Cunningham who was appointed at the age of 66.7 and who is now 68.97 years old.

So all in all given that there is now a retirement age for bishops of 75 only bishops Hogarth and Wilkinson and Griffiths can be said to have completed what would now be considered a full-term: that is three out the twelve. Our present bishop, the thirteenth, was appointed at an age when many of his predecessors were already dead or retired.

The bishops of this diocese are traditionally buried at Ushaw (I`ve not yet mentioned anything about the reprieve of the college but will get round to it) but it seems unlikely that bishops will ever be buried there again. Bishops Lindsay and Dunn chose to be buried in the cathedral crypt which is appropriate but not open to visitors. Bishop Griffiths will be buried at Ampleforth.

Animae eorum et animae omnium defunctorum per misericordiam Dei requiescant in pace.

Solemn High Mass to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Pope Benedict`s priestly ordination

2011-06-22T09:13:00.006+01:00

On Wednesday 29th June at 7.30pm the annual High Mass will take place at SS Peter and Paul`s church, Benton Lane, Longbenton. This year the Mass will be offered in thanksgiving for Pope Benedict`s sixtieth anniversary of priesthood. The Schola Sancti Bedae wil sing the proper and the choir of St George`s, Cullercoats will sing Mozart`s Credo Mass, K.257. There will be light refreshments afterwards. All welcome.

PS Before the comments start,the rather strange image on the back wall was removed last year and replaced with a Pantocrator icon.

A day out with the North East Catholic History Society

2011-06-21T16:32:00.019+01:00

On Saturday I finally managed (after years of trying and failing because of clashes with other commitments), to join the NECHS for one of its day trips. Thirty or so people left the Central Station at Newcastle at 9.30 and headed to Ripon. We had two hours there which was to include time for lunch so I went straight to the cathedral. When we got there one of the vergers asked us if we had come for the service. It was disappointing to see that there was a service starting at 11 as it meant we couldn`t walk round the choir area but when I saw the booklets the lady verger was giving out I was rather intrigued. (For those who may not know the Society of St Wilfrid and Hilda is an Anglican organization for those who, instead of joining the Ordinariate, are trying to preserve a Catholic identity in the Church of England.) I reproduce the front cover of the service booklet here. Our lady verger said they didn`t have a shrine of St Wilfrid so took issue with the description on the front! From what I remember from a previous visit there is a slab at the left of the high altar which marks the burial place of St Wilfrid. I was suspicious of the icon of St Wilfrid on the leaflet which shows no sign of his love for unity with Rome which was what he was all about I would have thought.

I went to sit at the side of the choir to follow the service. There were about thirteen concelebrating clergy and two deacons, one female, as well as the bishops. I was eager to see how things were done to see if I could spot the `patrimony` bits. One difference I noticed was that they sing a lot more than we do. The opening hymn was `For all the saints` with all eleven verses and the Gospel acclamation was a hymn with six verses! I wanted in particular to hear the sermon.

The Gospel was `Thou art Peter` from Matthew 16 which I thought might give material for an interesting sermon. However the bishop of Whitby avoided controversy and spoke about some exhibitions that had been on and were about to start at the National Gallery: the exhibitions with a Christian theme, starting with Seeing Salvation in the year 2000, which have attracted a lot of interest. The response to these exhibitions show that there is a thirst for knowledge about Christianity and, he said, the C of E is well-placed to respond to it. He spoke once about the need to look beyond internal divisions and instead to get on with preaching the Gospel. I left after the sermon as time was running short and I wanted to visit St Wilfrid`s crypt before finding lunch.

After lunch we headed to Markenfield Hall. I had first become aware of it through reading Fr de Malleray`s account of his visit in the FSSP`s Dowry magazine and as the NECHS are always looking for new places to visit I suggested it might make a good day out. Markenfield is a fortified manor house of the fourteenth century and is well worth a visit. The de Markenfields lost possession of it in 1570 after being punished for taking part in the Rising of the North in 1569.

We had a most informative tour after which I was able to celebrate Mass in the chapel. It was particularly moving to think of those who heard Mass in that chapel before setting off for the revolt. The altar is not free-standing so Mass can only be said ad orientem which I was more than happy with...

I had thought that was the end of our day out but we just had time for a quick visit to Knaresborough to visit the shrine of Our Lady of the Crag. As the PP was a classmate of mine at Ushaw I called at the presbytery but got no reply.

All in all a very good day out and despite the forecast for rain we only had a couple of showers in Ripon before the sun came out. I look forward to the next NECHS trip out next year.

Forty Hours at Forest Hall

2011-06-17T15:12:00.007+01:00

Earlier than in previous years, the Forty Hours devotion will take place at St Mary`s starting this Sunday night at 6pm. I moved it to June to make more use of the warmth and light but it has worked out well as Cardinal Piacenza, Prefect of the Congregation for Clergy, has asked every parish, or religious community to offer sixty hours of Eucharistic Adoration during the month of June, to celebrate the Sixtieth anniversary of the priestly ordination of our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI which is to be celebrated on 29th June and also for the sanctification of Clergy. Cardinal Piacenza says “in this way, the Pontiff could be honoured with an extraordinary spiritual bouquet of prayer and spiritual union"

We may not reach sixty hours of Exposition this month but we will come fairly close. There will be watching through most of the night on Sunday (only two hours are as yet not spoken for) and on Monday night we will have to stop at 1am and resume at 6am. If you are in the vicinity you are most welcome to join us for this very special time in the life of the parish.

PS. For anyone worried that the Annunciation icon has disappeared this is an old photo from before it came.

UPDATE: 20.6.11 I`m glad to say that the whole of last night was in the end covered and the same will happen tonight so we will cover all forty hours!

Biddlestone Mass

2011-06-16T10:36:00.002+01:00

From the local LMS newsletter:

The annual EF Mass organised by Jack Harvey will this year be held on 18^th June 2011 at 12 noon. The celebrant for the Missa Cantata will be Fr Shaun Swales. All are encouraged to attend & to enjoy a picnic in the grounds following Mass.

For more on Biddlestone see here.

Pentecost

2011-06-15T23:13:00.004+01:00

This last weekend I was in Berlin. I know: I should have been in Chartres. It`s years since I`ve been. I was staying with friends and was trying to explain the joys of the pilgrimage. To remind myself, I had a look on YouTube and this I thought captured much of it.

My trip to Berlin did mean that I got to Mass at the Institut St. Philipp Neri. We had a beautiful Missa Cantata with an excellent schola and well-trained servers as well as a large, mostly young, congregation.

Bishop Ambrose Griffiths

2011-06-15T17:20:00.005+01:00

I have been away for a few days. When I got back I found quite a lot had been going on. I was sad to hear yesterday about the death of bishop Ambrose Griffiths, bishop of Hexham and Newcastle from 1992 until 2004.

It was in 1992 shortly after his appointment that bishop Ambrose gave permission for a weekly Sunday Mass according to the 1962 missal at St Dominic`s Newcastle. Although this was four years after Ecclesia Dei it was still relatively rare in England to have a Sunday Mass in the same church every week. Other bishops allowed Masses every Sunday but often had them take place in a rota of churches ( as in Lancaster). Bishop Ambrose was a true liberal and although he had no interest in the Extraordinary Form itself he was willing to let other people attend it convinced that it was sought after only by a few nostalgics and that in time it would die out.

In about 1993 I asked the bishop for permission to celebrate the 1962 Mass at St Robert`s Morpeth where I was the curate. He gave permission and that monthly Mass continues to this day on a weekday. When I became a parish priest in 1995 I asked for permission to celebrate a 1962 Mass on a Sunday and once again permission was given even though this Mass was just over the river from St Dominic`s, at St Wilfrid`s Gateshead. So I was able to continue with a Sunday Mass until I was moved from Gateshead in 2005. When I was made parish priest of St Joseph`s, Gateshead in 2002 or so I moved the Sunday Mass to that church, the mother church of the town and it continues to this day and is now said by the parish priest. Fr Elkin was also gven permission for Mass at Ryhope.

We had an interesting time when bishop Ambrose came on visitation to St Wilfrid`s. I had thought to have a Missa Cantata to make it more user-friendly from a Novus Ordo perspective. However this didn`t materialise and so we had our normal non-dialogue Low Mass. Bishop Ambrose preached and all I remember about the sermon was that he told us that the Pharisees were the canon-lawyers of their day ( I was tempted to reply that the High Priest was the bishop of his day) and that he had a lot to say about Luther for some reason and how the Catholic Church and the Lutherans had sorted it all out now. HIs remarks made it into Christian Order magazine! However after Mass bishop Ambrose said he couldn`t understand why anyone would want to go to a Mass like that. He said he had loved it and celebrated it when young but had moved on. (I have felt the same about the Chrism Mass!) Nonetheless despite his own feelings he was happy for others to benefit from the then so-called Indult Mass. In this he was considerably more enlightened than some of his brother bishops then and even now.

May he rest in peace.

Bishop Ambrose`s Requiem will take place on Ist July at St Mary`s cathedral at 12 noon and is open to everyone. He will be buried at Ampleforth Abbey the following day.

What to do with an old missal?

2011-06-09T14:47:00.005+01:00

Back in May there was a thread on the Pray, Tell blog about disposing of old missals which has had me thinking. As you will see on that thread the U.S. Bishops’ Committee on Divine Worship said that old missals should be buried in church grounds or in a parish cemetery. The problem arises as the missal is often blessed. Fr Ruff adds:

The BCDW recommends burying the old sacramentary on church grounds or in a parish cemetery. Other possibilities are placing the liturgical book in the coffin of a deceased person, as is done in various Eastern Churches, as a sign of the person’s devotion to the liturgy. One could also do ‘cremation’ (my term, not theirs) and bury the ashes on church grounds.

I must admit I hadn`t thought about this. As you will see in the picture our missal is rather tatty. In fact it isn`t used. A previous PP bought the American Sacramentary and that is what we use on the altar. What I like about it is that the sung prefaces are placed alongside the unsung version which I find quite useful.

However I was brought up at Ushaw on stories of priests after the Council burning missals and antique vestments or throwing them on skips. Having been back to St Cuthbert`s school, Newcastle, a few years ago for an exhibition on the history of the school where some of the old vestments were put out on display I was surprised at how uninspiring they were. I do occasionally see a good vestment which I am told was rescued from a skip.

Much as I would like to remove all memory of the current translation I notice that in this parish we still have the 1959 altar missal which I use for daily morning Mass. No-one threw it away. I recently found all the parish altar cards too at the back of a cupboard. No-one had thrown away this rather run down altar missal too. I suspect I won`t be burying any missals although I`m slightly tempted. Maybe we should keep them lest we forget....

Blaydon Races 2012

2011-06-09T12:46:00.010+01:00

My first brush with celebrity was in 1962 (as you can see above) at the Blaydon Races centenary celebrations when I was photographed with Hugh Gaitskell and T Dan Smith. Hugh Gaitskell died the next year. The photograph appeared a while ago on a programme about T Dan Smith, much to my surprise. I look a little worried. Maybe I`d just heard about the abolition of the Confiteor before Communion.

Today marks the 149th anniversary of the Blaydon Races and there is a campaign to ensure it is celebrated properly for the 150th anniversary next year. You can find the web page here where you will find a petition to sign too!

Clergy Retreat

2011-06-08T19:12:00.007+01:00

News from Fr de Malleray today regarding the retreat he will be giving on the theme of `Priestly meditations on the prayers of the EF Roman Missal`. So far there are fourteen booked on the retreat including Fr de Malleray and there are still a dozen single rooms available at the Cold Ash pastoral centre for priests who might like to come. Although the retreat is centred on the prayers of the EF missal priests can say their daily Mass in either the EF or OF of the Roman missal. The publication of Universae Ecclesiae makes this retreat all the more appropriate. For priests travelling a long distance it is possible to spend the Sunday night at the FSSP`s St John Fisher house at Reading if you let Fr De Malleray know. As the retreat will be silent and, as happened to me at the retreat at Douai, priests meet other priests they may not have seen in decades, then there is the option of a pre-retreat lunch at 12 noon at the Spotted Dog in Cold Ash on Monday 4th July to allow a chance to talk before the retreat begins.

Cold Ash is six minutes drive from Bucklebury, where it is possible to visit the beautiful church of St Mary the Virgin and maybe say a prayer for the Duchess of Cambridge in her home village.

All the information about the retreat can be found here.

A chaplain abroad - Fr Bede Rowe

2011-06-07T10:59:00.008+01:00

Fr Bede Rowe is from Gateshead (Heworth to be precise if my memory serves me well). Sad to say circumstances led to him becoming a priest of Clifton diocese rather than Hexham and Newcastle and so H & N`s loss was Clifton`s gain. Fr Rowe writes useful books. His most recent is a guide to the Old Testament but he has also produced books which provide a guide to Mass and Confession and a book on Synodality. Like me he is a regional chaplain for the LMS. However he is just about to take up a new appointment as chaplain to Chavagnes International College, a Catholic boarding school for boys which was the subject of a TV programme a while back (I can`t remember which channel it appeared on.)

Fr Rowe has started a blog and I`ve added it to my blog roll. I look forward to hearing about life at Chavagnes and wish him every success in his new appointment.

Cardinal Pell says Bishop Morris sacking 'a tragedy' but also 'a useful clarification' :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

2011-05-30T17:53:00.003+01:00

I thought this reaction of Cardinal Pell to the removal of bishop Morris was interesting especially in the way the cardinal says it has clarified issues. Also I thought it was worth quoting for the insight that an orthodox approach, a happy acceptance of the magisterium results in vocations and growth for the Church.

Cardinal Pell says Bishop Morris sacking 'a tragedy' but also 'a useful clarification' :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

Cardinal Pell was both balanced and charitable in his assessment of Bishop Morris’s legacy.

“He’s a very good man. He had a lot of pastoral strengths. He’s got a lot of good points. He’s done of lot of good work. He’s got quite a strong following in the diocese.”

“But the diocese was divided quite badly and the bishop hasn’t demonstrated that he’s a team player. I mean even at the end he didn’t wait for the official Vatican announcement.”

“He sent around messages to every parish, to all his priests, the Australian bishops before the official announcement and since then he’s made a number of public announcements which haven’t been helpful.”

As for critics of the Pope’s decision to sack Bishop Morris?

“There’s been a predictable chorus from a minority but such is life.”

The job of rebuilding things in Toowoomba now falls to Bishop Brian Finnegan of Brisbane who has now been appointed apostolic administrator until a new bishop can be found. Cardinal Pell said it’s time “to look to the future.”

“You know, life moves on, but also I think it will be a useful clarification for people that Catholic doctrine is there to be followed and bishops take promises to defend the integrity of Catholic teaching.”

Cardinal Pell believes that it’s this orthodox approach that is reaping apostolic benefits in many parts of Australia including Sydney. He points to an increased number of priestly and religious vocations, vibrant university chaplaincies and the legacy of World Youth Day in 2008.

“Young people don’t see the Catholic Church as being inevitably in decline at least in most parts of Australia.”

“We’re doing what Christ wants, and I think that if you do that you’ve always got to be optimistic”

“There’s life and energy and promise.”

Institute of Christ the King confirms apostolate in Shrewsbury diocese

2011-05-27T22:59:00.008+01:00

Thanks to Fr Blake for the news that the Institute of Christ the King and the diocese of Shrewsbury have confirmed that the Institute will take over the running of the church of SS Peter and Paul, New Brighton. The Catholic Herald has the story here. This is very exciting as it is the first time in this country an Ecclesia Dei institute has been given possession of a church and so is quite a break-through. Once people see that the diocese of Shrewsbury does not collapse because of this I hope it leads to a greater acceptance of the Extraordinary Form and the Ecclesia Dei institutes. The Fraternity of St Peter has two canonically erected houses in the UK and it would be good to see them entrusted with a church too.

Last week at the Canon Law Society annual conference I heard many good things about bishop Davies of Shrewsbury and was given a copy of the new diocesan magazine: a small (A5) magazine which has replaced the diocesan newspaper. Fr Stephen Dwyer, the editor explains that the new magazine will be a quarterly and is designed to allow the bishop to share his thoughts and plans for the diocese at greater length than possible elsewhere. All the articles are by priests of the diocese and include a reflection on the recent apostolic exhortation on Scripture `Verbum Domini` an article by the vicar general, Monsignor Egan on the Marian Year that the diocese is having (which concludes in November when the bishop will rededicate the diocese to Our Lady, Help of Christians), an article on vocations and one on marriage. It also includes the bishop`s Lenten Pastoral Letter.

Shrewsbury is leading the way and I`m sure bishop Davies will be glad of prayers!

News from FSSP England

2011-05-27T08:32:00.000+01:00

Our most important event:

FIRST SOLEMN HIGH MASS IN ENGLAND

of newly ordained English priest Fr Matthew McCarthy, FSSP:

Saturday 28 May 2011 in London, 3pm!

(read 1-page Pdf here).

Please come, please support, please attend this most significant event: allegedly the first English priest ordained since the Instruction Universae Ecclesiae and the only one ordained according to the EF of the Roman rite this year!

ALL FAITHFUL and CLERGY WELCOME! Meet us directly in London

[or else travel in our coach from Reading for: suggested =£7.90 per person return: Reading-London Spanish Place-Reading. If you cannot pay, please give what you can – at least one Hail Mary. The coach is booked and sponsored by FSSP England: any empty seat (out of 57) will simply be money wasted. Of course you can park your vehicle on St William of York Church’s car park during that day and take it back as we arrive back from London. Please book now with Lauren Mills:laurenkmmills@yahoo.co.uk or (0)783 4972 173.]

ALL faithful and clergy cordially invited.

On the occasion of the First Solemn High Mass of our newly ordained English priest Fr Matthew McCarthy, FSSP.

It is very important to show support, especially as there are so few priests ordained in England, let alone in the EF form. About 10 FSSP clergy will attend.

Optional Schedule:

9am: Departure from St William of York, Reading, in hired coach

10.15am: Arrival at St James’ Church (‘Spanish Place’, 22 George Street, London W1U 3QY)

10.30am: optional art tour at the Wallace Collection by Fr de Malleray (conveniently located across the street from St James’ Church) – or free time

12noon: prayer at the Tyburn Tree near Marble Arch (12mn walk from St James’ Church) and visit of the Martyrs’ Crypt in nearby Tyburn Convent

12.30pm: community picnic lunch in Hyde Park (please bring packed lunch) and free time

2.30pm: Confessions at St James Church

3pm: Beginning of newly ordained English FSSP priest Rev Fr Matthew McCarthy’s First Solemn High Mass – ‘Mass for three voices’ by William Byrd

4.30pm: First Blessings and Refreshments offered in Basement

Please come, please support, please attend this most significant event!

Rev. Fr Armand de Malleray, FSSP

St John Fisher House, 17 Eastern Avenue,

Reading, RG1 5RU, England

Tel: 0118 966 5284; Email: malleray@fssp.org

Web: www.fssp.co.uk/england; International:http://fssp.org/; Youths: www.juventutem.org

St John Fisher House is the residence of the Priestly Fraternity of St Peter in England, a Catholic international priestly society canonically established in the diocese of Portsmouth, and a registered charity: number 1129964.

Support: all donations kindly to be sent to our address above - cheques to be made payable to FSSP ENGLAND. Gift-aid receipt on request.

More on Santa Croce

2011-05-26T13:09:00.003+01:00

The Guardian had this to add:

It sounds like something out of Father Ted: a renowned monastery in Rome where monks staged concerts featuring a lap-dancer-turned-nun and opened a hotel with a 24-hour limousine service has been shut down by the pope.

As part of Benedict XVI's crackdown on "loose living" within the Catholic church, 20 or so Cistercian monks are now being evicted from the monastery at the basilica of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, which hosts some of the church's holiest relics.

"An inquiry found evidence of liturgical and financial irregularities as well as lifestyles that were probably not in keeping with that of a monk," said Father Ciro Benedettini, a Vatican spokesman. "The church remains open but the monks are awaiting transfer."

Reports saying the monks amassed large debts have also emerged, but Benedettini declined to give further details of the Vatican report, which was signed off in March.

The monks' days have been numbered since 2009, when the Vatican sacked their flamboyant abbot, Father Simone Fioraso, a former fashion designer who built up a cult following among Rome's fashionable aristocratic crowd as well as show business worshippers such as Madonna, who prayed at the church in 2008.

In 2009 Anna Nobili, a nightclub dancer who became a nun, was invited to perform her "holy dance" before an audience including archbishop Gianfranco Ravasi, head of the Vatican's cultural department. For her performance Nobili, who says she uses dance as a form of prayer, lies spread-eagled in front of the altar clutching a crucifix or twists and turns as in pole-dancing routines.

I hope this is the start of a crackdown on the tedium of `liturgical dance`

Santa Croce in Gerusalemme

2011-05-25T08:32:00.006+01:00

A few days ago Rorate Caeli mentioned the suppression of the Cistercian monastery of Santa Croce in Rome and provided links to sites which spoke of ` liturgical abuses (documented by photos of nuns dancing around the altar), intrigue, rumours of questionable behavior and lack of moral discipline in the monastic community`.

Now AFP has taken up the story and has a report with a little more detail.

ROME — Pope Benedict XVI has shut down a famous community in Rome that organised dances by a former nightclub dancer nun and hosted VIPs like Madonna, earning the disfavour of the Vatican.

The closure of the monastery of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, which holds some of the Church's most prized relics, was reported by Italian dailies La Stampa and Il Foglio.

The reports said the community of Cistercian monks based at the church for more than five centuries was being transferred to other churches in Italy.

Contacted by AFP, the Vatican did not deny the reports.

The basilica had become a hub for the "Friends of Santa Croce", an aristocratic group, and had been criticised for some unorthodox practices including dances in which nuns pranced around the altar.

One of the nuns who performed at the church, a former disco dancer, can be seen in a YouTube video performing a modern dance with a crucifix.

The basilica's longtime abbot, Simone Fioraso, a flamboyant former Milan fashion designer, was already moved out of the basilica two years ago.

The ban was adopted in March by the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life following an inquiry but has not yet been made public, the reports said.

Pope Benedict, the leader of the world's 1.1 billion Catholics, is also the bishop of Rome, so the basilica is part of his diocese.

Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, built around a chapel dating to the fourth century, is one of Rome's oldest and most prestigious churches.

Can`t find the video of a nun dancing rouond the altar but the church does seem to have featured in a lot of televised concerts of religious music. Here`s one:

It will be very interesting to see who takes over the monastery.

Fr McCarthy`s first Mass

2011-05-23T09:11:00.004+01:00

Photos courtesy of Leo Darroch of the first Mass of Fr McCarthy of the FSSP. Leo writes:

Fr McCarthy's first Mass.......was celebrated at the Carmel, Valparaiso, about half an hour drive from Denton. This beautiful Carmel was founded only a few years ago and is full. They have had to open another Carmel because of increasing numbers. The nuns are served by the priests of the FSSP and both sides are very happy with the arrangement. The altar was salvaged from a hospital chapel that was to be demolished

Finally a number plate seen in the car park at the Carmel!

549 photos

2011-05-22T18:09:00.004+01:00

L`Osservatore Romano, the official Vatican newspaper has 549 photos of last Sunday`s Pontifical Mass in the Extraordinary Form at the altar of the chair in St Peter`s on its website! You can find them here. Thanks to MiL for the link.

Continuing the seminary theme...

2011-05-21T20:24:00.007+01:00

Tonight I was sent some photos by Una Voce chairman Leo Darroch. He is at the FSSP ordinations at Denton, Nebraska. One of the two ordained is the Rev Matthew McCarthy who comes from Wigan. Congratulations to Fr McCarthy and to his fellow new priest Fr Pelster from Oregon. Ad multos annos!

It all looks rather different from the sad state of things at dear old Ushaw. It was a shame that Universae Ecclesiae was not more prescriptive on teaching the Extraordinary Form in all seminaries and that archbishop Nichols was rather dismissive of the idea that it should happen but then the same paragraph does say that bishops are strongly requested (enixe rogantur) to offer all clerics the chance to learn the Extraordinary Form ( n.21) so I look forward to hearing how this provision will be met!

Ushaw Junior House Pictures

2011-05-21T19:52:00.007+01:00

UPDATE 22.5.11

John has asked me to remove the pictures as the seminary are worried about people seeing them and encouraging them to break in and commit further vandalism. I`ve left the last one, which seems safe enough, of the seminarians. I notice also that the pictures have gone from the urbexforums website too.

I was away last week at the Canon Law Society conference in Harrogate: more on that later. While I was away I received an email from John Bagnall of Ushaw. The remaining Ushaw seminarians have been taken on a tour of the boarded up Junior House. John took a few photos and sent me them to share as a change from links to photos taken by groups who are interested in derelict buildings. So here we are. Just one comment: the statue of Our Lady looks a bit cleaner than in recent photos. I hope someone can find it a good home.

I assume the last picture is of the surviving seminarians. The only person I recognise is one of our permanent deacons who teaches there. Another is, I think, a woman. It is somewhat sad that with only about a month to go nothing has been heard about the future of this irreplaceable part of our Catholic heritage.

Cardinal Koch and the new liturgical reform

2011-05-16T16:17:00.002+01:00

This account from CNS of Cardinal Koch`s talk at the weekend at the Summorum Pontificum conference appeared today and makes interesting reading:

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI's easing of restrictions on use of the 1962 Roman Missal, known as the Tridentine rite, is just the first step in a "reform of the reform" in liturgy, the Vatican's top ecumenist said.

The pope's long-term aim is not simply to allow the old and new rites to coexist, but to move toward a "common rite" that is shaped by the mutual enrichment of the two Mass forms, Cardinal Kurt Koch, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, said May 14.

In effect, the pope is launching a new liturgical reform movement, the cardinal said. Those who resist it, including "rigid" progressives, mistakenly view the Second Vatican Council as a rupture with the church's liturgical tradition, he said.

Cardinal Koch made the remarks at a Rome conference on "Summorum Pontificum," Pope Benedict's 2007 apostolic letter that offered wider latitude for use of the Tridentine rite. The cardinal's text was published the same day by L'Osservatore Romano, the Vatican newspaper.

Cardinal Koch said Pope Benedict thinks the post-Vatican II liturgical changes have brought "many positive fruits" but also problems, including a focus on purely practical matters and a neglect of the paschal mystery in the Eucharistic celebration. The cardinal said it was legitimate to ask whether liturgical innovators had intentionally gone beyond the council's stated intentions.

He said this explains why Pope Benedict has introduced a new reform movement, beginning with "Summorum Pontificum." The aim, he said, is to revisit Vatican II's teachings in liturgy and strengthen certain elements, including the Christological and sacrificial dimensions of the Mass.

Cardinal Koch said "Summorum Pontificum" is "only the beginning of this new liturgical movement."

"In fact, Pope Benedict knows well that, in the long term, we cannot stop at a coexistence between the ordinary form and the extraordinary form of the Roman rite, but that in the future the church naturally will once again need a common rite," he said.

"However, because a new liturgical reform cannot be decided theoretically, but requires a process of growth and purification, the pope for the moment is underlining above all that the two forms of the Roman rite can and should enrich each other," he said.

Cardinal Koch said those who oppose this new reform movement and see it as a step back from Vatican II lack a proper understanding of the post-Vatican II liturgical changes. As the pope has emphasized, Vatican II was not a break or rupture with tradition but part of an organic process of growth, he said.

Vocations Sunday

2011-05-16T12:10:00.004+01:00

I hear that the Priestly Fraternity of St Peter are building thirty new rooms for their seminary at Wigratzbad in Bavaria. Meanwhile we await the news as to what will become of the buildings at Ushaw which is due to close its doors next month.

In this month`s Northern Cross there is a letter from Fr Gary Dickson on the question of priestly identity. I reproduce it here with Father`s permission:

I rely heavily upon laity undertaking Catechesis, Baptism Preparation, Accounts, Health & Safety, Pastoral Planning via the Pastoral Council etc., and hoped to see Deaneries co-operating by each parish taking responsibility for one such task (presuming the laity engaged were formed in the Catechism rather than theological opinion of dubious merit). Sadly, by forming clergy as coordinators of such lay engagement, we failed to promote a right understanding of presbyters as sacrificing priests who teach, sanctify and govern in the person of Christ and fellow workers with the Order of Bishops as taught by Vatican II’s Presbyterorum Ordinis, and a right understanding of the laity with their authentic, irreplaceable vocation of mission in the world as taught by Vatican II’s Apostolicam Actuositatem. We therefore all but eliminated the splendour of the priesthood as well as the striking apostolic witness of the Legion of Mary in their door-to-door evangelisation and the inspiring active charity of SVP. These failed to attract because they were not ‘power-sharing’. Now, and unsurprisingly, seminaries are closing –after all, why spend one’s life as a celibate facilitator (priest) when one can be married and a community (lay) ‘leader’?

Of particular concern is the idea that we must retain parishes without a resident priest as ‘Eucharistic communities’ by promoting lay-led Services of the Word with Distribution of Holy Communion. This implies the community is more important than the Eucharistic Action, yet the community springs from that Action as the source and summit of all that we are, so it is essential to be part of that Action rather than simply hear the word and receive Holy Communion –which does not, in fact, fulfil our Sunday Obligation. Perhaps we need to amalgamate parishes to help re-dignify the lay and priestly vocations –and restore the Mass to central importance.

Fr G Dickson

It does bother me that we are told as priests that we should be delegating all we can to lay people. It seems to deny the priest a pastoral role except as a sacrament machine. And what does the priest do when he has delegated all responsibility for the pastoral and financial life of the parish to committees? Parish councils occasionally pop up who have the idea that they have an executive role whereas it is very clear in the church`s law a parish council exists to advise the priest.

LMS news

2011-05-16T11:59:00.005+01:00

Three items from the LMS

LATIN MASS SOCIETY WELCOMES THE ‘INSTRUCTION’ FROM THE PONTIFICAL COMMISSION ‘ECCLESIA DEI’ ON THE APPLICATION OF THE MOTU PROPRIO ‘SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM’

The Latin Mass Society has welcomed unequivocally the publication by the Pontifical Commission ‘Ecclesia Dei’ of its Instruction on the application of the Holy Father’s Motu Proprio, ‘Summorum Pontificum’.

The Instruction is a resounding justification for the work of the LMS and other adherents of the Extraordinary Form in insisting on their right to the Traditional Liturgy and Sacraments of the Church. There are many bishops and priests who should feel chastened for the way they have treated those attached to the Extraordinary Form over the years – as the then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger once wrote, they were treated as “lepers”.

However, ‘Summorum Pontificum’ establishes a new and authoritative basis for the reintroduction of the Extraordinary Form into the heart of the Church and the LMS is determined to look forward rather than back.

Just as with ‘Summorum Pontificum’ there is a great deal in the new Instruction which will be teased out with time. And here the LMS notes that the authoritative Latin text of the Instruction is, in crucial areas, more strongly worded than the unofficial English translation.

The LMS draws attention to these selected points:

*The Instruction stresses that ‘Summorum Pontificum’ is the universal law of the Church and cannot be ignored (Art. 2).

*The Instruction confirms that the Extraordinary Form is not a poor relation of the Ordinary Form but is an “expression of the same lex orandi of the Church” “alongside” the ordinary form (Art. 6).

*’Summorum Pontificum’ is “an important expression of the Magisterium of the Roman Pontiff and of his munus for regulating...the Church’s Sacred Liturgy” and offers “to all the faithful” [LMS emphasis] the use of the Extraordinary Form, “effectively guaranteeing...the use of the forma extraordinaria for all who ask for it” (Art. 8), i.e. this is not just for the elderly or those previously attached to the Society of St Pius X.

*The Pontifical Commission ‘Ecclesia Dei’ now exercises the power “as hierarchical superior” to decide upon complaints referred to it regarding any “administrative provision of an Ordinary which appears to be contrary to the Motu Proprio” subject to final appeal to the Apostolic Signatura (Art. 10. 1).

*“It is the task of the Diocesan Bishop to undertake all necessary measures to ensure respect for the forma extraordinaria of the Roman Rite, according to the Motu Proprio, ‘Summorum Pontificum’” (Art. 14).

*A stable group of the faithful who request use of the Extraordinary Form is simply constituted by “some people” who come together and can “be composed of persons coming from different parishes or dioceses” (Art. 15).

*Priests are to be considered “qualified” to offer the Traditional Mass if they have a “basic knowledge” of Latin “and have celebrated it previously”. Among others this would refer to priests who have taught themselves the Old Rite and celebrated it privately or, for example, have learned it at an LMS training course (Art. 20).

*Ordinaries are to offer their clergy training in the Extraordinary Form and are also urged to provide training in the seminaries (Art. 21).

*Dioceses without qualified priests should ask the Traditional Orders such as the Fraternity of St Peter to provide priests or training for diocesan priests (Art. 22).

*The particular law and customs of the 1962 books are protected from subsequent law and therefore such practices as Communion in the hand, Communion under both kinds and female altar servers are not permissible in the Extraordinary Form [LMS emphasis] (Art. 28).

*The Sacred Triduum can be celebrated in the Extraordinary Form and where necessary these celebrations can take place in churches where the Sacred Triduum in the ordinary form is also celebrated (Art. 33).

*Individuals of the religious Orders may use the Order’s liturgical books in effect in 1962 (Art. 34).

Doctor Joseph Shaw, Chairman of the LMS, said “This is a wonderful day for the Church. With this Instruction, the Pontifical Commission ‘Ecclesia Dei’ has confirmed what we all knew – that ‘Summorum Pontificum’ is a gift to the whole Church designed to end the ‘liturgy wars’ and establish the full membership of the Extraordinary Form in the family of rites. The LMS will be urging its diocesan representatives to liaise with the diocesan bishops to maximise the reintroduction of the Old Rite in their dioceses. We will also keep records of any problems so that recourse may be made to the disciplinary function of Ecclesia Dei if necessary. There is a tremendous task to be carried out to improve the standard of liturgy in England and Wales and the LMS pledges its full cooperation in this cause so close to Pope Benedict’s heart”.

. . . . ENDS . . . .

For further information, please contact John Medlin, Publicist, or Michael Lord, General Manager, on (T) 020 7404 7284; (F) 020 7831 5585; (E mail) info@lms.org.uk

THE LMS’s Seventh Training Conference for Priests and Servers Successfully Concluded

Over thirty clerics and laymen attended the Latin Mass Society’s seventh residential training conference for the training of priests in the Traditional or Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite. This conference took place from Tuesday 3 May to Friday 6 May at Buckfast Abbey in Devon, courtesy of Abbot David Charlesworth and the Benedictine community.

The programme, as in recent conferences, also provided for the training of altar servers. Fifteen servers were trained. This included a number of young men, three of whom are discerning vocations to the priesthood.

The twelve priests came from across the UK: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland were all represented. Two of the priests were Polish and one was an Army chaplain who has recently seen active service in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Training was given at various levels under the leadership of Fr Andrew Southwell, National Chaplain to the LMS. There was basic instruction (including Latin pronunciation where required), through to intermediate training culminating in instruction in the celebration of High Mass.

The servers followed a similar progression, learning to assist at celebrations up to High Mass.

Each day sung Mass was celebrated in the abbey church and the quality of the polyphonic singing and Latin plain chant was outstanding. The choir and schola were led by Michael Vian Clark. Abbot David Charlesworth presided in choir at the closing Votive Mass of the Holy Cross on the Friday and led the veneration of the Relic of the True Cross.

As usual at LMS conferences, the food and accommodation were appreciated for their high quality throughout.

The LMS would like to express its profound gratitude for the welcome and ready assistance given by the monks at Buckfast Abbey.

Pictures of the Buckfast conference are available from the LMS website here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/55776120@N08/sets/72157626681449594/

The next training programme, the eighth, will be a one-day event on Tuesday 23 August at Holy Cross Priory, Leicester. This will be for priests and servers wishing to study the rubrics of the Mass in its Solemn Form and who are already familiar with Low Mass. The day will start at 9.30 am and finishing around 5.00 pm. The fee for attending will be £5.00. For further details or to register, contact the LMS office on 020 7404 7284 or email info@lms.org.uk

. . . . ENDS . . . .

For further information, please contact John Medlin, Publicist, or Michael Lord, General Manager, on (T) 020 7404 7284; (F) 020 7831 5585; (E mail) info@lms.org.uk

VACANCY

Editor of Mass of Ages magazine

The Latin Mass Society is seeking a new editor for Mass of Ages, its quarterly magazine.

This is a time of important change at the LMS in which the magazine will play a major role. The magazine will be relaunched in the autumn in full colour throughout, with a new look and new production methods.

The vacancy is part-time and might suit a freelance journalist. A deep and sympathetic knowledge of the Traditional Catholic world is essential. It is hoped the post will commence in August.

For more information, including a job description and salary details, contact Michael Lord, General Manager of the LMS, on: michael@lms.org.uk

or telephone him on 020 7404 7284.

Today in Rome

2011-05-15T17:48:00.006+01:00

I found this most moving. Thanks to John Sonnen for providing it. It made me wonder why I wasn`t there. I recognised a few in the procession. There is Fr Stephen Dunn who I met at the LMS Ushaw training weeks. He has been in the news recently and is certainly an impressive and courageous priest. I see Julian Chadwick (not Matthew Festing!) ex-LMS chairman and member of the Order of Malta too. Also I recognise Fr Mark Withoos of the Ecclesia Dei Commission who lived for a number of years in this diocese while studying at Durham university.

I would have loved to have been at this very significant event. You may recall that the last time there was a Pontifical EF Mass in the Blessed Sacrament chapel in St Peter`s which those who have seen it will know is almost completely invisible from the nave. Thus it is progress to be at the altar of the chair. How sad that the original altar was destroyed a number of years back in the interest of liturgical renewal but I suppose it means that St Peter`s basilica is in the same boat many of us find ourselves, using a free-standing altar designed for Mass facing the people!

However last year I went to Rome three times, all work-related events and so I decided to stay away from Rome for a while and see somewhere else. If there is a Mass in St Peter`s again then I hope to be there. Let`s hope by then it may be considered appropriate for Mass to be celebrated coram Summo Pontifice.

Universae Ecclesiae

2011-05-13T21:45:00.006+01:00

I am very pleased with the instruction issued today on the implementation of Summorum Pontificum. The fears that it may have sought to restrict the use of the traditional Mass were unfounded. Nothing about the Ambrosian or Mozarabic rites but green light for religious to use their traditional missals. It is rather disappointing but you can read the reaction of the English bishops as voiced by archbishop Nichols here. Good to hear that they have noticed the absurdity of Ascension Sunday and the destruction of the twelve days of Christmas and we may see sanity restored. Friday abstinence will be restored from September 16th too.

Next week Cardinal Raymond Burke of the Apostolic Signatura comes to England, to Harrogate in particular, for the Canon Law Society annual conference. It will be interesting to hear his opinion on the new document if the opportunity arises.

If you don`t watch Gloria TV news every day..

2011-05-11T21:10:00.000+01:00

..you really should. At the risk of probably exceeding my all time record by producing five posts in a day here is today`s edition:

Gloria TV is here.

Friday 13th

2011-05-11T14:24:00.001+01:00

Unlucky for some??

Still trying to understand what a `no hitter` is.

Removing a bishop

2011-05-11T10:37:00.003+01:00

The Catholic News Agency has an interesting article on the removal of bishop Morris of Toowoomba, Australia, (announced on May 2nd). Rather than an out of the blue decision the new information reveals how the Vatican was engaged in a long process to try to get bishop Morris to correct abuses in theology and liturgy before finally resorting to removing him as bishop. Here is the process as outlined on the CNA site:

Feb. 1993: On Feb. 10, Bishop Morris is installed at Toowoomba’s St. Patrick's Cathedral. He immediately introduced dramatic changes in the liturgy and government of the Church. According to the consultors’ document, he also “broke with tradition and wore a tie, embroidered with his coat of arms, rather than the Roman Collar.” The consultors added: “The Bishop offered each priest a black tie with the Diocesan Arms and indicated that the wearing of the tie was to be considered clerical dress, along with the collar and the white shirt with crosses, the choice being left to the individual cleric.”

1993-2005: A group of concerned Catholics, described in the report as “a small but vocal minority,” launched “a growing campaign of letters of complaint” to Vatican offices in Rome. The complaints centered on Bishop Morris’ promotion of “general absolution” as an alternative to personal confession of sins. His promotion of this practice continued, despite several calls from the Vatican to stop it. According to the consultors: “The issue of the use of general absolution led to a dispute between the bishop and Cardinal (Francis) Arinze, prefect of the (Vatican’s) Congregation for the Sacraments and Divine Worship. Some of this dispute took on a personal aspect.”

Nov. 2006: Bishop Morris releases his now infamous Advent pastoral letter. In it, he proposes the need to explore the ordination of married men, women and the recognition of the ordained ministries of other Christian churches. His letter was widely perceived in Church circles as a flagrant rejection of Pope John Paul II’s 1994 official declaration (“Ordinatio Sacerdotalis”) that the Church cannot ordain women and his 1998 decree (“Ad Tuendam Fidem”) that discussion of ordaining women can be punished under canon law.

Dec. 2006: Bishop Morris receives a fax requesting that he come to Rome by Feb. 2007 for meetings with Cardinals Giovanni Battista Re, then head of the Vatican’s Congregation of Bishops, William Levada, head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and Cardinal Arinze. Bishop Morris rejected the meeting, citing “pastoral reasons” that he declined to specify. He said he had plans to come to Rome in May 2007 and expressed his willingness to meet with the cardinals at that time.

Jan. 2007: Cardinal Arinze sends a letter insisting that the matter is urgent and that Bishop Morris should present himself in Rome in February. Bishop Morris again dismissed the request, insisting he would be available in May but not before.

March 2007: Bishop Morris receives notification that the Congregation of Bishops had begun an investigation, known as an “apostolic visitation.” The apostolic visitator is said to be American Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, OFM Cap, of Denver.

April 2007: Archbishop Chaput arrives in Toowoomba for the apostolic visitation on April 23. The consultors’ report states: “The Visitor arrived in Toowoomba, met informally with Bishop Morris, then met with the Council of Priests. He then began a series of meetings with various diocesan bodies, officials, priests, directors of agencies and people of the diocese. ... There was a cross-section of people and clergy of the diocese representing all levels of support and opposition to the Bishop. On Wed. and Thurs. (April 25-26) he traveled around the diocese and conducted interviews. The interviews resumed in Toowoomba on Fri. and Sat. morning (April 27-28). After a final interview with the Bishop on Saturday midday, the Visitor departed and prepared his report.”

May 2007: Diocesan leaders meet to discuss the Visitation and how they should respond. According to the report, “the clergy and pastoral leaders of the diocese” decided to send a letter to the Vatican in support of Bishop Morris. Three priests refused to sign the letter. Meanwhile Bishop Morris in Rome as he had previously announced. The report states: “No meeting with the cardinals took place.”

Sept. 2007: The Vatican’s Congregation of Bishops sends Bishop Morris a memo dated June 28 requesting him to resign. The bishop responds by indicating he will reply after his October holiday.

Oct. 2007: The bishops’ congregation sends another letter, this time informing Bishop Morris that the request for his resignation is being made in the name of Pope Benedict XVI.

Nov. 2007: Bishop Morris sends a letter to Cardinal Re, head of the bishops’ congregation, offering “collaboration and dialogue.” He requested a meeting in Rome in Jan. 2008. Cardinal Re responds by setting Jan. 19, 2008 as the date for the meeting.

Dec. 2007: Bishop Morris convenes an advisory group to collect suggestions on how to deal with the Vatican. According to the consultors’ report: “The advisory group consulted international canonists.”

Jan. 2008: On Jan. 19, as scheduled Bishop Morris meets in Rome with the three cardinals, representing the Vatican’s offices for bishops, doctrine, and worship. They stress that the Pope himself has requested that Bishop Morris resign. On Jan. 24, Bishop Morris writes to the cardinals, telling them that he feels he is unable to resign.

Feb. 2008: Cardinal Re replies to Bishop Morris’ Jan. 24 letter. He again calls on Bishop Morris to resign. Bishop Morris responds by convening his advisory group. They help the bishop to prepare a "Statement of Position" to respond to the Vatican’s criticisms and request for his resignation.

March 2008: Bishop Morris forwards his "Statement of Position" to the Cardinals Re, Arinze and Levada. He sends a letter to the Vatican’s Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, the Church’s highest judicial authority apart from the Pope. Bishop Morris requests that the Apostolic Signature give him the right to defend himself on the charges against him. He writes a further letter to the Pontifical Council of Legislative Texts asking for a definition of what constitutes "grave cause" for removing a bishop under Church law (Canon 401, sec. 2).

April 2008: The Apostolic Signatura replies, informing Bishop Morris that his case is not of its competence because no Church legal proceedings had taken place.

Sept. 2008: The Pontifical Council of Legislative Texts replies saying that the interpretation of "grave cause" is left to the determination of the Congregation of Bishops.

Oct. 2008: Cardinal Re sends a letter demanding that Bishop Morris resign by Nov. 2008 or face being removed.

Dec. 2008-March 2009: On Dec. 19, Bishop Morris writes to Cardinal Re stating he will not resign. On Dec. 24, he writes separately to Pope Benedict XVI requesting an audience. The bishop later receives confirmation that he will be received by the Pope on June 4, 2009.

June 2009: On June 4, Bishop Morris meets the Pope. He is accompanied by Archbishop Phillip Wilson, head of the Australian bishops’ conference. The Pope reiterates his demand that the Bishop resign. The Bishop does not respond. According to the consultors’ report: “The bishop left the meeting saying to Archbishop Wilson that he had no intention of resigning as Bishop of Toowoomba.”

July 2009: Cardinal Re sends another letter requesting that the Bishop submit his resignation.

Nov. 2009: Bishop Morris writes to the Pope saying that, as a matter of conscience, he will not resign.

Dec. 2009: In a letter dated Dec. 22, Pope Benedict replies to Bishop Morris. He reminds the bishop that there is no appealing of papal decisions. The consultors’ report: “The Pope repeated the serious concerns he had with Bishop Morris’ position on the ordination of women and recognition of the orders (clergy) of Anglicans and other churches.”

Jan. 2010: Archbishop Wilson brings to Rome a proposal from Morris to retire when he turns 70, in October 2013.

Feb. 2010: Cardinal Re writes Bishop Morris saying the Pope has accepted to wait until May 2011 for his resignation.

Dec. 2010: Bishop Morris writes to the Pope. He requests to remain in office beyond the agreed upon May 2011 date in order to deal with a case of alleged sexual abuse by a former teacher at a Catholic school in Toowoomba.

Feb. 2011: Archbishop Guiseppe Lazzarotto, the Apostolic Nuncio or papal representative to Australia, writes Bishop Morris requesting his immediate resignation. The nuncio informs Bishop Morris that the Vatican will announce his resignation May 2.

March 2011: Bishop Morris writes to the Apostolic Nuncio. He insists that he will not resign, but that he will accept the Vatican announcing on May 2 his "early retirement."

April 2011: Bishop Morris convenes his college of consultors. The group unanimously supports his decision to issue a pastoral letter so that “the diocese would first hear the news from the bishop and not from the media,” according to the report. Claiming his innocence and decrying the Vatican for denying him "natural justice." On April 27 Bishop Morris sends his announcement to the priests of the diocese. He includes a pastoral letter to be read at all Masses on the weekend of April 30-May 1.

May 2011: The Vatican announces the removal of Bishop Morris from his office. According to a statement issued May 2 through the Vatican Information Service: “The Holy Father removed Bishop William M. Morris from the pastoral care of the diocese of Toowoomba, Australia.”

On May 5, priests and pastoral leaders are summoned to an invitation-only meeting at St. Patrick's Cathedral to decide how to express further support to Bishop Morris. It is decided that parishes will count attendees at all Masses to register any possible decline. Also, books will be placed for people to write messages of support to Bishop Morris.

In addition, "professional care and support" is offered "for priests and people who may be deeply troubled by these developments and may be deeply grieving Bishop Morris' removal."

Pictures of Catholic Poland

2011-05-11T09:48:00.003+01:00

Today I came across the Te igitur blog which does for Poland and Krakow what John Sonnen does for Rome. I particularly enjoyed the post on altar transformation.

From this
To this!

Paul Inwood`s list

2011-05-11T08:56:00.004+01:00

On June 4th our diocese is having a day to look at music for the texts of the new translation. I was glad when I heard this. There are some very encouraging new settings available on the internet. Our day is going to be led by Paul Inwood, music director for Portsmouth diocese and well-known for his music already used in the OF Mass in this country.

On the Pray Tell blog, Paul has recently been outlining some of the abuses which currently occur in this country which may become accepted practices. Here is his list:

(1) Ministers of Communion receiving at the end of the distribution, not at the beginning of it.
(2) More controversially, and perhaps further down the line, the presiding priest receiving last of all.
(3) Rites of Gathering in which, following the implications of paragraph 44 of Music in Catholic Worship (1972), only an opening song and an opening prayer are used, all else being omitted.
(4) Simplification/elimination of the prayers following the presentation of the gifts.
(5) Receiving Communion on Good Friday being made optional or discontinued altogether (and cf. Kenneth Stevenson, Jerusalem Revisited, p. 66ff).
(6) An Easter Vigil where the fire is blessed, readings are read by firelight, and the service of light is associated with the Resurrection Gospel, the Gloria being omitted altogether (and cf. Stevenson, p. 89).
(7) The Penitential Rite at Mass moved so as to follow the Liturgy of the Word (as on Ash Wednesday, for example).

(8) The Sign of Peace moved to before the presentation of the gifts, preferably following a Penitential Rite which has also moved there.

(9) Use of semi-leavened bread (e.g. pitta bread) instead of unleavened bread.
(10) Use of totally gluten-free altar breads as well as low-gluten.
(11) Anyone who wishes having their feet washed and washing others’ feet on Holy Thursday evening.
(12) Deacons remaining standing throughout the Eucharistic Prayer.
(13) Deacons extending hands to the assembly at the greeting “The Lord be with you” instead of keeping their hands joined.
(14) Priests (!) extending hands to the assembly at the greeting “The Lord be with you” instead of keeping their hands joined.

Well, I`m happy with no 14 ( I thought that was meant to happen already) but the rest seem to me to make the Roman rite almost unrecognisable. This is in the context of a discussion of how liturgical abuses have become accepted practice and later legitimised (e.g. Communion in the hand, altar girls etc). Given the way these practices which started as abuses have become recognised I can see why it might be thought this is the way to make further changes for those who think they are desirable.

However it does strike me as rather out of keeping with the spirit of the new translation! Redemptionis Sacramentum has already reprobated many of these customs. Paul tells us that he is only talking about things that are already happening and does not say whether he himself approves of these them, which makes it seem that RS is not being applied as carefully as might be hoped.

The new Missal

2011-05-10T08:16:00.009+01:00

Thanks to the NLM for drawing attention to this CTS video about the new missal. While I`m not expecting the introduction of the new translation of the OF to bring about instant liturgical bliss I certainly warm to features of this missal. The colour illustrations are a welcome change and it is interesting to hear that they were added at the request of the bishops` conferences. Clearly the effort has been made to ensure that this missal is a thing of beauty. This in itself runs against the grain of much that we have been given over the last few decades (my 1962 altar missal is a rather disappointing affair compared to the 1959 one I have: I suppose they thought in 1962 that it might only be a temporary edition) and I hope will change the atmosphere surrounding the Mass. I got my order form yesterday from the CTS and will be sending it off today.

Forthcoming FSSP events

2011-05-05T09:41:00.001+01:00

The FSSP has a couple of events coming up which may be of interest to blog readers:

5^th Vocation discernment weekend, at St John Fisher House in Reading on 22-23-24 July 2011:

For Catholic men between 18 and 35 years of age (under 18 please contact us).

Starts on Friday 22^nd July 2011 at 6pm – ends on Sunday 24^th July 2011 mid-afternoon. Led by Fr Armand de Malleray, FSSP.

Location: St John Fisher House is the residence of the Priestly Fraternity of St Peter in England & Wales. Bishop Crispian Hollis of Portsmouth has allowed for its canonical establishment in Reading on 1^st August 2010.

Address: 17, Eastern Avenue, Reading, RG1 5RU, England.

Limited overnight accommodation: please book now.

Locate us on a map here.

Programme: Spiritual conferences, socials, Holy Mass each of the three days (Extraordinary Form of the Roman rite), silent prayer, private talk with Fr de Malleray, FSSP. Fr de Malleray will explain what a vocation is in general and to the priesthood in particular. Read here the Holy Father’s recent Letter to seminarians. Extract: “The proper celebration of the Eucharist involves knowing, understanding and loving the Church’s liturgy in its concrete form. In the liturgy we pray with the faithful of every age – the past, the present and the future are joined in one great chorus of prayer. As I can state from personal experience, it is inspiring to learn how it all developed, what a great experience of faith is reflected in the structure of the Mass, and how it has been shaped by the prayer of many generations.”

Cost: no set price for students or unemployed – any donation welcome; others: £50 suggested.

New: our special Vocations flyer and videos on www.fssp.org.uk/england/pages/vocations.

Vocation Discernment day for young ladies: at St John Fisher House in Reading on Saturday 16^th July 2011, from 10am to 4pm (includes Low Mass at 11am):

For Catholic young ladies from 12 to 30 years of age. Fr de Malleray will explain what is a religious vocation and how to follow it. Please bring packed lunch. Booking required.

Krahgate

2011-05-04T09:37:00.004+01:00

Ignis Ardens is a British forum for those interested in the work of the SSPX. I regularly look in to see what is going on. Normally the topic which by far excites the most comments is the issue of whether it is ever legitimate for women to wear trousers. I wonder whether women wearing trousers was discussed at the talks between the SSPX and the Vatican? It is clearly a topic never far from the minds of those involved with the SSPX. A recent close second has been whether it is OK for men to push prams? You could even debate over whether Jesus was a Jew!

In the last few months there was also a special thread devoted to something called Krahgate. This seemed to arouse quite a lot of comments too. I could never be bothered to read through it all to find out what it was all about. From what I can understand a man called Krah has been employed by bishop Fellay as a legal and financial advisor and a number of SSPXers weren`t happy about this. From what I can glean Mr Krah enjoys the music of the American singer Madonna who was rumoured to have recently fallen out with the Kaballah group she was involved with and has been talking to Opus Dei priests in London with a view to finding out more: Dan Brown has if nothing else raised the profile of Opus Dei! (H/T The Eponymous Flower) UPDATE 10.40pm: Tancred in the combox says this is not true

However the SSPX HQ has taken exception to the unfavourable comments about Krah and has threatened Ignis Ardens with legal action. Fr Paul Morgan the UK superior wrote:

IGNIS ARDENS

The Ignis Ardens website states that 'it is a Traditionalist Catholic forum with a pro-SSPX bias... but that 'this forum's support for SSPX is not to be taken as evidence of the SSPX's support for this forum.'

The latter part of this statement is certainly true with regard to Ignis Ardens' involvement to date in a campaign which undermines the authority of the Society's General House.

I refer to the section entitled 'Krahgate,' which, under the cover of anonymity, raises serious allegations against Menzingen's lawyer, Maximilian Krah, and, by extension, against the Superior General himself.

Whilst this file, which apparently originated elsewhere, was recently removed at the initiative of the Ignis Ardens moderator, the damage caused will be much more difficult to repair given the public nature of the internet and the propensity for calumny and detraction to spread.

In this regard Bishop Fellay does not exclude having recourse to judicial process, and this should serve a warning to those who think they can commit public slander via the internet with impunity.

Father Paul Morgan.

All by way of saying that while it is hard being on the EF side of things in the mainstream Catholic church, it`s not all plain sailing in the SSPX either....

Off to the mosque?

2011-05-03T08:30:00.005+01:00

The May Northern Cross has not yet arrived in these parts. I saw the copies of the May edition at St Robert`s, Morpeth last Thursday but when our parishioner went to St Dominic`s, Newcastle to pick up our consignment on Saturday there was nothing there. So in the meantime I had said I thought there were a few things worthy of comment so here is a comment. Without getting into the big controversy over whether the diocesan Youth Village is worth the money (and I see that correspondence is now closed although I thought Mr Rainbow`s letter in the April edition was very well argued) I just thought I`d pick up on the short letter from Gerry Loughran of Jesmond who says regarding the new translation of the Ordinary Form of the Mass:

I promise that I will approach it with all goodwill but I have to say this: if the word CONSUBSTANTIAL is there, I`m off to the mosque.

Well the bad news for Mr Loughran as I`m sure he has by now discovered is that the word consubstantial is indeed part of the new translation. However here is more bad news. If he goes to the mosque he may find he has a few more problems than trying to wrestle with consubstantial. I wonder how his Arabic is? When I was at St Andrews university in our second year we had to take one first year course and I opted for Arabic language. It was absolutely fascinating and I`d wished I`d taken it in my first year so I could have continued with it in third and fourth year. We were mainly taught by the memorable Dr Jackson, except on Fridays when the professor would come and test us on our verb tables. Sadly all I can remember of it now is the alphabet. However I also remember being told that we had to learn Arabic because if we didn`t we would have a difficult time in heaven as that was the only language spoken there. I still have my text books so if Mr Loughran is determined that he can`t cope with consubstantial I am willing to lend them to him so he can enjoy full and active participation on his Fridays at the mosque.

Back to Blogging

2011-04-30T18:17:00.003+01:00

Sorry for the absence of posts. I had quite a lot to say about the Northern Cross debates (local diocesan paper) and there was a lot going on I could have said something about but somehow I couldn`t get around to sitting at the keyboard. Still waiting for the SP instruction and any news about the future of Ushaw. I was told today that there was another Middlesborough priest present at the York Mass but in the congregation. That was a pity as his choir dress would have added something special to the occasion. Maybe next year!

Holy Week was OK. The transfer for the paschal candle wasn`t in the box for Forest Hall so the candle looked rather bare until today when it arrived. I did my best to carve the required symbols but they were not visible from any distance. I hope it is ok to put the transfer with the date etc on a week later! The vigil began at 8. Even at 8.30 it was still light. However the light was fading and by the time we had the Gloria the switching on of the lights certainly made a difference. Numbers were down for the Vigil but Sunday morning was standing-room only. A parishioner who had been elsewhere in the diocese asked me to guess what time her vigil had started. I dared to suggest 6pm but she told me it was 12 noon! I don`t suspect this was from any dislike of the Bugnini reform! I asked what happened with the Exsultet and `this is the night`. Simple: the words were changed to `this is the day`! Will the new translation make any difference to this kind of abuse? I suspect not. However recently our bishop has sent out Pastoral Guidelines` to priests about a number of sacramental matters. I never understand why they have to be called `guidelines` and can`t be called instructions or a decree but one of the points included is that a vigil Mass of any kind cannot substitute for a Sunday Mass if it is said before 4pm on a Saturday. Not far from here there has long been a Saturday noon Mass which was taken to fulfil the Sunday obligation and I hear that that has now stopped so things can be put right with a bit of effort.

This year I didn`t celebrate a EF Good Friday service. Last year the attendance was very poor. As it was the only EF Good Friday in the diocese I thought there might have beeen more interest. As it is quite a thing to finish the 3pm service and then start the EF one at 5pm (which coming from the same stable is not that different) I decided to give it a miss. No complaints so far from the EF faithful.

So that`s all that has been happening recently. For the beatification of Pope John Paul II suggest readers ( if I still have any!) may like to look at the Sensible Bond where I think Ches puts the whole matter very well.

Spartacus and the Extraordinary Form!

2011-04-09T15:29:00.005+01:00

Visitors to the MiL site may have noticed this video. Everytime I watch it it makes me smile.

The Roman official reads the messsage from Marcus Crassus to Spartacus and his companions thus:

`Your life is saved: slaves you have been and slaves you will remain, but you will be spared the terrible pains of crucifixion only if you will never more say the Mass of Saint Pius V'

Instruction on Summorum Pontificum not yet sent to bishops?

2011-04-02T12:48:00.008+01:00

MiL reports today that the long awaited instruction on the implementation of Summorum Pontificum has been sent to the worlds bishops. I`ve not said anything about the instruction so far. I signed the petition protesting against proposed restrictions but I had been told before Christmas by Someone Who Ought to Know that there was nothing to worry about. This proved not to be quite true. Rorate Caeli reported a few days ago that severe restrictions had been included during the document`s passage through the CDF but these had been removed by the Pope at the final stage.

According to MiL the earlier reported ban on ordinations in the EF outside of Ecclesia Dei institutes (unless permission is granted by Rome) unfortunately has been retained. The teaching of the EF in seminaries is recommended but there appears to be nothing on whether SP applies to other Western rites such as the Ambrosian rite. Oh well I`m sure we`ll see the full text soon.

UPDATE.04.04.11 The news today appears to be that it will not now be available until next month.
UPDATE 05.04.11 MiL today is saying that Tornelli has got it wrong but agrees it will bear the publication date of April 30th. Well it is coming soon whoever is right.

Aid to the Church in Need UK – Annual Walsingham Pilgrimage of Hope

2011-04-01T12:51:00.002+01:00

I have recieved the following which I am happy to mention.

Aid to the Church in Need UK – Annual Walsingham Pilgrimage of Hope – Saturday, 30^th April 2010

Please join us as Aid to the Church in Need remembers suffering Christians around the world with our 2011 Pilgrimage to the Roman Catholic National Shrine in Walsingham.

ACN is organising coaches from London Victoria, Bressenden Place, departing at 08:00. Should parishioners wish to join us at Walsingham, travelling independently or, perhaps, organising coaches from their locality they are very welcome to do so.

For those who would like to join us on this Pilgrimage and would like more information a brochure and booking form is downloadable from the ACN website at the following link www.acnuk.org/walsingham. You could also contact us on 020 8642 8668

EF Mass in York Minster

2011-03-28T18:39:00.019+01:00

I have been thinking today about writing up an account of the Mass at York Minster on Saturday but the LMS have beaten me to it! It was a truly wonderful and uplifting occasion. It must have been the first time the Roman Missal of 1570 (with its subsequent minor changes) has been used in York Minster and as said elsewhere, probably the first Latin Mass said at the High Altar of the Minster since the time of Mary Tudor. Fr Maughan`s sermon was memorable and I hope we will see it made available somewhere. The procession to English Martyrs` church was almost as remarkable as the Mass. It was good to see old friends again including quite a number of people from the North West who went on the 2007 LMS pilgrimage to Lourdes: they are looking forward to the arrival of thhe Institute at SS Peter and Paul`s, New Brighton.Most of all it was fabulous to see so many Catholics coming together for this event and for a form of Mass the desire for which is normally ignored in diocesan life. I`m delighted to say there was even a small party from St Mary`s Forest Hall. The only blight on the day was the collapse of the rail system on the East Coast. In fact I met one person who had spent four hours trying to get to York from Newcastle and so missed the Mass only to spend a few more hours trying to get a train back from York.

While there were ten of us priests in choir it was a pity that the only Middlesborough priest was the celebrant. In fact looking around the parish newsletters of the York parishes on the internet none of them mentioned the event.(UPDATE 01.04.11 Thanks to Yorkmum for telling us that two York parishes did in fact advertise the Mass: their newsletters are not on the internet.)

The Catholic Shinobi has an interesting report here. Here is the LMS report:

Huge Success for the Latin Mass Society at York Minster

Over 700 Catholics committed to the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite (Traditional Latin Mass) converged on York Minster on Saturday 26 March to attend the first celebration of a Catholic Mass in the Minster since the Reformation. Sung Mass in the ancient Latin Rite, complete with beautiful vestments, ceremonial and incense, was celebrated at the High Altar by Fr Stephen Maughan of the Catholic diocese of Middlesbrough. (The Mass was a Votive Mass of a Holy Woman Martyr Not a Virgin).

Afterwards, the huge congregation processed through the streets of York in public witness of the Catholic Faith to the Shrine of St Margaret Clitherow in York’s historic Shambles before completing a memorable day with Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament at the Catholic Church of the English Martyrs.

The occasion was the Latin Mass Society’s first annual York pilgrimage in honour of St Margaret Clitherow, one of the LMS’s patron saints. The day was organised by Paul Waddington, National Treasurer and local Representative for the LMS who said: “I am overwhelmed by the response of so many hundreds of faithful Catholics. The number of young families with children in buggies was particularly encouraging”.

Permission for the Mass was given by the Dean, the Very Reverend Keith Jones, and Chapter of York Minster; the Dean and the Precentor, Canon Peter Moger, sat in choir during the Mass.

The Latin Mass Society had originally hoped to celebrate the Mass in the nearby Catholic parish Church of St Wilfrid’s, but unfortunately it was not available; however, the parish’s loss was York Minster’s gain.

The massive choir of York Minster was completely packed and over 150 people had to be accommodated in the nave with extra seating brought in. The music was provided by the Rudgate Singers, a local choir who specialise in the Latin Mass and who sang William Byrd’s polyphonic Mass for Five Voices.

Saint Margaret Clitherow, (1556-1586) who lived in York was an ordinary wife and mother who refused to renounce her Catholic faith and who was martyred by being pressed to death in the reign of Elizabeth I. She was executed on Good Friday 1586 and was canonised by Pope Paul VI in 1970 as one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales.

Following the Mass, there was a procession from York Minster through the city streets to St Margaret Clitherow’s shrine in the Shambles, and then across Ouse Bridge, the place of her execution. The sight of so many Catholic pilgrims publicly processing and praying the Rosary drew the notice of Saturday afternoon shoppers, and a respectful silence fell as the procession passed.

The procession finished at the Catholic Church of the English Martyrs where a relic of St Margaret Clitherow, on loan for the occasion from York’s Bar Convent, was venerated and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament was conferred by Fr Michael Brown, the LMS’s Northern Chaplain.

The occasion was widely covered by TV, radio and local press.

Michael Lord, LMS General Manager, said: “Something special happened in York on Saturday. Hundreds of Catholics gathered in this historic centre of northern Christianity to honour one of England’s bravest women in a quite extraordinary way. Indeed, some people travelled from as far away as London, Oxford and Dublin.

“This Mass in the ancient Roman Rite demonstrates quite clearly the suppressed level of interest in the Latin Mass, particularly amongst the young. I’m afraid many English and Welsh bishops are still very grudging in helping to organise celebrations of the Latin Mass but our huge congregation today shows that hundreds of people want to stand alongside Pope Benedict in his efforts to restore beauty and dignity to Catholic worship and to restore Christianity in its ancient European heartland.

“The LMS is already making plans for an even bigger celebration in honour of St Margaret Clitherow next year”.

The LMS offers its grateful thanks to the Dean and Chapter of York Minster, the Bar Convent, the Church of the English Martyrs and all those volunteer members of the LMS who co-ordinated the day’s events, and without whom such a happy and successful occasion would not have been possible.

Photographs of the pilgrimage can be downloaded here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/latinmasssociety/galleries/72157626246685473/

. . . . ENDS . . . .

For further information, please contact John Medlin, Publicist, or Mike Lord, LMS General Manager, on (T) 020 7404 7284; (F) 020 7831 5585;

(E mail) info@lms.org.uk

Confraternity of Catholic Clergy

2011-03-25T10:35:00.007Z

In January 2010 the Confraternity of Catholic Clergy of the USA and the Australian CCC held a conference in Rome for the Year of the Priesthood. There were about six of us from the UK who went along too and we talked about setting up the CCC in the UK. Nothing much happened after that and at the end of last year some of us in the North started talking about setting it up. We had a meeting in Bradford in January but while we were planning the next step we had no idea that work was progessing in the South and I was delighted to hear that those in the South had bitten the bullet and have now got things up and running. There is a website launched today.

The website says the CCC exists for fidelity, formation and fraternity. Fidelity to Scripture, the Magisterium, the Councils and Catechism of the Catholic Church and loyalty to the initiatives of the Holy Father. A membership application form can be found here.

Press Releases from the diocese of Shrewsbury and the LMS

2011-03-15T14:09:00.006Z

Further to yesterday`s story about New Brighton I see there is a press release from the diocese of Shrewsbury (H/t to Joseph Shaw). I wonder what the brother northern Catholic bishops had to say? However it looks like it is a serious proposal. For those who commented on the last post about the amount of work that needs done on the church, repairing ailing churches has become a speciality of the Institute and I`m sure they will be prepared to put in whatever work is needed for its restoration.

Press Release from the Diocese of Shrewsbury

13th March 2011

For immediate release:

Order Considers Taking Over Landmark Wirral Church

The Rt. Rev Mark Davies, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Shrewsbury , has entered into exploratory negotiations with the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest about the possibility of the religious order establishing a community of priests at the Church of Ss Peter and Paul, New Brighton .

The intention is to reopen the main body of the church, which was closed for worship in August 2008, by conferring on the Institute the specific mission of fostering Eucharistic adoration. It is hoped that the Institute will work with local Catholics for the restoration and reopening of the building.

Priests of the Institute of Christ the King celebrate Mass in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite (sometimes known as the Tridentine rite, the Traditional Latin Mass or Old Latin Mass) according to the liturgical books promulgated in 1962 by Blessed Pope John XXIII. Bishop Davies will also be considering pastoral provision for the ordinary form of the Mass in English.
After Easter, Monsignor Gilles Wach, the French founder and superior general of the Institute, will visit the church for the first time and will hold direct talks with the bishop. If negotiations are fruitful Ss Peter and Paul will be the first Catholic church in Britain to be run by the Institute.

Since Bishop Davies was first approached by the Institute last year, he has been consulting with the Holy See, his brother northern Catholic bishops, the Patrimony Committee of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales , and English Heritage about the future of the Church of Ss Peter and Paul.

Bishop Davies said: “I welcome the interest shown by the Institute of Christ the King in establishing a new foundation in the Diocese and working for the restoration of the Church of Ss Peter and Paul, New Brighton . I look forward to exploring the practicalities of such a foundation providing Mass for the faithful attached to the Extraordinary Form and the possibility of the church becoming a centre for the adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in which all can share. ”

Canon William Hudson, a spokesman for the Institute of Christ the King, said: “We are in the process of discussing this with Bishop Davies. It is a very serious proposition and while there are a number of issues that need to be addressed - notably financial - we are sure that the faithful will be just as generous as when the church was built. Our order has considerable experience in re-opening churches in very similar circumstances to Ss Peter and Paul. I am confident that with the guidance of the bishop, a solution can be found to the benefit of the Catholic community at large.”

For further information:

Please contact Simon Caldwell, communications officer for the Diocese of Shrewsbury, on 07708 119554 or at gabrielnews@btinternet.com.
Photos of Bishop Davies are available at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/catholicism/sets/72157623368061861/

Please credit Mazur/www.catholicchurch.org.uk

There is also today a press release from the LMS

15 March 2011

PRESS RELEASE FROM THE LATIN MASS SOCIETY

For Immediate Release

Latin Mass Society's Response to the Announcement of Negotiations Between Bishop Mark Davies of Shrewsbury and the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest
Bishop Mark Davies of Shrewsbury has announced that he is negotiating with the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest, an international order of priests who solely celebrated the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, for them to take control of the landmark Church of SS Peter and Paul, New Brighton, on the Wirral. The church is commonly known as ‘the Dome of Home’ for its prominence and visibility, even from sea.

In response, the Latin Mass Society has announced that it warmly welcomes the news that Bishop Mark Davies is negotiating with the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest (ICKSP) to enable the ICKSP to assume responsibility for the much-loved Church of SS Peter and Paul on the Wirral and for it to become a centre for Eucharistic devotion. The local membership of the LMS has been campaigning for the church to be reopened and for the Traditional Latin Mass to be regularly celebrated there.

This initiative is sure to promote Church renewal in Shrewsbury diocese to the great benefit of all Catholics regardless of which Form of the Rite they are attached to. The LMS will offer every help and assistance to Bp Davies and the Institute to bring their plans to fruition and invites all those attached to the Extraordinary Form to pray for Bishop Davies’ intentions.
Doctor Joseph Shaw, LMS Chairman, said: ‘This initiative is a clear expression of the harmonious reintegration of the Extraordinary Form into the life of the Church which Pope Benedict XVI so patently desires. It is a wonderful idea to have a centre for Eucharistic devotion in Shrewsbury diocese and the ICKSP are second to none in their devotion to Our Blessed Lord in the Sacrament of the Altar’.
The LMS provides regular financial support both to the Institute of Christ the King (ICKSP) and the Fraternity of St Peter (FSSP) for their missions in England and Wales to reintroduce use of the Extraordinary Form; further financial support is given to English and Welsh seminarians at ICKSP and FSSP seminaries.”
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This link goes to the LMS’s press release on its website:
http://www.lms.org.uk/news-and-events/news-blog#press-release-icksp-bp-davies

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For further information, please contact John Medlin, Publicist, or Michael Lord, General Manager, on (T) 020 7404 7284; (F) 020 7831 5585; (E mail) info@lms.org.uk

Institute of Christ the King to New Brighton?

2011-03-14T18:34:00.003Z

Fr Z has pointed out that the BBC are reporting that the Institute of Christ the King could be given the church of SS Peter and Paul at New Brighton. This would be a fantastic breakthrough for the Church in England as it would be the first time an Ecclesia Dei institute would be given its own church in the UK. Bishop Mark Davies, the new bishop of Shrewsbury, is in talks with the Institute. Let`s hope there is some good news soon.