In addition to the magnificent crowds gathered at Aylesford yesterday, there was the Rosary Crusade of Reparation in Central London. Some of my parishioners went to this and were overwhelmed by the large crowd gathered for the procession from Wesminster Cathedral to the London Oratory where the day concluded with devotions and Benediction. Above is a picture from a small section of the over 2,000 crowd that came a couple of years ago when I was able to attend. It gives you a flavour of the international character of these events.It was possibly an unfortunate calendar clash that today also saw the Day With Mary at Westminster Cathedral. Nevertheless this was also well attended with hundreds of devout faithful taking part in Mass, processions and devotions to our Lady and to the Blessed Sacrament.
So here is the Rocket Science Examination:
UNIVERSITY OF THE FLIPPIN' OBVIOUS(Hint: it is not actually rocket science.)
Bachelor of Commonsense Honours Degree Examination
Rocket Science Level I (Faculty of drawing conclusions from empirical observation)
Sunday 11 October 2009
Answer question 1. (Three hours allowed)
1. Which of the following will be more effective in reviving Catholic faith and devotion in Britain today?
a) Arranging meetings to discuss the environment, climate change, the credit crunch, inclusion, exclusion, holism, and equality, discerning how best to downsize the Church's activity by closing parishes, and identifying the possibilities for lay ministry in priestless Churches, with people breaking into small groups to discuss their feelings about these important issues.
b) Vigorously promoting the traditional devotional life and magisterial teaching of the Church, and giving high profile support to all events that encourage and nurture faith in the Blessed Sacrament, and devotion to Our Lady and the Saints - not excluding devotion to relics of the same. (Without actually needing to break up into small groups.)
19 comments:
It was unfortunate that the two were happening at the same time because I got confused and ended up in the Cathedral for the most part of the afternoon. It was only when I went to the help desk to enquire when the procession would be leaving that I was told, 'It's left' - I was horrified! I ran to Victoria station, hopped on the district line, and ran from South K to the Oratory to find everybody was already there! Luckily, they had only just begun and was able to enjoy Pontifical Benediction.
What a day!!!
Another hint: John 3:16... "God so loved the world that he gave his only Son..." not "God so loved the world that he sent a committee"
;-P
Sir, SIr, SIR!!!!!!!! I Mean er... Fr Tim Sir!!!!
I knows the answer to this roket scienz stufff. The answer is b, B , (screams for all to hear) BBBBBBBBBBB!!!!!!!!!!!
You know how I Knowz - Koz I woz there - Aylesford on Friday to greet teh relics of St Therese - that woz great!
Rosary Crusade of Reparation yesterday through the streets of London - that woz great too!!!
And High Latin Mass at Blackfen this morning - WOW! that iz the greatest!
Now what's this about Priestless Churches - how absurd! St John Vianney (and Fr Stephen Langridge)will have none of it!!! Vocations will grow faster than the speed of light when faith in the Blessed Sacrament, and devotion to Our Lady and the Saints is encouraged and nurtured - especially in our Catholic youngsters.
PS - you forgot enneagrams, psychobabble and favourite pebbles in a) :-)
Great comment, I come form a very old recusant family from Jarrow, and I always followed the catholic tradition, however it is a real shame that most of the Catholics en England have irish background, such as yourself Mr. Finigan I am not discriminating your people, oh no, it is just that I would love to see people with truly english background return to the faith...
Great blog, congratulations.
Jenkins.
For extra marks:
If you answered (a) to the above question, calculate the number of fair-trade hobnobs required at the facilitatory initiation workshops needed to set up the meetings. How would your risk assessment take into account the potential fire hazard from gathering together large numbers of polyester-clad late-middle-aged people holding dishes of healing oils, and Hopi rebirthing candles during the liturgical dance celebration?
If you answered (b) - congratulations - you really are rocket scientist material. Now, calculate the area of the Earth's surface traversed by St Therese, while on the Discovery Space Mission, given that she traveled 5,735,643 miles around the earth for 14 days at 17,057 miles an hour.
What is holism?
I answer (1) (b).
Can I claim my degree now?!
JARay
p.s. I always hate it when being somewhere in which I/we, are broken into small groups with the group leader reporting to the whole congregation afterwards. How often I have been in just that situation and how deeply I hated it!
Errrrr....my three hours are nearly up. Must the answer to question B. automatically exclude everything mentioned in Qusetion A? If so might we not throw out the baby with...etc? Perhaps you intended to emphasise priorities, though if so the moral questions involved in Credit crunch would rank high in vigorous presentation of Church teaching, surely? "I was hungry and you gave me food..." springs to mind
Jenkins - I am with you on that. despite having the name Timothy Joseph Patrick Finigan, I also have some old English recusant blood on my mother's side :-)
BTW - well done for the recusant traditional "Mr"! (Note to readers: in those times, only religious were called "Father".)
Having spent most of the weekend writing multiple choice questions (including some REALLY on rocket science) - I wonder if (a) and (b) are indeed exclusive. Those who find guidance for the renewal of the Church exclusively in either category worry me a great deal.
George - I may subsequently regret asking this question, but what on earth is the significance of "favourite pebbles"???
Michelle - in my opinion YES they are totally exclusive! Answers a) and b) are at the farthest tips of a very long barge pole indeed!
Have you actually read answer a)?
How can you possibly find the merest hint of a suggestion let alone an answer to the renewal of the Church in any of this 'liberal management of decline babble':
"Arranging meetings to discuss the environment, climate change, the credit crunch, inclusion, exclusion, holism, and equality, discerning how best to downsize the Church's activity by closing parishes, and identifying the possibilities for lay ministry in priestless Churches, with people breaking into small groups to discuss their feelings about these important issues".
Rusticus - Fr Tim reported on 'favourite pebbles' in a post on this blog a couple of years or so ago, together with the questionable practice by some Christians trying to absorb enneagrams, Reiki, Indian head massage and all manner of 'new age' claptrap practices into some kind of fudged system of Christian 'spiritual awakening'.
These people had simply forgotten about PRAYER and how to PRAY.
George,
Yes, I think I'm certain the fundamentals expressed in these two responses (not necessarily the verbiage wrapped around them) are not mutually exclusive. "For just as a body without a spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead." James 2:26
I commit a minimum of an hour a day to prayer, including time in front of Christ in the Eucharist if I can possibly manage it, and still believe in the reality of climate change, and the need to organize ourselves to step more lightly on God's creation. And I'm not alone in this. There are some who pray, pray traditionally and still can handle small groups and the reality of priestless parishes. (My parents' parish covers an area 100 miles in diameter - once she was bedridden if a lay minister had not brought her communion once a week, she would have been nearly completely deprived of the sacrament for the last 5 years of her life. Do you really think THAT is a good idea?)
Michelle - Fr Tim's question was - "Which of the following will be more effective in reviving Catholic faith and devotion in Britain today"?
I maintain that answer b) "Vigorously promoting the traditional devotional life and magisterial teaching of the Church..." is the way forward.
Sure, the environment is important, but that has absolutely nothing to do with REVIVING Catholic Faith and devotion in Britain today!
It's wonderful that you spend time in prayer and visit Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament when you can. Our Blessed Lord is very happy when the faithful spend time with Him. It is also great that your mother could receive Holy Communion from a lay special minister - BUT wouldn't it be even greater still if there were sufficient good, holy Priests available to lead parishes and minister to the sick all over the Country?
And the signs are very clear, wherever there is solid orthodox Catholic devotion, liturgy that is God centred and Priests who promote clear unambiguous Catholic Teaching that is faithful and obedient to the Magisterium - the vocations rise and the seminaries are full.
The most recent confirmation of this was listening to Patriarch Twal the leader of the Catholic Faithful in Jerusalem and the Holy Land who gave a talk in Westminster Cathedral Hall, just a few weeks ago (details and comments elsewhere on this blog).
God Bless.
But don't you see Father? That's the wrong KIND of Catholicism. What you call "Catholicism" the Committee people like to call "fundamentalism"...all that stuff about God, and Jesus, and Mary and the saints...
it's embarrassing.
George, you are right. I did miss part of the question, I'm not in Britain, but the US. Even before the drop in vocations, the sheer size of this country left priests in rural areas spread thinly. My parents' parish has NEVER had enough priests to permit visitations (not in more than a century and a half). In the past, my mother would simply have gone without. Now, she did not need to, thanks to a strong lay ministry.
All that is beside the point, and I doubt either of us will change our positions.
"How can we live in harmony? First we need to know we are all madly in love with the same God." Saint Thomas Aquinas
I get that you love God deeply and before all else, please understand that I do as well.
Fr Finigan, please may I reprint your wonderful rocket science question in Into the Deep? (www.stoneswillshout.com) It is a classic!
Oops, I think that was sent before I completed it? I got sidetracked trying to remember my google account details to sign in, and when I 'got it' I think my comment was sent straight away...? Sorry.
I was asking if I could publish your Rocket Science Exam in my lay Catholic newsletter Into the Deep (www.stoneswillshout.com). We're on the other end of the world in south-eastern Australia, but it's just as relevant here sadly. Also sad to see the 'vigorous debate' about which answer is correct...! No doubt we'll get that here too.
Yes, by all means, Janet. (Cf. the creative commons licence in the sidebar.)
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