tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-255433782024-03-13T07:12:07.037+00:00The Hermeneutic of ContinuityTherefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.FatherTFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11451700981977182260noreply@blogger.comBlogger5774125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25543378.post-46951198716209282132023-03-24T15:30:00.001+00:002023-03-24T15:33:11.702+00:00Saint Gabriel
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjuUOAD0OR0ml46VsyNA4x0N1puT0SRrGL8i2XZW7iNusQVxh69wBsIJ_tihGyPWkdYaJMH0oxwrfWRm2hlCjPVEwR4KC-m_6wawbJFZ6JuTGz_O3s7WiIVcGKLVY48ap4SKkUKa_RUgtyK2nb82yajgUzDjbd92hMq9Bldlek9Ln-XaGuWg/s1600/Bartolom%C3%A9%20Esteban%20Murillo.%20The%20Annunciation%20c.1660.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="635" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjuUOAD0OR0ml46VsyNA4x0N1puT0SRrGL8i2XZW7iNusQVxh69wBsIJ_tihGyPWkdYaJMH0oxwrfWRm2hlCjPVEwR4KC-m_6wawbJFZ6JuTGz_O3s7WiIVcGKLVY48ap4SKkUKa_RUgtyK2nb82yajgUzDjbd92hMq9Bldlek9Ln-XaGuWg/s1600/Bartolom%C3%A9%20Esteban%20Murillo.%20The%20Annunciation%20c.1660.jpg" /></a></div><p>
The angels call for our veneration and awe as part of God’s creation. Part of the destructive modernism of the 1970s included advice to Catholic school teachers that they should not talk to children about angels. This wrought lasting damage which continues to need rectifying. We should include in our prayers a heartfelt recourse to our own Guardian Angels.
</p>
<p>
The Archangel Gabriel “God is my strength” would be terrifying were he to appear to any of us. Our Lady was “troubled” at the word of Saint Gabriel and wondered at the manner of the salutation. Immediately, according to his mission, the awesome messenger explained himself. Modern retelling of the event is often reduced to the jejune “Mary said Yes to God”. In fact, she said “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to thy word”. This conveys more accurately the flawless faith and trust of the Immaculata.
</p>
<p>
In the infinitely wise providence of the Father, we now know the structure of the event in even more detail. Our Lady’s response was the moment of the conception of the first cell of the body of the incarnate Word.
</p>
<p>
Today’s feast, and tomorrow’s celebration of the Annunciation are truly filled with awe, wonder, and joy for us. In our humble efforts to take into our tiny minds the greatness of what we celebrate, we beg for the grace to penetrate a little more towards the glory that we one day hope to know fully in the courts of the Most High.
</p>
<hr />
<p>
PICTURE CREDIT: Wikimedia. The Annunciation c.1660 by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo. Public Domain.
</p>FatherTFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11451700981977182260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25543378.post-42232790443917729042023-03-10T11:02:00.002+00:002023-03-10T11:25:15.818+00:00The Forty Martyrs of Sebaste <div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4GH5xxMYZ4hFpA682YEN6ORitA2eiv02BmTTk1fa-scR5fQTEg81z_lBmXwGV_gaUIkLvFIQz0AXTUEdKiUO2RDw8Zx_yYK9_iuMUu1QoY7yoigQWZhSGdh4xj3vcP3WrvPLb2VBA-ZjRLoCMdPGrK8ioesxr8kLOrjpA5YjUhhXhFhAtMQ/s1600/Forty_Martyrs_of_Sebaste_anagoria.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="751" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4GH5xxMYZ4hFpA682YEN6ORitA2eiv02BmTTk1fa-scR5fQTEg81z_lBmXwGV_gaUIkLvFIQz0AXTUEdKiUO2RDw8Zx_yYK9_iuMUu1QoY7yoigQWZhSGdh4xj3vcP3WrvPLb2VBA-ZjRLoCMdPGrK8ioesxr8kLOrjpA5YjUhhXhFhAtMQ/s1600/Forty_Martyrs_of_Sebaste_anagoria.jpg" /></a></div>
<div>
<p>
In 320 AD, 40 soldiers of the Roman army’s Legio XII Fulminata, garrisoned at Sebaste, in Armenia, were executed under the orders of the Emperor Licinius who ruled of the eastern part of the empire and and opposed the policy of Constantine who had freed Christianity.
</p>
<p>
The feast of these martyrs is also an appropriate occasion to pray for the civil power. We ask the intercession of the 40 martyrs for those who act to oppose the law permitting the killing of the unborn, and laws which contradict our nature which is affirmed in the book of Genesis “Male and female He created them”.
</p>
<p>
We also thank God for the gifts both of nature and grace that he gives us daily.
</p>
<hr />
<p><span style="font-size:small;">
PICTURE CREDIT: Wikimedia. Forty Martyrs of Sebaste. Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported. <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Anagoria" target="_blank">Anagoria</a>.
</span></p>
</div>FatherTFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11451700981977182260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25543378.post-9590158272258840802021-05-30T21:46:00.004+01:002021-05-31T19:34:26.731+01:00Enjoying the Feast of the Holy Trinity<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLihIEPEsqIqSlUzthMXBT2pOjIo_gXHzXNg6i-ofk9GIgMpXQpMx8qLtmpJyLF3FEoeGnDtP77sSGgNCU3iy6j07W1NQ2rLQBK8pHrYecGLtKQdP1h4C2Ueo3OfdYBk8t9WW2/s1048/Botticelli_Trinity.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1048" data-original-width="950" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLihIEPEsqIqSlUzthMXBT2pOjIo_gXHzXNg6i-ofk9GIgMpXQpMx8qLtmpJyLF3FEoeGnDtP77sSGgNCU3iy6j07W1NQ2rLQBK8pHrYecGLtKQdP1h4C2Ueo3OfdYBk8t9WW2/w580-h640/Botticelli_Trinity.jpg" width="580" /></a></div><p>The weather in London today finally broke into just above 20 degrees
centigrade, or just tipping 70 if you are using old money. It was a
beautiful day to celebrate the feast of the Most Holy Trinity.</p>
<p>
This weekend and last, I have been helping at St Bede’s, Clapham Park. In a
most pastorally sensitive swap, the late Archbishop Smith allowed Fr Basden
to move from Clapham Park to Ramsgate, and Fr Holden to move from there to
Clapham Park. Thus, continuity was secured for both parishes.
</p>
<p>
The parish choir at St Bede’s has been going from strength to strength. On
several recent visits I have heard them sing polyphonic masses with aplomb.
Today we had Victoria’s <em>Missa</em> <em>O Quam Gloriosum</em>. </p>
<p>
As is the way with many traditional Masses in parishes, the older servers
have had children who are now competently taking over. More than one young
teenager that has served me as MC has asked his parents for a vintage copy
of Fortescue for his birthday.
</p>
<p>
Yesterday I wrote about the
<a href="https://the-hermeneutic-of-continuity.blogspot.com/2021/05/blessing-of-new-painting-of-st-bede-at.html">
blessing of the new painting of St Bede
</a>
. I should have mentioned that the <a href="516 "In this is the charity of God perfected with us, that we may have confidence in the day of judgment: because as he is, we also are in this world. Fear is not in charity: but perfect charity casteth out fear, because fear hath pain. And he that feareth, is not perfected in charity. Let us therefore love God, because God first hath loved us." (1 John 4.17-19) Filial fear considers only the offence given against God and fears punishment, but ought to fear more the offence. We must not fear to approach a just God https://sites.google.com/site/aquinasstudybible/home/1-john/st-augustine-on-1-john/st-augustine-on-1-john-4">Latin Mass Society</a> both generously
supported the provision of this addition to the devotional life of the
Church, and provided the music for the High Mass, courtesy of Matthew
Schellhorn, the Society’s Director of Music.
</p>
<p>
Thanks to the liturgical structure of the Easter season, the Octave of
Pentecost finishes after the Mass on the Saturday after Pentecost, so that
on Trinity Sunday, we are no longer in Eastertide, we have a gradual and
alleluia, the preface of the Holy Trinity at the beginning of its long run
until Advent, and the Marian Anthem is the <em>Salve Regina</em>, which was
sung today to the solemn tone.
</p>
<p>
I hope that with Our Lord’s help, my preaching was up to the occasion. The
main rule for Trinity Sunday in my opinion, is to avoid attempting to say
anything new. In fact, I made that one of the recommendations of my sermon:
it is unwise for any of us to attempt to say anything novel about the Holy
Trinity. Centuries ago, in her creeds and councils, Holy Mother Church
clearly set down the language for us to use. If you want to pray a sonorous
extended version, the
<a href="https://www.preces-latinae.org/thesaurus/Symbola/Quicumque.html">
Athanasian Creed
</a>
is a stirring source for meditation.
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr />
<p>PICTURE CREDIT: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Botticelli_Trinity.jpg">Wikimedia</a>. Holy Trinity by Sandro Botticelli. 1491-1493. Public Domain.
</p>
FatherTFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11451700981977182260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25543378.post-25823093374609653952021-05-29T15:40:00.006+01:002021-09-26T09:40:06.471+01:00Blessing of the New Painting of St Bede at Clapham Park<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnfgSCU1RahHv41O4ptuIWNzS-SYUeJRNshwtymT6vxEuN-MxQCXzeRONO6cC5p9iroBHblpwMgiOmRHwluvFWzsum_27uVBkeQ0iA0k7tdmXEIi_cgoZ5NTdQbkkafcfSWoiw/s1431/210529+St+Bede+altar+%2528Large%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1431" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnfgSCU1RahHv41O4ptuIWNzS-SYUeJRNshwtymT6vxEuN-MxQCXzeRONO6cC5p9iroBHblpwMgiOmRHwluvFWzsum_27uVBkeQ0iA0k7tdmXEIi_cgoZ5NTdQbkkafcfSWoiw/w484-h640/210529+St+Bede+altar+%2528Large%2529.jpg" width="484" /></a></div><p>This morning, the parish priest at Clapham Park, Fr Marcus Holden, blessed a new picture of the parish's patron,
Saint Bede, painted by James Tildsley. It is sited over a recently
installed side altar near the rear of the Church. The altar itself was
acquired from <a href="about:invalid#zSoyz">Antique Church Furnishings</a>.</p>
<p>
The website gives the information that the altar was built and carved by a
nun in a convent near Liverpool. It is a beautiful piece of work and it is
always a joy when such works of art find a suitable and dignified home. The
inscription on the gradine is AMANS AMATUS AMOR. The sellers translate this
as “Loving is the object of love” which is a reasonable stab at “dynamic
equivalence”.
</p><p>Today the parish's relic of St Bede was exposed for veneration in its distinctive brightly-coloured reliquary.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiit9PebKrmud6tBch6_GUeSlIaHAuJHEcZzvLqOjbVfqhxkl1B4OL7f2IEW2MnXThIZMVMLev1XU7Ci_IgI6WrIYbZsL6Ho0aR2vO8AdL47Hng-argnIC7WqOvWakZPaCyyL6j/s1920/210529+St+Bede+relic+crop+%2528Large%2529.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1023" data-original-width="1920" height="340" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiit9PebKrmud6tBch6_GUeSlIaHAuJHEcZzvLqOjbVfqhxkl1B4OL7f2IEW2MnXThIZMVMLev1XU7Ci_IgI6WrIYbZsL6Ho0aR2vO8AdL47Hng-argnIC7WqOvWakZPaCyyL6j/w640-h340/210529+St+Bede+relic+crop+%2528Large%2529.png" width="640" /></a></div><p>After the blessing, there was High Mass with Fr Holden as celebrant, Fr
Littleton deacon, and myself subdeacon. That gave me the enjoyable task of
chanting the five readings and epistle, since today is the Saturday Ember
Day of the Pentecost Octave.</p>
<p>
Afterwards the weather combined with the now lighter Government COVID
restrictions, allowed the parish to put on a reception in the garden. We
are perhaps learning to value even more the chance to meet and socialise
after such occasions.
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr />
<p>PICTURE CREDIT: Fr Timothy Finigan. Own work. Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International</p>
FatherTFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11451700981977182260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25543378.post-33690108719913056372021-05-12T17:47:00.003+01:002021-05-12T18:03:49.954+01:00Rogationtide and the Prayer of Petition<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhesqY93TmTJbmL6HmTBSsmGB7guSrQh2__RawpKzwGw0RSBSqtOjkNVJzDfpRXM1rFCputVv0vN3zPsMSNim9He4rWespsjw9lV-HBYSM-4U0oKhJbAya2C1R7a3KSiLz9Hmd1/s1024/Rogation.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="931" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhesqY93TmTJbmL6HmTBSsmGB7guSrQh2__RawpKzwGw0RSBSqtOjkNVJzDfpRXM1rFCputVv0vN3zPsMSNim9He4rWespsjw9lV-HBYSM-4U0oKhJbAya2C1R7a3KSiLz9Hmd1/w582-h640/Rogation.jpg" width="582" /></a></div><p>Rogationtide is traditionally a time of prayer in preparation for the
Ascension; England was one of the earliest countries to spread the custom.
In Rome, fasting but not abstinence was observed, a concession to the
continuing joy of Easter. Challoner mentions abstinence in the 1775 edition
of his Garden of the Soul, but it had gone by the 1872 edition. Guéranger
lamented that the Rogation days were so little noticed. At the very least,
this time reminds us that it is always a good idea to pray and do some
penance before great feasts.</p>
<p>
The prayer of this Rogationtide emphasises our need to implore the
forgiveness of our sins, protection from calamities such as pestilence, and
a bountiful harvest. We therefore keep in our hearts not only the needs
that we have ourselves, but also the welfare of all those among whom we
live.
</p>
<p>
In the past, plagues and pestilence would usually be associated with
famine. As we take for granted the supply of food in our supermarkets, and
the work of those who grow, produce, transport, and sell the things that we
eat, it is a mark of charity to thank God for all those responsible, and
ask Him to bless them, as well as remembering those who are afflicted by
famine. We also have a duty to thank God directly by saying grace before
meals, by offering thanks if we have been spared from the illness that many
have suffered, and by praying for the souls of those who have died.
</p>
<p>
Supplication and thanksgiving are an essential part of our prayer, and are
prominently included in the prayers of the Holy Mass. Most important of all
is the prayer that we make for God’s grace.
</p>
<p>
Saint Alphonsus says that “on the one hand, that we can do nothing without
the assistance of grace; and on the other, that this assistance is only
given ordinarily by God to the man that prays” and so he says that prayer
is a means necessary to salvation.
</p>
<p>
The Rogations remind us of this important truth. Many speak as though our
prayers are an optional extra: to do so presumes on the mercy
of God. If we do have a regular daily commitment to prayer, we know that we
need to resist any temptation to think that we are better than others. We
should frequently say the prayer of the publican commended by Jesus
Himself: “Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner.”
</p>
<p>
Quite rightly, we give the first place in our prayers to adoration and
praise. This time of rogation helps us also to remember our prayers of
petition which are a necessary part of our trust and hope in the Father.
When we pray for the needs of the whole community to which we belong in the
world, they also remind us of our duty in charity towards others, including
those in civil government. Even if at times, we find it difficult to agree
with them, we have a duty to pray for them, that God may guide them with
wisdom, justice, and charity. The apostles and the saints through the ages
had the same problem, and by their example they show us how the follower of
Christ should always pray for those in authority.
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr />
<p>PICTURE CREDIT: Rogation Procession from St Patrick's, Soho. Posted on Twitter by Alice Grant @missalicegrant
</p>
FatherTFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11451700981977182260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25543378.post-39604404568280193922021-04-27T19:45:00.002+01:002021-04-28T00:04:55.444+01:00St Peter Canisius, bringing people to their senses using the “new media” of his day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNq1jRTCaTeDr-guvxmVClIDlLKKKSievfNBx3EcZwjdTXVjFgPUDave3cb9HeysD1fmB1KsyOdHk7BZO1Ngq-VlBxT9VXfZ-ezAQx-ow-xpMhv85a33IT6CSYJgDOKJtHnMHG/s913/P_Canisius_1546.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="913" data-original-width="581" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNq1jRTCaTeDr-guvxmVClIDlLKKKSievfNBx3EcZwjdTXVjFgPUDave3cb9HeysD1fmB1KsyOdHk7BZO1Ngq-VlBxT9VXfZ-ezAQx-ow-xpMhv85a33IT6CSYJgDOKJtHnMHG/w408-h640/P_Canisius_1546.jpg" width="408" /></a></div><p>Saint Peter Canisius was a monumental figure of the counter-reformation.
That movement which grew out of the Council of Trent and produced so many
great saints, leaves him in the shadow of such luminaries as Saint
Philip Neri, Saint Ignatius Loyola, Saint Francis Xavier, Saint Teresa and
Saint John of the Cross.</p>
<p>
Yet our saint was a prolific writer and preacher who saved the faith in
Germany from oblivion and whose influence extended across Europe, notably
in Poland, Switzerland, and the Netherlands to mention only a few examples.
For fifty years he effectively led the counter-reformation in central
Europe.
</p>
<p>
Of all his works, probably the most influential was his set of catechisms.
With pastoral genius, he produced versions for adults, teenagers, and
children, teaching the faith straightforwardly and accessibly in answer to
the subtle and manifold versions of errors against the faith that confused
and troubled ordinary people.
</p>
<p>
Nevertheless, far from being a simple pedagogue, he made his mark in the
study of the Fathers of the Church and in accurate accounts of the history
of the Church. Today we might look on him as the ultimate fact-checker; in
the face of distortions and conspiracy theories put about by heretics, he offered trustworthy information with competent scholarship. Aware of the
power of the new technology of his day, the printing press, he used it
intelligently to promote the truth of the Catholic faith.
</p>
<p>
Our Saint was introduced to the Jesuits by Saint Peter Faber, an associate
of Saint Ignatius Loyola. It was from Faber that he learnt the lesson which
served him so well in controversy, that of presenting the faith positively,
rather than becoming mired in polemical disputes.
</p>
<p>
Hence, he said,
</p>
<blockquote>“It is plainly wrong to meet non-Catholics with bitterness or to treat them
with discourtesy. For this is nothing else than the reverse of Christ’s
example because it breaks the bruised reed and quenches the smoking flax.
We ought to instruct with meekness those whom heresy has made bitter and
suspicious, and has estranged from orthodox Catholics”</blockquote>
<p>
What a lesson he gives us for today, in the age of social media! He
continues in the same vein,
</p>
<blockquote>“It is a mistaken policy to behave in a contentious fashion and to start
disputes about matters of belief with argumentative people who are disposed
by their very natures to wrangling. Indeed, the fact of their being so
constituted is a reason the more why such people should be attracted and
won to the simplicity of the faith as much by example as by argument.”</blockquote>
<p>
I expect that I am not the only one who finds his words a helpful
examination of conscience.
</p>
<p>
It would be a mistake to think of St Peter Canisius only as an
intellectual. Along with his fellow early Jesuits, he spent long hours
nursing the sick and caring for the poor. He also understood the power of
prayer and devotion in preserving the faith of those to whom he ministered.
The reverent celebration of the Mass and the sacraments, the use of
sacramentals and devotional practices, especially devotion to Our Lady, and
encouragement to generous penance were all part of his successful work
which is recalled beautifully in the Collect for his Mass in which we ask
that,
</p>
<blockquote>“by his example and teachings, the erring may be brought back to salvation,
and the faithful may persevere in the profession of the truth.”</blockquote>
<p>
The clause “may be brought back to salvation” translates “ <em>ad salutem resipiscant</em>” which is not easy to render in English.
“Resipiscere” in Latin means “return to your senses” and this captures what
we want to encourage a fellow Catholic to do, who has wandered from the
faith and denied the divinity of Christ, or spoken in favour of abortion,
questioned the real presence, denied the value of penance, supported gay
marriage, or left communion with the Church out of frustration or
impatience. By charity and good example, as well as by the careful and
determined presentation of the truths of our faith, we want to help them
come back to their senses and to salvation.
</p>
<p>
May the prayers of Saint Peter Canisius help us to bring others to love the
faith of the Holy Catholic Church and to live it with generosity and
courage. Especially we ask him to guide us in using the new media of
our own day with generosity, discernment, and charity.
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr />
<p>PICTURE CREDIT: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:P_Canisius_1546.jpg">Wikimedia</a>. Petrus Canisius by "A.E." on 1st February 1546. Public Domain.
</p>
FatherTFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11451700981977182260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25543378.post-41390723562160990742021-04-04T21:01:00.005+01:002021-04-04T21:03:43.561+01:00Our Easter Faith: Not a Pious Crème Fraiche<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2hGWpPyxYFvPFmgkUZpMYkxVdxxgmVQMR0V2sHeN7Aj8naFFjnOym4chxDWG6KayNstK3of2nG8a6QctBZ3c5OgEGExOM3OHAe2otXLEGZ-W_VyV4QcQ3vYm9YZMe-X2r_4gT/s1024/Cr%25C3%25A8me_d%2527Isigny_2.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="766" data-original-width="1024" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2hGWpPyxYFvPFmgkUZpMYkxVdxxgmVQMR0V2sHeN7Aj8naFFjnOym4chxDWG6KayNstK3of2nG8a6QctBZ3c5OgEGExOM3OHAe2otXLEGZ-W_VyV4QcQ3vYm9YZMe-X2r_4gT/w640-h478/Cr%25C3%25A8me_d%2527Isigny_2.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><p>In public life, some basically well-meaning figures have the graciousness
to wish us well at Easter and to recognise the importance of the Christian
feast day. Perhaps they might assure us that their thoughts are with us at
this time. That is kind of them and in Christian charity we should thank
them for their kindness, but Easter should be a great deal more than that
for us.</p>
<p>
We must believe that Our Lord Jesus Christ is risen from the grave, in the
flesh, and lives for eternity. We cannot treat Easter as a jolly holiday
that heralds spring, or the remembrance of a significant event from the
past. It must change us today and every day, change who we are and what we
do. The Christian faith cannot be a mild custard or blancmange of
religiosity. (I am showing my age. Nowadays, I should say that it cannot be reduced to a pious <i>crème fraiche</i>.)</p>
<p>
We bow down and adore the King of Kings, risen from the tomb, who,
</p>
<blockquote>“[…] continues for ever, and has an everlasting priesthood, whereby he is
able also to save for ever them that come to God by him; always living to
make intercession for us.” (Heb 7:24-25)</blockquote>
<p>
To our shame, the faith of our brothers and sisters in the Church is
stronger in places where Christians have witnessed by suffering
persecution, being burned out of their Churches and homes, than it is in
places where the faith is corrupted or diluted to the point where it is a
respectable side-line, or a social pastime accommodated to secular values.
</p>
<p>
Catholics who suffer for their faith attend Mass at the risk of their lives
as our own English martyrs once did. Catholics who have things easy, are
ready to miss Mass to attend a sports event, find it hard to avoid eating
between meals on our two remaining fast days, and think that spending
fifteen minutes saying the Rosary is an impossible ideal.
</p>
<p>
Our Lord did not say “If anyone would be a follower of mine, let him affirm
himself, put down his cross and have a rest.” To follow Him, we must make
sure that He makes a difference to our life every day. Most of all, we must
adore Him, thank Him, repent of our sins, and beg Him for the graces that
we need. We must take the trouble to know our faith, to be able to tell
others what we believe. And we must daily try to overcome our besetting
faults at home, at work, and on the street.
</p>
<p>
A good question we should sometimes ask ourselves is, “If it were a crime
to be a Catholic, would there be enough evidence to convict me?” Or to put
it another way, is my faith a hobby to make me feel good, or is it a matter
of life and death?
</p>
<p>
Many of you, I know, do indeed take your faith seriously, and genuinely
love Our Lord. You have been to Mass today, while many were missing for no
good reason. You pray every day, you take care to know your catechism, and
you go to confession regularly, with genuine sorrow for your sins. May God
bless and strengthen you and may the risen Lord Jesus give you the grace to
know and experience His presence.
</p>
<p>
Let us rejoice in the resurrection of our Lord and Saviour. Let us adore
and praise Him now on earth, and may He bring us to adore and praise Him
for ever in heaven.
</p>
<p><br /></p>
<hr />
<p>PICTURE CREDIT: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cr%C3%A8me_d%27Isigny_2.JPG">Wikimedia</a>. La crème fraîche d'Isigny. 2014. Author: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Patafisik">Patafisik</a>. Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
</p>FatherTFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11451700981977182260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25543378.post-20261520814394783462021-03-25T20:00:00.018+00:002021-03-25T20:00:00.357+00:00Christ the Divine Embryo, the Turning-Point of History<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_Bib6yAEm4RAdjqMN9R1iaNAMkoW94xrMfrDmIPMMz-mwcUuRLDhNjfgsXffTaAmSXQIeuWUmwDzEIj2IFUMPr4n_tPrH9JFunnO_xXrlLq2XfH8LBblD2q1CeOV43edABJ4T/s1023/Masolino_Annunciation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1023" data-original-width="797" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_Bib6yAEm4RAdjqMN9R1iaNAMkoW94xrMfrDmIPMMz-mwcUuRLDhNjfgsXffTaAmSXQIeuWUmwDzEIj2IFUMPr4n_tPrH9JFunnO_xXrlLq2XfH8LBblD2q1CeOV43edABJ4T/w498-h640/Masolino_Annunciation.jpg" width="498" /></a></div>
<p>
The angels are immeasurably more powerful and holy than any of us. We would
quake in terror were we to meet an angel face-to-face. Yet the Holy Gabriel
bows down in humility before the Blessed Virgin to acknowledge his Queen.
When we repeat his words in the Rosary, the Angelus, the Liturgy of the
Church, and on many other occasions, we should try to make that salutation
in the same spirit of humility before the one who was chosen to be the
vessel of honour who carried the living God in her womb.
</p>
<p>
The Archangel Gabriel continues by addressing her as “<em>gratia plena</em>
”, that is, full of grace as a past, existing, and enduring state. As we
know from the teaching of the Church, Our Lady was conceived immaculate, so
she was full of grace from the first moment of her life. She was also able to grow in grace throughout her life, because a person’s capacity can grow if that person is, like
Our Lady, actively holy and virtuous in complete accord with the will of
God.
</p>
<p>
Our Lady’s greatness is acknowledged by her cousin Saint Elizabeth whom she
went to visit “with haste.” It was a journey of about ninety-five miles
from Nazareth to the home of Saint Elizabeth at Ein Karem, a mile or so to
the west of Jerusalem. It would take about six days for someone young, fit,
and accustomed to walking.
</p>
<p>
Saint Elizabeth greeted the Blessed Mother with the words,
</p>
<blockquote>“Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And
whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” (Lk
1.42-43)</blockquote>
<p>
In this greeting, Saint Elizabeth acknowledged the presence of the
five-to-six-day old embryo (or blastocyst) who was Lord and God. Saint John
the Baptist, the unborn child in her womb, leapt with joy in recognition of
the divine embryo.
</p>
<p>
In the time of Our Lady and Saint Elizabeth, nobody knew about embryos: the
development of life later in the womb was not well understood either. Now
that we do have that knowledge, thanks to the application of our God-given intelligence and thanks to the hard work of scientific study, it is important that we recognise the divine
person of Christ from the first moment of His conception.</p>
<p>
The conception of the Word made flesh as a single-celled embryo in Nazareth
is the turning-point of the whole of human history. Before my diaconate
ordination, I made the customary retreat with two fellow students who have
served as priests for thirty-five years. We stayed at a convent at Loreto
and on one day we went to visit the Holy House. I have never forgotten
seeing inscribed on the <em>gradine</em> of the altar, the words “ <em>Hic verbum caro factum est</em>” – “Here the Word was made flesh.”
There was a specific place and a specific time at which God became man, and
we celebrate it today in the feast of the Annunciation.
</p>
<p>
Today’s feast marks a brief and glorious interlude in our meditation on the
Passion of Christ. The child who was conceived did indeed go on to suffer
and to die for our sins. But He was, is, and ever shall be the King of
Kings, the Lord of Lords, the crowning glory of all creation. Before Him
let us bow in adoration.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr />
<p>
PICTURE CREDIT: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Masolino_Annunciation.jpg">Wikimedia</a>. The Annunciation (1423-4). Masolino da Panicale. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Public Domain.
</p>FatherTFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11451700981977182260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25543378.post-60956738474479154042021-03-23T11:43:00.003+00:002021-03-23T22:04:07.424+00:00The Day of Reflection: The Traditional Prayer for the Living and the Dead
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDeND1a72pg2pRiOZlK9nXd-dWUX4zVfMAuCpd7mT7z7_ggClFZVMd8SsVzB2yKJ4rzcknbuhN9m5DDSJh1BG__km1rToLy69vC2ic-LOnt3YijYji-freDWz0Yao9qxCnkXKp/s1232/1232px-Jean-Fran%25C3%25A7ois_Millet_-_The_Angelus_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1232" height="532" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDeND1a72pg2pRiOZlK9nXd-dWUX4zVfMAuCpd7mT7z7_ggClFZVMd8SsVzB2yKJ4rzcknbuhN9m5DDSJh1BG__km1rToLy69vC2ic-LOnt3YijYji-freDWz0Yao9qxCnkXKp/w640-h532/1232px-Jean-Fran%25C3%25A7ois_Millet_-_The_Angelus_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p>The end-of-life charity
<a href="https://www.mariecurie.org.uk/get-involved/day-of-reflection">Marie Curie</a>,
has proposed that today be a day of reflection. It is the first
anniversary of the beginning of lockdown last year. (I remember the date,
because I moved to Lewisham the following day, when the regulations took
effect.)</p>
<p><i>
Marie Curie</i>’s summary is as follows,
</p>
<blockquote>"Join Marie Curie for this moment of reflection, as guests share their
thoughts, words and songs. Together, we’ll honour loved ones who have died
and reflect on the challenges we have overcome. During this session we’ll
pause to observe the national minute of silence at 12 noon."</blockquote>
<p>
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales <a href="https://www.cbcew.org.uk/make-national-day-of-reflection-on-pandemic-a-day-of-prayer/">has supported this
initiative</a>, emphasising that we should make it a day of prayer. They
suggest joining in with the minute of silence at midday, and taking some
time in the day to pray before the Blessed Sacrament.
</p>
<p>
Where I live, there is the joy of hearing the Angelus bell at 12noon and
6pm, so my minute of prayer will be taken up with the Angelus. I do not
have the Blessed Sacrament reserved, but this evening I will be saying Mass
at St Patrick’s, Soho Square and will be able to make a visit to the
Blessed Sacrament before and after Mass.
</p>
<p>
I am glad that <i>Marie Curie</i> speaks of deaths “whatever the cause.” One of my
relatives died of Covid, and several priests from my diocese, so their souls
will be in my prayers. However, I also know people who have died of other
causes and sometimes the lockdown has played a part because of treatment
being delayed, or because of a catastrophic failure of mental health
contributing to suicide.
</p>
<p>
Among those living, I do pray for those who have suffered bereavement from
Covid, as well as for those who are suffering because their small,
struggling business is in desperate trouble, those who do not have the
psychological resources to live on their own without the social interaction they are accustomed to, those
who are in care homes and have been deprived of visit from their family and
loved ones. Both Covid itself and the lockdown have caused misery.</p>
<p>
Really, we need a prayer for all the living and the dead. And don’t you
know, the Church has one in her collection of traditional prayers. In older
books setting out the order for the liturgy each day, it is often referred
to simply as “<em>Omnipotens</em>”.
</p>
<p>
In old missals pre-1955, there was usually a tab marking the page of
prayers assigned according to the seasons of Advent, Christmastide, and
Lent. These were said after the Collect, Secret, and Postcommunion of the day. For Lent the prayers were to implore the suffrage of the Saints (<em>A cunctis</em>), and for the living and the dead (<em>Omnipotens</em>).
</p>
<p>
I think the prayer <em>Omnipotens</em> is good for today and indeed for any
time you want to pray for everyone who has suffered from the events of the
past year. Here is the text with my translation:
</p>
<blockquote>
<p style="text-align: center;">
<strong>Pro vivis et defunctis</strong>
</p>
<p>
Omnípotens sempitérne Deus, qui vivórum domináris simul et mortuórum,
omniúmque miseréris, quos tuos fide et opere futúros esse prænóscis: te
súpplices exorámus; ut, pro quibus effúndere preces decrévimus, quosque vel
præsens sǽculum adhuc in carne rétinet, vel futúrum jam exútos córpore
suscépit, intercedéntibus ómnibus Sanctis tuis, pietátis tuæ cleméntia
ómnium delictórum suórum véniam consequántur. Per Dóminum…
</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">
<strong>For the living and the dead</strong>
</p>
<p>
Almighty everlasting God, who rule over the living and the dead and have
mercy on all whom You foreknow shall be Yours by faith and works, we humbly
entreat You, that they for whom we have determined to pour out our prayers,
and whom either this word still detains in the flesh, or the world to come
has already received, having put off the body, may, through the prayers of
all your saints, by the kindness of your compassion, obtain the forgiveness
of all their sins. Through Our Lord…
</p></blockquote>
<p> </p>
<hr />
<p>PICTURE CREDIT: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jean-Fran%C3%A7ois_Millet_-_The_Angelus_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg">Wikimedia</a>. The Angelus. (1857-1859) Jean-François Millet. Musée d'Orsay
Public Domain.
</p>FatherTFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11451700981977182260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25543378.post-2847261901690105722021-03-17T17:49:00.000+00:002021-03-17T17:49:03.497+00:00Saint Patrick, an Example and Intercessor for those on the Threshold of Cultural Change
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTu5O7C-5JJzbpq4uE82VPsPnwSRmMZOy6O1ELpS31dMBQ15gqdxX106fehKIbAT2CAxHxT5Wd6G9Ga5H21m7vezKgqnlMhyphenhyphenaEk9Jq77bHK9JLMo1PQsPALik22EdU2UO4Oy6R/s820/St._Patrick_Baptizing_Irish_Princesses.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="518" data-original-width="820" height="404" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTu5O7C-5JJzbpq4uE82VPsPnwSRmMZOy6O1ELpS31dMBQ15gqdxX106fehKIbAT2CAxHxT5Wd6G9Ga5H21m7vezKgqnlMhyphenhyphenaEk9Jq77bHK9JLMo1PQsPALik22EdU2UO4Oy6R/w640-h404/St._Patrick_Baptizing_Irish_Princesses.gif" width="640" /></a></div>
<p>
The popular image of Saint Patrick has suffered a fate similar to that of
Saint Nicholas. His image has degenerated into a soft toy character,
with notes of condescending “oirishness”, associated with the colour green,
leprechauns, Guinness, and silly hats. Each year, priests and laity who love
him as a saint and respect the great cultural influence that he had in his
time, and which lasted for centuries in the land he evangelised, try to put the record straight. I hope to
do my bit.</p>
<p>
Saint Patrick is justly credited with a major role in the conversion of
Ireland from Celtic Polytheism to Christian truth. This may seem remote
from our present concerns, but we need only consider the rise of new age
spirituality, often indeed garnished with the popular adjective association of "Celtic", to
see that the problem has resurfaced.
</p>
<p>
Nowadays it is not so much that many gods are worshipped, as that a
gnostic, supposedly superior, “spirituality” has taken the place of the
Christian creed, towing in its wake a resistance to the natural law and
even the truth of our human nature. This scorn for the teaching of Christ
would be recognised by St Patrick and his mentor and ordaining bishop, St
Germanus of Auxerre, back in the fifth century. When people say, “I am
spiritual but not religious”, those learned saints and scholars might well have pointed out that there
are plenty of intelligent beings who are spiritual but not religious; they
are called demons and we do well to avoid imitating them.
</p>
<p>
Today, we also face the new religion of atheistic humanism which places
human discovery and skill as the pinnacle of wisdom, rejecting the God who
created the universe. This was also a current in the fifth century, though
not as deeply embedded as it is today.
</p>
<p>
Saint Patrick is known in the East as the “Enlightener of Ireland”. He
stood alongside other great saints of the period, on the threshold of a major
change in civilisation and culture, the transition from the dominance of the Roman
empire, which was collapsing, to the seedlings of the Christian culture
which would spread not only throughout the former empire, but eventually to
most of the world, thanks to advances in science and technology in the high middle ages, which also
found their roots in the development of civilisation and education that
were the fruits of Christendom.
</p>
<p>
Saint Patrick, baptised thousands, ordained many priests, and treated with
civil rulers to persuade them to the worship of Christ. His Christian
faith, wisdom and commitment to mission is sorely needed in Ireland today
as well as in England and much Europe that was evangelised by those
Celtic missionaries who followed soon after him.
</p>
<p>
St Patrick is an important intercessor for us today. The tremendous loss of
faith in Ireland over recent decades is a great sadness. Within living
memory Ireland was a country that was renowned for its devotion and sent
thousands of priests across the world to spread the faith. For those of us
with Irish ancestry, the loss of such a powerhouse of Catholic faith,
devotion and cultural solidity is heart-breaking, and we pray to our patron
for those who are valiantly continuing his work.
</p>
<p>
The need for his powerful example, inspiration, and intercession is not
restricted to Ireland. Around the world, harm is done by error not only
concerning faith and morals, but also in relation to basic philosophy
concerning truth, human nature, and the value of human life. Christ is
indeed the light to enlighten the nations and we must ask for the grace to
preach Him without fear, as Saint Patrick did, in union with the one, holy,
Catholic, and apostolic Church.
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr />
<p>PICTURE CREDIT: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:St._Patrick_Baptizing_Irish_Princesses.gif">Wikimedia</a>. St. Patrick Baptizing Irish Princesses (1904) in <a href="http://www.heritage-history.com/www/heritage.php?Dir=books&MenuItem=display&author=haaren&book=middle&story=egbert">John Haaren, "Famous Men of the Middle Ages"</a>. Public Domain.
</p>
FatherTFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11451700981977182260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25543378.post-87452067837885207042021-03-14T17:51:00.006+00:002021-03-14T18:00:40.088+00:00Psalm 121 and longing for the house of the Lord<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvmnF3Dk8CCntz0ZaTh8FCLiCvLerCdwvN4MYyB2_2a6ZcanbOdur-SNOMUqzC8D-K_kj2v4JAVdHjcERlGS8LW8eJiMtiyLfTa4ZXWD8l8-ucdphW1HtiJEEtB2rdJhF4vX91/s752/Heaven_Jerusalem%252C_Battistero_di_Padova.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="752" data-original-width="750" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvmnF3Dk8CCntz0ZaTh8FCLiCvLerCdwvN4MYyB2_2a6ZcanbOdur-SNOMUqzC8D-K_kj2v4JAVdHjcERlGS8LW8eJiMtiyLfTa4ZXWD8l8-ucdphW1HtiJEEtB2rdJhF4vX91/w638-h640/Heaven_Jerusalem%252C_Battistero_di_Padova.jpg" width="638" /></a></div><p>The Jewish people naturally hated their seventy years’ captivity in
Babylon. Essentially, they had been ethnically cleansed from Jerusalem and taken to Iraq. In Psalm 121 we can feel their joy and expectation at
being set free and finally making their way back to Jerusalem. Their joy was focussed
particularly on being able to go to the Temple and worship God once
again according to their ancient rites. The psalm verse of the Introit on <i>Laetare</i> Sunday is,</p>
<blockquote>“I rejoiced at the things that were said to me: We shall go into the house
of the Lord.” (Ps 121:1)</blockquote>
<p>
It was not a happy-clappy jaunt to meet friends, share the good news and
have a cup of coffee afterwards. The ritual celebration of the sacred
liturgy was everything. It had been torn from them and they longed to
worship once again in the way God had given them.
</p>
<p>
The young people who had never experienced it were excited to take part for
the first time in their lives; we can only imagine the tears of the older
people who could remember it, now at last being able to return. Psalm 83
captures how this prospect would have moved them: “My soul longeth and fainteth for the
courts of the Lord.” (Ps 83:3) It then hints at an eternal desire:
</p>
<blockquote>“Blessed are they that dwell in thy house, O Lord: they shall praise thee
for ever and ever.” Ps 83:5</blockquote>
<p>
On Psalm 121, St Alphonsus comments,
</p>
<blockquote>“In this psalm is expressed the joy that the Jews felt when they heard that
they were to leave Babylon and be released from captivity. Every Christian
may use this psalm to stimulate his desires for heaven.” (<em>The Divine Office. Explanation of the Psalms and Canticles.</em> Psalm
CXXI.)</blockquote>
<p>
St Alphonsus was taking up what Paul preached when he said that the
Jerusalem of his time, even <em>with</em> freedom of worship, was in
slavery, whereas the Jerusalem which is above is free and is our mother
because it is Christ who has made us free. (Gal 4:25-26, 31)
</p>
<p>
The spiritual understanding of the psalm did not begin with St Robert
Bellarmine and St Alphonsus. They explained it on the same lines as St
Augustine in his <em>Enarrationes in Psalmos</em>, and used the same
scripture texts as he did, texts that are found in the introit, epistle, and
offertory of the Mass of <i>Laetare</i> Sunday. This way of thinking about the psalms, is found
in detail in St Augustine at the turn of the fourth and fifth centuries,
but forms part of the apostolic tradition itself. The psalms are all
applied to Christ and to our spiritual life from the beginning of the
Church, and Christ Himself uses this kind of exegesis in the gospel.
</p>
<p>
Thanks be to God, we can each week, and some of us each day, rejoice to
come into the house of the Lord. There has been some time over the last
year when many Catholics around the world have longed and yearned to return to the house of the Lord,
pining to offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass once again. This experience
should help us also to long for heaven.
</p>
<p>
St Robert Bellarmine speaks sternly of those who do not long for heaven:
</p>
<blockquote>“Now, “the sensual man perceiveth not the things that are of the spirit of
God,” and, therefore, on the approach of death, or the termination of his
exile and pilgrimage, instead of rejoicing, is troubled and laments, and
justly, because, as he did not choose during his life time “to dispose in
his heart to ascend by steps,” he cannot possibly expect to go up to the
house of the Lord on high, but rather fears to go down to the prison of the
damned, there to be punished forever.” (<em>Commentary on the Book of Psalms</em>. Psalm 121)</blockquote>
<p>
We have the great good fortune to celebrate the traditional form of the
Mass, which Fr Faber described as, “the most beautiful this side of
heaven.” I expect that many of you share that sentiment as I do. Yet like
the Jews of old, we are always called like to <em>ascend</em>, to go up, to
lift up our hearts (<em>Sursum corda</em>) higher and more fervently.
</p>
<p>
As we endeavour to train our feeble minds to resist distractions, to
prepare better for what we are engaged in when we celebrate the Holy
Sacrifice, to receive Our Lord with greater love, and to thank Him sincerely
afterwards, we beg Him to help us by His grace, to ascend in spirit towards
the heavenly Jerusalem our Mother. May we one day continue our sacred
assembly there in the company of Our Lady, and all the angels and saints.
</p>
<p>
May Our Lord make us worthy of the most glorious of all our introits, when,
as we hope, He welcomes us into His courts with the words, “Come ye blessed
of my Father.”
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr />
<p>PICTURE CREDIT: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Heaven_Jerusalem,_Battistero_di_Padova.jpg">Wikimedia</a>.
The Heavenly Jerusalem. Giusto de' Menabuoi (14th century). Padua Baptistery. Public Domain.
</p>
FatherTFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11451700981977182260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25543378.post-48943033474091362222021-03-11T18:36:00.002+00:002021-03-11T19:26:20.379+00:00The Majestic Wisdom of Christ in Answering the Pharisees<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbVwqZ7IZhdoGUz_yJLJieP8ddlvorfvDZ8xqG5Ke_xt26QbhI09fl5_oJ0bhp2bczUWxFaN_mNA139hHpntHNLK9GhEwKMx00EVx0b7BWN6TW-LjmvEMJXpGloKHH_I2KfIqU/s1391/Christ+Pantocrator.+Cathedral+of+Cefalu%252C+Sicily+.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1391" height="496" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbVwqZ7IZhdoGUz_yJLJieP8ddlvorfvDZ8xqG5Ke_xt26QbhI09fl5_oJ0bhp2bczUWxFaN_mNA139hHpntHNLK9GhEwKMx00EVx0b7BWN6TW-LjmvEMJXpGloKHH_I2KfIqU/w640-h496/Christ+Pantocrator.+Cathedral+of+Cefalu%252C+Sicily+.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<p>
Our Lord took the Pharisees to task many times over their application of
the law to particular circumstances. For example, He criticised them for ruling that
if someone sets aside the money that should they should have spent on their
parents in need, and promises it to the Temple treasury, they no longer have an
obligation to support their parents. He says that they have effectively broken the
solemn duty that the owe to their parents before
God. (Matt 15:3-6)
</p>
<p>
Our Lord explicitly goes further than correcting the Pharisaical
interpretation of the law. In the sermon on the mount He claims to have
authority over the law itself when He says, “You have heard it said of old … But I
say to you.” Our Lord does this because He is the Word made flesh. The Word
can also stand for the <em>Torah</em>, the law given by God in His infinite
wisdom. Our Lord is the <em>Torah</em> made flesh.
</p>
<p>When God gave the law to Moses on Mount Sinai, it was a terrifying
spectacle:
</p>
<blockquote>“When the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the trumpet blast and
the mountain smoking, they all feared and trembled. So they took up a
position much farther away and said to Moses, You speak to us, and we will
listen; but let not the Lord speak to us, or we shall die.” (Ex 20:18-19)</blockquote>
<p>
The Israelites dared not to approach the holy mountain. St Paul recalls this in his letter to the Hebrews and says that,</p>
<blockquote>"You are come to mount Sion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to the company of many thousands of angels, and to the church of the firstborn, who are written in the heavens, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of the just made perfect, and to Jesus the mediator of the new testament, and to the sprinkling of blood which speaketh better than that of Abel." (Heb 12:22-24)</blockquote>
<p> We come to all this when we come to Mass. In his mercy, Christ allows us and invites us to approach Him, but the proper attitude is one of holy fear and adoration.
</p>
<p>
In chapter 22 of St Matthew’s gospel, (Matt 22:36-46) Our Lord gives an
even deeper correction to the Pharisees. An expert lawyer "tempting Him" or we might say, "trying to trip Him up", asks Him, "Which is the greatest commandment in the law?" Our Lord's answer seems very simple: He says that the
first is to love the Lord your God, and the second is to love your
neighbour. </p><p>We might wonder why the expert lawyer was said to be laying a
snare. St John Chrysostom explains that the Pharisees had already complained that Our Lord, being a man, made Himself equal to God. They were hoping that He would make an addition or change to the first commandment and cause even more fury and scandal.</p>
<p>
Our Lord doesn’t take the bait, but crushes them with a further question of
His own. He asked whose Son the Christ (or Messiah) was. They gave the
traditional answer, that the Christ was the Son of David. Our Lord points
out that in the psalm 109, which is a messianic prophecy, the Christ is
clearly also Lord, truly God. They dared not ask Him any more questions
because they were unable to answer how the Messiah, whom they believed to be a man, could be begotten before
the daystar, before creation, how he could be the eternal priest, the judge
of the nations, as the psalm goes on to describe him.
</p>
<p>
An awe-inspiring and fearful vision opens up before them. If Our Lord is right, they are
confronted with the hitherto unimaginable truth that the infinite majesty of God could be made flesh, born a man, and dwell among them. Faced with this, they did not dare to ask Him any further questions.</p>
<p>
When we even begin to glimpse the brilliance and majesty of the answers of
Our Lord, we also should stand in fear before the sheer greatness of His
Mind, His Wisdom. If we know a little theology, we should always remember
that if we saw the fullness of what we believe, it would crush us, were it not for
the grace of God, and His goodness in allowing us even a glimpse of His greatness.
</p>
<p>
St Thomas was granted such a vision late in his life, after which he would write
no more. He did not finish the <em>Summa Theologica </em>because, as he
told his brother, all that he had written seemed like straw. It is a good
lesson for us lesser mortals.
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr />
<p>PICTURE CREDIT: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Christ_Pantocrator_-_Cathedral_of_Cefal%C3%B9_-_Italy_2015.JPG">Wikimedia</a>. Mosaic of Christ Pantocrator. Cathedral of Cefalù. Photographed by: José Luiz Bernardes Ribeiro. Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International.
</p>
<p> </p><p></p>FatherTFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11451700981977182260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25543378.post-24259671112590393512021-03-05T21:56:00.007+00:002021-03-05T22:06:20.575+00:00Mass of the Most Holy Shroud of Our Lord, and Preparation for Holy Communion<p>
</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIYTJGkTUcLzO3TUlaB_zvs07inDLtwwE3E3n4BzkiRytd9zRiln8gGcbLux7OQrHQ5A6h53sZFrugztIcbBrEig169_5YUP6iot_OX4_hyphenhyphenTgMs4sP9XdVlSOK5igHsdQOcb5u/s1046/1046px-Full_length_negatives_of_the_shroud_of_Turin.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1046" height="626" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIYTJGkTUcLzO3TUlaB_zvs07inDLtwwE3E3n4BzkiRytd9zRiln8gGcbLux7OQrHQ5A6h53sZFrugztIcbBrEig169_5YUP6iot_OX4_hyphenhyphenTgMs4sP9XdVlSOK5igHsdQOcb5u/w640-h626/1046px-Full_length_negatives_of_the_shroud_of_Turin.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p>In the older Roman Missal in the section of <i>Missae pro Aliquibus Locis</i>, there are texts of a Mass of the Holy Shroud of Our Lord, to be said on the Friday after the second Sunday of Lent. In the Collect, we thank God for leaving us the <em>vestigia</em> or vestiges of the passion of Christ. We have such vestiges in the holy shroud itself preserved at Turin. Despite the
amazing photograph-like image for which there is no evidence of forgery, it
is still doubted. Were it any human discovery with evidence of this sort,
there would be general public agreement about its authenticity. It is only
because people do not want to believe in a miracle that they have to doubt
it. We need not ourselves have any scruple in treating it as a genuine relic of
Christ.</p>
<p>
The Latin word <em>vestigium</em> means first of all a track or footprint.
The shroud is a “footprint” left on earth, of Christ, crucified for our
sins to win us heaven. Our part is to follow in the footsteps of Our Lord
by our penance and prayer.
</p>
<p>
During Lent, we especially venerate the passion of Our Lord. We should love
to repeat on our knees the liturgical response that is used when we do the
Stations,
</p>
<blockquote>“We adore Thee O Christ and we bless Thee. Because by Thy Holy Cross, Thou
hast redeemed the world.”</blockquote>
<p>
When Aaron went into the tabernacle, the Holy of Holies where God was
present, he had to vest carefully with a linen tunic, linen breeches (or
underwear), a linen cincture and a linen mitre.
</p>
<p>
In the letter to the Hebrews, St Paul said,
</p>
<blockquote> Jesus is not entered into the holies made with hands, the patterns of the
true: but into heaven itself, that he may appear now in the presence of God
for us. (Heb 9:24)</blockquote>
<p>
Before He entered this sanctuary, Our Lord was clothed in the linen
vestments of His burial shroud. The priest celebrating Mass in the <i>forma antiquior</i> places the sacred host directly upon the corporal which itself acts as a kind of linen shroud for the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Our Blessed Lord.</p>
<p>
The holy shroud also suggests to us some ways in which we may respond to
the telling of the Passion of Jesus.
</p>
<p>
Theophylact of Ohrid, the 11th century Byzantine writer who is quoted by St
Thomas Aquinas in his
<a href="https://ecatholic2000.com/catena/untitled-111.shtml">
<em>Catena Aurea</em>
</a>
, said that when we receive Christ in our soul, we should wrap Him in pure
linen, that is, in a chaste body. St Paul tells us that we must not dare to
receive Holy Communion unworthily (1 Cor 11:27-30), and the Church explains
to us that we must not receive if we have committed a mortal sin.
</p>
<p>
But this is not sufficient for one who wants to live a truly devout life.
We must try to make sure that we not only refrain from clothing Our Lord in
linen that is not filthy: we want it to be as clean and bright as possible.
</p>
<p>
Therefore, we try to prepare well, reject here and now any attachment to
venial sins or faults, and offer Our Lord heartfelt acts of love,
adoration, and thanksgiving. As St Joseph of Arimathea cared for the body
of Our Lord by procuring the finest linen to show the greatest respect for
Him, so should be make every effort to offer ourselves as a worthy vessel
for Him and treasure His presence within us.
</p>
<p><br /></p>
<hr />
<p>PICTURE CREDIT: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Full_length_negatives_of_the_shroud_of_Turin.jpg">Wikimedia</a>. Full length negatives of the Shroud of Turin. Public Domain.
</p>
FatherTFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11451700981977182260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25543378.post-19969105895563261722021-02-28T21:25:00.003+00:002021-02-28T22:03:44.961+00:00Our Lord's Glorious Humanity, His Temptations, the Transfiguration, and the Reverence We Owe Him<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitRlVI7aIGvB6u2g40gj1aToXhnlH-AmOWxsTUPsXEMePYp3KS51MpZlWW3yhIfcdhjGmHshHTgdle32TvFk1_yQJO48N5NgpQN5N8DH0xMYvBMSzsu4m_IuQgJ78G2Wwc2PN_/s1276/Chartres-051_-_a1_-_Transfiguration.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1268" data-original-width="1276" height="636" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitRlVI7aIGvB6u2g40gj1aToXhnlH-AmOWxsTUPsXEMePYp3KS51MpZlWW3yhIfcdhjGmHshHTgdle32TvFk1_yQJO48N5NgpQN5N8DH0xMYvBMSzsu4m_IuQgJ78G2Wwc2PN_/w640-h636/Chartres-051_-_a1_-_Transfiguration.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p>Our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is truly God and truly man. He is
the second person of the Blessed Trinity, made flesh. His humanity was true
humanity. He was indeed made a man like us in all things apart from sin, but we
should remember that being without sin also makes Him very different from
us in some respects. Being truly God, Our Lord did not have original sin, did not have disordered desires, never committed a sin, and could never commit a sin.</p>
<p>
When the devil tempted Him, Our Lord responded in peremptory fashion, and
with absolute authority. Hebrews 4:15 is sometimes erroneously translated
to imply that Our Lord was subjected to all the temptations that we have,
though he tried awfully hard and managed to resist. This gives the quite
false impression that Our Lord might have actually sinned.
</p>
<p>
In fact, the world for “temptation” in Greek also means a test or trial.
Our Lord was not subject to disordered desires or past habits of sin (the two commonest sources of our own temptations) but He was subject to all the trials that we have, and worse, especially
in His agony in the garden when he knew in His own soul the evil of all the
sins of the world that had ever been committed or ever would be committed.
(For further information, see my article:
<a href="https://the-hermeneutic-of-continuity.blogspot.com/2019/03/clearing-confusion-over-word-temptation.html">
Clearing the confusion over the word "temptation"</a>)</p>
<p>
The apostles were worried when Our Lord said that He was going to Jerusalem
to be put to death and on the third day to rise again. St Peter even
rebuked Him and was sharply reprimanded for doing so. It was because of the
fear and anxiety of the apostles that Our Lord took St Peter, St James, and
St John up the mountain of Tabor and was transfigured before them.
</p>
<p>
At the transfiguration, the apostles did not see the beatific vision: that
is only seen by the saints in heaven. What they saw was the royal splendour
which belongs to that humanity which Our Lord assumed. He wanted the
disciples to see His glorified humanity so that their fears would be
allayed.
</p>
<p>
St Leo the Great explained that when the Father said, “This is My beloved
Son, in Whom I am well pleased; hear ye Him”, he was saying something
equivalent to:
</p>
<blockquote>“This is My Son not by adoption, but My very Own; not created from, or of
another substance, or out of nothing, but begotten of Me not of another
nature, and made like unto Me, but of Mine own Being, born of Me, equal
unto Me.”</blockquote>
<p>
Unlike the apostles, we do not see this glorified humanity of Christ,
though some great saints receive a privileged experience of God which is a
herald of what they will experience one day in heaven.
</p>
<p>
The Transfiguration helps us to understand the greatness of the humanity of
Jesus. He is not “just a man”, he is God made man. Even as man, He is not
“just like us”, but is completely sinless.
</p>
<p>
Our culture tends to shy away from expressions of reverence and respect to
other people. We are encouraged to call doctors and other professionals by
their Christian name, for example. We might be tempted to treat Our Lord
like this, in a familiar fashion, presuming that when he said to the
apostles “I call you friends”, this excuses us from reverence for Him.
</p>
<p>
It is true that we should not have a servile fear of Our Lord or be
frightened to approach Him. He has encouraged us to trust in His mercy and
to speak to Him in a childlike way, to pour out our troubles and worries,
to offer heartfelt sorrow for our sins, and to thank Him humbly for all His
gifts to us. At the same time, we call Him Lord and Master, we bow down in
reverence before Him, we praise Him for His glory and majesty. He is our
loving Saviour and friend indeed, but He is also Our God, almighty and
infinite in every perfection. Our loving confidence in Him is not the same
as a careless familiarity. It is good for us to bow down in reverence and
awe when He comes down to visit us in the consecration at Mass and say, “My
Lord and my God.”
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr />
<p>PICTURE CREDIT: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chartres-051_-_a1_-_Transfiguration.jpg">Wikimedia</a>. The Transfiguration of Jesus. Chartres Cathedral. Photo by user <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Micheletb">Micheletb</a>.
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International licence.
</p>
<p> </p>FatherTFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11451700981977182260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25543378.post-87698717165391298332021-02-24T21:18:00.005+00:002021-02-24T23:30:41.818+00:00St Matthias, the Cursing Psalms, and the Universal Mission of the Church<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi3zKLqwnK1jMM-azTYgRnD2ZFC0LrN-0RPjCtgZ5xCcBr7kPoacc0zZoihqWO73rRit4qQdvtoqXq-r_D_Ymfj8FVIw-wwrVuZst6m6Vd0qaEIbVb-gs2vJrYDW0JjPJRdGJp/s1023/Saint_Matthias_MET_DP168805.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1023" data-original-width="763" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi3zKLqwnK1jMM-azTYgRnD2ZFC0LrN-0RPjCtgZ5xCcBr7kPoacc0zZoihqWO73rRit4qQdvtoqXq-r_D_Ymfj8FVIw-wwrVuZst6m6Vd0qaEIbVb-gs2vJrYDW0JjPJRdGJp/w478-h640/Saint_Matthias_MET_DP168805.jpg" width="478" /></a></div><br />
<p>
When chanting the epistle at Mass for the feast of St Matthias, I must
confess to being amused at the part where Saint Peter says,
</p>
<blockquote> “Let their habitation become desolate, and let there be none to dwell
therein. And his bishopric let another take.” (Acts 1:20)</blockquote>
<p>
The prince of the Apostles first quotes verse 26 of Psalm 69 which is one
of the many verses of various psalms that were omitted in the modern <em>Liturgy of the Hours</em>, and secondly verse 8 of Psalm 108, which is
one of the three psalms that were omitted in their entirety. <em>The General Instruction on the Liturgy of the Hour</em>s explains that
“Such omissions are made because of certain psychological difficulties”
(n.131) I hope that you did not become depressed or neurotic during the
epistle.
</p>
<p>
St Peter applies these verses to Judas because He betrayed Our Lord. He
then explains to the 120 or so men and women, including the apostles and Our
Lady, that they must choose someone to take his place. The reason is found
in the Communion verse of the Mass:
</p>
<blockquote> “You who have followed Me shall sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of
Israel.”</blockquote>
<p>
The number twelve signifies a perfect complement. St Augustine says that
the twelve thrones are a mystery or sign (<em>sacramentum</em>) of a
certain universality because Our Lord willed that the Church should spread
throughout the whole world; it must be universal or “catholic.”
</p>
<p>
Like the other marks of the Church, universality is both part of the Church
from the beginning: nobody in the world is excluded from the Church, and it
is not yet achieved: there are many people in the world who are not part of
the Church.
</p>
<p>
The missionary urgency of the Church has been lost, to some extent, in our
time. Some people might justify this by an appeal to Vatican II, but in fact, the
Decree <em>Ad Gentes</em> on the Missionary Activity of the Church reminded
us that Our Lord confirmed the necessity of the Church into which we enter
by Baptism as by a door. The Council Fathers then taught,
</p>
<blockquote>“Therefore those men cannot be saved, who though aware that God, through
Jesus Christ founded the Church as something necessary, still do not wish
to enter into it, or to persevere in it. Therefore though God in ways known
to Himself can lead those inculpably ignorant of the Gospel to find that
faith without which it is impossible to please Him (Heb 11:6), yet a
necessity lies upon the Church (1 Cor 9:16), and at the same time a sacred
duty, to preach the Gospel. And hence missionary activity today as always
retains its power and necessity.” (<em>Ad Gentes</em> 7)</blockquote>
<p>
More severe language can be found in the Apostolic Letter <em>Maximum Illud</em> which Pope Benedict XV published in 1919. We were
encouraged to celebrate the centenary of this letter in 2019 for a Month of Mission, so I read it carefully and wrote an article on it. (See:
<a href="https://the-hermeneutic-of-continuity.blogspot.com/2019/10/maximum-illud-and-missionary-month-we.html">
<em>Maximum Illud</em>
and the missionary month; we do actually need to believe in the
salvation of souls
</a>
.)
</p>
<p>
St Matthias was chosen as a witness of the resurrection of Our Lord, in
order to make up the number of the apostles and so to complete the sign of
their universal mission. He reminds us of the duty to proclaim the Catholic
faith to all.
</p>
<p>
Saint Paul wrote to the Christians in Rome before he was finally taken
there under guard. He gave thanks to God for their faith which was already
known throughout the world and told them that he was ready to preach to
them. When we think of the little that we manage to do for the spread of
the faith, we should thrill at his confidence, take heart from his courage,
and make his words our own: “I am not ashamed of the gospel.” (Rom 1:16)
</p><br />
<hr />
<p>PICTURE CREDIT: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Saint_Matthias_MET_DP168805.jpg">Wikimedia</a>. Saint Matthias by Simone Martini (c.1317-1319) Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Public Domain.</p>FatherTFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11451700981977182260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25543378.post-9869730092255982422021-02-22T11:47:00.001+00:002021-02-22T11:47:07.132+00:00Recommended Basic Spiritual Reading for Lent<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3l3doYDYJnE9-YGyrj068uq2OlFPhq6XegEmT1-1NsAdmA6Us74PbeLDWD2nIW9c5sT-7ft_eGtkM85WBN2fyuB5L0rZBFiXDKHvmimBV-k8x9IsSlo68mdpBtZQyRBgnoNAv/s2048/2048px-Saint_Francis_in_Meditation-Caravaggio_%2528Cremona%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1418" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3l3doYDYJnE9-YGyrj068uq2OlFPhq6XegEmT1-1NsAdmA6Us74PbeLDWD2nIW9c5sT-7ft_eGtkM85WBN2fyuB5L0rZBFiXDKHvmimBV-k8x9IsSlo68mdpBtZQyRBgnoNAv/w444-h640/2048px-Saint_Francis_in_Meditation-Caravaggio_%2528Cremona%2529.jpg" width="444" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div>Someone asked if I would recommend some reading for Lent. Here goes! On such matters I generally try not to be original and instead to introduce good Catholics to classic spiritual works in case they have not come across them. If you have read all the below, you are probably in a good position to find other worthwhile reading yourself. But if these are books that you haven’t read, then any one of them would be a potential life changer. And if you have read them all, you will probably know that they are all worth reading again.<br />
<br />
Most of these books are readily available as books with paper and glue, books that go on your e-reader, web pages, and pdf versions. I don’t have so much experience of audio books but my guess would be that they are now all around in that format too.<br />
<br />Over the past couple of years I have gravitated more and more to the <a href="https://archive.org/">Internet Archive</a> which I now use in lieu of a library, with the help of a Kindle Fire 10 which makes pdfs readable. And do not forget the excellent (and free) <a href="https://www.ipieta.com/">iPieta</a> app which makes most of them available on your mobile (Android or iPhone) together with a huge collection of other wonderful things.<br />
<br />
With these books, one way to approach your Lenten reading would be to read one chapter each day at a regular time when you can count on being free. First thing in the morning or last thing at night are obviously well-tried and trusted. Then you could commit to continuing to read it after Lent has finished, and then move on to another good book. <i>Voila</i>! You have a established a habit of daily spiritual reading in the midst of your busy life.<br />
<br />
<b>Thomas a Kempis - The Imitation of Christ</b><br />
Traditionally the most widely recommended spiritual book, and justly so. Written in the early 15th century, it is part of the “<i>Devotio Moderna</i>” movement which was a reform movement within Catholicism which aimed to draw people back to a sound and generous spiritual life.<br />
<br />
<b>St Francis de Sales - Introduction to the Devout Life</b><br />
Written in 1609 this is an edited compilation of the Saint’s spiritual advice for an individual French woman addressed as Philothea. It offers advice for setting out on a more devout practice of the faith. The ten Meditations in part I are essentially a shorter version of the Ignatian spiritual exercises, and the text also provides simple and practical advice on how to pray with these meditations. As a guide to the lay person seeking to deepen their life of prayer, the book is practical. Some of the examples relating to practical social behaviour reflect the time and class St Francis was writing for but the advice is easily adaptable.<br />
<br />
<b>Lorenzo Scupoli - Spiritual Combat</b><br />
Written in 1589, this was a favourite book of St Francis de Sales. Probably a good one for you if you have already read the <i>Imitation</i> and the <i>Introduction to the Devout Life</i>.<br />
<br />
<b>Louis of Granada - The Sinner's Guide</b><br />
Written in 1556-1557 this was another favourite of St Francis de Sales as well as of many other saints of the time, especially St Teresa of Avila. More prolix than the above books and again, perhaps one to read if you have already read them.<br />
<br />
<b>St Alphonsus Liguori</b><br />
St Alphonsus 1696–1787 was a voluminous writer and any of his ascetical works would worthwhile reading for Lent. There is an English translation of his <a href="https://archive.org/search.php?query=alphonsus%20complete%20ascetical%20works"><i>Complete Ascetical Works</i> on the Internet Archive</a>. Especially good for Lent would be <a href="https://archive.org/details/PassionDeathOfJesusChristV5">Volume V on The Passion and Death of Jesus Christ</a>.<br />
<br />
If you prefer to have some wisdom from St Alphonsus in a neatly edited and formatted e-reader version or paper-and-glue, you might need to choose from one of the anthologies that are available.<br />
<br />
<b>Dom Chautard - The Soul of the Apostolate</b><br />
For spiritual reading on the apostolate and the priority of place that should be given to our interior life in Christ for any successful external work in the Church, this is the jewel. The book gives excellent guidance for the principles of the apostolate and practical guidance for prayer and the living of the interior life.<br />
<br />
If you finish a couple of those, you might want to move on to the works of the mystical doctors of the Church St John of the Cross and St Teresa of Avila as a kind of intermediate class.<br />
<br />
May God bless your efforts during Lent and fill your heart and mind with sound wisdom, good inspirations, holy resolutions, and the grace to carry them out for the good of your soul and of all those around you.<div><br /></div>
<hr />
<p><i>PICTURE CREDIT</i>:<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Saint_Francis_in_Meditation-Caravaggio_%28Cremona%29.jpg"> Wikimedia</a>. St Francis in Meditation. Caravaggio (1606). Museo Civico Ala Ponzone. Public Domain.</p>
FatherTFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11451700981977182260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25543378.post-72949024581463776562021-02-01T20:42:00.009+00:002021-02-03T13:37:56.637+00:00On the Attempted Cancellation of Father Zuhlsdorf<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQJSlulNev5hj_iVHIoCkXaMsO76_wQWm-TLA1u73aSnl3gV-sVSDpnqMaT5y9EGEbcuV5uMGsTtAyvSAJyOsqIqeBkGBNCCUz4USDgRQDoNETaHmN652lLb2GsduAkOKGaonV/s1920/Mass+%2528Large%2529.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQJSlulNev5hj_iVHIoCkXaMsO76_wQWm-TLA1u73aSnl3gV-sVSDpnqMaT5y9EGEbcuV5uMGsTtAyvSAJyOsqIqeBkGBNCCUz4USDgRQDoNETaHmN652lLb2GsduAkOKGaonV/w640-h360/Mass+%2528Large%2529.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>Since the US election, <a href="https://wdtprs.com/">Fr Zuhlsdorf</a> has been subjected to a concerted
attack from some liberal catholic publications. This would not be
noteworthy except for the fact that as a result, he has been asked to move
from the diocese where he currently works and has now to find
accommodation. It is therefore reasonable to speak of an attempt to
“cancel” him as the saying is nowadays.</p>
<h4>
The Character of Fr Z’s Blog
</h4>
<p>
As an outspoken blogger, Fr Z is accustomed to opposition from Catholics
who object to his promotion of the traditional Latin Mass, gays who object
to his unequivocal defence of Catholic moral teaching, and modernist
priests and theologians whose theology he criticises for being contrary to
the magisterial teaching of the Church. In the online “wild west” of the
blogosphere, he is happy to give as good as he gets. This makes his blog
enjoyable for his followers and probably annoying for his opponents.
</p>
<p>
At the same time, often on the same day, he will encourage people with the
refrain “Go To Confession”, answer enquiries from readers, address
questions about the celebration of the Mass and the Sacraments, write with
skill and erudition on classical and modern languages and literature, and cover a host
of other matters that will help people to understand their faith.
</p>
<p>
As a pastor, he repeatedly asks readers, “Was there a GOOD point made in
the sermon you heard at the Mass for your Sunday”, invites them to submit
their urgent prayer requests, and moderates his combox responsibly to
ensure it can continue without becoming a mud fight. With joy and
enthusiasm, he posts feedback from readers who have started going to
confession again after many years, or those who have rediscovered the Mass.
</p>
<p>
Conscious of the value of adding lighter content of personal interest, he
writes about his enthusiasm for ham radio, trips to friends in cities in
the US and elsewhere, often jokingly posting the back of the aeroplane seat
as “My view for a while”. For a while, he featured posts on “The Feeder
Feed” with pictures from his garden of (hold your breath) birds. The
mixture of the serious and the frivolous, of entertainment and education,
together with his indefatigable output, has made the blog a huge success
over more than fourteen years.
</p>
<h4>
The 2020 US Election
</h4>
<p>
After the 3 November 2020 US election, Fr Z was concerned about reports of
fraudulent voting. In England we are educated by our public service
broadcaster and all its major competitors that there was no evidence of
fraudulent voting. Not a single fraudulent vote anywhere in the USA. At
all. No Sir. None of that. The <em>prima facie</em> implausibility of this
universal negative should be seen against the background of claims of
fraudulent voting in US elections, going back to the Civil War and earlier.
To take just some recent instances, the Democrats made claims of fraudulent
voting against the Republicans in 2000, 2004, and 2016, challenging
Electoral College certification in each case. In 2016 the claim was made
that the Russians had interfered. In case you don’t follow these things
closely, it was the <em>Democrats</em> who claimed this, not Terrible Right
Wing Conspiracy Theorists.
</p>
<p>
When a bunch of assorted loons and opportunists stormed the Capitol, it was
all that was needed for the “Never Trumpers” not only to blame Donald
Trump, but to make a serious and partly effective attempt to institute a
digital <em>damnatio memoriae</em>. Not only could the media now frame the
discourse however they wanted, Trump could no longer use Twitter or
Facebook to reply; nor could he move to <em>Parler</em> which had been
taken down completely. You do not need to be a horned, fur-clad,
spear-waving eccentric to suggest that this is problematic in a democracy:
but you will probably be compared to one if you do.
</p>
<p>
Earlier in 2020, the local bishop gave Fr Zuhlsdorf permission to recite
publicly the prayer from Title XI, chapter 3 of the <em>Rituale Romanum</em>, the Exorcism Against Satan and the Apostatic (or
rebellious) Angels. The Bishop asked him to offer the prayer for the whole
diocese of Madison, for protection against Covid-19. After the election, he
added a further intention. That is, he included a further intention <em>in addition to</em> the primary intention. It is important to note what
he actually said about this added intention:
</p>
<blockquote>
“However, I have also been asking God to aim this powerful exorcism at all
places and all equipment involved in the counting or recounting or
canvassing or auditing of votes in the 2020 election. I ask God to drive
away demonic influence from all the people involved. I ask the Queen of
Angels to bid myriads and myriads of angels to protect all the people
involved from temptations from the Enemy to lie or cheat. I ask the angels
to prompt anyone who did lie or cheat in the counting of votes to repent
and to come forward and admit what they did.”
</blockquote>
<p>
Fr Z went on to say that his concern in adding this intention, was for the
common good, and for the truth, so that people could have confidence in
their elections, since without elections being trustworthy, there would be
no way for people to secure their God-given freedoms.
</p>
<h4>
Pile-on
</h4>
<p>
Cue <em>America Magazine</em>, <em>The Tablet</em>, and the <em>National Catholic Reporter</em>. There is no particular surprise in
these publications attacking Fr Z: he has criticised them often enough, and
he is happy to stand up for himself. Unfortunately, in this instance it was
a concerted dog whistle at just the right time. The Bishop of Madison, the
Archbishop of Milwaukee, and the Bishop of Velletri (the diocese in which
Fr Z is incardinated) all received furious correspondence demanding action.
</p>
<p>
As is usually the case with hit pieces, the articles included some actual
reporting, and added quite a bit of hinting designed to discredit. For
example, “[Fr Z] told his supporters it was not a sin to pray for the death
or resignation of the Roman Pontiff.” Well, not quite. In fact, he went to
some trouble to
<a href="https://wdtprs.com/2017/02/wherein-fr-z-apologizes-and-explains-a-response-to-a-readers-question/">
explain that he was not saying that</a>.</p>
<p>
Another falsehood by selective quotation is that he was encouraging people
to pray for their enemies to die. Again, it is best simply to read what he
says in three posts about praying for our enemies (II and III are linked
from
<a href="https://wdtprs.com/2021/01/wdtprs-prayer-for-enemies/">
the first post</a>.) He quotes the prayers from the Roman Missal, highlighting the importance
of peace and charity, praying for the forgiveness and conversion of our
enemies, for a good death, both for them and for ourselves, and for God to
grant what is genuinely good for our enemies.
</p>
<p>
As a result of the articles by his opponents, Fr Z is now having to find somewhere else to
live. <em>The Remnant</em> said that his bishop threw him under the bus. In
a statement sent to the clergy of Madison, the bishop was kind enough to
thank Fr Z for “his faithful support of the diocese’s seminarians and
priests, thanks him for his many years of steadfast ministry serving the
diocese” and it was noted that the decision for Fr Z to relocate was made
by mutual agreement. So perhaps we could say that he was asked kindly if he
wouldn’t mind awfully, just getting on the bus.
</p>
<p>
In the process he loses his accommodation and his apostolate. (Don’t expect
any of the liberals to show even the slightest sign of regret of
embarrassment.)
</p>
<h4>
The Blog Goes On
</h4>
<p>
Fortunately, he still has the blog. Fortunate for his readers who gain so
much from it, fortunate for the converts who have come to the Church
because of it, fortunate for the Catholics who have begun to Go To
Confession again thanks to it, and fortunate for priests who have gained
much wisdom from it: I include myself among these.
</p>
<p>
One commentator sneered at the end of his hit-piece about Fr Z that “his
flock [is] effectively the followers of his blog.” The bishop of
Velletri-Segni is quoted as saying that because he combines arguments of
faith and morals with photos of birds, Chinese food, and aircraft seats, he
has no theological credibility. Blogs, you know, silly things really. And
those 580,000 visitors a month on average since late 2006 could all be
wrong.
</p>
<p>
</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbMXSIMV9LvnC5kuhG0sg0ITVbv9RjiVOnnCnCoTaii9SwWXZiAFvH1icdDKIWr5ZmD-MuMWHaZrrLu03kG9WEfnjkEck6M1A1QF9pSep1QjYXfCo_79eU7aVbLWWIpktjJj8t/s200/SirDan.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="91" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbMXSIMV9LvnC5kuhG0sg0ITVbv9RjiVOnnCnCoTaii9SwWXZiAFvH1icdDKIWr5ZmD-MuMWHaZrrLu03kG9WEfnjkEck6M1A1QF9pSep1QjYXfCo_79eU7aVbLWWIpktjJj8t/w91-h200/SirDan.jpg" width="91" /></a></div>In England, we are not terribly good at the old fundraising lark, but I do
feel it not inappropriate to add, that if you felt able, that is, if you
wouldn’t mind awfully, Fr Z does have a fundraiser thingy running:
<a href="https://wdtprs.com/2021/01/project-200-wherein-fr-z-asks-for-help/">
PROJECT “200!” Wherein Fr. Z asks for help</a>.
<p></p>
<p>
If you can’t think of any other reason to give, just remember a favourite
saying of
<a href="https://the-hermeneutic-of-continuity.blogspot.com/2011/04/sir-dan-no-waffle-please.html">
Sir Dan of the Blogosphere</a>: “It’ll annoy the liberals.”
</p>
FatherTFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11451700981977182260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25543378.post-69029282687489134362021-01-23T19:16:00.014+00:002021-01-24T10:20:40.375+00:00St Raymund Penyafort, a miraculous voyage, and the pitfalls of wokeness in Collects<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZrFiw6yIlPoZaJpnNbnuaJr3JN9m9yAHtSq7GXXUNs36q2EOKbompAGKG-VKqsldFeVvevsw1tEVqh3vKSHaA4kUc6_kSccLrz1zfG8xD_CPy8eS60dzIXn0zmDfBarEDJWnO/s800/Dolabella_St._Raymond_of_Penyafort.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="547" data-original-width="800" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZrFiw6yIlPoZaJpnNbnuaJr3JN9m9yAHtSq7GXXUNs36q2EOKbompAGKG-VKqsldFeVvevsw1tEVqh3vKSHaA4kUc6_kSccLrz1zfG8xD_CPy8eS60dzIXn0zmDfBarEDJWnO/s600/Dolabella_St._Raymond_of_Penyafort.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
<p>The feast of St Raymund of Penyafort (1175-1275) is celebrated today in the traditional calendar, (7 January in the modern calendar.) Here is the collect in the Roman Missal used before 1962:
</p>
<blockquote>
Deus, qui beátum Raymúndum pœniténtiæ sacraménti insígnem minístrum elegísti, et per maris undas mirabíliter traduxísti: concéde; ut ejus intercessióne dignos pœniténtiæ fructus fácere, et ad ætérnæ salútis portum perveníre valeámus.<br />
<br />
<i>O God, Who chose blessed Raymund to be a renowned minister of the sacrament of Penance, and miraculously brought him through the waves of the sea, grant that by his intercession we may produce worthy fruits from our penitence and be capable of reaching the haven of eternal salvation.</i>
</blockquote>
<p>and here is the collect from the modern Roman Missal:</p>
<blockquote>
Deus, qui beátum Raimúndum presbýterum insígnis in peccatóres et in captívos misericórdiæ virtúte decorásti, eius nobis intercessióne concéde, ut, a peccáti servitúte solúti, quæ tibi sunt plácita líberis méntibus exsequámur.
<br />
<br />
<i>O God, who adorned the Priest Saint Raymond with the virtue of outstanding mercy and compassion for sinners and for captives, grant us, through his intercession, that, released from slavery to sin, we may carry out in freedom of spirit what is pleasing to you.</i>
</blockquote>
<p>The older Collect speaks of the sacrament of penance and prays for worthy fruits for our penance. St Raymund was indeed not only a renowned minister but a sure guide to the theology and canon law related to the sacrament. The modern Collect speaks of the mercy of St Raymund for sinners and of our freedom from slavery to sin, which seems a little more vague. Interestingly it adds captives to the objects of St Raymund’s mercy but first let us look at the most important difference between the two Collects.
</p><p>
The first Collect speaks of St Raymund being brought miraculously through the waves of the sea. This would have been understood by those who read the office of Mattins before the reforms of 1960. There were nine readings as was customary for all saints of semi-double rank or above. As usual, the readings 4-6 were about the Saint. The account of St Raymund tells how he visited Majorca in order to convert the Muslims there. (This was a more common pursuit among holy men of that time than it is now.) While on the island, he also reprimanded King James I of Aragon for bringing his concubine with him. (Reprimanding heads of state for having concubines was also a more common pursuit among holy men of that time than it is now.) Since the King refused to dismiss his concubine, St Raymund decided to leave, but he King forbade him to do so, and threatened any ship captain who dared to take him. The Lectio 6 of Mattins summarises the next part of the story:
</p>
<blockquote>Multa patrávit miracula, inter quæ illud claríssimum, quod ex insula Baleari Majori Barcinónem reversurus, strato super aquas pallio centum sexagínta milliaria sex horis confécerit et suum cœnobium januis clausis fúerit ingréssus.
<br />
<br />
“<i>He performed many miracles, of which the most famous is that returning from Majorca to Barcelona, having spread his cloak on the waters, he covered a hundred and sixty leagues (milliaria) in six hours and entered his monastery while the doors were closed.</i>”</blockquote>
<p>
The cloak (<i>pallium</i>) was the black outer <i>cappa</i> of the Dominican habit. St Raymund spread one end of this over the water and fastened the other end to his walking staff to create a rudimentary sail. In the course of departure from Majorca, St Raymund was seen by sailors in the boats that had been forbidden to carry him; they waved and cheered him on. Reaching Barcelona, his arrival was greeted by crowds of amazed onlookers. </p><p>The story has further happiness in its ending: the King, properly and suitably awed by the Saint’s thaumaturgical response to his obstinacy, mended his ways, did penance, and lived a virtuous life thereafter.</p>
<p>The 2nd edition of <i>Butler’s Lives of the Saints</i> (Complete Edition) edited by Herbert Thurston and Donald Attwater dutifully preserves the story of the miraculous journey, but adds in the notes that,</p><p>
</p><blockquote>"The evidence upon many points is so unsatisfactory that it becomes extremely difficult to give unreserved credence to such incidents in St Raymund's life as his miraculous voyage from Majorca."</blockquote>
<p>
I followed up the two references given to the 1921 and 1922 volumes of the <i>Analecta Bollandiana</i> but did not find any information there about the miracle, so perhaps I will find something another day. What the two articles do address is the doubt also referred to by the modern editors of Butler’s Lives, regarding the link between St Raymond and St Peter Nolasco, and the foundation of the Order of Our Lady of Ransom.
</p><p>
In the case of both, it would not be wholly unfair to recall that Thurston was a notable skeptic (one might say <i>insignis</i>) and therefore one could be forgiven for finding it extremely difficult, always of course with the deepest respect, to give uncritical support to every one of his doubts.
</p><p>
Going back to the modern Collect for St Raymund, it is amusing to think that the insertion of captives as well as sinners into the praise of his mercy might have been a gesture towards what is nowadays considered a “woke” concern. This would allow the reported ransoming activity of St Raymund to escape the sentence of cancellation given to his miraculous voyage. If my speculation is well-founded, it would be fun to raise with the compilers the question of why they added a reference (not found in the traditional Collect) to those held captive by the Muslims, especially in the light of St Raymund’s tireless efforts to convert them, and not only encouraging St Thomas Aquinas to write the <i>Summa Contra Gentiles</i> for this purpose, but also arranging for it to be translated into Arabic.
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr />
<p><i>PICTURE CREDIT:</i> Wikimedia: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dolabella_St._Raymond_of_Penyafort.jpg">St Raymond of Penyafort by Tommaso Dolabella</a> (1627). Dominican Church. Kraków.
</p>FatherTFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11451700981977182260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25543378.post-23014129458744388722021-01-22T20:45:00.003+00:002021-01-23T08:46:45.093+00:00Absurd anti-Catholic claim in China merits Tertullian's satirical response<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMnz8QA6RK-6KGoSxE_AGL4BzFDC6QSuyAKfofDfvrwp3sJZ7lRYX3WlI3TOz2dEZ-QCPdRGqlOG41eo1ON0YUapEww45CW1odtV1bpMd7Lceg6a9lqUQ9XfSXTrS2ZcerejL2/s842/Our_Lady_of_Deliverance_in_Peking.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="842" data-original-width="602" height="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMnz8QA6RK-6KGoSxE_AGL4BzFDC6QSuyAKfofDfvrwp3sJZ7lRYX3WlI3TOz2dEZ-QCPdRGqlOG41eo1ON0YUapEww45CW1odtV1bpMd7Lceg6a9lqUQ9XfSXTrS2ZcerejL2/s600/Our_Lady_of_Deliverance_in_Peking.jpg" /></a></div>
<p>
The website of the Society of St Pius X has a useful news service which often picks up stories that do not feature elsewhere. Today this story caught my eye: "<a href="https://fsspx.news/en/news-events/news/china-catholics-accused-spreading-coronavirus-63396">China: Catholics Accused of Spreading the Coronavirus</a>".
</p><p>
The WeChat and Weibo messaging services have a novel conspiracy theory, that the new wave of Covid-19 is the fault of the Catholic faithful being gathered together by "foreign priests" in the Hebei province.
</p><p>
The SSPX article quotes AsiaNews, a widely respected source from The Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions, originally in Italian, which has had an English and Chinese edition since 2003. Their article "<a href="http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Hebei,-Christians-labelled-%E2%80%98spreaders%E2%80%99.-The-return-of-Nero-52016.html">Hebei, Christians labelled ‘spreaders’. The return of Nero</a>" has more detail. The reference to Nero recalls how he set fire to Rome and then blamed the Christians.
</p><p>
Perhaps even more relevant is the exasperated satire of Tertullian in his Apologeticum (c.40). It fits quite well.
</p><p>
For those who read Latin, it would be wrong to neglect a sample of Tertullian's famously terse "Tacitean" prose.
</p><blockquote>Si Tiberis ascendit in moenia, si Nilus non ascendit in arva, si caelum stetit, si terra movit, si fames, si lues, statim Christianos ad leonem! adclamatur. Tantos ad unum?</blockquote>
<p>and here is my translation:
</p><blockquote>If the Tiber rises to the walls, if the Nile does not rise to the fields, if the sky stands still, if the earth moves, if there is famine, if there is a plague, then immediately the cry is, "The Christians to the lion!" So many to one lion?</blockquote>
<p>
Pray for the Catholics of China, and pray for their beautiful country. Its people are suffering under what is nowadays euphemistically called an "authoritarian government". In truth, the yoke of atheistic communism is as cruel as it ever was. Just as in ancient Rome, the official persecution of Christians gave rise to wild rumours, good Chinese people may also be misled by this fake news. Pray also for the poor Uyghur people who are suffering ghastly persecution as well.</p><p>Our Lady of China, pray for us. Saint Augustine Zhao Rong and his companions, pray for us.</p>
FatherTFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11451700981977182260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25543378.post-32868593713183224162021-01-13T11:35:00.004+00:002021-02-21T13:12:09.522+00:00New book on the Our Father shares a loving familiarity with the sacred text<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha9jvbkW1pDJYhITd_XAMzUOVlxHmNo_U5UXvONpYUL0NELKRbWPeP6YT_hjKDo10Q5_wsMwApuzKmBBinJ-W5BsscRorHQeToLJrUuv7JV7xXEK6Bg5kDpYd9_Ban9PndLrfg/s1681/Our+Father+cover.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1681" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha9jvbkW1pDJYhITd_XAMzUOVlxHmNo_U5UXvONpYUL0NELKRbWPeP6YT_hjKDo10Q5_wsMwApuzKmBBinJ-W5BsscRorHQeToLJrUuv7JV7xXEK6Bg5kDpYd9_Ban9PndLrfg/w412-h640/Our+Father+cover.png" width="412" /></a></div>
<br /><hr />
Our Father. A Biblical Meditation on the Lord’s Prayer. By Sr Claire Waddelove OSB. Gracewing. 190pp £12.99
<hr />
<p>
St Teresa of Avila says that Our Lord will help us to understand that “though we have had to say
the Paternoster many times, He heard us the first time.” She goes on to say that even if we take a whole hour to say it, we need not worry if we realise that we are in the presence of the Father, if we understand what we are asking of Him, and if we are confident that, like any father, he wants to grant us his favour.
</p><p>
Sister Claire Waddelove is following in a fine tradition of commentary on the Our Father, including some of the greatest saints. Yet we may be grateful that she has not been overwhelmed by this. We always need to receive a fresh reading of the prayer that Our Lord gave us as the model for all prayer. Sister Claire’s particular contribution is to present a synopsis of scriptural texts for each section of the prayer, encouraging us to use the texts as a springboard for our prayer. This reflective scriptural journey is in the tradition of lectio divina, the contemplative reading of scripture as the “launching-pad” for union with the persons of the Holy Trinity who dwell in our soul by Baptism.
</p><p>
In each chapter, the biblical meditation is arranged under a collection of headings indicating the themes of that clause of the prayer. Each of these headings could themselves be taken for the food of one’s mental prayer for the day. By focussing on the heading, then the inspired words, the mind can be lifted up to praise, thanksgiving, repentance or pleading for the graces that are needed. The silence of listening to the divine voice is well supported by the meditation which is always an introduction to the encounter with the Father, never the end point. Sister Claire’s book is intended for use in support of this Christian meditation. It will be of lasting value on the shelves, whether physical or electronic, of Catholics who seek food for their daily mental prayer.
</p><p>
Collating the appropriate scripture verses would itself be a great service, but then Sister Claire has also given us a thoughtful introduction for each petition. She gives a straightforward explanation of the relevant doctrine, while drawing on solid and dependable theology.
</p><p>
The advantage that contemplative religious have in providing guidance for those who wish to pray, is their daily round of several hours in chanting the office of the day, including Holy Mass. The psalms roll round week by week, and the seasons of the year bring their own highlights of scripture to the choir, punctuated by the joy of feasts with their own gorgeous antiphons. A loving familiarity with the sacred text poured forth as prayer, is shared with us in Sister Claire’s biblical meditation on the Our Father.
</p>
<p>The book can be obtained from:<br />
<a href="https://www.stceciliasabbey.org.uk/site.php?menuaccess=22" target="_blank">St Cecilia’s Abbey</a><br />
<a href="http://www.gracewing.co.uk/page315.html" target="_blank">Gracewing</a><br /><br /></p>
FatherTFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11451700981977182260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25543378.post-84804339124733192522020-12-29T19:50:00.000+00:002020-12-29T19:50:17.538+00:00Thomas Becket: the simple but daunting question he puts before us today
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvpAg6rTP_jU3BCexmMrtCO_VC_5T0d3lgCNlFL6kdfb8R92mrKFxxHIXQfu5erN3QCiumPcUaAFh1JHUvGZ5wbea4TQdayopm3eThWcrU_tZQY0c0X4gg3xf3ARGrV70rFj_3/s1438/Murder_Thomas_Becket_MBA_Lyon_D411.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="815" data-original-width="1438" height="362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvpAg6rTP_jU3BCexmMrtCO_VC_5T0d3lgCNlFL6kdfb8R92mrKFxxHIXQfu5erN3QCiumPcUaAFh1JHUvGZ5wbea4TQdayopm3eThWcrU_tZQY0c0X4gg3xf3ARGrV70rFj_3/w640-h362/Murder_Thomas_Becket_MBA_Lyon_D411.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p>There is much discussion about the faults of St Thomas Becket before he became Archbishop of Canterbury. Alban Butler, who could hardly be accused of lack of sympathy, said that as well as being decisive and intelligent, with great leadership qualities, he showed an excess of magnificence when travelling in state (he scandalised the French in this regard) Butler also says that he was proud, irascible, and violent. <a href="https://twitter.com/jshocds">Fr Thomas Hogan</a> who has recently led a popular Novena to the Saint, on Twitter, and wrote a biography which was published earlier this year [<a href="https://www.orderosv.com/product/thomas-becket-defender-of-the-church">Thomas Becket: Defender of the Church</a> <i>from OSV</i>, <i>also on Amazon</i>] recently commented that,</p>
<blockquote>“Remorseful & penitential, he could be angry, rash, imprudent, vengeful, coldly tactical; gentle & forgiving at times to Henry, but often annoyed at the Pope. Passionate & aloof, he was a work in progress.”</blockquote><p>
After his appointment as Archbishop of Canterbury and his spiritual conversion, he wore a hair shirt and a black cassock instead of the flamboyant lay clothes he wore as a lesser cleric. He did not say Mass every day out of a fear of becoming lax, but he attended Mass when he was not celebrating. He was imprudent in taking on harsh penances that nearly killed him, and he was unnecessarily intransigent in disputes with those who opposed him.
</p><p>
Therefore, we need to remember that he was not canonised by Pope Alexander III as a gentle and retiring mystic, but as a martyr. The knights who hacked his skull open in his own cathedral did so on account of hatred of the faith: their own and that if King Henry II. Famously the king humbled himself with public penance and the knights sought forgiveness in Rome and accepted the penance of serving 14 years in the Holy Land on Crusade, but at the time, they hated both the Archbishop and the faith he stood for.
</p><p>
Pope Benedict XIV determined that in addition to being killed on account of hatred of the faith, it was necessary to establish that a proposed martyr showed,
</p><blockquote>
“voluntary suffering or toleration of death on account of the faith of Christ, or the act of another virtue in reference to God.”
</blockquote>
Becket is an example of this voluntary toleration of death. For his true and genuine martyrdom, we may be sure that St Thomas was rewarded by God with immediate entry to heaven.
<p>
At the same time, we recognise that our saint had many faults during his life. This can lead to various mistaken ways of assessing him. The most egregious perhaps, was a poll in <i>History Magazine</i> in 2006 which found him to be the second worst Briton of the second millennium. He was only pipped to the post by Jack the Ripper. The historian who proposed him said that he was greedy, hypocritical, the founder of gesture politics and master of the soundbite. Some sense intervened when <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4663032.stm">the editor of the magazine said</a> that,</p>
<blockquote>
“In an era when thumbscrews, racks and burning alive could be passed off as robust law and order—being guilty of ‘gesture politics’ might seem something of a minor charge.”</blockquote>
<p>Leaving such nonsense aside, there is a more insidious temptation for the modern assessor of flawed sanctity, and that is to suggest that sins and faults make us more “human.” This is akin to the error that St Augustine made as a Manichee, and corrected with searing accuracy as a Christian. Just as evil is not an independent principle existing alongside good, but is the privation of good, so our sins are not a positive part of our make-up that renders us more human, they are a detraction from our humanity, they make us less human.
</p><p>
People are so confused about this today that they even suggest that Jesus had faults and failings as a boy, or that Mary was put out when Our Lord said, “My mother and my brethren are they who hear the word of God, and do it.” It is a short road from heresy to blasphemy.
</p><p>
It is folly to praise Becket because he was “only human” when this is meant to make us comfortable in our own sins so that we can excuse ourselves from repentance and conversion of life. That is precisely the opposite of the lesson that our Saint teaches us.
</p><p>
No! we praise Becket for his virtues, those that he worked on all through his life, and those that he developed more greatly as he became determined to be faithful when called to the office of shepherd. We are inspired by his virtues of faith in Christ, love for the Church and opposition to her enemies.
</p><p>
Ultimately, we thrill with admiration at his courage. His martyrdom was not suddenly sprung on him. While in exile he had a vision of it while staying in a monastery. When he returned to England, he knew full well the mortal danger that he was in, not only from the King, but from many enemies both lay and clerical.
</p><p>
When he celebrated Midnight Mass at Canterbury in 1170, a few days before his martyrdom, he told the faithful that he was soon to be taken from them, reminded them of his predecessor St Alphege, and told them that Canterbury would soon have another martyr.
</p><p>
When the knights finally came for him, there was a meeting at which demands were made by them and refused by the Saint. It ended in a violent row. (Perhaps they needed a qualified facilitator?) The holy archbishop and his attendants went to the Cathedral and as he entered, the monks slammed and bolted the doors. Our martyr Saint shouted “Away, you cowards! a church is not a castle” and flung the doors open again. He stood firm before the knights and said, “I am no traitor, and I am ready to die.” When the first sword blow drew blood from his scalp, he said “<i>Into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit!</i>” When they had hacked and gravely wounded him several times, he said,</p>
<blockquote>
“For the name of Jesus and the protection of the church I am ready to embrace death.”
</blockquote>
<p>and then the final blow was struck, his brains spilled onto the pavement, and Saint Thomas Becket, on Tuesday, the 29th of December, 850 years ago, went directly to join in the song of “the white robed army who shed their blood for Christ.”
</p><p>
Often, when we recall the martyrs, we say “Oh! We are not likely to be put to death for the faith.” The way things are going it is getting a little bit more likely each year. So maybe we should return to the more urgent question that might have been asked in Rome or Gaul or North Africa in the days of the Caesars. Will you stand?
</p><p>
Holy monks did. Young students did. In the Canon of the Mass today as every day, we will remember young girls who did. Will <i>you</i> stand?
</p><p>
Yes, you will need God’s grace. You know how to receive that from the sacraments...</p><p>So, will you stand?
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr /><p>
<i>PICTURE CREDIT:</i> <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Murder_Thomas_Becket_MBA_Lyon_D411.jpg">Wikimedia</a>. Reliquary with the muder of St. Thomas Becket. Champlevé, enameled and gilt copper, Limoges, ca. 1210.
</p><p>
Museum of Fine Arts of Lyon (First floor, room 17)
</p><p>
<i>Source</i>: Marie-Lan Nguyen (User:Jastrow), 2008-12-26
</p><p>
<i>Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Generic license. (Cropped)</i>
</p>FatherTFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11451700981977182260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25543378.post-87332229455555596032020-12-23T20:38:00.002+00:002020-12-23T22:50:24.562+00:00Cancelling Christmas and preparing the way for the turkey
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTLvGwi6lxwlieeRc_Cx2q43ghpfnqLk19sw58CvHOFtrXRlksVSAOnafGd4j64g-WYSFrvuIDUrjTDJocu614x6ciMRTGjT2A6iON7_CLb2QCTsVRK_eKqxluiE5GYeI65Ujv/s739/Boris.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="531" data-original-width="739" height="460" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTLvGwi6lxwlieeRc_Cx2q43ghpfnqLk19sw58CvHOFtrXRlksVSAOnafGd4j64g-WYSFrvuIDUrjTDJocu614x6ciMRTGjT2A6iON7_CLb2QCTsVRK_eKqxluiE5GYeI65Ujv/w640-h460/Boris.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<p>On Sunday, many newspapers announced that the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, had solemnly proclaimed that he had been compelled to cancel Christmas.</p><p>
I found this amusing and wondered if he had sent a negotiating team by time travel to the reign of Caesar Augustus, tasked by Her Majesty’s Government to persuade the High Priest, to petition God the Father to delay the incarnation for the time being. An anonymous spokesman from 10 Downing Street would then brief the media that although saving the human race was important, it was necessary first of all to save the NHS.
</p><p>
Of course the Prime Minister didn’t really mean that and we may have sympathy for him in making difficult decisions. We should pray for him and for all those who hold civil power.
</p><p>
Unfortunately, however Christmas for many is far removed from the celebration of the incarnation of the second person of the Blessed Trinity. It may seem that Christmas has indeed been cancelled for anyone who has been preparing the way for the turkey without thinking about preparing the way for the Lord.
</p><p>
And yet the feast of Our Saviour’s birth is still a part of the culture. We may give thanks for that, and hope that for some at least, the sad mitigation of the human good of families gathering together, may be softened by having a sense, even if dimmed by secular concerns, that something much greater is left intact.
</p><p>
In today’s Magnificat antiphon at Vespers, we pray:
</p><blockquote>O Emmánuel, Rex et légifer noster, exspectátio géntium, et Salvátor eárum: veni ad salvándum nos, Dómine, Deus noster.<br /><br />
<i>O Emmanuel, our King and our Law-giver, expectation of the peoples, and their Saviour: come to save us, O Lord our God!</i>
</blockquote>
<p>At our Christmas Masses, we will rejoice that the One who was longed for over centuries of preparation by priest and prophet, has indeed come to save us. The beautiful liturgy of Holy Mother Church allows us to bask in this great truth through the office of the feast and its Octave, the great celebration of the Word made flesh being shown to the Jews and the Gentiles, all the way through to His Baptism and the beginning of His public life with miracles that had never been seen before, teaching that had never been heard before, and the inauguration of the Kingdom that will have no end.
</p><p>
May the infant Christ bless us, and His Holy Mother help us to take these mysteries to our heart once again with greater fervour and deeper love in return to the Father, Son and Holy Ghost who have loved us first and loved us with such great benevolence.</p><p></p>FatherTFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11451700981977182260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25543378.post-17563827454862497782020-12-13T19:50:00.008+00:002020-12-13T20:00:01.697+00:00From the Immaculate Conception to the Blessed Sacrament<div class="separator"><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:0_%27Immacul%C3%A9e_conception%27_-_Philipp_Veit_-_Trinit%C3%A0_dei_Monti_%C3%A0_Rome.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Jean-Pol GRANDMONT, CC BY 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons"><img alt="The Immaculate Conception (Philipp Veit)" height="640" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/91/0_%27Immacul%C3%A9e_conception%27_-_Philipp_Veit_-_Trinit%C3%A0_dei_Monti_%C3%A0_Rome.JPG/1024px-0_%27Immacul%C3%A9e_conception%27_-_Philipp_Veit_-_Trinit%C3%A0_dei_Monti_%C3%A0_Rome.JPG" width="422" /></a></div>
<p>
St John the Baptist clearly states he is not the one who is to come, but that there is indeed one who is to come, the Christ, or Messiah, who had been expected through long ages. St John the Baptist’s exalted vocation was to be the last and greatest of the prophets, the one privileged finally to prepare the way for Him.
</p><p>
St Paul says that Our Lord is “before all, and by him all things consist.” (Col 1:17) In another place, he says that God “chose us in [Christ] before the foundation of the world.” (Eph 1:4) If we follow many theologians, especially those of the Franciscan school, we can read St Paul as indicating that the very incarnation of Christ was in the mind, or the wisdom, of the Blessed Trinity from before all creation, to bring us to the fullness of life in Him.</p><p>
The means by which we are given the fullness of life here on earth is the Blessed Sacrament, our Holy Communion with God, through the body and blood of Christ. The sacred flesh and blood of Our Lord is united to His divinity because the human nature of Jesus is united to His divine nature in one person, in the hypostatic union. As Tertullian put it, <i>Caro salutis est cardo</i>, the flesh is the hinge of salvation. The divine Word became flesh to share our flesh, so that we, by sharing His flesh, should also share in His divinity. Thus we are reminded in the prayer that the priest says silently when he mingles water and wine at the offertory.
</p><p>
The flesh of Our Blessed Lord is essential to our salvation. Therefore it is of great importance how He took on flesh.
</p><p>
God prepared for the incarnation by choosing one woman to be, as Wordsworth put it, “our tainted nature’s solitary boast.” Since the sin of our first parents, no woman, no human person, has been conceived without original sin. Our Lady was, so that the flesh and blood of Christ would not be tainted, but would be as all flesh should have been from the beginning.
</p><p>
Our Lady gave her flesh to Christ. His precious body and blood were formed in the womb from her flesh and blood which itself began its existence at the Immaculate Conception. As Father Faber put it,
</p>
<blockquote>“… for each one of us that marvellous avenue of graces, which began in the Immaculate Conception, runs without a fault or break straight to the Blessed Sacrament. […] So at every mass, and in each communion we look up to the Immaculate Conception.” <br />(Faber. <i><a href="https://archive.org/details/a579622000fabeuoft/page/n5/mode/2up" target="_blank">The Blessed Sacrament</a></i>. p.179, 180)</blockquote>
<p>
In God, there is no parcelling out of one mystery and another, nor is there a set of compartments to close off doctrine, liturgy and devotion. To take as an example, the writer I have quoted, Fr Faber, in his hymns and devotions, cannot be reduced to Victorian indulgence in sentimental imaginings cut off from the supposedly stern and dessicated business of dogmatic theology.
</p><p>
It was because of his lively faith in the Immaculate Conception and the Incarnation, the Redemption and sacramental theology, that he was led, like St Bernard and many others before him, to fill out the picture described in the magisterium of Popes and Councils in a way that would draw people to follow Christ, to love Our Lady, to learn their catechism, to attend Mass and receive Holy Communion devoutly, to pray the Rosary, to sing hymns, to rejoice at Christmas, and to weep at the Cross.
</p><p>
In my favourite hymn of his, Faber speaks of the expectation of Our Lady, dawning at the Annunciation, bringing rapture to her ear, with overflowing grace. He speaks of the angels falling before her to adore Jesus in her womb. He tells of how Our Lady was thrilled with joy when she heard in the Jewish liturgy the words of the psalms and the prophets telling of Him, the One Who is to come, the One who is now the sacred burden within her. That burden, he says, became newer and newer over those nine months, pressing on her with new grace every moment.
</p><p>
Then finally, in the last verse, he makes the prayer that we may make our own as we approach the glorious feast of our salvation:
</p>
<blockquote>
Thou hast waited, child of David!<br />
And thy waiting now is o’er!<br />
Thou hast seen Him, blessed Mother<br />
And wilt see Him evermore!<br />
O His Human Face and Features!<br />
They were passing sweet to see;<br />
Thou beholdest them this moment;<br />
Mother, show them now to me.<br />
(Faber. <i><a href="https://archive.org/details/hymns00faberich/page/n7/mode/2up" target="_blank">Hymns</a></i> p.174)</blockquote><p> </p>
<hr />
<p><i>PICTURE CREDIT:</i> Oil on canvas "Immaculate Conception" produced in 1830 by Philipp Veit, - Orsini Chapel - Church of the Trinity of the Mountains in Rome (Italy). <i>Wikimedia Commons</i>. Author: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Jean-Pol_GRANDMONT" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Jean-Pol GRANDMONT</a>
</p>FatherTFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11451700981977182260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25543378.post-15345124546286070602020-11-28T11:29:00.001+00:002020-11-28T11:29:30.760+00:00Retirement of Bishop Patrick Lynch<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4MQislqVGHU6H0uC-vRIJkr-7NwjTbXSIp1QV9Lb1tftVG1nZB1cwu4iXBoARKJOlZgeDrqUMymiaLNsAtxxTKNoUOmUB4Zpo3Dq0nrzqx5wmX-PypUatOsIwvr3LtNFL3rI2/s640/Bishop-Pat-Lynch-at-the-2011-Mass-for-Migrants.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4MQislqVGHU6H0uC-vRIJkr-7NwjTbXSIp1QV9Lb1tftVG1nZB1cwu4iXBoARKJOlZgeDrqUMymiaLNsAtxxTKNoUOmUB4Zpo3Dq0nrzqx5wmX-PypUatOsIwvr3LtNFL3rI2/w640-h480/Bishop-Pat-Lynch-at-the-2011-Mass-for-Migrants.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p>Pope Francis has accepted the request of Bishop Patrick Lynch (auxiliary in Southwark) to retire slightly early on health grounds.
</p><p>
Bishop Lynch has had special responsibility for the deaneries of the SE London area, including the parish of Blackfen where I served for many years and Lewisham where I now live in semi-retirement. I wish him well.
</p><p>If you are tempted to ask me details such as dates, here is the page on the ever-helpful <a href="https://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/blync.html">Catholic Hierarchy website for Bishop Lynch</a>.</p><p><br /></p><p>
The following is a statement from Archbishop John Wilson:
</p>
<hr />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRCKKj6p8K1BXVDejENLOtncZ0Os6oXIxj8at6a_sPbakXbxjvesjtdvTlGinLEKke_PWqyCxRErB0oB81lRvPDPvOdIKuMl9vXA1BrdAN5489y8iWEL81Aw4J5eJUMqkGul_b/s0/RCSouthwark+crest.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="202" data-original-width="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRCKKj6p8K1BXVDejENLOtncZ0Os6oXIxj8at6a_sPbakXbxjvesjtdvTlGinLEKke_PWqyCxRErB0oB81lRvPDPvOdIKuMl9vXA1BrdAN5489y8iWEL81Aw4J5eJUMqkGul_b/s0/RCSouthwark+crest.jpg" /></a></div>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Archdiocese of Southwark</h2>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The Retirement of Bishop Patrick Lynch SS.CC</span></p><p>
</p><p>We are grateful to the Holy Father for granting this request and for the support of Archbishop Gugerotti, the Apostolic Nuncio to Great Britain. We thank the Religious Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary for the gift of Bishop Pat to the Archdiocese of Southwark, first as a priest and then as a Bishop. As he now steps back from the formal office of Auxiliary Bishop, we are delighted that he will be retiring in the Archdiocese where he has made his home and has so many friends.
</p><p>
Bishop Pat has served the Archdiocese with distinction and generosity as a true shepherd to clergy, religious, and laity alike. His pastoral mission here for the past twenty-two years, the last fourteen of those as an Auxiliary Bishop, has been marked by passion for the Gospel, deep sensitivity, and a special care for migrants and ethnic chaplaincies and communities. Along with pastoral responsibility for the parishes of South East London, Bishop Pat has also exercised oversight of Catholic education, working faithfully with four Archbishops. Added to this has been his important collaboration with the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, and the Holy See, in working to combat human slavery and trafficking.
</p><p>
Bishop Pat’s joy as a disciple and a pastor, always quick to encourage and affirm, has been such a blessing to so many people. We extend to him our immense gratitude for all he has given to our Archdiocese and the Church in England and Wales. As soon as it is practically possible, we will arrange for the celebration of Mass in St George’s Cathedral to mark Bishop Pat’s retirement.
</p><p>
On hearing the news from Rome, Bishop Pat wrote: “For the last twenty-two years I have been privileged to have served the Lord here in the Archdiocese of Southwark – in the parishes of Nunhead and South Norwood, as Vicar for Religious and as Auxiliary Bishop. Unfortunately, however, the after effect of surgery nine years ago is now limiting my ability to carry out some pastoral responsibilities. I am, therefore, grateful to our Holy Father and to Archbishop John for their understanding and for accepting my wish to retire from active ministry as an Auxiliary Bishop. As I begin the transition to retirement I give thanks for the many ways the Lord has blessed me over those years: through the kindness and wisdom of Archbishops Michael, Kevin, Peter and John; through the support and dedication of the priests, deacons and religious of the Archdiocese; and through the prayers and witness of so many lay people. Do remember me in your prayers in the weeks and months to come. I extend to you every good wish and blessing.”
</p><p>
We offer Bishop Pat our sincere thanks and love as he moves into a new expression and pace of ministry. We very much look forward to him continuing to be part of the life of the Archdiocese and assure him of our heartfelt prayers and support.
</p><p>
✠ John Wilson<br />
Archbishop of Southwark<br />
28 November 2020</p>
<p></p><p></p><p></p>FatherTFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11451700981977182260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25543378.post-82114555645487827052020-11-26T20:40:00.001+00:002020-11-26T20:40:22.802+00:00Happy Thanksgiving<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguzoaHR4gc7J7xQ2riBWqJ9sXrZsw8cmYNryitQx5nvEtApUPeVYKfGYFKtwXUEnT2yNgEy8clQdzB5oPER9iWxjhztRqY8asdy4aQQsJNuecUSh3eEbibrQwDe3LaN0z_KlJf/s1300/Thanksgiving.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="976" data-original-width="1300" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguzoaHR4gc7J7xQ2riBWqJ9sXrZsw8cmYNryitQx5nvEtApUPeVYKfGYFKtwXUEnT2yNgEy8clQdzB5oPER9iWxjhztRqY8asdy4aQQsJNuecUSh3eEbibrQwDe3LaN0z_KlJf/w640-h480/Thanksgiving.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>A very Happy Thanksgiving to all readers in the United States of America. I hope that you have a lovely turkey, pumpkin pie and all the rest. May God bless your families and may God bless America.</p>FatherTFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11451700981977182260noreply@blogger.com