The Hermeneutic of Continuity

Mixing of Rites One common comment that I hear, especially from priests, regarding the old rite, is “I don’t agree with the mixing of rites.” I beg to differ. I do agree with the mixing of rites: but only in one direction. I do not think it is a sensible thing to attempt to enforce upon the SSPX or the FSSP or the ICSP any of the liturgical reforms that have taken place in the wake of Vatican II. The principle is now firmly established that the Classical Roman Rite was not abolished, and it would be difficult to persuade any devotees of the old rite to accept even minor changes introduced during the 60s. There is a live debate in scholarly circles about the wisdom of some of the reforms introduced even before Vatican II, notably in the Breviary and in Holy Week. It makes sense to leave well alone as far as the old Mass is concerned. However the Novus Ordo does not have any such privileged position. I was interested to read recently that Cardinal Estevez wished to modify the 3rd editio...

Personal experience In response to my post on the Halloween Mass, Puella Paschalis asked how greater use of the Classical Rite would help to prevent or decrease liturgical abuses. We might also ask whether it is better to push for greater freedom of the Classical Rite or simply to further the more reverent celebration of the Novus Ordo . Until December 2001, my own position was that in the vast majority of parishes in the Church, the Novus Ordo was well established and that, practically speaking, it was not worth expending much energy on the Classical Rite. I have many friends who only celebrate the Novus Ordo , who do so with great dignity and reverence, and whose parishes are beacons of good practice. Some of them were a little dismayed by my conversion to being a Classical Rite enthusiast: I am sure some of them discounted it as Tim Finigan being a bit inclined to seek a lost cause and a last ditch. What brought about my conversion was something quite simple. I was asked to celebr...

Ecclesiological I realise that part I of this essay does not entirely address the question asked by Puella Paschalis – How will the use of the Classical Rite stop abuses? At one level, of course, it will do nothing. Those who are implacably opposed to the old rite will carry on as before, perhaps deriding those parishes that make the old rite available, and finding any excuse to show how unpastoral it all is. However, the principal effect of liberalising the Classical Rite would be to pass the initiative back to those who are loyal to the Church. At the present time, we have a veritable bibliography of official documents from the Vatican condemning abuses and ordering their cessation. Yet still we have the “Halloween Mass” and any number of lesser abuses perpetuated on a daily basis in parishes throughout the Western Church. In order to counteract these abuses, the faithful must write to the Bishop, or the Nuncio, or to the Congregation for Divine Worship, wait for replies, excuses, an...

After reading Amy Wellborn's post Motu Mania cont'd , I was going to bash out a light-hearted post about John Allen being caught in the undertow and carried off to Motumanialand. However, reading his post Hold your breath for the next media frenzy: The Latin Mass document is coming I saw that he made some serious points and thought it would be a good idea to respond in kind. The important nugget that Allen has found is a letter from Cardinal Kasper, responding to concerns raised by the International Council of Christians and Jews (see Impact on Interreligious Relations of the Potential Wider Use of the Latin 1962 Catholic Missal .) The Council said "The theology and spirituality of the Missa Tridentina , in particular regarding the doctrine of the Church, also contradicts much that was theological [ sic ] central to the Second Vatican Council." In his letter, the Cardinal said: "While I do not know what the pope intends to state in his final text, it is clear t...

I met Brother Francis Waddelove many years ago when visiting the home of Claire Waddelove who was professed as a nun at St Cecilia's, Ryde in the same year that I was ordained. Brother Francis' sister, Mary, lives in my parish. The death of his sister Agnes was the occasion of my first celebration of the Classical Roman Rite of Mass. Brother Francis was a Jesuit brother of the old school and his life shows how traditional Catholicism went hand-in-hand with genuine work for social justice. This obituary of Brother Francis Waddelove is from the Jesuit Province of Zimbabwe Newsletter for August 2007. Brother Francis Waddelove on 8th June, 2007, had a fall outside the dining room in Richartz House and fractured the top of his femur. A week in St Anne's brought the decision there should be no operation: his age and a kidney problem suggested rather not an operation, but six weeks in bed in traction in Richartz House. In the end, just too much for him, and at the age of 92, 74 ye...

Today, bloggers Fr Ray Blake , Jane and I met up at the Ha Ha bar at Victoria for lunch. Fr Blake suprised me at Westminster Cathedral while I was being horrified by the latest issue of the Tablet. Can someone tell me - why is this paper on sale at the Cathedral? The Tablet have contacted me to say that my fisk of the article "That was not my Mass" was a breach of copyright and would I remove it. The last ditch liberals really do not understand the internet, do they?  OK, the article is down. Now here is my legally compliant review, with only little bits quoted in accordance with the "fair use" provision, and the rest reported in my own words. (The previous version allowed complete fairness to the author of the article by quoting her words exactly.) Following the Zuhlsdorf convention, at various points, there are my emphases in black and my comments in red . It's a bit ragged in places and you can see the joins - but hey! I'm not spending all night on this...

On the feast of the Assumption, Mark Dowd came to Blackfen with producer, Helen Grady to record our Mass at Blackfen and talk to some parishioners in the Social Club afterwards. I had a session with them some days later, talking particularly about the Mass and about Pope Benedict. This was all in preparation for the programme " The Pope's British Divisions " which was broadcast on Radio 4 this morning (it is available on iPlayer for a few days). I was at the seminary at Wonersh for a "Staff Review and Planning Day" and, unusually, found myself listening to the radio after breakfast. Naturally, only a small portion of the recorded material was actually used in the programme; it is part of the art of producing such a piece that a judicious selection is made. As any producer would expect, I would have one or two quibbles but from a media point of view, it is fascinating to see how much work is put into such projects. There were pieces from Pluscarden, Aberdeen,...

In response to the post Facing the Crucifix , Gem of the Ocean said: H'mmm...so the pope wants me to look at the cross on the altar, rather than the REAL PRESENCE in his own hands? I think that it is worth explaining a little more about the question because obviously it would be wrong for the priest to look at the crucifix in preference to the consecrated host. This is a good example of how the rubrics of the old rite can help us to celebrate the new rite better. In the old rite, the priest learns to look up at the crucifix and then down at the host during the offertory prayer for the bread ( Suscipe sancte Pater ). Thus his attention is drawn to God, to whom he offers the sacrifice, and to the host which is offered. At the same time, he is reminded to offer himself. Offering the chalice, ( Offerimus tibi Domine ) he looks only at the crucifix, asking God's clemency for our salvation and that of the whole world. When "looking up to heaven" in the Canon in union with C...

Bexley Borough Council today held its Civic Parade and Civic Service. As chaplain to the new Mayor, Cllr Brian Bexkwith, I took part in these events which I have never experienced before - obviously I could not normally come to such things on a Sunday morning. Being part of the official party means that I get to ride in the Mayor's limousine over to the Civic Offices where tea and biscuits are laid on. The biscuits are the subject of wisecracks all day because apparently a local paper has run a "shock horror" story accusing the Council of spending too much on hospitality. The pre-parade tea is an opportunity to meet Colin Tandy, the Deputy Mayor; Ian Clement, the new leader of the Council; the Chief Executive; and the two local MPs, David Evenett and Derek Conway. We are fortunate to have two solidly pro-life MPs who have an excellent voting record in all the pro-life divisions. There is also the Colonel of the local Signals Regiment at Bexleyheath (and various other bits...

There is a very interesting article published today at Catholic Action UK by Daphne McLeod. She argues that the root of the crisis in the Church is to be found primarily in the widespread religious ignorance of the truths of the faith and not primarily in the loss of the older form of the Mass. Daphne's article is a valuable contribution to this discussion because she certainly loves the older form of the Mass and attends it regularly. Hers is not an argument that in any way denies the beauty or the value of the usus antiquior . I think that her comments are timely, prompting us to take a closer look at the question of catechesis. For many years as a student and a priest, I had no great interest in the Classical Roman Rite. I came to know and love it after responding positively to a request for a funeral in the old rite. Having previously considered that the teaching of the faith was the only thing that really mattered (provided that the Liturgy was celebrated reverently, in accor...

Saint Gaspar del Bufalo (1786-1837) was an apostle of devotion to the Precious Blood. Imprisoned for refusing to take the oath of allegiance to Napoleon, and notable in charitable works, he preached with such power that the banditti came to lay down their weapons at his feet. Devotion to the Precious Blood is of fundamental importance. The talk quotes from St Gaspar, St John XXIII and our great English priest, Father Faber. (While you are on YouTube, I would be most grateful if you were to click or tap on the button to "Subscribe" to my channel .) Here is the text if you prefer just to read it: **************************** [Text] St Gaspar del Bufalo and the Precious Blood St Gaspar del Bufalo was born on the feast of the Epiphany in 1786, so his mother named him Gaspar, Melchior Balthasar when he was baptised (on the same day). His family worked in service and lived opposite the Church of the Gesù in Rome, so the young Gaspar would have known the painting there of the...

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 Laetare Sunday is, “I rejoiced at the things that were said to me: We shall go into the house of the Lord.” (Ps 121:1) 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. The young people who had never experienced it were excited to take part for the first time in their lives; we can only imagi...

The LMS Birmingham and Black Country reports on a Mass celebrated according to the usus antiquior for St John Fisher Primary School at West Heath, Birmingham last Thursday. The parish priest, Fr George Grynowski said a Votive Low Mass for the Blessed Sacrament for the school children aged 8-11. Fr Grynowski described how the Mass came about: The Mass started out as a casual comment from myself to Melanie Bullivant. I said something like "wouldn't it be great if the school had the opportunity of experiencing the Extraordinary Form so that they can appreciate something about the richness of the Church's traditional liturgy, which is after all part of their heritage". This would have been as recently as about December last year. I didn't expect much to come from it, certainly not in the immediate future. Melanie mentioned it to the headteacher, and to my great joy I was told that she was quite happy for one of the regular scheduled school Masses to be in the Extr...

I don't often post sermons but as one of my parishioners was kind enough to email me saying that he found today's interesting, I thought it might be worth an airing. My decision to preach on this subject was partly prompted by the depressing sight of Richard Dawkins' latest book The God Delusion on the best-seller shelves in WH Smith and Waterstones. We have seen his star in the East, and have come to worship him. (Matt 2.2) The Magi, or wise men, represent the “gentiles” of the world, that is to say, the people who had not had the benefit of God’s divine revelation through the law and the prophets as we have written in the Old Testament of our Bible. They were led to Christ by a star, that is to say, through something created. The same is true for many people today. People can observe the beauty and complexity of creation, in the natural sciences, whether through the study of the living cell, the study of the human genome, the study of the mechanism of evolution in the n...

Jennifer Fulwiler at the National Catholic Register pleads with couples: Please Don't Read This Poem at Your Wedding . She is referring to a poem by Khalil Gibran which, as she rightly says, articulates our modern culture's understanding of marriage in which the individual is more important than the family unit, and marriage is seen as a path to self-fulfilment for two individuals. I would only add that artificial contraception brings this understanding of marriage into the bedroom. Jennifer's post reminded me of my younger sister's remark in the course of an excellent talk on marriage that I heard her give some years ago: "One flesh, one cheque book." I count myself fortunate not to have come across Khalil Gibran's poem at a wedding, but I have heard (Anglican) Canon Henry Scott-Holland's reflection on death at some funerals. Having been in parish ministry for 26 years, I have conducted hundreds of funerals, and am no stranger to bereavement mys...

Yesterday was the feast of the English and Welsh Martyrs and so I recorded a sermon in which I considered not only the courage of the martyrs, but also the prejudice, abuse and dirty tricks they were subjected to. It is helpful to remember that the actual experience of the martyrs was not always a simple progress to glory, and to learn from the difficulties they faced. We may also have to face prejudice, lies and nastiness and we should be prepared for that as a part of carrying the cross with our Blessed Lord. Against this background the verve, spirit, and good humour of the martyrs is all the more inspiring, and a good lesson for us. I hope you enjoy the video. Here is the text if you prefer just to read it: TEXT for "Lessons from the English Martyrs" Laudetur Iesus Christus. Praised be Jesus Christ. Our Lady, seat of wisdom. Pray for us. I am speaking to you today from my little domestic chapel in Lewisham which I have informally dedicated to Our Lady, Seat of ...