The Hermeneutic of Continuity

Thanks to the New Liturgical Movement we can see the official photos from this year's Chartres Pilgrimage. Once again I miserably failed to organise myself to get over at least for the closing Mass. Some of my friends did, however, and thanks to Fr Martin Edwards' Facebook album, here is a photo: (By the way, NLM also have news that the Catholic Music Association of America have posted some more black and white images that are useful for newsletters and suchlike.)

This afternoon I was up at the Good Counsel Network on one of my regular visits to give Benediction after the day's adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. This adoration is an essential part of the work of the Good Counsel Network. They are very much on the front line of pro-life work, providing compassionate and practical help to women who are tempted to have an abortion. The tabernacle currently in use is not large enough properly to hold the pyx which contains the Benediction host. It has to be put in (reverently, of course) on its side, in order to fit into the small tabernacle along with the ciborium. I'm delighted to see that there is now a better tabernacle (see the Maria Stops Abortion blog ) donated by a kind priest. Quite properly it has been re-gilded to make it more respectable to hold the Blessed Sacrament. The cost was £1000 - maybe someone might be able to cover this? It would help keep funds available for the vital work of safeguarding unborn children and ass...

Judge not, that you may not be judged. For with what judgment you judge, you shall be judged: and with what measure you mete, it shall be measured to you again. (Matt 7.1-2) How often do we see this verse quoted in response to Catholic blog posts? Criticise the public actions of a politician or a high-ranking ecclesiastic and you can be sure that someone will say that you should not be "judgmental". Should bloggers cringe in shame at failing to observe the teaching of Our Lord in the Sermon on the Mount? I think we can reasonably take a deeper look at this. We cannot "judge" someone in the way that God judges us. (He will judge us, by the way.) We do not have the right to make such a judgement, or in fact the information on which to base it. Only God knows the subjective state of an individual's soul. So even if we consider the infernal columns' brutal repression of the rising in the Vendée, the Mexican campaign against priests such as St Christopher Mage...

The Reluctant Sinner has been to Westminster Cathedral to chat to the security team and find out what happened at yesterday's homosexual Rainbow Sash protest. As he reports , nobody turned up. I think we can all be relieved that the rainbow was so completely washed out. As I said in my previous post , this kind of protest does not by any means represent homosexual Catholics, most of whom live in peace and quiet, struggling with temptations from time to time just as we all do. To be honest, I am impressed and heartened by the Catholic gay community's universal rejection of the Rainbow Sash nonsense.

This evening there will be the first showing of the Marie Stopes advertisement for abortion on TV. less publicised was the visit last week to the London headquarters of Marie Stopes International by "Madame Sterilisation", Ms. Li Bin. There is a report of the visit at Tibet Truth which comments: No doubt the Minister of China’s National Population and Family Planning Commission was warmly received by the multi-lateral population agency, which works inside communist China, yet would appear oblivious to the horrifying women’s human rights violations caused by China’s coercive birth-control policies. Like its ‘sister’ organizations the United Nations Fund for Population and the International Planned Parenthood Federation, MSE though acutely aware of China’s program of forced sterilizations and forced abortions, which have traumatized countless women in China and occupied regions such as Tibet and East Turkestan, seems unable to offer a word of public condemnation, concern or ...

Father of three, Paul Mallinder, writes a blog called Catholic Whistle devoted especially to Catholic Social Teaching. Recently he asked an interesting question about the relationship between Liturgy and Catholic Social teaching. You might want to pop over and offer your own pearls of wisdom in the combox...

The Latin Mass Society is sponsoring a new sodality for altar servers who serve the classical form of the Roman Rite: the Society of St Tarcisius . The aims are listed as follows: 1. To promote the dignified, devout, and accurate service of the altar in the traditional Roman rite. 2. To promote the spiritual formation of altar servers, in the spirit of St Tarcisius, who accepted death rather than allow the profanation of the most holy sacrament. 3. To disseminate information on the correct service of the altar, and arrange from time to time training events for servers. 4. To maintain a list of those who are willing and able to serve at the traditional liturgy, and provide this information to those organizing traditional events, where needed. The website says that the Society is "specifically committed to the traditional Latin liturgy of the Catholic church, in a form no later than that current in 1962" which is a rather good way of putting it. This is a very welcome...

A blog that I had missed putting on the blogroll is A Reluctant Sinner . It's there now and I recommend it. (There are some interesting posts recently on the Rainbow Sash protest.)

Damian Thompson reports on the great news that James MacMillan's new Mass will be sung in Coventry as well as Glasgow . This follows his earlier report on the rather depressing proposals for the music at the Pope's Mass, concluding with the sound observation, "The Coventry Mass should be one that makes the heart soar, not the toes curl." The new Mass by James MacMillan is a setting for the words of the new ICEL translation. It is not clear yet whether the Holy Father will himself use the new translation at the Masses in Glasgow and Coventry. Fr Blake discusses the question of Jumping the gun with ICEL as has Fr Boyle . Fr Blake's post on ICEL: Ad Experimentum makes interesting reading. I would have thought that a Bishop in his own diocese has competence to authorise the use ad experimentum of a text that has received recognitio from the Holy See. In fact, the new translation is being used all over the place at "special" gatherings, by Bishops,...

The abortion provider, Marie Stopes organisation has arranged for abortion adverts to appear on TV Channel 4 on Monday 24th May at 10.10pm and throughout June. There is some good information about possible legal challenges to this advertisement at John Smeaton's post: Abortion advertisement move is deplorable . To make an objection to the Government, you should write to the new Secretary of State for Culture, Media, and Sport, the Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt MP. The email address is enquiries@culture.gsi.gov.uk From John's post, here are some points you could make: Abortion is in English law a criminal offence. Advertising of a criminal offence is not permitted. European law also prohibits the advertising of restricted (i.e. on prescription) medical procedures, such as abortion. [cf. the Audio-Visual Media Regulations 2010, preamble, 89] The Broadcasting Act 1990 requires that advertising is not offensive or harmful. Abortion is offensive to the countless women damaged by abort...

The Rainbow Sash Movement is planning a protest at Westminster Cathedral during the 10.30am Mass this coming Sunday 23 May. The website says: The Rainbow Sash is worn during the Sacred Liturgy as a symbol of self identification, and indicates that the wearer is a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Ally (LGBTA). The text goes on to say: Pentecost is the Birthday of the Universal Church it is a time to celebrate our diversity as a people of faith with honesty. We welcome all who believe that all the member s of our Church can approach the sacred Eucharist with humility, and integrity. Participation does not require membership in the Rainbow Sash Movement or that you need to be of the Catholic faith. None Catholics are encouraged to join us in this celebration. (Spelling and punctuation errors in the original.) First of all, it should be understood clearly that this kind of protest does not by any means represent all homosexual Catholics. Many Catholics with a homosexual orientat...

Young Catholic Adults helps to introduce younger people to the Traditional Mass and the heritage of the Church. Hallmarks are the celebration of the classical Roman Rite, fidelity to the magisterium and to Papal teaching. YCA is affiliated to the International Juventutem Federation . The aims of YCA are: To foster authentic Catholic teaching and spirituality. To promote a spirit of charity as practised by the great saints of the Church such as St. John Vianney, St. Francis de Sales and the English Martyrs. It is principally aimed at young adults. We aim to promote a spir it of beauty and reverence in the Sacred Liturgy. Here is a link to the latest YCA Newsletter which was produced with the help of the St Catherine's Trust . There is also a Young Catholic Adults blog .

The Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate at Lanhearne are in need of an ombrellino (ceremonial umbrella) for when the Blessed Sacrament is transferred from one place to another. Since they do live a very frugal life, the cost of such an item would be prohibitive for them. Three possibilities, I think: If you have a spare ombrellino in your sacristy that is unused, it would find a good home and you would benefit from the prayers of the good sisters. If you have some spare money, you could buy them one If you follow sources of second-hand liturgical items (I know that some readers do enthusiastically!) then you could notify them if one comes up at a reasonable cost Please leave a comment here or email me if you have definitely provided one so that I can update the post to say "problem solved" (now done) - but contact the sisters or their chaplain directly to arrange things: Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate, House of Contemplation of the Blessed Virgin of Mt. ...

Since this is the sort of thing that many lay people find hilarious, I thought I should share it with you. Here is the website for Padre Cup - Championnat de karting des pretres which takes place on 7 June 2010. I'll wait to see whether the big screen in the Parish Social Club gets reserved for this. (Only if Millwall aren't playing that day, of course.)

I am happy to pass on details of a Gregorian Chant workshop to be held next month at Portsmouth Cathedral: GREGORIAN CHANT WORKSHOP and Vespers & Benediction SATURDAY 12 JUNE 2010 10.00 – 16.00 St John’s Catholic Cathedral Portsmouth Jointly led by the Abbot of Farnborough Abbey and a Director of the Schola Gregoriana of Cambridge 09.30 Registration 16.00 Vespers and Benediction Music materials provided Tea/Coffee available Fee - £15 All Welcome – Beginners & Experienced Contact: chantnetwork@gmail.com or Tel: 023 92862384

EWTN now has its own YouTube channel . You can see full episodes of Life on the Rock, homilies, special reports, news items and more. H/T Young Catholic Adults

Many years ago, Sir James Goldsmith's "Now" magazine was the butt of jokes in Private Eye on account of the planting of piles of unsolicited copies in dentists' waiting rooms in a desperate bid to increase sales. Several parish priests have recently told me that they have received piles of unsolicited copies of the Tablet . It would be interesting to know how widespread this is. To my knowledge, Blackfen parish has not received any, but I expect my sacristan would swiftly hide them from me if they were to be delivered. She is touchingly concerned for Father's health and would not want him to suffer high blood pressure unnecessarily. The altar servers who enjoyed the fire extinguisher training session are desperate for a re-run with a real blaze. They did suggest that the Tablet would be suitable kindling matter but could not find any copies in the Church. I encourage parish priests to let me know if they have had problems with the Tablet mountain - and re...

An amusing piece in the Times:  Parlez vous any other language at all? The reporters tried calling various public bodies and speaking different languages to see what response they would get. The National Association of Head Teachers didn't have anyone who could speak French but the Cabinet Office comes out quite well, having someone on hand who could speak Dutch. The Catholic Media Office did at least have someone with GCSE Latin. This stunt reminds me of an occasion when I was in a supermarket in Belgium. The girl at the checkout was about 18. She spoke to me in Flemish, changed to French, then realised from my accent that I was English, so spoke to me in fluent English with only a trace of accent. In England, speaking a foreign language fluently is regarded as a skill comparable to being a chess grandmaster. (And I even got a lolcats picture on the blog!)

I am happy to pass on information about a forthcoming Family Values Conference to be held in London: Family Values Conference Baden-Powell House, Cromwell Road. 2nd – 3rd June Our Bishops pointed out in their pre-election document “Choosing the Common Good” that a healthy democracy depends upon much more than the politics at the top. It also rests upon sound values and strong family life reviving society. The Family Values conference is being held as part of National Family Week under the aegis of The World Congress of Families. Those who have already been to one of these big family events will know how impressive it is to hear speakers from different faiths, different disciplines and different countries talking with a united voice on the importance of family. This event is actually being organised by a game woman from the Church of Latter Day Saints who was so taken by the WCF event in Amsterdam last summer that she determined to hold a London event as part of National Family Week...

Dale McAlpine is a Christian street preacher who was at his pitch in Cumbria, preaching the gospel. After his preaching, in response to a question from a passerby, he spoke of a number of sins that were condemned in the Bible, including homosexual behaviour. After the passerby made a complaint, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Liaison Police Community and Support Officer (sic!) challenged him and then arranged for Her Majesty's Constabulary to come and arrest him. You can see the build-up in the video above; it goes like this: Police : What have you been saying, homophobic wise? [...] Dale : I spoke to your officer earlier and he was upset that I was saying homosexuality was a sin - which is what the Bible says. And I affirm that's what I say because that's in the bible and there's no law, there's no law... Police : Well there is. Dale : No there isn't Police : There is. Unfortunately mate, it's a breach of Section 5 of the Public Orde...