The Hermeneutic of Continuity

H/T to Auntie Joanna for this great video.

Have a look at Fr George's Immaculata Conceptio blog. Fr Geoprge is a permanent chaplain in the Sanctuaries of Our Lady of Lourdes in France and his blog is especially devoted to an "in-your-face historical critical scientific exegesis of Genesis 2,4–3,24" and other scriptural texts relating to the Immaculate Conception. Fr George is highly competent in ancient languages and exegesis so do go over to see his contribution to this fascinating area of study.

I must tell you of two forthcoming Masses for children in the Classical Roman Rite. At Our Lady of the Rosary, Blackfen, at 4.30pm on the feast of the Immaculate Conception (8 December) we will have a Low Mass with hymns and some catechesis for children during the Mass. All are welcome, including children of all ages. At the Little Oratory, next to the London Oratoryin Brompton Road, on Sunday 7 December, there sill be a Traditional Sunday Mass for children at the usual time of 11.15 am. (Children who like to sing are invited to a practice before Mass at 10.40am to rehearse the Communion hymn upstairs in St Wilfrid's Hall (it will be simple - no experience necessary).

"Let us put on the armour of light." (Rom 13.12) Advent has now begun and the Holy Father has celebrated Pontifical Vespers in St Peter's. Thanks to the NLM for this picture captured from the CTV coverage. At Mass tomorrow, we hear St Paul's "wake up call", his brusque admonitions against sin, and the challenge to clothe ourselves in Christ.

I am very grateful to Fr Thomas Regan OSB for this fascinating information about Belmont Abbey which he sent me in response to my mentioning that Bishop Fulton Sheen was the titular Bishop of Newport: My monastery, Belmont Abbey, was the Pro-Cathedral for that Benedictine diocese, until 1916. Then Benedict XV raised Belmont to the rank of Abbey in 1920, and the Cathedral was transferred to Cardiff and the Secular Clergy. BUT... In his Bull ' Praeclara Gesta ' he stated "The Holy See will gladly take care that there is never lacking among the Bishops of England and Wales one of the sons of St Benedict, as in former times, and to adorn it with his learning and virtue." From 1859 to 1916, Belmont was the Common House of Studies for the English Benedictine Congregation. Monks from Douai, Downside and Ampleforth were sent there. The monasteries provided 'professors' who became Canons of the Diocesan Chapter - so they were both monks and canons! At Belmont the habi...

The Equality and Human Rights Commission is funding a series of events organised by the British Humanist Association on the topic "'Religion or belief' and equality and human rights". Here is a link to the flyer for the series . £35,000 of your money is being used to fund events in London, Manchester, Birmingham and Cardiff with speakers such as: Evan Harris MP, vice-President of the Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association and an honorary associate of the National Secular Society Angela Mason, who was director of Stonewall from 1992-2002 A C Grayling - another honorary associate of the National Secular Society (The fourth keynote speaker is Brian Gibbons, the Welsh Assembly Government Minister for Social Justice and Local Government.)

The 1927 biography of Teresa Helena Higginson by Lady Cecil Kerr has been republished by Gracewing with an introduction by Fr Paul Haffner. (404 pages £17.99) There is a dedicated website for Teresa Higginson ; this is the introduction from there: Teresa Higginson (1844-1905) was a saintly Catholic schoolteacher. She was born in North Wales, lived most of her life in North West England and Edinburgh, Scotland and died in Chudleigh, Devon. It seems she received many supernatural gifts from God, such as healing, prophecy, bilocation and the stigmata. It is claimed that she was chosen by Christ to make known the devotion to his Sacred Head as the Seat of Divine Wisdom. This would be a remedy for a time of extraordinary intellectual pride and falling-away from faith. It would not only be the completion of the devotion to the Sacred Heart, but the crowning of all devotions. In fact it was prophesied as the one great means for the conversion of England. I remember many years ago looking at ...

On Monday at 12noon, there will be a solemn High Mass in the usus antiquior for the feast of SS Ralph Sherwin and Companions (martyrs of the Venerable English College, Rome) at St Joseph's in Montem Road, New Malden . Fr Nicholas Schofield will be celebrant, I will be Deacon and Fr Charles Briggs will be Subdeacon. Fr Dominic Allain will preach and Fr Richard Whinder will be MC. All are, of course, welcome for the Mass.

H/T to Pellegrinaggio for this video which, as he wrote to me, offers "one of the best arguments for removing baptismal fonts (especially the total immersion variety) from the sanctuary and re-instating them in the baptistery"

Above is a rather good photo of the consecration at the Annual Requiem organised by the Latin Mass Society at Westminster Cathedral last Saturday. And this photo, kindly taken by John Medlin in the sacristy after Mass, shows the servers from Our Lady of the Rosary, Blackfen , who assisted at the Mass:

For traditionalists suffering from the credit crunch, Latin Mass Liturgicals could be just the ticket. Based in the States, their prices are still very reasonable by UK standards. They sell missals, other books, cassocks and surplices, and mantillas. Run by a group of traditional Catholics, for traditional Catholics. We strive to provide the best service, and honest prices for the love of God.

Phil, as well as owning and running a hotel, has a blog called Pellegrinaggio. Crossing the Ponte Sisto which I have just added to the blogroll. Something I found out from the blog today: Bishop Howard Tripp, Emeritus Auxiliary Bishop in Southwark, has the titular see of Newport in Wales. The first titluar Bishop of the see was ... The Rt Rev Fulton J Sheen.

It seems that quite a lot of reaction is building up concerning the case of PC Cogman who has been sacked from Norfolk Police for using the internal email system to express his Christian belief that homosexual acts are sinful. This is clearly a case of one right being allowed to "trump" another. Some observers have said that he should not be allowed to use his employer's email system to express his views; but the occasion for him doing so was the use of his employer's facilities in order to express a strong pro-gay view by heavily promoting "Gay History Month" and putting pressure on officers to wear a pink ribbon. According to the law as it now stands, it is an offence to discriminate against homosexual people by refusing to provide goods and services. While it is only to be expected that the Police Service will enforce this, the law does not require the Police Service to issue pink ribbons and "Gay History Month" literature any more than it requi...

PC Cogman, whom I wrote about yesterday ( A policeman's lot is not an 'appy one ) has now been sacked by Norfolk Police. Cogman was found guilty of two charges: one of failing to comply with a lawful order over the use of police computers and another of failing to treat a colleague with politeness and tolerance. The truth, as both the BBC and Pink News agree in their reports, is that he was sacked for suggesting that gay sex was sinful. I would like to award the "laugh or cry" to the remark of Deputy Chief Constable Ian Learmonth, who said: "This officer's behaviour fell well below what we expect of our people."

The Traditional Priests' Support Trust supports Roman Catholic priests, clergy and religious, who are in need, and who are exclusively committed to celebrating the sacred liturgy in the traditional form. I commend it both to those who may need it and those who may be able to support the charity.

A couple of weeks ago, I received a wonderful parcel from Papa Stronsay Redemptorists - a copy of the newspaper "Catholic" and a number of books that the Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer send out. the paper is 28 pages, A3 sized, and packed full of good articles. The books are amazing - 170 pages, printed slightly smaller than A4 size, on newspaper so that they can be printed and sent out with minimum cost. The latest is "Trench Priest", about Fr William Doyle (I wrote about him recently). They also sent me: "Silent Night", the Transalpine Redemptorist Christmas book with carols in Latin, English and various other languages "Good Philip", the life of St Philip Neri by Alfonso Cardinal Capecelatro di Castelpagano "Mid Snow and Ice", about the apostles of Northwest America by Fr Pierre Douchassous OMI "The Sign of the Cross", a series of letters from Mgr Jean-Joseph Gaume about the Sign of the Cross to a student who had been rid...

They're building new Churches. In France! See this post on Rorate Caeli and this French post with more details .

I have only just heard about the story of PC Graham Cogman who has taken Norfolk Police to an employment tribunal on grounds of harassment because of his traditional Christian values. During Gay History Month, gay liaison officers at the Great Yarmouth HQ put pressure on colleagues to wear a pink ribbon. PC Cogman sent an email round to state his Christian views and remind other officers that Christians, and other members of society, whom they serve as officers, believed homosexual acts to be wrong in God’s eyes. For this, he was banned from using the internal email system. When the same thing happened a year later, he was summoned to a disciplinary hearing. Advised by his lawyers, and fearing to lose his job, he pleaded guilty to a breach of the police code of practice and was fined the maximum, £1,200. After putting a christian text on his computer screen saver, he was questioned again and now faces the possibility of losing his job. Hence his action for harrassment. Thanks to the Ch...

Many thanks to Pat Buckley of the European Life Network for an excellent follow-up to my post Downs Syndrome - not a reason for extermination . The following is from an SPUC paper on abortion : In May 2003, the International Down Syndrome Screening Conference was held in London. A group of people with Down’s Syndrome had asked if they could speak at the conference but were not allowed to. They turned up anyway and one of them, Anya Souza, was finally allowed to say something about her own condition. She said: “I can’t get rid of my Down’s Syndrome, but you can’t get rid of my happiness. You can’t get rid of the happiness I give others either. It’s doctors like you that want to test pregnant women and stop people like me being born. Together with my family and friends I have fought to prevent my separation from normal society. I have fought for my rights… I may have Down’s Syndrome but I am a person first.”

There is an interesting Press Association article today about the recent news that more babies are being born with Downs Syndrome. In 2006, 749 babies who were born had Downs Syndrome. It is certainly good news that more babies with Downs Syndrome are being allowed to live. However, there is some obfuscation here. The Government's National Statistics website reports that there were 669,801 live births in 2006. They say that one in a thousand babies born have Downs Syndrome. This is a misleading statistic in that a large percentage of babies conceived with Downs Syndrome are aborted before birth. (In 2006 there were over 200,000 abortions in the UK according to the Government's statistics.) What we need to know is how many babies are conceived with Downs Syndrome and how many are actually allowed to live despite the pressure of prenatal tests and the ready availability of the "termination of pregnancy" (i.e. the killing of the Downs Syndrome baby.) The AP report puts ...

The FSSP-served Sunday Mass in the Northampton diocese will move from Bedford 4pm to Flitwick 5pm as of the first Sunday of Advent 2008. The new parish church is five minutes from junction 12 of the M1 motorway. The Sacred Heart Church Flitwick has a hall with kitchen and a car park, which will enable people to meet after Mass (and possibly before) for social gathering and catechism according to the needs. The Parish Priest, Canon Denis McSweeney is supportive of the traditional Mass and will kindly provide matching vestments, vessels and liturgical items for a dignified offering of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. The Bishop of Northampton, Rt Rev Peter Doyle, has kindly approved of the FSSP’s request to relocate its regular ministry in his diocese to Flitwick. Canon Denis McSweeney and his parishioners have given a friendly welcome to the FSSP. Address : Sacred Heart Catholic Church Pope Close Flitwick MK45 1JP View Larger Map PS Paul writes to say that the Church is only ten minutes...

Ronald Knox once used the metaphor of a wall to describe the barrier that we put between ourselves and God by our pride and disobedience. He spoke of the Sacred Host as a window in that wall. St Paul said that blood of Christ broke down the "dividing wall" (Eph 2.14) just as the veil of the Temple was torn in two at the crucifixion. Knox reflected that the "glittering disc of whiteness", the Blessed Sacrament, is "penetrated witha light of its own, a light not of this world, shining throughit from behind, as if through a window, outdazzling gold and candle-flame with a more intense radiance." When pondering the feast of Christ the King which is celebrated today in the new calendar, I thought about the affirmation that Christ, the Eternal Word made flesh, is the "master-key" to the meaning of the universe, the eternal wisdom through which the whole universe is framed. "He is before all things and in Him all things hold together." (Col 1....

Yesterday afternoon, the Latin Mass Society held its annual Requiem Mass. Fr Conlon was celebrant, I was deacon and Fr Hayward was subdeacon. The Cathedral choir's rendition of the familiar chants filled the Cathedral with a sense of the numinous as we prayed for the holy souls. I was particularly pleased that five of the servers were from my own parish (thurifer, acolytes, holy water bearer, and second MC). Mass was preceded by the laying of a wreath on at the grave of Cardinal Heenan who, in 1971, obtained the indult from Pope Paul VI to allow the older form of the Mass in England and Wales. The petition requesting this was signed by, among others, Agatha Christia, Graham Greene, Rober Graves, F R Leavis, Yehudi Menuin, and Iris Murdoch. At the Latin Mass Society website, you can read an interesting " Recollection of the 1971 Indult " by Alfred Marnau whom I knew when I was a young student at Oxford. Of course, Pope Benedict has now said that the usus antiquior  "...

H/T to Fr Z for the link to this video concerning the challenge to pro-lifers in the USA especially from Obama's promise to sign the "Freedom of Choice Act" which will have the effect of compelling doctors to perform abortions or lose their job. See Fr Z's post The future and our choices for further comment.

Baltic Flour Mills Visual Arts Trust put up a statue of Our Blessed Lord with an erect penis. The statue is a modified traditional statue of the Sacred Heart as I discover from the Guardian website which sees fit to include a picture of it.  Emily Mapfuwa, a Christian from Essex, took out a private prosecution on the grounds that the statue outraged public decency. The Baltic Flour Mills people were bracing themselves for a trial by jury but then the Crown Prosecution Service intervened and ruled that there was no case to answer. Their statement included the following: "We have taken into account all the circumstances, including the fact that there was no public disorder relating to the exhibition and that there was a warning at the entrance to the gallery about the nature of the work on display. The case has therefore been discontinued." The CPS press release  includes a statement from the Chief Crown Prosecutor Nicola Reasbeck, in which she says, "Under the Prosecution...

Tomorrow the Latin Mass Society has its annual Requiem Mass for deceased members at Westminster Cathedral at 2pm. I will be assisting as Deacon and I am very pleased that some of my servers from Blackfen have been chosen to assist at the ceremonies. Please pray that I manage to sing the Gospel with due gravitas . After Mass, several of us will be meeting up in the Buckingham Arms in Petty France, five minutes walk from the Cathedral ( google map ). If you are attending the Requiem, do come and join us afterwards. (We held the London blognic there in September.)

The US Catholic paper, the Catholic Register, has an important article on Black Pro-Lifers' Joy and Pain . Arnold Culbreath, urban outreach director for Protecting Black Life in Cincinnati pointed out that "abortion remains the leading cause of death in the black community. With President-elect Obama being as aggressively pro-abortion as he is, that makes our work more urgent and necessary." Culbreath continued, "People don't realize that abortion has killed more blacks than the Ku Klux Klan ever lynched." Culbreath noted that blacks have traditionally supported the Democratic Party, but that by doing so, they’ve been forced to go along with a host of other issues that they don't agree with, such as abortion and the redefinition of marriage. "They've had to take the bitter with the sweet, not realizing the Pandora's box that has been opened," In the UK, the mainstream media have been cheerleaders for Obama and many good people have been...

Many thanks to a correspondent who has observed that the Royal Mail have made available the Christmas stamps from 2007 which have an image of the Our Lady with the child Jesus. There are designs for first and second class stamps. Go to the Stamp Sheets page in the online shop and scroll to the foot of the page. I think that this is a very good idea. Nowadays, a company like the Royal Mail can offer "print on demand" via the internet and people can vote with their plastic for the stamps that they would like to use to send Christmas cards. (The 2008 stamps feature pantomime characters.) There is another interesting feature that I have not seen before. You can now make up your own custom stamps with a feature called " Smilers " They are a bit pricey but would be quite fun to do. Here is an example I made as a preview:

John Beyer of mediawatch-uk is organising a petition to 10 Downing Street to call for swearing on TV to be curbed. It reads: We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to make urgent representation to the Broadcasting regulator, Ofcom, the broadcasting institutions operating in the UK and film regulators, asking them to stop the use of unnecessary swearing and bad language in their productions (including those available for downloading from websites) and to urge providers of user-generated content to take similar action. Further information: Concern about the volume and nature of swearing on television made headlines when in November 2008 Michael Grade, the Executive Chairman of ITV, observed that swearing had become “unrestrained” and “indiscriminate”. He also stated that people do not want to hear those words. In May 2008 the Radio Times conducted an opinion poll, which found that 69% of people believed there is too much swearing on TV. In November 2008 the Sunday Express launc...

A correspondent recently found the text of this letter from Cardinal Ugo Poletti which was published in 1982. It promulgates norms approved by Pope John Paul II regarding the wearing of clerical dress in the Diocese of Rome. The most striking provision was his requirement that those who had received "candidacy" should wear clerical dress. In many seminaries, including my own, this was actually forbidden. I remember the afternoon that the news appeared in the Italian edition of L'Osservatore Romano which a priest studying canon law gleefully showed to myself and a good friend who had been made "candidates" earlier in the year. The following morning, we came down to chapel in clerical dress. It may not seem much in hindsight but it was a very controversial matter at the time. My correspondent kindly typed out the letter and suggested that I should post it so that others would not have to undertake the lengthy search that he did. I am very happy to oblige. Sources...

The UK launch of the book “Is it possible to live this way?” by Mgr Luigi Giussani will take place on Thursday 27th of November in Westminster Cathedral Hall at 6.30pm. The book is a compilation of Giussani's conversations with young people who have chosen the path of the consecrated life in the Church - that is, have chosen to live their lives in the world according to the "evangelical counsels" of poverty, chastity, and obedience. The speakers will be Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor and Fr Julian Carron (president of the Fraternity of Communion and Liberation). For more information, see the Communion and Liberation website .

Quite a long day today with a trip down to Eastbourne in the morning to meet Jane of Thoughts from an Oasis in French Catholicism and her mother-in-law Kathleen who treated myself and Fr Ray Blake of St Mary Magdalen, Brighton to a lovely lunch at the Hydro. Above you can see Fr Ray after we had taken a little air after lunch and a look at the sea under a threatening sky that did not rain on us for a little while. Then up to Gatwick Airport Station and a short ride out to a meeting of the Faith Movement where we were discussing the best way to promote the faith through the theology that we share. It was good to have a long chat with many brother priests and some lay people who came. Last night, after returning from teaching at Wonersh, I said a private Mass. At the prompting of one of my parishioners, I said a Requiem Mass for the 400th anniversary of Cardinal Pole. Internet access out here is only GPRS so other posts will have to wait until my return to home and 3G tomorrow evening.

Forty children and five adults were confirmed at St James' Church, Spanish Place, last Saturday by Bishop George Stack according to the usus antiquior . Over 500 family and friends joined the choir in singing the Veni Creator Spiritus and other traditional hymns. (During the anointing, the choir sang polyphony and plain chant.) After the confirmations, Bishop Stack conferred Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. Bishop Stack met the candidates informally in the Lady Chapel before the ceremony and gave an address, speaking of the grace of God. a glitch in the day was that there was a power cut so the choir, having no light or organ in the choir loft, had to sing from the nave with a piano accompaniment. One of my servers who was present for the occasion said that he thought the Church looked magnificent in candlelight.

Diane at Te Deum Laudamus! reports on a pro-life prayer vigil organised by the Helpers of God's Precious Infants the day after our Maidstone vigil . The vigil was led by Mgr Jeffrey M. Montforton, the Rector of the Sacred Heart Seminary in Detroit. there was 7.30am Mass at Assumption Grotto, then a Rosary procession from St Veronica's Church with a procession to say the Rosary opposite two abortion clinics. Afterwards there was Benediction back at Assumption Grotto and a talk in the hall by Dan Goodnow, president of HGPI in Michigan. The photo above shows part of the Rosary Procession in the icy rain. Diane reports that there were 200 people there. Here in England, we can only dream of that kind of attendance at our pro-life vigils. But as I said to her, our relatively small numbers help us to feel that we are at calvary, as Mgr O'Reilly, founder of HGPI would say. For more photos, see: Helpers of God's Precious Infants Prayer Vigil

I am happy to pass on this notice from the Lancaster Diocese. If you have considered or are open to the possibility of serving God in the Priesthood then please come to a day on vocations entitled 'Quo Vadis?'. This will take place at Lancaster Cathedral on Saturday 6th December, 10.30am - 4pm and will provide an opportunity to meet some of our seminarians, to ask questions and to pray together. The minimum age is 17 years and we will do all we can to help you in your discernment of God's will. Be assured that we will respect your freedom absolutely. Interested? Please contact Fr. Manny Gribben on 01946 810324 or email him . See also the Lancaster Vocations blog. Of course, if your are in Southwark, you need to look at the Southwark Vocations blog and be in touch with Fr Stephen Langridge ;-)

Today, I joined a faithful band of crusaders who fight against the culture of death. No swords or clubs, just the Rosary and a picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe. We went from the Church of St Francis just a short walk round the corner to the Marie Stopes abortion clinic (abortions £420-£1600 depending on the age of the baby) We said the fifteen decades of the Rosary and the Divine Mercy chaplet while Carole gave out prayer cards and information leaflets to young women passing by or going into the clinic. It was good to chat afterwards over a cup of coffee in the Christian bookshop and meet some stalwart pro-life campaigners.

There is a good interview with Bishop Patrick O'Donoghue on Zenit. (See Change and Continuity .) I especially liked his last paragraph: I am convinced that we will only have a Catholic renewal in this country if clergy and laity, including the bishops, wholeheartedly accept obedience to the fullness of doctrinal, moral and liturgical truth as entrusted to, and protected by, the Successor of St. Peter.

Today I said the Mass and Office Saint Didacus of Alcalá who is more popularly known as San Diego. The saintly Franciscan lay brother died in 1463 and was canonised by Pope Sixtus V in 1588. in 1602, Sebastián Vizcaíno claimed the Mission Bay and gave the area the name of San Diego. Happy Feast Day to any readers from San Diego!

In August, I reported on the Havoc wrought in process of ICEL approval whereby the US Bishops failed to approve the new ICEL texts for the Proper of Seasons. Thankfully now the texts have been approved (see: Bishops approve section of missal translation ) and we may hope that this is a step forward in the painful process towards an English Missal that presents with a degree of accuracy the texts that we are actually supposed to pray during the Mass.

The blog of the traditional Catholic Family Alliance has a report with photographs of the recent Latin Mass Society Pilgrimage to Lourdes , led by Fr Andrew Southwell. An interesting detail is that although it proved difficult to make arrangements at the shrine for the usus antiquior , the parish Church was more welcoming and the Missa Cantata was sung in the crypt of the Church on several days of the Pilgrimage.

Conor sends me this notice from the Good Counsel Network which I am happy to pass on with my warm recommendation: The Guild of Our Lady of Good Counsel is organising carol singing in London Tube Stations, where we can also take up a collection, on several days during December. Every year The Good Counsel Network helps to save the lives of hundreds of unborn babies. The Guild of Our Lady of Good Counsel is a charity which supports this work and can only continue this work through fundraising events like this. If you can sing or if you just wish to help with the collecting please reply(indicating whether you are a singer or collector) with your availability for any of the following dates: 1st December at Oxford Circus 3rd December at Piccadilly Circus 16th December at Paddington(tube) 22nd December at Bond Street. We will be there from 12 noon until 8pm so if you can come and help with some time it would be very much appreciated. info@goodcounselnetwork.freeserve.co.uk

This coming Sunday, 16 November, the 11.15am Mass at the Little Oratory, next to the main London Oratory Church this Sunday is a children's Mass. Don't worry, Fr Large is not going to appear in a Barney the Bear outfit! This will be a Traditional Latin Mass but with some hymns and other helps for children to participate spiritually. Fr Large and Elizabeth Forrester will be helping children to rehearse the Communion Hymn upstairs in St Wilfrid's Hall on Sunday from 10.40am and they ask parents to bring their children of 6/7 years and upwards. The singing will be simple and no experience is necessary.

The other day, I mentioned that I was reading the biography of Fr William Doyle by Alfred O'Rahilly . Umblepie has drawn my attention to a post on Transalpine Redemptorists at Home: Don't miss this Issue . The "Issue" is the latest issue of their newspaper "Catholic" - but they also mention a book called "Trench Priest" which is an edited version of the full biography. I got the above photo from the excellent Irish blog, Catholic Perspective , which has a short summary of Fr Doyle's life by Sean Conolly of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers Association. See: Father Doyle: the Trenches Priest . The biography of Fr Doyle by O'Rahilly really falls into two parts. In the first, his spiritual life is examined in meticulous detail from papers that he left behind, with strict instructions that they were to be destroyed on his death. His superiors decided that it was better for his papers to be used for his biography and we are much the richer. The last p...

The Mental Capacity Act allows people the right to refuse food and water (included in the Act as "treatment") either at the time or by an advance directive. It also allows patients to give someone else an enduring power of attorney relating to their "welfare" and this person also can direct that food and water is not to be given. In the discussion before the passing of the MCA, many of us pointed to the danger that this already serious erosion of respect for life would lead to demands for further legalisation of euthanasia. The next step is assisted suicide. In an important article today, John Smeaton has shown how the leading secularlist, Evan Harris, has explicitly made the connection. (See: Mental Capacity Act creates impetus for lethal dose assisted suicide ). Harris said of patients who wish to die: "They use their ability to refuse treatment because the fairest and most humane way of exercising control is not available to them ... I do not have time to go...

There will be a Chant Workshop at Lancaster Cathedral on the afternoon of Saturday 15 November from 2-5pm. After an introduction to Chant, participants will work at learning the Mass for the Dead, which will be sung on Sunday 23 November in the Cathedral at 12.15 (Celebrant: Canon Stephen Shield). Anyone interested in attending the workshop should contact Andrew Plasom-Scott to book a place (and confirm details of location etc.)

Today is the feast of St Martin of Tours - a most influential saint in the history of Europe. I recently read the book about him by the excellent historian Regine Pernoud, published by Ignatius Press. From that book, I learnt that the hymn " Iste Confessor " normally used in the office for Confessors was originally composed for St Martin. The chant for this hymn has stayed in my mind since I nervously intoned it at the Merton conference in the summer. St Martin cut his cloak in half to provide for a beggar and later saw Christ saying that he had clothed him. The antiphons in the office today constantly remind us that St Martin, when dying, said that if it was necessary for his flock, he would not refuse the Lord's work. Psallite Sapienter provides the information that Luther, being baptised today, was given the name of this saint. It is also Remembrance Day today. I have been reading the life of Fr William Doyle, the Jesuit priest who was killed by a shell burst...

I have often wondered how long it would take for official bodies to start their inevitable attack on homeschoolers. Teaching children at home is the antithesis of the total control over children that the Government has gradually built up through the National Curriculum, "extended schools", and the "Every Child Matters" agenda. Even though in Britain, homeschoolers are a tiny minority, they cannot be comfortably accommodated with the kind of centralised control over education that the state has built up - a control that Stalin would have envied. Now, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (acronmyn: NICE - how Orwellian is that!) has issued its "Final Scope" document for "Public health Programme Guidance". Apparently, NICE (or "the Institute") has been asked by the Department of Health to develop guidance on a public health programme aimed at promoting school, college and community-based personal, social and health ed...

The Torch of Faith blog quotes a passage from the book by Jamie Carragher, Liverpool FC Vice-Captain and European Cup Winner (H/T Southwark Vocations ): My book of Revelations begins with the most dramatic: if my mum hadn't been a Roman Catholic, I might have been aborted. Paula Carragher was given the option of a termination due to complications halfway through her pregnancy. She was told I had spina-bifida- a birth defect that affects the spinal cord. She was too religious to consider abortion, no matter how disabled I'd be. 'Our Lord told me to have the baby', she still claims. She's the rock on which my family is built. I owe everything to that decision she took thirty years ago'. God bless Jamie's mum for having the courage to ignore the pressure to terminate her pregnancy and thank God for the reward of being able to take pride in her son as a world class footballer. Many mother have told me that they were given a horrendous diagnosis for their child...

The New Liturgical Movement has an excellent post on Reclaiming the Sacristy as a Place of Prayer and Preparation I am glad to say that we already follow several of the suggestions in my sacristy. There has to be some talking with the sacristans and servers in preparation for Mass but it is understood that when I begin vesting, the servers line up and there is silence while I say the vesting prayers and the prayer of intention before offering Mass. I remember the Silentium sign in the sacristy of St Mary's in West Croydon when I was a small boy but I have not yet put one up in my sacristy. I'll have to look for some nice parchment to print it on and then frame it. Here is an inscription that I photographed in a Church some years ago when I was visiting Granada. The inscription reads: Vestibus hic sacris locus est depone sacerdos exuvias hominis veteres atq(e) indue Christum This is the place for sacred vestments. Put off the old coverings of the man, priest, and put on Christ.

Another conference coming up this weekend: GOD REVEALING - MAN RECEIVING St Thomas Aquinas on theology A Day at Blackfriars Cambridge Fr Aidan Nichols O.P Sr Valery Walker O.P Saturday 15 November 2008 10am - 5pm £5.00 (Bring a packed lunch) Contact: valeryOP39@googlemail.com

I received information today of two more events to mark the 40th anniversary of Humanae Vitae and I am happy to pass this on: London Oratory This year is the 40th anniversary of the publication of Humanae Vitae, in which Pope Paul VI addressed "the whole Catholic World, and all men of good will" on the subject of birth regulation. No other papal encyclical has ever received such a turbulent reception from within the Church. Many laity and priests left the Church in protest, and in much of the Catholic world it was greeted with open dissent, or at best dead silence. But there are also those who hail Humanae Vitae as a work of inspiration, which accurately prophesied the disastrous effects that contraception would have on society in the decades following its promulgation. Many young Catholics today are embracing Humanae Vitae as part of their charter for married love. On Thursday 27th November, John Finnis will talk to our Young Catholics on the subject "Retranslating Hum...

I have had several reports that when people open my blog their computer crashes. This is obviously not something I want to happen... Does anyone have any idea what causes this? The sidebar uses javascript from bloglines, paypal and site meter. It could be one of these. I'll try removing the code from paypal first. Let me know if there is any change for the better. If you have had problems, please could you let me know which browser you are using (Internet Explorer, AOL, Firefox ...)

Some very good news in my inbox this afternoon. Earlier this year, there was a bit of a storm in a teacup over the celebration of the usus antiquior in England and Wales on Holydays that have been transferred by the Bishops to the nearest Sunday. (See Coverage of Holydays fiasco ). On his visit in June, Cardinal Hoyos made some comments relevant to the question. (See: Cardinal Castrillon clarifies Holyday question .) Now the Latin Mass Society has obtained a formal response from the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei. The New Liturgical Movement has posted the full text of the reply and the LMS press release . The PCED points out that the matter is still under study and that the present response should be taken without prejudice to further clarification to be issued by the Commission. The key points of the response are: 1. The legitimate use of the liturgical books in use in 1962 includes the right to the use of the calendar intrinsic to those liturgical books. 2. While in accordance...

Jackie Parkes ( Catholic Mom of 10 ) sent me the link to the Autumn 2008 issue of Spirit of the Season from the Liturgy Office of the Bishops Conference of England and Wales. Jackie has (quite reasonably) questioned the assumption that "liturgical dance" is part of the liturgy but it is worth considering other aspects of the article. The front page article "The direction of worship" begins: Taking the Church’s tradition and its understanding of the Mass, it is known for the priest to celebrate Mass facing the people or facing East, which is the priest facing the same way as the people. Aside from the politics that often accompanies this matter, it is good to consider ‘our’ focus during the celebration of Mass. This is a very welcome injection of sensible comment on liturgical orientation. The article also makes the pertinent comment: It is important for musicians to lead by being audible to the assembly, but there is not the same need for them to be visible, as tho...

i have just read two powerful and inspiring testimonies in response to my post Suicide - make it safe? . Look in the combox for joannab's comment, and see Jackie Parkes' The Agony & the Ecstasy! A journey through depression & suicide.

The Passionists in Scotland have kindly sent me a little devotional book published by Ovada books in Glasgow. "In the Heart of God" is a selection of short quotations from the spiritual teaching of St Paul of the Cross, translated into English by Martin Coffey CP and Paul Francis Spencer OP. The 96 page booklet has a thoughtful introduction to the spiritual teaching of St Paul of the Cross and is illustrated with colour photographs. This is a good book for priests to have in the confessional. It reminded me of the collections of sayings of St Josemaria Escriva in that you can read them in between penitents or on the train or whatever. As you might expect, the principal focus of the writings is on the passion of Christ and our union with Him. Here is one example that I highlighted in my copy: "If you can learn to see God's will as a source of strength, taking every difficulty you go through as something which comes not just from circumstances but from the loving hand ...

Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini, Emeritus Archbishop of Milan, has long been a respected figure among liberal theologians. His comments have usually been of a kind that hint at deeper issues, rather than openly dissenting from the teaching of the magisterium. For example, his calls for greater collegiality, for further theological enquiry on questions of sexuality, and for the Church to speak in a way that people understand, can all be given a perfectly proper interpretation. Nevertheless, in ecclesiastical circles, they are coded language hinting at opposition to Pope Benedict and to various doctrines of the Church. I remember having to endure the gushing enthusiasm of some for Martini when I was a student in Rome and he was the Grand Chancellor of the Gregorian University. His reputation as a biblical scholar, specialising in the gospels, was such that it was unthinkable to challenge his authority. This has continued, as Diogenes remarks : Martini's truly extraordinary composure and...