The Hermeneutic of Continuity

... I think we have one or two of these H/T Creative Minority Report

The response "And with your spirit" is one of the more controversial expressions in the new ICEL translation (that we will perhaps be able to use one day sometime when the books have been printed and the Bishops let us, and ICEl say its OK, and everybody thinks we have all had enough catechesis, and priests have learned to pronounce all "them fancy words" and the people have been sensitively prepared, and the local milkman has distributed the video ... That's enough! ED ) Sorry. As I was going to say, there are two good articles on this response. Louie Verrecchio writes at Catholic Exchange , and Msgr Charles Pope at the Archdiocese of Washington . They both pick up on this quotation from St John Chrysostom: If the Holy Spirit were not in our Bishop [referring to Bishop Flavian of Antioch] when he gave the peace to all shortly before ascending to his holy sanctuary, you would not have replied to him all together, And with your spirit. This is why you reply wi...

Quite a while ago, St Anthony Communications sent me a copy of their new DVD on Confession (in which I have a brief cameo role.) Sorry to be so long in giving notice of it. The DVD is quite hard-hitting at the beginning, not compromising on the nature of sin. Then it moves to explain the mercy of God and the provision which He made for His Church to minister the forgiveness of sins. Fr Nicholas Schofield, Fr Marcus Holden, Fr Andrew Pinsent and Fr Thomas Crean OP offer some very good insights into the sacrament of Penance. Fr Jeremy Davies an experienced exorcist, also speaks from the heart with great effect. The DVD is 20 minutes long, which makes it a good element of an evening of recollection or a part of sacramental preparation. It is available for £9.95 from St Anthony Communications where you can see a short preview.

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...

There is a new website for the Good Counsel Network which has information about their work in saving unborn children and helping mothers to make a real, informed and supported choice when pressured towards having an abortion. They also support women who have had an abortion and are suffering. The help that the GCN offers is practical and immediate. If you or someone you know is pregnant and worried, go to the Real Help page. The GCN also has a new blog with the good title Maria Stops Abortion . Mary O'Regan has a good post on the modern day "Alfies" who continue to abuse women and children. (The reference is to a 1960s Michael Caine film which epitomised the worst of the sexual revolution of that era.) There is also an opportunity for any of you who feel that you maybe have a little more money in the bank than you really need and that some of it really should go in christian charity to a deserving cause. As of a couple of days ago, the Good Counsel had £50 in the ...

Thanks to Anne in the combox for notice of two devotional blogs which deserve to be known about: Eucharistic Adoration for Priests (as requested by Pope Benedict) and Grateful for Purgatory "but aiming for heaven!" - both by "One Grateful Heart", a wife, mother and grandmother.

A priest friend just emailed me news of a new blog Motus Septentrionalis ("Northern Movement") to promote the traditional liturgy in the North of England. Here is the introductory text: This blog is offered as a forum within which events to promote and celebrate the Traditional Catholic Latin Liturgy can be organised in the North of England. The idea emerged during informal conversations at the 2010 Low Week Latin Mass Society training course at Ushaw College. Catholics who wish to attend the traditional liturgy are much better off if they are in easy reach of London, though it is good to see at Motus Septentrionalis a growing list of regular Masses in the North. Meanwhile even further North, problems continue .

An internal BBC email sent to me today. The BBC are hosting a staff discussion on Christianity. Who do they get to do it? A history professor and campaigner for gay rights who describes his own current religious position as that of an agnostic or atheist with a background in Anglicanism, and a Muslim academic who writes for the Tablet. As my correspondent comments, "How very BBC." From:  Internal Communications Scotland Sent:  14 May 2010 09:32 Subject:  A Conversation with Diarmaid MacCulloch: Pacific Quay, Monday 17 May, 5.45PM - 7.15PM A Conversation with Diarmaid MacCulloch: Pacific Quay, Monday 17 May, 5.45PM - 7.15PM On Monday (17th May) we will be marking the 80th anniversary of our Scottish Religious Advisory Committee (SRAC) with an event on the 3rd Floor of Pacific Quay. Professor Diarmaid MacCulloch, world renowned Oxford University historian and presenter of the BBC Four series  A History of Christianity , will be in conversation with SRAC ...

In the Times article attacking the beatification of Newman, John Cornwell does not lose the opportunity to have a go at Pope Benedict whom he says is "clearly bent on sanitising Newman’s progressive Catholicism." Cardinal Ratzinger's 1991 lecture on Conscience and Truth is well worth reading for an understanding of how he understands conscience and takes Newman's view that it is not merely something subjective but the voice of God within us. As he explains when discussing the Newman toast quote: Modern man, who presupposes the opposition of authority to subjectivity, has difficulty understanding this. For him, conscience stands on the side of subjectivity and is the expression of the freedom of the subject. Authority, on the other hand, appears to him as the constraint on, threat to and even the negation of, freedom. So then we must go deeper to recover a vision in which this kind of opposition does not obtain. He goes on to show that the lifelong opposition to ...

A recent article by John Cornwell in the Times calls into question the miracle attributed to the intercession of the Venerable John Henry Newman. The website for the cause for the canonisation of Newman has responded briefly to Cornwell's article: John Cornwell’s analysis of Newman’s miracle is seriously flawed . A further article is promised later this week. Damian Thompson has also responded to other aspects of the article. See: 'Papal bull: Why Cardinal Newman is no saint,' says Sunday Times. When is this going to stop? Cornwell's article ends with the much misused and misunderstood toast quote from Newman about drinking to conscience first and the Pope afterwards. If any of the detractors of Newman were interested in knowing what Newman actually intended, his Letter to the Duke of Norfolk is now available, along with his other works, at the Newman Reader . Here is a link to the relevant section (5) . Newman was responding to the charge made by Gladstone that...

This video, put together unofficially by some lads wishing to "do their bit" is intended to be the first in a series of videos promoting the Holy Father's visit to Britain in September.

Laurence England has a post St George and the Dragon which just made something click inside. Along with many others, I have been sporadically glued to live updates of the discussions going on in various offices in central London to try and put together a Government for Britain. In the meantime, George is doing a gravelly-voiced cover of "Sweet Caroline" with Laurence playing the guitar with a fag hanging out of the corner of his mouth and a hat on. This is a pilot of a possible online busking initiative for George to get a new mattress and and dental implants. For the love of God! As I say, reading this, something clicked. I've bashed out a comment to promise send the funds for the mattress by any means convenient. I don't know how much the dental implants are, but I'm sure we can sub that between us. They may put up a paypal button or let us know some other online service. Or we can just send tenners in the post. Not recommended, I know, but if the chap can ...

Earlier, I reported the good news that Evan Harris, the pro-abortion and pro-euthanasia campaigner, had lost his seat at Oxford West and Abingdon. The news gets even better. The seat was won by Nicola Blackwood who is a member of the Conservative Christian Fellowship . On Nicola's Facebook page , Mark Rayner posted this excellent comment: Nicola, it was good to meet you at hustings yesterday. I just want to emphasize that my vote is absolutely not an endorsement of David Cameron, but specifically of you. I trust you to uphold the pro-life, pro faith school, and socially caring economic views you expressed yesterday, some of which are in stark contrast with previous Tory policy. Good luck - I hope I can count on you to put principle before partisanship. Given the possible re-structuring of our political life and the disillusionment of many voters for politics based on party allegiance, we need to encourage newly elected MPs who have stood up for pro-life and pro-family values. A...

Well it has all been rather exciting. We are to have a hung Parliament with the Conservative party having won the most seats but not an overall majority. Contrary to the talk of a Liberal Democrat revival on the back of Nick Clegg's performance in the TV debates, it seems that the LibDems have actually won fewer seats than at the last election. In my own constituency of Old Bexley and Sidcup , where Ted Heath and Derek Conway have been our MPs since I came here in 1997, James Brokenshire (Con) has been elected. Worryingly, the BNP increased their share of the vote here, but Nick Griffin was soundly defeated in Barking, coming third. Interestingly, he said that with a "normal" turnout, the BNP would have taken the Council. Whether that is true or not, they may well have won more wards in the local election if there had been a smaller turnout. This is an important lesson for those who did not bother to vote. Twitter is buzzing after Nick Clegg's statement a short w...

The third in a series of "May Feelings" videos (See YouTube for May Feelings and May Feelings II ). All promote the Rosary - the latest is part of a movement encouraging people to pray the Rosary for priests: We already know that we are not alone; now, they need to know that they are not alone. I like the way that the priest chosen for the film is an elderly and frail priest and that the film essentially emphasises his fidelity to prayer. The video has been posted less than a week and as of 6.10pm today had 112,957 views.

The Telegraph's live blog for the General Election has this picture with an unintended instruction to voters: I have cast my vote at the polling centre at Days Lane Primary School. I do like the British system with its almost savagely short campaign, soberly printed Polling Station notices and the stubby pencils on bits of string. I'm not too keen on the new style plastic zip-up ballot boxes of recent years though: they make it look as though the votes are all going to be put in the freezer in preparation for a picnic. Have fun if you are staying up to watch the results coming in.

The other day I posted a video clip of Mgr Harbert explaining some of the reasoning behind the new translation of the Roman Canon. Several people contacted me to ask if a transcript were available. Mgr Harbert has kindly pointed me to two sites with further information and resources. The Notre Dame Center for Liturgy has videos and transcripts from Mgr Harbert and a number of other scholars. Become One Body, One Spirit in Christ is the website for an interactive DVD that has been produced to help in catechesis. Just to remind you, the texts of the Ordinary of the Mass have been available for some time at the website of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, along with plenty of useful information, FAQ, and parish resources. See USCCB Roman Missal .

The CTS is organising a Spiritual Bouquet to be presented to the Holy Father when he visits Britain. H/T Bara Brith

Many thanks indeed to Jeffrey Tucker at NLM for posting a YouTube video of the second part of the Salve Regina by Nicola Antonio Porpora (1686-1768). By way of reply, here is the first part: For all of you interested in liturgical music, don't miss the recently posted Fall 2009 edition of the journal Sacred Music .

On Tuesday at Allen Hall, there was a Mass and reception to mark World Communications Day. Archbishop Nichols gave the main lecture on the theme of Why Media Matters . The preacher at Mass was Fr Stephen Wang. I though his sermon was very good, drawing a lesson from the example of the publication of St Edmund Campion's Ten Reasons . Fr Wang blogs at Bridges and Tangents .

La Ciguena de la Torre and Andrea Tornielli , both of whom have proved right in the past about Vatican appointments, are stating that Cardinal Pell's appointment as Prefect of the Congregation of Bishops has now been decided and will be announced in the coming weeks. If so, I think that is very good news indeed. Damian Thompson has a quotation from a letter written by Cardinal Pell to the Tablet in 2002 “… I have long been disappointed by The Tablet’s persistent subversions of some Catholic teaching and mystified by the inability of the English bishops to nudge it towards a more productive line of witness …” On one occasion I happened across Cardinal Pell at St Peter's. I was flattered that he remembered me and said Tim - remember my advice. Keep your guard up and keep moving round the ring.

Frequently Fr Briggs and I repair to the Chislehurst Golf Club after our morning Masses for an excellent and very reasonably priced lunch of roast beef. The club now has a very good looking new website which shows some of the fine views to be had. Fr Zuhlsdorf joined us here for lunch on one occasion. Here is a photo of the parish priest of Chislehurst:

Here is a clip from Gloria TV of Mgr Bruce Harbert helpfully explaining something of the reasoning behind the new translation of the Roman Canon. src="http://www.gloria.tv/media/72414/embed" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="359" quality="high" scale="noborder" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true">

The Mulier Fortis has posted a video on YouTube of the Sanctus at last Thursday's Annual Mass of the Society of St Catherine of Siena. I agree that it is very good in quality considering that it is from a small camera discreetly perched on a pew. No microphones, just human voices in a beautiful Church. The video includes the end of the Preface and I am relieved that the part that is recorded is reasonably sung without mistakes. (Not always the case.) The choir of the London Oratory School are, of course, absolutely brilliant. For those not familiar with the usus antiquior , what happens is that after the Preface, the Celebrant, Deacon and Subdeacon say the Sanctus quietly, making the sign of the Cross at the Benedictus . Then the Subdeacon goes back to his place at the bottom of the steps and the Deacon crosses over to attend to the Missal while the Celebrant continues with the Canon in a low voice. You may notice that the Deacon steps back during the Memento in a tradition...

The other day in the parish, we had an Evening of Recollection for married couples. Here is the spiritual conference that I gave to begin the evening. I hope it may be of some help to publish it for you: This spiritual conference makes no claim to originality. In fact, I am deliberately relying on the wisdom of others better qualified than I am. You know that for worldly qualifications, people have letters to put after their name; I have a little set myself. In the subject matter of a spiritual conference, however, what matters is the letters someone has before their name: St or Bl, indicating that the Church has judged that they have heroic virtue and that God has confirmed this by a miracle. So I am going to follow the path of the saintly spiritual writers of the Church in looking briefly at some of the most fundamental themes of the spiritual life. I will try to apply them specifically to engaged and married couples so you know that those comments are probably more “original” and...