Cardinal Burke at Ramsgate


Sacred ministers, tired children, hard-working parishioners and many visitors from far afield are now home (or still on their way) from a wonderful evening at St Augustine's, Ramsgate. The Rector of the Shrine, Fr Marcus Holden, invited Cardinal Burke to celebrate Pontifical High Mass at the throne. Fr Louis Poucin de Wouilt came all the way from Gricigliano to MC and did a great job with discretion and quiet authority. He was only ordained priest last July for the Institute of Christ the King, Sovereign Priest and took charge of the ceremonies with exemplary calm and expertise.

I have some experience of Pontifical Mass but am by no means an expert, so I mugged up with Fortescue and Ahearne & Lane but was still rather nervous at the prospect of being Deacon for the Mass. Fortunately, since I sing Mass every Sunday, chanting the Gospel is not so daunting, but it is easy to go suddenly blank at various points, wondering what comes next that is different from the usual High Mass. Thanks to the Lord, I don't think my mistakes were too obvious.

It was a full day. The rehearsal for sacred ministers was at noon - it was great to have a convivial lunch afterwards with a good group of clergy and laity. Since I am only just over ten minutes drive from Ramsgate, I got back to do a little work at the desk before returning. In the meantime, the servers had their practice at 4pm. I was proud to have two servers from St Austin and St Gregory, Margate on the packed sanctuary.

In fact, the whole place was packed in a way that perhaps hasn't been seen for some time. The sanctuary choir was filled with Norbertines, Oratorians, Benedictines, Knights of Malta and brother footsloggers of the secular clergy, as well as servers old and young. In the nave and aisle, it seemed as though every element of Pugin's architectural masterpiece was complemented by the living faithful who came from far and wide to be there for the historic visit not only of a Cardinal, but of a man of courage and fidelity in his witness to the faith committed by Christ to the apostles.

It was a privilege to be with Cardinal Burke at the prayers before and after Mass, and to assist at the splendid ceremonies which give way at the heart, to the simple, yet awesome offering of the sacrifice in which the highest prelate is equal to the simplest curate when humbly, with fear and trembling, exercising his priestly power over the body and blood of the Lord who comes in silence and mystery to dwell among His people.

At the reception afterwards, His Eminence was generous with his time, affable and approachable, welcoming young and old with kindly words and a blessing. His sermon was commented on by everyone I spoke to - doubtless the text will be available soon. I am looking forward to a trip up to London tomorrow to hear him again when he will be speaking to the Confraternity of Catholic Clergy at St Patrick's, Soho Square.

Photo credit: Mulier Fortis

Popular posts from this blog

1962 Missal pdf online

The Church Music Association of America and Jeffrey Tucker of the New Liturgical Movement have made available the 1962 Missal online in pdf format (72Mb). The file is hosted at Musica Sacra , the website of the CMAA, thanks to a generous gift from Fr Robert Skeris While you are at it, take a look at the articles clarifying the rules for music at Low Mass and music at High Mass .
Read more

Request for Novena to Blessed Pius IX

Image
A priest friend of mine is ill in hospital. He has a special devotion to Blessed Pius IX. Could I ask you, of your charity, to say a Novena for his speedy recovery. Novena In Honour of Blessed Pius IX Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, hear our prayers and glorify your servant Pius IX, who consecrated the Universal Church to you. (Our Father...) O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to you, hear our prayer and glorify your servant Pius IX who declared you Immaculate. (Hail Mary...) Saint Joseph, spouse of the most pure Virgin Mary, hear our prayer and glorify your servant Pius IX who declared you the Patron of the Universal Church. (Glory be...) Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Immaculate Mary, our Hope, and Saint Joseph hear our prayers and glorify your servant Pius IX , granting to us through his merits and intercessions the graces which we ardently desire: that the glory of God be revealed through Father's illness. (Our Father..., Hail Mary..., Glory be...
Read more

Saint Gabriel

Image
The angels call for our veneration and awe as part of God’s creation. Part of the destructive modernism of the 1970s included advice to Catholic school teachers that they should not talk to children about angels. This wrought lasting damage which continues to need rectifying. We should include in our prayers a heartfelt recourse to our own Guardian Angels. The Archangel Gabriel “God is my strength” would be terrifying were he to appear to any of us. Our Lady was “troubled” at the word of Saint Gabriel and wondered at the manner of the salutation. Immediately, according to his mission, the awesome messenger explained himself. Modern retelling of the event is often reduced to the jejune “Mary said Yes to God”. In fact, she said “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to thy word”. This conveys more accurately the flawless faith and trust of the Immaculata. In the infinitely wise providence of the Father, we now know the structure of the event in even more detai...
Read more

Saint Ignatius on heresy, and the capsizing boat

Image
On the feast of St Ignatius, I offer my prayers and good wishes to some great Jesuits. Just off the top of my head, I think of Fr Joseph Fessio SJ the founder of Ignatius Press which has not only published the English translations of various works of Cardinal Ratzinger/Pope Benedict, but has also given a break for good Catholic authors both of theology and of Catholic fiction. Then there is Fr Bob Spitzer SJ, with whom I studied in Rome many years ago, and Fr Paul Mankowski SJ who has written some superb articles over the years. Here in England, I recall Fr Anthony Meredith SJ, the great fatherly commentator on the Fathers of Cappadocia and in Rome, there is Fr Gilles Pelland SJ, the fierce French-Canadian patristics scholar was a bit harsh when I first arrived in the Holy City, but seemed to soften a bit when after 5 years he seeme satisfied that, though English, I was not a modernist. Many of my Jesuit priest friends and mentors have now reached “that night when no man can work”...
Read more

Downloadable booklets for Vespers

Image
Gregorian Chant Hymns is a most helpful website that I mentioned in a post just over a year ago. As I said then, the site "[...] promotes the learning of Gregorian Chant by making sheet music, recordings, translations, and instructions. There is a short guide to Gregorian Notation (those square notes) and to Latin pronunciation. Everything is available free of charge, in line with other great traditional music websites." Work has continued at the site and there is now a section which makes available pdf (or .docx format) booklets for Vespers for every Sunday of the Year and a few major feasts. There is the basic booklet for ordinary Sunday Vespers which is supplemented by separate files for the Sundays after Pentecost which contain the Magnificat and Collect. Then there are booklets, for example for Advent and Lent, where the office is different from the regular Sunday Vespers with its antiphons. All of the booklets have texts and notation for Benediction and the Maria...
Read more