The Hermeneutic of Continuity

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...

Abbot Columba Marmion was the third Abbot of Maredsous Abbey in Belgium. He originally wanted to be a missionary in Australia but as a young man was won over by the liturgy of the recently founded Abbey of Maredsous where he was solemnly professed in 1891. When he became Abbot in 1909, he had care of over 100 monks. His spiritual conferences were thought worthy of a wider audience and thanks to his secretary, Dom Raymond Thibaut, they were prepared for publication. These were originally translated by a nun of Tyburn Convent but recently, Gracewing have published new translations by Alan Bancroft. The recently published "Christ in His Mysteries" has a Foreword by Fr Benedict Groeschel CFR and an Introduction by Fr Aidan Nichols OP. Concerning the project of translation, Alan Bancroft remarks: [...] it is extraordinary, is it not, that the words of this Dubliner, who became the abbot of a Benedictine community in Belgium and spoke and wrote in French, have to be translated b...

Please say a prayer for Fr Richard Fawssett who died earlier today, aged 87. During my time as a pupil at the John Fisher School in Purley, Fr Fawcett was the "Senior Discipline Master". This meant that he was the one you got sent to if you misbehaved in the 4th or 5th form (in modern currency, Year 10 or 11). He exercised a stern, effortless and unquestioned authority: if he came into a class, the room went quiet immediately. His discipline was entirely just and fair-minded (and never in the slightest way brutal or sadistic) but there was little point in trying out feeble excuses. If "Sticks", as we called him on account of his tall and slender frame, caught you, you were 'bang to rights' and that was that. After I left the school, Fr Fawssett was released from the position of discipline master and took on more of a chaplaincy role: quite a transition for a priest to make but he managed it with great enthusiasm and, looking back, I am filled with admiratio...

Father S, a priest from the Midwestern United States writes a blog to draw from the wealth of the Church's tradition in encouraging her priests in holiness: Clerical Reform . This blog is a work of charity and I commend it to brother priests.

Fr Anthony Doe was the guest speaker for the Conference of the Association of Priests for the Gospel of Life today at the London Oratory. He spoke about the Gospel of Life in relation to the spiritual life of the priest, encouraging us to find in contemplative prayer the love of the Father which brings fruitfulness to the celibate life. One of Fr Doe's memorable phrases was to describe contraception as a "faith killer". Within a generation or two, the faith dies away in many families as a result of the use of contraception owing to the collective rejection of the proper ordering of love. In the afternoon, Fr Marcus Holden gave a short spiritual conference followed by half an hour's adoration (with confessions) and benediction. Fr Holden spoke about the fear of God in relation to the spiritual life of the priest. His conference drew from the teaching of the Fathers of the Church, especially St Basil and St John Chrysostom, and the teaching of St Alphonsus Liguori. As e...

Food for reflection and prayer, that is. Opus Dei hold a Day of Recollection for secular priests once a month at Wickenden Manor. Another early Mass today at 7am (which also gives working people a chance to get to weekday Mass) a short drive over to Chislehurst to pick up Fr Briggs and an hour or so to get to the heart of the Sussex countryside in time for the first conference. The priests of Opus Dei are always sure to give some excellent and challenging advice to us. One particular point that stayed with me today was Fr Calduch's stress on the importance of a suitable rule of life. I do try to observe this but it is easy to allow unnecessary activities to intervene and waste time. There is always good company on these days. Today there was an unusually large gathering because a group of priests of the Society of the Holy Cross were in the middle of a week's conference. We were together for lunch and for the Holy Hour in the afternoon. Oh and the food was good too. Wholesome b...

Following my recent thoughts on the lack of boredom in the life of the priest, I was recently told of the September letter of the Parish Priest of the London Oratory on the subject of boredom. Well worth reading.

The custom in most monastic communities is for a book to be read at meals. One of the monks is on duty as reader and takes his own lunch after the others. At Pluscarden, a short reading from the scriptures was read at lunch, followed by a secular book. At the end of lunch (I think), a list was read of those from the Subiaco Congregation who had died on that day. At supper, a more religious book was read. The lunchtime book was the autobiography of Frank Muir. We were at the point where he was recounting his wartime experiences with the RAF in Iceland. Some of it was a little hard on the stomach; the indignities of wartime living do not always make for pleasant associations even with a frugal meal. However, Muir is a very amusing writer; his anecdotes and brilliant puns caused some ribaldry, skating close to the mark in some cases. In the evening, we had the life of Metropolitan Anthony Bloom. , telling of his experience in the army, and of his spiritual direction at the hands of Fr Ath...

The daily liturgical timetable for weekdays at Pluscarden is as follows: 4.45am - Vigils (similar to Matins of the Roman Breviary) and Lauds - approximately an hour and a half c. 6.55am (half an hour after Lauds) - Prime 8.45am - Conventual Mass and Terce 12.35pm - Sext (followed by lunch) 2.15pm - None 6pm - Vespers, followed by prayer before the Blessed Sacrament in the Lady Chapel (Supper is at 7pm) 8pm - Compline The offices and conventual Mass are all chanted in Latin. The community are using the new books edited by Solemnes as they are produced. The older Antiphonale Monasticum is used where necessary. Mass in in the Novus Ordo , using the new Graduale Romanum (readings in English). One of the pamphlets I read spoke of the chanting of the psalms as an image of eternity. This could be joked about, especially at Vigils when, for example, we chanted the whole of psalm 77 - on a monotone as are all the psalms at Vigils. However, I think there is an important point in seeing this ...

After an interval of nearly 400 years, Benedictine monastic life began anew at Pluscarden. After the Reformation, the Priory had been in the hands of lay owners. In 1897, John Patrick Crichton-Stuart, the 3rd Marquess of Bute, and author of the eccentric but enormously useful translation of the Roman Breviary, purchased the Priory from the Duke of Fife. A devout and wealthy philanthropist, he helped the Presyterian congregation who had been using the ruins for services to build a Church in the glen, and arranged for Catholic Mass to be celebrated in the Prior's Chapel by Dom Sir David Oswald Hunter Blair Bt OSB of Fort Augustus Abbey. On the death of the Marquess, the property passed to his son, Lord Colum Crichton-Stuart who was eager for a monastic community to take up residence. Eventually, he found Abbot Wilfred Upson of Prinknash willing to found a new monastic community and in 1948, five monks began to live the Benedictine life once more in the Priory. The community has carri...

I only found out about Saint Joseph Cafasso the other day. He was a neighbour of St John Bosco and later became his advisor. He received a dispensation to be ordained priest at the age of 22, became a highly regarded Professor and Pastor, combining sound teaching with tireless works of mercy among the poor, those in prison and especially those condemned to death. An eight day retreat that he gave for priests comprised 16 conferences. These are collected in the book "The Priest, the Man of God: his dignity and duties". Having read two of these, I am eager to read the remainder. In the first conference, he speaks of the nature and office of the priesthood. The idea of the "dignity" of the priesthood is sometimes found confusing today but St Joseph Cafasso analyses the matter sensibly, with practical advice for the priest. He looks at the nature of the priest, the person of the priest and the habits of the priest. In his nature, the priest is as other men - he is a man...

The posts on hell and mortal sin have generated a lot of comments and some good discussion. I would like to take up two themes that are related. One is to ask how God can be so cruel and vindictive as to condemn someone to hell for a fleeting mortal sin. The other is the question of why we should be obsessed with sex when there are so many other evils in the world. I think we might like to say to God "Look, this sex thing - you gave me these feelings, it's no big deal. I wouldn't condemn anyone for this." We don't see what harm there is in a little sexual licence here and there (although the daily newspapers could help us out a bit on this.) We want to ask him "Can't you just lighten up a bit?" But he doesn't. Our Lord said that if a man so much as looks at a woman lustfully, he has committed adultery with her in his heart. No compromise. So we get a little angry at this refusal to budge. We know this just must be wrong. After all, we could be qu...

In the discussion about hell, one or two people have raised the question of mortal sin which is, of course closely connected. Now if we are honest, people are usually talking about sexual sins here. People are not usually worried about accidentally stealing a couple of thousand quid and then being run over by a bus. We’re not normally talking about compulsively breaking people’s legs and then having a sudden heart attack. So first of all, some basics. For a sin to be a mortal sin, there must be all three of the following: Grievous matter – the thing must be serious in itself. Sometimes the Church clarifies this question. For example, it is the teaching of the Church that in sexual sins, there is no “light matter” Perfect knowledge – the person must know that the act is a sin and that it is serious. Full consent – the person must give the full consent of their will to the act. This would not be present if they acted under force or fear, for example. A number of problems have arisen i...

Thanks very much to the commenters for the response to my " Defending St Alphonsus " post. A couple of questions have come up about mortal sin and hell. Let's have a look at hell first... Far from being the mark of a vindictive and malicious God who doesn't care about us, hell is something that follows as common sense from what God has done for us in his infinite love. First he has created us free and immortal. As human people, we are made to his image such that we are able to love freely and for ever. By revelation we know that God has made us to love him freely and for ever and to receive his infinite and supremely benign love for all eternity. It is easy to see that just as the infinite love of God for all eternity is our highest good, so the loss of this love is the greatest possible misfortune. If it were possible for someone else to take it away from us, we would rightly be in anguish and rage at the utter injustice of it. Thank God, this cannot happen: God is i...

A commenter asked me to give a list of 10 books I would recommend to seminarians that would help to foster an ascetical life. Not counting the Gospels and the Fathers of the Church, and really off the top of my head, I would suggest: The Imitation of Christ St Francis de Sales - Introduction to the Devout Life Lorenzo Scupoli - Spiritual Combat Luiz of Granada - The Sinner's Guide Louis de Montfort - True devotion to Mary St Alphonsus Liguori - anything he wrote but particularly his sermons Cardinal Manning - The Eternal Priesthood Dom Chautard - The Soul of the Apostolate E Escribano - The Priest at Prayer ( if you can find a copy ) The manual for students at your own seminary (or more or less any seminary in the Latin Church) from any time before 1940 Many of the above are, of course, reprinted by TAN. In your seminary library, if you spend some time in the spiritual books section among the older books that are perhaps tucked away on high shelves, you may well find some original ...

Many months ago, I posted my translation of the Tuesday prayer from those composed by St Alphonsus Liguori for priests to say as part of their thanksgiving after Mass. After a reminder today, I have now posted a translation of the Wednesday prayer to continue the series. See the introduction for more information. St Alphonsus was, in my opinion, a master of psychology where that discipline is seen in the light of the eternal truths (viz. death, judgement, hell and heaven.) He had a piercingly accurate understanding of fallen human nature and knew how to drive home the truths of the faith in such a way that people changed their lives - his prayers can still help us in our daily conversion to the closer following of Christ. One project that I would like to get started is a "Wikipedia" style collaborative effort to collect Latin original texts and English translations of prayers for priests. At some point we could publish a little book with some of the classics that would suppo...

Prayer to be said by the priest after celebrating Mass (Wednesday) O my Jesus, I see how much you have done and suffered so that you might impose on me the necessity of loving you: and how ungrateful to you I have proved to be! How many times have I exchanged your grace for vile delectation and evil desire and lost you, O God of my soul? To the benefits of created things I have shown grateful appreciation; to you alone have I have shown myself ungrateful. Forgive me, my God; I grieve the crime of such an ungrateful soul, I mourn with all my heart, and I hope for forgiveness from you because you are infinite goodness. If you were not infinite goodness, I would have to despair and never again dare to implore your mercy. Thanks be to you, my love, because you have sustained me for so long and have not damned me to hell which I have deserved. Indeed your patience alone with me, my God should draw me to love you. Who could ever have tolerated me except you, God, who are infinite mercy. It i...

Companion of Jesus offers a collection of Ignatian and other Jesuit prayersm and the spiritual exercises (including a pictorial version.) H/T to the Curt Jester

A few days ago, I finished Louise Stacpoole - Kenney's "St Francis de Sales" which I took with me to Lourdes to read at various points on the journey to and fro. His "Introduction to the Devout Life" is one of my favourite spiritual books. I read it when I was 17 and it was a great help in my developing vocation to the priesthood. St Francis de Sales is an important figure in the network of counter-reformation saints. He knew St Philip Neri , St Robert Bellarmine and St Charles Borromeo . He ventured with one other priest into the territory of the Calvinists and his mission was ultimately responsible for the conversion of about 70,000 of them back to the Catholic faith. He was very different from St Charles Borromeo who had to act with severity to restore discipline in Milan, and St Robert Bellarmine who was pivotal in educating the apostles of the counter-reformation. One thing he shared in common with both of them was his attitude to episcopal dignity. A...

A kind correspondent The page for After Asceticism on the US Author House Book Store offers the book as an e-book for a $5.99 download. The US price for the book itself is $19.99 which compares well with the UK Amazon price of £18.99. (As ever, we pay in UK pounds roughly what you pay in US dollars - with an exchange rate of about 2 dollars to the pound.) There are some used copies on UK Amazon ( same link ) and this page on AbeBooks lists it for £9.51 from Quartermelon books in the UK.