The Hermeneutic of Continuity

Michael Cowie writes to me of an event to be held by Aid to the Church in Need at the Birmingham Oratory on Sunday week. Here are the details: The Light of the World Sunday, 27th June at 2:00pm, followed by Mass at 5:30pm The Oratory, Hagley Road, Birmingham B16 8UE An opportunity to hear first-hand accounts of the challenges facing Christians around the world – and how you are helping. Talks begin at 2:00pm, followed by Mass at 5:30pm. We are delighted to welcome Father Samir Khalil Samir SJ as our guest of honour, speaking on Christianity and Islam in the Middle East. Father Samir is an Islamic scholar, Semitologist, orientalist and Catholic theologian based in Lebanon. Xavier Legorreta, Aid to the Church in Need’s Latin America Projects Head, will report on how your generous support has helped victims of the earthquake which struck Haiti in January. Fresh from project trips, UK Director Neville Kyrke-Smith will speak about the Faith in Ukraine, while Head of Press and In...

In the Tablet of 9 January, Clifford Longley wrote a piece in which he questioned the idea of "canonisation miracles." He wrote: The idea that God would demonstrate that a saint is truly in heaven by instantly healing someone’s fatal illness because he has been asked to by the said saint – who is in turn responding to the prayers of the victim or those near to him – seems to me so simplistic, so credulous, so presumptuous, so mechanical and so manipulative, that it brings no credit to the Catholic religion and indeed confirms the worst prejudices of its enemies. Is that really the kind of God we believe in? Don’t millions of people offer prayers every day for the recovery of a loved one – some of which are answered, some not? Doesn’t the very idea of canonisation miracles – in effect miraculous prayers as part of a PR exercise – mock them cruelly? The blog for the cause for the canonisation of John Henry Cardinal Newman has responded with an article Who needs a miracle? N...

On Wednesday, Deacon Jack Sullivan gave the CTS Lecture at the London Oratory, introduced by the eminent Newman scholar, Fr Ian Ker. There is more information and more excellent photos at the blog for the cause of Newman's canonisation. See: Lecture at the Brompton Oratory: Newman, authentic theologian of the tradition, he tells us that heaven is real Yesterday, Deacon Jack was at the Birmingham Oratory, assisted at Mass, and gave an interview for EWTN . He also venerated Newman's relics - it must surely be particularly moving to venerate the relics of the holy man who worked a miracle for him at his intercession. This morning, he assisted the Provost, Fr Paul Chavasse, at Mass at the altar in Newman's room: I had the privilege of saying Mass at this altar some years ago. Newman's room is preserved just as he left it; a fascinating glimpse into the great man's life. More information and photos: Sullivan at the Birmingham Oratory: St Josaphat, Newman and true Ecumeni...

In July, Pope Benedict XVI recognised the healing of Deacon Jack Sullivan in 2001 as a miracle resulting from the intercession of the Venerable Servant of God John Henry Newman. This means that his Beatification has been effectively approved. See Pope Benedict XVI approves Newman's beatification Rev Jack Sullivan gave a press conference in Birmingham yesterday speaking about the miracle, giving a moving account of his experience. He also preached at Mass at Westminster Cathedral. Deacon Jack Sullivan will be assisting at Mass at the Birmingham Oratory tomorrow. The blog for the cause of the Canonisation of John Henry Newman which has provided all the above news, also highlights the significance of the orientation of the altar. See: Deacon Jack Sullivan, Newman’s Oratory and the ‘hermeneutic of continuity’

Oliver Hayes at the Expectation of Our Lady has an important post which deserves wide distribution. See: New music for the Oratory choir library . A former member of the Oratory choir has donated his private choral music collection to the Library and it has been carefully catalogued. The Library would be pleased to provide a safe and permanent home for any other collections of sacred music.

I am happy to pass on the following announcement: The Fathers of the Oratory at Birmingham are pleased to announce that they have reached amicable agreement with the City Council concerning the fence at Rednal and thank all those who have offered their prayers for this intention.

Last week, the New Liturgical Movement posted a link to an article written by Fr Guy Nicholls of the Birmingham Oratory on " The Contribution of the Oratories to the Liturgical Life of England. " (pdf 177kb) This is an outstanding article in many respects. First of all, it overturns the nonsense that is sometimes spouted, that the liturgical life of the English Orataries is somehow not in accord with the spirit of St Philip Neri. It is also a most conciliatory article, comparing the liturgy and the architecture of the various English Oratories without any of the rancour that is supposed to be prevalent. There is a fascinating comparison of the translations of St Alphonsus' hymn “ Viva, viva, Gesú ”. Edward Caswall, a disciple of Newman, gave us the stately " Glory be to Jesus " while Fr Faber gave us the more soupy " Hail, Jesus, Hail! " (which was sung in my parish last Saturday after our Missa Cantata .) "Soupy" was not an adjective Fr Guy...

I mentioned before the blog The Expectation of Our Lady by Oliver Hayes, a member of the choir at the Birmingham Oratory. He has been busy with posts on pro-life matters, music and the Birmingham Oratory. I have added him to the British section of the blogroll today.

Jackie, Catholic Mom of 10, has posted my sister Jane's notes on Mr James Caffery's talk to parents on The Impact of Sex Education in Catholic Education . A retired headmaster, Mr Caffery offers wise and practical advice for parents and teachers.

There used to be Brodie's notes for Shakespeare. Now we have Jane's notes for the excellent series of talks at the Birmingham Oratory promoting chastity. The latest is for "Hot Topics" by Dr Greg Gardner . Dr Gardner is a GP and writes widely in the local press in Birmingham about pro-life and pro-family topics. One interesting topic from the discussion was that of values clarification, in which young people are encouraged to clarify their own values through peer group discussion. This replaces the teaching of objective virtue. William Coulson, a pioneer with Carl Rogers of this approach in the 1960s, later repented and wrote powerfully about the harm that such groups can do by allowing the strongest voices to prevail against those who are weaker and more easily influenced. Young people who have been instructed in virtue at home can be confused and misled by these discussions. It is worth noting that Dr Gardner is an evangelical Christian. In our common love for the f...

Peter Jennings of "International Media Contacts" sent me these photos from the feast of St Philip Neri at the Birmingham Oratory with his kind permission to post them here. The first is of the sanctuary during the Canon of the Mass. The incense is a fitting symbol of the shekinah , the cloud of the presence and the glory of God: Picture by Peter Jennings The second was taken in the sacristy after Mass. (L-R) Brother Lewis (subdeacon) Myself, Fr Paul Chavasse (celebrant), Fr Guy Nicholls (deacon) Picture by Peter Jennings

Some people asked me for the text of the sermon that I preached at the Birmingham Oratory for the feast of St Philip Neri so here it is: St Philip, a saint for saints My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the afflicted hear and be glad. (Psalm 33.2) Fr Bowden in his Miniature Lives of the Saints says that the life of St Bernadine was St Philip’s favourite among the saints and the last he read before his death. Fr Bouyer on the other hand says that the last book he had read to him was the Fathers of the Desert. Perhaps we should make a distinction between reading or being read to; or perhaps St Philip inspired the two fathers with different information as a joke. We can understand why St Philip loved St Bernadine when we think of the great gatherings of feuding renaissance factions listening to his sermons and then ending with an emotional reconciliation with the bacio di pace . The holy Franciscan’s withering attacks on homosexual vice would also have met with approval surely from ...

For me as a parish priest living on my own, it is always a tonic to spend a little time in a community of priests. As you can see from the photos in previous posts, the Birmingham Oratory Church is glorious in its splendour and a fitting home for the worship of God. The Oratory itself is not a place of luxury, however. The house bespeaks a proper sense of priestly moderation and asceticism whilst being a comfortable home for the Fathers. Here is the room which I was given: Meals are taken in common in the refectory, in silence. Around the walls are portraits of illustrious oratorians: At formal meals, one of the community reads from the lectern: The common room is the venue for recreation after meals. The Fathers and their guests sit together and converse on matters of interest, ensuring that the day does not pass without interaction between members of the community. Here is the common room: The main staircase boasts a good portrait of St Philip Neri: Upstairs is the library of "t...

Between my own Mass and the High Mass, I had some time to go around the Church and take some photographs. Here is the beautiful Lady Altar: At the eastern end of the north aisle is a small chapel dedicated to St Philip Neri which recalls the chapel in the Chiesa Nuova in Rome where the Father's body is enshrined: Last night and today the relics of St Philip were solemnly honoured: Around the Church are a number of painted canvas hangings with scenes from the life of St Philip. They are now quite faded but the lighting in the Church has been arranged so that they can still be seen. One favourite for any alumnus of the English College in Rome is the scene of St Philip meeting the students. He used to say to them Salvete flores martyrum! ("Hail, flowers of the martyrs!") The students would go to see St Philip to obtain his blessing before their return to England and, for many of them, death for the faith. My visit to Birmingham was at the request of the Fathers who had kin...

Last night we had traditional solemn Vespers with four pluvialists (cantors wearing copes) followed by solemn Benediction. One seminarian from Oscott who came thanked the Fathers afterwards for the opportunity to participate in the "Bible service with Hymns" - an excellent example of seminary wit! Here is a view down the nave of the Oratory Church: And here is a closer view of the High Altar: Above the altar is a depiction of the coronation of Our Lady as Queen of Heaven: And here is a closer view of the beautiful Testa:

This morning, I said a private Mass in the St Philip's chapel which is where the Fathers have their "Oratory" or spiritual excercises in the evening: The figure on the sanctuary is Matt Doyle who kindly came to serve my Mass. Here is a close-up of the altar itself In the chapel, there is a particularly good statue of Our Blessed Lady: And here is the display of relics: