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Showing posts with the label Confirmation

Confirmations at Spanish Place

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It has been quite a busy weekend since yesterday I went up to St James's, Spanish Place for the Confirmation ceremony. Three of my parishioners were confirmed, and several servers were there. The photos in this post are taken from Mulier Fortis who has some more at her post Confirmation According To The Usus Antiquior . This was the first time that I have participated in the celebration of Confirmation in the usus antiquior . Judging by the enthusiasm of the families, I expect it will not be the last. The choir of the parish of Spanish Place sang magnificently and the organist contributed superbly to the proceedings. After the ceremony I went to Pizza Express with one of the families - and found that Fr Jason Jones of Our Lady of the Taper was also there with the group that he had brought from Cardigan.
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Gratia ad robur

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Today has been busy with us all preparing for the Confirmation Mass. We had 35 young people (a few pictured above) confirmed this evening by Bishop John Hine who stepped in at short notice because Bishop Pat Lynch had to be in Ireland with his mother who is ill (please remember her in your prayers.) The distinctive grace of the sacrament is the gratia ad robur , grace for strengthening, as the perfection of the grace of Baptism, enabling us to bear witness to the faith - if necessary even unto death. In my diocese, the custom is for Confirmation to be conferred in year 8 (12-13 years of age) and it was great to see such hope for the Church of the future. Please pray for our youngsters that they will remain firm in their Catholic faith.
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Traditional Confirmations

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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.
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Old Rite Confirmations

Bishop George Stack will administer the sacrament of Confirmation in the Traditional Latin Rite at St James’ Church, Spanish Place, London W1 on Saturday 15th November at 11.30am. The Confirmations will be followed by Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. The Latin Mass Society has advised that any further candidates for Confirmation need to register their details now. Please telephone 020 7404 7284 or email to request a registration form and return it no later than 31 Oct 2008 to the LMS office.
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Gratia ad robur

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The photo shows a few of the young people from Blackfen who received the Sacrament of Confirmation administered by Bishop Patrick Lynch on Thursday evening. This is a always a delightful celebration with the young people being a real credit to their families and friends. Everything went smoothly and Bishop Pat spent a good time in the Hall meeting the various families despite having had a very busy day beforehand. The grace of confirmation was often distinguished as a "gratia ad robur" (grace for strengthening) so please say a prayer that these young people will remain strong in their faith and Catholic life.
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Collaborative ministry

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As a supplement to the doctrinal and spiritual talk at the beginning of the Confirmation programme, I mention our dress code. For boys, this is easy: jacket and tie, no jeans, no trainers. For girls it is a bit nuanced: dress or skirt, or tailored suit, no mini skirts, discreet makeup (check with mum) careful with the heels. I always thought it was a problem with kneeling down. Mulier Fortis has helpfully explained the real problem with high-heeled shoes at Confirmation. It's not the kneeling down, you see, but the getting up again, apparently. I'll remember that in the future. One thing that is really important is to have separate classes for boys and girls. At Confirmation you need to say something about chastity and remote preparation for marriage. It is essential to have different groups for boys and girls for this since they have different "needs" in this respect.
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Baptism water rosary photo

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This photo is doing the rounds at the moment. Here is the accompanying text: This was taken at the baptism of Valentino Mora, son of Erica, a single mom of 21 who asked the photographer to take a picture of her son for free. The photo of the baptism of Valentino Mora is sweeping the Internet, because at the time the priest pours the Holy water over his head, the water flows in the shape of a rosary. This story began at the Parish of the Assumption of Our Lady in Cordova, Spain, where the baptism of a one month baby took place. At the time that Valentino came to the baptismal font for the sacrament of baptism, Erica asked the photographer Maria Silvana Salles, who was hired by other parents baptizing their babies, to take a photo of her son as a favor, since the young mother had no way of paying for it. The photographer, moved by Erica's request, agreed to take a photo of Valentino. Maria Silvana works with a traditional camera and had to send the film to be developed to a shop in ...
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Is your alb back to front?

Fr Z has initiated a roaring discussion by asking the simple question whether maniples can be used in the Novus Ordo Mass. ( What Does The Prayer Really Say?: Maniples ) One commenter has referred to an important source for the question that has proved popular among modern liturgists. An answer in Notitiae of 1978 said: "When the rubrics of the Missal of Paul VI say nothing or say little on particulars in some places, it is not to be inferred that the former rite should be observed. Therefore, the multiple and complex gestures for incensation as prescribed in the former Missal are not to be resumed." This is, of course, a strange answer. Saying that it must not be inferred that a rite should be used does not imply that it must not be used. We need to check the Latin of this text. (If anyone with access to a library can check it, I have seen the reference given elsewhere as Notitiae 14 (1978) 301-302, no. 2) Let us in any case take the more restrictive interpretation, bel...
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Saint Gabriel

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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...
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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 .
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The blessing of a chariot

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When I studied Latin in Rome with Fr Reginald Foster, he used to suggest that a good word for a car was autorhaeda , a word in fact used in the Acta Apostolicae Sedis of 1965 when speaking of a visit made by Pope Paul VI to the Basilica of St Chrysogonus in Trastevere. The word raeda (without the "h") was used by Caesar, Cicero and Horace for a travelling wagon with four wheels and the addition of "auto" does not make for too awful a neologism. In the Rituale Romanum , the blessing for a motor vehicle is the Benedictio vehiculi seu currus . The word currus is normally translated as chariot and reflects the way that people often view their car. Since one's motor vehicle is more likely to be the locus of one's death or injury than many other artefacts, it does make sense to have it blessed. Above you can see us striding purposefully past the Georgian houses of Victoria Road and here is the blessing of the classic mini: The blessing given in the ...
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