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Showing posts with the label Priesthood

Ad multos annos from The Seminarians

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The other day I began again at Wonersh with the first lecture of my course on Sacramental Theology. There was quite a buzz at the seminary after the visit of the Holy Father. Several students had been helping at Eccleston Square with reinforcements being drafted in during the immediate run-up to the visit. The highlight for them was the gathering of all the seminarians at Oscott to meet the Holy Father.

The video above shows them gathering for the photo. Mgr Mark Crisp, the Rector of Oscott, was a year above me at the English College in Rome. It was great to see him sitting next to the Holy Father. I also picked out in the video students that I have taught in the past, some of whom are to be ordained to the Diaconate in December, as well those who are currently enduring my explanation of the phrase ex opere operato.

It was a good idea for the seminarians to start up the Ad multos annos for the Holy Father. That is sung at many seminaries on the occasion of an ordination, an annivers…
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Anathemasiturday

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Having just worked out what #followfriday is on Twitter (and indeed having posted my first #FF tweet) I thought it would be good to have an hashtag for an "Anathema Saturday" post. Mulier Fortis pointed out to me that it would be better to have #anathemasiturday and so this is what I propose. (It could be shortened in Twitter to #AS)

#anathemasiturday would be useful for flagging particular doctrines that have been condemned solemnly in General Council just to make sure that everyone knows that if you do in fact hold the doctrine, the Catholic Church has solemnly repudiated it. Before anyone submits silly comments, nobody is suggesting thumbscrews or boiling in oil, just the recognition that certain doctrinal positions are simply not Catholic.

So here is my first #anathemasiturday choice:
If any one says, that by those words, Do this for the commemoration of me (Luke xxii. 19), Christ did not institute the apostles priests; or, did not ordain that they, and other priests sho…
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Fr Wang on women and the priesthood

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Fr Stephen Wang, a priest of the Archdiocese of Westminster who is the Dean of Studies at Allen Hall Seminary, and blogs at Bridges and Tangents, has written a good piece about Women and the Priesthood. This is a difficult subject to write on because although the teaching of the Church is clear, the widespread confusion in our society over gender is a relatively recent phenomenon and reflection on the underlying reason for Christ's ordaining only men is in its infancy.

Therefore I think that Fr Wang has done the right thing in making it clear that Pope John Paul said that he did not have the authority to change this teaching, and to address straightforwardly the question of "cultural conditioning" which is one of the most popular arguments against Catholic teaching. For Catholics, it is also important to understand also that the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued a response concerning the status of this teaching. Since the text is not at the Vatican websit…
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In the footsteps of St Dominic

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A little late, I know, but warmest congratulations to Thomas Skeats and Robert Gay who were ordained last Saturday at Blackfriars in Oxford by Bishop Longley, and the internet's finest Catholic photographer, Fra Lawrence Lew who was ordained deacon.

Fra Lawrence has written about his love for photography and you can browse over 7000 photographs in his Flickr photostream. I knew that I was in some of them so I had a look through some of the sets...


On the Godzdogz blog there is also this video from 1964 to promote vocations to the Dominican order. A Dominican priest, ordained ten years, reflects on his own vocation to explore God's truth together with his brothers under Mary's protection. There is some fascinating footage of the Dominican rite of Mass.



It is always encouraging to hear good news and I am delighted that the Dominicans both here and in Ireland are flourishing.
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Open letter from priests to the Holy Father

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Fr Ray Blake has posted an Open letter in support of Pope Benedict to which I have added my name. I encourage other priests to sign up.

Father mentions the possibility of setting up something along the lines of the Confraternity of Catholic Clergy which our Aussie brothers have run so successfully for many years. I know that there are plenty of priests who are interested. We really need someone who has the time and energy to get this going.

Here's the text of the letter but please do go over to the post at Fr Blake's blog to sign it.
We, priests of England and Wales, wish to express our joy at the forthcoming visit of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI to Britain.

We welcome the many wise things the Holy Father said to us through our Bishops on their ad limina visit earlier this year which are of particular significance to the health of the Church in England and Wales, such as "the Catholic community in your country needs to speak with a united voice" and the need "t…
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New Lectors and Acolytes

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Mass at Wonersh was at 8 o'clock this morning: a little later than usual in view of the festive occasion of the institution of several students as Lectors and Acolytes. Here are the lists:

Lectors
Valentine Erhahon
Dominic Findlay-Wilson
John Watts
Daniel Weatherly

Acolytes
(left to right in photo above)
Harry Heijveld
Paul Keys
Thomas Lynch
Simon Dray
Oliver Lowson
Valentine Erhahon

Tomorrow, Gerard Hatton will be ordained Deacon. I was sorry not to be able to stay for that, but as well as the usual schedule in the parish I have a wedding and a baptism in the afternoon so we have our own celebrations here.

Congratulations to all the students who have take a step closer to priestly ordination. I am proud to have a small role in their formation.
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End of term at Wonersh

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St John's Seminary at Wonersh tonight celebrated the admission to candidacy for Holy Orders of Daniel Kelly, David King, Jonathan Routh and John Chandler. They will be ordained Deacons in a few months. Normally I find it difficult to get to Wonersh for these occasions but I was delighted to be able to come down this afternoon. I'll stay overnight for the ceremony at 8am tomorrow when several students will be made Lectors and Acolytes. Unfortunately I cannot stay for Saturday when Gerald Hatton will be ordained Deacon.

The new Candidates have all just taken (and passed) my course in Sacramental Theology so I hope that I have given them some help for their future priestly ministry. It is great to see them coming closer to ordination.

After the ceremony this evening there was a special dinner, following which the students invited me down to the "Dive" (their Common Room) to continue the celebrations informally. The television was showing the crushing defeat of the Dane…
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Mgr Marini - print edition in "The Priest"

MARINIthe Priest March 2010

Back in January, the English translation of the lecture given by Mgr Guido Marini at the Rome Conference of the Confraternity of Catholic Clergy was published widely on the internet. Fr McGavin, editor of "The Priest", the Journal of the Australian Confraternity of Catholic Clergy sent me the above file with Mgr Marini's lecture printed in the journal. You can read all the articles in the special March 2010 edition of "The Priest".

[The issue is copyright to Fr McGavin as the publisher for ACCC.]
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Franciscans of the Immaculate ordination photos

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Many thanks to Rinascimento Sacra for posting photos of the ordinations of priests of the Franciscans of the Immaculate by Cardinal Franc Rodé at the Church of All Saints in Florence last Thursday. You can see in the above photo that Mgr Wach and another priest from the Institute of Christ the King were also there.
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Confessions and priestly fraternity in New Addington

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New Addington is a housing estate on the outskirts of Croydon which has had a mixed reputation over the years. Fr Stephen Boyle has, for a number of years, been an untiring pastor at the Church of the Good Shepherd, bringing a straightforward, faithful, and cheerful message of faith to the people under his care. Every so often, he arranges for the children of the Catholic school next door to the Church, to come in for Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and Confessions. He invites various priests to come and then takes us all out for lunch afterwards, combining pastoral care for the children with a ministry to priests.

Today Fr Charles Briggs and I drove down to help out and to enjoy a convivial priestly gathering. Fr Stephen's brother, Fr John Boyle, of Veritas in Caritate was also there along with other priests from the local area.
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Congregation for Clergy videos

The Congregation for the Clergy has been one of the movers and shakers in terms of using the internet to get the message across. Cardinal Claudio Hummes regularly writes to priest on the email list and Archbishop Piacenze also gives great encouragement. Now there is a trio of videos on YouTube about the priest Alter Christus.







I'm just posting before leaving for Wonersh so I haven't had time to watch them all yet but look forward to doing so. I recognise the French priest who, when I met him, was working at the Congregation for Divine Worship. He is from Caen so I was pleased to tell him that my father was involved in the liberation of the town (though I expect that there must be some frustration at how little of it was left after the battle.)
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Discovering Priesthood day at Ealing Abbey

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Ealing Abbey are holding a "Discovering Priesthood" day next month. This initiative involves the Benedictine Community, Franciscan Friars of the Renewal and the diocesan vocation director. Fr Stephen Langridge, Fr Stephen Wang (Allen Hall), Fr Francis Selman (Allen Hall), Fr Richard Nesbit (Westminster Vocations) will be coming as well as some young priests who were ordained at the Abbey and seminarians who work with us in catechetics. Everyone who is coming has been involved in the parish catechesis in some way. Here are the details:
DISCOVERING PRIESTHOOD
A day for young men
We invite young men to join us at a ‘Discovering Priesthood Day’ on Saturday 13th March, 10.00am - 4.00pm

The day offers young men a chance to meet priests and seminarians from the diocese and religious communities to learn more about the life and ministry of a priest.

To book a place or for further information contact:
Deacon Gordon Nunn, at the Parish Office, Ealing Abbey, 2, Marchwood Crescent, Lond…
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Book: Catholic Priest, Image of Christ

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Gracewing, together with a number of other European publishers, is marking the Year of the Priest with a number of titles. On Saturday 13 February at St Wilfrid's Hall (London Oratory) the most prestigious of these will be launched: Catholic Priest, Image of Christ. Through Fifteen Centuries of Art. The Institute of Christ the King, Sovereign Priest collaborated in the book, and Mgr Wach, the Founder and Prior General, will celebrate Mass in the Little Oratory before the book launch, at 11.30am

Here is the publisher's information about the book:
The editor of The Catholic Priest, Image of Christ, Steen Heidemann presents 560 images of the priesthood, from masterpieces of art across fifteen centuries, which vividly illustrate the vocation, call to sanctity, apostolic work, spirituality and liturgical activity of priests. Accompanying the illustrations are profound expositions of the priestly life from major figures of the Church: His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI, Cardinal Antonio …
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Brentwood Vocations

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A priest friend from the Diocese of Brentwood alerted me to the new Brentwood Vocations website and blog which looks good. There is a whole team of bloggers including one of my students, Fr Keane, author of "The Martyrs' Crown", and Mgr John Armitage.
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Did St Thérèse want to be a woman priest?

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Thanks to Fr John Boyle for notice of an attempt to hijack the visit of the relics of St Thérèse in the cause of the ordination of women. (See: St Therese and the Priesthood). There is a good article published in Homiletic and Pastoral Review a few years back which covered the quotation usually brought out in favour of the St Thérèse as womynpriest thesis: Did St. Thérèse want to be a priest?

Essentially: yes, St Thérèse said she wanted to be a priest. She also said that she wanted to be a crusader; and she expressed enthusiasm for being a member of the Pontifical Zouave. In addition, she said that she wanted to be like St Francis and refuse the honour of the priesthood.

(Hint: she was speaking ... figuratively.)
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Fr Philip Miller 10th anniversary

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Fr Philip Miller of the Archdiocese of Westminster celebrates the tenth anniversary of his priestly ordination this week. I travelled over to St Albans this morning to concelebrate at with him and a number of other priest friends. The Mass was celebrated with gravitas in the ordinary form, mainly in English, but with a choir of friends, conducted by Jeremy White, who sang parts of Palestrina's Missa Brevis and Morten Lauridsen's O Magnum Mysterium.

Congratulations to Fr Miller: ad multos annos!

Today I found this Grassroots video via The Deacon's Bench which is a reminder for all of us who are celebrating anniversaries, of the priestly dignity which we are called to live up to.

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Trying to keep up

There seem to be a number of important breaking stories this week and I haven't time to do more than list a few of them here in case you miss them on the other Catholic blogs.

Rorate Caeli has an English translation of a Bombshell of an Interview with Mgr Bartolucci, Maestro Perpetuo of the Sistine Chapel in which he talks about the liturgical tradition, participation, seminary formation, and "affected cecilianism" in music.

Also via Rorate Caeli, there is news of a forthcoming book by Mgr Brunero Gherardini, entitled "Vatican Council II: An Open Discussion." the book is to be published by Casa Mariana Editrice, the publishing house of the Franciscans of the Immaculate. (Article at Catholicism.org)

Chris Gillibrand at Cathcon, among many others, has picked up on the comments of Bishop Jean-Louis Brugues, Secretary of the Congregation for Catholic Education in an interview with L'Osservatore Romano. He speaks of a forthcoming guide to priestly formation which w…
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Spiritual Mothers of Priests

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In 2007, the Congregation for the Clergy published a document entitled Eucharistic Adoration for the Sanctification of Priests and Spiritual Maternity. It is largely a collection of reflections on the example of women who prayed particularly for priests.

Jane, who writes the blog Thoughts from an Oasis in French Catholicism, has taken up the idea of promoting Spiritual Maternity for priests with a dedicated blog Spiritual Mothers of Priests. She has been helped particularly by the advice and encouragement of Fr Mark of Vultus Christi who lives in the diocese of Tulsa, Oklahoma and spends his time in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, interceding for his brother priests. He has a helpful post: What can I do for the Year of the Priest?

It is a great source of joy and encouragement for priests to know that others are praying for them. It also motivates us to try to live a holy life in response to the generosity of others in their prayers and sacrifices. My warmest thanks, which I am sure …
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Mutual enrichment in Frejus-Toulon

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Carlos Antonio Palad at Rorate Caeli reports on the Diocese of Frejus-Toulon. Next month, Bishop Dominique Rey will be ordaining two priests according to the usus antiquior of the Roman Rite. Both will be priests of the diocese. The diocese opens its doors to seminarians who wish to become priests of the diocese while continuing to prefer the usus antiquior.

The policy does not seem to have brought about the disastrous division that many might instinctively fear. As well as the two ordinations scheduled for September, Bishop Rey ordained 14 priests and 11 deacons in the newer form last June. That all sounds pretty healthy for a French diocese.
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Old Mass and old breviary

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Some years ago, not long after beginning to say the classical form of the Roman Rite of Mass, I realised that there was quite a lot that went along with it. A little book "Clericus Devotus" which I consider one of my greatest treasures, demonstrated in its layout of daily devotions, and particularly in the examination of conscience, what was expected from a priest in terms of the life of prayer.

Soon, along with many other priests who say the older form of the Mass, I discovered the older form of the Divine Office. This is the focus of quite some controversy since Pope St Pius X made some radical revisions to the breviary and substantial "cuts" were made in the 1950s so that, amusingly, one of the titles widely sold by publishers of traditional liturgical books is Fr Hausmann's "Learning the New Breviary" which is actually an instruction manual for the 1961 breviary.

The revived interest in the older breviary has been reflected in some new publishing ve…
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How to make an act of perfect contrition

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How can you go from imperfect to perfect contrition? Gabriella D from Australia asked me this on Twitter today and I want to give an answer because I think that many people misunderstand what we mean when we talk about “perfect contrition.”

Perfect contrition is sorrow and detestation of sin arising out of the love of God. One way of exciting this contrition in our hearts is by considering the passion of Jesus Christ and making acts of love for Him. We can also think of the infinite love which God has for us, and express sorrow in our heart in the presence of this great love which we have offended.

Imperfect contrition is sorrow and detestation for sin arising from a consideration of the ugliness of sin or out of the fear of hell. Disgust at the ugliness of sin is more common today than fear of hell. That is because we do not preach enough, or with sufficient conviction about the four last things.

If a person commits an act of impurity, for example, perhaps by deliberately looking at a…
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Overcoming temptations with Christ

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The temptations of Our Lord by the devil in the wilderness are contemptible. The devil fails to understand who Christ is, and appeals to greed and pride. It is ludicrous for the devil to ask Our Lord to worship him, because Our Lord is truly God. It is stupid to offer Christ all the kingdoms of the world – Christ is the creator of the universe. Even His human nature, being sinless, is not vulnerable to temptations to greed and pride.

However the devil returns later “at the appointed time” to torment Our Lord with the weight of all the sins of the human race. This is at the time of the passion of Christ, beginning in the Garden of Gethsemane.

In His infinite love for us, Christ is overwhelmed by the disaster of evil as it has afflicted his beloved children. The anguish of this is even greater than the physical torture of the passion. St Luke tells us that Our Lord sweated blood, a graphic detail which shows the psychological and spiritual agony to which He was subjected. We sometimes …
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Bournemouth Oratory Appeal

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Over the past year, during the time that I have been recovering from illness, the Bournemouth Oratory-in-Formation has generously welcomed me to celebrate Mass in the beautiful Church of the Sacred Heart every day, and have become good friends in what is sometimes an isolated existence while I wait for accommodation in my own Archdiocese. They have recently launched an appeal which I am keen to pass on to you in case you may be able to help.

Bishop Philip Egan, a sound and courageous Bishop, has encouraged the Oratory, not only by giving them the Sacred Heart Church as a permanent home, but in supporting them in an ambitious plan to develop their work and become:
A powerhouse of prayerA focus for formation in the faithA hub for the community in the heart of Bournemouth The Community has increased the availability of daily Mass and provides regular daily times for confession, twice-weekly times for adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, as well as “Oratory”, the twice daily time of silent…
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Our Lady Immaculate, our model for preparing to celebrate the birth of Christ.

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Listening with respect to the message of the angel, and prudently questioning him on how it was possible for her to be the Mother of Christ, Our Lady gave her immediate, willing and whole-hearted consent. From then on, her prayerful expectation of the birth of Christ is a model for us of the devout attitude we should endeavour to adopt during the season of Advent.

From the moment of her conception in the womb of Saint Anne, Our Lady, by a singular privilege, was free from original sin and never committed a single venial sin. Educated in the Temple from childhood, she faithfully and obediently followed the law of God as it was then in force for the Jewish people. She took part in the worship of the synagogue on the sabbath and went to Jerusalem for the great feasts. She observed those feasts with devotion, aware of their meaning which pointed to the Messiah, her own child, the One who is to come.

At those feasts, the psalms formed a major part of the liturgy. She would have known them…
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Bishop Budd on Summorum Pontificum

Fr Z has text and comments on the statement issued by Bishop Christopher Budd of the Plymouth Diocese.

I agree with Fr Z's comments and would add that Bishop Budd is a fair-minded man. I liked the last part of his statement:May I urge you to celebrate the present liturgy (the ordinary rite) of all the sacraments of the Church ‘attente et devote’. The quality of the parish celebration of the renewed liturgy is an important context for the permitted use of the rite now designated `Extraordinary’.The use of the older form of the rite should help and encourage priests in the proper celebration of the newer form. In fact, as Dr Hemming pointed out at the Merton Conference, the older form provides a necessary anchor for the newer form.
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