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My sermon on ecumenism

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As today marks the close of the Octave of Prayer for Christian Unity, here is my sermon from yesterday on the subject: “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body” (1 Cor 12.13) Today falls as the Sunday within the Octave of Prayer for Christian Unity. 45 years ago, the second Vatican Council had a particular concern for promoting Christian Unity and addressed the question in a special Decree on Ecumenism. The Council did not in any way contradict the traditional teaching of the Church: indeed it said that the fullness of unity subsists in the Catholic Church. In one place, the decree says: “Jesus Christ, then, willed that the apostles and their successors - the bishops with Peter’s successor at their head - should preach the Gospel faithfully, administer the sacraments, and rule the Church in love. It is thus, under the action of the Holy Spirit, that Christ wills His people to increase, and He perfects His people's fellowship in unity: in their confessing the one f...
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Oxford Oratory Holy Hour for the Unity of Christians

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The Oxford Oratory will be holding a Holy Hour of adoration of the Blessed Sacrament especially in the light of Anglicanorum Coetibus , on the feast of the Chair of Peter, Monday 22 February, at 8pm. It is strange how things change over time. I am beginning to get the impression that ecumenism is becoming less of an enthusiasm among liberal Catholics - especially now that Pope Benedict is taking it so seriously ;-)
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Saints of Christian Unity

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Fr Anthony Ho has an article for Pax Sinaica (scroll down for the English version) in which he looks at St Francis de Sales and Blessed Marie Gabriella ( right ). Concerning St Francis de Sales, Fr Ho makes this observation: St. Francis won the heart of the people gradually with his patience and kindness. The parents would not come to St. Francis, so he came to their children and played with them. When the parents saw how kind he was as he played with their children, they started to talk to him.
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Anglicanorum Coetibus

Tsk - I go away to the seminary to teach a couple of classes on Sacramental Theology, get back, say Mass, and then have a quick check of the blogosphere - only to find that a megaton story has broken. Well I have just read through Anglicanorum Coetibus (AC) and, as with Summorum Pontificum , Pope Benedict has bent over backwards to be generous in the service of Christian Unity. Remember Fr Z's point - Benedict XVI - The Pope of Christian Unity The primary consideration in the preamble of AC is the mandate of Our Lord to St Peter to guarantee unity and to do everything possible to secure unity. Don't miss out the preamble - it is a good succinct lesson in ecclesiology. Interestingly, the Personal Ordinariates are put under the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. (AC 1.1) Fr Ghirlanda (under whom I studied Canon Law many years ago) explains the reason for this in his note on the significance of AC. The authoritative expression of faith is the Catechism of the Catholic Ch...
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UK Traditional Anglican Communion says "yes please"

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The South African Catholic blog Signum has an article reporting that TAC in UK accepts "Ordinariate" At the 2009 Assembly of the Traditional Anglican Communion UK, the following resolution was passed: That this Assembly, representing the Traditional Anglican Communion in Great Britain, offers its joyful thanks to Pope Benedict XVI for his forthcoming Apostolic Constitution allowing the corporate reunion of Anglicans with the Holy See, and requests the Primate and College of Bishops of the Traditional Anglican Communion to take the steps necessary to implement this Constitution. The Assembly also suggests Bishop Robert Mercer as a possible candidate for Ordinary. I hear a lot of skeptical comments about the Holy Father's offer of Personal Ordinariates, with the conventional wisdom being that it will not really attract many people. So it is good to hear news of twenty or so parish communities that will be interested. The TAC asked for the provision in the first place so it...
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Quarant' Ore and the Pope of Christian Unity

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This evening our Forty Hours in the parish began with the splendid ceremonies of the Missa Cantata , followed by the Blessed Sacrament Procession and the Litany of the Saints. For my sermon, I emphasised first of all the doctrine of the Real Presence of Christ, without which this devotion would be meaningless. I also spoke of the fruits of the Holy Eucharist in terms of our union with Christ and the pledge of future glory, but especially of the unity of the Church. In this respect I was inspired by Fr Zuhlsdorf's post " Whose ecumenism? " in which he suggests that we should start calling Pope Benedict The Pope of Christian Unity Pope Benedict has begun to "walk the walk" rather than simply "talk the talk" on ecumenism, providing for the real and concrete prospect of unity with those Anglicans who share our faith. It would be insulting to refer to negotiations with the SSPX as "ecumenism" but the Holy Father has unambiguously set out his motiv...
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Anglican Personal Ordinariates

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The Holy See has announced a forthcoming Apostolic Constitution which will establish Personal Ordinariates which will allow former Anglicans to enter full communion with the Catholic Church while preserving elements of the distinctive Anglican spiritual and liturgical patrimony. Under the terms of the Apostolic Constitution, pastoral oversight and guidance will be provided for groups of former Anglicans through a Personal Ordinariate, whose Ordinary will usually be appointed from among former Anglican clergy. The Note from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith specifies that the Apostolic Constitution "provides for the ordination as Catholic priests of married former Anglican clergy" but that Bishops will have to be unmarried men, in accord with the historic tradition of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches. However, the possibility is left open for the Ordinary to be a priest rather than a Bishop. The "Background Information" given with the note mentions He...
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Where I will be tomorrow

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Tomorrow morning, I'll be saying an early Mass and then catching the train from Kings Cross to Leuchars to get up to Scotland in time to give a talk to the University of St Andrews Canmore Catholic Society . I always love visiting St Andrews. It is a beautiful university city and the Catholic student community has something very special about it. I'm speaking on the subject of "True and False Ecumenism". Preparing for this, I have re-read Pope Pius XI's Mortalium Animos as well as Pope John XXIII's Ad Petri Cathedram , Vatican II's Unitatis Redintegratio , and Dominus Iesus among other documents in order to get back to the sources rather than simply talk "from experience" or re-hash commonplace arguments. As a result of studying these texts again, one thesis I will be defending is that Unitatis Redintegratio can be read together with Mortalium Animos in accord with the hermeneutic of continuity. Some may find that far-fetched - but why go for...
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Fr Hunwicke's open letter to Fr Finigan

Many thanks to Fr Hunwicke for his friendly and extraordinarily perceptive open letter with an amusing story of the Vicar of Cury and Gunwalloe.
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Metropolitan Kirill

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Metropolitan Kirill (62) of Smolensk and Kaliningrad has been elected Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia. He will be enthroned this Sunday 1 February. Although he has expressed himself as firmly against compromise, he is generally seen as an enthusiast for ecumenism and as someone who is willing to engage with the Holy See. He has considerable diplomatic experience, having been head of the foreign relations office of the Russian Orthodox Church since 1989. Interestingly, he has gone on record to oppose reforms of the Liturgy such as the replacement of Old Church Slavonic with modern Russian. To get an idea of the kind of man who has been elected, have a look at this interview given last October for Spiegel Online: 'The Bible Calls it a Sin' . His interviewers are articulately and strongly hostile on moral and political questions but the Metropolitan holds his own very well indeed.
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Dr Pink at the Oratory, Thursday

For young adults, (up to 18-35) there is an opportunity to hear Dr Tom Pink speak on Thursday 30 October at the London Oratory "Call to Youth" series. He will be giving a talk on "How should Catholics work for Christian unity?" You can also read a good article by Dr Pink on the subject.
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Hear some sense on ecumenism

Recently, I referred to the article by Dr Thomas Pink on ecumenism. For young adults, (up to 18-35) there is an opportunity to hear Dr Pink speak on Thursday 30 October at the London Oratory "Call to Youth" series. He will be giving a talk on "How should Catholics work for Christian unity?"
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Philosophers' blog - and a good article on ecumenism

A group of Catholic philosophers started up the Philosophia Perennis blog on the feast of St Augustine this year. Last month, there was an excellent article by Dr Thomas Pink , Reader in Philosophy at Kings College, London, called The toils of ecumenism - a new doctrine or an old policy? The article offers an analysis of the relationship between the encyclical Mortalium Animos of Pius XII and Vatican II's Unitatis Redintegratio . He argues that there has been a change of policy rather than doctrine; that Mortalium Animos rejected the policy of ecumenical dialogue as a means to reunion whereas Unitatis Redintegratio enthusiastically endorsed such a policy. Ecumenism itself, and ecumenical discussions cannot be ruled out on principle because to do so would be also to reject the work of the Council of Florence. Thus he says: Florence did not work; but its attempt at dialogic reunion with Constantinople was not un-Catholic or un-Christian. Nor, on the other hand, should others ass...
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Genuine Ecumenism

"But Father!" you may say, "You promote Ecumenism on your blog?" This is the kind of ecumenism I like: working together with good Christians who are intelligently aware of the damage being done to our society by what Pope John Paul called the "culture of death." The good people of Christian Concern for our Nation are certainly our allies in this fight and I am very happy to publicise their excellent new website.
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Southern Baptist understands "subsistit" document

Albert Mohler, a Southern Baptist, seems to be less offended than some Catholics by the recent "subsistit" document from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. The full title of that document is delightfully bland: Responses to some questions regarding certain aspects of the doctrine of the Church . Pastor Mohler has a refreshingly sensible article entitled No, I'm Not Offended . First off, he says: No, I am not offended. In the first place, I am not offended because this is not an issue in which emotion should play a key role. This is a theological question, and our response should be theological, not emotional. Now there's someone we could do "ecumenism" with! He addds, No one familiar with the statements of the Roman Catholic Magisterium should be surprised by this development. Rev Mohler, could you come and speak to some Catholics I know? The Pastor is refreshingly straightforward in his assessment of the document: I appreciate the document'...
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Opportunity for ecumenism

An anonymous commenter said in connection with the SOR demo Our new breed of Catholic is more interested in discussing the Latin Mass than taking part in something useful like this. This strikes me as a real ecumenical venture what a shame there wasn't a Catholic presence. The first sentence is, I think, quite unfair. Traditionalists usually form quite a high percentage of the Catholics who attend such demos - this was true last night. Others will just be pro-family, pro-life people, and those from the new movements and religious communities. The common factor is a love for the Church and a loyalty to her moral teaching. Devotees of the old Mass are also very well represented among the supporters of pro-life groups, vigils and charitable work. But it would be a pity to miss the important point that the commenter makes. This kind of activity is indeed an opportunity for genuine ecumenism. The Peniel Pentecostal Church is thoroughly evangelical protestant in doctrine and practice. T...
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The Anglican Church and the sanctity of life

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Yesterday, from the Vatican, there was issued a Common Declaration of Pope Benedict XVI and the Archbishop of Canterbury His Grace Rowan Williams . The declaration states that "There are many areas of witness and service in which we can stand together" and lists several such as peace in the Holy Land, the poor, materialism, the environment etc. I was surprised to see the following included: "promoting respect for life from conception until natural death" In Abortion - A Briefing Paper , issued by the Church of England’s Mission and Public Affairs Division in February 2005, we are given a summary of the Anglican position on abortion: "The Church of England combines strong opposition to abortion with a recognition that there can be strictly limited conditions under which it may be morally preferable to any available alternative." The Briefing quotes the teaching of the Catechism of the Catholic Church : "Human life must be respected and protected ab...
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Popular posts from this blog

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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