The Hermeneutic of Continuity

Tomatoes are up there among my favourite foods. Now there is a new reason to like them: apparently they are so Christian that one Muslim group has ordered its followers not to eat them. You can see why from the picture above with the blatant Maltese Cross staring out at us. H/T to William Oddie for this completely bizarre story. Actually I'm not brilliant at eating vegetables and fruit but I do like tomatoes, whether sliced into a salad with oil and vinegar, spread in paste upon a pizza base (preferably without rubbery mozzarella) or taken from a tin to make spaghetti amatriciana or something similar. (BTW I did Biology A-level and I do know that the tomato is a fruit, so no pedantic comments on that subject please.) They are also very good sliced up in a sandwich with Wiltshire ham from the Sainsbury's deli counter. I am delighted to know that my tomato consumption now counts as an act of Christian witness. The Lord is good to me. Da Dum DUM His light will shine on m...

Fr Perrone, the Rector of the Assumption Grotto has taken away the forward-facing altar that disrupted the line of sight to their magnificent High Altar (at which Mass is normally said anyway.) Te Deum Laudamus has the story: Assumption Grotto's Sanctuary: Low Altar Removed . Interestingly, there will be a moveable altar available for priests who want to celebrate Mass versus populum . It seems to me that this is a good arrangement for the time being: have the High Altar as the norm and the Volksaltar available to be wheeled on if needed. This would be much easier than setting up the High Altar as we have to do several times a week at Blackfen. The proper High Altar, as you can see from the photo of Assumption Grotto, leaves a proper space in the sanctuary for the various functions that happen at High Mass, Vespers, Benediction and other services. In very many Churches, the removal of the forward-facing altar will restore the architects original vision for the Church.

Sir Dan of the blogosphere left me a message earlier asking for prayers for Irish farmers. He is currently on holiday in Cork and has spoken to farmers who are really down about the weather this summer which has threatened their livelihood. Here is a prayer you could say, taken from the Roman Missal: To avert storms A domo tua, quǽsumus Dómine, spiritáles nequítiæ repellántur: et aëriárum discédat malígnitas tempestátum. Lord we pray thee that evil spirits may be driven away from thy house and that the fury of the tempest may cease. or alternatively: For fine weather Ad te nos, Dómine, clamántes exáudi: et áëris serenitátem nobis tríbue supplicántibus; ut, qui juste pro peccátis nostris afflígimur, misericórdia tua præveniénte, cleméntiam sentiámus. Lord hear and heed our cry and grant our petition for fine weather, so that through they compassion which forestalls our need, we who are justly punished for our sins may feel thy clemency. Thinking of Irish matters, and especia...

Earlier this year, Rorate Caeli ran a report on Bishop Luiz Demétrio Valentini, Bishop of the Diocese of Jales in Brazil giving an address at the 53rd anniversary of the Masonic Lodge "Colonel Balthazar" in Jales. (In the picture below, he is the one not wearing a tie.) Yesterday, again from Brazil, Rorate Caeli reports on an equally bizarre event, a  Masonic Memorial Mass for the "Day of the Freemason", celebrated by Father Geraldo de Magela Silva, of the Diocese of Pesqueira (state of Pernambuco, Brazil.) Here is one of the photos. One of the commenters wittily observed that the aprons bear a striking resemblance to the Google Mail logo but I am not going to enter into any conspiracy theories on that score. Here, thanks to EWTN , is the text of the 1983 Declaration from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith regarding membership in Masonic associations: QUAESITUM EST Declaration on Masonic Associations Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine...

Zephyrinus and I took lunch today at La Cucina di Antonio in Halfway Street, Blackfen. This refurbished restaurant is becoming one of the hotspots locally but it was my first visit. The warm and friendly welcome from all at La Cucina prompted me to promise an advert here on the blog. There is a very reasonably priced Sunday menu which was fine for us. I had the grilled sardines followed by the veal; Zephyrinus (to whom I wished a happy feast day) had the spaghetti bolognese followed by roast beef. The ordinary list Valpolicella was good - though there is an impressive list of special wines if you want to spend more. All most acceptable in a relaxed atmosphere ideal for some strategic pastoral planning over Sunday lunch. The restaurant is closed Sunday evening and Monday lunchtime to allow for family  time off - another recommendation in my book.

The other day, I asked for photos of Fr Thwaites since he was not the sort to have photos of himself all over the internet, like some of us. Many thanks to the Windsors for the one above, and to Greg Clovis for those below. I cropped out this one as a head shot if you want a small portrait to illustrate blogposts, for example. (You can use the other photos as well if you want, of course.) The Funeral Mass for Fr Thwaites will be at 12 noon on Friday 31 August at the Corpus Christi Jesuit Community, 757 Christchurch Road, Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset BH7 6AN. (Mass in the Ordinary Form.) At 12noon on Saturday 29 September 2012 at St Bede's, Clapham Park, 58 Thornton Road, London SW12 0LF, there will be a Solemn Requiem Mass celebrated according to the usus antiquior . Fr Linus Clovis will preach.

Teresa Higginson was an English mystic who promoted devotion to the Sacred Head of Jesus as the seat of human and divine wisdom. The devotion is a complement to the devotion to the Sacred Heart which celebrate's the human and divine love of Our Lord. The devotion to the Sacred Heart flourished in response to Jansenism which undermined the love and mercy of Our Lord. It is fitting in our own time to celebrate the Sacred Head of Our Lord, crowned with thorns, because Our Lord is again crowned with thorns through the denial of dogmatic and moral truth. I am pleased to hear that there is a new blog on Teresa Higginson and the Sacred Head .

On Sunday I wrote about the 11 year old girl who had been arrested in Pakistan for blasphemy. The British Pakistani Christian Association held a demonstration on Wednesday outside the Pakistani Embassy demanding her release. See a full report at their blog where they quote the 1947 inaugural speech of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali, the founding father of Pakistan: "You are free; you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place of worship in this State of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed that has nothing to do with the business of the State." As the BPCA rightly say, He would be turning in his grave right now if he knew how the apparatus of the Pakistan State is being cynically used against defenceless minority faiths. Thanks be to God, the blogs have generated media interest in this outrage and the Pakistani Government has had to take notice. The band Ooberfüse which I have mentioned before on th...

Thanks to Brandon Vogt's ever excellent blog for the link to this video promotion for World Youth Day 2013 in Rio de Janeiro.

We had a little celebration after morning Mass at Blackfen today. There was champagne and chocolate cake (as well as tea and fruit juice.) See Mulier Fortis for more details.

Back in 2007 I wrote about the prospect of the fine Church of the Sacred Heart in Limerick being turned into a  spa and leisure centre . In 2011 I followed up with the  Heartbreaking reportage  of the death of the developer, and the possible suggested uses of the building (Library / Museum /Leisure Centre / Bar / Restaurant.) I expressed the hope that the Institute of Christ the King, Sovereign Priest might be able to raise the funds to buy the Church. Praise and glory to God, this hope has been fulfilled. St Conleth's Catholic Heritage reports today that the Institute has been able to purchase the Church with the help of friends in Ireland, Europe and the United States. See the aptly titled post REJOICE! REJOICE! REJOICE! for a full report. Naturally, the Institute is acting in full co-operation with the Diocese to revive this much-loved Church that was in danger of falling into ruin. This development is a sure sign of the future of the Church. In every age the ...