The Hermeneutic of Continuity

"Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to people of good will." A hundred and forty-one years ago the Prussian Chancellor, Bismarck, attempted to crush the Church with the Kulturkampf . He failed. Translated, this is the “Culture War” which we face today, especially in Europe and the United States. Stalin tried something similar, though more saunguinary, taunting “How many divisions does the Pope have?” Blessed Pope John Paul did not need any tanks. Neither did the apostles and their successors in the early Church need Legions to gain freedom for the Church in the face of the might of the Roman Empire. These battles, along with our Culture War of today, are fought without weapons, often despite dungeon, fire and sword being used against the innocent followers of Christ. We do not win every battle in this peaceful struggle, but we know that with Christ as our champion, the Nazirite, the new Sampson, over the centuries, and in the end, the final victory of the ...

Congratulations to Dan Cooper (known here as Sir Dan of the Blogosphere) who has been awarded the Benemerenti medal by the Holy Father: well deserving indeed. He is pictured above with the Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Southwark who presented the medal, and a painting of St John Fisher who, in the words of the school hymn , alone of his peers brooked the displeasure of King Henry VIII. The school has a report on Dan's work there which concludes: He is a strong defender of the Catholic Faith, the unborn child, marriage and family life, the Eucharist and fidelity to the Holy Father. Dan has worked for several decades with boys at the John Fisher school and has, with the help of the Holy Spirit, been influential in promoting many priestly vocations. When I spoke to him, Dan was very appreciative of this papal honour, but those who know him will be amused, but not surprised, to hear that he also said "medals won't solve the crisis in the Church."

A few weeks ago, my Catholic Dilemma column for the Catholic Herald ran as follows: I use my iPad to follow the readings at Mass, for prayers after Communion and sometimes to follow the chant. Last week someone behind me tutted loudly. Is it wrong to use an iPad in Church? Some readers might say “Yes, you should be using an Android tablet” but I prescind from that argument. There is no intrinsic reason why you should not use an electronic device to read the scriptures or the text of prayers and devotions. The iPieta app is a wonderful collection of spiritual writings, scripture, theology and magisterial teaching, and I know several Choir Directors who find the Liber Pro app an amazing resource for Gregorian chant. One potential problem with using any backlit device in Church is that the bright screen could distract others. A small phone can be hidden but a tablet is likely to catch peoples’ eyes from quite some distance, especially if the lighting in the Church is subdued. In...

If you are overwhelmed by the cleaning you have to do before Christmas, consider the Sampietrini who have to clean the baldacchino in St Peter's. I'm going to look closer at it next time I am in Rome. Apparently there is a bronze rosary hanging off the base of one column as if someone just left it behind. H/T CNS via Luke Coppen at the Catholic Herald

Photo credit:  Servizio Fotografico O.R. I was as surprised as anyone when I read the other day that the Holy Father had written an article for the Financial Times: A time for Christians to engage with the world . He takes as his starting point the verse "Render unto Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God," and offers a reflection that I venture to hope would be respected by the readers of the FT. Apparently the Editorial Office just asked and the Pope responded willingly "despite the unusual nature of the request." This morning, the Holy Father gave his annual Christmas address to the Roman Curia . The key section is where he speaks about the question of gender, referring with approval to the study of the Chief Rabbi of France, Gilles Bernheim, and launching his criticism of the new philosophy of sexuality from the expression of Simone de Beauvoir "one is not born a woman, one becomes so." He defends the idea of a human nature...

When I looked quickly at the "Teens & 20s" page of the current  Portsmouth People (the Diocesan magazine) I thought that it was just another Yoof piece. In fact, it is given over to Thomas Messenger's account of why he goes to the FSSP at Reading for Mass in the old rite. "Oh the times they are a-chay-ee-an-gin!"

Before 1876 when Emile Berliner invented the first microphone used as a telephone voice transmitter, it would not have been possible to hear the prayers that were said by the priest at the High Altar of a large Church unless he shouted (a suggestion made by Luther) or sang. Hence, at High Mass in the traditional form, any prayers that are not sung are said secreto . To preach, the priest would walk some way down the nave, climb into a pulpit, and project his voice with the aid of a sounding board above him. Now we have clip-on radio microphones that can transmit every whisper, cough and snuffle of the celebrant, catching sometimes on the polyester collar of modern vestments to interject loud scratching noises into the Mass. Fortunately I think that the use of these devices is now being called into question. In the older form of the Mass, microphones are not generally used except for preaching, where they will usually be necessary until the pulpit is rediscovere...

As you probably know already, this Friday 21 December is the end-date of a 5125-year-long cycle in the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar. While Mayan experts do not support predictions of impending doom, it appears that in Russia and China particularly, people are buying up candles, matches and tinned food, and preparing to go to the top of a nearby mountain to be rescued by aliens. Actually, the world might end on Friday. Our Blessed Lord Himself, according to the knowledge proper to His human nature, did not know when the end of the world would be. Neither do we. So what should we do if the end of the world is to be on Friday? Matches, candles and tinned food won't help, nor will climbing the nearest mountain. The best thing to do would be to be baptised if you are not already baptised, to be received into full communion with the Catholic Church if you are not already in communion. For those who are in communion with the Catholic Church, a good confession would be sensible, ...

In the general bafflement over the Prime Minister's obsession with legalising same sex marriage, an obsession surprisingly shared by Iain Duncan Smith, John Major, Michael Gove and others we thought might have known better, we are all wondering what on earth is behind this. A popular suggestion is that it is David Cameron's Clause 4 moment, that he is seeking to shed traditional conservatives from his party to make it more electable, just as Tony Blair changed the face of the Labour party. The suggestion is hotly denied, even by Charles Moore who looks at the  political implications  of David Cameron's determination to introduce same sex "marriage". I find it all very difficult to understand in political terms. Given the rolling news story of corruption in our political class, I'm afraid I just assume that somebody is shelling out large sums of money. My Catholic Dilemma for last weekend's Catholic Herald was on the question: As a lifelong conserv...

Thanks be to God for Bishop Egan. His letter to David Cameron is just what we need from our Bishops. Not only does he challenge the Prime Minister forthrightly but his background in philosophy and theology comes to the fore in pinpointing alone of the basic fallacies in the whole gay marriage fiasco and in much other public policy besides: "Equality can never be an absolute value, only a derivative and relative value." Do go over to the Portsmouth diocesan website and read the whole letter . If you are tearing your hair out at the folly of the Government's determination to push this through, at least you will be able to read a sensible refutation.

The Economist this week carries an article on  A traditionalist avant-garde. It’s trendy to be a traditionalist in the Catholic church . I thought it was very good - we are used to silly uninformed articles on the Catholic Church in the mainstream media and it is good to see something that is balanced and informative with an intelligent understanding of the issues. Any of us might baulk a bit about the idea that being traditionalist is now trendy, but the Economist has picked up on something. We all want it to be much more than just trendy: it is up to us to make sure that it is.