A little parity for Wales?

Now as I am English (or maybe English with a dash or two of Irish) it may seem strange that I am flying the flag for Wales but, I do have a strong sense of fair play (it's the English part of me) and I notice that just about every blogger...and even the LMS., feature strongly Our Lady of Walsingham and England.
Fine. But, England and Wales are linked not just by the Severn Bridge(s) but also by, what's the phrase?......ecclesiastical union?......you know, the Catholic Bishops Conference is not just England but England and Wales!

Our Lady of Cardigan - pray for parity!

And here in Wales we have, of equal status to Walsingham,
Our Lady of Cardigan, Patron of Wales - Our Lady of the Taper as she is known for an obvious reason - she holds a candle in her right hand.


Admittedly, the shrine is not quite so grand as Walsingham, in fact, it's definitely quite a long way down market compared with Norfolk......I don't know why the Catholic Church in Wales doesn't put a shade more effort into making the shrine a more desirable place to visit....not for me to reason why although I think the word apathy might come into it somewhere. Lack of vision may be another reason.
However, I am drifting off the point, my plea to other bloggers (and to the Latin Mass Society of England and WALES, who may  feature Our Lady of Walsingham on their site), is, please remember Our Lady of the Taper.
And I am sure she will also remember you!

Oh Joy! the Feast of the Ascension approaches and we have the promise of a circus Mass!

Yippeee! Or should that be *x*!@*! I rather think the latter. But this is not Menevia...much like a circus we may be; this is deepest France where the Cirque Pinder has a really jolly liturgical experience lined up for all those ermm......modernists?.... liberal Catholics?.....Pagans?.....

What words would you use to describe a circus Mass?
Vulgar, profane, shallow, sacrilegeous? They'll
do for a start!

Fr Phillipe Kloeckner from Clermont is planning a big top event on this wonderful feast.
This is from the promotional blurb......

This year, the clowns will lead the procession of offerings. The prayer "Our Father" is to be said with all holding hands in a moment of communion. That particularly excited Fr  P. Kloeckner. "Everyone recites in their own language," he noted, because many nationalities are represented. Another highlight bound to be popular is: the blessing of the animals, mainly tigers and elephants! (Would it be unchristian to pray for a hungry tiger? or, maybe, a weary elephant?)

The celebration, at the initiative of the Pastoral Realities of Tourism and Leisure, is a great opportunity for the local church to be "open to the real world." "It shows that the Church is interested in all" he concludes. In 2010, the circus had hosted 400 people. .....(Bucket please Nurse, and make it quick!)


I must say that it stretches credulity somewhat to think that this sort of debacle is still taking place 6 plus years into the reign of Pope Benedict XVI......does the Diocese of Rodez embrace Clermont Ferrand, I wonder?

H/T to Thoughts from an Oasis in French Catholicism for leading me down this path.

WHY ARE CATHOLIC SCHOOLS SO LACK LUSTRE WITH REGARD TO THE FAITH?

Hmm....I guess we really know why, but I am referring, in this instance, to the way that schools named after a patron saint, fail to inform and educate as to regards the special qualities of that saint so that his or her deeds may be emulated by staff and pupils.


After a recent post on a Shropshire Catholic School that failed to give information regarding Blessed Robert Johnson I did a quick non scientific survey of school websites.
I lost the will to live after 17 schools and the score was 16 no mentions and only 1 school that gave a biographical sketch on its patron. Guess which school that was? None other than our own best loved Cardinal Vaughan you remember, the one that Westminster Diocese wants to command absolutely!

Cardinal Vaughan does it again!

So, in a vain attempt at naming and shaming, here is my list of offending schools...what an opportunity they have missed. It is a fundamental part of the faith (and good marketing practice) to give credit to one's sponsors or patrons.

1. St John Llloyd Llanelli
2. Bishop Vaughan Cathedral School Swansea
3. St Philomena's Carshalton
4. St John Fisher Purley
5. Corpus Christi Cardiff
6. John Henry Newman Stevenage
7. Mount Carmel Archway
8. Cardinal Pole Homerton
9. Cardinal Wiseman Greenford
10. St James Colindale
11. St David's College Cardiff
12. Mary Immaculate Cardiff
13. Newman Catholic College Harlesden
14. St Thomas More Wood Green
15. St Joseph's Wrexham
16. St Thoma Aquinas Birmingham

The headteachers of the above should be ashamed of their neglect of a golden opportunity!

Not a moveable Feast?

THE QUEENSHIP OF OUR LADY

31st May

Hail, Queen of heaven, the ocean star,
Guide of the wanderer here below,
Thrown on life's surge, we claim thy care,
Save us from peril and from woe.

Mother of Christ, Star of the sea
Pray for the wanderer, pray for me.

O gentle, chaste, and spotless Maid,
We sinners make our prayers through thee;
Remind thy Son that He has paid
The price of our iniquity.

Virgin most pure, Star of the sea,
Pray for the sinner, pray for me.

And while to Him Who reigns above
In Godhead one, in Persons three,
The Source of life, of grace, of love,
Homage we pay on bended knee:

Do thou, bright Queen, Star of the sea,
Pray for thy children, pray for me.



Happy Memorial Day!

Happy Memorial Day to all of our veterans!

I spent most of today out with my dad so I didn't have time for movie watching. Rest assured though, I'll get around to my war movie marathon soon enough. Final selections haven't been made yet so they'll be a surprise even to me.

Just what does a Bishop do?

Well, ermm.......he confirms of course, but he also does much more than that.
In commercial terms a Bishop (in England and Wales) would equate to a Chief Executive of a County Council or, maybe, a large multi national company.
But are such comparisons helpful?
 I believe that they are because, as well as valuing Bishops as Princes of the Church and Christ's representatives around the world, we need to be assured that they are loyal, trustworthy, capable and competent in all that they do.


Their remit is a wide one but no wider than the CEO of a Healthcare Trust or a Life Assurance Society; with a Bishop, of course, we expect a person who is strong in the faith, true to the Magisterium and a capable evangeliser.
But that is, arguably, 15 or 20 per cent of their work. The remainder of their responsibilities are on a more mundane but no less essential level.


First and foremost, a Bishop must be able to handle a workforce; he must have a talent for human resources and be able to assess character and personalities, both religious and lay. He must, for example, be able to weigh up a priest and determine where he will be be placed. No square pegs in round holes.
He must also be able to galvanise his priests and any religious answerable to him in such a manner that they too reflect the teachings of Holy Mother Church in all that they do.
And if a priest is found wanting it is up to his Bishop to take him on one side, assign him to a training programme or give him a good kick up the seat of his pants. All of the Bishop's men and women must proclaim the truth; no dissent regarding contraception, homosexuality or women priests, no alignment with any political party or lay organisation with dubious origins.


Most major organisations also have a dress code (although this, sadly, is undergoing a change). The Bishop should require of his priests that they appear as priests as well as behaving like them. No jeans and T shirts, no baggy shorts and sandals...just good old fashioned and irreplaceable black and white (and certainly no Baptist blues or Anglican greys!).

The Bishop, to use another metaphor, is a Colonel-in-Chief, and his regiment must be consistent in style as well as content. Uniforms serve a purpose, instant recognition, discipline and unity of intent; there can be no error or chance of error when it comes to the salvation of a soul. How many people, in a state of crisis, are likely to walk up to a slob on a shell suit and ask him: "Are you a Catholic priest?"

Symbol of authority -
the Bishop's crook
(or crozier for Australian
readers)

To continue with the military metaphor (which is not a bad one as we are at war) all ranks would be united in a common purpose, all would be bound by the daily training routine (at least one hour on their knees in front of the Blessed Sacrament). And all would be assigned targets and missions to perform - and report back on their successes or failures. And, most importantly, all would be expected to affirm their unwavering belief in the doctrine of transubstantiation.

The Bishop also must be something of an expert in Estates Management. An average diocese may have anything from 50 to 300 churches to maintain and that figure will double when presbyteries are taken into account. Then there are the schools and the odd convent or, even, commercial property that may be in the diocesan portfolio.
How well are they doing in terms of church maintenance? Not too good locally as most of our churches are taking on a distinctly musty and mildewed look - unloved would be another way of putting it. But it may be different in Northampton or Liverpool - I can only speak for Menevia.


Then there is the public persona of the post. Communications and inter- personal skills. A Bishop must display a multitude of talents when it comes to evangelising, public speaking, mixing equably with all levels of society. He must communicate well both verbally and via the written word, he must inspire and aspire in his words and works and....he must not be afraid of maintaining the truth, even to the point of trial and a prison sentence. The caving in over the homosexual adoption issue is nothing less than scandalous; what Government would have stood up to the prospect of 25 Bishops and Archbishops going to jail?


And, finally, part of a Bishop's role and a vital one at that, is to ordain, to confer the Sacrament of Holy Orders on young men. That is a process that does not begin on the day of ordination; it begins in primary schools, with altar boys, with the youth of the parish with young men and women who have worked in the world and found it wanting.
It does not begin with recruiting priests from alien cultures, from the developing world where their pastoral care and teachings are needed more than in comfortable middle England and Wales - that is a cop out! and, what is more, it is unsustainable. We need a strategic plan aimed at rejuvenating our seminaries so that they become full once more. Are the Bishops huddled in a group working on this project? Oh, please let me be wrong, but I do not think that is even on their agenda......I am happy to be contradicted here!

So how well do you think that your Bishop is fulfilling the duties outlined above? Is he an outstanding leader of all the priests and religious in his diocese, a communicator extraordinaire, a follower of all the Holy Father teaches a dynamic force for new vocations and well tended churches, a firm supporter and guide to Catholic schools on his patch, a tactician who has firmly set the salvation of souls as being his raison d'etre?

No?.......................I didn't think so,

ARTHUR'S LEGACY

Some will have heard earlier of the death, earlier this month, of Arthur Crumly, MC to the Latin Mass Society for many, many years.
I never knew or even saw Arthur yet, this morning I stumbled across his blog, now frozen in time at December 2010.

Arthur's last post (literally) is a no nonsense guide on how to MC at a Missa Cantata. It is heaven sent as I think I may have to undertake these duties on the Feast of Corpus Christi and I am as rusty as hell, well, rusty anyway!
My trouble (apart from a low attention span that would put a goldfish in the shade) is that I only get to attend a Missa Cantata once in a blue moon and I find DVDs on 'How to Serve' distracting and inadequate.

Arthur's blow by blow instructions are just the ticket, provided I can remember to print them off.

If anyone else would like to take advantage of Arthur's legacy go to
Arthur Crumly's Blog and remember to say a prayer for his eternal soul!

We are never far from the demonic!

Much as in the same way it is said that in big cities one is never more than 12 feet from a rat, so it is with the demonic. The devil and his demons go rampaging throughout the world looking for souls to master and destroy and the evil one is never more than a few feet from us..


"Even priests can be affected
by the demonic"


Archbishop Fulton Sheen (whose cause for beatification is being forwarded in Rome right now) made a telling statement in one of his retreats for priests series. He said that, out of an audience of 50 or 60 priests, there would always be one or two who were tinged with the demonic.
 "Mention the sacrifice of Calvary as re-enacted in the Mass and they would begin to shift uncomfortably in their seats.
                                                    By the end of the day they would be gone!"

He would go on to state that this contact with evil surrounds us in our daily lives.

I do not mean (and the Archbishop did not mean) that such people were actually possessed of a demon (although that may have been the case in some instances), it was more a situation where some element of the demonic had been allowed to enter their minds. The avenues for such a possibility are, of course, endless and they perhaps pervade the life of the Church today more than at any other time in its history.
Pornography, paedophila, marriage breakdown, drug abuse, homosexuality, perversions of every form, disbelief in the the Sacred Species, "liberated" nuns, women priests, apostasy and just plain everyday secular wrongdoings.

All have an essence of the demonic but, normally, due to our practice of regular Mass attendance and reception of the Sacraments and the subsequent graces we receive, we are able to automatically fend off most, if not all that Satan sends our way. We should not forget, either, the power of our Guardian Angel who must be fully occupied in overseeing our spiritual welfare.

The author, Patrick Leigh Fermor in his book "A time to keep silence" records that, in monasteries, the holy men enclosed are subject to bombardments by Satan. He describes one monk stating that the skies over the monastery at night are dark with demons. This is a very real and powerful threat and it is only their strong mindset and inherent spirituality that keeps them safe.

But open minds are empty vessels awaiting the devil's potions. When we used to attend Mass at the Mill Hill Fathers rural base, Courtfield, on the Herefordshire/Monmouthshire borders, the great Father Hughes often used to include accounts of his travails in Africa in his sermons. He spent many years in the wilds, like most Mill Hill Fathers and Brothers, and most of the time he would be the only priest for many miles around. I remember his account of receiving a late night call to attend a dying woman some 30 miles distant.
Packing up his case containing the Blessed Sacrament and the sacred oil and all other materials necessary for the administration of the Sacrament of Extreme Unction (it was called that 50 years ago) he mounted his motor bike and set off for the distant village.
Arriving finally he was shown to a hut where the sick woman lay. He entered holding aloft his Tilley lantern only to see the woman lying on  a settle against the far wall. He had not fully entered the room before she turned to glare at him ferociously whilst her whole body levitated upwards for about 3 to 4 feet and she screamed: "I do not want you or He whom you bring with you."
Now, according to Fr Hughes, it was at this point that he turned on his heels and fled; returning to the Mission a damn sight faster than he came.
I am sure that he did flee for his life. A priest untrained in exorcism and unprepared physically and spiritually would be very hard put to counter a full on demonic attack. The great danger being, of course, that the demon might overpower him and take control.

But possession is not rare in underdeveloped countries where people have, for many years, been under the influence of pagan beliefs and ceremonies. And it is becoming increasingly common in the developed world where poor education (I mean poor Catholic education) and a lack of intellectual rigour are becoming increasingly prevalent. That is not just a malfunction of the social framework, it is, undoubtedly, Satan weaving the web of despair, dissolution and dissipation that affects so many young people today.

He has an easy target (although, since 2005 and the advent of Pope Benedict, we have begun to re-consolidate and even started regaining lost ground) but we now have two or three generations of 'latch key' children who are now parents and grandparents in their own right. And the seeds of indifference and neglect have long since grown to fruition even to the stage of being beyond recovery.
Economic statistics used to indicate (and probably still do) that, when a person has been unemployed for more than  18 months, the likelihood of them returning to the workplace was negligible. The habit of being idle and taking state handouts had become too ingrained.

 So it is with the spiritual life. Do nothing, take the handouts of violent video games, cheap cider, drugs, street crime, pornography and abortion as a means of birth control and you have a potent mix that provides easy pickings for you know who!

What can be done? How can one rewind the clock and get matters onto a footing where at least the young, the down and outs and homeless  are given a chance. We don't have the vocation numbers yet to launch a crusade, I'm not sure that, in episcopal circles, there is even a will to do so. But, we should not be prepared to roll over and accept what Satan throws at the world.

The best of weapons -
recourse to Our Lady

We must keep in mind the weapons that are at our disposal; heading the list, of course, is Our Blessed Mother, she whose heel is firmly planted on the head of the serpent. The Rosary is all powerful in this regard and is positively hated by Satan. Next comes recourse to the saints, especially those with accredited powers to overcome the devil and all his works and pomps (St Anthony, St Michael, (Padre) St Pio and St Paul of the Cross spring to mind, I am sure there are more).

Next come the outward signs of our faith that so many families neglect today. The blessing of one's house by a priest, the Epiphany chalk, a crucifix in the home, holy candles at hand, a holy water font at the side of the front door, a palm cross, statues of the saints and mementoes of the holy life - forget the strings of garlic......these things are the real McCoy and your doorstep need never be fearful of a visit by the dark angel.
And your children and friends will become encouraged to do the same; visitors to your house will benefit from exposure to the sacred rather than the profane.

Prayer to Defeat the Work of Satan

O Divine Eternal Father, in union with Your Divine Son and the Holy Spirit, and through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg You to destroy the power of Your greatest enemy – the evil spirits.

Cast them into the deepest recesses of hell and chain them there forever! Take possession of Your Kingdom which You have created and which is rightfully Yours.

Heavenly Father, give us the reign of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

I repeat this prayer out of pure love for You with every beat of my heart and with every breath I take. Amen.

Even if you can only do one thing, make it the placement of a blessed crucifix in a prominent position in your home and ask your family and friends to do the same. It may not get rid of the rats but it will certainly get rid of Satan.

God Has Chosen to Live With Us

The Holy Faith is, by nature of its Divine origin and its supernatural essence is, enshrouded in mystery. We can never lose sight of this mystery. Unless we are given great grace, it is very difficult for us to penetrate the great mysteries of Faith.

I find that the greatest mystery of Faith is not belief in the Resurrection, or the Assumption of Our Lady but in what we can see and yet what we cannot see, unless we are given great faith.

The most profound, to my mind, of these mysteries is that which we encounter every time we step into a Church. Every time we walk into a Church we walk into the Presence of God. Every Catholic Church around the World houses the Lord God of Hosts in the Tabernacle. Every time we walk into a Church, God is truly present to us.

Nurturing and building up our faith and the faith of others is about recognising this one simple truth - that God is mysteriously present in the Tabernacle, in the Blessed Sacrament - really, totally, substantially, utterly God. This is why Catholics have, until relatively recently, always and everywhere, genuflected towards the Tabernacle because, inside those doors, is God Himself, the Lord Jesus Christ.

I find it terribly sad when I go to Catholic Churches and the Tabernacle is tucked away in a side chapel, away from the centre of the Church because at the centre of the Church is Jesus Christ. Without the Blessed Sacrament, a Church would have no life at all. There would be no reason for going to Mass, nor for going into a Church, even, to pray.

We can cultivate our Faith by genuflecting on one knee before the Tabernacle, in recognition of Jesus Christ. We can pray before the Tabernacle, even when the Lord is not exposed, because we know that through those small doors, is Jesus.

We can make the Church a place of prayer, the House of Prayer, that Our Lord furiously stated that it should be when He drove out the money changers from the Temple in Jerusalem. If liturgy is not prayerful then it is not recollected and solemn liturgy. If a Church is not a House of Prayer then what is it?

The Reality of the Real Presence is at the centre of Pope Benedict XVI's liturgical reforms and we would do well to recognise that unless when we walk into a Church, we behave as if Jesus is there, recognising Him behind those doors, then we will not cultivate even the small mustard seed of faith that in our possession. The Sacred is already there, in every Church. It is up to us, as lay people, to cultivate and create the sense of the Sacred for ourselves and others, but most of all for Jesus Christ, so that He can be worshipped 'in spirit and in truth'. The Lord Jesus does not want to be ignored in the Tabernacle and we, we can only be happy when our restless hearts find rest in Him.

Worship and prayer are not separate from our bodily gestures and our pause for reflection on the Real Presence of God in the Church will do us spiritual good, increase our faith and increase the faith of others. We must not push Our Blessed Lord to the side, or ignore Him when we are in His presence, or behave as if we are in just another space or place, pretend that He is not there or forget that He truly is. If we do that, then we will miss the greatest mystery of all - that God has chosen, not just once, but until the End of Time itself, to live with us, to dwell in our midst. If we miss that, we miss the point entirely, of God's sublime condescension and God's breathtaking love, for us. This is why Pope Benedict XVI desires to see the liturgy reformed - so that it reflects the awe-inspiring mystery of God's love and His Real Presence among us.

We can remember this even when we walk past a Church and say a prayer, to which, I believe, a plenary indulgence is attached (it certainly was)...

May the Heart of Jesus in the most Blessed Sacrament of the Altar, be adored, loved and glorified, in every Tabernacle, in every Church, at every hour, in the whole World, now until the end of time. Amen.

How can they say there can be no Heaven on Earth when God Himself has already chosen to live here? He Who is totally transcendent, beyond time and comprehension, lives in our time, in the Tabernacle. Not just once did God humble himself, by becoming Man for our sake! No, not once did He humble Himself, but daily He humbles Himself to the point of living in our midst, in every Church, 'even until the End of Time'!

Tora! Tora! Tora!

Let's start the Memorial Day marathon a few days early, with a look at Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970). This depiction of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor flopped on its initial release, but gained a respectable reputation over the years. It's a middling epic, mixing impressive spectacle and admirable balance with reams of dry expository dialogue. History buffs will love it, but lay viewers might be bored or confused.

Imperial Japan stands on the brink of war with the United States. Premier Hideki Tojo (Asao Uchida) thinks that America threatens Japan's "Co-Prosperity Sphere" in China and Southeast Asia, and orders a reluctant Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto (Soh Yamamura) to plan for war. Yamamoto envisions a daring air strike on the US Naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, which he hopes will cripple the US Pacific Fleet and allow Japan time to consolidate their gains in the Pacific. Meanwhile, American authorities seem unable to respond: though intelligence officers have broken the Japanese code, military leaders in both Washington and Hawaii are slow to respond to warning signs, and government officials hold out hope for a diplomatic settlement. A series of miscommunications, mistakes and misunderstandings leaves Pearl Harbor unprepared for attack, setting the stage for an epic disaster on December 7, 1941.

Tora! Tora! Tora! is Fox's attempt to repeat their success in The Longest Day (1962). Talented journeyman Richard Fleischer (10 Rillington Place) directed the American scenes, while the Japanese scenes were helmed by Kinji Fukasaku (The Yakuza Papers) and Toshiro Masuda (Rusty Knife). Though it eschews The Longest Day's all-star cast, it replicates that film's character ensemble, epic battle scenes and efforts at impartiality, with a top-notch production to match.

Unfortunately, Tora! is only a guarded dramatic success. Watching a military disaster unfold can be intriguing, as A Bridge Too Far and Valkyrie demonstrate, but the script (Larry Forrester, Ryuzo Kikushima, Hideo Oguni and an uncredited Akira Kurosawa [!]) is an awkward mixture of stilted exposition and portentious dialogue that eventually grows tiresome. Many viewers will be thrown for a loop, waiting impatiently for the final attack.

Rest assured, the finale is definitely worth waiting for. The forty-five minute long attack scene makes use of an impressive, seamless mixture of real planes and ships, models, miniatures and matte effects. The explosions have a powerful impact, especially when Japanese pilots score a hit on the flagship USS Arizona. Fleischer finds a lot of telling details amidst the chaos: the USS Nevada's band hurriedly finishing a rendition of The Star-Spangled Banner while being strafed, black cook Dorie Miller (Elven Havard) manning a machine gun on the West Virginia, troops at the Schofield Barracks meeting a nasty fate at breakfast. It's a perfect depiction of harrowing carnage, and definitely one of the best battle scenes ever filmed.

The movie's dual directorship allows for an interesting balance. The Japanese come off sympathetically: despite their aggressive, unjust war aims, we can admire the brilliant strategist Yamamoto, the earnest efforts of Ambassador Nomura (Shogo Shimada) to avert war, and the brave pilots who carry out the attack. But the Japanese make mistakes too: Tojo ignores America's offers to renew negotiations, making war inevitable. The diplomatic ultimatum is delivered an hour too late, allowing America to claim a sneak attack. Perhaps most importantly, Admiral Naguno (Eijiro Tono) refuses to launch a final strike, leaving Pearl's dry docks and fuel tanks intact. Thus, an impressive tactical victory becomes a squandered opportunity.

The Americans come off much worse. Wisely, the film doesn't finger individuals for responsibility, but rather an unwieldy bureaucratic structure. Communications are a nightmare, the chain-of-command is a muddle and poor tactical decisions (bunching planes together to prevent sabotage) ensure the attack's success. This extends even to December 7th: the sinking of a Japanese submarine is ignored, and, most incredibly, a radar officer is told "not to worry" about an incoming flight of Zeros! Admiral Husband Kimmel (Martin Balsam) and General Walter Short (Jason Robards) are so out of the loop they're ready to golf when the bombing starts. The soldiers, sailors and pilots are certainly heroic in action but that, and the absence of America's aircraft carriers, are the only consolation.

Soh Yamamura's sensitive portrayal of Yamamoto dominates the film, a man reluctant to pick a fight with a "sleeping giant" but determined to win all the same. The American cast lacks star power but has lots of recognizable faces: Joseph Cotten (Shadow of a Doubt) and George Macready (Vera Cruz) as oblivious cabinet members, Jason Robards (Once Upon a Time in the West) as the pig-headed General Short, E.G. Marshall (Nixon) as a dogged intelligence officer and Martin Balsam (Psycho), Edward Andrews (Summertime) and James Whitmore (Battleground) as assorted Navy brass.

Tora! Tora! Tora! is an interesting if flawed WWII epic. The lengthy lead-in to the attack might try some viewers' patience, but it's definitely worth the wait.

"Do you think Christ taught in English?"

28th May 1582 is the feast of Blessed Robert Johnson SJ. He won his martyr's crown, as did so many of his kind, at Tyburn. 

                                    Blessed Robert Johnson at Tyburn



Here is an extract of the account of his life:-

"Born in Shropshire, he became a gentleman's servant, but went abroad and was ordained priest at Douay and was sent on the English Mission in 1576.
In December 1580, after being arrested, he was sent to the Tower of London where he was viciously racked on three occasions. He was sentenced in November 1581 but his execution was postponed until May 1582.

On the scaffold he boldly answered the Sheriff that Elizabeth was as much Head of the Church as Mary had been. The Sheriff replied:"Thou art a traitor most obstinate".
Bl Robert replied: "If I be a traitor for holding the faith, then all our kings and queens and all our ancestors were traitors, for they maintained the same".
They then placed the rope around his neck and he began to pray in Latin. They then willed him to pray in English that they might witness with him: He said: "I pray that prayer which Christ taught." A minister cried out from the crowd: "Pray as Christ taught?" To whom, Mr Johnson replied: "What! do you think Christ taught in English?"
And so he won his crown with the Church's words upon his lips.

Also, on that day, he was joined in his sufferings by Blessed John Shert and Blessed Thomas Ford.
And also by Blessed Margaret Pole who suffered on Tower Hill.

Blessed Margaret Pole

There is a Catholic School that bears the name of Blessed Robert Johnson in Telford Shrophire. It is an utter disgrace that the school website makes no mention of Bl Robert Johnson and his stand for Catholicism.

I must do a quick survey of Catholic School websites that are named after a saint to determine how many feature the history of the faith. I am not confident of finding very many that do.


And for those who want to leave a comment to the effect that Christ taught in Aramaic - I know!

TSA at US Airports: Molestation for the Nation

Miss America complains of molestation by TSA.

Science News: God Likes Spheres Very Much...

Electrons orbiting an atom: Vaguely Trinitarian?

...but no created sphere (unless someone can tell me otherwise) is perfectly round. Intriguing! There is an interesting debate about the findings going on over at The Telegraph article.

I hate Science. I got a C grade at GCSE for it, but I did enjoy Brian Cox's BBC Wonders of the Universe for his sheer, childlike joy and awe of the galaxies and stuff.  I do, however, like theology and have decided to do some pseudo scientific theology this evening. Here are my results that I'll be sending to the New Scientist magazine next week. Pretty groundbreaking stuff this!

So, a new discovery has been made concerning electrons by scientists who refuted the claim that electrons could live on top (or inside, does it matter?) of one another (I was told about this by a Chemistry student at College today) on the grounds that electrons are 'near perfectly round'. My conclusion: God likes spheres very much.

Apparently Origen claimed that our resurrected bodies would resemble spheres. I don't know for sure, but I think people told him he was an heretic. Can we, however, see God in this week's new discovery? I think its really very fascinating on these grounds.

The planets are nearly perfectly spherical. The Moon, the Earth, the Sun, all planets of which we are aware share this spherical quality. These are not known to be perfectly round, but just like the electrons orbiting an atom, 'near perfectly round'.

The beads of our Rosaries are spherical as well. The sphere is said to be a symbol of perfection. Does God, or did God, intend to reflect Himself in His Creation? God reflects, perhaps not Himself, in His Creation, but His attributes. Mankind is made in God's image and likeness. We look at man and we see no spheres there. Yet, according to science we too are made of spheres. Atoms, molecules, electrons and the rest. So, then, the smallest created things, invisible to the human eye, are in fact spheres. Does God reflect His nature of perfection in His creation?

The spherical, created object, or matter, or whatever we call it, has no beginning or end. This, we can say, is like God. The sphere is a thing complete in itself. It symbolises the eternal nature of God. The sphere represents perfection, unity, wholeness, completeness, eternity.

With the discovery that the smallest things we can imagine, things of which we ourselves are made, are spherical, can we posit the possibility that not just electrons, not just planets, but the Universe itself is spherical, since this would only follow a wider application of what appears to be a natural law. A sphere within another sphere, or rather, Realm, that is God? Is God, literally, 'outside of time and space'?

Interestingly, for us Catholics, God, is both utterly transcendent, beyond comprehension, but also, with us, literally, dwelling in our midst, in the Blessed Sacrament. God is not only 'outside of time and space', but also in our time and in our space, in Holy Mother Church. God entered into human history once in Jesus Christ, yet daily He condescends and descends from Heaven at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass when the Priest utters the words of consecration. God is also with us in the Tabernacle always, 'even until the end of Time' when He shall be 'all in all', uniting Heaven with Earth, as two seemingly opposed Worlds collide cosmically at the Wedding Banquet, when the Lord Jesus, the Groom, embraces His Bride, the Church.

It is interesting that the Blessed Sacrament, the Holy Eucharist, the Blessed Host, the Lord, is, round. Not spherical, but round in appearance, if not in Reality. Looking at the planets, it is not hard to understand why Origen thought our resurrected bodies would be spherical.

So, before I disappear up my own behind, remember these are vain, idle speculations which can in no way be taken seriously. Forgive me if I have uttered any heresy and correct me if I have done so. I have no formulas, no equations, no evidence with which to back up my theory that the Universe is somehow contained within God, but, as it stands, looking around at what we can see, there is more evidence for my theory than there is for 'string theory' (I don't know what 'string theory' is). Whatever the truth of the 'matter', one thing is clear to we who do believe in God.

God very much likes spheres and round things, but no created sphere is perfect. Why? Because only God is Perfect and also only God knows the answers to the things we are investigating with our puny brains. If He had wished us to know, He would have told us. Here today ends my pseudo science-theology thesis. I hope you enjoyed it. God bless.

A Personal Record

192 recommends! I know my internet-driven life is a little on the sad side, but 192 recommends is a personal record. Read Peter Oborne's very good article on the Obama visit to the UK. A good account of the President's courting of the Irish has been given by William Oddie of The Catholic Herald, and today a scathing post on the two world leaders' blithe indifference to the persecution of Christians worldwide, by Christina Odone of The Telegraph.

Aside from The Catholic Herald, which has a continuously high standard of comment, what Belloc described as the "Official Press" are not very good at looking at the figure of President Obama objectively and without excessive fawning. Every now and then, though, you find a diamond in the rough. Clearly, I'm not the only one who believes the media's reporting of the Obama visit has been absurdly sycophantic. Time for another Carly Simon song, I think. Gosh. They don't make them like this anymore! I'd like to say that this song is about Obama, but right now I think its about me. Oh, but she says if I think its about me then its just my vanity. Oh, nevermind, great Carly Simon song, nonetheless. Anyway, I think she meant this song to unsettle and unnerve whoever she wrote it about. It always unsettles me. Wait! 197 recommends! Get in! I'm giving up exam invigilating to become a full-time sage!

Confessions of a Catholic blogger

This week has seen the announcement, by his friends, that Fr Tim of THOC has just topped 3 million hits on his blog. 3 million! I had to go and lie down in a dark room after reading that.
It goes without saying that all kudos and congratulations are due to Fr T. It is a massive achievement and all done, apparently, so effortlessly.

Now I am fully aware that a Catholic blogger should not let 'hits' rule his or her life but, dammit, I am an ex marketing man and for 40 plus years have lived and breathed on statistics and figures and I cannot do without a daily fix of sitemeter! Fr Tim, I know, is not influenced by such mundane things but to us lesser mortals it is one way of determining whether what you write has any resonance, whether it is relevant or just a private rant.

Also, this week, following close on the heels of THOC's success, comes a treatise by that great but shadowy blogger figure, Mundabor

 The post is called 'Catholic Blogging in 17.5 Easy Steps'. It is a sound piece of advice and well worth reading if not actually following.
It makes clear the trap of self approval and personal gratification; so easy to fall into. The post also calls for anonymity as part of the process of "seeking wisdom, not martyrdom". I am not so sure about that element but it's too late for me anyway.

What did strike a chord with me was Mundabor's exhortation to be true to oneself, to write what you believe without fluffing around worrying what folk might think. I think that I have been guilty of that (although some might not agree).

So from now on you will get posts straight from the shoulder or should I say, heart? No more pussyfooting around, all will be black and white.

So many Catholic bloggers feature cats
is this the secret to a high strike rate?

But why do we blog anyway? I have tried to analyse what and why I do what I do and come always to the same conclusion; I do it because it is a wonderful means of expressing all one's pent up emotions and views regarding the Catholic Faith and its rights and wrongs. I also want the Catholic world to understand my standpoint - not necessarily agree with me, just to understand where I am coming from is fine. I also want people to comprehend what the faith was like fifty years ago, the good and the bad parts; we are in grave danger of losing our sense of 20th Century Catholic knowledge and culture and that would be sad.

The other part of my concern regarding blogging does involve a need for my blog to be read, not by milions but, equally, not by one or two Traddies locked in a garret somewhere. I see nothing wrong in that desire. If I thought that only one or two individuals read my blog I think I would chuck it in. I have only been at this lark for six months so I am still in my salad bowl as they say but hits do matter to me (although I have accepted M's advice and removed the counter, this exercise should not be about public triumphalism).

So how to achieve more hits? According to Mundabor it is back to being true to oneself, fine but I have to do more than that, surely?

I did  consider featuring a cat or two (sorry MF) but that would not be being true to my inner self. I have very little to do with cats although I have eaten a few in my time (not by selecting one off the menu I hasten to add, but by being served cat by my Chinese hosts at various banquets....sort of sweet and sourpussy) - aaaagh! - more profuse apologies, I think I will be losing readers by the score at this rate.
What other images are likely to strike a sympathetic note? Flowers? Hmmm.....more a female blogger thing I think.......birds?.......not really relevant......Blessed Titus Brandsma?......Yes, precisely.
I must say that I am enjoying being part of this growing Guild of bloggers....I appreciate the daily prayer, it binds you more closely to to your blog and it embraces others who, hitherto, have been just names. It gives one a sense of belonging and, believe me, if you have lived in a spirtual wilderness for 25 years, you do appreciate the company of fellow souls! 

           Blessed Titus Brandsma - Pray for all Catholic Bloggers!

In Praise of Carole King and the Traditional Latin Mass

The prophetic voice of Carly Simon. Was she singing about the fallout of the 'spirit of Vatican II' and the loss of the Latin Mass? It's 'Coming Around Again!' much to the chagrin of many and the great joy of a great number.

Vatican 'helped thousands of Nazis escape'...

"Hi, Your Holiness, Eichmann here. Yes, I'm in a spot of bother..."

The Telegraph today reports on something which I only heard two days ago, when I was teaching at the Brighton Unemployed Families Centre Project. I happened to be teaching 'an introduction to blogging' (of all things) to two students.

I met a lovely chap called Dan who already runs a blog (he wanted to learn more about blogging). In fact, if truth be told, I spent a great deal of time discussing with him the excesses of power wielded by the mass media over public opinion and Belloc's essay on the Free Press as well as other issues such as abortion and the empty rhetoric and suit of President Obama.

In Dan, I really felt that I had met a 'kindred spirit'. I'm sure some readers would say that I must therefore have met another nutjob, but that wouldn't be entirely fair. I was a little surprised to how open to the positions of the Church he was, especially concerning abortion, simply because most people today just believe the received wisdom of choice - the 'prevailing orthodoxy', if you will, but Dan knew about Marie Stopes and Margaret Sanger and their eugenic beliefs. He was very clued up.

Dan has produced a documentary called 'Truthers' on the September 11 attacks in New York. On the front he has a great quote from George Orwell: "Anyone who challenges the prevailing orthodoxy finds himself silenced with surprising effectiveness." I'll watch it when I have a bit more time. Anyway, Dan and I discussed many things, some of them touching on the Catholic Faith.

One thing he discussed with me was the methods by which the Nazis escaped justice and were hidden. I was shocked by the accusation that has already been made before against the Vatican. I was personally already aware just how helpful elements of the US Government were in helping certain individuals, such as Josef Mengele, escape justice and how Mengele was allowed to escape and to continue 'running tests' in South America. I did not know that there was any suspicion falling upon the Vatican for helping people to escape.

Now, according to The Telegraph, a 'new book has revealed how the Red Cross and the Vatican helped thousands of Nazis including men like Adolf Eichmann and Josef Mengele escape justice after the war. Well, I don't know whether this is true, or not, but while, according to the report, 'the Vatican has always refused to comment on its wartime activities and has kept its archive closed to the public', this is also very true of the CIA.

That wouldn't give the Vatican clean hands in this matter, of course, but I think that while any Vatican involvement in helping unrepentant war criminals flee to South America would be a very bad thing, a 2010 report is far more damning of the CIA.

The Examiner report says...

The strong Nazi history in the United States has been suppressed until the NYT report that states, "Scholars and previous government reports had acknowledged the C.I.A.’s use of Nazis for postwar intelligence purposes. But this report goes further in documenting the level of American complicity and deception in such operations."

The report names some of the most infamous Nazi scientists and doctor responsible for the Jewish holocaust and then brought to the US: Dr. Josef Mengele, the so-called Angel of Death at Auschwitz, Arthur L. Rudolph, and Otto Von Bolschwing, "an associate of Adolph Eichmann who had helped develop the initial plans “to purge Germany of the Jews” and who later worked for the C.I.A."

Got that? Worked for the CIA?! Joseph Mengele didn't get a job at the Vatican, after the war, did he?! No. But he did work for the CIA. Anyway, I am convinced that this new book is black propaganda against Holy Mother Church.

According to my new friend, Dan (I'll stick his blog link up after he's emailed it me), his opinion is that the Vatican was duped into giving identity papers to Nazis wanting to flee justice. I don't know enough about it myself, but that is what my non-Catholic, presumably atheist new friend told me. It may be that there were some Nazis in the Vatican who helped war criminals flee. There are probably some Nazi sympathisers in the Vatican today. I imagine that there are high ranking Cardinals who want to crush the celebration of the Latin Mass, for instance. However, the idea that Pope Pius XII and his key advisers were orchestrating the escape route for Nazi murderers, with a large map and a giant swastika on the wall at Castel Gandolfo is, in my opinion, a rather fantastical notion. The CIA on the other hand? Well, that is another story.

I might add, Nazism, and indeed eugenics, didn't die with Hitler. You want to see a concentration camp? An extermination camp? You don't have to go to Auschwitz. Just go and spend some time outside your local abortion clinic. I'm not sure abortionists are that good at releasing their records and archives either.

Do also read this article on The Catholic Herald's website concerning the pressure allied diplomats exerted upon Pope Pius XII to maintain silence concerning the deportation of Hungarian Jews.

The Statistics Don't Lie, but the Liberals Do

He may not appear to have the most magnetic personality in the World, but Cardinal Raymund Burke is a tower of strength for the Catholic Church in the US, a Cardinal who preaches and indeed teaches the Gospel 'in season and out of season'. I discovered this Vortex episode, today, covering Cardinal Burke's presence at a pro-life vigil outside the largest Planned Parenthood abortuary in the United States. Thank God for this brave and courageous Cardinal willing to stand up and defend human life. It is better than that, though, because Cardinal Burke is coming to London to speak at Westminster Methodist Central Hall. He comes here, to the UK, with a statistic which is really just as horrifying as our abortion statistics.

"Since the Council, the Body of Christ in England and Wales has been haemorrhaging away at the rate of approximately 30,000 souls a year." 

Wow! A Cardinal who believes that we have immortal souls!  Even better than that, a Cardinal who cares for souls! Liberals tend not see the rate of lapsation within the Church in quite the same light, of course, seeing things more in terms of there being less Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion, musicians and liturgical entertainers and less hand-clappers than there were last year. It is not a total co-incidence, therefore, that the title of His Excellency Raymond Cardinal Burke's talk will be 'The Restoration of Church Discipline and the New Evangelisation'.

To obtain your golden ticket, send a S.A.E enclosing your cheque to Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice, 4 Fife Way, Great Bookham, Surrey, KT23 3PH. Tickets are £20 adults, £10 young people in full-time education and £5 for priests and religious. Are our priests really that hard up!? That, in itself, is a scandal, surely. Send another £20 to your priest on top!

Cardinal Burke is, I am sure, keenly aware, that only the Lord Jesus Christ, His Blessed Mother and His Church can save this country from self-destruction and the destruction of nascent life and that only a Church that cherishes the sacred can evangelise with effectiveness, courage and love.

Of course, we indeed have our own abortion mills in the United Kingdom. We have one, indeed, in Brighton, where the BPAS (British Pregnancy 'Advice' Service) churn out Heaven alone knows how many little corpses week in, week out. And, unfortunately, we also have to hand the latest statistics of abortions in the UK.

The kind folk at Abort 67 furnished me with the latest stats recently. The statistics have generated comment from Ed West and Christina Odone and both have commented well on The Guardian's sudden explosion of anaphylactic rage that the Government should have the outrageous temerity to invite a pro-life charity, Life, to consult it on the issue of abortion, sex education and teenage pregnancy. I think The Guardian would much prefer the Government to consult only with abortionists because that is more fair and, what's the word? Oh, that's right, more liberal, because if there is one thing we know about liberals, it is that they are all ears for listening to opposing views. Not that I'm much better. I banned liberals from my blog ages ago. Oh, you wouldn't believe the kind of abuse they gave me. It would shock you, it really would, but not as much as this should.

• In total, there were 196,109 abortions notified as taking place in England and Wales in 2010.
• 34% of women had one or more previous abortions with Black or Black British having the highest repeat abortions at 48%
• The abortion rate was highest at 33 per 1,000 for women aged 19 and 20.
• 96% of abortions were funded by the NHS.
• 91% of abortions were carried out at under 13 weeks gestation.
• 98% were under Category C (which is basically for social reasons)
• 2,290 abortions (1%) were carried out under ground E (risk that the child would be born handicapped)

I shall not add any slant on these statistics. The Catholic Church in England and Wales is haemorrhaeging 30,000 souls a year since the Second Vatican Council, which occurred at a time when the Abortion Act (1967) was passing or passed. The United Kingdom is haemorrhaeging 196,109 unborn children a year. The statistics don't lie, but the liberals do.

The Raid

The Raid (1954) is an excellent, underrated take on the Civil War. Drawing inspiration from a real-life incident - the 1864 Confederate raid on St. Albans, Vermont - it explores war's moral ambiguities in an interesting and admirably complex way.

October 1864. Seven Confederate soldiers break out of the Union prison camp at Plattsburg, New York, and slip into Canada. Their leader, Major Neal Benton (Van Heflin), plans to use them in a raid on St. Albans, hoping to rob the bank, draw Union troops away from the front lines and to provide some measure of revenge for Sherman's March to the Sea. Benton arrives in town disguised as a businessman and begins laying the groundwork for the raid. Things are complicated when he falls for young widow Katie (Anne Bancroft), and he struggles to restrain his hot-headed subordinates - especially Keating (Lee Marvin) - from kicking things off prematurely.

The Raid is structured like a typical heist film, but its wartime setting provides broader implications. The raid on St. Albans is essentially a terrorist action, trying to make Northerners suffer like Virginians and Georgians, but Benton is determined not to harm any civilians even as he burns their town. St. Albans is intended as a prelude to more raids, a bald-faced act of vengeance against the Union, and a viewer questions its necessity or justification. The only question Benton has, however, is if he can prevent his punitive raid from degenerating into an atrocity.

It helps that there aren't any facile Hollywood plot dilemmas. Benton doesn't hesitate for a moment to turn on his new friends, and Katie cheers Union Captain Foster's (Richard Boone) attempts to stop the raid single-handedly. One of the best scenes has Benton trying to restrain Katie's son Larry (Tommy Retig) after he discovers Benton in rebel uniform. Benton tries to reason with the kid, but Larry's instinctive hatred of Rebels undermines the attempt at understanding. In the midst of a nasty war, pleasantries matter little.

Hugo Fregonese handles this tricky material well, and the movie never sets a dramatic foot wrong. Lucien Ballard provides gorgeous Technicolor photography that makes the film a visual treat. The film is a bit slow-paced at first, but picks up at around the hour mark, and the raid itself makes for a thrilling scene, mixing action and palpable tension.

Van Heflin (Shane) makes a fine, stiff-necked protagonist, cold towards the Yankees yet chivalrous action. Anne Bancroft (7 Women) at least looks pretty playing a one-note love interest. Lee Marvin and Richard Boone (Hombre) provide memorable supporting turns. Peter Graves (The Long Gray Line) turns up as one of Heflin's subordinates.

The Raid is a much better film than its non-existent reputation suggests. Its mature characterizations and interesting story make this a war film worth watching - and thinking about.

EWTN needs to sharpen up!

There has been ongoing comment on the blogosphere regarding the paucity of screenings of Tridentine Latin Masses on EWTN, channel 589. But, as far as I can see, those in charge of EWTN remain resolute in not screening any Latin Masses.



One of the few excellent programmes -
 but now they've ditched Fr Corapi!

 Every day there is a Novus Ordo Mass but, even at Easter this year, no EF Mass.
I believe that a balance needs to be struck; every few days I tune in to the Daily Mass screening hoping in vain for something of substance but, what do I see? A very pale version (even) of the OF Mass. The singing is appalling, dirge like, tuneless and lacklustre - and that's every day!

Maybe someone on the production board of EWTN is a closet Tridentinist and hopes that, by showing such banal liturgical travesties, the world Catholic population will turn away from OF to EF. A fond hope.

It's not just the Masses; with one or two exceptions, the broadcasting level ranges from the absurd to the embarrassing. I cannot believe that the people of America enjoy such drivel.
The big stars are Marcus Grodi and Raymond Arroyo and there's a very enthusiastic priest who speaks with verve and energy as if he believes what he is saying. The rest give the word mediocre a new depth to plumb.

Catholic programmes need to
be professional if they are to
have a value

Our own Jamie and Joanna Bogle struggle courageously on with a format that, as any television producer knows, is ratings suicide. How can two people talk about the Moors overunning Europe for 45 minutes and keep it interesting. It is pure dialogue, no film clips or even stills to bring it to life. They do a valiant job but, I'm afraid I am not among their viewing audience.

The rest of the format strikes me as being much akin to The Universe Catholic weekly. A bland look at the mundane happenings of Catholic life. Not for me.
I shall continue to watch the Papal Audiences and one or two other seasonal highlights but, for the rest, it's back to secular viewing, there's more chance of seeing a TLM screened there!

The Culpepper Cattle Co.

The Culpepper Cattle Co. (1972) is an understated, rather middling revisionist Western. Director Dick Richards shows a stronger directorial hand than in March or Die, his underwhelming Foreign Legion adventure, but there's little new about this grungy depiction of cowboys and gunslingers in the Old West.

Youngster Ben Mockridge (Gary Grimes) dreams of being a cowboy, and joins short-handed cattle boss Frank Culpepper (Billy Green Bush) on his next drive. Ben tries to prove himself a man, but continually lets Culpepper down. After a showdown with cattle rustlers, Ben recruits surly Russ (Geoffrey Lewis) and his gang to join Culpepper for the rest of the trip, but Russ's men don't get along with Culpepper's regulars. Things come to a head when Culpepper's gang runs afoul of a greedy cattle baron (John McLiam) and his goons. When the baron tries to evict a band of pioneers, too, Ben decides to stand up for what's right, no matter the cost.

The Culpepper Cattle Co. lacks the sermonizing of many of its peers, but otherwise fits comfortably into its niche. Everything about the film is grungy, run-down and dirty, from the towns and costumes to the punctured myths about cattle driving, cowboys, gunfights and even hookers. It's definitely more accurate than improbably polished classic Westerns like Gunfight at the OK Corral, but it doesn't make for a visually dynamic film.

Like many Westerns of its time, Culpepper is a film of moments, strong set-pieces strung around a weak narrative. The brutal shootouts owe much to Peckinpah, with the requisite bloody squibs and slow-mo, and are well-staged and exciting. But the plot never really develops, and the characters, though interesting in spurts, remain ciphers. Episodic run-ins with rustlers and crooks provide plenty of violence but little dramatic momentum, and interesting bits like an abortive showdown between Russ and the meek Pete (Matt Clark) are self-contained. The conflict with the cattle baron doesn't come into play until the last thirty minutes, and seems tacked on to provide motivation for the final showdown.

Gary Grimes (Summer of '42) makes a pretty flat protagonist, but his supporting cast is excellent. Billy Green Bush's tough trail boss makes a memorably unique Western character. Geoffrey Lewis (The Wind and the Lion) gives one of his most memorable performances as the shifty Russ. Lots of familiar faces populate the supporting cast: Luke Askew and Matt Clark must have been in every '70s Western, and Bo Hopkins (The Wild Bunch) gets a bigger-than-usual part as a trigger-happy cowpoke. Royal Dano and Charles Martin Smith have smaller parts.

The Culpepper Cattle Co. is watchable, but it offers little new to Western fans.

It's not the Latin - no really, it isn't!

This may come as a shock to some but, much as I love the Tridentine Latin Mass or EF Mass if you will, I could live without the Latin bit.
Heresy! You exclaim but hear me out.

Would English be acceptable?

The language of the English translation straight from the pre 1962 missal is extraordinarily beautiful; it rolls off the tongue: "I will go in unto the Altar of God. To God who giveth joy to my youth". It is comprehensible (although some passages need a little bringing up to speed). Trouble is, the English varies from missal edition to missal edition, not big variances but enough to throw you out if you are following the Mass (I won't even mention that aberration known as a dialogue Mass).

Now what would make me pronounce such a thing. One thing and one thing only and that is, if the Bishops of England and Wales agreed to make provision for 20% of their parish churches to celebrate the "English" EF Mass every Sunday, morning, that is, not 15.45 in the afternoon!

We would lose very little and gain a great deal. Of course, the full rubrics and content of the EF Mass would have to be observed, rigidly. There would be no booming out the words of the consecration, the host would be held by the celebrant betwixt index finger and thumb, all the minutiae of actions and inflections would still be there - it would just be in English!
Would it work I wonder? Would those who only attend the TLM accept the version a la Anglaise?
And would those who only attend the English Ordinary Form of Mass feel comfortable with an English Extraordinary Form?

Or, do we see in the actions of the Holy Father an inexorable grind towards a bringing together of both forms which, still leaving them distinct, makes them more like Low Tea and High Tea rather than Ordinary and Extraordinary?

And what would become of the Latin Mass Society? Would they morph to the "EMS"?

In the name of the Father,
and of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit. I will go in unto the Altar of God.
To God who gives joy to my youth.
Judge me, O God,
and take up my cause against the nation that is not holy.
Free me from the unjust and deceitful man.
For You, O God, are my strength,
why have You cast me off?
And why do I walk in sorrow,
while the enemy troubles me?
Send forth Your light and Your truth,
they have led me,
and brought me to Your holy hill,
and to Your dwelling.
I will go in  unto the Altar of God,
to God who gives joy to my youth.
To You, O God, my God,
I will give praise upon the harp,
why are you sad, O my soul?
And why do you trouble me?
Hope in God, for I will still praise Him,
the salvation of my countenance and my God.



Where there's a will there's a......

....Tridentine Requiem Mass!

I have lost track of the number of TLM attending friends and acquaintances who have died and then been subject to an Ordinary Form Requiem Mass.


Image: Sancte Missa
Unbleached candles - the perfect send off!

 Not, I hasten to add, from any desire of theirs, quite the reverse. Usually, it is the priest who is to blame. I arrived once at the funeral of a good friend who had been solid in his attendance at the TLM and who had eschewed all other forms. What then took place was a disgraceful charade as the priest (acting out of consideration for his widow "because she would not understand the Latin") had arranged a pseudo Methodist service with hymns such as "The old rugged cross" and more of the same.

Not what Catholics
want!

Because my friend was an old wartime mariner, the British Legion had been allowed into the church complete with berets (which they kept on) and military flags which I understand are not allowed at a Catholic Mass (one reason why we Catholics are such poor supporters of Remembrance Day services).

That episode was a result of priestly management but, often, surviving relatives who are not of the faith just do not see the need or distinction between OF and EF and, given the option, will, of course, choose that which is at least in English.
And then there's the issue of what happens afterwards. Sadly, many Catholics opt for the "crem" - it's quick, much cheaper and you don't have to worry about tending a grave afterwards (and often you can short circuit the church and have the whole shebang in the crematorium's Chapel of Ease) - ugh!
But it unnaturally destroys the temple that God created - much better to let the earth have your remains.

The only sure way to make certain that your wishes are observed is to stipulate it in your will or, fill in an instructional Funeral form,normally available from your Parish Priest. If you elect for the form you will have to put a red line through hymn choices 1 to 4 and write in capital letters TRIDENTINE LATIN MASS ONLY!


Photo: Lacrimarum Valle

While you are about it you might like to make known the fact, should you fall ill, that you would like to receive the "Sacrament of the Sick" or, as I prefer to call it "Extreme Unction" - the last rites of Holy Mother Church. Again, this is something that carries all the wrong connotations with it and often even strong Catholics will shy away from requesting this sacrament on the grounds that they believe that it is a sign they are about to pop their clogs. That may be the case but even more reason for accepting it. The effects of this sacrament are profound indeed and not only strengthen spiritually but, often, have a strengthening effect physically; I have know people make a good recovery from near death immediately after receiving EU. Again, you would expect me to play the traditional card and I do not like to disappoint. The traditional form of this sacrament is the one for me. It's a real 'belts and braces' form that does not leave any room for doubt and, believe me, if you are seriously sick, you do not want to leave anything to chance.
I have received the modern form (one of them) when I was not in a position to argue. It's rather like being handed a glass of 18 year old malt whisky that, when you put it to your lips, tastes like water!

This may all seem rather morbid but when you reach a critical stage in your life and are suffering illness or approaching death itself - you tend to have other things on your mind!