I know that I should be grateful to the Bishops of England and Wales for re-instating the rule regarding abstention from meat on Fridays (which, like many other Extraordinaries, we do anyway) and I am jolly pleased that some of our Holy Days are going to be celebrated on the proper day again.
But.......these are two fairly minor steps and they are, after all, corrections of stupid changes made on the hoof. It has taken 27 years for their Lordships to appreciate the value of a corporate act of penance on Fridays! Ho hum.....that does not bode well for an enthusiastic response to the Vatican's Universae Ecclesiae which adds a little more impetus (as if it were needed) to the EF Mass and all its implications.
Archbishop Nichols has already made it clear that he is not dancing on the table at the content of UE but, he damn well should be; it is clearly a further demonstration of how Pope Benedict wishes the Church to progress - parity for both the OF and EF Masses and any response other than a warm and proactive one is acting in opposition to Rome. We are very quick to jump on an SSPX priest for criticising Rome but we blank it out when our own clergy do it.
It is almost as if we are witnessing an Episcopal waltz that has been a work in progress since Vatican II.
Slow, slow, quick, quick slow just about sums it up. Just what goes on in their minds? We have a beautiful and profound liturgy, plainchant, benediction and a depth of interest in improving our spiritual record. Shouldn't the Bishops be doing all that they can to encourage us?
This is a good example of what we are missing......could anyone fail to be moved by this? I know it's been the rounds before but it is so beautiful it's worth a second hearing.
But.......these are two fairly minor steps and they are, after all, corrections of stupid changes made on the hoof. It has taken 27 years for their Lordships to appreciate the value of a corporate act of penance on Fridays! Ho hum.....that does not bode well for an enthusiastic response to the Vatican's Universae Ecclesiae which adds a little more impetus (as if it were needed) to the EF Mass and all its implications.
Archbishop Nichols has already made it clear that he is not dancing on the table at the content of UE but, he damn well should be; it is clearly a further demonstration of how Pope Benedict wishes the Church to progress - parity for both the OF and EF Masses and any response other than a warm and proactive one is acting in opposition to Rome. We are very quick to jump on an SSPX priest for criticising Rome but we blank it out when our own clergy do it.
It is almost as if we are witnessing an Episcopal waltz that has been a work in progress since Vatican II.
Slow, slow, quick, quick slow just about sums it up. Just what goes on in their minds? We have a beautiful and profound liturgy, plainchant, benediction and a depth of interest in improving our spiritual record. Shouldn't the Bishops be doing all that they can to encourage us?
This is a good example of what we are missing......could anyone fail to be moved by this? I know it's been the rounds before but it is so beautiful it's worth a second hearing.
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