Father, Father, wherefore art thou?

We are looking for a priest and, get this, he must be a modern priest, not one who celebrates the Tridentine Latin Mass.



Sorry Romeo, I was actually
looking for a Catholic priest!


The poor old boy has finally cracked I hear you say: He's a few beads short of a decade, but please hear me out.

Here in dry old Menevialand we only have two brace (or less) of priests who are able to celebrate Mass in the Extraordinary Form. Now, I don't know the square mileage of the Diocese but it must run into something like a modest 5,000 square miles...that means we only have .00001 of a Latin Mass priest per acre (don't try to check the maths!).

So, in the aftermath of our good Bishop Thomas Burns appointing Fr Jason Jones as EF Mass Coordinator for the Diocese, a most wise move, we now have a lay group called The Confraternity of the Holy Cross whose aim it is in life to support the few priests we have, pray on behalf of the Bishop and to aid the development of the Latin Mass in the Diocese.

Some in the CHC have been very busy and aided the recent and magnificent Corpus Christi Mass and procession, others support with the daily Fraternity prayer (We adore Thee O Christ and we praise Thee, because by Thy Holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the World) and some, great souls have even chipped in a few pounds (quite a few in some instances) to a special fund to help priests in the Diocese learn how to celebrate the EF Mass. This does not cut across Latin Mass Society work, in fact, it complements it as we plan to assign priests on to the LMS Training Programme. In fact, LMS members might be more forthcoming with donations to the training fund if they knew that the money they raised would go towards supporting a priest from their own Diocese, but I digress.

So far we have raised the sum of £305 - Huzzah! That means we can send 1.24 priests for training, although we might wait until we have a round £500 and send two whole ones!

Now we hit the rockface - are there any priests out there who wish to put themselves forward? It would be especially good if we had one from the Western boundaries of the Diocese as this is Indian country (literally) as far as the old Mass is concerned. We have Mass in the Syro-Malabar rite and we have it in Polish, Tagalog and even Welsh (attended by 2 people and one sheepdog) - I jest - please don't burn me out! But we do not have, or at least only on a wobbly once a month basis, the Latin Mass.

It is a big problem......some priests just do not wish to go down that route and I respect their wishes but believe them to be wrong; some are too immersed in their Indian or Phillipino culture and some, I suspect, would like to do it but are a bit concerned about how they will be perceived by their fellow priests, Deans (especially the Deans) and, possibly, the Bish.

That leaves us up whatsit creek without a paddle - so please pray that we find a priest who will shoulder the cross and go forward to be trained.
Would you please offer a Rosary for this cause?

It will, as my mother used to say when one of us had to undertake some chore or other: "Put another jewel in your crown in Heaven"

Time for Novus Ordo Catholics to step up to the mark?

Fr Z's brick by brick philosophy is all well and good except that, in Great Britain it would appear as if the bricks are still in the ground in the form of clay - sticky, claggy and unmalleable, at present at any rate.

First, make your bricks - a slow
 process in England & Wales

Abuses continue to abound in Churches but, apparently, only in those where the Ordinary Form of Mass is celebrated. We don't do liturgical shenanigans in the Extraordinary Form.
The rather wonderful thing is that a large proportion (I estimate) of OF Catholics are as opposed and dismayed by such goings on as the Traditionals.
The trouble is, they labour under a heavy yoke of what they falsely believe is 'obedience'. For 'obedience' read 'do nothing'. Obedience in my book relates to conformity with Rome not to Father Jimmy and his hippy, hippy shake dance at the Offertory.

It seems to me that our OF Catholic brethren turn a blind eye to abuses in the fond hope that they will suddenly disappear. Instead, the bizarre antics become a routine until such time as accepted as the norm.
Back in the 1980s at the height of insurrection in Northern Ireland I had to travel to Belfast on business. My Protestant agent looked after me well showing me the sights (Falls and Shankill Roads) and we had a good pub meal somewhere. He insisted that the bombings and shootings were isolated occurrences that only happened in specific, contained areas and that the troubles did not affect the ordinary man in the street. He was telling me this as we left the pub and walked to his car whereupon he dropped on all fours to check to see if someone had planted a bomb under the vehicle. The bizarre had become so everyday that he had forgotten what was normal.

So what other abuses besides prancing around the sanctuary are there that OF Catholics might make a stand against?
Here are a few for starters, I am sure others might like to add to the list:-

1. Talking before and after Mass
2. Not genuflecting
3. Guitars, flutes and whistles used against the Holy Father's 
    wishes
4. Kiss of peace where, instead of a manly handshake, people
    embrace, hug and generally behave in a silly fashion
5. Eucharistic Ministers of Holy Communion who give blessings to non
    Catholics presenting themselves at the altar rails
6. EMHCs who undertake the priestly duties of purification of vessels
7. Liturgy of the Word ceremonies
8. Turning the church into a coffee bar after Mass
9. Queuing for Holy Communion while chewing gum
10. Inappropriate dress
11. Ad libs from the priest during Mass
12. Extraneous bits of prayer and ritual added to the Mass
13. Use of a card table as an altar
14. Clapping at any time

I could go on.....but I shan't.
I am very grateful to some good friends with whom we had coffee yesterday. They step up to the mark, they inspired this post.

Grand Illusion

Jean Renoir's Grand Illusion (1937) is an overly earnest pacifist statement that hasn't aged very well. Today, it's perhaps most interesting as the blueprint for every prisoner-of-war movie ever made.

During World War I, a pair of French pilots - Captain Boeldieu (Pierre Fresnay) and Lieutenant Marechal (Jean Gabin) - are shot down, and taken prisoner, by German Captain Von Rauffenstein (Erich Von Stroheim). The aristocratic Boeldieu and Rauffenstein strike up a friendship, while the working-class Marechal is left in the cold. The Frenchmen arrive in a POW camp, are transferred after an escape attempt, and finally end up in Wintersborn, a forbidding fortress deep in Germany. Boeldieu finds Rauffenstein commanding the camp, but this doesn't stop him, Marechal and the Jewish Rosenthal (Marcel Dalio) from plotting an escape.

Grand Illusion's artistry and influence are undeniable. The entire prisoner-of-war genre rests on Renoir's foundation: Stalag 17 reproduced the scenario for laughs, Bridge on the River Kwai turned Boeldieu and Rauffenstein's friendship into twisted gamesmanship and The Great Escape's tunnelling scenes are lifted almost verbatim. Also, a scene of French POWs defiantly singing La Marseillaise no doubt inspired a similar passage in Casablanca. For its cinematic importance, Grand Illusion is on a list with Birth of a Nation, Battleship Potemkin and Citizen Kane.

Renoir's film is also beautifully made. Christian Matras's expressive photography is quite striking, and there's an interesting mix of sets and beautiful French locations. Renoir can certainly stage a setpiece, and makes use of beautiful symbols (Boeldieu's rose) throughout. There are no battle scenes (or even much sign of a war) but a viewer doesn't miss it when the drama is so compelling. On a human level, though, the film's effect is mixed.

Fans of Grand Illusion see a moving anti-war film, but I find it stiff and awkward. Renoir's commentary on class differences is fudged: Boeldieu and Rauffenstein are much more appealing than our proletariat protagonists, who seem almost clownish. Similarly, Renoir overdoses on the humanism: behind the lines, French and Germans are good pals, except where class distinctions interfere. Escaping prisoners are shot with greatest reluctance, or even allowed to escape. This "brotherhood of man" approach culminates in a treacly, overlong finale, with Marechal and Rosenthal holing up with a pretty German widow (Dita Parlo). These scenes would be powerful in a more balanced film, but we're so invested in the officer relationship that what happens to these doofs doesn't register.

Pierre Fresnay and Erich Von Stroheim own the film. Their relationship is beautifully rendered and tragic, and the movie loses steam when they leave the scene. By contrast, Jean Gabin and Marcel Dalio's characters aren't very interesting; their only trait is war-weariness and they register as symbols rather than characters. Dita Parlo makes an impression despite minimal screen time.

Grand Illusion is not my cup of tea. It has strong elements that make it worthwhile, and no one can deny its importance to film history. However, it hasn't stood the test of time nearly as well as, say, All Quiet on the Western Front.

A DOUBLE CELEBRATION!

60 years ago today, the Feast of St Peter and St Paul and the ordination, in Germany, of a young man, Joseph Ratzinger, later, much later, Cardinal Ratzinger and, finally, Vicar of Rome, Successor to St Peter, Pope Benedict XVI.


Here is some grainy footage of his ordination at Freising Cathedral on 29th June 1951, young Father Ratzinger may be seen by the sharp eyed during the reception of the sacrament of Holy Orders but is very clearly visible after five minutes as the priests process from the Cathedral.

                               Ss Peter & Paul Ora pro nobis!  

                          AD MULTO ANNOS SANCTE PATER!

Please note: Since writing this post I see that A Reluctant Sinner has an excellent piece covering the ordination to be seen here
And many thanks to Caroline Whatley for the link

Journalist Who Railed Against Papal Visit in Untruthful Reporting Shock

Well, it is never pleasant watching people feasting on the sins of others. However, just this once, let's feast. Johann Hari, the Orwell Prize for Journalism winner and columnist for The 'Independent' has been caught red-handed making up quotes for interviews, by cutting and pasting them from books or other interviews and using them in his own.  Feasters today include Damian Thompson of The Telegraph, Toby Young of The Telegraph and Janet Daley of er...The Telegraph. Anyone would have thought there were some ideological battle going on between the writers for left-wing publications such as the preposterously titled 'The Independent' and right-of-centre publications such as The Telegraph.  

Naturally, Hari is (publicly at least) in denial of his mis-reporting, and is now going into 'Corapi mode', defending himself against accusations agains him in the media on his own blog - but not too convincingly. His liberal media friends have rallied round him, of course, because any Orwell prize winner who employs a slightly Orwellian writing style is serving a 'greater good' if he is serving the liberal agenda and furthering the liberal cause.

The lesson is, of course, don't trust a liberal as far as you can throw them. It looks like Hari is, rather like the Early Christians, being thrown to the lions. There is some irony in that - this was the man, after all, who filled so many column inches with reams of hate-filled bile against Pope Benedict XVI, who consistently attempted to denigrate his character and link him somehow as the 'commander-in chief' of a worldwide paedophile ring and who used all the influence he could to besmirch the character of someone who was, in fact, at the forefront of the Church's effort to combat the scourge of child abuse within the Church.

The problem with liberal journalists, you see, is that they don't really like 'objective truth'. They like 'their truth' - even if their truth is not grounded in factual truth. Apparently, it is okay, as far as the liberal elite of journalists can see, but that is the problem. They don't do objectivity.

Why would a priest not wish to celebrate Mass everyday?

I have been following James Preece's posts on how Liturgy of the Word type ceremonies appear to becoming a normal part of Catholic worship, even to the point of usurping the Mass. One comment posed the question: "What is going on at Arundel Cathedral on Mondays?" so, without further ado I had a peek to see exactly what was what down in leafy Sussex.

The real Liturgy of the Word made Flesh!

Sure enough, there are no Monday Masses, just the good old Liturgy of the Word as per the web details:-

'Mondays 10am : Liturgy of the Word and Holy Communion in the Cathedral'

I have never been to a Liturgy of the Word ermm....ritual?......service (sounds a bit garagey)......observance...convention...routine (thank you Roget!) so I don't really know what goes on but I can make a shrewd guess.

The issue really is, why would a Cathedral of all places, with three priests on site, have a day without Mass? Is it because they have celebrated a few over the weekend (Masses, I mean) and think that they can take a break on Mondays? Why would any priest worth his salt wish to give up an opportunity to say Mass; to be in such intimate contact with Christ?
It's beyond me. I decided to do an instant market research exercise to see how many other Cathedrals have gone down this road; I interrogated about 6 of their website before ennui set in.
Only one offered a LoW service and that was for children...to save the little dears from being isolated and distanced at Mass (yuk!)
Three guesses which Cathedral it was......South of England......name begins with P........Mr Inwood in residence.......yup, it was Portsmouth!

Here is how they try to justify what I believe is a grave and foolish error...

Why have a separate Liturgy of the Word with Children?
The Directory on Children’s Masses (1973) reminds us that we need to ensure that children at Mass ‘do not feel neglected because of their inability to participate or to understand what happens and what is proclaimed in the celebration’ (para17). The Directory therefore suggests the celebration of a separate Liturgy of the Word with the Children (LOWC) in another place so that children are enabled to listen and respond to the Word of God in a way which is appropriate for them.

Liturgy, not catechesis
LOWC is part of Mass, the Liturgy of the Word in simplified form. During it, children are given opportunities to hear and respond to the Word of God in ways which are suited to their age and ability. LOWC is a celebration of the Word of God, not a teaching session, sacramental preparation class or a crèche. ‘The final purpose of all liturgical and eucharistic formation must be a greater and greater conformity to the gospel in the daily life of the children’ (Directory for Masses with Children para 15).

What complete and utter tosh! I feel quite nauseous, so sorry to inflict it upon you, dear reader. I recall reading one of Mulier Fortis's posts from her recent pilgrimage to Lourdes. In it Mac recounted how Fr Tim Finigan gave a running commentary to children attending a 'catechetical' Mass whilst another priest celebrated it.
This seems so very sound and sensible. How on earth are children going to love the Mass if they are separated from it? How are adults going to for that matter?

And that is what the LoW does; it separates one from the truth; it makes the need to attend Mass less apparent...it is, in reality, quite a Protestant type of solution to a perceived 'problem', it ain't Catholic!

Government blows a hole in Archbishop's plan for the Vaughan

Essex Peer
Lord Lexden

The House of Lords, thanks to a fairly new peer, Lord Lexden (Alistair Cooke as was) has come out in support of the Cardinal Vaughan Parents' Action Group and stated that it is the right of parents to appoint Foundation Governors, not the Diocese of Westminster.

Here is the full story from the Save the Vaughan website:

"We are delighted to announce that the Government has intervened to help us in our campaign to appoint current parents in the school as Foundation Governors.

 

We believe that the Catholic Diocese of Westminster has, in effect, gerrymandered the Governing Body by refusing to appoint parents of children in the school as Foundation Governors and filling it with placemen instead. We have always maintained this is against the law. One judge in the Court of Appeal strongly upheld our view, but the other two said the Diocese's interpretation that "parent foundation governors" in the regulations did not have to be Cardinal Vaughan parents, was lawful. Following this split decision, we asked for the government to intervene.   

 

Our request was backed in the House of Lords (June 14) by Lord Lexden, - a patron of the Cardinal Vaughan Parents' Action Group. He said clarification of the law was needed to protect parents' choice and rights. In his speech during the second reading of the Education Bill, Lord Lexden said this:

vigilance is needed in protecting choice and rights which parents have long enjoyed. I have recently drawn one specific cause of concern to the attention of my noble friend the Minister in my role as a patron of a campaign organised by parents of the Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School in London. Parents with children at the school are being denied their proper role on its governing body by the Roman Catholic diocesan authorities. This is a case which has implications for all 4,000 voluntary-aided schools in England. The law needs to be clarified. I hope that, either in Committee or through some other means, the Government will be able to set out their view.

Now the education minister, Lord Hill, in a letter to Lord Lexden, says he intends to amend the school governance regulations The effect of this amendment will be to remove all doubt that the requirement on appointing bodies to include 'parents' as Foundation Governors means parents of children currently in the school, except where none is available to serve. A consultation period on the implementation of the amendment will begin at the start of the Autumn term.

The Diocese has gone to extraordinary lengths to keep Vaughan parents off the Governing Body and so shut them out from crucial decisions on the future of this outstanding school. The Archbishop and his advisers have shamelessly exploited an apparent loophole in the law. We don't understand why the Diocese has been at such pains to exclude us, but we believe that it has in mind changes to Cardinal Vaughan which no parent there would want.

We welcome Lord Hill's intervention as a breakthrough for parents’ rights. We would like to thank our patrons for their invaluable support and encouragement.

But our work is not over.

This development represents a very important step for our campaign. But the law will not come into effect straight away. 

For this reason we ask you now to appeal respectfully to Archbishop Nichols to appoint two current parent foundation governors immediately - before the appointment of a new Head in the Autumn. It is essential that everyone has confidence that the Governing Body is correctly constituted before it undertakes this most important task. Archbishop Nichols has the power to do this. He is clearly, in our view, morally obliged to do it. Please help us to make sure that he does it.

The Archbishop can be contacted by email at archbishop@rcdow.org.uk or by post at Archbishop’s House, Ambrosden Avenue, London SW1P 1QJ.

We would be interested to see copies of your letter and any replies you receive.

We will be posting more important news, in the next few days".

If the Archbishop wishes to salvage something out of this wreck he should quit now and back down gracefully; he would engender a deal of respect as a result.

Story also featured by Damian Thompson.

The Papal blessing for stroppy journalists



Papal wit but which Pope?



This story has been attributed to several Popes but I believe that it was Pope Pius XII who was the Pontiff concerned. However, since starting this post I see that the story has several quite distinct versions. Here's my one.

A very anti Papal, anti Catholic journalist (possibly from the Bitter Pill?) attended a Papal Audience and very provocatively asked the Holy Father for his blessing.

Without changing pace Pope Pius blessed him using the words:

"Ab illo benedicaris + in cuius honore cremaberis. Amen"

Which, is the blessing reserved for incense and in English it reads.....

"Be ye blessed by Him + in whose honour thou art to burn. Amen"

More From Friday's Soho Mass

Juventutem London have alerted me to Dr Joseph Shaw's Flickr page, on which you can find lots of images of the Mass for the Feast of the Birth of St John the Baptist. The LMS Chairman himself has posted an article on his blog.

With 200 hundred priests like this man we could bring Europe back to the Faith!

Let me first do a little scene setting for those of you unfamiliar with this Italian priest. First of all he is fictional (sadly). Secondly, he lived (if a character in a book can be said to have 'lived') in post war Italy and never ever set foot in Great Britain. Thirdly, he has characteristics that, perhaps are part of all of us. He is a passionate defender of the faith, he gets things wrong occasionally, he converses with the crucified Christ, he is a shade hot tempered and liable to bash his opponents about the ears and, deep down he loves his enemies. But, above all else, he loves the crucified Christ.

He battles daily with the devil (mainly in the stylised form of Communist Mayor Peppone) who is really someone whom he loves as one of Christ's own (Peppone that is, not the devil). This is post war Italy, still a country split by violent factions, ex Partisans, Reds, Christian Politicos and even a few fascists still lying around all contribute to a volatile existence for a country parish priest.

But Don Camillo, aided by the Lord on the cross, bashes his way to keeping the faith uppermost in people's minds. In this clip he is about to lead a procession for the annual blessing of the River Po when he learns that the communist mob, led by Peppone, is out to wreak havoc on his parishioners and his plans.

What does he do? He does not cancel the procession, he sends the altar servers and his parishioners home to safety. He is a good shepherd.

And then he realises that he has to undertake the procession alone, except for the crucified Christ. The symbolism is heavy here. He picks up the cross and commences the slow march to the river......the rest you may see for yourself!



This form of action is what we lack today. But then, of course, one could argue that we in the western world at least, are not called to fight our corner in the way that Don Camillo had to except.......maybe we are; not with flailing fists but with reasoned logic and a fearless approach to standing up to an authority that wishes to destroy life in the womb, dispose of the homeless, aged and incapacitated and fragment the family unit.

I find strong comparisons between Don Camillo and our blogging priests who, metaphorically, at least, are not afraid to knock a few heads together!

* The Don Camillo series is written by Giovanni Guareschi. Several films were made in the 1950s starring Fernandel as Don Camillo, an inspired choice.

St Patrick's Church, Soho

St Patrick's: Restoring timeless beauty to the Church

Damian Thompson recently posted on the re-opening of St Patrick's Catholic Church in the heart of Soho, after a £3.5 million pound restoration project that has made what Dr Thompson described accurately as, "the future" of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. St Patrick's does not disappoint. It is a stunning piece of architecture, truly glorious.

The Solemn High Mass for the Feast of the Birth of St John the Baptist was exquisite. Juventutem's schola sang both chant and polyphony beautifully. Fr Patrick Heywood was celebrant, Fr Sean Finnegan was deacon and Fr Tim Finnigan was sub-deacon. Fr Aiden Nichols OP preached excellently on the forerunner of the Lord and herald of the Messiah who was to baptise Christ in the River Jordan and proclaim the beginning of His Ministry on Earth. Fr Ray Blake was tucked away for the majority of the duration of the Mass hearing Confessions.  Now that is what I call Catholicism!

Afterwards, at a meal at a local Goan curry house, Providence sat me next to one of the interviewers for the Mass of Ages job, Dr Joseph Shaw, Chairman of the LMS. We got on well, given that only days before I had been plotting to send him a dozen dead puppies in the post for not giving me the editorship job. That's usually how we do things in Brighton. You can take the LMS out of Brighton but you can't take the Brighton out of the LMS. I also had a chance to talk with Anthony Ozimic of the SPUC who was delightful and he discussed his latest work on abortion and its effects on moral character, available (I think this is the one) as a PDF here.

I had a chance to speak with Paul Smeaton who has a Catholic blog entitled Smeaton's Corner and also the charming anonymous author of The Catholic Youth. I really don't like London as a rule, but when you are attending a Mass at St Patrick's you forget that you are in London because the beauty of the liturgy and the Church itself takes you up to Heaven. I understand that Churches like St Patrick's are built to the greater glory of God, but it really is quite palatial and I think that given that there is so much ugliness in London, as well as great poverty, it is a marvellous thing that a poor Catholic man can walk into St Patrick's and think, "I am home. Thanks be to God."

St Patrick's is a centre of evangelisation as well as serving the homeless community of the district. Both their mission to the poor and the restoration project are covered nicely in this Guardian article. All in all, the newly restored St Patrick's Church does not disappoint!

Gallipoli

Gallipoli (1981) is a superlative war film. Director Peter Weir moves from the bizarre atmospherics of Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975) to a moving tale of World War I's most disastrous campaign - the Anglo-French invasion of Gallipoli, Turkey.

Archy Hamilton (Mark Lee) is an aspiring runner trapped on a farm in the wilds of West Australia. World War I breaks out and Archy feels compelled to enlist, despite the protests of his Uncle (Bill Kerr), who feels the war doesn't concern Australia. At an athletic event, Archy meets Frank Dunne (Mel Gibson), a ne'er-do-well fellow sprinter, and the two trek to Perth to join the Lighthorse Regiment. After training in Egypt, they're sent to join the Allied landing at Gallipoli, aimed at knocking the Ottoman Empire out of the war. Archy and Frank find themselves front and center for a desperate attack against well-entrenched Turkish troops at Anzac Cove.

Gallipoli stands at the forefront of Australian heritage films from the '80s, emphasizing their heroic role in Britain's imperial conflicts. It lacks the anger of the previous year's Breaker Morant but has the same message: Australian lives are wasted by callous British generals. A mixture of miscommunication (a telephone line with the Lighthorse Colonel (John Morris) fails during the battle) and pig-headedness causes of the carnage, killing thousands for no appreciable gain. The battles are brief but extremely harrowing: the first two waves in the final attack are mowed down literally in seconds by Turkish machine gun fire. The gut-wrenching finale rivals All Quiet on the Western Front as a potent anti-war statement.

However, Gallipoli keeps sermonizing in the background and focuses on its characters. Both protagonists are strongly sketched: Archy idealistically serving his country and naively trusting imperial propaganda ("We fight them there so they won't come over here!"), Frank a likeable scoundrel more interested in chasing girls than war. Their early scenes in Australia are endearing, their reunion in Egypt poignant and their fate in Turkey shocking. As a representation of a generation of Aussies, forging a national identity through wartime sacrifice, they're compelling and believable.

Weir manages an impressive production on a relatively tight budget. The film transitions from character drama to war film with ease, matching the scenic beauty of the South Australian desert and Egyptian pyramids with an impressive recreation of the Dardanelles trenches. The battle scenes are horrifying, but the most creative sequence involves soldiers dodging shrapnel while swimming nude at the beach. A synth-heavy score by Brian May and Jean-Michel Jarre strikes a false note, however.

Mel Gibson had already made a splash in Mad Max two years prior, but this film catapulted him to superstardom. Gibson's full of raw charisma, perfectly suited for his roguish character, but never hogs the spotlight. Mark Lee gives a fine performance, likeable and believably idealistic. Bill Kerr (as Archy's Uncle) and Bill Hunter (as a sympathetic Major) give strong supporting turns.

A seminal work in Australian cinema, Gallipoli is an excellent take on World War I, Australia's emerging national identity and wartime friendship and loss. Other Aussie films (The Light Horsemen, Anzacs) touch on these themes, but never to such strong effect.

Am I a nasty Catholic?

No, don't answer that one! It is purely rhetorical. It's just that Shadowlands has spoken out against traditionalists (I think) who criticise Charismatics (although as far as I am aware there is nothing  in Left Footer's post about 'Nasty Catholics' that mentions Charismatics).
I don't think that there is anything wrong with criticism; it's when the boundaries between humour and nastiness get blurred that people start to get edgy. One man's satire is another man's poison maybe.

 I enjoy satire and I even enjoy jokes about traditional Catholics; that's very much a part of Catholic culture, one that we share with the Jews also. It is not a bad thing to be able to laugh at oneself from time to time; and to also laugh at things that irritate. Without that freedom we become politically imbalanced, prudish and precious. We need to puncture certain balloons occasionally, without that freedom lies the road to insanity!

So, here goes......

"Last week I couldn't even spell Charismatic and now I are one!"

RIP Peter Falk

I'd be remiss if I didn't note the passing of Peter Falk.

Smart, funny and intense, Falk was a remarkable screen presence and a terrific actor. He's best-remembered for playing the crusty, sly Colombo on TV for ten years (not counting post-facto TV movies and specials). He had his share of memorable film roles, too, including Murder, Inc., Pocketful of Miracles (both Oscar-nominated), A Woman Under the Influence, The Princess Bride and Wings of Desire. Of course, I'll always remember him as one of the stars of Neil Simon's Murder by Death, one of my all-time favorite comedies.

RIP Sam Diamond. You'll be missed.

Extraordinary! Beautiful! Mass on the feast of Corpus Christi

Thursday 23rd June and Swansea Cathedral, probably for the first time in 40 plus years, witnessed a Sung Mass on the Feast of Corpus Christi with a congregation estimated to be in the region of 75 plus.

"The most beautiful thing this side of Heaven..."

Celebrant was Father Jason Jones, Parish Priest of nearby Sacred Heart, Morriston and three other priests attended. All who were able to kneel, knelt to receive Holy Communion and ALL received by mouth.

The choir, from the Newcastle Emlyn Schola, sang in a manner that must have sent a few of the heavenly host into a green mood and afterwards, a full procession with young girls strewing rose petals in the path of The Blessed Sacrament. Traditional Corpus Christi hymns were sung throughout the procession and the finale was a rousing 'Faith of Our Fathers'.


Swansea Cathedral, not big but well attended
for the Feast of Corpus Christi


For many in the congregation it was the first time that they had attended an Extraordinary Form of Mass and the response afterwards paid tribute to the immense reverence that is invoked at such Masses.

For my sins I was MC which, in my case stands for 'Muddler of Ceremonies'. I blame (of course) the fact that such wonderful Masses are still pretty infrequent down here in West Wales and that a bit more practice would bring me a shade nearer perfection. All on the sanctuary was saved by my fellow servers Corey, Patrick and Seamus who were impeccable in their performance.

The Cathedral aisles could not accommodate
a canopy

At present there is talk about the Charismatic Movement on several blogs. I defy anyone who, after witnessing last night's Mass, would think that holding hands, swaying to the rhythm or clapping at the Consecration was anything but crass irreverence and that true adoration can only be achieved in full at an EF Mass.

We left immediately after Mass and could not stay for the 'bunfight' which is such a feature of Catholic post Mass celebrations. I know that Bridgend parish had one also.

On the way home we were treated to the spectacle, for a few seconds, of a setting sun; just an orb of fiery red in the night sky, like a host on fire. It seemed a very fitting and appropriate end to a memorable evening.

The Birth of St John the Baptist!

                                                         

Make ready the way of the Lord, make straight all his paths. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low, And the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways smooth. (Luke 3, 4-6.)



The birth of St John the Baptist

 Today we celebrate the birth of this great saint and cousin to Our Lord. What a  man he must have been; strong willed, tough, determined, far seeing....just the qualities we would wish to find in a Catholic Bishop today, and, of course, he was a martyr for the cause. But, today we celebrate his nativity.

 O God who hast made this an honoured day for us by the birth of Saint John: bestow upon Thy people the grace of spiritual joys, and guide the hearts of all Thy faithful into the way of eternal salvation.



William Drummond 1585-1649

The last and greatest Herald of Heaven’s King
Girt with rough skins, hies to the deserts wild,
Among that savage brood the woods forth bring,
Which he more harmless found than man, and mild.
His food was locusts, and what there doth spring,
With honey that from virgin hives distill’d;
Parch’d body, hollow eyes, some uncouth thing
Made him appear, long since from earth exiled.
There burst he forth: All ye whose hopes rely
On God, with me amidst these deserts mourn,
Repent, repent, and from old errors turn!
—Who listen’d to his voice, obey’d his cry?
Only the echoes, which he made relent,
Rung from their flinty caves, Repent! Repent!

Young Bess

All Young Bess (1953) needed to sell me was casting Jean Simmons as Elizabeth I. Fortunately, the film surrounding Simmons is quite good, a solid take on a bit of Tudor history generally neglected by popular culture.

Upon the death of Henry VIII (Charles Laughton), England falls under the stewardship of child-king Edward VI (Rex Thompson), whose government is ruled by Edward Seymour (Guy Rolfe), Lord Somerset. Princess Elizabeth (Jean Simmons), Edward's sister, remains in the shadows, worried that her descent from the executed Anne Boleyn endangers her. She none-too-discreetly carries on an affair with Thomas Seymour (Stewart Granger), the Lord Protector's brother and an English admiral. The two love each other, but Seymour marries Catherine Parr (Deborah Kerr), Henry's widow, and Elizabeth finds herself targeted by Somerset's scheming.

Young Bess views Elizabeth before she became the "Virgin Queen" of legend. Aside from Tudor Rose and Lady Jane, Edward VI's reign has rarely shown up on film, and Young Bess earns points for showing an England creeping towards modernity, with Edward and Somerset eagerly embracing Protestantism after Henry's hesitant dalliances. Princess Mary is unfairly portrayed as an idiot, and English Catholics get short shrift, but Elizabeth's struggles to land her true love, Edward's religious reforms and the Seymour's Cain-and-Abel rivalry makes for compelling drama. A sumptuous production helmed by George Sidney, Jan Lustig and Arthur Wimperis's smart script and a lavish Miklos Rosza score bring this story to vivid life.

The film's centerpiece, of course, is Jean Simmons's marvelous performance. Even more than Cate Blanchett, she does a superb job depicting the young Elizabeth, impulsive, love struck and vulnerable, but already intelligent, far-sighted and indomitable. Simmons handles her big scenes perfectly, whether professing her love to Seymour or telling off Somerset's kangaroo court. We can ignore Simmons's incorrect hair color when her performance is so good, and when she's ravishing as a brunette.

Stewart Granger (then Simmons's husband) makes a dashing love interest (though much more likeable than the real Seymour). Deborah Kerr (The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp) handles a thankless part well, giving Catherine Parr the right level of gravitas. Groggy favorite Kay Walsh (Oliver Twist) steals her scenes as Elizabeth's lady-in-waiting. Charles Laughton briefly reprises his signature role from The Private Life of Henry VIII twenty years prior. Leo G. Carroll (North by Northwest) has an amusing cameo.

Young Bess is another solid Tudor drama, mixing great performances, smart writing and sumptuous pageantry.

Look who it is!

George and I covering Hero by Enrique Inglesias. He dedicates this song to Diane, who makes a special guest appearance. They are grateful for your prayers.

BODY OF CHRIST

St Ambrose

"You say perhaps, 'This is ordinary bread'. But this bread is bread before the sacramental words; directly the consecration occurs the bread is changed into the Body of Christ. We must therefore prove this. How can what is bread become the Body of Christ?

By what words is the consecration effected and whose words are they?

They are the words of the Lord Jesus. Indeed all the rest that is said before is said by the priest: praise is offered to God, prayers are made for the people, for kings and for all others. But when it comes to effecting this wonderful sacrament the priest no longer uses his own words but those of Christ.

It is Christ's word, therefore, that effects this sacrament."

4th Century

Sing forth, O Sion, sweetly sing
The praises of thy Shepherd-King,
In hymns and canticles divine;
Dare all thou canst, thou hast no song
Worthy his praises to prolong,
So far surpassing powers like thine.

To-day no theme of common praise
Forms the sweet burden of thy lays –
The living, life-dispensing food –
That food which at the sacred board
Unto the brethren twelve our Lord
His parting legacy bestowed.

Then be the anthem clear and strong,
Thy fullest note, thy sweetest song,
The very music of the breast:
For now shines forth the day sublime
That brings remembrance of the time
When Jesus first his table blessed.

Within our new King's banquet-hall
They meet to keep the festival
That closed the ancient paschal rite:
The old is by the new replaced;
The substance hath the shadow chased;
And rising day dispels the night.

Christ willed what he himself had done
Should be renewed while time should run,
In memory of his parting hour:
Thus, tutored in his school divine,
We consecrate the bread and wine;
And lo – a Host of saving power.

This faith to Christian men is given –
Bread is made flesh by words from heaven:
Into his blood the wine is turned:
What though it baffles nature's powers
Of sense and sight? This faith of ours
Proves more than nature e'er discerned.

Concealed beneath the twofold sign,
Meet symbols of the gifts divine,
There lie the mysteries adored:
The living body is our food;
Our drink the ever-precious blood
In each, one undivided Lord.

Not he that eateth it divides
The sacred food, which whole abides
Unbroken still, nor knows decay;
Be one, or be a thousand fed,
They eat alike that living bread
Which, still received, ne'er wastes away.

The good, the guilty share therein,
With sure increase of grace or sin.
The ghostly life, or ghostly death:
Death to the guilty; to the good
Immortal life. See how one food
Man's joy or woe accomplisheth.

We break the Sacrament; but bold
And firm thy faith shall keep its hold;
Deem not the whole doth more enfold
Than in the fractured part resides:
Deem not that Christ doth broken lie;
'Tis but the sight that meets the eye;
The hidden deep reality
In all its fulness still abides.

Behold the bread of angels, sent
For pilgrims in their banishment,
The bread for God's true children meant,
That may not unto dogs be given;
Oft in the olden types foreshowed;
In Isaac on the altar bowed,
And in the ancient paschal food,
And in the manna sent from heaven.

Come then, good Shepherd, bread divine,
Still show to us thy mercy sign;
Oh, feed us still, still keep us thine;
So we may see thy glories shine
In fields of immortality;

O thou, the wisest, mightiest, best,
Our present good, our future rest,
Come, make us each thy chosen guest,
Co-heirs of thine, and comrades blest
With saints whose dwelling is with thee.
Amen. Alleluia.

Ten events I would like to see in the Catholic Church

1. The Holy Father to celebrate the Extraordinary Form of Mass

2. The Bishops of England and Wales to establish a training programme for
    priests to learn how to say the old Mass in conjunction with the Latin Mass
    Society

3. The full development of the National Shrine of Wales (Our Lady of the
    Taper) as a focus for Welsh and all other Catholics on a par with
    Walsingham.

4. The Archbishop of Westminster to celebrate an Extraordinary Form of Mass
    on the Feast of the Holy Cross - September 14th, anniversary of Summorum
    Pontificum

5. A return to kneeling and reception on the tongue

6. All Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion to be disbanded

7. Altar girls to be transferred to a special branch of The Legion of Mary

8. All folk Masses and the use of flutes, recorders, guitars, skiffle boards etc
    banned

9. Unity between Rome and Econe

10. Clerical dress for priests (black suit and white collar) to become the rule

Rome wants it.........so please do it for the Feast of Corpus Christi

And ever afterwards. I am referring, of course, to the reception of the Body of Christ on the tongue and kneeling.

The Bishops of England and Wales may say one thing but the message from Rome and the Holy Father is loud and clear - "do it"

My thanks to Fr Simon Henry for his excellent post on the subject which you may read at Offerimus Tibi Domine

Gay Masses

Don't worry...I didn't go dressed like this to the Mass of Ages interview!

Gay Masses


Well it was quite a while ago
When I first heard in Soho
There is such a thing as Gay Masses

I thought “You must be kiddin’ me?
Our Lady and St Gregory?”
Do you think they approve of these Masses?

Oh it’s sacrilege! It’s sacrilege!
What on God’s green earth are Gay Masses?
This is a rather queer affair
But let’s call it 'pastoral care'
This is Soho
So we have Gay Masses
Gay Masses

I was rather quite aghast
Oh that Martin Prendergast
Was organising Gay Masses

How long's this been going on?
It really sounds a little wrong
Has the Diocese embraced his madness?

Oh it's scandalous! It's scandalous!
Ae they celebrating Gay Masses?
Is the Archbishop in despair or does he really just not care?
This is Soho
So we have Gay Masses
Gay Masses

Well I’ll tell you now straight out
I have sympathy no doubt
But the Lord doesn’t care for our preferences

The orientation that He deems
Fit for worship is the East
We’re all human
Despite our differences

But His sadness! His sadness!
Has the Lord been reduced to this crassness?
Try the Brompton Oratory
St Patrick’s you will see
Catholics worshipping Him in gladness
Gay Masses

I understand in this country
LGBT community
Is something that’s very much in fashion
But it really doesn’t mean
Our Lord or Lady do agree
With the rise of LGBT Masses

Let’s face facts here!
Let’s face facts here!
This is just a pick up joint for some fags, dear!
It's a subversion of the Mass
A perversion of the Mass
This is not what the Apostles imagined
Gay Masses

Come on, lads and lasses!
Lads and lasses!
We don’t need these awful Gay Masses!
The Lord wants you in His Church
You're not the last you're not the first
But come on let’s think of saving our asses
Our asses

Oh it’s sacrilege! It’s sacrilege!
What on God’s green earth are Gay Masses?
It's a rather queer affair
But let’s call it 'pastoral care'
This is Soho
And they have Gay Masses

Pandora and the Flying Dutchman

Pandora and the Flying Dutchman (1951) is a bizarre but fascinating film. A romantic fantasy pitched at a mythological level, it's full of striking imagery, strange symbolism and excellent performances.

A group of English expatriates living in Espernza, Spain circa 1930 makes American singer Pandora Reynolds (Ava Gardner) the center of attention. Pandora stirs the lust of every man she meets, but matches their affection with cold indifference - even when some of them wind up dead. Enter Henrik van der Zee (James Mason), a melancholy Dutch sailor who finds himself drawn to Pandora, and she to him. Turns out that Henrik is the legendary Flying Dutchman, condemned to an eternity alone at sea, unless he can find a lover willing to redeem his soul through self-sacrifice.

Loosely inspired by Wagner, Pandora and the Flying Dutchman is a unique experience. It plays like a supernatural Powell and Pressburger film, with elaborate fantasy scenes, ravishing Jack Cardiff photography and an otherworldly, dreamlike feel. Director Albert Lewin provides some striking images, occasionally bordering on the surreal: the discovery of Pandora and Henrik at the beginning, milquetoast Stephen (Nigel Patrick) pushing his car off a cliff to impress Pandora, the nighttime party on a beach strewn with statuary.

Despite his baroque stylings, Lewin keeps things relatively restrained, focusing on the story and characters. The romantic entanglements could make for sloppy melodrama, but the mythological elements adds grandeur to the proceedings. Henrik's detailed flashbacks elevate the story to high tragedy. Pandora, the untamed embodiment of female sexuality, makes her an interesting match for a variety of suitors: milquetoast Stephen, flamboyant matador Juan (Mario Cabre), and suicidal Reggie (Marius Goring). Archaeologist Fielding's (Harold Warrender) narration is a bit clunky, but (along with the beautiful Spanish locations) places the story in its appropriate storybook context.

Ava Gardner gives one of her best performances, bursting with scarcely-restrained sensuality and cold, almost nihilistic indifference until the end. James Mason is the emotional anchor, making the melancholic Dutchman a truly tragic figure. Nigel Patrick (The Sound Barrier) isn't very interesting but Mario Cabre and Marius Goring (The Red Shoes) make strong impressions as Pandora's doomed admirers. Sheila Sim (A Canterbury Tale) is endearing as a girl with an unrequited crush on Stephen.

Pandora and the Flying Dutchman makes for an interesting watch. Full of beautiful images and fine performances, it's definitely an overlooked gem.

Corpus Christi at Swansea Cathedral

This Thursday, 23rd June at 7pm, Sung Mass and Procession at St Joseph's Cathedral, Swansea....

The Choir of the National Shrine of Wales, celebrant, Father Jason Jones

Photo source: Godzdogz

"THE DEVIL IS ABROAD"

Fr Z has posted a chilling four word message on his blog...."The Devil is abroad." 

We know, of course, that the devil is always abroad but I think that Fr Z means that he is abroad in an extraordinary way right now. Priests and Bishops are under attack, the Holy Father is under attack and the Church is being persecuted in a good old fashioned medieval style throughout the world. But it is our clergy who are so very vulnerable. If you wish to destroy a priest, it's easy. Just one allegation and phut! that's the end of a priestly vocation and the chance of a fat wad of cash for the accuser. There have been many genuine cases of priestly abuse but, I am sure, that equally, many have been false, trumped up charges. It is hard to distinguish between the lie and the truth. Sadly, it is often our best and most prominent priests who face the challenge of an unjust accusation and it must be a constant, nagging fear for them.

 Avoiding situations where one might be alone with a female parishioner or a minor, walking into deliberate traps set by the perverse, reported to the Bishop for carrying out their duties diligently. The priest's lot is not a happy one right now. They need our prayers more than ever, offer a Rosary or even a decade to the cause. Pray daily to Our Lady that she will place her foot on the neck of Satan and break him in his attempt to ruin the lives of our priests. The prayer below is actually meant for priests to say in order to secure their own protection from the devil but, I am sure, it will be equally effective if said on behalf of a priest. Say it whenever possible, expecially for our blogging Fathers!

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost

Most glorious Prince of the heavenly

Armies, Saint Michael the Archangel, defend

us in “our battle against principalities and

powers, against the rulers of this world of darkness,

against the spirits of wickedness in the high

places” (Ephes., VI, l2). Come to the assistance of

men who God has created to His likeness and

whom He has redeemed at a great price from the

tyranny of the devil. Holy Church venerates thee

as her guardian and protector; to thee, the Lord has

entrusted the souls of the redeemed to be led into

heaven. Pray therefore the God of Peace to crush

Satan beneath our feet, that he may no longer retain

men captive and do injury to the Church. Offer our

prayers to the Most High that without cry come

 unto Thee.

V. May the Lord be with thee.

God of Heaven, God of Earth, God of Angels, God of Archangels, God of Patriarchs, God of Prophets, God of Apostles, God of Martyrs, God of Confessors, God of Virgins, God Who has power to give life after death and rest after work, because there is no other God than Thee and there can be no other, for Thou art the Creator of all things, visible and invisible, of whose Reign there shall be no end. We humbly prostrate ourselves before Thy Glorious Majesty and we beseech Thee to deliver us by Thy Power from all the tyranny of the infernal spirits, from their snares, their lies and their furious wickedness; deign, O' Lord, to grant us Thy powerful protection and to keep us safe and sound. We beseech Thee through Jesus Christ Our Lord, Amen.



From the snares of the devil,
All: Deliver us O Lord.

  Grant that Thy Church may serve Thee in secure libertyAll: We beseech Thee, hear us.
Deign to crush down the enemies of the Holy Church,  All: We beseech Thee, hear us.

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us
Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us
Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on usAMEN