A Mass, miracles and a meeting

The annual meeting of The Guild of Blessed Titus Brandsma took place at Blackfen Blogfen last Saturday 30th November.

The day commenced with a Low Mass in the Old Rite, celebrated by the Guild's chaplain and host for the day, Fr Tim Finigan.

An exposition of the Blessed Sacrament followed and, for one hour, parishioners and Guild members were able to worship and meditate in silence.

After Mass and the Holy Hour, the group listened to Dr Adrian Treloar give a learned but fascinating account of some of the Lourdes miraculous cures from a medical perspective.

For my own part, I was under the impression that I had a pretty good grasp of the extent of the cures but, when you see an x-ray on-screen, showing the result of a cancerous tumour on a pelvis, where any evidence of bone has been reduced to a poisonous mass and then compare it with an x-ray post Lourdes, that clearly shows a healthy pelvis that had not existed before going on pilgrimage, you gain a very profound concept of the full meaning of the word 'cure'.

St Bernadette at Nevers.
Free from corruption and from artificial restoration processes

And then Adrian showed a slide of the incorrupt body of St Bernadette, emphasizing that the saint has not been subject to any form of embalming treatment as in the cases of Lenin and Mao.

 Again, it hit home that there, in Nevers, is living evidence of the power of Almighty God, visible for all to see.

Finally, after a hearty lunch provided by Defende nos in Proelio together with her husband and beautifully behaved children, and a glass of the 'O be joyful' kindly bought for me by Mulier Fortis, the Guild meeting took place.

It was so good to meet eminent bloggers such as Zephyrinus and to catch up with Dylan Parry and the many commentators present, in particular, Pelerin, Dilly, Graham, Nicholas, and others.

However, the highlight, for me, was to sit in the company of two of our best loved priest bloggers,
Fr Tim Finigan and Fr Ray Blake.

And the venue for the next meeting?
 Brighton in the Spring. Hotbed of hedonism and home to both Fr Ray and the new Guild Chairman, Laurence England (as well as a few more famous bloggers).

Something to look forward to.

Blessed Titus Brandsma

"They who want to win the world for Christ must have the courage to come into conflict with it"
Blessed Titus Brandsma

                                   

If ever Catholic bloggers wanted to have a slogan writ large over their desks, this is it.

The Guild of Blessed Titus Brandsma meeting begins with a Tridentine Latin Mass in the Chapel of the Seven Dolours of the Blessed Virgin Mary at the London Oratory Saturday 15th September at 10.30am.

All who comment or use the new technologies are welcome

Oh!.....and there's a blognic afterwards - that's a sort of Catholic bloggers version of a picnic except that it will be in a Brompton Road pub (The Hourglass).


Also...a brief respite from daily posts as I shall be on holiday from Friday 14th onwards. I hope to post sporadically over the next two weeks....but if you don't hear from me just wish me good providence and raise a glass of Efes and I'll do the same for you.

Ave et vale!

Which would you choose?

This coming Saturday, the Feast of the Seven Dolours of Our Lady, let us imagine, for one wild instant, that you are in or around London and have a choice of events that you could attend.

You are only allowed one choice from the following:-


1. Front row seat at a lecture on 'The Tablet and its place in Catholic Society' given by Dr Tina Beattie

2. Free place at a music workshop based on 'The Tibetan nose flute and its place in Catholic liturgy'

3. Mass in the Extraordinary Form at The London Oratory at 10.30am followed by a brief informal address by Fr Rupert McHardy, in turn followed by Catholic type refreshments at The Hourglass Pub, Brompton Road - feel free to join at any stage, it's the Guild of Blessed Titus assembly.


Decisions, decisions.............and if I was to impart a matter most secret and confidential to point 3 (in the strictest confidence)......it is that (among several other well known and highly respected priests from the UK and Singapore, even), the group will be joined by (whisper) Fr John Zuhlsdorf - hush!

That's Fr Z don't you know?

That's right....

Father Z!

Keep the pledges coming (please)

The plan to provide Fr John Zuhsldorf with funds to buy his airline ticket so that he may join the Guild of Blessed Titus Catholic Bloggers Mass, meeting and blognic, is working!

We have already received pledges totalling £135.00, only £465.00 to go.

With your aid we can make it.

                                          There is also an incentive scheme for pledges

Why is this important?  Don't we have a goodly supply of blogging priests in this country?

Indeed we do and we are blessed to have several as members of the Guild (Fr Medley and Fr Boyle - I think that's all, always room for more) and we have the great Fr Tim Finigan as our Chaplain.

But we are the Church in England, not the Church of England and we are Universal! We are Catholic!

So that means it doesn't matter if you come from Honolulu or Haverfordwest, whether you are black or slightly off-white, or all shades in between - we are one!

And to have such a great blogging priest as Fr Z at our Blognic would be both a joy and a privilege - and, by the way, any other priest reading this is more than welcome to join us and the same applies to lay bloggers, commentators and new technology users.

Now the moment you have been waiting for (roll of drums)......you may still contribute by making a payment, no matter how small (or large) on Fr Z's site...here it is WDTPRS - the  'Donate' button is on the rh side (I'm not clever enough to link direct).

But...please remember to let me know the amount you send so that we can keep tabs on how near or far we have to strive. Drop me a line on r.collinsassoc@btinternet.com and keep it as anonymous as you wish, no use will be made of names or contacts.

Time is running out, the day draws near

No, this is not a "day of doom is nigh" post, although I sometimes feel that it could be.

I mean that there are now only 37days left before The Guild of Blessed Titus Brandsma  meeting at the Brompton Oratory, St Wilfred's Chapel at 10.30am on 15th September.

And the Hour Glass?

That's where the meeting will adjourn to after Mass, celebrated by Fr Rupert McHardy who will also address the group at a brief meeting afterwards.

That would seem to be a ultra Catholic sort of day; Holy Mass in the Extraordinary Form, an interesting talk, a brief meeting and then the Chesterton hour (or two).

So, if you blog or use the new media or social networking sites - or, if you like to comment on blogs, come along.

Time does not run out until 11pm here!

Guild meeting.....Fr Z, Tom Peters, Rocco Palmo.....

Michael Voris......unfortunately won't be there...but you could be!

        THE NEXT GUILD MEETING ON 15TH SEPTEMBER AT 10.30AM

Catholic bloggers - 'naughty, rude, fighting'

'Naughty, rude, fighting' those were the categories placed on children's sins as heard in confession by the Jesuit Fr Bernard Basset and Fr Tim Finigan used them again in his talk on Catholic bloggers, but first the account of the day.....


....The Guild of Blessed Titus Brandsma held its first meeting on Saturday 1st October at our Lady of the Rosary, Blackfen.

The day commenced at 10.30am with a glorious Solemn High Mass; Fr Tim Finigan, PP of Our Lady of the Rosary, was the celebrant and Fr Sam Medley SOLT and Fr Simon Henry, deacon and sub deacon respectively.
The singing was superb and the altar servers flawless under the guidance of an ultra efficient and capable MC (sorry, I don't know his name). The MC must have had a background involving military parades, choreography at the Royal Ballet and directing traffic on a Rome roundabout such was his capacity to manage all that went on in a firm but discreet fashion.

As the smoke from the thurible rose above the altar one could imagine Dylan Parry's two white doves circling through the clouds; certainly the sanctuary was packed out with the angelic hosts!

After Mass a brief talk by Fr Tim (Hermeneutic of Continuity) on how the Catholic world perceives bloggers. He drew on words from Fr Bernard Basset SJ who paraphrased the issues arising from hearing a child's confession as 'Naughty, Rude, Fighting' - this was how many priests and Bishops regarded the Catholic blogosphere stated Fr Tim who went on to counsel the need for charity in our blogging. We can all make mistakes in composing posts at times but, in general we should aim to avoid crossing the line between good Christian debate and back-biting vitriolic remarks.
It is a hard task to hold an audience captive for more than a few minutes but Fr Tim had us all enthralled for the 15 minutes or so that his talk lasted.

And then lunch (I was going to say sumptuous lunch but realised that I may be beginning to sound like 'she whose name must never be mentioned') so I shall merely say that the parish of Blackfen was most hospitable in the great spread  provided.

After lunch a meeting of the Guild and then Vespers and Benediction.

It was especially good to meet so many legendary bloggers as well as some new ones like myself.

Thanks for the day go to Dylan Parry as organiser and originator and to Fr Tim and his parish team for such hospitality (and for providing a model of how every parish should be) and to Fathers Sam Medley and Simon Henry.

The bloggers present were On the side of the Angels, Bara Brith, Mulier Fortis, A Tiny Son of Mary, A Reluctant Sinner, Echurch, Hilaire Belloc, Fr Mildew, Defende Nos in Proelio and commentator, "Vesper." Carol James and Catherine Collins also attended.

Guild members blogs may be seen on http://guildofblessedtitus.blogspot.com/

AT LAST! THE GUILD OF BLESSED TITUS!

I think that, by now, I must be the last of the bloggers present at Westminster Cathedral's meeting last Saturday to make a comment. I think it's called measured and studied, some might say that I'm just slow!

More women bloggers definitely needed!

Well it was a great experience and an amazing event. Many thanks to
 A Reluctant Sinner who chaired the meeting both well and informally and thanks also, to all who attended and were so generous in their welcome and support for a novice such as moi.
Immediately, all previous fears that I may have had were allayed; all present appeared sane and normal, not a fourth former, nerd or outbreak of acne amongst the lot of them. Instead I was treated to a couple of hours of wit and erudition; Paul Priest's knowledge of Canon Law, Laurence England's ready humour and journalistic skills and the rest of them in similar vein. A bonus was the presence of an Anglican in the throes of crossing the Tiber, who had much to offer and the massive presence of Fr Samuel Medley of
 Medley Minute. My only regret to the day was that I did not have time to join the session in the pub afterwards.

My observations regarding the guild are as follows; I think it a pity that it cannot be called The Guild of Catholic Bloggers (due to some approval being needed to use the word Catholic). However, the chosen patron saint seems to be a good choice and, if it's called after him, sobeit.

The aims of the guild as outlined and hammered out at the meeting are simple and straightforward; membership will be open to all Catholics who are loyal to the Magisterium and all posts submitted must conform to the bounds of Christian charity. In other words, the posts will not be inflammatory but will be profound and informative.
The guild will not be sexist in any way and be open to both female and male bloggers, no membership fees will be involved (to the great relief of bloggers from Cardigan and Scotland).

The name of the guild is likely to be 'The Guild of Bl Titus Brandsma' but I think that I prefer one of the earlier options. 'Salt of the Earth' was one mentioned but my vote would go to a quote (so I believe) from one of Pope Benedict's encyclicals, Verbum Domini when he states: "You are not alone"
That speaks volumes for me.
Because the Guild will not be linked to any Bishop and because of its avowed intention of posting charitably, it is hoped that our priest bloggers, who are a great inspiration, will join the ranks.

Meetings to be held about twice a year and an EF Mass celebrated on our behalf.

Maybe, in time, a daily Guild prayer - we shall see.

What is so evident is the fact that this is not going to be an internet exercise; it's going to involve real people and real issues; offical contacts may be only twice a year but in between there is nothing to stop Guild members meeting up for the occasional blognic!

Are you eligible to be a Guild Member?

 My earlier (and supposedly lighthearted) post on the subject of a Catholic Guild (of which I heartily approve) seems to have produced a spate of worried concerns about "exclusions". I don't think that exclusions are on anyone's mind at all other than a few who appear fearful of such a fate. So, in an effort to redress the situation here is my (emphasis on the 'my') take on the issue following on from Fr John's comments.

Fr John Abberton from the North of England poses the question of eligibility; in addition, he has certain reservations about such a Guild. What will its Mission Statement be? (gosh, it's ten years or more since I heard that phrase), Will a test of faith be required? is it even necessary? And, finally, he will not be joining.


The answer is, I have no idea. I presume those involved and those of us attending will hammer out a plan and a format.
But I can give the Father a guesstimate about a few things. And here I hasten to add that the following is my analysis of how things will broadly pan out, not rocket science, as is said.


1. I hope there will be no Mission Statement but just an overarching descriptor.


2. All Catholic bloggers will be free to join as long as they abide by the teachings of Holy Mother Church. That means that a blogger from the (shall we say) left wing, charismatic type end of the Church is just as welcome as one from the right wing end. But it has to be said that, from those who are present on the average blogroll, most are traditional and would perhaps be described as right of centre.


3. No test of faith is required. Other than the normal ducking stool immersion for ten minutes. If you come out alive after that, you're in.

Yep, he's breathing, enrol him!

4. Is a Guild necessary? Well, with the Father coming from the North I would have thought that the answer to that one was obvious. The Guilds in the past were a wonderful way of bringing together people united in their industry. A chance for a little feasting on high days and holy ones and with more than a smattering of regular daily devotions plus an annual Mass and bun fight on the feast of their patron saint. A good and Catholic way of carrying on, praying, rousting and supporting one another. Sounds pretty good to me.


5. And what of those who do not join? Well, that's up to them. My father used to be a Knight of St Columba but I never joined - no big deal! As for planning to exclude people...I think not, provided they meet the basics.

I make the above comments without any recourse to Dylan Parry, Jane Mossendew, Mac McLernon and others so I could well be shot down in flames but basic Catholic common sense tells me I'm in the right neck of the woods. (I hope).