Good old BBC, never fails to disappoint

Sorry, no tangos at Latin Masses, only
at Latino ones!

First, before I get to Auntie Beeb let me give you the results of my pre Christmas Quiz, the one showing a picture of a couple doing the Tango, you know, that dance that epitomises immodesty with its blatant sexual overtures and scanty dresses.

The answer, of course, is number three, and it originates from the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing programme, or, as I prefer to call it, Strictly Come Pornography.

For that, really, is what it is. Sorry to be a killjoy but pornography it is.

Those that nominated number one, the Berlin nightclub were a shade off strasse; but it could well have been snapped in a dodgy joint in Germany's capital.

And, as for those who suspected that the photo came from a Catholic Mass in Buenos Aires, what an outrageous suggestion.

Can you possibly imagine a sensuous, provocative dance taking place on the sanctuary after Holy Mass?

That would surely be an act of sacrilege, the modern day equivalent of prancing round the golden calf.

You just have time to make it to Confession before Midnight Mass.

Now for the BBC.

Radio Four on Sunday morning and the adenoidal tones of that pillar of the Church, Ed Stourton.

He is introducing a piece on the seasonal celebrations, you know, the ones that we love to take part in at this time of the year 'cept he's not talking of Christmas and the birth of the Messiah, no, no,
no-ooo!

Ed is speaking about the Winter Solstice and how pagans love to gather at dawn around the standing stones of Stonehenge - great!

And then, as I listened in horror whilst attending to matters of dental hygiene I hear a Pythonesque voice state words to the effect that:

"Well, Stonehenge is a place of spirichool healing, just like Lourdes, reelly"

At this point I had to call Mrs L to disentangle my toothbrush from my epiglottis.

Nice one Ed and your pagan chums!


 

Is this the image of Our Queen?

In recent years, forensic science has excelled itself in modelling faces from skulls so that we know just how stone age man appeared facially and, often, how sightings of criminal faces can be portrayed through e-fit pictures such as in the Madeleine McCann case.

The trouble is, we have to take the word of the forensic science men and women who make these sculptural or pictorial representations that they are accurate.

A Facebook report on Church Militant's entry features a depiction of Our Lady, taken from the image of Christ from The Shroud of Turin.

Of course, it is obvious when one thinks about it; the Son must resemble the Mother and the Mother the Son.

I cannot find any further information on the background to this report but here is the image, a stunning image, I think you will agree.

And I find it quite plausible that this is a reasonable representation of Our Lady.

What can you see in this face?
 Purity, Love, fear, apprehension, unparalleled goodness?

Of course, wherever Our Lady has appeared in the world she has been seen as being Japanese in Akita and as a Pyrenean girl, short and stocky in the manner of St Bernadette, in Lourdes.

It is also reported that St Bernadette tried to take the Church to task over the images that were created in the aftermath of Our Lady appearing at Lourdes as she knew that the tall, willowy figure could never have graced the grotto which is less than five feet in height.

But, I find this depiction absolutely breathtaking and, whether it is an accurate portrayal or no, it is surely a great portrait of Mary, the Mother of our God.

Coming soon...Fatima!

This May we shall journey on pilgrimage to Fatima.

                                           Sister Lucia of Fatima

I have some reservations which appear quite irrelevant and possibly also impolite to Our Lady.

First and foremost is the fact that I love Lourdes. I like the way one enters the domain with the entrance surrounded by trashy piety shops selling flashing statues of the saints and rosary beads made out of orange pips and, immediately, a different atmosphere surrounds you.

The air of piety increases as you approach the Grotto until, at last, you are there and praying close to where Bernadette prayed and to where the Mother of God appeared.

I feel at home in Lourdes; I like the way in which you can pray most of the day at the Shrine, take the baths, undertake the Stations of the Cross and then go out for a glass or two of wine and a simple meal.

And, then, afterwards you may go back and pray again. Fantastic!

Fatima is an unknown quantity. It has interested me from an early age for all the obvious reasons.

But there is something a little frightening about Fatima.
It is of our own parents or grandparents lifetime and it is also several notches higher than Lourdes on the warning scale.

Pray, repent and do penance - three words that resound in our minds, not least because the world does not pray, repent or do penance - quite the opposite, in fact.

The message of Our Lady of Lourdes was, the same but softer; at least to my ears.

By the time of the first Fatima visitation the world had been awakened to the potential of Communism and its errors and the First World War, with its hideous loss of life was drawing to a close.
Modernism was spreading its poison within the Church.

And now, who knows what is in store for a world that destroys life so casually and ignores the teachings of the Son of God made Man?

Today is the Feast of St Bernadette who died in 1879. An appropriate day (coincidentally) for this post.

We shall be in Fatima for May 13th and for the Papal dedication.

We shall be in the company of a priest who only celebrates the old Mass.

We shall pray for you all while we are there.

And, after we have prayed, no doubt, we shall go and have a glass or two of wine and a simple meal.

In the manner of all Catholic pilgrims.

O Mary conceived without sin

Pray for us who have recourse to thee.

Our Lady of Lourdes,

Pray for us.

St Bernadette,

Pray for us.

O my Jesus

Forgive us our sins,

save us from the fires of hell,

and lead all souls to Heaven,

especially those in most need of thy mercy.

Our Lady of Fatima,

Pray for us.

Bernadette's story - on the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes

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!