Cheltenham Young Catholic Adults - May Events

Tuesday 19th May 2016 at 8pm. Rosary and wine evening to be held on the ground floor of the Old Priory at:- St. Gregory's Church,10 St James Square, GL50 3PR.

Saturday  28th May 2016 from 2pm, barbecue. For more details contact:- youngcatholicadult@googlemail.com.

Some Good News! New Oratory to Open in Bournemouth

It seems as though England is going to have yet another Oratory, this time in Bournemouth, Fr. Ray Blake writes:-

"From the parish website - A new Oratory in-formation is being inaugurated at Sacred Heart Church in Bournemouth on the 8th of September of this year (2016).Bishop Philip Egan of Portsmouth has invited Fr Dominic Jacob CO (co-founder of the Oxford Oratory) and Fr Peter Edwards and Fr David Hutton, generously released by the Archbishop of Southwark for this project, to begin an Oratorian Community of St Philip Neri as part of a major evangelisation drive for the diocese.

Fr Peter, Fr Dominic and Fr David will begin their ministry on the feast of Our Lady’s Birthday, at the church which is situated in the heart of Bournemouth, surrounded by students living in university accommodation, many international language schools, diverse ethnic communities, and the homelessness, beside long-standing residents, all within an active town center known its hospitality industry, business and commerce."

For more details see:- http://marymagdalen.blogspot.co.uk/2016/05/a-new-oratory-in-bournemouth.html

Surprising Celebrity Supporters of the Old Latin Mass – Agatha Christie

Source: Wikicommons

“Agatha Christie (15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English crime novelist, short story writer and playwright. The Guinness Book of World Records lists Christie as the best-selling novelist of all time. Her novels have sold roughly 2 billion copies, and her estate claims that her works come third in the rankings of the world's most-widely published books,^[1] behind only Shakespeare's works and the Bible.^{" (}Source: Wikipedia)

Surprisingly, even though not a Catholic, Christie signed a petition asking Pope Paul VI to allow the Old Latin Mass (sometimes referred to as the Tridentine Mass), to be celebrated in England and Wales, after the introduction of the Novus Ordo Missae. As Wikipedia notes:-

“Following the introduction of the Mass of Paul VI to replace the former rite in 1969-70, a petition was sent to the Pope asking that the Tridentine rite (i.e. Old Rite Latin Mass)  be permitted to continue for those who wished in England and Wales. The petition noted the exceptional artistic and cultural heritage of the Tridentine liturgy, and was signed by many prominent non-Catholic figures in British society, including Agatha Christie.

The indult acquired its nickname by virtue of a story told about the Pope's acceptance of the petition: the story is that Pope Paul read through the letter in silence then suddenly exclaimed, "Ah, Agatha Christie!" and then signed it. Ever since it has been known, informally, as "the Agatha Christie indult".^{[2]  “(}Source: Wikipedia)

Bill Murray and Jimmy Fallon Love the Old Latin Mass

  

David Shankbone, Flickr / Jim, the Photographer, Flickr / Viva Vivanista, Flickr

Great article on h/t to https://churchpop.com:-

The UK news media outlet The Guardian recently published a fascinating interview with actor Bill Murray. Towards the end of it, the subject turns to Murray’s Catholic faith:

His parents were Irish Catholics; one of his sisters is a nun. This conspicuous religion adds to his broad church appeal. You don’t need to ask if his faith is important to him. He talks about how 19th-century candidates risk not getting canonised because the church is keen to push ahead with the likes of John Paul II and Mother Teresa. “I think they’re just trying to get current and hot,” he smiles.

One new saint he does approve of is Pope John XXIII (who died in 1963). “I’ll buy that one, he’s my guy; an extraordinary joyous Florentine who changed the order.”

But then Murray laments the loss of the old Latin mass:

I’m not sure all those changes were right. I tend to disagree with what they call the new mass. I think we lost something by losing the Latin. Now if you go to a Catholic mass even just in Harlem it can be in Spanish, it can be in Ethiopian, it can be in any number of languages. The shape of it, the pictures, are the same but the words aren’t the same.”

Isn’t it good for people to understand it? “I guess,” he says, shaking his head. “But there’s a vibration to those words. If you’ve been in the business long enough you know what they mean anyway. And I really miss the music – the power of it, y’know? Yikes! Sacred music has an affect on your brain.” Instead, he says, we get “folk songs … top 40 stuff … oh, brother….”

In 2012, late night comic Jimmy Fallon, also raised Catholic, expressed a similar sentiment in an interview with NPR. After talking about how, growing up, he went to Catholic school, served as an altar boy, loved the old Latin mass, and wanted to become a priest, the interviewer asks him whether he still goes to mass. Here’s his answer:

Mr. FALLON: I don’t go to – I tried to go back. When I was out in L.A. and I was kind of struggling for a bit. I went to church for a while, but it’s kind of, it’s gotten gigantic now for me. It’s like too… There’s a band. There’s a band there now, and you got to, you have to hold hands with people through the whole Mass now, and I don’t like doing that. You know, I mean, it used to be the shaking hands piece was the only time you touched each other.

GROSS: Mm-hmm.

Mr. FALLON: Now, I’m holding hands – now I’m lifting people. Like Simba.

(Laughter)

Mr. FALLON: I’m holding them (Singing) ha nah hey nah ho. (Speaking) I’m doing too much. I don’t want – there’s Frisbees being thrown, there’s beach balls going around, people waving lighters, and I go, ‘This is too much for me.’ I want the old way. I want to hang out with the, you know, with the nuns, you know, that was my favorite type of Mass, and the grotto, and just like straight up, just Mass Mass.

The Second Vatican Council taught clearly on the central importance of the liturgy for the Christian life: “the liturgy is the summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed; at the same time it is the font from which all her power flows.” (SC 10)

See https://churchpop.com/2014/11/22/bill-murray-jimmy-fallon-miss-old-latin-mass/

Feast of St. Pope Pius V (+1572). Smasher of the Enemies of the Church

H/t to Fr Z at http://wdtprs.com

 

Today is the ninth day before Pentecost.  Hence, today is the Feast of the Ascension of the Lord.  Notice that today is THURSDAY.

However, in the traditional Roman calendar, used with the 1962 Missale Romanum, today is the feast of St. Pope Pius V (+1572).

I made a PODCAzT about him some years ago, and about his famous document Quo primum.
084 09-04-30 St. Pius V and Quo primum.

A friend sent me a list of some of the accomplishments of St. Pius, who reigned for only a bit more than 6 years, but in tumultuous times.

1) began his pontificate by giving large alms to the poor (he did not just talked about them)
2) as Pope, continued the life of penance and virtue he had lived as a mendicant friar
3) made two meditations during the day ON BEENDED KNEES in the presence of the Bl. Sacrament
4) visited hospitals and sat by the bedside of the sick
5) washed the feet of the  poor and embraced the lepers
6) always opposed Protestantism and the Turks 

7) excommunicated Elizabeth I 

8) instituted the Feast of the Holy Rosary
9) reformed the curia and the Church, leaving, after he died, “the memory of a rare virtue and an unfailing and inflexible integrity”

Let’s pause for a moment to drill into the collect for this saint, who I am sure doesn’t mind at all being bumped off the day by Our Lord’s feast.

Deus, qui, ad conterendos Ecclesiae tuae hostes et ad divinum cultum reparandum, beatum Pium Pontificem maximum eligere dignatus es: fac nos ipsius defendi praesidiis et ita tuis inhaerere obsequiis; ut, omnium hostium superatis insidiis, perpetua pace laetemur.

Contero is, “to grind, bruise, pound, to crumble, separate into small pieces”.  That word alone is a hint that this is a great prayer.  Obsequium, in the plural here, is a little tricky to get into English just right.  First, it has to do with God: it’s with tuis.  It has to do with how God is indulgent, toward us.  I want to say “cleave to your indulgences”, but that sounds like the use of the indulgences the Church grants from the treasury of the merits of Christ and the saints.  So, we have to put it another way.

Slavishly Literal Attempt:

O God, who deigned to choose blessed Pius to be Pontifex Maximus in order to smash the enemies of your Church to bits and to renew the divine worship, cause us to be defended by his protections and to cleave with obedience to what you will in such way that, once the plots of all our enemies are overcome, we may rejoice in perpetual peace.

Fatima Five First Saturdays devotion

This Saturday, 7 May, is the first Saturday of May, and so may want to engage in the Fatima Five First Saturdays devotion.

This devotion was revealed by Our Lady to the seers of Fatima in July 1917, and more fully explained to Sr Lucia in December 1925. The Blessed Virgin appeared with the Child Jesus and told Sr Lucia the details of the First Saturdays devotion, as follows, promising:-

"to assist at the hour of death, with all the graces necessary for salvation, all those who, on the first Saturday of five consecutive months go to confession and receive Holy Communion, recite five decades of the Rosary and keep me company for a quarter of an hour while meditating on the mysteries of the Rosary, with the intention of making reparation to me."

This is a wonderful promise and great grace, and so if you haven't already done the Fatima Five First Saturdays, please consider starting this month!

You can see more details about the devotion here:
www.theotokos.org.uk/pages/firstsat/firstsat.html

and also here, on the World Apostolate of Fatima England and Wales website:
www.worldfatima-englandwales.org.uk/first-saturdays.html

There are leaflets explaining what to do at the second link.

Quote of the Day - Pope St. Pius X

“The Rosary is the most beautiful and the most rich in graces of all prayers; it is the prayer that touches most the Heart of the Mother of God…and if you wish peace to reign in your homes, recite the family Rosary.”

-Pope Saint Pius X.

10 Blessings of the Rosary

1. Sinners are forgiven.
2. Souls that thirst are refreshed.
3. Those who are fettered have their bonds broken.
4. Those who weep find happiness
5. Those who are tempted find peace.
6. The poor find help.
7. Religious are reformed.
8. Those who are ignorant are instructed.
9. The living learn to overcome pride.
10. The dead (the Holy Souls) have their pains eased by suffrages.

H/t:- https://sanhi.wordpress.com

Why is May Mary's Month?

 

 H/t for the photo to:- http://stjosephdetroit.blogspot.co.uk/

H/t to Fr. Ryan Erlenbush  at http://newtheologicalmovement.blogspot.co.uk. He states:-

The practice of dedicating the month of May to our Lady was popularized especially by the Rosary Encyclicals of Leo XIII – beginning in 1883 and concluding in 1889, the Pontiff wrote twelve encyclicals and five apostolic letters on the Rosary. The Catholic Encyclopedia discusses the rather recent origin of Mary Month:

“The May devotion [to our Lady] in its present form originated at Rome where Father Latomia of the Roman College of the Society of Jesus, to counteract infidelity and immorality among the students, made a vow at the end of the eighteenth century to devote the month of May to Mary. From Rome the practice spread to the other Jesuit colleges and thence to nearly every Catholic church of the Latin rite (Albers, "Bluethenkranze", IV, 531 sq.). This practice is the oldest instance of a devotion extending over an entire month.” (Catholic Encyclopedia, “Special Devotions for Months”)

Yet, although many Catholics know that May is dedicated to the Mother of God, it may be a bit of a puzzle as to why May was chosen for this special honor. What is it about May that makes it suited to be the Month of Mary?

Mary Month – Why May?

Some have pointed to the fact that, in classic western culture (both Greek and Roman), May was recognized as the season of the beginning of new life. In the Greek world, May was dedicated to the goddess Artemis and associated with fecundity. Roman culture linked the month of May to Flora, the goddess of bloom and blossoms – this led to the custom of ludi florales (or floral games) which took place at the very end of April as a preparation for entering into the month of May.

It seems that this ancient tradition of connecting May with new life and fecundity, led to a realization that May is very much the month of motherhood – this may be the reason why Mother’s Day is celebrated during May not only in the United States but in many countries and cultures of both the East and the West. In the month of May, the winter comes to an end and the spring season begins (this was the official beginning of spring in Roman culture). This new beginning and new birth is a testimony to the motherhood of Mother Earth.

The connection between motherhood and May led Christians eventually to adopt May as Mary Month. May is the Month of our Lady precisely as the Mother of God. So wrote the priest-poet Fr. Gerard Manley Hopkins, SJ in his marian classic “May Magnificat.”

May Magnificat

MAY is Mary’s month, and I  

Muse at that and wonder why:          

    Her feasts follow reason,    

    Dated due to season—         

Candlemas, Lady Day;                                                  

But the Lady Month, May,     

    Why fasten that upon her,  

    With a feasting in her honour?     

Is it only its being brighter     

Than the most are must delight her?                                 

    Is it opportunest       

    And flowers finds soonest?

Ask of her, the mighty mother:         

Her reply puts this other        

    Question: What is Spring?—                                              

    Growth in every thing—     

Flesh and fleece, fur and feather,      

Grass and greenworld all together;  

    Star-eyed strawberry-breasted      

    Throstle above her nested                                       

Cluster of bugle blue eggs thin          

Forms and warms the life within;    

    And bird and blossom swell           

    In sod or sheath or shell.    

All things rising, all things sizing                              

Mary sees, sympathising         

    With that world of good,     

    Nature’s motherhood.         

Their magnifying of each its kind     

With delight calls to mind                                          

    How she did in her stored  

    Magnify the Lord.     

Well but there was more than this: 

Spring’s universal bliss           

    Much, had much to say                                            

    To offering Mary May.         

When drop-of-blood-and-foam-dapple        

Bloom lights the orchard-apple         

    And thicket and thorp are merry  

    With silver-surfèd cherry                                        

And azuring-over greybell makes     

Wood banks and brakes wash wet like lakes          

    And magic cuckoocall          

    Caps, clears, and clinches all—       

This ecstasy all through mothering earth                

Tells Mary her mirth till Christ’s birth       

    To remember and exultation         

    In God who was her salvation.

The poem was written at Stonyhurst in May, 1878. Fr. Hopkins was 33 at the time, and eight months a priest.

May - Mary's Month. Bring Flowers Of The Rarest May Crowning Song

Father Jason Jones - "The Blessed Virgin Mary in the Teachings of St John Paul II"

Father Jason Jones was for eight years Rector of the Welsh National Shrine of Our Lady of the Taper at Cardigan, Wales. He is presently a parish priest in Swansea and the Spiritual Director for the Legion of Mary for Menevia Diocese. He will be speaking at the Chavagnes Summer Conference on "The Blessed Virgin Mary in the Teachings of St John Paul II". He is pictured here meeting St John Paul II. More details on our conference here: http://chavagnes.org/studium/

Sung Requiem Mass at Prinknash Abbey 14th May 2016 at 11am

I’ve had a number of requests about the time, date and location of my Dad’s Prinknash Abbey  sung Requiem Mass, so I’ve decided to put the details in the public domain, please note that all are welcome.  See below:-

Lux aeterna luceat eis, Domine, cum sanctis tuis in aeternum, quia pius es. Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine; et lux perpetua luceat eis.

Benedictines to leave St Mary's at Brownedge

Just a couple of days after hearing about that a third of Catholic churches across north Wales are to close see here ; it turns out that the Ampleforth Benedictines are leaving Brownedge in Bamber Bridge (Lancashire).

 H/t to Fr. Simon Henry at:- http://offerimustibidomine.blogspot.co.uk/:-

"I've just read via Facebook that a neighbouring parish, St Mary's Brownedge, is heading for major changes. If true, how very sad for the people there and for the Benedictines of Ampleforth. Do pray for them.

Bishop John Arnold of Salford and Abbot Cuthbert Madden OSB of Ampleforth Abbey were unexpectedly present at Masses this weekend at St Mary's, Brownedge, Bamber Bridge. During each Mass it was announced that the Ampleforth Benedictines would be leaving the Parish by the end of this year and handing over responsibility for the Parish to the Diocese of Salford, breaking a link stretching back to 1780 in the parish itself and to the late 1600s in terms of a Benedictine presence in the area. Abbot Cuthbert stated that he had no choice and that the decision was made with regret. At present it is understood that the Benedictines will continue to serve their other parishes in the locality, i.e. Our Lady and St Gerard Majella, Lostock Hall (Diocese of Salford) and St Mary's, Leyland and and St Joseph's, Brindle (both Archdiocese of Liverpool). However an ageing community at Ampleforth and falling numbers means that eventually Ampleforth will also withdraw from these parishes as it has done so in its other parishes in recent years (e.g. St Mary's, Warrington). It is assumed that St Benedict's Monastery, Bamber Bridge will close. Whilst the parish had been forewarned last year by the Abbot that a withdrawal would inevitably happen at some point in the future, the sudden and, at this time, unexpected news has been met with shock and dismay. Please pray for the Parish, the Ampleforth Community, particularly those serving in the Parish, and the Diocese of Salford."

 However, not all religious orders are failing, the more orthodox and explicitly Catholic ones are doing well. See, for example, the Clear Creek Abbey - Glimpse into the Cloister - Old Rite Monastery that Has Too Many Vocations!

The new Eucharistic miracle in Poland reminds us of the REALITY OF THE REAL PRESENCE of our Lord

 
The chalice and paten of Bl. Charles de Foucauld 
(“Photo-Monique”, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

The new Eucharistic miracle in Poland reminds us of the REALITY OF THE REAL PRESENCE of our Lord BODY BLOOD SOUL AND DIVINITY. The short article below, advises us to renew our Eucharistic devotion, to not be complacent and to regain a sense of the real presence. It suggests we re-instate the paten at all Masses, not just in the Old Rite.

How many times have Eucharistic abuses been prevalent in our Churches, how many times do we talk in front of the Blessed Sacrament, how many times do we show our indifference by our lack of devotion in Church.

Please read this article at:- http://www.ncregister.com/blog/philip-kosloski/what-is-god-trying-to-tell-us-with-this-new-eucharistic-miracle-in-poland/#ixzz46gGJuT4j.

Philip Kosloski writes:-

On April 17, Bishop Zbigniew Kiernikowski of Legnica, Poland announced the approval of a Eucharistic miracle in his Diocese. The miracle happened about two years ago when, “a consecrated Host fell to the floor [during the distribution of Communion and] was picked up and placed in a container with water. Soon after, red stains appeared on the host.”

The miracle was tested and the “Department of Forensic Medicine found: ‘In the histopathological image, the fragments were found containing the fragmented parts of the cross striated muscle. It is most similar to the heart muscle.’ Tests also determined the tissue to be of human origin and found that it bore signs of distress.”
What is interesting is how this Eucharistic miracle differs from other miracles, such as the miracle at Lanciano. Often the Eucharist is changed into blood after the words of consecration and at the altar in response to a lack of faith from the priest.

This time, the miracle occurred after a Precious Host was dropped during Holy Communion. The miracle itself would have happened in the sacristy when they put the host in the water (as is proper procedure), but it appears one cause of the miracle was a lack of care for the Blessed Sacrament.
Now, accidents do happen and I am not trying to single out the person or priest who dropped the host. However, it does bring up an interesting topic: the use of patens.

In the Catholic Church, the paten is typically a gold disk that is used by an altar server to hold under the mouth or hands of the person receiving Communion. It is meant to catch any hosts or particles from the host from falling to the ground.

The practice has been abandoned by most in the Church for the past few decades, but the document, Redemptionis Sacramentum, cites this instruction, “The Communion-plate for the Communion of the faithful should be retained, so as to avoid the danger of the sacred host or some fragment of it falling.”

What this miracle should do is make us reconsider how we approach the Holy Eucharist. Do we truly believe that Jesus is present in the bread and wine at Mass? Do we treat the hosts with all due respect, being extremely careful in distributing the Precious Body of our Lord?

We shouldn’t abandon the use of patens at Mass because it seems “outdated.” The reason why we use patens at Mass is because of our love of God! Why do we hold our children with utmost care, making sure we don’t drop them? Why shouldn’t we have the same care for the Eucharistic Host at Mass that is Christ the Lord! What we hold in our hands is not just bread!

Maybe this miracle came at the right time in our world, when many Catholics do not believe in the Real Presence of Christ and during an era in the Church where the Eucharist is not cared for properly. The heart tissue found “bore signs of distress” and maybe it was to show us Christ’s hurt when we do not take care of Him.

Recent Young Catholic Adults and WAF Day a Success.

The recent Cheltenham Young Catholic Adults and WAF Marian day  (that took place on Saturday 9^th April at St. Gregory's Church) was a great success. The all age event, commenced with a Rosary followed by a procession around the Church, which was then followed by a presentation on the message of Fatima.

The second half of the day included a DVD and Powerpoint session. It focused on the importance of the Rosary and the First Five Saturday devotion and how this can revitalize our lives and the Church, generally. The presentation was given by Donel Foley, author of several Marian books and Secretary of the World Apostolate of Fatima in England and Wales.

To learn more about the message and devotions of Fatima please see:- http://www.worldfatima-englandwales.org.uk/about.html