The desk of a Catholic blogger

The Go and Announce blog by Meadows 59 recently published a photograph of his desk.

OK, no big whoop (as they say) but I think that a blogger's desk is a reflection of his or her character.

It can give an interesting insight into that person....possibly.

Here is Meadow 59's picture:

Most importantly, to my mind, is the prominence of the Latin Mass mug.
The rest is pretty neat and tidy, much like his blog

So now for my desk......the words 'neat and tidy" do not immediately spring to mind but I like it.

On the right hand side is St Edward Bear, once used when skyping my grandchildren in Australia but now redundant since their return to Blighty.

Various photos of grandchildren and then - shock, horror! A skull!

It used to carry a sign with the message 'Tonight, maybe?' as per the German monastery that I once read about that has a painting of the Grim Reaper with the 'Tonight' message in the Refectory so that the monks may contemplate death whilst eating.
It appeals to my darker side.

Behind my computer screen is a statue of the Madonna and Child, possibly Anglican in origin.

On the Christ Child's right shoulder rests a holy card sent by a friend from the Holy Land (thank you Joanne).
And, either side are two of my favourite saints, Thomas More and John Fisher (Ora pro nobis).

To the right of the statue of Our Lady is my 'Extraordinary in Latin' clock reminding me that it is high time that the Latin Mass is returned to its rightful place and made available to every parish at a reasonable hour on Sundays and Holydays.

On the far left a book case with some, but not all of my collection of religious books.

A picture of Mrs Linen...(of course), my father's regimental badge (The Irish Guards), some Japanese bric a brac and a model boat given to me by my son when he departed for Oz some 10 or more years ago.

 I suppose that, by rights, I should now return it to him as I no longer need its magical properties to sail me to Melbourne.

But! I almost forgot...just peeping out from behind the skull is a framed paper.

It is an attestation of the consecration of a chalice written by none other than Bishop Fellay himself.

A future relic, maybe?

It is dated 6th January (Epiphany) 1990 and it reminds me of the dark days when a Tridentine Latin Mass could not be attended for love nor money between here and Bristol some 160 miles distant.

That is why we needed the chalice; we built a chapel in our old school house and a travelling priest used to come every month or so to catechise the children and hear our confessions and offer the Holy Mass.

Much to the rage of our bishop and to the delight of quite a few souls who found their way back to a deeper Faith as a result of having a Latin Mass in Pembrokeshire once more.

Possibly, one or two of you might also like to post a picture of your desk on your own blog?

Bishop Williamson and the Ukraine

Before you read this post please understand that I hold no regard for Bishop Williamson.

In fact, about three years ago I walked out of a Sunday Mass because he was the celebrant and gave a most unsuitable sermon.

However, I do remember quite vividly the 1988 'excommunication' of the four SSPX bishops and Bishop Williamson's television interview afterwards, with startling clarity.

I cannot find it on Youtube but here is the critical sentence and I am pretty confident that it is word for word accurate.

Remember that he gave this interview after the news that he and the other three had been excised from the Holy Roman Church.....this is what he said:-

"People will remember the true Church when the fire and brimstone falls from the skies; they will remember the one true Faith when the tanks begin to roll across the borders....."

That soundbite has relevance today when we regard the situation in the Ukraine.

Although we have been sheltered from world news for almost a week in holy Lourdes, it would appear as if it is only a question of time before the tanks begin to move over the borders and fire and brimstone fall from the skies.

The question is....will people remember the one true Church?

And will the Holy Father consecrate Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary

I suspect that Bishop Williamson was only half right in his predictions.

Here is a clip of the consecrations in 1988...and on Monday I hope to post on the effect the consecrations had on the traditional Catholic world and how we are now seeing a reappearance of that effect.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=gAr0psfJGeg

I have not had time to view the complete clip, it is possible that the interview is included,


 

One day this man will be canonised

Abandon all preconceptions you may have regarding the SSPX or its founder, Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, and watch this brief preview of a documentary on the life of this saintly man.

A priest who never ever celebrated the Novus Ordo Mass.

                https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sp95rKOjIf4


The full documentary DVD is available from the Angelus Press.
Not sure if its in European format though.

Getting a response from your Bishop (part two)

The SSPX logo, always guaranteed to elicit a response from the Bishop
(together with a loosening of his bowels)

My good friends Eccles and Petrus and an anonymous commentator made excellent good points on my last post with regard to getting your Bishop to reply to your letter (any letter).

And here is my second letter that is guaranteed, not only to get a quick reply, but.....a very big "but"....it will also guarantee that Mass in the Extraordinary Form will be offered by one of His Lordship's priests on a regular basis where none were offered before. Yes, truly.

Here it is:-

Dear Bishop X

I have been approached by a priest friend in the SSPX who wishes to establish a regular Latin Mass in the area.

Do you happen to know of any redundant churches that may be available at the right price?

Yours etc

Also guaranteed to get a response on both counts.

High Society

                                                        What's not to like?                             Picture: http://sspx.org

I would imagine that, in the wake of what appears to have been going on in the first year of this papacy, the congregations at SSPX Masses must have increased considerably.

And why not?

Let me state here and now that I am not a member of the SSPX laity but I would have no qualms in attending one of their Masses if it was down the road from where I live.

As a family, we do owe a great debt to the Society of St Pius X.

In the bleak years from 1988 to 2005, we only had the Society (apart from occasional forays to London some 270 miles distant where we could attend St James' Spanish Place).

Even then, we had to travel long distances to attend Society Masses.

All orthodox Catholics are indebted to the Society in many ways, not least of which was the spread of Latin Masses in dioceses throughout the land.

Without the SSPX we would have far fewer Latin Mass centres around Britain.

The spread happened as a result of some members of the laity using the threat of the SSPX opening a possible Mass Centre in the diocese.  This news was guaranteed to galvanise the bishop into action.

This is how it worked. Someone would let slip the fact that the SSPX were sniffing around the diocese looking for an old chapel to buy up as their next Mass Centre.

Now, I don't know if this would be a genuine fact or a made up one, I would hope the former.

The knack was to release this info to a person or persons firmly with their feet in the NuChurch.

This would result in a fairly immediate phone call to the bish and, hey presto!
Next thing would be a Tridentine Latin Mass being offered regularly at one or two of the diocesan churches.

The bishops fear the SSPX more than they fear the devil!

But, I sense that, among many orthodox Catholics, there is a certain reserve about attending Society Masses.

I don't quite know why.

They are licit and, what is more, they are one hundred per cent liturgically accurate.

That is not to say that our priests who have to offer both the OF and EF Masses are, in any way, liturgically untrue, it is just that Society churches are designed for the task.

The sanctuary is architecturally perfect and, if you are an altar server, you will appreciate how important that is.

I do, however, have some issues with the SSPX, minor ones really.

I don't agree with their obsession regarding women's clothing. For example; I believe that, provided due modesty is observed, it is not the right of anyone to criticise dress styles.

And, due to the pressured peripatetic role of most of their priests, the important after Mass pastoral care element is, all too often, missing.

This morning I was reading some background to the late Michael Davies, great man that he was, may he rest in peace.

Michael Davies was a fully paid up member of the Society and really, that ought to be good enough for anyone harbouring any doubts about attending their Masses.

Here is a link to an interview Mr Davies gave to Christian Order, the last interview before he died.

At the end of the interview he makes a somewhat prophetic statement, really referring to his Catholic instruction:

“…sorry, I tend to think in this way, blame it on the Jesuits”

So, before condemning the SSPX and its good works, may I suggest that you do two things.

Available at £11.95 from Carmel Books

Firstly, read Archbishop Lefebvre’s excellent book: ‘Open Letter to Confused Catholics’

And, secondly, attend one of their Masses.

"The time has come to choose a side"

That line is taken from a post currently circulating.

Today it's the  'Disillusion of the Monasteries'

The subject of the post is the disgraceful attack on the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate and the author opines that the time to choose between what she neatly dubs "Novusordoism" and "The Faith of our Fathers" is upon us.

To me, the only constant source in the Church that meets the description of "Faith of our Fathers" is the SSPX, ever steady as a rock.

As the nearest SSPX Church is about 160 miles from where I live, and, as we have a good priest who sees to our EF Mass needs within 65 miles or so, I am not inclined to jump - just yet!

What events would need to take place for Mrs L and myself to head for the SSPX fold?

Well, I do not claim to have any inside knowledge or, certainly, no special knowledge that allows me to see into the future, but, it does not take too much of an imagination to ponder on what the 'ungodly' may do ere long.

My fear, and it is just that, at present, is that the next move will be against the Fraternal Society of St Peter and its priests.

After all, if the FFIs are having to swear an oath of fealty to the Novus Ordo, it can't be too long before the FSSP will be pushed towards the same cliff edge.

Certainly, the time is drawing near when priests and religious, whether in an order or secular, will have to face up to an oath of modernism, if Hilary White is correct in her assumption.

Priests such as Fr Thwaites RIP and Fr Lessiter refused to obey their bishops long, long ago.

They chose obedience to God over obedience to their bishop and, when you assess the quality of the bishops, there is no doubt that they made the right choice.

The words "Come follow Me" could take on a rather more poignant aspect in the near future.

PLEASE NOTE: I fear I upset Hilary White by misinterpreting her words and I have amended the above post accordingly and apologise unreservedly to HJMW.

I think I'm going feral

As a Catholic I mean.

Here in rural Wales, life has taken on a slightly surreal aspect.

A traditional rabbit

Six weeks ago a large white buck rabbit appeared in our garden.

Mrs Linen immediately applied superglue to the gun cabinet and forbade me to Google lapin au pruneaux recipes.

The rabbit stayed with us for days and the days merged into weeks. It was joined by another white rabbit.

A doe.

My wife gave them names. She hoped for an outcome. She had visions of a garden full of fluffy baby white bunnies.

I knew that the odds were stacked against them.
 It's wild down here; we have foxes, wild cats, badgers, mink, stoats, polecats, buzzards and things that go bump in the night.

So, the buck disappeared (I think the Bishop may have eaten him).

And then, inexplicably, buck numero two appeared.

I caved in and bought some rabbit feed (just for fattening purposes, you know).

Did I mention the pigeons?

Some white pigeons put in an appearance and began to breed like....er....well...rabbits, actually.

And then they were joined by some recusant rough Trafalgar Square types of pigeon who have now, a la ++ Fulton Sheen's story, of how a man released white doves on an island and how eventually, through indiscrimination, their progeny turned mottled and then bog standard blue (an allegory for liberal Catholics, see).
 We now have a garden that resembles pet's corner at the zoo.

What to make of all this?
Down in peaceful Pembrokeshire this is 'hold the front page' sort of news.

The thing is both rabbits and pigeons seem to be thriving on this outward bound type existence (I'm also providing corn for the pigeons, in case you hadn't guessed - purely for fatt.....well, you know the rest).

It strikes me that these animals are much better off outside the hutch or pigeon loft, free of the care of their owner and free of the bars that hold them.

Maybe, I could go the same way, be free, feral and better off.

Where's the nearest SSPX?

Are chickens the new sheep?

Old English Game bantam cockerel - a traditional breed

If Christ walked the earth once more, would he still use sheep as a metaphor for mankind or, would he now choose chickens as being more appropriate?

I notice that many Catholic bloggers, like myself, keep poultry.

It is a good occupation, the hens provide eggs, and manure, eat grubs and give a lot of joy to the young (and the old) when they hatch out a clutch of eggs.

My particular preference is for a breed called Old English Game, a rather sparky sort of bird that will have a go at anything.
They are about the size of a pigeon; if they were as big as a labrador you would need kevlar body armour and a taser gun (not a Taize gun) every time you went out to feed them.

I was most chuffed recently when my priest told me that, when he was younger, he, also kept what we old hands call 'OEG' bantams.

They do, however, cause me some considerable problems and, if it is not too much of a leap of imagination, I often regard them in the same light as the laity in the Church today.

The flock is one but they tend to split up into factions and, quite often, little spats arise.

They are hard to guide. You cannot herd them, they all like to claim independence.
When I go to lock them up for the night, safe from foxes, badgers, stoats and other wild beasties, they shoot off in every direction but the one I wish them to go in.

Some even disregard my shepherding and the safety of a pen and roost out in the trees.

This group I call the Econe flock.

Others try to be all things to all chickens and breed indiscriminately, laying their eggs out in the hedgerow where I can't find them but the fox and the magpies can.

They eat more of their fare share of corn and fight off others who try to peck at the same trough.

These I call the CINOs (Chickens in name only).

They are inconsiderate and snarky and I have unwholesome visions that involve me wringing their necks.

And occasionally, just occasionally, I find a few who are meek and obedient and appear grateful for all that I do for them.

I treasure these ones greatly.....but I can't for the life of me think of a suitable designation for them (?)

Bernard on Francis

H/T to The Jarrow Scriptorium for this item of news.

The head of the Society of St Piux X, Bishop Fellay, has given his views on Pope Francis.

To hear criticism of a pope and to even contemplate, criticising him oneself, is something of a novelty.

But, in the last few weeks, there has been a whirlwind of posts and articles on the subject.

Now, Bishop Fellay has added his own thoughts.

What follows is verbatim as it was received but I have no reason to doubt its integrity; if anything, I am surprised that it has taken Bishop Fellay so long to speak out.....

Bishop Fellay on Pope Francis - “What we have before us is a genuine Modernist!”

Extracts from an article by John Vennari
Catholic Family News
Bishop Bernard Fellay warned on October 12, “The situation of the Church is a real disaster, and the present Pope is making it 10,000 times worse.”

He said this in an address at the Angelus Press Conference, the weekend of Oct 11-13 in Kansas City.

Bishop Fellay, Superior General of the Society of St. Pius X, gave an extensive lecture on Saturday afternoon that focused on the Third Secret of Fatima, and its apparent prediction of both a material chastisement and a great crisis in the Church.
This report will highlight some of the more dramatic aspects of the Bishop’s Saturday conference and his Sunday sermon.
Bishop Fellay quoted in detail Sister Lucy, those who have read the Third Secret, and those who have knowledge of the Secret. He noted Sister Lucia said that if we want to know the contents of the Third Secret, read chapters 8 through 13 of the Apocalpse.” (details of the Third Secret will be contained in the upcoming November edition of Catholic Family News)
Sister Lucia’s reference to Chapters 8 through 13 of the Apocalypse is particularly chilling, since the end of Chapter 13 speaks of the coming of Antichrist.
Bishop Fellay noted that Pope St. Pius X said at the beginning of his pontificate the ‘son of perdition’ may already be on the earth. He also noted the original prayer to Saint Michael of Pope Leo XIII mentions that Satan aims to establish his seat in Rome.
The bishop quoted Cardinal Luigi Ciapi, the Papal Theologian of all the Popes from Pius XII to John Paul II who said, “In the Third Secret we read among other things that the great apostasy in the Church begins at the top.”
He also spent a good bit of time on the famous and dramatic 1957 interview of Father Fuentes with Sister Lucia, in which she reiterated that “various nations will disappear from the face of the earth,” and that “the devil will do all in his power to overcome souls consecrated to God.”
Since the ministers of God are struck with this confusion and disorder, the faithful are left to fend for themselves for their own salvation. The help that should be provided by Churchmen is not there. This is “the greatest tragedy you can ever imagine for the Church.”
The times are very serious. We have to be serious about our salvation, “and to do this we are deprived of a very important element, which is the support of the [Church] authorities. What a tragedy.”
He spoke of Sister Lucia’s comforting words that God has given two last remedies for us: The Holy Rosary and Devotion to the Immaculate Heart.
Rome/SSPX

Bishop Fellay alluded to the SSPX/Vatican drama of 2012: “When we see what is happening now [under Pope Francis] we thank God, we thank God, we have been preserved from any kind of Agreement from last year. And we may say that one of the fruits of the [Rosary] Crusade we did is that we have been preserved from such a misfortune. Thank God. It is not that we don’t want to be Catholics, of course we want to be Catholics and we are Catholics, and we have a right to be recognized as Catholics. But we are not going to jeopardize our treasures for that. Of course not.”
He continued, “To imagine that some people continue to pretend we are decided [still] to get an Agreement with Rome. Poor people. I really challenge them to prove they mean. They pretend that I think something else from what I do. They are not in my head.”
As for the discussions with Rome: “Any kind of direction for recognition ended when they gave me the document to sign on June 13, 2012. That very day I told them, ‘this document I cannot accept.’ I told them from the start in September the previous year that we cannot accept this ‘hermeneutic of continuity’ because it is not true, it is not real. It is against the reality. So we do not accept it. The Council is not in continuity with Tradition. It’s not. So when Pope Benedict requested that we accept that the Second Vatican Council is an integral part of Tradition, we say, ‘sorry, that’s not the reality, so we’re not going to sign it. We’re not going to recognize that’.”
“The same for the Mass. The want us to recognize not only that the [New] Mass is valid provided it is celebrated correctly, etc., but that it is licit. I told them: we don’t use that word. It’s a bit messy, our faithful have enough [confusion] regarding the validity, so we tell them, ‘The New Mass is bad, it is evil’ and they understand that. Period!’” Of course the Roman authorities “were not very happy with that.”
He continues, “It has never been our intention to pretend either that the Council would be considered as good, or the New Mass would be ‘legitimate’”.
“The [April 15, 2012] text we presented to Rome was a very, shall we say, delicate text that was supposed to be understood correctly; it was supposed to be read with a big principle which was leading the whole thing. This big principle was no novelty in the Church: ‘The Holy Ghost has not been promised to Saint Peter and his Successor in such a way that through a new revelation the Pope would teach something new, but under his help, the pope would the Pope would saintly conserve and faithfully transmit the deposit of the Faith.’ It belongs to the definition of infallibility [from Vatican I]. That was the principle, the base of the whole document, which excludes from the start any kind of novelty.
“And so take any kind of sentences from the text without this principle is just to take sentences that have never been our thinking and our life. These phrases in themselves are ambiguous, so to take away the ambiguity we wanted to put [in] this principle [from Vatican I]. Unfortunately, maybe that was too subtle and that’s why we withdrew that text, because it was not clear enough as it was written.
“So it is very clear our principle is always the same to stay faithful! We have received a treasure. This treasure does not ‘belong’ to us. We have received this treasure and we have to hand it to the next generation. And what is requested from us is faithfulness, fidelity. We do not have the right to jeopardize these treasures. These are the treasures we have in our hands and we are not going to jeopardize them.
Pope Francis

Bishop Fellay returned to Sister Lucia’s 1957 statement that the Rosary and Devotion to the Immaculate Heart are the two last remedies God has given to mankind.
He said there is “definitely a ‘material’ chastisement of the world in sight. There is something big in front of us. How? When? I have no idea. But if you put everything together, it is clear that God has had enough of the sins of man.”
He then spoke of those sins that cry to Heaven for vengeance, such as abortion, and the sins against nature, which was an illusion to the unnatural ‘re-definition’ of marriage and related sins. He also spoke of what appears to be a coming persecution of Christians.
“What do we do? Don’t panic, because panic is of no use at all. What you need to do is your job – your daily duty. That is the best way to prepare.”
He continued that we are in “very scary times” but we are not helpless. He noted the “the situation of the Church is a real disaster. And the present Pope is making it 10,000 times worse.”
“In the beginning of the pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI, I said, ‘the crisis in the Church will continue, but the Pope is trying to put on the brakes.’ It’s as if to say, the Church will continue to fall, but with a parachute. And with the beginning of this [Pope Francis] pontificate, I say, ‘he cuts the strings, and he put a [downward] rocket’.”
“If the present pope continues in the way he started, he is going to divide the Church. He’s exploding everything. So people will say: it is impossible that’s he’s the Pope, we refuse him. Others will say [and this is presently Bishop Fellay’s position]: “Wait, consider him as Pope, but don’t follow him. He’s provoking anger. Many people will be discouraged by what people in the Church do” and will be tempted to “throw it all away.”
But, he reminded, God is “much, much bigger than we are. God is able to have the Church continue” and even can work through these imperfect ministers. “But once again”, he repeats, “don’t follow them. Follow them when they say the truth, but when they tell you rubbish, you don’t” follow them on those points. “Any obedience to be true must be related to God. When I say I obey to a person” he should be a “a mirror of God.” But “when mirror tells me contrary of God, it is no longer a mirror, then I don’t follow him.”
Bishop Fellay noted that we cannot simply obey the present Popes without question, because then we would destroy ourselves, we would endanger our Faith.
Sunday Sermon

Bishop Fellay returned to these themes at his Sunday sermon at the Pontifical High Mass offered at St. Vincent de Paul’s Church in Kansas city.
He amplified a few points regarding Fatima, the Secret, the 2012 drama with Rome, and then spoke of some of the many grave problems with Pope Francis.
“From the start,” he said, “we have the impression that we have something wrong with this Pope. From the start, he wanted to distinguish himself to be different from anybody else.”
A small example of this is Francis’ insistence on wearing black shoes instead of the red papal shoes, but this is minor compared to greater issues. We must look, said the bishop, at what is his vision of the Church, his vision of the council, and what is his plan.
It was around the time of World Youth Day, late July of this year, that Francis began an avalanche of talks, interviews, phone calls, etc. “We may not have the entire picture at this point, we have enough to be scared to death.”
As is typical of the Modernist, as Pius X warned in Pascendi, the Modernist will sometimes speak in a heretical fashion, and then speak in an orthodox manner. Bishop Fellay gave the example of one of these contradictions:
He spoke of interview in early October that Pope Francis conducted with the atheist journalist Eugenio Scalfari in Rome’s La Repubblica wherein Francis appears to promote a dangerous relativism:
Scalfari: “Your Holiness, is there is a single vision of the Good? And who decides what it is?”

Pope Francis: “Each of us has a vision of good and of evil. We have to encourage people to move towards what they think is Good.”
Scalfari: “Your Holiness, you wrote that in your letter to me. The conscience is autonomous, you said, and everyone must obey his conscience. I think that's one of the most courageous steps taken by a Pope.”

Pope Francis: “And I repeat it here. Everyone has his own idea of good and evil and must choose to follow the good and fight evil as he conceives them. That would be enough to make the world a better place."
With a good deal of emotion, Bishop Fellay said of the Pope’s response: “That’s really not Catholic! Because whatever I think has absolutely no value if it does not fit with reality. We have a conscience, but it will only lead us to Heaven if our conscience is a mirror of God.” The conscience must be formed according to God’s law. “So to pretend that anyone can full his own idea is just rubbish,” said Fellay, “It has nothing to do with Catholic teaching. It is absolute relativism.”
About a week after this, however, Pope Francis spoke of the necessity of fighting the devil, the final battle with the devil, that nobody can fight the devil half way, and that we must fight relativism. Francis said the opposite what he said to La Repubblica. “There is the contraction with him”.
Francis: A Man of the Council

Next: what is the vision of Pope Francis on Vatican II? This is found in his much-publicized recent, lengthy interview with the Jesuits, published in various publications throughout the world, and in the Jesuit’s America magazine in the United States
Bishop Fellay says that Pope Francis “takes it for granted that the Council was bright success. What was the main theme of the Council?” To re-read the Faith in light of modern culture. You could say, “to incarnate the Gospel in the modern world.” Francis “is very happy with this…” and believes “The Council brought forth many good fruits. The first example he gives is liturgy – the reformed liturgy. That is the beautiful fruit of the Council. That’s what he says. And he’s very happy with it.”
Francis tells us “this re-reading of the Gospel within the modern culture is irreversible, so we will not go back. We are in front of a major fight.”
Of the Old Mass, Francis speaks of “Vetus Ordo” (Old Order). Francis believes that Pope Benedict probably helped restore the Old Mass as a prudential act for those who still hold to it. “But don’t expect Francis to come back to the Old Mass. Maybe he will ‘indulge’ it [let us celebrate it unmolested]. God knows.”
But Francis “sees there is a problem with this Old Mass. Because there are people who ideologize this Mass. Guess to whom he is aiming? I don’t need to say much. So what is going to happen with us? What I see: there is quite an obsession in him about those people who look to the past. Listen to the Pope’s words:
Pope Francis: “What is worrying, though, is the risk of the ideologization of the Vetus Ordo, its exploitation. … If the Christian is a restorationist, a legalist, if he wants everything clear and safe, then he will find nothing. Tradition and memory of the past must help us to have the courage to open up new areas to God. Those who today always look for disciplinarian solutions, those who long for an exaggerated doctrinal ‘security,’ those who stubbornly try to recover a past that no longer exists­—they have a static and inward-directed view of things. In this way, faith becomes an ideology among other ideologies. I have a dogmatic certainty: God is in every person’s life.”
Bishop Fellay continues, “The impression we have in the present Pope is that he has a zeal for the ‘more or less’, for the ‘about’; and he wants at all cost to escape what is too clear and too certain. But the Faith is like that because God is like that. Well, that’s not what he thinks.”
Another troubling quote from Pope Francis:
“If a person says that he met God with total certainty and is not touched by a margin of uncertainty, then this is not good. For me, this is an important key. If one has the answers to all the questions—that is the proof that God is not with him. It means that he is a false prophet using religion for himself. The great leaders of the people of God, like Moses, have always left room for doubt.”
Bishop Fellay exclaims in response: “What Gospel does he have? Which Bible does he have to say such things. It’s horrible. What has this to do with the Gospel? With the Catholic Faith. That’s pure Modernism, my dear brethen. We have in front of us a genuine Modernist.”
"How much time will be needed for people in the Church to stand up ‘by no means!’ [will we accept this new teaching]. I hope and pray this will happen. But that means an enormous division in the Church.”
He speaks of the Pope Making a mess, and reminds us that this is what the Pope urged at world Youth Day: he urged the young people to “make a mess”. Bishop Fellay responds, ”Incredible. We have never heard of this [a Pope speaking like this]. But that’s what he wants.

Francis also tells us he is a greater admirer of the ultra liberal Jesuit Cardinal Martini (now deceased). Martini wrote a book calling for a total revolution in the Church. “And that is what Francis wants. And he told us the eight cardinal he chose to help him ‘reform’ the Church think like him.
We could go on and on.
The final example: Ecumenism.
' Bishop Fellay says, that Pope Francis claims that “very little has been done in this direction.” This is astounding, the bishop notes, because ecumenism has launched untold disaster to the Church, to Catholic nations. “Yet the present Pope says, “very little, almost nothing done in this direction.”
Bishop Fellay says as part of his summing up: “The mystery of the shadow on the Church has never been so great. We are in front of very hard times. Don’t have any illusions. And it is clear the only solution is to stick to what we have; to keep it, to not let it go by any means.
“Pope St. Pius X said that it was the essence of any Catholic to stick to the past. The present Pope says exactly the contrary: forget about the past; throw yourself into the uncertainty of the future
“Definitely we need the Immaculate Heart of Mary. What are experiencing is the Secret of Fatima. We know what we have to do: pray, pray, pray, and penance, penance, penance. To pray to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, the means given to us precisely in these hard times; and to pray the Rosary.
“Be certain,” says Bishop Fellay, “The next [Rosary] Crusade is not far off. Go to the Rosary. Pray it every day. We live in very dangerous time for the Faith, and we need this Heavenly protection.”
- More on this topic will be will be contained in the upcoming November edition of Catholic Family News

"There's something wrong with the Church..."

A video clip featuring Bishop Fellay of the SSPX...what's not to like?

H/T to California Latin Mass

Yes, I do know that there are difficulties between Rome and Econe but, can you honestly say that +Bernard Fellay is a raging heretic or schismatic?

I have met this man.

He epitomises saintliness. I attended a Mass that he celebrated and I received the Blessed Sacrament from him.

He also, incidentally, consecrated a chalice for my family chapel.

I approached him before Mass with the request (at the time we had a small chapel in Pembrokeshire, where we said a 'dry' mass most Sundays and then had a real Mass whenever a priest came to stay).

Bishop Fellay was most suspicious, wary, I guess, of anything dodgy in the way of sedevacantism or the demonic.

He gave me a thorough interrogation; this was not going to be easy.

"Why are you having Mass in a private chapel?"

"Why do you not attend a normal Latin Mass?"

"Who is this priest who comes to say Mass for you?"

Eventually he said: "Come back and see me after Mass, I will give the matter some thought"

He walked off with my precious chalice in his hands.

And, when I went to the sacristy after Mass he told me that he was prepared to consecrate the chalice. Phew!

But first, he had to write out an attestation of consecration - in Latin - fluently and without thinking, as if it were his first language.

A fragment of Catholic history - Bishop Fellay's note of consecration
for a chalice

I am not, by choice an SSPX follower.
25 years ago they were the only option for a traditional Catholic family living hundreds of miles from the bright city lights.

The Society carries it's own agenda of problematical issues, foremost of which, is the puritanical attitude of some of their priests.

But, can you really fault them?

If you stood one SSPX priest alongside one of our OF only priests you might be shocked at the physical distinction, let alone the spiritual.

The Society priests bear the mark of the cross and it shows in their faces and in their demeanour and, who knows, before long we might all be beating a path to their door.

Are you taking partres - in Chartes?

                           Picture: Chartres UK


The annual pilgrimage is under way and all who take part deserve our prayers.

Walking c. 75 miles in 3 days is one thing, having to kip down under canvas every night is another.

By comparison, Fatima was a dawdle, even though I had to push a priest in a wheelchair every day, up hill and down cova, and, even undertake the Stations of the Cross.
Very good for the soul - and the blood pressure.

The organisers have this to say about the event:-

The pilgrims walk in "chapters" (groups of 20 to 50 people), under the patronage of a saint (Our Lady of Walsingham and St. Alban for the British Chapters), and are led by laymen who, with the help of chaplains (Frs. Martin Edwards, Mark Withoos, Bede Rowe, Alex Redman, Bruno Witchalls and Gerard Byrne), organise the chapter hymns, meditations, rosary and prayers. The pilgrims live in a spirit of Christ's presence: friendship and prayer sustaining each pilgrim on his spiritual journey

Well, as an Englishman, that is all jolly good stuff but, I feel for my Welsh friends.

Why should they have to march under the Walsingham banner when they have their own National Shrine to Our Lady, that of Our Lady of Cardigan?

Please, would all who have influence on blogs, in magazines or other sections of the media, give equal honour to Our Lady of Cardigan – Our Lady of the Taper - Our Lady of Wales.

Our Lady of Cardigan, the equal of Walsingham,
but never recognised as such

Here is the Chartres 2013 programme:-


Friday, 17 May 2013

07:00 Mass at Westminster Cathedral Crypt, London SW1
07:30 Coaches pick up Outside Cathedral (Ambrosden Avenue)
11:10 Coach boards ferry at Dover
18:00 Coach arrives at Hotel outside Paris

Saturday, 18 May 2013 (Vigil of Pentecost)

05:00 Breakfast
05:30 Coach to Notre Dame Cathedral
07:00 Mass in Notre Dame Cathedral (to be confirmed)
08:30(est.) Leave Notre Dame towards Chartres
13:00 Lunch at Bievrés (Les Damoiseaux)?
20:00 Arrive at Ferté-Choisel for dinner and bed

Sunday, 19 May 2013 (Pentecost Sunday)

06:15 Prayers of Departure
07:00 First Chapters leave campsite
13:00 Solemn Mass of Pentecost & Lunch at Sonchamps (les Courlis)
21:00 Dinner and Bed at Gas (Benediction and All Night Exposition)
Monday, 20 May 2013 (Pentecost Monday)
06:30 Prayers of Departure
10:30 Lunch at Gasville Oiseme
15:30 Solemn Mass in Chartres Cathedral
20:00 Dinner in Chartres
???? Bed!

Tuesday, 21 May 2013 (Pentecost Tuesday)

08:30ish Breakfast
10:00 Mass in Cathedral Crypt (to be confirmed)
12:00 Depart Chartres by coach for London
18:20 Board Eurotunnel
20:00 Arrive London

Phew! It's tiring just reading all of that.

Of course, the SSPX also do a Chartres Pilgrimage although, to avoid confusion, they walk from Chartes to Paris whereas the 'others' do it vice versa.

Each year, the SSPX hold a Mass outside Sacre Coeur in Paris at the end of the march.

And it has become the custom for some of them to infiltrate into the church itself and position themselves on the tower ao that, at the moment of Consecration, they may let loose the flags of The Sacred Heart.

This, of course, is frowned upon by the church authorities and all sorts of searches and frisking takes place to ensure that such high spirited piety takes place.

I am pleased to say that, most years, the authorities are foiled (or follied) by the sheer ingenuity of the pilgrims.

A few years ago three or four of the group who happened to be Japanese, wrapped the flags around their bodies and then, laden with cameras, they approached the tower.

They were waved in as being typical Japanese tourists only for the banners to be revealed at the Consecration. Bravo!

A Pilgrim's Prayer

 Virgin Mary, Help of Christians, we dedicate ourselves to your service. We concentrate our minds, hearts, and bodies and promise to work always for the glory of God and the salvation of man. Protect the young and help the aged, save sinners and console the dying. You are our hope, Mary, Mother of Mercy and Gate of Heaven. Pray to your Son for us so that we may be filled with selfless charity and deep faith. Ask Jesus for those things which we cannot obtain through our own actions and help us in this our present necessity. May we always see the Will of the Father of our lives. We ask you this, sweet Spouse of the Spirit, so that we may come to your Son in grace.

Amen

"I'm a Catholic priest of the 21st century........

.....I like my folk group at Sunday Mass, my team of Eucharistic Ministers, I do a great deal with my brothers and sisters in the Anglican, Methodist and United Reform churches.

We have lots of jolly get togethers, prayer meetings (but not with Catholic prayers you understand), Lent lunches and inter parish quizzes.

And we regularly share the same church for a joint service; it's all very ecumenical and pally.

What's that?

The SSPX?

I wouldn't be seen dead in one of their churches let alone share a service with them!"



Thanks to GM who prodded me on this one.

Paris, definitely worth a Mass!

I seem to be constantly banging on about the Latin Mass and also how a Mass celebrated in a church under the rule of the priests Society of St Pius X is, truly, extraordinary.

Why should that be?

Because the SSPX churches only ever host the Latin Mass; the sanctuary is untainted by odd bods who stroll across at various times during the day, no Eucharistic ministers (ever) no female servers, no 'Shine, Jesus, shine' only sacred chant that catapults us back to the plaintive chants of the Jewish priests in the temple.

No one gives a bow when crossing in front of the tabernacle, communion rails are in place - all is  right and proper.

The altar servers are young and competent, the priest reverent and practising full custody of the eyes.

This video clip is from the SSPX church in Paris, St Nicolas du Chardonnet.

A beautiful church and a fitting house for Almighty God - allow yourself an hour or so to pray and enjoy this most moving Mass..........

One of the Youtube commentators makes the following statement:

"If this church in Paris is occupied by the SSPX, GOD BLESS THEM !!! I'd rather go to a Traditional Latin Tridentine Mass like theirs than the diocesan approved Novus Ordo "Mass" in my local parisn in Florida, U.S.A. I don't even go there anymore. The church looks like an auditorium - no statues, a wooden table for an altar, the tabernacle is hidden away in a little corner and their music is worldly and boring. Also, most people go to church wearing shorts and flip-flops. It's just horrible!"

Is the SSPX the horsemeat in the Vatican's burger?

I really do not understand why people become so hysterical at the mention of horse meat in their burgers or mince.

I have eaten horse on a few occasions in France and once raw in Japan (but we'll draw a veil over that) and I find it very palatable.

In fact, it's an extraordinary meat inasmuch that it is lean, low in cholesterol and, normally, very tender. Unfortunately, it is also quite hard to source in Britain.

Many Catholics become quite agitated whenever the SSPX comes into the conversation; yet all that the good Bishops and priests of this order do is to carry out the mission of the Church in precisely the same fashion as it was carried out 60 years ago.

My own parents (and those of many others) would have a far greater affinity with a Latin Mass celebrated by an SSPX priest than an Ordinary Form one with a liberal priest at the controls.

If you have ever attended an SSPX Mass you will know that there is even a great distinction between 'their' EF Mass and the EF Mass celebrated by an orthodox priest in a modern church.

The SSPX Mass is (or comes across as being) purer, more reverent and certainly more profound.

Why?

Well this is not in any way taking a shot at our good priests who strive to provide both forms for their flock but, most sanctuaries today are totally impracticable for the EF Mass.
They have too few steps or too many steps or they are in the wrong place; the altar is in the wrong place and, very often, the bells, communion plate, candles and other elements of the Latin Mass are missing or hidden away somewhere (along with the tabernacle).

A Mass in an SSPX church is a pretty lean affair, the focus is intense and pure, silence surrounds one.
You get the very real impression that the sanctuary is crammed jam full with angels and cherubim and that, if you so much as blink for one fraction of a second, you will see them there, packed from floor to ceiling.
All is undertaken flawlessly and perfectly.

It is a humbling experience and, at the same time, an uplifting one.

In brief. it's the real thing.

In contrast, attending an OF Mass is rather like sitting through a performance of Elgar performed in a busy railway station.
It is, to paraphrase the late Fr Oswald Baker, "the Church in a boiler suit."

There is nothing but excellence throughout the Latin Mass of the Society; it is plain red meat, nothing more and nothing less.

Worth attending if you have not already done so.

 

If you're Catholic, please state that Buddhism and all other 'isms' are bunkum

Tell that to your Bishops, please.

I have discovered (naively) that school visits (especially ones involving primary school children) to temples, shrines, mosques and synagogues are rampant.

What are our teachers thinking of?

At the risk of repeating myself; do we seek reciprocation in any form?

Do we ask Temple worshippers along to our Benedictions?

When did you last see a coven gathering around the sanctuary? (don't answer that, you know what I meant, let's leave the EMHCs out of this).

Seriously though, this appears to be endemic, no wonder we have much to worry about regarding Fatima.

And when please, if you are a headteacher or a school governor, tell me this; when did your school attend a Mass celebrated in the Extraordinary Form?

Let me answer it for you.......never!

You have never* taken your children to witness the greatest wonder of the Faith on earth, shame on you!

* I am excluding Cardinal Vaughan and The Oratory School from that statement.

And... you may like to know that I am writing this post from the heart of Portsmouth City...was that a knock on the door?

Pure coincidence that I find myself in Inman country. I fear now't from Bishop Philip but there may be a few of the old guard around who might be tempted to give me  Hampshire necktie, or worse.

Tomorrow on to Kingston sur Thames followed by Henfield and then, on Sunday, Mass at Taunton.
That's not on the LMS list, I wonder why, it is legit after all.

 

The past five days and the past eight hundred years

Some may have noticed (and others not noticed) that there has been a lull in posting for five days.
This was all due to the generosity of our four children who stumped up the necessary to send us on a one day trip on the Orient Express from Victoria to the Kent coast.

It was, a trip to remember; we sailed graciously through Swanley, hotly through Chilham, at a gallop through Canterbury and sheepishly through Ramsgate and on to the Kent coast.
As we thundered on in opulent surroundings, I cast a thought to the extraordinary Catholic parishes that we passed close to; first, of course, was Blackfen and Fr Tim Finigan and then Maidstone, Ashford home of (I think, Fr John Boyle who is away in the States at present), then, finally, Ramsgate and the young Fr Marcus Holden, son of West Wales fame.
Truly, Southwark Diocese must have the greatest concentration of Latin Masses in England and Wales.

For those unfamiliar with the Orient Express, think Pullman Trains, think Agatha Christie and think also of a time when life was less frenetic and the more fortunate of society were able to enjoy a certain style of comfort and attention.

The deal was a round trip of some 170 plus miles together with a glass or two of champagne and a five course meal avec a complimentary bottle of vin glug....except that it was very good vin glug.
I settled back in my armchair seat and tried hard to keep Laurence England, who constantly prods my Catholic social conscience, out of my thoughts. It was hard.

At the end of the day we returned to the bosom of our family and, at the very end of the day we retired to our inn hidden away in the depths of the beautiful Hertfordshire countryside.

Hertfordshire is a county that I, certainly, am guilty of overlooking; it is easily accessible yet has all the appearances of being a thousand miles from a big city.

Once home to an order of monks, now a charming inn

Our inn was The Brocket Arms in a hamlet called Ayot St Lawrence and once served as the lodgings for the local monks who offered up the Latin Mass in the local church built in 1150.

Come the so called Reformation and the church was vandalised and the resident monk (according to legend) hanged for his faith in the inn (I was not aware of this at the time and would have offered up a prayer for his immortal soul had I known).

So, for some 860 years, this inn has been a place of rest, initially, for our priests and then, in the past 400 years for the local gentry and the yeomen and women of Merry England, ploughboys, rook scarers, mole catchers, hedgers and ditchers, blacksmiths and their superiors, would have quenched their thirsts at this little haven of Englishness.

In later years, George Bernard Shaw would have joined them as his house lies only some 200 yards away, but, the least said about GBS, the better in my book.

Why don't Catholics have beautiful churches? - Because Henry VIII
and his Protestant ministers wrecked them and robbed them of their
chalices and statues! The "old" church of Ayot St Lawrence

But I do rather believe that Chesterton and Belloc would have supped their foamy pints here from time to time.

Did Belloc and Chesterton once quaff ale here?

Finally, home on Sunday, stopping off for the 10am Mass at St Saviour's in Bristol, home of the SSPX.
Gloriously sung, well served and MC'd and perfect in every way.

I know that I have mentioned before that the SSPX Masses are different from the EF Masses celebrated in churches that are really nuanced towards the modern Mass.
It is not really surprising; the architecture is created especially for the TLM (even though St Saviour's was once High Anglican); the tabernacles are in the right place, the aura is right. The churches are untainted by modernism.

The only odd thing was that, knowing what sticklers the SSPX priests are for liturgical accuracy, I was surprised that the celebrant did not remove his maniple when he entered the pulpit to preach.
I do not highlight this from any nitpicking aspect, just a minor curiosity on my part.
Someone will now comment, I am sure, that Pope St Evaristus granted an indult to this effect in the year dot, never mind, it's not worth losing any sleep over.

We did, however, meet up with many of our good friends (some of whom, we had not seen for over 25 years). It was great to meet Joe and Clare Bevan and their family and Nigel Mills from Bath. And, even some that we missed in the throng after Mass (the chapel was packed out). Stephen from the Salisbury area was one that we missed, sorry Stephen if you read this.

More on the old church of St Lawrence in future posts.

It is the real thing

Last week, whilst with Catholic friends our discussion touched on the SSPX. 

I was surprised to find our friends making a statement that, up until then, I had only believed in myself in a very private way.

They stated that it was only really when attending an SSPX Mass that they felt that all was right - all was perfect and complete.

I perfectly understand this view and find it refreshing that others believe it also.

That is not to show any disrespect whatsoever to our great priests who struggle in their parishes, offering both the old and the new in an effort to hold all together, to abide by the orders of their Bishop and to the guidance of the Holy Father.

But an SSPX priest, when he celebrates Mass, does so in an environment that is wholly Catholic, wholly at one with Christ.

And he is completely dedicated to the Mass of all Time as is the church where he celebrates Mass.

The air is not defiled by echoes of guitars and tambourines, there has never been any inane pre Mass chatter in the church, no one has ever walked across the path of the tabernacle and bowed instead of genuflecting.

No lay person has ever laid hands on the Blessed Sacrament, the ambience evokes totally the hermeneutic of continuity; when you attend Mass there you are back in the time of Christ. The basic elements of the liturgy that materialised over the first three or four hundred years of Christianity are palpable - Christ lives, God is present!

That is one reason why we so badly need the SSPX back within the fold. They provide the gold standard against which, others may set their benchmark.

When the continuity of tradition has been fractured, and to a large degree lost, it is invaluable to be able to take that missing gem and restore it to its rightful place in the crown that is Christ's.

A Mass untainted by modernism

Of Bishop Fellay, Confirmations, Coincidences and a Consecration

Come with me back in time to January1990.

We lived in a desert then, a spiritual one, of course.

West Wales, (in fact all of Wales), was without the Latin Mass and any priest who wished to celebrate one was hunted down ruthlessly by Bishops 'Topcliffe' and 'Wade'.

There were, as far as we were aware, no other traditional Catholic families within 150 miles of us and whilst our youngest child had made her First Holy Communion in our own chapel within the house, courtesy of our visiting priest, Fr Lessiter, and our middle daughter was still too young to be confirmed, our two eldest children did urgently require the Sacrament of Confirmation.

Nowhere in the British Isles could one receive the traditional rite of Confirmation other than at one of the SSPX churches, and then only once each year when Bishop Fellay visited.

So, with a high degree of planning we commenced the process of applying to Fr Black who was the coordinator for such visits. We applied with the usual paperwork and were accepted and, duly on the day, we arrived at the church of St Joseph and St Padarn in North London.

 We knew in advance that we had a problem. We did not know anyone who could act as sponsors. All of my surviving siblings were in the modernist camp and Mrs L's relations were all Protestant.

"No matter" wrote Fr B, "we can find sponsors on the morning for you".

But when we arrived on the day and tried to register, the good Fr Black (not especially known for his social skills) told me that he had no record of us and that we could not put our children forward.

It took a lot of talking and, I'm sorry to say, a lot of straight talking from me, to get him to change his mind.
Having made a round trip of some 520 miles, we were not going to return without a positive result.

We were then instructed to find two sponsors from the assembled congregation.

My wife approached a woman who kindly agreed and, upon asking my daughter's chosen Confirmation name exclaimed that it was also her Confirmation name. First coincidence.

I then approached a man who also agreed and, on being told that my son had chosen the name of Francis, he also stated that this was his Confirmation name. Coincidence number two.

Now, I mentioned earlier in this post that we had our own chapel; we were also in possesion of an unconsecrated chalice. This we had not been able to get consecrated due to the fact that no Bishop would have come within a thousand miles of us.

So, before Mass began I approached Bishop Fellay, duly bending my knee and kissing his ring.

He pondered on my request, holding the chalice and examining it as if it was a antique. Why, he asked, was I in possession of such a thing. I explained.
He listened intently and his eyes bore through me as he sized up exactly what sort of a person I was.

  
Eventually, he said that he would consider it and that I should approach him after Mass.

When I did this, he again subjected me to the third degree treatment but without rancour or unpleasantness.



A scrap of Church history - A chalice consecrated
by Bishop Fellay

 Finally, he agreed but not before he wrote out in freehand a certificate verifying the chalice's sacred provenance, in Latin and without hesitation, as if it was something that he did twenty times a day every day of the year.

He then blessed the chalice and all was well.

This tale may be of little interest to you but to me it illustrates several things.
It shows me the apparent intransigence of the Society, even when all arrangements had been gone into in great detail many months in advance.

It showed also, the great stature of Bishop Fellay (who struck me as the epitome of a walking saint) and who wanted to be certain that I was not some demonic nutjob before he blessed a sacred vessel.

And it punched home to me that what we were doing in bringing our children up in the "traditional Faith was the right course to take.

We had been to modern Confirmations and found them totally lacking in reverence, so much so that it was hard to believe that a Sacrament had been validly bestowed.

That is an issue worth pursuing; Baptism, Holy Communion, Confession, Matrimony and Extreme Unction, along with Confirmation, are all available in the traditional rite and, if you attend the Latin Mass you should be aware that, with a little bit of shove and push, you can arrange to receive them, either on your children's behalf or your own.

Pray for the Holy Father and Bishop Fellay today, we need the SSPX back fully in the fold.