How to treat a chalice that has been an issue of sacrilege.

There is only one way to treat a sacred vessel (I am thinking ahead here of the final stages of what is becoming the Ramsgate Benedictine Scandal) where it  has been subject to sacriligious use.

Archbishop Sheen gave the example of a chalice that had been sold and subsequently used as a cocktail 'glass' or beer cup in a night club.

According to the great man one must take the cup and return it to the furnace, melting it down so that the sin of its desecration would be cleansed by fire, just as you might, in a case of emergency, apply a red hot iron to an infected wound.

Then and only then, it can be recast and shaped and annealed so that it returns with its old substance but cleansed and in a new form.

And, then, of course, it must be consecrated anew by a Bishop.

Picture: Fr Z

Would someone please tell the Benedictines of Chilworth that please?

"This is the image of our Queen......"

Photo: Canterbury Tales

Desecration in Rome as anti Wall Street mobs ransack a Catholic Church, ripping a crucifix from the wall and smashing a statue of Our Lady.

Words are not needed here but prayer is.....and penance in reparation.
As reported in The Guardian, Daily Mail and on Canterbury Tales by Taylor Marshall.

Worth noting that the media described the demonstrators as 'peaceful'

The Fatima prayer of reparation:

O Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, I adore Thee profoundly. I offer Thee the most precious Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges, and indifference by which He is offended. By the infinite merits of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg the conversion of poor sinners. Amen.



"A funny thing happened to me on the way to Church today".....

How does your priest start the Mass? Is it along the lines of "Good morning everybody"
I believe that has become a bit passe these days - you see I do not attend Novus Ordo Masses so I am not too sure of my ground here but what I do know is that it is becoming increasingly commonplace for a priest to give a little chatty greeting and, all too often, to keep up a witty banter throughout proceedings.

"Good morning Father"

Recently I heard of a priest who made a wisecrack just before placing the host on a person's tongue - and, horror of horrors it was at an Extraordinary Form Mass! What can I say except that the priest in question is very, very new to the EF Mass and may be carrying some of his OF habits with him. I hope he will soon appreciate what the EF Mass (and the OF for that matter) is really about.

Some years ago just before we withdrew our children from the liturgical banalities they were being subject to they reported that, at their convent school Mass, the celebrant had asked (at the Consecration elevation) if anyone knew the test match cricket score. They never attended another Convent School Mass.

What has drawn my attention to this new(ish) custom is an article by a Daily Telegraph journalist, Michael Deacon - "A priest's true calling is to be a game show host, folks". He recently attended a wedding of friends (I'm assuming it was C of E but I could be wrong) where the priest constantly told little jokes throughout the service - how very droll! My recent post on the era of the 'ton up vicar' obviously needs updating; today we have the Bob Hope or the Tommy Cooper priest; it's only a question of time before we have the Consecration presented as a class conjuring trick (they probably already do this in Austria).

The thing that I find so very hard to understand is: don't they know that they are committing a sacrilege? What pleasure do they derive from making such mindless and unfunny cracks?

Sadly, they often seem to carry the congregation with them; the chap that related the host incident to me (also very new to the EF Mass and its solemnity) thought that it was screamingly funny and looked at me as if I was stark raving mad when I poured cold water over his mirth.

If cretinous ignorance is not at the heart of these asides it has, of course, got to be something a little more dark and sinister that is encouraging this trend.

That, also, would not surprise me in the least.

But the laity are complicit in all of this; the good old uncomplaining British man/woman in the pew sits back and does nothing. It only requires one or two people to have a discreet word in the priest's ear and, if that doesn't work, then a charitably worded letter to his Bishop.

And if that doesn't work, go to the SSPX!

Trouble is, it is so long since they have seen their reflection in a mirror they have forgotten just what manner of a Catholic they should be.

SACRILEGE AND DESECRATION

It happened in the mid 1950s when I was a ten year old altar boy arriving to serve the early morning Mass at St Michael's and St Martin's, Hounslow.

I only got as far as the sacristy when Fr Steer, the curate came out looking grey and flustered and told me that a terrible act had taken place and that I was to go straight home. As I left the church I was aware of various men moving around the aisles, looking under benches and generally, poking around.


Later, it transpired that the church had been broken into during the night, the tabernacle forced open, consecrated hosts removed and the altar and hosts had been defiled.
My friend and fellow server, Anthony Tilley, had arrived five minuted before me and had been assigned to accompany a detective around the church grounds and extensive orchard. Coming across a host on the ground the CID man had bent down to pick it up but was stopped by Anthony who bravely told him that he could not touch it. Now Anthony was a bit of a rogue; wherever there was trouble he was to be found but he came shining through that morning, a little lad of ten commanding a police officer not to touch the consecrated host.


The whole parish went into a state of shock and all Masses had to be held at a side altar for many months after until a new tabernacle was installed and a Mass of Reparation held, celebrated, no less by Cardinal Griffin.
We went into penitential mode; daily rosaries in the side altar, acts of penance in the home; it was a dark and dismal period. Meanwhile, the main altar was shrouded off with echoes of Good Friday except that it was not just for a couple of days; more like a couple of months and the white shroud where the tabernacle used to be haunted us with its memories.
The old Canon who suffered from a bad heart had the news witheld for a few hours but had to be told before the day was out. I am sure this sacrilege reduced his life span because he was never quite the same and died within 18 months.


Needless to say, no one was apprehended for this crime, that really did not matter. What affected all was the thought of the gross act against the Body of Christ.


                                          Act of Reparation

Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Ghost, I adore You profoundly and  offer You the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges and indifferences by which He Himself is offended. And by the infinite merits of His Most Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg of You the conversion of poor sinners.