Chairman's Blog
07/09/2022 - 12:53
Fr Gwilym Evans FSSP: Mass in Cardiff 17th Sept
Fr Evans will celebrate a 'first Mass' in his native Wales, the Cardiff Oratory (Swinton Street, Splott, Cardiff CF24 2NT ), on Saturday 17th September at 10:15am.
The organisers have set up an Eventbrite page so people can add themselves to the list for the catering: there is lunch afterwards.
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| Fr Evans FSSP (centre) at the conclusion of the LMS Walsingham Pilgrimage |
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01/09/2022 - 20:32
LMS Walsingham Pilgrimage: photos
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| Approaching the Priory grounds at the end of the Holy Mile. |
Last weekend was the biggest ever LMS walking pilgrimage to Walsingham, exceeding even the big turnout last year. We had about 90 in 2019; in 2021, after missing a year from Covid, it was 120, this year is was 160.
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| Mass in Cambridge on Thursday morning for the three pilgrims trying out an extra leg of the walk: another 18.4 miles, to Ely |
We almost filled the Church of St Ethelreda in Ely, packed the chapel at Oxborough even after getting 20 pilgrims to an earlier, Low Mass, and with day pilgrims we completely filled the Reconciliation Chapel at the Catholic Shrine.
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| Mass in St Ethelreda's Ely on Friday morning. |
We were very blessed to have four priests with us: Fr Serafino Lanzetta, his confrere Fr Timpe, Fr Henry Whisenant and the newly ordained Fr Gwilym Evans FSSP.
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| Pilgrims' blessing from Fr Serafino Lanzetta. |
As last year we had four chapters, but these were significantly larger than before. The weather was kind for the main part of the pilgrimage: it rained heavily on Thursday and a bit on Monday as well, and it was not too hot. This made it easier to keep to the schedule.
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| On the road by the Great Ouse. |
The chapel at Oxborough is undergoing repairs and the lovely reredos is covering in a dust sheet.
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| In Oxburgh Chapel on Saturday.
Perhaps next year we'll have to use the outside option at the Reconciliation chapel: the glass doors open out and there are benches outside, while the altar can be used from both sides.
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| In the Reconciliation Chapel at the Catholic Shrine on Sunday. |
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| The Holy Mile from the shrine to the site of the Holy House in the Priory ruins |
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| In the Priory grounds |
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| Mass on Monday for those who had stayed overnight. |
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| An expanded cooking and support driving team rose magnificently to the occasion! |
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23/08/2022 - 19:05
Latin Motto from Mass of Ages
In the current and recent edition of Mass of Ages I challenge readers to provide a pithy translation of a the motto of the medieval Cluniac Benedictine Priory of St Pancras (yes, like the railway station), in Lewes.
Unfortunately the Latin was afflicted by a typo -- probably introduced by an autocorrection function at some stage of the process.
It should read
Dulcis agonista tibi convertit domus ista Pancrati memorum precibus memor esto tuorum
It was the 'r' on 'memor' which got lost.
I heartily recommend the book in which this motto is quoted: The King's Acheivent by Monsignor Benson, made available in a new printing from Silverstream Priory. You can read my review in the Autumn Mass of Ages and buy it from the LMS shop.
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12/08/2022 - 20:10
What does pastoral care look like?
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| The Traditional Mass behind bars: so to speak. The Oxford Oratory. |
It has become clear that the Dicastery of Divine Worship, which alone has the authority to permit priests ordained after Traditionis custodes to celebrate the Traditional Mass, is systematically refusing to do so, even though requests are coming not from individual priests, but their bishops.
What reasons are being given? I have been given sight of a letter of refusal, and I suspect the others are substantially identical.
…this Dicastery is of the opinion that this [permission] would not be an opportune decision. Therefore, we deny the request. The path established by the Holy Father in Traditionis custodes is quite clear and this has been underscored both in the “Letter to Bishops of the Whole World” which accompanied the Motu proprio and in the Responsa ad dubia of this Dicastery, which were personally approved by the Holy Father. In this latter document, with regard to this very point, it was highlighted that the liturgical reform of the Second Vatican Council “has enhanced every element of the Roman Rite and has fostered – as hoped for by the Council Fathers – the full, conscious and active participation of the entire people of God in the liturgy (cf. Sacrosanctum Concilium no. 14), the primary source of authentic Christian spirituality”. Most recently the Holy Father’s Apostolic Letter of 29 June, Desiderio Desideravi, on the liturgical formation of the people of God, expands on the above mentioned letter to the bishops and reaffirms Pope Francis’ desire that unity around the celebration of the liturgy be re-established in the whole Church of the Roman Rite (n. 61).
There is of course no difficulty for Fr [] to celebrate Mass according to the editio typica tertia (2008) of the Missale Romanum.
I wonder about that last sentence. I can't help but think that in some previous version it said at the end 'in Latin', and that this has been removed, without anyone noticing that the whole sentence is no pointless. The letter is about a priest; of course he can say the Novus Ordo!
It is noteworthy that although the letter begins by saying that the documents supporting the request have been studied carefully, the reasons for refusing the request is entirely general, not specific to the situation of the diocese.
Given that Pope Francis explicitly made provision for permissions to be given, and given that bishops requesting them presumably have good reason to do so, the attitude of the Dicastery does not seem like a straightforward application of the rules. There is something more here: something hostile to the provision which Pope Francis expected to be made 'to provide for the good of those who are rooted in the previous form of celebration.'
Is this what pastoral care looks like?
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10/08/2022 - 12:00
The Morning After Pill: abortion or contraception?
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| Annual Mass of reparation for abortion at England's Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe organised by the Latin Mass Society. The next one will be on 12 noon, Saturday 12th November; St Joseph's, Bedford MK40 1HU |
My latest on Catholic Answers wades into some of the complexities about the 'Morning After Pill', aka 'Emergency Contraception'.
It begins:
Recently, a spokesman for the bishops of Louisiana suggested that the use of so-called “emergency contraception” is compatible with Catholic teaching in cases of rape. The news article reporting this connected it with the explicit exception made for “emergency contraception” in the restriction of abortion by new Louisiana abortion laws, made possible by the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade. There are, however, a tangle of issues here that I will try to separate.
The Catholic Church teaches that human life is worthy of protection from the moment of conception—the moment when the genetic material of an ovum and of a sperm are united to form a new human (see the Catechism of the Catholic Church 2270 and following). The Church, further, demands that this life be protected by law (2273).
Read the whole thing there.
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09/08/2022 - 11:00
SCT Summer School: Classes and activities
The St Catherine's Trust Summer School has always been concerned not only to give the children a pleasant time, but with education: to convey something to them, not just a bit of catechism but a range of lessons on Catholic history, art, philosophy, Latin and Greek, and so on. There is a limit to what we can do in a week, but we want to give the children at least a taste of a range of things connected with our beautiful Faith.
To this end we have five 40-minute lessons most days, as well as Sung Mass, Rosary, Compline, and activities. Most of one day was dedicated to a trip to Oxford, where we had Mass in the Oratory and a tour of some sites of particular Catholic interest.
The week includes a quiz on what the children have learned, and we had football and tennis in the afternoons.
Every year the children perform a staged reading of part of Dorothy Sayers' radio plays on the life of Christ.
Rehearsing some polyphony for the final Mass of the week.
One afternoon activity was sewing; this year they made pocket shrines, which our chaplain, Fr Andrew Southwell, blessed (below).
To join the mailing list email info@stcatherinestrust.org; to make a donation see here.
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08/08/2022 - 18:31
SCT Summer School photos: liturgy
We have just concluded our annual Summer School, organised by the St Catherine's Trust: a small charity I set up for this purpose in 2004. It took place this year (for the first time) at the St Cassian's Retreat Centre, Kintbury. The Chaplain was Fr Andrew Southwell, a priest of Southwark Archdiocese. This was the first Summer School since 2019, due to Covid, and ran from 31st July to 6th August.
On the Wednesday of the week, we had a day-trip to Oxford, with Mass at the Oratory--thanks to the hospitality of the Fathers.
These are photos of our liturgies: Mass in St Cassian's, in a temporary chapel (the permanent one was too small for us); in the Oxford Oratory; Compline, Benediction, Stations of the Cross outside, and veneration of a relic of St Pius X which has been given to the Latin Mass Society.
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07/08/2022 - 13:04
LMS AGM Mass: photos
I didn't have time to post these photos until now, but here they are: from Saturday 30th July, in St Mary Moorfields. The celebrant was Canon Amaury Montjean ICKSP, the deacon Fr Michael Cullinan, and the subdeacon Fr John Scott.
My address to the Annual General Meeting, which followed this Mass, can be heard here.
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26/07/2022 - 17:48
Radio discussion with Fr Robert McTeigue SJ
You can hear my latest chat with Fr McTeigue SJ on his Catholic Current radio show here.
It is always a pleasure to shoot the breeze with Fr McTeigue! This was my second visit to the show, and our theme was Pope Francis' Apostolic Letter Desiderio desideravi on liturgical formation.
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14/07/2022 - 10:00
New video on the LMS Walsingham Pilgrimage
Here is a 6 1/2 minute promotional video for the Latin Mass Society's Walking Pilgrimage to Walsingham; it's a longer version of the one embedded in the LMS booking page.
For more information and to book a place on the pilgrimage, see here.
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