Chairman's Blog

21/02/2024 - 16:18

Trip to Ireland: part 1, Silverstream, Dublin, Knock

Last week I was in Ireland, to attend a splendid conference in Galway. Before going there, however, I visited Silverstream Priory, which is north of Dublin, where I met Prior Basile McCabe.

The following day, I gave a talk in Dublin's Catholic Central Library, on the 'Family and Culture: Lose One, Lose the Other'. I introduced the idea of luxury beliefs, developing the argument of my book, The Family, the Liturgy, and the Crisis of Modernity.

I recorded my talk, so you can listen to it as a podcast (I've given it a slightly snappier title):

Families, Culture and Luxury Beliefs

https://www.podbean.com/eas/pb-iw8cn-158b8b2

You'll find the Latin Mass Society's 'Iota Unum' series on any podcast platform.

Before the Galway conference, which will be the subject of the next post, I and other conference participants visited the Shrine of Our Lady of Knock, where Fr Philomeno of the Marian Franciscans celebrated a Low Mass (in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel).

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20/02/2024 - 17:25

Ash Wednesday and St Valentine: for Catholic Answers

I'm behind with my blogging, but here's something I wrote for Catholic Answers and some photos of an Ash Wednesday Mass.

The article begins:

The Church’s liturgical calendar throws up some oddities sometimes. One set of Sundays, and other feasts and fasts, is fixed in relation to Easter, which moves around the spring. Another of feasts is fixed to Christmas, and a third is fixed to calendar dates. And so different occasions can coincide: a feast of the “sanctoral cycle” can fall on a Sunday, and all the feasts of the spring and early summer are vulnerable to being swallowed up by the events of Lent and Eastertide.

A feast day like Christmas will fall on a Sunday only approximately once every seven years. Even less frequent are the occasions when significant dates of the sanctoral and paschal cycles coincide. The most famous of these occasional coincidences is that between Good Friday and the Feast of the Annunciation, March 25. It last happened in 2016 and will not happen again until 2157.

This year, we have the coincidence of Ash Wednesday and the traditional date of the feast of the Roman martyr St. Valentine.

Read it all, there.

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17/02/2024 - 10:07

Talks and Endorsements for 'A Defence of Monarchy'

Buy the book from the publisher, Angelico Press, Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, the Latin Mass Society shop, and elsewhere.

Short talks on the book from the book launch (you can also find these on pod-cast platforms under 'Latin Mass Society: Iota Unum):

James Bogle; Sebastian Morello; Joseph Shaw

Endorsements

HE Eduard von Habsburg, Hungarian Ambassador to the Holy See

This is an incredibly interesting and well done book. It is especially valuable that it makes the argument in favour of even a weak monarchy, in its constitutional powers and even in terms of the personal commitments of it representatives. Instead of giving way to despair, the book encourages us to continue to appreciate the constitutional and symbolic importance of monarchy, while we wait for a monarchy that embodies Catholic principles in their fullness.

Fr Calvin Robinson, Patron of the British Monarchist Society

This book provides many lessons to Roman Catholics on why the British monarchy is a good thing; how Christians can be united around the British institution, even with our differences; and a staunch reminder that British heritage is undeniably Catholic, and a strong preserver of Catholic tradition through ceremonies such as the coronation and funeral services of the monarch. The last thing any traditionalist should want to see is the end of Catholic tradition.

Gavin Ashenden, Chaplain to the Queen 2008-2017

This excellent and intriguing new book edited by Dr Shaw, defending the monarchy from a Catholic perspective, offers not only an informed perspective on constitutional developments and realities, but makes a powerful case that the monarchy we have offers us a great deal more than would a republic. It also serves as a defence of the integrity of Elizabeth II against under-informed anxieties held by some passionate defenders of the rights of the unborn child. The grasp of constitutional and historical development makes refreshing reading for anyone interested in our constitutional settlement not only as a matter of history, but also to furnish us with ways of judging the political dilemmas a turbulent cultural future may present us with.

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10/02/2024 - 16:06

Server training and vestment mending in London

One of our regular events at St Mary Moorfields, the Society of Tarcisius doing server training and the Guild of St Clare, in the basement, mending vestments.

The next dates are

Saturday 20th April (booking page)

Saturday 8th June (booking page)

See the Society of St Tarcisius website, and the Guild of St Clare, for more information.

It was a special occasion because by chance it fell on the feast of St Blaise. The parish priest, Fr Christopher Vipers, gave us the Blessing of Throats.

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08/02/2024 - 15:57

Candlemas in Oxford

It's been too long since I posted images of a High Mass in Oxford. This was for Candlemas; we had polyphony, blessing of candles, procession, and the full works in SS Gregory & Augustine's Oxford. The celebrant was Fr John Saward, Priest in Charge.

The congregation for such Masses has been growing: this time it was close to 80; 50 used to be a good turnout.

SS Gregory & Augustine's is not a church in which I can easily sneak closer to the sanctuary with the camera; as a result, as Mass progresses the photos are taken through a bank of incense-smoke.

We are indebted to Tom Neal (right) and Dominic Bevan (left) for leading professional polyphonists and amateur chant singers on this and on many other occasions.

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06/02/2024 - 15:47

Visit to Ireland

I shall be giving talks in Dublin and Galway in the next few days; all are welcome.

On Thursday 8th February I will be speaking at Dublin's Catholic Central Library T 7PM.

Central Catholic Library,
74 Merrion Square S,
Dublin 2, D02 HH99

The talk will be called 'Culture and the Family: Lose one, Lose them both'.

On Saturday 10th, I am taking part in a conference in Galway, with Robert Colquoun and Fr Philomeno of the Franciscans of the Immaculate. The Conference is called 'She Will Crush Your Head'.

My talk will be called 'Modernity and Postmodernity, on the
Liturgy and Marriage'

I will also be at the regular FSSP Mass in Waterford on Sunday 11th.

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22/01/2024 - 18:25

Chairman's Briefing: the African Bishops and the Vatican

Another of my 'briefings' to supporters of the Latin Mass Society.

It begins:

Cardinal Abongo

In the last Briefing I introduced Fiducia supplicans and initial reactions to it. These reactions have continued to come in, and many of them are less than welcoming. Indeed, only a small number of Bishops’ Conferences have made statements expressing any pleasure about the document being published. Most official reactions have been very guarded, and some, while diplomatic, clearly regard the document as ill-judged. Many of the strongest negative reactions have come from African Bishops’ Conferences.

You can see my latest 'briefing' here.

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13/01/2024 - 12:03

Book launch for 'A Defence of the Monarchy'

Short podcasts from contributors' presentations forthcoming.

Coincidentally, Gavin Ashenden has published Part I of a conversation we had on the subject: find it on your podcast provider (Gavin Ashenden: 'Merely Catholic') or listen to it here.

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11/01/2024 - 11:14

Blessings for Irregular couples: a conversation with Fr McTeigue

Fr McTeigue has a Catholic radio programme -- you can listen to episodes as podcasts, as well as live -- and I've talked to him before more than once. Last evening we discussed Fiducia supplicans.

I enjoy these conversations. Fr McTeigue is well-informed and always displays admirable common sense.

Link With Show Notes:

https://directory.libsyn.com/episode/index/id/29432483

Direct Audio Download:

http://traffic.libsyn.com/thecatholiccurrent/TCC_-_011024.mp3

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10/01/2024 - 12:17

Anniversary Requiem for Pope Benedict XVI: photos

This took place on Monday 8th January in Corpus Christi Maiden Lane. Sung Mass was accompanied by the Southwell Consort who sang Palestrina's Missa pro Defunctis. The celebrant was Fr John Scott. It was well attended and the music was wonderful--as usual, the Consort fielded a huge number of singers, both amateur and professional, with a professional conductor.

May Joseph Ratzinger, Pope Benedict XVI, rest in peace.