Latin Mass Society

Chairman's Blog

18/09/2021 - 09:33

The challenge of a new school year

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Quiz at a St Catherine's Trust Summer School a while back. We've not had the Summer School
for two summers due to the pandemic.

My first article in a new initiative, a weekly Digest (bulletin) from Voice of the Family.

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Two recent news articles greeted the start of the academic year. The Irish Times informs us that official statistics confirm that since teacher assessments have in whole or in part replaced anonymised formal examinations, the relative performance of boys against girls has fallen. In the Daily Telegraph, Melanie McDonagh complains that her 14-year-old daughter’s Catholic school has brainwashed her into being a woke activist.

These are both troubling claims, and they may seem extreme, but the people making them are far from marginal. The problem of systemic bias against boys has been acknowledged by the Irish government, which is hardly a bastion of cultural conservatism. It was in fact established on the basis of world-wide statistics some years ago, in a study sponsored by the OECD. The creation of a generation of school-child activists all saying the same things about race and gender has been denounced by Professor Louise Richardson, Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University. Lest anyone imagine she is some conservative culture warrior, she recently made headlines apologising for Oxford’s education of the prominent Conservative Party politician Michael Gove.

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17/09/2021 - 09:55

Iota Unum talks in London are back: Jamie Bogle on 24th Sept

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Fr Edward van den Bergh giving the last Iota Unum talk of 2019

After a long break necessitated by the epidemic, we are returning to our face-to-face talks in London.
The Latin Mass Society's 'Iota Unam' talks take place on Friday evenings in Our Lady of the Assumption Warwick Street (please enter by the back entrance into the basement: 24 Golden Square, W1F 9JR): click for a map.

6:30pm for 7pm. Refreshments provided. £5 on the door.
Confirmed talks:

Sept 24, James Bogle: Bl Charles of Austria

Oct 22, Joseph Shaw: Headship and Hierarchy in the Family

Nov 19, Dominic O’Sullivan: Spanish Integralism

Dec 10, Sebastian Morello: de Maistre on Liturgy and Politics

Jan 29: Tom Pink: 'The Papal Monarchy: the exercise of power in the Church, its theological and legal basis, and its limits'

During lockdown we have been doing podcasts: have a listen!
 
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15/09/2021 - 20:22

Why priests should learn Latin

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Bilingual Vesting Prayers in the Sacristy of Westminster Cathedral
My latest on Catholic Answers. The LMS is putting its money where its mouth is: clergy and seminarians in or from England and Wales can get an 80% discount on the fee of an online Latin course.
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There is an amusing video on YouTube showing an American Latinist engaging priests in the Vatican in spoken Latin. He remarks that he spoke to a dozen priests, but only three were brave enough to go on camera with him and use Latin in actual dialogue.

Spoken Latin might sound like the preserve of hobbyists, like spoken Elvish or Klingon, but being able to speak a language is the ultimate test of fluency, and for the Church, Latin isn’t just any other language. As well as being the sacred language of the liturgy, it is an indispensable key to the Church’s theology, history, law, philosophy, and poetry. As Pope Benedict XVI described it, it is the language the Church considers as her own.

It is for this reason that Latin has always formed an essential part of the education of the clergy. The Second Vatican Council’s decree on Priestly Training, Optatam Totius, says seminarians “are to acquire a knowledge of Latin which will enable them to understand and make use of the sources of so many sciences and of the documents of the Church” (13). This means a serious grasp of the language: being able to sit down and read St. Augustine, for example—not as a homework exercise, but because you want to know what he says about something.

Read the whole thing there.

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14/09/2021 - 08:54

Introductory video from the Guild of St Clare

Produced by the great Peter Jones of One of Nine fame. More 'how to' videos are to follow.

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09/09/2021 - 13:14

Statement of the Religious Superiors (and Taylor Marshall)

Cross-posted on Rorate Caeli.
The Superiors General of the Fraternity of St Peter, the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest, the Institute of the Good Shepherd, and a number of other Superiors General of priestly institutes and religious communities attached to the Traditional Mass (including three communities of women), have issued a joint letter in response to Traditionis Custodes. Here it is, on the FSSP website. It is addressed to the Bishops of France, not, as some have assumed, to the Holy See.
As befits such a document, it is carefully worded. In principle, Traditionis Custodes creates an impossible situation for the signatories. They are founded on the charism of the Traditional liturgy, and the Letter accompanying Traditionis Custodes tells us that it is the intention of the document that in the longer term this liturgy should entirely disappear. Furthermore, the justification for this given in the Letter is that the clergy and faithful (who are not distinguished) are detached in some sense from the unity of the Church.
The argument which needs to be made to the Bishops of France at this point is thus a delicate one. Negatively, it should be obvious that to strike a defiant attitude, to threaten disobedience to Traditionis Custodes or the Bishops, or to suggest that they might go over to the Society of Pius X, would serve to confirm the purported justification of Traditionis Custodes. It would be directly counter-productive. 

On the other hand, to make a direct argument against Traditionis Custodes, to insist that it should be rescinded, is pointless, because the French Bishops do not have the power to do that. To make such an argument to the Holy See would be pointless in another way, because there is absolutely no chance that an important document such as this would be cancelled, or modified in a significant way, by the very Pope who promulgated it, so soon after its publication. 
Instead, the statement approaches the problem in two ways. First, it emphasises the key-hole of concession offered by Traditionis Custodes and the Letter, through which the Traditional Mass can continue to be celebrated: timeTraditionis Custodes gives the French Bishops (like all bishops) the right to permit the Traditional Mass now. It is now that it needs to be permitted if the spiritual life of the Traditional Institutes, and of Traditional laity, is to continue as before. No limit to this time is set by the documents. The first thing to secure, then, is that the Traditional Mass will continue.
The second approach is to draw attention to a very serious problem created by Traditionis Custodes. In confirming the establishment of the Institutes and communities represented by this statement, the Holy See has over the years since 1988 allowed and encouraged men and women to commit themselves by vows to lives of a particular character: as do all priests and religious. A fundamental aspect of this character for these particular religious associations is the Traditional liturgy. If this liturgy is to be abolished, the vows and commitments made to these associations would become impossible to fulfill.
The implications of this fact are not drawn out. It is for the French Bishops to ponder the problem as they apply Traditionis Custodes. They must implement the legislation with regard to the good of souls: as it is when they apply any aspect of the law of the Church. For those bishops inclined to be sympathetic, this consideration will be a powerful one.
To summarise, what this statement does is to try to create a space in which the French Bishops may, without disobedience, make possible in practice the continuation of the life the of the Priestly Institutes and communities and of lay Catholics attached to the Traditional Mass. The Latin Mass Society did the same thing, in a some different way, when we issued our Canonical Guidance on Traditionis Custodes.

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Taylor Marshall, a man I usually ignore, has insulted the signatories of this statement, as lacking the "brave and bold" spirit which, he claims, animated the late Archbishop Lefebvre. He is, in a video far too tedious to link to, claiming that they are cowards.
This is a contemptible accusation, which reveals Marshall to be, as I expressed it on Twitter, an ignorant fool. I stand by that judgement, and I call on Marshall to apologise to these good men and women, who have a fearful responsibility both to their professed members, and also, in most cases, to the lay faithful for whom they have pastoral care.
Marshall appears to imagine that the Superiors General should react to their complex situation with the subtly of some Hollywood action-hero: an attitude, in fact, completely at odds with the historical reality of Archbishop Lefebvre himself. What, Marshall seems to be asking, would Rambo do? What would be the reaction of some knuckle-headed character played by Mel Gibson? Well, if he wants to base his understanding of ecclesial politics on Braveheart, he should remember the advice given by the Duke of Argyle (in the 1995 film) to the young William Wallace: "First learn to use this" (pointing to his head), "and then I will teach you to use this" (lifting his sword).
It is an interesting fact about social media that some people who witnessed Marshall's insult of the Superiors General, and my own criticism of Marshall for making this insult, concluded that I was the one to be blamed for dividing Traditional Catholics. This is an attitude completely detached from reality. The restoration of the Church is carried out through the sacraments offered by Traditional priests, and through the lives of prayer and sacrifice represented by the Traditional Institutes and communities, not by monetised social-media clicks. We need to show solidarity, in this moment of crisis, with the Superiors General, not with the man who likes to remind his viewers "I'm just a dad with a webcam".
To the Superiors General, I say: genuine Traditional Catholics have your back. If this separates me from Taylor Marshall and his more deranged fans, so much the better.
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07/09/2021 - 13:17

Monday Masses at Maiden Lane: professionally-led singing returns

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The Latin Mass Society has a very long association with the historic London church of Corpus Christi Maiden Lane, located in Covent Garden, and we organise a Traditional Sung Mass there every Monday at 6:30pm. This practice was disrupted by the epidemic, but maintained as far as possible with two singers and no servers.
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We are now back, and last night we had the first Mass with the newly formed Southwell Consort. This is led by Dominic Bevan and consists mainly of men and women with musical training who have chosen not to pursue music as a career. It is an opportunity for them to sing some lovely sacred music in the liturgical setting for which it was composed. Last evening they had a whopping 17 singers. They sang Missa O Quam Gloriosum, Victoria; Ave Maria a 8, Victoria; Panis Angelicus, Rebelo, and I must say (hearing this from the sanctuary where I was serving) it was extremely impressive.

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Next week, the Houghton Schola will return: also to be led regularly by Dominic Bevan, this is an all-male group singing Gregorian Chant, for singers of all levels of experience.

The two groups will alternate thereafter. Enquiries for both groups should go to southwell@lms.org.uk

Another new thing about these Masses is that the first of each month is being offered for the intentions of the Catholic Police Guild, at their request.
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The next Monday evening Mass will be a High Mass, a Votive of the Blessed Sacrament, part of the series of Masses in London linked to the Eucharistic Congress taking place in Hungary. In honour of the occasion the Houghton Schola will be joined by some polyphonists.

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03/09/2021 - 13:32

LMS Walsingham Pilgrimage: more photos

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These are by the photographer and videographer Peter Jones, who runs the One Of Nine YouTube channel.

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02/09/2021 - 10:00

LMS Walking Pilgrimage to Walsingham, Part 2

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The little girl in red managed the entire walk, 56 miles over three days.

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Our fantastic non-walking volunteers, on Saturday evening in Great Massingham.

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Some of the tents at Great Massingham.

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Dinner at Great Massingham Village Hall.

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That evening we enrolled four members of the LMS' servers' guild, the Society of St Tarcisius.

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Walking on Sunday morning, accompanied by the processional statue.

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The final Mass of the Pilgrimage, in the Catholic Shrine in Houghton St Giles. The medieval shrine at Walsingham was of course destroyed by Henry VIII; the restored Catholic shrine today is based around a medieval 'slipper chapel', a wayside pilgrims' chapel, the last on the route and the marker of the Holy Mile to the shrine proper. The larger church there, the 'Reconciliation Chapel' pictured above, is always a challenge to photograph, but this year we filled it, with a congregation of about 350. This included many people who joined us by car and coach, and also people who just happened to be at the shrine, including many Syro-Malabar Catholics and Travelers.

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So after Mass we form up again, with many more people than before, and walk the Holy Mile singing the Rosary and the Te Deum.

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We arrive at what is left of Walsingham Priory, which once housed the Holy House. This represented the house of the Annunciation in Nazareth, and was established at the command of Our Lady herself on the eve of the Norman Conquest.

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There we venerated the processional statue we had brought with us and received the special blessing of returning pilgrims from the Roman Ritual.

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The following morning, those of us who have stayed the night locally squeeze into the Slipper Chapel for a Sung Mass.

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01/09/2021 - 16:42

LMS Walking Pilgrimage to Walsingham: Photos, Part 1

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In thanksgiving for the easing of the Covid regulations, allowing us to have this event, I decided to do two new things, personally. One was to do a pre-pilgrimage, walking from Cambridge to Ely: extending the pilgrimage backwards. The other was to do the walk in a kilt. So there I am, above, looking a bit the worse for wear outside the Catholic Shrine on the final day: photo courtesy of Peter Jones. (The rest in this post are mine.)

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It was by far the biggest walking pilgrimage we have done. There were about 100 people walking and 21 non-walking volunteers: cooks and drivers. For the first time, we had four chapters, which walk, sing, and pray, as a group, with gaps between chapters to let cars overtake more easily on roads: the same system as is used on the Chartres pilgrimage.

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A Votive Mass for Pilgrims (Dominican Rite) was very kindly celebrated for us in the Cambridge Blackfriars by Fr Gregory Pearson OP. It was served by the Latin Mass Society's Local Representative, Gregor Dick.
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The pre-pilgrimage was just me with two others. Perhaps we can do it with more people next year, having established the feasibility of the route.

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It was almost all along the river, the Great Ouse, from Cambridge to Ely. It should have been 17 miles, but it ended up being rather longer, as we took a wrong turning up a tributary. One lives and learns.

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The pilgrims gather on Thursday evening and we have a meal together. Early on Friday we had a High Mass (votive for pilgrims) in St Ethelreda's, Ely's Catholic parish church. We had two priests with us: Fr Henry Whisenant, a priest of the diocese of East Anglia who has a chaplaincy for the Traditional Mass at Withermarsh Green, and Fr Serafino Lanzetta, Superior of the Family of Mary Immaculate and St Francis, based in Portsmouth Diocese. Fr Serafino brought two of his confreres with him. We also had the Rev Mr Gwilym Evans FSSP, who was this year ordained Deacon; he was subdeacon at the High Masses while the priests took turns to celebrate.

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Fr Whisenant gave us the Blessing of Pilgrims from the Roman Ritual before we set off.

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The first leg continued up the Great Ouse from Ely out of  Cambridgeshire: shortly after entering Norfolk we come off the river. It is difficult to give a sense of the numbers; especially when we were in single file, the column went on a long time! We were accompanied by pilgrims of all ages: some of the stoutest walkers were very young indeed.

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On Friday evening Fr Lanzetta enrolled 16 candidates into the Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

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On Saturday morning we had Mass in the private chapel of Oxburgh Hall. We filled this chapel; we also have a Low Mass before the High Mass for the volunteers.
To be continued.

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25/08/2021 - 15:49

Contradictions among those defending Traditionis Custodes

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Final blessing at the High Mass in Westminster Cathedral;
Mass for the Latin Mass Society's AGM

My latest on 1Peter5: on some conflict among those who defend Traditionis Custodes.

It begins:
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Pope Francis has offered two reasons for wishing to bring celebrations of the Traditional Mass to an end: attitudes of some of the faithful which have become associated with this form of the Mass, and the idea that the unity of the Church requires a unity of liturgical rite. Accordingly, some of his defenders have focused on one of these points, and some on the other. Both are having difficulty explaining and justifying Pope Francis’ action.

Targeting the Innocent to Punish the Guilty?

I recently fisked an article by Michael Sean Winters which laid the blame for Traditionis Custodes (TC) on the people who like it, singling out the journalist Michael Brendan Dougherty. There is much wrong with Winters’ argument, but suppose he was right about Dougherty being a dangerous schismatic, what would be the significance of this? To be crass about it, who cares what some journalist thinks? If he were the head of an organization, clerical or lay, with serious popular support, which was closely associated with the TLM, that might indicate a wider problem, but as it is, it proves nothing at all.

As if realizing that he needed to widen his evidence base, towards the end of his article Winters brings in Martin Mosebach, accusing him of rejecting Vatican II without being able to quote him doing so, and the views of George Weigel, apparently unaware that Weigel has a long and distinguished history of gratuitouslyinsulting Catholics attached to the Traditional Mass. As a representative of the movement, he doesn’t really fit the bill. Nevertheless, that’s the best Winters can come up with.

Another problem with this approach is identified by Terrence Sweeney on the Where Peter Is blog, and in fact is acknowledged even by Winters himself: in Sweeny’s words, “Even if many are acting schismatically, this does not justify a restriction that affects those who attend the Tridentine rite but remain faithful.”

Read it all there.

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