Chairman's Blog
Fr Thomas Weinandy, Capuchin theologian, criticises Pope Francis
This caught my eye on Crux partly because Fr Weinandy used to be in Oxford, as head of Greyfriars. It is interesting because Fr Weinandy is something of an establishment figure: a former advisor to the US Bishops' Conference, a member of the International Theological Commission, and a senior member of his order, the Capuchin Franciscans, who aren't exactly traddy bad-boys. And here it is, being reported on John Allen's website, Crux.
It is one of a number of indications that the theological establishment in the United States is not happy with the direction of travel under Pope Francis.
- Fostering “chronic confusion.”
- “Demeaning” the importance of doctrine.
- Appointing bishops who “scandalize” believers with dubious “teaching and pastoral practice.”
- Giving prelates who object the impression they’ll be “marginalized or worse” if they speak out.
- Causing faithful Catholics to “lose confidence in their supreme shepherd.”
Read the whole story on Crux
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Pray for the dead this November
The Latin Mass Society is selling the perfect collection of prayers this November: prayers for the Faithful Departed, taken from the Raccolta, the old official maual of indulgenced prayers, which was filled with prayers for all occasions authorised and encouraged by the Holy See.
Single prayers, prayers for every day of the week, prayers for the bereaved, can all be found in this handy little book.
Yours for £1.95 and not available anywhere else.
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What everyone wants to see...
judging by the comments on Facebook, is more photos of the, er, striking church of Our Lady of Light in Long Crendon, which the Schola Abelis filled with Gregorian Chant last Saturday.
Fr Anthonly Conlon celebrated Mass for the Apostles SS Simon and Jude.
Sadly I didn't have my wide-angle lens, which is ideal to capture the shape of the building.
A good bunch of parishioners came along, and I judge the whole thing to have been a success.
Fr Conlon travelled 20 miles from his parish in Goring. Nine singers and four servers converged on the place for the occasion. We did it at the request of a regular worshipper with the agreement of the Parish Priest. It is all part of preserving the Traditional Mass and confirming it as part of the life of the Church: not just in a little ghetto for confirmed eccentrics, but everywhere, for everyone.
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Mass in Long Crendon tomorrow (28th Oct)
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| The last time the EF was celebrated in the church, back in 2009. |
The feast of SS Simon and Jude will be marked by a Sung Mass in the traditional form in the Church of Our Lady of Light, Long Crendon, at 11:30am.
The address of the church is 4 Chearsley Rd, Long Crendon, Aylesbury HP18 9BS
It will be celebrated by Fr Anthony Conlon, and accompanied with chant by the Schola Abelis of Oxford.
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Remembrance Sunday
Remembrance Sunday, 12th November, is coming up in the UK: the Sunday nearest to the 11th of November, the date the First World War ended, when by longstanding permission priests in England and Wales are allowed to celebrate a Requiem Mass for our war dead.
There will be truly worthy sung celebrations of the ancient Mass for the Dead in the Birmingham Oratory, and in St William of York, Reading, with the Fraternity of St Peter.
Those locations are about 100 miles apart, or a two hour drive. Between them, the only place where you will find a Sung, Vetus Ordo Requiem Mass on Sunday will be in Holy Trinity, Hethe, at 12 noon (click for a map).
This is the oldest Catholic parish church in Oxfordshire, noted for the beauty of its decorations. Mass will be celebrated by Mgr Bruce Harbert, the well-known liturgical scholar, and the singing will be led by Dominic Bevan.
Please join us to pray for the war dead, some of whom are buried in the graveyard next to this church.
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A renewed attack on celibacy?
Reposted from December 2015
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The word is out that the next subject for discussion at a Synod of Bishops will be celibacy. I don't know if this is true, but it is worth reminding ourselves of exactly why the Latin Church (as opposed to the Byzantine, Maronite etc. churches) should not abandon celibacy.
A while ago I wrote a short series of posts on the topic:
The Attack on Celibacy is an Attack on the Priesthood
The Attack on Celibacy is an Attack on Marriage
Here are a few points from those posts.
First, we have come to this stage in the debate because, in a series of choices between strengthening or weakening celibacy, the Church's leadership has chosen to weaken it. These decisions have been understandable - it is important to stress that, taken individually, they may seem inevitable, or even laudable - but the cumulative effect has been to erode the principle of priestly celibacy. Examples of such decisions have been: the giving way to the massive departure of priests from their vows, and the moral support given by bishops to laicised priests, including groups calling openly for the end of celibacy; the promotion of married deacons, and the endemic confusion about deacons' obligations; the taking over of various liturgical functions by lay people, including women; and concessions made to former Anglican (and occasionally Lutheran) convert clergy.
If celibacy is of value, and St John Paul II liked to stress that it is, then we need to treat as being valuable. There is a price involved in maintaining the ideal of celibacy, and if we are not prepared to pay the price, then it will disapear. Tough decisions, perhaps harsh decisions, will be necessary from future Popes and from bishops who want to preserve and promote celibacy, and not just give it lip-service and take it for granted while it withers away.
Second, the priesthood is undermined by attempts to lower its costliness: the visible cost paid by those entering the priesthood, which demonstrates publicly their committment to the priestly ideal. The Eastern churches do not simply make do without celibacy: they have a disciplinary regime, of fasting, and an obligation to lengthy liturgies, which few Western priests would put up with for a minute. Well, our Western priests don't have to put up with it; it is not our tradition. Our priests' conforming to Christ is manifested in a different way. What this means is that the example of the Eastern churches does not make the liberal point that celibacy is unimportant; it does the opposite. A priesthood without any onerous obligations, a slack priesthood, has no historical precedent, and would have no future.
Third, the idea that priesthood can without further ado be combined with marriage undermines marriage, because it implies that marriage itself is not a serious committment with serious implications for one's way of life. In the liberals' conception, marriage is reduced to the status of an occasional sexual outlet for incontinent men. If that's what they think marriage is, it is no wonder that marriage is in trouble. And it is in trouble: it is in the most desperate trouble in the West, in no shape to shore up another crisis-ridden institution.
Liberals have a habit of taking for granted whatever they aren't currently attacking. When attacking celibacy, they take marriage, and the priesthood itself, for granted: they assume that if we carry on taking away the supporting attitudes and practices which surround these things, life will go on as before. It hasn't, and it won't.
See also my post on 'Part Time Priests'
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LMS Pilgrimage to the Holy Land
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| Fr Martin Edwards celebrating Mass in his church of St Mary Magdalen, Wandsworth |
A 9-day pilgrimage with Traditional Masses at the Holy Sites
Fr Martin Edwards, Parish Priest of St Mary Magdalen’s Wandsworth, will be leading a pilgrimage to the Holy Land 10th-18th November 2017, with a daily Traditional Mass at the holy sites.
Flying from Heathrow on Friday 10th November, among the places pilgrims will visit during the eight day pilgrimage are Bethlehem, Mount of Olives, Mount Zion, Jerusalem, Qumran, Dead Sea, Galilee, Acre, Cana and Nazareth.
Unlike other pilgrimages to the Holy Land, this pilgrimage will have a Traditional Latin Mass every day. The cost is £1,369.
The pilgrimage is organised by Pax Travel and a full itinerary can be downloaded here.
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LMS Annual Requiem Sat 4th Nov
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| Bishop Jabale at the Cataphalque in 2016 (Photo: John Aron) |
The Latin Mass Society's Annual Requiem Mass will take place in Westminster Cathedral on Saturday 4th Nov at 2:30 pm
Before Mass, a wreath is laid at the tomb of Cardinal Heenan in grateful thanks for his role in helping to preserve the Traditional Mass in England and Wales.
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| Bishop John Arnold celebrating the Requiem in 2014 |
Seasonal offerings in the LMS Shop
Now available is the famous Latin Mass Society Ordo, which has all the feasts of England and Wales as well as the Universal Calendar;
Our indispensible Wall Calendar with its unique design to give you more space to write things into the dates and lots of photos;
Christmas cards with four different classical paintings of the Nativity and a proper seasonal greeting inside.
Get yours now!
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The Dominican Rite for the Latin Mass Society in Oxford
Yesterday was the annual LMS Pilgrimage to Oxford in honour of the city's Catholic martyrs. This year we visited the site of the martyrdom of Bl George Napier, the Castle Gallows, where he had his eternal nativity in 1610, after many years of ministering as a priest in his native Oxford, and the surrounding area.
The LMS has for a number of years had this pilgrimage at the Oxford Blackfriars, celebrated by the friars in their own Rite, the ancient Dominican Rite. It is a lot like the ancient Roman Rite, but there are a number of differences which are interesting to see, and it has an austere elegance all of its own.
The Schola Abelis, Oxford Gregorian Chant choir which exists to support celebrations of the traditional liturgy, accompanied the Mass as usual, with Dominican Chant. Just as the rubrics of the Mass are a little (actually, quite a bit) different from the Roman ones, so the chant melodies and the whole feel of the chant is a bit different.
It was an entirely chant Mass, with a Dominican Chant Mass Ordinary to go with the propers.
The changable weather and 'storm Brian' may have contributed to a lower than usual turnout, but the Schola Abelis had the biggest group I think we have ever fielded at a service: fifteen.
A sudden downpour during the procession added to the interest of the occasion, as did our being joined by one of Oxford's ... characters. I'd not normally encourage someone to carry a processional statue while holding in one hand a half-drunk bottle of wine, but he was very attached to the idea and it seemed a pity to discourage him. He assisted at Benediction as well.
The public witness of the procession, and the liturgy, meant something to him. These things have a power which we cannot fully articulate or perceive. The saints in prison managed without the liturgy by a special grace but for the rest of us it is necessary. It is the normal and indispensible food for the soul, to sustain us and to help us grow in the faith.
I know for many Catholics for the last half-century the liturgy has been a trial, a source of suffering. It is no small thing to contribute to a liturgy which is an occasion of light and consolation. The value of the Traditional Mass, in whatever Rite it may be, and the other traditional liturgical acts and devotions, cannot be calculated. Don't allow yourself to miss out on what should be a Catholic's birthright.
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