1000 Years of Wulfstan

To mark 1000 years since the birth of the landmark Saint Wulfstan, my family and I attended an 'ecumenical procession' yesterday afternoon through the streets of Worcester (flanked by street performances by local school children about the life of the Saint) and a service of Evening Prayer in the Cathedral. Archbishop Vincent Nichols gave an excellent account of the Saint, and how we can faithfully be inspired by him. His Grace even went so far as to quote Pope Benedict XVI, and Saint Augustine as saying one must be within the body of Christ (ie the Church) to be with His Spirit (which struck me as an excellent thing to say at an ecumenical gathering).

Worcester Cathedral was a Benedictine Priory up until the Reformation, and Saint Wulstan was responsible for establishing the Faith in this part of the country as Benedictine Prior, and later as Bishop. He managed to be the only Anglo-Saxon Bishop to survive his position after the Norman conquest. He is responsible for many miracles, which were set to excellent Latin music by composer Adrian Lucas and performed for this occasion. I recorded a short section of this music and set a slideshow to it. I hope you enoy it!

R. Celebramus diem istum in Wolstano nobis venerabilem qui in Christo transmigravit ad locum admirabilem sanctificatis sanctificandis sanctis habitabilem.

V. Est ubi vera quies perpes sine murmure merces.

Office of St Wulfstan, matins responsory I (Sarum Use)
(sung in Plainsong yesterday)

R. Let us celebrate this day which, because of Wulfstan, is venerable to us, who passed over into Christ, to the admirable place, which is inhabited by saintly sanctified saints.

V. Where there is true peace without murmuring.

Message from BXVI !

XT3.com is like a Catholic Youth version of Facebook. I enjoyed this site a long time ago when it consisted mainly of a discussion group. Now it has been chosen as the official site of Sydney World Youth Day.

Imagine my surprise when I see this in my mail inbox:

Following the link, I get an electronic message from the Pope. This is very 'cool':

Dear Friends,

Fifty days ago we were together for the celebration of Mass. Today I greet you on the birthday of Mary, Mother of the Church. Empowered by the Spirit and courageous like Mary, your pilgrimage of faith fills the Church with life! Soon I am to visit France. I ask you all to join me in praying for the young people of France. May we all be rejuvenated in hope!

BXVI

Also, here is a Youth translation I prepared of the Pope's message:

Dr Frnds,

50 dys ago we wr tgtha 4 th clbrtn of Mss.
2dy I grt u on th brthdy of Mry, Mtha of th Chrch.
Empwrd by th Sprt & couragus lke Mry, ur plgrmge of faith fills th Chrch wth lfe!
Soon Im gonna visit France.
I ask u all 2 join me in pryin 4 th yng ppl of Frnc.
May we all b rejuvntd in hope!

BXVI

Mega-Forgery

I have not written previously about the so-called apparitions at Medjugorje. Based mainly on the facts contained in the book written by the late Michael Davies, I concluded a long time ago that the events surrounding a supposed apparition of Our Lady were not worthy of belief, attention or wasted money and effort. If nothing else, I would simply obey the line of the Church, and the local Bishops, that there was nothing suggesting supernatural events (despite several thousand claimed apparitions).

Now, just recently, it has come to light that the 'visionaries' key spiritual advisor, Fr Tomislav Vlasic, has been subject to severe disciplinary measures by the Franciscan Order. Not only that, but the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith have authorised these measures. Fr Vlasic claimed to have been chosen by divine providence for his advisory role in the apparitions, and now has proven himself to be less than up to the job. Sure, we are all sinners; but managing to father a child to a nun really takes some doing.

I'm afraid this is just yet another slur against the motley crew, who continue to have support all over the world, mainly with 'charismatic' type Catholics who often have questionable views about the nature of the Church as it is. Do yourself a favour, and stop detracting attention away from true Catholic spirituality, like the apparitions at Fatima for instance.

Profession for Catholic Converts

In the old way of doing things in the Catholic Church, a candidate for "reception into full communion" would have to recite a Profession, which seems almost like an oath. The form of the Rite seems to be based around the Priest absolving the convert from excommunication. There will also have been some inquiry into whether the candidate's non-Catholic Baptism would have been valid, and if necessary Baptism is 'repeated' (even if only conditionally, just to make sure!)

I reproduce here in full the text of the Profession. The whole Rite can be found in the Appendix of the Rituale Romanum, which can be found here.

Although this profession is no longer required, with a new Rite being followed, I would encourage any candidates for the RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults) in the Catholic Church to study and meditate upon this text. The structure of the RCIA often assumes that everyone will be ready at the end of it at the same time; but some people feel they need longer, or indeed feel they could have been received earlier. In any case, from my experience with my wife Wendy (left, being confirmed), who underwent this process, I found it a time of immense Grace, which led me back to the Faith! The night of the Easter Vigil is a very special time to be received into the Catholic Faith.

Perhaps by studying this Profession, any candidate will be aware how 'ready' they really are. Enjoy!

The convert kneels before the priest (vested in surplice and purple stole,) and with his/her right hand on the book of Gospels makes the profession of faith as given below. If the person is unable to read, the priest reads it for them slowly, so that they can understand and repeat the words after him.

I, N.N., .... years of age, born outside the Catholic Church, have held and believed errors contrary to her teaching. Now, enlightened by divine grace, I kneel before you, Reverend Father ...., having before my eyes and touching with my hand the holy Gospels. And with firm faith I believe and profess each and all the articles contained in the Apostles' Creed, that is: I believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; He descended into hell, the third day He arose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God, the Father almighty, from there He shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit; the holy Catholic Church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.

I firmly admit and embrace the apostolic and ecclesiastical traditions and all the other constitutions and ordinances of the Church.

I admit the Sacred Scriptures in the sense which has been held and is still held by holy Mother Church, whose duty it is to judge the true sense and interpretation of Sacred Scripture, and I shall never accept or interpret them in a sense contrary to the unanimous consent of the fathers.

I profess that the sacraments of the New Law are truly and precisely seven in number, instituted for the salvation of mankind, though all are not necessary for each individual: baptism, confirmation, holy Eucharist, penance, anointing of the sick, holy orders, and matrimony. I profess that all confer grace, and that baptism, confirmation, and holy orders cannot be repeated without sacrilege. I also accept and admit the ritual of the Catholic Church in the solemn administration of all the aforementioned sacraments.

I accept and hold in each and every part all that has been defined and declared by the Sacred Council of Trent concerning original sin and justification. I profess that in the Mass there is offered to God a true, real, and propitiatory sacrifice for the living and the dead; that in the holy sacrament of the Eucharist the body and blood together with the soul and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ is really, truly, and substantially present, and that there takes place in the Mass what the Church calls transubstantiation, which is the change of all the substance of bread into the body of Christ and of all substance of wine into His blood. I confess also that in receiving under either of these species one receives Jesus Christ whole and entire.

I firmly hold that Purgatory exists and that the souls detained there can be helped by the prayers of the faithful.

Likewise I hold that the saints, who reign with Jesus Christ, should be venerated and invoked, that they offer prayers to God for us, and that their relics are to be venerated.

I firmly profess that the images of Jesus Christ and of the Mother of God, ever a Virgin, as well as of all the saints should be given due honor and veneration. I also affirm that Jesus Christ left to the Church the faculty to grant indulgences, and that their use is most salutary to the Christian people. I recognize the holy, Roman, Catholic, and apostolic Church as the mother and teacher of all the churches, and I promise and swear true obedience to the Roman Pontiff, successor of St. Peter, the prince of the apostles and vicar of Jesus Christ.

Moreover, without hesitation I accept and profess all that has been handed down, defined, and declared by the sacred canons and by the general councils, especially by the Sacred Council of Trent and by the Vatican General Council, and in special manner all that concerns the primacy and infallibility of the Roman Pontiff. At the same time I condemn and reprove all that the Church has condemned and reproved. This same Catholic faith, outside of which none can be saved, I now freely profess and I truly adhere to it. With the help of God, I promise and swear to maintain and profess this faith entirely, inviolately, and with firm constancy until the last breath of life. And I shall strive, as far as possible, that this same faith shall be held, taught, and publicly professed by all who depend on me and over whom I shall have charge.

So help me God and these holy Gospels.

Catholic Physicians

I am happy to now be a member of the "Catholic Physicians Blog"! Along with Catholic Dads, it seems that now every facet of my life is covered by a blog. How about "Catholic Star-Wars Fans"? Perhaps it will fall on me to start that one up...

My first post on Catholic Physicians Blog is about Psychiatry, a profession which I may very well specialise in. It is a sensitive topic, and I hope I have handled it well and with compassion. Please head on over there and let me know what you think.

I have previously written on being a Catholic Physician here and here... amongst others...

Catholic Media House

WEST HOLLYWOOD, Aug 29, 2008.
CATHOLIC MEDIA HOUSE LAUNCH

A brand new website has been launched called Catholic Media House to assist bishops, pastors, priests, catechists, youth directors, and teachers/instructors by providing multimedia resources for the New Evangelization.

The different types of media offered for download are mini-movies, motion and still backgrounds, countdowns on various topics of all varieties and can be used in presentations "to re-evangelize the baptized, disciple and mobilize them for evangelization and to be a blessing".

Catholic Media House is also a great platform for producers of media to have their
resources in a central visible and easily accessible location.

I have been asked to publicise this new resource; it seems quite pretty, although is American and pricey, but do go see what you think: Click on the link in the title above.

The site seems to talk a lot about using these visual media forms as part of a 'service'. This sounds a bit strange; I'm not sure what to think about using this kind of thing as part of the liturgy.

Newman Shrine

In a quiet corner of the Birmingham Oratory, between two large marble pillars, parishioners are beginning to imagine a new 'centre-piece' to the church: a shrine devoted to the life of its founder, the Venerable John Henry Cardinal Newman. At this point there will soon be placed a large marble sarcophagus which will contain the earthly remains of Newman.

The plans for this are being finalised, with the Ministry of Justice now approving of the transfer of Newman's remains from his grave in Rednal (the Oratory retreat house a few miles south of Birmingham, near the old Rover factory in Longbridge). The body will be photographed before being placed into a new coffin and put on show at the Oratory, before a final celebratory Mass, when the coffin will be placed into its final resting place of the marble sarcophagus.

The sarcophagus will be a shade of green Italian marble, from the quarry at Carrara (a suitable piece of stone has already been identified) and emblazoned with Newman's coat of arms. It will have inscribed upon it in silver lettering Newman's motto: Ex umbris et imaginibus in veritatem which means "out of shadows and images into Truth". It will be surrounded by four candlesticks and surmounted by a silver lamp, as a fitting place to venerate Newman's relics, which will one day be transformed and reunited to his soul in Heaven, as is our Christian Hope.

This sarcophagus will cost in the region of £50,000, but over £8500 has already been raised. The Holy Souls Altar, where it is due to be placed near, is on the Gospel side of the church (left-hand side) and is the second side altar from the back of church. Please continue to pray for the continued success of the beatification process in Rome, as he will hopefully be declared 'Blessed' in December later this year.

Eternal Father, You led John Henry Newman to follow the kindly light of Truth, and he obediently responded to your heavenly calls at any cost. As writer, preacher, counsellor and educator, as pastor, Oratorian, and servant of the poor he laboured to build up your Kingdom.

Grant that through your Vicar on Earth we may hear the words,
'Well done, thou good and faithful servant, enter into the company of the canonized saints.'

May you manifest your Servant's power of intercession by even extraordinary answers to the prayers of the faithful throughout the world. We pray particularly for our intentions in his name and in the name of Jesus Christ your Son our Lord. Amen.

Tridentinisation

The reform of the reform is well under way at the Birmingham Oratory! In fact, the Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI's wish that the two forms of the Roman Rite be "mutually enriching" find their fulfilment here! I have written previously on the differences... but things are in constant flux!

Tonight at the High Mass for the feast of the Assumption, in the Ordinary form (Novus Ordo) not only was the 'Liturgy of the Eucharist' in Latin and ad orientem, as is the usual high standard, but the Introductory/Penitential Rite was also said ad orientem silently to the backdrop of the choir's Introit (with preceding processional organ voluntary) in the same way as the Traditional 'prayers at the foot of the altar'.

Also the Canon was silent with seperated Sanctus and Benedictus around a central sung Quam Oblationem and consecration, with sung final doxology (I've always liked the latter).

I believe that hitherto, priests have not felt that they've been able to do these sorts of things - but this sort of organic growth is welcome and necessary to bring out the unique aspects of the Roman Rite, and to preserve the wealth of Sacred Polyphony. The Mass setting tonight was Palestrina's Assumpta est Maria, and there were no moments when ministers were 'hanging around' waiting for the choir to finish its elaborate pieces... Except perhaps the Agnus Dei - which actually gave me wonderful time to say a prayer by St Thomas Aquinas found in the Mass booklet, to prepare for communion. It was fitting to wait at this point and hear the 'Ecce Agnus Dei' as it is a lovely part of the Mass, even though the piece was probably designed to be sung throughout communion.

The Collect and Post-Communion were also said from the celebrant's sedelia, preceded by a 'Dominus Vobiscum' and facing 'North' (or left) which maintains a degree of decorum and reverence which the versus populum posture does not. Overall, the Introductory Rite was less clunky and maintained those unique things from the Old Rite which were sorely missed.

Perhaps now that we have re-established these beautiful features, we will be able to see more clearly the unique aspects of the reformed liturgy which can validly contribute towards the Roman Rite. In his homily, Fr Guy said that humanity's creation was remarkable, but not as splendid as the way God would re-create it in its redemption from its fallen state (or words to that effect - he is much more eloquent than I): It struck me that for all the suffering and crises in the Church and its Liturgy, we can look forward with joyful hope at the magnificent recreation of the glories which were once taken for granted.

Also today, in a little family tradition which Wendy introduced, we crowned our statue of Mary with 12 silver stars (left), to celebrate today's feast and her coronation in heaven.

Assumption of our Flesh

The daughter of the King comes in, all beautiful: her robes are of golden cloth.

Thou art the glory of Jerusalem! Thou art the joy of Israel! Thou art the honour of our people!

Hearken, O daughter, and see, and incline your ear: and the King shall greatly desire thy beauty.

Epistle and Graduale - Psalm 44:14, Judith 15:10, Psalm 44:11-12

It is that holiday again - The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Liturgy for this feast is full of beautiful allusions to Our Lady from Holy Scripture:

From the beginning of Creation, Our Lady is foreshadowed as the one God would distance from Satan (Genesis 3:15)

I will put enmities between thee and the Woman, and between thy seed and her Seed.

(Offertorio)

But as sin entered the world through Eve and disobedience, so too Grace enters the world through one Woman: the Blessed Virgin Mary. Hence Christ becomes the 'New Adam' (1 Corinthians 15:22) and where we were once dead in Sin, now we are alive in Christ. This is the essence of the sign of Our Lady's Assumption into Heaven.

In the Eastern Church, this event is known as the "Dormition" or the 'Falling asleep' of the Mother of God. For it is not even as though Mary had died; her body was "full of Grace" (St Luke 1:28) and the stain of Sin, and hence the power of death, were not present in her. Thus she prefigures the consummation of the whole Church, in the same way that Our Lady is often seen to represent the whole Church (Apocalypse 12:1):

A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.

(Introit)

The Assumption and Crowning of Our Lady is the last glorious mystery of our Faith. Our Faith does not rest solely with the Resurrection and Ascension of Our Lord into heaven: the climax is the first fruits of his saving power over humanity. For Christianity is not some ethereal and abstract philosophy: it is concerned with the sanctification of the FLESH.

"Behold: I make all things new!"

Apocalypse 21:5

Christianity is an earthly, bodily religion. God created us in His own image, and it is only through humanity's own fall that the flesh now speaks out of sync with our soul. Thus pain and suffering abound, and we are lost to understand the meaning of it all. Our whole history is concerned with the power of death and sin over our lives: but this is not the end of the story. With the coming of Christ, we are grafted onto a new tree: a holy and living well of salvation. It is through the Grace which flows from Christ that our flesh is made holy (cf. Romans 5:16). Christ took once holy and sacred institutions, like marriage and bodily unity for example, and re-instituted them as righteous things.

O Virgin most prudent, whither goest thou, bright as the morn? All beautiful and sweet art thou, O daughter of Sion, fair as the moon, elect as the sun!

Magnificat Antiphon - Canticles 6:9

Through Christ we can find the once lost meaning of the flesh and all our earthly desires. It is thus simple to understand why Our Lord chose earthly symbols to be the very carriages of His Grace: water to wash us clean of Sin (right); bread to feed us with His Body, and unite us as the grains of wheat; Wine to carry forth His Blood and saving death as a sacrificial lamb; Oil to anoint and strengthen our spirit, and heal our soul; and the conjugal act to unite two as one in the most primitive human example of divine love.

All generations shall call me blessed, because He who is mighty hath done great things to me.

Communio - St Luke 1:48-49

It is with especial excitement that our church, the Oratory, has become the centre of much media excitement in recent weeks. Its founder, Cardinal John Henry Newman, will undoubtedly be declared 'Blessed' by the Church, and numbered among the just in heaven, as a suitable intercessor and example for all the Christian Faithful. Part of this process is the transferral of his earthly remains from the grave in Rednal (left), to a marble sarcophagus in the Birmingham Oratory, to be venerated by the faithful. Before anyone sees this as 'medieval and macabre' we have but to remember that early Christian worship was founded in the catacombs, upon the bones of the Saints.

The great basilicas in Rome, of St Peter (right) and St Paul, the 'pillars of the Church', have now been archaeologically proven to be built upon their earthly remains. We believe that Christ has sanctified the Saints in body and soul, which is why at the end of the world their bodies will be resurrected and reunited with their souls, currently enjoying heavenly bliss. In a similar way, we will venerate the bones of Newman, who we know was a vessel of Grace for us all, and especially in England. Those bones are not an empty shell, but an imprint of heavenly glory in our earthly lives, and one which will be raised up and consummated on the Last Day.

Just as Our Lord has taken his mother, the Immaculate Virgin Mary, up into heaven , body and soul; so also we pray that our eyes may be fixed on heavenly things, and that we may share in the same glory!

From the Kiddy Album...

I think Wendy may have had a devotion to Our Lady long before she converted to Catholicism!

Unlike many converts, it wasn't a negative aspect of Anglicanism that pushed her over the Tyber, but rather a positive moving of the Holy Spirit in her life, which was already deeply committed to God.

But that's not the point of this post; merely to show a cute kiddy photo of her dressed up as Our Lady! Don't know who the St Joseph is. I only ever ended up being a shepherd, but other times may have been busy "internally participating" in the Sacred Mysteries....