Ge'ez 4

They then say three times:
Look upon us mercifully, O Lord, and do not take into account our sins.
The host of angels of the Saviour of the world, stand here before Him. They praise the Saviour, the Body

THE ANAPHORA OF THE APOSTLES
An anaphora corresponds to the Canon or Eucharistic Prayer of the Western Rite.

The Lord be with you. + (Making the Sign of the Cross)
And with your spirit.
Give thanks to our God. + (blessing the people)
It is right to give Him thanks and praise.
Lift up your hearts. + (blessing the servers)
We lift them up to the Lord.

We give thanks to You, O Lord, through Your beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ Whom, in the last days, You sent to us as Saviour. Redeemer and Advocate. He is Your Word through whom You made all things by Your will.

(Deacon) We pray for the Catholic, Apostolic Church, made holy by the precious blood of Christ, as an instrument of peace and we pray for our blessed and holy pope, Abuna ... and also our bishop, Abuna... all bishops, priests and deacons and all the Christian faithful. We ask Holy Mary, Mother of God, together with the Apostles and the fathers of the Church to intercede for us. And may eternal light shine forever on the faithful departed.

To these, and to all the dead, grant eternal rest and have mercy on them, O You Who sent Your Son from heaven into the womb of the Virgin.

(Deacon) You who sit, arise!
STAND from now until you return from Communion.

He was made flesh, was carried in the womb, and His birth was proclaimed by the Holy Spirit.

(Deacon) Look to the East!

The multitudes of holy angels and archangels stand before You in adoration and worship, O Lord...

(Deacon) Be watchful!

You are extolled by Your venerable Seraphim and Cherubim who have six wings. With two wings they cover their face, with two they cover their feet and with two they fly from one end of the world to the other. Unceasingly they bless You and glorify You together with all who praise You, therefore accept our praise as we say:

(Deacon) Respond!
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God of hosts, the heavens and the earth are full of the holiness of Your glory.

The Priest blesses himself, saying: Truly the holiness of Your glory has filled the heavens and the earth through our Lord God and Saviour Jesus Christ. Your only Son was born of the Virgin Mary and came to gain everlasting reward for Your people by doing Your will.
Lord, remember us in Your Kingdom; remember us, O Lord our Master; remember us, Lord, in Your Kingdom as You remembered the good thief on the right when You were on the holy, wooden Cross.

The Priest stretching his hands over the elements, says:
He stretched out his arms for the Passion; suffering, to save those who trusted in Him. He offered himself, of His own will, as a sacrifice to the Father that He might overcome death, break the bonds of Satan, trample upon Sheol and lead forth the saints, establish the Sacrament and reveal His resurrection.

The priest places his hands on the corporal, then taking the bread in his hands, says:
In the same night He was betrayed, He took bread in His holy, blessed and immaculate hands.
We believe that this is He, truly we do believe.
The Priest makes the sign of the Cross three times, then indents the Host lightly with his thumb in five places, without breaking the Host, representing the nails and spear.

The people, standing, bow their heads.

He looked up to heaven toward You, His Father, He gave thanks +, blessed it +, sanctified it +, and He broke it and gave it to His disciples and said to them: TAKE THIS AND EAT. THIS BREAD IS MY BODY WHICH IS BROKEN FOR YOU FOR THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS.
Amen, amen, amen. We believe and confess that This is truly Your Body. We praise You, our Lord and our God.

In the same way, He took the cup and giving thanks +, He blessed it +, sanctified it + and gave it to His disciples saying: TAKE THIS AND DRINK. THIS IS THE CUP OF MY BLOOD WHICH WILL BE SHED FOR THE REMISSION OF SINS ON BEHALF OF THE MANY.
Amen, amen, amen. We believe and confess that This is truly Your Blood. We praise You, our Lord and our God.

ANAMNESIS
Whenever You do this, do it in remembrance of Me.
Lord, we proclaim Your death, and Your holy resurrection; we believe in Your ascension and in Your second coming. We praise You. We trust in You. We pray to You, our Lord and our God, and we beseech You for Your mercy.

EPICLESIS
And now, Father, commemorating the death and resurrection of Your Son, we offer You this bread (pointing) and this cup of wine (pointing) as a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving. We thank You for the grace of being in Your Presence and serving You. We implore You, Father, to send Your Holy Spirit down upon this bread (pointing) and upon this wine (pointing) so that He may change them into the Body + and Blood + of Jesus Christ, Who is our Lord and Saviour for ever and ever.
Amen. Lord, have mercy on us; Lord, have pity on us; Lord, forgive us our sins.

Father, bring together in unity all who partake of the most precious Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, Your Son. Grant that their Holy Communion may be for their sanctification, for the indwel1ing of the Holy Spirit, and for a steadfast belief in the true faith. Grant, also, that they may glorify You and praise You through Your beloved Son together with the Holy Spirit, for ever and ever.
Amen.

FRACTION OF THE HOST
(Deacon) With all our heart, let us implore the Lord our God to grant us the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.
As it was and is and shall be, from generation to generation, for ever and ever. Amen

The Priest breaks the Sacred Host as he leads the people in prayer. The people repeat the words after him:
1. Through Your Holy Spirit help us to be united
2. And redeem us by this sacrifice
3. So that we may live in You,
4. Throughout all time
5. For ever and ever
6. Blessed is the Name of the Lord;
7. And blessed is He Who comes in the Name of the Lord;
8. And blessed be His glorious Name.
9. Amen,
10. Amen,
11. Blessed be the Lord.
12. Pour out the grace of the Holy Spirit upon us.

(Deacon) Be attentive for prayer!
Lord, have mercy on us.
Peace be to you.
And with your spirit.

I give You thanks, O Lord my God, Sustainer of the whole universe Who sits on the chariot of the Cherubim. You reside in the highest Heaven, and You receive praise from the humble while You dwell in that glorious light. O Giver of stillness to the world, You revealed Yourself to us through the Cross of Your Son. Who is as holy and merciful as You? O Lord our God, You conferred the authority of the Holy Spirit on the apostles. They served You with humble hearts and offered You the fragrance of goodness. Lord our God, Sustainer of all things, do not remove Your authority from us. We ask this through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
(Deacon) Let us pray together the prayer taught us by our Saviour:
Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name; Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For the Kingdom, the power, and the glory are Yours, now and forever.

and Blood of the Redeemer of the world. Standing in adoration, let us come before the Face of the Saviour of the world.
(Deacon) Adore and worship the Lord in fear. (Bowing)
In Your presence, O Lord, we adore and praise You. (Bowing)

PENITENTIAL PRAYER OF ST. BASIL
Lord our God, Who takes away the sins of the world, accept the repentance of these Your children and shine the light of eternal life over them. Forgive them their sins, I humbly plead with You, for You are merciful and most kind, slow to anger and rich in mercy and You love all mankind. If we have sinned against You, Lord, in our thoughts, words, or deeds, forgive us. Be gracious to us, for You are compassionate and a lover of mankind. O Lord, set us free, absolve + all Your people, including me, + Your sinful servant. Remember always, Lord, our pope, Abuna N, and our Bishop, Abuna N., preserve them in peace. Remember, O Lord, all archbishops and bishops, priests and deacons, readers and singers, nuns and monks, widows, orphans, men and women, the elderly and the children, and all Your Christian faithful here present in Your holy Church. Strengthen them in the faith of Christ.
At this moment, the priest will mention those who have died recently
Remember, O Lord, all who have fallen asleep in the true faith. May eternal light shine on them and place their souls in the bosom of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Free us from all evil and grant us, O Lord, wisdom and steadfastness of heart, knowledge and discernment so that we may always avoid and flee from the works of Satan. Help us, O Lord, to do Your will and what pleases You at all times. Write our names in the Book of Life in Your Kingdom of Heaven together with those of all Your saints and martyrs. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, through Him, with Him and with the Holy Spirit, glory and dominion are Yours, now and forever.

(Deacon) Be attentive to our Lord, present on the altar.
These holy mysteries are for those who believe in them.
God the Father is Holy, the Son is Holy, the Holy Spirit is Holy.
The Lord be with you.
And with your Spirit.

ELEVATION
The priest then elevates the Sacred Host on the paten and says 12 times, with the people repeating after him:
EGZEO MAHARANNA CHRISTOS
(Lord Christ, have mercy on us.)

PRAYER OVER PENITENTS
(Deacon) You, who are in penitence, humbly bow your heads.
The people bow their heads in prayer:
O Most Gracious God, look down upon those who are penitent. Have pity on them according to Your great mercy, and take away all their sins. Shelter them and protect them from all evil, and grant them peace in their souls. Once You have made them whole again, reunite them in the communion of the Holy Church. This we ask through the grace and mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ Who lives for ever and ever. Amen.

(Deacon) Be attentive and place yourself in God's presence.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Peace be with you,
And with your spirit.

PROFESSION OF FAITH IN THE EUCHARIST
This (pointing) is truly the most holy Body and Blood of our Lord God and Saviour Jesus Christ, which is given for the fullness of life, the salvation of mankind, and the forgiveness of sins of those who receive Him with faith.
Amen.

This (pointing) is truly the most precious Body and Blood of Emmanuel, our God.
Amen.

I truly believe and give witness, even to my last breath, that this (pointing) is the Body and the Blood of our Lord God and Saviour Jesus Christ. He took His Body from our Lady, the holy and immaculate Virgin Mary, Mother of God, thereby uniting His humanity with His Divinity without any confusion or change, and without division or separation. He indeed was a good witness to the Truth in the days of Pontius Pilate, and He offered Himself on the Cross for our sake and for the life of all.
Amen.

I truly believe and confess that His Divinity has never been separated from His Humanity, not for an hour, not even for the twinkling of an eye. He offered His Body on the Cross for our sake: for the fullness of life, the salvation of mankind and the forgiveness of the sins of those who receive Him with faith.
Amen.

I truly believe, and profess that this (pointing) is indeed the Body and the Blood of our Lord God and Saviour Jesus Christ. To Him all praise and adoration is due, together with His most gracious heavenly Father and the Holy Spirit, the Giver of Life, now and for ever.
Amen.

Then the priest takes a small piece of the Sacred Host in his hand, dips It into the Precious Blood, and makes the Sign of the Cross with It on the Body, and over the Blood, silently saying:
Blessed be our Lord God, the Father, Sustainer of the whole universe; blessed be His only begotten Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ; and blessed be the Holy Spirit, the Comforter and Purifier of us all.

PRAYER BEFORE COMMUNION
The priest shall then say this prayer quietly:
Lord, our God, behold the body of Your Son, the Sacrifice that pleases You. Your only-begotten Son died for my sake, so, through Him, forgive all my sins. Here is the immaculate blood of Your Messiah, which was shed for me on Calvary. Behold this precious blood speaks, cries out in my behalf. Let it be for the remission of my sins, and for its sake accept my petition, for Your beloved Son was pierced for my sake with a spear and the nails and suffered to fulfill Your will. After I was saved, the devil returned and wounded me with his darts. Grant me Your forgiveness, Lord, for the adversary is more powerful and he has killed me with the guilt of my sins. Defend me from that insolent foe that never stops battling me to deviate me from salvation. Lord, You are my King, my God and my Redeemer, heal for me, Your servant, the wounds of my soul and my body.

Meanwhile, all Communicants shall say:
O my Lord Jesus Christ, I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof. I have made You angry by doing wrong things. You created me in Your own image and likeness but I have wounded my body and soul by disobeying Your commandment of love, and have sinned against You. For the sake of Your life-giving death on the Cross and Your resurrection on the third day, wash me clean trom all my sins. In Your mercy and love, forgive my wrongdoing, heal me, and bring life everlasting to my soul and body, When I receive You in the Holy Eucharist, be my life and salvation. O Life of the World, I ask this through the intercession of Our Lady, the holy Virgin Mary, John the Baptist, the angels, and all the saints, Amen.


COMMUNION
While receiving the Holy Communion, the priest shall say to himself:
O Lord Jesus Christ, may this mystery be for the purification of my body and soul rather than for my condemnation. This is truly the precious body and blood of Emmanuel our God, that came down from the heaven. O Lord, You who have become man for our salvation, fill my mouth with praise, my heart with joy, my soul with gladness because I have partaken of this Divine Mystery.

(Deacon) Let us pray for each other and for all those who have asked for our prayers. Let us beg God for peace; and, for the love of Jesus Christ, let us give Him all praise and glory.
Lord, reward those whom You have called and sanctified by sharing with them the merits of this Holy Sacrifice; strengthen them with Your love and protect them with Your almighty power. Grant this through Jesus Christ, in Whom You are glorified.

While the communicants receive Holy Communion, the following prayer is recited:
Holy, Holy, Holy, Ineffable triune God, grant that I may partake of this life-giving Body and Blood without condemnation, and live only for You, always doing Your will. Grant, O Lord, that I may bear fruit that is pleasing to You and eventually appear before Your Glory. With confidence I call You Abba, Father. O Lord, may Your Kingdom come to fruition in me, and may Your Name be forever blessed. You are almighty, glorious, worthy of honour and praise for ever and ever, Amen.

When the priest gives the Holy Communion, he shall say:
This is the precious Body and Blood of Emmanuel our God.
Then the Communicant shall say: Amen, Amen.

Ge'ez 3

PRAYER OF THE VEIL
While covering the chalice and the bread with the veil, the Priest says the Prayer of Wrappings
I am covering this blessed paten with the veil, creating the likeness of the tomb in which You stayed three days and three nights. Make my hands like those of Joseph and Nicodemus, who wrapped Your body and gained comfort, peace, and honour from the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, forever and ever. Amen.

(Deacon) This is the law of our fathers, the holy apostles: Let no one hold any ill-will in his heart, nor the desire for revenge, neither any hatred or jealousy towards his neighbour or towards anyone.
Adore and worship the Lord with fear. (Bowing)
In Your presence, O Lord, we adore and praise You. (Bowing)

On Sundays and Feast Days:
Let us adore the Holy Trinity... 3 times, bowing his head.
The Father, the Son and Holy Spirit, in three Persons, one God...3 times bowing their heads.
Peace be with You.
O Holy Church, dwelling of the Divinity.
Intercede for us,
Virgin Mary, Mother of God.

On Ordinary days only:
O Mary, You are...
... the Golden Censer, that bore the Glowing Charcoal. Blessed is the person who receives Him from the sanctuary, the One Who forgives sin and blots out faults. He is God's Word, Your Son, O Mary, Who offered Himself to His Father as incense and an acceptable sacrifice. We adore You, O Christ, together with Your gracious heavenIy Father and with the Holy Spirit, the Giver of Life.

READING OF THE EPISTLE
(SIT)
If my memory serves me rightly, there is no lectionary as such; the celebrant chooses, according to whatever he feels appropriate, a passage from a rather restricted selection of passages, all from St Paul.
(Deacon) From the Letter of St. Paul to ... May his blessing be with all of us, for ever and ever.
Amen.

After the reading:
(Deacon) May the blessing of the Father, the love of the Son and the fruit of the Holy Spirit which descended upon the apostles in the holy upper room of Sion, be multiplied and come down upon us in a like manner.
O Saint Paul, good preacher and healer of the sick, you received a crown of reward; intercede and pray for us that the Lord may save our souls according to His infinite kindness and mercy, for His holy Name's sake.

O Lord, our God, You revealed to Your holy apostles the mystery of the glorious Gospel of the Messiah. You gave them great and im-measurable riches from Your grace. You sent them to preach the abundance of Your grace and mercy to all the ends of the world. We too, Lord our God, pray and beseech that You make us worthy of their inheritance and portion that we may walk in their ways and follow in their footsteps. Allow us always to imitate their love and perseverance. Allow us, through our godly worship, to participate in their labour. Protect Your holy Church which You have founded for their sake. Bless + (blesses himself) the sheep of Your flock +(blesses the people). Also, multiply this vine + (blesses the offerings on the altar) which You have planted with Your right hand. We ask this through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour, Who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit now and forever.
Holy, holy, holy are You, God the Father, Who sustains all things. Holy, holy, holy are You, the only Son, Word of the Living God. Holy, holy, holy, are You, Holy Spirit, Who knows all things. 

During Easter Time: The people STAND and say Three times:
Christ is risen from the dead; He has died and trampled Death under foot; and, for those in the tomb, He has granted life and eternal rest.
In Ordinary Time: TRISAGION (thrice holy)
O Holy Triune God, have mercy on us. O Holy Triune God, spare us. O Holy Triune God, have compassion on us. And the people repeat:
O Holy Triune God, have mercy on us. O Holy Triune God, spare us. O Holy Triune God, have compassion on us.

Rejoice, Rejoice, Rejoice, O Virgin Mary, full of grace,
The Lord is with You,
Blessed are You among women.
And blessed is the Fruit of Your Womb.
Pray and intercede for us with Your beloved Son, Jesus Christ,
That He may forgive us our sins.
All glory and honour to the Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, at all times, both now and forever. Amen.

GOSPEL PREPARATION
(Deacon) Stand for prayer!
ALL STAND
Lord, have mercy on us.
Peace be with all of you.
And also with your Spirit.

Lord Jesus Christ, Our God, You said to Your holy disciples and apostles: But blessed are Your eyes, for they see, and Your ears, for they hear. Truly I tell You, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it. Through the intercession of Your saints, Lord, make us worthy of hearing and practicing the words of Your Holy Gospel.

(Deacon) Pray on account of the Holy Gospel.
Make us worthy to listen to Your Good News.

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
(Deacon) O Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come to You Hide not Your Face from me in the day of my distress.
O Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come to You Hide not Your Face from me in the day of my distress.
Listen to the Holy Gospel, Alleluia. The Lord be with you.
And with your spirit.

The Priest now blesses to the north, south, east and west.

A reading from the Holy Gospel, the Word of the Son of God, according to...
Glory to You, O Christ, my Lord and my God, now and forever.

After the reading, the Priest says: Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass, said the Lord.
We truly believe in the Father, and we truly believe in the Son, and we truly believe in the Holy Spirit, one God in three persons.

PREANAPHORA
We beseech You, O God, Sustainer of all and the Father of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. We invoke and seek Your clemency, O Lover of mankind. Remember, O Lord, the peace of Your Holy, One, Apostolic and Catholic Church. Bless all the people and all Your flock +(Blesses the people).

(Deacon) Pray for the peace of the Church on earth.
Kyrie eleison.
And again we beseech You, O God, to remember our congregation and bless it. +(Blesses the people)

(Deacon) Pray for this Church and the unity of this congregation.
Lord bless our unity and keep us in Your peace.

CREED
(Deacon) In the wisdom of God, let all of us profess our faith:
I believe in one God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day He rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again 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

The priest washes his hands, saying:
O my Lord and my God, Creator of the universal order, Giver of peace and love, uproot from me all that is evil.

GLORIA
Great and eternal God, You created man and found Your work was excellent. By the coming of Your living Son, our Lord, God, and Saviour Jesus Christ, You destroyed death, the result of sin, which entered into the world through the envy of Satan. You filled all the earth with Your peace, for which the hosts of angels praise You, singing:
Glory to God in the highest and peace on earth to those on whom his favour rests.

THE KISS OF PEACE
O Lord, in Your kindness, fill our hearts with Your peace, wash away all our sins and impurities. Take away all envy and ill-will, all wrongdoing and all bad thoughts that bring death. Make us worthy to greet each other in holiness.
(Deacon) Pray for perfect peace and love and offer each other a sign of peace.
O Christ our God, make us worthy to greet one another in holiness.

All make a sign of peace, by bowing to each other.

Ge'ez 2

The priest comes to the altar, makes the customary reverence and kisses the altar. He puts the bread and chalice on the altar, leaving them unveiled, and washes his hands.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, + and of the Holy Spirit, One God.
Amen.

How wondrous is this day and how marvellous this hour in which the Holy Spirit comes down from the highest Heaven and covers this sacrifice with the power of God, making it holy. Stand in silence and reverence, and pray that the peace of God will be with me and with all of you.
Amen.

PRAYER OVER THE MASOB:
A masob is the woven straw container on which injera, traditional bread is served.
Lord our God, You said to the Prophet Moses, Your servant: Make Me choice vessels and set them in My tabernacle upon Mount Sinai. So now, Almighty God, stretch forth Your hand in blessing over this masob to make it worthy to carry the sacred body of Your only Son. For to
You, with Your only Son and the Holy Spirit, is glory both now and forever, world without end.
You are the pure golden masob that contains the mysterious manna, the Bread come down from Heaven that gives life to all the world.

OFFERTORY:
Lord our God, throughout history You have accepted the sacrifices of men and women in different circumstances and in different places, You accepted the offerings of Abel in the wilderness, Noah in the Ark at the time of the flood, Abraham on the mountain, Elijah on Mount Carmel, as well as those of David at the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite, and
the widow who presented her offering in the Temple, Likewise accept the sacrifices of your servant and forgive his sins. May he be rewarded both in this world and in the world to come. Glory to You, now and forever, world without end.
Amen

BLESSING OF BREAD AND WINE.
+ Blessed be the Lord, Almighty Father, our God.
Amen.
+ And blessed be the only-begotten Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Amen.
+ And blessed be the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, the comforter and cleanser of us all.
Amen.

The Priest blesses both bread and wine.
+ Glory be to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit always coequal, both now and forever, world without end. Amen.

The priest, standing upright and with hands extended, says aloud:
God the Father is Holy, the Son is Holy, the Holy Spirit is Holy. 

Truly the Father is Holy, truly the Son is Holy; truly the Holy Spirit is Holy.

O, Praise the Lord, all you nations.
Acclaim Him, all you peoples.
For His merciful-kindness is great toward us.
And His faithfulness endures for ever.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit
Both now and forever, world without end. Amen

Place yourselves in God's Presence for prayer.
Lord, have mercy upon us.
Peace be with you.
And with your spirit.

We give thanks to the merciful LORD, the Father of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, for He has delivered us, helped us, protected us and brought us near to Himself He received us, shielded us, and strengthened us even until this very hour. Let us, therefore, pray that our LORD, the God, Who sustains all, may protect us this day, and keep us all the days of our lives in peace. Amen.

(Deacon) Pray, pleading with the Lord, to have mercy on us, that He may have pity on us, and accept the prayer and intercession from His Saints on our behalf May He, in His goodness make us worthy to receive the Blessed Sacrament, by forgiving our sins.
Kyrie eleison.
And again, let us beseech the almighty God, the Father of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, on behalf of those who bring an offering here, to this holy place. Whether their offering is a sacrifice, or first-fruits, a tithe, a thank-offering, or a memorial, whether it is little or big, whether it is given in secret or openly, may He accept it, together with the intentions of those who wish to give yet have nothing to give. May God Who has the power to bless, grant them the promise of the Heavenly Kingdom.

(Deacon) Pray for those who bring an offering.
Accept the offering of our brothers and sisters, and also accept our own offering and sacrifice.

Ge'ez 1

Three years ago, I had the great privilege of having an Eritrean Cistercian monk, one Abba Negusse, stay with me for a couple of months. He cheerfully celebrated the Ordinary Form Mass, but on a few occasions, he also celebrated Mass in the Ethiopian rite for such parishioners as were interested. The first time, he did so in the ancient language of Ge'ez. That was fascinating; I remember the great triple 'qadoos qadoos qadoos', clearly cognate with the Hebrew 'kadosh' ('holy') that begun the Ethiopic Sanctus. I found on the internet (and I can't remember where I got it from) an English rendering used by the Ethiopian Catholic Church in the US. Abba Negusse used that for subsequent celebrations, and though I would have preferred him to use Ge'ez, at least people were able to follow and join in. I thought you might be interested to see some text and pictures from the celebration.

You'll see, of course, lots of inauthentic bits: I don't imagine many churches in Asmara have advent wreaths, and the masob is not a basket, but a good old Latin paten. And their Eucharistic vestment most closely resembles a cope, but of course a very Roman one had to do in Shoreham. But you get the idea. The hand cross he is using for the blessings is, however, authentic. An Ethiopian priest had given it to me some years before, and it is nice to think that it has been used properly.

The Eve of St Agnes

Somebody asked me yesterday just why it was necessary to have a new translation of the Mass. In other words, I thought, why will we have to put up with:

St. Agnes' Eve - Ah, bitter chill it was!
The owl, for all his feathers, was a-cold;
The hare limp'd trembling through the frozen grass,
And silent was the flock in woolly fold:

when we could have

It was the twentieth of January and very cold.
The owl was cold too.
And animals walked like differently-abled people on the lawn,
And the sheep didn't go baa.

Though, mind you, if somebody has been having fish and chips for Friday lunch for the last forty years, he might think it a bit over the top to change to tempura of gadus morhua, served with pommes frites epaisses, seasoned with hand-selected sea salt and drizzled with the finest vinaigre de biére.

Something completely different……

Our parish pantomime—the first—was a great success. Sinbad the Sailor played to a very full house.

The mini-manto

It wasn't a bad idea to cut down Pope John's Manto to make a cope, but it really doesn't fit the furniture. Pics from Christmas Vespers.

This time of year in the Adur Valley

Latin Mass Society Press Release

The LMS have asked me to post this:

British Catholic Newspapers Recognise the Extraordinary Form (Traditional Latin Rite) Calendar

After prompting from the Latin Mass Society of England and Wales, two leading British Catholic journals now publish weekly information on the Liturgical Calendar for the Extraordinary Form.

The Catholic Herald, the main ‘conservative’ Catholic paper, publishes the full weekly calendar for the Extraordinary Form alongside that for the Ordinary Form. This is provided for them each week by Gordon Dimon, the LMS’s Senior MC, who also compiles the LMS’s annual Ordo which is used by priests worldwide.

More surprisingly, The Tablet – the main British journal of ‘liberal’ Catholicism – also runs a weekly link to the Latin Mass Society’s website (www.latin-mass-society.org) where the full Ordo can be consulted (along with much else of interest to enquiring Catholics).

John Medlin, LMS General Manager, said: “I was pleased at how responsive both The Catholic Herald and The Tablet were to my suggestion that they acknowledge the calendar for the Extraordinary Form. It shows that the Extraordinary Form is becoming accepted for what it is – a rite of equal standing with the Ordinary Form. The other two main British Catholic newspapers – The Universe and The Catholic Times – have yet to catch up with the Herald and Tablet. I will keep prodding them!”

Salve, festa dies

According to the Martyrology, today is the feast day of St Edward the Confessor:

Londinii in Anglia, sancti Eduardi, cognomento Confessoris, qui, rex Anglorum populo suo propter eximiam caritatem dilectissimus, regno pace comparavit atque communionem cum sede Romana tenaciter promovit.

Well there we go. Silly me. I always thought his feast was in October. There's quite a lot of this arbitrary moving of feast days in the current martyrology, for no apparent reason. There can sometimes be a minor ancient feast (the translation, or reburial, for instance) but neither my Sarum calendar nor the Hereford calendar note it, today being simply the octave of St Thomas Becket. This shift is particularly puzzling as it isn't as if St Edward were a nobody: his feast was kept in the universal calendar (if only by way of commemoration) right until the 1969 reform.

For once the English and Welsh Episcopal conference have been sensible and continue to keep St Edward on his traditional day in October.

HNY

We've had a few problems over the last few days. On Christmas Day, we had a theft of money and of a parishioner's coat. Yesterday, a hat was taken. Today we had vandalism in the church. I suspect that the same person was responsible for all these offences. So I phoned the police. These days there is only one line for the whole of Sussex (I didn't want to phone the emergency 999 [=911]). Although I phoned during working hours (4.30pm), the phone rang for twenty minutes without an answer, and even without a voice to tell me that my call was important, and the lines were busy. Just, no answer.

So I've locked the church. 

How sad.

Happy new year to you all.

Portsmouth's Holy Family Pastoral Letter

From Bishop Crispian Hollis:
(H/T Ponte Sisto)

Dear Sisters and Brothers in the Lord,

In the years when I was a parish priest, I was always delighted when the Bishop offered a Pastoral Letter for this particular celebration coming, as it does, so quickly on the heels of Christmas. It wasn’t just that we felt “talked out” after all the Christmas festivities, it was also that I, at least, felt that preaching about the Holy Family – that almost impossibly “holy” Family - was a very difficult task. I can’t pretend that today I can say anything new but I do want to offer you a few thoughts, as well as giving you my greetings for today and for the whole Christmas season.

First of all, our celebration today gives us “family” at its best and we particularly need that at this time when, politically and often socially, family life is being undermined and diminished.

In this celebration, we are offered a supreme example of trust, obedience and generous love. Speaking for myself, I can say that I have been very blessed in a very happy and fulfilled family life, but I am acutely aware that this is not everyone’s experience and I both acknowledge and sympathise with the pain that many, who are in broken families, suffer and endure.

The ideals of Christian family life set the highest standards. They challenge us in their fulfillment and they challenge us in the giving of example and encouragement to others. But these ideals are crucial for the well-being of the community as a whole. They are Christian ideals and we, who are Christians, have a great responsibility to demonstrate convincingly that they are not beyond our reach. Remember always that example is more powerful that exhortation. Reach out for these values yourselves and encourage others to do so, praying and remembering all the time that "nothing is impossible to God.”

But it’s not just family life that’s under threat in today’s world – we live today in many ways in what Pope John Paul described as a culture of death. Life itself has become cheap and, as a society, we have become careless and destructive of life, whether that life is found at its very beginnings, in the womb and in the unborn child, or in the old and frail as they approach natural death. To see such persons – for that is what they truly are – as somehow disposable or a nuisance or of no consequence, is to show a supreme disregard for the value and dignity of all who, like ourselves, are children of a loving God.

As Catholics, we pride ourselves on being “pro-life” and that is true for the diocese, for all of you who form our diocesan family and for myself. We are committed to defending life at all its stages. This commitment is the seamless garment for Christian living, and it means that all, but especially those who suffer from defencelessness and vulnerability of any kind, poverty, disease and conflict, have a right to a special place in our hearts and in the heart of the Church. This rich vision of life will not necessarily endear us to the culture in which we live but this is where we have to stand if we are to be faithful to the truth that all human beings, our brothers and sisters, are created in God’s own image and likeness.

This celebration of this feast of The Holy Family gives us the chance, not only to catch our breath after the Christmas festivities, but also to contemplate something of the reality of the circumstances and family that surrounded the Word made flesh, the Light of the world, Jesus Christ, Son of God, who has lived among us. In this contemplation and prayer today, we rejoice in the gift of life in all its richness and dignity. Our prayer is also that we treasure and sustain, as best we can. the precious gift of family in which that life is nurtured and in which it flourishes.

I send you all my greetings at this time and I pray that the Lord will continue to bless us all with his love and his grace as we enter into the New Year of 2009 which will be upon us in a few days.

May God bless you all,

+Crispian

From The Tablet

From the article Carols old and new, in The Tablet, 20/27 December 2008, by Nicholas Williams.

Paradoxically, our exposure to genuine tunes, whether folk songs, carols, hymn tunes or even lowly nursery rhymes, has surely diminished relative to the torrent of music that now overwhelms our senses. And though there's never been a better time for melody, it may also be time to reassert the tune — symmetrically patterned, shaped by rhythm, rhyme and tonal cadence — as the ground of our listening and the essential pattern of Western music since the Renaissance.

A similar awareness lies, perhaps, behind the movement for reforming liturgical music, with the structures of chant as the ideal vehicle for sacred observance. Unstated, too, is surely the perception that some styles and forms are better than others —"better for being listened to" in every sense of that phrase—that only the best is sufficient for the service of God, and that the man-centred ethos of the guitar Mass and worship song is simply not good enough.

In the meeting of art and faith, matters are rarely straightforward. While espousing the cause of Palestrina and a cappella singing, for example, elements of the nineteenth-century Cecilian Movement for the reform of Catholic music would have also prohibited the Masses of Haydn and Schubert. But for all those entrusted with the duty to revive the quality of music for worship, Vaughan Williams, Hely-Hutchinson and others point in the right direction. Confronted with both the riches and the false authenticities of our musical scene, bishops, composers and choral directors will need artistic clear thinking, particularly in furnishing music of lasting worth for the forthcoming English Mass translation. What these modest, carol-based works remind us is that, for a wise outcome, the example of history should count quite as much as easy accessibility, or fashionable sociological precepts about music, in determining their choices.

For Mac and Karen

There: happy now? Christmas tree with decorations in my sitting room.

And, Mac, thank you for a wonderful post on the Sacrament of Confession. 

Mapp and Lucia

I'm having a Mapp and Lucia phase at the moment. I came to these wonderful books rather late; in fact in my mid-thirties. It was Fr Daniel Seward of the Oxford Oratory who introduced me to them at about the time I left that community, and it says something for my immediate desperation to read more that I took his copy of Queen Lucia away with me and had to post it back when I finished it. I find E.F.Benson's writing utterly entrancing and cripplingly funny; if the books have a fault it is that there are not enough of them. I am not the only one to think that, for others have tried to write more. Tom Holt made a pretty good stab at it, producing Lucia Triumphant and Lucia in Wartime, where he doesn't quite catch the limpid, acid, prose, but the storylines are pretty good. There has been a new Lucia book just published, called Major Benjy, by Guy Fraser-Sampson. As soon as I spotted it, I rushed to buy it, but have regretted the expense. Neither prose nor storyline hold a candle to even Tom Holt's books. The worst aspect, I think, is the way that he has utterly failed to catch the tone of Tilling (the town where most of the action takes place). Tom Holt himself is credited with saying 'Benson himself would have loved this book, and so will you'. I wonder if we are speaking of the same book. How could anyone think that, for instance, Benson would have loved coarse sexual innuendo? Gentility was the very essence of Benson's books. Major Benjy opens the door to Miss Mapp without his trousers; he gets seduced by his housekeeper; Irene Coles and Lucy plaster each other's naked bodies with paint…… need I go on? It is more redolent of Tom Sharpe (though without the genuine—though crude—acute humour of that talented writer) than Benson or even Tom Holt. The characters behave uncharacteristically, also. Mr Wyse regularly props up the bar of a local pub, for instance. In this, I think Fraser-Sampson followed something from the TV adaptation of Mapp and Lucia rather than the books themselves. Twistevant, the shopkeeper, is spelt in three different ways within the first fifty pages. And, frankly, the book is boring: I've given up half way through. How very disappointing. How tarsome, in fact.
I've been revisiting the Benson books by medium of my iPod. Some are available on iTunes, read wonderfully by Nadia May. Mapp and Lucia is read very well by Prunella Scales (who played Miss Mapp on TV). And now I have found the rest of the books on CD and am busy transferring them one by one to my iPod. Even the Tom Holt books are available in this form. I'm listening right now to Lucia in London, read by Geraldine McEwan (who played Lucia in the TV adaptation).

Which brings me on to the last topic, which is that of the TV adaptation. I didn't really think it was terribly good, I'm afraid, (though others disagree) and I think it's time for another try. The question is who one might get to play the chief roles. I've thought a lot about this, and I think that there are some very good candidates. I would love to see Penelope Keith play Lucia and Patricia Routledge play Miss Mapp: both of them are simply made for the role, I think. Georgie Pillson is a more difficult decision, but I wonder whether John Cleese wouldn't do it really well. All these three actors physically resemble their characters, and I'm sure could bend their considerable talents to the parts.

Pestilential Services

Those of a more traditional turn of mind sometimes instinctively dislike what are called 'penitential services', by which I mean those services which often take place in parishes during Advent and Lent during which many of those who do actually go to confession at all celebrate the sacrament together. Another innovation, some feel.

And yet actually it is more a revival than an innovation. Something very similar took place in pre-Reformation England. At that time, and in this country, annual communion, at Easter, was, pretty well, the universal custom. It was prepared for very carefully, and the parish priest would confidently deny communion to any he felt were unworthy of it. Part of the preparation was something not unlike a penitential service; in country areas, at least, where there might be only one priest, that parish priest would call in his priest friends and neighbours from the surrounding area to hear the confessions of everyone in his parish. And not just confessions; on that occasion, the penitent would also be asked to recite the Our Father, the Hail Mary and the Apostles' Creed, to make sure he knew them.

One might also conclude, then, that annual confession was also the custom, though no doubt others might avail themselves of their parish priest's absolution on other occasions.

The picture is taken from a Sarum Primer of 1534.

Why go to confession?

In the combox on Fr Tim's blog, one Fr Seán Coyle wrote the following note about those who say that they will not go to confession because they always confess the same things.

Pope Benedict in October 2005 to 100,000 at the annual audience for children who have recently made their First Holy Communion: One girl asked the Pope why she must go to confession before receiving Communion, if our sins are always the same.

Smiling, the Holy Father answered: "It is true that our sins are always the same. Yet do we not clean our house, our room, at least once a week, though the dirt is always the same? If we do not, we run the risk of the dirt accumulating, though we may not see it.”

“The same”, he said, “is true of our souls. If we never confess, our souls are overlooked. I may be pleased with myself, yet I do not understand that I have to improve constantly in order to progress. Confession helps us to have a more open conscience and thus to mature in a spiritual and human way."

A priest-friend of mine once asked a mechanic in Ireland why he should bother washing his car, since it would get dirty again. The mechanic responded, "Dont you wash your face every morning?"

Bah, humbug!

Mac the MF has tagged me for a meme, but in this case, I'm afraid she will be disappointed. She wants to know the story of the really special ornament on my Christmas tree.

??????????????????????????

Look, Mac, I'm a bloke, basically. Yes, I do put up a Christmas tree in my window, but it's only because others expect it—left to myself, I wouldn't bother. And there really aren't any special ornaments—just what I could hoover up cheap in Homebase a few years ago. This has reminded me depressingly that today or tomorrow I must crawl up to the attic and bring the wretched thing down again, then assemble and dress it, only to do the whole thing in reverse in a couple of weeks' time. Some people actually enjoy this sort of thing.

Now I feel like a failure. Perhaps I should listen to my feminine side more. And no doubt if I had a family, it would be different. The Christmas tree was special when I was a child.

And yet—the sheer wonder of the fact of the Incarnation still staggers and fascinates me. I love the Christian feast of Christmas; I'd just rather not bother with some of the bits that seem to have to go with it.

Rorate

Photo: Michael Stringer, with thanks.

Point of Information

"How many times is hell mentioned in the New Testament? Do a word count."


'Hell'  13 mentions
Matt 5:22
Matt 5:29
Matt 5:30
Matt 10.28
Matt 18:9
Matt 23:15
Matt 23:33
Mark 9:43
Mark 9:45
Mark 9:47
Luke 12:5
James 3:6
2Peter 2:4

'Hades': 9 mentions
Matt 11:23
Luke 10:15
Luke 16:23
Acts 2:27
Acts 2:31
Apoc. 1:18
Apoc. 6:8
Apoc. 20:13
Apoc. 20:14

'Fire' (as an analogy for hell) 26 mentions
Matt 3:10
Matt. 3:12
Matt. 5:22
Matt. 7:19
Matt. 13:40
Matt. 13:42
Matt. 13:50
Matt. 18:8
Matt. 18:9
Matt. 25:41
Mark 9:43
Mark 9:48
Mark 9:49
Luke 3:9
Luke 3:17
John 15:6
Heb. 10:27
James 3:6
James 5:3 (probably)
2Pet. 3:7
Jude 7
Apoc 14:10
Apoc. 19:20
Apoc, 20:10
Apoc. 20:14
Apoc. 20:15
Apoc. 21:8

—not, I hasten to add, that I think that this should form the backbone of one's preaching, but it should be there somewhere, because it is not an irrelevant part of the New Testament.

More about Merton

The following is a statement from Mr Paul Beardsmore, Secretary of the Latin Mass Society:

1. The LMS Committee has not cancelled the Oxford Training Conference, and Merton College has not indicated to the Society that permission to hold the Conference has been withdrawn.

2. Mr David Lloyd’s views concerning the Oxford Conference held in July 2008 were considered by the LMS Committee three months ago and did not receive the support of the majority of its members.

3. The LMS Committee – including Mr Lloyd – is unanimous in its commitment to the implementation of the Motu Proprio, ‘Summorum Pontificum’, and consequently to the training of clergy to celebrate Mass in the Extraordinary Form.

4. The leaking to the press of Mr Lloyd’s confidential e mail, and the attempt to link this e mail with the LMS Committee’s recent decision concerning the administrative arrangements for the Conference are mischievous.

Merton and all that

Damian Thompson, in his Holy Smoke blog, has announced something that a few of us knew was in the air: the Latin Mass Society no longer wishes to support the training of ordinary diocesan priests to celebrate the Traditional Rites—or at least to do so in the format used for the last two summers. Damian quotes an email from David Lloyd, a former chairman of the LMS:

Our Society is constituted to provide the Mass to as many catholics as possible from all walks of life in churches and chapels the length and breadth of England and Wales, the majority of those who attend these Masses would not have understood anything of the splendour of Merton. It is wrong therefore for the favoured few to be able to indulge in the obvious luxury of the liturgy provided. Many people (laity) have worked for the LMS for many years for no more than their expenses and a good number of them have not claimed for anything at all. Look then at the tuition fees and the expenses paid from the figures provided for 29 first time and 15 second time delegates from England and Wales. The clergy were in awe at the generosity of the Society they must have been laughing all the way back to their presbyteries at the size of the party bags distributed as gifts. The whole concept of Merton (an Anglican institution) is privileged, the cost of Merton is obscene, continually asking our membership to subsidise elitist events is wrong. The direction the Society is taking is a cause for concern, high profile and elitism are the flavours of the day, committee must resist this, it must resist any thought of returning to Merton any proposal to do so must be overturned.

I found this very sad reading. David Lloyd is a man I like and respect; I have had dealings with him in the past and found him affable and kind. But I have to disagree profoundly with him on this matter which for me raises a ghost which I thought laid—I might add, laid with David's help (he being then in the chair). This ghost was the tendency which the LMS had a few years ago (and no doubt is not dead) to support only those clergy who were prepared to celebrate exclusively the traditional rites: their website then even proudly boasted it. It made me think of those priests, diocesan and religious, who for years had endured contempt and marginalization from their brothers and superiors for their willingness to keep celebrating the traditional rites for members of the LMS. That what we now call the Extraordinary Form was maintained in this country was due in no small measure to men like Mgr Macdonald, Fr Michael Ware and Fr Mark Taylor. They, like I, for so many years, also received only expenses, and very often not even that.

The Merton Conference was a most valuable resource in making it possible for ordinary diocesan and religious clergy to learn to be able to celebrate what is now entirely legitimate. It is firmly established that the traditional rites are not for an exclusive elite, but ordinary Catholics in the pew have a right to them. Of the seventy priests who attended last summer, most went home able to begin celebrating in the Extraordinary Form with some measure of confidence, which will grow as they get used to it. Yes, these men are unlikely exclusively to do so, but then they are men who do not believe that the vineyard of the Lord is confined to traditional Mass centres. They believe, as do I, that the people in ordinary parishes are Catholics too, with souls that need saving and sanctifying, and though the Ordinary Form is not such an efficient tool, nonetheless it is the only tool that many of our folk will accept at present and thus we must make the best of it. But now they have also recourse to the Extraordinary form, a better tool, which they can use as appropriate, both for their own sanctification and also for that of those who will come to appreciate it through their work.

Although Mr Lloyd thinks that the Merton conference was elitist, in reality it was quite the opposite, since the intent is to bring the Mass precisely back where it belongs—in the parishes.

Second, I feel personally very hurt at the suggestion that priests went laughing back to their presbyteries after the sybaritic extravaganza of the Merton conference, at the expense of the pennies of the LMS poor. The conference was not luxurious: all participants lived in student accommodation and ate (albeit very nice) student food. The liturgy was splendid, but the traditional rites are splendid, when done properly. Are the LMS suggesting that a large gathering of priests should have celebrated Low Mass every day and said the office in private? That would be ridiculous! Perhaps it was the presence of prelates they objected to, especially when they were treated properly. Then there was the goody-bag. Each participant was given a study edition (which is actually useable) of the 1962 Missale Romanum, costing about 50 Euros, a cheap set of unframed paper altar cards (with at least one mistake on them) and sets of bound photocopied notes for the courses. The one possible extravagance was a beautifully produced and bound liturgical book with the offices and masses for the week, which may have cost (judging by Lulu prices) about £10.

Though the participants were heavily subsidized, they did have to find expenses that other types of employees might not have to, such as paying for supply priests in their own parishes while they were away, and transport—three priests came from South Africa.

But the money was not the issue; I strongly suspect that many, if not most, of the participants would have paid for themselves entirely if that were required. I, as a member of the teaching team, was given an honorarium: I was grateful, but would have helped for nothing, quite happily.

Should the Merton Conference not operate this year, it will prove to have been a pyrrhic victory for those who oppose it. Yes, the LMS may well have more money in its bank account, but there will be fewer priests able to celebrate the rites which they love. And, please, what is the money for?

It is possible, I suppose, that another sponsor might be found, or perhaps priests might well be willing to pay for themselves. That would be great. But if the conference does not go ahead, then I would certainly be willing to take one or two priests (in good standing) at a time here for a few days to do the same thing, mutatis mutandis. No doubt others would be likewise willing.

Fight Foca

President Obama has promised to remove all restrictions over abortion in the USA in something called FOCA; the Freedom of Choice Act. There is a petition here which you can sign, opposing this, though I guess you have to be American to do so.

New Breviaries

Well, my new breviaries have arrived, and I'm delighted. Since my ordination twenty years ago I have been using a set of breviaries produced then by the Society of St Pius X, and which went out of production shortly afterwards. It is a photographic reproduction of the 1961 Mame edition, superior in almost every way to the Fraternity of St Peter's Dessain reproduction which has been available since. The problem was that these breviaries were like house bricks, comparable in size to the modern English breviaries—most impracticable when travelling. For this, I have a most beautiful small set produced by Pustet, (original, not photographic) though, alas, with the Pius XII psalmody. I received it in mint condition, too, never used.

But now I have a set that does everything. The new edition, from Nova et Vetera, a new German publishing house, is quite lovely. The cream-coloured paper is thin, but opaque, and thus the book is (Deo gratias!) lightweight, lying easily in the hand. The typesetting is clear and easily readable, despite the fact that it is printed in relentless double columns throughout. The rubrics are not really ruber, but rather a shade of brown; this may have been a mistake; a typesetter forgetting that what looks one colour on white paper looks different on cream, or in fact it may be deliberate, for it looks very attractive—just different. It is bound in black leather (real!) and the edges are gilded all round—what a pleasure to have to blow the pages apart for the first time of use.

I can detect no mistakes in the Latin so far—well, all right, only one, a small one. At Matins this morning (Advent Sunday II) we had a 'hedo' rather than a 'haedo', and the mediaevals wouldn't have thought it a mistake anyway. And there was no antiphon for Prime or Terce, though the antiphons suddenly reappear for Sext and None. This is not a disaster as long as one knows that the antiphons are simply those of Lauds in turn. A reminder to say the Pater Noster before the readings of the Nocturn would be a good idea, though anyone familiar with the traditional breviary would know this anyway. Prime is a little confusing; the changeable bits and the unchangeable bits are all in the same size, spacing and typeface, which means that, again, you need to know where you are going. So what I'm trying to say is that I, as a habitual reciter of the traditional breviary, find this new set a real delight. I'm not sure that a newcomer would find it so easy to use at first.

But, beyond any doubt, Nova et Vetera are to be congratulated on producing not just another traditional breviary, but editing it from scratch, and coming up with a version that knocks all other available versions into a cocked hat, new rite or old.

The breviaries cost me E198, and I was able to order alongside them a set of US propers (there are, alas, none for the UK yet) and, mirabile dictu, a booklet with the original versions of the hymns, something I blogged about a few months ago.

Update: having been away for a couple of days, and having taken my little Pustet with me, I have realized that Nova et Vetera have simply copied the Pustet arrangement—a sensible thing to do, on the whole, since, as I said, the Pustet is very elegant. It's a pity they didn't improve on the Pustet's shortcomings regarding clarity and ease of use.

Schism on Stronsay

I am saddened and surprised, though I suppose I shouldn't be. The Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer domiciled on Papa Stronsay have themselves divided over the issue of their reconciliation with Rome. One priest and two brothers have left the community, reverting to the former title of Transalpine Redemptorists, and have started an independent mission on Stronsay Island, celebrating Mass in a garage.

I discovered this information yesterday, but have thought about whether comment should be made. But today there is an article about it in The Scotsman, which is quite temperate (even if it does describe the remaining members of the community in the monastery on Papa Stronsay—the vast majority—as 'the rump': shades again of Lambeth Palace blowing away from one of its tiles) and so I feel that as the cat is out of the bag, then I might have my say, too.

Human beings are independent thinkers, and one must not expect people whose conscience has kept them out of apparent union with the Holy See for thirty years or more to find it easy to allay that conscience simply because others feel that the time is right. At the time of the reconciliation of Le Barroux, their daughter house in Latin America refused to follow the lead and remains part of the Lefebvrist family to this day.

Fortunately, the fathers and brothers in the Orkneys are keeping charitable tongues in their heads, refusing to malign each others' consciences—which must be so tempting in these circumstances. I suppose all we can do is pray for them, and also that all who are at some distance, shall we say, from the Holy See may find their way home soon.

Holy Souls

We have two cemeteries in this parish; one of them is attached to the little church of St Botolph in the village (more a hamlet, really) called Botolphs right on the bank of the River Adur. On the Saturday after All Souls day this year we sought permission from the churchwardens there (there being no incumbent right now) to celebrate Mass before our November blessing of the graves. They were very welcoming indeed, and we are very grateful. I think that this was almost certainly the first (R.) Catholic Mass since the vigil of Pentecost 1559 (or whatever date you want to ascribe to it). It would have been a fine occasion to have celebrated something Sarum, or even Latin, or ad orientem, but that would have been too awkward to organize, and besides, it was really for the benefit of those whose loved ones were buried in the adjacent cemetery, and it was necessary to take their wishes into consideration.

St Botolph's dates from around 950, so is very old indeed, though it has been altered over the ages, having had a gothic aisle built on, only to have it fall down again. If my memory serves me right, St Botolph is not the original dedication, which was St Peter de vetera ponte (i.e. over the River Adur)—there is no bridge right there now. I dare say somebody simply associated St Botolph with the name of the village. It has some traces of wall paintings, as you can see in the pictures, but they are only fragmentary, and not nearly so splendid as those in the next village of Coombes, half a mile down the river. Its only other claim to fame, I think, is that Archbishop Laud once preached there.

Sorry—the pics seem to have arranged themselves in a strange order: I'm sure you can make sense of them, however.

Holy Fathers

Am I alone in thinking that too many popes have their causes for canonization/beatification introduced? I read yesterday that Pope John Paul I's cause is progressing nicely. Surely one saint and one beatus is enough for the occupants of one job during the course of one century? It gets a little bit redolent of the early Roman Empire when all emperors were pretty well automatically deified at their death by decree of the Senate (and some of them even before they died). So, Pius XII, John XXIII, John Paul I, and John Paul II are all being considered for canonization/beatification. That is to say, all but one of the Popes since 1939. It begins to say more about those they don't beatify than about those they do. It begins to present beatification as a perk of the job. All those Popes were admirable men. Can't we just leave it there?

Slow

I'm sorry to be slow posting these days; there are a lot of reasons, but no doubt things will improve and we'll be back to normal soon. 

Muscular Christianity

The spirit of the fifth century is alive and well in Jerusalem, it seems. Greek and Armenian monks resorted to fisticuffs in a dispute over one of the holy places in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Read more about it here.

I feel a post about the Sepulchre coming on……

Newman's Bones

Conspiracy theorists all over the world can rub their hands after an article in the Birmingham Post:

The remains of a 19th century Birmingham Cardinal tipped for sainthood are unlikely to have been destroyed by soil acidity in a Worcestershire grave, an expert has said.

Professor John Hunter, from the University of Birmingham, cast doubt on the theory after testing soil from an area near to the Rednal cemetery from which Venerable John Henry Cardinal Newman was exhumed.
The ancient history and archaeology professor said it would be "unusual" to find a body buried in 1890 so decayed that no human remains were left.
He said the soil tested was "not particularly acidic" and that he found it "difficult to believe" soil conditions near the grave were so extreme.
Professor Hunter said: "It is very interesting from a forensic point of view to find a body that has completely decayed within this amount of time. It is very unusual and very unlikely. If we have extreme soil conditions that take away human bones, they would also take away coffin handles, which are still there.
"I am not making any claims or accusations. I am merely looking at it from a (forensic) point of view."
Prof Hunter said he chose to investigate out of curiosity and was only able to obtain a sample from ground near to the cemetery, not from the grave itself. He said there were three options: either the soil environment of the grave was different to the sample tested, bones were missed when the grave was exhumed or the body was never there in the first place.
Relics that remain of the Cardinal - including locks of hair, a wooden crucifix and one of the coffin handles - were on display over the weekend at the Birmingham Oratory. They will rest in the Chapel of St Charles Borromeo as the process towards his beatification continues in Rome.

New Altar

It looks like they found some nicer candlesticks, then. I hope they leave them after the Holy Father finishes celebrating. H/T MassInformation

Thoughts from Ben Stein

This has been circulating round the internet:

The following was written by Ben Stein and recited by him on CBS Sunday Morning Commentary.
My confession:
I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees, Christmas trees. I don't feel threatened. I don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are: Christmas trees.
It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, 'Merry Christmas' to me. I don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn't bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu.
I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution and I don't like it being shoved down my throat.
Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship celebrities and we aren't allowed to worship God as we understand Him? I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too... But there are a lot of us who are wondering where these celebrities came from and where the America we knew went to.
In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little different: This is not intended to be a joke; it's not funny, it's intended to get you thinking. Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her 'How could God let something like this happen?' (regarding Katrina) Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said, 'I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?'
In light of recent events... terrorists attack, school shootings, etc. I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body found a few years ago) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we said OK. Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school. The Bible says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself. And we said OK.
Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr Spock's son committed suicide). We said an expert should know what he's talking about. And we said OK.
Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves.
Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with 'WE REAP WHAT WE SOW.'
Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to hell. Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says. Funny how you can send 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing. Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace.
Are you laughing yet?
Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you're not sure what they believe, or what they will think of you for sending it.
Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us than what God thinks of us.
Pass it on if you think it has merit. If not then just discard it... no one will know you did. But, if you discard this thought process, don't sit back and complain about what bad shape the world is in.
My Best Regards,
Honestly and respectfully,
Ben Stein

H/T O cuniculi! Ubi lexicon Lainum posui?

Coronation

Today, 4th November 2008, the feast of St Charles Borromeo, is the 50th anniversary of the coronation of Blessed Pope John XXIII. You may remember that way back somewhere BC, I posted a series of videos with commentary which, for complications not worth going into, I had to later delete along with the rest of my blog. 

Well, today seems a good day to start reposting this, with, I hope, a rather longer commentary—which I hope people will contribute to. No doubt I will make mistakes, but if others are willing to correct them, then all will be well.

This time I've decided to dedicate an entire blog to the videos, which will be tidier than people having to search on this one. It will probably take a while to complete the series, so please be patient.

You can find the collection here.

Much better!

I saw yesterday on Rorate Caeli that the strange new altar of the Chair in St Peter's Basilica had been replaced with something more fitting. I'm grateful to Fr A.W. for sending me a link to some much better pictures of the new altar, which you can find on Rinascimento Sacro, here. It is certainly another step in the right direction. Mind you, a small voice inside me wonders where they got it from: is this a case of robbing Paul to pay Peter? And perhaps Paul could be persuaded to dig out some nice candlesticks, too.