Occasional dispatches from the front line of spiritual battle. A Catholic blog. Postings often conceived in the garden, at the playground or at the kitchen sink and hastily typed out far too late at night after putting the children to bed.
Blog started on the Feast of The Divine Mercy 2011, the day of the Beatification of Pope John Paul II. Blessed Pope John Paul II - Ora Pro Nobis!
...to see that Linen on the Hedgerow is once again viewable. For some reason -- possibly because Blogger doesn't allow deceased authors -- it had been locked down with a violation of terms message for the past couple of months. If you aren't familiar with this wonderful blog then take advantage of once again having the opportunity to explore it; if, like me, you were an avid reader you'll simply be thrilled that it's back live: what a tribute to a lovely man and good strong Catholic. His online contribution to the Faith was immeasurable, and what I knew of his personal offline life reflected the same strength and values.
Richard's death left a yawning chasm in the Catholic blogosphere: things haven't quite been the same since. He is sorely missed.
Requiem aeternam dona ei, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat ei. Requiescat in pace. Amen.
This post initially began as a pointer to the Wayback Machine Internet Archive which allows users to see websites that have been removed from the internet (as long as they've been archived). Checking the archive against the live URL I reaslised that Richard's blog was once again viewable in the ordianary way.
The Wayback Machine is still rather amusing should you wish to dig out that first embarrassing hand-coded HTML site you built 20 years ago complete with animated GIFs *cough* and awards. Remember when websites used to be given awards and list them on separate "awards pages". Oh the heady days of 1996 when the 'Net was much less cynical...
Yes, Rat Site Excellence. What we all used to strive for.
Each year on Holy Saturday our Parish Priest blesses meat, bread and eggs brought in by families that will be used for their Easter feast. I've been told that this is an ancient Catholic tradition that has survived best in Eastern Europe - Poland in particular where it is referred to as Święconka or in some regions Święcone. I'm half Polish, although grew up without any Polish customs or traditions in my family, so it's lovely to incorporate this into our family Easter rituals - so my quarter-Polish children have some sense of the Grandfather's culture. The prayers are particularly beautiful and remind us of the passover and the resurrection. Today the families who brought in their food also received a blessing and together we prayed Blessed Pope John Paul II's Prayer for Families.
After the rigours of Lent -- and particularly Holy Week -- this simple ceremony feels like a gentle push towards the coming celebrations of the glory of the Resurrection.
I wish all my readers a blessed and happy Eastertide. Blogging will resume after Easter and I will pray for you all at the Easter Vigil this evening.
Just home from High Mass and the blessing of chalk. With this and Epiphany water from yesterday's blessing, my husband led the traditional Epiphany blessing of the home. Lovely way to round off Christmas. We are so very fortunate to have a Parish Priest who encourages the traditions that keep the Faith alive in the family. Deo gratias!
Twenty-five years ago... "...On the Isle of Sheppey in Kent, in a small, once Toc H, chapel duly decorated for the Sacrifice of the Mass in the Extra-ordinary form, five young men gathered around a young Redemptorist priest who was offering the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. It was the Feast of Saint Alphonsus 1988. On this day then, began the foundation of a Redemptorist community that would follow the Rule written by Saint Alphonsus Maria de Liguori and which would finally receive the blessing of the Church to become the Congregation of the Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer..."
...and now
...and thank God for these great courageous souls who are a powerhouse of prayer up on Papa Stronsay. Visit their website and their blog and please include them in your prayers today. Our family continues to be inspired and grateful to the Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer for the good that they do and they all -- and our dear friend Pater Michael Mary in particular -- have a special place in our hearts and in our prayers. Saint Alphonsus Maria deLiguori pray for them and continue to inspire them in holiness!
Our Lady of Perpetual Help, guide them and keep them in your maternal care!
P.S. It's probably worth adding that our dog Rosa comes from the Isle of Sheppey - she's the only known Sheppey Terrier in existence: a rare breed indeed. Sadly for her she was born there after the Sons of Most Holy Redeemer had left the island.
We've just arrived, en-famille, this evening to our apartment in the Borgo Pio. After delicious pizza (potato pizza - who knew?!) and courgette and other delicacies we got four very sleepy children ready for bed and prayed our family Rosary and night time prayers: two were fast asleep before the end.
Tomorrow, Deo volente, we'll be at the High Mass organised by Una Voce in thanksgiving for Summorum Pontificum celebrated at the altar at St Peter's tomb. I will pray for Catholic bloggers and readers of Catholic blogs.
It's a warm, calm and quiet night. The lights are on in the Holy Father's apartment windows: I wonder what he's thinking about, reading, or studying. It's somehow very comforting to know that he's so close by.
The F.SS.R. say "As many of you may know, we publish a
quarterly magazine/newspaper called "Catholic". In it you will find
Catholic news and current information, lives of the saints, edifying
articles from the Catholic world both past and present, beautiful colour
photos and lots of other material to help you live a good, holy,
Catholic life and secure your salvation. You can take out an annual
subscription here: http://tinyurl.com/9fnlqcr"
I can confirm that it's a great read - unputdownable: good food for mind and soul. So what are you waiting for?
...Or how to break things if they aren't working already (in Switzerland)... ormake them better before they go wrong (in France)...
"Saint Pierre des Latins", Nancy, France
On our recent visit to Switzerland we discovered that, although we were surrounded by EF Masses at [F]SSPX churches we would have to drive over an hour into another diocese to find a legitimate EF Mass I asked the priest there why there were none closer to where we were staying, particularly considering the proliferation of [F]SSPX Masses which presumably indicated a need and desire for the Extraordinary Form of the Mass. The answer was depressing in its simplicity: the Bishop of the area in which we were staying has Écône in his diocese. Because of this the Bishop has declared that he will never permit the older form of the Mass to take place under his authority, despite there being at least two dozen regular EF masses by the [F]SSPX in his area.
Before you start to hyperventilate, compare and contrast this with the situation in Nancy, France where we stopped the following Sunday for Mass at the wonderful Eglise Saint-Pierre with Abbé Husson of the FSSP and where the Extraordinary Form of the Mass has been said regularly since 1991 with the blessing of the local Bishop under Pope John Paul II's motu proprio: Ecclesia Dei. After Mass I asked Abbe Husson how it came to pass that Eglise Saint Pierre had nurtured and served a community devoted to the older form of the Mass. It was a simple story, he said: after the [F]SSPX schism and excommunications, a local sedevacantist priest started saying the Latin Mass. Determined that none of his flock should stray for want of spiritual sustenance, the local Bishop not only gave a parish to the FSSP to say legitmate Latin Masses, but he gave them a jewel of a church in the city centre.
It has occurred to me a few times that if Dan Brown had wanted to make his ludicrous novels even slightly believable he would have chosen the [F]SSPX rather than Opus Dei to be his secret society. Think about it - secretive Swiss bunker hideout vs Roman office block: I know which would make a better yarn. Except the SSPX doesn't have a bunker (as far as I know, anyway!), but when have the facts ever stopped a sensationalist novelist?
The International Seminary of Saint Pius X and Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary - Ecône
I've harboured an unhealthy interest in the doings of the SSPX for nearly a decade - I have no truck with the schismatic fringe: if anything I've studiously avoided direct contact with groups outside the authority of the Church because I'm aware that a propensity to rebellion is one of my weaknesses and I can see how, in the words of Ecclesia Dei "while it is true that the participation in the Mass and sacraments at the chapels of
the Society of St. Pius X does not of itself constitute "formal adherence to the
schism", such adherence can come about over a period of time as one slowly imbibes a
mentality which separates itself from the magisterium of the Supreme Pontiff". As a revert to Catholicism, deeply desiring to protect that most precious gift of faith with which I've been entrusted, that's not a path that I want to start travelling.
On the other hand, I've seen some of the greatest treasures of Catholic clergy coming either directly or indirectly from an SSPX milieu, albeit having made the move to full communion with Holy Mother Church and submitted to the authority of the Holy Father. I think this is the key for me - submission to authority. And yet, one could argue that without fuel provided by the SSPX, the brick-by-brick renewal-of-the-renewal ( (C)Fr Z) would not be happening. I think of the wonderful FSSP parishes here in the UK as well as those we visit when abroad, and most particularly I think of that powerhouse of prayer on Papa Stronsay - the Golgotha Monastery of the F.SS.R., formerly the Transalpine Redemptorists who have just this week been given full canonical status, bringing to a close the whole process of reconciliation with, and
canonical establishment in the Catholic Church. Deo gratias!
View of the SSPX seminary, Ecône
As it happened we found ourselves driving past Ecône as we left Switzerland for Italy a couple of weeks ago. I say "driving past" - we were actually on a motorway that passed the place on the map that had "Ecône" on it and I asked my husband who was driving if we could take the exit that was most likely the closest. Now I've always imagined the SSPX seminary to be a series of old buildings huddled on the edge of a small Swiss mountain town, probably with a baroque church completing the ensemble. I imagined priests in birettas and seminarians in soutanes swarming to and fro in the town beneath the bemused gaze of stout Swiss burghers. I was expecting something hushed and holy and ancient that had T-R-A-D-I-T-I-O-N written all over it.
My first surprise was that the town of Ecône does not exist. Nor does the village of Ecône. In fact the reason that the place was so difficult to find (if one was to rely on roadsigns as we did) is because Ecône does not really exist. There is a place called Ecône - it's what the French would call a "lieu-dit" or "place called" rather than a place in and of itself. Ecône is simply the SSPX seminary (which was given to the SSPX by a group of wealthy Swiss laymen in 1970 and opened in 1971) and a small power station. And that's it. Nothing else. Electricity pylons, a church , a few buildings (cloister, dormitories, offices) and an empty car park. The view is spectacular - although marred by massive pylons: as I stood there I kept thinking that there was a message in that view, but it would take someone with more poetic insight than me to unpick it.
Statue of St Pius X, SSPX Seminary, Ecône
It was quiet. We parked the van and I walked into the seminary quad. I didn't see a soul. I could hear voices and - incongruously - laughter from an open window. I photographed the statue of Saint Pius X and wandered over to the chapel. Reading the bulletin board outside I was struck by a notice (top left in the photo below) which read:
Appropriate attireis required(trousersfor men Skirtscorrect lengthandcovered shouldersfor women). the personnelis entitled torefuse entry tovisitors notrespecting this rule (Michelin Green Guide, early XXI century)
Noticeboard outside Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary - Ecône
I liked the fact that the Society referred to something outside themselves as a reference point: I thought the notice showed a combination of humility and humour. Why doesn't every Catholic church have a sign like this?
Inside was a surprise: in the narthex were two round racks with a selection of coloured scarves - silks, voile, cottons - hanging neatly on round hangers. It felt a bit like one of those miniature branches of Tie Rack that one finds in train stations. No excuse for an uncovered head or shoulders then; and not a boring black mantilla in sight. The congregation must be a joyful rainbow of colour.
The inside of the church is (as I remarked in the "guess where this is?" post) surprisingly minimalist whilst being completely traditional. The ceiling timbers are particularly striking: they are intended as a tribute to St Joseph, spouse of Our Lady to whom the chapel is dedicated.
It wasn't the intense, baroque space that I had imagined, but rather a calm and peaceful place saturated with serenity. I knelt and prayed that the SSPX might be fully reunited with the One True Church in obedience to Christ's Vicar on earth and that the ongoing negotiations bear fruit.
Views from the front doors of the Chapel of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Ecône
Leaving the church I walked back to our van and, after admiring the views one last time, we drove back to the motorway to continue our journey. I hadn't seen a soul the whole time we'd been at Ecône; the whole thing felt rather like a dream.
Those of you who, like us, would have loved to have been able to get to Papa Stronsay for the Congregation of the Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer's public profession of vows will enjoy this lovely video of the ceremony.The F.SS.R website says "Bringing to a close the whole process of reconciliation with, and
canonical establishment in the Catholic Church, the members of the
Congregation of the Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer made their public
vows in the presence of the Right Reverend Dom Hugh Gilbert, O.S.B.
Bishop of Aberdeen, on the 22nd August 2012."
1046 people were counted into the Shrine Church of Saints Peter, Paul and Philomena this morning for a very special Mass (Solemnity of the Annunciation of the BVM) to mark the establishment of the shrine which has been entrusted by His Lordship, Bishop Mark Davies of Shrewsbury to the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest. The church was packed to the rafters - standing room only. The vast majority of people were local, many unfamiliar with the Extraordinary Form of the Latin Rite, but reading faces and overhearing conversations afterwards, it was clear that the response was overwhelmingly positive.
There's a lot I'd like to write about the day, which takes the brick-by-brick Hermeneutic of Continuity restoration of tradition to a new level in England. I saw many eyes rimmed with tears after the Mass. An elderly man next to me was almost speechless with joy: he said he'd not seen anything remotely close to a Mass this "powerful and holy" since his youth. He felt that this was the beginning of something new.
I was delighted to meet Canon Meney, the Rector of the Shrine, as well as Monsignor Wach who founded the Institute. Both know our ICKSP contacts and friends in the South of France, so it felt a little like a homecoming. I was pleased to be able to thank Msgr Wach for the work done by the Institute: it is a truly blessed foundation. In return, we were invited to join the ICKSP at their headquarters in Italy for a holiday! I think we'd better start saving or I won't hear the end of it from my eldest son... We also met several religious sisters from the Adorers of the Royal Heart of Jesus some of whom had come over from Switzerland, others from Italy, especially for the Mass. It's wonderful to see so many young vocations. I'm always struck by how happy young religious are, and these women were no exception. The children - particularly the girls - enjoyed meeting them and they are such wonderful role models. I'm particularly grateful to them for offering to pray for us during our long drive home.
The reception afterwards was extremely busy but we were determined to squeeze every wonderful second out of the day and so we stayed and met old friends and new. I was especially pleased to bump into Charlie Chasuble and meet his lovely family; what with Father Simon Henry there, it was a bit like an impromptu blognic.
It was a long day: we left our house at 4:30 am and drove for almost 6 hours to get the the Shrine. It didn't matter what the journey threw at us (roadworks, fog, bad traffic, the van's transmission temporarily packing in on the M6) we were clearly meant to get there. We had no sat-nav with us and almost ended up taking the tunnel to Liverpool, but were saved at the last minute by a friendly tollbooth operator who showed us a sneaky way out. Even then we had no clue where we were - it was 10:15am and the Mass started at 10:30 - "pray kids, pray" I shouted as I drove with more hope than certainty. We rounded a corner and there, above us, only moments away was the "Dome of Home". We arrived with 10 minutes to spare and - Deo gratias - a kind steward let us park behind the church, so we were on time! It took over five hours to get home, which makes 11+ hours driving. Was it worth it? Would we do it again? Absolutely. Next time we'll stay a little longer though...
The "Dome of Home" becomes, in Canon Meney's words a "beacon of hope"
The Reverend Canon William Hudson (left in black) translates the welcome address from Monsignor Wach (in blue)
The Most Reverend Bishop Mark Davies of Shrewbury vests at the beginning of Mass
Spot the blogging priest.
Reverend Canon William Hudson, Pro-Provincial for England reads part of the Apostolic Blessing
Our favourite Bishop!
Men of the moment: His Lordship, Bishop Davies, Msgr Wash and Canon Meney
I'm delighted by the reestablishment of the Friday penance. Although we've been observing the traditional meatless Friday since the children were small only a few Catholic families that we're friends with have done the same which has lead to comments ranging from "ooooh, aren't you good" (not particularly, actually, but we do make an effort to do the penance) to "isn't that a bit old fashioned" (your point is?) and "my Granny used to do that". Now we're not the only Friday fisheaters on the block, and I'm really glad -- not because the silly comments will cease, but because my children will see their friends doing as we've always done which will reaffirm and confirm a small part of their Catholic identity.
Given how expensive a lot of fish is, and how gloriously tasty a good vegetarian Indian take-away can be, we've added a few other rules over the years. We try to keep things simple, modest and inexpensive on Fridays in addition to cutting out meat, although as I've had to point out to one of my sons, this doesn't mean that we aren't allowed to enjoy our food ("Mum, this soup is too tasty for a Friday!" Oh dear!)
I'm going to try to share a few easy Friday meal ideas over the next weeks -- take them or leave them, change them or adapt them. The best recipes are the ones that you try and tweak to make your own. Bon appétit!
Spinach Soup (it's a meal in itself with some good bread).
(serves 10 as main meal - reduce proportions for smaller number or save the rest: it freezes beautifully):
Ingredients:
1 kg frozen spinach
500g onions
6 med/lg sized potatoes peeled and quartered
6 crushed garlic cloves (or to taste - we all like Garlic)
pepper
salt *or* Marigold vegetable stock powder
glug of olive oil
Sweat onions and garlic in olive oil until soft in large casserole, then add potatoes and cover with water (approx 2l). Simmer for 20 minutes until potatoes coming apart. Add spinach - cook for 4-5 minutes, gentle simmer. If using frozen spinach, stick it straight into the pot (don't bother to defrost) add a few minutes cooking time. Add salt and pepper to taste. Or add pepper and Marigold vegetable stock powder to taste.
If you have a stick blender (hand blender) whizz up the soup until it is smooth. Otherwise do the same with a potato masher. It's thick, tasty and satisfying and, unbelievably, children (even sceptical visiting ones) love it.
Speedy method for cheats: buy your spinach, onions and garlic pre-chopped and frozen (Waitrose or Sainsbury's both do decent chopped onions and garlic). If you keep these in the freezer you'll have a potential meal ready with the addition of a few potatoes.
Cost for 10 people: less than £5; considerably less if you buy your potatoes at Lidl, chop your own onions and garlic and use frozen spinach. Practically free if you grow the stuff yourself.
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I'm really glad that I went to the Michael Voris talk last night: it exceeded expectations. Beforehand, as we waited, one of our group joked that he might run onto the stage to some rousing music; I suggested the "Rocky" theme. We all snickered. I felt somewhat ashamed when he did come on and had a real spirit of humility about him: sure he's a practised orator, albeit in a very casual style. So much for the better -- it's hard to hold an audience in thrall for an hour unless you're a skilled speaker -- but he came across as sincere, authentic and profoundly Catholic. You got the sense that you were listening to a man with an genuine love for Christ, who is profoundly grateful for his re-conversion and the shot at eternity it gives him. A man who has discovered the pearl of great price, and wants to share it with as many people as possible.
He started and ended with prayer, and constantly redirected our focus to the Holy Trinity. This was not the "Michael Voris" show, he was the medium not the message. Some highlights included Voris's memory of Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen's response to a hippy who wanted him to read a book combining Catholicism and Eastern mysticism: "Get out! Get out! The Catholic Faith is a gift from Almightly God and I won't have you polluting it!" (a Vortex with the same incident is linked to below) and his question to the audience: how will you measure up in heaven against the martyrs of the early centuries of the Church?
That last question underlined much of the talk: it is not enough, argued Voris to be "a Catholic", to fully embrace the Faith one needs to be "Catholic", no indefinite article, no qualification, no secondary identity. To be Catholic is to embrace Our Lord fully and to be prepared to accept His cross. You might be made fun of, you might lose a few friends or compromise your career, but, argued Voris, none of these measure up to the sacrifices made by early Christians so that we could have the Faith handed down to us.
Voris pointed out that God's word through the Catholic Church is Truth: when faced with Truth you can either reject it or embrace it. Embracing Truth means changing your life. Taking up your cross to follow Christ. Keeping one eye on eternity while trying to live the Truth here on earth. God didn't intend us to pick and choose the bits we like, to water down Truths to suit fashion and cultural climate, or to accommodate those who oppose the Truth. This is where Michael Voris comes most into conflict with those who disagree with him: those who feel that he promotes a Catholicism that is too rigid, too unyielding, not gentle or accommodating or palatable enough for those who disagree with parts of the Magesterium or who believe that all religions are essentially aiming for the same place. Voris would argue that these people misunderstand the meaning of the word charity -> caritas -> love. He argued, persuasively, that to elide the Truth in order to prevent hurt feelings or offended sensibilities is the direct opposite of charity. Charity - love for the other - involves biting the bullet and telling the Truth in those matters that affect the salvation of souls. Hurt feelings are nothing compared to an eternity in Hell. Having been given a wake-up call by his dying mother, Voris is profoundly grateful for her lack of tact in addressing his dissolute lifestyle and the slippery slope to Hell it was leading him down. He she been tactful, he'd probably not be standing in front a a full house at the Regent Hall in London, exhorting his listeners to save souls, embrace the Faith and live radically.
Based on last night's talk, I'd say that none of the criticisms I've heard leveled at Michael Voris would stick. He was humble, charitable, amusing, self-effacing, meticulously faithful to the Magesterium, Catholic down to his very essence. Oh, and to knock another myth on the head: his hair was clearly all his own.
Among the people I went with there was (at least) one skeptic who, by the end of the talk was utterly convinced of Voris's sincerity and orthodoxy. The general consensus was "What's not to like"? followed by "Why are our shepherds not speaking as clearly and plainly as Michael Voris?"
Another reason that last night was good fun was because it was a sort of accidental blognic -- and I got to go to the pub(!) which is a rare occurrence. It was great to meet fellow Guild of Blessed Titus Brandsma bloggers Lawrence "Bones" England (even if he didn't have a clue who I was! See if I scribble in your combox again! :-P), Paul "OTSOTA" Priest, and Dylan "Reluctant Sinner" Perry, as well as seeing pals Mac "Mulier Fortis" McLernon and Bara Brith. There were lots of familiar faces in the audience (which was packed to capacity on the ground floor) including some new friends from the recent NACF pilgrimage to Walsingham. I also discovered that a fellow parishioner is, like me, a former rat fancier: now there's an essay topic - "Connections between Extraordinary Form Mass-goers and small livestock fancying". The mind boggles. It was good to see such a strong turnout from faithful Catholics, many of whom had traveled a considerable distance to get to the talk. Having an opportunity to socialise afterwards was a bonus, and made me wonder whether or not some "Juventutem" style evenings could be arranged for oldies like "Mr.Annie Elizabeth" & me who are well beyond Juventutem age but who enjoy good conversation and socialising with faithful Catholics?
As a last aside, I'll leave you with a rare sighting of the Lesser Spotted Mulier Fortis left (literally) holding the baby!
A new blog that does exactly what it says on the tin: "New to the Extraordinary Form: An irenic* guide for perplexed inquirers to the older form of the Roman Mass" is a project by "an enthusiast for the Traditional Latin Mass, ...[who] wish[es] to share [his] experiences and love of the liturgy with others." The blog has only been running since 12 August and is already a valuable resource for those unfamiliar with the Extraordinary Form or who would simply like to learn more about it. There are some lovely photos and old pictures on the site.
A note in the sidebar points out that the a blog author will very shortly be beginning seminary formation with the Priestly Fraternity of St Peter, at Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary in Denton, Nebraska. He's very kindly offered to answer any question through the combox (" ask as many questions as you like: nothing is too stupid!") but warns that "[i]f you are here looking for polemics, sorry, wrong place. You won't get it here. Take your fight elsewhere please."
You can also support the seminarian(-to-be)/blogger during his formation at the FSSP seminary with prayers and material help: he gives information in the sidebar.
**BTW, I had to look up "irenic" as it's a word I'd not come across before. According to Dictionary.com it's a "part of Christian theology concerned with reconciling different denominations and sects". So now you know too!
As regular readers will be aware, I love the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest and this blog occasionally reads like something of an unofficial fan club for the order. The ICRSP (or ICKSP in English, but I'm finding the K hard to get used to!) are an inspiring and successful Traditional order with a healthy stream of vocations and are a solid bulwark of orthodoxy in an increasingly heterodox French church. They describe themselves thus:
The Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest is a Society of Apostolic Life of Pontifical Right whose goal is the honor of God and the sanctification of priests in the service of the Church and souls. Its specific aim is missionary: to spread the reign of our Lord Jesus Christ in all spheres of human life. Our work is carried out under the patronage of the Immaculate Conception, to Whom the Institute is consecrated. (ICKSP US Website)
In France they have flourishing parishes, run academically and doctrinally rigorous schools, summer camps and scout groups. They have 35 houses in ten countries, 50 priests, and more than 60 seminarians in 15 years. How often I have wished that we had an apostolate of theirs here!
Naturally, then, I was delighted by the news in June that the Right Rev. Mark Davies has invited the order to set up the first completely Traditional parish in England and Wales. It will be set up as a Personal Parish under the provision of the Motu Proprio, 'Summorum Pontificium' for all faithful attached to the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite. It is the first time that an Ecclesia Dei institute has taken over a parish in the UK, and as such is a breakthrough for the Traditional Form of the Roman Rite here.
The ICRSP will be taking over and restoring the church of SS Peter and Paul, in New Brighton, Wirral. The church is built in a classical style on a grand scale -- it was originally built by the contributions of the faithful, and the IRCSP are hoping that the necessary renovations can be funded in the same way. I'm sure that there are many, particularly among the secular lobby, who would say "certainly that sort of thing may have happened in times past, but there's no way that it could happen today!" Let's prove them wrong and get this church renovated and opened on time for the Greater Glory of God!
The latest edition of Mass of Ages has an article about the order, the new parish and the church, as well as giving some indication of the momentous renovation task facing the order before the parish can open in September. In an insert to Mass of Ages, Canon William Hudson of the ICKSP says:
The Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest is delighted to announce that it will be opening the first Traditional Parish in England and Wales. This is a major breakthrough for the Traditional Mass. The Bishop of Shrewsbury, the Right Rev. Mark Davies, has invited the Institute to make an important foundation in his diocese, based in the imposing church of SS Peter and Paul, New Brighton, Wirral.
In September three members of the Institute will be taking up residence in the presbytery and starting this new and hugely exciting apostolate.
But we urgently need your help to make this a reality!
In the long term the church will need considerable work. But in the immediate future we are aiming to raise £40,000 to cover essential restoration of the presbytery and other 'start up' costs.
Without your generosity this project cannot go ahead!
Thank you for helping make this project a reality.
Yours sincerely in Christ the King,
Canon William Hudson
ICKSP
You can contribute to the appeal by sending a (UK) cheque made out to: Institute of Christ the King and sent to: Canon William Hudson, ICKSP Brussels International Catholic School, Chaussée de Wavre 457, 1040 Brussels, Belgium
Non-UK readers could send an International Money Order in UK Pounds made out to the same details at the same address.
I would also ask you all to join me in an extra prayer for Bishop Mark Davies of Shrewsbury who has made this possible by inviting the Institute of Christ the King in this momentous venture. Bishop Davies specifically wants SS Peter and Paul to be a centre of devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and so "to be open to all Catholics and for it to be a model in this regard for the entire diocese" (Mass of Ages, Aug 2011, p15).
On so many counts it is important that this venture is successful -- not least of all because the Devil himself will want it to fail, knowing as he will how many souls a parish like this will save.
God bless the IRCSP! God bless Bishop Mark Davies! God bless our Pope!
Maybe I ought to get out more, but I've just spent a very enjoyable hour browsing the Phillipi Collection website which is described as being:
...currently the world’s largest collection of clerical, ecclesiastical and religious head coverings and is unique in both its scope and size. Whether they are ceremonial or worn as a part of everyday life, you’ll find examples of headwear from every religious persuasion around the globe. In addition, the collection includes 116 religious objects.
There's a great dry sense of humour in the commentary: I particularly liked the understatement in the description of the camouflage biretta: "Indeed a strange biretta!" and the inclusion of Biretta art: the amazing levitating Biretta installation (pictured above).
For the serious aficionado (or for those mothers being pestered by children wanting miniature vestments) there are patterns for birettas -- both collapsible and and the ordinary sort. The site recommends an Italian supplier for the silk pompoms on top, but for children I reckon that a DIY version made by the children themselves will do the trick.
