How long does it take for a heretic to get his way?

The courtyard of the Italian Institute with the spires of St Vitus Cathedral up the hill.

I have been staying in Prague for a few days.  It's a little chillier than when I was last here for the Investiture of Cardinal Duka into the Order of St Lazarus in September. I'm staying at the Italian Cultural Institute which is fascinating. Founded in 1573 and dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, its purpose, in conjunction with the Italian Embassy, is to promote all things Italian.  

I'm always fascinated by the fact that the most prominent heresy in the Czech lands is that of the Hussites - sometimes called  Kališníci; "Chalice People" as the chalice became their symbol because one of their several outrageous demands of the Church was communion under both kinds. It obviously takes about 600 years for a heretic to have his demands become common practice!!!  Their leader, Jan Hus was executed in 1415 after he refused to recant.  His statue stands in Old Town Square with the splendid Hussite church behind it.c

Jan Huss on a chilly town Square

On the other hand there is St John Nepomuk, whose splendid memorial is in St Vitus Cathedral, and who is commemorated on the Charles Bridge, crossing the Vltava river, from where he was thrown at the orders of the Bohemian Emperor in 1396, partly for siding with his archbishop against the Avignon Papacy, whom the Emperor was supporting (although there is a whole lot more to it than that).  Because of the manner of his death he is a patron of flood victims - for all those who have suffered back in Britain this year.

His silver-plated altar in the cathedral is something to behold!

Mass for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception

I offered Low Mass with hymns for Our Lady's Feast today.

She was arrayed with flowers left for her from the wedding celebrated here yesterday.

(Congratulations to Michael and Louise!)

A nearby parish - St Joseph's, Bolton Road, Anderton in Chorley - 

also offered its first EF Mass this morning for the Feast day 

with a good turnout of 25

 (22 of whom were parishioners rather than visitors). 

 It is the first of a regular new EF Mass 

each Saturday there at 9.10am 

for anyone who can get to it more easily 

than the 12 noon on Saturdays here.

We are fortunate here in the Liverpool Archdiocese in that there are now several places to choose from for weekday EF Masses as well as Sunday Masses in four different parishes.

lol (short for Lots of Latin - at least in my text speak!)

What do you get if you ask a communist atheist to build a cathedral?

Q. What do you get if you ask a communist atheist to build a cathedral?

A. The Metropolitan Cathedral of Our Lady Aparecida in Brasilia.

The late Oscar Niemeyer designed it and the foundation stone was laid in 1958, although I think it only opened in 1970.  It is thought to be quite influential and I'm sure you may be able to think of other churches and cathedrals where this baleful influence is to be seen.  It is unusual - perhaps even interesting - but is summons up some great secular and somehow temporary event space.  What seems tragic to me is the abandonment of centuries of Christian models, hallowed as they are by being used for prayer and liturgy and therefore molded to become suitable to it, for a model "invented" by someone with no Christian instincts, in fact, someone whose life views have been inimical to Christianity.

What such churches have is certainly celebrity value - they stick in the mind.  Not because they are beautiful but because they are strange, odd, peculiar   They speak about themselves instead of their purpose.

I hope that it is just this sort of thing that Abbot Michael Zielinski, who leads a new office on liturgical arts at the Congregation for Divine Worship, has been chosen to do something about.

Before someone points it out, I note that the plans come from before the time of the Second Vatican Council. But, as others have noted, the revolutionary views that exploded through the Church after the Council - claiming to act in its name and spirit - did not spring from nowhere, they were already making themselves felt in the Church.  I believe Pope Pius X had noticed them.

The REAL Call to Action

I have been reading about the "Call to Action" (CTA) group organising meetings here in the UK to foment dissent against the Church's teaching. 

A witty retort over at "The Bones you have crushed may thrill" reminding us of the ageing population of the anti-orthodox movement (I see one particular leading Jesuit light, aged 92, has had his faculties suspended by the local bishop after "celebrating" Mass with a lady!) 

Deacon Nick has some information on who they are and where these anti-orthodox CTA types are meeting.  

Mark Lambert has a account of how Bishop Bruskewittz of Lincoln, Nebraska - and his successor - put people involved in this group under interdict, which was upheld by the Congregation for Bishops in Rome.  It would be good if bishops in this country did the same.  I don't see why those attempting to undermine the Church's official teaching should have the luxury of meeting on Church premises, and letting the organisation they seem to disapprove of so much foot the bill for their activities.  Perhaps the laity in the parishes where these priests function might assist in supporting the Church in some way.

Mark Lambert has a detailed and excellent critique of some of the usual nonsense such anti-orthodox groups come up with - and handy references to the Church's teaching.  I've added his site to my side-bar.

One of the most prevalent complaints from these anti-orthodox and CTA types is about the role of women in the Church. I always think that they misunderstand what is most important in the Church by viewing it through secular eyes.  The Priesthood is not the highest calling in the Church, the Priesthood is not where the real power lies.  Holiness is the highest calling in the Church. Holiness is where the real power lies.  Holiness is a calling open to everyone - men and women in equal measure. Being ordained of itself doesn't make you holy (I should know!)  THE Call to Action  is the call to holiness, that's the action we are all called to and part of it is surely humility to conform ourselves to the teaching of the Church.  If you long for the priesthood because you want or be where the power is, where the decision making and leading goes on then it seems to me that you are longing for the wrong thing and for the wrong reasons.  Holiness is what gets things done.  I think of the example of Blessed Mother Teresa - because she was holy she had great influence and indeed "power".  I can't imagine her telephoning any bishop to ask for something and not getting it!

Zeal for the Faith and loyalty to the Apostolic See

Pope Benedict XVI received the members of the community of the Venerable English College today, Monday. The meeting was the culmination of a year-long celebration marking the 650th anniversary of the of the founding of an English and Welsh Hospice on the site occupied by the College.  Some extracts of the Holy Father's words are here below - with my comments - but you can read or listen to the rest at Vatican Radio.

Through God’s grace, the Catholic community of England and Wales is blessed with a long tradition of zeal for the faith and loyalty to the Apostolic See. [Let's hope it is still a living tradition!] At much the same time as your Saxon forebears were building the Schola Saxonum, establishing a presence in Rome close to the tomb of Peter, Saint Boniface was at work evangelizing the peoples of Germany. So as a former priest and Archbishop of the See of Munich and Freising, which owes its foundation to that great English missionary, I am conscious that my spiritual ancestry is linked with yours. Earlier still, of course, my predecessor Pope Gregory the Great was moved to send Augustine of Canterbury to your shores, to plant the seeds of Christian faith on Anglo-Saxon soil. The fruits of that missionary endeavor are only too evident in the six-hundred-and-fifty-year history of faith and martyrdom that distinguishes the English Hospice of Saint Thomas à Becket and the Venerable English College [More martyrs soon perhaps!] that grew out of it.

Potius hodie quam cras, as Saint Ralph Sherwin said when asked to take the missionary oath, “rather today than tomorrow”. These words aptly convey his burning desire to keep the flame of faith alive in England, [Been guttering a little of late.] at whatever personal cost. Those who have truly encountered Christ are unable to keep silent about him. [Bloggers, take note.]  As Saint Peter himself said to the elders and scribes of Jerusalem, “we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:20). Saint Boniface, Saint Augustine of Canterbury, Saint Francis Xavier, whose feast we keep today, and so many other missionary saints show us how a deep love for the Lord calls forth a deep desire to bring others to know him. [The faith is by necessity prosyletysing.] You too, as you follow in the footsteps of the College Martyrs, are the men God has chosen to spread the message of the Gospel today, in England and Wales, in Canada, in Scandinavia. Your forebears faced a real possibility of martyrdom, and it is right and just that you venerate the glorious memory of those forty-four alumni of your College who shed their blood for Christ. [We don't usually hear too much about them back home, that's for sure.] You are called to imitate their love for the Lord and their zeal to make him known, potius hodie quam cras. The consequences, the fruits, you may confidently entrust into God’s hands.

You have heard much talk about the new evangelisation, the proclamation of Christ in those parts of the world where the Gospel has already been preached, but where to a greater or lesser degree the embers of faith have grown cold [Virtually gone out alltogether?] and now need to be fanned once more into a flame. Your College motto speaks of Christ’s desire to bring fire to the earth, and your mission is to serve as his instruments in the work of rekindling the faith in your respective homelands. Fire in sacred Scripture frequently serves to indicate the divine presence, whether it be the burning bush from which God revealed his name to Moses, the pillar of fire that guided the people of Israel on their journey from slavery to freedom, or the tongues of fire that descended upon the Apostles at Pentecost, enabling them to go forth in the power of the Spirit to proclaim the Gospel to the ends of the earth. Just as a small fire can set a whole forest ablaze (cf. Jas 3:5), so the faithful testimony of a few can release the purifying and transforming power of God’s love so that it spreads like wildfire throughout a community or a nation. Like the martyrs of England and Wales, then, let your hearts burn with love for Christ, for the Church and for the Mass. [Amen to that!]

O BLESSED Prince of Apostles, Vicar of Christ, Shepherd of the whole flock, Rock on whom the Church is built, we thank the Prince of Pastors, who in the ages of Faith, did bind this country so sweetly and strongly to thee and to that holy See of Rome from which her conversion came. We praise and bless our Lord for those steadfast Confessors who laid down their lives for thy honor and prerogative in the hour when schism and heresy broke upon the land. We desire to revive the zeal, the devotion and the love of ancient days. We consecrate our country, as far as in us lies, fervently and lovingly to thee. We offer thee our homage. We renew our loyalty to the Pontiff, thy successor, who now fills the Apostolic See. Do thou confirm and strengthen, by thy powerful intercession, the faith of the Pastors and people who invoke thee, save us from apostasy, from disunion, from religious indifference, and from the losses to which ignorance and temptation expose our little flock. O most sincere and most humble penitent, obtain for us tears of true repentance for our sins, and a strong personal love for our divine Master; O Key bearer of the Heavenly Kingdom, open to us the gate of Heaven, that we may enter into the joy of the King of Glory. Remember this realm of England, which grew in grace and unity under thy blessed apostolic influence for nigh a thousand years. Pray to Jesus that all may see the and be brought back to thy Fold, which is the One Fold of Christ. Amen.

V. Thou art Peter.

R. And upon this rock I will build My Church.

Let us pray.

Raise us up, we beseech Thee, O Lord, by the apostolic might of Thy blessed Apostle, Peter; that the weaker we are in ourselves, the more powerful may be the assistance whereby we are strengthened through his intercession; that thus, ever fortified by the protection of Thine Apostle, we may never yield to sin nor be overwhelmed by adversity. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

To Christ the Prince of Peace

There is an online survey being run by the Tablet on "Has the new Mass won you over?" As Fr Tim Finigan points out, the new translation is not a new Mass but why not follow his advice and fill in the survey.  Like Laurence England, I am one of the 100% satisfied (according to the survey questions).  The Tablet railed against the new translation  so obviously thinks it will now be unpopular a year after its introduction.  Although why such a phrase as "Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof but only say the word and my soul shall be healed" should be disliked is beyond me.  Not only is it a more accurate translation of what the Latin text actually says but it is a direct Scriptural reference.  But I digress.

What I don't like is the idea that we can have a survey or a focus group and then change what the Church does / teaches / prays.  Lacking an understanding of the Church as the Mystical Body of Christ and with a tendency in recent years to move away from an understanding of the Church as a spiritual entity, engaged in a spiritual battle, earth centered and not heaven focussed, we have mimicked the world and because in liturgy we experience the Church as this world instead of other world, we have come to treat it like any other worldly institution.  Very often like some sort of political party or unpopular government, forever in a mid-term crisis.  The Tablet survey reeks of democracy.  I'm not totally against democracy but it is not as simple as its championed to be.  Just recently in England we voted for Police Commissioners - except we didn't because hardly anyone actually voted, (in one polling station, not a single soul!) so what sort of a mandate is that.  Not forgetting that Hitler was elected and our own democratic system has legalised the murder of the unborn and is moving little by little to infringe upon the ability of Christians to live and speak according to their Faith.  Parliament has never allowed a referendum on capital punishment in this country because surveys have always shown it would be voted back in.

By chance I listened to "Heart and Soul" on the BBC World Service last night - a program about the rise of the Evangelical Church in Brazil, especially the Gospel Prosperity brand.  One priest who has been successfully bringing Catholics back to Mass says, "The liberation Theology was the main thing responsible for the demise of the catholic church in Brazil... Theology of Liberation was too worried about social issues.  They forgot the importance of prayer."  (20.9 minutes in.)  An indictment of the Church forgetting its spiritual mission.

I'm not sure what The Tablet hopes to accomplish by such a survey, the deed is done, Rome has spoken.  Personally, I think translations should only appear down one side of  a peoples' missal and not at all in the one on the altar - a permanent reminder that the Church is not like any other institution on earth.  

I was glad to read on Forest Murmurs that the Congregation for Clergy has ruled that the priest in Belleville Diocese USA who thought he could alter the texts of the Mass supposedly "to make it easier for his parishioners to understand" has rightly been removed from priestly duties by his bishop. Surely, it's great hubris to think you can come up with better versions of the Mass off the top of your head than those charged by the successor of Peter to do so.

While we might want to take some examples of good practice from the worldly sphere, I don't believe the Church can be forced into secular models of governance.  The image of the Church on earth must reflect it's heavenly counterpart.  I do not want to celebrate a feast of Christ the Prime Minister, nor Christ the President, nor Christ the Oligarch, nor Christ the Dictator, nor Christ the Chairperson. We keep the feast of Christ the Universal King, Christ the Prince of Peace.  Politicians want votes because they can be voted out.  Kings can't be voted out, so Our King asks only for our love and loyalty.

Discover something radically new and fresh

"You have not forgotten the instructions we gave you on the authority of the Lord Jesus."

Words from the First letter of st Paul to the Thessalonians from the Mass from the First Sunday of Advent (year C) about passing on the Faith.

I came across some words of Abbot Michael Zielinski, who leads a new office on liturgical arts at the Congregation for Divine Worship. They are from a talk he gave to CIEL in 2009 but can serve to inform about what calibre of man he is, who will have this responsibility for the arts.  Speaking of his previous role as Vice President of the Pontifical Commission for the Cultural Heritage of the Church, he says that his work "is not that of supervising or training museum curators. For we are profoundly concerned about the cultural heritage of the Church. The question of culture, specifically Christian culture, is at the heart of our activity."

It's well worth reading the whole talk here but a few tasters will indicate his attitude towards the liturgical arts and their importance in the cultural life of the Church -and by culture he means something "essential to our Christian life in order to join us sacramentally with him whom we worship and to nourish the life of grace in the soul... Our concern for the cultural heritage of the Church is, therefore, concern for the life of the Christian in this world who lives in hope of everlasting life in the next. Cultural “goods,” be they ritual or material, are signs of the redemption of this world by Christ; they are sacramentals, which occupy a privileged place in the economy of salvation."

On recent decades since the Second Vatican Council:

"Yet today, we are acutely conscious of the fact that all has not been well in recent decades in respect of the cultural life of the Latin rite of the Catholic Church. Western society has been suffering from a profound cultural crisis for some time and this has impacted on the Church. Indeed, our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI himself, as Cardinal Ratzinger, expressed on a number of occasions his profound concern for the crisis in the cultus of the Church that we have experienced in the decades following the Second Vatican Council, from the “fabrication” of new rites, to the banalization of ecclesiastical music and the unprecedented re-ordering of the spatial arrangements of churches.  Most crucially, any impoverishment of the sacramentals themselves carries with it the danger of weakening the very encounter with the incarnate Lord which these rites and ritual things facilitate. We creatures of flesh and blood ordinarily require these cultural goods in order to enter into the life of grace and to persevere in it until the end. They serve to raise our minds and hearts to Almighty God, and to lead us into that encounter from which we receive grace. Devaluing or dismissing them may have – indeed has had – an adverse effect on the life of faith of many in recent times."

On rediscovering the tradition of the Church:

I too have found that my vocation as a monk and as a priest have been renewed through a greater appreciation of the riches of liturgical tradition... the rich culture and heritage of the Church that one experiences in her sacred liturgy as developed in Tradition. I too – someone who had been a busy and relatively successful priest for some twenty years – found that pearl of great price that so many young people have found in recent decades. Talking with many priests, I have been astonished at how many have had similar experiences: to come to know and to celebrate the classical rites informs one’s faith and identity as a priest, as one called to be alter Christus. After such an encounter, one can never be the same again.But I want to make an important point here. Such an awakening is not about “me,” nor is it about my finding “my” particular spirituality or favourite style of worship. No; is not so individualistic or subjective an experience. Coming into contact with and beginning to appreciate and savour the riches of the culture and heritage of the 

classical Roman Rite is a profoundly ecclesial experience. I am no longer doing my own thing in accordance with the many styles and possibilities on offer. Rather, I take my place in the continuity of the bi-millennial tradition of the Church’s worship, at one with the Fathers and the saints, and in turn faithfully seek to hand on what I have received. The modern liturgy should stand in that same tradition and should be celebrated accordingly. But we know only too well, that in recent decades the modern liturgy has often not been offered as something in continuity with tradition, but as something radically new, different from “what we did before Vatican II,” as the saying goes. And this explains why today young people who have never known the older rites, and priests who have never celebrated them, discover something radically new and fresh in the older form of the Roman Rite. Where they have persevered in tilling the arid ground of rupture, they come to rejoice in the fertile soil of continuity."

There is quite an interesting interview with him below from Spirituality TV.