Quickie Abortions Here

I was visiting a chemist on Saturday, and after I made my purchase I noticed a sign above the dispensary: "Emergency Contraception Available (Morning After Pill)".  I was kicking myself, if I had noticed this I would have gone elsewhere, but as I was dealing with the remorse I realised that every other chemist in Ireland has this so called "Emergency Contraception". 

Musing on all this I realised that I would have to revise one of my recent posts in which I said that abortion was coming to Ireland and that our government is paving the way for it by taking out the chief opponent: the Catholic Church.  However, it is here already: every chemist shop in the country is an abortion clinic as the emergency contraceptive pill actually kills the newly conceived baby. 

I know, members of the pro-life movement will remind me, there was a campaign against the legalisation of the pill at the time.  And at that time, as far as I am aware, and I am open to be corrected on this, there was not a whimper raised at official Church level.  The usual suspects objected, the marvellous David Quinn among them, but there was no campaign, no nation-wide information drive at every church, no sermons.  Pastor Niemoller's poem comes to mind.

I suppose things like these have convinced our anti-Catholic public figures that the Church is useless here in Ireland - it will remain silent when attacked, and so can be taken out at will.  With the scandals, the Church has no credibility, and so can be beaten into submission, with not a whimper of objection. True, the Cardinal objected to the closing of the Irish embassy to the Holy See, but that was all. That can be ignored. 

All of this contrasts with the witness of the Church in Poland, the Philippines, Sudan, East Timor and other places, where, persecuted as it was, and dominated by the stronger forces, she raised her voice and would not be silent.  The Church's role in bringing down the Iron Curtain, while not acknowledged by many historians, was significant.  Is it not now time for the Church here in Ireland to start getting up from the crash position, come out of the trenches and rabbit holes and start to create a place for herself in Irish society again? Yes, she is a pariah, but pariahs still have a voice and can use whatever resources they have to try and re-establish themselves. 

At the moment I am reading a biography of Blessed Anna-Maria Taigi, the great wife, mother and mystic of early 19th century Rome.  The biography is the Tan one and is okay, but I would prefer one in which she is put in her historical context a bit more because she lived in fascinating times.  Rome was a subject city, the Pope, while ruler of the Papal States, had been pushed out by Napoleon and the King of Naples.  Actually she lived at the time the opera Tosca is set (for all you opera lovers?  I love that opera!  My dream, when training as an opera singer, was to sing the role of Scarpia, but it was not to be.  I got as far as Mozart's Figaro, but then the Lord grew impatient!). 

Napoleon had ravaged Rome, extending the French Revolution to the Papal States.  The Pope, Pius VI was arrested and died in prison.  In Vienna a successor was elected, the now Servant of God, Pope Pius VII.  This poor pontiff was also a prisoner of Napoleon, dragged across Europe to satisfy the dictator's demands, he was even forced to preside over Napoleon's coronation.  The Church was at a very low ebb, and yet it was the sight of the Pope, a captive of the Corsican, which turned the hearts of Europeans.  It was when the Church was at her weakest that she was actually strongest (someone said something about that before, I believe).   And in the midst of a city, Papacy and Church in turmoil, a holy woman, a simple wife and mother, was sent as a prophet to console and yes, at times, to warn. 

We are in similar times.  Okay none of our enemies today are like Napoleon, but they are dangerous enough.  They do not wage wars like the Corsican general, nor crown themselves emperors, but under the illusion of democracy, equality and secular righteousness, they form kingdoms for themselves, rule peoples and seek to destroy their enemies.   As always the Catholic Church is seen as the first enemy to be destroyed because she more than other other religion, has always stood up to those who undermine humanity, morality and faith.

Often the Church does so labouring under the wickedness and hypocrisy of some of her members, and even some of her leaders, but yet, while that is fuel for the enemies' attack, these enemies can never bring themselves to dismiss her.  They will say that the Church is irrelevant, but yet act against her in a way which reveals that they know she is not irrelevant, that she is a force to be reckoned it, particularly when they think they have destroyed her.

This is not meant to be a triumphalist post, but rather one to get us thinking and praying.  In many places around the world members of the Church are at all time low - that is true of the Church here in Ireland.  There are people within the Church who are acting like enemies of the Church, and for all intents and purposes, they are.  But now is the time for us to start figuring out: where do we go from here?  In a sense we are at an advantage.  At long last that grotesque union of the Catholic Church in Ireland and secular government has been dissolved.  In that union the Church lost her prophetic voice, she was part of the establishment, cherished respectability, even craved it and at times conferred it.  That is gone, thank God, and now we no longer have respectability, now we are actually freer that any other time in Irish history - free to be prophetic.  Weak, but in Christ's view of things, strong. 

Now we begin again with prayer: that God will guide us.  We pray the Holy Father will appoint bishops, when the time comes, that will no longer want to be part of the establishment, that are happy enough to live out in the wilderness with the faithful remnant and will not be silent: indeed we pray for our present bishops that the Lord will help them adjust.  We do have some very good bishops who only need encouragement and support.  Some may say they are on their last legs - that may be true, but you do not need legs to light a fuse!

Strange musings you may say, having seen a poster advertising quickie abortions, but it is a symbol of how far we have gone.  There are battles ahead, and while we might not win them (ye), we must now begin to stand up and fight: we need the virtue of fortitude.  That brings me to a wonderful scene from The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers movie - the siege of Helm's Deep.  Though all seemed lost, Theoden King and his armies take their last stand - they will ride out of the fortress to give the women and children time to escape: foolhardy, perhaps - virtuous, yes - fortitude - to do the right thing though you may not survive.  We need such courage in the Church in Ireland today - a good dose of humility to go with it of course.

"The sun is rising."

This Joyful Feast

Today is the feast of St Philip Neri, the apostle of Rome and apostle of joy.  Founder of the Congregation of the Oratory, he was filled with an evangelical spirit which led him to assist the Church in the process of reform in the 16th century.  He recognised that true reform began in the individual soul, and so his life was dedicated to the renewal of men and women, bringing them back to Christ and enkindling a spirit of devotion, intellectual pursuits and Christian cultural activities. 

He reminded the people of his time of the importance of the sacraments, especially confession which had fallen into disuse following the Renaissance and the divinisation of man.  His celebration of the Mass was, literally, mystical, reminding those who participated in it, that it is no mere service, but the sacred sacrifice of Christ. 

We need St Philip back again, especially in Ireland, so my prayer today is that God may raise up for us in Ireland another Philip Neri to help us in the process of renewal.  Please join me in that prayer today.

As today is one of my favourite feasts in the whole year, I intend to celebrate big time, so as you join me in prayer, join me in the feast.  No fasting today, but raise a toast to the great apostle of joy, Good St Philip!

Buona festa a tutti!!

The Incorrupt Body of St Philip

Litany of St Philip Neri

(Composed by Blessed John Henry Newman)

Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.

Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.

God the Father of heaven,
Have mercy on us.

God the Son, Redeemer of the world,
Have mercy on us.

God the Holy Ghost,
Have mercy on us.

Holy Trinity, one God,
Have mercy on us.

Holy Mary,                                       pray for us
Holy Mother of God,                          
Holy Virgin of Virgins, 
                             

St. Philip,
Vessel of the Holy Ghost,
Child of Mary,
Apostle of Rome,
Counsellor of Popes,
Voice of Prophecy,
Man of primitive times,
Winning Saint,
Hidden hero,
Sweetest of Fathers,
Flower of purity,
Martyr of charity,
Heart of fire,
Discerner of spirits,
Choicest of priests,
Mirror of the divine life,
Pattern of humility,
Example of simplicity,
Light of holy joy,
Image of childhood,
Picture of old age,
Director of souls,
Gentle guide of youth,
Patron of thy own,

Who didst observe chastity in thy youth,
Who didst seek Rome by divine guidance,
Who didst hide so long in the Catacombs,
Who didst receive the Holy Ghost into thy heart,
Who didst experience such wonderful ecstasies,
Who didst so lovingly serve the little ones,
Who didst wash the feet of pilgrims,
Who didst ardently thirst after martyrdom,
Who didst distribute the daily word of God,
Who didst turn so many hearts to God,
Who didst converse so sweetly with Mary,
Who didst raise the dead,
Who didst set up thy houses in all lands,

Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world,
Spare us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world,
Graciously hear us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world,
Have mercy on us.

Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.

V. Remember thy Congregation.
R. Which thou hast possessed from the beginning.

Let us pray

O God, who hast exalted blessed Philip, Thy Confessor, in the glory of Thy saints, grant that, as we rejoice in his commemoration, so we may profit by the example of his virtues, through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Hail Glorious St Patrick

Yesterday we celebrated St Patrick's Day.  Between ceremonies and meetings with friends for the feast day I did not get a chance to blog.  

St Patrick is a most interesting Saint, one, though, who has been reinvented to fit in with the celebration of Irish nationalism.  As I was growing up I came to like St Patrick's Day less and less, and now that the forces of secularisation have created "Paddy's Day" and cut it from the religious, I have even less time for the "traditional" celebrations.   

Am I a killjoy?  Well I'm sure many will think I am.  But I do favour a proper celebration of the feast and an authentic honouring of the man whose feast it is - the spiritual father and apostle of the Irish.  St Patrick was an extraordinary individual: a man of deep faith - a man whose heart was firmly fixed on Christ and in communion with Rome, a man of the Scriptures and a man immersed in the theology of Christ and the Holy Trinity, as his works reveal - that is only to be expected given that he studied at the great school of Lerins. 

I believe we need to reclaim St Patrick - take him back from the bawdy drunken secularists who are using him as an excuse for a knees up - and worse as news out today tells us there has been a rush for the morning after pill in the last few days, God help us!   As we launch out in the process of renewal, St Patrick must have an important role, and Pope Benedict has alluded to this in his prayer for the Church in Ireland.  

The study of St Patrick's life and teaching will reintroduce the Church in Ireland to Scripture and orthodox theology, particularly to the concept of  ecclesial communion; to prayer and the importance of a personal relationship with God; to the beauty of creation, though with the caveat that we do not worship nature as our more "ecologically" minded people seem to.   Reflecting on Patrick's mission we can rediscover evangelical zeal and courage - no fearful hiding from issues with Patrick - excommunicating Coroticus and his soldiers was a daring act, yet it needed to be done. 

St Patrick was not afraid of negative public opinion - some of the established Christians in Ireland did not like him.  It seems he was too strident for them - he probably disturbed their comfortable, lukewarm Christianity, and so he challenged them.  There was no licking up to them, putting them on committees to keep them on side or doing everything he could to keep them in.  He preached the Gospel, and like St Paul he put it to them: "Take it, or leave it".   Yet he was also the soul of charity and tenderness: the virtues of prudent and charity helped him harmonise the zeal and gentleness.  It is the genius of the Saints which reveals how one can be tough and gentle at the same time: in recent years we have seen this in Blessed Teresa of Calcutta and Ven. John Paul II.

And Patrick is a true father.  In his Letter to Coroticus he is defending his Irish children, because, as St Paul said in his letters, Patrick has fathered us in faith, and so as we struggle with the various issues which seem to be creating problems for the Church here, we must turn to him.  Blessed John XXIII used to say the Lord every night before going to sleep: "Lord, I've done my best, it's your Church, look after it now" (or words to that effect).  So too with Patrick: we Irish should say to him: "Dear Father, Patrick, Ireland is your responsibility, look after it and help us do what we can to bring renewal".  It would be no harm if our Beloved Patron took his crosier and beat some sense into the Irish Church - it would do us all a little good.  Is that too negative?  Perhaps, though I think not. 

So now, how do we reclaim the feast of St Patrick?   As Christians we have Christianised pagan feasts before, though ironically this pagan feast was once a religious feast.  One possibility could be to add a second feast day in honour of St Patrick - his relics were not translated so that's a non-runner unless we kindly ask the Church of Ireland to allow us exhume his remains from the grave in Downpatrick (if any are left - if he's there at all) and translate them to a worthy shrine and then mark the day as a feast.  We could celebrate the day he arrived in Ireland or the day he established the Primatial See in Armagh - that could be celebrated as a day of evangelisation - and devoid of secular interest could be a feast to celebrate faith.  But those dates are now probably known only to God. 

All that said, why should we give up his dies natalis? So maybe it is time for some counter cultural revolutionary action.  Seeing as the orthodox Christians are now the dissidents in Ireland, we should do some dissenting from the national booze up.  A parade of our own with the Blessed Sacrament and a statue of St Patrick, Holy Mass and prayers and lots of hymns: good old fashioned hymns that rouse the soul - none of the anemic stuff that has bored us to tears for the last twenty years.   No guitars or fiddles just a good organ and strong human voices booming out "Faith of our Fathers" making the secularists nervous and wondering is Patrick himself coming on the clouds with a good hefty crosier to rid Ireland once again of the metaphorical serpents of paganism and disbelief.  Ah, one can but dream!

Rant over.  I had better say my prayers.  First Vespers of St Joseph - another wonderful feast. 

In The Beginning

What a wonderful two weeks we have ahead of us!  The first readings of our Masses are taken from the Book of Genesis.  I have always loved that book, as a child I would read it again and again for the stories, and then move onto Genesis: The Sequel aka Exodus, and then, in the mood for adventure, skip over the three unpronounceables to Joshua and Judges.  

As I grew older I began to understand Genesis and then as I lived in the world I was convinced of the truths it teaches - experience of human life confirms its wisdom.  If we want to understand human nature, it's all there in Genesis.  By a happy coincidence I am reading Scott Hahn and Curtis Mitch's commentary on the book and it is bliss, well worth reading. So my understanding of the book, but also of human nature, is deepening. 

In today's first reading we have the story of Creation, a most controversial topic today.  The battle between Darwinian Evolutionists and Literal Creationists is heated.  I share Pope John Paul II's position - evolution is most likely what happened - we see evidence of it every year in the annual bout of flu which makes its way around the world - each year new strains evolve to keep scientists busy trying to find a vaccine.  That said I do not believe the universe is a product of chance, as philosopher Jean Paul Sartre put it after his conversion, but rather created by God who intended it to evolve in a particular way.   At the heart of it, the pinnacle: man and woman.  Reading the account of creation, organised in a liturgical manner, we are led to reflect on the magnificence of God's creative act.  Out of nothing this beautiful universe emerges - out of chaos, order. 

This is something in evolution which, I believe, reveals the intention of God - there is so much order - the laws of nature are not mere chance events, but true laws - ordered.  This might bring us to a reflection on natural law - that natural morality which seeks to move man out of moral chaos into moral order, in harmony with God and his creation, a law which is written in the hearts of men and women.  The whole question of natural law is one much disputed today; just recently I heard an advocate for same-sex marriage decry the brutality and tyranny of natural law in its ordering of human sexuality along the lines of male and female.

That said, it is natural for us to nurture order in our lives and in our liturgy and we can see this process happening in recent years, most particularly during the pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI.  After swirling around in the ideological chaos which broke out after Vatican II thanks to misinterpretations, and maybe even the mischievousness of some, the Church is coming back to that order which has always been the hallmark of her life - the order she finds in the Heart of her Divine Founder.  The new translation of the Missal, or as one of my readers called it "the corrected translation", is one element in this return to order, the means through which the Church can overcome the liturgical chaos which has reigned supreme in some places.  

Each reform of the Church re-echoes the creation of the world and Pentecost as the Holy Spirit sweeps across the Church renewing her and preparing her for the mission which is about to unfold.  We live in interesting times, exciting times and, yes, difficult times, but we all have our part to play.

Happy Feast Day

Today we celebrate the feast of St Brigid, the secondary patron of Ireland and with reference to my post on St Joan of Arc, for us Irish Brigid is the original home-grown mighty woman.   There are many stories and legends about her with a few interesting curiosities.  According to one account her mother was Portuguese - captured by Irish pirates and brought to Ireland as a slave, as was St Patrick.  She was bought by a Louth chieftain and took her as his concubine, and from their union St Brigid was born.  The links with Portugal are strong - her head is now enshrined in a church in Lisbon and there seems to be a great devotion to her there.

Brigid founded monasteries and my native home, Clara, claims to have her first foundation.  Disputed by some but we will fight to the nail to defend that tradition!  She was a great influence on the people of her time and much venerated, so much so she is called the Mary of the Gael.  In a sense she is, after Our Lady, considered the spiritual mother of the Irish people.  In latter years feminists and a new wave paganism embraced by some in the Church in Ireland, has dechristianised her and she is now seen by many as a Christianised Celtic goddess.  There was a goddess in the Celtic pantheon called Brigit, but because our abbess saint shares the same name does not mean she is the goddess revamped for Christians. 

Pope Benedict mentions her in his Letter to the Irish, and I hope that stirs a renewal in devotion to her.  As our spiritual mother she has an important role to play in the renewal of the Church in Ireland: she has a lot of praying to do!

Eucharistic Congress 2012: Worrying Developments

Meeting with a priest friend the other day, he let me read some of the documents emerging from the committees organising next year's Eucharistic Congress in Dublin.  One of them which lays down the rules for the journey of a Eucharistic Congress bell through the country (pretty rigid rules) reads more like something out of "Have I Got News For You?" or  the script of a Monty Python sketch.   But then again, the documents online are just as bad. 

 

Reading through the Pastoral Preparation Programme, available online here, I see a lot of problems, the main one being a disordered emphasis on the individual rather than on the mystery of the Eucharist.  The theme of the congress is The Eucharist, Communion with Christ and One Another, it seems to me most of the emphasis is on the latter end of the theme. 

 

Have a read of the document and see for yourself, it will remind you of those awful paraliturgies we have had to endure for the last thirty years, where we focus on "our" gathering, "our" story, "our" experience - the sort of stuff that has led a couple of generations of Catholics away from worshipping God to worshipping themselves. In reality this is where the Church is in Ireland at the moment, and has been for some time - certainly my generation got nothing else. The sort of stuff which reduces the mystery of the Eucharist to the subjective celebration of a community turned in on itself, rather than a community turning to God worshiping him and celebrating the Mystery of Salvation.  As a priest trying to prepare his parish for the Congress and foster a genuine Eucharistic faith this stuff is no help at all, more of a hindrance actually.

 

I know from a number of sources that there is a serious dispute going on behind the scenes.  Orthodox faithful who want to make the Eucharistic Congress a real celebration of the Mystery of the Holy Eucharist against the old guard who seem most uncomfortable with Catholic Eucharistic piety - looking at these documents it seems the old guard won.

 

The Holy Father has already said that he sees the Congress as part of the Church's renewal in Ireland, I'm afraid if it turns out as the documents here intend, it will do the opposite.  One good thing though, with Eucharistic devotees from around the world in Ireland witnessing this stuff it will become apparent to the powers that be in Rome that serious doctrinal reform is needed in Ireland and that the Visitation must go far beyond the issue of child abuse and seminaries. 

 

As for the Eucharistic Congress Dublin 2012, another priest said to me last night: "It seems like its going to be another wasted opportunity for Ireland - as were the Years in preparation for the Jubilee 2000, the Jubilee itself, the Year of the Rosary, the Year of the Eucharist, the Pauline Year, the Year of the Priest....all of which were virtually ignored in Ireland."  I hope not, there is still time to turn the thing around.  

Back To Basics?

There is an interesting development in the Archdiocese of Liverpool, announced a couple of days ago. The decision has been taken to return to the original order of the Sacraments of Initiation - i.e. Confirmation will now be given before First Holy Communion.   According to the diocesan statement, the sacrament of Confirmation will now be given to candidates who are prepared for it around the age of eight, and then sometime afterwards, they will receive their First Holy Communion, I think with First Confession somewhere in between.

This is something to watch, I think, and see how they get on.  A number of theologians have for some time expressed misgivings over the present system we have in the Church where Holy Communion is given at seven or eight, and Confirmation a number of years later - the process of initiation is out of kilter, and to be honest I do have to agree with them.  In the Orthodox churches the three sacraments are given together - the child is baptised, confirmed and then given a tiny fragment of the Eucharist, and then after a number of years instruction, the child begins to receive Holy Communion on a regular basis.  I know Protestant denominations, Anglicans included, give Confirmation to the candidate when they are in their teens, and then they receive communion for the first time.  It was Pope St Pius X who allowed children receive Holy Communion at an earlier age, partly inspired by a saintly little Irish girl, Nellie Organ who had been given permission to receive it at the age of four, having demonstrated she had reached the age of reason early and had a profound understanding of, and love for, the Eucharist.

Is it time for us in Ireland to follow Liverpool's lead?  I think we should think about it and watch how things go in Liverpool.  Certainly, as I and many others have said on numerous occasions, there is an urgent need for our catechetical programme to be overhauled (in my opinon, programme trashed, new orthodox people put in place to work with the official Catechism of the Church to design, write and implement a new programme, and a strict process put in place to ensure diocesan catechists are following and adhering to the programme).    Seeing as the Church in Ireland is beginning to reform - I hear great things are happening in some areas of the Apostolic Visitation, we might begin a conversation with Rome to see if we should return to the original practice as Liverpool is doing.  I realise there may be some problems, not least among them the age at which Confirmation is to be given.  But, again, we will keep an eye on how Liverpool fares out.

Art?

When is art art? When is it propaganda?  When is it criminally offensive?  Questions such as these exercise the minds of critics from time to time, and perhaps not often enough nowadays.   As Christians we ask questions such as these every time an artist produces a work which directly, and usually intentionally, offends our sincerely held beliefs and people we hold dear.   Given the nature of Western society today we tend to find ourselves asking those question more and more often.  And now we have another opportunity to ask them as a Toronto gallery hosts an exhibition of works which include a painting of Pope Benedict which is riddled with bullet holes and is part of a section devoted to "evildoers".  Also included in the exhibition is a work depicting American president Barack Obama as Christ on the cross.  The works are by artist Peter Alexander Por.  I'm not reproducing the images, but if you want to see them go here.

As expected the exhibition has received many complaints and the defenders of the works are giving the usual excuses which tend to be peddled out when an artist attacks Christianity, so no light there: I love art, and in the Fraternity we help artists as much as can afford, but sometimes the "artist-speak" used to defend works like Por's verges on the ridiculous and stupid, so we can safely discard those explanations.

So, the questions, when is art art, etc?  Answering these questions is very difficult today because art has become so relativist in the 20th and 21st centuries.  As the notion of beauty and truth waned as people began to make up truth and beauty for themselves, the standards set by the Classical philosophers and artists are no longer acceptable, but are considered bourgeois by many today (revealing the philosophical bunker they are in), so it is difficult to argue.  Many today are offended by the idea of classical beauty and so cannot really accept that ordinary people who live in the "real world" could be touched by this beauty: it was too "exclusive". So art veered off in a particular direction.  Art must be more democratic, ethnic, real, we are told, and so we celebrate these ideas with paintings like Por's.

As Christians we have a particular approach to art.  We accept the classical ideal, but we also see the possibilities in the ordinary.   As 20th century artists were trying to redefine beauty and truth (usually according to their own desires and agendas rather than looking to universals), another thinker was also looking at the question of art and beauty - theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar.  He situated art in the context of the great drama which exists in God, the Incarnation and redemption, and this I think gives us an new edge on what art is.   Von Balthasar restored the idea of beauty and truth, not as that which can be manipulated according to personal tastes or ideological agenda or philosophy, but as universals centred in Christ himself.   The movement of Christian art should be towards these universals, towards Christ.  The Christian artist, then, can take the ordinary, reflect on it, reveal its significance and beauty, and what it is pointing to.  In this light art can reveal man in all his dignity, and yes, sinfulness, but also as one redeemed.  Creation, expressed through landscapes for example, can be seen in a different way, as a character itself in a great plan which is unfolding. 

Interestingly, Richard Moore, the artist who painted the new image of St Genesius, tends to paint landscapes, and attuned to the natural world around him, when you look at one of his paintings you see that he sees there is a life behind it, a meaning to the world, a beauty which is given.  He is a man of faith, and his faith informs his work.

So now, back to Por's work, and the works of those like him.  If we apply the principles of von Balthasar we see Por's work falls short, as does that of many artists today.  That may or may not be their fault - they have grown up in cultural environment which has rebelled against artistic principles.  Art colleges no longer teach traditional, realist or figurative art - one of the reasons I believe they do not do so is because they do not want to promote real talent, real artistic genius is rare and it rises above the ordinary, so better not allow this talent to be revealed, less talented artists will be hurt, undermined, indeed the hacks will be exposed. 

Knowing some very talented artists who could actually draw and paint,  I saw they had an awful time in art school because they were penalised for revealing their ability in works of beauty and intelligence: they had to produce the mediocre trash like everyone else to get their degrees.   Culture has to be renewed, standards do have to be restored and yes that means that not everyone can be an artist, not everyone has has that genius, only the few and they are the ones who have been chosen by God to work with him in the creative.  We all have abilities and talents, but they are different, so we should not feel left out if we cannot reap the praise a good artist gains through their work.  And that is part of the problem, in the age of equality, everyone must be the same, "all must have prizes" as Melanie Phillips puts us.  And so to implement that equality we dismantle the true and the beautiful and worship the banal because then we are all the same - we are all in the same bunker.  And in that bunker we endure the formless shapes and splattered canvases that we are told are art, or seek depth in a trash can balanced on a tossed bed with the artist slumbering within, or swoon in adoration at the instillation of naked people, slithering in muck and screaming their heads off in a recorded audio-visual experience.  Isn't it all just too much?  All this and heaven too!!  Forgive me if I am laughing my head off!   That too may be art.

As for Por, judge his work by comparison.  Take out the Pope, replace him with a Jewish or Muslim leader, or even with Obama or a feminist icon?   Now, is it art?

Catholic Priests Request Ordinariate

NOT a Catholic Ordinariate

What is that headline, I hear you say....Catholic priests requesting an Ordinariate? Yes indeed, dear readers: in conversation with some priests, the idea came up that priests who live in dioceses or metropolitan provinces where orthodoxy is thin on the ground may appeal to the Pope to be given parishes and churches in which they may establish Ordinariates for orthodox Catholicism.   Humorous I hear you say, yes it is, but ironically, for many of our faithful in some dioceses in the world the idea might be very appealing indeed!

Half in jest it was suggested that the aims of these Ordinariates would include being able to celebrate the Mass according to the Roman Rite, minus middle-aged women dancing in curtains and congregational consecration of the bread and wine;  to enable a restoration of Eucharistic adoration, Marian piety and reference to the Saints, and to allow priests the freedom to preach the Gospel and Church teaching rather than polticially correct public relations.  Other practices which could be incorporated into the spiritual life of these Ordinariates would be "traditional devotions" like the sacrament of confession, Benediction and the reordering of churches to allow congregrations concentrate on the liturgy rather than themselves (so out goes the kitchen table in the middle of the "worship space").  

As you can see, they are all getting jolly in anticipation of Christmas.  I suggested, though, that these priests need not bother the Holy Father for an Ordinariate, the restoration is already happening - a few funerals have to take place first, but time is on the side of orthodoxy.

Igloo Nation

Our parish church, St Louis and St Mary's in the snow, with the abandoned cars

"O Come Thou Thaw From On High"

Yes, dear friends, that is the great Advent anthem which is rising from the hearts, minds, voices and frustrations of the people of Ireland at this time.  We are in the midst of one of the worst winters for years, breaking weather records every day - we do that a lot these times in Ireland, breaking records.  The conditions are getting worse - snow is falling and building up.  The UK is in as bad a state as we are.  Our primary roads are in a bad state - never mind our secondary roads. The roads in my parish are in a very bad state - they have not been gritted or cleared since this started almost a week ago - our local council is struggling with the main roads.  

I had five people at Mass last evening, - First Friday, which normally attracts a good crowd.   I do not know how things will be for the Sunday Masses.  The chapels of ease are in difficult spots - St Patrick's (Rushwee) is snowed under, St Brigid's (Grangegreeth) is up a huge hill and at this stage impassable.  I was talking with my sacristan in St Patrick's and she expressed the hope we may get a thaw before the Vigil on Saturday evening, it seems this morning her hopes may be realised - this morning there seems to be a bit of a thaw, although it will take a few days - the roads are still treacherous.   Things are bad out here in the country.  We have not had post all week, and for the last few days the car park has been playing host to a few cars which have been abandoned for the duration.

Well, I suppose this is real Advent - we just have to wait for the thaw before normal life resumes, in the meantime we struggle on doing what we can, stumbling, skidding and sliding.  Weather like this reminds us that we are not in control and we must, in the end, submit to forces greater than ourselves.  If this is true of the weather, it is even more true of God.  This is a lesson human beings have to learn for themselves.  Pope Benedict said that each generation must discover Christ for themselves - in that personal encounter with him they find faith and the truth the Church holds dear and proclaims.  But it is also true to say that each generation must discover the limitations of the human condition, and then the power of God's grace and love which can raise fallen humanity - to come to that insight we must encounter the cross - Christ on the cross who is in himself, in his perfect humanity, in his redeeming work, the sign of salvation.  Alleluia - that is good news.  This is a lesson we need to learn in Ireland today.

For those of you who face such winter weather every year, please bear with us.  Our climate is so mild, we rarely have snow at this level, so we are unprepared.  It seems that this may become the norm for us for the years to come.  Looking back on our climate history, our winters were much colder than what we were used to in the last few hundred years: it seems our climate may be readjusting to what had been the norm up here in the North.

The Enemy Within?

Pope Benedict says something very interesting in his new book concerning some who hold professional positions in the Church - it has been referred to by a few blogs.  Here is what he says:

“The bureaucracy is spent and tired. It is sad that there are what you might call professional Catholics who make a living on their Catholicism, but in whom the spring of faith flows only faintly, in a few scattered drops.”

Some bloggers have been more explicit and ask why those who dissent from Church teaching hold so many important positions in the Church?   Indeed, in some countries they completely hold the reins of power and are engaged in an attempt to remould the Church according to their agenda - we see this notably in western countries. 

This has always baffled me, to be honest.  I saw bishops appointed who should never have been ordained priests at all because they do not believe, and their dioceses are in disarray, often in rebellion.  I see religious who long ago lost their faith at the helm of important Church projects.  I see Catholics who despise the Pope and Church teaching in positions of formation and catechesis.  I know of catechists who do not believe in the devil, among other things, and chide the children they are examining if they do believe in him - so much for the first baptismal vow.  And in their disbelief, these poor saps become putty in the devil's hands.  I know of children formed for First Communion by people do not believe in the Eucharist, and so these children have had no formation in Eucharistic theology - they see it as mere bread - victims of their teachers' disbelief.  

And then there are those who hold important positions who filter what comes from the Pope, reinvent Catholic teaching and feed this to the faithful as "official teaching".  I see women and men, priests and religious in the forefront, publicly denouncing the Pope and Church teaching, branding it as lacking in compassion, and, slaves to the intellectual, social and sexual promiscuity of this Godless age, they make themselves out to be the epitome of compassion, the ones who "really understand" the poor human condition and know how to respond in a "real Christian way".  They lead souls on a merry dance away from Christ and his Church and offer them a frail idol which they themselves have manufactured - made in their own image and likeness.  And what is said to them?  Nothing.  Their dissent is greeted with silence.  Many of them hold positions of power within the Church and not a move is made to get rid of them.  Long ago they lost their faith, now they are in rebellion but they do not have the good grace to leave the Church; and the Church continues to pay their wages and provide them with a living.  And they will stay because they know that if they leave their comfortable lifestyle is gone and no one will listen to them anymore. 

Yes, the Church needs reform alright.

A New Saint?

The Irish Christian Brothers and Presentation Brothers are intensifying their work on the Cause of their founder, Blessed Edmund Ignatius Rice.   According to their superiors, they are going to begin a campaign of prayer to beg a miracle from God to clear the way for Blessed Edmund's canonisation. 

Great news.  Ireland, once the land of Saints and scholars, has very few modern Saints.  The last Irish canonisation was that of a Dutch Passionist who devoted his life to serving the poor and sick of Dublin, St Charles of Mount Argus.  Unfortunately there was little interest in Ireland at the time of his canonisation which was more than disappointing.  Poor responses are not unique,  I'm afraid. I remember the beatification of our martyrs a number of years ago - again there was very little about it, and at the time some clergy felt like apologising to the Protestants for the Pope's decision to beatify them.  I hope that as we go in the direction of renewal, we will begin to take the process of beatification and canonisation more seriously - too many dismiss it.  Yet a Cause is a sign not only of God's providence and grace in a local Church, it is also a sign that that local Church is healthy.  So I hope the Brothers have much success, I will keep their efforts in my prayers.

After Blessed Edmund, the Venerable Matt Talbot - rumour has it there is already a miracle for him but so far nothing seems to be happening with it.  Then the Venerable Edel Quinn, Frank Duff, Fr John Sullivan.  Personally I would love to see a Cause opened for Ellen Organ (Little Nellie of Holy God), the canonisation of a child could bring great healing to the Church in Ireland.  She was only four when she died, but there is enough evidence to show she reached the age of reason and, it seems to me and many others, she lived a life of heroic virtue.  She was particularly devoted to the Eucharist - a great candidate for patron of First Communion children - badly needed given the poor state of catechesis in many places.  Some one once said to me the day Little Nellie's Cause is opened is the day we know the Church in Ireland is on the way to renewal.  I would agree. 

So now, Little Nellie, pray for Ireland, for renewal, that our land may once again become a land of Saints and scholars.

Ellen Organ ("Little Nellie")

Prayer for the Canonization of Blessed Edmund Ignatius Rice

Heavenly Father, through the inspiration of your Holy Spirit and because of your love for your family, you chose Blessed Edmund Rice to be a husband, father, and religious brother; to work with the poor, to comfort the sick, and to establish new families of Religious Brothers in your Church.  Look favorably on his life, we ask you, and if it be for your glory, hear our prayers that he may soon be declared a Saint.  This we ask, as we ask all our prayers, through Christ, Our Lord.  Amen.

Prayer for a special favour

Lord God, who through the Holy Spirit inspired Blessed Edmund Rice to glorify you by the true Christian example of his life, grant through his intercession the petition I now make ( _____ ) and so hasten the day when his name shall be honoured among those of your Saints.  I ask this through Christ, Our Lord.  Amen.