A Must for Little Christmas

Okay, I know some will get this and others won't - you have to be a Downton Abbey fan and know the character of Carson the butler.  When I saw this on the web I thought it was hilarious and decided to share it with you: A Very Carson Christmas.

The Holy Magi

A happy feast day to you all: the great Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord.  Today we celebrate the Christ's first manifestation to the gentiles through the holy Magi.

The Magi have always fascinated me: tradition accords them the names Caspar, Balthazar and Melchior.  They were Persians, priests of the Zoroastrian religion, who saw the sign in the heavens which announced the birth of a divine king.  Their philosopher-founder, Zoroaster, predicted, in the manner of the ancient Sybils, the coming of the Saviour, pointing out that a star would lead to the "mysterious child" who is "the Almighty Word who created the heavens."

According to Christian tradition, the Magi were converted by St Thomas when he ministered in Persia, and they were said to have died as martyrs.  St Helen, in her quest to find the holy places and relics in the Holy Land, sent a delegation into Persia to find the tomb of the Magi.  The tomb located, she had the remains translated to Constantinople, from where they were brought to Milan and then to Cologne, where they now rest in the cathedral.

As we celebrate the solemnity today, we might remember to put ourselves in the place of the Magi, and there come to encounter anew the Lord Jesus who came down to us.  One of the most beautiful meditations on this "spirituality of the Magi", is that given by Blessed John Paul II in his last message to the young people of the world for World Youth Day 2005.  I think it is worth reading.

As we celebrate, let us also remember today Mgr Charles Brown, the new nuncio to Ireland, who is being ordained an Archbishop in Rome by Pope Benedict.  As he receives the fullness of the priesthood, and prepares for his mission, may the Lord grant him many graces and blessings. 

A Gift To Priests

Today is the feast of St Charles of St Andrew, also known as St Charles of Mount Argus.   Canonised in 2007, he is the most recent "Irish" Saint - I put Irish in inverted commas because St Charles was actually Dutch, but became "more Irish than the Irish themselves" (as the saying goes) by spending most of his priestly ministry here among us.

Born Joannes Andreas Houben in Holland in 1821, he joined the Passionists in Belgium in 1845, and was professed as Br Charles of St Andrew in 1847.  He was ordained priest in 1850.  Sent to England two years later, he met with many Irish emigrants and ministered to them.  Fr Charles fell in love with the Irish: saw their strengths, but also their weakensses and difficulties - particularly their problem with alcohol.  In his ministering to them, he heard a call to go to Ireland and spend his life there.

That call was confirmed in 1857 when he was sent with other Passionists to found a new community in Dublin.    With the exception of two years, he would spend the rest of his life in Ireland, travelling around the country raising money to build St Paul's Retreat and its church at Mount Argus in Dublin, and ministering to those who came to the monastery.  

He quickly became known as Fr Charles of Mount Argus and he endeared himself to the faithful.   He was gifted with numerous charismatic gifts, among which were the gift of healing and discernment which revealed the heart of his mission: that of hearing confession and healing the sick.  Up to the day of his death, people made their way out to Mount Argus to be healed, to go to confession, and to attend his Mass during which he often fell into ecstasy.

Recognised as a Saint by many, he had his enemies - some of those who attended Mass in Mount Argus, for example, thought his Mass was too long, and so were forever complaining: his superior eventually had to stand by him at the altar and put pressure on him.  Whenever he entered a mystical ecstasy, his superior would shake him until the came out and continued the Mass.  It seems these people did not really appreciate the presence of a Saint or the manifestation of the mystical - unfortunately it is an attitude still to be found in Ireland: we have many "watch gazers" and "time keepers" at Mass on Sundays: the obvious sign of a serious need for renewal. 

Fr Charles was a victim to false allegations during his lifetime.  A man arrived one day at the monastery and asked the Saint to bless a barrel of water: Charles did so gladly.  However, the man bottled the water and sold it throughout Dublin city as Holy Water blessed by the Saint of Mount Argus.  Complaints flooded in to the Passionists, and even though Charles pleaded innocence, his superiors did not believe him and he was sent back to England in disgrace.  When the truth emerged two years later, he was rehabilitated and sent back to Ireland.

Charles died on the 5th January 1893 with a reputation for holiness.  His Cause was opened in 1935 and reached a successful conclusion on the 3rd June 2007 when Pope Benedict XVI canonised him.  Sadly, he is unknown by most Irish people, very little effort was made in the run up to his canonisation -  another opportunity missed by the Church in Ireland.  His tomb is in the Passionist Church in Mount Argus and is a wonderful place to go and pray in the presence of the sacred remains of a holy priest who followed Christ with deep fidelity.  It is worth a visit.

I believe that St Charles was given to Ireland as a gift, and indeed he is a gift to all priests.  In his life and virtues we see how a true Christian is to live, and for us priests we see what is most important in our vocation.  At the heart of St Charles's ministery, indeed his life as a priest, was the Mass, confession and prayer.   The Mass was the centre of his life - in his offering it we see another Padre Pio - indeed St Charles is Ireland's St Pio.  Like St Pio, his ministry in the confessional reminds us of the importance of that sacrament - a message we need to hear as many today abandon the sacrament.  In his healing ministry he always told those who came to him that true healing was to be found in confession.

This morning in Rathkenny we celebrated the Saint's feast, although, strangely, the new translation of the Missal (Veritas version) does not include the texts for his memoria. 

Update On Tesco

Further to my previous post on Tesco, the company has apologised for creating "misunderstanding and mistrust" and will cease sponsoring the Gay Pride event in London.  See an article here by Francis Phillips in the Catholic Herald. 

I note the venomous comments by some at the end of the article, once again proving that for those who support the gay agenda tolerance and respect is a one way street: one-way in their direction.  

Anyway, that is good news about Tesco. 

Feast Of Friends

The feast of St Basil the Great and St Gregory Nazianzen, the great bishops of Cappadocia and Doctors of the Church.    There is so much to honour and praise in these two holy men: their personal virtues, their humility sitting comfortably with great learning, their heroic defence of the teaching of orthodox Christianity, their profound works of theology and spirituality - I could go on.  But, to be honest, there is one thing, after their deep love of God, which I think we can praise above all of these: their holy friendship. 

Basil and Gregory were very close friends - best friends.  They spent their lives in each other's company, supporting each other and encouraging a life of heroic virtue in the other.   They had their rows, but these fade when we look to the union of fraternal love which existed between them.

Here's what St Gregory says of their friendship in an oration delivered following Basil's death in 379:

We were contained by Athens, like two branches of some river-stream, for after leaving the common fountain of our fatherland, we had been separated in our varying pursuit of culture, and were now again united by the impulsion of God no less than by our own agreement. I preceded him by a little, but he soon followed me, to be welcomed with great and brilliant hope.

Whenever any newcomer arrives, and falls into the hands of those who seize upon him, either by force or willingly, they observe this Attic law, of combined jest and earnest. On this occasion I not only refused to put to shame my friend the great Basil, out of respect for the gravity of his character, and the ripeness of his reasoning powers, but also persuaded all the rest of the students to treat him likewise, who happened not to know him. For he was from the first respected by most of them, his reputation having preceded him. The result was that he was the only one to escape the general rule, and be accorded a greater honour than belongs to a freshman's position.

This was the prelude of our friendship. This was the kindling spark of our union: thus we felt the wound of mutual love.

And when, as time went on, we acknowledged our mutual affection, and that philosophy was our aim, we were all in all to one another, housemates, messmates, intimates, with one object in life, or an affection for each other ever growing warmer and stronger. Love which is godly and under restraint, since its object is stable, not only is more lasting, but, the fuller its vision of beauty grows, the more closely does it bind to itself and to one another the hearts of those whose love has one and the same object. This is the law of our superhuman love. Such were our feelings for each other, when we had thus supported, as Pindar has it, our “well-built chamber with pillars of gold,” as we advanced under the united influences of God's grace and our own affection. Oh! How can I mention these things without tears.

We were impelled by equal hopes, in a pursuit especially obnoxious to envy, that of letters. Yet envy we knew not, and emulation was of service to us. We struggled, not each to gain the first place for himself, but to yield it to the other; for we made each other's reputation to be our own. We seemed to have one soul, inhabiting two bodies. And if we must not believe those whose doctrine is “All things are in all;” yet in our case it was worthy of belief, so did we live in and with each other. The sole business of both of us was virtue, and living for the hopes to come, having retired from this world, before our actual departure hence. With a view to this, were directed all our life and actions, under the guidance of the commandment, as we sharpened upon each other our weapons of virtue; and if this is not a great thing for me to say, being a rule and standard to each other, for the distinction between what was right and what was not.

So today, let us commend to the holy friends, Basil and Gregory, our own dear friends, as we give thanks for friendship.  Spiritual exercise for today: contact your friends, wish them a happy feast day, tell them you love them and thank them for their friendship.  Friendship can sanctify, that is one of the lessons God teaches us today in life and example of these two holy men.   May all of us, friends, spur each other on to holiness.

Happy feast day, my dear friends!

RELATED:  Fr Dwight Longenecker has an excellent article on modern Arianism on his blog - well worth reading.  It reminds us of course that the Church is still struggling with the same issues that SS Basil and Gregory had to deal with in their own, plus ça change....!

Happy New Year

To all the members of the Fraternity, and to all who read my blog - the extended family, I wish you all every blessing and grace for this New Year.  May Mary, the Holy Mother of God, whose solemnity is the first we celebrate this year, watch over you, protect you and obtain from her Divine Son, all the graces you need for the weeks and months to come.

This year is already sizing up to be a busy one.  In terms of the Fraternity it is our fifth year - so to celebrate we will have various events - a Mass in Drogheda on the foundation day (19th January); a Mass in the church where the Fraternity was born - Corpus Christi in London, on the 8th March; a pilgrimage to Rome (see link above); and of course St Genesius's feast day on the 25th August.  If you want to join our family of prayer go to http://www.stgenesius.com/.  If you want to start a prayer group in your area, let us know.

Now, time to pick your Saint for the year: go to this website here.

A Prayer For Our Families

On this feast of the Holy Family, we might take a moment to pray for all families, and for Christian families in particular.  This prayer is a consecration prayer from the Sanctuary of Loreto in Italy, where the Holy House of Nazareth, transported by Crusader knights from the Holy Land as the Muslims were invading, is venerated.  You might take a moment to say this prayer with me.

O Holy Family of Nazareth,
model of every family,
we bless and venerate you with joyful hearts
and consecrate ourselves to you
in order that our home be
the dwelling place of the presence of God,
in mutual and generous love.

O Jesus, Mary and Joseph,
who from the Loreto hills irradiate on the world
the light of faith and the power of love,
and guide it day by day
on the path of the Gospel
and of the Beatitudes.

Jesus, Mary and Joseph, O Holy Family, bless our families.

On this holy day you might like to check out a few links.  Pope Benedict dedicated his Audience on Wednesday to prayer in the Holy Family, see here for the text of his wonderful talk.  The website for the Sanctuary of Loreto is very good and has the story of the translation of the Holy House and information on the life of the Shrine.  Here is another good website, of a new association founded by one of the members of our Fraternity, to pray for our children.  It is well worth a visit and joining - all you need do is offer one holy hour in the week for our children. 

Happy feast day!

And So This Is Christmas

People are starting to go back to work after the Christmas celebrations.  I believe in the US and other places the Christmas decorations came down on St Stephen's Day (Boxing Day) - what a shame.  Here in Ireland we leave the festive decorations up until the 6th January - traditionally we celebrate the twelve days of Christmas, and the Epiphany is an important feast within those twelve days.  In Ireland Epiphany was known as Oiche Nollaig na mBan (Women's Christmas).

As Catholics it is important for us to celebrate the entire feast of Christmas, from Midnight Mass to the feast of the Baptism of the Lord which brings the Christmas season to an end.  The secular world, devoid of faith and understanding, marks Christmas Day, and then New Year's day as a civil celebration, with the commercial build up and parties that is the sum total of its festivities.  We, however, are only getting into the swing of things when the seculars have dumped the trees into the trash.  Our festivities should be guided by our liturgical calendar, and let's face, the calendar is a real party animal when it comes to the great feasts - seasons and octaves - great stuff!!  These wonderful days of the Octave are the party days, and even after the Octave, we must still keep festivity.  At the end of the day our celebration should be longer and richer!

So now we have the Carol Services, the parties (I had mine on St John's Day) and the feasting.  It is still Christmas, as Stephen Greydanus reminded us a couple of days ago. We keep the crib in place, keep the trees up and the decorations, and, as far as we can, we keep a festive table - no fasting (but no greed either).   And yes, we continue to wish each other a "Happy Christmas" - I notice after Christmas Day people wish each other "Happy New Year" as if Christmas was over.  

Those who criticise our faith tend to regard us as a joyless lot - miserable Catholics.  To be honest, we can be miserable at times, but misery is not Catholic - festivity is - this is what Chesterton reminds us.  St Teresa of Avila tells us that there is a time for fasting and a time for partridge, by which she means feasting.  We must fast well, but also feast well.  So now, we feast. 

The Thorn In The Side

What a wonderful feast day today - the feast of St Thomas a Becket, the martyred Archbishop of Canterbury - put to death by King Henry II of England as the two clashed in a battle over the freedom of the Church.  It was a battle which would be repeated five centuries later when another Thomas died in defence of the Church, martyred by another King Henry.

St Thomas a Becket was a man with a past - so we can all find comfort in him and in his conversion.  As we look over the mistakes of our lives, we can be sure that all is not lost, God can still ask great things of us and offer us the graces to respond.  Thomas changed when he achieved high office.  He was ambitious, but when he was appointed to the highest ecclesiastical office in England, the Holy Spirit touched him and he became a humble man and a mighty defender of the Church's freedom. 

And Thomas was a mighty defender.  He was not afraid to stand up to his former friend, King Henry, who sought to reduce the Church to a department of state.   In fact, Henry had Thomas appointed Archbishop of Canterbury because he wanted to control him.  Henry exiled Thomas for refusing to be a lackie, but instead of isolating the Archbishop, Henry only increased Thomas's credibility and popularity among the faithful.

There is an important lesson in Thomas's life and example for our prelates.  As secular governments try to control the faith of their people, and seek to haul the Catholic Church under its influence, our present prelates need the courage and tenacity of St Thomas to help them resist. 

In Ireland our government is doing its utmost to undermine the Church and perhaps even nurturing the possibility of the emergence of a "national catholic church", another erastian monster to confuse the faithful.   Indeed one of the big state-Church battles is about to break out: that of Catholic education: we need a Thomas a Becket to rise up to help us face the challenge.  May God send us one.

Today I remember with fondness my visits to Canterbury Cathedral to pray at the spot where St Thomas was martyred.  The Saint's tomb no longer exists: though Canterbury was one of the most important shrines in Europe in the Middle Ages, it was destroyed by King Henry VIII.  St Thomas's body has disappeared.  Various stories tell us that either Henry had it destroyed or the priests of the cathedral buried it in a secret place before Henry's soldiers arrived to desecrate it.  There are a few ex ossibus relics of him though, and I was given one when studying in Rome.  On both visits, I walked around the cathedral and prayed holding the relic in my hand and venerating it at the spot where he died.   It will be brought to the faithful of Rathkenny this morning for veneration.

And so, today, let us offer a prayer to St Thomas for our beloved bishops who, like him, seek to govern, guide, protect, teach and sanctify the flock.  Let us remember in particular those bishops who struggle to fulfill the requirements of their office: may the martyred Archbishop lay his gentle hand upon them and assure them of his loving presence and encourage them to heroism.

A Martyr?

Here is a question for you.  Today we celebrate the feast of unlikely martyrs, the Holy Innocents, but I wonder was Mary, Queen of Scots, a martyr?  Part of the reason why Elizabeth I put the Queen to death was because she was a Catholic, a Catholic who threatened her own position as Queen - similar to King Herod's fears with regard to Christ.

The opening of the Vatican Archives exhibition in Rome has left me wondering again about this question - a letter the imprisoned Queen wrote to Pope Sixtus V is included in the exhibition.

I remember speaking with a dear friend of mine about this - the late Canon Francis J. Ripley.  He was an authority on the Reformation martyrs of Great Britain, and he concluded that religion and politics are so intertwined in Mary's life, it would be difficult to unravel them, so a Cause would present many problems.  But I think that doesn't rule out an attempt? 

I think the Church in Scotland should have a look and see if they can open the Cause for Mary.  There is no better man to meet a challenge than Cardinal Keith O'Brien, who has proven himself to be a marvellous defender of faith and life in Scotland, and indeed in the world.  If anyone could meet the challenge it is Cardinal O'Brien.

Mary saw herself as a martyr, going to her death with great serenity dressed in red.  Despite a wild youth, became a holy woman during her years of imprisonment in England.  As Queen of Scots, she was tolerant of other religions, she even tolerated John Knox who was forever attacking her for her "Papist" faith.  To be honest, if she was more like her cousin Elizabeth she would have had Knox's head off: but she didn't, she tried to reach out to him.  However, it was his fanatic extremism which prevented any reconciliation.

Something to think about.  What do our friends in Scotland think?