St Malachy

Today is the feast day of the saint after whom this blog is named - Malachy. So, from the archives of this blog:

St Malachy, who was he?

Malachy died on 2 November 1148 but his feast day is kept on 3 November to avoid a clash with All Souls Day.

source: Patricia Drury at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Malachy

As an aside, it's also the feast day of St Martin de Porres

Of archbishops and stolen property

The T*blet of 17 September has an editorial about one Revd Nolbert Kunonga who has declared himself the Anglican "archbishop" of Harare and who has seized church property including the cathedral. The link is here. Caveat lector - reading The T*blet places one in spiritual danger.

I'm not sure I see the problem. Surely the good reverend is simply following a 450 year old Anglican tradition by seizing Church property and by awarding himself an ecclesial title?

I would have thought The T*blet would have approved. After all, that magazine is Anglican in all but name any way...

Our Lady of Sorrows

At the cross her station keeping

stood the mournful Mother weeping,

close to Jesus to the last.

Through her heart, His sorrow sharing,

all His bitter anguish bearing

now at lenght the sword had passed.

Oh, how sad and sore distressed

was that Mother highly blessed,

of the sole-begotten One!

Christ above in torment hangs,

she beneath beholds the pangs

of her dying, glorious Son.

Is there one who would not weep,

'whelmed in miseries so deep,

Christ's dear Mother to behold?

Can the human heart refrain

from partaking in her pain,

in that Mother's pain untold?

Bruised, derided, cursed, defiled,

she beheld her tender Child

All with scourges rent.

For the sins of His own nation,

saw Him hang in desolation,

Till His spirit forth He sent.

O sweet Mother! fount of love!

Touch my spirit from above,

make my heart with thine accord.

Make me feel as thou hast felt;

make my soul to glow and melt

with the love of Christ, my Lord.

Holy Mother! pierce me through,

in my heart each wound renew

of my Savior crucified.

Let me share with thee His pain,

who for all our sins was slain,

who for me in torments died.

Let me mingle tears with thee,

mourning Him who mourned for me,

all the days that I may live.

By the Cross with thee to stay,

there with thee to weep and pray,

is all I ask of thee to give.

Virgin of all virgins blest!,

Listen to my fond request:

let me share thy grief divine;

Let me, to my latest breath,

in my body bear the death

of that dying Son of thine.

Wounded with His every wound,

steep my soul till it hath swooned,

in His very Blood away;

Be to me, O Virgin, nigh,

lest in flames I burn and die,

in His awful Judgment Day.

Christ, when Thou shalt call me hence,

by Thy Mother my defense,

by Thy Cross my victory;

While my body here decays,

may my soul Thy goodness praise,

safe in paradise with Thee.
Amen.

What kind of Catholic are you?

A bit of a fun quiz. What kind of Catholic are you? I'm:

You Are a Daily Rosary (Very Traditional) Catholic
You'd like the church to revive the time-honored devotions, liturgical practices, and strong institutional discipline that prevailed before the Second Vatican Council—and you're hoping that Pope Benedict XVI will lead the church in exactly that direction. Your favorite hymn is probably a traditional Latin composition such as the "Panis Angelicus," and your favorite pope is probably a pioneer of the Church's great liturgical tradition such as Gregory the Great.

Take the quiz by clicking here

PS: this is my first post from an iPad. Not altogether a simple task!

The new English translation: day 2

The new English translation: day 1

Nada, nothing, zilch, zip.

Same old, same old lame duck 1973 ICEL version.

How disappointing.

Senseless and Backward Thinking

Here is the text of a letter that appeared in the official bi-monthly publication of the Diocese of Portsmouth, The Portsmouth People:

In 1984 the Church decided, after consultation, to encourage Catholics to become more autonomous and to take greater responsibility for the practice of their faith. This resulted in an individual, personal choice with regard to a Friday sacrifice and there is now a plethora of good practice that is positive and far more meaningful than the old meat abstention, for example the practice of partaking in a smaller meal with the savings going to Cafod's work with the hungry poor. I now understand that there is about to be a revival of the prescriptive meat-free Fridays. This is a retrograde step, a return to introverted pre-occupation rather than the healthier looking-outward to make our sacrifice helpful to others, whether on a Friday or another day of the week.

Many people wonder why the Church in this country is now trying to reestablish a practice that has long since been dead and buried - and walking backwards is always fraught with danger. People surely will no longer respond to a one-size-fits-all negative practice that the Church saw fit to abandon 27 years ago. Has there been any consultation with lay people this time? If so, I certainly missed it. Do the authorities remember that one of the reasons for abandoning this practice was the difficulty it could cause in inter-denominational or inter-faith marriages?

Catholics no longer want to put up with being treated as wayward infants in need of rules and regulations imposed from on high, a kind of ecclesiastical ‘elf and safety’. We are quite capable of finding ways to witness to our faith, depending on our own individual circumstances, be they within schools, parishes or other faith (and non-faith) communities.

Over the past 27 years we have been enriched by joining with other Christians so that together we can bear witness to our Christian identity. To our great benefit, we have become less defensive and much more proactive in going out to the world, as Jesus asked us to do: ‘Go out and bear fruit’.

The days are surely gone when we can in any way justify those small egocentric ‘holy huddles’ and esoteric practices whereby Catholics tried to defend themselves against the wicked world.

If we are not careful, we will be in danger of isolating and alienating ourselves once again under the doubtful notion of re-establishing ‘Catholic identity’. Let's think again because, at the end of the day, most of us won't take a blind bit of notice of such senseless and backward thinking.

The writer gives her name but I won't put that up here.

There is so much that is wrong in this letter there is no point in "fisking" it. A good riposte though is, I think, to call to mind the words of Pope Benedict in his address to the Bishops of England and Wales during their 2010 ad limina visit when he said:

In a social milieu that encourages the expression of a variety of opinions on every question that arises, it is important to recognize dissent for what it is, and not to mistake it for a mature contribution to a balanced and wide-ranging debate. It is the truth revealed through Scripture and Tradition and articulated by the Church’s Magisterium that sets us free.

Pity our bishops. How can they lead us towards a revitalised Catholic identity when we have a bossy laity with a "grown up" attitude like this?

PS: If there was one word you knew would be in this letter it is surely "Cafod"

St Helier

16 July is the feast day of St Helier, patron saint of the "capital" of Jersey and of one of the twelve civil parishes on the island.

Helier was a 6th century hermit who came to the island of wandering from what is now Belgium, through Normandy and eventually to the island. On arrival in Jersey Helier settled on a rocky outcrop just offshore that is now called the Hermitage Rock. From this viewpoint he could spot pirates and other ne'er do goods sailing toward the island and warn the people onshore.

Legend has it he was beheaded by pirates on 16 July 555.

If it wasn't pouring down I'd take a picture of l'Hermitage to put up so here is one from Wikipedia instead:

Within you

I thought this was worth sharing.

Bishop Michael Evans - RIP

Bishop Michael Evans of East Anglia passed away on the evening of 11 July. Bishop Evans had been ill with cancer since November 2011. There is a good obituary at A Reluctant Sinner' s blog.

R.I.P.