Off to Balham....

We are off to Balham tomorrow, to take part in the retreat run by Youth2000, hosted by Holy Ghost Parish.

It's a wonderful opportunity to step outside the usual daily routines and make some time to be available to God, to thank Him for all the blessings of the year about to close, and to ask for  His guidance, strength and grace for all our needs of the next year.

We have been seeing in the new year at Balham, for some years now; I can't think of a better place to be, than at Mass, at the start of the year.

So, I won't be posting for a few days, but hopefully will be able to resume with renewed energy at the earliest opportunity, next year!

                                             Happy New Year to all readers.

Happy Feast Day!

                                                

                                                             

Feast of The Holy Family

O Holy Night

A Happy and Holy Christmas to all

Could this be where Jesus lived?

Excavations in Nazareth have revealed evidence of a dwelling which  housed a 'simple Jewish family'. The dwelling dates back to the time of Jesus, when Nazareth was thought to be a small hamlet of about fifty dwellings.

More from the Daily Mail here

CASE closed

The Catholic Agency to Support Evangelisation is being closed,  according to the Editor of the Catholic Herald,  Luke Coppen:


"Bishop Kieran Conry, the chairman of the department of evangelisation and catechesis of the bishops of England and Wales, and Fr Marcus Stock, the new general secretary of the bishops’ conference, have written to supporters of the Catholic Agency to Support Evangelisation (CASE), informing them that the bishops “have decided to relocate the core  work being done by the agency to other areas within the bishops’ conference”.

Well, well... but hasn't CASE  only been in business for a few years...?

Beautiful video of an unborn child

 During  Advent,  it seems natural to reflect on Our Lady, the Mother of the infant Jesus whom she carried in her womb.With what joy did she, the Handmaid of the Lord, await the birth of her Divine Son? With what trust did she wait on  Divine Providence to provide?

The Christ child shared in unborn humanity, He became an unborn child.
We cannot know exactly how He looked, but technologies that are now available, and  bring us such beautiful images as in the footage above, can give us some idea of the reality: that Jesus Christ became such as the lovely child depicted.

May Our Lady intercede for all mothers and unborn children.

Thanks to John Smeaton

Prayer Request

Of your charity,please remember my sister-in-law, Angela, in your prayers.
We received the sad news that no further treatment for her cancer is possible, that her earthly life has nearly run its course.
All is in God's hands.

Quo Vadis trip to Ars

In a couple of days, one of our younger sons will be travelling to Ars with the Quo Vadis group, led by Fr Langridge, Director of Vocations for the Southwark Diocese, together with four further priests. It's a wonderful opportunity for a young man, especially now, as Fr. Langridge puts it: 

  "during the Annus Sacerdotalis - or year of priesthood called to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the death of St Jean Marie Vianney." 

We are praying with confidence that God will pour out on the Quo Vadis pilgrims, many graces and blessings  which will bear fruit. (Also praying that weather conditions don't get in the way..).

Such   trips, of course, would not be possible but for the generosity of  priests, who are willing to lead them.

Thank you all,  Frs.!

Preaching Humanae Vitae in parish settings

Fr. John Baptist Ku, O.P., a Dominican Friar of the Eastern Province, USA, speaks about Humanae Vitae and approaches to preaching this encyclical in parish settings.
From a talk given at the Dominican House of Studies, Washington, D.C. on June 18, 2007.

Be Untrue to your Faith, or we'll prosecute you...

ENGLAND-EQUALITY Dec-9-2009 (530 words) xxxi

English, Welsh bishops say Equality Bill redefines who can be priest

By Simon Caldwell
Catholic News Service

"LONDON (CNS) -- The Catholic bishops of England and Wales said they could be at risk of prosecution under a proposed law unless they accept women, sexually active gays and transsexuals as candidates to the priesthood.


They made their claims in a briefing for Catholic members of the House of Lords, Britain's upper political chamber, ahead of a scheduled Dec. 15 debate on the Equality Bill, which aims to stamp out discrimination in the workplace.

The bishops said the bill defines priests as employees rather than officeholders. Under the terms of the bill, the church would be immune from prosecution only if priests spend more than 51 percent of their time in worship or explaining doctrine.

According to the briefing, a copy of which was obtained by Catholic News Service Dec. 8, the government definition will, in effect, make it "unlawful to require a Catholic priest to be male, unmarried or not in a civil partnership, etc., since no priest would be able to demonstrate that their time was wholly or mainly spent either leading liturgy or promoting and explaining doctrine."

"The bill fails to reflect the time priests spend in pastoral work, private prayer and study, administration, building maintenance, etc.," the briefing said.

"This contentious definition was drafted without consultation and has been maintained by the government despite the concerns of the bishops' conference and representations made by most religious bodies in the U.K.," the briefing added.

The bishops asked Catholic lords to try to either strike out the contentious definition or widen it to protect priests and lay employees "whose credibility ... would be fatally compromised if their personal lives were openly at variance with the church's teaching."

In a Dec. 8 statement given to CNS, a government spokesman rejected the claims of the bishops, saying that an exemption "covers ministers of religion such as Catholic priests."

An amendment to the bill to protect the liberty of the churches was voted down in the House of Commons in November. The bill is likely to become law early next year.

Richard Kornicki, the bishops' parliamentary coordinator, told CNS in a Dec. 8 telephone interview that the bishops believe it is not possible to meet the criteria of the government definition of a priest.

According to legal advice received by the bishops, he said, this could lead to legal actions for sex discrimination if the church rejected women, married men, gays in civil partnerships or transsexuals who asked to join the priesthood.

"The government is saying that the church cannot maintain its own beliefs in respect of its own priests," he said.

Neil Addison, a Catholic lawyer who heads the Thomas More Legal Centre, which specializes in religious discrimination law, said that in the worst-case scenario the church could not only be sued but bishops could face imprisonment and unlimited fines and church assets could be sequestered. He said the bill would have the effect of making it impossible for the bishops to discipline clergy who wanted to live "alternative lifestyles."

Earlier, the bishops said the bill could force Catholic schools and health care institutions to remove crucifixes from their walls in case they offend non-Christian employees."

Are we going back to Penal times?

Will dissent from the 'Equality' agenda become the new Treason?

Thanks to de cura animarum and Catholic News Service

Restrictions in Calgary lifted

 Fr Z reports:

"The website of the FSSP parish in Calgary announces that the "suspension" on celebration of the older form of
 Holy Mass has been lifted."

Thanks be to God.

Feast of the Immaculate Conception

At Mass this morning we sang a hymn in honour of Our Lady, the Immaculate Conception; the hymn was the one which was, at one time, called the 'Lourdes' hymn-   "Immaculate Mary".
There are many verses and we managed six of them, despite the sudden power cut which rendered the interior of the church rather gloomy, making it difficult to read the verses.

I have noticed that when "Immaculate Mary" is sung, the following verse seems to be frequently missed:

O Mary, O Mother reign o'er us once more
Be England thy dowry
As in days of yore

Now that's a prayer intention, I think.

How would it be if  Mary the Immaculate Conception,  reigned completely, in the hearts of the faithful?

Copenhagen 2009

 "Anthropogenic Global Marxism (AGM) is the greatest threat to the world and must be stopped. The time for deniers is over. The evidence is settled. Anthropogenic Global Marxism (AGM) is real."

Shamelessly lifted from  Creative Minority Report

Canadian Bishop suspends the Latin Mass....?

Can a Bishop  suspend the valid and licit offering of the Mass in the Extraordinary Rite in his Diocese?
And, didn't the letter from the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments,  clarify that it is not licit to deny reception of Holy Communion on the tongue?

Rorate Caeli reports on an exchange of emails following the suspension of :

"all activities of the Latin Mass communities in Calgary and Medicine Hat due to a pseudo-scientific and anti-Canonical order mandating the non-reception of the Eucharist on the tongue due to concerns related to the transmission of the Influenza A (H1N1) virus."

At the end of the email correspondence, Bishop Henry, Calgary, Alberta, concludes:

From: Bishop F.B. Henry

Date: Mon, Nov 30, 2009 at 12:22 PM

Subject: RE: Calgary's Saint Anthony Parish: forbidden to have Mass if communion in the hand is not offered?

To: [parvenu74]

I am well aware of what the congregation decided but quite frankly, it is not their call. It is mine. [Emphasis added]