Who Wants "Reform"?

The picture above is of St. John Eudes. He lived at a time when the church in France was in great need of reform. He was particularly concerned about seminaries. Arguing for reform is not a popular activity. People don't like change. Many of those who are stuck in the "Catholicism" of the seventies and eighties are afraid of change - especially if it seems to be looking back to what some believe we have lost. On the other hand, there seem to be quite a few who are crying out for change - or, as they see it, reform. I have to say that I am one of them.

I was ordained in 1975. Whilst still at seminary I was invited to vote for Communion in the hand. I did vote for it, as did most of my contemporaries. We were encouraged to do so by some of the seminary staff. I also believed in the possibility of women's ordination. I had other beliefs which I have since repudiated. When I came out of seminary I thought I knew quite a lot. I found out - within a few years - that I knew less than I thought - considerably less. I had to supplement my seminary education, and I still read a good deal. I was not what some would call, "conservative", neither was I as liberal as some others, but gradually I began to realise that Catholicism as I had more or less always understood it (I was reasonably orthodox) was disappearing. I now believe that, in some places, it has almost gone. What do I mean by that? It would take too long to give a full explanation here, but I can present a few bullet points to give some idea of what I mean.


+ People not only talk in church - sometimes within a few yards of the Blessed Sacrament, but they resent anyone suggesting they should not do it (a poor sense of the "holy"?). Some see nothing wrong with talking during the Mass - even during the Consecration!!!, and seem to want to talk to each other after Holy Communion when they should (I would have thought) be inwardly conversing with Christ.

+ In recent years - and still today - some theologians and a good number of lay Catholics do not consider the Holy Father's teachings to be any more important than the opinion of the local priest (or, at least, they see no problem with taking his views rather than the Pope's)

+ Some Catholics, here and elsewhere, accept abortion in some circumstances and do not have a clear understanding of many aspects of the moral teaching of Christ and His Church. Many Catholics cannot think with the Church (with the "mind of the Church") and so have lost what we might call the "Catholic instinct" (the sort of thing Newman wrote about).


+ Many lay people (including some who regularly attend Mass and receive Holy Communion) do not want to hear homilies where sin is mentioned (or death, or judgement, or conversion or the path to holiness). They do not want Truth as much as they want to "feel good" about themselves.

+Only a very few now see any benefit in regular Confession (and some hardly confess at all)


+ Hardly any children or young people from any of our Catholic schools know about the Sunday obligation. Not only that, but they seem to have no awareness that cohabitation and sex before marriage are in any way "wrong". There is no awareness of mortal sin. They have heard about sins allright, but seem to have hardly any sense of an obligation towards their Creator and some seem to have no ambition to give anything to society or the world at large (helping to make the world a better place - helping to build the Kingdom on earth etc).


I realise this is not true of all young people (thank God) but it is true of many of them - too many of them.

Looking back over 34 years of priesthood, I realise that I have not always been told the whole truth about certain post-Vatican 11"changes" in the Church. I realise now that the vote for Communion in the hand was "rigged" (in the sense that not everyone had a chance to vote). I realise now that so much that I took for progression was really distraction or bordering on practical apostasy. Yes I want reform, or the "reform of the reform". Soon please. I have my faith. I have my books. I can visit the Blessed Sacrament and pray the Rosary. There ARE some good writers, theologians and spiritual teachers in the Church (thank God) but we are in need of healing. We have been through some kind of ringer, or worse still, laid on some kind of rack. When we cry for help hardly any bishops come to our aid (except a notable few in recent years). After all, most of them have presided over what has happened, and even encouraged it. Thank God for our popes. We have had magnificent popes in the 20th century and the one we have now is a beautiful gift from God. It is not all doom and gloom, but neither should we minimize the damage that has been done - theological, spiritual, liturgical and moral damage. From what I have seen and heard, many of those who want reform tend to be more prayerful and more serious about wanting to know the Faith. I am sorry if this offends anyone, but that is my perception. Prayer leads to conversion - not only personal conversion, but to a desire to see the Church shining with the holiness of the risen Christ. Prayer brings a thirst for Truth, not opinions, and an understanding that worship is at its best when we are on our knees.

Blessed Dominic Barberi in the Year for Priests

Blessed Dominic of The Mother of God. 1792-1894

The Venerable John Henry Newman will soon be beatified. We should not forget Blessed Dominic whom Newman regarded as a major influence on his decision to embrace Roman Catholicism. My own belief is that English Catholics have not shown enough enthusiasm for the canonization of Blessed Dominic. This cause should be taken up in thanksgiving to God for the gift of Newman as well as for the special love for England given firstly to St. Paul of the Cross and then transferred to Blessed Dominic.


Pope John Paul 11 called Dominic, "One example of the countless other priests who continue to serve as models of holiness for the clergy of today". Blessed Dominic said that he had waited thirty years to come to England. It was not an easy mission (to put it mildly!). He was here for eight years and seemingly worked himself to death. We owe it to his memory as well as to Divine Providence to pray for his canonization. He is called, "The Apostle of England", but can also be called an "Apostle of Unity". I recommend the Wikipedia article at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominic_Barberi.


While still an Anglican Newman wrote that he considered there to be more holiness in the Church of England and Ireland than in the Roman Church. He said that if they (Roman Catholics) wanted to convert England they should preach like St. Francis Xavier and walk barefoot into the industrial cities and be prepared to be pelted by stones. Strangely (providentially!) Dominic came incredibly close to Newman's requirements. After setting up the first major Passionist centre at Aston Hall, Dominic decided to investigate the village of Stone, two miles away. He rented a room at an inn and there received Catholics and non-Catholics, administering the Sacrament of Confession and instructing potential converts. He walked the two-mile distance three times a week. He was attacked and insulted, even by children who called him names and threw dirt and stones at him as he passed. He was ridiculed and insulted. One man came to him pretending an interest in the Catholic Faith only to be seen in the local pub entertaining the locals with an insulting impersonation of this "stutterer" who had great difficulty pronouncing English words. The Passionist Congregation actually has the status of a monastic order and they are discalced (without shoes or socks). Whilst not being exactly barefoot, Dominic was the next best thing, and although he was not assaulted in Manchester or Leeds, he was attacked and villified in a place called Stone. Dominic seemed to have a powerful effect through his humble demeanor. To begin with many found him difficult to understand, but he was unmistakeably "holy". He was beatified by Pope Paul V1 in 1963. In his homily the Pope linked Blessed Dominic with both Newman and the Second Vatican Council. His story will not be complete until both he and Newman are canonized.

The Assumption of The Blessed Virgin Mary

I found this icon on a blog I have just discovered. I recommend it, especially for this special Year of Priests: http://vultus.stblogs.org/2008/08/. From now on I shall be following Fr. Mark's Blog. There is some interesting information about traditions associated with The Assumption as well as some material from Fr. Mark's homilies.

St. Philomena

Since I became interested in St. Philomena, about six or seven years ago, I have heard and seen many "statements" that are, in fact, either simply untrue or just plain rubbish. Rather than go through the whole controversy here I refer anyone interested to the excellent article and discussion on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philomena.

For me the proof that Philomena both exists and can be honoured as a saint is simply that she was canonised. Contrary to the comments of some (including priests) a canonised saint cannot be "removed" as though he/she had not been canonised or as though the canonisation was a mistake. Canonisation is never revoked even when historical evidence is found wanting. In any case, the problems concerning Philomena date back around a hundred years and there has been more research since then, and she has many devotees in different parts of the world. The official line, sought a few years ago by the authorities at Ars, is that we are free to have a private devotion to her even though there is, strictly speaking, no public cult. Public Masses and devotions in her honour are permitted at Mugnano - the official shrine, and at Ars where the Basilica was built partly in her honour and which houses a special chapel dedicated to her.

Those who become interested in this saint often testify to experiences which have no natural explanation. I give one example here. I know about it because I was personally involved. It concerns a young family. There were twin sons (then aged about 11 I think) and an infant girl. The little girl had an incurable condition which often leads to painful death. Shortly before she died, the parents were praying for the little girl when they heard loud knocking coming from upstairs (or so it seemed). The father of the child rushed up the stairs to remonstrate with the two boys since he assumed they were the cause of the racket. It turned out that they were not involved. St. Philomena is said to knock (often three times) when she is asked for prayers. The child was taken to hospital where the consultant admitted (later) that he was deeply concerned because of the effect approaching death often had on the sufferer in these cases. He was amazed that the little girl died in great peace, with a smile on her face just after she had reached out for her mother's hand. He said he had never seen this happen before in cases like this.

Here is another story which has a natural explanation but contains a strange coincidence (are there coincidences or God-incidencies?). It happened when I was celebrating the Mass. It was after Holy Communion. For some reason I began to think about St. Philomena and my own devotion to her, and wondered why I had never heard the "knocks". Just then came three LOUD knocks. I was amazed. I found out afterwards that a new postman had come to the Presbytery and for some unexplained reason had bypassed the letter-box and come to knock on the door of the sacristy corridor. This had never happened before and it never happened again.

There are more interesting and convincing stories than this but I thought these two might give pause for thought.

St. Jean Vianney in The Year for Priests

I have visited Ars about five times and during the time span of my visits I have seen some changes there. One of the most significant changes concerns St. Philomena. When I first went it was rumoured that the shrine of St. Philomena in the church was to be dismantled and replaced with a shrine connected with the Passion of Christ. I was with someone who had taken a serious personal interest in keeping Philomena in Ars. I know others protested to the parish priest and to the Benedictine sisters there. There were other voices raised elsewhere in favour of the saint (Mark Miravalle for example). I also met the writer Courtney Bartholomew one evening in Ars. He was passing through and had the same concern. Eventually questions were asked at the Vatican. A pamphlet was produced with the approval of the local Bishop giving the official response of the Vatican to the question of veneration of St. Philomena. Basically it is that we are always allowed to have a personal devotion to her, but that there are no longer any public liturgical prayers etc connected with her. Some (e.g. in The Catholic Herald) had said that there is no evidence of her existence. This is not true. The problems that occurred over the relics and the tiles found in the catacomb can easily be resolved. During the last Holy Year, Pope John Paul 11 asked one of the Cardinals to go to Mugnano (the official Shrine of St. Philomena) to bless the doors of the church, thus connecting them with the Holy Year indulgence. One of the results of this controversy is that the shrine of St. Philomena remains intact.

St. John Vianney wanted to give credit for miraculous cures etc to his favourite saint. Some writers tried to explain this away as an expression of his humility, but they never dealt with the fact that they were suggesting that he deliberately lied. This he did not do. He genuinely believed in her intercession. I would like to say more about St. Philomena in another post.

The Basilica was restored and repainted during those years. It is a fascinating building, and pilgrims need to know that one of the dedications is precisely to St. Philomena. The liturgy is greatly enhanced by the music of the Benedictine sisters (out of the community of Sacre Coer in Paris) and one of the delights of Ars is attendance at the sung Divine Office.

The body of the Cure is incorrupt (almost naturally mummified). There is a wax covering on the face. It is amazing to see how little he was. Even allowing for the shrinkage of the body, he was very small.

There is not space here to go into detail about his life (and, in any case, that can easily be found elsewhere on the net) but I remember especially two stories found in the great biography by Abbe Trochu. One took place when he was a curate under Mgr. Bialle. A parishioner had given Vianney a pair of new trousers (he was in great need of them!). The first time he wore them he returned to the presbytery wearing a pair of worn corduroy-like trousers. It turned out that he had run across someone who needed the new trousers more than he did, and they exchanged!

There is a similar story concerning shoes. The sisters who ran the orphanage he built near the church at Ars (La Providence) bought the Cure some new shoes. He met someone else who needed them more and came back shoeless! To avoid hurting the feelings of the sisters he walked in such a way that the hem of his cassock covered his feet. Of course he was found out. That's why we have the story.

Pope John Paul 11 suggested that St. Jean Vianney is a model for today's priests. Some criticised this idea, but perhaps they were worried in case they were being asked to exist on a diet of mouldy potatoes or to spend all night in prayer. St. Jean Vianney did not expect all priests to do what he did. In fact, speaking about his severe mortifications he called them his "youthful indiscretions". Some priests will ask how we can possibly emulate a saint like this, but we are not being asked to take on severe mortifications. In any case that kind of thing should not be taken up without the permission of a sound spiritual director. We might ask ourselves, however, about our own life-style and whether or not we might do more in the way of penance now and again, be less materialistic, more generous in our pastoral work or more devoted in our prayers.