The Annunciation and the Veil of the Temple

This icon of the Annunciation shows Our Lady holding a spindle. This relates to the "legend" in the Gospel of St. James that after being betrothed to Joseph, Mary was summoned to the temple, along with seven other virgins, to work on the new Temple Veil. This huge veil was woven in strips of four colours; blue, white, purple and red. Mary was chosen to work on the red and purple portions. These colours are thought to have represented fire and water (or perhaps blood and water?). The icon shows that as Mary was helping to weave the new Veil of the Temple, she was chosen to "weave" the Veil of Christ's Flesh in her body.

The great Temple Veil came to symbolise the Incarnation. The veil was the border or boundary of the created world. Behind it lay the Holy of Holies which only the High Priest could enter. On the Day of Atonement, the great curtain was sprinkled with blood. When it needed to be cleaned, 300 priests had to lower it into the water. Eventually it had to be replaced.

When the Lord Jesus died, this Veil was torn from top to bottom. The Great and Eternal High Priest had not gone behind the curtain but "through" it. The new Veil was His Body which was opened on the Cross by the lance. Out of that wound flowed blood and water, the "Fountain of Sacramental Life" (Preface of the Sacred Heart).

This day is also a special day to pray for an end to abortion. I have argued before that this Solemnity should be a world-wide Holyday of Obligation, recognising the great gift of life at conception. These days we need to nail our colours to the mast as pro-life Christians. The exaltation of this Feast would help us; it would be a signal to everyone that the Catholic Church remains firm in the belief that human life begins at conception.

The Catholic Church in Holland

I have just returned from a long weekend in Amsterdam and Utrecht where I visisted three churches. In the first one I said a prayer of exorcism. There had been problems there (big problems!). I met two young priests who were looking after the church. They had taken over, at the request of the bishop, following some very strange happenings. The church is huge and cold. The house is also huge and in a very bad condition. Please pray for these priests and for those who still worship at that church.

I celebrated Mass, preached, gave a talk and prayed for the sick at two other churches. Both of them big - one massive. In both places over one hundred people came. In the second church, the "English" Catholic church of Amsterdam, The Holy Trinity, there must have been well over 200 people, possibly 250.

This visit was arranged under the title of "True Life in God". Many of those who came already read the book or books and many know about Vassula. I have been twice before to Amsterdam, but my last visit was purely as an exorcist to help someone who could not find help nearby. This kind of thing is not unusual for me. I once went to Nice to help someone there and I have been elsewhere. Sometimes exorcists are hard to find, in spite of the Holy Father's wish that there be more of them and at least one in each diocese.

The Catholic Church in the Netherlands seems to be in a sorry state. In one church I preached on confession and was told afterwards that some people have great difficulty finding a priest to hear their confessions. As in many places, there is a shortage of priests, and one of the churches I visited has no resident priest. There is talk of closing some churches or even demolishing them. For all that, Amsterdam is an important Christian centre. It is a city associated with a Eucharistic miracle, and it is where Our Lady appeared as the "Lady of All Nations".

The Mandatum etc

I was the proponent at the last Deanery meeting. At the proponent's meeting, the main speaker, a priest who lectures in Liturgy at a major seminary, asked what we should do about the Mandatum (he meant regarding women). Another liturgist in the group answered, "This is a case for selective amnesia". This was taken up, and various opinions were aired as to the meaning of the Mandatum. Of course, it was admitted that the Instructions say, "viri selecti", and I note that a Latin expert not a million miles away from this blog has confirmed that "viri" means "males" and cannot be taken to include humanity or both men and women.

I understand that an American Cardinal asked what the rules were regarding the Mandatum on an Ad Limini visit some time before 2004. He was granted permission to include women, but another Liturgist and Canonist has said that this was a "specific" permission granted with a certain situation in view and was not a general permission.

In many, if not most Catholic parishes, both male and female feet are washed on Holy Thursday evening. So, whatever the Instructions may say, we seem to be doing whatever we (parish priests and bishops) think best. But are we right to do this?

There is a principle here which needs to be highlighted; Liturgy is not created, it is given. Of course there is room for some creativity, and the Missa Normativa and the Sacramental Rites provide us with alternative forms of this and that and sometimes use the phrase, "These or similar words", but when the Instructions are specific, as they are in the case of the Mandatum, and no evidence exists of any special allowance being made for a "custom" in England and Wales, where is the justification for changing the rite?

I am not just speaking about the Mandatum here, but hopefully drawing attention to a problem which we need to recognise and deal with - namely, that if we can make up our own minds on this matter, when the Instructions are so clear, what is to prevent us (any bishop, priest or deacon) behaving in a similar way with other parts of the Liturgy? If we can put up an apparently perfectly reasonable argument in favour of not following the Instructions at this point, why should we stop there? Are there not "perfectly reasonable" arguments for doing - or not doing - other things in the Liturgy?

Anyway, regarding the Mandatum itself, until recently I had no problem understanding what it means and have often preached on it. I know there are political considerations regarding the so-called exclusion of women, but it seems to me that this false accusation needs to be countered by proper catechesis, not by conceding the point. As far as I knew (and articles I have googled confirm this) the Mandatum relates to the actual washing of the Apostles' feet and says something about Christ's position as THE Servant. The Apostles bring to mind bishops and priests (and also deacons as part of the ordained ministry) and the call to follow Christ as servants of the people. This call to service passes from Christ, through the Apostles into the whole Church so that we are ALL called to serve each other in imitation of the Master. So I have often preached, and so I still believe.

However, because the meaning of the Mandatum is now said to be "unclear" by some, and is enacted by many in a way that goes against the Instructions I have decided to exercise the option of not having it this year. There is another important reason which I do not want to discuss here, but that alone is sufficiently strong for me to avoid it - at least for this year.

It does seem to me that where many (and I am certainly not judging anyone - I have my own acts of "selective amnesia" to consider) deliberately go against lawful instructions in one or other aspect of the Liturgy we have a serious situation with regard to the general perception of what we are doing. Time and again I have heard the phrase, "this is how Father likes to do it". I have always resisted this, telling people that I am trying to follow the Instructions - to the best of my ability and that Liturgy - or any aspect of it - is not about "my" personal preferences. I hope I am making my point.

A Brilliant Film

This might be the best religious film I have seen. It is just brilliant. The title, "Octpob" means, "Island". It is about a Russian monk, and if you are thinking of getting it (and I advise you to consider it) it is better that I do not say too much about the plot - although if you read some of the reviews on Amazon you will get most of the story.

It is remarkable in that so much of the dialogue is prayer - and what is not actual prayer is pure spirituality and ministry. The film says more about community life than many other films I've seen (or books I've read!). If you like the sayings of the Desert Fathers, you will like this. If you like Russian literature, you will like this. Just make sure that you get the version with the English subtitles. They are essential.

A brilliant film for Lent. If you have given up the cinema or films for Lent, make an exception for this one. It has taken Russia by storm (and this says a lot about Russian people today). It was given five Russian "oscars" and outside Russia is regarded as one of the best foriegn films made in recent years. It is worth it for the photogrpahy alone. Just superb.

Into Battle

The Gospel of the First Sunday of Lent reminds us that we are called into battle. The enemies are always the same - the world, the flesh and the devil. In a particular sense we focus on Satan-THE enemy. It is interesting that as soon as Jesus is baptised he is led into the desert by the Spirit to meet Satan. Early Christians were warned that this would happen to them. Part of the immediate preparation for Baptism was precisely this warning, and those who instructed the catechumens knew that this was a serious business.

When Jesus went into the desert for forty days and forty nights He was, in a sense, recapitulating the experience of the Hebrews in the wilderness of Sin as they journeyed towards the Promised Land. The forty years in the wilderness means the inability to follow a straight path - the failure to be guided by the Spirit of God - the stubborn, repeated decision to walk the way of man rather than the way of God. Jesus is the perfectly obedient Servant. His way is THE WAY. He leaves the footprints that we must follow, and as we enter into the battle, He is our tutor. Because He has defeated Satan, so can we - in Him.

These days we are especially aware of the interference of Satan in human affairs. If I can wear my exorcist's hat - and although it is only one opinion - the Enemy is very strong at the moment. This shows that humanity is weak. The Church is also weak and so we need to take Lent 2009 particularly seriously. These are not going to be an easy few weeks, and our Lenten struggle should make us aware that there are more difficulties to come. From my recent experience as an exorcist I believe this to be true.

Mary, Queen of Angels, pray for us. Holy Michael Archangel protect us.