+ Stella Maris +

Recommended web site

2012-01-30T10:30:00.000-08:00

I'm sure some of those who read this blog already know about True Faith TV. If you don't, I recommend you take a look. See especially the YouTube video about Scripture and Our Lady. It is the best I have ever seen.

Christians should always be "persecution ready"

2012-01-30T03:05:00.001-08:00

Blessed John Paul 11 declared St. Maximilian Kolbe to be patron of the 20th century ("patron of this difficult century"). We need the prayers and examples of both these men NOW. There are real signs that we are heading for a more serious persecution of the Church - specifically the Roman Catholic Church - in certain areas. Of course, it will not just be Catholics but all orthodox Christians who - depending on the power of the state - will be at risk. The National Secular Society of Great Britain has tried to argue that it is not difficult for Christians to follow their faith today. Although it is true that certain cases of apparent abuse or "persecution" against Christians have been exaggerated (and this is not a good idea!), there is still plenty of evidence that the general trend of anti-Christian feeling is gathering strength. In Ireland the Bishop of Raphoe is being investigated by the Director of Public Prosecutions there after a secularist complained that a sermon preached at Knock incited hatred against secular humanists (see this). I was reminded of the comment of the American Cardinal Burke (here) about possible imprisonment of bishops and priests in the United States. The recent attempt by the Obama administration to rule out freedom of conscience for Catholic bishops and their co-workers suggests that we are indeed approaching those times.

This post on the Tunbridge Wells Ordinariate Blog also speaks of these things. As far as I am concerned, as a parish priest, I feel that I am fighting a battle against the continual encroachment of secularist moral values into the Catholic community. It seems that no matter what I say - or try to say - many people continue to assume that certain patterns of behaviour (e.g. living together before marriage) are perfectly acceptable and that the "Church" is wrong to speak against them. So many still hear a priest presenting the official teaching and then say, "that's what he thinks - that's just him" Relativism rules! In this case it is one priest against another - one bishop against another.

I recently discovered an American Catholic internet discussion group which is speaking out in defense of marriage and, in particular, in defense of the marriage bond against decisions made by diocesan marriage courts. Some of the stories related there are horrendous. Both the present Pope and his predecessor warned the American marriage courts against being too liberal - being too ready to hand out annulments based on a wide reading of such things as "immaturity" in relation to living the Sacrament of Marriage. I have started to read up on this, and I recently purchased the Pontifical Council's "Dignitas Connubi" and the book, "What God has Joined Together" by Robert Vasoli, which is about the "Annulment Crisis in American Catholicism". If we are going to defend marriage against the attempts of western governments to redefine it, we had better get our own house in order.

It is beginning to look as though a more virulent form of persecution will come. I once said to my parishioners - in relation to anti-Christian persecution in Pakistan - that we have not yet had to suffer physical persecution though we are undergoing a kind of persecution through the media. Many will see this post and think it is OTT, but the evidence is there to be seen now. The attempts by the last Labour Government to attack the freedom of conscience of Catholics - in spite of the presence of Tony Blair's cronies - was truly ominous, and there is a real danger that if Ed Milliband's leadership fails we will see a militant anti-Catholic take the reins in the next few years. He (or she) is in the wings.

More news about a very dangerous man

2012-01-28T03:24:00.001-08:00

This incredible report confirms that President Obama is a dangerous man. No one who makes statements like this is listening to anyone who disagrees with him. Comments on the anniversary of Roe V. Wade, by the, then, young woman who was at the centre of the case have had no impact on him. His support of the abortion industry is undiminished. He has learned nothing, listened only to those he agrees with, and therefore does not believe in dialogue. He cannot be trusted about anything. If the Americans vote him back in whatever follows will be their own fault.

American Catholics need the grace of God!

2012-01-27T08:27:00.000-08:00

I am not a particular fan of Michael Voris of Real Catholic.TV, but if he is correct here then the bishops rebelling against Obama have a real fight on their hands with little support. As I listened to this I was remembering the last significant anniversary of Humane Vitae and the lack of notable public announcements from either the English/Welsh Catholic press or (sadly) our bishops. If Catholics in the UK were challenged on this - to the extent of being subject by law to foster contraception - would we fare any better? I think it's an important question. I know some people do not accept the apparitions at Garbandal; I do. I remember the visionaries relating that Our Lady was not very impressed with a priest who attended the "apparitions" because he disagreed with the Pope's encyclical. Incidentally, those apparitions are still open to study and there have been some interesting developments there of late - of which I am sure we will hear more later.

This man must not be re-elected!

2012-01-27T01:41:00.001-08:00

I was never taken in by all the pro-Obama hype before his election. His latest statement on health care which includes one of the most blatant challenges to the Roman Catholic Church heard in the Western world since the end of the last war marks him out as a very dangerous man! Read the response here of the Bishop of Pittsburgh. American Catholics must stop fighting amongst themselves and stand together against this president and all his anti-life "clan". These are dark days, and there are more ahead. Orthodox Christians in all denominations must wake up - no more complacency or lethargy. This is now - if it never was before - THE fight of our times. This is the line in the sand.

Bishop Zubik

Incredible - just incredible!

2012-01-25T08:26:00.000-08:00

I heard this "duet" this morning because I had a new CD delivered. I am amazed! I then found it on YouTube. Barbara Streisand approved of this but does not perform in public anymore. Her part was filmed in 1985. Now watch and be amazed.

Abortion advertising

2012-01-24T04:05:00.000-08:00

Today I logged a complaint against the Advertising Standards Agency (UK) with regard to its decision to allow abortion clinics to advertise on the Television. If anyone is interested the complaint form can be accessed here. The form needs to be "tweaked" a bit but I think I managed.

The Anniversary of Roe V Wade

2012-01-22T15:59:00.000-08:00

Elgar and other Catholics

2012-01-21T13:05:00.000-08:00

I accidentally tuned in to a showing of the late Ken Russell's monitor film on Elgar (BBC 3, I think). I have found it on YouTube here. I have long been puzzled about Elgar's Catholicism. He was quite bitter after his "The Dream of Gerontius" was disregarded in England (it was a dreadful performance apparently) and made some remarks about being let down by "Providence". He was bitter about the way some people - according to Elgar - frustrated his ambitions because of his religion. I found a really excellent article on Elgar's faith here. Reading about how some people had commented on Elgar's Catholicism and how Elgar had felt the need to almost dismiss his faith, I became quite angry. It is clear that some people around the time of Elgar's death wanted to believe that he had indeed become either a kind of "pan-Christian" or an atheist or a pantheist (anything, it seems, but a Catholic). As he was dying Elgar apparently asked for his body to be cremated and his ashes to be scattered at the confluence of two local rivers. His daughter persuaded him otherwise and he asked for a Low Requiem Mass and agreed that his body should be buried near that of his late wife. By the time of his final illness he had ceased to be a regular Mass-goer, but the priest from his old family Church, St. George's, arrived at his deathbed and gave him the Last Rites. This priest later said that Elgar had made a "statement of faith" before he died. This last report is not treated with much respect even by the sympathetic writer of the article from Princeton (at the link). I was reminded of Chopin's death.

Chopin was the child of devout Polish Catholic parents. Although he had ceased practicing his faith amongst the salon society of the day, one of his visitors in his final illness was a Polish priest who had know Chopin as a boy. According to this priest Chopin made an enthusiastic profession of faith, made his confession and died reconciled with the Church. Some of his "friends" were horrified at this and the report of the priest was treated with scorn (suggesting he was lying). It was too much for some of them that Chopin would have done anything so uncivilized or tasteless as to return to the Catholic Faith (in fact he never lost it).

Certain elements of the "establishment" are still quite anti-Catholic. Some elements of the academic world cannot abide the thought that Shakespeare may have been a devout Catholic. Some years ago I was in Stratford with a Catholic friend, and I tried a short exercise. We went to three of four of the major bookshops asking for a specific book (Fr. Peter Milward's "Shakespeare's Catholic Background"). No one had heard of it. Since then there have been three more major books about his Catholicism (one of them from Fr. Milward). I suspect there may be ONE of them available in Stratford - perhaps, "Shadowplay" - but I would be surprised to find any others.

Even today there is a great reluctance to believe that any great British artist of recent or bygone years was a practicing Catholic (lapsed, they don't mind). There are some. of course, you cannot go around - for example the architect Pugin (although he suffered much after his conversion to Catholicism). I suspect that, in spite of the supposedly more enlightened environment of the 21st century, there are still quite a lot of well-educated people in Great Britain who merely tolerate a great artist's Catholicism (or even Christianity) and who wish he or she would have had the sense to free themselves from such backward thinking. I'm sorry to say this in Unity week, but reading about Elgar's difficulties and of the attitude of the Anglican establishment of the day I began to feel quite angry about the Church of England - something that hardly ever happens. The way some Anglican commentators spoke about Elgar's music in relation to his Catholicism was not only snobbish but very ill-informed. I plan to listen to the "Dream" again as soon as I have enough time to spare.

For unity - one of my favourite songs at the moment

2012-01-20T08:25:00.000-08:00

The case of a downs syndrome child being "refused Holy Communion""

2012-01-19T14:30:00.000-08:00

The report from Mail Online is here. I know a little bit about this case because the mother rang me to ask if her child could receive his First Holy Communion in my parish. I told her this would be difficult because an important part of the preparation for Holy Communion is an experience of community - even at a basic level. When we receive Holy Communion we receive the whole Christ, but there is an aspect of this which includes the Church - we are "in communion" with each other and it is Christ, in the Eucharist, who "makes the Church" (Vatican 11). This lady does not attend her church regularly and her son is unable to cope with anything lasting up to an hour. She makes the point that she has another, younger, child and that restlessness and noise can be a problem. However, I have many children attending my church. Some of them can be very noisy at times. They are all welcome. One mother comes with three children and since I have now been here for just over five years I can remember when the two older children were quite small, and one in particular was a real handful. She coped amazingly. Also, last year - as some of you will remember - we had a severely autistic child receive his First Holy Communion. He has a depth of understanding we cannot judge! He is a gem, and a much-loved member of our parish -BUT, here is the important point, his parents are weekly churchgoers and have supported him in his preparation for the Sacrament, giving ample time for that preparation to begin even before the official time of preparation for the other children. He has a sister who also supports him (she received Holy Communion at the same time). There is, in this story, a tragic lack of understanding on the part of the parents which is the really troubling lack (not so much that of the child). I have to say that I deplore what they are trying to do in their use of the media. They are actually being dishonest by not allowing the whole story to be told and by not accepting that regular attendance at church is a fundamental part of any pre-Holy Communion programme.

How much do we really want unity?

2012-01-18T05:03:00.000-08:00

Is Christian unity really that important to Christians? I remember one Old Catholic priest who is really trying to live unity on a daily basis telling me that he and his friends call the local "Churches Together" group, Churches NOT together. I may disagree with the path he has taken but I fully respect his intentions and his integrity (I cannot go into too much detail here). So many of us talk about it and although we pray about it, the question has to be asked whether what we do is having any real effect. What kind of prayers are they anyway? Do we really commit ourselves to the Will of God? Are we really serious about unity? So many Catholics are not. Many Orthodox are not only indifferent, so many of them think it is actually sinful! Many Anglicans and Methodists think we are already united really and there is not much else to do. What does it matter that we do not believe the same things always? As long as we believe in some aspects of what we can all recognise as Christianity, what difference does it make?

What are we prepared to sacrifice for the sake of unity? Clearly, not the Truth, but are we so sure that everything that we regard as belonging to the Truth is really necessary or indispensable? Lifestyles are not necessarily part of the Faith. Customs, manners of dress and certain culturally informed styles of worship are not necessarily part of the Truth. Clearly there are going to be some disagreements about such things. Clearly, as much as we may want it, unity is not ours to construct. I believe that unity will be a gift from Heaven. We cannot do it. We can prepare for this gift - this miracle. According to the writings known as "True Life in God" unity will be given by God, one way or another. The keys to unity are humility and love. The unity we experience here and now is a unity "of the heart". There is no denial of Truth. This is not a "false ecumenism"; it is based on the two Great Commandments. We recognise God and find ourselves in Him. We recognise God's grace in each other. We seek the way of love based on faith and mutual respect. We work together and pray together as friends and brothers and sisters. Whenever we can we dispense with labels. We do not debate theology but we open our hearts and minds to each other asking the Holy Spirit to lead us forward. We rejoice in each others gifts and traditions, trying to understand and appreciate them more fully. We try to learn from each other. There is no fear because the work of unity is God's work; it is for us to cooperate with the Holy Spirit. According to those writings, the Churches are being asked to attempt some simple but important things, the chief of which is agreement on the date of Easter. When we can do this - and it demands humility and love - we will be ready to receive the graces that are being held for us. To show that amount of humility and love - for the sake of the proclamation of the Resurrection of Christ will be to open a door into a new way of living.

Sign the petition for one date for Easter

As I suspected - J K Rowling IS a practising Christian!

2012-01-16T03:04:00.000-08:00

Well, here is some "breaking news". J. K. Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter series has revealed that she is a churchgoer. She was raised as an Anglican and now attends the Church of Scotland. She says that Christian themes have inspired her books. I must say that, latterly, I have begun to think about this possibility and recently became convinced that she is a believing Christian. This idea developed after I saw the last two films. Now what does this mean in relation to the condemnation of the Potter books by Fr. Amorth and others? First of all it does not mean that there are no problems with the books. As I have said before, there are some problems. Some scenes and events are worrying, to say the least, but we must now move away from the more extreme views and suggestions (e.g. she did research into black magic and has produced actual spells - where is the real evidence for this accusation?). I am of the opinion that the books are flawed. They do not, ultimately, compare with either the works of Tolkien or Lewis (or, for that matter Hans Anderson), but they have a good "heart" and are not meant to encourage evil but are meant to encourage goodness. People, as before, will have to make up their own minds. Personally, I have only come across one - or possibly - two examples of children being badly affected by these books. Part of that, however, is to do with the merchandising connected with the books and the overemphasis on magic. But this does not invalidate the books. There are plenty of people who claim to have been badly affected by Catholicism! It seems to me that the major problems today with such "bad influences" on young people are the LACK of good Christian teaching and the LACK of Baptism. These two missing elements are serious omissions. It could be argued that without a good Christian background children and teenagers could be led astray by the Potter books and other things, but the main fault lies not with those books but with our lethargy, and complacence about the dangers of a post-Christian secularized society which has allowed a return to an effective paganism. In this environment so many things can serve to lead people down the wrong spiritual track. I have already said that, in my opinion, there are much worse things than Harry Potter. It seems that many of those who have condemned the Potter books are ignorant of these other, more dangerous, books and films. Sadly, it seems to me, they have focused their fears on the wrong target and missed warning about those other dangers such as the recent teen vampire craze and the once popular "Buffy" series (which can still be obtained on DVD). More also needs to be said about the dangers of the New Age and the "new paganism" and the commercialization of crackpot "religions" which has led to a cavalcade of rubbish littering our bookshops. See information about Rowling's faith here and here

A Warning - with a smile!

2012-01-14T15:15:00.000-08:00