Disoveries and Revelations at St Mary Magdalen's

Tomorrow a group of parishioners and I, in order to save money, are going to remove the lino on the floor of the Church, so we can see if it is possible to sand and varnish it rather than having to put in another floor. It might be a bit superstitious of me but I have chosen tomorrow, the feast of St John Vianney, to ask his intercession. If it is not possible, we will have to put in a new floor, which will be just too expensive.

As part of the preparation work we demolished an old confessional which seems to have been made up of old wardrobes. It is very rarely used and obscures one of our Hardman windows, which are one of the treasures of our Church. May be it is fitting to do so before the Feast of the Assumption. This is the revelation, it hasn't been seen properly for over fifty years.



You can see where the confessional has been removed, the white paint is the original colour scheme from the 1970s which has been undercover, the grey is grime of votive candle smoke over the last 40 years. You can also glimpse the state of the paint work generally, at one time there was green paint beneath the string course.


Now here is the discovery, a trap door! We pulled up an area of lino and discovered it. Beyond it is a smaller trap door used for access to the crypt which goes down to the "turn" in the stairs, at one time this was open, with a balustrade. It is supported by a vertical beam on the stairs and is divided in two lengthwise.


I don't know if there is a reason for bubbles emerging from the depths.

Here is one section of the floor cleared.


Here is the original colour scheme, the stone unpainted, the plaster whitewashed with a little restrained stencilling.




Thank you to those of you who have sent donations for the work, we are very grateful.

Cardinal Coligny

Cathcon has an interesting picture and caption but little else apart from:

Buried in Canterbury Cathedral. To be buried in England is probably the most humiliating fate imaginable for a Frenchman- but he got the reward he deserved.

then there is picture of "Mrs Cardinal",

Intrigued? then read here too.

Harriet Harman: Mum and Dad

Harriet Harman the deputy leader of the Labour Party who is also the Equalities Minister, said yesterday, "I don't agree with all-male leaderships. I think it is a thoroughly bad thing to have a men-only leadership."

Everyone has villified her, but I support her, not because I am a rabid feminist but because I suspect that what she is groping for in a socially illiterate way is a model for leadership that is based on the complimentary roles of a man and woman, especially these dark times for the party. Obviously she is not saying anything as crass as women are better, the would be "unequal".

Isn't what she is really saying, "The Labour Party needs a mum and a dad"?

Now, I look forward to her applying the same criteria to the bringing up of children and to adoption.

Guess who is back online?

It is Fr John Boyle.

Pepinster on Nichols on Facebook on the BBC

Ms Pepinster was on Radio 4's Sunday Programme, it is at the beginning of the programe, she is talking about Archbishop Nichols' comments on superficial relationships amongst the young.

Her last remarks about Archbishop Nichols getting a computer for his desk, and "senior figures" in the Church not being computer savvy seem decidedly odd.

Why does the BBC get people who have so little to say giving comments on something they obviously know so little about. The Tablet really has so little experience with the electronic media, and is so hostile to it, she was such a strange choice.

The next item on the St Therese's relics is much more interesting.

Bigamous thought

There was that case a few days ago of that woman who was charged with bigamy, having been married five times. I thought it was interesting that the state is comfortable with the idea of prosecuting a bigamist, yet the Church is much more ambiguous, at least in this country.

This case pricked my conscience. At one time for Catholics there was a great deal of stigma for those who separated, went through a civil divorced and then -attempted- remarriage. According to the Gospel remarriage equals adultery. The "pastoral approach" most priests take to the divorced and remarried, I must confess, I do it, is simply not to ask, and to assume the relationship is one of "brother and sister". In the Church we assume that people are innocent until proved guilty.

The problem is that even when there are signs of obvious "guilt", having got into the mind set of assuming innocence, we still assume innocence. Ultimately of course this "pastoral approach" is terribly destructive of the Lord's teaching on the permanence of marriage, it whittles away at it. The next step, again which many priests turn a blind eye to, is that so many divorced and remarried -adulterous- Catholics have no difficulty with is the reception of Holy Communion.

Today there are many divorced and remarried Catholics in public life, some occupying leading positions in the life of the Church, at least as journalists and commentators on Church life, is it too much to suggest that we could go at least as far as the State and suggest that these men and women are committing bigamy?

Franciscan Friar no longer homeless

The Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate have been looking for a home in England for ages, they found one at long last at St Joseph's in Burselm, Stoke on Trent. Their new Marian Friary opens next Sunday with Mass at 4.30pm celebrated by Bishop Gough.

I can't help being surprised that it has taken them so long, especially as so many Churches are closing for want of a priest. It would seem some bishops would prefer to see closures rather than inviting the new communities into their dioceses.

The Church is huge and the house is large enough for a community of half a dozen friars, say a prayer for them.