Not Pink

Pope Benedict XVI consecrates the altar as he celebrates a mass during his visit to the church of St. Mary of the rosary in Rome, Sunday.

Some will be thinking that he chose to consecrate an altar , and wear white vestments today, rather than wearing the "pink" rose coloured chasuble which he was made to wear last year for Gaudete Sunday. Of course if I were Pope i would refuse to wear "pink" and to consecrate ugly Churches. Isn't the diocese of Rome and the Catholic Church fortunate that he is and I am not!

Style Guru?

I was intrigued by this little story I found on the BBC website:

Franco Zeffirelli, the Italian film, stage and opera director,
has said Pope Benedict XVI needs a makeover of his "cold" image and "showy" clothes.
Zeffirelli told La Stampa newspaper that the Pope communicated in a cold way that was little suited to what was happening around him.
These are not times for high tailoring in papal vestments, he said.
He contrasted the relaxed attitude of the late Pope John Paul II to his official attire with that of Benedict.

I just wonder quite what Senor Zefferelli might bring with him. I would hope that it is not a preference for style over substance. Perhaps the truth of the matter lies in the second part of the story that Zefferelli is to help Vatican officials combat the growing secularism and downright atheism within contemporary cinema.

New Papal Portrait

Russian artist Natalia Tsarkova presented the Holy Father with a full length portrait of himself during one of the rare private audiences granted by the Pope last Wednesday.

The portrait is 6-foot by 4-foot and shows the Pope wearing a gold mitre and rich red vestments, seated on the throne of Leo XIII, the throne of the Second Vatican Council.

She has previously painted several portraits of Pope John Paul II.

Legionaries in the wash

One of the largest of the new religious congregations is the Legionaries of Christ. I don’t think we have any in the UK, I understand they tried to get into the Westminster diocese, but the late Cardinal Hume was having none of it. I met a couple once who struck me as being quite impressive, until I heard that one of the curates in the presbytery in which they were staying had thrown a red rugby shirt into the washing machine, with Legionaries white tee shirts and boxer shorts. White underwear is apparently in “the rule”, they came out pink. There was a whole series of telephone calls to the superior in the United States begging either for permission to wear pink and not white, or to ditch the pink vests and pants and buy new ones, which conformed to the rules!

One of the first acts of Pope Benedict was to dismiss their founder and Superior General Marcel Maciel and to send him into a life of penance, forbidding him to celebrate the sacraments or to preach. There had long been accusations of pederasty and homosexual abuse laid against him, it appears that Pope John Paul regarded him as a saint and refused to listen to these accusations. Now the Pope Benedict is reported as having directed the Legionaries to remove two special vows they make:

1. Never to desire, seek or scheme to obtain responsibilities or positions in the congregation for himself or others …
2. Never to criticize externally the acts of government or the person of any director or superior of the congregation by word, in writing or any other way. And if he knows for certain that a religious has broken this commitment, to inform the latter’s immediate superior.

The Legionaries seem to pride themselves on a military style of discipline, which is obviously part of their attraction to young men. Unfortunately it tends to seperate them from their families, there peers, and creates a little world of their own. Gerald Augustus has few of their rules on his website.

9. The face of the legionary belongs to others. Always display happiness and serenity as a manifestation of inner richness. At the other extreme, avoid all sign of depression, insecurity or timidity. Do not display a worried, sad, melancholy or disgusted face, or show an exaggerated form of happiness.

13. Go up and down stairs without running and without precipitation, walking up one step at a time.

57. Do not expose others to animated states, difficulties or problems. Reserve those things for the persons designated to deal with them.

61. After visiting a center or apostolic work, always comment on the positive, stimulating and edifying aspects that you have been able to notice and never outwardly express to others the problems or negative aspects that you encounter.

65. When receiving family visits, always appear happy, cordial, attentive, grateful and satisfied with the vocation that God has granted you. After the visit, take the opportunity to once again generously offer up your most intimate affections and to strengthen your consecration to God. Behave in the same way when you visit them...

66. Do not fall into states of sadness or homesickness in your relationship with your family and do not become accustomed to discussing with family members your emotional state when you are experiencing depression or some unresolved difficulty so that you do not disturb them with problems that relate solely to your personal relationship with God and with the Legion.

567. Out of love for the Legion and a sense of responsibility take care not to communicate to outsiders anything that might be misinterpreted about the diverse context of religious life in the Legion, anything that might be used against the Legion, anything which superiors have not authorized you to communicate, and anything that might imply scorn of the Legion.

569. Never facilitate, without serious cause, oral or written distribution of reports or facts about legionaries, or writings of the Legion without authorization by superiors. Be very prudent and discreet in your comments so as not to unnecessarily damage the Legion.

570. Be shrewd when dealing with strangers. Respond with precision, moderation and discretion to questions they may ask, keeping in mind the good or evil they are capable of doing to the Legion and to each other in passing along a fact or expressing an opinion.

571. Be especially discreet in regard to anything that you may learn in an official capacity, including anything of an apostolic nature, or through dealings with secular members, or through interaction with superiors, bearing in mind that you are the keepers of a confidence that should not be betrayed.

Cardinal Stricklers Funeral

Pope Benedict XVI celebrates the funeral service for Austrian Cardinal Alfons Maria Stickler, at the Vatican, Friday Dec. 14, 2007. The former archivist and librarian at the Vatican, died Wednesday Dec. 12. He was 97. Pray for soul. I am grateful to the dear Cardinal for his book on celibacy, quite brilliant.

The Altar of the Chair is the main place for Papal Liturgies in St Peters, it really does look so dull, doesn't it?

Help: Something seems to have gone wrong

The sidebars seems to have disappeared, actually it has gone to the bottom of the blog, and the picture at the top has shrunk. I don't think I did anything. Can anyone help?

Fullness of Faith

Our Catholic Secondary School, Cardinal Newman, is looking for a new head teacher about this time, I haven't actually seen any advertisement for the job, say a prayer we get the right person, someone who is actually committed to the Catholic faith in all its beauty and fullness. Whoever is appointed, I hope will realise that he or she is responsible for the salvation of thousands of young people. Possibly giving them the only education in the Catholic Fatih they are likely to recieve.

Our school, the only Catholic Secondary in Brighton is one of the largest in the country. I was so saddened to hear on one of the few Holy Days of Obligation that still occur during the week, in the last academic year, there were scarcely more than half a dozen people out of approximately 2,000 staff and students who came to Mass.

In contrast, I was very impressed by this advert I found here for a chaplain in at a Catholic College in Wyoming:

The chaplain will, of course, be orthodox in faith and morals, above reproach, and in good canonical standing with ecclesiastical authorities. He must also understand and agree with the distinctive vision and mission of Wyoming Catholic College as articulated in the Philosophical Vision Statement,the Catalog, and other printed materials (available upon request). The chaplain should be academically oriented in his interests, energetic in engaging the college students, capable of preaching to the students and responding to their needs, and comfortable with offering spiritual direction. Ideally the priest should be enthusiastic about outdoor activities and, if possible, take part in them from time to time. As a college striving to be authentically Catholic, WCC places at the center of its daily life the worthy celebration of the Mass,drawing extensively upon the Church’s rich Tradition. The liturgy and other devotions are celebrated in a manner that stresses continuity with that Tradition, as Pope Benedict has repeatedly urged the Church to do. Such treasures as the Latin language and Gregorian chant are held in utmost
respect."

I went to a meeting with the lay chaplain, of a "Catholic" institution recently about a future mission, which he wanted me to support and to contributing to the cost. I was really horrified by the lack of Catholicism in this persons thinking, "Prayer and Praise" experiences seemed to be preferred to the celebration of Holy Mass, a service led by an evangelical Protestant minster seemed as acceptable as one led by a priest, indeed he seemed to prefer the absence of a priest. There was no mention of Marian devotions, when the issue was raised. Apparently there had been a suggestion that there should be Eucharistic adoration but it certainly didn't seem to be a priority for this particular individual, and something that he would prefer did not take place.

His understanding and love of Catholicism seemed minimal. Someone else at the meeting suggested that he regarded the Catholicism, not as the fullness of the Christian faith but as something with a whole lot of other, unnecessary things, bolted on. When one strips it of what he might consider to be "bolted on", one is left with a Catholicism that is substance, mere Protestantism. And the man expects me to support and fund this!