Street Evangelisation

Gloria TV has this video from the Seville Holy Week procession, the Crucified makes his slow way through the city whilst the Blessed Virgin sets off in search of him - here around the 4 min mark.
It is street evangelism Catholic style.

Ateismo

My thanks to John Sonnen.
It just shows the absurdity of atheism. Atheism has too many presupposition for the rational to take seriously. What has happened to old fashioned agnostism? At least agnostics has room for wonder.

Maniple: Never Abrogated

Fr Z, the Great quotes from an online document by the Office for the Liturgical Celebration of the Supreme Pontiff: Liturgical Vestments and the Vesting Prayers

5) The maniple is an article of liturgical dress used in the celebration of the extraordinary form of the Holy Mass of the Roman Rite.  It fell into disuse in the years of the post-conciliar reform, even though it was never abrogated.

The implication is that some people were slovenly about it and it just stopped being worn and that the less casual should wear it, especially, as it was never abrogated.
Now, I am not sure weight one should give to an online document but it is from a Vatican office, and it is on its official website, which has increasing been used to promulgate law and teaching.

Despite its ancient antecedents it was simply dropped from the General Instruction of the Paul VI Missal in its list of vestments for Mass. If it was never abrogated it should be worn.

New Ancient Books

The BBC reported on some first century books, that were discovered in Jordan, they have early Christian symbols. The obvious question is: Do they pose a problem for the Church?
The answer is: No.
Christ promised to be with the Church until the end of time to guide her into all Truth, etc. etc.
First of all we have to judge whether they are "Christian", that is are they part of the Apostolic Tradition, as opposed to a Chritian sub-group of which there seem have been many, especially between the resurrection and the destruction of the Temple.
Do they alter Revelation? No, because the Tradition didn't count their contentents, whatever they maybe, as reflecting what had been passed on to the Church. We judge what they might say against what the first witnesses the Apostles taught, in the scriptures we have.

What they do indicate is that "Christian" writings are actually early, the letters of the Apostles all predate the destruction of the Temple.

LMS York Pilgrimage

Someone from the Latin Mass Society emailed me asking that I do a post on the recent LMS Pilgrimage to York, I have to confess I wasn't very keen on it. I don't like the idea of celebrating Mass in non-Catholic churches; pray, say Vespers but not Mass, especially as in the case of York where there is a very adequate Catholic church, St Wilfrid's, right opposite the Minster.

However, I am told that there were difficulties with the use of the Catholic church, whereas the Minster was overwhelming in the enthusiasm of both clergy and lay staff, a readiness to assist in every way possible, from the offer of additional singers, to help with getting out additional seating, apparently 700 people came, twice as many as were expected, lots of families with small children. The Minister had even helped publicise the Mass. The Dean and Precentor even made time to attend, very kind of them.

All quite remarkable, 700 people that is quite some coetibus! Local Catholics apparently complained that there was little enthusiasm by local clergy, maybe the sheer weight of the numbers might change their opinion.

See Dr Joe Shaw's blog for more pictures and more information.

Confraternity of Catholic Clergy

 
Today I was at the meeting of the Southern Chapter of the new British Confraternity of Catholic Clergy. The very affable and clever Fr Aidan Nichols OP gave a paper: Priesthood and the Conversion of England. I think I would do him a disservice if I try to summarise his paper here, someone else will do that on the website in the next few days.
We are still at the "getting it going" stage, drafting a constitution, opening a bank account; the website was launched on the Annunciation and therefore the "public" invitation to the meeting had just gone out, so it was quite good that just over 20 priests from, I think, five or six of the southern dioceses came to the meeting. Already there are twice that number who have signed up to join, not bad in just a few days, some have been quite generous in priming the pump financially, apparently.
I am quite excited by all this, especially as most of the clergy there were young and bright, focused on the mission of the Church and on the vision of Pope Benedict. It is so good and refreshing to meet young priests who are so evidently searching for holiness, who aren't grinding axes or pushing their own agendas. Certainly amongst them are one or two men who will make good future bishops.
Above all the idea in the discussion and conversation seemed to be that those present wanted fraternity, and to find encouragement amongst one another in being good dedicated priests.
I was a delight to meet priests from other dioceses, in a sense it was liberating, as we weren't talking about "the diocese" but the priesthood.

If you are priest check out the site and if you agree with the objectives, join. If you are a layperson consider supporting the Confraternity by praying for it and its members, and if you can afford it, making a donation.

Christianity Too Complicated To Communicate

A priest friend of mine pointed out that in yesterdays Gospel of the Samaritan woman she moves through a variety of titles for, or experiences of Jesus, from "You a Jew", Sir, Prophet, right through to a serious consideration that he might be the "Christ", then the people of Sychar come to realise that Jesus is the "Saviour of the World". Presumably only after Jesus' death will they eventually come to "worship God in Spirit and Truth" neither in the Samaritan or Jerusalem Temple but in his Church, the Body of Christ.

I really do have sympathy with those Liberals who suggest that Christianity is too complicated to communicate, I agree with their analysis but disagree with their conclusion. Their conclusion is that it all so complicated therefore we shouldn't really bother. It is complicated because they complicate it. Liberals present the faith as a series of propositions, all of which may or may not be accepted, it is a relativist approach, which inevitably ends up with an ultimate, "I have doubts but on balance I accept most of what has been presented".

Traditionally Catholicism is much simpler, it is matter not of propositions but simply, "Do you believe in Jesus Christ and His Church?" or maybe more simply "Do you believe in the Church of Jesus Christ?"
The object of belief is not propositions at all but in the Person of Christ, who lives and teaches in his Church and is really and truly present in the Sacraments.
The methods of evangelisation of former times seems to be the teaching of the "Our Father", and a few other prayers and some quite clear moral teaching such as keeping the 10 Commandments, attendance at Mass, that leads to Heaven, not keeping the Commandments etc leads to Hell. It is simple, ultimately: Heaven or Hell: Life or Death. Living a Christian life, conversion, is the real sign of embracing the Faith. As in the Gospels right "doing": loving God and one's neighbour was the sign of right believing.

An old priest friend, quietly, late at night suggests the same thing about the Mass, now it has all become so complicated in the past it was simple to explain: here is Jesus our Saviour, really and truly present under the form of bread and wine.

Yes, we can add details and depth, we can answer questions and indeed in the past the "doing" was supposed to provoke questions but ultimately the Catholic faith isn't about complexity but simply an encounter with the Risen Lord.