The Quality of Priests

Some papal advice today:

The Pope receives the bishops of Senegal, Mauritania, Cape Verde and Guinea-Bissau: focus on the quality rather than the quality of priests

All Souls

There will be a sung Mass for All Souls at St Joseph`s, Gateshead on Monday at 7pm. The Westland Singers will sing Faure`s Requiem. We had planned a Solemn High Mass but our subdeacon has had to cancel and no substitute is available.

Populus Summorum Pontificum

I was fortunate enough to be able to get away for a few days to Rome for the third annual Populus Summorum Pontifcum (PSP) pilgrimage. Not that getting away was easy. For the four days I was away I needed the help of five priests to cover my Masses. Getting one supply can be hard enough but finding five took a lot of time as many I asked were unavailable. Many thanks to all who helped. 

Anyway, I got to Rome thanks to Jet2com on the last direct return flight of the season. Being able to fly direct is a great advantage: I probably wouldn`t have gone otherwise. The flight left at 7am so I had a full afternoon to fill. I`d thought about this and had decided to head the Palatine hill as I`d not been there for over twenty years. I took an ancient guidebook with me but sadly seemed to miss their designated approach and so found it all rather confusing. I had hoped to visit he house of Livia but when I got there found a notice saying tickets were available from the booth near the arch of Titus which was a long way to go back. Of the House of the Griffins I saw no trace. However the signposts on the site provided some information. I also had a favourite book with me, the Breviarium Urbis Romae Antiquae which gives extracts from Latin authors relating to ancient sites in the city. (I got mine from the Libreria Leoniana, near the Vatican for about 40 euros about ten years ago.) The views were good too. In the evening I had dinner with a fellow licentiate student from the Greg canon law aula, now an eminent canonist in the city, and enjoyed catching up and talking about current Church affairs.

The first appointment on Friday was due to be a meeting of clergy and seminarians of the PSP with cardinal Sarah of the Cor Unum commission. I had expected a larger gathering and thought I`d recognise a few people but it proved not to be the case. However I got talking to some of the Anglophones and went for lunch with them afterwards but of cardinal Sarah there was no sign. Apparently it had all got too complicated. In the evening there was to be Pontifical High Mass with cardinal Pell at the FSSP church, Santissima Trinita, but he didn`t turn up either. He did send his sermon read by the substitute celebrant, Fr Withoos, in which he said he really did have bronchitis and that really was the only reason he wasn`t there and he hoped to celebrate an Extraordinary Form Mass soon. The sermon was interesting and quite candid at times. It is here. When he said Francis is a most unusual Pope I wasn`t sure what was coming next but he said he was unusual in that he enjoys such widespread popularity. Mass was interesting too. The most recent Masses I`ve been to by the FSSP, last year in Rome and the ICKSP in Preston used the pre-1962 rubrics as regards the priest reading the epistle and Gospel at High Mass. Here we had strict 1962 except for the pre-communion Confiteor but then another surprise when Father sang the Misereatur and Indulgentiam. We also had the Ave Verum sung after the consecration. This Mass was packed to standing but I still only recognised a few people. I was going to introduce myself to Fr Zuhlsdorf but didn`t in the end. Juventutem had put on some food and drink afterwards which was very welcome.

Saturday arrived and with two out of the three billed cardinals failing to appear I wondered whether cardinal Burke would turn up. The day started with Eucharistic Adoration at San Lorenzo in Damaso at 9.30. An easy bus ride from where I was staying near the Piazza della Republica. Or so I thought. The previous day I had been worried there may not have been buses because there was a general strike called but it seemed to make no difference to the bus service. On Saturday morning I`d heard a lot of noise from outside and went out to find the Piazza full of demonstrators. The press said there was a million. This did seriously interfere with the buses and it took a very long time for a 64 to arrive. I was beginning to think about getting a taxi by the time it got to 10 but a smartly-dressed young Italian man who latched on to me, as he was going to the same place but didn`t know where San Lorenzo was, assured me the bus would come. So I got there by about 10.15 in time for the start of the procession to St Peter`s. I was able to say a quick hello to Fr de Malleray before we set off. 

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The processsion and the Mass were wonderful. Cardinal Burke was there and we heard again the message from Pope Benedict to the pilgrimage and a letter from the Secretary of State on behalf of Pope Francis. Pictures courtesy of François Pierre-Louis

Interestingly we had more pre-1962 rubrics in that we had two sung collects when the second was only the commemoration of SS Chrsyanthus and Darius and I`m fairly sure the celebrant read the epistle and Gospel too.
However I was happy about all that. It was wonderful to see the choir stalls at the Altar of the Chair packed with seminarians and priests. Afterwards I left for lunch with an old friend: we used to play clarinet and piano duos when I was doing my licence in Rome twenty-four years ago.

After lunch I went to see the current exhibition in St Peter`s square on Pope Paul VI and the Artists. It almost made me feel nostalgic for Paul VI to see the papal enthusiasm for art in the exhibits: a strange new feeling!

On Sunday I concelebrated Mass at the English College. It was good to meet Peter, our Hexham student. After coffee and before lunch I nipped out to the happily very close Santissima Trinita where there was another pontifical Mass with a papal nuncio. I just managed to squeeze in at the back as the church was packed with a encouragingly young congregation. Leaving before the end I got back to the English College for lunch which was very enjoyable. I had a few hours to kill after that wandering around the centre of Rome before heading back to the airport.

I hope to be able to go again next year  and hope some of our Gateshead Juventutem group will be able to make it too.

St Walburge`s

Yesterday I was very glad to be at the inaugural Mass of the apostolate of the Institute of Christ the King at the incredible church of St Walburge. Arriving, uncharacteristically, twenty minutes early, it was encouraging to see this very large church already full. Wikipedia says it seats a thousand. The Mass coram episcopo, was as beautiful as one would expect from the Institute. Thanks to LMS chairman for directing attention to Martin Gardner`s photos.

Part of the congregation

Bishop Campbell appeared very happy with everything.

Bishop Campbell

It was good to see many familiar faces among the clergy, some of whom I`d not seen in a long time. A number of people knew me from this blog. One lady said I look different in real life. I asked in what respect and was told the real me looked younger. I must find a less haggard looking picture.

Countercultural Father has given an account and an interesting post about the future daily routine at St Walburge`s which looks very good.

So let`s pray all works out well and once it is noticed that neither the diocese of Shrewbury nor Lancaster have collapsed because they have given historic churches to an Ecclesia Dei institute that others may follow suit. Ad multos annos!

Non-haggard and happy

Iraqi Christians in Need

I received this by email and thought it worth sharing.

ICIN was founded in 2007 in Thames Ditton, south-west London, by a community of Iraqi Christian family friends to address the medical, educational and financial needs of displaced Christians within Iraq, Syria and Jordan. Now the focus is mainly on northern Iraq, in Erbil and Ankawa, where there are currently some 8970 Christian refugee families scattered throughout churches, schools, parks and abandoned buildings, thankfully being cared for by the Catholic and Syriac churches. There are plans to construct and secure permanent shelters for families in view of the imminent freezing winter months and there is, understandably, a significant financial need. A direct online link that outlines the current situation in greater detail is here:- www.icin.org.uk.

Even more good news

This from the Latin Mass Society today:

Bishop Alan Hopes, recently appointed Bishop of East Anglia, will celebrate Pontifical High Mass in the Old Rite in Norwich's Catholic Cathedral on All Saints' Day (Saturday 1st November) at 12 noon.

The cathedral address is Cathedral of St John the Baptist, Unthank Road, Norwich, Norfolk NR2 2PA.

For very many years, East Anglia Diocese could quite accurately, and without any lack of charity, have been described as a liturgical desert, as far as the Traditional Mass was concerned. Coincidentally, or perhaps not, vocations plummeted. More than that, there was tangible hostility from many diocesan clergy, all the way up to the top. The arrival of Bishop Hopes marks a thaw in the long winter.

Bishop Hopes celebrated a number of Traditional Masses for the LMS in Westminster Cathedral during his time as auxiliary bishop there, and has also conferred the Traditional Rite of Confirmation for us at the LMS's annual ceremony in London. So the faithful of East Anglia are in good hands.

It is worth remembering the LMS's role in all of this. We have been trying to get a Traditional Mass celebrated at Norwich Catholic Cathedral for many months, since before Bishop Alan was appointed in fact. After repeatedly negative responses, we tried again shortly after his appointment and were met with a sympathetic reply. It is one of the things that the LMS does to keep up the pressure for more Traditional Masses. It's one of the reasons why, if you're not already a member of the LMS, you should join us.

I`m looking forward to going to the opening of the Institute of Christ the King`s apostolate in Preston on Saturday too

Some Good News

Tracey Rowland has been appointed to the Vatican`s International Theological Commission. Any one who can write the following has my vote:

“The usus antiquior should be a standard element of the cultural capital of all Latin Rite Catholics since it so effectively resists secularism and satisfies the post-modern hunger for coherent order, beauty and an experience of self-transcendence.”

Prof Tracey Rowlands: Sacra Liturgia Conference Rome June 2013

Australia seems very felix these days what with the appointment of bishop Fisher to Sydney too.

Brinkburn Priory

The nineteenth annual Brinkburn Solemn High Mass will take place this Saturday at noon. The weather forecast is good. Music by the Rudgate Singers.

UPDATE 8.09.14 All went well. Thanks to everyone. Mike Forbester has loaded a video onto YouTube.

From the archives

I am interested in history. I enjoy the North East Catholic History Society. I have been wondering about the history of St Joseph`s. The only history I had been able to find was the article in the book Down Your Aisle which gives  potted histories of many of our parishes in the diocese. My interest was stirred at the NECHS this last season when we had a talk on reactions in the North East to the restoration of the Catholic Hierarchy in 1850 when Fr Betham, the first pp of this parish got a significant mention as his announcement that he was to be parish priest of Gateshead got much criticism and I thought I`d like to know more.

Yesterday while searching through a large cupboard for bank statements i found a few undistinguished looking folders. I looked inside and was delighted to find items relating to parish history. I had looked in the file in the filing cupboard marked `photos` only to find it empty. Now I`ve found where they are. There`s a lot of fascinating stuff. Here`s a taster. This must be the original design for the church, with a spire which was never built. Such a shame it never happened. I would have liked a bell tower.

More life at St Joseph`s: Juventutem

Juventutem members at WYD

In a recent post about Philip Dillon`s letter to the Northern Cross I said it would be good to have a Juventutem group in the parish. Lo and behold I`d no sooner said it than plans were afoot and a group has emerged. My prayers are not usually answered so quickly! It would be very nice to have a baroque basilica to say Mass in.......

No nothing yet.

Oh well. 

I`m very glad about the Juventutem group. So far we have four people interested but it is very early days and a programme needs to be sorted out. I hope it will flourish. Our diocese caters for Youth Ministry at the Youth Village. I`ve never been and may be one of those priests who were declared to be wrong about it when invited to make comments*. I`ve watched videos of the liturgies and all I can say is it`s not really me. As wide as the number of approaches to prayer the YMT provides I`m confident that the Extraordinary Form won`t be included.  I look forward to working with Juventutem and hope a number of our priests will be involved.

And yes for older people who feel left out I`m more than happy to have a Senectutem group for the over 65`s!

UPDATE 31.08.14 There is now a blog:  http://juventutemgateshead.blogspot.co.uk/

*From the YMT Review:

5.3 Some clergy raised the issue of the Catholicity of YMT and the mode of delivery of missions and retreats.  In this area there seems to have been a great deal of misconception over exactly what YMT delivers and the ways in which it is successful. Interestingly, many who were critical also admitted that they had not attended any YMT mission or events. The Review Team found that retreats and missions certainly did include a range of approaches to prayer and the sacraments, and presented the Catholic faith in a way that clearly engages young people.  This view was very much supported by schools and wider stakeholders, as well as the young people themselves. 

Life at St Joseph`s: Joe`s Place

I have have been here just over a year now. One of the new initiatives has been Joe`s Place. This was at the suggestion of St Cuthert`s Care and provides a drop in cenre for the homeless in the parish hall once a month. Being in th centre of Gateshead I have almmost evry day someone at the door asking for help. It`s good to be able to direct them to this outreach. It is going very well and here is an account from Bernadette one of our volunteers.

Joe’s Place opened its doors at St. Joseph’s Parish Hall in Gateshead on Wednesday 7^th May to provide a warm welcome and hot, freshly cooked food to anyone in need. We have 30 volunteers who work on a three weekly rota. All the volunteers have undergone Food Hygiene training and are DBS cleared to work with vulnerable adults.

Parishioners throughout Gateshead have generously supported this project by donating canned and dried food for our store cupboard. Each week we supplement these supplies by purchasing fresh food items like milk, bread, salad and fruit. We are currently looking at ways to raise funds, perhaps through cash grants, so that we can continue to supplement the ‘store cupboard basics’ with the necessary fresh food items.

The 5p bus is coming every month to enable our visitors to obtain clothing, shoes etc. We also endeavour to provide information about other services to meet the different needs of those coming to Joe’s Place.

Joe’s Place is proving to be a great success and there is obviously a real need for the work being done there. Approximately 90 meals are served every Wednesday, and at times 50 people have been seated in the hall. We anticipate that numbers may grow as winter approaches.

Our visitors receive a warm welcome, enjoy companionship and are served nutritious food. They are truly appreciative of all that is done for them. It has been humbling to see how many people of all ages are in need of a safe, welcoming place and a hot meal.

The generous support of parishioners is enabling us to reach out to help some of the many vulnerable, lonely and needy people in our area. Together we are all trying to live out Christ’s message of ‘loving our neighbour’.

We would like to extend our sincere thanks to the priests and parishioners for their support. We ask you all to keep this vital project in your prayers and to continue to help to provide practical support for those in need in our local area.

A letter to the Northern Cross

I was very pleased to see this letter from Philip Dillon in the most  recent edition of our diocesan newspaper, the Northern Cross. We could do with a branch of Juventutem in the North East.

I am a twenty-seven year old lay Catholic of the Parish of SS. Cuthbert and Joseph in North

Shields. Both my paternal and material grandfathers were Catholic but most of my family is

Protestant albeit in name only. I attended St. Joseph’s R.C Primary School as a child, and of my

own volition I converted to Catholicism because I wanted to make First Holy Communion with my

Catholic cousins. In 1995, I was baptised, made my first Confession, and received Holy

Communion. Sadly, I fell away from the practise of the Faith in my teenage years.

In 2007, through the grace of God, I went through a conversion experience. I began praying the

Rosary, reading the Catechism and watching the Eternal Word Television Network. At around this

time, I watched a video on YouTube of the Traditional Latin Mass narrated by Archbishop Fulton

Sheen. The solemnity and reverence of the Traditional Rite was deeply moving and I decided to

attend Mass for the first time in ten years.

The next Sunday, I attended the Extraordinary Form Mass at St. Dominic’s in Byker. The Usus

Antiquior was completely foreign to me, but I was awestruck by the beauty of the prayers, the

solemnity of the worship, and the devotion of the people. The quiet prayerfulness of the Liturgy

allowed me to fully participate in the Mass as I placed myself at the Foot of the Cross with Our

Blessed Mother and the Beloved Disciple. The prayers of the Mass enlightened my understanding

and inflamed my love for Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. I became conscious of the infinite

Majesty of God and I also became painfully aware of my own sinfulness. When the Mass ended, I

resolved to change my life and embrace the Faith I lost in my teenage years.

The Traditional Mass is the reason I began living the Sacramental life. I continue to attend this

Mass at St. Joseph’s in Gateshead. As a child I attended the Mass of Paul VI, but the Missal of

1962 brought me back into the Church. The Old Mass is solely responsible for my adult

conversion; in fact, I would never have lapsed if I had known that this Mass was available to me in my teenage years.

My experience is fairly common. The proliferation of Juventutem groups around the world and the

many vocations to traditional Congregations and Priestly Fraternities attests to the fact that a lot of

young Catholics are deeply attached to the riches contained in the Roman Missal promulgated by

Pope St. John XXIII. The Traditional Latin Liturgy also has a presence at World Youth Day. It is my

fervent belief that the Traditional Latin Liturgy is a vitally important part of the New Evangelisation,

and I am grateful for our bishop`s continued support of this Liturgy and am certain that it will quietly call many lapsed Catholics home. and bring about new conversions.!

Ss Peter and Paul`s, Longbenton

I read this sad bit of news about my former parish today:

Parish Future: The Future of Ss. Peter and Paul Church Longbenton

After consultation with parishioners and with his Council the Bishop has decided that the church at Ss. Peter and Paul should close. Among the reasons for this decision are the declining numbers in the congregation, such that the parish is not able to meet its annual running costs, as well as the impact of the relocation of St Stephen’s School. In the light of this very sad decision it is important over the next few months for people in the community to reflect on how best their pastoral needs for Sunday Mass and the sacraments might best be secured. This is something to be discussed with the Parish Council and at a further consultation meeting with the Vicar General and the Epsicopal Vicar in the autumn.

I hate it when Catholic churches close. St Wilfrid`s Gateshead was given a reprieve two weeks ago today in the light of the work done and money raised by parishioners. However we have just had an electrical inspection and although I haven`t seen the report as yet I hear that the estimate is for tens of thousands of pounds. My first reaction was `Who needs electricity?` given we flourished without it for 1900 years or so. However there are still hard times ahead for St Wilfrid`s I fear. The parishioners continue to impress with their dedication to saving the church. If you are in Gateshead on August 9th do come to this:

Blessed John Ingram

St Joseph`s parish includes the site of the martyrdom of Venerabile alumnus Blessed John Ingram martyred outside St Edmund`s chapel on July 26th 1594. We are having a High Mass to mark the day at noon. On Sunday 27th I`ll be leading the annual walk from St Andrew`s (Anglican) church, Newcastle to St Edmund`s (Anglican) chapel, Gateshead.

Unidentified Object

 

Last weekend there was an envelope left in the sacristy with only `Fr` written on it. I opened it and found this. What could it be? The fabled Northern Cross Spirituality Award perhaps? I hope to find out this weekend. Nowadays in the diocese of Hexham and Newcastle we don`t do awards unless they are from the queen or some civic authority but awards from the pope have been ruled out. This is clearly a diocesan award with it`s image of St Cuthbert and being in the shape of his cross. I`ll make enquiries at the weekend but if anyone knows in the meantime I`d be interested to know anything about it.

UPDATE 9.7.14 So it appears to be a Lourdes pilgrimage medal. Thanks for all your help.

`Good Morning Everyone`

I cannot tell you how fast my heart sinks when I am at a Mass where straight after the sign of the cross the celebrant greets the congregation with a `Good Morning Everyone`. Immediately I sense the spirit of the liturgy is doomed as we lose the sense of taking part in an action greater than ourselves. I can`t remember the risen Christ greeting his apostles with a cheery `Good Morning` at all. Looking back at other important scriptural greetings I can`t find any `Good Mornings`. The voice from the burning bush didn`t say `Good Morning Moses` nor the angel Gabriel wish Our Lady a good morning. 

So I was very heartened to read about Cardinal Tagle of the Philippines instructing his clergy on the correct way to greet the congregation with the liturgical greeting, `Peace be with You` for a bishop or `The Lord be with You` or one of the other formulae for a priest.Thank you Cardinal Tagle.

PS This is not a problem I have ever noticed in the Extraordinary Form. : )

Meanwhile in the universal Church

Thanks to Rorate for the link to these photos of the ordinations yesterday at Chartres for the FSSP. Happy Feast Day.

The Laity and St Wilfrid`s

We hear a lot about the role of the laity nowadays. This is sometimes backed-up with quotes from Christifideles Laici. Never in my experience is reference made to later documents such as The Priest, Pastor and Leader of the Parish Community of 2002 and before that in 1997 On Certain Questions Regarding the Collaboration of the Non-Ordained Faithful in theSacred Ministry of the Priest. I would have imagined these would be key to any discussion of these matters.

Anyway, I decided to write this because at present the laity of St Wilfrid`s are working hard to save their church. I`ve never seen lay activity like it. A lot of time and effort has been put in as well as financial support. Death concentrates the mind and the threat of closure has galvanised the congregation of St Wilfrid`s. The church looks the best I`ve seen it with lots of decorating being done on the exterior. Even the wilderness that is the huge garden is being tackled. I only hope that it turns things round and St Wilfrid`s will get a reprieve