Thank you

I would like to thank you all for your prayers following my last hospital visit. I have just returned from the hospital having spent two and a half hours visiting seven patients and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Please keep your prayers going - for me and the patients!

Prayer Request

Monday is the day I go to the Secondary School and the teacher I was working with today had a very bad day. Please keep her in your prayers that tomorrow will be a good day for her and what she experienced today will blow over. Thank you and God Bless!

Feast of the Three Archangels

Orthfully Catholic would like to wish a very happy feast day to any Michaels, Gabriels and Raphaels out there celebrating their feast day today and pray for the intercession of these great saintly Angels for all our readers.

We also have a question for any Angelologists who might happen to read this blog. In the second reading in the Office of Readings today Pope St Gregory the Great states that the Archangels are the highest ranking Angels in Heaven, which makes sense because St Michael is the Prince of the Heavenly Host. However, one of our number were reliably informed that they are actually the lowest rank of Angel. Which is true? We would be very interested to learn your thoughts on this matter.

God Bless you all,

The Seminarians

Our Lady of Walsingham

Today we celebrate the greatest Marian Feast in England.

The Seminarians at Orthfully Catholic pray particularly hard for the conversion of the Dowry of Mary on this day.

Our Lady of Waslingham; Pray for us!

Pastoral Update

I began my chaplaincy work at the local hospital yesterday. A very scary experience, I walk around the hospital with a badge stating that I am the 'Catholic Chaplain' and go into wards to see the Catholics. Before I received my pass I went with someone else and loved the experience, now I am on my own it is very scary; I am all too aware that the patient doesn't see a man standing before them but the Church, God's personal represeantative and if I say the wrong thing or say nothing at all they won't blame me but tbhe Church.

I also experienced my first emergency call-out on the previous evening. It wasn't the patient I had to deal with on this occasion, as he was unconscious, but the family who were experiencing every emotion God had given them and expressing them i n every way possible.

I have a natural fear of hospitals so it will take me a while to settle into this part of my ministry but with prayers I will conquer that fear.

Every Wednesday I go to the Junior School with the Parish Priest, and today we led an assembly to introduce the children to Exposition and Benediction. Father showed them all the items we use for the Service and went through the Divine Praises and 'O Sacrament most Holy' with them. For the next few Wednesdays the children will come to Mass and put what they learned today into practice afterwards.

Please keep the prayers going, they are very much appreciated.

Jubilee Celebrations

Today is the 50th Anniversary of the foundation of one of the churches of the parish I am in this year. We have celebrated in style with a Barn Dance last night and an International Lunch after Mass today with food from India, Italy, Iraq, the Philippines and the denominational countries of the UK. I am now very tired and having a good rest before going to the evening Mass.

Please pray for the priests and people - past and present - of this parish at this very special time.

The Duchess

I went to see this film last night and highly recommend it as an interesting insight into Georgian aristocratic family politics but was rather distressed by the fact that the BBFC had seen fit to certify it with a 12a meaning anyone under the age of 12 can see it with someone over the age of 12. I counted four 'sex scenes' of which one was an encounter between two women, one rape and one adulterous. This material should not be shown to anyone under the age of 18 never mind 12. Parents be warned if your children show an interest in the film.

Our Lady of Sorrows

The Seminarians at Orthfully Catholic are praying through the intercession of Our Lady of Sorrows for any of our readers who are in need of Her intercession at this time.

God Bless you all,

The Seminarians

The Exaltation of the Holy Cross

Orthfully Catholic would like to wish all our readers a very happy feast day. We hope many parishes have a relic of the True Cross displayed for public veneration today as we do at the Seminary.

God Bless you all,

The Seminarians

On yer bike lad!

As mentioned in an earlier post I am on EPP this year. My parish is a team ministry made up of three former parishes led by a team of two priests, two Ursulines a married couple and for the next 9 months a Seminarian.

The parish is approx 15 square miles and, unable to afford to lease a car for me, the team kindly bought me a bicycle. Now, I wasn't allowed a bike as a child and only had one in my entire life when my Grandparents finding this rule unfair bought me one for my fifth birthday, which I was allowed to keep until I grew out of it a couple of years later. Thus after 20 years I rode a bike for the first time today from one end of the parish to the other.

The parish has three churches, three schools (one secondary, two primary - one of which is still divided into Infant and Junior) and one of the biggest hospitals in the county. So far I have served a funeral, visited the hospital and visited the junior school - as well as attended daily Mass of course.

Thank you all for your prayers and God Bless.

First Day Part 3

Yesterday five of our Seminarians began their Extended Pastoral Placements (EPP) in four English Dioceses. One of the Seminarians of this blog is among them so we look forward to hearing about life in the real world from him.

Please keep these five men in your prayers and if any of them happen to be in your parish take special care of them.

God Bless you all,

The Seminarians

Return to Seminary

Dear readers,

recently our new brothers were welcomed to our seminary. It was an exciting day for all, the existing students were waiting anxiously to meet the new men, and I can recall from my own first day, the new comers were nervous and excited to begin their new life in the seminary, their first formal steps towards priesthood.

I must say, the new men are most welcome, and, I hope, they feel that welcome. Recalling my first few weeks, I was touched by the welcome extended to us.

Now we are complete, and awaiting the beginning of the academic year. Please pray for all the students starting at seminaries around this time, across the country. Please pray also for existing students, progressing patiently towards the altar of the Lord.

Pray for the Conversion of England

As English Seminarians it is our solemn duty and great privilege to pray for the conversion of England. In our Seminary hangs a painting commissioned by our founder of Our Blessed Lady seated on a throne with a plinth bearing the statement, 'England is my Dowry'. So we pray daily for the return of the English peoples to the one true flock, for the title of 'Dowry of Mary' to be returned to our beloved nation and for the Monarch to be 'Defender of THE Faith' once more.

Therefore we were very happy to see this post on Fr Tim's blog and are also happy to support the work of Keys of Peter whose project this is.

Please join us in this prayer.

God Bless you all,

The Seminarians

Great Discoveries

I have recently made two amazing discoveries that I would like to share with you all - I'm sure many of you know about them already but I thought I'd share my joy anyway:

1. Weekdaymasses.org

I was looking for somewhere to go to Mass in London today and typed Weekday Mass London into Google and this came out. Its genius! A whole website dedicated to advertising weekday Masses throughout the United Kingdom and beyond!

2. Catholics Unplug your Televisions

I was given a copy of their Summer 2008 newsletter today and after reading through it felt the need to join. Its incredible. Based in Powys (Wales), its logo is St Michael bearing down on Satan as he tries to clamber out of a television in order to ruin souls through the 'single most powerful form of media in modern day society.' I cannot recommend it more; this issue begins with 'Ten reasons for protecting your child from television exposure' and gives tips on 'How to wean your family off the TV'.

First Day Part 2

All current students not going out on their Extended Pastoral Placement return to Seminary today. Please continue to keep them in your prayers.

God Bless you all,

The Seminarians

Stopes Stamps

It has become a common practice around the world to adorn our money and stamps with pictures of those men and women who contributed to making a country great.

So can you imagine how sick we were to read Fr Tim's blog today only to find Royal Mail are celebrating the contribution Marie Stopes made to making Britain great!?!

Fr Ray Blake made a suggestion, seconded by Ottaviani, that any letter received with this stamp on should be returned to the sender. Now, it is a 50p stamp which means it will only be put on large letters or small parcels but we at Orthfully Catholic will certainly be taking this advice, and should we be sending any post and be offered this stamp by the lady at the Post Office counter we will inform him/her that we are pro-life and thus refuse to use this stamp. It may even be an idea to write to Royal Mail and complain about this campaign.

God Bless you all,

The Seminarians

First Day Part 1

Our Seminary has three first days back. Today is the day the new First Year arrive at the Seminary along with the return of the Dean of Students and a few willing volunteers who return early to help the new men settle in.

Please keep these 10 new men in your prayers.

God Bless you all,

The Seminarians