Dear Friends of Orthfully Catholic,
The previous post is my last contribution to this blog. I, like Gildas, have reached a stage where I feel that it is best to dedicate myself to other things. This doesn't mean that you, our readers, aren't important to me. It means that certain areas of my life (especially prayer) need greater attention than I am currently giving them.
I will miss the blog alot. I have enjoyed it, even some of the more frustrating moments! Blogging is great fun, hard work at times, frustrating at others but totally rewarding.
I have enjoyed being in contact with so many Catholics who really care about the Faith. I have shared their joys and their pains. But I do leave here completely confident that things in the Church are on the up.
It's going to be a long haul but in the end the uncorrupted, orthodox faith of our beautiful Catholic Church will win through. Truth does, indeed, set us free.
Dear friends stay strong. Stay in love with the Blessed Sacrament, Our Lady, the Sacraments, the Magisterium, Tradition, prayer, contemplation and orthodoxy. It's the only way that we and the Church will survive. And it's the future.
You all have such a love for the Church. Thank you for that. Thank you also for the tremendous support that you give this blog and its writers. It's not easy being a young, orthodox Cartholic and seminarian today. So many older Catholics give us a rough time.
This blog will continue with the other seminarian contributers.
Please keep me and the other seminarians in your prayers. You are ALL in mine.
May God bless you all and may Our Blessed Lady keep you under Her Immaculate Mantle!
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Beauty will save the world
I have been spending the last few days in one of the most beautiful and precious places I know: St. Michael's Abbey, Farnborough.
This Abbey is a centre for liturgical excellence. All of the Mass are Novus Ordo. Please, if you are not a fan of the Novus Ordo read on. Sunday Mass is in Latin, sung to Gregorian Chant and takes nearly two hours. All Masses are facing East.
Truly Farnborough Abbey is a treasure unknown in these isles.
I have been to quite a number of Tridentine Masses and Masses in Westminster Cathedral but the Sunday Masses here are THE MOST BEAUTIFUL I have ever seen. This is what Vatican II wanted. This is a true organic development of the Classical rite. Indeed I would say that the Mass, as celebrated at Farnborough, is the Classical Rite of today's Church.
Communion is received kneeling. People participate in the parts of the Mass (Sanctus, Agnus Dei etc) in exquisite Gregorian Chant.
It truly permits the participation that Vatican II requested but leads the people into the mystical and the contemplative
As I stood there singing the Creed I realised that this is the future of the Catholic Church's liturgy. We can't go back on what Vatican II wanted. We can't deny it. But at Farnborough one can see genuine organic development. They too realised this. That is why in 1995 they removed the forward facing altar and began the Genuine Renewal that is taking place.
I spoke to one of the monks who told me that a few years ago the CDF telephoned from Rome. Naturally the monk who answered the phone was, at first, a little worried. The CDF siad "Don't worry. We're just phoning to say that we know what you are trying to do there and we know of your printing press and WE THOROUGHLY APPROVE!". That was when Ratzinger was heading it.
If you can, go to Farnborough Abbey for Sunday Mass. You won't regret it. They also have an excellent bookshop and Abbey shop (which sells honey, beef, pork and eggs etc).
Visit their website: www.farnboroughabbey.org
It's a truly wonderful place. There I realised that, indeed, BEAUTY WILL SAVE THE WORLD!!!
This Abbey is a centre for liturgical excellence. All of the Mass are Novus Ordo. Please, if you are not a fan of the Novus Ordo read on. Sunday Mass is in Latin, sung to Gregorian Chant and takes nearly two hours. All Masses are facing East.
Truly Farnborough Abbey is a treasure unknown in these isles.
I have been to quite a number of Tridentine Masses and Masses in Westminster Cathedral but the Sunday Masses here are THE MOST BEAUTIFUL I have ever seen. This is what Vatican II wanted. This is a true organic development of the Classical rite. Indeed I would say that the Mass, as celebrated at Farnborough, is the Classical Rite of today's Church.
Communion is received kneeling. People participate in the parts of the Mass (Sanctus, Agnus Dei etc) in exquisite Gregorian Chant.
It truly permits the participation that Vatican II requested but leads the people into the mystical and the contemplative
As I stood there singing the Creed I realised that this is the future of the Catholic Church's liturgy. We can't go back on what Vatican II wanted. We can't deny it. But at Farnborough one can see genuine organic development. They too realised this. That is why in 1995 they removed the forward facing altar and began the Genuine Renewal that is taking place.
I spoke to one of the monks who told me that a few years ago the CDF telephoned from Rome. Naturally the monk who answered the phone was, at first, a little worried. The CDF siad "Don't worry. We're just phoning to say that we know what you are trying to do there and we know of your printing press and WE THOROUGHLY APPROVE!". That was when Ratzinger was heading it.
If you can, go to Farnborough Abbey for Sunday Mass. You won't regret it. They also have an excellent bookshop and Abbey shop (which sells honey, beef, pork and eggs etc).
Visit their website: www.farnboroughabbey.org
It's a truly wonderful place. There I realised that, indeed, BEAUTY WILL SAVE THE WORLD!!!
Monday, May 28, 2007
What in the name of sanity?!?!?!?!?!?
I have just read on Father Tim Finigan's blog, the Hermeneutic of Continuity, that the "Ninety nine names of Allah" are going to be sung in Westminster Cathedral.
Well I have had enough! In the words of Mother Angelica: "Liberals, you want a war, you've got one"
You tear down our faith, destroy our sanctuaries. You shove God in to some tacky shoebox in a side aisle. You feed our children the poison of your liberal and heretical rubbish. You lead souls down the path of perdition with your wishy washy, mamby pamby nonsense. You fill your own minds with useless psychobabble and encourage others to be "creative" (ie if your gay or like a pathetic liturgy go ahead, knock yourself out). You corrupt our young with your perveted teachings on the Human Body. You refuse to let the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass be the sublime worship of God and become Peoplolaters, stuck in the 1970's. You worship the community instead of God. IDOLATERS! You don't allow others to come into contact with the mystical. Whited sepulchres!
And now you, whoever you are, permit non Christians to chant the name of Allah NINETY NINE times in the Holy of Holies!!! Blasphemy!
Desist from watering down our precious faith!
Look inside of yourselves. If a Catholic wanted a Tridentine Mass or a Novus Ordo done beautifully with Gregorian Chant, wouldn't you huff and puff?
No! You make your own brothers and sisters suffer by refusing to follow the teachings of the Church or allowing them to in peace.
And you permit a sacrilege of desolation in the Most Holy Dwelling place of the Ineffable and All Holy Trinity.
Let Islam do what it likes in its own Mosques. LEAVE OUR CHURCHES ALONE.
This is ecumenism gone too far and is in COMPLETE defiance of what Vatican II wanted.
The tide is turning, dear liberal ecumenists. In 2o years time you are going to be a minority. Pandering to the world and its ideas you will lapse from the faith. We, the Catholics who desire to be faithful to orthodoxy and the Magisterium, won't take your persecution any longer.
You want a war? YOU'VE GOT ONE!
Well I have had enough! In the words of Mother Angelica: "Liberals, you want a war, you've got one"
You tear down our faith, destroy our sanctuaries. You shove God in to some tacky shoebox in a side aisle. You feed our children the poison of your liberal and heretical rubbish. You lead souls down the path of perdition with your wishy washy, mamby pamby nonsense. You fill your own minds with useless psychobabble and encourage others to be "creative" (ie if your gay or like a pathetic liturgy go ahead, knock yourself out). You corrupt our young with your perveted teachings on the Human Body. You refuse to let the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass be the sublime worship of God and become Peoplolaters, stuck in the 1970's. You worship the community instead of God. IDOLATERS! You don't allow others to come into contact with the mystical. Whited sepulchres!
And now you, whoever you are, permit non Christians to chant the name of Allah NINETY NINE times in the Holy of Holies!!! Blasphemy!
Desist from watering down our precious faith!
Look inside of yourselves. If a Catholic wanted a Tridentine Mass or a Novus Ordo done beautifully with Gregorian Chant, wouldn't you huff and puff?
No! You make your own brothers and sisters suffer by refusing to follow the teachings of the Church or allowing them to in peace.
And you permit a sacrilege of desolation in the Most Holy Dwelling place of the Ineffable and All Holy Trinity.
Let Islam do what it likes in its own Mosques. LEAVE OUR CHURCHES ALONE.
This is ecumenism gone too far and is in COMPLETE defiance of what Vatican II wanted.
The tide is turning, dear liberal ecumenists. In 2o years time you are going to be a minority. Pandering to the world and its ideas you will lapse from the faith. We, the Catholics who desire to be faithful to orthodoxy and the Magisterium, won't take your persecution any longer.
You want a war? YOU'VE GOT ONE!
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
All quiet on the Western Front
Another quiet period is about to start here at Orthfully Catholic as we go on our Pastoral Placements for three weeks! After that we are on a week's retreat so nothing will happen at all, then the summer holiday begins and things will be a bit quiet again till September. We will post while we are away but not as often!
God Bless!
God Bless!
Goodbye Gildas
We are sorry to see Gildas go and wish him all the best for the future! Thank you for all you have done for Orthfully Catholic over the last few months and God Bless you!
Put to shame by East Anglia
I have just checked out this excellent new blog from the three East Anglia Seminarians and the first thing I noticed is that they have not only identified themselves but have put a photograph of themselves on the blog! This has got me thinking, ever since this blog began people have wondered who we are and where we come from, should we reveal our true identity?!?
I'm afraid we're not! We'll see how the East Anglians get on with Bishop Evans and then have a re-think!
I'm afraid we're not! We'll see how the East Anglians get on with Bishop Evans and then have a re-think!
...and goodbye
For various reasons, I've decided that this is a good time to stop blogging. The blog itself, of course, continues with the other contributors. I've greatly enjoyed blogging and have been enriched by interacting with you all.
Catholic blogs are incredibly diverse and can be entertaining, informative, profound, prayerful and inspiring. I don't know whether I've managed any of these, but I hope in some small way I have been able to achieve an objective that I think underlies all of these blogs: to help ourselves and our readers to grow closer to Jesus Christ. You will remain very much in my prayers and I thank you for your continuing prayers for me. May God the Father continue to bless and protect you. May the Holy Spirit continue to inspire your blogging and your life as you keep your eyes firmly fixed on Christ.
Catholic blogs are incredibly diverse and can be entertaining, informative, profound, prayerful and inspiring. I don't know whether I've managed any of these, but I hope in some small way I have been able to achieve an objective that I think underlies all of these blogs: to help ourselves and our readers to grow closer to Jesus Christ. You will remain very much in my prayers and I thank you for your continuing prayers for me. May God the Father continue to bless and protect you. May the Holy Spirit continue to inspire your blogging and your life as you keep your eyes firmly fixed on Christ.
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