Australian Bishop 'Sacked' - Hurrah for Pope Benedict!

Yesterday my eldest rushed to show me some news he had gotten off the web (from his phone) about the Pope sacking a Bishop in Australia.

Now we had visitors yesterday and went out for a family meal, so what with catching up with work I haven't had a chance to check the net let alone the blogosphere, but this news may well have gone viral. It deserves to.

As soon as my son told me the headline I said "that has to be good news." And it was.

Hurrah for the Pope! Viva Benedict XVI! Thank God we at long last have a Pope that is willing to order Bishops pushing heterodox beliefs (women priests etc.) to shut up.

It must be very hard to be a Bishop. Dear Lord, having all that responsibility for souls, having to keep priests on the straight and narrow, nuns too. Having to be the boss of schools, associations and so much more too!

With all that responsibility (for which, like us all, they have to answer to God) why on earth would any Bishop have the time, inclination or wish to push unorthodox (if not heretical) ideas?

I know that having a family, running a business, paying the mortgage -- all this is more than enough for me to want to start navel-gazing and pushing 'new' ideas (is heresy ever new?) on the Church? It's enough to try and set a good example, pay the bills, work, help the Church etc. etc.

So again I say hurrah for the Pope. In slamming down hard on heretical ideas he is carrying out a great act of Catholic Charity: showing souls that through heresy lies only damnation and trouble for Holy Church.

May this policy of action to defend orthodox Catholicism long continue!

-----
And here is another new story about a Cardinal removing a priest who campaigned for pro-abortion politicians. Is there a change happening in the Church? Are we embracing orthodoxy once more? Please God let it be so...

Great Idea for the Feast Day of St Catherine of Siena

St Catherine's sarcophagus in Rome

The Anglican vicar-boss of London, Richard Chartres (ironically bearing the name of the great Catholic Cathedral and place of Pilgrimage), made reference to St Catherine of Siena, in his homily at the Royal Wedding earlier today.

It always makes me smile that the Anglican church acknowledges Catholic Saints. Even St Thomas More -- the (great, lay) Catholic Saint most opposed to the schism of Anglicanism is acknowledged as a Saint by the church he opposed at its very foundation by Henry VIII (not Christ as was the Catholic Church!).

The Anglican church, with its invalid orders, has no Saints of its own. All within in it of any real value (Churches, Sacraments, Icons, Abbeys etc.) are pale remnants of what was once Catholic (like the post-60s "roller disco" Catholic "Churches" are pale remnants of the beautiful, ornate, Catholic Churches raised-up before Vatican 2).

I've got a great idea!

Why doesn't the Catholic Church go back to the beauty, sanctity and surety of the pre-V2 days - and all the Anglicans convert?


Sorted!

Next problem please!

;-)

Royal Wedding: What do Catholics Think?

Peter Phillips married Autumn Kelly

There's something happening tomorrow. It's been on the news. Some people seem excited, others less than impressed.

My invite hasn't turned up, so I'll watch it on TV.

But what to think about the whole thing? I suppose as a concept, you can't get much more Catholic an ideal as monarchy (what is God if not a monarch?). After all we all swear loyalty to Christ the King.

Yet I have met Catholics who are republicans (particularly, but not exclusively, those in or from Ireland) and others who are out and out monarchists.

"Our" monarchy is not Catholic, in fact you have to renounce your Catholicism if you 'marry in' to the Royal family as Catholics cannot be in-line to the throne: it is barred by law. The British Monarch is, ipso facto, the head of the Church of England, the established church, the Anglican church.

When Autumn Kelly (a Canadian national) married the Queen's eldest grandson Peter Phillips (11th in line to the throne) she had to renounce her Catholicism.

With more Anglicans converting to the Catholic Church, and talk of the law being changed so that eldest daughters can become Queen and Catholics be allowed to be heirs to the throne, might we say that the Royal family are Catholics-in-waiting; or should we think that a monarchy that has signed off the laws on abortion and homosexuality are all but lost?

As a Welsh Catholic I must admit that I find little resonance with what is essentially an English monarchy (apologies to Scots) and furthermore one that is all-but German because the establishment were so keen to enthrone Protestants and shut out anyone with a link to Catholicism.

Now before blog readers get irate (what? anger on the internet?) this has nothing to do with the sanctity of marriage, nor the happiness of the couple themselves, just the celebration of a Royal wedding.

I would be genuinely interested to know how Catholics feel about the monarchy per se.

The Passion - BBC's Web-Page

The Blessed Virgin Mary had much to suffer.

I was pleasantly surprised yesterday to see this page on the BBC.

Aside from some early typically cowardly BBC get-out-clauses ("many" historians acknowledge Jesus lived - not most or virtually all... but "many"), it goes on to detail much of interest in regards to the Passion of Our Lord.

I found the audio piece on the plants of the Bible particularly interesting, and the experience and evaluation of Saints is included. Of course the bete noir of the media re. Good Friday (anti-Semitism) has its own sub-section, with some pretty wide intepretations of Scripture which absolves the Jewish authorities of all but slight involvement, whilst stating that Good Friday has made Catholics murderers down the centuries (talk of using a wide brush - are Catholics the 'softer' target?).

I'm not saying all the content is "bang on" (eg. thought-for-the-days audios) but a lot of the written content pleasantly surprised me.

Phones 4 U Advert Mocks Jesus Christ in Holy Week

This advert was run, yesterday Thursday the 21st, on the front page of the (London) Metro newspaper, which also has editions in other major UK cities.

It is given out free to commuters in the many thousands.

Phones 4 U are mocking the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ in Holy Week, on Maundy Thursday, the day before Our Lord was tortured, mocked and died a hideous death for all mankind.

Please complain, calmly, lucidly and politely to the Advertising Standards Authority by clicking on this link.

They would not allow an advert mocking Judaism, Islam or homosexuality on their front page; why then allow an advert mocking Christ in Holy Week?

Catholics! Speak out. Defend your Lord and King. Remaining silent is a sin of omission which each one of us, aware of this scandal, will have to answer for.

Tell other Catholics and men of goodwill. Do not let Jesus Christ, who died for the sins of the world, be mocked just so a few phones can be sold.

Speak out. Spread the word. Defend Christ.

Are the Vatican Prepared for Welsh Invasion?

Huge congratulations to one of my favourite bloggers - A Reluctant Sinner - on getting invited to the Vatican's meeting of Catholic Bloggers.

It couldn't have happened to a better blogger! And he's Welsh too.

Da iawn bach!

Visit: A Reluctant Sinner

Communion in the Hand - More Arguments Against

With a h/t to Last Papist Standing, always a provocative, totally traditional and thoroughly Catholic read!




I know I am not a theologian, nor a bishop, nor a priest; but I cannot help but notice that Communion in the hand is growing in countries where belief in the Real Presence, including belief that the Host is the ENTIRE BODY, BLOOD, SOUL AND DIVINITY of OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, is on the decline.

Just the other week I was surrounded by a well-meaning group of Catholics demanding Communion in both kinds because otherwise they weren't receiving the entirity of Jesus - in their opinion they weren't getting His Blood.

I argued against this. I stated the Truth, that the Sacred Species, the Host (under the outward appearance of unleavened bread) is the ENTIRE BODY, BLOOD, SOUL AND DIVINITY of OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST.

They told me I was WRONG!

Honestly.

I told them to "go check with the priest," and I moved on to talk Church history and architechture etc. with another parishioner.

The priest did confirm with the group of people that they were wrong and that the Host is Christ in His entirety.

Now I had to speak out. It wasn't pride. It was not for ruffling feathers, or to be contentious. I genuinely get outraged, on behalf of my Lord and my God, when people - but especially Catholics, do not understand that the Church teaches us QUITE CLEARLY that the Host we receive is indeed the ENTIRE BODY, BLOOD, SOUL AND DIVINITY of OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST.

I don't think the facts could be more obvious. Sadly, some people in the pews do NOT comprehend this. It is the duty of the Church, and its members, to impart this knowledge to the Faithful who may not understand.

It is my belief that Communion in the hand has resulted in this lack of understanding, and this lack of understanding is resulting in Communion in the hand.

It is not false piety, it is not being "holier than thou." It is quite simply the fact that I understand that the Host is the ENTIRE BODY, BLOOD, SOUL AND DIVINITY of OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, and dear God in heaven knows that I, along with most people approaching His Altar, are unworthy ("simply say the word and I shall be healed") ipso facto Communion on the tongue is the ONLY logical conclusion if we (as we should!) truly believe that what we are receiving is the ENTIRE BODY, BLOOD, SOUL AND DIVINITY of OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST.

Michael Sheen in Port Talbot for The Passion

I'm not a big fan of the cult of Hollywood. However it always makes one happy to read of a media star promoting good things. It can reaffirm ones faith in humankind, that despite all the drugs, all the profanity, all the debauchery (on screen and off), there are those prepared to "do good."

Thus it is with a deep sense of joy I have been following the build-up to Michael Sheen's appearance in The Passion, a theatrical production taking place in Port Talbot over the Easter weekend.

For more info visit the National Theatre of Wales website.

It's funny because I can recall travelling through Port Talbot, as a child in the 70s, and thinking this was a place from hell. The sulphurous plumes, the yellow sky, the stench, and at night you would see the flames from the works. The smell above all else made me wonder who could live in the town, in close proximity to to those horrors. I can still remember looking at the serried ranks of houses with their washing on the lines and wondering if those clothes ever got fresh air to blow them clean, or would they too smell of sulphur and be stained yellow by the clouds belching out to the heavens.

Michael Sheen

That the same town should now be witness to Christ's Passion means that Salvation is possible even for the worst of us (town or human!).

Events like this are ever so important and having seen two Passion plays in recent weeks (one put on by the Clydach Catholic Church's parish members which tour many towns and cities, and one put on by our local junior school), it does remind you (and other members of the community - Catholic and otherwise) of the cost paid by Our Lord, the reason for His Incarnation, and the rejection, suffering, death and Resurrection which are all part of the Easter and Passion story.

An event of this magnitude, starring a 'famous' actor from Hollywood can only bring more attention to the Passion in Holy Week. I know Hollywood stars can rise and fall (witness Mel Gibson), but I'm not blind to the world - we all of us know that many people will be attracted to the message via a famous name, just as more people will go to a Clint Eastwood film than a Barry Dingle film (yes, I made that name up - please don't sue me Mr. Dingle, wherever you are!).

Port Talbot's Steelworks

So bravo to Mr Sheen for taking the plunge. Passion plays (whether sanitised or traditional) are never popular with the 'Islington elite' for various reasons and this all-so Catholic (in every sense) of occasions always strikes me as being the most at variance to the modern demand for inclusivity and false ecumenism (conversely whilst being the story of Redemption that is available to all).

In the week when a man is on the verge of being sacked for displaying a palm cross at work, on the weekend when Christ was cheered into Jerusalem as an all-conquering hero, we are reminded that Christ and His followers have much to suffer and have their crosses to bear, in witness of their Faith, in belonging to the Church that Christ established.

An event like this can only bring Graces to Wales, and help bring more Welsh people to the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.

That can only be a good thing! Thanks Michael.

In Your Face: the Sickness that Epitomises Secular-Modernism

Sorry for the lack of posts this week. Nothing more "exciting" than being busy with work and the family.

Thanks to 'Priest's Housekeeper' for her concern - but all is well.

I guess everyone out in the Catholic Blogosphere knows of the furore surrounding the two "snogging" homosexuals being asked to leave a pub.

As my missus said, if they were normal folks, they would acquiesce and apologise. Why do militant homosexuals seem to think that they have the "right" to do whatever they do -- to use the modern term -- "in your face?"

Catholics, peace campaigners, countryside campaigners, pro-lifers, socialists -- almost anyone and everyone can have public marches, demos etc. and do so in a well maintained, orderly way. Why is it that when homosexuals have their "pride" rallies, passers-by have to endure the site of grown men with their backsides hanging out, profane language, blasphemy and more? Homosexuals rarely seem capable of being measured, well-reasoned and orderly.


Everything is their "right," yet nothing is their responsibility. Is homosexuality therefore the ultimate symbol of modernism, surpassing even modern art; is it the epitome of and the sickness of the modern world?

The Little Elf with Horns - who Tempted Christ

Pure evil?

I picked up a copy of the Redemptorists' Sunday Bulletin the other week and on reading it, thrust it into a pocket for future usage.

Sunday Bulletin is a slightly less happy clappy, fudgy and gooey version of their other bulletin Sunday Plus which I've written about in the past (that weekly offering promotes Buddhism, relativism and lukewarm 'take it or leave it' cafeteria Catholicism, primarily to youngsters).

This issue of the Sunday Bulletin is less openly offensive, but one worrying aspect struck me.

In numerous books I've read, whether theological, biographical or autobiographical, I have come across the fact that the Devil's main trick is to convince others that he does not exist. Exorcists especially are adamant on this point (read Fr Gabriel Amorth's books - it's also a point repeated in the recent Anthony Hopkins' film The Rite).

Just this week some "expert" has been doing the rounds explaining how 'evil' does not exist, but rather a lack of empathy. If only we all loved each other there would be no wickedness. As comforting as that might be to pupils in an infant school, the reality of the world is far more complicated and (sad to say) evil does exist as surely as fish fingers contain no fingers -- and often fish of questionable provenance.

Satan exists. Temptation exists. Whilst we do not need to be fixated on the former, I think all humans should be wary, and should be vigilant against the latter, for we all have a fallen nature, we are all human with our glaring human weaknesses.

The Devil's power exists in knowing our weaknesses and targeting them in subtle, powerful, manipulative and even in outwardly just ways. But to be fixated with Satan is wrong, as Our Lord and Our Lady give us the Graces and help we need to overcome Satan's temptations.

However, it is equally as wrong to make-pretend that Satan does not exist or seek to re-write his nature. The Bible clearly states he exists. That fallen angel who refused to serve God and obey the Divine Will tempted our forefathers, for the remedy of which Christ the Redeemer was born and dwelt among us.

To whitewash the Devil out of history is to undermine the Salvific nature of Christ's Incarnation.

Preachers who say the Devil (and/or Hell) doesn't exist may be trying to make our road easier and more comfortable (or to make churches seem more welcoming and "inclusive"), but to max out on clichés, life isn't meant to be a bed of roses, and the path to Hell is paved with good intentions.

Priests who try to ignore Satan totally (as opposed to putting him in his place) remind me very much of the 1980s when there seemed to be a spate of clerics --mostly Anglicans I think-- who were renowned for stating that there was no Virgin Birth, or that the Resurrection didn't happen. Dear God.

I have just finished reading With Us Today by Fr J Hardon SJ and God Has Not Changed by Alice Thomas Ellis. Both authors (who come at Catholicism from different angles, but defend the same Truths) say they know priests who do not believe in central tenets of Catholicism. Fr Hardon says a priest he met did not believe in Transubstantiation. Bizarre. Thomas Ellis asks why these people are priests at all if they do not believe (saying it is akin to her joining the Masons or the Hell's Angels)?

Yet here in the Redemptorists' publication (used in many churches I am sure), we have snide remarks about the Gospels and what I perceive as the undermining of Catholic Truth. On dealing with Christ's temptation in the desert, at the hands of Satan directly, surely one of the main Gospel texts which can be used directly to prove the existence of the Devil and thus of pure evil and malice, we have this rather bizarre couple of sentences:

What form did Satan take? We don't need to imagine the tempter as a little elf with horns and a tail, springing around quoting biblical texts. When we are tempted.... no such elf is required."

Now, as is usual in such fudgy, hedging-ones-bets, woolly language it is not heretical. It does not deny the existence of Satan. It would be crass to do so given the week's reading. However, one thing we can be sure of is that Satan did tempt Christ directly, Satan did quote the Scriptures at Christ, trying to twist them to his own ends and tempt God. How he appeared to Christ is kind-of irrelevant. If anything he would have appeared 'all sweetness and light' (like a thought-for-the-day cleric) to deceive. To dismiss Satan as "a little elf with horns" is childish, to say the least.

No he does not appear in a flash of lightning when we are tempted, but our souls are at risk from temptation and just as the Saints and Angels are there to help us in our daily battles (one should always remember the Prayer to St Michael the Archangel "defend us in battle"), so Satan and demons are abroad tempting us, or pushing others to put temptation in our way.

As you may have guessed I am no theologian, but I find it discomforting (to say the least) that this kind of infantile writing seeks to diminish the role of Satan and make him into some kind of kids' cartoon character red smurf who is banished to history books. That is as wrong as those who personify evil at every turn and become fixated by the occult.

In an age when fewer and fewer people receive the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinty of Our Lord at the Altar of God -- and Christ made it clear that to be saved we have to eat His Flesh and drink His Blood (a Gospel passage Protestants prefer to skim across) -- it is essential that the Church is not seen to demote evil from being a very real thing with an author, for just as Jesus Christ brought us Salvation, so Satan brought about our initial downfall from paradise.

I would rather have Faith in Christ and Love of the Blessed Virgin than ever fear Satan; but if I have to chose between fearing Satan and laughing at some "little elf with horns" I would rather the former, for the latter smacks of false pride and hubris.

The following prayer was written by Pope Leo XIII, a very Holy Pope and much-cherished leader of our Church. He was permitted, by God, to see the battle raging wherein Satan and his demons sought to destroy the Catholic Church. Rather than talk of "a little elf with horns" we would do will to daily recite this prayer, which used to be said after every Low Mass (the long version of the prayer is below the shorter version in English and Latin)




PRAYER TO ST MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL

Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle, be our protection against the malice and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him we humbly pray; and do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly host, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan and all evil spirits who wander through the world for the ruin of souls. Amen.

Sancte Michael Archangele, defende nos in praelio. Contra nequitiam et insidias diaboli esto praesidium. Imperet illi Deus, supplices deprecamur. Tuque princeps militiae caelestis, Satanam aliosque spiritus malignos, qui ad perditionem animarum pervagantur in mundo divina virtute in infernum detrude. Amen.


Original Long Version of the Prayer

“O Glorious Prince of the heavenly host, St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in the battle and in the terrible warfare that we are waging against the principalities and powers, against the rulers of this world of darkness, against the evil spirits. Come to the aid of man, whom Almighty God created immortal, made in His own image and likeness, and redeemed at a great price from the tyranny of Satan.

“Fight this day the battle of the Lord, together with the holy angels, as already thou hast fought the leader of the proud angels, Lucifer, and his apostate host, who were powerless to resist thee, nor was there place for them any longer in Heaven. That cruel, ancient serpent, who is called the devil or Satan who seduces the whole world, was cast into the abyss with his angels. Behold, this primeval enemy and slayer of men has taken courage. Transformed into an angel of light, he wanders about with all the multitude of wicked spirits, invading the earth in order to blot out the name of God and of His Christ, to seize upon, slay and cast into eternal perdition souls destined for the crown of eternal glory. This wicked dragon pours out, as a most impure flood, the venom of his malice on men of depraved mind and corrupt heart, the spirit of lying, of impiety, of blasphemy, and the pestilent breath of impurity, and of every vice and iniquity.

“These most crafty enemies have filled and inebriated with gall and bitterness the Church, the spouse of the immaculate Lamb, and have laid impious hands on her most sacred possessions. In the Holy Place itself, where the See of Holy Peter and the Chair of Truth has been set up as the light of the world, they have raised the throne of their abominable impiety, with the iniquitous design that when the Pastor has been struck, the sheep may be.

“Arise then, O invincible Prince, bring help against the attacks of the lost spirits to the people of God, and give them the victory. They venerate thee as their protector and patron; in thee holy Church glories as her defense against the malicious power of hell; to thee has God entrusted the souls of men to be established in heavenly beatitude. Oh, pray to the God of peace that He may put Satan under our feet, so far conquered that he may no longer be able to hold men in captivity and harm the Church. Offer our prayers in the sight of the Most High, so that they may quickly find mercy in the sight of the Lord; and vanquishing the dragon, the ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, do thou again make him captive in the abyss, that he may no longer seduce the nations. Amen.

V. Behold the Cross of the Lord; be scattered ye hostile powers.
R. The Lion of the tribe of Judah has conquered the root of David.
V. Let Thy mercies be upon us, O Lord.
R. As we have hoped in Thee.
V. O Lord, hear my prayer.
R. And let my cry come unto Thee.

Let us pray.

O God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, we call upon Thy holy Name, and as supplicants, we implore Thy clemency, that by the intercession of Mary, ever Virgin Immaculate and our Mother, and of the glorious St. Michael the Archangel, Thou wouldst deign to help us against Satan and all the other unclean spirits who wander about the world for the injury of the human race and the ruin of souls. Amen.”

Roman Raccolta, July 23, 1898, supplement approved July 31, 1902,
London: Burnes, Oates & Washbourne Ltd., 1935, 12th edition.

 

Shame of Wales: Morning After Pill Decision a DISASTER

Nihilism and blasphemy supreme: life is assaulted at every turn

I don't know which facet of me is most upset, disgusted, angry and forlorn: as a Catholic, a father and a Welshman I am gobsmacked by the decision of "our" leaders in Wales to allow an abortifacient drug to be dished out free over the counter.

No doubt others, Welsh, Catholic and medical, will rip this decision apart in a methodological and professional way. As a "bod in the pews" all I can say is that this is an utter betrayal of Welsh youth; the Welsh youth who take the damned drug, and the Welsh youth killed by it.

Furthermore, there is no doubt at all that the availability of this drug (the usage of which on an ongoing basis will no doubt come back to haunt certain "users") will, definitely and absolutely, increase random, semi-anonymous, casual, meaningless sex with all the personal, communal and societal problems it entails.

Furthermore, can you imagine the nightclub-generation who "enjoy" a different "partner" (dear God I loathe that term with every bone in my body), getting to grips with this free-for-all? Who amongst this generation of pagans (pillaging their way through the ranks of the opposite sex) won't succumb to the temptation of casual sex with the promise of "you can grab a pill in the morning?"

Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs), casual sex, the abusive use of sex -- all this will continue, and the liberal idiots who have opened up another avenue to Hell will look on in disbelief (apart from the Satanic few who will celebrate).

Furthermore, let me tell you something. Abortions and teenage pregnancies will continue at their current high rate (or even grow). How so? Well, the generation who think Eastenders is a drama-documentary, who think gangster rap is something to aspire to, or who think Saturday night means guaranteed casual sex, will continue to sleep around. A busy week, a hangover, etc. etc. and bingo: more abortion and more teenage single mums.

Of course we can overlook two important aspects of this:

• The morning after pill does induce an abortion - so the number of abortions is bound to sky rocket.
• Teenage single-mums are often a societal "choice" to get a home, a guaranteed income.

Anyone who says otherwise is a fool or a liar. The Morning After pill is an abortifacient. It induces an abortion. Some may say it doesn't matter because the baby is a day or two old, but a life is a life. Is the murder of a 95 year old more acceptable because he's losing his marbles (oops - that is more acceptable to some liberals - how illiberal!).

As for teenage mums -- I knew one when I was in school who put "father unknown" on the birth certificate (both she and I knew the father - in my year) so she could get a house, cash hand-outs etc. etc. This has been going on for decades, and again liberals will close their eyes to it because they cannot accept their system is abused by people and actually increases the number of teenage mothers who are then housed (with all the attendant costs) by the tax-payer.

As usual the path to Hell is paved with good intentions, though I do wonder if this screaming liberalism is well intentioned at all, and not just an excuse to procure more casual sex for the hedonistic generation that will always try and blame someone else, something else, in fact anything else rather than hold themselves responsible for their own actions or inaction.

Please pray for Wales and the Welsh people, especially the youngsters embroiled in meaningless casual sexual encounters and the Welsh children aborted as a result.

Heaven forbid that we should ever have a generation of politicians or health professionals who take the bull by the horns and call for an end to casual sex and all the disease, drugs, violence, abuse and death associated with it! They don't do common sense, or self-restraint.

Link:
BBC Report - Morning After Pill Free in Chemists
John Smeaton of SPUC 

P.S. In case some accuse me of hyperbole in regards to the 'casual sex' generation, as with the case of single mother "choice," I have also known many of these people, especially via the workplace. In many of these I would often hear my workmates planning their weekends or discussing previous ones. It could be most disturbing (and sad), and I wasn't brought up in the posh-end of town.

Every Assault on the Church Gives the Opportunity to Fight Back and Win Souls

I was chatting to a fellow parishioner on Sunday, over tea and biscuits (we're very civilised in this part of Wales - must be the Roman influence), and amongst the plethora of topics we skimmed across was corruption in the Church. He mentioned that the alleged selling of Catholic knighthoods had been in the paper that very day.

As I said to him, the issue of corruption - and much else besides - should not be swept under the carpet (we've surely learnt the lesson of the paedophile scandal which occurred mostly under the watch of John Paul II), but the sad thing is that the media use the bad actions of a few men to try to bring about the collapse of a God-made institution; whereas men of good will (I hesitate to include myself) would like to see the corruption and scandals removed and (to use the parlance of Minder's Arthur Daley) 'sorted,' for the good of both the Church and Catholics as a whole. The former group act out of malice and hatred of the Catholic Church, the latter out of charity and love of the Catholic Church.


FR J HARDON SJ

In his book Always With Us, about the Real Presence and the Sacramental Nature of Our Lord in the Sacred Species, Fr J. Hardon SJ says that the Church historically always, even from its first days, accepted the Real Presence of Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, i.e. that Transubstantiation was a fact of life, and it was only later during various heresies through history that the Church clearly outlined the nature of the Blessed Sacrament, most especially at the Council of Trent, which was the start of the Counter Reformation - that Holy and blessed council of the Church which gave the 'ammunition' its 'troops in the field' needed to beat back the errors of the protestants in places as diverse as Italy, Hungary and Poland.

Holy Church cleaned out the stables, got to grips with abuses, and a purified, invigorated Catholicism burst forth in a Counter-Reformation which was based on sound Scripture and the Traditions of the Church going back to the earliest days of the Church. It was this Church Council that gave us the Tridentine Mass (now known as the 'Extraordinary Form'), and a fighting Faith that took Catholicism to all four corners of the world. It was this Faith, not new at all, but purified, codified and swept clean of errors, that produced so many Saints, so many converts, such a deep love of the Mass that many were martyred from Japan to Wales, from the Americas to Africa, to stand as witnesses for Catholic Truth.

That it took the shock, lies and half-truth of the protestant "reformation" to bring about the Council of Trent is something that Fr. Hardon places in the history of the Church, as heresies before it had brought such beautifully clear explanations to the Faithful on the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament.

Might we hope that the abuses of recent years might eventually lead to a purified, invigorated Catholicism which we surely need to fight back the tidal wave of secularism, rationalism and atheism currently holding sway?

RADIO WALES

On Tuesday morning there was a report on the BBC's Radio Wales concerning corruption at the Wales Audit Office (WAO), the boss of which, Jeremy Coleman, was jailed last November after a paedophile scandal. There is another scandal erupting concerning the WAO and the misuse of funds. On the radio report the WAO was suggesting that this matter should not be passed over to the police and that we should 'move on' (in that Blairite way).

It leaves one feeling deeply uneasy. If a crime is committed, whether it be in the goldfish bowl of Welsh politics or in the invasion of Iraq, when should it ever be a case of "let's move on" or "let's draw a line under it?" If something looks like a crime, then it should be investigated thoroughly, so  that the guilty are punished and the innocent totally cleared. Anything else is wrong because it lets the guilty 'off the hook' and the innocent be convicted by rumour.

The paedophile scandal in the Catholic Church, primarily in the 60s, 70s and 80s, is a lesson in this. Just as with any abuse of power, any abuse of trust, there needs to be clarity and justice. With a thirst for justice and the return to stern rules for seminaries (e.g. on the absolute non-admittance to those with homosexual tendencies) the Church can at least come out of another period of trial and scandal strengthened, purified, and its stance against moral evils such as abortion, homosexuality and contraception, will in turn be strengthened.

During the protestant "reformation" many voices were raised against the Church and it was accused of all manner of abuses, corruption and hypocrisy. The Church did not surrender to the whims of the world, but came out with a strengthened Catholicism, whilst stamping down on genuine abuses.

Let us pray that in the shadow of so many abuses in today's Church (whether sexual, monetary or liturgical) that the Holy Spirit will move the Church to grasp her traditions and come out fighting against the relativist agenda of her enemies.

Until it does so it will always be accused of turning a blind eye to abuses, scandals and the actions of a few, who have done more harm to the Church established by Jesus Christ than 100 reformations.

God's Creation is Sublime and Beautiful - and Cheesy!

There is much debate about the creation of the universe. The atheists talk-up the big bang theory as if it were fact (hint: a theory is a theory). Part of this is the theory of evolution (again a theory).

These days, from the BBC to the classroom, these theories are promoted and pushed as established facts, not theories. Anyone who thinks otherwise is painted as a backwoodsman or a nutty extremist (professors, scientists and others who do not follow the money are airbrushed out of the equation, of course).

The Human Eye

To me it is a matter of faith. We can choose between two religions. Each involve leaps of faith. Both entail belief in something that cannot, in and of itself, be proven (though I would argue, of course, that the evidence of God is all around us, and of His Son Jesus Christ is well documented). Yet there is no doubt that the evolution religion is in the ascendancy.

Personally I have always thought that the human eye proves creation. It proves the hand of a sentient being, creating things of such sublime beauty, such individuality, and such intricate complexity - that there is no way it could have happened by happy chance, with lightning hitting a lump of mud x billions of years ago. Everything about the human eye screams that is was made, designed and perfected by God.


I wasn't feeling very well this afternoon, a bit tired and sick, so early evening I thought I'll have a little pick-me-up (I happen to have a dispensation from fasting) and when I went to the kitchen I saw a sight which made my heart leap for joy. There, sat on the side was some Italian cheese, but not just any Italian cheese, it was Parmigiano Reggiano. I cut off a small piece (part of its beauty is you only need a small piece, such is its maturity and taste), and nibbled on it. Oh the wonderful taste of that cheese! Not even Caerphilly cheese comes close.

And I got to wonder at the beauty of God's creation.

A Sign From the Good Cheese's region

Sometimes we search for perfect examples of God and his creation. Sure we have intricate examples such as the human eye, and for us Catholics we have the sublime wonder that is transubstantiation and the miracle of the Real Presence -- though I fully admit that the latter is difficult for non-Catholics to grasp.

Sometimes I think that the beauty of more "ordinary" things can reflect the beauty of creation and the Creator. It can sound 'schmaltzy' I know, but a leaf on a tree, a bumble bee in flight, a catfish in a rockpool, sometimes these can stir the soul. And do you know what? When I tasted that Parmigiano Reggiano today, when its flavour burst in my mouth, I thanked God. That fullness of flavour, that glorious texture. What a gift from God's bounty!

I have a mug, which I use every day for my many cups of tea (much to my good lady's chagrin, for she likes her tea in far daintier receptacles) which bears the legend:

"Wherever the Catholic sun doth shine,

There’s always laughter and good red wine. 

Though the quote continues:

At least I’ve always found it so.
Benedicamus Domino!"

It also has the image of Hilaire Belloc, the Catholic writer, journalist, MP, social commentator and defender of the Common Good and the Faith, from whom the quote comes. It hardly seems fair to drink such an abstentious drink as tea in a vessel bearing such a quote, though at Lent it does seems more apt.

God created this world and all that's in it, of that I am sure. There is so much of beauty in it,so much for which to thank our Creator. And so it is that I can see Almighty God reflected in a small nugget of Italian cheese.

So, with huge apologies to Hilaire Belloc, may his soul rest in peace, here goes:

God's Creation can stun and please,
'Tis mirrored in fine Italian cheese. 
At least I’ve always found it so. 
Benedicamus Domino!

A Scottish Sermon

“A’ve kent o’ better folk than you, efter they were deed, in the place where the wurm dieth not and the fire is not quenched, callin’ out tae the Lord in their agony: ‘O Lord, A niver kent it wud be as bad as this’.

“And the Lord — out of His love and tender mercy — vouchsafed the answer:

“‘Weel, ye ken noo!’.”

The Bible's Buried Secrets: Old Heresies Dressed Up As New

Francesca Stavrakopoulou, the smiling face of anti-Christ atheism

I caught two things today by unhappy chance. The first was one of the happy clappy crowd, that sing-song tribe that infest the airwaves at certain times of the morning intent on putting you off your corn flakes, and via their syrupy forced happiness seem to induce a depression over the fact that religion can descend into a Kum-ba-ya meets Eastenders mentality/theology-lite.

This one was akin to the Sisters of Perpetual M&S, the cardigan-clad nuns, only worse: a CofE priestess. She was busy telling the millions listening (to Radio 2) how great a BBC2 TV series about the Bible is and how great it is that the presenter is an atheist.

How typical. How could anyone, claiming to be a Christian, find solace that a soul is (temporarily, I hope) lost to God, let alone someone with access to a prime time TV show which, no doubt, would be busy trying to "prove" the Bible was so much hogwash,so many fairy tales that no-one in the 'modern world' could take seriously?

No doubt so many vicars, vicaresses, priests and priestesses will celebrate, for they too are atheists, they too do not believe in the Bible. They too do not accept the Passion and Resurrection of Our Lord, they too do not accept the Virgin Mary, the Immaculate Conception, the Incarnation of God-made-man, and so much more. They certainly do not believe in Transubstantiation and the Real Presence of Our Lord.

Welcome to the world of the social-worker-priest(ess). Oh yes, you see, Jesus was a great man. He loved the poor, he preached a brand of socialism, and he loved his neighbour. I use a small "h" because he, the cuddly Jesus, is not God to these people, he is the good guy. This is the cult of "Jesus hearts U" so beloved of yuchy modern tapestries, in yuchy modern roller-disco churches: all Godless, all soulless, all empty.

Then this evening I just about remembered this programme was on, and so I switched on the TV to catch the last 5 minutes of "the Bible's Buried Secrets." What I heard was nothing new (is anything new under Heaven?) but a miasma of old lies and old anti-Christian propaganda as insideous as the whisperings of the serpent in Paradise (which, next week, we'll be told didn't exist).

Some years ago I read Hilaire Belloc's superb book The Great Heresies. Get yourself a copy or read it online (see below). This wonderful defender of all things Catholic makes it clear that there is indeed nothing new under Heaven, that all heresies are just repeats of old lies, woven anew, presented in new form, designed to attack the Faith from left, then from right, on a new front here, then from a different angle there. So it was with this BBC2 series tonight.

Oh the Jews weren't monotheists but invented this later, the angels were pagan deities reinvented, other pagan gods became demons (I always thought they were demons), and the oldest lie of all (repeated by Jews, gnostics, pagans, protestants, atheists and all the enemies of Christ for almost 2000 years), that the Virgin Mary was a reinvention of a pagan fertility goddess (take your pick of which one) and so Christians venerate a pagan deity.

You see the presenter of the BBC programme, Hebrew scholar Francesca Stavrakopoulou, is giving us nothing new. This is classic Sanhedrin propaganda, reinvented by the mass murderer and Church desecrator Cromwell, spread anew by Communist commissars by the point of the gun, and now promoted by the BBC in the age of multi-format media.

The sad thing, in the post-Dan Brown Da Vinci Code era, these old lies of the enemies of the Church have become the stock-in-trade of the media luvees. Those too busy in their drug-addled media world, enveloped in a world full of sin and debauchery, have picked up the oldest of lies, dressed them up in 21st Century garb, and spoon fed them to people who think they are individualists by following this "new" religion.

That a CofE priestess rejoices in this TV series and its atheist presenter with an anti-Bible and anti-Christ agenda is, in and of itself shocking. Yet I am not surprised in the least. Ever since St Cuthbert's heretical "descendant," the layman Jenkins, dressed in Bishop's garb in Durham presented the world with his Resurrection-doubting beliefs in the 1980s (the same man went onto bless one of the first to "bless" a civil partnership in 2005), the empty vessel that is the post-Reformation State religion has been all too obvious.

Belloc was right. The Church has always been, and will always be under attack. His good friend GK Chesterton once described the Church's history as an adventure, as exciting because it swerves one way to avoid one heresy (that the Church is too worldly), then swerves the other way to avoid another heresy (that the Church is too spiritual) and so the history of the Church is not one long boring 'plod' but rather a breath-taking escapade to avoid the errors of the world.

That Radio 2's trendy CofE priestess could find any comfort in yet another assault on the Church, on Christ, on the angels and saints, and on the Holy Mother of God speaks volumes about the CofE. Any pretence that it is in any way Apostolic is out the window. This "church" of priestesses, of homosexuals, of Bible burning is a whited sepulchre, seemingly  'Christian' on the outside, yet internally is little more than an empty vessel making a lot of noise. It has become so "inclusive" that whilst it is busy, at its front door, hugging a world that is debauched, atheist and anti-Christ, it cannot see that at the side door its faithful, with any remnant of that Apostolic tradition, are leaving in droves to join the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.

That the BBC is putting out this gnostic-pagan nonsense, dressed up in modern media clothes, and then promoting it on another outlet tells us all we need to know about the BBC, that is if we had any doubts about its agenda to begin with. Its idea of religious output is Songs of Praise. Puuurrrlease!

Let us hope and pray that the modernist heretics inside the Catholic Church do not put-off the Anglicans finding their home-in-Rome. The last thing these many thousands of souls need is to escape one nest of vipers dressing up atheism, gnosticism, goddess-worship feminism, social-worker vicars and priestesses, and kum-ba-ya meats Eastenders theology as Christianity, only to find the small but vocal heretics in the Catholic Church that the holy pope St Pius X warned us about in his Syllabus of Errors.

Let us hope and pray, for our hope is in God, and the Saints that will guide the Church and keep her loyal to the Magisterium and to her Traditions, so that we can (in the imagery of GKC) swerve to avoid the heresies of this age and thus embark on another adventure with our beloved Church.

Link:
The Great Heresies by Hilaire Belloc