Today is the great feast of The Holy Cross and also the anniversary of Pope Benedict's Summorum Pontificum that came into force in September 2007.
Ask a Catholic man on the Clapham Omnibus what SP is and you will be met with a blank stare. Ask lots of Catholic men and women and you will receive more of the same.
Ask some priests and the success rate goes up a little but not by too much.
The fact is, the average Catholic appears to do little more than sit on the parish commissariat, read The Universe and go to the Novus Ordo Mass ( Nervous Disorder Mass as Stella Hook, a great Catholic, used to call it).
The writ of the Pope does not appear to be worth much in Great Britain today. How can the layman or woman be blamed for their ignorance if the Bishops and priests appear not to hear what comes forth from Rome.
The status quo in Westminster Archdiocese has not altered, as far as I am aware, since 14th September 2007. EF Masses on a Sunday are still as rare as hen's teeth, and this is the lead Diocese of England and Wales.
Blimey O'Reilly! What is Archbishop Nichols doing?
Shouldn't he be leading from the front when the Holy Father sends a message to the world?
Why hasn't he put in place a priest training programme so that at least one third of his priests may learn how to celebrate an EF Mass? That is what the HF wants is it not?
And why hasn't the Archbishop sent an ad clerum to his clergy asking them to reinstate communion rails? That is what the HF wants is it not?
The talks between Rome and the SSPX begin today but I have a sinking feeling that they will come to nought. If the hierarchy cannot obey Pope Benedict's requests and guidance there is no future for such an orthodox order as the Society. They can see that the Church is still in the grips of modernism and who could blame them for not wishing to place their neck in the noose?
And for those who may wish to have the essence of SP refreshed, here is a brief extract:-
Art 1. The Roman Missal promulgated by Paul VI is the ordinary expression of the 'Lex orandi' (Law of prayer) of the Catholic Church of the Latin rite. Nonetheless, the Roman Missal promulgated by St. Pius V and reissued by Bl. John XXIII is to be considered as an extraordinary expression of that same 'Lex orandi,' and must be given due honour for its venerable and ancient usage. These two expressions of the Church's Lex orandi will in no any way lead to a division in the Church's 'Lex credendi' (Law of belief). They are, in fact two usages of the one Roman rite.
It is, therefore, permissible to celebrate the Sacrifice of the Mass following the typical edition of the Roman Missal promulgated by Bl. John XXIII in 1962 and never abrogated, as an extraordinary form of the Liturgy of the Church. The conditions for the use of this Missal as laid down by earlier documents 'Quattuor abhinc annis' and 'Ecclesia Dei,' are substituted as follows...........
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| The Exaltation of The Holy Cross Rome style |
Ask some priests and the success rate goes up a little but not by too much.
The fact is, the average Catholic appears to do little more than sit on the parish commissariat, read The Universe and go to the Novus Ordo Mass ( Nervous Disorder Mass as Stella Hook, a great Catholic, used to call it).
The writ of the Pope does not appear to be worth much in Great Britain today. How can the layman or woman be blamed for their ignorance if the Bishops and priests appear not to hear what comes forth from Rome.
The status quo in Westminster Archdiocese has not altered, as far as I am aware, since 14th September 2007. EF Masses on a Sunday are still as rare as hen's teeth, and this is the lead Diocese of England and Wales.
Blimey O'Reilly! What is Archbishop Nichols doing?
Shouldn't he be leading from the front when the Holy Father sends a message to the world?
 |
| 4 years ago there were few EF Masses in Rome - now they are plentiful. Why can't Westminster do as they do in Rome? |
And why hasn't the Archbishop sent an ad clerum to his clergy asking them to reinstate communion rails? That is what the HF wants is it not?
The talks between Rome and the SSPX begin today but I have a sinking feeling that they will come to nought. If the hierarchy cannot obey Pope Benedict's requests and guidance there is no future for such an orthodox order as the Society. They can see that the Church is still in the grips of modernism and who could blame them for not wishing to place their neck in the noose?
And for those who may wish to have the essence of SP refreshed, here is a brief extract:-
Art 1. The Roman Missal promulgated by Paul VI is the ordinary expression of the 'Lex orandi' (Law of prayer) of the Catholic Church of the Latin rite. Nonetheless, the Roman Missal promulgated by St. Pius V and reissued by Bl. John XXIII is to be considered as an extraordinary expression of that same 'Lex orandi,' and must be given due honour for its venerable and ancient usage. These two expressions of the Church's Lex orandi will in no any way lead to a division in the Church's 'Lex credendi' (Law of belief). They are, in fact two usages of the one Roman rite.
It is, therefore, permissible to celebrate the Sacrifice of the Mass following the typical edition of the Roman Missal promulgated by Bl. John XXIII in 1962 and never abrogated, as an extraordinary form of the Liturgy of the Church. The conditions for the use of this Missal as laid down by earlier documents 'Quattuor abhinc annis' and 'Ecclesia Dei,' are substituted as follows...........
WE ADORE THEE O CHRIST AND WE PRAISE THEE, BECAUSE BY THY HOLY CROSS THOU HAST REDEEMED THE WORLD
'How can the layman or woman be blamed for their ignorance if the Bishops and priests appear not to hear what comes forth from Rome'.
ReplyDeleteWell it seems to me that the only place that gets out the message of all these issues is on these blogs.
Why don't your Guild produce an A4 poster which can be down loaded from all your sites. It can be downloaded by your readers. A colour version can be printed as a poster, and a black and white version where maybe a few copies can be left at the back of the church.
I am sure that some of your readers will put these in their churches (I am always suggesting to people at church to go on the blogs).
Plenty of other organisations have a downloadable poster. Not only will it get the message out there quicker but you will also increase your web traffic.
Just a thought!
Mike
Mike, it is an excellent thought and I am ashamed that, as an ex marketing man I didn't think of it myself.
ReplyDeleteOf course the Guild is all embracing in those who wish to join but, I guess the majority lean towards the traditional wing of the Church. I will put it to them. Why not join?
Richard,
ReplyDeleteUnless our Orthodox Priests stand up to the Bishops and say "enough is enough of modernism and liberalism in the Church" we laity cannot do much more than what we doing; except to pray more! I was always taught to say my Prayers and stick with Pope-maybe our Bishops and Priests should start doing the same!
God Bless,
(The Jarrow Scriptorium)
Well, the Holy Father might consider putting his words into action by setting an example of celebrating Mass in the Extraordinary Form himself. Wouldn't today have been a perfect opportunity to do so?
ReplyDeleteJoyce, you are so right, please tell him when you are in Italy!
ReplyDeleteHave a great time.