The Holy Father is watching you Eccleston Square!
I have received some up to the minute information on goings on in Rome and, in particular, how Rome views events in England and Wales.
I am not going to disclose my source for obvious reason.
This information is not tittle tattle or gossip; it is the observation of an eye witness; one who has seen and been told certain facts at first hand.
I am sorry for this build up, I do not wish to make this all sound pompous and cloak and daggerish but there are one or two people who read this blog with the sole intent of distorting the facts, spreading dissent and causing concern.
What is more, the observations are not, in themselves, "hot news", rather they confirm the hopes of many of us and will contribute to confounding those liberals who oppose the Church and Christ's Vicar on earth.
And they come from a variety of different sources; those who closely advise, inform and counsel the Holy Father.
1. On several days that my source attended Mass at St Peter's the EF Mass was the one most in evidence (on one day 10 out of the 12 Masses being celebrated were Tridentine Latin Masses).
2. Also, for further evidence of the Pope's guidance towards the hermeneutic of continuity (as if it was needed), on the Feast of the Epiphany, the seven acolytes each brought a vestment to him in preparation for the Mass and he recited the prayers for each of the vestments from the Pontificale Ceremoniale - that's worth a huzzah or two.
3. Rome is particularly watching events in England and Wales with discerning interest
4. Archbishop Mennini is somewhat concerned over the title "Magic Circle", well, not so much the title but more by what it involves - watch out for parcels of fish wrapped in newspaper being delivered to Eccleston Square (that's my interpretation).
5. There is a great deal of interest in the brouhaha surrounding the Soho Masses; there was also great concern expressed when they learnt that they had not stopped but, in all likelihood, been transferred).
So, at times when the future seems bleak, there is always a glimmer of hope on the horizon.
Not that the future for the Latin Mass worldwide is at all bleak, in fact, it is coming back* and coming back in force; led, largely by the young, hungry for real meat as opposed to bread and water. Hooray! Huzzah!
* A link on this tomorrow
Thank you Richard. I feel better already. "Fish wrapped in newspaper" - is that similar to a horse's head on the pillow?
ReplyDeleteGod bless!
Chris, oh, it's much better than a horse's head! I don't know how: "Tonight Bishop, you sleep with the fishes" translates into Polish but I know you will enjoy translating it. God bless. Richard
ReplyDelete"Tej nocy będziesz spał z rybami!" Ale nie ty, Ryszardu!
ReplyDeleteTonight you will sleep with the fish, but not you, Richard! (Yes, Polish still has the vocative, and six other cases.)
SorryI dont understand the fishes bit......horse head yes...but fishes!
ReplyDeleteWell, better than the other end of that poor horse.
ReplyDeleteIn my missionary parish the population is quite a fashionable mix: Mexican, American, black, white, English-speaking, Spanish-speaking, and, for lagniappe, a great many Cajuns, and for some of the older Cajuns their first language is French. Thus, the Mass in Latin would be a unifying blessing for all.
As a convert (1966), I feel that good-intentioned people who took too much for granted deprived me and two generations of cradle Catholics and converts a great part of the Church's heritage, spiritual, linguistic, and cultural.
- Mack in Texas
Thank you, Richard. This is very heartening.
ReplyDeleteThanks Chris, that makes Welsh seem achievable for a Sais!
ReplyDeleteSandy, it is an old saying of the Mafia. A couple of fish wrapped in a newspaper would be left at the back door and a message stating "Tonight X sleeps with the fishes" meaning that the person in question would have had a weight (or cement) placed around their ankles and then been drowned.
Mack, that is very interesting; you entered the room at the wrong time but, please God, we will both be here to see the wrong righted.
Thank you Dorothy B. Hope all is well in Gloucs (I used to live in the Forest of Dean).
Ahhhh I see..I need educating!
ReplyDeleteI'm afraid you have that wrong.
ReplyDeleteYou have to remove the the chap's bullet proof vest (after you've whacked him but before you chuck him in, of course) and then stop off at the fishmongers' on the way home. There's no need to leave a note - we'll know the score.
(In the absence of bullet-proof vests, polyester chasubles or rainbow stoles can be used to the same effect.)
ReplyDeleteRichard,
ReplyDeleteGreat news indeed! The Holy Father celebrated a NO Mass in the Sistine Chapel Ad Orientem in Sunday last -no doubt things are moving on the turn-so to speak for the better!
Cheers,
Michael.
What's so great about the Latin Mass? That wasn't the language that Jesus spoke. I attended a Latin Mass a few years ago and the priest recited the words so fast and so rote that I don't think that he even knew what he was saying.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteAnon @ 10.35pm - the great thing about the Latin Mass is that it does link us back to the times of Christ, despite the fact that it is not in Aramaic. Latin was the Lingua Franca of the period and so it was natural to have the Mass in that tongue. Over the years it has become a unifying factor as, wherever one went in the world, the Mass was always the same. The EF Mass is quite different from the OF form; it allows us to follow or meditate as we wish, it does not force us to "join in". I could go on. As far as priests "gabbling" the Mass, this is a common criticism that has its roots in the priest speaking Latin fluently. If you heard an OF Mass in French or Italian it would, I suspect, sound gabbled to you. Please use a name if you should post in future. God bless.
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