The world is full of "Cade" lambs

"In those days: Jeremias said: "Thou Lord, didst make it known to me past doubt, warning me beforehand of their devices.

Hitherto I had been unsuspecting as a Cade lamb that is led off to the slaughterhouse; I knew nothing of the plots they were hatching against me as they whispered: 'Let us give him a taste of the gallows tree, let us rid the world of him, so that his very name will be forgotten.

But Thou, Lord of Hosts, true judge that can read the inmost thoughts of man's heart, let me live to see Thee punish them; to Thee have I made my plea known, Lord my God."

Lesson from the prophet Jeremias

A 'cade' lamb is an orphan lamb, one whose dam or mother has deserted it, one alone in the world, dependent on the shepherd's attention and care for its very survival.

It has been left alone and unloved and is totally at the mercy of circumstances.
A farmer or shepherd will take a cade or molly lamb and bring it in to be cossetted by the stove in the kitchen; it will receive a regular bottle of milk to sustain it; the gentle hand of the shepherd's wife to help it feed in the early days and the company of the children of the house to help it socialise in an alien world.

If the lamb fails to thrive it will be knocked on the head; no sense in wasting time over an animal that refuses the aid offered to it.

The shepherd's love, care and attention is available to us all but many choose to walk away from that love.
The slaughterhouse then is the destination; how many Catholics distance themselves from the shepherd?

They are oblivious to the machinations of those in authority who, in truth, are really wolves in sheep's clothing. All discernment has gone and they are slipping into the abyss while proclaiming that 'God loves me and will not condemn me'.

True but they forget that judgement is theirs and theirs alone; they are the ones who will commit themselves to eternal oblivion, not Almighty God.

We are all orphaned lambs, subject to error and wrongdoing but the path leading to the abattoir is an obvious one, only the wilfully spiritually inept will insist on taking that path.

This Friday, Good Friday, presents us all with a tremendous opportunity to redeem those in Purgatory and to open the eyes of the blind.

Let us pray also for all Bishops, Priests, Deacons, Subdeacons, Acolytes, Exorcists, Doorkeepers, Confessors, Virgins, Widows, and for all the holy people of God.


                                                                   Oremus


                                                            Flectamus genua


                                                                    Levate

Judas was ever the outsider

The fruit of the betrayal of Judas -
never "Lord" always "Master"

Today, the sixth day before the paschal feast is the day when Judas showed his true nature when he objected to a bottle of spikenard, expensive ointment, being lavishly applied to the feet of the Lord.
One might think, like Judas, that a few drops of perfume would suffice and the remainder saved to be eked out or, as Judas suggested, sold in order to provide money for the poor.
But no, Mary (Magdalen?), who gave of her precious ointment so freely, recognised the Kingship of Christ and His forthcoming death and paid  Him tribute accordingly, and the Iscariot was the lone voice among the Apostles who meanly objected.

But he had stood out as a loner before the Bethany incident; he alone was a non Galilean, coming from Carioth, a city of Judah.
And it was Judas who always called Jesus "Master" rather than "Lord" as the others called Him. Was this a sign of the Iscariot's discomfort with the divine element? Was he perhaps a closet socialist who believed in a life on earth rather than an afterlife in heaven?


Important also, to remember that he voluntarily approached the High Priests with an offer to surrender Our Lord into their hands, he was not seduced by an offer of cash; that came as a secondary part of the deal.

The full extent of Judas's treachery was to show itself, of course, at the Last Supper when Our Lord stated that one of the twelve would betray Him, resulting in the exit of Judas from the assembly, ostensibly, to make arrangements for the Passover.

Instead, he alone among the twelve, went to connive at bringing about the downfall of Christ; the demonic entered into him at the Last Supper and stayed with him through the betrayal and subsequent self recrimination.

The devil was with Judas right up the the moment that he committed the ultimate folly of destroying his own life by hanging himself.

Is there, perhaps, a one in twelve element in the Church today? When priests, religious and laity fail to stand by the teachings of Christ and seek, instead, to apply more secular answers to matters of theology?

Archbishop Fulton Sheen reckoned that among those priests attending his retreats, there would always be one or two among the 20 or 30 delegates that would become restless at talk of the Supreme Sacrifice, the Crucifixion and the Resurrection of Christ.

We have seen a consistent refusal among some priests over the past forty years or so, to all that emanates from Rome in terms of doctrinal truths, this is the Judas element, the demonic, at work.

Was that demonic unrest in evidence in Bedford Square on 30th April when the anti life mob began baying at the twelfth Station of the Cross?

"Six days before the paschal feast, Jesus went to Bethany. Bethany was the home of Lazarus, the dead man whom Jesus raised to life.
And a feast was made for Him there, at which Martha was waiting at table, while Lazarus was one of His fellow-guests.


And now Mary brought in a pound of  pure spikenard ointment which was very precious, and poured it over Jesus' feet wiping His feet with her hair; the whole house was scented with the ointment.


One of His disciples, the same Judas Iscariot, who was to betray Him, said when he saw it, "Why should this ointment not have been sold? It would have fetched three hundred silver pieces, and alms might have been given to the poor."
He said this not from any concern for the poor, but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and took what was put into it.


And Jesus said: "Let her alone; enough that she should keep it for the day when my body is prepared for burial. You have the poor among you always; I am not always among you."


A great number of the Jews heard that He was there and went out there, not only on account of Jesus, but so as to have sight of Lazarus, whom He raised from the dead.


Gospel of St John 12, 1-9

Kudos to Forty Days for Life!

This organisation and the others who took part in the crusade that has just ended are to be congratulated on their quiet but firm spiritual approach to campaigning against abortion and the effects that it carries with it to those who participate and especially to those women who undergo this treatment.
We were providentially fortunate in being able to join the Melbourne group but, it would have been a real spiritual challenge to face the venom of the demonic in Bedford Square when Bishop Alan Hopes led the group in prayer.

The location was the BPAS abortuary in London's Bedford Square.

And the acronym BPAS? What does it stand for?

British Pregnancy Abortion Service!!!!

The Bishops of Victoria speak out against same sex 'marriage'

Low EF Mass at Caulfield North, Melbourne and the priest giving the sermon firmly backs up his Bishops in their stand against same sex marriage and goes on to ask for prayers for the success of negotiations with the SSPX due to reach a conclusion on April 12th.

It is Palm Sunday and flocks of cockatoos circle above the church and the raucous screeching echoes the demonic cries that must have emanated from the underworld when Our Lord rode in majesty into Jerusalem on the back of a white colt ass, unridden by any man, but the priest, this time aided by the sound system, makes himself heard above the hellish clamour and urges his flock to pick up a copy of the letter from the Bishops and to do more, to write and lobby their political representatives.

Here is the letter signed by:

Archbishop Denis Hart
Bishop Peter Connors
Bishop Leslie Thomlinson
Bishop Christopher Prowse
Bishop Peter Elliott
Bishop Vincent Long


Dear Brothers and Sisters

We Australians live in a democracy which rightly places great value on human rights and protecting others from unjust discrimination.

We Catholics also believe deeply that God loves human beings very much. He especially loves those who are wounded and suffering. God loves each of us so much despite the fact that we are all sinners, make mistakes and often do not live up to our responsibilities.

The Church takes seriously that we must live the Gospel itself in order to be a credible witness to others. Deeply aware of Christ's mission of compassion and justice - the Church cannot ignore the responsibility to speak the truth in love.
Sometimes reminding people about the truth of the human person is one such task for all of us.

Some now seek to alter the very nature of the human person through legislation. Our Australian society is now at a critical turning point where truth is at stake.

We speak of current debates about the nature of marriage in our public life. Often it seems as if this matter is simply about human rights and the removal of discrimination.
But in addition to 'human rights' there are also 'human responsibilities'.

We are all blessed by God with the gift of our sexuality.The design itself comes from the Creator of Life.
We all have a responsibility to follow that design.

The Church firmly believes that marriage is founded on the wonderful fact of sexual difference and its potential for new life. Without this there would be no human beings and no future. Bringing new human life into the world is founded on the loving union in difference of male and female.
Children are best nurtured by a mother and father.

As one theologian has put it eloquently: "The God of love can be present in every true love. But 'gay marriage' is impossible because it attempts to cut loose marriage from its grounding in our biological life.
If we do that we deny our humanity."

This will be a 'hard saying' for some. It in no way implies that the Church accepts discrimination against other's human rights. Nor does it mean we fail to understand the complex nature of human sexual identity and desire.
It implies no lack of respect for people who identify as 'gay' and 'lesbian'. As Cardinal Francis George of Chicago recently pointed out......'we all have friends or family members who are gay and lesbian......these are people we know and love and are part of our families'.

However as fellow citizens our concern is for the future of our whole society. We ask you to seriously reflect and pray about the ramifications for current and future generations, of legislation which completely redefines marriage.

A grave mistake will be made if such legislation is enacted. The Government cannot redefine the natural institution of marriage, a union between a man and a woman. The Government can regulate marriage, but this natural institution existed long before there were any governments. It cannot be changed at will.

The argument that same sex marriage supports marriage is wrong. The natural institution will not only be changed, it will be re-defined absolutely. It will become something different. Such a re-definition will undermine rather than support marriage.

Catholics, as responsible citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia, have a duty to remind their political representatives that much is at stake for the common good in this debate.
We urge you to exercise that right and make direct representation to your Members of Parliament.

We encourage you to respond to the on-line survey set up by the Federal Government at their website: www.aph.gov.au/marriage.
The closing date for responses is Friday April 20th 2012. The survey contains three statements with which you can agree or disagree. t then asks if you support the proposed changes to the two separate Bills, to which you answer yes or no. If you choose you can simply answer these few questions in less than one minute.
The survey also provides space (maximum of 250 words) for you to explain your views.
Some points that you might like to consider including are set out at www.cam.org.au/lifemarriagefamily/

Our Australian society will only flourish if the true meaning of marriage is preserved for future generations.


With every blessing.......



Hmm....it seems a little wordy to me and with not enough focus on the spiritual aspect of marriage; it would be good if Bishops could address their flocks as 'Dear Brothers and Sisters in Jesus Christ' rather than the secular, "Dear Brothers and Sister"....but, hey, the Bishops have spoken and that must be for the good!

Hie thee to St James' Spanish Place

If you are in or near London on a Sunday, go to Mass at St James' at 9.30am.

Why? Because the celebrant is likely to be none other than the great Father Leon Pereira OP

If you have not heard Fr P preach, you are in for a rare treat but it may be advisable to check beforehand to make sure that he will be celebrating Mass on the Sunday in question.

"Ave Maria" - Flying the flag for the unborn in Melbourne

Tuesday morning and a small group is gathered outside an abortuary near the city centre.
Behind a wall lies a tree screened building quaintly bearing the title  'North Melbourne Procedural Day Centre' as though it was some municipal place of rest from the busy, uncaring world.

Whereas, of course, it is a place where deeds most bloody are carried out routinely and the victims are the unborn and the girls and the women who have been scared or duped into agreeing to the 'procedure.'
Plus, the prospective fathers who get little or no say in the matter.

We joined the group and were met with a warm reception, the Rosary continued and then we sang 'Soul of my Saviour and proceeded through the set pattern of prayers and hymns as laid down by the Forty Days for Life organisation.

'We few, we happy few, we band of brothers (and sisters)....' 

A complete cross section of Catholic society came to join the group and came and  went in the course of the next two hours; young mums with children in push chairs, students, retired folk and an excellent organiser, Trudy, who kept the prayer rota going evenly and smoothly.

We only met with a bit of anger from one young executive type who marched past very quickly shouting-
"Why don't you get a life" - but that is what precisely we were doing, getting a life and, maybe getting several lives, but the irony was lost on him.

More hymns, the good, traditional ones such as 'Come Holy Ghost', 'Ave Maria' and, of course, 'Salve Regina'.
There is no better hymn to sing in public than Salve Regina - it is the battle hymn of the faith and it stirs the blood no end. It turns a timid Catholic into a brave Catholic.

Bemused office workers hurried past and the groups' numbers rose and fell reaching, at its lowest 3 and at its highest, some 13 souls. Not bad for 10am on a Tuesday.

Here is a prayer that was included in the 40 Days prayer book:-

My Child, when you come to serve the Lord, prepare yourself for trials.
Be sincere of heart and steadfast, and do not be impetuous in times of adversity.


Cling to Him but do not leave Him,
that you may prosper in your last days.


Accept whatever happens to you;
in periods of humiliation be patient.


For in fire gold is tested, and the chosen in the crucible of humiliation.
Trust in God and He will help you;
make your ways straight and hope in Him.


You that fear the Lord, wait for His mercy,
do not stray lest you fall.
You that fear the Lord, trust in Him, and your reward will not be lost.


You that fear the Lord, hope for good things,
for lasting joy and mercy.
Consider the generations long past and see:
has anyone trusted in the Lord and been disappointed?


Has anyone persevered in the Lord and been forsaken?
has anyone called upon Him and been ignored?
For the Lord is compassionate and merciful;
forgives sins and saves in times of trouble.


Woe to timid hearts and drooping hands,
to the sinner who walks a double path!...............

Catholic Melbourne - same as Catholic Westminster

It may seem presumptive to have been in Australia for only 9 days and to be offering a view on what's what as far as the Faith is concerned.

But, on reflection, I find that church affairs are really just as they are in the UK.
On the surface, at any rate, and that is all that I am qualified to comment on.

The city Church of St Francis - the oldest Church in the State of Victoria -
but why the empty cross? How sad.

There is a dearth of Latin Masses in and around Melbourne (a la Westminster) and even St Patrick's Cathedral only offers an EF Mass on Wednesdays at 5.30pm.

The Church of St Francis, right in the city centre and surrounded by high rise office blocks, has no Latin Masses on offer which is a great pity as it is a beautiful church that appears to be busy with the faithful coming and going throughout the day.

There is a lack of statues in the Cathedral which always makes me feel a shade uncomfortable but then, St David's in Cardiff (Old South Wales) is also imageless, more or less.

One difference that is noticeable is that the wearing of the mantilla seems much more the custom here, even by the non traditional faithful.

The mainstay of traditionalism in Melbourne is the Church of St Aloysius, in the suburb of Caulfield North.

Here the altar is ad orientum and I found myself wondering if the Ordinary Form of Mass was also celebrated in this way. I was enlightened after the 8am EF Mass when a modern altar was wheeled in from the wings - a complete reversal of how it is in England and Wales, and a welcome one at that.

But I do have one grouse (and that applies also to churches in Great Britain).
It is the issue of being acoustically challenged when the sound system is so basic and pitched at high volume that good sermons literally fall on deaf ears. Or deafened ears.

Does the parish priest ever sit in a pew and listen to one of his brother priests preach?
They must not. If they did so they would surely make haste to employ the services of a professional sound engineer to put in a decent system.
How sad it is for wise words to be so unintelligible that, instead of uplifting the soul a thin red mist is engendered.
Older churches were designed and built with the natural amplification of the human voice in mind; they cannot easily take a modern speaker system that bounces the sound waves off a thousand surfaces.

SSPX priests, if I remember correctly, tend to despise sound systems and use their voices to effect, the way that God intended perhaps. It adDs a lot to a sermon if the deliverer has to inject intonations and volume at varying pitches. It makes it hard to deliver monosyllabic homilies.

Please accept these comments as a shallow view on Catholic life here in the Diocese of Melbourne; for a really in depth appreciation please watch out for a post from Kate Edwards (Australia Incognita) as I believe she is working on a report.

It is almost six years since we were last in Melbourne and the number of EF Masses and churches that offered them has shrunk.
Not a point for the brick by brick file I'm afraid; but it does go to show that the battle for the reform of the reform must go on and that the pace should, if anything, be increased.

I was at school with Victoria Gillick!

OK, that may not vie with the headline: 'Freddie Starr ate my hamster' but it at least may have its origins in the truth.

You see, on holiday in Oz at present I am reading the great Victoria Gillick's book, 'A Mother's Tale' and, on page 92 she mentions that she attended a Dominican Convent School in Middlesex.

As far as I am aware, there was only one Dominican Convent School in Middlesex in the 1950s and that was St James's, Burnt Oak, my alma mater. I was there about the same time as VG but, no surprise that our paths never crossed as boys and girls were strictly segregated.

And, if you know not the name, Victoria Gillick, haste ye to Google and you will find that, as a young mother, she fought the battle against under age contraception advice from such knowledgeable folk as school nurses and GPs and, in fact, anyone other than the parents of the said child.
Fred the school caretaker had more authority than a twelve year old girls's mother both then and today.

She went to the High Courts and lost. How could she ever win? But she fought and that it what is important in my book.

I was working in leafy Cheltenham at the time and remember seeing yellow and black posters proclaiming 'Kill Victoria Gillick' - that immediately had me on side, a Catholic woman taking on the establishment? Brilliant!

I immediately donated the princely sum of five pounds to her fighting fund, peanuts today but the price of a night out for two then.

The poster was, of course, the work of the socialists; a degenerate bunch if ever there was one.

We could do with a Victoria Gillick today, a laywoman who is not afraid to speak out and to go the mile with the cretins who are in authority over us. Offhand, I cannot think of a male or female of her calibre today.

If you want to gain a flavour of the immense battle that she entered on our behalf, read her book: 'A Mother's Tale'. Or, just Google the name.

Every home needs a..........

.......God box!

A 'God box' is what my son has dubbed his collections of bird's eggs, crab shells, fossil fragments, seaweed filaments, dried leaves, small mammal skulls, moth's wings and many more besides; all enclosed in a framed case, normally hung on a wall.

Gerard Manley Hopkins would have been an enthusiast, 'Glory be to God for dappled things...' and 

'As kingfishers catch fire and dragonflies draw flame' are lines that spring to mind when one looks closely at Matthew's 'God boxes'.

A carefully collected and arrayed cluster of natural objects that emphasises that the world around us was created by a Supreme Spirit; the details in a humming bird's nest, the intricacy of a coral fragment and the   detail contained in the skeleton of a sea horse - all show the glory of God, not Darwin, and all are displayed in the Melbourne home of a boy that was, thank God, brought up in the wild countryside of Herefordshire and then West Wales.

The 'God box' concept has elements of Victorian England about it; the desire to capture the essence of creation in its most basic, natural form, the craving to capture the natural world in an alien framework of wood and glass - but, it works and you cannot but marvel at the detail and variety that God has laid before us, a cornucopia of intricate and beautiful design.

The beauty of God's vision for His world, enclosed in a glass cabinet

40 Days under attack

Flying at 37,000 feet en route to Australia I clicked onto the news channel only to find that the main report was on the 'aggresive' tactics of the 40 Days for Life campaigners outside the BPAS abortuary in Bedford Square.

It is a sure sign that those who carry out this hideous practice are getting nettled and are starting to make weird and outlandish claims.
I have prayed with this group at this place and always found them to be wonderfully restrained and occupied in either prayer or in making very singular counselling invitations.

They would be the last people on earth to show 'aggression'. But it did my heart good to read about Robert Colquhoun and the others who were taking on this challenge and bringing it to where it is needed most.

And now, my good friend, Piers Darcy, informs me that Bishop Alan Hopes who will take part in one of the sessions on 30th March, has been subjected to a media attack for his pains.

Please contact him and offer him your support and prayers, we need more Bishops like him who are not afraid to get stuck in. his email is on www.rcdow.org.uk - for some reason I cannot open it, but please send him an email.

Solemn High Mass - at Caulfield North

A glorious Solemn High Mass at the church of St Aloysius, Melborne.
Singing, great, choir fantastic, the whole experience, amazing.
It made me think about the various degrees of the Masses available to us; Ordinary, Extraordinary - and all the variations therein, Solemn, High, Low, Pontifical and so on.

It increased the realisation that, the greater the reverence and liturgical emphasis, the greater the Mass and the greater the worship due to Almighty God.

Thank you to the priests of St Aloysius and all involved in this great parish.
You gave my family a wonderful opportunity to experience the Mass of all time in its most wondrous mode.

Hail glorious St Patrick!

Today is, of course, St Patrick's Day and as my Confirmation name is Patrick and as I have a teaspoon or two of Irish blood in me (albeit dating back to 1845 which is but a blink of an eye in Irish history), here is my tribute to the great saint, his own poem which I dedicate to all Irish Catholic bloggers.

Written by St. Patrick in 377 A.D.

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through a belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
Of the Creator of creation.

I arise today
Through the strength of Christ's birth and His baptism,
Through the strength of His crucifixion and His burial,
Through the strength of His resurrection and His ascension,
Through the strength of His descent for the judgment of doom.

I arise today
Through the strength of the love of cherubim,
In obedience of angels,
In service of archangels,
In the hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
In the prayers of patriarchs,
In preachings of the apostles,
In faiths of confessors,
In innocence of virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.

I arise today
Through the strength of heaven;
Light of the sun,
Splendor of fire,
Speed of lightning,
Swiftness of the wind,
Depth of the sea,
Stability of the earth,
Firmness of the rock.

I arise today
Through God's strength to pilot me;
God's might to uphold me,
God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look before me,
God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me,
God's hand to guard me,
God's way to lie before me,
God's shield to protect me,
God's hosts to save me
From snares of the devil,
From temptations of vices,
From every one who desires me ill,
Afar and anear,
Alone or in a multitude.

I summon today all these powers between me and evil,
Against every cruel merciless power that opposes my body and soul,
Against incantations of false prophets,
Against black laws of pagandom,
Against false laws of heretics,
Against craft of idolatry,
Against spells of women and smiths and wizards,
Against every knowledge that corrupts man's body and soul.
Christ shield me today
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
So that reward may come to me in abundance.

Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks of me,
Christ in the eye that sees me,
Christ in the ear that hears me.

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through a belief in the Threeness,
Through a confession of the Oneness
Of the Creator of creation.

Is there dispensation today for the odd pint of Guinness or a couple of Paddy Whiskies?