Yesterday morning I spent my journey to work reading the news on my iPhone - it wasn't good news, I then read about the England - Kiwi game and was depressed further. No wonder I arrived at the office feeling despondent.
This morning I decided to do something different. What if I started praying the rosary from when I leave my home until I arrive at work?
Amazingly my journey to work - including a brief stop at a coffee shop en route took me exactly 15 decades of the rosary! Instead of arriving at work filled with an awareness of the bad news - I was reminded of the good news.
My praying of rosary concluded as always with the Prayer to Michael the Archangel and I whispered the Amen exactly as I entered my office.
The contrast couldn't be greater. Monday starting work thinking of England battling - and losing to New Zealand - and Tuesday starting work being reminded of Christ and His victory - and that of His mother and the angels.
Having lived through four Popes in my lifetime, two of which I can barely remember, there is no doubting that for me personally the current one has inspired me most.
I am only just about getting over the shock of hearing that our beloved Pope, Benedict XVI, is to resign. My thoughts and feelings have included not only shock, surprise, sadness but also joy that he will, God willing, have some peace in his final days (let's hope years). Pope Benedict XVI has in many ways, been a Pope of surprises right up until the end including his resignation.
He chose a name honouring a predecessor from before the Second Vatican Council - which in itself was a sign that he is someone truly aware of the hermeneutic of continuity of the Catholic Church before, during and after the Council. This choice of name, choosing to honour a predecessor who was a man of peace undermined the idiocies of those who either think that nothing good happened before the Council or nothing good happened afterwards.
Pope Benedict's first encyclical, Deus Caritas Est reinforced the core of the Gospel message opening with the words, 'God is Love.' All of his writings have been Christ-centred - including his series on Jesus of Nazareth - and bring our focus on the core of the Gospel message.
The media, including some that are nominally Catholic, have sometimes accused the current Pope of persecuting nuns in the USA. The truth, as Fr Z reminds us, is that some, let's hope a minority, of religious sisters in the US have moved very far away from Catholic teaching with some opposing the sanctity of life and others openly saying that they have moved beyond Christ. It is right to at least investigate and take action where necessary.
Pope Benedict's outreach to Anglicans who wish to become Catholic but without losing the beauty of their own liturgical and cultural traditions was a stroke of genius. Others may talk about Christian unity but he helped deliver it in this way.
One of Pope Benedict's decisions that affected me most personally was his decision to liberate the traditional Latin Mass, which as he pointed out hadn't been abolished anyway. The beautiful, Christ-centred nature of the extraordinary form of the Mass transcends cultures, reaches across divides of time and language and focuses our attention on the tabernacle and cross rather than the priest. My wife-to-be, a non-denominational Christian at the time, accompanied me to a Latin Mass in Hong Kong before we got married and said that this was a key factor in her understanding of what the Eucharist really means.
It may seem ironic but a Pope accused by the ignorant of being an arch-conservative was in fact, perhaps one of the greatest defenders of Vatican II. As recently reported in the Catholic Herald, he has defended the true meaning of the Council against those who have consistently tried to undermine it - including those who hate all things truly Catholic and false traditionalists who object to its authentic teaching.
Let us thank God for Pope Benedict and pray for him as he retires in a few days time. We cannot understand the pressures that are upon him and we do not know the extent to which he is suffering. May our Father in heaven give him peace and comfort and may the prayers of our heavenly mother be with him.
It has been several months since I blogged anything due to the inconvenience of having a day job. There have been many thoughts in my mind over the last few months but I wish to reflect on the first ever State Papal visit to the United Kingdom.
There are many moments that struck me during the visit: the common Christian witness of the Pope and the Queen; the Pope sitting at the same place where St Thomas More was condemned to death within the Palace of Westminster and of course the Beatification of John Henry Newman.
The meeting between the Pope and the Queen had an impact on me. Both are heads of state and both are Christian leaders. Although they may differ on so many areas it strikes me that they both have something very important in common: they both strike me as committed Christians who have dedicated their lives to others. The Queen welcomed the Pope with the words, "your presence here today reminds us of our common Christian heritage" and he reminded her of the great contributions of so many British Christians from William Wilberforce, Florence Nightingale and John Henry Newman.
The speech in the Palace of Westminster struck me more than anything else. The speaker of the House of Commons recalled his predecessor, Thomas More and Pope Benedict recalled the witness of the 'great English scholar and stateman' in the place where the fomer speaker was condemned to death for refusing to put his loyalty to the King above that he owed to God. Listening to the Pope's words in front of so many politicians, I only pray that some of them may listen to his teachings and protect people from forms of socialism and capitalism that lead to injustices and poverty, avoid illegal war, protect all human life from conception, promote compassion and to protect freedom of conscience.
The Beatification of John Henry Newman began with my favourite hymn, Praise to the Holiest and I was moved throughout the ceremony by the crowds, the ritual and the words spoken. The life of John Henry Newman points us again to someone who put truth before convenience, a man whose life shows that we do not have the choice in life between orthodoxy, reason or compassion but they can and should exist together. Blessed John Henry Newman has often been called "the Father of Vatican II" in the sense that he anticipated key themes of the Council and rightly so. The Council he anticipated is not the false 'spirit of Vatican II' but its authentic teachings based on Scripture and Tradition. Blessed John Henry Newman and Pope Benedict share a love for Christ and his Church, a desire to spread the Gospel but rooted in the truth.
My overall impressions following the Papal visit however are that there was such a contrast between the love, joy and hope found in those who welcomed the Pope and the hatred, bigotry and ignorance all too evident in those who attacked and prosted him. The words of the Pope throughout his visit point us to Christ, the only name under which we can be saved.
Today is Maundy Thursday and we recall the words of Christ, "A new commandment I give to you: love one another as I have loved you." [John 13:34] The English word 'Maundy' is generally held to be come from the Latin, "Mandatum novum" from this same passage of scripture. Love is the essence of our faith.
Today's liturgy is a powerful celebration of the depth of the love that Christ has for us and an invitation to us to respond to this love. The Church recalls his washing the feet of the disciples before his betrayal, the institution of the Eucharist and ends with a solemn procession of the Blessed Sacrament to an altar of repose symbolising Christ's journey to the Garden of Gethsemense where he will be betrayed. It is for this reason that Christians will traditionally watch with Christ and pray at this time, perhaps for an hour in remembrance of his rebuke to the apostles, "Could you not watch with me one hour?" [Matthew 24:40]
In England to this present day, the monarch will give specially minted Maundy Money to the poor as a sign of Christ's care for all. In the past the King or Queen would also wash the feet of the poor in imitation of Christ although this practice stopped after the overthrow of the last Catholic King, James II.
Enjoy the haunting simplicity of the piece below thanks to two priests called Thomas. St Thomas Aquinas wrote the words in the 13th Century and the Spanish Renaissance composer, Tomás Luis de Victoria produced the Officium Hebdomadae Sanctae (Office of Holy Week of which this is part) in 1585.
The commandment we are given on this day, to love as Christ loves us, is not easy. The Pange Lingua reminds us that this literally means loving to death, the shedding of his precious blood. It is no coincidence that the Mass was instituted at the same time as this great commandment. The words, 'Ite Missa Est' from which we get the word 'Mass' do not just signify that it is time to leave but are a call for us to bring Christ's love to the world around us even if this involves sacrifice.
Pange lingua gloriosi corporis mysterium,Sanguinisque pretiosi, quem in mundi pretium Fructus ventris generosi, Rex effudit gentium.
Tantum ergo Sacramentum veneremur cernui: Et antiquum documentum novo cedat ritui: Praestet fides supplementum sensuum defectui.
Genitori, Genitoque laus et iubilatio, Salus, honor, virtus quoque sit et benedictio: Procedenti ab utroque compar sit laudatio. Amen.
Sing, my tongue, the Saviour's glory,of his flesh the mystery sing; of the blood, all price exceeding, shed by our immortal King, destined, for the world's redemption, from a noble womb to spring.
Down in adoration falling, Lo! the sacred host we hail; Lo! o'er ancient forms departing, newer rites of grace prevail; faith for all defects supplying, where the feeble senses fail.
To the everlasting Father, and the Son who reigns on high,with the Holy Ghost proceeding forth from each eternally, be salvation, honour, blessing,might and endless majesty. Amen.
This film should be an inspiration to those fighting for justice today. The struggle of William Wilberforce, motivated by his Christian faith, to outlaw slavery has strong parallels with the pro-life movement today. There is hope if we refuse to give up.
I am delighted to report that a gentleman answering to the name of Mr B has managed to combine "rap" music with the Queen's English. If that alone was not sufficient to commend this chap, he wears a dashing trilby hat, a sign of distinction, if ever there was one.
