Monday 31 December 2012

Thursday 27 December 2012

Monday 24 December 2012

A Poem for Christmas

New Heaven, New War

Come to your heaven, you heavenly choirs,
Earth hath the heaven of your desires.
Remove your dwelling to your God;
A stall is now his best abode.
Sith men their homage do deny,
Come, angels, all their fault supply.

His chilling cold doth heat require;
Come, seraphins, in lieu of fire.
This little ark no cover hath;
Let cherubs’ wings his body swathe.
Come, Raphael, this babe must eat;
Provide our little Toby meat.

Let Gabriel be now his groom,
That first took up his earthly room.
Let Michael stand in his defence,
Whom love hath linked to feeble sense.
Let graces rock when he doth cry,
And angels sing his lullaby.

The same you saw in heavenly seat
Is he that now sucks Mary’s teat;
Agnize your king a mortal wight,
His borrowed weed lets not your sight.
Come, kiss the manger where he lies,
That is your bliss above the skies.

This little babe, so few days old,
Is come to rifle Satan’s fold;
All hell doth at his presence quake.
Though he himself for cold do shake,
For in this weak unarmèd wise
The gates of hell he will surprise.

With tears he fights and wins the field;
His naked breast stands for a shield;
His battering shot are babish cries,
His arrows looks of weeping eyes,
His martial ensigns cold and need,
And feeble flesh his warrior’s steed.

His camp is pitchèd in a stall,
His bulwark but a broken wall,
The crib his trench, hay stalks his stakes,
Of shepherds he his muster makes;
And thus, as sure his foe to wound,
The angels’ trumps alarum sound.

My soul, with Christ join thou in fight;
Stick to the tents that he hath pight;
Within his crib is surest ward,
This little babe will be thy guard.
If thou wilt foil thy foes with joy,
Then flit not from this heavenly boy.
 
St Robert Southwell S.J. (c1561-95)

Friday 21 December 2012

Sister Wendy Loses the Plot

Yes. I am sorry but it is true. Another "Catholic" celebrity bites the dust. Anyone doubting this should check out the Desert Island Discs broadcast on the BBC i-player. What this poor lady fails to recognise is that when God gives someone a particular vocation it is for a particular purpose. In the case of a hermit it may well be to prevent them causing scandal by what they may say or do in public.

Sister Wendy Beckett clearly supports the view that on subjects like abortion, contraception and women priests the Church takes time to adjust- with the obvious implication that the world is right on these matters!

Wednesday 19 December 2012

O Root of Jesse

“Radix Jesse” In art, The Tree of Jesse is a depiction of the Ancestors of Christ (Matt.1.1-25)- a family tree showing descent from Jesse, the father of King David and illustrating the prophecy of Isaiah, “A shoot springs from the stock of Jesse…” (Isaiah 1.11). Among its earliest representations in stained glass are those of Abbot Suger’s Saint Denis, near Paris and of the West Front of Chartres Cathedral (12th Century). A very fine example dated 1533, and a remarkable survival, is to be found in the church of St Dyfnog at Llanrhaeadr in Denbighshire. Probably the finest medieval stained glass window in Wales, its two lowest registers shown here, depict at the bottom, the recumbent Jesse from whom the tree sprouts and, above him, the royal figures of David (with harp), Solomon (with temple) and Rehoboam.

Tuesday 18 December 2012

Sunday 16 December 2012

Tuesday 11 December 2012

Statement by Archbishop Vincent Nichols and Archbishop Peter Smith

Statement by Archbishop Vincent Nichols and Archbishop Peter Smith on the government response to the same sex marriage consultation. Archbishop Nichols is President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales. Archbishop Smith is Vice-President.
.....................
The meaning of marriage matters. It derives that meaning from its function as the foundation of the family. The union of one man and one woman for love and mutual support and open to procreation has over the centuries formed a stable unit we call the family. Marriage is the enduring public recognition of this commitment and has been rightly recognised as unique and worthy of legal protection.
The government has chosen to ignore the views of over 600,000 people who signed a petition calling for the current definition of marriage to stay, and we are told legislation to change the definition of marriage will now come to Parliament.
We strongly oppose such a Bill. Furthermore, the process by which this has happened can only be described as shambolic. There was no electoral mandate in any manifesto; no mention in the Queen’s speech; no serious or thorough consultation through a Green or White paper, and a constant shifting of policy before even the government response to the consultation was published today.
We urge everyone who cares about upholding the meaning of marriage in civil law to make their views known to their MPs clearly, calmly and forcefully, and without impugning the motives of others. We urge all parties to ensure their Members have a free vote. It is not too late to stop this Bill.
 My thoughts:
I am not sure how one can express one's views on this subject without impugning the motives of those responsible for this utterly abhorrent  project. What kind of cess-pit of a mind conceives of an equivalence between the depravity of perverts and marriage?

Saturday 8 December 2012

In honour of Our Lady

Psalm Nisi Dominus from Vespers of the Blessed Virgin Mary by Claudio Monteverdi(1567-1643). Unless the Lord builds the house in vain do the builders labour!

Monday 3 December 2012

Saturday 1 December 2012