New Papal Ferula...

...at the First Vespers of Advent yesterday the Holy Father began using a new Papal Ferula, he is going to, from now on, use the new on instead of the ferula of Pope Pius XII which he has used for the last couple of years.

Old one:

New one:

(nice mitre and cope too!)

Anglicanism...

I was thinking recently about the Anglican Ecclesial Community; and I cam to the conclusion that there are those that believe in God, and those that don't... (this might be slightly uncharitable.)

So let us look at the 'leaders' shall we?

H.M. the Queen.
Supreme Governor of the ''Church'' of England

Dr. Rowan Williams
'Archbishop of Canterbury'

Now we've seen a picture of them (the Queen in state regalia and Rowan Williams in fancy dress) let us look at what they have to say... I shall focus on speeches which people might perceive as controversial;

H.M. the Queen: "I hope, that like me you will be comforted by the example of Jesus of Nazareth, who often in circumstances of great adversity manged to live an outgoing and sacrificial life ... he makes it clear that genuine human happiness and satisfaction lie more in giving than receiving, more in serving than in being served." (Christmas Message 2008)

Dr. Rowan Williams: All I have to do is mention what he said about Sharia Law and how the adoption of it is unavoidable.

Who's the better Christian? In *my* opinion it is Her Majesty, who, staying true to her coronation vow has defended the faith.

Another year...

Another year coming to an end... well, Ecclesial Year at least!

I often use the Feast of Christ the King as a day for reflection; on what I've done in the year and thanking God for His guiding hand.

I also reflect on things which I haven't done, or things I have done that I shouldn't...

...but most of all I thank the Lord for getting me through another year!

In Domine

Just a thought...

“For I was hungry and you gave me not to eat: I was thirsty and you gave me not to drink.

I was a stranger and you took me not in: naked and you covered me not: sick and in prison and you did not visit me” (Douay-Rheims: The Holy Bible)

I was on my way home tonight and a thought occurred to me;

"I was in the womb and you defended me not"

Coronation of Blessed John XXIII

Hmmm...is it me or do a few people (clerics) seem to be 'just there' doing absolutely nothing, but merely filling spaces?

However, one must admire the solemnity of the event; and of course Blessed John XXIII personally guiding the ‘book’ to where he wanted it to be!

Pray earnestly for his canonisation!

Blessed John XXIII
Pray for us

Quote of the Week

Let's see how long I can keep this going.

I was reading a book recently and I came across a quote; it really stuck in my mind. It's an extract from the celebration of the Stations of the Cross at the Colosseum in Rome, from the year 2005; the meditations were written by none other than Pope Benedict XVI (as Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger.)

"How often is the holy sacrament of his Presence abused, how often must he enter empty and evil hearts! How often do we celebrate only ourselves, without even realizing that he is there! How often is his Word twisted and misused! What little faith is present behind so many theories, so many empty words! How much filth there is in the Church, and even among those who, in the priesthood, ought to belong entirely to him! How much pride, how much self-complacency!"

Lisbon treaty...

...the BBC is carrying the story that the Czech Constitutional Court has ruled that the Lisbon Treaty is in-line with the constitution of the Czech Republic, paving the way for known Euro-sceptic President Vaclav Klaus to sign the treaty.

I'm not going to talk about this issue myself; but I will post a picture of the Holy Father (depicting what I did when I read what the Czech Republic was going to do) and a video which I found when I was a politics student (A-Level) and which I subsequently sent to both my lecturers, who subsequently showed it to the class as an example of the House of Commons ‘in action.’

The fact that the Foreign Secretary laughs makes me smile...

All Saints...

...All Souls, what's the difference?

I was once asked (a few years ago) what the difference between All Saints and All Souls was, being young(er) and dare I say, less 'rounded' [or should that be grounded?] in my faith I waffled some meaningless twaddle coming to a totally unintelligible answer.

Anyway, yesterday’s homily from the dean of St David’s Cathedral, Cardiff gave me the answer. In his homily he said that on All Saints day we rejoice for those that we know are in Heaven, those that the Church has officially recognised and those the church hasn’t, who are fully embraced in the joy that would encompass our immortal souls whilst in the presence of the beatific vision. [OK, I dressed it up a little.]

He then went on to say that this is different to All Souls day, because on “All Souls day, we remember and pray for those in purgatory.”

I WAS SHOCKED! For the first time in a while I had heard mention of ‘purgatory’ something which, unless you watch EWTN, attend Mass celebrated by a truly orthodox priest/bishop you will not have heard of in a while. By most the idea of purgatory has been shelved, never to be spoken of again... along with the Devil.

What does that mean? Could it mean that the Devil has won? There is nothing better or more powerful than a silent enemy. An enemy who has been forgotten. But no, he hasn’t won! As long as many remain faithful to the eternal teaching of the Church the Devil will never win!

*preach over*

In Domino