Ordinations at the Cathedral of Notre Dame de la Treille, Lille

A picture from the recent ordination to the priesthood by the Archbishop of Lille, France, in his cathedral. 

What the newly-ordained priest in the left of the picture is thinking one can guess, maybe, but the Archbishop seems to be right there at home with it all. What an altar.

Pity the folks in the chairs who have to look at the sanctuary. It gives new meaning to "seeing red" in a liturgy.

It's out - Expanded edition of A Bitter Trial

A Bitter Trial: Evelyn Waugh and John Cardinal Heenan on the Liturgical Changes A Bitter Trial: Evelyn Waugh and John Cardinal Heenan on the Liturgical Changes

with more of Evelyn Waugh's writings and an introduction by Joseph Pearce and an afterword by Clare, Countess of Oxford.


English author Evelyn Waugh, most famous for his novel Brideshead Revisited, became a Roman Catholic in 1930. For the last decade of his life, however, Waugh experienced the changes being made to the Church's liturgy to be nothing short of "a bitter trial". In John Cardinal Heenan, Waugh found a sympathetic pastor and somewhat of a kindred spirit.

This volume brings together the personal correspondence between Waugh and Heenan during the 1960s, a trying period for many faithful Catholics. It begins with a 1962 article Waugh wrote for the Spectator followed by a response from then Archbishop Heenan, who at the time was a participant at the Second Vatican Council. These and the other writings included in this book paint a vivid picture of two prominent and loyal English Catholics who lamented the loss of Latin and the rupture of tradition that resulted from Vatican II.

In the light of the pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI, many Catholics are looking again at the post-conciliar liturgical changes. To this "reform of the reform" of the liturgy now underway in the Roman Catholic Church, both Heenan and Waugh have much to contribute.

Alcuin Reid is a cleric of the Diocese of Fréjus-Toulon, France, and a liturgical scholar and author. His principal work, The Organic Development of the Liturgy carries a preface by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI.

Joseph Pearce is a popular literary biographer whose works include The Unmasking of Oscar Wilde, Tolkien: Man and Myth, and The Quest for Shakespeare.

Clare Asquith, Countess of Oxford is the author of Shadowplay: The Hidden Beliefs and Coded Politics of William Shakespeare.

The book can be pre-orderd here.

Vale Prince Otto Von Hapsburg RIP

Not all French bishops dress like muppets



The Bishop of Bayonne

The Bishop of Versailles


 

The Bishop of Toulon



Celebrating Pentecost

The Archbishop of Cambrai, France, celebrating Pentecost 2011. Enjoy more photos here. For those with strong stomachs the full video is here.

Caption?

Bravo! Blessed John Henry Newman Institute of Liturgical Music

Very good news from the Birmingham Oratory webiste:

Archbishop Longley seems to understand the importance of Church Music

"The first task of the new Institute of Liturgical Music will be to introduce the singing of the texts of the new ICEL translation of the Missal, and of the Graduale Parvum, in both Latin and English, to clergy and laity alike, as part of the general renewal of liturgy which is the major desideratum of the inauguration of the new English translation of the Missal. The Institute will be launched at the Birmingham Oratory by Archbishop Longley of Birmingham on Saturday September 17th, the first anniversary of Cardinal Newman's beatification. The principal event of the launch will be the 11 a.m. Mass, which has become the weekly Pilgrimage Mass to the Shrine and Church of Blessed John Henry Newman since his beatification. This Mass, celebrated by the Archbishop, will also provide a showcase for the Graduale Parvum.

Sessions of the Institute will take place, at least during the first year of its life, either as day-courses held for laity on Saturdays, or as evening classes for the clergy, at the Oratory in Birmingham. It is hoped that as the Institute develops, it will become possible to extend the courses to residential weeks at other locations and study days for those who live too far to reach Birmingham for a day. However, during the first term leading towards Advent and the inauguration of the new ICEL translation of the Missal, courses will be taught in the performance of the chants of the new missal and of the Graduale Parvum in Latin and English, so that clergy, cantors, choirs and congregations may all be able to sing those parts of the Mass contained in the Missal and the Gradual.

The work of the Institute will be directed not only towards the needs of clergy and laity alike, but also to all persons, skilled or unskilled, according to their needs and capacities, who are interested in learning about sacred liturgical music, from a practical and historical point of view. The principal aim of the Institute is in any case the enhancement of the Liturgy in English Parish Churches on Sundays and holydays. Therefore, although the Institute will not be restricted to dealing only with the Ordinary form of the Roman Rite, this will be the principal focus of its work, since it is intended to address the needs of the average parish. There will of course be some guidance on singing the Extraordinary Form of Mass for those who wish it, though since there are several fora designed to assist those who sing the Extraordinary Form already in existence, the Institute will concentrate its efforts mainly on that Form of the Mass which most people are likely to experience in their own churches."

God in a bag, or street worship of the Blessed Sacrament.

On 2nd June, two Franciscan Capuchins held a Eucharistic Adoration Flash Mob in front of a busy mall in Preston, UK. They read out a powerful list of Jesus's atttributes in each book of the Bible and then call passers-by to "Come and Kneel Before Him Now". And slowly, one by one, they do. Then they begin to clap before him. If you have not seen this, prepare yourself.



There's lots of stuff to say about what these Capuchins did, and perhaps the local bishop has already said it. If he hasn't, then he should now.