At SS Gregory & Augustine's, Oxford, following the EF Low Mass.
Tuesday, December 31, 2019
Blessing of Wine for the feast of St John
At SS Gregory & Augustine's, Oxford, following the EF Low Mass.
Monday, December 30, 2019
The Logic of the Incarnation
My 'Christmas article' for LifeSiteNews.
In Advent, we expect Christ’s coming in several senses. There is an eschatological sense: we expect Christ to come as Judge at the end of time, an expectation key to the Christian life. There is a sacramental sense: we expect the coming of Christ in the Eucharist, where He will be as real as He was in Bethlehem. There is the spiritual sense: we hope and prepare for Christ to come into our hearts. And then there is the most obvious one, which forms the backdrop to the others. The Second Person of the Trinity, Jesus Christ, is to be revealed as a baby.
Christ has been present on Earth since the Annunciation, hidden in the womb of His Mother. That day, 25 March, was for centuries the start of the English financial year; it is also the date JRR Tolkien chose for the final destruction of the Ring in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. It is, in truth, the date of the Incarnation. In His birth, however, Christ is revealed to us: He becomes, as a man, a public person. It is now possible and appropriate for Him to be venerated by the shepherds and the Wise Men. In His birth He becomes subject to the Law of Moses, at least apparently, though really He is the Lord of it: it pleases Him and His Mother to fulfil the Law scrupulously. In His birth He also becomes vulnerable, and He must be carried into safety from the wrath of Herod. We might say that in His birth, the logic of the Incarnation is worked out more fully.
In Advent, we expect Christ’s coming in several senses. There is an eschatological sense: we expect Christ to come as Judge at the end of time, an expectation key to the Christian life. There is a sacramental sense: we expect the coming of Christ in the Eucharist, where He will be as real as He was in Bethlehem. There is the spiritual sense: we hope and prepare for Christ to come into our hearts. And then there is the most obvious one, which forms the backdrop to the others. The Second Person of the Trinity, Jesus Christ, is to be revealed as a baby.
Christ has been present on Earth since the Annunciation, hidden in the womb of His Mother. That day, 25 March, was for centuries the start of the English financial year; it is also the date JRR Tolkien chose for the final destruction of the Ring in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. It is, in truth, the date of the Incarnation. In His birth, however, Christ is revealed to us: He becomes, as a man, a public person. It is now possible and appropriate for Him to be venerated by the shepherds and the Wise Men. In His birth He becomes subject to the Law of Moses, at least apparently, though really He is the Lord of it: it pleases Him and His Mother to fulfil the Law scrupulously. In His birth He also becomes vulnerable, and He must be carried into safety from the wrath of Herod. We might say that in His birth, the logic of the Incarnation is worked out more fully.
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Wednesday, December 18, 2019
Iota Unum talks confirmed for 2020
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| Fr Edward van den Bergh giving the last Iota Unum talk of 2019 |
In 2019 the Latin Mass Society undertook a number of new initiatives in London: notably, a new chant schola, the Schola Cantorum Sancti Ioanni Houghton, to train new singers; a series of Server Training days under the Society of St Tarcisius; and a monthly series of talks, the 'Iota Unum' talks.
These three initiatives have each been a great success. I have already announced the early 2020 dates for server training, and I am delighted to announce another 6 months' of Iota Unum talks have also been confirmed, with some great speakers and topics.
They take place in the basement of Our Lady of the Assumption, Warwick Street (please enter through the basement stairs from Golden Square), on Friday evenings.
Doors open at 6:30pm for talk at 7pm.
All welcome. £5 on the door; light refreshments.
Join the mailing list for London events here.
Tuesday, December 17, 2019
Rose Vestments in Holy Trinity, Hethe
Fr Richard Conrad celebrated Mass in the Dominican Rite for the Latin Mass Society's quarterly Mass in Holy Trinity, Hethe, the oldest Catholic parish church in Oxfordshire.
Friday, December 13, 2019
Help the Sons of the Holy Redeemer replace their boat
A recent visitor to the Sons of the Holy Redeemer on Papa Stronsay Island in the Orkeneys, a former LMS Local Representative, writes as follows:I left Papa Stronsay yesterday evening [9th Dec]. Fixed up the boat and myself and Fr Magdala launched it in a weather window on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. But- that evening a gale – a ten year freak - with 50-60 mph gusts and swell - blew up when it was on the other side at Stronsay pier. The front rope gave way on tying up. The monks were thank God all off. The boat spun round and was tossed ten to fifteen feet in the air like a toy and came down on the stone pier- smashing the deck off and the front. It ended up on the beach at Stronsay as matchsticks.
I helped pick up the bits off the beach last night. Tragic but not a disaster as they just get on with things. Boat had been overhauled for last three months rebuilding the engine, electrics, fuel and repainting. The other small boat is old, leaky and unreliable - so not useable as a main boat.
Had to get a local in a fishing boat to get us off the Island and the monks are relying on the good people of Stronsay for emergency supplies this Christmas.
Wednesday, December 11, 2019
Magazine of Una Voce International: new edition
Among my regular tasks is the editing of the magazine of Una Voce International, the FIUV (Foederatio Internationalis Una Voce). This is a mainly-electronic periodical, and a new edition is now available, number 8 in the series.
It can be downloaded here.
It can be downloaded here.
Anyone can join the mailing list for receipt of Gregorius Magnus:
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