To all and singular

To whom present...greetings.


Being at home, I don't get to the internet as much. Also, I forgot to bring my computer back, and being in the process of getting a new one, I haven't had much of a chance to update anything.


In the past week, our most Holy Father has told us that a tiny camera was inserted into a casket believed to contain the holy relics of Saint Paul, in the major basilica bearing his name on the outskirts of Rome. He said the bones were confirmed to probably belong to someone of the first century, and that the remains were clothes in precious vestments.



This is good to know. With this announcement, the year of St Paul concluded.


Flapping over the tail end of this memorial year, is the year of the priest. We give thanks for all our priests - and pray for more of them - as we commemorate the 150th anniversary of the death of St John Mary Vianney on 4th August.


Today is the feast day of St Thomas the Apostle. He is known as Doubting Thomas, though I find this a bit of an unfair label. He doubted a bit - as we all do - but in the end, he did believe. So happy feast day, Believing Thomas. Of course, it is perhaps through moments of doubt that the truth becomes ever more enlightened for us. Today's Gospel scene is shown on my panel on the right hand side to remind me of this, and to confirm my suspicion that it is always good to ask questions. Incidently, a pious tradition says that St Thomas was the only witness to the Assumption of Our Lady, catching her girdle as he was whisked up to heaven. The other apostles didn't believe him until he showed them the rope. His feast is kept today, the date not of his traditional martyrdom, but the date of the translation of his relics to the sea town of Ortona in eastern Italy.


In the mean time, apologies for my internet absence, but brace yourself for my Top Ten Most Beautiful Churches visited by yours truly, which is in the pipeline for the next week.

Ordination time

Today is both the feasts of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour and St John Southworth. I know a splattering of men being ordained to the order of diaconate today, and at least one ordination to the presbyteral order and the first anniversary of an Oratorian whose ordination I attended last year. Congratulations to you all, and be confident of my prayers.

May they excel in every virtue:
in love that is sincere,
in concern for the sick and the poor,
in unassuming authority,
in self-discipline,
and in holiness in life.
May their conduct exemplify your commandments
and lead your people to imitate their purity of life.
May they remain strong and steadfast in Christ,
giving to the world the witness of a pure conscience.
May they in this life imitate your Son,
who came, not to be served but to serve,
and one day reign with him in heaven.

Ephraim the Syrian to the Mother of God

Sorrow on me, beloved! That I, unapt and reluctant in my will abide, and behold winter has come upon me, and the infinite tempest has found me naked and spoiled and with no perfecting of good in me. I marvel at myself, O beloved, how I daily default, and daily do repent; I build up for an hour, and an over overthrows what I have builded.

At evening I say, tomorrow I will repent, but when morning comes, joyous I waste the day. Again at evening I say, I shall keep vigil all night and I shall entreat the Lord to have mercy on my sins. But when night is come I am full of sleep.

Behold, those who received their talent along with me, strive by day and night to trade with it, that they may win the word of praise and rule ten cities. But I in my sloth hid mine in the earth and my Lord makes haste to come, and behold my heart, and I weep the day of my negligence and know not what excuse to bring.

Have mercy upon me, Thou who alone art without sin, and save me, who alone art pitiful and kind.

George Lucas

[A library picture of George Lucas laying his hand on Natalie Portman]

George Lucas was appointed Archbishop of Omaha at the start of this month, and on Monday, according to the Vatican, he will recieve the Pallium from the Holy Father.

Of course, my own metropolitan will be given the same honour, the second time he has travelled to Rome for the lambswool.

Made by nuns at St Agnes' convent from lambswool blessed by the Holy Father on the feast of St Agnes earlier in the year, on Sunday, the new Pallia will be placed in the tomb of the first Pope, St Peter, on Sunday and spend the night.

Being made of wool, they symbolise the light yoke of Christ, as well as the title of Christ, the Good Shepherd, who goes in search of lost sheep and brings them back on his shoulders, a role fulfilled today by bishops.

The Pope's Pallium, interestingly, is made of the wool of lambs and sheep, for at the end of John's Gospel, the Lord instructs Peter to feed both his lambs and sheep. Funnily enough, this is the same reading from which the title of this blog is taken.

Soundtrack of the day

As everyone has been playing this track since midnight, I thought why not replicate it here so you have to suffer it too.

Actually, loving all things 60's and 70's as I do, I quite like Jackson 5, so it doesn't infringe my self-imposed moratorium on my broadcasting solely Michael Jackson material since that paederasty trial.

A faith of the heart

We are all converts on some level.

I suppose I am something of a revert: a Catholic since a baby who left for a bit and then came back. I suspect this story is quite common.

Many people go through life in a different religion, or no religion at all, and find that they have a faith and become a Catholic outwardly. Even those who are called cradle Catholics go through some conversion, because at some point, everybody has to look inside themselves and go into that room in the heart where God is and speak frankly with him. We cannot 'inherit' our faith from our parents - they can teach and show, as they should do - but we make our own choices in life, because when we come to face the Judge at the end of days, it is us - and only us as individuals - who will be asked the questions.

Our Holy Father reminds us of ancient teaching from our fathers in faith: that Christianity is not blind, but it is a reasonable, rational religion, illuminated by the gift of faith.

I wished to explode with joy yesterday when someone told me how they wished to learn more about the faith before starting a new job. Many Catholics don't really know much about their faith because they have never been taught it or have never looked, partly, it is said, because they were brought up with it in the family and it wasn't exactly questioned. My friend said he had largely missed out on learning the facts because his was a faith of the heart.

It just comes naturally. Questioned, undoubtedly, but when it comes to the crunch, it is always good to see someone who feels God in the heart, whether they understand what they believe or not.

Victoriana and other monstrosities

I have spent a couple of days in our capital city recently, in part due to the fact I wanted to see the Baroque exhibition in the Victoria and Albert Museum (open until 19th July; 6 pounds for students, 11 pounds for normal people).

Like many exhibitions, it was quite small. Taking up just over a handfull of halls, it showed a splattering of highly selective examples of the baroque era: paintings, jewellery, furnature (which I particularly enjoyed), theatre costumes and props, religious antiquities of note, including a full size reredos (with tabernacle intact, but empty obviously) and original models of religious art including the Vatican's Holy Spirit window (on which, I didn't realise, the dove is the size of a fully grown man) and St Teresa of Avila in Ecstacy's face mould. Several of the pieces, unfortunately, focused on the French interpretation of Baroque trumpted by Louis XIV, rather than focusing on the Italian.

Also, I was very pleased to say hello to an old friend: cabinet I have seen in the sacristy of the Sistine Chapel was sat there in the first room. Or at least a copy.

Dinner sets, toilettes, wine coolers, beds, dresses (for men), Queen Anne's throne, clocks, tea tables, statuettes, ivory, Meissen: they are all there to be enjoyed. There were examples from almost every walk of life: if they had the money, of course. Even a seventeenth century Chinese Madonna and Child.

In the room dedicated to religion, there was a small section for Roman Catholicism's input to the world of art in the arena of the liturgy. A fine altar was laid out, though the altar cards were of interest: the text was writted on sheets of silver moulded to look like paper. Another altar card was studded with all sorts of fine jewels, next to various reliquaries and monstrances. All the other altar paraphanalia were there too: chalice, ciborium, thurible, boat, spoon, ewer, basin, cruets, paten, vestments, veils, burse (with tassels) and a video with a pair of white gloves demonstrating how all these things were put together. There was another video, which showed (maybe a mock up, I'm not sure) of the celebration of Holy Mass next door in the Oratory, which I thought was quite nice, and made its rounds on the internet quite a while ago.

Baroque: Oratory Latin Mass from Victoria and Albert Museum on Vimeo.

All the other videos and pieces of music in the exhibition are available to view on their website.