Ash Wednesday

This Wednesday sees the start of Lent. Mass and distribution of ashes will be at Sacred Heart, Broughton at 11.30a.m.

Ash Wednesday is a day of fast and abstinence.

Who is afraid of the big bad wolf?

My little photo gallery of activities will be complete tomorrow. It has been a very busy week not least because I have had lots of household jobs to do as well as marking and preparation which I was unable to complete even after spending a half day in school earlier this week. Our youngest son came back from his friend's full of beans but with something walking in his hair, I have inadvertently overdrawn at the bank and incurred a £100 penalty charge, the car needs a new front light bulb and the dog has to have a lump removed.

So life goes on, thanks be to God.

Local stuff I'll post about tomorrow.

This has been a very interesting week in the traditional Catholic world. For some I imagine it has been a nightmare and for others a delight. For others a mixture.

To summarize;

Bishop Richard Nelson Williamson has been requested to leave Argentina within ten days for apparently not having stated his correct status when requesting his residence permit.

Austrian Bishops are in revolt over the appointment of an outspoken priest as auxiliary Bishop of Linz, Herr Pater Wagner. Pater Wagner has according to some sources requested the Holy Father remove his name as candidate. Other sources suggest this request has not yet been formerly received, accepted or rejected by the Vatican.

The LMS is in hot water for an invitation sent to Archbishop Raymond Burke requesting him to offer Mass at Westminster Cathedral and to address its AGM, before squaring it with His Eminence, Cardinal Murphy O'Connor. On learning of the acceptance of Archbishop Burke the Cardinal appears to have objected on grounds of canon law, but aware probably that come June

he will be in retirement, graciously offered one of his auxiliary bishops, who will be the first ever English bishop to offer the Society's annual AGM in Westminster Cathedral. This confidential information was mysteriously leaked to a blog site and understandably the Cardinal's office was less than happy when this information got round, there is a full report in today's Catholic Herald.

The Universe newspaper, which for many years has been a poor read and full of clips and captions of crimpolene clad clergy with silly badges and and multi-coloured stoles is from Lent onwards to carry a regular Traditional Catholic News page. I hope that this breath of life will not prove to be a case of calling the vet to save the life of the pig in a pork pie. As a Lenten exercise I shall start taking the Universe and then carry on buying it after Easter if it successfully achieves what is says it is setting out to do. I no longer take the Catholic Times on account of Basil Loftus's boring attacks on what he loathes and his repulsive adulation of those thing which I dislike most.

The Tablet this week attempts to do a hatchet job on an ideal post Summorum Pontificum parish to which I have referred elsewhere, namely Our Lady of the Rosary, Blackfen in the Archdiocese of Southwark. This parish in south east London offers a Saturday Vigil Mass and three Sunday Masses, three of which are in the Ordinary Form, one in Latin and one ad orientem, one family Mass and one in the Extraordinary Form. A group of no more than a dozen parishioners have complained about this and having received no satisfaction from Bishop Pat Lynch have resorted to imploring the help of the Tablet which published a venomous but equally self-defeating assault on the PP and his legal innovations .

Two priests in this diocese of Leeds who share the view that the Tablet has truly overstepped the mark have recently refrained from offering this seditious little rag at the back of their churches and others have told me of rapidly declining interest even amongst its more relaxed parishioners, making them consider the value of continuing to offer it.

As I write I have learned of another priest wishing to learn to offer the 1962 Mass and two others offering to help out which is leading to another possible first for us.

Please continue to pray for our Holy Father Pope Benedict as he feeds his sheep and searches for his lost lambs whilst fighting off the wolves and the wolves in sheep's clothing. Who are the big bad wolves? Have they had their day?

The week ahead

Tuesday sees another visit to Bewerley Grange chapel at Pateley Bridge, with a Missa cantata at 11.30a.m.

I took photographs on Saturday at Halifax, on Sunday at Castleford and intend to keep the camera to hand for the rest of the week's activities. I shall post these in due course. Bewerley is very camera friendly. I remember the snowdrops vividly last year.

Wednesday will be a first for me with trip to Ushaw. Again I shall have my camera to hand.

To those who are in the west of the diocese and/or who can get to Bury on Friday evenings should be aware of the regular Mass there at 7.30p.m.

Fr. Francis Wadsworth, the P.P. offers Mass and gives an inspiring/thought provoking/practical and invariably Christ-centred sermon, which never fails to bring a wry smile to the lips, at least once.

It is wonderful that in so many parishes, compared with the situation much less than a decade ago, the Extraordinary Form has taken root and is flourishing, the Parish of Our Lady of the Rosary, Blackfen or St. Mary Magdalen, Brighton would be obvious examples to regular bloggers but closer to home St. Joseph's, Castleford, St. Marie's, Halifax, Sacred Heart, Broughton, St. Mary's Batley, Our Lady of Lourdes, Leeds, St. Peter's, Bradford and Holy Spirit, Heckmondwike are all already regular venues in this Diocese. There are more in the pipeline.

The photo above was at St. Peter's Bradford before the Mass of the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, September 14th. 2008.

Half term

Half term is here, very shortly we will be half way through the school year and it will be downhill to the summer.

My trip to Ushaw is scheduled for Wednesday and before that on Tuesday there is Mass at Bewerley Grange Chapel at 11.30a.m. This will be a Missa cantata. The medieval chapel of Bewerley is noble simplicity itself which comes alive whenever Mass is offered there.

This weekend there will be Mass at Broughton at 9.30a.m. at Heckmondwike at 11.30a.m. and at Halifax at 6.00p.m. on Saturday and on Sunday at Castleford at 3.00p.m.

Mass on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday at Broughton Hall at 9.30a.m.

Please pray for one of the pupils at my school who was taken to hospital this afternoon having been stabbed at the bus stop after school. As yet I have no other details.

Buzzing!

I often hear this word at school but have never used it before, but today I am buzzing!

All of a sudden a lot of things have come together and I have had lots of loose ends tied up. This I had expected long before Christmas, so patience has now been rewarded. I will post on these in due course.

There has been a lot of interest in the forthcoming conference at Ushaw and as a member of the sub-committee responsible for this Conference I am taking a trip to Ushaw with fellow Committee member and Middlesbrough Rep next week to check out things.

Leeds clergy have been e-mailed about the event by the Diocese and I am heartened by the number of priests from all over the UK who have written letters of support or to personally to apologize for not being able to attend but to be informed of similar events in the future.

After a bit of prompting from the LMS the Catholic Herald and The Tablet now give the Feastdays of the 1962 missal each week.

Buzz over!

In the wider Church it appears that Mgr. Williamson has been relieved of his position as rector of the SSPX seminary in Argentina after the 4 bishops wrote a joint letter to the Vatican.

Cardinal Lehmann of Germany has since called for the re-excommunication of Mgr. Williamson.

Unity does not come easily.

More prayers for the Pope please.

First Friday

Tomorrow is the First Friday of February. There will be Mass in the morning at Broughton at 9.30a.m.

Mass in the evening at St. Mary's, Cross Bank Road, Batley at 7.30p.m. preceded by confesions.

Snow for Candlemas

This morning I arrived at school at 8.20 to find that it had been closed due to heavy snow. I did a couple of hours of filing and preparation and at 10.40 took my marking to the car. A trouble free stretch over the moors to Keighley enabled me to join the Skipton Road for Broughton's Candlemas Mass at 11.30a.m. A few others had braved the weather from the western side of Skipton. It was a beautiful Mass, with incense at the blessing of the candles and a token procession around the little chapel. The blessing of candles and procession replace the prayers at the foot of the altar, and as Father made the sign of the Cross at the Introit, the symbolism of this rubric suddenly struck me.

Lunch as Father Parfitt's guest was a very enjoyable and unexpected pleasure enhanced by the welcome break from the routine. The Mass was offered for the intentions of Barbara Cave and so I was pleased to be able to hear the Mass "on behalf" of my old teacher, friend and mentor Mary Cave, for whose sister, the Mass was being offered and was unable to hear the Mass herself.

Even better news then - when I got home the Deputy Head rang to say school is closed tomorrow, along with all other local schools.

I was able to discuss one or two other matters with Fr. Parfitt and already have to pass on details of extra Masses to the Office.

As we are back to liturgical purple for the pre-Lentern Season on Sunday I am pleased to say that there will be Mass on Ash Wednesday to mark the start of Lent at Broughton at the slightly later time of 11.30a.m......... Dare I ask for snow on that day?!

Tomorrow gives me a chance to do the marking still in the boot. I also have a great deal of LMS Committee business to deal with. More than ever I can recall. The Pope knows how to keep us busy. I now smile to myself at the thought of a former Bishop of this diocese joking to one of my predecessors that as Rep he would hardly be exhausted with his workload. What goes round appears to come round.

Just over twenty years ago Archbishop Lefebvre excommunicated; last week the excommunication of the four ordinands the Archbishop consecrated was lifted. Meanwhile there was the uproar caused by imprudent remarks and the humble apology to Cardinal Hoyos and the Holy Father from Bishop Richard Williamson following the interview with Swedish television in which he expressed some ghastly opinions about the holocaust. Williamson has since been silenced by the order's Superior General, Bishop Fellay and has also written a humble letter to Cardinal Hoyos in which he expresses his sorrow at his imprudence and the problems these have caused the See of Peter, without actually acknowledging the very nature of that for which he was having to apologize.

Some blogs had quoted rumours about official recognition by Rome of the SSPX as soon as tomorrow. Others believe that this has been put back because of the anti-semitic remarks by Bishop Williamson.

There are also blog rumours of a personal prelature for disaffected Anglicans given the carry on over "women bishops".

What, I wonder, will tomorrow's historians make of today's news?

Our Holy Father Pope Benedict is at the helm.

God bless the Pope, the Great, the Good.

News from Rome

Earlier today it was announced in Rome that the Holy Father has lifted the 20 year excommunications imposed upon the bishops by Pope JPII who were consecrated by the late Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre.
I am sure that those who hear Mass tomorrow at the SSPX church in Keighley will feel that the Holy Father has gone a long way to address grievances referred to him by Bishop Fellay. I rejoice in the Lord for them that the path to dialogue has been opened.

Just after Summorum Pontificum was published a priest I know had been speaking to a Vatican Official at the time who had made no secret of the fact that the Motu proprio was in fact just a start to further Benedictine Reforms. It is a good time to be a Catholic.

Meanwhile I expect that there will be a lot of muck being thrown at the Pope given that Bishop Williamson is a holocaust denier, or would have us believe this. Bishop Williamson also has some unusual views about The Sound of Music.
How do you solve a problem like Richard?

Octave for Christian Unity

I have no desire to be controversial but I must confess to being mystified by what is meant by Christian Unity. It cannot mean that there is a new truth out there waiting to be discovered which will be suddenly become clear. We have the Truth - we have the Church. The reason we have disunity is because of disobedience and rejection of the Truth by people breaking away from the Church, founded by Christ upon the rock which is Peter. You are Peter and upon this rock I will build my Church. My vision of Unity is a wholesale return to the Catholic Church by those whose ecclesial communities have become estranged. The document on Ecuminism in the documents of Vat II is not the horror story some over enthusiastic people might portray it to be. It is a very beautiful document.
I have always found the following prayer, as well as the Prayer for England very good at focusing my mind on these issues.

O God, you bring back to the right way those who have gone astray, you gather the scattered, and keep together those you have gathered. Mercifully fill Christian people with the grace of your own oneness, that they mey reject all division and, being one in communion with the true shepherd of your Church, be able to serve you as you should be served.

For the Epiphany

The arrival of the wise men always fills me with great interest. Maybe because amid the hay and animals - some colour arrives with the camels - there is more hustle and bustle around the stable. These wise men fascinate me. They are gentiles - non-Jews, they have travelled a long way. They are searching and continue to do so until they find the Child. They are expecting to find a child who is also a King, so they go to an obvious place - to a Palace, but when they do not find Him they enquire further and again set off to find their goal. Upon finding the Infant Prince of Peace, they worship him, leave their gifts and depart. In all of this, they are an example to us all.

Unwittingly they alerted Herod to Christ's existence and as the scriptures tell us the Holy Infant was a threat to Herod, a threat to the establishment and of course a threat to Satan, the Prince of Darkness. The Child Jesus is a contradiction, here in a manger is God.

The world as we know it, does not recognise Him, often does not even search for Him, but He is there for all people. But the world will not recognize Him because it is blind to God's message which has been occluded by sin.

Our Nativity accounts are in many ways so simple , yet so pregnant with meaning, but the world goes round in circles trying to explain in human terms what God has done. The world sees everything else but God. Why?

The Gospel message is often unwelcome, because it challenges us, it makes us ask ourselves (or at least it should) if what we do is right, it asks us where we place God in our lives.

As in the time of Herod for many people the world revolves around them. But it doesn't. The Gospel is rejected because it doesn't suit this or that sort of lifestyle.

Recently Our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI gave an address to the Roman Curia, before Christmas about the youth, about love and about the family.

What was reported was totally inaccurate - I would say a deliberate lie, and made the Pope out to be homophobic and terribly negative, when his words were about something else. He hadn't said what was reported. Misinformation is rife. Jesus came to bring us peace and to lead us to the truth.

The stable shows us that poverty is important - a poverty that places God first and everybody else second. The stable also shows us that there is a poverty which as a Church and as a society we need to work against - those who struggle to survive need to be helped.

The stable, the crib, is a wonderful place for us to stop and to look.

God becomes one of us, He takes on our weakness and vulnerability, so that we have strength and support. At the same time God does not pat us on the back and say that it will be OK and that we don't need to worry, no, He takes those burdens on His own back - He will carry them for us. God freely bestows His grace by the power of the Holy Spirit. Yes, people may say I can do it myself, I don't need God's grace but the fact is we cannot. If we delude ourselves into thinking that it is possible we not only fool ourselves but place our salvation in great jeopardy.

God comes to us to help us, to save us, to redeem us. He gives us strength and courage. Mary, the Blessed Mother herself wondered how this could happen. She herself marvelled at these events.

The Magi - those wise men, may have had ideas of who they were looking for, but they didn't give in when there was no child at the Palace. They were searching for the answers but not an answer they had thought of but an answer given to us all by God.

We can search and enquire and can come to believe in a god, but it is only by God's free choice to reveal Himself to us that we can find the right answer. He is the way, he teaches us the truth and through Him we find life. In all our daily toils, in our struggles in life, when we are searching, God is the answer. Everything else will fall into place, but we must let God in. With our Faith comes Hope and all we need. We are loved by God no matter what. We can turn to Him at any time. His Grace is there for us.

We need to be open to God's work, to be like those wise men and Our Lady, kneeling before Him and letting Him rule our lives and hearts. We can kneel before Him in wonder, in awe and in adoration and giving thanks at every Mass and every time we come before him in the tabernacle - our modern day crib.

Sermon (slightly adapted) given by Rev. Fr. T. Wiley, co-ordinator for the Extraordinary form of the Extraordinary Form of Mass for the Feast of the Epiphany at St. Joseph's, Castleford. January 4th. 2009.

Happy Epiphanytide

Mass this evening at Halifax was for the Epiphany. Fr. Smith, who was full of cold, spoke on the similarities between the gentiles (us) and the three Wise Men.
Father Smith will be away next week and I'm delighted to say that our old friend Fr. Richard Aladics, who is on holiday here from Australia, will offer the Mass next Saturday at St. Marie's.

Tomorrow there will be Mass at Broughton at 11.30a.m. followed by Benediction.
Mass at 2.30p.m. at Holy Spirit, Bath Road, Heckmondwike.
Mass at 3.00p.m. at St. Joseph's, Pontefract Road, Castleford.

As for me....back to school on Monday!

Come Holy Ghost, Creator come

My friend and rep for Middlesbrough was at our Mass at Batley today, having recently returned from holidaying abroad. We were able to pass our time after Mass by discussing further arrangements for the Low Week Priest Training Conference planned for 2009 and discussing positive developments in Middlesbrough, Salford and Leeds Dioceses.
Priests in Salford and Liverpool should expect a mailing in the next week or two inviting them to the First Northern LMS Conference to be held at Ushaw Seminary from April 20th. -23rd. 2009.

Mass at Batley which saw a dozen in attendance, was offered at the Lady Chapel. The Veni Creator was recited after Mass for the indulgence and we then sang the Alma Redemptoris Mater.
Mass had been offered at Broughton earlier today at 11.30a.m.

God Bless the Pope!

Happy New Year!

Masses tomorrow, for the Feast formerly known as the Circumcision are at Broughton Hall at 11.30a.m. and at St. Mary of the Angels, Batley at 3.00p.m.

Mass at Broughton on Friday at 9.30a.m. BUT NOT AT BATLEY. Apologies for the short notice.

It is now 12 minutes to midnight. The academic /work year began in September, the Church year began on the First Sunday of Advent and now it's nearly 2009.

Let us continue to pray for peace, a sound appointment in Westminster, continued health of our Holy Father Pope Benedict and increased positive interest and participation in the 1962 Rite of Mass and Sacraments.

With every good wish to all of you who take the time to check out this blog and appreciate its content and intention.

Back to normal

I heard a delightful quote recently on Radio 4. A fellow announced that his new year's resolution was to live each day henceforth as if it were his last, his pal was quick to point out that this would be a lot like his present existence where he already spent most of the time in bed slipping in and out of consciousness.
I have had that sort of Christmas and I feel fully refreshed, just about. I have a lot to squeeze in over the next few days, but it is mainly things I enjoy doing anyway.
Back to normal.

Gloria in excelsis Deo

Christmas greetings to everyone. It was lovely to hear the Gloria sung at our Mass at Batley, the First Mass of Christmas, a Missa cantata. Nearly 90 parishioners and members turned out for the Mass which was sung by Fr. Wiley. The Epistle and Gospel were chanted in English, as provided for in Summorum Pontificum. It detracts not one iota from the solemnity of the Mass.

Thank you to everybody for your cards and gifts. I shall get round to writing this year's cards before the Epiphany! Seriously, I have never been so behind. God bless us all at this time of the year and give us more time to get ready next year!

Mass on Friday at Broughton at 9.30a.m.
Mass on Saturday at Broughton at 9.30a.m., at Holy Spirit, Heckmondwike at 11.30a.m., at St. Mary's, Batley (Vigil) at 3.00p.m. and at St. Marie's, Halifax, (Vigil) at 6.00p.m.

On Sunday Mass will be offered at Our Lady of Lourdes, Cardigan Road, Leeds at 3.00p.m. and at St. Joseph's, Pontefract Rd., Castleford also at 3.00p.m.

Mass on Monday and Wednesday at Broughton at 9.30a.m.

Fr Abberton at full force

Today at Mass at Castleford, Father Abberton gave an absolutely astonishing and beautiful sermon on our Blessed Lady, the Arc of the Covenant and the link with the unborn John the Baptist, who began his vocation by leaping in his mother's womb when Our Lady carrying Jesus in her womb visited St. Elizabeth. Mary carried in her virginal womb the Word of God, the Priesthood , and the Blessed Eucharist.

The richness and sumptuousness of Fr. Abberton's sermon made it more enjoyable than the finest Christmas pudding I could ever wish to eat.

Penance

When we got to St. Marie's in Halifax tonight the Blessed Sacrament was exposed and there was a lot of activity near the confessional. Fr. Lister and Fr. Smith and possibly other clergy had heard hundreds of confessions during the day between them. A good crowd at Mass and the opportunity to go to confession as well as receiving Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, made it a personally very special start to the drama and joy and sorrow and glory of the Christmas Season, when I can drop the purple background to this blogsite and brighten it up. The colours have to be a bit insipid so that the text is legible.

Today on Radio 4 I listened to a very interesting account of the story of the Magi by Ian Hislop; having been only 10 feet away from the reliquary of the Magi in Cologne Cathedral just a week ago, and as a former citizen of Cologne, I was fascinated to hear Ian describing a special inspection he was allowed to make of the huge reliquary. He saw three skulls.
The reliquary is believed to be the finest example of the talents of medieval goldsmiths in existence.
My class could not believe how precious and fine it was, in the same way they couldn't fathom how the three gift bearers could all be together again.
But their example of offering gifts at Christmastide has become embodied in the Christmas tradition. The gifts they offered were deeply symbolic, as a foretaste of what was to come for their Divine recipient. These men were gentiles, how special then, that sacrifice and offering from non-Jews was one of the first recorded acts associated with the birth of Christ.

I now have time to see if I can download an i-podcast of Ian Hislop's programme!

Please pray for an old Priest friend to the Latin Mass Society, who before retiring never refused to let his church be used for celebrations of the Old Mass - moreso when attitudes were far less positive to those with those rightful aspirations referred to by Pope John Paul II. Father's only ever request, which was to complete the traditional 40 hours devotion celebrations with Low Mass was, in my opinion, shamefully refused by Bishop Konstant.
Father has been in hospital, but as far as I can understand is now at home, but I've been unable to speak to him. Father wouldn't thank me for mentioning his name. So I won't.

Holidays at last

A hectic and quite troubling week is over. The internal workings and decisions of the Committee got onto some of the blogs this week following a leak to the journalist Damian Thompson. I have been inundated with calls about this and it has been really interesting to hear so many ideas and opinions about the direction the Society should now take in these post Summorum Pontificum days.

I have also spoken to Walter Atkinson, our former long time MC who is very well but quite frail these days. He is looking forward the the next Mass at Our Lady of Lourdes, Leeds on the last Sunday of the month.

I have also recieved calls and letters from people saying that they had been too ill to get to the Masses at Bradford and Castleford last Sunday. Attendance at St. Peter's was dismal with only a quarter of the congregation of the time before when we had our sung Requiem.

One person who was at St. Peter's was an excellent new blogger JT of the my heart was restless blogsite http://myheartwasrestless.blogspot.com/. I am delighted to be able to permanently link her blog from this blogsite. This was her first Mass in the 1962 Rite and it had a deep effect on her, which she recounts on her blog. Please take a look.

Mass tomorrow at St. Joseph's, Pontefract Road, Castleford at 3.00p.m. for the Fourth Sunday in Advent.
Mass on Monday at Broughton at 9.30a.m.
Mass on Wednesday at Broughton at 9.30a.m.
and First Mass of Christmas at St. Mary of the Angels, Cross Bank Road, Batley at 3.00p.m.
Mass on Friday at Broughton at 9.30a.m.

For those in the western extremeties there will be a traditional Midnight Mass at St. Osmund's, Long Lane, Bolton, preceded by carols from 11.15p.m.

On New Year's day there will be Mass in the morning at Broughton, at 11.30a.m. and in the afternoon at St. Mary of the Angels, Batley at 3.00p.m.

Isn't God good to us?!

After gale force 9 at sea

Back home.

Tired. Still bunged up with an unshakable cold but delighted that our pupils' behaviour was excellent on the recent trip to Cologne.



Had things gone to plan I ought to have gone over to Stydd Chapel, Ribchester for Mass this afternoon. After force 9 gales for six hours over the North Sea last night (which does not bother me in the least) but with 8 hours of consoling any number of over 30 worried 11 year olds, wiping up vomit and avoiding the T word (which on an aeroplane is the B word, where B=bomb and T= Titanic) and 2hrs waiting to disembark left me with 20 minutes to drive over 60 miles.
I was there in spirit.



Mass at Halifax tonight saw familiar and welcome faces from Middlesbrough diocese with a decent spread of parishioners and members who turned out for the first Gaudete Sunday Mass.

Fr. Smith, in his sermon, eloquently likened the end of the world to the end of our own personal world - i.e. at the moment of our death. The message that the act of rejoicing should be active and not simply passive acceptance was a common thread through Fr. Smith's sermon.

St. Marie's Halifax, is one of the increasing number of parishes in this Diocese where the Extraordinary Form of Mass, according to the Liturgical books of 1962 is a regular part of parish life. This parish is vibrant. As well as the 1962 Mass, Mass is offered in the OF in English, Polish and Italian with confessions in Spanish at call.

Mass tomorrow at ST.PETER'S, LEEDS ROAD, LAISTERDYKE, BRADFORD AT 3.00p.m. This will be a Missa cantata. This is one of our latest regular venues with a Mass every second Sunday at 3.00p.m.

Low Mass will be offered at the same time of 3.00p.m. at St. Joseph's, Pontefract Rd., Castleford .


Thinking about the meaning of storm when at sea, Saints Peter and Paul , the Papacy and the Blessed English Martyrs spring instantly to mind.


Pax vobis .

God bless Pope Benedict XVI.

Good news from Rome...less so from Bradford

This week has been very unpleasant so far. I have spent two days in bed suffering the effects of the the latest bug to be doing the rounds. Tomorrow I have to take 43 children and four staff to Cologne, via Hull and Rotterdam. The idea does not fill me with joy at the moment!

However 2 very interesting pieces of news from Rome have cheered me up today.

Firstly the Pope has elected Cardinal Canizares aka "Little Ratzinger" to replace Cardinal Arinze at the Congregation for Divine Worship. As some wag commented.....tick, tick, tick.
Secondly the Holy Father has invited all the Benedictine Abbots and Abbesses of the world to join him for Mass and Prayer of the Church on Ascension Thursday, 24th. May 2009 at Montecassino.

No posts until Saturday.

Auf Wiedersehen.