Fr Hunwicke's First Mass

Yesterday was one of the most special days we have yet had as members of the Ordinariate.  Three of our group had the honour, joy and privilege to be able to attend Fr Hunwicke's First Mass, which as we reported earlier, was celebrated in the Extraordinary Form at the London Oratory.

We will be reporting on our visit to Fr Hunwicke's priestly ordination at the Oxford Oratory on Wednesday evening shortly, but since this post is ready to go, there is no reason to hold it up.

The liturgical photos in this blogpost were sourced from the famous New Liturgical Movement blog and from the Papa Stronsay blog.  Fr Hunwicke has long had a strong connection with this community of Transalpine Redemptorists, and all Ordinariate members were delighted that several of the community travelled all the way from Orkney to Oxford and London to share in their priestly friend's special events. 

We also have a couple of photos of our own, as you will see below.  None of us felt able to take pictures during the mass itself, so caught up were we by the beauty of a very expert celebration of this ancient and powerful form of offering the most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.  The depth of one's sense of participation in the rite was incredible, the feeling of immediacy and indeed of intimacy quite overwhelming.  All three of us from our group who attended have attended masses in the Extraordinary Form before, but this one surely had a very particular importance for us.

Some travelled from Orkney to be there, others from Hythe, Brighton, Balham and indeed I travelled from Paris via Pimlico.    As I walked from home in Pimlico towards the Oratory, I passed by St Mary's Bourne St, our former home in our Anglican days.  In the bright sunshine of the morning, I reflected on so many very happy days there, not least (as I was on my way to an 1130am mass) of many Saturday morning 1130 services at St Mary's, and of friends of many years who were still Bournestreeters.  While we have left friends behind there, we have also found many new friends in the Catholic Church, both inside and and outside the Ordinariate, and so there was a certain symbolism as I thought of leaving the small but lovely St Mary's in my wake on my journey up to the much larger, utterly spectacular and definitely no less lovely London Oratory.  Dr Robin Ward's phrase of "a larger room" was very much in my thoughts.

Arriving in the empty Oratory was sensational in itself.  On previous visits to the Oratory, it has been a matter of waiting for the 10am mass congregation to leave before joining in with the throng waiting to enter for the 11am Solemn Latin Mass, or of joining the crowds filing in for a big event (such as the thanksgiving mass celebrated by Archbishop Vincent Nichols at the Oratory for the Beatification of Blessed John Henry Newman).  Not this time.

When I arrived, there were but a few people in that most beautiful of buildings, scattered around, each in silent prayer.  I moved to near the front, where I recognised Fr Ray Blake (who has posted extremely interestingly on yesterday on his own blog), and armed with the Oratory's mass book for the Extraordinary Form, I said some suitable preparatory prayers.

Mass itself was wonderful, witnessed by a congregation of around 45-50.  Celebrated at the side chapel of Our Lady of Victories, it was the perfect way to welcome such an eminently gifted, learned and holy man into the priesthood of the Catholic Church.  Some of the Papa Stronsay photos capture members of the Marylebone group preparing to receive the Host from Fr Hunwicke.

After mass, Fr Hunwicke offered first blessings at the main altar rail.  It truly was one of those "tingle down the spine" moments to kneel there, to hear Fr Hunwicke pronounce the blessing in Latin (included a very suitable reference to Blessed John Henry Newman), to kiss those priestly hands and, in thanksgiving and indeed in awe, to contemplate the journey we have made together into the Catholic Church, answering the Gospel call to Unity. 

The author of the Supertradmum blog, who very kindly introduced herself to us after mass, has posted that the congregation included what seemed like a mini-convention of Catholic bloggers.  The links provided from this blogpost prove her correct.   She also wrote (as did Fr Ray Blake) of the beauty of the vestments, and indeed of the entire celebration of mass.  How wonderful that on this quiet Thursday morning, we were able to mark such a special occasion in what truly was the beauty of holiness.

Another Ordinariate blogger, Monsignor Barnes, with his RAF background, would have appreciated the flyover by a Lancaster bomber that went almost directly overhead as we stood outside talking after mass.  While the flyover was related to the nearby opening of the memorial to Bomber Command, it certainly added even more of a sense of a special occasion to our day.

Perhaps one Sunday we shall be able to persuade Fr Colven to invite Fr Hunwicke to say the 0930 Extraordinary Form mass at Spanish Place, and then to stay on to preach at the 1030 Solemn Latin Mass.  As former Bournestreeters know very well, Fr Hunwicke is a marvellous preacher, and we rejoice that we in the Catholic Church now have him with us in full priestly orders, able to celebrate the sacraments for us and to preach the Gospel with his characteristic insight, erudition, holiness, charm and humour.

Punchy

A short additional blogpost to bring to your attention a posting by Damian Thompson over at his excellent Daily Telegraph blog. 

His post is entitled "The English Bishops are trying to Smother the Ordinariate.  How long will Rome tolerate this situation?"

We have previously highlighted Damian Thompson's views of the English Bishops and their interaction with the Ordinariate. 

• The first time was in a blogpost expressing our own views on how the Catholic hierarchy in England supports people like us, as compared to our views on how the Anglican bishops used to.
• The second time was very recently, on the very sensitive topic of setting up a principal church for the Ordinariate.

Whatever you think of the subject under discussion, it's clear that Damian Thompson's post will help the debate continue.  The development of the Ordinariate is not something that should be allowed to slip quietly into the background, neither in terms of a principal church, nor in more general terms.  The debate is healthy and is necessary.  Damian Thompson's tone is more forthright than that of this blog, but there is no harm in that : it is good to raise points of concern in this way, especially on topics such as how to make sure the Holy Father's intentions for his personal project are implemented.

We still think that Ordinariate clergy running a large London parish as its principal church might not be a bad idea.  This was suggested flippantly at the end of one recent post, but it could be a good solution that both fulfils the Holy Father's wishes, and addresses the valid concerns of those both inside and outside the Ordinariate about the practicalities.  The Oratorians and Jesuits, amongst others, do it, yet no-one suggests that they are fully subsumed by that role within the local diocese.  Equally, no-one suggests that the local, non-Ordinariate parish population is any way badly served by having non-diocesan clergy in charge.

In any event, we strongly feel that where realistic and viable options arise, they should be explored actively.  No-one should jump at the first idea that comes along, and the anxieties about practicalities cannot be set aside, but nonetheless, very serious consideration should be given to plans that appear even semi viable. 

Please pray for the growth and success of the Ordinariate in this country, and around the world.

UPDATE TO ORIGINAL POST

Fr Ray Blake, on his excellent blog, which we often cite, has also now posted some thoughts following Damian Thompson's article.

Archbishop Amigo of Southwark and Bishop St Nicholas of Myra

Today's post will talk of St Nicholas, of course, but before that, a brief follow up of a mention of a great man of the Church in England (and who, like me, was born in Gibraltar), whose name appeared on this site recently.

Readers will perhaps recall that in our extremely widely read post More than Words, we cited Fr Ray Blake's recounting of an anecdote about the famous Archbishop Amigo of Southwark.  Well, the topic of Archbishop Amigo has clearly being playing on Fr Blake's mind, and as a result he has tracked down some stunning footage of Archbishop Amigo's funeral procession and burial.  It is well worth making Fr Blake's very popular St Mary Magdalen, Brighton blog part of your regular reading, and a permanent link to that site is to be found on the right hand sidebar of this blog. 

Here is the Pathe film that Fr Blake highlighted.

Fr Blake's blogpost on this subject also includes an excellent photo of Archbishop Amigo, taken in the late 1940s on the occasion of his visit to St Joseph's Brighton, surrounded by a Father Pepper (on the left) and a Father Munns (right).  Trawling the internet for more images, I came across these two, which carry on the theme mentioned earlier in our post of 11 November.  In that post and in the first of these two photos, you see a bomb-damaged church.  Below, we can see Archbishop Amigo standing in the shell of his cathedral, St George's in Southwark.  The second photo shows the procession returning to the still ruined St George's for his interment, after the Requiem Mass at Westminster Cathedral : what an incredible day that must have been, as Fr Ray's Pathe film makes clear: the kneeling in the street is extremely powerful.

 
May the soul of Peter Emmanuel Amigo, first Archbishop of Southwark, rest in peace.  May Our Lady, St Nicholas and all the Saints pray for him.

***

As you all know of course, today's Saint is St Nicholas.  It takes a while to find information on St Nicholas that doesn't end up disappearing down the tangent of Father Christmas and Santa Claus, but we will do our best to ensure that this page does not fall for the same temptation.

Born in the second half of the third century AD, Nicholas was born to a wealthy family in what is now Turkey, and upon the death of his parents was cared for by his uncle the Bishop of Patara, who guided him on his way to the priesthood.   He used his inherited wealth for charitable works, and was known for lifelong piety.  Not much that is known of his life is unchallenged by one historian or another, but we do know that he was Bishop of Myra, a town on the river Myros, in the fertile western plains of Turkey.

Dom Guéranger talks of today's feast in l'Année Liturgique

Today, the Church celebrates with joy the memorial of the distinguished miracle worker Nicholas, as renowned in the East as our great Saint Martin is here in the West, and honoured for almost a thousand years by the Latin Church.  Let us honour the authoritative power that God gave to him, but let us more than anything be thankful to him for having been one of the number of the 318 Bishops who proclaimed at Nicaea that the Word was consubstantial with the Father.  Nicholas was not shocked by the abasement of the Son of God; neither the lowliness of the flesh with which the Sovereign Lord clothed himself in the womb of the Virgin, nor the humbleness of the crib, prevented him from proclaiming the Son of God, the son of Mary, as equal to God; this is why he has been raised to glory, and has received the charge of obtaining, each year, for the Christian people, the necessary grace for them to go before the Word of Life, with a simple faith and a burning love.

St Nicholas is not in fact one of the signatories of the Council of Nicaea, but tradition has it that he was there, and that he played an extremely prominent role in suppressing any temptation to fall into the ways of Arianism.

As Dom Guéranger wrote, like St Gregory the Wonderworker, who was mentioned in an earlier post on this blog, St Nicholas also rejoices in the title of Θαυματουργός, Thaumaturgos, Wonderworker, on account of his renown for performing wondrous works and miracles. 

A good and wondrous work that might not strictly be a miracle is probably the deed with which he is most associated.  It is the tale of a poor father of three daughters, without sufficient funds to provide dowries for his girls :  Nicholas provided three bags of gold, either one each year as the girls came of age, or on three consecutive nights depending on the version of the story, and thus saved the young ladies from a life of poverty and prostitution.  You can guess the tradition of gift giving to children to which that story led....  More interestingly, it also led to St Nicholas often being depicted holding three round bags of gold, and in the way that these things often do, this depiction gradually morphed into St Nicholas holding three oranges, which is supposedly the origin of the tradition of orange giving in Christmas stockings (in the days before noisy flashing lumps of plastic tat became all powerful).

His most famous miracle is connected with his ordering sailors to unload some wheat from a ship docked at port.  The wheat was bound for the Byzantine Emperor, but St Nicholas, then Bishop of Myra, desperately wanted to feed his starving, famine-struck people.  He persuaded the reluctant sailors that no harm would come of their unloading some of their cargo : they relented, unloaded some wheat, and upon departure realised that they still had the same quantity of wheat aboard as before.

He is also said to calmed a storm during a sea voyage.

St Nicholas to this day maintains an association with the sea.  He is the Patron Saint of many places and of many professions and groups, but not only is he Patron Saint of Seafarers, his name is also associated with many port towns across Europe.  Here he is, depicted as he rescues sailors from a terrible, watery fate.

Of course, many know of his association with the city of Bari in southern Italy.  His remains were brought there from Smyrna during the eleventh century, in the midst of the struggles for posession of Asia Minor and the Holy Land.  Photography and scientific testing in the 1950s backed up the legend that his entire remains were buried Bari, with very little having been removed to supply relics around Christendom.

One place that does have a relic of St Nicholas is the French town of St Nicolas de Port.  Originally called simply Le Port, the town is situated on the Meurthe River, a tributary of the Rhine, not far from Nancy in the Lorraine.  St Nicholas is Patron Saint of the Lorraine, and in the eleventh century, a fingerbone from his right hand (hence the reliquary below showing his right hand giving a blessing) was brought to the town church from Bari. 

 

The first church dedicated to St Nicholas in the town of Le Port was built in the twelfth century, and now the town boasts its own Basilica, a flamboyant gothic creation of the 15th and 16th centuries, built by Rene II, Duke of Lorraine in thanksgiving for and in celebration of his victory at the Battle of Nancy over Charles the Bold.  It was raised to the status of Basilica by Pope Pius XII in 1950.  (It's been at least a week since Pius XII received a mention on this blog, so I'm pleased I found a way to do so.)

Finally, some music.  The choice is obvious, because the setting of the ordinary of the mass sung at my wedding in St Mary's Bourne St was the Missa Sancti Nicolai by Haydn.  That setting was a firm favourite at Bourne Street, making regular appearances over many Christmastides, just as it was a much overworked favourite - at any time of year - when I was in charge of choosing music lists at Pusey House. 

In this penitential season of Advent, even as we mark the feast of a great Saint, which better movement to pick than the Kyrie.  Even having heard this setting many times, I am still very keen on the beautiful simplicity of the circles of fifths in the Kyrie, and the descending sevenths of the alto part.  A classic piece of Haydn, painfully simple, yet utterly characteristic and extremely beautiful.



Deus, qui beatum Nicolaum Pontificem innumeris decorasti miraculis : tríbue, quaesumus ; ut eius meritis et precibus a gehennæ incendiis liberemur.

Requiescant in Pace

November 11 is still marked as a national holiday in France, and so I find myself at home in London, having a poppy on my shopping list (they are unknown and hence unpurchasable in France).  That the French still have a national holiday and that we will have, in many places, a two minutes silence today and also a national ceremony this Sunday, shows that there is still, in our consciousness, a deep awareness of the significance of what sacrifices have been made in our name.  Yes, there may be the odd silly and unpleasant incident reported in the Daily Mail, where foolish students flying high on drink or drugs, on the spur of the moment, desecrate a memorial: but even they, in moments of cool sobriety, have some awareness of the sacrifice that others have made for them.

There may now be no World War I veterans left to act as a living link to those who gave their lives, but the importance of the National Act of Remembrance is undiminished, not least because we have seen so many other wars since the "War to end all Wars", that those who fought in World War II, Korea, The Falklands, the First Gulf War, and even in today's wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, remind us of the debt that we as a civil society owe.

One can only hope and pray that the protesters outside St Paul's Cathedral, whose very freedom to act in the way they now act stems from those who gave their lives for their country, will not disrupt any of the commemorations to be held at St Paul's. 

From a religious perspective too, we have a duty today.  We must give thanks for all those who gave their lives, for those who have come home injured mentally or physically, and for those who still today risk everything for others.  Some may not agree with the cause of each individual war or battle, but it is surely beyond doubt that the soldiers, sailors and airmen involved are doing their duty, and doing so at enormous risk to themselves.  We must also ask for those who mourn lost family and friends to be comforted.  We must contribute in almsgiving, perhaps through the simple gesture of buying a poppy, to support those who support those in need.  We must pray for the military chaplains, who provide comfort, support, prayer and the sacraments to the forces.

Most of all though, we must offer prayers for the repose of the souls of all who have given their lives in war. 

In paradisum deducant te Angeli; in tuo adventu suscipiant te martyres, et perducant te in civitatem sanctam Ierusalem. Chorus angelorum te suscipiat, et cum Lazaro quondam paupere æternam habeas requiem.

Fr Ray Blake shared this photo on his blog recently (a link to his blog can be found on the right hand sidebar of this blog).  It shows Mass being celebrated in 1946 in St Paul's Cathedral, Munster. 

We pray for all victims of war, of all nationalities, those who died in war, and those whose lives were changed by war, whether through bereavement or upheaval. 

Instead of the usual Faure or Durufle, or even Victoria or Lobo, here is the Introit from the Requiem Mass set by Esteban Salas y Castro, an eighteenth century Cuban priest, teacher and composer.  To me, it seems a little less sombre than many a setting of the Requiem Mass, something which does not seem entirely inappropriate, given that a Requiem Mass is not solely an occasion for grief, but also and much more so an occasion for prayer for the departed and for joyful hope in the life of the world to come.




Requiescant in pace.

Rosary Crusade Photos, and Blessed John Henry Newman

Yesterday's Rosary Crusade of Reparation, led by Monsignor Keith Newton, was a great success.  A wonderful work of public witness and devotion.  Those who were there consider that the numbers were truly excellent, even by the usual high standards of this annual event.

There are two photostreams of yesterday on Flickr that we would like to bring to your attention.  The first is on  Marylebone Ordinariate Group's Flickr page.   The second was brought to our attention by Fr Ray Blake, and can found at this link, belonging to Joseph Shaw.

Joseph Shaw's photos show the impressive size of the procession, whereas our photos also show the glorious scenes in the Oratory, as well as one or two "behind the scenes" shots. 

Having looked at the photos and noticed the impact that the event probably had on road users, I feel I can hardly complain that my plans to get to St James's this morning, and then as a back up plan to the Oratory, were totally obstructed by the closure of Hyde Park Corner and the resultant traffic chaos.  Still, in Central London, we are well served with afternoon and even early evening masses, so I shall find a way to fulfil the Sunday obligation.

On today of all days, it is most appropriate that a member of the Ordinariate should indeed make every effort to hear mass.  Although the celebration of Sunday displaces it (and so the day was properly observed yesterday), in our hearts we also note that today would ordinarily be the day when we celebrate Blessed John Henry Newman. 

In honour of this great man, here is one of his much loved hymns.  Praise to the Holiest in the Height is almost the anthem of the Ordinariate, but instead of doing the predictable thing and linking to that, here is Lead Kindly Light.



There is some information on Blessed John Henry Newman in the blog of the Sevenoaks Ordinariate Group.  However, for members of the Ordinariate, Blessed John Henry Newman is not only a source of spiritual inspiration, but also a practical example of someone who left familiar surroundings, following his faith and his convictions, and came into the full communion of the Catholic Church. 

Blessed John Henry Newman, pray for us and for the Ordinariate of which you are patron.

The Vineyard

A wonderful Solemn Mass yesterday at St James's. 

The Rector, Fr Colven, preached powerfully on the Gospel of the day, asking us to think about whether each of us was doing enough, whether we were bringing forth grapes from the vineyard as required. 

The Church will survive until the end of time, that is assured, but there is no guarantee that any particular part of it will.  He reminded us that little or nothing remains of the glorious flowering of the Church in North Africa in the time of St Augustine of Hippo, who was alive at a time when there were around 700 bishops in the region, and another one was being ordained to the episcopate each week.  All that is now gone.  One could equally reflect on the reduced presence in Antioch or even Constantinople, and in his blogpost on the same readings, Fr Ray Blake reminds us that Rome herself has had some desolate periods.

Fr Colven cited the idea that an important measure of how we are doing is the converts who decide to join us.  This is not a reference to people coming into the full communion of the Catholic Church from other Christian traditions through RCIA or the Ordinariate, as exciting as such moves are, but it is a reference to whether we manage to convince those who have no interest in God at all that the Church and our part in it are manifestations of God's work upon earth.

A timely reminder to all of us that we need to be outward looking, and that we must bear witness to the Faith by our actions, as well as by our private prayers and our Sunday activities.  We must inspire others to take an interest in the Faith, and through that process, to come into the Church.  May St Therese of Lisieux, the Little Flower, the Patroness of the Missions of the Catholic Church, intercede for us as each of us tries to contribute to this aim.

We were delighted to see Fr Len Black from the Inverness Ordinariate Group as Concelebrant at Mass yesterday at St James's.  Fr Colven introduced Fr Black as an Ordinariate priest as Mass began, thereby continuing his sterling work of raising awareness of the Ordinariate.  Unfortunately, we didn't manage to catch Fr Black before we left, otherwise today's post would have included a photo, but we hope that he enjoyed his time amongst us.

We also failed to take photos of the Procession of the Blessed Sacrament that went from Westminster Cathedral to St George's Cathedral, Southwark on Saturday.  However, we can report that it was very well attended and offered great public witness of the presence of Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, and of the vibrant presence of the Catholic Church in this country.  We are happy to note that the Ordinariate was well represented - as reported elswhere by the Ordinariate Portal in a Facebook update, Ordinariate members now feel inspired to look into buying some banners for future processions.

The music at Mass on Sunday was also excellent. The choir sang the powerful setting of O Sacrum Convivium by Olivier Messaien as the Communion motet.  Messaien was a devoted Catholic, but his organ and choral works have also become very popular and well-established in the Church of England, and so, in spite of the piece being in many ways an archetype of Catholic music, it was utterly familiar even to us new members of the Church.

HE Cardinal Levada supporting the Ordinariate

In our post on this blog yesterday, we referred to the reception being held last night in the Archbishop of Westminster's throne room, at which His Eminence Cardinal Levada formally launched the Friends of the Ordinariate.

Photos of the event have now started to appear on the internet.  You can find the Catholic Church's Flickr photostream of this event here.

Two of the best known British Catholic bloggers have also posted short reports and some photos on their highly-to-be-recommended blogs.   Here is Fr Ray Blake of St Mary Magdalen, Brighton on the reception.  The first to post photos was Fr Tim Finigan, at his Hermeneutic of Continuity blog.

The eagle-eyed amongst you will spot that one of the members of the Marylebone Ordinariate Group can be seen in the middle of one of Fr Finigan's photos.

Do please consider making a donation to the Friends of the Ordinariate, thereby directly helping the implementation of the Holy Father's generous Apostolic Constitution, Anglicanorum Coetibus.

For more background on the Ordinariate, provided by Monsignor Keith Newton in conversation with Ruth Gledhill, do watch the video below.  Monsignor Newton talks of his own spiritual journey in thie film, in which, of particular interest to the members of the Marylebone Ordinariate Group, he mentions St Mary's Bourne St, Eric Mascall and Brian Horne.

Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle

The 29th of September is the Feast day of Ss Michael, Gabriel and Raphael (and, by the way, the tenth wedding anniversary of the author of this post - for which, thanks be to God).  St Michael is well known as being an Archangel and as Prince of the Angels.  What might be less well known is that according to Church teaching he has four distinct roles. 

•   Enemy of Satan, expelling him from Heaven. 
•   Saving souls at the hour of death 
•   Weighing souls on Judgment Day 
•   Guardian of the Church

While some of these roles might appear unfashionable to some, they apply now as ever.  In the homily given at his first ordination of bishops as Pope Benedict XVI, the Holy Father talked about the similarities between the mission of bishops and the mission of the angels.  Fr Ray Blake quoted a very informative news release on this homily on his St Mary Magdalen, Brighton blog :

Just as angels, explained the pope, bishops must lead humanity to God; they must knock on the door to their hearts to announce Christ; they must heal the wounds of relations between man and woman and save them from sin with reconciliation and forgiveness.

The Holy Father's homily was a timely reminder of the importance of the role of the angels, in this age where so many do not know God, and when even many of those who do like to form their own conclusions rather than listen to the Church.  On his recent visit to Germany, the Holy Father talked about how strange it now seems to the modern mind that Martin Luther was so interested in how one might receive God's grace: 

“How do I receive the grace of God?” The fact that this question was the driving force of his whole life never ceases to make an impression on me. For who is actually concerned about this today – even among Christians? What does the question of God mean in our lives? In our preaching? Most people today, even Christians, set out from the presupposition that God is not fundamentally interested in our sins and virtues. He knows that we are all mere flesh. Insofar as people today believe in an afterlife and a divine judgement at all, nearly everyone presumes for all practical purposes that God is bound to be magnanimous and that ultimately he mercifully overlooks our small failings. But are they really so small, our failings? Is not the world laid waste through the corruption of the great, but also of the small, who think only of their own advantage? Is it not laid waste through the power of drugs, which thrives on the one hand on greed and avarice, and on the other hand on the craving for pleasure of those who become addicted? Is the world not threatened by the growing readiness to use violence, frequently masking itself with claims to religious motivation? Could hunger and poverty so devastate parts of the world if love for God and godly love of neighbour – of his creatures, of men and women – were more alive in us? I could go on. No, evil is no small matter. Were we truly to place God at the centre of our lives, it could not be so powerful. The question: what is God’s position towards me, where do I stand before God? – this burning question of Martin Luther must once more, doubtless in a new form, become our question too.

So how might we build the work of the angels?  In addition to doing what we humanly can to contribute to their mission in "announcing Christ", perhaps through being Confidently Catholic, the answer is prayer.  Pope Leo XIII added the prayer below to the "Leonine Prayers" to be said after Mass.  Although the Leonine Prayers are no longer required after Mass, Pope John Paul II specifically encouraged the faithful to use this prayer to St Michael, as an aid in our "....battle against the forces of darkness and the spirit of this world."

Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle; be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil.  May God rebuke him, we humbly pray: and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls.

To conclude, a setting of Psalm 148 by the eighteenth-century French organist and composer, Michel Corrette. 

St Michael, pray for us.